hi, baby.

happy sunday.

2012-02-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

this was earlier at rowan's friend oliver's birthday party - all the kiddos got a swab of vasoline on their noses and then had to pick up as many cotton balls as possible off of a plate, with just their hands. rowan won.

our weeks in iphone photos.

2012-02-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

weekly rowan elk photo.

2012-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

the ceramic place.

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

last week we met up with our favorite duo, tessa and lennox, to do some painting at a local, paint your own ceramics place. it was so much fun! i think next time though, i will for go trying to do my own piece - it got tricky trying to bounce between rowan and stella, trying to keep paint out of hair and mouths.
these places aren't cheap, but i think it is totally worth the experience and the end result. tim and i are already planning a date night there soon. i really should wait and give these to tim for valentine's day but, well i am so impatient and of course we'll show them off when he gets home tonight.

i always thought it would be so fun to have a whole collection of dishes done like this - you, know instead of store bought ones. how cute right? i am in no hurry to replace my new fiestaware set though!

high on thrifting thursdays with harper's happenings

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

I don't usually post about my thirfting experiences here on the blog. if you follow me on twitter, ig, or facebook you know i have no shame showing of my hauls when they are amazing. remember that one time i brought home around ten pairs of like new/nwt tags semi-designer jeans for the girls and i for twenty dollars? well, i am so excited that mandy is hosting this link up for thrifting thursdays that i can't help but play along! so i will be playing catch up on this post with stuff i have scored in the last few months, it has been a good run...i may never buy retail again. ok, that is a lie...but, you guys - we almost bought stella that exact piano down there, with a $70 amazon price tag, for her birthday. that same week, tim scored it for ten dollars at goodwill.

i am no thrifting pro and i rarely score the amazing vintage pieces i am always on the hunt for, but i must be doing something right, so here are my tips and thrifting misadventures...

books are easily my favorite thing to go searching for, sometimes i shake my head and wonder if people realize the wonderful stories they are are just throwing out. like i talked about in a post a few days ago, we are on a mission to build a wonderful and good looking library for the girls. books they can enjoy now, can grow into, and can save for their children. amazon has been an amazing resource, but i just can't deny the amazing feeling when i find a book i have been after, and it is only seventy-nine cents. or like today, i literally had hesitated on buying this book, took rowan to school, got to goodwill and it was the very first book that caught my eye on the shelf - it was meant to be :)

quality control: bottom line, i am picky - i know i am only paying a dollar for something originally from old navy but i don't want thrifting to turn into inexpensive clothing hoarding. no stains, name brands, no rips in pages or broken corners on books, scratches on toys, and etc are things i look for obviously.
i have really hit the jack pot several times on a cart full of gap, it jeans, or gymboree kids jeans for three dollars or less - i love to stock up one these, with three adventurous daughters you can never have enough quality pairs of denim.

shop used first: for us thrifting hasn't just been about name brand clothes for pennies or pretty vintage books. when we got tired of paying for our comcast modem we almost headed straight to costco to pay their hundred dollar price tag - tim, wanted to check goodwill first and lucked out! he even found a comcast one and right there in the store called up the company to verify it wasn't one with a warrent for its return for an unpaid bill (cause you won't be able to hook it up). again, when i was getting ready to put my succulant pinning obsession to real life i headed straight to the vase/planter section and picked this 'so perfect' vase up for fifty cents.
when planning our wedding i knew i wanted a lot of used and vintage charm - one way i was going to accomplish that was with funky old silverware and canning jars of all shapes and sizes. i really lucked out on some amazingly awesome silverware that just oozed with vintage history. ok, maybe 'oozed' isn't the right word when talking about things we eat with, ha! i still have the whole blox of this stuff - i have plans to paint/color the ends of them like this or use them for crafts like this.

consistency: i try and go often, maybe about once a week to my favorite local goodwills. bellevue goodwill is a goldmine, but it is forty minutes away so we frequent one in our town where they are a little behind on the insane price tag raises lately. tim is always on the mad hunt for a old school nintendo system and thinks the only way to score is to be ahead of the game and constantly be on the lookout.
we can't keep rowan is puzzels to save our lives - she moves onto harder ones every week. i love the ease of buying one for ninety-nine cents and not feeling to bad if it doesn't have every last piece in the box. also, as huge game loving people - i love when i find fun games that beat the twenty-dollar plus retail prices.

i may or may not have started screaming when i spotted this dresser, as we pulled into the parking lot. they were having a big furniture deal outside and i knew it was meant to be the minute i saw it. it sealed the deal when i finally saw the price tag of fifteen dollars. screw you bookmarked craigslist one, this baby was coming home for me. perfect for our candy bar at the wedding and even more perfect for the girls vintage bedroom (we painted it, distressed it, and replaced the knobs). life is good.

stay tuned till next week!

wordless wednesday: a lazy ballerina.

2012-02-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

linking up with the paper mama, 5 minutes for mom, parenting by dummies, project alicia, and then she snapped, jenni from the blog, and live and love outloud.

zoku!

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

i have been after this bad boy for awhile, but when i tried to talk tim into it while our wedding gift cards burned holes in our pockets, he turned me down cause of its daunting price. after tonight though, he is a believer!
drea posted about this wonderful contraption yesterday and it stirred up my desire to own one. i called up tim, and by the end of the convo he was convinced to stop at macy's on the way home and get me one. best husband ever. it also helped he was able to score it for ten dollars off when he used our macy's card, total cost was forty dollars. what does it do you ask? well, i makes awesome on a stick in minutes - you can check it out here.

once the standard refreeze time of twenty four hours had passed i went straight to the zoku blog to check out some recipes. once i figured out i didn't have all of the ingredients for any of these yet, i came up with my own mixture. i am sure this would work with regular popsicle mold too!

layer one:

3/4 c. organic raspberry yogurt

1 c. milk

1 tblsp. sugar
1/2 of a lemon, juiced.

layer two:

3/4 c. organic vanilla yogurt

1 c. milk

1 tblsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla flavor/extract

whisk together, then pour into layers as you like. yum!

i can't wait to try some more of these! pumpkin spice latte pops? um, yes. berry mojitto pops? please. and, mimosa pops? done.

a teepee for the littlest lady.

2012-02-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

when i saw jenloveskev's diy teepee awhile back, i knew stella had to have one for her upcoming 2nd birthday. i started pinning as many tutorials and photos as i could find to get started. as you can see above, i obviously couldn't make it five minutes before i folded and handed it over to her over a month early.

jen's instructions and links to the tutorials she found seemed really helpful, but i am mildly craft retarded and i respond well to LOTS of photos, instructions, and a pattern - yes, a pattern really helped! i enlisted my friend amy (she did most the work, haha) to help me, well, cause she is a crafty genius and makes beautiful things. we got to work early the morning of superbowl and finished just in time for the half time show. once we got going it seemed to come together really easy!

the pattern called for pvc pipes, but there was no way i was using that - i just didn't think it looked very good, and since this was going to be a inside thing i went for the upgraded 1x1 poles. we checked out dowel options but everywhere was carrying them for $7 a piece which would have put this project way over the top.

the pattern called for the poles to basically be sewn into the canvas - but since we opted for the square 1x1's, this wasn't a option. we also skipped adding ties to keep the poles connected to the material, but now that i see it slips around a bit, i am going to go back in and add some ribbon to secure it.

i wanted to change up the doors a little from the pattern, but poor planning and having to alter the door pattern piece led to the smaller than preferred entry, but i love it and think it makes it that much more quaint and "for the kids". i had fallen in love with this pom stuff the other day when hunting down supplies for jessica - it adds so much to the doors!

i would suggest picking up a bottle of fray stop - it really helped in keeping the canvas from totally falling apart on up. canvas = not the easiest stuff in the world to work with.

supplies and cost:

butterick teepee pattern ($10.00)

9x12 light weight canvas drop cloth (home depot $22)

6 1x1 posts, since i wasn't going to pay lowes $7 price per dowel ($1.20 each)

2 yards of door fabric, alexander henry from joann's ($12.99 per yard on sale for $9)

3 yards of pom garland ($3.49 a yard)

2 yards of cream, thin cording ($1.79 yard)

12 2mm wooden beads ($3.00)

total: $70

(does anyone else hate that it always cost double what pintrest says a diy will cost?)

i know, i know - that is a lot for a teepee, but if you look online that is a great price compared to some retail versions. and? it looks freaking amazing! i am now on the mad hunt for giant and fluffy pillows to fill the inside up with and christmas lights, those are a must too!

this was really so easy to make - and if you are questioning your ability at all...buy the pattern!

in love, with...

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

eep, there are so many adorable valentines day card ideas floating around pinterest - i am so overwhelmed, rowan may or may not be giving two-in-one treats to her preschool friends this year, i just couldn't narrow it down! here are some of my favorites lately:

seriously? dead of the awesome that is happening here! via.

this is what zoe is making! the post even comes with a pdf to download and use! via.

i just ordered a pack of bugs to do this exact one! and, again the lovely dandee-designs offers up their pdf to download and use. so cute and creative! via.

great for the older crowd - and this one would be very affordable to create! via.

amy never ceases to amaze me with her creativity! make sure you read her WHOLE blog (nbd) and get inspired! via.

this, along with some other similar pins i have seen - have inspired the second part of rowan's valentines this year! stay tuned for our post about that, as the holiday nears! via.

you guys.

2012-02-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

dyeing over this post about the fuck yea! ryan gosling...hey girl craze. check out the video.

totally motivated to breast feed as long as i possibly can, thanks to this lovely gals story.

crying real tears of happiness, over this viral kristen bell-sloth clip.

happy friday!

hi, baby. reading list.

2012-02-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

as of late, we have been hard at work building a good, colorful, lasting library of books - it is time to move beyond board books with teeth marks in them! plus, i have dreams of a rainbow-color arranged books on a shelf with maps and globes.

it is slowly growing with a mix of books newer and (adorably) vintage books, found thrifting and a purchase here and there on amazon (ok, i have a serious problem and amazon books have seen a lot of my bank account lately, ha!) - i won't buy a book from amazon though, unless i really feel i am getting a good deal or it is a book that will for sure win over the girls.

zoe has always loved books, reading, and being read too - she is top of her class in this category and we can hardly keep her in books. rowan, has taken a little longer to grow into a love for reading - but we are hear now and sometimes she likes to hear her favorite book ten times a day. or sometimes, we make her read the ones she has memorized, for a good laugh.

instagram, twitter, and my favorite blogs have been a wealth of knowledge when looking for amazing books to add to our collection - i may or may not have even begged some of my favorite mama bloggers to share their little's daily reading list - then i though, maybe you would like to hear ours!

1. baby lit books, in most of your favorite classics! 2. stella and sam books, you'll see a theme here - i like to track down books that involve my kidlets names. any ideas for a book with a rowan? 3. the hungry caterpillar - of course we love the classics! you should see our copy of good night moon, it is very well loved. 4. leonard the terrible monster - love! 5. earth to stella, again with the name. 6. birdie's big girl shoes and birdie's big girl dresses - these are on repeat in our house, rowan is in love with birdie and her fashion adventures. 7. oliver jeffer's books - thanks to jenloveskev, we are now obsessed, i may or may not have broken amazon adding all of these books to my cart so fast. 8. bear in underwear - rowan's aunt got her this book as a little joke, rowan is easily offended when she sees anyone in their underwear. it was hilarious when she opened this christmas morning! 9. peet the cat: i love my white shoes - this is such a cute book, the girls always pick this are their before bed book, i can't wait to get more of these. 10. skippyjon jones - reading these book ten times a day makes my mouth muy muy dry, but it is so worth it as these books are adorable. 11. fancy nancy - we officially fell in love with these books when we realized, in posh puppy nancy's neighbor's name was "mrs. devine" (which is rowan's last name) then for christmas rowan got the stellar one, and i love how it gives real educational information in such a fancy way. 12. kipper's a to z - i love this one for stella, we are working on our letter recognition right now and this story keeps her interested and entertained. 13. on the night you were born - a special gift for christmas, this has been a zoe favorite for awhile. 14. sandra boynton books - doggies and belly button book are our favorites, but we love them all and their fun play with words.

so there you have it - the recent additions to our growing collection. we would love to hear your favorites!

felt masks!

