Halloween costumes 2012

I placed my order online for the girls' costumes today--yay for checking something off my to-do list! haha. It feels really nice to not make their costumes this year and not have that hanging over my head. I'm embracing the prepacked thing lol.

Brielle is going to be a pink  fuzzy monster---how stinking cute is this?! I actually saw the costume at Walmart and thought it was too cute---but  they didn't have anything smaller than Raya's size. So i ordered the size 2T/3T online which is the smallest  I could find. I'm hoping it runs small or I can just alter it a little to fit her. She'll be wearing it over big bulky clothes I'm sure since it's usually cold here for Halloween, so hoping it works! I need to find her  some run boots to wear with it because those aren't incuded (and I think I'll have her wear a long sleeve aqua shirt underneath.

The girls are not goingn to have coordinating outfits  this year. I ended up deciding I really didn't care if they matched, because Raya was insistent that  she be a mermaid, and I couldn't think of anything super cute and fun for Brielle to be that went with that, other  than another  mermaid. And two different costumes seems more  fun than two of the exact same thing.

So anyways, back to Raya. She has no idea really about the Little Mermaid movie, but she has a Dora mermaid and  has seen a Dora mermaid show, so I am guessing that is where her obsession with the mermaid has come from. The trouble is that she insists that her feet cannot  show and they must be inside a fin haha. There were many costumes with tutu skirts etc. that were spins on the little mermaid (and easier to walk in!) but  she wouldn't  go with that idea. So I finally found a mermaid costume where her feet are covered and she ok'd it. Not my first choice if I was dressing her up, but she's totally pumped and it's fun to see her pick her own costume :-) How many times do you all think I"ll  have to pick her up off the ground after tripping over that stupid tail while going door to door? LOL.

The costume came with the seashell headband and the dress---not the boa thingy or wig haha. I  would love her to wear a red wig to look more like the Little Mermaid, rather than a random mermaid, but so far she refuses to consider a wig :-P And since she's telling me she won't wear it I didn't  buy it!! But my mom has a red wig from her Wilma costume last year that we might try to make work if Raya changes her mind.

So stay tuned around Halloween for the M&M duo---Monster  and Mermaid! :-)

So what  are  your kids going to be for Halloween?

My new obsession-- Fashion Friday

So I appologize for this---because as soon as I share  this  clothing company you will  all become obsessed and then suddenly you'll have placed and  order for something you didn't *need* LOL...but I'm really mad that I had never heard of this company until now because it is so ADORABLE! So  I feel  the need to pass the info along ;-)

This clothing company is NEXT, based out of the UK....their website is here.

Anyways, there stuff is  TO DIE FOR. Reminds  me of Mini Boden, but without the insane price tag. It's still more pricey than some, but I'd compare it to gymbo and gap for prices...or even  Target when it's not on sale. But since  it's an overseas company no one else will  be wearing the same thing!

And the best part? Shipping from the UK only  takes 2-3 days! And it's free shipping over $40 (at least now it is...don't know if that's always or not). I've talked to a couple people  who've ordered from them before and they say the sizing is pretty true to size, maybe slightly big.

Can you believe  some of this cuteness? (Click the pics to enlarge)

I couldn't resist the elbows on the adorable  mouse sweatshirt---I ordered it for Raya! Hopefully it fits--I  ordered her a 4-5. If you go to their website and click on the pics you can detail zoom in and see all the details---real applique, not screen printing! I've had an aversion to screen print lately LOL. And  that  holiday dress with the elbow pads? OMG---if we actually  went anywhere dressy for Christmas I'd be all  over that ;-)

My ovaries are crying that I  didn't discover this company earlier--this stuff is from the newborn-18month section....cute! I could probably squeeze Brielle  in something.... ;-)

And guess what? For like the  first time ever I actually love  boy stuff! This company has the type of boy stuff I'd buy if I had boys myself. Sooooo cute.

Check out that  cute coat! And the  star elbows on the shirt. I  die.

Mustache sweatshirt! And look at that  dino sleeve ;-)

Love those star hoodies...Lee would  never allow a boy to wear those, but I think they  are adorable.

They also have lots of big  kid stuff too! All  the way up to size 12 I believe....and it's awesome. Like stuff that I'd wanna wear haha.

So go check  out the site! I will  let you all  know when my order comes in---i only  ordered that mouse shirt for Raya and one thing for Brielle. Because we don't need anything and also I wanted to get a feel for sizing. But I will  be back to shop next season for  sure!

....you should all buy something from My Etsy Shop to help fund another  order hehe.

Have you see my newest monogram pumpkin shirt  design?

They  are  doing  pumpkin themed activities all month at preschool so I  wanted Raya to have a fun shirt! Plus these will be great for pumpkin patch pics and/or Thanksgiving--wear all through November!

I am selling them for $15--and flat rate shipping of $3 no matter how many you buy :-) They are a facebook only special though so visit my facebook page to order, here

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sleeping Beauty

Raya has never been a kid to fall  asleep anywhere other than her bedroom. Occassionally she falls asleep in the car, but  other than that she asks to go to bed when she's tired and I don't see her until morning!

This means that I very rarely see her asleep, and even more rarely capture it on camera! But  last night she was completely exhausted from skipping her afternoon nap, so she fell asleep on the living room floor while watching her final show before bed. You often take for granted all those cute  sleeping  newborn pictures  you get in the first few months.

I know it's cliche, but  they really do go  from this:

To this:

...in the blink of an eye!

So being the sentimental Mama that I am, I wanted to document my little sleeping beauty  so that when I'm 70 years old I can look back and remember this sweet face :-)

(Enjoy the flashback baby pictures I've sprinkled  in as well!)

