Need a little Spring in your step?

I sure do!!

If I can't get gorgeous blooming flowers in my yard yet, I will do the next best thing and put them on my kid!

I always get excited when I find a new designer who fits the style I like to see on Bren and this one is no exception. Sometimes the simple can be profound and I've found that to be true with Michele of Dilly Bop Designs . Her choice of fabrics is so fun and fresh and her designs are made for real kids to wear everyday! And as if her fabulous designs were not enough, you have to see her whimsical packaging! It will make you smile!

Check out this cute set!!

These are the sets you will be reaching for everyday whether you are lounging around the house or going out to lunch with the girls. You just can't beat wearable clothes with head turning style!

Check out her etsy store and tell her that Bren sent ya! Oh, and to stretch your wardrobe even farther, do what we did and get a three piece coordinating set: t-shirt, pants and skirt!

You will be glad you did... Bren sure is!

And if you are looking for something a little more dressy for Easter or Spring events, you have to see this four piece set from my friend Lisa of Little*bits*by*lisa!! Lisa will be listing it on e-bay on February 28th.

This shabby rosette top is my new favorite design!! I love how it is fitted nicely around the chest and then flows down around the hips. It looks so comfy!



And this top....WOW!!!! It's just perfect for Easter egg hunting or any Spring event. I love the slight flare to the skirt of the top. It adds just enough sass to this very sweet set!


The fabulous bows for these sets were made by lil*miss*priss*bowtique and the adorable coordinating bracelet was made by my*pink*princess*jeweltique

Visit the sites of all of these designers to see how you can get these sets and accessories made in your size of choice....and don't forget to tell them Bren sent ya!!

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It's been great getting back into the studio! Bren picked up right where she left off after a long three week break from modeling. We are still available to model designs until April 1st, so contact us if you are interested in our services.

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Physical Therapy Update:

I had my first official physical therapy session yesterday. It went really well!

I rode a bike for 10 minutes, learned some stretches, practiced walking with one crutch, got a killer massage and enjoyed 15 minutes in an ice boot.

My trainer was really nice and much gentler than I had anticipated.

There was a marine there who had the same scar I did. We compared stories and I learned that he had done the same thing to his ankle five months ago while playing football. In therapy, he was jumping around and doing all kinds of things with his ankle, so I'm encouraged that five months from now, I'll be in a far better place.

I'm scheduled for three days a week and I'm really looking forward to going again.

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Yippeeeee! It's Idol Tuesday!!!!!

C'mon Jason!!!

I'll see you back here later for idol reaction.

Done with "B" week!!

We are plugging right along with Bren's new, more structured life.....which really means that MY own life has to be more structured.....and being a spontaneous and dripping with fun sanguine....I ain't liking it...not one bit!

Making the chart part was fun! I bet those of you who know me well thought I'd trashed the chart by now, huh? Well, we are still hanging in there!

We've struggled on a few days and things haven't always gone as planned, but we are finished with "A" week and "B" week and today begins "C" week!!

This past week Bren learned to write Bee, Bug, Blue, Bren and Ball! I usually write out about 15-20 words that begin with our letter of the week and then let her choose the word she wants to learn on that day. Making the choice allows Bren to think she has control, and this girl is all about control....but unfortunately so is her Mom!

She works hard on her word of the day and writes it over and over until it looks just like mine. Then she turns her paper over and writes it from memory....and then she does a happy dance!

And then she poses for a picture with her word of the day that she has written all by herself!

Sometimes two pictures!

And then she hangs it on her word of the day tree. My intention was for this to just be a nice apple tree, but so far almost every word of the day has made it on to this tree in some form or another.

Bren's chart is getting full of stickers! It's even fuller now as this photo was taken last week. If she keeps this up she'll win the grand prize in a few weeks..... a movie date! She and I will go see that karate panda movie if all goes well.

Bren's Bible verse this week is Psalms 119:105.

For the first two days, this is how she said it....

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light for my pants!"

Well, you just never know when you might need your pants lit up!

Uncle Ray-Rays got one tooth chili!

We are the proud winners of this year's annual chili cook off at Faith Baptist Church!!

David created a masterpiece and gave it a name appropriate for his homeland.....and he won by a landslide! There were about 35 entries and taking home first place meant we got a gift certificate for Texas Roadhouse!

Yeee-hawwww! I see some prime rib in our future!

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This is a kind of hodge podge post with a little of this and that.

I wanted to give a shout out to boutique cafe. They held a photo contest a while ago and I was one of the winners. I won with this photo......

and I won this great digital photo frame from Phillips.

