Enter to Win!!

Check out PoshLittle.com for a chance to win a free {completly custom} design and 60 free printed cards from Sugar Tree Studio!  Just visit the shop and pick a favorite, then leave a comment on PoshLittle's website about which one(s) you love!  Your comment enters you to win the giveaway and helps me get some feedback on my new Holiday designs!

The winner will be chosen on 12/3 and will have their choice of any design in the shop!

In The Shop

I posted this on Facebook and thought I would make sure that any of my non-facebooking readers got the same deal.

Now through Thanksgiving any orders in my shop will receive a 25% discount.  That's 25% off the total order which means that print services are included too!  So a completly custom photo card {digital file only}, is only going to cost you $12! 

Check out the shop and convo me, email me, leave a comment on this post or call me if you are interested.

Oh, and check out http://www.sugartreestudio.blogspot/ for some of my favorite orders so far!

Halloween at the Splonski House

Halloween was really fun this year...as soon as I stopped freaking out about whether or not B would wear her kitty cat costume I worked so hard to make. She didn't want to take it off earlier in the week when she tried it on but the day before Halloween, she told me that she didn't want to wear "that" costume. Grrr. And so ensued the "battle of wits"! This one goes to Mommy!!! Wasn't she adorable in that kitty cat tutu costume?!? Once she had it on and saw other kids in their costumes, she was smitten to be an adorable little kitty cat.

That fluffy "little" tail gave me a hard time in the beginning but once I figured out how to make it stay put {with a lot of help from D}, it was ADORABLE!

M is definitely a sports fan and loves football so it was fitting for him to be a football player. It was all pretty big on him so when we were walking down the street, we had to check to see if his helmet had turned sideways or if he was just looking to the side! Pretty cute.

We had a good time hanging out at home with friends and family...watching the Duck game {they won by the way}, eating beef stew, mini quiches, and {of course} tons of candy. Trick-or-treating was during half-time so thank goodness the kids are still too young to be out all evening.

What day is it?

Is it Halloween or College Game Day??

Well, until Oregon & USC play today, it's Game Day in the Splonski house!

Not only is it a big game but ESPN's College GameDay is Live From Autzen Stadium!!

This morning D rolled over to me at 6:50am and said "I'm getting up. It's college game day!" You would've thought it was Christmas!

{the only difference is that he requested hot wings instead of breakfast casserole}

What would a brisk fall day be without college football?

Go Ducks!!

{ Auntie } Crystal

I have a great sister. One who is always up for a laugh and somehow always knows when something is wrong. We come from a pretty quirky family and have always shared that sense of humor. D doesn't always appreciate it but when we're together, we can usually find humor in the silliest things. Of all the times in my life when I laughed so hard I could barely breathe, they were usually with my sister. Some of you may know about these and some of you will be totally confused but I thought I would make my Sissy a little list of our funniest moments and {inside} jokes that always make me laugh when I think about them.

-And if any of you are just dying to know the story behind some of these, I'd be more than happy to explain...you may or may not see the humor. :)

• Dancing to "Groove is in the Heart" when we were kids. 1.2.3.Ooooh!
• Doll Hands
• Follow me to the library
• Will Farrell as Pres. Bush - "This is Haaaard"
• The Victoria's Secret model who couldn't wink. ::sad::
• The reason I hate peep-toe shoes
• Fish Fish Good to Eat! {okay, you never thought that was as funny as I thought it was}

Happy Birthday Crystal! Hope you had a good laugh over these! We miss you!

p.s. sorry about the "mullet" picture. :)

Happy Fall!

I was cleaning up some files and found last year's pumpkin patch pictures. The kids have grown so much in 12 short months and the time has flown by!

We haven't been to the pumpkin patch yet but as soon as we go, I'll be sure to post some pics!

Just a thought

You know that time at the end of your day when you're lying in bed thinking about your day and what you need to do tomorrow and random thoughts just pop into your head? That's normal, right?

Sometimes D and I will spout off random thoughts and when we hear ourselves say them, we feel the need to explain the progression from a totally normal thought to the weird, random one we just blurted out.

Anyway, I don't remember what my totally normal thought was but somehow I started thinking about my name and how I actually like it now. I spent my whole life wishing that I had a different name. For a while, when I was little, I wished my parents had named me Anastasia rather than just plain ol' Stacy. After the reality hit that I couldn't be Anastasia Anne because that was just stupid; I thought I would go by Stacy-Anne. You know, like Peggy-Sue or some other cute hyphenated name. Then I sang the only line of the song that I could remember in my head. Then I thought..."why can't somebody write a decent song about a girl named Stacy??" Sure, I've got "Stacy's Mom" but that isn't even really about Stacy...just her hot mom. Why can't some love-sick, poetic guy fall head over heels for a girl named Stacy and write her a song then get a record deal and get it on the radio for everybody to hear? I guess I'm just jealous of those girls with a song. Because when your name is in a song, people always feel the need to sing it to you. I think I'm going to be eighty years old and people are still going to be singing "Stacy's Mom has got it goin' on" when they meet me.

