Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter! :-)

Easter bedhead :-)

Found an egg! Brielle was really into egg hunting this  year.

Daddy was giving Brielle insider egg hunting tips!

Easter baskets!

Her  new Minnie  headband matched her outfit hehe

New crazy straw cup!

Thumbs up to the Easter bunny!

And now to get ready for our family party today! ..... 

What's in the basket?

Today I thought  I'd share  with  you all what's in our Easter baskets  this year, in case anyone needs last minute ideas :-)

When it comes  to Easter baskets I'm a little  torn because 1) I don't want to give the girls much candy---not because  I'm a health nut (far from it lol) but  because they get REALLY annoying about candy--they spend the next week planning out what they want to eat and when and I  just get tired of the whining haha ....and  2) I don't want  to  substitute toys for candy and have them start to think Easter is like a second Christmas.

So when it comes to our baskets I stick to the "basket only" rule pretty hard core. We do not purchase toys for Easter, etc. unless it's something little that  fits in their basket. They do not get to request anything for Easter like they would at Christmas either---the bunny simply fills a basket with some fun little things and they are grateful :-P Then in addition to the baskets the  Easter Bunny does hide plastic eggs (last year  we put jelly beans in them but the girls didn't  even really  care about what was in the eggs...they just like finding them)....so this year we will probably just  put a penny in each one or something.

So anyways, here's our baskets! And even though I stick to the basket only rule, they do get baskets pretty jam packed  full, so don't fear---they are not deprived haha.

Brielle has a Dora/Minnie  theme and Raya has a Princess  theme . We get new Easter baskets each  year  (rather than spend money on a fancier one that you use every year) because personally  I think part of the fun in seeing  what type of basket  the bunny brings you :-)

(Please excuse the  ghetto  photos...the only place  I could secretly get this stuff out to take a picture was in the storage room :-P)

 

In Brielle's basket: 1) Dora coloring  book 2) snack size bags of crackers 3) crazy straw water bottle 4) juice box holder 5)Dora light up wand toy 6) Dora bandaids 7) Princess vitamins 8)Chocolate bunny and two ring pops (the only candy they get) 9)Dora "boo boo" ice pack 10)lip gloss pack 11) Minnie Mouse headbands

In Raya's basket: 1) Chocolate bunny and two ring pops 2) Temporary tattoos 3) Preschool dry-erase activity cards and dry erase markers 4) Crazy straw cup 5) Juice  box holder 6)Princess nightgown 7) Princess vitamins 8) Princess  light up wand 9) lip gloss pack 10) Fairy bandaids 11) Princess boo boo ice pack 12) two headbands 13) snack  pack  crackers (not pictured)

So hopefully the girls like their baskets---I love  this age when they are happy with bandaids and don't  need more expensive items! lol


In other news, I signed Raya up for a little  Eric Carle camp at the children's museum that started today, and is 4 Fridays in a row. She's doing it was Sawyer's cousin Gavin...so while they did the camp this morning Gavin's mom and I hung out with the two little kids, and then after  camp we alll  stayed to play together at the museum and then ate lunch at Panera....fun morning!

Here were the girls  today in their matching little tops from Old Navy---on sale for $4! They looked so "cool" hehe

Hope everyone has a wonderful  Easter weekend!

Problems

Sorry you guys, no "real" blog  post today! Unfortunately  my computer  is  jam packed  FULL...no more memory haha. I can't  even put *one* photo on it, it's that full.  So I'm going to have to move all the pictures onto my  external harddrive and then delete them off my laptop to  free up space.

Let's just say today I'm not motivated to do any such thing! ;-)

So all  I have to share with you are some pictures that I  already had on my computer but hadn't shared here yet. These are just  a couple quickies of the girls trying on the Naartjie outfits  I  bought with my Kids Kash (for those  who are unfamiliar it's similiar to Gymbucks---kinda "free money" you earn and then redeem on a future purchase).  So obviously  I had to redeem it! haha

This first  outfit  for Brielle isn't  the typical Naartjie "look"...it's more  vintage feeling but I  saw it on another little  girl online and decided that my own blue eyed girl just had to have  it !! This outfit  is right up Grandma F's alley---she's already "called" it for a time that Brielle stays with her :-P

The leggings are attached  to the skirt---the  shirt  is separate

 

No  idea what's up with the weird face!



Look  at those blue eyes :-) The  perfect outfit for her!

And  then I also  got this outfit for Brielle. It's a size 3 and  I meant for it to be for  next year, but it actually doesn't  look  too bad right now so maybe I'll get it on her once or twice this year  too. I loooove it.

