Simply Seleta

rainy day cupcakes

School was canceled today for the hurricane that never happened.  When I first found out on Monday at carpool pick up, my initial reaction was, "oh %#!@."  You see, they also have Wednesday off.  And after a busy weekend, I had the illusion of getting a few things done around here.  Guess not.  But, I decided we may as well make it enjoyable. 

Since it was last minute and the weather was totally the pits, I wasn't exactly sure what to do.  Then I thought, "Aha, stick 'em in the kitchen.  Kids love to cook.  And who doesn't love to bake cupcakes?"  I scrambled through the pantry and got together some cupcake trinkets and sprinkles.  Yes, I'm one of those freaks who washes and saves the plastic rings and toppers on the store bought cupcakes [evidence pictured above].

We had a couple of friends come over.  Way more fun.

In the front of the kitchen were the "big girls" [my oldest girl and her adorable new friend in the neighborhood]

I'll be honest.  One of the greatest challenges I seem to always face as a mom is entertaining a range of ages.  It's a hard thing to do.  But I think we did well keeping toddler and grade school kids happy.

Here is the tot section of the kitchen.

 

Tip:  I broke the eggs in advance and placed them in these cute goose measuring cups so little hands would feel productive.  I also measured everything out in ahead of time so they could go to town pouring and mixing. Three and four year olds feel very empowered when they're totally in control.  Ever notice?

Everyone had a task.  Very important.

My small fry on the left was in charge of cutting up the stick of butter.  Not at all necessary, but he felt very important.  You might recognize the sweet face in the middle.  It's my friend, Stacy's daughter.  Check out her blog over here.  They have the coolest pizza restaurant you absolutely have to hit if you ever visit our beach town. 

My five year old waited patiently for her job, which was mixing it all together.

Dinner cooked in the crock pot while we cooked.  Pot roast and vegetables.  I guess I was feeling very Betty Crocker today.  Or would that be Betty Crockpot?

Here are those crazy geese measuring cups again.  Anthro.  Just tried to find them for you, but the best I could do is right here.

The "big girls" made our cream cheese frosting.  Mmmmm, it was good.  Definitely a swimsuit figure enemy. 

I set up little stations for them to frost away.   

And decorate.

It looks like I'm breaking child labor laws here.

The best part was eating the goods.

 

Surprisingly, Pom Pom hung out in the kitchen and watched the whole process.  I guess now he can add "baking cupcakes" to his repertoire.  Pippi was with us too, but she was far away from Pom Pom...she's still working on her manners with cats.  That's a whole other post.

The end to a very happy day.

a good kind of shock

Sometimes when you open an email, it takes your breath away.  That happened to me a few days ago.

Huh?

Let me back up.

A few weeks ago, we spiffied up the kids [and ourselves] and headed out to photograph the fam.  I usually dread this kind of project because getting six people to look clean and happy all at once is enough to drive me to drink insane.  There are bladders to empty, tummies to keep full and clothes to keep stain free.  And the best light for shooting outdoors is at sunset, AKA dinnertime and the witching hour.  Any other parent relate or am I just a loon?  Don't answer that.

So who was the brave soul for this mission?  Local photographer, Marla Carter.  I know by now you've seen her work or heard of her.  It would be hard for me not to share just a few shots from this session.  I can't share them all because 1) I still have to surprise the grandparents and family and 2) it would giveaway our Christmas cards.

I can tell you that PIppi made it to the shoot. 

I can also tell you that I was beyond thrilled to finally get a mommy shot with my girls.  Something I've always wanted, but never had.  I hope that someday my little ladybugs will treasure this as much as I do now.

 

It's not easy shooting a family of six.  Especially when four offspring are running around like wild Indians in a wide open space.  But somehow Marla is game.  She's great at capturing the unexpected moments.  Like this shot of our youngest, who happens to be the ultimate Daddy's boy.  To me, this picture she took of him [technically in between shots] says so much about his connection with Daddy.  I love it.

The flip side to this is that she takes so many amazing photos that it's impossible to only choose a few.  Then you become addicted and want more even pictures the next time.  Sneaky.

My very favorite are the close-ups she took of our brood.  Click right here to see.  Thanks for the great work, Marla. 

