Despite how it looks in my Trick or Treating pictures from yesterday, my kids did actually wear real costumes yesterday. They just ditched them for randoms from our dress up bin by the time it was show time:) Such is life. 

Charlotte had been Ariel. Not a red headed, monkey faced, princess! And Hannah was Cinderella. 

Before I had kids I never would have thought that this was cute. Store bought Disney costumes. Bleh. But now as a mom of two little girls who adore princesses and believe they ARE princesses in these costumes. Cutest thing ever:)

Isaiah had been a vampire. For the second year in a row. It is a pretty awesome costume. Unfortunately I don't have a picture from this year. Mom fail. I assumed he would wear it again after school for trick or treating. Wrong. Oops. He was a very handsome vampire. Trust me. 

But my real point here is this. We used fluorescent red hair spray in Charlotte's hair to transform her into Ariel. Why? Because it cost $2 and the wig cost $20. Amazing deal, right?!? Well it was a good deal until I learned why people choose a wig over hair spray for 3 year olds....

Post-nap pillow. I have no idea how it was contained to just the pillow. Charlotte emerged from nap a big pink mess! Sorry no picture of that. 

Shirt #1. Oh and that wash cloth...it's usually white:)

Her newly pink-er carseat. 

Shirt #2. It's worse than it looks in this picture. Rain and red hair spray is NOT a good combo!

The bath. It would have been much worse but we pre-washed her hair in the sink!

Suffice it to say, after I was done cleaning up that mess I wasn't so sure the savings was worth it. Another great parenting lesson learned!

Speaking of parenting. Today marks the 1 year anniversary of me being a stay at home mom! It seems worthy of recognizing. That's all. 

A HAPPY Halloween indeed!

See this?

It really happened today at 4 o'clock in the afternoon! Of course the kids were excited about the Trick or Treating and all the CANDY. But I was excited because their daddy was home to take them Trick or Treating!!! It was like a dream. 

Here's the deal. He is on his 4 week neurology rotation. And WE love it. Why? Sadly not because he is learning so much and dreaming of becoming a neurologist. Nope. Simply because the hours are amazing! 10-3 Monday - Friday. What could get better than that? Oh how about getting off at noon on Friday? Yep that happened too. 

What's my point? I don't really have one except I wanted to record this. So in the future when my husband is gone for unbearably long hours...days even...I can remember that it isn't always like that. So I can remember that sometimes it is good. Really, really good. So good in fact that I get to sleep in every day until 8:30!! And daddy is home in time to play with the kids during the dreaded witching hour before dinner. And we sit and watch TV together in the evening after the kids are in bed. Downton Abbey addicts here:) It has been years since we have watched a program together on a regular basis. It is so nice and normal. I like normal. 

When the next awful rotation hits I will look back at this and smile. 

This little goober and I may have eaten more candy than we handed out. Maybe:) We definitely pilfered all the Reese's Pieces. My favorite! Note to self: next year buy candy you don't like. Much easier to resist!

[Just to clarify, the neurologist Joe is training with has much longer hours than 10-3 but he doesn't require his students to stay all day. At first Joe and I were thinking he should be the go-getter student and offer to stay longer. Then we laughed at our foolish selves and accepted this rotation for the gift that it is!]

Hair Bows

First things first, I am linking up with 'A Glimpse Inside' - there is party going on over there!

Sunday was bad. Synopsis: I overslept. Resulting in us running late to church. After church we ran an errand when we should have been home eating lunch and getting the girls down for a nap. Lunch ended up being frozen pizza and peas which the kids only picked at. Nap time was a flop. Hannah cried/screamed the entire time so no one slept. And yet we still tried to take our overly tired, hungry crew of kids to the "Spooky Skate" (i.e. ice skating in costumes). Why? Because we are gluttons for punishment I guess. It only took approximately 2.5 costume changes per person before we were ready to go (Joe included). Emphasis on tried. Apparently the Spooky Skate was on Saturday! Ok bad might be a bit dramatic. But the day was kind of a bust and I was happy when it was over:)

{Plus Joe didn't buy me the 69¢ fountain Pepsi that I had requested because "it seemed like an extravagant purchase and we have been spending too much money lately". Or something to that effect!}

Which brings me to Monday. I was having a hard time getting myself going. As in it was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and I was still in my pajamas. Breakfast and lunch dishes were filling the sink to overflowing. And I was yet to start the laundry even though Monday is "laundry day". Basically I was a mess. So what's a girl to do? 

