Pumpkin Carving

We enjoyed what I'm pretty sure was the last of our beautiful fall days on Sunday.  Raking leaves and carving pumpkins... perfect way to spend our afternoon.  

The colors have been so beautiful this year.  I don't think you can beat the colors of a Midwestern fall.  

Many of our trees are bare and there is actually a chance of snow, ummm... TOMORROW.  But, fall has been gorgeous so I'll focus on that.  

Claire was set on designing a chevron pumpkin (totally my daughter).  Justin required her to rethink that after realizing how long it would take to carve her drawn on design.

This is Emma faking a happy face.  She was totally grossed out by the pumpkin guts. Oh, and side note... she changes into this leotard every.single.day.

Claire thought it was awesome.  

Mama got in on the action!

Proof Char was there.

Claire's on the left, mine in the middle, Emma's on the right

Happy Fall, y'all!

today

Claire's school had it's annual fall fun fair this afternoon.  I gathered up my crew of Frozen characters and walked over to join in on the crazy chaos fun.  Justin left for a work event yesterday and won't get back until after midnight tonight so I was flying solo for this.  P.S. weekend training for work = so not my favorite

I kind of love our homemade baby Olaf.

Life size version of Operation... awesome!

Some of Claire's kindergarten buddies waiting for pumpkin bowling.

It was a fun afternoon for the girls!  But, full disclosure, it kind of sucked for me.  The whole day was a bust and I blame my crappy attitude.  When my hubby is gone for work on the weekend, it's just hard to deal.  I attempted to make the weekend fun for us - I let the girls stay up late and watch Frozen last night.  Enter mistake #1.  My children need sleep and will not sleep in no matter how late they stay up.  So this morning just started off terrible because a certain (middle) child had melt down after melt down all day.  Which led to lots of consequences.  Which is vey exhausting to follow through with over and over again.  Which led to said child telling me how much she DOESN'T like me.  Which started to get to me after the 10th or so time.  Which led me to sit on my bed and cry like a baby after my kids were finally in bed tonight.  Parenting is hard.  Parenting three is crazy hard.  Parenting three without reinforcements is just plain insane.

Anyway. This post was about our Halloween fun fair and my crazy emotions hijacked it.  I think it's time for a glass of wine and mindless tv. 

10 months

Char is 10 months old!  Right now, he

~has gotten so fast at crawling.  He started bear crawling and pulling up to his knees... hasn't quite made it onto his feet yet.
~still has no teeth.  Claire didn't get her first one until 11 months... we'll see if he beats that record.
~waves hi, bye, claps, signs 'more' and 'all done'.
~says mama, dada, hi, and kitty.  His first word was kitty.  I know that seems weird, but many people have witnessed it.  He loves to 'talk'!
~gives kisses.  Read: open mouth, drooly, spit-filled love on your lips.  ;)
~nurses twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed.
~drinks water out of his sippy cup like a boss but still refuses to take a bottle.
~has no solid napping schedule, because of his older sisters and their school schedules.  Some days he takes two naps, usually 9 and 1 and other days he just takes one, usually around 11:30.
~has started crying when you take away something he wants.  Yikes!  Seems so little for that!
~loses his mind everyday around 4 until I put him to bed.  Dinnertime is the worst.  He just cries and fusses and wants to go to bed.  His mama just might be losing HER mind now.

Can't believe we are so close to turning ONE.  Parenting three has been HARD.  Much harder than I thought it would be. I am physically and emotionally spent at the end of each day.  With that said, this kid has brought us so much joy.  It is worth it.  Totally.  Love you, Char man!

Goodwill + New Paint FTW

We have been having so much fun finding treasures on the cheap at Goodwill and sprucing them up with a little paint.  We hit the jackpot one day when got a table with five chairs, a china cabinet, a desk, a dresser, and a child-size desk for grand total of $78!

I've been painting during nap time and it has been so fun and actually therapeutic for me.  I've enjoyed accomplishing something tangible and continuing to make our new digs more homey and complete for our family.

