peaceful times...happy memorial weekend!

we remember our brave soldiers-our heros...thank you for ALL you do...

this weekend we spent wonderful times with the family...

( lil' munchkins: ian, shioban and cousin, hannah )


all...

saw many things on our mini get-away... esp. this lil' guy...

this lil' tractor said it all...even when times are tough...

you've gotta keep on pluggin' away...

this will be our mantra...

i think i can...i know i can...YES I CAN...

beauty all around...i simply love poppy flowers...wish it could stay for the whole season...how pretty my in-laws garden down at the farm...serenity...ahhhhh

swimming+playing+relaxing=total enjoyment!

it was also grampy's 73rd b-day...we celebrated in style with a riboff + dessertoff...

the ribs were excellent...dh and b-i-l went head to head...we all voted anonymously and well it was a tie! s-i-l made delicious lemon chiffon cuppies and brownies, while i made mint choco cookies, oatmeal cream pies and carmel corn...oh, yes, my other s-i-l brought a bag of m&ms (lol) to complete the dessertoff...well...they were all delish so again...a tie!

next bakeoff will be the battle of the chocolate chip cookies...mmm!

it sure was a fantastic weekend with the fam...great r&r...

we hope you had a great weekend too...

have a beautiful week!

saying bonvoyage to May and

welcoming June with sweet kisses...

bonne nuit

xoxo jo ;)

think happy thoughts...

looking forward to a long weekend...hope you'll have a good one...

will post pics of our weekend soon...

bonne nuit...

xoxo jo ;)

poupées en papier...my paper doll

a few weeks ago, i participated in my sis, Mary Ann's, itty bitty paper doll book swap.
this is what i contributed...

24 lil' blue poupées en papier (paper dolls in French)...

i was so inspired by my lil' shioban, our love for the French

and my sis' huge collection of paper dolls.

i knew that i wanted to hand-make my dolls...

it's just so funny how inspiration can hit you in unexpected times+places...

you see...we were spending spring break at my sis' up North.

the weather was amazingly beautiful.

the lil' munchkins wanted to ride their bikes while i dreamt of something to sketch.

my lil' ian accidently locked the door behind us and we were locked out of the house for

3 whole hours until my sis came home from work.

(keys+cellphone would've been helpful...duhhhh-lol)

boy, those 3 hours were rough...thank gosh i had my art supply with me...so i started to doodle in our van (also thank gosh, our car was unlocked) on top of the steering wheel and came up with this sweetheart of a gal...

i adore the colours pink+blue...it seems very playful to me.

i also love lil' girls with braids...orange/red hair...mary-jane shoes...bloomers...lil' peter-pan collar dresses...lollipops...French words + eiffel towers...

my sis finally came home and helped me jazz up my page by making some shrinky-dink lollipops...she just gave me a stamper with a lollipop on it and had such a cute idea with the shrinky-dink paper and her voluminous stash of ribbon/yarn...

thanks for ALL of your help, Reya! they turned out sooo adorable!

i also knew i wanted my dolls to be some sort of 3-d image...i remembered a cute x-mas angel card my sis had and thought what a cute way to make an image 3-d like...

but let me tell ya,

it sure was a lot of work...cutting each delicate image...one by one...

i started getting crossed-eyed...oh yea...before cutting these beauts, i also painted the original image then went to Staples and had them copied. i know, i know...

a real 'labour of love'

but it was so worth it...i loved how it turned out...

and i totally heart her adorable bloomers...

(inspired by one of my sis' paper dolls amongst her humongus collection)

here's the 3-d part...yep, had to cut+stick those lil' velcro squares... cut all those lil' dresses+ALL those lil' 'Bon-Bon gals' (that's what i'm calling these lil' gals-'Bon-Bon' after my lil' shioban (one of her nicknames my Pop calls her is truly: 'Bon-Bon' )

i'm thinking of doing more of this... painting a series of these lil' gals...and of course lil' guys inspired by my own lil' munchkins...

y'know...i'm finding that whenever i participate in my sis' or someone else's art or swap challenges...i'm discovering more of my hidden passions...

it's like unlocking all those dreams trapped behind dusty old doors...

i'm enjoying these detours...

finding unexpected beauty...

truly an inspiration!
how about you? ever created something magnificent unexpectedly?!
to see more adorable paper dolls check out my sis' slide show here!
bonne nuit!

xoxo jo ;)

Finding inspiration in simple things...words...

(image taken by me on a gorgeous stroll with my lil' munchkins)

sometimes you just need to stop and smell the roses...(ok... or a flowering tree...) and sometimes it's the simplest of things that can inspire you...i adore quotes...but most of all, i absolutely heart quotes+photos...i'm so happy that i'm following 'Motiviational' on TWITTER because everyday, sometimes twice a day, you'll get these amazing thoughts...and the quote i used in my photo rings so much truth...'Positive anything is better than negative nothing'- Elbert Hubbard

i've got to remember that. been feeling a bit inept these days. does that happen to you?
so much stuff going on. so much work to be done. so little time. i feel like i'm working backwards or spinning my wheels at times. but i've got to try to remember what's important. to take things slow. to enjoy what's right under my nose. to stop taking for granted these beautiful days that God has blessed me and my family with...SO...

i'm so glad i took some time to take a stroll with my lil' munchkins...to clear my head...to find inspiration...thanks Motivational and Elbert Hubbard...my mantra for this week...