2012-01-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

the possibilities are endless...

this weekend was our niece, vivian's 2nd birthday (her and stella are less then two months apart!) - it was zoo themed, and we were asked to come dressed as an animal if we wanted. even with bins and bins of dress up attire, unfortunately we didn't have anything that we could make a good animal out of, so i hit up pintrest of course.
i searched 'felt masks' because i knew i wanted felt as a material - it is so inexpensive and easy to work with. i found the fox right away - it was exactly what i was looking for! the bear i had to get a little more creative with, i found some links for etsy shops and combining a few looks of my favorites, i sketched out this guy - who kind of looks more like a ewok/koala/dog, but rowan was happy with it and everyone guessed she was a bear right away!
stella still wears her fox mask daily - she loves it! i can't wait to make them more to add to their dress-up collections. i have even been eyeing up this little diy, and even picked up some of the supplies the other day!
here is the pattern i used: fox mask, via http://feelincrafty.wordpress.com/tag/fox-mask-tutorial/
just a small tip, after having to throw away my first attempt. i sewed everything together before i traced and cut the eyes out - you don't have a ton of error room and it makes it hard navigating your stitches around the eye holes if you pre-cut them. also, you might want to play with the size - this mask was pretty small, and even stella had a hard time seeing out of the eye holes with her little bebe eyes.

dance!

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

i had to steal this from amanda, stella and ellie have been taking a dance class together and since i always forget my camera, i asked amanda to snap a few last week. how cute is she?

self-portrait.

2012-01-31T07:22:00.000-08:00

new hairs, big zit, no make up, horrible eyebrows, little sleep, total self confidence - this is my real life, people.

Obsessing over…
organizing, cleaning, a system, a schedule, life.
Working on…
a 4.0 and stella's 2nd birthday party.
Thinking about…
our next house project - entry way makeover? painting the girls room?
Anticipating…
being pregnant again.
Listening to…
the littles giggle.
Eating…
chai tea latte
Wishing…
for a money tree to sprout in my backyard. wishing, hard.

linking up with the paper mama for her self-portrait challenge!

my town: in awe.

2012-01-30T20:20:00.000-08:00

there isn't anywhere else i would rather call home...

via

#dailyrowanprekphoto

2012-01-30T14:14:00.000-08:00

the daily preschool photo project is still going strong! i need to figure out what to do with them when the year wraps up in may - right now i am thinking of printing them out, laminating them, and putting them on a ring clip so she can flip through them to her hearts content!
here are some of my favorites lately:

these are in chronological order, starting with the newest - do you think she has changed any in the last five months of preschool?

kindergarten>kindergarten : weighing some options

2012-01-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

ok, i am getting way ahead of myself - but this week, we are registering rowan for her pre-k class at our beloved preschool and it has me thinking about registration the next year...
(pre-k? as in rowan only has a year of school left before kindergarten, or "people" school as she calls it. wait, when did this happen? #denial)
we have the opportunity to continue our relationship with bethlehem christian school, into kindergarten - they offer half and full day options at a very reasonable cost and let's be honest, we love this school - pajama day? yes! multiple productions put on by fidgety, nose picking 4 y/o's? um, sure! field trips and whacky wednesday? sign us up!
then there is the bottom line, this is a religion based education with class sizes in the fifteens - zoe, goes to public school where there is almost thirty kids in her class, this knots my stomach and makes me think - how can these kids possibly be getting the attention and time they need from their teachers at this age?

here is where i am torn down the middle though - do kids this age form important bonds the first year of elementary school? am i robbing rowan of an important step in making friends if she starts at public school a year later then the kids she will be with till high school? (she goes to preschool a city over, where virtually none of the kids there will go to her public school) or are they still so young that it isn't important?
this all being said - rowan is a very vibrant, heart on her sleeve gal who has no problem approaching kids and welcoming them into her life.

i would love to hear you weigh in on this - have you gone through a similar choice? pros? cons?

can we talk about how my kid can't get over christmas?

2012-01-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

i feel like i am in the middle of the movie santa clause, you know the one with tim allen, right after charlie finds out his dad is...you, know, the big guy and he is playing sleigh in his room in august or something?
that is rowan - she draws him, sings about him, talks about him, waits by the window for him, literally wants to grow up and be santa (ok, that hasn't come up yet, but...). it is equal parts hilarious, endearing, and totally frightening. ok, it is a little annoying too - constantly hearing about next christmas when i am just ready for it to be over forty degrees out.
is this a normal four year old shinanagin? zoe never was like this, this is new territory for me. i am not literally worried, but i can't help but laugh!

valentines day: window craft

2012-01-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

thanks again martha for the idea - rowan and i had so much fun making this guy last weekend, and it looks absolutely gorgeous in our front window!

supplies:
wax paper
crayons
pencil/crayon sharpener
an iron
kraft or parchment paper
strudy sticks in any size, shape, or form
fishing line
glue

you start out by choosing the color/s you want your hearts to be, then get to work sharpening them down into a pile of shavings (thin and small!) - you don't really need a ton as you spread them out and they go a long way.
i did two different sheets in the two color mixtures - i pulled out a good length of my wax paper and the folded it in half 'hamburger', i spread out my first color/s of shavings then sandwiched my folded wax paper between the kraft paper (for protection from the wax on your iron).
I was brave and went with a pretty high setting to ensure a good quality melting, this worked pretty good and i would periodically lift my paper to make sure there weren't any lumps.
once i had a nice sheet of the melted art, i got to work cutting out my hearts - i pre made a template to trace so they were all the same size, but you can do whatever!
(i had sent tim and the girls out on a dual task earlier in the day - to collect sticks and wear the girls out for naptime! they did a great job finding me some good options)
when my hearts were all cut out i ran a strip of glue along the backs and attached my fishing line at the desired length. then i tied them to the branch, hung a piece of line for hanging and picked our window!
let me know if you try it out!

you, know...

2012-01-27T18:51:00.001-08:00

when your kid randomly says at dinner, 'oh, sorry mommy - i accidently pushed the red button on the left.' then goes back to her business and all you can do is blank stare at your husband trying to mind read what she could possibly be talking about.

jessica

2012-01-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

don't stare to closely, but this is jessica, on a whim i made her for rowan this week - after throwing away three terrible, totally wrong in some spot or another doll skins, this ok one was produced. ha - i think i like to fool myself into thinking i am some amazing sewer when i jump into these projects, but alas i guess i am not. maybe it is that i move to fast and then jessica number one's left arm is only half attached and spilling rice everywhere or i bought too thick and too hard to turn right side out canvas so i tried to pass a arm less jessica number two over to stella.
either way i am going to keep working on it and get a perfect one! i have visions of making them aprons, mary-janes, and capes for the girls to dress them up with. i even bookmarked some 'tattoo' fabric on etsy, thinking how adorable would that be if their arms were tattooed? i was dyeing when i found that hounds-tooth fabric for their legs - so cute and it came in tons of colors which i made note of for future dolls - you know, that aren't missing or dangling limbs.
I made this one with rice in the legs and arms - which did not work for me since and was spilling into my sewing line causing all sorts of problems. lesson learned.

here is the pattern and tutorial i used.

the video is helpful and i ended up copying my pattern a bit larger so the doll would be bigger. i wouldn't suggest getting real stiff canvas for the face and arms, mine totally fell apart or absolutely refused to turn right side out. i also some some awesome options for iron on doll faces or other things you could use to make these dolls one of a kind - i had gotten some fun bright pink dangly fuzzy ball decor for stella's armless doll but i am sure you can picture how that turned out for me, haha.

she isn't perfect, but you know what, rowan LOVES her and that is all that really matters.

are we friends yet?

2012-01-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

isn't funny to think how ten years ago, hardly any of us were part of any online social networking? i didn't even get a myspace until 2004 but obviously, that was my gateway drug. now, i participate in about all there is but my favorites are these...are we friends yet?

twitter, @olive_juiced
instagram, olive_juced
facebook, https://www.facebook.com/olive.juiced (i just use my personal one, life is too dang crazy to try and maintain another page)

hope to see you there!

sweet + silly

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

"our house"

2012-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

the "our house" button is now up and running, over there to your right! i have posted our tentative (and long) to do list, along with a few links to the big projects we have completed so far. i get a new crazy idea everyday and some new form of side eye from tim to go along with it, so i have a feeling the diy may never end - but i'll sure have a cool house when it does! check it out and let me know what you think!

sensory boxes.

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

i couldn't believe my eyes when stella sat and played for an extended time, with a sensory box set out at her little friends birthday party. you can bet that bright and early the next day i was headed out to make this magical toy ours.

supplies:
two bags of split peas
rubbermaid container (i choose a larger, well-latching one)
the cheapest pack of plastic creatures i could find

as long as stella doesn't have anything in the bin that resembles a shoveling tool, we are good to go and stay relatively mess free. this has kept both kids entertained in those moments of the day where i might pull my hair out if i can't reign them in unwind and regroup. i can't wait to pick up more supplies to switch out in our sensory box - noodles, oatmeal, and moon sand are on the agenda.

new house progress :: the fireplace

2012-01-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

i don't claim to be any sort of chevron genius - but i think they turned out pretty good!

after all of you listened to me complain on ig and twitter about how i was desperate for an idea to make over this 'too small for our tv' odd space they feel the need to put in new homes these days. i mean, a tv over the fireplace? is that really even a good idea? then where do you put your components without wires all over? dumb.

i just decided how big i wanted each chevron and measured the first one, then measured down from the three points of the triangle with my small level. something got off somewhere in my planning though and the dark chevron ended up thinner then the wall color one, hmmm-maybe something about the tape?

looking back i think i would have rather had three dark chevrons and somehow done away with the little triangles at the bottom (which the jury is still out on if they are staying - i think it might work without them)

the lines were nearly perfect with my trusty tape, cut in with wall color, then paint technique. now, i just need to find the perfect chandelier or other big fun something to fill the space - any suggestions?

i fall a little more in love with our new house one project at a time!

paper terrarium - via the papermama

2012-01-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

i almost jumped out of my seat this morning when i saw this diy on the paper mama today - i had the exact, perfect apothecary jar that was begging for some content. this is my end result:

head over and get started on yours!

the little theater.

2012-01-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

with the snow closing in on us the last couple of days, we have gotten a chance to pull on our creative pants this week. the kids are only good for few hours outside before the wet and cold out ways the fun. this house is busting at the seems with all the people home from canceled, well...life!
i remembered a post a bit ago that bleubird vintage blog did about this little theater for her daughter, it was nap time so i got to work.

my supplies:
biggest shoe box i could find
scrap book paper
yarn
fabric scraps
tiny clothespins
glue
paint
scissors

you don't need much explanation - it is pretty straight forward and really you can do whatever your heart desires! it's funny because they already have a fancy store bought puppet theater that gets absolutely no attention paid to it. but this? this is a huge hit so far - especially when i draw little faces and wigs on rowan's tiny fingers to be the actors.

snow ice-cream for the win.