Charlie's dresser - $9.99 at Goodwill started like this:

A little paint and some new hardware... and now we have this:

This desk was also $9.99:

It had some fancy nailhead trim along all the edges, which I removed before taking the picture.

I tried my hand at chalk paint for the first time... and let me tell you, it won't be the last.  It was so incredibly easy - no priming, no sanding, no perfectionism allowed... that is my kind of project, people!  Justin actually said, "Well, the instructions say not to be a perfectionist when painting it, so I think you better do it."

I was so excited to find this desk, as I had been wanting a table for our entryway.  It used to look like this:

Not the most inviting welcome.  Now it looks like this:

I'm still playing around with the decorations on top but I'd say it's an improvement.

My favorite piece we found that day was this china cabinet for $24.99.  I'd say the price was right!

We chalk painted it and put it together and I love it!  Such a fun new piece!

We still plan to redo the table and chairs.  More projects in our future!

My first Stitch Fix

As a way to celebrate losing my baby weight (umm... so not easy the 3rd time around!) and a fun way to use some babysitting money I earned, I decided to give Stitch Fix a try.  It's an online styling service... you fill out a form, answering lots of questions about your age/likes/dislikes/needs/size/budget, pay a $20 styling fee (which can be applied to any items you keep),  and a personal shopper picks out five items for you.  My first 'fix' came today!  How fun!

When you fill out the form online, you schedule a date for your items to arrive.  I have been looking forward to this for a few weeks and couldn't wait until nap time to open the box!  I was super motivated to get my cleaning/cooking done first and then rewarded myself with opening the box.  When you're a stay at home mama, it doesn't take much.  ;)

My first impression was I loved how the items were packaged.  The items were neatly folded and tied with a bow and it just made me happy.  I got a personal note from my shopper and a price list for the items.

The first item was a pair of jeans.  They were too big and baggy so I didn't even consider keeping them or take a picture.

Here were the four other items...
                                                                             #1

                                                                             #2

                                                                        #3

#4

I plan to keep two of them...I won't tell you which ones!  Feel free to comment with what you think.. I want to see what y'all think.  :)

As far as the prices go, they are definitely more than I would normally spend on clothes.  But, here's my thinking... first, I actually don't like (or have time) to go shopping at this stage of life.  I love clothes, getting new clothes, and fashion but I actually don't love shopping/trying on clothes very much.  So, this is the perfect solution!  Secondly, every time someone uses my link to sign up, I get a $25 referral credit to use towards clothes.  So even if a just few people sign up (use my link, pleeeease), I can get an extra few items without dipping into any of my own funds.  Then you can use your social media to share your link and get credit... it's a win/win people!  Third, I don't need LOTS of clothes but it is fun to have a cute new shirt or jewelry for date night every once in awhile.

From here I have three days to return the items I don't want (in a package they provide).  I will also give feedback on what I liked/didn't liked so the next time I schedule a fix, my shopper will have a better idea of what I like.  People say each time gets better!

I think you should give it a try!  It was a really fun and I think I'll do it again.

Shoe Fam Christmas in October

We spent this past weekend with Justin's parents and brothers' families doing a little early Christmas celebrating.  Instead of gifts this year, Justin's dad and stepmom decided to treat us all to a weekend together at a hotel.  It was so much fun!  The cousins loved being together, the hotel pool and waterslide were big hits, that mamas got to sneak away for a little shopping, and we showcased some serious talent in the first annual Shoe Fam talent show.  

The fun in the pool started early... baby who wakes up at 5:30 in hotel room = entire family up at 5:30!  We embraced it and had fun in the pool.  Okay, I admit, I only embraced after a coffee run to Caribou. ;)

 Emma had some serious moves going during her gymnastics performance... 

Amos couldn't resist joining in... on just about every act.  He's a natural on stage! ;)

Grandma did a little story reading with puppets.

 Participation prizes all around!

Thanks for a great weekend, Grandma and Grandpa!