....You're  growing up so fast baby  girl--slow down a little bit for Mama!

So if you're a Mama and it's  been awhile since you got those sleeping kid pictures you should sneak into their room right now and snap a quick  one ;-)

And lastly tonight, we can't  forgot our What Raya Wore segment, as she attended preschool today...

Raya is wearing Naartjie--some older line that I bought  used last year. It was pretty big last year and this year it fits much better. Brown bomber jacket was a consignment store find last year--Target brand. We officially won everyone over at preschool today with Naartjie I think haha-- the one teacher stopped me at drop off and said "I just love all her clothes!"  ;-)
Brielle is wearing her Pumpkin Patch brand sweater that she had last  year...size 12-18 months and still plenty  big lol.  Her 18 months Children's Place jeans are starting to get a little short though...finally!

Hope everyone has a great Friday tomorrow!

Cheaty McCheatsters

So remember how  I mentioned Raya's hatred for the preschool monkey she brought home the other day? Well she was supposed to journal in the traveling notebook while the monkey  was at our house. There weren't many instructions other than something like "your child may want to draw a picture, etc"  ....and since we were only  the 2nd family to take the monkey home I obviously looked at the page from the first child to try and get an idea for what they did so that I could follow course.

....and then I was shocked to see the "journaling" this kid in 3 year old preschool did! (Granted, he could be newly 4...Raya is a younger child in her class since she's a May birthday.)  But anyways, this classmate theoretically cut out a square, circle, etc. with near perfection and then it was collaged with his supposed drawing of a monkey---which let it be known is better than I could draw haha.

I'll  go on the record as saying perhaps the parents chose to help and thought nothing of it. Or perhaps this child is a really great artist! But Lee's initial reaction was, "his parents did his homework" ...and I must say, I smell a Cheaty McCheatsters on this first ever "homework" project lol. And so it begins.....

Anyways, this is obviously a means nothing lighthearted "assignment" so I just wrote in the journal that Raya hated the monkey and her little sister played with it (the truth! haha) and then I told Raya to draw a picture of her and the monkey---and I didn't help at all.

So let's compare....Child #1's collage:

Raya  can cut a line...she can in no way cut a circle like  that. But the real thing that gets me is the detailed face and how the arms are positioned realistically on the monkey...and the careful coloring! Three years old? Hmm......   ;-)

And now here is Raya's masterpiece:

I'm looking  into  remedial monkey  drawing instruction---don't worry, I'm on top of this! :-)


(And in case Child #1's parents stumble across my blog, this is all  in good fun haha. Obviously I don't really care what goes in a 3 year old preschool traveling notebook. But I just think that when Child #3 gets this notebook and his/her parents flip through page 1 and then page 2, they will be completely confused about where to go from there with their own page LOL.)

So what does everyone think? Have any fun "parents did the homework" stories to share? (I still remember  when I was in 4th grade there was a solar system project and parents got really  involved in it. I did mine myself pretty much, but with a lot of parental guidance....but some parents were using power tools to construct fancy orbiting models etc and were obviously  parent projects....and in the end the teacher  picked a student who had glued some circles (aka planets) to a shoebox to create his solar systerm as the class "winner"....because she said she could tell he had done it all by himself!) There is definitely a fine line to walk between being supportive of your child's  education and being *too* involved. I'm not sure yet what I'll do when the kids are older---I do know it'll kill me to see math problems solved incorrectly for example and not tell them to fix it! But  I think that's ok right? As long as they fix it themselves? haha


And now a few random photos from today of the girls playing in a cardboard box....ya know, because we don't have any real toys or anything ;-)

Fall Photoshoot

It's been  too long since  I actually took my camera outside in an attempt to take "real" photos, and not snapshots in my kitchen lol. And since I'm doing a fall photoshoot for baby Finn in a couple weeks I thought I better get a little refresher practice in! So today while Raya and Sawyer  were at preschool  I took  the little girls outside to play....and I chased them around  with my camera. It essentially turned into a "oh my goodness, Brielle is the cutest girl on the planet!" photoshoot hehe...but mainly because as cute as Miss Harper is, she turns to stone when she sees my camera lol.

Enjoy all  the cute pics!

This is the view behind our house. In case you don't know much about Iowa it's lots of fields and farms! :-)

Marching  back  to the  house haha...she decided the trampoline looked more fun than the field ;-)

And at the trampoline is where we found  Harper!

Now on to the raspberry patch to  get a snack! :-)

And yes, I know the hat doesn't match her outfit, but  she insisted on wearing it! She's really  into hats and I actually don't have many for her other than winter coat hats lol.

Then Brielle  became obsessed with trying to climb the ladder up to the treehouse---which she knows is off limits!

Mean mommy told her no! haha

She wanted to  climb up there  sooo bad!

"I just know it's gotta be amazing up there!"

Harper eventually  joined in trying to climb up the ladder too

"Outta my way Harper...I  want to try climbing  up one more time!"

And these next  two photos are why Harper doesn't  have more pictures posted today haha...

Shawna's camera is so hypnotizing!

Lastly, it was preschool  today  so here is what Raya wore!



And yes, this  is sadly the best picture I could get! lol It was painting day at preschool so I didn't want to send her in something brand new. So this sweater is from last year---can't remember the brand. Skirt and leggings from Children's place, shoes are Carters. (And Miss Brielle is wearing a Tea Collection dress...probably tied with Naartjie for favorite brand right now, although I only  buy Tea Collection used because it's kinda pricey.)

 

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!