2012-01-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

you know, cause it is snowmageddon here in the pacific northwest. this brings back major childhood memories - one of my favorites this time of year was snow ice cream! i swear we used to put peanut butter in it but i couldn't find any recipes that were like that, so maybe i am making that part up. it turned out so good, i drank mine like a milkshake. you could probably play around with the sugar if you don't want to add that much, but this version was perfect and the kids were really excited!

1 gallon snow
2 cups milk/or cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

stir, dish, and enjoy!

in case your wondering, this is what it looked like when it first got light. we have gotten at least six more inches since then, with a TON more expected overnight into all day tomorrow. that means we get tim home for the day!

iphone photos, or instagram dump. (potato, potaaato)

2012-01-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

where do you even start when you are this behind on keeping you update on all out instagram going-ons? you don't, you just post them all! i used http://instagrid.me/ then just screen shot till i had them all to piece together in photoshop.

(numbered left to right, not particularly in order of actual event) 1. sensory box 2. h&m hello kitty pants, how could i not? 3. fireplace finished product. 4. snow! 5. thrift find of the century, by the hubs! 6. working on the fireplace 7. first row of tape is up! 8. watching toy story, nbd. 9. snow! 10. snow bunny 11. little triangle i am not sure about 12. almost done painting! 13. $1 babies r us clearance finds 14. counting; four, four, four 15. new toms for the toddler 16. what's in my bag #janphotoaday 17. hoops! 18. homemade ice cream sandwhichs 19. easy chicken salad 20. foam pit! 21. biker chick 22. new uo quilt 23. new uo shower curtain for the girl bathroom 24. stella and stella 25. trampoline place! 26. new parachute 27. whacky wednesday at preschool 28. stripes! 29. childhood #janphotoaday 30. #dailyrowanprekphoto 31. follow her! 32. little boxes 33. nighttime routine 34. #dailyrowanprekphoto 35. #dailyrowanprekphoto 36. crabby queen 37. stripes in progress 38. dance class! 39. dance class! 40. little girl shoes 41. my sky 42. blogging 43. stripes almost done! 44. stripes almost done! 45. letter box #janphotoaday 46. 'wook, i jump!' 47. littlest ballet feet 48. painting advice 49. christmas aftermath 50. christmas before 51. a girl and her buzz lightyear 52. new drum for the eldest 53. reading 54. #dailyrowanprekphoto 55. more painting advice 56. new couch! 57. oldie in honor of zoe's birthday! 58. tired 59. fort in a bag prep 60. #dailyrowanprekphoto 61. major thrift score! 62. breakfast; addiction 63. me #janphotoaday 64. read.

linking up with amy over at a good life.

baby, it's cold outside...

2012-01-15T12:35:00.001-08:00

it looks like this outside.

so, we're inside finishing this bad boy up...
when we first bought this house you may have seen me on pinterest, digging through ideas for this awkward tv nook above the fireplace. our tv doesn't fit and we had concerns about encasing it anyway; somewhere there would be heat like that. i talked about doing something with shutters - but i didn't really want to close ti off, somehow i was worried it would shrink the room. so, i came up with this idea! the goal is to find a vintage chandelier, really odd/cool shaped lamp, or a some sort of stunning candle holder or candelabra to go in there; to add light to the room and make good use of the space.

and, in case you missed it on ig, twitter, facebook, or pintrest - i am really into measuring and taping this week, because look at our bedroom! eep! the color is wheat bread by behr from home depot and goes perfectly on top of the already off white walls. it was a pain in the butt to finish but so worth it in the end!

seattle.

2012-01-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

reason 4,321,678 why my city is better than yours.

just our sunset tonight, nbd.

via erika.

the latest christmas post in existence.

2012-01-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

what can i say, i am still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor on how ridiculously these kids were spoiled rotten. a pink drum set with leopard print decals for the eldest? a innotab and real-like dog for the blonde? every other toy in existence for the toddler who already has everything? yep, that sounds about right.
i think we need to do some post christmas purging and donating to balance things out a little.
we held the anual moran family christmas eve at our new home - we even made mandy's christmas punch in the face which tim enjoyed a little too much, ha! it was a great evening and a total success in our first family event at the new place, which everyone loved of course.
christmas morning was just my dad, tim, stella and me - the bigs were at their dad's (sad face). stella got really overwhelmed opening all of her gifts to the point we had to give up to leave for tim's sisters and she could open the rest later. i am pretty positive she LOVED everything though.
christmas number two was the next morning, i had woken up with the stomach flu, but i wasn't going to let that damper our time. the girls had a blast checking out all of their gifts and i am pleased there didn't seem to be much complaint. zoe's fort in a bag was the big hit!
so, our christmas...

then...

reset for number two...

which was quickly undone...

then we took a nap.

chicken salad>everything else.

2012-01-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

3 cans of costco canned chicken
3/4 a cup of mayo w/ olive oil
chopped; celery, grapes, and cucumber to your liking
4 pieces of turkey bacon crumbled or chopped

optional, a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes - yum!

wrap in spinach tortilla (put on a some bread, or eat straight from a bowl) and nom your face off. you're welcome.

i also started a juice fast this week - i am replacing breakfast all the way with a all fruit juice. then for lunch a spinach heavy 80% veggie juice paired with something like a small bowl of quinoa/sprinkle of cheese/and a tiny bit of low sodium soy sauce. then dinner for the win, i go a little more crazy and have delicious chicken salad wrapped in tortilla. then we may or may not have eaten home-made ice cream sandwiches between two chocolate chip cookies.

cool stuff, and stuff.

2012-01-12T08:15:00.001-08:00

i saw this on ohdeardrea and had to share - or save for myself? either way, this is rad.

diy fort in a bag.

2012-01-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

i will blog today...i will blog today...i will, let's do this.

zoe's fort in a bag = best gift i have ever given. ever.
pretty easy too, and chances are? if you invite us to your birthday party we will probably bring one of these bad boys as our gift - every kids dream come true!
first, i tracked down my supplies...a flat sheet here and there (this proved to be difficult since goodwill/value village was trying to charge me $9.99+ for anything that was cute and vintage, boo on you goodwill, boo on you.) i could have probably easily made a bag to hold it all but i was running out of time and i was able to find a very inexpensive laundry bag. Finally, tim scored me a big bag of plastic spring clips at lowes that came in all sizes, he also picked up a flashlight to complete the set.

to get started, i knew right away i wanted to dye the laundry bag - it was white and i was positive it wouldn't stay that way for long with how much use this set was facing by zoe. this was my first time ever using rit dye so it was really up in the air how it would turn out - it came out kind of purple when i was shooting for a light grey, but i didn't have time to stress about it and moved on.

next, i outfitted the sheets with loops and ties - even with the clips i gave her this option to just slip over a chair or tie somewhere easily. i added six loops/ties on the corners and in the middle of the long sides. to do this i just laid out one of tim's old tees and used my rotary cutter to slice 1.5 inch pieces. when the pieces were cut i stretched them out to give them the look they have now. while sewing them on i criss-crossed the middle and sewed in an 'x' to provide support.

as the finishing touch, i opened up trusty photoshop to whip up a tag for the outside bag, i was so inlove with how it turned out i didn't stop there - i made two more for various contents on the inside.
zoe was over the moon christmas morning and couldn't wait to build her first fort - she did a great job and used every piece, even the rope! this gift is such a win!
i think in the end i spent $25 - which is hilarious since all of the tutorials i read to prepare gushed about $15 totals and so on...i thought we did it pretty frugally and still spent a lot more, hmmm.

i would love to hear if you make one!

while we're being honest...

2012-01-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

sheesh, putting key strokes to actual words has been difficult as of late - i think i am in a christmas leftovers funk. feeling unmotivated has actually motivated me into a different routine this week, i am trying to schedule in school and a regular workout, exercise really gets me pumped on my day and i get a lot more done and the school stuff? well, that just needs to get done and i need to stop being a lame ass about cracking open the books. yesterday i was actually pondering calling hiatus on hi, baby and coming back in february with a bang - but that isn't what i really want, so on we go...

here is some food for thought - something i have been thinking a lot about, discussing with amanda a lot, and felt at war with myself about. another baby.
everyone is pregnant right now, i am not exaggerating either - i know at least twenty people who are relatively close to me friendship or family wise expecting this spring through summer. i mean, DON'T DRINK THE WATER PEOPLE.
so, naturally i want a baby - or do i? when i had zoe at nineteen no one i knew was having babies, they were barely getting engaged. when i had rowan a handful of my good friends all had babies with in a few months of her - my best friend a week later! with stella it was finally my dreams come true, a lot of gals from hs were pregnant with their first and a lot of my new friends in the blog world were expecting or had just had a baby, this made me ecstatic! so, naturally as all of our now toddlers are headed full force into their second year everyone is pregnant again so i am feeling left behind?
here is what i do know; we have the perfect name picked out, same for boy or girl with just a change in the middle name. i miss nursing bad and literally yearn to do it again and for longer this time. i am positive after my (not necessarily by choice - because my epi failed) natural labor with stella i want a purposeful, natural, in a birthing center birth where the doctors/nurses follow my every request without fighting me on it. i don't want to find out the sex and i want to be better at starting out with minimal acquisition of 'stuff' in the beginning. i want tim to be a dad again, rowan and zoe are from my first marriage and while they have known him their whole life and we have been together since they were young it isn't the same - i want his heart to experiance the true growth of bringing another person into this world.
these aren't good enough reasons to start counting fertile days though because here is what else i know (for me); four kids is a lot - however, before stella i was sure three would be too many and now i feel like it is a perfect fit, would my feeling evolve again? i mean, that is four cars to buy, four colleges to pay for, four weddings (if another girl) to plan and pay for, the list goes on and on. i also know that i like that stella is getting older and that we can plan trips; you know do more 'older' kid things. we get by and we have nice things and own our own house (which was on the list of 'for sure' prerequsits to considering adding to our family) but we could be doing better in the money management/savings department so that is why tim hesitates and i both appreciate and detest this but at the end of the day he is doing a good job looking out for our future.
so, we wait - until i can sort this all out in my head, i am not going to have a baby for a good name and a memorable birth experience, it is so so much more than that and honestly i am proud of myself for recognizing this-i never want to be overwhelmed by my choices to grow my family.

make sure to check me out on utah baby blog today - talking about our cloth diaper journey!

current song obsession.

2012-01-04T19:17:00.001-08:00

happy holidays!

2011-12-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

we'll be back to regular scheduled programming eventually, until then tis' the season for starbucks and extra family snuggles by the fire.

and then, you turned eight.

2011-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

just before 3am, eight years ago on a cold seattle morning, the most beautiful soul entered this world. happy birthday to my oldest, zoella elana (zoe) aka zoebug. you are all the best moments of my life!

lately.

