Mom Talk 9.26

Life is absolutely crazy sometimes... like crazy that your toddler breaks her collarbone and your 6 month old is teething which includes a poop filled diaper every hour. Oh and let's not forget teething usually equals no sleep for baby or mama, good thing because I wasn't seeping anyway with Olivia's broken bone.



No Nap or Nap? I am legit torn between what I want the twins to do. I love my quiet time and yes even a nap when I can get one. And yes sometimes the twins are crabby and really really need a nap. But on the other hand somedays I just want to let them stay up and play, because I know it means an early and most importantly EASY bedtime. It is a daily dilemma, and it really doesn't matter what I choose,  I already know I am going to deal with some sort of crabbiness.

Can I sleep with daddy? yes, that is a question and no it's not from mommy. It's no secret the twins almost always come into our bed at some point during the night. If we are lucky it won't be until 3 or 4 in the morning... we usually aren't that lucky. But now we have a new request and it goes a little something like this... "mommy ok if we sleep in daddy bed toNIGHT, pleeease?" First, how am I supposed to say no to that cuteness? Second, daddy always says yes, and third do you know how easy bedtime is when they just go in and lay down with daddy? Makes my life so super easy and bonus daddy "helps" with bedtime. And I always take them to their room when I go to bed... I mean I need some personal space! So maybe I have said yes a lot more this past month than I did the past, but hey this is what memories are made of right? Until.... .they pee in the bed that is.

Normal... can we all please agree that normal is what we make it?? Seriously, I am so tired of mom's feeling like they are failing their kids and even at life because they aren't living up to others expectations or what their definition of "normal" is. Life is already too damn hard to make others feel bad because their baby isn't walking at 10 months. Or to compare ourselves to a millisecond snap of a photo we see on social media. One of my favorite instagram pages mamasaidtees is truer than true when it comes to "defining" normal do yourself a favor and watch their video. As moms all we really need to do is support each other and show each other that we are not alone.

I love Pinterest... Like really love it, there is just so much cool stuff you can find to do, to make, and if you ever have a few hours to waste...well pinterest is your winning choice. However, there is a dark side to pinterest most of the time we don't want to talk about it because it's just too difficult. It's called the "pinterest fail" yes I said it... pinterest fail. I love to cook and I love to try new recipes but sometimes just sometimes what I make leaves me shaking my head and wondering just where I went wrong. It's just so difficult to process, you think you are going to make the perfect meal or perfect craft... because it was on Pinterest how hard could it be?? Turns out.... hard!! Some of that stuff is hard!! I give the creators so much credit for getting it perfect... but for me... it's on to the next... hopefully it won't be a fail!

Mom talk ... last week

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Friday Favs

one. The Pool.. the girls absolutely love going to the pool and would probably go there everyday and stay all day if we let them. And let me say we pretty much go every day. Last summer the twins were mostly staying on the steps of the pool and not venturing into the main part of the pool too much. At the start of "pool season" it was much the same but it didn't take long for them to start floating their way into the water. Right now they wear the puddle jumper floats and let me tell you they are amazing and I am so happy we bought them last year. The girls are definitely learning to swim with them and I think it really builds their confidence. I was hopeful they would start doing more swimming and going under water sometime this year. But they did it much sooner than I thought. A few weeks ago we were hanging out at our friends pool and Olivia asked for her "armies" (as we call them) to be taken off and before we knew it she went right under water!! I was so shocked and beyond proud of her. The rest of our time there she continued to go underwater and then she pushed off from me and swam right to her aunt!! Talk about another shock this girl went from not wanting to get her hair or face wet to going under and swimming! Now both girls are all about going under the water and practicing swimming!

two. Working AC ... praise the lord our AC is working properly! After a month of issues with our AC our landlord decided it was time to just put in a new unit. Let me tell you living in Florida in the summer with a half working AC is not fun, oh and did I mention the fact that I have FIVE kids to keep cool?? I don't know about you but when it's hot and there is no way to stay cool in your home the crankies come out and the kids start to go a bit crazy. I am so thankful that we have a landlord willing to make things right!

