Model Search!!

My 3 kiddos are in a model search for Ruffled Rebelles which is being sponsored by VanZandt Studios

I would LOVE if you voted for them. Please, make sure you like Ruffled Rebelles and VanZandt Studios as well.

Here is a link to give you some info to win a FREE GOODIE BAG from Only Prettier so it's a WIN WIN situation.

Plus!!! I am going to do a giveaway worth $20 on this blog as well. How to enter :

1 - comment below that you voted for the 4 kiddos on the FREE GOODIE BAG link

2 - Tweet and link below in a comment for an extra entrie

3 - Share the FREE GOODIE BAG link on facebook and link below

4 - Pin it!!!

We will check everything so make sure you play fair <3 <3

Would LOVE IT!!

I love photography!! It has become my new passion. I try to better myself on a daily basis and I am doing the 365 challenge.

Winning a new camera would really help my vision. <3

Want a chance to win a new one as well?? Of course you do. This LINK will redirect you to MCP.

Ponchita & Granny Smith

Some days... it's just fun to play. To dress up. To pretend.

Today!! Was one of those days.

Here's a sneak peek into our house. Gray was too busy building a train town to play with us.

Ponchita.

Aren't you loving these Photography Props?? You can find them at Only Prettier.

Which picture is your fave?

Our Friends, Melissa & Doug

Melissa and Doug ROCKS!!

There's no other way to put it.

They are brain toys. They are made in the USA by NORMAL people.

They are bright in color. And high quality... which normally mean high price tag.

Personally, I would rather pay for something that isn't cheap plastic and will last longer.

But when Melissa and Doug goes on sale... I get HAPPY!!

Zulily has Melissa & Doug on sale RIGHT NOW. 


Products as low as $6.99 which is an incredible steal.

Here's some of the kids' wishlist of items.

$25 $16.99

$17.99 11.99

$20.00 $11.99

And much more like all their vehicles... their instruments their art things. There are great products for a great price. Sure to make the kiddo in your life very happy for birthdays and holidays.

So go!! Stock up!! Let them know I sentcha <3

You NEED This!!

Every family needs a family photo.

Every.Family.

Why? 

Because things happen. Live for today...

Capture your family. Capture your heart. Your love.

It doesn't matter if you do it professionally or have a stranger take it. Just take one. Life is too short not to have memories.

My grandmother are BOTH very vain. They have pictures of themselves.. and I love!! I love reminiscing.

If you are local to DFW... check this photog out; Jenn Weis Photography

She just did our family photos and from what I have seen so far, I LOVE.

Plus she's running a special!! CHECK IT!!

If you link up... let her know I sentcha please!! 

We are 4!!!

I can't believe Alexandra & Grayson are 4!!!

I still remember my last day of work, coming home to the house clean (mom and Gary were here and cleaned the house and cooked dinner)... they were preparing for the next day. The day that the twins would arrive.

When I got home... there was a sense of relief. Then the emotions hit. I was excited. I was nervous. I was sooo HAPPY.

I had a scheduled C-section at noon on November 16.

I woke up after a good night's sleep... took my shower, did my hair and put MAKEUP on. Yes, I am vain. Yes, I know. Brian even told me I was the most vain person he knew... Whateve. LOL I knew there would be picture taken and I had to look good for my babies!!

We waited and waited. I was so thirsty and hungry and of course... I couldn't eat or drink anything. Then the nurse came in and said that there was an emergency c-section and I had to wait.

No prob!! If there was another mama or baby in jeoprady... TAKE CARE OF THEM.

When we finally got called back... I was so excited. I think Brian was extremely nervous.

I did NOT like the fact that I couldn't see what they were doing... especially since I smelt this burning smell!! I asked B what it was and he said he couldn't smell anything. SO, I said it louder!! HAHAHA. The anesthesiologist then said it was me. I didn't realize they used a hot knife to cut me open like butter. GROSS.

Baby A came out first. They showed me Alex. She was tiny and sweet. They cleaned her up... and we took a pic. Her face was so tiny and feminine. She looked like a little girl. She was MY little girl.

Then here came Gray. Screaming and crying and causing a fuss!! He was long and lean and lighter in skin tone then her. His face more masculine. Darlin' lil' man. MY little man.

Brian holding Alex... Me holding Gray

They were both healthy as can be!! No NICU for these monsters. We were so lucky.

And to this day we are so blessed to have in our lives. There personalities are wonderfully different. They are loving and caring. They are growing up to be GOOD little people... and INDIVIDUALS.

