tshirts

{What a unique title!}

I’m feeling some bullets this Friday morning… this is our week in bullet form.

• After a mere 7 days with us my mom left on Tuesday morning. I was so very sad to see her go but so thankful for the time she was with us. She took Bird Brown, PhD home with her, too.

• We love the Nutty Professor and were sad to see him leave too, I think Rover was playing barnyard animals on his back. He probably wasn’t too sad about leaving.

• I suspect we did Mom in. One night she was supposed to be reading to the kids but Morgan apparently let her off the hook by taking over that responsibility. When I walked in, I found her sleeping soundly at the foot of the girls’ beds. I can’t really blame her, I’ve been known to do the same thing. The days are long and exhausting in a home with three little ones.

• Justin spent some time this weekend working on bee “stuff”… we’re hoping for a good spring harvest this year. These new frames are where the bees store the honey inside the super. They have a thin sheet of bees wax between the frames.

• Last night I had the pleasure of having a girls night at a fabulous little spot in Troy, AL…

• Mossy Grove is an old schoolhouse turned restaurant tucked under massive trees laden with Spanish moss in Troy, AL. They have good down home cooked food. It was so good to be in the company of these friends. I’m going to briefly tell you about the three of them and you will see why I left encouraged & renewed. Delta: mother of 4 little boys, she and her husband BK are raising their family in an impoverished and disadvantaged neighborhood in downtown Montgomery. Their ministry is Common Ground Montgomery, you should check it out. Laura: also a mother of four, is a special education teacher in a public high school; to hear both her and Delta speak of their work always  encourages me of their selflessness and the impact they both are making in the lives they are ministering to. Lindsey: My chauffeur and dear friend {who now lives 5 minutes from me as opposed to 3 hours} is a homeschooling mother of 3, whom I’ve loved having nearby. She is a genuine and supportive friend that I’ve found myself thanking God for bringing her closer to me. It was an awesome night of much needed fellowship… and I hope we do it again soon!

It’s also been a super busy week at Honey Bee Tees and we are almost completely restocked on all your favorites with a couple new designs in the mix. Thank you for your feedback and overwhelming support of raglan tees! I hope to introduce them soon! In the meantime, here’s what’s new and in stock:

new Katie Koi for girls
new Big Wheels for boys

Happy Camper Thermals
Bug Jars
Grasshoppers
Just Cruisin’
Firetrucks

Would you also look at Rover’s hair in that picture above. It looks like I cut his hair with a hedge trimmer. Have you ever tried to cut a 2-year-old boy’s hair? It’s nearly impossible… but after seeing that picture I’m going to attempt to do a little blending on that side of his little head!

This is precisely why cutting his hair is nearly impossible… he’s too busy being a little warrior. And as you may also see, he’s sporting a new Honey Bee Tee… a monster truck. A classy {can you call a monster truck classy?} and simple monster truck for little rovers {like Rover} who love monster trucks! It’s on a moss green tee that goes great with khaki or camo shorts {which is always his preference}.

And… now I must go… but I’ll be back soon, hopefully to report on a fun girls weekend at the beach that I’ve been looking forward to for a while now… most of the girls will be running a half marathon and I’ll be their moral support! 🙂

And one more thing, several folks asked about my cake carrier/tin in this picture and I wanted to let you know I got it at Hobby Lobby.

And one last thing, I went to the dentist yesterday.

To my untrained eyes my teeth looked cavity free… they’re not, I may have shed a few tears over this. And, I’ll leave you with that… word to the wise: go grab your floss and get busy!

When your husband gives you cheese and sausage…

make {Valetine’s} pizzas.

I think I have the nicest, funniest, and most endearing blog readers on the planet. One day, I’m going to take the most hilarious comments and write a post just with them. I’m glad to know that I’m not alone in receiving unusual gifts. Do I even dare say some of your husbands may have him beat!?

First, queue the Hallelujah chorus… my parents are on their way from the still-frozen-mid-west for a little visit! This has been a long time coming and we are all anxiously awaiting their visit. This post will be short due to the fact that I should be throwing things in closets and under beds to prepare for them impending arrival. Rover’s already insisting that Daddy Boy play cows with him and that Mom play in the tree house with him… let’s hope they don’t disappoint, something tells me they won’t!