Three. Statement Tees..I've never really been one for Tees with words on them let along a T-shirt that has a sentence! But recently I've been really liking the new things I have been seeing on my Instagram feed. After Parker was born and quiet honestly while I was pregnant with her I heard a lot "wow you have your hands full". I had seen a shirt a few times that I really liked and it said "If you think my hands are full you should see my heart" I thought hey that is a perfect shirt to wear when I am out with all the girls! So my first statement tee purchase was made and I am pretty sure that got me hooked and wanting more! A few more purchases later and I feel like I could wear them everyday! My favs are from Fresh Apparel Tees "Living that mom life" and "out with my entourage" are pretty perfect for my day to day life. I also really love my "Blessed Mama" tank from 3 Little Monkeys. I can't wait to see what I add to my closet next!

four. Meal prep... this past week we decided to prep our lunches and snacks for the week, we've done this in the past and I feel we definitely eat better when we have meals and snacks ready to eat. And since I am trying to loose baby weight and hubby is trying to go off of his insulin this was the best thing to do for the both of us. I threw a pork tenderloin in the crockpot, shredded it up and put it in containers with rice and we had lunches for the whole week for both of us. One day we had some leftovers from the night before so I gave the twins the pork and rice and it was the best lunch they have eaten all week #winning!! Snacks consisted of proportioned fruit and veggies that we could just grab and go with..so easy and it helps us to make sure we are getting enough fruit and veggies each day.

Five. itty bitty baby bows! If you've followed me for any period of time you know I love bows and love to put them on the girls. While Charlotte and Olivia usually don't want a bow in their hair (sometimes they do like today!) Parker doesn't get a choice! I am loving the trend of the little bows especially for Parker and I always get asked where they are from. Not to mention most newborns could pass for either gender so a bow really keeps people from asking me if she is a boy or girl!

bows A little lady shop

 Hope you all have a great weekend! Happy Friday!

All opinions are my own

(Failed) Holiday Photos

So you may remember me posting a photo of Olivia over on IG (klynnphoto) with my camera in her hands explaining why our Holiday Photos (pretty much) didn't happen. It was crazy and I am tempted to say a nightmare but I will be less dramatic. Kendal didn't feel well the day I had planned to take the photos (a nice cool Florida day without a lot of sun), so we pushed the photos to the next day hoping she would feel better. The "next day" (even though Kendal still didn't feel well) we decided to give it a try. I got all the kids dressed, hair done, bags packed, props ready, and we headed out the door only to realize it was HOT and I mean HOT for Fall... nearly 90 degrees and all of the kids had on sweaters!!! I didn't care... we were getting these photos, I had all of these thoughts in my mind of how amazing they were going to be and I couldn't wait to capture them. 

We arrived at a location I haven't photographed at before (no big deal.. it is just a field)  but I thought it would be great as Madison and I had checked it out the day before I and I was "ok" with it. As we pulled in and I started to get the kids out I quickly started to feel like the location wasn't going to work for what I had visioned.... But I was pushing through and was going to make it work. I got all the kids to the "field" and started to string up our "Holiday" ornaments when the kids started talking about it being too hot and sweating. UGH.... At this point Olivia had my camera, Kendal was chasing Charlie (she kept taking the ornaments off of the strand I hadn't tied off yet). Meanwhile, the I was trying to get the darn props put in the tree and they kept tangling so I just said forget it.. it was probably a total of 2 minutes but it felt like 20. 

I quickly grabbed my camera from Livy and told Kendal and Maddy to grab a baby and do what I was asking. That didn't work.. AT.ALL. neither baby wanted to be held.. unless you count Livy who only wanted to be held by me. Ok lets sit I instructed - nope no one wanted to sit. Ok give them the ornaments (that didn't stay in the tree)... at least they were sitting... ok now look at me.. nope no looking at mommy. I was done and I could tell the kids were too, so I called it. No more photos lets go home. Kendal knew I was upset and she kept apologizing saying "maybe we got a few good ones mom" (oh yea she doesn't call me "mommy anymore... ). I love her for trying to make me feel better, she wanted to make sure I wasn't mad and truth be told I wasn't mad just frustrated on a number of levels. But getting the photos wasn't worth making my kids miserable and they were getting there fast! 

