soon

summer is coming soon.

summer break has unofficially started for lola.

she had her last “official” day of school on monday.

i’m fluctuating between excitement and fear of what summer will bring.

i am so blessed to be able to be home with my children when they are home from school, but it is hard.

i keep reminding myself that this is going to be the best summer ever…it is.

i am also a little overwhelmed at the prospect of keeping my kids entertained all day, everyday.

we will be coming up with a summer list soon…just like last year, and the year before.

before we finalize that, momma gets to go away next weekend.

a long awaited weekend away, and a dream come true.

stay tuned…

home is…summer break is coming.

poof!

Two days ago I was trying to clean up photos in iphoto and I got a dreaded pop up.

I began to freak out.

Years of photos.

In fact, I had just downloaded photos from a field trip I took with Reece the day before.

Photos I deleted from my camera as soon as I saw them on my computer.

Then…POOF!

Gone.

Our computer guy has reassured me that he can restore them from our backup.

Next week.

It makes me thankful for this blog…and what I have done here for the past 4+ years.

If all was lost, I would still have this.

And, to keep it in perspective after the loss that people have endured this week in Oklahoma, it’s not that big of a deal.

Here’s the thing…

I take LOTS of photos.

I take photos of my kids that nobody ever sees (which I eventually will put into photo albums for our family).

I take photos of our home and garden…mainly for the blog.

I take photos on my phone.

I take photos for my etsy shop.

I take LOTS of photos, period.

So, here are a couple of questions for other bloggers and photographers…

What photo management software do you use?

What photo editing software do you use?

How do you manage a workflow to not duplicate and triplicate photos?

How do you backup your photos?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

home is…always learning from my mistakes.

{through the rearview} old photos new life

throw back thursday

or

flash back friday.

either way…

either day…

people post older photographs on instagram.

it might be a year, or 10, or 30.

about a month ago, i was cleaning (on thursday, i clean), had to put something away in the attic, and pulled out two photo albums.

one my sister made for me.

the other was one i just put together with photos my mom passed along to me.

the kids loved looking at them.

and, to do anything to procrastinate (did i tell you i am a procrastinator?!), i posted a couple on instagram.

it’s fun.

and, you know what it reminds me of?

that i had an awesome childhood.

that is why i do what i do for my children.

it is fun to have fun.

to go on adventures.

learn something new.

play with friends and family.

i’m going to use these photos, and many more, to write some posts about my childhood.

i think it will be fun.

and, it’s fun to have fun.

home is…being reminded of my childhood.

{our home} home made lovely

Happy Friday!

Today I am taking readers for a tour of our home over at life made lovely!

I feel very honored to be a part of Heather’s inspiring home made lovely series.

So, go check check it out!

home is…sharing our home.

{in the garden} early may

Just a few photos of things that are happening in the back yard…

I think we will get the veggies planted out front this weekend!

home is…playing in the dirt.

attitude is everything

We’re fighting seasonal allergies around here.

Mine start in March, and start to clear up about now, but the kids are having a rough go of it right now.

Lorelai and I were up at 2:30 am…and haven’t been back to sleep (she slept for 20 minutes right around 6 am).

I was throwing myself a pity party this morning.

I don’t do well without sleep.

I was in tears this morning…feeling sorry for myself.

It didn’t feel good.

So, I decided to change my attitude.

Not always an easy task, but it can be done.

The kids and I went to school and gave Reece’s teachers a gift for Teacher Appreciation Week.

(i will blog about it later this week, but until then you can check out what we did the last two years here and here)

Both of his teachers said they had had rough mornings and that the gift helped them to feel better.

Spread kindness.

I realized that in the hurry to get out the door we forgot Reece’s lunch.

I texted Ryan, and he offered to drop it off at the school.

Accept help.

Lorelai and I went for a run down to the river. The endorphins and vitamin D surely helped to boost my mood. In addition listening to a little Maroon 5 and Adam Levine helped push me harder…I ran 3.75 miles the longest I have run in over a year.

Get outside.

Get moving.

So, I’m still tired, but my mood is better.

Attitude is everything.

Our weekend was pretty awesome.

The weather in the Pacific Northwest has been amazing the last week.

We centered our actvities around being outdoors…

the Kentucky Derby…

and Cinco de Mayo…

When all was said and done, we had tired kiddos.

When Lorelai and I got home from our run, she picked a flower from our garden for me.

 

I could really be Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail…

Kathleen Kelly: I love daisies.

Joe Fox:  You told me.

Kathleen Kelly: They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?

home is…turning a frown upside down.

 

 

{inspired} you are strong

I’ve been inspired by some recent posts about running from some of my favorite bloggers out there…

Meg wrote about running her first half marathon.

Nici wrote a guest post over at  Kelle’s blog about battling an eating disorder and running.

Maggie wrote about her relationship with running.

In addition, a local momma who used to push me to my limits in her Stroller Strides classes wrote about her experience at the Boston Marathon and shared her story with her facebook friends…she was right near the finish line as the bombs went off…and, luckily, is home safe.

my running story

The past two springs were tough on my health for one reason or another, so my exercise and running routines got set on the back burner.

I found plenty of other things to fill my time (thrifting, etsy, decorating our home, sewing, creating)…and my belly. Almost 10 pounds heavier, I’ve decided it’s time to get back into shape.

So, I’ve started running again.

When I can, I run a quick route down to the park with Odyssey. He loves it. I love it. And, it does both of us a lot of good.

This week I had missed my runs with Odyssey with kids being home from school sick, and Ryan out of town. The weather today was much too beautiful to run on a treadmill indoors, but I was itching to go for a run.

Not just itching, CRAVING it.

I NEEDED to go for a run.

