{classic} floral & stripes

[dress: c/o eShakti // shoes: Kohl's]

My favorite pattern combination by far is floral & stripes. 

In my eclectic opinion it's just classic. 

So when I saw this dress from eShakti I was all over it! 

Not only is it my favorite print, 

and favorite colors, 

but it's easily one of the comfiest dresses I own. 

And these shoes are just amazing and I try to pair them with anything and everything I can think of. 

When I wore this to church, one of the male leaders in the ward kept asking, 

"How are you standing???" 

And I just threw my head back and laughed and said, 

"Oh easily!!" 

Then tripped on the way to class. 

Then all the Young Women wanted to try them. 

And I guess that helped solidify my new reputation of, 

"Sister Robinson has the craziest style."

So... I'm feeling pretty good about all that. :)

How We Wore It // Fashion Collaboration

This month's Fashion Collaboration inspiration is from Robyn Vilate and is a fun, casual outfit. 

Perfect for a mom on the go especially in the ridiculously hot summer months. 

This was the original:

[via Robyn Vilate] 

I love how she is able to make such a simple outfit look so cute. 

And seriously her hat inspires me. 

I don't think I can pull of hats! 

But I'd love to try so I don't have to do my hair as often. 

Even though it reminds me of my awesome concession days at BYU ;) 

I didn't really have any of the elements of her outfit except a hat and some {fake} converse. 

But decided to try my take on a casual, day-to-day outfit. 

[shirt: Target // skirt: c/o BellaPia Designs // shoes: free swap pile // hat: Adam's :)]

I traded in the jeans for a comfy, lightweight maxi skirt from BellaPia Designs. 

I think sometimes maxi skirts can be almost heavier and hotter than pants. 

But I love how soft and lightweight it is and it's perfect for the summer. 

Also, yeah, I should wear hats more. 

And not ever get ready again :) 

Your take on hats??

Check out these other great looks from these lovely bloggers!

Brooke at Silver Lining

Deidre at Deidre Emme

Sierra at Sierra's View

Sharlee at My New Lines

 

Laura at Sincerely, Laura

Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba

 

Kaycie at Redhead Memories 

Kyla at FordOlogy

Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect

Danica at Danakin Skywalker 

Tayler at The Morrell Tale

Jessica at My Peanut Butter Problem

Emma at Ever Emma

 

Kalyn at Geez Louise

 

Bonnie at Life of Bon

Rachel at Rachel Sayumi

 

Inspiration: Because I Have Been Given Much

How We Wore It // Fashion Collaboration

Another round of How We Wore It! 

It's always a good exercise to shop my closet and see it all in a fresh, new light. 

And my budget always likes it too cause it decreases my chances of emotional shopping sprees ;) 

For this month the original outfit came from Memorandum:

[via Memorandum]

Since I just did an outfit with a white, tulle skirt, I tried to go outside the box a little bit and use something else for inspiration. 

I decided to try to mimic the general use of neutrals and do my own twist on each piece. 

This is what I came up with: 

[skirt: Wal-Mart last summer // shirt: c/o Fresh Produce // shoes: Forever 21 // necklace: c/o Sebastian Designs]

{polka-dot chambray shirt --> purply-gray gingham}

&

{white, pleated skirt --> cream, lace, see-through overlay skirt}

When I asked Adam how it looked for pictures he said, 

"Well, you can see through your skirt...."

I told him you're supposed to and he wasn't really impressed, ha!

Actually, the original slip of this skirt was a little shorter underneath. So I took one of my longer white slips and added it on top of the original slip to make it more modest. I thought it worked out nicely... But maybe I need a {hopefully nicer?} second opinion. 

Thoughts?? 

Check out these other great looks from these fun bloggers!

Brooke at Silver Lining

Deidre at Deidre Emme

Sierra at Sierra's View

Brooklyn at A Little Too Jolley

Laura at Sincerely, Laura

Aubrey at Dreaming About Someday

Kaycie at Redhead Memories 

Kyla at FordOlogy

Kallie at Life Through a Lens

Ashley at Absolutely Ashley

Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect

Danica at Danakin Skywalker 

Tayler at The Morrell Tale

Jessica at My Peanut Butter Problem

Paige at The Mrs and Momma Bird

Bonnie at Life of Bon

always stay my baby

With the demands of a new baby and also babysitting a second baby, Elijah kind of gets the short end of the stick most days. By the end of the day my nerves {and patience} are totally shot and I'm craving to just get in my pajamas and binge on Netflix. 

