Fáilte Lillibette (hooray!)

178 days ago we booked a trip.

A trip to the Emerald Isle.

After 'talking' about finally getting away together, we put our money where our mouths were and did it. We leave tomorrow & I am thrilled that our days prior to departure have been nothing but fun with our boys.

It will be the longest we've been away from Leland. That is hard. He's really into me right now. It would be easier if he were a Daddy's boy but he's all mine.

Our weekend was low - key. Our love was rich. Our laughter was loud. I am so grateful for what I have....and I know I will feel exponentially more on each of these emotions once we're on the plane home. Once we've had a chance to really explore how good these gifts from God are.

We ate apples.
We made pie & homemade cinnamon whipped cream.
We shared life with friends.
We watched movies.
We went for walks.
We got hair trims.
We got new duds.

We were together one more time.

Farewell friends - check back for crazy Irish eye candy when we return....

can you guess?

what my inspiration for Leland's 2nd Birthday is??? Am taking DIY suggestions for fun ideas on how to decorate/bake for this little shin dig....

I woke up this morning to several inbox notes from readers asking a similar question since yesterday's guest post over at Sparkle Power! The question was:

How do you maintain a vegan lifestyle when your children/husband do not?

This very question kept me from giving it a GO for months. Honestly, it wasn't until I was keeled over in pain from endometriosis for days on end. Enough was enough.

I guess my 'secret' is not cooking entirely different meals, just altering them slightly.
I also stick to vegan shortening, bread & dough(s) no matter what.

Here is a sample menu from this week:

Breakfast
Joel: Cracklin Oat Bran w/Milk
Me: Cracklin Oat Bran w/Almond Milk
Boys: Whole grain waffles w/syrup
(we are obsessed with Cracklin Oat Bran btw.OBSESSED)

Snacks
Honeycrisp apple

Lunch
Joel: Sandwich or go out to eat in OHC
Me: Veggie wrap & Pita chips w/ hummus
Boys: Turkey wrap

Snack
Pretzels/Almonds

Dinner
Joel: Chicken on the Grill, grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes
Me: Black Bean burger on the grill, grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes
Boys: Chicken, asparagus, potatoes

As you can see, we are eating similar meals. The change is easy once you look at it like this. It's also helped that all 3 of my men have started to love some vegan meals I've made and that is even better.


A few other favorites of ours is cooking pasta with any and all veggies we can find in the fridge, adding fresh herbs from the garden & cayenne for heat & massive amount of garlic. Simple easy & comforting.

Vegan pizza is super easy & satisfying - I just am sure to include savory toppings (i.e. olives, artichokes, peppers, etc) to give me the salty taste since there is no cheese.

Hoping this is helpful to some of you considering the change. I will tell you aside from the obvious health improvement, I have lost 12lbs, have an amazing amount of energy & everything in my body just 'works' right.

To those of you on the fence, give it a go for 21 days! That is how long it took me to really feel a difference. Good Luck!

one on one

I remember when it was just Jude and I.

My firstborn giggly, smoosh-faced, blue-eyed, ice-cream-loving only child.

With the addition of Leland these last 2 years, I have seen love flourish between two souls in a way I didn't imagine. When 'Ju Ju' leaves for school, Leland cares. When he comes home, he runs back and forth, jumps ridiculously around the house & gets a big bear hug when they meet. Time with the miller boy duo is nothing short of hilarious.

I will say, however:

One-on-one time with my first born doesn't happen enough.

With all the crazy running we do in this life, it's simply difficult to make that time.

Last week I did. I am really glad I did.

It was a simple 30 minute trip to Menchies. Disclaimer: I really cannot stand this new fro-go place. It's always crowded and I feel rushed into a sorbet selection. I will say I tried the pumpkin fro-go and OMG.SO.FAB The reason we went there is because my 6 year old is obsessed.
So there.

We sat down, gave one another a little taste of our custom fro-go/sorbet & basked in a few moments toddler-less. I asked Jude a few questions - the rest went something like this:

ME: So, bud, I feel like we haven't spent much time just you and me....I am sad about that.