[all photos by Marla Carter]

the dock

We have a new routine.  Every morning after we drop our three big kids at school, we take Pippi and our youngest to the dock.  We watch the jumping fish, listen to the heron, and soak up the morning sun.  

Together.

It's moments like this I wish I could freeze time.  Or bottle it and save it for later. 

Someday my little boy will be big.  Hard to believe. 

 

Pippi fits right in.

It's tough getting four little ones and a pup ready to run out the door by 7:40am.  It's not always pretty, but we do it.  Lunches packed, hair combed, hearts happy.  Couldn't survive our morning routine without my saint-of-a-husband. 

My secondary job is whipping up our lattes just as we frantically run out the door. 

Something about sipping a hot cup of coffee in this scene is completely relaxing.  Makes me forget about all of the morning chaos.  I couldn't think of a better way to start our day. 

 

P.S.  Many of you have asked about Pippi's breed.  She's an English Golden Doodle.  That means one parent is an English Golden Retriever and another is a Standard Poodle.  In Pippi's case, both parents are English Golden Doodles.  So she's double Doodle!  [technically the term is called an F2 Standard].  I'm grateful there's a breed out there that works so well with my husband's allergies.  She'll never shed.  What's funny is that we didn't even know the breed existed until a few months ago.  A huge thanks to our dear friends Michelle and Bill who told us about Doodles.  And also thanks to blog friend Meg of Whatever for all of her help.  Have you seen her amazing Golden Doodle?  His name is Waffle and he's beyond adorable.  You really must meet him [right here]. 

Long story short, I was determined to go the rescue route.  I scoured petfinder.  No Golden Doodles.  After researching all over the internet, I finally found this small Golden Doodle rescue group.  But we were told that they would deny us adoption since it was going to be our first family dog.  

That's quite alright, because Pippi is perfect.  Now that she's with us, I can't imagine our life without her. 

It was meant to be.

the walk

The girls and I went for a walk after school yesterday. 

Pippi loves her walks.  Actually, so does Pom Pom.  Maybe that's one thing they have in common. 

Look who followed us and thought he was disguised in the bushes.  Can you find the jealous kitty?  

We decided to take a little pit stop along the way and let Pom Pom know he's still top cat. 

Pom Pom loves the attention.  Even if it compresses his ears and wrinkles his hair.  He'll take what he can get.  After all, we've all been slobbering over our sweet new puppy. 

The bridge is a favorite for all of us.  So many fish to see!  Pom Pom takes this part very seriously.  He becomes hunter cat.  Pippi just wants to be held.  She was crying in this picture.

On the way back home, a certain furry person had to keep running past us to show off his speed.  He loves to do that.

I think our walk was good common ground for pup and cat.  In Pippi's defense, she just wants to play with Pom Pom.  In a dog way.  Nope, Pom Pom won't have it.  He spits and hisses at her.  Poor Pippi.  She has no idea that she's dethroned our little Lion King.  

.............................................................

After kids were all tucked in, I quietly eased Pippi onto our bed while Pom Pom snoozed.  When he woke up, he seemed fine with Pippi being there.   

 

And they lived happily ever after...hopefully.

good times

Last weekend we hit the beach.  We went to one of our favorite parts, where the waves meet up with  our neighborhood lake. 

You just park your car right on the beach and hang out.    

Here's our family rocket.  I call it the beast.  It's seven years old but really should be considered 49 years old [dog years] since it's worked really hard carting around a family of six.  We've pulled it through the ringer.  I'm sure you can imagine.

 

Little one hopped out, found his kickboard and got right to business.

We saw our neighbor/friend Tom and his girlfriend paddle by on their yolos.  Tom invented the yolo board, a great way to tour the sea or any other body of water, all while getting in shape.  You can read all about his yolos right here.

 

As you can see, this area on the beach is the perfect spot for kids to be kids, adults to play and/or chill, and dogs to learn how to swim.  Yes, my little brother, Jonathan, brought his adorable new Weimaraner pup, Milly.  Remember her?  She melts my heart.

At first, the only way Milly would consider setting foot in the water [solo] was for my brother to lie down in the shallow end.  Much to all of our amusement, she seemed to forget that she has webbed feet and is a water dog. 

So she tried using him as a floating device.

Everyone took their turn to get Milly in a little more...here is our oldest doing his part.

