Our {Big} News

It's true!!

Babies #2 AND #3 will be joining us this January!

Most certainly, this was the biggest surprise of our lives. Some days I don't even feel like I'm talking about myself when I'm answering questions about twins.... but then I see both their little bodies on the ultrasound screen, and I'm brought back down to reality... these two little babies are most definitely ours.

Yes, these two little babes are part of the reason why I've been on a bloggy break. Two babies means double the hormones, and this all-day sickness has been kicking my tooshie the last few months. Thankfully, I'm starting to feel like my old self, and am more than ready to join the land of the living. 

I know you have at least 5 questions in your head right now, so here are some answers ...
(these happen to be the top 10 I get on any given day)

1. My great-great-great-grandmother was a twin, but that is the only instance we are aware of.

2.  They're fraternal.

3. We don't know their sexes yet, but we will be finding out. Twins was enough surprise for one pregnancy!

4. Of course I was surprised. WHO expects to hear "there's TWO!" at your very first ultrasound?!

5. No, I was not on fertility drugs.

6. No, we were not trying for twins. How does one to that, anyway?

7. Our moving-schedule has moved up a bit, but we will not be moving before they're born.

8. A minivan has come up in conversation. I usually walk away singing "la-la-la".

9. Little A is excited, and understands there are 2 babies. Sometimes he pretends to rock them, or put them down for a nap, and on occasion he also pretends to eat them. We'll deal with that when the time comes.

10. Yes, I'm terrified, and yes, I'm also thrilled. With a lot of prayer and help and rest and patience, we will get through the next 26 weeks and prepare to welcome these two little loves into our lives.


Let the craziness begin!

Bella Carta Giveaway Winner

Way back in June (before my very long bloggy break), I announced a little giveaway for 50 Holiday Cards...

... and here I am, almost 2 months later, finally announcing the winner!!

Vanessa, from Sunflower State of Mind!

and just because her little girl is so stinkin' cute, here's one of the pictures she submitted. This one has already made it onto one of our new holiday templates, which I'll be sharing soon!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday, friends!

Linking up with Darci and friends for another 5 on Friday! Here are 5 things I'm loving on this first Friday of August.

{ONE}

H&M is now online! While I realize I'm lucky to have an H&M just a few blocks from my office, it sometimes requires too much patience and energy to deal with the crowds at lunch time. $4.95 shipping to have it delivered to my door? Yes, please!

Oh, and have you seen their home collection? Adorbs. Here are some of my favorites!

{TWO}

Gap's fall items are out, and oh-so-cute. These things might find their way into A's closet very very soon.

{THREE}

The Bee Movie. Have you guys ever seen this?! New favorite movie, I swear. Watching videos with A is one of my favorite things to do - 45 minutes where he sits still, laughs along with the jokes, and actually wants to snuggle with me? Love, love love.

{FOUR}

A new partnership with the very talented, Laura Dro! Bella Carta Boutique now offers an exclusive Little Blue Truck birthday invitation, with a gorgeous hand-drawn illustration by Laura! This has been in the works for a while now, and I'm thrilled that it is finally available on Etsy. More fun items coming soon!

{FIVE}

This lady: my momma. It's her birthday this weekend. She's 45 (or so she says!). I can't wait to celebrate with her on Sunday. She's my BFF, and the very best GG that A could ever ask for. We love you to pieces, momma!

A Little Catch-Up & Family Pictures

We're home from our extended family vacation, and I can honestly say it was wonderful. The first 5 days were just me, C and A, and it was so nice to spend some quiet time alone. The next week we met up with C's family in a different part of Maine (where Craig vacationed as a child), and we had such a fun week. A loved being with his little cousin (whom he calls BB) and loved being spoiled by his grandparents & aunt and uncle. We even managed to sneak away for an adults-only dinner! ;)

I still have to download all of our pictures (a task I don't yet have the energy for) so that I can share them here. In case you were wondering, no... we didn't get that "perfect" family picture I was hoping for. I did, however, get some great pictures of A, and I'm so excited to share them. You can feel his joy in all of them: he was running and jumping and screaming on the beach, in all of his toddler-boy-glory. He had SO.MUCH.FUN, and I've poured through the pictures at least 3 times the last few days, just to see that smile on his face.

We were greeted at home with a package from our photographer, and the pictures he took back in June of our little family. LOVE them all. Seriously. He captured A's personality perfectly, something I feel is always missing from my pictures with him. Oh yeah, and there's some of Otto, too!

Here are some of our favorites!

Hope you all are having a great week!

Pinterest Dream Homes: Guest Post from Emily

Thursday already?! Hope you all are having a great week! 

Today's Pinterest Dream Home is from Emily at Dear Owen. Emily is probably my first blog-turned-real-life-friend, that I've never really met. She's as sincere and authentic as they come, and we've spent many emails and g-chats bonding over our boys that don't sleep and the wonders of motherhood. If you don't already read her blog, you should. Her little boy Owen is the cutest little one year old in town, and pictures of him are sure to put a smile on your face.

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Hi sweet Earning Our Stripes readers!!!! I'm Emily from Dear Owen, and I am thrilled to be here today at Earning Our Stripes. I think you all know (but just in case you don't) how sweet, and genuine Jillian is. Her blog is a daily read of mine and I really, really hope to get to "meet" her in real-life one day soon. Y'all she's one of a kind-really she is, and her projects always have my wheels turning and ready to attempt to tackle my never ending "to-do" list.  

 Jillian- I hope you are having a great family getaway in the beautiful northeast while us southerns are melting away!! 