Love it!!!

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Bye-Bye dork boot!!!

So at my first physical therapy appointment, I was told that the boot has got to go! I was given instructions to get my foot in a tennis shoe over the weekend.

Task complete!

I managed to get my big ole swollen foot into my own tennis shoe and I can even stand on it and sorta limp walk with the assistance of just one crutch! I've still got a long road ahead of me, but this is MAJOR progress for me!

I've also got a long list of excercises to do to try to work out the stiffness in my ankle and improve my range of motion.

So long dork boot! I can't say I'll miss ya!

All Dolled Up!!

The eye shadow and lipstick were flying in Bren's room today! It's a lazy Saturday for us with no plans for venturing outside the house into the snow covered world.

I heard giggles coming from Bren's room and I had to grab my camera! Madison and Bren were fully emersed in makeover-ville and I wasn't about to miss the opportunity to immortalize the moment!
It wont be long until Madison is a teenager and a new set of priorities will demand her time. The allure of little girlhood will soon be replaced by the first hints of womanhood. The batting of Bren's eyes as she requests a bit of Madison's time to play will no longer have as strong of a hold over Madison as more grown up ventures will.

It will be a sad day when the seven years that separate them start to take their effect, but today I have them like this. Today they are just two little girls playing make over on a flowery bed. Today Bren has her big sister's undivided attention. Today no boys are calling the house to take Bren's best friend away. Today there is no one else in the world but the two of them.

Oh how I wish I could keep it this way! But I hear the clock ticking, even through my fingers which are pushed tightly against my ears...it's ticking louder every day. Madison can't sit at Bren's tea party table forever though. A change is on the horizon.

But change doesn't have to be bad. What a lucky girl Bren is to have Madison walk the road of life before her! As Madison grows, I hope she will continue to be a good example for Bren. Bren's impressionable eyes are watching her big sister very closely. Madison is a very smart, level headed, compassionate girl and I'd be proud if Bren followed in her footsteps!

Thank you, Madison, for being such an adoring big sister to Bren. As you stand in the doorway between the little girl world and the teenage world, thank you for still embracing the imaginary, for still welcoming fairies and make-believe and for still lighting up Bren's world with your charm, with your time and with your love.

You are the best, sweetie!

If These Walls Could Talk.....

I'm sure they'd have quite a story to tell!

Built in 1897 on the site of a battlefield, this house has seen it's share of memories. It was one of the first built here on the hill in this New England town overlooking Sakonnet Bay on one side and Narragansett Bay on the other. It's unique features are many.

These tiles adorne the walls of one of the upstairs bathrooms. While the dark color is not my taste, these have grown on me for their unique sunflower design and I've actually come to like them.

This is the tile on our master bathroom floor. I really do like this color. We've paired it with red accents and it makes the bathroom look fresh and bright.

This is the front staircase. I love the wood railing! It reminds me of the staircase in the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" where the wooden piece kept coming off. It's quite charming!

This house has some unique light fixtures too, all from different eras.

This light fixture is in our foyer. One of the things I love about this house is the original dark wood ceiling in the foyer, living room and dining room.


A variety of vintage door pulls and knobs speak to the age and charm of this house.

I could not wait to live in a sprawling, old new england home! I love the unique qualities of it and the history it holds. With close to 6,000 total square feet, this house has been fun to explore. We haven't put in the effort to make it our own though because we knew we'd only be here for 11 months. Given the chance, I could really make this house shine and each room would have a distinct, inviting personality, but for practical reasons, I've had to supress that creative energy and save it for a home that we will occupy for a greater length of time.

I must say though, that while this has been a dream experience for me, I have learned that old homes are ALOT of work!! They are super expensive to heat and take quite a bit of energy to keep up. I do love it's charm though, so maybe in the future, we'll build or buy a newer home that is designed with vintage charm.

The best of both worlds!

More Winter Magic!!!

Everytime it snows, the excitement that flows through our house is contagious! Bren's eyes fill with wonder and then she whispers "It's snowing!" as if speaking it out loud would break the spell.

Bren loves the snow!!!! We all enjoy it, but Bren and Michael live for it! These two are hard to contain when snow is on the ground! They both want to rush out immediately to play in it and they'd both stay out way past their noses turning blue if it were up to them!


The boys had so much fun snow ball fighting! I think each of them had a face full of snow at some point. I was nice and warm and content to sit in the van and snap photos all afternoon, but man, what I would have given to have been able to get out there with them and defend my own imaginary castle with flying snowballs!

