Since we are doing some home renovating, I’ve got lots of decorating on my mind. I’ve always adored vintage French rattan mirrors and was considering one for one of the girls’ rooms. A few months ago, I saw Target carried one that looks just like the vintage ones, and it recently went on clearance. I texted Ben to see if he liked it or if he would rather have a vintage one. Unfortunately though, he was “eh” about them. Then, he said if a Target one looks just like a vintage one, then it’s probably not unique enough. I chuckled at his response, and while he’s not wild about the mirrors, I still like them.

First one below is this vintage one and the second one is this one from Target. Would you do vintage (and pay more) or just pick up the Target one?

image above via the jungalow.

It’s been a wild and busy couple months. With our family trip, to starting home renovations, sending the big girls off to Texas, then getting sick, lots of things have been thrown to the wayside. We saw True and Brave off last week, and the next day Glow got really sick and couldn’t hold anything down. She was in bed for two days and on a liquid diet. Then, just when we thought things were good, Ben and I come down with something at the same time. We must have come down with whatever Glow had, but it manifested itself a little bit differently in both of us. Monday night was definitely rough. I just remember hearing Ben tell Soul and Glow to eat whatever they want (they ended up having pizza for dinner), and then waking up to them talking about how they loved the cotton candy. Ben is still a little sick with something, but I feel mostly better, so then everything can still go on.

Soul has been very verbal about missing her older sisters. It’s the sweetest thing. They are such a tight knit pack that it really changes the dynamics when they aren’t all together. We’ve been letting Soul and Glow sleep in True and Brave’s bed while they’re gone, so I think that’s giving them a little bit of comfort.

We can tell True and Brave miss us more too. They’re definitely texting and calling us more than last year. Our relationship has changed in the last six months and we’ve gotten closer. I think I’m a baby stage kind of mom, then a 10 year old plus kind of mom. I really struggle when they’re in the 4-9 year ages. I also attribute the closeness to a whole lot of grace and God working on my heart (and theirs) the last few months, and intentional moments of trying to be silly and present.

The four of us miss our big two and can’t wait until the Bratcher six is together again.

on true: little mermaid dress, c/o childrensalon. clogs (on super sale right now!), hanna andersson. on brave: dress, handmade. salt-waters, zappos.

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

We are thankful True and Brave made it to Texas safe. My mom accompanied them, so they get to spend a special weekend with both grandmothers together. It looks like they’ve been having a blast on all the pictures they’ve been texting us.

I’m excited to get some special time with Soul and Glow. We’ve been having lots of dance and singing parties together.

Love this child’s room. Looking for some inspiration in redecorating all the girls’ rooms.

Eesshh… these clogs are so lovely.

Summer 25% off sale going on at my fave Ms. Tips shop. Someone please snatch up this bag.

I have always loved these paper origami lights. It would look cute in Soul and Glow’s room.

I’m learning how to let things go. I’m definitely not a hoarder, but also it does pain me to move some sentimental things along. There’s just no way to keep these things forever and I sure can’t take it with me when I die.

Glow is sick. She was vomiting all day yesterday. Please pray for her to feel better. 🙁

So thankful to the Lord that we finally have a church family and are members at First Southern Baptist Church Bellflower. Come visit if you are looking for a church or happen to be in the area!

Enjoy the weekend friends!

True and Brave flew out to Texas yesterday and I sent them off with this little travel pack. Their backpacks are a project found in my book. Inside are some flash cards, snacks, but I think what got them really excited are the books. I Like to Draw/I Like to Write and Finish This Book are perfect summer activity books. The I Like to Draw is for True (it’s also I Like to Write on the other side); she’s really been into writing stories lately (she’s always loved drawing). The Finish This Book is more a detective type book and I know my Nancy Drew fan will have fun completing it.

This past Christmas, True received the Hello Kitty Fuji Instax from my parents. She has really been into photography and I call her my little kidtographer. Brave would borrow True’s camera to take her own pictures, but I had a regular mini Instax someone had given me as a gift (though I already had one), so we gave that to her to take with her this summer. The regular Fuji Instax doesn’t come with a shoulder strap, so we purchased this case and shoulder strap for her. She was so excited to have her own camera. One day last week, they both wore their cameras all day at home. They plan on making a scrapbook with all their pictures (they did so last year), so it will be fun to see what they put together.

We went to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific this past Saturday. The last time I went there was for my seventh birthday. Mommy told us we were going on an adventure, and on the way there, she exclaimed, “We are going to the Aquarium of the Pacific!”

First, we checked in and got stickers that say “Members.” My sisters and I love stickers. Then, we started exploring and saw baby alligators and some clown fish. Some of the clown fish were black and white, so I called them San Antonio Spurs fish. Brave, Soul, and I fed some sting rays. Glow was too scared to try. We saw a shark egg and we got a behind the scenes tour. That was so cool to be able to see what all the tanks look like behind the scenes and learn more about how they take care of the fish. We learned new terms like aquarists, husbandry, and a diver even gave us each a shark tooth!

Behind the scenes, we did an animal encounter adventure with sea otters named Chloe and Charlie. That was so exciting! The eat squid and shrimp, and we took turns feeding them. I had so much fun doing that. We had to make sure to feed them at the same time, so they won’t fight over their food. Also, if you say, “Paw,” and put your palm by the hole, they give you a high-five. They were so cute and we really loved spending time with them.

An interesting thing we learned is that male seahorses are the ones that carry the babies! The female seahorses have the egg and gives it to the male to give birth to the babies. Sometimes, the males eat some of the babies because they’re so hungry!

My favorite part was feeding the sea otters and seeing fish that look like Dory. We also learned that when they created Finding Nemo, they came to the Long Beach Aquarium to study for the movie. Brave’s favorite part was feeding the sting ray and sea otters, and seeing all the cool fish, especially ones that look like Nemo and Dory. Soul’s favorite part was feeding the sea otters and seeing the clown fish. Glow said her favorite part was all of it and eating at the cafe. It was a fun family adventure and I can’t wait to go back to learn more.

-True

This post is in partnership with the Aquarium of the Pacific. Receive $10 off your membership package here. Through the membership program, members get invitations to special member events, discounts on educational programs, and can go in and out as much as they like for a whole year.

We are excited to go back and keep exploring (there is so much there!). We are always so thankful opportunities such as this (my girls are especially thankful for the perks), and also for the time you take to support me, this space, and the companies I partner with.

We have this long hallway upstairs with some built in cabinets (and desk area) on one side. The builders intended the space to be computer area, but we don’t use it as such. We use the cabinets to store towels, blankets, and pillows, but they are kind of shallow and don’t store those things well. It has always been my intention that once we get wood floors in, to remove all the cabinets and put a wardrobe in its place, so now I’m on a hunt.

I love the DIY-ed one above (details on the Jungalow), but not sure I could do it. I’ve completed painting all 5 rooms (woot! woot!), but the idea of painting furniture intimidates me, especially if it’s dark wood. When it comes to vintage things, I love them as is, and every time I buy a piece with an intention to paint it, I never get to it. I was debating the two options below (top from west elm, bottom from shop found), but we kind of wish the West Elm piece had head to toe cabinets (we like the idea of a wardrobe the girls can hide in because we are reading through the Narnia series). That old one looks cool, but Ben isn’t wild about it. I started looking through Craigslist and saw a couple options, but nothing that made me dance. I am resolved to be patient until I find just the perfect piece.

top photo source: fiona galbraith for the jungalow