We still have  the stickers on it :-P

And  lastly, this outfit  is  too big---I bought it for next  summer since  we have  enough clothes for this year already. But I thought she could just try it on quick----apparently, according to her, her nose starting hurting "really  bad" lol. So dramatic!

The capris have really cute  details on the bottom ...bad picture, but obviously  it was a one take photo op ;-)

Happy Thursday everyone!

Trying something new---Raya's Birthday

With Raya's 4th birthday quickly approaching in May I've  been starting to think about what to do! Now in the world of blogging, Pinterest, etc. birthday  parties have  become quite a big thing. And for the last 3 years I've done the typical---birthday  outfit, decorations, birthday theme, food, guests, invites, etc. etc.

But let's be honest, even if you make a lot of the decorations/food yourself these parties add up people...they can get expensive when you sit down and think about all the little costs!

It's not that  I don't think these parties are fun and cute--I do. And  I enjoyed doing them for the last 3 years, we have lots of cute pictures, etc. But that said, it's starting to get repetitive for me now. Thinking about planning Raya's party and even though I'd pick  a new  theme (I  was thinking ballet party) it's still the same old party essentially. And by the time we spend $100 on a gift (some toy she doesn't  really need) and buy all the party supplies, feed all  the guests, etc. we are talking at least a couple hundred dollars for a party that lasts 4 hours.

SO ......that brings us to my plan for Raya's birthday. We are SKIPPING the birthday  party altogether! Yes, I said it :-P Instead, last night I made reservations for a birthday  trip and her  "gift" is that she gets to bring her  favorite person (cousin Sawyer :-). We have hotel  reservations for two nights in Omaha and we will be swimming at the hotel pool, visiting the Omaha zoo, the Omaha Children's Museum, and possibly  a drive through safari park depending on time. We found a hotel package that included zoo tickets, and we get 50% off the Children's Museum since  we are members at the one here in Iowa....so two nights on a fun filled  vacation is going to end up costing us about the same amount that we normally pay for a birthday party + gift.

And it's  something new---and MEMORABLE! We are going to have pizza and invite my parents over to sing happy birthday on Raya's actual birthday so she can blow out candles and stuff. And honestly I think she'll see that as a totally fine "party."  :-) We are  so excited!

This is the hotel pool  at the place we are going---I was excited to find one that people said was good for *little* kids, because  Raya doesn't  like typical hotel  pools where she can't touch the bottom.


I checked out the Children's Museum online and it looks like there are quite a few exhibits that are different from the museum here so the kids should love it. Here are a couple pics!





And the zoo of course! I'm thinking about making Sawyer, Raya, and Brielle zoo themed shirts to wear hehe...how adorable  would that be for photos?! :-)

I"m most excited  about this  exhibit---around Iowa  here you don't get to see the big  desert animals at our zoos typically!


So do I have any blog readers who'd been to Omaha before? Do share if you know of other must  sees that we should check out while there!

Etsy ruffles--- Trendy Tot Tuesday

It's Trendy  Tot Tuesday, yippee! :-) Linking up again with Megan , Lindsay , and Kelly

Today  I decided to let  you all  know about a great deal on denim ruffles I found! In case you haven't discovered denim ruffles on Etsy yet, they are the best way to take your cute shirts and tanks to the next level! Pair a tank top with regular jeans and well, you're just regular! Pair a tank top with denim ruffles and suddenly  you have a show stopping "boutique" outfit :-) Ruffles can get pricey, but I found an Etsy shop selling these denim capris  for $14 ---yes, $14! You can get full  length pants  for only $16...and they are surprisingly nice quality for the price. A little thin for denim, but I kind of like that  for summer. Check out the Etsy shop Embellish Kids !

And check  out my girls modeling these adorable ruffles...Raya was really into her  fashion show this week hehe. Such a pretty girl if I do say so myself!

Check  out that "sass"! :-)

Now the top is  my first ever Matilda Jane (swoon). In case you are unfamiliar with children's boutique brands Matilda Jane is extremely  popular and shall I say insanely pricey! I have never owned any before and never planned to due to the price (and the fact that I don't really understand the ordering process...you have to order from trunk keepers and it's like a secret society lol).

BUT

I occassionally would check ebay to see if anyone posted a crazy cheap piece as a buy it now, and maybe I could snatch it up before anyone else noticed hehe. Well low and behold, awhile back  I stumbled  upon this top and was able to get it for the same price as some Gymboree--wahoo! I think it's the most flattering top Raya's ever  worn. I plan to take her 4 year pictures in this outfit in May, once the weather warms up.