Then there was more coaxing.  Here are Jonathan and his girlfriend Shannon...they almost had Milly convinced.

After about half an hour, she finally got the hang of it.

Meanwhile, the kids were having all kinds of fun.  They scored free kick-board rides compliments of the strong dads and uncles.  Here's husband pulling number three.

And below is husband with my brother-in-law. 

Hmmm, watching them pull side-by-side gave me an idea.  How about a race?  More specifically, a "who can pull a kid the fastest" race.

They agreed and had lots of races, bets and rematches a few sprints.  I was laughing so hard that I had trouble taking a picture.  Look at the water spraying in my sweet girls' faces, it's obvious that all the guys cared about was winning.  Sidenote:  please pardon my brother-in-law's shirt.  We won't hold it against him that he's a Gator.

A few minutes later, somehow it turned into "who's the fastest, strongest man" race.  The kids were immediately ditched and the men lined up to compete.  From left to right you see my son, husband, brother and brother-in-law.

It was a close race.  But what's crazy is that my little brother won.  Crazy because I've never seen him race and didn't know he had this superpower.  I've always known him to be a computer wizz [he's a tv editor].  But a runner?  He took off like lightening.  He's also the youngest of four, so maybe he had to develop speed as a survival tool in our family.  He had to be fast to outrun older, bossier siblings.  Not that I was one of them.  Nope, not me.

It was a great weekend.  We had plenty of laughs.  And everyone had fun. 

Seeing my little brother spend time with our offspring is always priceless.  And it means the world to me [and all four of our tikes].  Thanks, J.R. 

Love,

Your Big Sis

first day of school

One of the fun parts of going back to school is the back-to-school shopping.  I love reading through the supply lists and taking the kids to the store to pick everything out.  It's always fun being a part of the energy in starting something new.  Then you bring home bags of pens, pencils, notebooks and fresh papers.  For some strange reason I find it calming to sit down and spread everything out on the table and organize it.  Love to organize.  I also love these all-star's our seven-year-old [sort of] picked out for her back-to-school sneakers.  I say "sort of" because when I saw them I ran to her like a kid in a candy store and said, "these are so cool, do you like them?!?!?  I know you must absolutely love them!!!"  Way to play it cool, mom.  I think I subconsciously went into an 80's flashback.  What I would have done to have these bad boys in the eighth grade.  So I tried my best to gently coax my highly fashionable daughter to agree on their coolness factor.  She did.  She doesn't always agree with me, but this time I got lucky, I suppose it was the pink dots that did it.  Her bag is from here.

After reporting on so much mom stuff over the summer, I tried to be a good blogger, spare you the mom-ish details on school and get right back to chatting about design.  But many of you inquired about the offspring and how they did on their first day.  Thank you for asking.  And thank you for caring.  It warms my heart.  I took pics to document for our family, but will gladly share.  Here goes. 

We all woke up much earlier than we were used to.  But somehow we managed to dress and feed everyone by 7:30am.  Miracle.  They each had a bowl of our favorite oatmeal with fresh sliced bananas, honey and cream.  Three out of four of the small people could deal with the early morning shift.  Matter of fact, those three were pretty darn happy.  I'll let you figure out which one wanted to crawl back into their warm bed.

 

 

Isn't that enough to break your heart?  She wasn't crying because of anxiety about going to school, she was crying because she was still tired.  That poor child cried for half an hour.  Which is a record for her, she hardly ever cries.  I held her, rocked her, everything I could think of to settle her down.  The only thing that worked was putting her breakfast on a tray, wrapping her in blankets and letting her eat on the chaise.  She calmed down just in time. 

We packed up and made our way to the car.

Oops, Pom Pom was confused.  He thought we were going on a road trip.  I told you he's obsessed with the car.  He saw us loading up so he hopped right in.  I guess he was thinking, "Sure, I'd love to come!"  So it took a few extra minutes to get him out of the car too.

 

We finally made it to school. 

Inside I was an emotional wreck about our little kindergarten-er.  Wasn't ready to say goodbye to her five days a week.  Here was our youngest little girl growing up right before our eyes.  Bows in her hair, lunchbox in her hand.  She wasn't a tot anymore.  But I felt it was best for her to not let her know I was about to lose it.  I told her how much fun she was going to have and that we would see her in a little while, not much longer after lunch.  When I walked her to her room, her little hand held on so tightly to my hand.  I have to say, it was hard to be the first one to let go. 

