Halloween 2012

We had a great Halloween this year.  Jackson and Sadie have been planning their costumes for months.  Sadie plans her costumes for years in advance...last year she was Belle, and on November 1 she told me she wanted to be Snow White next.  That's all well and good, except these princesses are the brunettes, and she, clearly, is not.  We tried doing a temporary dye on her hair last year, but it barely took.  So imagine my relief when she changed her mind and wanted to be Cinderella. Whew!  We found a cute Cinderella costume at Target (although I wouldn't recommend the costume we got, it was great in theory...removable long skirt? Awesome! Except the short skirt was super short and the long skirt never attached just right. Oh well.  Lesson learned).  She still looked beautiful (I think 90% of that was because she loves loves loves being a princess.).  We wore the costume to school but didn't do the hair and makeup and such...

Jackson started out wanting to be a wolf...just a regular old wolf.  Then a werewolf.  Then a superhero (I forget which one).  Then a Ninja Turtle...which you would think might still be available in the days of 80's retro coolness.  But no.  So one day the girls and I were in Tyler, we went to a costume store in search of the elusive ninja turtle, we saw a ninja costume that we knew he'd love and got that instead.  Luckily he loved it. (Apparently ninjas are hard to photograph...and don't smile much.)

Annabelle, as vocal as she is, did not get a vote on her costume.  She got to wear the Raggedy Ann costume Sadie wore when she was almost two.  I love this costume.  It is my favorite of all time, and both girls got tons of compliments when they wore it (although Annabelle is NOT a fan of Raggedy Ann now.  Not sure if it was the wig or the socks, but she kept telling me "I NOT be Raggedy Ann"...).  It makes me a little sad to retire it.  I was so happy to find a sweet lady in our church who makes Raggedy Ann dolls...all sizes.  She is making a kid-sized version that I can put the girls' costume on for posterity. I'm so excited!

We did our regular downtown trick or treat routine, which is really kind of a whippin but the kids still love it so we go, but after that we hopped on a hayride and did trick or treating old school!  It was so much fun and way less stressful than downtown.  

 I was amazed at how brave Annabelle was!  There were some creepy costumes walking around that night, and nothing really phased her.  She even gave the Old Man (Dado) a kiss after this picture was taken!  

Baby Girl Turns 2

Annabelle turned two on October 6!  This being our third go-round on the whole "terrible twos" thing, we thought we were prepared...only we've never been through this stage with this particular girl!  She is sweet and smart and spunky and oh-my-goodness is she strong-willed.  But isn't she cute? :) 

 If she knows I'm taking her picture, she will instantly turn into "CHEESE" mode, which does not a sweet picture make...funny, yes.  Just not sweet:

But when she's not looking...

This chick knows no fear (Well, there's this whole clown thing.  But clowns are creepy, let's just all agree on that.).  She's very verbal and wants to do everything Jackson and Sadie are doing, which can be a little scary for me...stair climbing, jumping...you name it. While she has amazing balance, she makes me a nervous wreck!

She loves school and baby dolls and her brother and sister (most of the time) ;) and our dog Jigs.

She is a great sleeper and still takes a long nap if time allows.

She knows her ABC's and can say the fruits of the spirit and her favorite color is, and I quote, "pank"...we might have a thick East Texas accent on our hands.

She entered this world with dark hair, but it soon turned to the same blond as her sister.  She still has her blue eyes, so maybe they won't change. I'm sure her Grandaddy would love that.

We love this kid to the moon and back!

Oh, the Organization!

If you know my husband and me, you know that I am always finding amazing (to me) pieces for our home (usually expensive), and my honey is usually saying, “Baby, I could SO build that.”  What he hasn’t figured out yet (SHH! Let’s keep it between us!)  is that’s the response I’m usually hoping for!  It’s worked out well for me twice before, after all.   The only downside is I have to be patient and let him find the time to do whatever it is I’m hoping to get done.

This time it was a set of “lockers” for my entry way.  When I saw these in a Pottery Barn catalog, I was smitten.

 I have dreamed of these lockers since the first backpack entered our house. I've had nightmares about their $1200+ price tag.  But once you have more than one kid, and once those kids start preschool, and especially once those kids have more than one pair of shoes, it just becomes this constant battle between organization and chaos.  Chaos is almost always the winner in our house.  Not that we didn't have a system. We did have a system.  It wasn’t perfect, but it kept the mess in one place, and helped us not have to go searching for a stray shoe or backpack (most days).   But it was almost always cluttered.  Except without the “almost.”  Call it the nature of the beast, or whatever.  It drove me nuts.  But here’s the “Before”...