 Anyways, thanks again Jillian for letting me share my dream home.

This was waaay too much fun to put together.  

My dream home would be a beautifully renovated and restored old country farmhouse on plenty of acreage, filled with gorgeous old oak trees. 

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one end of the large spacious  porch would have an awesome porch swing with lots of beautiful pillows. I heart pillows, the hubby not so much but in my "dream world" he would of course love them! This would be the perfect place for sipping iced tea and relaxing 

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and at the other end there would be two perfectly white rocking chairs surrounded by gorgeous plants. (that I couldn't kill!) 

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upon entering this little dream home you would find 

A cozy entry way that would be perfect to welcome lots, and lots of family and friends. 

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 there would also  be plenty of room for an old antique church pew and tons of family pictures 

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the entry way would open right up to the living room 

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dining room with a large table to seat many guests and hold a ton of great food. 

There would be an amazing laundry room with gorgeous cabinets- plenty of folding space and baskets galore. These stone floors would also be a necessity and they must be laid in a herringbone pattern just like these. 

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a mudroom filled with gorgeous antique furniture and double lanterns would come right off the screened in front porch on the side of the house. 

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 Screened in side porch

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a soft, white open kitchen with one end  opening to a seating area/keeping room

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and the other end with a little cozy table and bench that opens up to 

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this amazing porch 

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and the back yard with ample green space,  lots of trees, and of course, a pool. 

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oh, and a little old barn perfect for parties, complete with a barn swing

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upstairs at one end of the long hallway would be a cozy reading nook with plenty of book storage and a comfy place to lounge with a really great red light fixture. This seems like a perfect place for a red light fixture, right?

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The master bedroom would have to have an amazing view of the acreage, a cozy fireplace, a wonderfully old chandelier and luxurious bedding.

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the master bedroom would need an on suite, similar to this

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Owen's room 

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and an amazing playroom 

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But most importantly, this dream home of mine would be filled to the brim with love, laughter, celebrations, memories, and people. That's what makes a dream home a home, right? A place where everyone feels welcomed, and loved, and not a single person leaves a stranger but instead, a new friend.

 This would be my dream home.



Thanks again for letting me share.
Happy Day, Friends! Feel free to visit me at Dear Owen!!

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This is why we are friends... Emily, I'm moving in :)

Gorgeous! Love it all!

Hope you all enjoyed this little series! I'll be back next week with my very own Pinterest dream home...

... But in the meantime I'll be enjoying our last few days of sunshine and trying to get that perfect-beach-family-picture. Am I the only one that has to have at least one family picture that I love from vacation? Here's to trying!

 

Pinterest Dream Homes: Guest Post from Colleen

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Back today with another Pinterest Dream Home post, this time with Colleen from Meet the Sullivans!

Colleen is so incredibly sweet and genuine, and mom to the cutest little guy, Owen. I only started reading her blog a few months ago, but it has quickly become one of my favorites! I love her candidness and peek into her real life, and her posts about San Fran make me a little jealous we don't live on the west coast!

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Hello! I'm Colleen Sullivan, author of Meet the Sullivans! I am thrilled to be here today sharing my dream home with you and so thankful to the lovely Jillian for allowing me to be here on her fabulous blog while she is on vacation!

I am wife to Keith and mom to 18-month-old Owen. In a former life I was a kindergarten teacher, but for now I'm a stay-at-home mom (and loving it). We are not home owners, not yet. I know it will probably take us a few years longer to get to the point where we can buy a home (we made that choice when we decided I'd be staying home with Owen), and in our area (Northern California, just outside San Francisco) our first home will likely not be the home of our dreams -- not yet, at least! But a girl can dream... RIGHT?!

Our dream home is a family friendly space that welcomes playing and laughter, space to cook great meals and comfy couches for watching movies together. I would like the living space to be large enough for the parties we love to host, while also feeling cozy enough for daily living.  I love using Pinterest to collect all of my "dream home" inspirations. You can follow my Dream Home board here.


If I were to build one home out of what I have there, this is what it would look like:

Ever since I watched Father of the Bride as a little girl I have dreamed of raising my own family in a White Colonial home! I love the traditionally American bright white exterior and a creamy white entryway with dark accents on the staircase and flooring

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An open, bright family room with built-ins for family photos, cookbook storage, keepsakes in shelving. Room for flat screen to be mounted, ideally with a sliding door to hide it when necessary. White on white kitchen with window seating around kitchen table.

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I would love a little home office space right in the middle of all the action. It would be great to have a space (that is not the kitchen counter or table) for paying bills, keeping calendars, blogging, etc that is designated for all of that and from which I can work, but also have an eye on Owen or dinner simmering on the stove.

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I would die to have a laundry room, period. Especially one as beautiful as this! I love the colors and that there is a door that leads outside. That way when we have lots of fun getting all messy in the yard we can throw Owen's clothes directly into the wash!

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A master bedroom with a fireplace, a window seat reading nook and a seating area is perfection to me. I'd love to be able to just curl up in bed with the fire going and a good book -- if I ever had the time!

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A master bathroom like this would just be a dream! I can't even tell you how much everything would be if we had double sinks. I don't totally love the marble on the floor, but the rest is perfect--especially the sunk-in tub and shelving.

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Owen would be in heaven in a playroom like this! Check out the fort / tree house, rock climbing wall, cozy chairs, window seat reading nook and slide!

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Love this dream home! That kitchen is just gorgeous, and so is that family room! Thank you so much for sharing Colleen! And if you don't already read Colleen's blog, make sure to head over and check it out!

Be back tomorrow with one more lovely lady!