Whew, I've gotta tell you I'm pretty relieved not to have to take pictures every day anymore! Sure, it's a reminder to look somewhat put-together, but when it's this hot and we're not going anywhere (Andrew's car has been in the shop nearly all month, so we've been stuck at home), I don't always feel like making an effort...

It just took over an hour to get Peter down for his nap, so we'll just make this post short and snappy!

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

(Hop on over to facebook to learn the mundane details behind these photos, including which outfit Mary Claire emphatically told me is NOT PRETTY.)

Today seemed like a cool-ish morning - the weather website said it was only 71, so I figured I could wear sleeves and be okay!

Affiliate links below:

Then Elizabeth insisted on sitting on me and kissing me all through Mass while Cecilia sat as close as possible to me and Peter alternated between being taken out and talking VERY LOUDLY about all the saints in one of his favorite books. And there was a lovely whisper-fight between Elizabeth and Cecilia when Cecilia wouldn't let Elizabeth look at the Bible she was reading (and spent the ENTIRE Mass reading. It was one of John Paul's birthday presents and is AWESOME and they've been reading it nonstop, but there's no way it's coming to Mass again.).

Needless to say, I was feeling rather warm by the end of Mass!

Your turn!

Post your outfit details & links or not, regale us all with your children's antics, reflect deeply on the readings, or just do a straight picture post - anything goes as long as you actually wore your outfit to church. The link-up is open until Friday, so you've got plenty of time to add your post!

Just a few ground rules before you link up:

1. Please include a photo of what you wore to church this week.

2. Please link back to this post in the body of your post, so your readers know where to find other posts (posts not mentioning "My Sunday Best" or not linking back to this post will be subject to removal).

3. Please visit some other posts in the link-up & leave a nice comment - this is all about affirming each other and building community, not just link dropping :)

4. Make sure the link you add is a link to your specific post or instagram picture, not just your blog address.

5. Enjoy, and thanks for linking up!

An InLinkz Link-up

29/52: School Pictures

Cecilia invented a game the other day where she pretends to take "school pictures" using my tripod. She draws tiny little pictures to give to the other kids and then makes them pose for their "pictures" to be taken. It's adorable and also kind of hilarious.

This was her pose for her first picture, and the whole sequence of events was so hilarious that I couldn't share just one picture of each kid...

Then she realized I was taking a *real* picture and had to ham it up... Probably could've found a better background than the door that's sorely in need of a paint job though, huh?

She helped the twins figure out exactly what to do to take the pictures. That arm around Elizabeth kills me!

She neglected, however, to instruct the twins on any type of posing...

And then there was a SERIOUS FIGHT because Elizabeth tried to get in Mary Claire's picture! My goodness, when the twins fight they really really fight. Punching, kicking, hitting, you name it. It's bad.

So when Mary Claire finally got her chance in the spotlight, she couldn't shake the grumpy expression.

They kept up with the game the next day, but I tried to coach John Paul into a more socially appropriate smile (the cocky wink and thumbs up just isn't gonna fly...). 

And Peter decided he'd rather try on John Paul's boots than pose for a picture!

My Sunday Best, Volume 13: Pants-Free Week 4

Happy Sunday! I'm on my own with the kiddos today and am trying to write this while fighting them away from the computer and dealing with sobbing over untied ballet slippers... Sorry it's late! Here's what I wore this week:

Affiliate links included:

Monday: Non-maternity shirt from Stitch Fix, stretchy jersey skirt from last pregnancy 

(similar)

Home, Home on the Homestead (July Garden Update)

Linking up with {pretty, happy, funny, real} today.

I was headed to the chicken coop a couple days ago to toss some herbs in their nesting boxes (actually old vanities that came with the house), when I saw something that didn't quite belong...

John Paul, Age 7

Ahem. I feel like I would be remiss in failing to mention that somehow my eldest has managed to turn seven.



I dunno, doesn't that seem crazy-old to you?

28/52: Ice Cream Sundays

Sundays are really exciting days. When it's warm enough, the ice cream man comes!!!

I think he's in town a fair amount, but he only makes it to our neck of the woods once a week. Which is totally fine by me, because I'm okay with a little over-sugared indulgence once a week, but I wouldn't want to have to deal with the possibility of hearing that enticing music from his truck every single day!

My Sunday Best, Volume 12: Pants-free, Week 3

Happy Sunday! My sister's in town and we were all up late last night, so she stayed home with the boys while my mom and Andrew and I took the girls to Mass. You'd think that with 3 adults and 3 kids it would be no problem, right? But ah, the twins still have issues sitting near each other. So... Still not quite there. It *was* nice actually getting to be in the pew with Andrew the whole time, though! 