This is my favorite shot of the day. Something about it just makes me smile! I don't know if it's the oversized black gloves with the rhinestone hearts that she insist on wearing, the orange sled that she cried over and refused to use for the first half hour of the day because it wasn't purple or the fact that this is my last baby and she's just such a bundle of quirky, daring, exhuberance....

whatever it is, I love it!

Quick Update!

I hate picture-less posts, but I thought I'd better hop on here and give you some Idol reaction before it got away from me!

I was not really all that impressed with the girls on Wednesday night. There were a few that I hope go far, but I'm still with Jason Castro for the win!!

My son, Zach is pretty smitten with Kristie Lynn Cook, so I'm hoping she sticks around awhile too. Other girls I liked were Alaina and Kady.

I was in total agreement with those that were cut tonight too.

Now about Lost....WOW!!!! It just gets weirder and wilder and more intriguing by the week, doesn't it? You gotta love gold ole Jack coming through for Kate in court. Did you catch that sweet smile he shot her on his way in? Charming as ever! Any guesses on Ben's net worth or how he got all that money in the first place? Where the heck is that helicopter? And how do you think Kate acquired Aaron?

Here's my quick update on me....

I'm now weight bearing! yipppeeee! I'm weaning myself off of crutches and start physical therapy in the morning. I'm a little freaked out about it because the doctor refilled my vicodan specifically so I could cope better with whatever they are going to do to me in that room with all the elastic bands, weights and big rubber balls!

I'm sure I won't sleep much tonight worrying about the pain that is sure to come! Wish me luck as I try to get the mobility back in this stiff, swollen ankle of mine!

I really appreciate all of your prayers, encouragement and support so far!

Coming up soon is a post about this old New England house. I walked (hopped) around with my camera today and took some shots of some of it's more unique and interesting elements, so come back soon to see what they are.

Lights, Camera, Action!!!!

Today was family movie day!!!

The kids are on winter break this week from school so we wanted to take advantage of their time off and do some fun things with them.

So, we took the gang to see Spiderwick Chronicles. It was a decent movie, not completely memorable, but not a total dud either. I thought the lead character looked so much like Hailey Joel Osmond that I was sure he was a younger sibling, but the credits proved he was no relation. Good little actor though. He played twins in this movie and did a great job!


Bren has been doing awesome on her sticker chart so we let her get a treat at the movies. After much deliberation, she ended up with a kid combo pack complete with popcorn, sprite and a pack of skittles.




Michael was mortified that I had brought my camera in with me, but he managed a cheesy smile for me anyway. I'm sure that other people at the theater thought I was crazy for snapping photos too. It probably looked to them like we never get out of the house and a trip to the movies was a major event to document, but that's OK.
I'll suffer the embarrassment and endure the eye rolling of my kids to document the little things. After all, one little thing rolled into another little thing makes a life, right? And life is a major event too precious to miss!


On a side note, whatever happened to plain old cola flavored icee drinks? It seems like all I'm seeing lately is blueberry papaya blizzard swirly or banana kiwi watermelon splash! Bring back the plain old, non-neon cola for us grown ups, please... my poor taste buds cannot take iced exotic fruit blends with psychadelic color variations anymore!



And since it's Tuesday, I've got to give an idol update!!!!
I really enjoyed tonight's show and I have to say that four guys have emerged as my favorites so far!

I'd take that Jason Castro cutie all the way! He's awesome...very cool vibe and a kind of Jack Johnson sound....LOVE him!!!

Second for me is Michael from down under. He seems completely comfortable, confident and his voice is amazing. He reminds me a bit of a younger cleaned up Steven Tyler in his look and Michael Hutchins in his sound.

Third for me is David Cook....he reminds me a bit of the lead singer of dot.dot.dot from America's next great band. He also has an edgy vibe to him.

Forth is Robbie the rocker...at least I hope he's a rocker. His pop background could come peeking through in the coming weeks, but for now, we'll still call him a rocker.


I'm undecided about the two older guys...the 29 year old carpet cleaner and the 28 year old dad with the cute little son. Since neither of these guys had any camera time during the audition or Hollywood stages, I have no idea of what they can do.
Neither sounded horrible, but I don't know where their performances tonight rate on the scale of what they are capable of.


I can't wait to hear the girls tomorrow night!!



PS: I still miss Josiah! C'mon, Simon, that boy is totally memorable unlike a few guys from tonight's show! I guess he's my Sundance this year. We'll never know what he could have brought to this season, but I'm sure it would have been totally unique. I hope we see him next year!