2011-12-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

i have been really feeling the anticipation of christmas building today- i am excited for family, and liquor, and cinnamon rolls, seeing my kids open their carefully selected gifts, and laughing, and stockings. this week is killer too, even though it is filled with late till 1am shifts at work; the bigs are at their dad's till the 26th so it is just me and stella trying to fill our day - in the end i really do just a lot of removing the toddler from standing on the counters. are you all ready for christmas?
on a tangent, i am feeling so torn! we have tmobile but i have a jail broken iphone, which runs on tmobile's slowest network and doesn't have all the capabilities/functionality that it would with say at&t. but, i love my phone. i am up for a upgrade and i could get the samsung galaxy which is rumored to be one of the best phones out there, but it just isn't an iphone. is it totally weird if i said that if android would hurry and get on the instagram bandwagon i would switch back in a heartbeat? i think at this point all of my other favorite itunes apps are available in an android version. we are stuck with tmobile for awhile till our contract runs out - if i upgrade that sticks us for two more years. we can cross our fingers hard that tmobile gets the rights to the iphone soon but everything we read says there is nothing for certain, basically that it would screw at&t if they did because of their amazing plans/rates. ugh, what is a girl to do? #firstworldproblems
so, rant over and i am way behind on my weekly iphone link up but i want to share our going-ons anyway:

vote for our christmas card!

2011-12-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

hey readers - we made it to the paper mama's Christmas card challenge top thirty and now we need your help! just follow this link and vote for #1 - hi, baby. and that is it! thanks so much and happy holidays!

easy peasy cinnamon ornaments.

2011-12-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

i am in love with this easy to-do ornaments, would you believe me if i told you we have already made them three times this week? that they saved us in a "i can't think of what to give our wonderful preschool teachers" pinch? well, it is all true. i know this or a version similar is something you have all done, but i want to share either way.
i love these for so many reasons: they smell delicious, they are so easy to do, very low budget, even the blonde can maneuver these with little help from me, great for little hand impressions, and they are very durable.
i made these totally different each time and each time they turned out perfect; once was because i didn't have enough cinnamon so i used ground cloves and then another just elmers glue because it is all i had - each time was fine, so i urge you to play around with it and see what results you like best.

the recipe that worked best for us in the end was:
1 c. cinnamon ( i bought in bulk at fred meyer as a much cheaper option)
1/4 applesauce

mix together till well blended with a rubber spatula the add:
1/2 c. elmers or craft glue

here is where i got down and dirty with my hands, no spoon was working for me and this was the best way to really knead all of the ingredient together - you will get pretty messy but a smooth blended "dough" is best.
i let the "dough" sit in the bowl for about 45 minutes before i rolled it out (if it hardens up to much wet it down to help get it pliable again) - i used a stone to roll it out on and the tiniest bit of flour mixed with some cinnamon on my stone and roller to prevent sticking; this part is pretty important because it sure does like to stick to your surface. i rolled it out to about 1/4 inch thick and then we used out favorite cookie cutters to cut out our ornaments. the original tutorial uses a template and xacto knife but either way is great! for a few we cut out round ones and pushed stella's little toddler hands in for some grandparents gifts.
the original tutorial says you can bake them (on 200 degrees for about 2 hours flipping half way) or let them dry flat - we did both and both worked great, however our air dried ones curled up a little bit but had a lot lighter more cinnamon coloring to them. either way smelled great though!

before the teacher's ornaments were sent off we whipped up some cute wrapping using some stuff we had around the house like glassine bags, kraft paper, buttons, and puffy paint. i don't have any pictures of the final product because after they were done drying rowan headed to my aunts for a sleepover where they painted then to add finishing touches - each teacher got two stars and a squirrel. i did see them when i picked rowan up and her teachers were gushing about how awesome they were!

final step, clean kitchen.

using what i had, to wrap it up.

2011-12-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

for some reason it is SUPER important to my dad that all gifts be wrapped to the nines (does that reference even work here?) but yet some how i always am the one who ends up doing it. i get putting extra love and attention into a wrap job, i really do - but i feel that it is a wasted effort on a group of small children who could care less if their present were wrapped in dirty underwear.
but i do it anyway and this year i did it with stuff i already had around the home! no last minute trips to target in search of a deal. i had already picked up one giant roll of paper from costco like i always do, it is double sided, sturdy, and gets the whole job done. before i got started i wandered around the house grabbing yarn, clothespins (which i haven't used yet), doilies, and more. then, thanks to pinterest i got the idea to enlist the help of my trader joe's holiday paper bags in my wrap job - they were exactly the last touch i needed!
i still need to wrap our gifts to the girls - same paper, but i want to do something different for the "little somethin' extra," i love the ideas i saw over at armommy on facebook and might have to try a few.
are you all done wrapping yet? did you do anything fun and different this year to really wow the recipients?

of course that just happened.

2011-12-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

i needed to go into my room to get something, where the blonde was napping after a lot of protest. i tried to quietly operate the child cover on the door, nope it was all sorts of loud. then i tried to navigate the room to the bathroom doing a little better, nope i stepped a plastic bag on the floor, banged my retrieved item on the door frame twice, i stepped on some wrapping paper scraps, and the bathroom door creaked loudly when i pushed it open - i shot a quick glance at rowan and not even a stir out of her, i was safe. then trying to get out of the room my wrist cracks and she sits right up. what the heck.

santa clause

2011-12-11T22:04:00.001-08:00

can we just talk about this for a second? stella didn't like santa - i mean duh, she is almost two i should have known. except rowan never had a problem with him and stella is equally if not more easy going so i never even gave it a second thought. the second she started pouting i told the photographer to snap it - if she was gonna be upset then i am more than happy to document it, i mean this is what this age is all about right?

(plus, after what we went through at this age with zoe - i wasn't up for the challenge, the bubbles, the puppets, or trying to trick my kid - so tears it is.)

we braved the mall with tim, my sister, and our five kids between us to get our yearly photo with santa. last year was the first year in existence that me and my sister didn't get one but we are happy to carry on the tradition with our kids - nordstroms is where we have almost always gone and i am always happy with the result, even though i am a little bummed their one real beard santa was not there saturday. the photo i have of zoe with him is the best of all that i have so far.

the kids all did really great, minus stella's perfect pouting face ha! i can't wait to see the actual photo - i only hope rowan is making a little less of a poo face.

ok, is anyone else in total denial that christmas is in twelve days?

little shoes.

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

i just figured out how to make these nine dollar shoes last forever.

these babies are going on two kids and look brand new thanks to finally finding the right glitter. no, i didn't go through three different kinds trying to find a match, you did. whatever, anyway i finally found the just right round flat glitter i needed to keep these babies kicking - i mean baby number four will probably want to wear them right? (ok, there isn't one coming yet and i know i said we were done but we have officially changed our minds) (this week).
these shoes have always been a favorite in our house, we have them in red (two styles), black, and silver and the kids are always asking to wear them - i love that they go with everything: dressy, jeans or leggings - so i am happy to find a cheap solution to keep them looking good.
ok, in this photo you can totally see where i fixed them but i promise you can't tell in real life, ha!

Mckinley Pauline Durfee

2011-12-08T18:55:00.001-08:00

if you follow me on any social networking sites you know that i got a new niece last weekend on december 1st at 3:55pm, what a cool birthday 12/1 which is even color that her mommy's is 12/12...erie! after keeping us on our toes for twenty-four + hours of labor she made her entrance at 7lbs and 22 inches long, pure perfection.

my sister brought her over today to try and score some photos while she is in the floppy mold-able age of less that ten days old, it didn't go quite as planned - little miss wanted to be awake and play and anytime we would get her to sleep she would do great till we tried to get her nakey, she wasn't having it. hence why when we attempted a hammock/knot pose she is also swaddled :) a lot of them look the same, but i just couldn't throw out a single one with her expression changing by the second, it was so adorable.

i am really happy with a lot of what turned out - now i am off to whip up an announcement for her.

meet kiney p, the newest member of our family:

these last couple are from the hospital, i had forgot i had them on my camera and opened up the folder today to have a blaring placenta in my face while i was eating lunch, whoops! i will spare you that photo though, you're welcome.

can we just talk about how much my kid looks like mini me?

2011-12-08T15:38:00.001-08:00

when stella was born people would go on and on (and on) how how she was a exact copy of tim, i totally saw it too. there is one picture at the hospital where he is holding her and it is frightening how similar they looked. as she got older i was confused who she looked for like - the easy answer was me because of her dark curly hair and dark brown eyes (thank god one of them finally got my curls!) but i wasn't convinced i could see it in her face. she without a doubt has tim's nose (again, thank god) but didn't look as much like him as she used to.
then the other day my aunt handed me a stack of old photos i had never seen and i about lost it - there it was, stella in all her 80's glorious-ness. not only all that jazz, but i was really excited about the photo of me and my grandpa, i am pretty sure it is the only one of us together left in existence that i have my hands on. it means extra to me now that he had passed a few years back and i think neither stella or rowan ever got the chance to meet him. my dad looks JUST like him though, in fact when we were all a little younger my little cousins would accidentally mistake him for grandpa, ha!
alas, i could not find the perfect photo for comparisson but these will do:

and then, meeeee!

you see it, right? i especially apologize for making you look at this last photo, not really sure what is going on here.

thanksgiving, a month later.

2011-12-08T15:13:00.001-08:00

holy crap i have a cute kid. three of them to be exact, but can you even handle this photo?

these are from thanksgiving - i know i am way behind. we spent the holiday with tim's family at his uncles funky airstrip community house where we even had dinner in his garage slash hanger. it is the perfect space for the kiddos to play, they even got to ride bikes sans the pouring rain. add in some ping-pong and a pet parrot zooming all around it was a totally normal thanksgiving :)

stella bounced around on laps ending up with uncle sam trying to help him finish his dinner - it was pretty stinking cute! i just think it would have been nice if tim had mentioned that my slip was way to long for my dress while he was taking these photos before we left, meanie.

rowan's first preschool christmas show, the one where i laugh cried the entire time.

2011-12-07T15:31:00.001-08:00

after last night it was confirmed we pay for preschool for this reason alone. pure entertainment.

i can't decide what is funnier in these videos...the kid in the red vest, the boy in the back throwing himself all over, the fact in one they totally miss the other classes changing to a different chorus, or my child who is alternating picking both nostrils at the same time and having her whole hand in her mouth. dead.

finals

2011-12-05T23:56:00.001-08:00

oh, you know back when i mentioned i had all this stuff to talk about? well, i forgot this week was finals week. three kids, a full time job, and a full time student? yeah yeah i am tooting my horn hoping someone will pass me a medal. i deserve one, no? totally kidding.
so one down, one major important one to go i thankfully have passed some kidlet duties onto my mother in law so i can get my precalculus text done tomorrow then i will possibly be back to regular scheduled programming! rowan has her school christmas show tomorrow (where i promise i will ugly cry in delight that my baby is a preschooler that does real people things like sing songs and do hand movements) so of course there will be video later this week, and then you can cry too.
we are almost totally done christmas shopping - i feel totally on top of the world about it! girls wise i just have to put together zoe's fort in a bag which will be easy peasy then we have to plan and shop for the sil, bil's, and parents then done done done.
i am trying to talk tim into a new years eve slash house warming party that i have been trying to squeeze into our hectic life so we will see how that goes. this weekend zoe is here and i was able to pass off or cancel all of my weekend shits - that means we will be cramming as much holiday fun into the weekend is possible before the girls head to their dad's for actual christmas, sad face.
so that was a mouthful, are you still listening?
i will be back soon with something other than ig photos and random nonsense to share.

ps, i love this photo i scored of stella - i just wish it was lighter, such a sweet moment! she has been so good with the tree, she hasn't pulled a single ornament off and just like to every once and a while touch them lightly with her hands and squeal about how exciting they are.

and then i die.

