On August 18th from 9-12pm I will be joining along in a sale with Oh, Hello Friend, 3 Ring Circus, Misha Lulu, and a few others, and we will be selling a bunch of good stuff! I am getting rid of some of my vintage goodies, mostly home, but some clothes thrown in too, so if you want something, you better come by! Plus, it would be so much fun to meet some of you too! Lots of my goods are some pretty European goodies I kind of have a hard time letting go, but really need to as I try to really cut down on clutter.

To RSVP and get more info, go here. It’s early bird gets the worm, so make sure you don’t miss out! Hope to see you there!!!

She got her breakfast in bed. She’s was counting down the whole week leading up to her birthday. The night before I said, “The faster you sleep, the sooner your birthday will come!” And she was in bed lightening fast. She woke up before any of us, but we made her stay in bed so that we could prep all the breakfast goodies. She was so cute when we finally came in singing.

She got served waffles and Ben made a banana swan. She was having a ballerina party so we got her a vintage ballet costume, which I found for such a steal on etsy, and a vintage ballerina music box. I totally knew she would be all about that music box. She carries it with her everywhere and just stares at it. I think it will be right up there as one of her faves along with her monchichi.
We had her party (there will be a later post for this as I didn’t take pictures, but this talented gal did) and then after, we took Brave and True to go watch the movie Brave. It was all Brave’s dreams come true.

I can’t believe she is already five. I remember her being born so clearly like it was yesterday. I went to my midwife visit and she gave me homework… love my husband and go for a walk. I went home and loved my husband and then we took baby True to the OC Fair for the first time and walked all night long. The next morning, my water broke and it we were off to the hospital. Suddenly, our little family of three turned to four and Ben and I had only been married a little over two years. It all happened so quickly.

Brave and True are back to back. They are 16 months apart. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with Brave and was freaking out because I had a 6 month old and here I was, pregnant again. I think I cried for a week, not because I didn’t want her, but because how in the world do you manage two babies?!! I am so glad it happened that way. Brave is the sugar in our family. She is also True’s bestest friend. Yes, they fight, but they really love each other so much and get along so well. I am so glad they are close in age.

Though having two back to back is pretty crazy, and then having two more soon after that is just pretty much insane. We are so glad we’ve got four little ones that make all our days insanely and utterly chaotic, but yet, infinitely sweeter. This is what works for us!

on brave: striped dress c/o little esop.

One of the things we have been loving this summer is our indoor hammock. I actually bought this hammock over two years ago and have been patiently waiting to put it up, and at the beginning of Summer, Ben finally got it up. I debated putting it up outside, but an indoor one just sounded kind of dreamy and so inside it went!

The girls absolutely love it! Most afternoons you will find one (or two) of them swinging back and forth. Sometimes it’s with a book in hand and sometimes not. When evenings come and the girls are in bed, I like to have my turn in the hammock and just relax. There is a couch across from it, so sometimes Ben will sit there and we’ll chat. One night, our power went out for a few hours, so I just opened up the windows, lit some candles, and quietly read while lying in the hammock. It was such a peaceful evening. Those types of evenings need to happen here more often.

It hangs from a very sturdy clasp and chain that are hooked onto some really sturdy eye bolts. Ben found the stud in the wall and that’s where the eye bolts went in. It is very secure and as long as it is being used properly, there are no problems. My only qualm is that the hanging fringe comes off easily, so I am always having to crochet it back on. Other than that, it’s a pretty dreamy place to relax and it’s one of our new favorite spots in the house.

Our indoor hammock is a spot in our house that definitely makes us smile. What spot in your home makes you smile?

I did a little guest post over at Uncommon Goods last week. We made a little art piece for Soul before she was born and it was about time to make one for Glow. See the full project here. Also, check out the curated collection I put together for baby over here too.  I’ve got the deer head (Bucky Sr.) and love it!

Chile Stuffed Burger on Fresh Focaccia. So good. In fact, it was made twice this week! Who can resist fresh bread and a yummy, spicy burger?! The first time I made it, I used serrano peppers and didn’t just stuff it in the middle but just mixed it in the meat. The girls had a separate batch as theirs was sans spicy peppers. Ben and mine was loaded with spicy peppers. I didn’t have the bread the recipe called for, so I baked my own. The second time I made it, I used the Anaheim Chiles. I much prefer the serrano peppers because it had much more kick. Bread is one of those things that are so easy to do, you really ought to do it more often, but just don’t because it sounds hard. It really isn’t. Of course, our fave with any burger is sweet potato fries. Such a good combination.

Cold Soba Salad with Dried Shiitake Dressing. The girls really loved this one. Actually, they really love soba noodles, so I knew this was going to be a fan favorite. We topped ours with tofu for protein. Ben and I loved this too, but of course, we have to add our own spicy sauce because we prefer dishes with kick. It’s just our style. My spicy tolerance has gotten so much higher since being with Ben.

Week 8/6 – 8/10
Monday: Scallion Meatballs with Spiced Coconut Spinach
Tuesday: Cilantro Chickpea Salad
Wednesday: Mexican Pizza
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Sushi Night!

I’m late in posting this because I took a few days off to focus on prep for my Brave’s birthday, but I couldn’t neglect this post because meal planning has really helped our evenings become smoother. Are you a meal planner? How do you decide what to make for dinner?

Thank you GLAD for bringing us this post. Learn how to make your kids’ summer daze into school days by clicking here to find Mom Made recipes and tips from GLAD.

It’s that time of year again, and last week I registered True and Brave back to school. They are homeschooled, but they go to a local charter school one day a week to take enrichment classes. Last year, it was just True, and this time Brave is officially in Kindergarten and gets to go too. They are both jazzed about going to school together.

One thing that gets me excited is knowing they will be together. True loved going to school one day a week, but since she is an introvert, it was sometimes difficult for her. Sometimes she would have stories about walking around the playground by herself because she was too shy to play with the other kids and because she didn’t want to play with boys like the other girls did. This time she will have Brave around, so I know she is so excited about that. Brave really helps True feel much more comfortable.

It’s funny too because when I registered Brave, I know the teacher took a double take on her name and had to ask me what I wrote down. Yes, they are really Brave and True, which no doubt will be a little topic in the first few days to have two sisters with that name combination. Just wait until the two babies join the school, the names get even wilder (we all love them nonetheless)!

With two of them going to school together, that means double the work in getting dressed and getting their lunches ready. True would always have little requests to pack her this or that for lunch. She would also come home with stories about how the other kids were asking her about the different fruits and vegetables she would bring and they would say they had never seen those before. She thinks it’s so funny that the other kids have never eaten a raw bell pepper. Most often, she said the kids were yucking and groaning about her choice of foods, but at the same time being curious about it. She told us that she would educate them on what that particular fruit or veggie was called and would matter-of-factly tell them it was good for them. That’s our girl! We always made sure to pack her at least one fruit or vegetable.

This time around, we get to send off two of our little girls with lunches packed with fruits and veggies and they get the chance to educate the other kids at lunchtime together. It will be so cute and I can’t wait to hear the stories of what the other kids say. This time they will have two fruit and vegetable loving Bratcher girls to deal with!

Do you find it easy or hard to get your kids (or yourself) to eat fruits and vegetables?