JUDE: Me too. (yogurt slurping)

ME: I am going to try and be better at that. Today I want you to know this is something special for just the two of us so if there is anything you want to talk about....now is a great time.

JUDE: Well...(LONG PAUSE & continued yogurt slurpin)...sometimes I miss it when it was just me & you, Mommy. I love Leland but I just miss it sometimes.

ME: I know, baby. Me too.

JUDE: I sometimes miss you.

ME: (trying not to cry) I miss you too, lovebug. It's hard when you are gone at school all day - I sometimes just wish you were home with me.

JUDE: Me too. oh....Mommy!

ME: Yeah?

JUDE: I think when I am a grownup & have a son...I'm going to take them to Menchies too.

ME: I think your son would love it.

JUDE: I also think that his Mom can go to work to make all the money for us & we can just play video games all day.

ME: (laughter) Perhaps she will...

Moral of this blog post:

STOP DOING WHAT ISN'T URGENT & GO HANG OUT WITH THOSE COOL MINI HUMANS MORE...life is too short.

'til death

It's obvious when an anniversary rolls around that you will think of how far you've come as a couple but this past weekend my vows took on new meaning. We decided to make an impromptu trip to visit Joel's grandfather. Grandpa Jack has been undergoing multiple seizures, possible heart attack & has been responding unfavorably to medication. It's been a roller coaster of text messages with every other text looking grim...

We knew it was the time to go & visit as our trip to Ireland was coming close and perhaps this would be our only time.

I am so glad we did. I mean, sure, it was awesome to see Grandpa Jack & see him on a 'good' day where we were pleasantly surprised to hear him speak, crack an inappropriate joke or two & flirt & flirt & flirt. This old man reminded us a bit of the Grandpa Jack we've always known & loved.

What made me squeeze my Joel a little tighter, however, was watching Grandma Carla care for this man she loved. I don't know that I'll ever forget seeing her sweet hands hold onto his or how she so lovingly put chapstick on his drying lips & then stoop down for a kiss. I listened to her speak of her hope & prayers & bible readings that had given her an arm to lean on during this time. While she was scared of losing him, she stood strong & quite literally stood beside him. Faithful. Faithful. Faithful.

On our car ride home, I will always remember exhaling deeply & holding Joel's hand - knowing the man who sat next to me would do the same for me and I for him.

'til death

It's obvious when an anniversary rolls around that you will think of how far you've come as a couple but this past weekend my vows took on new meaning. We decided to make an impromptu trip to visit Joel's grandfather. Grandpa Jack has been undergoing multiple seizures, possible heart attack & has been responding unfavorably to medication. It's been a roller coaster of text messages with every other text looking grim...

We knew it was the time to go & visit as our trip to Ireland was coming close and perhaps this would be our only time.

I am so glad we did. I mean, sure, it was awesome to see Grandpa Jack & see him on a 'good' day where we were pleasantly surprised to hear him speak, crack an inappropriate joke or two & flirt & flirt & flirt. This old man reminded us a bit of the Grandpa Jack we've always known & loved.

What made me squeeze my Joel a little tighter, however, was watching Grandma Carla care for this man she loved. I don't know that I'll ever forget seeing her sweet hands hold onto his or how she so lovingly put chapstick on his drying lips & then stoop down for a kiss. I listened to her speak of her hope & prayers & bible readings that had given her an arm to lean on during this time. While she was scared of losing him, she stood strong & quite literally stood beside him. Faithful. Faithful. Faithful.

On our car ride home, I will always remember exhaling deeply & holding Joel's hand - knowing the man who sat next to me would do the same for me and I for him.

little helper

My sweet Leland is growing up.

His little babbles are turning into sentences - see if you can translate what he is ACTUALLY saying into what he REALLY means:

"I wanna go oside"
"I want elmo"
"I want fishie cackers"
"tank u mama'
"wuv u mama"
"bye bye Ju Ju"
"oh no wheredhego?"
"pidaman" (spiderman)

I am enjoying conversation with this child & he is definitely more comfortable in his own skin knowing he can pretty much tell me what he wants.