When my hubby said he was taking a day off work and would build my dream DIY project, I was beyond excited! We got the plans off ana-white.com, and it didn’t take him long to get his part done.  With the painting, drying, then reassembling, it took about three days.  So (drum roll please!) here's the "After": 

Originally I was going to paint the whole thing white, but then we decided to stain the bench, and after that the kids said they really wanted the whole thing to be red! The compromise was to paint the beadboard red, which I love! We also made one end a message center with magnetic primer and chalkboard paint.  Love again!

 I found the baskets at Target for less than $20, and the letters came from Hobby Lobby (I got all crafty and ModPodged scrapbook paper on them.  I think they’re cute.)

We love to distress and stain wood, probably because it gets the kids involved and makes it a family project! Kevin even busted out some family cattle brands and burned them into the bench.  It looks awesome!

 When they were completely finished, I stood and stared at them for minutes at a time! I was just so excited that everything that was in the “before” picture was still there (And actually more! I was able to take the kids’ Crocs out of our laundry room and put them in their baskets. Score!), and yet it looked so neat and clean and organized! It makes our garage entry feel “finished.”  Love.

Pottery Barn, eat your heart out!

Kindergarten!

Holy moly, how did we get here?!

 Jackson started kindergarten today, and let me tell you, it was harder on me than I anticipated!  He has been ready to go to school for a while.  He could've started last year, but we knew he had a little more growing up to do, so we held him out one more year.  It was fine with all of us, except when someone would ask him, "Are you in kindergarten?"  He always rolled his eyes a little and would sometimes launch into the whole explanation of "yes-I-should-be-in-school-but-my-mom-didn't-start-me."

I stick by my decision.

But when the first day came, he was totally ready.  Me? I thought I would be fine.  I'm not a cryer by nature. And this was a happy day, so why would I cry about that??  Yeah.  As we walked into the building, I could feel my throat tightening up. I had no idea it would hit me like that!  But I sucked it up and did fine.

 He has a great teacher who scored points with him right away because the first thing they did when they got to their seats was play with the Playdoh (also known as "that stuff we never get to play with at home").

When he got home that afternoon, he said he had fun, but that was about it.  He is soo my child.  All those days that my mom got the one word responses from me after school?  Yeah, I'm paying for that. I can't wait to see what his year holds.  He just seems so much more grown up already. Love that kid!

First Day of School, Girly Style...and My Little Kiwanian

My girls started preschool the week before Jackson started kindergarten.  It really worked out perfectly, because it gave them their own special morning, and it gave Jackson and I a couple of days of just the two of us, which never happens.  If you ask her, Sadie will make it very clear that she is going to her "very last year of preschool, and then she goes to kindergarten."  She's been pretty bummed that Jackson is moving on without her, but on the first day of her school, she was happy to be the big sister who knows the ropes. :)

The best part is that they only have to go to school two days a week, on the days I work.  I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with them and enjoy some girl time before they get too big for me!

When we found out Annabelle was going to be able to at least give Sunshine Friends a shot, we were so excited!  Her sweet teacher, Mrs. Molly, is so kind-hearted and patient...and boy, does she need it with this one! ;)  

 And then there's my Kiwanian. Seriously.  Last year, Jackson and Sadie went to Sunshine Friends on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which left their Thursdays free for other things.  One weekly activity they both enjoyed was story time at the community library.  Nannie liked to take them (and Annabelle was too wiggly to sit through it anyway), so it became their weekly outing.  Then one week, Jackson decided to join Nannie at her weekly Kiwanis meeting. Pretty soon, he was going every week.  Then he was made an honorary Kiwanian.  Then he became their pledge leader. My mom would tell me how much they enjoyed having him there, but it was made evident to me one week when my mom was out of town and I had to make sure Jackson made it to "his meeting."  I had no less than three Kiwanis members ask if he needed a ride to the meeting!  So when the time came for his last meeting, I just had to be there.

 

Not only did he get a certificate of appreciation, they had a cookie cake for him and some presents too!  It was a special day for him. :)