11.23.2014

How I know I'm getting closer to 30 and farther from 20

You know when you're a kid and each year on your birthday someone inevitably asks, "Do you feel any older?" And you say no because...no, you don't. 16 feels more awesome than 15, and 18 more than 17, but you don't feel older. Feeling older is for old people.

(By the way, it's not my birthday...this has just been on my mind)

But I'm starting to feel my answer changing. I'm totally feeling older. Not so much in like a hip replacement kind of way, but like a...minivan kind of way.

Disclaimer: I'm sure this is like, 95% influenced by the fact I have two kids. Once you have kids you start aging in dog years.

Here's what I mean-

1. You know when you're in college and staying out every night until like 2am is a thing? Younger friends...take heed: you have it all backwards. Sleep while you still can, NAP while you still can, because once you're all grown up and responsible with kids and a reasonable bedtime for yourself, your kids will remind you why you should have taken advantage of your single, childless years and SLEPT. And they especially like to do this between 2-6am. Now the only thing I'm good for past 9pm is a bowl of ice cream and Greys Anatomy on Hulu while sitting on my couch wearing stretchy pants and fuzzy socks.



2. As part of our monthly budget, James and I each have an allowance of sorts. These days I usually spend most of mine on house stuff- paint, rugs, picture frames, a throw pillow. My father-in-law gets me the same present for birthdays and holidays- a Home Depot gift card, and it. is. awesome.


3. I have no shame. I mean, can you really after being crotch up to the world giving birth two times and all kinds of strangers with a front row seat to your expanding lady parts?
The answer is no.


4.The older I get you'd think my filter between brain and mouth would improve, that I'd be able to hold my tongue in certain situations in all of my wisdom. Quite the opposite, actually. Is this happening to anyone else??



5. And lastly, the reason I definitely know I'm creeping up on 30 watching 20 in the rear view mirror- I'm feeling emotionally secure enough to drive a minivan. Well, want to drive one anyway. I have an SUV now and have always wanted an SUV. James knew this going in- I would never drive a minivan. Which is slightly ironic because my first car in high school was a minivan (which was horrifying until I realized I could drive anywhere with more friends than anyone else could). But you want to know what's NOT fun? Trying to squeeze a car seat into a tiny opened door space because of how close the idiot next to you parked, which is a regular occurrence. But the mom in the minivan a few cars down? In and out of those sliding doors with ease- all that LOADING room!! And did you know some models come with vacuum cleaners?! 


A minivan people.

I'm totally embracing it.

11.03.2014

olivia:: 6 months!

How did this happen?! Half of a year old, already???
We sure loving having these little sweet cheeks around! If only she would sleep more than 4 hours straight at night, we'd be golden.

 

11.02.2014

meg's "little pumpkin" baby shower

My cousin Meghan is expecting her second baby in December! She has one little boy already, but this time is having a girl! Eeek!

We had her baby shower last night, going with a "little pumpkin" theme! I definitely believe in baby showers even after the first baby- all babies should be celebrated and you always need essential items with each one! And who needs an excuse to get together and eat treats anyway? Not me, that's for sure.








Can't wait to see little Rylee! 

Thanks Jen and Kristen for hosting with me and to Michaela for all of your last minute help!

11.01.2014

halloween-ween

Happy Halloween-ween! (I dunno...that's what Jillian has been calling it this year. But it is more fun to say...)

Halloween was really like a week long celebration this year- which was awesome (obviously). I LOVE Halloween! It's probably my second favorite after Christmas. No, it's definitely my second favorite.

I don't really get into the scary part of Halloween (or the scary part of anything...), but the costumes, and the trick-or-treating, and the endless watching of Hocus Pocus- I am IN.

This year Jillian kept going back and forth between wanting to dress up as Ariel or Cinderella. It changed every 5 minutes (just like all of her opinions on everything). Finally I had to go with one to start working on costumes. I went with Little Mermaid, so she wanted to be Cinderella. Naturally. Once she saw her costume though, she was happy!

 ^At her preschool Halloween party with her BFF Brynlee the scary witch!
I followed the tutorial here to make Jillian's Ariel costume. I couldn't find green tights ANYWHERE- seriously- I checked 8 stores- so I DYED them using Kool-Aid! I didn't even know that was a THING! But it's amazing. And cheap. And easy. And smells good. I used the guide here to get the color I wanted! I'll probably start doing this more often with..er...other stuff.

^The day before Halloween we took the kids to the farmer's market where they were doing trick-or-treating! It was a good practice run. 

And then finally ON Halloween the rest of us got all dressed up to join the fun. James was especially excited about his minimal costume attire (he doesn't share my enthusiasm for the holiday).

At first I was planning to go as Ursula, but the thought of sewing an Octopus costume after doing Jillian's mermaid tail made me want to not be Ursula. I'm not a huge fan of sewing. It's like the dishes, I'll do it if I absolutely HAVE to and no one else is willing to, and like, mold is starting to grow.

Jillian kept telling me that only kids could be Flounder, but I eventually won her over. Plus I found this really cool idea for Flounder make-up!

 (Mine didn't look quite as cool as the girl who did it on Pinterest, granted she had like 5 eye shadows and makeup brushes and I had 3 face-painting crayons. So not too shabby if you ask me).

 ^So technically Olivia is a lobster. It's a lobster costume. When I bought it, I was super excited about the addition of Sebastian to our little crew. Then I realized Sebastian is not a lobster, but a crab. 
That's almost the same, right? 
For our sake, yes. They're the same. 



Every time I look at this picture I instantly start singing Under the seeaaa, under the seeaaa!

Halloween night really couldn't have been more perfect. I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie. Or even better, Halloweentown! 
We went up to one of our good friend's neighborhoods and ate soup and let the kids do a couple of easy games. Then we loaded up the strollers and walked the neighborhood to beg for candy.


Last year, Jillian was completely terrified of the trick-or-treating process, so I was curious to see how this year was going to go...but she loved it! It made my heart so happy. We did have to work on taking only one candy instead of an entire handful, but she got used to it (until some people told her she could take two and she'd get confused all over again). 

The neighborhood we went to was quite possibly the best ever. Everyone gets into the Halloween spirit! We scored some full-size candy bars, hot chocolate, and caramel apples! They even do a hayride around the neighborhood and one house had a mini haunted house through the garage and another projected the movie Hocus Pocus onto a wall on their front porch.
It was seriously like Halloweentown. I need to live there.

And the weather couldn't have been more perfect! 

The only completely awful part was waking up the next morning to a porch-full of smashed pumpkins. Who DOES that?! Stupid teenagers. I was (am) so ticked about it! Two of them were clearly decorated by Jillian. Do people really feel good about destroying something proudly made and displayed by a 3 year-old? What losers...
Someone remind me next year to move my pumpkins inside the night of Halloween. 

And now we have a plastic pumpkin full of candy that needs to disappear, and preferably not into our mouths. 

Happy Halloween-ween!