 

We then drove to church and dropped off our preschooler.  He was too busy for any pictures.  Matter fact, we tried to hug him goodbye and he said he was too busy for that too.  I'm pretty sure he pushed us away.  I hope that means he's a happy child. 

Finally, when I picked them up just a few hours later it was all smiles in the car.  Everyone was happy.  Even the new big girl. 

It's funny, Pom Pom always disappears when the offspring are gone.  He usually walks upstairs, howls a few times searching for them, then falls asleep in their beds or lounges on the porch.  But the second he heard their voices he showed up out of nowhere and jumped into their arms. 

He was glad to have his children back. 

 

And he wasn't the only one.

our last day of summer

Warning:  I'm about to totally mom-out in this post. 

I'm feeling very mushy.  About my kids.  I literally have a lump in my throat as I type this.  All four of the offspring start school tomorrow.  I know, I know, anyone close to me is used to me whining about how I need more time to myself and how it's challenging managing all four around the clock...but 'm going to miss them when they go to school.  These rascals have a serious spell on my heart. 

It's beginning to dawn on me they're growing up.

Way. Too. Fast.

So in case you're so bored that you'll gladly sit through this post wondering how we spent the last day of our summer, I'll share.  It's not that eventful, but it's a snippet of our life.  We felt like experiencing a few simple things and having quality time with them was best for our last hooray before summer's end. 

This morning before church, we started our day with a "daddy special" breakfast, the kids' favorite.  It's not at all styled or fancy, but we had happy souls and yummy food.  All that matters.  Besides, I'm a paper plate advocate when trying to get six people out the door on time.

While we ate, Pom Pom managed to locate a spare carseat sitting around.  He's obsessed with carseats and riding in the car.  Not your average cat.  I love how he crosses his legs.

Look at my sweet helper clearing the table.  She's a handful, but can clean like nobody's business.

Later we divided up and Peter took the boys kayaking for the day.  Ahhhhh, a quite house.  The girls love having run of the house when they leave.  So we stayed home and they played while I made vegetable soup for dinner.  Ok, so this is one of the parts I am going to miss about the summer:  watching them dress up in my old heels, boss each other around and play house.  Do you remember playing dress up?  I sure do.  These two play like this for hours. 

 

I snuck a picture of them in our trashed living room nearby doing their thing.  I always have to sneak because the youngest says she gets embarrassed if anyone besides her sister sees her play.  So I have to act like I don't see or hear her...even though she's usually three feet away.  Funny.  As I walked away I had to giggle at their dialog.

Oldest:  "let's pretend that we...."

Youngest:  "would you quit saying 'pretend' so much, it's giving me a headache!!!"

Oldest:  "ok, well then let's pretend we don't pretend."

Youngest:  "uggggghhhhhh, there you go again, driving me crazy!!!!"

.................................................

In other news, we finally had to bite the bullet and replace our canon rebel [ouch] since it was never turned in to the lost and found at Delta.  So I've been having fun using a camera again.  Can you tell? I mean, here I am taking pictures of their adorable lunchboxes I'll be packing early in the morning.  [found them at t.j. maxx for $6.99 each]

 

Fortunately, we still had some old lenses from the other camera.  Someday I hope to get a really good lens.  After I take photography lessons.

So, it's off to school with our crew.  The youngest is still in preschool, but I'll have all four out of the house until 2:30 every day.  First time I've had that in ten years.  Ten years.  That's a long time.  And  ew, that makes me sound really old.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to let go of our new kindergarten-er in the morning, I'm pretty sure husband will have to pry my grip off of her.  Truth be known, husband will probably shed a tear with me.  She seems too little to be going to school.  I want to stash her away and keep her all to myself, but I know that's very selfish and she deserves to spread her wings and start to grow up.  It's not easy letting go.  Never thought I'd say that.  At one point I was a career-focused girl who didn't think she'd have kids.  Now look at me.  If you've managed to make it this far into my non-design post, I have to say thanks.  

I'll bring a tissue tomorrow.  Hidden under my JCrack tee.

where do i start?