We got in the car and Kendal asked to see my camera; as I was driving she kept saying "this one is good, awww thats cute" bless her for knowing what I needed to hear. I attempted these photos over a week ago and I just now put them on my computer, and had already declared to my husband "well maybe we won't send Christmas Cards this year". I know... again being dramatic, but as a photographer it stinks when things don't turn out the way you plan in your mind... especially when it is your own family. After looking through the photos I realized Kendal was right-there were a "few" good ones; a "few" I would call a success... but the best part is... I am ok with that. I am ok that what I had in my vision didn't happen; instead I have a "few" perfectly imperfect photos of my children right where the are right now in life and that is what makes a photo perfect.

So here they are... 

It's Giveaway Time!!

Giveaway is now closed!! Winner will be announced tomorrow morning!



I am so excited to be hosting my first giveaway!! I love giveaways and all weekend long I have been thinking about how to make this one just perfect for all of you!! You all know how much Charlotte and Olivia LOVE bows and head wraps (usually the bigger the better)- so..... I am super excited to be paring up with not one but TWO of my favorite bow shops!!! 

But whats a  give away without first doing a little product review...

Our first giveaway partner is Sophia & Co. 

I first came across Sophia & Co. on Instagram while taking part in an auction. One of her amazing bows was being auctioned off and I had to have it... So yay for me I won!! Charlotte of course models  it perfectly! The bow was very well made and fit her just perfectly. The shop owner (Shawn) communicated with me perfectly and the bow arrived very quickly. 

I love following Sophia & Co. on Instagram (sophiaandco) as a new shop she is awesome and she has many specials and deals. During her most recent special 50% off (Amazing right??) I ordered two new bows for my little ladies. I ordered these from her Etsy shop (https://www.etsy.com/shop/SophiaCo). Again her communication was fantastic and size and shipping speed was perfect!

Even Charlotte and Olivia want what the other is wearing!

Little cuties I tell ya! They love their Sophia & Co. bows and so does mommy!!

Our next give away partner is none other than Shelby Chic Boutique!!! 

Shelby Chic Boutique is pretty much my go to bow shop. The owner is one of my favorite Instagram mamas, she has really taken care of my girls with her amazing designs and flawless sewing skills. The shop owner Veronica takes so much pride in her work and it shows. I have been purchasing bows and head wraps from Shelby Chic Boutique since before the twins were born!! This Instagram shop (shelbychicboutique) has really taken off and the demand is out of this world, everyone is trying to get their hands on these amazing bows and head wraps. 

I love these head wraps the fabric is perfect- it is so soft and stretchable - the girls can wear them for months! Seriously aren't they just adorable??

Ok, Ok so you've seen the bows on my little ladies and you now understand why I love to put them on my girls so lets take a look at what we are giving away!!

Sophia & Co.

This trio of bows can be made as seen (for our boys) or in pink (for our girls)!!

Shelby Chic Boutique

These amazing sparkle bows from Shelby Chic Boutique are a huge huge hit!! 

There will be two winners and each winner will receive all 3 bows from the perspective shop!

So here is how to enter... I like to keep things simple so this should be easy-

1. Comment on here with your email address and a topic you'd like to see me discuss on the blog

2. Follow both shops on instagram (sophiaandco) and (shelbychicboutique)

3. Follow my instagram page (klynnphoto)

I am asking you to follow the pages so that 1. you can keep up to date on the products you are trying to win. 2. You can get amazing deals and discounts only by following the shops. 3. You can follow me to get updates on the blog as well as future give away and so that I can tag you when you win!

Giveaway rules:

You can only enter once (ie: leave your comment with email address)

You must be following all 3 instagram pages (if you don't have instagram please let me know)

Giveaway begins at 12:00pm EST Wednesday April 23rd and ends 9:00pm EST Friday April 25th.

There will be two winners selected at random

Winners will be notified via email and announced on Instagram as well as this post

You will be contacted by the shop owner via email to discuss item specifics

Thank you all so much for participating in this first giveaway I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to do this for you all!! And THANK YOU to our two amazing BOW SHOPS.... SOPHIA & CO. and SHELBY CHIC BOUTIQUE!!!