Family Reminders

I'm so proud of the little girl Nina is becoming. Each and every day she surprises me with her kindness, thoughtfulness, manners and enthusiasm for life. Honestly, it makes me SO proud.

At the beginning of summer, Mr. Evans and I decided on some "family rules" to instill within our girls. I really focus on parenting with intention and this is just part of it, I suppose. These are really more reminders than "rules"... reminders to us as parents to deliberately make sure that our attitudes as parents and husband/wife match up to these principles. I initially got the idea because of this book which I posted about here (and from these blog posts which I love). I made up a sign below and printed it to hang in our mudroom. Do you have "family rules"? I grew up with the best parents who taught me these things to the core, so I guess I did. :)

The best part of my home is who I share it with and these little reminders sure make it more fun!

Lobster Rolls

It's officially a summer tradition... we ordered lobster rolls direct from the East Coast again! See my post last year for more details. Luke's Lobster is totally the best! It makes my mouth water just looking at the photos!

The enormous tub of fresh lobster (not shown b/c it went directly to the fridge) and the "secret seasoning" puts these sandwiches over the edge.

I also made a fresh batch of delicious blueberry muffins using the Gwyneth Paltrow's recipe. It's the best! I love summer!!!

Thinking...

I'm an avid reader of Joanna Goddard's blog A Cup of Jo. Are you? Well, yesterday she posted a quiz called Are you addicted to your smartphone? and let's just say it's almost comical and got me totttalllly thinking. Click over, read it and honestly I'm sure we ALL can relate. :)

These past few days I've been thinking about the role technology plays in my own life and how I strive to be "present" (in my life for family, husband, kids and more) but also "connected" (at work, with friends, for fun). This is a balance I find to be a challenge sometimes, as ever more being "connected" means I'm less and less involved right here, right now. Ultimately, I'm connected and disconnected at the same time.

I'm a total type A multitasker with a (self imposed) never-ending to-do list. I do my best to keep it all together and most oven find that I don't go crazy :), am a good wife and mom, and more. And, I'm proud of that. But, it's always good to be reminded to let go of meaningless distractions to connect in a meaningful way with the gift of undivided attention. 

Life goes FAST and I surely have lots of goals in life, which technology has a place in. But as Jim Rohn reminds me, "Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and their intensity."

Image via. iPhone Case via.

Mae's Baptism

This past Sunday our little Mae Frances was baptized. Here are a ton of photos from the day! :)

Nina helped by pouring in the baptismal water and was asked to make a few promises to Mae.

I mean, so smiley... right? Her dress was beautiful (my mom generously purchased one for both Nina and Mae, so they'll have their own as they grow. Mae's bonnet was gifted by my mother-in-law who brought it all the way from Bruges, Belgium. My godmother, Nadine, made Mae her bracelet which had her birthstone and her name spelled on it.

After church, we hosted lunch at our house. It was a beautiful sunny, but cooler day!

For lunch we kept it simple with Hawaiian Ham Sandwiches, a Spinach Dip and Salmon Dip, Fruit Salad and a Salad Bar complete with two homemade dressings (Balsamic Vinaigrette and Basil Green Goddess Dressing) and 13 toppings - goat cheese, bacon, dried cranberries, almonds, green pepper, mushrooms, red onion, blueberries, cucumber, tomatoes, roasted beets, raspberries and carrots.

Just like with Nina, we did a champagne toast.

My girls had adorable matching dresses (thanks Cathy!) and even though this photo below isn't perfect I'm always happy to have a photo of me and my girls.

Same thing here, not perfect but just how it goes!! :)

My cousin Dana handmade this headband for Mae. Isn't it so adorable? She's starting a little side business, so if you're interested let me know!

Happy Baptism sweet baby Mae!! 

p.s. If you want to see the cutest note from our godson Ethan to Mae, click here.

Optimism

I love this post and agree SO MUCH with what it says. Read it!! Below are a few of my favorite lines - they are so so how Mr. Evans and I try to live.

via

Your environment matters and you have a certain level of control over that. You have to work on putting yourself in the presence of happiness to be happy. At least I do. That includes the people around you. If you only hang out with angry, cynical or pessimistic people then you cannot help but to begin to feel that way too. 
...
When my physical life is cluttered, so is my mind. I have a much harder time relaxing in a mess…whether that is my office, car or home. So I take time to organize. I make to do lists, file papers, vacuum, empty the dishwasher and put my clothes away. I need to place where I can focus and relax at the same time.
...
I have been trying to meditate recently. And by meditate I mean just get quiet and focus on my breath. I had no idea how hard this would be. Every time I do it I can feel how jittery I am (I think I can feel my brain vibrate). That just trying to get quiet is so hard is reason enough to do it more often. It scares me that my brain is begging for constant stimulation. So I am trying to retrain it to let go.

5 Years

Five years ago today I married Mr. Evans. My better half.

I seriously couldn't ask for a better husband. He's the most enthusiastic, driven, romantic, supportive and funny person I know. He knows what it means to live life, and I've been lucky to live the best 5 years of my life with him.

We're officially celebrating with a trip to Napa in late September.... can't wait... and tonight we're heading to a special four-course dinner at Capital Grille!

Happy Anniversary, MPE!

P.S. The photo above was taken a little over 5 years ago on our first trip to Napa together. :)
P. P.S. Here are just a few of our wedding pictures. Such a great day!!

Quick Florida Trip

Last week I flew to Florida to help my mom decorate their new oceanfront condo! We were starting from scratch (they've renovated the place from floor to ceiling) so we made quite the haul and accomplished a TON! Words can't even describe our determination. Who knew shopping could be so hard? :) Here is a teeeeeny tiny sampling of a few things we got. She's going for an oceany blue palate that feels family friendly, yet sophisticated and put together. I'll maybe do a "before and after" blog post when she's all finished!

We literally ran errands, shopped and met with contractors from sun up to sun down. It was a whirlwind. Gotta make the most of our time together! I imagine that's what all these HGTV shows are like! :) We did manage to watch the sunset only one night when we took a break for literally 15 minutes to have a glass of wine. So pretty!

Meanwhile, the greatest husband and daddy was holding down the fort back at home. He sent fun videos and photos which I greatly appreciated (in the video below Mae was laughing and "talking" up a storm). My girls LOVE their daddy... and for good reason. He's seriously the best!!!!!!!!! I missed them so much and am glad to be back home. We can't wait to go back down in November as a family to check it all out!

Mae - 3 Months

Our sweet little girl is 3 months old. She loves smiling and giggling, rolling over nonstop, sleeping, watching her sister, dozing off wherever she pleases and playing on the floor. We love this little girl sooo much!!

Little Treat Cups

A few weeks ago when we were in Door County, I made the girls some treat cups. I hand painted the little dishes for Nina and Mae in the color schemes of their bedrooms. I always make a little after school snack so I thought these would be cute for them both to use as they grow up.

Surprisingly, I think they turned out pretty cute. :)

Bumbo Fun!

Mae is growing up so quickly! She's now 3 months old and has been rolling over for a month now. She also has recently mastered her head strength and she's been sitting in the Bumbo. Check her out! Do you recognize the girl below her?? :) Haha!

Mae :)

Nina :)