I took a few pictures of them on their actual birthday. They have changed so much... yet stayed the same. She is still MY little girl and he's still MY little man.

And our little man!!

Celebrate With US!!!

Last week was super busy. It started on Sunday... we CELEBRATED the kids' (yes, all three kiddos) birthday.

For the last several years, November 16 or around then, has had incredible weather. So this year, we used that knowledge and opted to have a birthday party at the park. 

BOY am I glad we did. We couldn't have asked for better weather! Though, I have to admit, earlier in the week, I was worried... rain was in the forecast. But since Texas is sooooo unpredictable we didn't panic... it ended up being sunny, breezy and with a high of 80!! LOL. It was great.

We rented a bounce house from Great Party Rentals, a local business. It was what the kids wanted so we splurged. 

The bounce house, like always, was a HIT!! All the kids (over 25 kiddos came) bounced and slid (there was a slide)... and played on the play ground. The adults chit chatted or threw the football around.

There was hot dogs and chips... and CUPCAKES <3

FUN + STRESSFREE = PERFECT PARTY

Here's some pics of our day:

Only Prettier: Holiday Bizarre!!!

Lot's of awesome things. follow the links to gifts UNDER $20!! {heart}

Only Prettier: Holiday Bizarre!!!: We are having a BIZARRE Holiday celebration over at Only Prettier . There's an auction with tons of boutique things from bling jewelry, t...

Bye Bye Bink

How can you not look at that face and go... "Awwwe.... he's sooo cute"

I can't. And while I may be biased, he's freaken adorable.

But he's going to be 2 in December. Yes, 2. I cannot believe how quickly time has flown. & it's time to say Bye Bye to his Bink.

Any suggestions?? If he wakes up with it in his mouth, it's hard to get it away. If he wakes up without it in his mouth he's usually okay.

I feel his paci is also detouring his speech. He has said quite a few new words these last couple of weeks but his only constant word is mama. Yay for me LOL.

So... yea. That's all I got for you today.

We are fixing to break Bink from his habit.

Gimme Some JEANS

And I want them to fit PERFECT!!

Jeans, that is.

I want a good fitting jean.

I am getting to that in between age. You know, not a "junior" anymore and not an old lady.

That's me.

My post baby body hates me and I hate it. I mean. I hate to be "ugly*" but the body is ugly. I appreciate that it works well (for the most part) but there are SOOOO many things I would change.

And though I would love to pour my heart out about my body woes, I will spare you.

All I will say is I want a jean to fit me well. So I don't look like an oompa loompa. So they flatter my figure (which I still have).

I know I have a big butt. I know I have big legs. And I know my tummy will never be flat again (until I get a tummy tuck) but there has got to be something out there for me :(

Right???

I put together this outfit on polyvore.com and love it

Red & Gray Classic by kristi-stone featuring bootie heels

But I could NEVER wear that. The model has legs for MILES. I don't. The top I could prob pull off if I had the RIGHT JEANS.

Wanna help?? Comment w/ your fave jeans. And folks. Let's remember I am like a tea cup; small... and round? LOL. Okay, not super round. More like a 10/12 and only 5'2''.

Join me on my jeans adventure!!!

Yes, I know I need to lose like 4 sizes.

*ugly - southern therm for rude, blunt, too truthful

Under The Sea

.... Under the Sea!!
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea...


This year, I am afraid, is the last year I was able to do a "themed" Halloween with the kids and I really think they loved it.


At first, when we started talking about Halloween, they all three wanted to be pumpkins. Then, at the beginning of September Gray said he wanted to be an orca! An orca?? Really?? Yes. An Orca, really. Gray LOVES them.


When I told him the Orca costumes were too expensive (like $40+) I asked him if a Shark would work. Well of course it would!! He loves Sharks too!! LOL.


Then... I showed Alex a SHINNNNNNNNNY Mermaid costume. She loved it. I knew she would. She likes anything with sequins and glitter. She's her mother's daughter for sure!!


And Dal, well... He doesn't talk much yet, so he got what mommy bought him; Nemo!!!

Hope everyone had a safe and wonder Halloween. Ours was great. I can't wait until next year

What's that SMELL??

Why, it's me. Or should I say, my clean, out of the dryer, still warm to the touch clothes.

Who needs perfume when you have the Bounce Dryer Bar?? That's right folks. It's awesome.

The other day... Dalton and I went out to the mailbox. It was Wednesday... I knew we'd have ads but I had NO IDEA I had a "gift" waiting for me.