2011-12-03T22:04:00.001-08:00

while i am away you can nibble on this little piece of adorablness. how did i not notice before today that tj's had these carts?!

things + stuff

2011-11-30T15:42:00.001-08:00

finals are coming, fast - i have a four to five page paper due in my political science class that until this week i have totally skated through paying little attention to its purpose. this should be fun.
rowan's first preschool christmas program is on tuesday and you can bet there will be video and tears, lots of denial ugly crying happy tears.
we are hopefully doing santa, snowflake lane, american girl shopping, zoe's birthday celebration (cause you know, she is turning eight and stuff!), dinner with grandpa and more; the weekend after this and i am pretty excited. let's hope for a little bit better of a photo then last year, do you think stella is over her slight santa aversion?
this week i hope to blog about our tree, that i work at target and why we are pretty sure the baby factory will be closing for good. wait, wha? you heard me.

until then...happy december tomorrow! (are you in denial like me that the end of the year is already almost here?)

on her list; zoe

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

last but not least, my not quite a tween but with just as much personality and independence as you can get. it gets trickier shopping for zoe every year, she is advanced in so many ways that we are constantly struggling for ideas, toys, things to do that keep her challenged and entertained. art and other porjects alike a for sure a fail safe - i am always keeping my eye out for new fun kits, crayola products, or fun diy i can teach her. i have teetered on the edge of buying her a sewing machine these last couple of years but am not sure at eight she is quite ready (i would get her a nice used one and skip the play ones that break) so maybe in two years i will take the plunge (next year is no gifts because we are surprising them with a trip to disneyland on christmas day!)
we stick to the everyone gets the same number of gifts rule and we try to do things that while they are special for the receiver are things that will last, be enjoyed together, and are practical for us.
so what are we getting our icarly obsessed, bored easily, adorable second grader? i'll show you!

toms are number one on the list, she was really bummed when rowan got some for back to school and she didn't so we decided to hold off and pick her some up for christmas! i am pretty sure these are the ones i will go with or if not just the plain grey canvas since i know those hold up well. nordstroms is for sure where they will come from...you just can't beat their return policy if something goes wrong!
headbandz and angry birds are two for sures as well, i scored the angry birds game on a black friday deal and i can't wait to all play these as a family! we have been working hard on building a good game collection and it is always one of our favorite family activities.
a goodbyn lunchbox - i love the idea of these and have been wanting to get zoe one for a bit, what perfect time like now! she will love getting to customize it to her style for sure. i am on the hunt this xmas for some cute 'party' dresses that zoe will feel extra special getting dressed up in. i always love gap's quality and value and so far have found five i want to get her including this one!
paper jamz drums, the last few years zoe has been successively working towards getting all the equipment she needs to start a band. last year between her dad and i she got a new SUPER nice small guitar and a real microphone set up. this year it is all about the drums, i don't know if her dad plans on getting her a set (i doubt it) but i thought this would be the perfect substitute for now.
a homemade fort in a bag, i pinned one of these awhile ago but it had finally dawned on me that this would be perfect for zoe! she is ALWAYS building forts and getting upset when they don't hold strong for her - i plan on sticking it with different sized heavy duty clips and some king sized sheets! i think i am most excited about this gift.
if my squinkies sneak plan doesn't work out, zoobles are also a new fav in the house - very similar to littlest petshops (which we have a million and five of) they are super cute and even stella enjoys them.
finally, the girls are also getting a trampoline for their big gift from grandpa - it is a combined gift but i am totally fine with that. they are going to flip out from excitement! we had to hunt down a smaller version of the ones you see everywhere; i know i have touched on the fact before that we have a non existent yard except for the ten feet on the side of the house where this eight foot trampoline will fit perfect, and it comes with the safety enclosure!
what is your older kid getting this year that you are really excited about?

on her list; rowan.

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

rowan is no exception to the 'we have way too many toys' situation - in fact she is in the thick of it as zoe grows out of all those preschool toys that stella is not quite old enough for yet, rowan has more than anyone.

we have unfortunately hit that age where her head is literally spinning as comercial after comercial talks her into the need to have every toy she sees. we can't go ANYWHERE without us being asked for sevenhundredandfortyfive different things and we discovered this weekend trying to christmas shop with rowan around doesn't work any longer; no matter how sneaky or creative we get! poor girl looked like her heart might break in two if i told her one more 'she really really wants' items was for a random cousin (even though it was really for her - i just wanted her to quickly forget it's existence.)

so what are we getting the girl who needs nothing, asks for everything, and really would rather play with pipe cleaners and a colander? i will tell you!

squinkies are HUGE this year and my kids are no exception to the lust for them - one problem, tim says they aren't allowed in our house anymore. he thinks it is insane to pay nine plud dollars for something that looks like it came from a quarter machine. but? but? so i think this will have to be a mama sneak at the last minute - hey, i think they are super cute! how do you feel about this tiny rubber craze?
i need a min blogger in training so this year some sort of laptop is a must have - i am not sure on what one yet, i want it to be a learning tool for sure so i want one she can grow into and won't be to baby-ish. any thoughts or play laptop suggestions?
bath toys!!! we love love love our yookido fill-and-flow spout we bought this summer and can't wait to add this similar toy to our bath time arsenal. and alex bath stickers-there are so many choices, rowan is really going to love the soup and the letters will be great for learning our letters a little better this year.
at first we were leaning towards picking up the kids camera they have at costco this year but then quickly turned towards this option, rowan loves her leapster explorer and i like how this camera has a video option - i can't wait to see what hilarious stuff she comes up with!
the fur real walking dog - not my favorite on the list but it is something she has been asking for since her birthday and the only choice she has stuck with as her number one. i guess well see how it holds up with these rough and tumble kids!
clothes! we already picked up some from this exact line including this plaid dress - i am in love with it! my favorite thing to dress rowan in is tee shirt dresses and leggings and oshkosh is the perfect place to shop for this style.
of course books will be part of christmas! these last few months olivia has quickly become a new favorite in our house and i don't mind reading them one bit! pj's, art stuff, undies, and more will all be in her stocking - i usually go way overboadr in this area and it never even fits in their stockings so this year i am going to try and limit myself and use candy as a filler if need be!
the older girls are also getting a big trampoline from grandpa, i am all for outside toys since we bought this house and this is exactly the addition that we need! i will talk more about that on zoe's list though!
what is your preschooler getting this year that you are really excited about?

stay tuned for zoe dear santa list coming soon!

our in week in iphone photos.

2011-11-27T08:36:00.001-08:00

this week was uneventful - i worked a lot in preparation for black friday and then we spent the rest of the week in somewhat of a food coma. can you believe it is already less that a month till christmas? i am in total denial but i am positive time moved faster this year, you too?

we started the first of our christmas shopping this weekend and i am currently browsing early cyber monday deals now, my goal is to be done...soon. one big thing this week was our new kitty max - i will do a formal intro soon but for now here are a couple of great photos of him and his new best friends and biggest fans.

i spy a little baby in a tent that she CAN NOT have in a upright position.

morning cartoons before we head off to our feast at preschool.

good kitty.

day twenty-four.

tried to upgrade stella to a more mature version of dino and this is the end result - dino, dine two, and new dino.

cat shopping adventures.

day twenty-five.

day twenty-six.

linking up with amy from a good life.

on her list; stella.

2011-11-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

stella will barely be approaching two when christmas rolls around this year - which means she is still at the 'i care more about wrapping paper, if i can fit in the box, and bubble wrap' then the gift it came wrapped around stage and we are taking full advantage! not to mention over the years between the two older girls we have collected enough my little ponies, little people, littlest pet shops, cars, dress-up, you name it to open our own daycare. in other words, where would i even put more toys?
so what do you get a toddler that already has everything? i will show you!

the voting is still out on the final choice of rain boots, but these are at the top of my list. these are a must have this year because ninety-five percent of stella's day is spent trying to wear big sisters rain boots with too much trouble. she will be ecstatic to get these - i am going to go ahead and place bets now that this will be her fav gift this year!
i am loving the land of nod website and all of their awesome bath toys - i know some little cousins who will be getting some from there too!
the bilibo and rody are gifts from grandpa but will for sure be winners this year! when you are overflowing with little piece toys already these types of entertaining activity toys are just the ticket.
i am back and forth on the iphone apptivity case - i absolutely LOVE the idea of it but stella already does really well with my phone so i am wondering if it is worth pulling in and out all day for her to play. we shall see. clothes and pj's are also yearly must haves!
finally a buzz of her own - she has taken to literally snuggling with big sis rowan's hard plastic original buzz and i hope she will love this in it's place. it might take her some convincing since he will lack the laser and noises of the one now but anything buzz these days is her favorite.
i know it is going to be really hard for me to keep this stuff hidden away for a month! i want to get it out and play so badly, ha!
what is your toddler getting this year that you are really excited about?

stay tuned for zoe and rowan's dear santa lists coming soon!

the glowstick bath.

2011-11-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

we finally got around to trying this pinterest idea that had been spreading like wildfire - who would have thought that six dollars would provide my children with endless prune-y fingered delight? i picked up some two-for-a dollar non-toxic glow sticks at the dollar store when i was getting supplies for rowan's bash. i really like the shape of these ones, they are totally round and smooth and perfect for this idea!
we had a little fun playing with exposure when i was keeping them company for their bath - have you tried this yet?!

you know you want to try it!

sponsor highlight!

2011-11-25T15:39:00.001-08:00

i was so excited when i saw an email from one of my favorite sponsors, mandey from mama and the dudes and mama mandolin esty shop was letting me and you in on a super deal she has happening this weekend.

she is offering a handmade set of her interwebs famous (yea i said famous!) necklace and earnings-with tons of new fabric options; normally $18 you can get them for $12.50 until sunday night at 11:59 pst. that is basically like a free pair of earrings, score!

did you think i was done? nope! she is also offering the code blackfriday30 for 30% off of one of her gorgeous wreaths - double score!

make sure to check out her shop and have a great weekend!

just do it, and thank me later.

2011-11-25T12:53:00.001-08:00

hold on, let me recover from the buffalo chicken coma i have been in all week. you know all those leftovers you had from mandy's buffalo chicken recipe? well, i have an answer to your dilemma. buffalo chicken grilled cheese + ranch.

as usual, you start with 4-6 frozen or thawed boneless chicken breast in your crock pot with a packet of ranch dip (we used uncle dan's this last time and LOVED it), and a bottle of frank's buffalo wing sauce (very important!)
cook on low for 5-6 hours, pulling out with an hour left to shred then replace in crock-pot for remaining time.
tomorrow...
grab two slices of your fav bread - we go with sourdough. place shredded or sliced cheese of your choice on one piece then spread a good sized layer of your shredded buffalo chicken, repeat cheese then bread. butter and cook like you would normally for grilled cheese. give yourself a nice helping of ranch for dipping - then enjoy.

happy thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:59:00.001-08:00

i am thankful for: a relationship with god, our new house, a handsome hard working husband, a healthy family, three gorgeous daughters, a continued education, a job, an amazing extended family, the pnw, a great church, amazing friends, my blog community, pinterest, new appliances, starbucks, rowan's preschool, a good reliable car, a great report card from zoe, and love.
i am truly blessed this year in many ways i can't even name them all! i hope you and your family have wonderful thanksgiving together! tip; elastic waist pants for the win.

we got a text this morning that turkey was too much work so we would be dining on spaghetti - ok, we won't really be but you can bet my holiday staple of fabulous potatoes will be there. it just wouldn't be right if i didn't share this delicious, easy, and absolutely unhealthy crowd pleaser with you.

fabulous potatoes:
48oz of shredded potatoes (somewhat thawed)
16oz sour cream
1/2 bunch of green onions
2 cans cream of chicken
4 c. shredded cheese (we use mexican blend)

topping:
4 c. crushed ritz crackers or corn flakes
1 stick of butter

preheat the oven to 350
(i use all name brand ingredients (campbells, tillamook, etc) - i personally think it makes the taste a lot better.)
we just throw the potatoes in the fridge overnight before we make it, that was they aren't totally mushy but easier to mix in.
you mix all the top section ingredients together, leaving the cheese for last to throw in.
place in glass pyrex type dish and smooth out.
melt butter and mix with crushed toppings choice - then sprinkle over top of potatoes and throw in the oven for an hour. we are going to bake our before we head to our destination as to not use up more oven time, we'll just throw it in for a short bit to heat up right before dinner!

i totally just took a break from writing this post to turn the parade on for rowan, when she literally gasp'd in excitement i cried - what the hell is wrong with me lately? ha!

identity crisis.

