It's been a long time coming, but I finally opened a bow shop! None of this would have been possible, of course, without my business partner, Becky. Ever since I found out I was having a girl I started making bows. Bows, bows, bows. For the last 2 years I have spent hours upon hours in our loft making bows for Clara, friends, family members. People would tell me I should sell them, and I would get soooooo close to doing so, then back out for some reason or another. 

Fast forward to middle of November when my friend Becky invited our family over for dinner. Somehow the bow shop topic came up, and she told me she also had been planning on opening a bow shop before the holidays. We had literally been planning the same shop. Becky had done the parts I hadn't got to (ie: website, shop name, shipping, margins, etc.) and I had been working on what she hadn't done (ie: photography, making the bows, supplies, etc.). It was a partnership from my dreams!

We hustled and got our shop open on Cyber Monday. We have been open for 2 weeks as of today and it has been so fun. A lot of work, but so fun. It is such a rewarding feeling finally getting some of these designs and styles out after working on them for so long. 

If you are needing some bows for your girls, head on over to www.modernpiggy.com. I've been blown away by the support we've received. I have the best family and friends! 

Entryway Updates

Well hello blogosphere! I don't know if anyone still reads this little ol' blog anymore but I wanted to document some home updates. I've loved being able to watch how my own style and home decor evolves and matures. Recently it's been my main floor. I got on a crazy kick one night and took down all the pictures on the wall, taped the baseboards and painted everything the next day.

Then I framed the windows.

Then I finally bought a few things that I had been eyeing for a while. I will post more photos as I take them. For today it's the entryway.

It's amazing how a few items can make you so happy. The mirror and the planter are two of those things that just bring me joy.

I think a beautiful runner would just complete the scene. I have my eyes peeled. Go HERE for a flashback to how it looked a few years ago.

sources:
mirror - watch for sales!
planter
bench
throw - Target from a few years ago
Wall color - Benjamin Moore Edgecomb grey, 50% strength

A Halloween in Neverland!

Halloween used to be my least favorite holiday. I just am not one for dressing up! Not surprisingly, having kids has changed my feelings. It is so fun getting these little humans all dressed up and traipsing them around the neighborhood to get candy. They actually really loved trick-or-treating. Max was especially kind as he always gave back a piece of candy for every piece he took. :) 

I sure love my Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

I love how the lighting makes her wings glow.

Here comes little tink from behind stealing innocent Peter's sword.... 

I really, really love this picture. Never grow up, little boy. Never grow up. 

Yup, he was digging this whole thing.

 

Out on the town!

Two!!!

We made it 2 years! Hooray!! Can I go and take a nap now? 

For real, these have been 2 very long years. A lot of people say "I can't believe they are already 2!" and I kind of think in my head "are they ONLY 2?" This isn't saying we haven't enjoyed the last two years, they have just been very, very exhausting. These little crazies keep us on our toes pretty much every minute of every day. To any twin mom out there who may be reading this (well let's be honest, if ANYONE reads this blog anymore), I would like to say it gets better.... so so so much better. I enjoy Max and Clara more and more each day. I love seeing their personalities flourish and their little minds learn new things. I love watching them discover the world around them. Most of all, I love being their mom! 

Max is such a sweet and loving boy. He is so gentle and such a kind soul. Sometimes we try to encourage him to fight back with Clara... "Max! Take back what is yours!" We have been working with a speech therapist and his talking is getting a lot better - most of all he tries. His sleeping has improved a lot from last year when he and I would have some epic battles around nap and bedtime. I would say overall he is still my "harder" of the two. He just needs a lot more attention, especially in public places. He really, really likes to be around me all day and still doesn't go off and play on his own, even when we are at home. I know this is a phase and that eventually I will be desperately wanting him to stop running away so fast. I try to remember this in those frustrating moments when all he wants is for me to hold him. He loves cars, trains, his teddy bear, pizza, slides, riding his tricycle on the back patio, rocks and holding my hand as we walk on the trail. He also loves his daddy and usually prefers for Russ to put him to bed. Despite this recent preference, he will always be my little boy, and I love him so much. 