Make a hair bow of course! 

Not long ago I was over-the-moon excited that Charlotte needed to use her hair clips. And I still am excited. However lately I have been noticing her hair bows are so little on her big ole noggin:) They were not helping her look like the big three year old girl that she is. So I set out to fix that on Monday...using only supplies I already owned. 30 minutes later I sent this picture of my finished product to my friend:

Yes those are my pajama pants:) 

She loved it (which in turn made me feel much better about my lazy self)! And she requested I teach her how to make one as well. So here it is friend, my attempt to teach you my very basic bow. It is not the "right way" I am sure. But it works. And the second time it only took me 15 minutes. So it's quick and easy too!

Step 1. Gather your supplies

7/8" grosgrain ribbon.  1 piece = 13 1/2 inches, 1 piece = 4 1/4 inches 

1/4" ribbon. 1 piece = 2 inches

Scissors

Needle & thread (any color)

Twist tie (NOT PICTURED. Oops. I took mine off my bread bag.)

Hot glue gun (& glue stick!)

Hair piece (headband, scrunchie, clip, etc)

Step 2. Form a figure 8 with 13 1/2 inch grosgrain ribbon.  Pinch "closed". 

Step 3.  Sew figure 8 in center to hold it together. Thread color and appearance of stitching does NOT matter as this will be covered shortly.  

Step 4. Cut "V" shape from both ends of the 4 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon. 

Step 5. Place the figure 8 bow on top of the "V" ribbon.  Secure together with a twist tie. Cut off excess twist tie. 

Step 6. Wrap 2 inch ribbon over top twist tie and hot glue together (on the back). 

At this point you should have something that looks like this...

Which I realize is not as pretty as my original bow. Hang in there we are almost there. This next step is key to making a pretty bow. 

Step 7: Bend back the two loops on one end and separate them (i.e. spread them apart).

Place two dots of glue on the ribbon below the loops. Immediately press the loops down into the glue maintaining their separated state. 

Repeat on other end of the bow. 

And just like that your bow should be transformed from plain to pretty...like in this picture...

Step 8. Attach to hair piece. I hot glued mine to an alligator clip. Not pictured as it is pretty self explanatory. 

Lastly put your newly created bow on a cute little girl's head and admire your handywork! 

Photo credit: Candace Lynn Photography. If you are in the Chicagoland area you should check her out!

I remember when...

...board books were only for reading.

...and my baby wasn't allowed out in public with a booger-y nose. 

...I made all my own baby food. 

...the first birthday cupcake was my baby's first taste of sugar. 

...and TV was not allowed until age 2. 

...outings to the library were another opportunity to learn colors, shapes, letters, etc. 

...my kids outfits were picked out by me and perfectly matching. 

...snacks consisted of only fruits and vegetables. I cringed at the idea of graham crackers or goldfish!

...I thought getting a good picture of our family of three was challenging. 

...and all of my kids' toys were neatly organized by type with all their parts/pieces accounted for. 

...the days at home with one immobile baby were impossibly long and I found myself bored at times. 

Nowadays board books also stand in for chew toys. And I am okay with that. 

While I still cringe {a little} when out and about with a snot nosed child, sometimes it just can't be avoided. If we waited until everyone's nose wasn't running we would be housebound all winter. 

 And those baby food pouches...so convenient! They are worth their weight in gold when trying to feed a baby on the go. {Which I feel like I am always doing these days.} Sugar. In moderation. Just like everything else. But definitely consumed before age 1:) TV...ditto on the sugar sentiment. And lets be honest, somedays it is my-holding-on-by-a-thread babysitter. 

Thank you PBS for entertaining and educating my children. 

We still love the library! {And storytime.} But these days the puzzles, puppets and blocks at the library are just that puzzles, puppets and blocks. A happy distraction.  Not always an opportunity to teach & learn. Because somedays I just need a little me time. Time to zone out {a bit} while my kids play. 