So in addition to  my plug  for the denim ruffles I guess  I'd suggest periodically checking ebay  if you'd like to get a reasonable  deal on your own Matilda Jane! The good thing about Matilda Jane too is that resale is generally very good.

I was feeling very "vintage" on these last two edits :-)

...and  not  to be left  out, Brielle of course got matching ruffles! Hers are paired  with a $1 Gymboree tank that I got at consignment though :-P  (And she insisted on picking that headband ...just go with it)

So  what  about you guys, do you like to shop on Etsy? Let me know  if you've  discovered any  great finds yourself recently! :-)

Happy girl!

Apparently I'm in the mood to do frequent posts  again haha...lucky you ;-)

Just had to share my happy smiley girl today!

Grandma, I ended up getting the girls these pink shoes  for spring, from Target. I guessed right on sizes! Size 6 and size 9.

(For everyone who isn't Grandma, I was looking for some shoes for spring because I realized the girls mainly wore boots all winter, or tennis shoes, and we had nothing for Easter outfits. I went with these rather than dressy shoes, so that they'd get more wear. We are just wearing casual shirt/skirt knit sets for Easter I think, with leggings, so these should look fine.)

And Miss Raya today, doing something strange :-P

Tomorrow is Trendy Tot Tuesday, check  back! No I have to come up with something to post  about though lol.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hope everyone had a great weekend; I know I sure did!

The girls and Lee got back  from Lee's parents' house this afternoon. I guess they had fun and Lee said they were good. Grandma H. sent back Easter bags (aka "baskets") with them and so I let them open them when they got home.

The strangest "cheese" face to date :-P

And now the candy rationing begins! :-)

With the girls gone I  got a lot of Etsy shop sewing done. I also did some shopping for myself yesterday which was nice. I thought since I'm always sharing about the girls' fashion that tonight I'd share a couple of my own fashion picks!

First, here was what  I wore shopping---I am obsessed with puffer vests, especially for things like shopping when I don't want to wear or lug a big coat around in the mall, but it's too cold to go without anything. This vest worked perfectly! (And yes, it's still cold here...we got another couple inches of new snow today :-(

Please note, the giant pile of laundry behind me *is* clean! I just was too lazy to move it from the laundry room ;-)

So while shopping this weekend here are a few things I bought!

First up, the world's most comfortable jeans. For real! I never owned skinny jeans and then this year I wore boots a lot and decided to try them again (in the past skinny jeans have felt really tight and uncomfortable to me). Anyways, I found these "denim flex" skinny jeans at Maurcies awhile  back  and fell in love! They are by far the most comfortable jeans I've ever owned. And even though they are "flex"/ stretchy they don't stretch out and  fall down as the day goes on like similiar styles I've tried. The sizing is a little different---they come in either xs, s, m, l, or xl....so if you happen to fall right inbetween sizes (like my mom did) then they probably  won't work for you. But it's worth a shot because if you happen to fit in one of those  sizes well then you will never want another pair  of jeans again :-)  (I'm normally a 29x33 or 10/12 pant and the size L fits me perfectly). So anyways, I bought a 2nd  pair  this weekend so that  I can stop being depressed when my first pair  is dirty :-P
Maurices Denim Flex skinny jean

Then my 2nd favorite jeans are from Vanity. I usually like about 75% of the jeans I try on at Vanity---I love their sizing is waistxlength because I am sure to get the perfect inseam. Some of the jeans their are too "young" for me, with crazy washes/rips/etc, but they always have a few basic pairs. This weekend I found a new style that I love---super comfy.... the Vanity Sasha Flare jeans

Then at Old Navy they had these dresses on sale for only $15...normally I look awful in this thin/clingy material for dresses, but I tried  this dress on and it was surprisingly flattering! I got the black and white stripe version, and it's so comfy  it's like pjs. I plan to wear it around the house this summer because  it is so comfy and easy to wear (warning though, I tried the same dress in a solid color and it wasn't nearly as flattering/forgiving---you could see all your bumps and lumps much easier than the stripe version lol...so I'm sticking with the stripes :-)  Old Navy stripe dress

I also found a ton of dressier dresses that I tried on for fun and loved...but didn't  buy because I don't really have an occasion to wear them right now lol. I also found an ADORABLE casual dress---sort of a chambray material, vneck with a brown belt--but  the only size I could find was about two sizes too big  and I couldn't pull it off. It was so tempting though--I'll have to keep an eye out for something similiar!

Have a great week everyone! :-)