I might need these.

Generally, come fall/winter I purchase a cheap pair of knit gloves and cut the fingers off to wear at work so that I can have warm hands and keep typing.

(Yes, I do tend to look a little hobo-ish.)

So maybe this year I'll splurge (I'm not kidding when I say cheap gloves. think $1.) and purchase these lovely things.

image via elde

Such a cheery, warm color. They might just be perfect for me.
If you like them too, or want to see her other offerings, you can find them on etsy in this shop full of beautiful hand knitted goodness.

Now I'm off to the beginning of a fun, crazy & very full weekend! Fall festival at the girls' school!!

xoxo Lori Danelle

Things Big Sister says:

Big seems to have gotten a little confused.

Recently she started singing Kumbaya.
Only her verses included:

"Someone's crying at my Lord, Kumbaya. . ."

And my favorite:

"Someone's laughing at my Lord, Kumbaya . . ."

Perhaps we need to enunciate more when we sing?
(not that this is a regular song at our house. . . .more of a stressed out joke.)

xoxo Lori Danelle

*** Big started singing again this evening and it looks like I forgot a really good one:

"Someone's being mean to my Lord, Kumbaya. . ."

I may do a lot of things well, but. . .

I think I'm a fairly talented & smart individual.
There's little that I face with absolutely no confidence of finding a way to make it happen. (Yes, it rarely is a straight-shot, but I generally muddle through & find a way to make it work)

And the blog-world, of course fosters that illusion of perfection in a person. (Although I doubt many of you are thinking that of me!) When was the last time you took a picture of your messy kitchen and posted it on the internet for all the world to see? The DIY project that completely bombed?

So, I'll share this with you:

I have good intentions, honest. I even fully agree with the importance of a budget and all that stuff. 

But I cannot seem to get those stupid things entered into my husband's handy-dandy, very official, budget tracking system. 

I think I like to pretend that if the receipt disappears, then it's like we never spent the money. . .

I'm confident that my husband would love hearing that I said that. 

Actually, he probably already suspects me of it.

xoxo Lori Danelle

Let the Fall Festivites Begin!

I don't know when it happened. . .
Strike that.
I know exactly when it happened.
When I became a Mom with kids old enough to know what was going on around them (ie, 1 year old).

I don't know about you, but October has become an insanely crazy month in my life!
Busier than December!!
I didn't think that was possible.

We are so busy with Fall/Halloween parties and events that we've already opted to not go to 4 very fun events. (Don't tell the girls. They're still just young enough not to know!)

This weekend was the first of it though. One of Big's friends from school had a party at her house complete with a bounce house, so how could we possibly say no??

Big did her 5 minutes of mandatory shyness & then jumped right in with complete gusto. And then Little, of course, did what ever her big sister did.

The bounce house had a big slide in it which took Little a bit to master. The other older kids were funny. There tended to be a traffic jam behind her as one of them tried to coach her up with the others did their best to get around them both.  But they traded roles so it was never just one of them being impatient.  :)

This next week & weekend are full to the brim with festivities!
Hope you're having as much fun as we are!!

xoxo Lori Danelle

I said I couldn't do it.

I realize that if you read the post I did over at Ashley Ann's you'll find this a little shocking.

Big's hair is down to her waistline. I LOVE her long hair. If I'm honest, I'm proud of her long hair. How many 3 1/2 year old's have never had a real haircut? Besides that, it kind of feels like if we've waited this long, what makes this the time to cut it?
Plus, and this is a big one for me, If we cut it, it will take off all her really light, baby blond hair.
That makes me sad.
Especially because I'm not one to keep a wad of dead hair around. ( I think it's kind of gross. . .sorry.)
So once it's gone, it's gone.




But I guess I finally faced reality, acknowledged that the daily crusade I undertake just to get Big's hair brushed & if I'm not too worn out by that point, in pigtails, was probably just a tad ridiculous and unnecessary.

OK, it was a lot ridiculous.

Picture this:
I come into the room holding a brush & bottle of detangler.
Big starts crying and running.
I chase after her, finally pinning her in a corner in various parts of the house.
I then drag her, kicking & screaming to the couch where I literally wrap my legs around her waist and proceed to brush out her hair, while she continues to cry & make every attempt to wiggle free.

So, needless to say, I think you see where this is going.



We cut Big's hair.

All of it.



And, I think she likes it.



Well, I think she loves it.
And actually, so do I.
A lot.  :)

xoxo Lori Danelle

BlissDom 2011

Have you heard of BlissDom?
Have you attended?
Are you attending?

BlissDom is a blogging conference held in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel — which, by the way, has been closed since the historic May 2010 flooding we had and is scheduled to reopen November 15th. 

I purchased my tickets this week & I'm just a little bit excited!
I learned about the conference last year when Lisa Leonard did a blog post about the conference while at the conference.

Funny thing: She was writing less than a mile away from where I was reading the post.

So, since I literally drive past the Opryland Hotel where it is being held, it sort of made sense that I attend this year. Well, that and I have a blog and would like to meet other bloggers — and hopefully people I "know" but have never met in person.

Which makes me curious. . .Will you be there??

xoxo Lori Danelle

My new favorite sweater

source anthropologie

Picked up this sweater from Anthropologie this weekend. . .and it was on SALE!!!!

It is definitely in danger of becoming my most over-worn item of clothing this Fall & Winter.  :)

You can still get it online, but I think the yellow version is the only one with most of the size options.
I do love the yellow. . .can I get two of the same sweater?

xoxo Lori Danelle