*sigh* I guess I'll forever be a little envious of Mandy, Jenny, Sally, Layla & Delilah.

Just a thought.

Don't forget the fair!

What would summer in Oregon be without a trip to the fair?

The kids had a blast going to see all the animals, dancing to the live music, watching "Muttin Bustin" {B really wanted to ride a sheep...maybe next year, Sweetie.}, and getting their faces painted.

Sorry there aren't pics of Mr. M. By the time we pulled the camera out he was ready for a little snooze in the stroller. Maybe next year he'll be able to stay awake for the whole thing!

We met up with Leslie & Nin while we were there. These two are such great buds!

Checking out their newly painted faces!

Say CHEESE!

Speaking of Summer Concerts...

As some of you know, I have an amazing BFF who went out of her way to get me to the one concert I really wanted to see this summer. Jason Aldean!!! {insert high-pitched girly scream here} No, I'm not some weird-o stalker, president of the fan club type. Just a fan who thought that this concert would definitely be worth seeing. ...And it was! We were 2nd row and rocked out the whole time! We even got asked to go backstage with a bunch of other fans to meet the band and hang out!

The whole thing was a total surprise! Leslie even sent me on a scavenger hunt all over her house to find the tickets and an outfit that D bought me {well, he sent Leslie to the mall with a very specific list...isn't that even better?}

Since most of you have already heard the story or read about this little trip on Leslie's Blog I won't write a novel...just some pictures. Ah, what an amazing friend!And my amazing husband helped her pull the whole thing off...good job D! I knew he was up to no good but I just couldn't figure out what!

We caught an early dinner before the show

...and met up with Jake's cousin, Cody who was going to the concert with some friends.

Love this picture! Dont' know if D was singing along or just goofing off.

Trying to get a picture of the girls...thanks guys!

then we tried to get a picture of Jake & Leslie...but Jake was busy making friends with the couple next to us

Such an amazing concert!

Thanks Leslie for being such an awesome friend!

Now, what do you want for YOUR birthday?

Summer Concerts

Summer concerts are so much fun! Last year we went to see Gary Allen with our BFF's, the Buckendorfs, and had a blast! So, this year we couldn't wait to see who was coming to town. We ended up going to see Blake Shelton and Rodney Adkins.

The guys were having a great time. Just look at those smiles!

{& doesn't D look great in blue!}

"Cowboy Kevin", one of the guitar players, came down and took pictures with fans after Blake Shelton's concert.

There was this woman aboslutely FREAKING out about getting a picture with him. I think she was so excited, she didn't even know she was bossing him around and telling him {& Jake, who took the picture for her} where to stand. Hilarious!

Art {Schmart}

We hit the Salem Art Fair with the kidlets this year. I hadn't been there since before we had kids and man, is it a different experience with two little ones! We had tons of fun but I'm pretty sure I only stopped to look at two booths to admire the art. We stopped to have story time with our favorite "story-teller" from the Salem Library, had some lunch, McKenna had a paper hat made {B just wouldn't go for it} and the girls got their faces painted. I swear D and M were there but we're still working on remembering to take pictures. I think we're just getting the hang of outings with a 1 & 2 year old. I promise, we're getting better though!

On our way back to the cars, Brookie & McKenna were walking down the street holding hands when two women in their 60's or 70's walked by. They were so thrilled to see these two little girls that were friends at such a young age. They told us that they were BFF's and had been since they were our girl's age. How sweet is that?!

Just Beachy

I have a love/hate relationship with the Oregon Coast. I love to spend time out on the sand. But only when it's not windy. Or cold. Or raining. That is a definite rarity on our coastline. We go year round but I only like to go out to the sand in the summer. Snob. I know. This day was awesome. We went with the Buckendorf Family and spent the day soaking up some rays in Pacific City. The kids had a blast digging in the sand and building sand castles. It is still a lot of work keeping them all together and helping them share but between 4 adults, we all got a little time to relax.

This only lasted a few minutes but it was nice few minutes

Fun digging holes

Not sure what B is doing here but I'm pretty sure that when she realized M was putting sand in her bucket, we had to step in and break up a fight

The dads took the girls on a little hike

Just trying to love on Nin a little bit

Here I Am...

Okay, okay! You spoke and I listened. Then I stalled a little longer. ...But the point is that I'm back & I'm ready to ROCK this little family blog!

I hemmed and hawed over whether or not to post once and try to fit everything in or to go "buck-nasty" {as my hubby would put it...gotta love that guy!} and post a bunch of posts for every little adventure we had this summer. I went with the latter, since we all could use a little buck-nasty in our lives.