Second, it’s been a busy week around here and I’m still completely into making candles. Sometimes I laugh at myself when I think back to my mom and the crafting phases she went through when I was growing up in the ’80s… for instance, she was a basket maker, a dried floral expert, topiary queen, and I remember her taking floral fabrics, cutting them out and decoupaging them to baskets… were any of your mother’s into those things? Oh, and she was also known to stop on the side of the road and dig up wildflowers. Erika and I were always mortified in the backseat and would duck down, hoping no one saw her, or worse, us! Anyway, it is clear I am becoming her and one day the girls will say, “Mom, remember when you used to make candles and our whole house was so fragrant you almost made us all throw up?!” We met Justin at a restaurant for dinner Friday night and when he hugged me he was like, “Hmmm… what do you smell like?” You know how when you think you smell like something but can’t really tell if you smell like it or if it’s because you’ve been smelling it a lot… well, it’s likely that  you do smell and it’s not just lingering fragrance in your nose holes. I was like, “Oh no… are you telling me I smell like what I think I smell like?” He went on to confirm that I smelled like a country store. Now, this was due in part to the fact that I made 3 or 4 different types of candles, all smelling really good in and of themselves but the combination was a bit much, especially since my hair and cotton sweater absorbed all of them. Make a mental note if you want to make candles… good ventilation is important, you may want to wear a shower cap and change your clothes when you are done.

This week is teacher appreciation at the school… in my book, a really good reason to make some more candles. Most were of the apple/cinnamon variety.

And some were cinnamon toast.

The tags were a gift from Pam at pixelimpress, aren’t they fun?

Now, switching gears, to Honey Bee Tees. I’m running a 3-Day Sale on all LONG SLEEVED T-SHIRTS & SWEATSHIRTS to make room for new spring and summer that will be coming in soon! All long sleeved shirts are 15% off today through Friday!

And look what else the UPS man brought in for all the little bitty babies… pink bunnies, neutral fawns, and blue Humpty Dumpties!

These sweet little daygowns are for little bitty babies {0-3 months}… complete with hand covers and elastic at the bottom for easy changes!

I apologize that there are no live pictures of babies wearing these sweet gowns… I thought about putting one on Darby Doll but was afraid it would be the end of Honey Bee Tees so I decided against it.

Ok, gotta go hide my stuff…

For a long time, maybe the entire time we’ve been married, Justin and I have played a game we call Highs & Lows, usually at the end of a weekend. I can’t remember if I’ve ever told y’all about it or not but today, to recap the last few days, I’m playing Highs & Lows… I think you’ll catch on!

::HIGH:: Finding this on the counter.

::LOW:: Finding this on the counter and fearing with everything within me that it was a portrait of me.

::HIGH: Finding out it was “just a girl” and not me! Whew!

::LOW:: Rover waking up in the middle of the night for the last 3 nights.

::HIGH:: Having creative kids who can easily entertain themselves.

::LOW:: Having creative kids that make giant messes and don’t clean up after themselves.

::HIGH:: Warm enough weather on Saturday for a baby pool, hose water & bathing suits {or not} on the patio!

::LOW:: Cleaning up poop off the patio from a certain diaperless streaker.

::HIGH:: Having friends {and 12 children} over Saturday night for Tacos & Beer.

::LOW:: Sending Justin to store for 5lbs of ground beef and him coming home with 12 lbs of ground beef. I had to stretch for this LOW… at least he went right!? 🙂 And my freezer is now well-stocked with seasoned, cooked ground beef.

::HIGH:: Once everyone left Saturday night, slow dancing with Justin in the dining room to Pandora’s pick–> Bob Marley: Stir It Up.

::LOW:: Not having an “upgraded” Pandora account and having to repeatedly listen to advertisements for a movie called No Strings Attached, which sounds like, quite possibly, the epitome of detestable movies about casual sex. The advertisement alone makes me want to throw up. My favorite station is Sandra McCracken and there’s nothing WORSE than her music being interrupted by that trailer. Perhaps the marketing team at Pandora is very cunning with their marketing schemes and choose horrid advertisements to encourage listeners to upgrade… worked for me!!

And I’ll end of a few highs…

Several new t-shirts are in stock and almost full stock on everything else! Including Bird Dog Sweatshirts and bigger, better, bolder, and perfect Canoe Ride Sweatshirts! Let me flip through a few of the new designs for you…

The Bug Jar & Grasshopper are screened on excellent new t-shirts from a different manufacturer and I am extremely pleased the fit, quality, and softness of these tees! Their sizing does run a little different from the other short sleeved tees {xxs, xs, s, m, etc…} so be sure to read the product descriptions before placing your order. I always suggest ordering up if in doubt. And I’ve added a little something special for little girls in PINK…. Just Cruisin’ is a long sleeved t-shirt  with a bike just for the little ladies! Morgan {below} is in a SMALL Grasshopper tee and is 6 years old.

And I’ll end with one more HIGH…

My friends Tim & Emily Loerke at Today’s Letters posted a recent talk they gave about their marriage… it is a sweet story of the redemptive power of grace both in their lives and their marriage! I encourage you to listen if you have a few minutes {or 20}… so worth it! I know their courage to be vulnerable will impact hearts for eternity! Way to go, friends… two fist pumps and two leg kicks for you rovers! And… they sent me a bottle of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Fields a few months ago… since I haven’t broken into it yet I may need to send it back to them so they can celebrate their braveness in high style!