And these days I am just happy my kids are clothed! {Socks are completely optional in this house.} And if they put them on by themselves...even better! I will take what I can get. Snacks come in many different forms...including goldfish and graham crackers! And guess what? The kids are growing. Healthy and strong. Of course we still do eat our fruits and veggies as well:)

And yes sometimes snack is self-served on the kitchen floor. Correction: often snack is self-served on the kitchen floor! Quite the independent crew I am raising.

Family pictures. Ha! It's like herding cats. And trying to give the cats a bath. That's how much they like it. If we are all in the picture I call that a Victory. Yes with a capital V. 

 I  try:)

Oh the toys! They have completely taken over my world. Well my house at least. I laugh just thinking how much time and energy I spent organizing and sorting and keeping track of toys before. Because truly all I care about the toys now is that at the end of the day they are picked up and NOT a tripping hazard. I couldn't care less if all the parts are accounted for or not. {Apparently time has turned me into a heartless being?!}

So am I still bored? 

Not in the least. Oh sure, the days are still really long. And some days are really, really loooooong. And the day in and day out tasks of motherhood can be boring, but I am not bored. No time for boredom. There are always dishes to be washed. Or a meal to prepare. Stories to be read. Laundry to fold. Messes cleaned. Babies to be rocked. Homework to help with. And of course toys to be picked up. Always the toys!

 

PS - The inspiration for this post came from all the first time moms I watch at the library. They are SO anxious for their toddlers to learn and do. A puzzle is not just a puzzle for these moms. Instead it is an opportunity for them to quiz their toddler on colors, shapes, animals...whatever. Bless their eager mommy hearts. I watch them and think "I used to do that" while not doing it with my own toddler. Sometimes I think they watch me...just doing a puzzle with my toddler NOT quizzing her...and feel bad for my daughter because she has...well...me for a mom. The other day another mom went so far as to praise my toddler on her puzzle un-doing abilities because I hadn't:) Sometimes I just want to blurt out, "Don't worry she is my third. I used to do that too. You'll change. Just wait." But instead I hold my tongue. And blog:)

Halloween. Done & done! (I wish)

Yesterday afternoon a friend and I took our kids Trick Or Treating downtown. No, not Chicago downtown. I am not that brave. Just in our cozy little suburb. Why they have this one week before Halloween? I don't know. But we went. And we got candy. And we had fun. Despite the chilly & windy 40 degree weather. 

[Charlotte insisted on wearing her strawberry costume from when she was ONE. Hello high waters and wedgie!]

I may or may not have left (and completely forgot about) one of my children on this train while I attended to a fussy little sister. Okay. Okay. I definitely did! Thankfully a kind stranger unstrapped said child and reunited us. No permanent psychological damage done...or at least I hope not:)

Want to know what was truly terrifying though?! All the revolving doors. Seriously about 50% of the stores had revolving doors - which left me and stroller clad Hannah outside - while the "big kids" went through the revolving doors by themselves. Two children that didn't exactly know how to work these doors. Children that were so focused on the CANDY that they paid no attention to the whereabouts or well being of anyone else!  Excited, rushing costumed children plowing through revolving doors! Terrifying I tell you. I was certain that one or both of them was going to fall down inside the door or get wedged between the door and the frame. 

But miracle of all miracles, they survived without any mishaps! In the end it was the stairs that claimed Charlotte as their victim. As in she paid no attention to the two steps in the side walk and instead fell down them, landing solidly on her forehead. My poor accident prone child. 

Do you know difficult it is to push an umbrella stroller across railroad tracks while carrying a crying three year old? I'll give you a hint: it ain't easy. 

We got so much candy (and had so much fun!) that I feel like we already had Halloween. I am tempted to call it done for the year. Just skip all the hoopla on Thursday. I mean we already did  it, right?! I think I could pull this kind of wool over the eyes of my girls and get away with it. But a certain first grader I know is too smart for my lazy mom antics. So we will be back at it on Thursday. Minus the revolving doors of course:)

[Cutest first grader I have ever seen.]