Here's what I wore this week:

27/52: "Gardening"

Last week Cecilia got it into her head that she really needed her own personal garden, and chose a spot right by the back door. She started clearing out the weeds and mulched probably a square foot before she gave up and moved on to another project. It was fun while it lasted, though!

5 Home (School?) Essentials You Didn't Know You Needed

Did you shop Amazon Prime Day last year? Did you even know it existed? It's coming up again on Tuesday, July 12. That's tomorrow!!!

There were tons of ridiculous things they had deeply discounted last year, and some legitimately useful things as well! But I'll tell you right now, updating your browser every 5 minutes to try to find out what the new deals are is... Kind of a time suck.

So! My advice? First, sign up for a free 30-day Prime trial so that you're eligible for these special deals. Then, figure out what you're specifically looking for and add all those items to a wishlist now. Then on Prime Day, you can update your wishlist and it'll automatically tell you how much the price has dropped since you added it, so you can tell if you're getting a good deal or not!

Need ideas for what to shop for on Prime Day?

My Sunday Best, Volume 11: Pants-Free Week 2, with Extra Seersucker!

Here we go, week 2 (and my first full week) of documenting the fact that I'm wearing real clothes! 

4th of July - I own no red. White & Blue it is!

Stitch Fix, 2nd Trimester Edition

I know it seems like almost no time has passed since my last Stitch Fix post! It's only been a couple of weeks, but about 3 months has passed since I actually received my last fix... I've been pretty excited to receive a maternity Stitch Fix box, partially in the hopes that they'd nail it and I could just buy it all, and partially because I just need inspiration. And when I opened the box? I loved it all!!!

This post contains affiliate links

Misimu Maternity Ravenscroft Split Neck Blouse ($48)

26/52: "Fireworks" and Mo' Cheese

I took the big kids to a fireworks show on the 2nd, but we still had our own driveway fireworks on the 4th because... How can you NOT have fireworks of some sort on the 4th of July? 

My Sunday Best, Vol. 10: Pants-Free July

Happy Sunday! Happy July! Happy almost-4th-of-July! 

Took the older two kids to see fireworks - my first time in many, many years! It's so much better with kids 😊 My favorite part? John Paul's impassioned, "Happy 240th Birthday, America!" after a particularly exciting firework. 🎆🎆🎆

A photo posted by Rosie Hill (@rosiehill425) on Jul 2, 2016 at 7:40pm PDT

Our pool had a fireworks show last night, so I took John Paul and Cecilia and we were up waaaaay past their bedtime, so we split up for Mass this morning so that they could sleep in. Which means I ended up with just Mary Claire! She's always a little bit of a loose cannon, but at 3.5 she can still be counted on to stay in the pew (her repeated requests to use the bathroom were denied, because I *knew* she didn't actually have to go, say most of the responses, sit/stand when everybody else does... It's always nice to have just one child to focus on, because I could talk her through the Liturgy of the Eucharist instead of just trying to keep her and the other kids quiet and away from each other! 

Pants-Free July, Version 2.0

So I talked a few weeks ago about doing another Pants-Free July challenge for anyone who's up for a little bit of summer wardrobe fun - and here we are, on the first day of July! 

What do you think? Do you want to try your own twist on Pants-Free July? I'm not going to hit you with real rules, because I think that you need to come up with what works best for you - for example, the last time I did this (3 years ago), these were my self-imposed guidelines:

1.  No pants in public.  Dresses and skirts only.2.  No pants at home unless I'm in my pajamas.3.  No pajamas outside (I've taken to gardening in my pajamas because I get so hot at night that I take my pants off to sleep anyway...  TMI?)4.  If the kids are all dressed, I better be dressed too!Am I the only one who gets the kids dressed and realizes that I'm still in my pajamas?  I need to stop being the last one dressed...5.  Everything must be nursing-friendly, and specifically tandem-nursing-friendly, since there are still times when both twins need to nurse simultaneously. 

This time around, I'm pregnant and have kind of a limited wardrobe, plus I'm not currently nursing. So I'm looking for some basics to round out my wardrobe (how do I have practically nothing?? I don't even understand...), and trying to make things work with hot & humid weather, no central AC, and a whole lot more outdoor time. We'll see what I come up with!

This, for instance, is not exactly a "let's go hiking down to the pond and go pick wild blackberries!" type of outfit...