Lately when putting Elijah to bed, he always asks if I can sleep with him for a little bit. 

Usually Anneli is crying to be fed or when Adam was gone late studying most nights I just wanted to go detox by emotions before I went to bed so I would tell him I couldn't right then and just tickle his back again. 

It kind of hit me in a "I'm a terrible mom" sort of way when I realized that my poor boy, after his own hard and stressful day of his mom caring for other babies, just needed some of love and attention from his mommy at the end of the day. 

So I've tried really hard to say YES each night when Elijah asks for more time. 

We cuddle, 

we tell stories, 

we sing lullabies, 

 I tickle his arm, face, and back... 

And we reconnect after a long day of demands & time-outs. 

Though I'd like to say it's made a huge difference in his behavior during the day, 

that all of a sudden he listens and obeys like a little angel after getting extra cuddles in. 

But it has made a huge difference in both of our attitudes and patience levels. 

He knows I love him even when he disobeyed. 

And I know he loves me even when he sticks his tongue out and refuses to put his shoes away. 

And when I'm busy feeding babies, I think he knows he's not forgotten,

that at the end of the day I'm still his mommy too and he's still my sweet baby Elijah,

forever & always. 

in my dreams

Sometimes {oftentimes} I get really discouraged about things... 

I get frustrated that all I do is stay home, 

that I'm not using my degree in a career that I've always wanted, 

that we are still students and will forever be students, 

that I don't have XYZ like so-and-so does, 

that I've washed the same dishes 183462 times and folded laundry 7289 more times, 

that my life is just... plain.

disappointing? 

not what I expected. 

Then I have these moments of perfect clarity, 

where all of a sudden I'm my past self peeking in the window of the present, 

and I think 

this is all I've ever wanted. 

Growing up I imagined my handsome & loving husband coming home, wrapping his arms around me in a tight embrace and giving me a kiss on the cheek as I finish preparing dinner. 

I thought of my sweet little children, playing and laughing all day as I got to stay home and make up stories with them. 

I pictured going on family walks, holding the baby while my husband chased my older kids on their bikes. 

I dreamt of a loving home, full of happiness & joy & chubby babies, and all of us coming together at then end of the day reading stories and giving piggy back rides to bed. 

Throughout the years many of my goals & aspirations in life have changed. 

My career goals have ranged from teacher to doctor to therapist to hair stylist and everywhere in between. 

My dream home is continually evolving. 

My likes, wants, desires are shifting daily. 

But the one thing that has never, ever changed has been my dreams for my family. 

And although there have been many unexpected things along the way, 

many hard times and sorrows, 

I look at my cute, sweet, perfect little family of four and think, 

"This is what I've always dreamed of

and all that will ever matter." 

Inspiration: Deep Beauty

Super-Elijah Birthday Party

For Elijah's 5th birthday he wanted a Superman party. 

He had been talking about it since the day after his 4th birthday so I felt quite a bit of pressure to make this party awesome and all his little dreams come true!

So I stayed up super late and spent a ridiculous amount of time on crazy crafts and decorations and it was total and utter chaos... HA! 

But! 

Elijah did say it was the best party ever and the kids left happy and hyped up on sugar. 

:) 

(I was so busy that I forgot to get pictures of everything but I was pretty proud of it before all the kids destroyed it)

My amazing friend sewed capes for all the kids to start their superhero training.

They then tested their superhero skills with an accuracy test of throwing darts at balloons, 

practiced using their x-ray vision for "pin the symbol on the Superman," 

and had a superhero obstacle course. 

There was an incident where one little boy got stabbed in the foot with a dart...

and juice and popcorn and Kryptonite suckers where everrrrrrrywhere... 

and it was total craziness and I never want to throw a party again until he's at least 8...

But from what I heard the kids still had a lot of fun! 

And I had a lot of fun with my annual use of creativity. :)

{But seriously no more parties until he's 8.}