Clara has been so, so so much fun lately. Her communication has really picked up and it's so fun hearing the new words she will learn each day. She sings little songs all day long and loves to have fun dance parties (favorite song is Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars). She obviously loves Minions and the movie Cars. She is a little bully, and continues to boss her little brother around (as mentioned above). She seems to think she has the upper hand in their relationship, which has been since their creation while she was dancing on his head the full 9 months in my belly. I wonder if it will always be this way. Clara is still the best sleeper around, and I am so grateful for that! She loves helping around the house by "folding laundry," being in the garden, raking leaves, etc. It's so cute to see her mimic us in our daily tasks. She still loves her bottle and binkie... which we will need to work on soon. She loves her stuffed animals, puzzles, and her new play kitchen. She's kind of on a mommy kick right now, which I really don't mind. I love that she loves me! We are completely in love with our sweet, sassy, curly-headed girl!

And now on to a new phase of having two 2-year-olds! Prayers on our behalf will be greatly appreciated. :)

Our Minions are Turning 2!

Tomorrow is Max and Clara's 2nd birthday. 

Whaaaaa?!?!?

So many emotions are going through my head right now! But that is for another post on another day. We had their birthday party last weekend, and it was so fun! They are obsessed with minions, so of course we had to go the minion route. Why try some cute little theme when minions are what bring the biggest smile to their faces right now!?

I found the coolest minion party accessory ever. Have you ever heard of airwalker balloons? They are about 43" tall and have weighted feet so they kind of just waddle around. This picture below is when they first saw the balloon. Clara was THRILLED, Max was super wary. 

I mean, look at this thing! haha!

I pushed my baking skills to the limit and made a minion cake using this tutorial. It's one of those things where you don't want to look too close, but I think it turned out really well!

Clara would NOT let go of their new minions... they went on the swing, the slide, everywhere! 

Max was kind of fussy. Sigh. I guess you can't get everything to go smoothly. He did perk up once the presents showed up :) This is his Dr. Evil pose. 

Side note: Russ dressed as a "minion" by wearing a yellow shirt and blue pants. No one noticed. Ha ha ha!

 Clara was so cute the whole night, especially with presents. She was so excited with every new item! One of her favorites was this new "potty" and all of her new friends that can go to the bathroom on it!

It was such a fun time celebrating our two little miracles. I'm so grateful to be their mother!

Vivie & Ash

We've been going on some fun photography adventures lately with the intent of capturing our two little people in some super cute clothes. Vivie and Ash is a small kids clothes' shop that I have admired for a long time. We were recently chosen to be some of their brand reps and therefore have been taking lots of pictures in attempts to capture the essence of the clothes! All of Vivie and Ash's clothes are super high quality and unique in their fabric and design. I love them! (and those two cute kids wearing the clothes aren't too hard on the eyes either ;))

Chips

Today was a really, really great day. Max fell asleep during the last 20 minutes of church, stayed conked out on the journey home, and then proceeded to take the longest nap of his life (4+ hours!!!!!!). Meanwhile, Clara woke up from her nap and was pretty dang cute as we colored fishies and played with our klip-klop horses. 

We spent an hour at the park and came home to put Clara to bed. 

Due to Max's super long siesta, he was as happy as can be to stay up an extra hour and eat some late-night chips with Russ and I. Most of the time motherhood is far from glamorous, but boy, these are the moments where you feel like your heart just may as well leap out of your chest. His no-longer-baby-face was just so happy and sweet. He wanted to pray over and over, and then just giggled and ate chips. 

These are the days that make it all worth it. 

I adore this picture. It looks like Russ is telling some amazing, grand story and Max is listening intently. These two are buddies for life. 

Goodbye Sweet Summer

Well, it's not over yet, but something about passing Labor Day feels like fall is creeping in and summer is slipping away. It's still pretty warm, which I am trying to relish, but the mornings and evenings are cooler. 

This was a great summer for us. Max and Clara actually DO stuff now (as opposed to last summer where we had two babies that were pretty much immobile). I have loved seeing new adventures through their eyes, watching them explore outside. I'm not sure I'm ready for summer to slip away. For now, I'll just relish these few moments that were captured.

She IS a quarter Hispanic, after all! :)

Watch out ladies, here he comes.

Yogurt faces and diapers. Life is good.

These two melt me! I think soon before this moment Clara had stolen whatever toy Max had. She's such a little bully, but then she makes up for it with kisses and hugs.