June House Update

The tucks arrived last week and we finally have a real driveway and someday the green stuff will be grass. The boys sandbox is gone, a little bittersweet for them and me...

Garrett vs. Walkway

The walkway won...by a face-slide...


Retelling me the story of how he got hurt (rode a ride on toy down the walkway after his mother told him it wasn't a good idea...)

May's nearly gone.

May's nearly gone and I was so busy living life the blogging took a backseat again. We've had a month of rain and sick kiddos. Nothing to complain about as everyone is healthy again and the rain is nothing compared to what others are dealing with.

Ben turned 5 years old on May 10th! Our little peanut is five. He had a nice small family birthday party. I even set off the smoke detectors just for him (burnt the garlic bread).

***Note to self: UPLOAD BEN'S B-DAY PICS TO FLICKR***

We welcomed two new family members.
Meet Bruin and Brady Riley




Brady


Bruin


I did lots of knitting for my store.

We bought a vehicle that fits all of us and our stuff. We can even go to the beach this year without having to bungie the stroller to the roof!! It's the little things in life. :-)
**For full disclosure: We've reinstalled the carseats properly, we just tossed them in there the first night**






I cast on my first lace shawl project.

I had the weirdest sinus infection ever.

Ben had his kindergarten screening, he did great. He also graduated from his preschool/pre-k program at the local YMCA.


We still have not finished painting the master bedroom or bathroom.

And I think that about sums up May. I'll add pics of Ben's birthday celebration this week, and I need to post a knitting update post too. My needles have been on fire. :)

Blooming Orchid

Shaun bought this beautiful Orchid for me on Valentines day. It dropped all it's flowers off and I was waiting for the leaves to wilt before throwing it out. Then this morning...it bloomed.  

Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day started late in the evening of Saturday with a Declan who would not sleep. He needed lots of mama cuddles. We hugged and gazed into each other's eyes until just before midnight. Five short hours later I was woken up by a well rested Garrett and Ben. Not quite the start I was hoping for but it did get better. Logan got up and watched the little boys so Declan and I could sleep in. Now THAT is an amazing Mother's Day gift. :)

But the gifts kept coming. To my bed they came bearing handmade gifts full of love and creativity.

Billy gave me a lovely card full of compliments and an amazing painting of lupines. *will add photo of it tomorrow*

Logan built this box out of Lego and put a dollar bill in it.


Ben brought this home from school on Thursday




Billy helped Ben and Garrett accomplish this sweet greeting on the living room floor


We had a big breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage, then got dressed and headed down the driveway for a cookout at my parents.

Happy Mother's Day! <3

I'm glad you were born.

Logan, I'm glad you were born. God had plans for my life that I had never dreamed of, and they all started with you. You taught me more about life then reading an entire library of books could have. You continue to surprise us and I am so thankful to be your mom.

Gabriel, I'm glad you were born. For many many years that was not true. I was angry. I was so angry you were born dead. The single worst thing I've ever had to do is hand you to a nurse after saying our goodbyes. But now, years later I am so glad you were born. You taught me to appreciate life. I see you in each of your brothers and you are very much a part of our family. I'm so thankful to be your mom.

Billy, I'm glad you were born. Glad doesn't even begin to describe how happy I was when you were born. I don't believe I even fully knew what happiness was until you were born. You are the funniest person I know, and owner of the biggest heart. I'm so thankful to be your mom.

Ben, I'm glad you were born. You shocked us by being so small in size and continue to shock us with your energy and determination. There is nothing you can't do and that attitude inspires me. I'm so thankful to be your mom.

Garrett, I'm glad you were born. It took me a while to get over how you were born, but I have always been so thankful that you WERE born. Your curly hair and huge blue-grey eyes melt my heart. I love getting to know you and your gentle heart. I'm so thankful to be your mom.

Declan, I'm glad you were born. You are the perfect bookend to our little family. Your birth healed my spirit but you healed my heart. Your sweet smiles and infectious laughter assure me that no matter how busy my day is...there is always time for love and laughter. I'm so thankful to be your mom.