This is gonna be a fun week guys!

Happy { Birthday } Kelly

{me, lindsey & kelly...a loooong time ago}

So, I was reminiscing the other day and clicked on a little file I have titled "high school". Oh man, look at those baby faces. Over ten years and almost 6 babies later {Kelly has #2 on the way!} those girls are all grown up!

We had a chance to get back in touch {thanks to Facebook} and catch up in person at our reunion a couple of months ago. And as some of you know, Kelly is one of my loyal readers and leaves me some of the best blog comments. A few weeks ago she even took the time to catch up on the posts she missed. I opened my email to find "total comment overload" and truly enjoyed each and every one of them.

Since Kelly and I both share September B-Days {4th and 13th for those of you who might be wondering} I always remember hers and when it rolls around I get to spend a few moments in my head thinking about the good times we had back when. She truly is a great person and a wonderful mommy to both of her little boys.

If you have a minute, check out her blog. She is faced with some worrisome times and could use a few extra prayers for the newest addition to her family. For those of us who are parents, I'm sure we all had a few little {or big} scares during our pregnancies. We just hope and pray for healthy, happy babies and that's just what Kelly and her husband are doing right now. I'm sure a few more prayers are always welcome.

Happy Birthday Kelly!

Per {Abbie's} Request

These are for Abbie's little Miss. She turns one next month & I can't believe how time flies! It seems like just yesterday I was making tissue paper flowers and handing down the {in}famous "baby shower topiary" to Abbie in sweet anticipation of her new arrival. Crazy.

Her nursery {which her Daddy did a great job painting} has an adorable cherry blossom theme so they thought they would keep running with it. And why not? It is truely "wish I would've thought of it" cute! I hope these do it justice, Abbie!

M is doing {well}

M had his wellness checkup today. He's doing really well and I'm happy to say that I really don't have much to report. Every time they listen to his heart, I hold my breath but the heart murmer is completly gone. Whew! Doc said that he is perfectly healthy...even with the knarly scab on his eye and bruise on his forehead.

For those of you that have been wondering how much my little brute weighs...29.1lbs. I think he's down in percentile since he's started growing up and not out anymore. Only 90%.

Every time somebody comments on how big my kids are considering my size, I can't help but think of my Aunt Neen who asked me a few months ago...

"Geez, Stace, how do you throw such big pups!?!"

what a day!

M took a little spill today...out the back door & down the step. Don't worry the exposed aggregate patio caught his fall. Ouch! I was just telling B to shut it too. She seems to think she needs to let the dogs in and out all day long. Man, I miss the days when she couldn't open doors!

That was the icing on the cake. Before M's road rash Miss B tripped and bit the inside of her cheeks then when she was "coloring" with my pen, right as I said "don't put it in your mouth", she got the clip stuck on her lip and I had to break the pen to get it off. Popcicles seemed to numb the pain.

Let's hope that we can be injury-free tomorrow.

New {Design}

I've been a little more busy with Sugar Tree Studio than I thought I would be. I guess I figured that it would take a while before anybody showed any interest and wanted to buy my designs. Luckily, that isn't the case.

I've spent a lot of time working on very specific custom orders {which I love} but I haven't given myself enough time to come up with new designs. I have plenty scratched out on paper but just need to get them onto my computer.

Here is a sneak peek at another birth announcement. In the works: Halloween party invites, birthday party invites, holiday cards & maybe a couple more wedding invitations!

Stay Tuned!

Brotherly Love?

B, go to time-out! Hitting is not allowed!

Even though she was in time-out for hitting him, M didn't seem to think she should be alone during her punishment.

I Just Can't Get Enough...

Mr M. wore a new outfit today. I know, I know...get over it. I can't. Of course, I'm his mom so I think he's adorable no matter what he's wearing. But there's something about clothes that make him look like a "little man" that I just can't resist.
These jeans, which were part of the purchse I unveiled here, are so stinkin cute! I almost want colder weather just so he can wear them more often...almost. I have to keep reminding myself that they are waaay to long on him so I'll have plenty of time to enjoy his little tushy in them before they are retired. The shirt came from Auntie Crystal. The other reason I just had to post these pictures. She bought him the cutest clothes and I had yet to show her what they look like on him. Thanks Auntie!

D's Anniversary

Two years ago today...we had a bad day.

Or a bad night, I should say. D came home from work feeling awful. He decided to go to bed and sleep off what seemed like a really bad flu bug. We decided to take his temperature one more time before he fell asleep. 104.5. For those of you who don't know, adults can only get to about 105 before they might suffer brain damage. I had no idea the severity of the situation until the ER doctors informed me, after a couple of hours of tests and no diagnosis, that they would be moving him to the ICU. He was dying and we didn't know why.

