Springtime Showers Bring May Flowers

Although we get requests year round for baby shower invitations, the spring seems to be our busiest time. Statistically, birth rates do go up over the summer and peak in August where 9% of the US population is born. Whether your expecting, or know someone who is. Here are a few of our favorites to get your inspiration going.

French Bistro - our newest addition

Bunting -  a summertime favorite

and our best seller - Ready to Pop!

We can create a shower invitation based on a particular theme or color scheme to match the mom to be's special day. Our 10 card minimum means your shower doesn't have to be enormous to be extra special. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or custom requests at sona@loveandlifecards.com.

Happy Planning!

Defining words

I was thinking the other day of the words that define me, or rather the words that I want to define me. I thought I could use these words as a reminder of my priorities. So below I have written each of these words along with why that particular word currently defines me and how I want to work toward prioritizing that part of my life. 

mother - be present with my children (put the phone, vacuum, etc. down)

artist - make time to work on things I truly love doing (graphic design/card design)

runner - work on improving time for short distances (good to have goals)

wife - commit to making time for each other at least once a week

friend - write a quick note or make a quick call (even when I don't have time!)

It is so difficult to remember who I truly am and want to be, especially when the business of life pulls in so many different directions. Hopefully this will serve as a reminder to me for the rest of 2014 and beyond and help me to let go of some of the extras that aren't working toward any of my defining words. 

What words define you? 

Be my valentine date cards (last minute gift)

We usually keep Valentine's Day pretty low-key around here. Not to say we don't celebrate it. We do, but even before we had children, we would do simple things like order take out and get a nice bottle of wine and a fancy dessert. Well, this year is no different. I'm planning to try out a new recipe and have dinner together after we put the kids to bed. No reservations, no babysitters, no fuss. 

The past few weeks have been crazy around here with work, travel, sickness, and family. The past year has been crazy for that matter—lots of great things, but crazy busy all the same. And all this craziness reminds me to take time out for things that are most important. I do an OK job at this most of the time for my kids, but I think my husband and I tend to come last in the long list of "to dos." So this year for a Valentine's Day gift to him and really to us both, I'm going to give him a monthly coupon for a specific date of something to do together. This isn't always going to be something extravagant, anything goes! 

Below are examples of dates I have come up with so far.

• Try a new recipe and make dinner together
• An afternoon at some of our favorite breweries
• Choose a home improvement project and spend the day completing it together
• A night away for our wedding anniversary
• Lunch date and an afternoon of wine tasting in the Finger Lakes
• Movie night in - your choice!
• Comedy club
• Dinner at Emmett's Pub (where it all began)

And of course here is the free printable for you!
Click here for the January - June free printable tags
Click here for the July - December free printable tags

      

I'm planning to print these on a heavy card stock and to write the dates for each month with a chalk pen like this one. When they are all cut out, I will use a mini hole punch in the corner of each card and string all twelve cards together with Baker's twine. 

Happy date planning!  

Laughter is the best medicine?

Want to Bet?

After a magical Christmas with our little ones, we came out fighting in January. Cleaning closets, painting hallways, crossing overdue jobs off the list, and even managed a little bit of running. We have well and truly been beaten by January, which is now hanging over into February. The start of 2013 will be remembered as the winter of the cold. For the snow keeps snowing in Boston and with it the runny noses and sore throats that just won't go away. And in England, with not a frost in sight to kill said germs, we just keeping passing them from child, to parent to child.  

Here are some of the things we have tried to combat these energy suckers and prevent the spread of more germs:
1)  Vitamin C, Zinc and Multivitamins - I use you guys everyday and you let me down - I want my money back!
2)  Sleep - stop laughing, I know Sona has a 1 year old, but sometimes you just have to try to get more of it.
3)  2 Litres of water a day - to be fair, I fail miserably at this one, but Sona drinks about as much water as I do coffee and she is still ill.
4)  Anti Bacterial hand gel - I'm even putting it on Batman and Barbie I'm so paranoid.
5)  Obsessive Hand Washing - my nail polish looks terrible, but I'm thinking it's my only chance to get better.

So far, these are all to no avail. So instead, we laugh. We laugh because it's only a cold and we are pretty good at putting things in perspective. We laugh at how much harder it is to catch up on life when you don't feel quite yourself. We laugh, because when it rains it pours. We laugh, because we take comfort in the fact that we don't need to explain it to each other, we just know what the other one is going through. We hope that our followers are laughing, because you've been there too.

Seriously though, if you do have any miraculous germ busting immune boosting secrets to share with us, we would be forever in your debt!