Dal got to carry the "gift" inside... and proceeded to open it before I had a chance to see what he had. All of a sudden I hear him {sniffing} --- sssmmmm smmmmmffff mmm mmm

WHAT IN THE WORLD!?!


I glance over and see he's tearing open the packaging of this thing. Heck, I wasn't sure what it was. So I told him to let mommy have it and we could smell together.

Before opening it... I read the outside... Packaging was nice, bright and to the point.

I had seen the commercials for the Bounce Dryer Bar but hadn't actually seen one in the store.

Looked cool and we had a load of towels fixin' to go into the dryer.

This would be THE TEST. If my towels were soft and smelt good then the Dryer Bar would be a success

We, Dal and I of course, followed the directions. We cleaned the dryer, dried the place and then stuck the bar holder on to the metal part of the dryer. Seemed easy enough a 2 year old could do it.

The bar and bar holder aren't too larger. So I didn't worry about it interfering.

We added our towels and waited for the buzzer!!! BUUUZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Laundry was done!! Time to inspect. And to my amazement, the towels smelt awesome and felt great.

Now, let's fast forward until today. I got a new towel out of the linen closet. It was a towel from the batch I washed on Wednesday. It still smelt great and felt soft.

The Bounce Dryer Bar is a success for the Stone Household.

Loving this kinda LOVE

What is there NOT to love?!!?

I think it's important for parents to raise their children to love one another. Siblings should be close. Age gaps shouldn't matter.

Teaching kids that they are made up of the same "goods" is important. And when I say same "goods" I don't mean they have to have the same DNA make up. Real parents don't care about the DNA. They care about loving their children and giving them what they need to be successful little people.

I was very lucky my parents taught me this at a very young age. They taught me to do onto others as I want done onto me. I think that is what has stuck with me the most.

Plus... I was lucky to have an awesome brother. We could pick on one another but dare the FOOL who tried/ tries to come between him and I. 

It is nice to see the kids showing that same kinda love, you know... the one my brother and I share, to one another. 

Best friends!!

She says they're twins LOL

My little dude!!! He's getting so big. Almost 2.

Yea... sorry... I am to lazy to flip LOL. Handsome Gray

So you may want to know what prompted this post... this video is the end of what prompted this post.

Kinda Personal

Marriage is a commitment.

Marriage is a compromise.

Marriage is love & understanding.

Marriage takes work.

So... I ask you: Do children fall into those same categories??

Who makes the decision when to start? When to stop? What if one doesn't agree??

Compromise becomes difficult. Especially when talking about something so personal.

So permanent.

SO PROUD!!

On Saturday... the kids, Brian & I were at Brian's parent's, Terry and Craig, home.

I worked the Peanut Festival on Saturday... so the kids got to spend some quality time with GiGi and Grand-dad.

When I got home from the festival, around 6 pm... the kids were outside playing. Alex was showing me her "new" bike which GiGi and Grand-dad purchased at a yards sale. Dalton was running back and forth and Gray was playing with a transformer (nothing new there).

Were wall having a great time. The weather was perfect!!

Gray then switched with Alex. He wanted to ride the bike. He went back and forth on the HUGE porch a few times and then I heard.

"Snake. Mama there's a snake."

Gray had said it so calmly.

I asked him, "Gray do you see a big snake?" As I got up and headed to wear he was. I was a bit nervous actually and was hoping he'd say no.

We have had a LOT of grass snakes in our yard. They are about the size of a pencil. Every time the kids see one... they come get me so I can get rid of the little creature

Soo.... Gray's response was, "Yes... a really big snake!"

So I told him to stay on his bike.

Gray was on the porch, but at the end of the porch. I was at his side in a jiffy pop second and so was his Grand-Dad.

Craig/ Grand-Dad exclaims, "It's a cooper head."

As he was saying that, I grabbed Gray off his bike and rushed the kids in the house until we could dispose of the snake.

I WAS SCARED!! I had never seen a cooper-head in the wild. It was a good width and about 2.5 feet long. He was completely stretched out.

Ballsy Brian squashed his head with a huge rock... the snake was dead. YES. We killed the snake.




Anyways... I was so glad that Gray was so calm, and cool when he saw the snake. He knew exactly what to do; Tell a grown up. I am so proud of him for protecting us. I am so proud of him for knowing and remembering what to do in a situation like that.

They are getting so big!!

Please, Do NOT Compare

It is so hard for parents and PEOPLE not to compare children with other children.