We later found out that pneumonia {which he had no symptoms of} had caused bacteria to get into his blood and, because he doesn't have a spleen due to a car accident years ago, it caused septicemia. Blood poisoning. If D had gone to bed, he wouldn't be here today. His "blood doctor", Dr. Bong {Yeah, I know. Funny name, great guy, even better doctor} let us know that he only had about 2 hours left when we got him to the hospital.

During this time, Miss B was only 6 months old and had never spent a night away from us. D's mom came and picked her up from the ER then helped me get her to and from daycare during the following week while D was in the hospital.

To top it all off, I was sick too. We had no idea that I was pregnant with Mr. M. I hadn't been feeling well for a couple of weeks but while D was in ICU, I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom. I chocked it up to nerves. Shoot, my husband was dying, my daughter was only 6 months old and we had nothing but his life insurance through his work. It wouldn't be enough. I sat there in the dark crying. Feeling guilty about the thoughts that were running through my head...I told him to go to bed and sleep it off. That it was just the flu. Is he going to die? I would have to sell the house. And cars. And everything else. Would family be able to help me? Where would we go? I can't take care of a baby without him. She needs a father. I need my husband.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Two years, an emergency supply of medication and a few insurance policies later, we joke that D is a ticking time bomb. He is strong and healthy most of the time but when he has gone a few months without getting sick or injured, we start watching the calendar. The other guys at work always razz him about getting sick and being accident prone. Somehow he manages to pull a muscle or cut his hand on something. Nothing anywhere near what we went through two years ago. Things that we never would have thought twice about before. Now, we give them a lot of thought.

So, why did I share this with all of you? For a couple of reasons. First, don't take your family for granted. We seem to go through life without really appreciating what we have. We're busy and sometimes it takes all we have just to go through the motions. Slow it down and really look at what and who is in your life and how much you love them...and make sure they know it. And second, because I never understood the importance of being prepared until this happened. We knew we needed life insurance but {I'm a little embarrassed to say} we hadn't gotten around to it. Plus, we had no idea how important disability insurance would be. We were doing pretty good financially but one month off work turned into a year of stress and penny pinching to get back on track. One month doesn't seem like much but it is a snowball effect and savings accounts and credit cards end up getting used. Normally I wouldn't openly talk about all of this but I really feel that it is important that we all take a look at our situations. Would our families be okay if we were gone tomorrow? Would our spouse know where to find all of our paperwork {and what to do with it} if they needed to? Would we survive financially if one of us couldn't work for a few months? Dave Ramsey's website introduced us to the "love drawer". A place in your home {for us it's our safe} where all of our insurance policies and account numbers are organized. Wills and last wishes are there too. Anybody who needs to can open this up and understand what is in front of them. We never think that these things can happen to us. But take it from me. This stuff is important!

Sneak Peek

On Sunday we met Jenny Springer at the park for a little family photo session. With a 1 & 2 year old, I didn't have high hopes but Jenny is used to little ones and did a great job with them. I think they were more relaxed than I was...but what's new? I haven't seen them yet but Jenny posted a sneak peek on Facebook for me to see.

So, without further adieu:

I'm thinking Christmas card, how bout you?

Thanks Jenny for a great photo shoot! I can't wait to see the rest!

If you'd like to see more of Jenny's pictures, check her out here or here.

Not Too Shabby...Or so I thought

OK, so for a very long time I have had this secret obsession with vintage and shabby chic items & decor. You know. Distressed furniture, pink, aqua blue, little birdies, roses and bits of chenille. I've never decorated with them because I'm afraid that I will tire of them too quickly & because {I know this sounds dumb, but they're my neurotic thoughts so don't judge me} I want things that are neutral enough to coordinate with all of my holiday decorations throughout the year without clashing. Stop laughing. I have very neutral style in my home. You know, earth-tone walls and black distressed furniture. I love finding vintage {or vintage-looking} items but steer clear of white {shabby} items. {PB Teen - I've had my eye on that dressform for a loooong time}

However, lately, I've found myself drawn to all things shabby chic. In fact, every time I go to Target, I can't resist a little stroll down the children's bedding eisle to check out this cute little bedding set and all of the accessories. Which brings me to my solution to my decorating delima. Little B's room!! This was my ah ha moment. Small but so, so big. Anyway, I was going to wait until we moved into a bigger house and she had her own room but I can't stop thinking about it and obsessing over this bedding set being gone soon. We'll see.

On a side-note: I never actually buy anything I find and then I regret it later. I have to get over that. I'm so jealous of people who make split-second decisions. Like going to Costco for chicken and coming home with a new bedroom set. {Leslieee, I'm looking in your direction} Maybe I'll start blogging about it & force myself to share with you guys. You know, hold myself accountable for FINALLY decorating my house. I think I might have too much on my plate now but maybe it could be my winter project. It could work.