2011-11-23T12:41:00.001-08:00

this is plankton from sponge bob AND tim, i guess.

lots of words wednesday.

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

sleeping in is never an privilege we can come by in this house - hence the baby in the sink, again.

rowan let them out of their room, followed by too much silence...why yes, that is water you hear running.

at least she was multi-tasking in there, teeth and a wash. where did that sock even come from?

sponsors!

2011-11-22T16:19:00.001-08:00

this month was my first real go at sponsor swapping and i love it! every last lady i feature here on hi, baby is absolutely fabulous! i promise it is worth your while to check them out!

I'm a first time mama to the most vivacious little girl, wife to an amazing mister, and juggling a full time career. We live for the moments that steal our breath away, and strive to live every second to the fullest... and never take ourselves too seriously! At the end of the day, all we need is love, family, and laughter. Lots of laughter. This is our life journal of the crazy adventures we call, Raising Reese. raising reese.

My name is Wendy and I'm the mama to the silliest little girl in the planet. My blog is my version of a love letter to my daughter, Hannah. It's filled with little snippets of our daily lives together, with some recipes and craftiness mixed in. I hope you can stop by and stay awhile! letters to hannah.

I'm Mandey. I'd like to say I'm super awesome and you should visit my blog because of me...but I'd be kidding myself. Once you catch a glimpse of my afro haired little dudes you'll never want to leave. The hair has magical powers. Visit at your own risk. mama and the dudes.

Hi I'm Chelsea over at The Curly Cues! I am a wife and part-time working mom of a hilarious, sweet, and rambunctious 18-month-old girl. She has crazy hair. I like to pretend I'm a photographer, so I am making due with my point and shoot until I can afford something swanky. I like books and nerdy things. Lets be friends! Come visit, unless you hate babies (that's how I weed out the weirdos.) the curly cues.

Hi "Hi Baby' bloggers! Im Ashley and Im 23. Right now Im planning my September 2012 wedding, raising a two year old ball of fire, and day dreaming about owning my own vintage inspired shop one day.
I started my blog as a pregnancy journal for friends and family to keep updated on Peyton and her development/birth while I was away at school. That was almost 3 years ago. Now it’s a hodge podge baby book of her day to day life, my wedding plans, fashion posts, and whatever else pops into my head at the time! I hope you can stop by and say Hi I love meeting new readers and discovering new blogs! the peanut gallery.

Hi there, I’m Lauren, twenty-something adventure seeker turned wife, momma, & expat all in less than a year! I met my Bulgarian husband Martin in Alaska, we got married in Vegas, made a sweet baby girl we call Francie, and moved to Bulgaria. Now I’m navigating mommahood and life as a foreigner in a country where I don’t speak the language (yet!). I blog about my expat adventures and of course, my sweet baby girl. baby in bulgaria.

Hi! I'm Amanda, and I blog over at Pretty Little Life. My blog is exactly what it sounds like: stories, memories, pictures, and DIY projects from this pretty little life of mine! I love my husband, I'm obsessed with my daughter, and I'm constantly starting up new projects ranging from home decor to photography to crafts! I work part time, and the rest of my days are spent balancing being a mom, a wife, a crafter, and a small business owner. It might be crazy and busy, but I love this Pretty Little Life! pretty little life.

Hi, I'm Jessica. I'm married to an amazing man, Bryan. Together we have a handsome son, Landon. I'm a stay at home mom and I absolutely love that I'm getting the chance to do that. All Things Remembered is my little place on the internet where I share what's happening in our lives and pictures of my little man. :) all things remembered.

i am always looking for new blogs to sponsor or swap with, if you think you would be a good fit here then i would love to hear from you! hibabyblog@gmail.com

outside play.

2011-11-22T13:08:00.001-08:00

on rowan's actual birthday there were promises made of some scooter, chalk and bubble time if everyone took a good nap. she had just had the best of the best days at preschool as the special guest, i let her wear her skirt and crown and her friends were running up to her to hug her and wish her a happy birthday - this freak right here literally started crying right there in the middle of rowan's classroom.
i love our little street - maybe one car a week drives through it and it is perfect for riding bikes or coloring chalk masterpieces. rowan got a new scooter from her grandpa for her birthday - we speculated if she could do it ok, miss goes -2mph on her bike in total fear but she took right to it and was zooming around in no time. we opted for a 2-wheel because she is right on the cusp of age limits for a 3-wheel and we wanted this to last her as long as possible. this one is great, it came with these clip on things you put stickers on - rowan put her name and some other fun things. we especially love when rowan's neighbor friend christian comes out to play!

"hey rowan and christian, let's get a photo of you two." then this happens.

stuffed pepper, yeah - you heard me.

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

i know, you have done this recipe or if you haven't seven people you know have and i am way behind, but holy yum. this was our first stab at stuffed peppers and it will most likely become a permanent resident in the monthly menu cycle for a while. i in no way am staking claim on the originality of this recipe but we totally changed up the spices, added an ingredient, and used pork sausage instead of their suggestion, so you know it is sorta our own creation. however, the original recipe we followed can be found here.

1 C brown rice i grabbed the first bag down the asian aisle at fred meyer
4 large bell peppers - we used red and orange, bottom trimmed (slightly sliced so it will stand in pan), cap end cut off and diced, and seeds removed
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
1 package of fred meyer brand hot pork sausage
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 cup grated italian blend cheese
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

cook rice according to package directions, or using a rice cooker.

preheat oven to 375F/190C. trim bottom of bell peppers so they have a flat surface to stand on. cut off a fairly generous amount of the stem end of peppers, then remove seeds. Place hollowed-out peppers in a baking dish that you've sprayed with non-stick spray or olive oil. (a dish that's close in size to the peppers will work best.)

remove stem part from the pepper caps and trim off any white membrane, then dice pepper caps and the onion into fairly small dice. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet, then saute diced pepper and onion for 3-4 minutes, until they are starting to soften but aren't browned. Remove pepper-onion mixture to a bowl, add 1 tsp. more olive oil, then add sasuage and cook until it's lightly browned.

put the onion-pepper mixture back into the pan with the sausage, add the dried spices, and saute 2-3 minutes to blend the flavors. then add cooked rice and cheese, season the mixture with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and cook just long enough to warm, about 1-2 minutes. at this point we added a splash of cream, it really helped with blending the ingredient and making them a good texture.

stuff the filling mixture into the hollowed-out peppers, using a spoon to press the mixture down so it's tightly packed into the pepper shell. Bake peppers for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and put a generous pinch of the cheese on top of each pepper. put peppers back into the oven and bake about 10-15 minutes more, until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

you can freeze leftover peppers for a month or two, although the frozen peppers will be a little softer in texture (but still very tasty.) I cut them in half top-to-bottom before freezing and freeze two halves in a small baking dish with a snap-on lid.

the girls even LOVED them, and this morning i chopped one up and scrambled it with eggs. this is def the dinner that keeps on giving.

it's ok, i am a genius.

2011-11-21T14:57:00.001-08:00

total 'ah-ha!' moment the other day while i was cussing at all the tiny glad tupperware and lids falling out of the cupboard. i avoid these packaged sets for exactly this reason, but alas we have some and i used to find them useless.
so since i am the worst mom in the world; i don't let my kids buy those jello or pudding cups almost ever. i think they are a waste of money considering you can pay pennies for the same thing out of a bowl we already own - enter my idea. using the little tupperware cups for personal sized jellos on the go!
i just made the jello per the instructions then filled the cups about 2/3 full (i added some canned mandarin oranges) and put into the fridge for the normal jello set time and voila! rowan can come and grab them when she is itching for a snack, it provides her with a tiny bit of independence and she thinks it is pretty neat to eat her jello out of a little cup.

as seen on...

2011-11-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

check me out over at the paper mama today - where i talk about how i came up with these bad boys, that we handed out as favors at rowan's birthday bash. and guess what? the little cousins are getting them for christmas too, you really can't go wrong with these fun homemade crayons! stop by the paper mama and say hi!

iphone photos.

2011-11-18T13:57:00.001-08:00

things are about to get real nuts around here - can you believe thanksgiving is next week? and then christmas a month later? nuts.

life is always crazy this time of year with all of the november birthdays then the holidays that follow and i really wouldn't have it any other way! this year is even more nuts with something i added to day to day that i will share about tomorrow...i bet you'll never guess!

no descriptions this week and way less photos than normal but cute nonetheless, enjoy!

linking up with instafriday and weekly iphone photos at a good life.

some food for thought.

2011-11-18T09:19:00.001-08:00

i love that rowan is starting to bring home substantial art from preschool, hence the awesome wiggly leg turkey she made. those giant blob lakes and spray parks (sometimes they are spray parks) were really starting to pile up ~~get thrown away guiltily.~~
i am so grateful for the clarification, makes conversation between rowan and i flow better.

vs.

girls room 'a work in progress' tour.

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

so, i was going to keep these tucked away in secret till i was 'finished' with their room...the reality set it. remember when i talked about having plans to get everything on my new house wish list done immediately after moving in? ha!
i apologize for the terrible photos but these are just temporary fillers until i can update you with progress of their room. now that the bathroom project is done as soon as the holidays wind down i am jumping in full force on finishing it up for them.
first step will be to get another coat of paint on the walls, it is driving me insane the way it looks right now - a lot of the base coat is still visible giving it a kind of cloudy look. in the rush to paint six hours before we moved in we had to stretch the last tiny bit of paint to cover the whole room. most of the rest of the updates will be simple and hopefully inexpensive, just adding a lot of diy and yummy girlie touches to make it a truly awesome place for them to hang out!
i put together a house to do list complete with a section for the girls room:

second coat of paint
sand zoe's pallet bed
make twin quilt for zoe's bed
make and hang small book nook for zoe
make and hang curtains
paint and put in stella's bed
purchase new/vintage bedding for stella and rowan's beds
purchase area rug
glue together wine boxes and add small wheels
decide on and hang large art pieces
hang stella's wall collage pieces
re-do tim's vintage bear lamp
purchase/make TONS of throw pillows for zoe's bed
make or buy bolster pillows for zoe's bed

before/during photos:

stay tuned for more house photos soon!

preschool snack success!

2011-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

ok, i can brag about it now - now that the teacher and parents gushed at me about rowan's special guest snack today. since it was her bday it was her turn to bring snack and have show and tell. her school has a no cupcakes rule (makes sense, i wouldn't want to be responsible for that mess either!) so i had to get creative with something extra awesome my birthday girl could hand out.
once again, pinterest to the rescue we were able to come up with these fun treats for her friends. i let rowan color the clothespins all on her own only encouraging her a little that each on needed more then just a little stripe in one color, lol.
following the very strict no nuts rule we filled the wings with fruit loops and rowan's current favorite marshmallows...it was delicious and the perfect colorful combination. before we tucked them away in her backpack we glued little pipe cleaner antenna onto the clothes pins to finish off the butterfly look.

how fun would this be as a valentines day handout or a special surprise in your little ones lunch!

crock pot porn.