About this post ~ I saw the idea for this post on a little cloth diapering blog I follow (http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/) and was going to copy the idea..but when I kept reading I realized it was for a giveaway. And with two in diapers I will certainly be linking this post to their site, but I wanted to make sure my kids know I didn't do this for money but wanted to remind them that I am so glad they were born and am thankful to be their mother.

The Riley Twins

Okay. So yes I know they are not twins...they were born 20 months apart...but they are as close as close can be. The only time they are without each other is the 3hrs/4x's a week Ben goes to Pre-K. Of course they fight often and both wear the bite marks to prove it also.
Can you see it???


Yep! They were walking up the driveway hand in hand. The almost 5yo little boy that is too cool to hold mommy's hand still hold's his brother's.


They wanted to be first in line to help Dad load up Great-Grandpa's tractor with wood for the brush pile.

Feeding Great-Grandpa's Fish

We walked down the driveway to feed Great Grandpa's fish this morning. The sun was shining, no humidity, and it was just warm enough for short sleeves.
The. Perfect. Weather.







Mr. Frog


A good sized tadpole


Billy took this photo of Declan and I <3

A close up so you can see his gorgeous baby curls. *swoon*

Bitty Fluff: Fundraiser Auctions Benefiting Autism Speaks

This Friday the vendors of Bitty Fluff and guests will be holding auctions to benefit Autism Speaks in honor of April being Autism Awareness Month.

I have three knit bracelets and a girly 0-3 month size romper going up for auction with 100% of the purchase price going directly to Autism Speaks. 

http://hyenacart.com/bittyfluff/

Soap Rave

I am in love with Etsy and all things handmade.

And I make exceptions for plastic when it is this cute.

The Easter Bunny left these soaps in both bathrooms (although I don't think one child noticed....) and  I moved the one out of my bathroom into the kitchen so I could see it more often. I love rubber duckies, especially when they are holiday themed and sitting on top of cupcake shaped yummy smelling soap.

They can be found at Anderson Soap Co. on Etsy.

All you need is love.

But is love all you need?

Yes. At times it is.

But I want to clarify.

Love is not all you need in many situations.

Loving someone is not enough.
Someone loving you...is not enough.

Love that hurts (physically/mentally)...is not enough.

Love that threatens physically or verbally (you/others)...is not enough.

Love that holds you back from being who you want to be...is not enough.

Love that makes you comfortable with being less then you should be...is not enough.

There are many many ways love is not all you need.

Love is all you need when you have a healthy, respectful relationship that brings joy to you and others around you.

Love is enough when you understand that you can't change someone, and that loving them is not going to change them.

A healthy love will get you through the toughest of situations.
An unhealthy love will just makes those tough situations tougher.

Knitting Update: 4/25

March was a busy month with a few custom soakers and lots of instock goodies for Bitty Fluff.
You can see those items in my knitting gallery on Flickr: Laurel Love Knits

And here are my current WIP's (works in progress)...

A Molly Bubble Romper for a fundraiser @ Bitty Fluff on 4/29
I need to find my snaps or buttons asap so I can do the band at the bottom and then it's done.




Billy's tunic:
Alllmost done the body. Then it's time for sleeves and a hood.
***Updated pics to come later***

Mosaic Moon "Imbas" shortis for Declan:
At the gusset increases...can't wait to get these on him.


And I'm casting something on today. :)

Egg Dying 2011

At the request of the boys...who wanted another "Family Fun Night" I brought out the egg dying kits last night. I read reviews on egg dying kits in a local news/magazine and was sold on the roller paint kits. So I grabbed two of them (worth the extra $2.99 to not have to mess with sharing) and a 3D Star Wars kit for the big boys. The boys had fun, the mess was well contained and the end result is beautiful. SUCCESS!















Logan's


Billy's


Ben's


Garrett's




Grandma came up to join in on the fun. <3

Pizza with the Riley's

Logan: Pepperoni "Regular" Pizza
Billy: Cheese English Muffin Pizza
Ben, Garrett & Declan: Pineapple Pizza
Shaun: Bacon/Pineapple English Muffin Pizza (experiment...precooked bacon worked great!)
Me: Whatever is left. Pizza isn't my favorite food.