We are finishing the last leg of a l-o-n-g trip we took with all six of us.  12 out of the 14 days I was offline.  Much has happened.  Some hilarious, some a little crazy, some completely insane.  But all fun.  Welcome to life on the road with this crew. 

Fair Warning:  I'd like to share some of the good parts of our recent adventures.  Many of you will be bored to tears.  Some will be entertained.  But I give you my honor that I'll be back to design chat very soon. 

Looking at all of the pics from our trip, I noticed there was an animal theme.  For some reason this family always ends up with all kinds of animal experiences.  I guess that means we love animals.  Genius conclusion, I know.  I'm realizing that I can never get enough of being around all kinds of little creatures...thank goodness the offspring feel the same way.  Fortunately husband goes along with it [bless his soul].  Maybe we'll have a small farm someday.

So let's kick off the adventure by showing you a gift Pom Pom brought us [in our Georgia house] early this afternoon as we were packing up.  Not just any packing up, but trying to load a trailer, two SUV's, four kids and a cat. 

Here's what happened...

I'm walking past our dining room and hear a strange cry.  Sounds like a baby bird.  I hear it again.  I look on the front porch and see Pom Pom carrying a tiny animal in his mouth.  As I run toward the door to rescue the little soul [hoping to God it's not a mouse], Pom Pom puts it down.  Right next to another one just like it!  It took three seconds for me to say, "baby bunnies" and children were flocking from out of nowhere to the porch. 

I know, they look like little chipmunks, but really they're little Peter Cottontails.

Fortunately we have a fancy farmer friend [she's right here] who raises rabbits and all kinds of farm critters.  After we spent two unsuccessful hours trying to find these babies' bunny nest, I called her and she gave me instructions on how to care for them until we can turn them into a wildlife animal rescue. 

Pom Pom was so proud of bringing us these bunnies I swear he was beaming.  He's been strutting around acting like Lion King all day.

Here's the really weird part.  All last week, the girls begged us for two pet baby bunnies.  We said, "oh no, not now."  Yet just before we pack up and leave, Pom Pom shows up with two baby bunnies [not injured] on our front porch.  He's never caught a rabbit before.  Do you think maybe he listened to his girls wishes?  Makes you wonder.

Wish me luck as we travel back home with four offspring, one cat...and now two baby bunnies.

Never a dull moment.

the good news about rain...

Is a candlelight breakfast with giggling offspring on Saturday morning, indoor picnics and outside puddle parties.

 

I'm always amazed at how children find fun in everything.  Even the rain. 

The girls love to play horses and barbies.  Pretty much anywhere.

Of course the sun came back.  It always does.  And with it came plenty more outdoor things to do.  Like feeding turtles, going for long walks, grilling with friends, swimming, soaking up the sun...

And skipping.

I hope you also found simple goodness in your holiday weekend.

fab birthday boy

It's a fab friday over here.  Why?  Because my husband Peter's birthday is tomorrow.  I really don't know how to describe him other than he's the most generous, witty, kind, loving, patient and fun person you could ask to spend the rest of your life with.  How fab is that?
 


He's the kind of guy who's never stops giving of himself.  Always looks out for his fam and wants to teach the offspring how to become the best they can be. 
 


Even if it means dressing up like a Power Ranger to make his little one feel proud to be Superman on Halloween.



Or riding a horse on what's supposed to be a chilled-out beach vacay, just to satisfy his wife's passion for riding and going full speed on a horse in the water. [Don't worry, he got in a few of his beloved scuba trips too]

He's been subjected to my love of horses too many times to count on several occasions.  But always smiles and goes along with it.

 

Good thing he has quick reflexes.



The offspring flock to him, as they would any selfless and benevolent person....and he can usually be found holding at least two at a time.











Yep, he even found a way to hold the big one.



Our furry offspring has his own play dates with him, after everyone is tucked in bed. 

 



He's always there for us.  Even when we get in deep water.  [that's one of his best qualities]



He love his girls.  Has never once complained about all that they demand of him.  And believe me, sometimes they can be demanding little divas.

He's dedicated to his crew, and doesn't mind working from home in certain situations to stay close to the fam...even if it means borrowing a rocking horse for a temporary desk chair.



He's fun to love.



Most of all, he makes this crazy diva happy.  And I can't help but cherish, honor and adore him for all of my days.

Happy birthday, soulmate!!!