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

i have been having a major love affair with my crock pot lately - the possibilities are endless, enchiladas from the crock pot? who knew! my first 'normally baked in a pyrex dish done in the crockpot instead' dish was lasagna and it turned out great, next time i will add a lot more sauce because it was a tiny dry but overall everyone loved it. these enchiladas were our newest attempt and it was so easy - yum!

Slow Cooker Enchiladas
Serves 4-6
1/2 yellow onion, diced small
1/2 bell pepper, diced small (any color)
1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cheese, shredded and divided
2 16-ounce jars of your favorite salsa
12 6”-8” tortillas, flour or corn
Optional: 1 cup leftover meat - chicken, pork, hamburger, or shredded beef

In a medium bowl, mix together the onion, pepper, black beans, corn, spices, meat (if using), and just 1/2 cup of the cheese. Pour about a cup of salsa (half a jar) into the bottom of the slow cooker and spread it around evenly.
Scoop about 1/3 cup into one of the tortillas, roll it up, and nestle it into the bottom of the crock pot. Repeat with the half of the remaining filling, rolling tortillas until the entire bottom of of the crock pot is filled. Spread another cup of salsa over this layer and sprinkle it with another 1/2 cup of cheese.
Continue with the remaining filling and tortillas to create a second layer. Top with another cup of salsa, but reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese for later. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2-4 hours. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the leftover cheese over the top and let it melt.
Serve the enchiladas with the remaining salsa. Leftovers will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

i didn't have chili powder so i threw in oregano, a little taco seasoning, and some hot sauce instead. i added cheese to the inside of each enchilada as well and on top and i also choose to skip any meat this time - all of the veggies looked so good on their own!

original recipe found here.

diy pinterest bathroom redesign.

2011-11-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

when i saw this bad boy months ago i quickly pinned it away in a safe keeping spot on my future home board, this was even before we started talking about buying a house - either way i knew it would be mine.
when we put in the offer on our house a few months later i immediately got to planning how we would make it more us and it started with the guest bathroom - it took some effort talking tim into it, he has an aversion to 'to much' chalkboard paint and was worried i would over do it in the new house (and unfortunately we have a lot of friends who like to draw male genitalia on anything they see and that is immediately what tim was worried this would bring about).
in the end he saw the benefits and fun outweighed any worries and it is one of the first projects we got to work on, seriously...how did people decorate their houses before pinterest?
it was a pretty simple make-over, i mean come on all we were doing was painting and hanging a chair rail. however the chair rail was new territory for us and it took a little trial and error - trying to do it with a $4 miter box and hand saw vs. borrowing our neighbors arm saw and getting the angles perfect. our bathroom also has...well, the best way to describe it...five walls instead of four - there is a short wall in the corner that took some extra pre-planning to get the angle and piece just right.
tim did a great job getting the chair rail up - we went with a choice that i don't think was meant for chair rail purposes but it looks great and matched our existing trim perfectly. i later used a little putty and left over white acrylic paint to fill in the sunk nail holes and the end result is better than i could have expected for two virgin home diy'ers.
painting with chalkboard paint is so easy - i did about four coats to get a good surface going and it was important to wait till ti was totally dry between each one because it likes to pull back up when you go over a already painted area. i also LOVE using the technique on the ceiling - where if possible lay down the color that is already on the wall/ceiling after you tape. this fills in any bubbles so when you add the color your lines are seamless! conditioning the wall by rubbing chalk all around then lightly brushing off with a dry rag makes a huge difference - gives it that good ole' chalkboard look to it and provides a 'easier to wipe' surface for future doodles; of course you can occasionally wipe down with soap and water but so far we haven't had to.
all of this only makes me more excited to get to work on the rest of the house - now where is that money tree?

i'm gonna replace the colored chalk with a jar full of white asap and find a good eraser/come up with a cool way to store it and then it is done! one major downfall i didn't predict was how messy and dusty it is - every time someone does some serious doodling there is a huge dust trail left on the chair rail or floor and when tim and i brush the whole wall down it stays cloudy in the bathroom for hours :/ oh well, i guess that is what the vacuum is for!
so without further ado, our guest bathroom!

paint: $35 (we used the rustoleum chalkboard paint and behr ultra mocha accent for the bottom.)
chair rail: $18
nails & nail sinker: $8
frame: $30
deer hook: $12 (given to us as a bday gift)
rug: $25 (bought with wedding giftcard)
apothecary jar: already had from wedding

out of our pockets, only about $90 spent!

happy birthday rowan avalon

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

happy birthday to the sweetest little blonde i know - may you move mountains and touch lives as your life unfolds. mama loves you more then you may ever know.
you started preschool this year and can already spell your name and are getting better at recognizing your letters. you love your friends and fake talk to them on the phone all the time, you say hilarious things like polk-ots (polk-a-dots) and pickles me (despicable me) and constantly make us laugh.
happy birthday little lady!

rowan's 4th birthday rainbow bash.

2011-11-13T06:56:00.001-08:00

i am positive this was rowan's favorite birthday ever - all with her favorite things: cake, friends, cake, and presents. everything turned out nearly perfect and i am currently trying to not make eye contact with the mess we ignored last night as we collapsed on the couch.
aside from a few small glitches like loosing our face painter at the last minute and not having some of the supplies i needed, it was a great bash! only one of rowan's friends came from school - i am still trying to decide if this annoys me or i don't care because there were already a lot of other kids here (just being honest...) i mean only one person rsvp'd no...is rsvp'ing a lost manner? luckily it was one of the two gals she was really hoping would come and was still over the moon that lots of her other friends she has had since she was a baby were there.
i diy'd every last detail with a little help from my neighbor and her cricut. i am so proud of the decorations i think we might leave some up for a little bit...i mean, her real bday isn't till monday so it is ok till at least then right? i won't go into a ton of detail about everything - but i will answer any questions in the comments for sure! enjoy!

she hasn't put those new lalaloopsy dolls down since last night - she is in love! the photos of guests, presents, and all other party going ons are all being held hostage on my dad's camera but i will add them when i get them.

by the end of the day i had come to terms with the fact that a photobooth is wasted effort on preschoolers - but tim did an awesome job constructing the frame and i am in love with the end result and the fact that cheap streamers made it awesome! here are a few photos we were able to snag before the toddlers took it over.

this summer we're going to shorten the frame and turn it into a bike wash - can't wait!

today.

2011-11-12T06:16:00.001-08:00

why yes, i was up at 5am cutting out small felt stars, working on a cake, and simultaneously blogging. what?

i woke up with a closed up throat threatening to be the plague - but i won't let that stop this party going off without a hitch. we lost our face painter yesterday which i am bummed about, she offered to send her supplies with our friend but i figured with everything else going on no one would really have time to sit down and do face painting on a bunch of squirlly kids. the lady felt so bad she offered to give rowan a private session next time we are in her area...how sweet! i am for sure keeping her number for next year though!
while i hang rainbows and frost a cake you get a few weeks of iphone photos!

rowan birthday invites, day sixteen of preschool, how we wake up from naps now, multi tasking with the toddler - halloween youtube stuff and blogging snapped screens.

leftover spaghetti as a sandwich, my mini moo cards! toy story with friends, carving a pumpkin with a monkey on your back.

our contest entry! snow white and dorthy, seahawks suck! naughty baby...

toddler lunch, front facing in the living room only, toddler craft and endless fun, hours latter still interested!

dino pile, finally joining the glowstick/bathtub club, preschool day seventeen and twenty-one (missed a few while she was at her papa's)

linking up with amy from a good life!

a little cookie heaven for you.

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

aka the last cookie recipe you'll ever need; pumpkin gingersnaps...

1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

preheat oven to 350°
in a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until combined.

in a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients.
add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Cover and put in the refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes.
remove the dough from the fridge, and roll into balls (about the size of a ping pong ball).
put some granulated sugar in a bowl and roll the balls in the sugar.
place about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
then die of cookie happiness.

and, because well...we're talking about fall - i have to share these photos i pulled off my camera from halloween. if only i had a sound clip of stella's squees as she ran from house to house signing 'more' and and yelling 'more treat-treat' almost in a panicy voice. it was hilarious and she caught the candy bug fast! good thing she was perfectly satisfied snacking on her fruit snacks over the chocolate.
the friends we went with have adorable twin girls - one of them dressed up as sally and her mom did an AMAZING job on the dress and her make up. she looked just like her!
i was mildly bummed that i didn't get a photo of all of the kids that were in our group. stella literally was star struck when minnie and mickey walked in - by the look on her face i am sure that she thought they were the real deal. the craziest thing? the friends house we were at LOVES disney and happened to have all of stella's halloween ego's counterparts, the dwarfs. too bad the scaling was off a little and stella was terrified by the giant taller than her dopey. ha!

can you believe it is already thanksgiving in less than a couple of weeks? nuts!
i hope to be back tomorrow with (finally) our pinterest inspired bathroom re-do reveal. i am in love with it and spending an unnatural amount of time in there just smiling at it. seriously.

cause, well...

2011-11-10T19:28:00.001-08:00

tim told rowan she couldn't watch movies in his man cave anymore because well, it is the 'm-a-n cave' and he has been to lenient already.
so, naturally...she made her voice all low and raspy - got into a weird squat stance and goes, 'it's ok i am a man...my name is justin beiber.'
then we died.

oh god, yes.

2011-11-10T06:17:00.001-08:00

pretties for the birthday girl.

2011-11-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

saturday is fast approaching and i feel like all i have done is work on this party - is nuts to go so crazy for a four year old party? i think this year can be the wildcard, it is the first one where she invited more than her three or four forced into relationships best friends and asked her preschool class to join her on her special day.
i am in love with the theme we have choose - would it be over the top if stella has a rainbow party down the road? i love that it is so open to interpretation, decoration, and budget! like i mentioned before, while living in this house has been amazing the new expenses are taking some getting used to and it is a blessing to still be able to throw the blonde an over the top party with very little financial investment!
pinterest has been a amazing resource as usual and we have had fun picking and choosing ideas we like and changing them up to fit her party even better.
the first two things on my loooong 'to-do' list were a fabric scrap skirt and a crown so that rowan would really stand out at her party - i used this and this for inspiration and got to work.

don't look too closely at the crown as it has many a flaws that i secretly covered up with buttons. to make the skirt i just picked up my favorite fabrics in the little fat quarters that joann's sells but later after finishing was hoping for a little longer length - it will still work great, she can just wear it with a cute pair of leggings.
i only had one version of red and when i first was finished it was way to big - when i tied the fabric on i had the elastic band pulled tight so it made for little elasticity and i had to play around with it a bit to get it to fit her right. in the end it turned out perfect and she doesn't want to wait to wear it!
tonight i am working on paper strip mobiles and a diy photobooth backdrop - i can't wait to share that with you! and we are crossing our fingers hard that it works out to have a face painter here on saturday, rowan would die, dead of excitement! eeeek!

happy birthday to him, or me, him and me?

