Stop, take a breath, and enjoy your friends and family

I'm not sure what the point of this post is. I just hope someone reads it and they stop and take a breath. 

There is so much sadness right now, surrounding so many of my friends in the Buy/Sell/Trade internet world. One sweet little girl is saying her goodbyes after succumbing to cancer; a mom who I knew only through the internet world was stabbed by her husband in front of her kids and passed. Only a few months ago she posted in our chat group- asking advice on how to obtain a burner phone so she could try to get out of her abusive marriage. Another's husband just found out he has stage 3 cancer. A friend of mine was in an awful wreck with her son on the interstate. So many prayer requests and it just makes me sad. 

A good friend of mine posted earlier. She had a good friend in town with her kids. They were swimming at local hotel poor so the kids could swim. Her out-of-town friends' 4 year old son ended up drowning. My friend's husband tried performing CPR, but the sweet boy didn't survive. You can look at her FB page and see pictures as recent as last week, and just like that he's gone. 

Time is so so fleeting. I know I post about time flying so many times on this page. It's just true. Horrible things can happen in the blink of an eye. I am the WORST imaginable at not being "in the moment". I'm constantly thinking about needing to do this and that, ignoring my kids, letting them watch TV or play by themselves so I can get stuff done. Then yelling at them or being frusturated if we're running late for the next thing. 

I'm just sad. I am a lucky lucky girl, and my family is the best. I want and pray that this year I just enjoy them. I need to take it day by day and just talk to them... Listen to them.... Play with them...love them. 

It's just too fleeting. So many prayers for all those hurting. I'm going to go kiss my babies in bed. 

The Blog Post about Blogging

I feel like I have approached a wall in the blogosphere. I'm not really sure how or why it happened, but I have definitely hit something. I'm pretty sure it has to do with my babies, and the fact they are now (aaaccckkkk! FIVE)

I'm trying to be a bit more sensitive to posts about them now that they're growing older, and think "would they want me posting about X,Y,Z". After all, in my TimeHop app this week (a social media app that is both awesome and awful, as it makes me cry at least once a week) TimeHop goes back five years, and pulls up your exact post on that day one year ago, two years ago, etc. So some posts are me posting about those early days of parenting, which I have blacked out. Ha! It happens when you have twins. 

However, the one this week was The Poop Post. While I did try to black that gem of a memory out, it's still fresh on my brain lol. 

While those posts are funny when they are babies, probably not so much now. 

I'm in an transition. In life and in blogging. I feel like most of my posts lately have been pictures of them, and just general things we've been up to. I've noticed I don't get my nice camera out as much as I used to... More relying on my iPhone. 

However, my Instagram account is my lifeblood lately! That's my go-to for daily funnies that the kids are into. But not "blog-worthy" if that makes sense.

I think I'll probably do a little bit more of lifestyle, things going on my my brain, and of course my kids. I think I knew it was coming, since last year when I changed the name of the blog to "The Fabulous Baby Striblings", to "Mandy With Multiples", but I just hadn't thought about it that much. 

And then in another part of my brain, I'm thinking "do people still read blogs?" I know I don't nearly as much as I used to. But then again, my kids are older. I was obsessed with other moms in the thick of new-babydom. I related to them. Now... I feel like those moms now have five year olds and are in the same rut I am. Many very popular mom bloggers have even stopped blogging, or have taken a break. I mean, my blog link feed over there is like a desert. Life happens, I get it. We don't have the two hour napping breaks like we used to to "catch up" on our blog reading. Our attention span is about one minute now. I honestly don't have time to read super long blog posts. (Hence my love for Instagram!) 

But all in all, my kids are still cute, they're still hysterical, and we are still up to everything lol. I still love blogging, and we will be around forever. But just posting my thoughts at the moment, which is pretty much for blogging is for anyway, amirite? 

These Munchkins...

I recently separated the babes into their own rooms (I need to do a post about that!!!) 

This weekend Jake was out of town so I was home solo with the kiddos. I decided for fun, we should do a "slumber party" with the babies and they could sleep together. They chose Jules' room. Jules was BESIDE HERSELF excited. She hates sleeping by herself. She wants to be in the same room with Josh again so badly. 

Josh however LOVES his room and his "own space" but he loved the slumber party too :) arent they the sweetest in the world?!??

About that business....

I realized I haven't posted in a while about my business, so I thought I just, well.. Should!!! 

Le Petite Maison is going strong! I officially started in August 2013. I wanted to do it part time at first to see if it would be worth pursuing. I quit my full time job three months later :) I basically refinish furniture using chalk paint, milk paint and other faux finishes. I do custom work for clients, and recently opened a retail space in July 2014 at La Vie En Rose in Nashville. 

I LOVE doing this. Not only is a creative outlet for me but it helps to bring in money and allow me to stay home with my babies until they will QUICKLY start school. I am supposed to register them for kindergarten in 20 DAYS!!!!! And they graduate pre-k in two months. I can't even deal. 

I have a Facebook page that Id love for you to check out. Www.facebook.com/lepetitemaisonshop