'Positive anything is {TRULY} better than negative nothing'...

bonne nuit

xoxo jo ;)

sweet fridays...father daughter dance

what a sweet friday!

shioban and her daddy had the opportunity to go to a Princess Spring Ball at school...

she has to be escorted into the festivities by a 'King'...

specifically, 'King Tim!' how adorable is that?!

i worked the greeting table and kitchen...

each king had to wear his crown...and each princess received a bunch of goodies...

i have to say, there was a great turnout for dads...in fact, there's this one dad that went over and beyond...he truly dressed up as King Henry the VIII, rented a white horse and carriage and took a spin around the neighborhood with his princess (who was celebrating her b-day and her last year at the school...) it was touching! wish i could've taken a pic of that...
anyway, thank you so much, handsome for being our princess' brave knight + shining armour...

although it rained cats + dogs...it still was a beautiful night!
bonne nuit
xoxo jo ;)

Thanks for coming...Tea/Playdate party

invitations i made for the lil' ones' 7th tea/playdate party.

we wanted to celebrate the kids' b-days with a very low-key event-spent with their friends. a no-gift policy...just a couple of buddies gave my lil' ones very sweet goodies...not too much-just right (books, educational stuff, markers, artist tools,)!

it was sweet + intimate. i'm liking smaller parties...you can truly enjoy them more!

i didn't take pics of the place settings...bummer. trust me it was sooo cute. even the lil' boys dug it. most of the decos, plate wares etc. were all from the $ store.

lovin' that store!
the menu was truly kid friendly...mini hotdogs, chicken rings, mini fruit kabobs, cookies and cupcakes...fruit punch (sugar free!)

lots of games were played...musical spot (didn't have enough lil' chairs-so improvised...really cute!), relay race while holding spoon and lil' ball and FreezeFrame...the kiddies enjoyed

themselves to the fullest.

here are the boyz in the hood...

here are the lil' divas with their special dollie/friend...

it was a very cute party...thank you to all those who've helped!

totally had a wonderful time...looking forward to next year's b-day celebration of life...

bonne nuit

xoxo jo;)

Lucky 7th...birthday lil' munchkins

(images taken by me of our family celebrating my lil' ones' 7th bday!)

04.29.09

happy birthday, lil' munchkins!

you are the most beautiful miracles that has ever happened to me...

i'm the luckiest mom to have you in my life.

may all your wildest dreams come true. always believe in yourself and in miracles!

bonne anniversaire mon doux! (miss you sweet Angel Sinead...)

more pics of your special tea/playdate coming soon...

bonne nuit

xoxo jo ;)

Sweetness...Mother's Day-EVERYDAY...Annabelle's

(perpetual calander purchased from Annabelle's and here, Beloit, WI)

Where is this month going?!

wow!
sorry for the abscence. a lot's been going on. i don't know how my favourite on-line journal owners do it...post interesting words and or delicious photos everyday, that is. i need to work on that big time...

hoping all my dear family, friends & kindred spirits who are mom's enjoyed a sweet day.
but don't you think that EVERYDAY is 'Mother's Day?'

woke up to my dh's clamouring of pots&pans early in the morning. the lil' ones and my dh were making me a beautiful breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, chocolate-covered strawberries+bananas, juicy grapes+melons, lil' chocolate mini-cupcakes+mini-chocolate chip muffins and toasted French loaves...mmmmm!

we then went to early mass and afterwards visited our sweet Angel Sinead...wished she was here with us...that would just make my Mother's Day absolutely perfect but we all know that Sinead is in a better place and is looking down on us...dh + the kiddos also made me a fantastic dinner of ribs, peas/corn, rice + French loaves...simply DIVINE! my hubby can sure grill mean+delectable ribs...oh...i was going nutz+boltz... then after dinner, we took a family bike ride to my sis' house and hung out playing wii...simply a gorgeous day and beautiful memories were made.

speaking of gorgeousness...
this past spring break...the lil' munchkins and i visited my sis, Mary ann. i finally had the chance to visit her sweet + beautiful friend, CJ's, adorable French shoppe called Annabelle's...what a gorgeous shoppe CJ owns...i swooned at the very sight of that humongus eiffel tower picture behind the counter...i also was silently screaming with delight at every single sweet corner...this shoppe was truly filled to the brim with utter sweetness...CJ was a doll (and so was her very HANDSOME son, Matt-who helps manages the shoppe-btw...he's not attached and well...if you know what i mean!) CJ was wonderful and let me take some shots of her shoppe...simply BEAUTIFUL!

she also started her adventures into blogland and has been posting some wonderful stories about her shoppe and her dreams...please do visit her blog + website + brick+mortar shoppe in Beloit, WI...you will surely love everything you see...CJ's shoppe is INCREDIBLE!

i adore this! the mannequin + pink gown...ahhh soooo tres jolie!

blue + brown=gorgeous!

perfection!

Gorgeous CJ and her right-hand guy, Matt...one of her handsome sons...

loving this shoppe!

i heart this poster!

spring has sprung at Annabelle's!

is there ever enough time?

hope you enjoyed this mini-tour of Annabelle's! please visit CJ's newest blog and shoppe...simply irresistable!

bonne nuit...

xoxo jo ;)

(ps. received a wonderful award from Robin'sbluenest-merci beaucoup, sweet Robin!...will post soon as well as our Earth Day, Giveaway, Easter. the munchkin's 7th b-day, projects...whew...will play catchup soon!)