Last night, I felt bad. He loves to help me unload the dishwasher. He is still kind of obsessed with the dishwasher. Not sure if I need to plan on him having a career in appliances but either way....he wanted to help.

EXCEPT his helping turned into 2 broken dishes.

Without even realizing I said this, sternly, tonight after dish #2 was shattered, 'No Leland, No break dishes! That was naughty!"

In that moment I forgot it was just an accident. He was just trying to help me. He was just trying to make me look into his eyes and tell him "Good job!" and to earn a little harmless applause.

Instead, he heard me use the word he hates most: NAUGHTY and his eyes welled up with watermelon tears, his little veins started to pop out & he ran into the other room to cry. I followed him to let him know I wasn't mad & we hugged it out.

Trying to be extra patient with my little helper these days....his little heart is still so full of innocence & goodwill.

*deep breath*

Squeezing him extra tight today...I think he forgives me.

the gentlemen project

I have to say the longer I'm a parent, the more I'm realizing how much I'm really influencing the future wives of these boys.

Every skill they will take with them into work//marriage//parenting will derive from the way we did things in our home. Sometimes I wonder if I'm screwing my kids up - I probably am a little.

I think one area that we are being successful in is in the area of training up gentlemen. Joel is so phenomenal at this & our boys take notice. It's almost always like on-the-job training when you have a ratio of 3 men to 1 woman in the house. Doors are being opened for me, I am getting the chance to relax after a long day, and occasionally I will hear explanation about 'why it's important to put the toilet seat down.' I just am so grateful for a husband who gets this and shows our sons its importance.

If there is one thing I hope my sons carry on into adulthood is that when looking for a someone to share life with....that they search for a wife...not a Mom. I know I will always think my boys are the greatest ever...but they really ARE going to make fantastic little husbands & dads one day.

LADIES....GET IN LINE.....in about 35 years, that is.....

sweetest sounds

Those sounds to me are the ones of crazy laughter + joyful screams + silly giggles + Joel occasionally getting kicked in an inappropriate area...

I love what a great boy-Dad my husband is....

See for yourself.

*no boys were injured in the taking of these photos*

labor day

Joel & I took a few moments to reflect over the weekend. A LONG weekend filled with downtime, work, but mostly downtime.

I had the opportunity to tag team with my favorite makeup artist mentor on a big Indian wedding in the CLE market. It was honestly a ton of fun getting to know this family. A memory I appreciate about it will be while getting ready for the reception....the Mother of Groom sat in my chair to get her makeup done. She was tired and ready for some much-deserved sleep. Her sister walked in the room talking about how ill-fitting her reception garments were. Once she unraveled the fabric, it turned out to be twice as long and really no way she could wear it without practically duct taping it around her waist over and over. I loved watching these sisters laugh & laugh - the kind of laughter you have when you've barely slept and just about anything is funny. I couldn't even do her makeup for a solid 5 minutes - and I loved how in every country, in any language, laughter is such sweet medicine.

Joel overdid the romance this weekend, friends....surprised me with a couples massage at Dragonfly Massage in their new location in Chagrin Falls followed by a beautiful dinner at Jekyll's Kitchen. I might have to say that the addition of a massage to 'date night' really causes you to relax, sleep better & feel closer.

I hope you all got some time in with some family this weekend....Short work week....let's make it count.

capture life

With life moving so fast these days, I am ever more motivated to get out with my camera so I don't forget. Heck, that is the whole point of this blog: Writing it all down so I can look back.

I love that feeling of clicking on a month a year or two back and remembering what trials & triumphs we faced back then. Usually they are different than what we are facing in the present.

As a makeup artist, I've been surrounded by a lot of photographers. I am amazed at how they work & how they view their subjects. I always love remembering a day watching a photog shoot and then later seeing what they were composing in that very moment.

I have to say one of my favorite photogs is my awesome sis inlaw, Kim. Her company has been exploding the Kalamazoo market over the last several years and I just love when success reaches those who diligently work in their art.

Take a look at her work....and check her out on facebook! (She gives away a free download every Friday!)