{Lulu & Co.} sneak peeks...and Arrietty

This order was a lot of fun to create. L's request was simply along the lines of "I want something with a vintage vibe and I like blue"...These are some of my favorite fabrics...I love how this sweet hat turned out and I hope you do too, L!L was one of my first customers when I started selling hats online. She has entrusted me with making hats for her daughter's 2nd, 3rd, and now 4th birthday...what a special honor!L, I hope your sweetie has the most magical pink-fairy-princess birthday ever! {Oops! This picture is rather flashy and a bit out of focus...sorry it was late at night!}And with the party destination, I can pretty much say she certainly will! *wink*The other day I was listening to K-LOVE and a story, actually more like a reflection, caught my attention. It was about how grandparents break all the rules that they had when they were parents once grandkids enter the picture. Went on to talk about how a dad who was once adamant about taking breaks while on road trips was now super laid-back with the grandkids on a recent trip, even making a stop for no reason at all other than to eat ice cream...inside the restaurant.

It really made me stop and think. I want to have those moments NOW. Those fun, break-the-rules, play hooky, spontaneous moments that are what some of the best memories are made of. Not all the time, but just sprinkled here and there, often enough so that we can look forward to them and rare enough to be appreciated.We're pretty strict about bedtimes and nighttime routines on school nights. But tonight we set all that aside. I gave the littles their baths right after lunch {spaghetti lunch...enough said!} and then while they were both napping {hello, 2 1/2 hr nap!!! was it the bath??? hmmm...I may be on to something...} I called Lance at work and said, "what do you think if we go out to dinner and take the littles to a late movie?"I think he was a little skeptical, after all the show started 30 minutes before our target bedtime, but he went along with it. Grace was too cute. She wavered between asking "are you suuuure?" and giggling the way only little girls can. We saw The Secret World of Arrietty, ate nerds and m&m's, and pretty much had the whole theatre to ourselves. Hudson was a little tired but he stayed awake the whole time, pausing from resting his sweet little head on my chest to exclaim and laugh about his own bodily functions {what a little stinker...such a BOY!}.

And before we called it a night, Grace said to me, "Mama, you know what I love best about having you for a mom?" {we've been having these sweet little conversations a lot lately and she usually says something like, "that you bake all kinds of yummy things", "that you do art projects with me"...so I was fully expecting "that you take me to see movies..."} but instead she said, "You. I love that you are you, mama. I love who you are."

Oh, my sweet girl. The feeling is mutual. I love you and your little brother just as you are...times a gazillion! Thank you for making my night.The Lorax...7:30p show....on a weeknight...we're so there.