For a parent with multiple children you always compare. You compare personalities, size, comprehension, what they like, how much they eat, what words they know, etc.

For outsiders... the comparison, in my opinion, is worse. They don't always know the age of the children they are comparing. Some children are small/large for their age so they ASSUME they should act a certain way or know certain milestones.

This frustrates me.

Both of my boys haven't been much of talkers at a young age. They have comprehended simple instructions from a very young age. And know body parts and animals at a very young age as well. But they just don't form their words.

Now, Alexandra (Gray's twin sister), talks all the time and has been since she was 18 mons old.

All three kids were taught the same way... and I have spent extra time with the boys. That didn't change things though. They are just late in talking.

Please, don't think they are less smart.

Just because a child doesn't talk a ton doesn't mean they are less intelligent. You have to analyse the who picture. Grayson's mind works like an engineer. He wants to find out how things work. He has fantastic fine motorskills.

Same with Dalton.

Now... with all that said... I am excited to say Dalton has said Nana - Banana and Dog dog - hot dog or dog for the last couple of weeks!!

His vocabulary now includes : mama, i want mama, dada, bubba, hot, ut-oh, nana and dog dog.

The Stone bunch!! 

What a sweet face

B.U.S.Y. is my Name

Let me start off by saying how THANKFUL I am for being so busy.

I love having three active kids who want to run, play, climb, sing and dance. Not to mention the reading, coloring, feeding, etc. I love that they aren't bumps on logs LOL.

I love having a job I can do from home. Though, I wish I made more $$$ doing it... beggars can't be choosy.

& Lastly, my business Only Prettier is really booming!! I would love if you'd check it out. We have tons of stuff!! Handmade jewelry, hair accessories, home decor, some clothing, shoes, bling, pettiskirts, pettirompers, hats, hand crocheted/ knitted goods, etc.

We strive to be a friendly on-line boutique at a reasonable price.

I love what I do and have met tons of women who want to show support. Even men!!

Right now, we are having a CELEBRATION!! We reached 1000+ Fans on FB over the past week so we are celebrating with a huge auction and games w/ prizes at night.

Everything has been very successful!! But we would love to make it even more successful. So please, join us.

Here's a few of the items we have up for auction. Aren't they awesome!!!

What an awesome Photography Prop or Birthday hat!! This fascinator is held on with a headband so it's easy to wear.
$20 starting bid <3

How darling is this Tiana costume!??! Stand out from the crowd!! Starting Bid $22

Who Whoooo Who Doesn't Love this Owl hat!??!  Hand knit beanie... Starting bid $8

Where are my Funky Chunky Jewelry girls?!!? Starting bid $14!!!! WOW.

Every little girl needs an OTT Bow!!! Starting bid $5!!!

Loving this rolled rosette Boutique Headband. Great for Miss or Lil' Miss. Starting Bid $10!!!

Need a sweet photography prop for a baby - tween... this is it!! STATEMENT!! Starting bid $12

 This is JUST A PEAK. There's tons more stuff and tons more vendors. Come by and check us out <3

My Lil Boy Witch

Dear Dalton,

Please, don't hate mommy when you grow up. I promise, I won't show these pictures to your girlfriend/boyfriend (let's be politically correct) when you grow up unless you want me to.

I am sure daddy is going to kill me when he gets home IF he sees these pictures.

Just know I gave you a Hershey Kiss for being so awesome today.

Love,
Mommy, your best friend!!

FYI... D is modeling a witch costume I made for an 18 month old GIRL. I just had to make sure it fit properly before sending it off to a customer.

Holla at OP (pp... Yea, you know me!!) if you want one too!!

Only Prettier: Auction TIME!!!

Only Prettier: Auction TIME!!!: Wow!! We are just blown away at how well Only Prettier is doing!! Thank ya'll <3 <3 Last night, we started our CELEBRATION. We will hav...

Ain't This the TRUTH!!

Dirty dishes in the sink prove I feed my family.
Full trashcans prove I clean up after their mess.
Messy floors prove that I let my child have fun.
Piles of clean laundry prove I keep my family in clean clothes.
A wet bathroom proves that I bathe mychild!

So next time you walk into my house and see a mess, think twice before you judge!!!

Keep this going if you are a parent!


Saw this on Facebook this morning and needed to share. This makes me feel so much better.

We can't afford a maid. We can't afford a cleaning lady. But the laughter that bellows from my house makes us richer than we could ever imagine.