I thought about Nici’s post and I pulled the BOB dualie out of the back of the car (where it’s been riding around for months) and pumped up the tires.

Lorelai hopped in and off we went!

Long story short, I ran farther and longer than I have in a LONG time.

An older woman running the older direction said, “Wow! You are strong!”

And, I crossed paths with another momma friend, who is also a runner, and has put together a fundraising race in the very park we were running in…go check out the foundation website and the race facebook page…and sign up to run with me (I will be running the 10K).

I run because I like to.

It feels good physically (when I run…maybe not so much afterwards).

It feels good emotionally.

I can do it alone.

I can share it with friends.

I can share it with my dog.

I can share it with my little girl.

And, it doesn’t hurt to hear people say, “Wow! You are strong!”

my very first running inspiration

You know who it is?

My sister.

She was always faster than me.

A better athlete than me.

It was like she didn’t even have to try and she learned to do hard things…like back flips.

She never took gymnastics.

When we were in college she worked at a running shoe store.

She ran 1/2 marathons before I had any idea what a 1/2 marathon was.

She ran in the snow.

She ran in the rain.

She ran to places in Boulder I didn’t know existed!

I had no interest in running.

She asked me to go, but I rarely did.

One of these days, I hope that my sister and I can run a race together.

I’m not into running for more than 1 hour at a time, so I like 10k’s, but I might run a 1/2 marathon if she would run one with me!

and a winner…

Thank you all so much for leaving a comment. So fun to read what you would or would not change. Seems that most of us were happy with our special day! Life is good!

The winner of the $50 minted.com credit is tara (@etsetara)!

Please send me an e-mail at homeis{at}stephanytaddeo{dot}com so I can get you your prize!

home is…running inspiration.

wouldn’t change a thing…maybe

My husband and I are way past the newlywed phase.

This October we will have been married 13 years.

If I had it to do all over again I wouldn’t change a lot, but the options for personalization and making your wedding YOURS are truly endless.

Just a quick search on Pinterest will give you all kinds of DIY wedding ideas, tutorials, and inspiring photos.

When we were planning our wedding I thought we were stepping waaaay out of the box by sending our save the date as a newsletter with stories about how we met, etc, our rehearsal dinner invitations on post cards, and {gasp} square wedding invites!

For instance, have you visited Minted, yet?

They have some of the most amazing invites designed by independent designers.

I might have chosen something like this…

or this…

or this…

or, maybe this…

No matter what, there is definitely more to choose from!

Not only does Minted.com offer beautiful invites, but you can also view customer- and designer-created inspiration boards.

For weddings…

Northwest Media Photography board by Jenny. See more Minted.com

…babies…

Nesting Bird board by fatfatin. See more baby shower invitations on Minted

…home…

…and holidays.

Holiday Card board by Lauren. See more Minted

In fact, we ordered our Christmas cards from Minted last year!

And, wouldn’t you know it, we sent out a post card!

how about a giveaway?

Minted would like to give one of you $50 towards a Minted purchase!

To enter, answer one of the following questions as a comment:

If you could change one thing about your wedding what would it be?

or

If you are dreaming about, or planning a wedding, what is one of the must haves for your special day?

 

Deadline is Wednesday, May 1st at 9pm Pacific.

Winner will be announced on Thursday, May 2nd!

home is…time flies when you’re having fun.

pfabulous photography

We had a family photo mini session on Sunday evening with a local portland momma and fabulous photographer, Jenn, of Pfaus Photography.

We met through Instagram, and when I saw that she was doing mini-sessions I signed up.

We have not had professional family photos taken in three years, so it was time.

Here are a few preview photos…

home is…pfamily photos.

cock-a-doodle-do at four in the afternoon

Just checkin’ in.

During the winter months I want everything cozy and warm, but it was starting to feel heavy and cluttered.

So, I’ve been rearranging.

Spring cleaning.

Lightening things up a bit.

I’ll share it all with you soon.

For now, a few photos from {m}iphone…

He’s getting used to the empty space in his mouth and alreay has another loose tooth.

She  has such a fun personality. Singing, dressing up, making up stories.

Put this back up on the chalkboard in the family room…it is kind of “dog themed”.

A few of my favorite things found a nice spot in a vintage crate on the wall in our kitchen.

Lorelai is writing her name at school.

A jar full of little people in the playroom.

We have ants. The kids are both mesmerized and terrified by them. They will hold snakes, walk up to big dogs, feed goats, but ants…it might have something to do with the ants that were all over me at the refuge over spring break.

The last of the camellia are blooming and falling to the ground. There’s a big mess to clean up. I wish they lasted longer.

She let me put a braid in her hair. I love it when her hair is out of her face.

It was a nice morning to share my coffee with Odyssey. Then it got windy and rainy. Then sunny. Then rainy. Then sunny, again.

Trader Joe’s had bunches of ten daffodils for $1.29. I bought 5 bunches. They brighten up the craft table.

 

Mail makes me happy. This afternoon we pulled into the garage just as the mail man stopped. I got an unexpected package from an instagram friend. Homemade jam and this beautiful granny square garland. I absolutely LOVE it!

This oldy, but goody dowloaded with my other photos. I decided to share it because everybody else is sharing photos of their newly hatched chicks. I want chickens, but Ryan isn’t so keen on the idea. Maybe next year. For now, I’ll visit other peoples chickens and be happy that our neighbors have a rooster that wakes us up every morning…and all day long.

He’s cock-a-doodle-dooing now…it’s 4pm.

I would like to read up about raising chickens and I know there are a lot of you out there who know about it, so if you have some good recommendations please let me know!

home is…just chicken in on a Wednesday afternoon. {get it?!}