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

yea, so my husband and i turn twenty-seven today - no, you are not reading that wrong same day and year.
happy birthday husband - thanks for the awesome gift!

rowan approves of my custom pink longboard - eep!

twenty-seven

2011-11-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

you know that crazy dream where you go to sleep and then wake up a mom of three kids driving a minivan?

we purchased life insurance policies last night and wrote a will - we sat with a stranger and meticulously planned out our childrens finacial futures if we were to leave them too soon. their college, their weddings, a car when they turned sixteen, even the most gorgeous prom dress for senior year needs to be thought about. all things...dreams we have for them...we would miss out experiencing.
that is one of my most paralyzing fears in life, aside from losing one of them before myself of course. it feels so selfish to constantly worry about not being present for all the things i hope and dream for them - can we ever pick the right person to fill our shoes and raise them like we might? i am always rewriting long lengthy intense letters in my head that i need to get out to the people who would care for them if we were gone and it always starts with a plea to never let them forget who i was, who we were, what our love meant. i even will randomly bring up requests to tim, which absolutely irritates him to even think about but how will he know if i don't tell him? please let them have whatever wedding the want. please let them buy a ridiculous homecoming dress.
i realize this is a heavy topic and something i try and put out of my heart in fear of it breaking it, but as my life continues to unfold on this blessed path and i have more and more to lose i realize at twenty-seven it is time to leave a plan. a plan that protect my family, a plan that protects my conscious, and a plan to relieve as many of life's difficulties from my children's or maybe husband's futures. i can jut picture the panic that could unfold have we not our plans in place - no one needs that added stress in those kinds of moments. this is honestly something i should have done when zoe was first born but better late then never.
just things i am thinking about today...

wedding day - part three

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

in case you missed part one or part two...

the final chapter to our day - even though it didn't end at the cake, sunset photos, or tosses. what we neglected to grab photos of was my cousins fire juggling or the enormous bonfire my uncle made, the perfect night cap!

before we did the cake i changed into my second dress - amazingly you can't tell in any of the photos of how unbelievably uncomfortable i was in my other dress...the bustier and fluffy under skirt were so tight i could hardly breath, it was nuts.

our band city faire was such a huge part of the night - an up and coming seattle band who has been seen playing at the crocodile and showbox and just put out an album this year. they even learned our first dance song along with some of our other favorites just for the night. the guests were totally in love when they busted out with cee-lo's f-you, hilarious! make sure you check them out, you won't be disappointed!

i hope you enjoyed hearing about our wedding day! if you are interested in where anything was from, the links are all posted at the bottom on the post. enjoy the last of our photos...

pictured vendors: dress, hair and makeup, my rings, cake, programs, bridesmaids, zoe and rowan's dress, stella's dress, suits, mustaches, flowergirl/ring bearer signs, and pinwheels, shoes, candy, rowan's hair clip, large candy table glassine bags , smaller glassine bags, photo twine, and straws, flowers, suspenders, custom vinatge inspired garter (+toss garter), blue cardigan, my second evening dress, and my hair piece.
everything else was made with love by our friends, family, or me. i am more than happy to share 'how-to' or 'what-we-dids' on anything you see.

wedding - part two

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

wedding - part one

2011-11-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

my dream wedding has come and gone, but last week the photos showed up in my mailbox - mandy did an amazing job preserving every last detail and moment. now comes the hard part, choosing which ones to enlarge and hang...the kids won't mind if theirs are replaced, right?
since there are so many photos to share, i will break them up over the next few days as to not overwhelm you with all the awesomeness.
planning our wedding was equally one of the most crazy stressful yet rewarding moments of my life - months before the proposal even came we had been dreaming up our wedding - we’re diy-ers and we knew our big day would be no exception. i always knew i wanted my wedding in my aunts yard and in washington and august was going to be the best month to do it, when my january proposal of my dreams came i had to get to work right away with only eight months to plan.
i’d like to think we are proof you can have your dream wedding on a small budget paid in full - it just takes a lot of amazon, etsy, and pinterest perusing to nail down your details. i bought last seasons dress, made all of the decorations myself with the help of friends, borrowed a lot of stuff, shopped thrift stores like nobody's business, and used paper plates. everything was perfect and i promise my guests already don’t remember if they ate of paper or china.
knowing when to let other people do the work was my biggest struggle, after fighting with photoshop and my printer for a month i finally let a local boutique invitation shop help me create the invitation of my dreams and i compromised with my husband to spend the biggest chunk of our budget on the band - it would make him happy, be a treat for our guests, and support a up and coming seattle band. plus, that would be one less thing i would have to do or talk a cousin into (manning a mixer).
every detail of our wedding was handmade with love - we went out of our way to seek out and support our friends or family’s small business or dug deep in etsy.com to find truly one of a kind shops to complete our day. i guess you would say we went with a country shabby chic theme - where we dined picnic style on quilts and danced the night away under mostly starlight. of course our guests didn’t expect anything less when my cousin ended the evening for us with his fire juggling and my uncle with his giant bonfire.
i couldn’t have planned this wedding with out pinterest or greenweddingshoes.com - brides, you’ll find all the answers you are looking for here! the best advice i can give to someone planning a wedding: make lists of the photos you want to capture; print out a sheet of examples. there were SO MANY opportunities, poses, arrangements of friends, etc i wanted and didn’t get because i was so wrapped up in the day (which is fine too!). time was literally moving by at the speed of light and it was impossible to think or take anything in, so when you are scheduling your day - schedule time to take a breath and take it all in too!
easily, my most favorite moment of the night was our first dance - we were arthur murray drop outs who were sure we had it figured out after our first class. it is single handedly the most i have laughed with tim ever, we were a total disaster but we loved every second of it.
i hope you enjoy scrolling through the beginning of our big day...

you would never guess looking at these photos that stella had literally just gotten over the chicken pox the week before and rowan a split lip (that required several stitches) just five days before - talk about all that can go wrong will, haha. including the hammer than fell on my head when i was hanging the alter fabric piece!
pictured vendors: dress, my rings, cake, programs, bridesmaids, zoe and rowan's dress, stella's dress, suits, mustaches, banners and pinwheels, shoes, candy, rowan's hair clip, hanger, large candy table glassine bags , smaller glassine bags, photo twine, and straws, and my hair piece.
everything else was made with love by our friends, family, or me. i am more than happy to share 'how-to' or 'what-we-dids' on anything you see.

family christmas card

2011-11-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

i am so excited about our christmas card this year - i have it hid way back here in the beginning of november so hopefully family won't see it before it goes out next week! that being said, i totally wouldn't miss out on the paper mama's yearly card challenge! i was in love with last years and even more this year!
when i first sat down to make magic happen with our 'specifically for the card' photos i had no idea where i wanted to go with the card. immediately i cropped mine and tim's 'it's bright out' faces off and stuck with the 'why are you freezing us for this photo' faces the kids were sporting. mad props to amanda who was patient with my wandering icicle children while we attempted this shoot in the fog at 8am. maybe the hubs needs equal recognition for that.
it's no above the fireplace photo, but i LOVE when the true essence of our life is captured - those are the best and my favorite kind of shots. so the card...i loved one year when my sister just sent out a card filled with words that described there year - i felt totally caught up in 5x7 and knew i wanted to try it out sometime. it was hard coming up with everything, we were so busy this year i had to go back and look at photos to try and remember all that we did! so, i hope you enjoy our holiday card this year!

i hate the way blogger compresses these quality wise, but you get the idea.

snow white, dorthy, and sacajawea all walk into a (milk) bar...

2011-10-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

happy halloween! i can't wait to see everyone's costume posts this week!
if you only could have heard the squees coming from me as i sorted through and edited these photos - i mean, hello i knew the girls would be adorable in their costumes but this was just over the top.
stella was originally going to be a home made owl, then something else, then i finally settled on snow white - which as it turns out is also what rowan will be when she heads to her dad's tomorrow. so for this weekends halloween festivities rowan was more than happy to wear zoe's hand me down dorthy costume and red ruby slippers. she was only mildly bummed we couldn't track down a totto for the day.
their cousin vivian was sacajawea carrying around her baby doll and all - seriously, how cute are these kids?

when we were done chasing adorable kids through the leaves with our cameras we moved on to giant bubble fun, which quickly turned into a game of tim and sam using the babies to pop bubbles or keep them in the air. these bubbles were awesome because they would explode into a spray and the babies LOVED to pop them with their faces.

be safe tonight!

sticker club.

2011-10-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

does anyone want to do the sticker club with stella - sounds like a lot of fun for thsoe sticker loving kiddlets. email me your address (hibabyblog@gmail.com), i can take the first six people. can't wait!

changing the pumpkin scene around here.

2011-10-30T09:26:00.000-07:00

the other day my dad bribed us with a dinner at the spaghetti factory to carve a pumpkin for him to enter in a contest - he wins a seahawks jacket. i wanted to find something really unique to do so of course i headed right to google.com and without fail, trusty martha was there with the answer. who knew a linoleum cutter was the go-to pumpkin carving tool this year?
with her carve by color technique you basically do a lot more scraping then cutting and you ditch those $5.99 target tools and hit up lowes for the necessities. even though we totally bought the wrong looking but with the right name tool, it still worked fine for us. she suggests a lot of other crazy tools that we didn't need for our project.
after flipping through her stencils the last few days i was having a hard time settling on one that had enough 'wow' factor until today, when she added a new segment on pumpkin creatures and i immediately knew the spiders would be perfect!
tim and i teamed up on this, i did the cleaning out of the pumpkin and the drawing of the legs and tim sawed the gourds in half. this pumpkin we had was totally weird though, so stringy and hard to get a clean surface inside. we went with an opening in the bottom since we are going to light with a short string of white christmas lights wrapped around a jar - it gives the top a much better look.
we never cut all the way through on the spiders, we used the linoleum scraper to saw down superficially then to scrape off the skin till it was a depth we liked it. on the second one tim went even shallower so that the light was different on it. turned out so cool! it really was an easy technique to pick up even though the website doesn't give much instruction. we ended up doing three spiders, adding the third non-gourd one at the last minute to give it more depth.
either way you can always count on martha for cutting edge ideas! i have no idea the competition we are even up against - but it'll be fun to see how we fair, so stay tuned!

no joke.

2011-10-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

yesterday we were all snuggling very quietly on the couch watching the flinstones movie - i know, be jealous. all of the sudden rowan jumps up and belts, 'this is how we do it, it's friday night!' then i peed my pants.
the end.

a pumpkins past.

2011-10-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

or, a chance to look back at some super cute kiddos in their halloween costumes. i am so sad i am missing zoe in her turtle costume, jo-jo the clown and as dorthy (which rowan is going to wear for festivities this weekend)- those dang pre-digital days!

the very first one, is where rowan went as a fetus - a mere 14 days before she made her entrance, next is zoe the pirate, rowan the poodle, zoe the cat, rowan the nice glitter witch, and as a bumble bee last year - my favorite costume yet!
this last one is from last year, originally all the girls were going to be bugs but then we came across this gorgeous belle dress at a consignment shop and zoe had her heart set on it. you can't tell in the photo but we even did her hair just like belle's. the little pirate is my nephew wearing zoe's hand me down costume - they were all so cute!
i am keeping photos of this years costumes under lock and key until monday, i haven't even tried stella's on her yet - is it weird i want it to be a total suprise on halloween? do you still pick your kids costumes or have you handed over the reigns?

i am linking up with the fall follower fest, you should too!

where i tell you the truth.

2011-10-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

having your kid swallow a dime is one of the grossest things you will ever go through as a parent. you have been warned.
-managment

educated mama decal review and giveaway

2011-10-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

i am so excited for this giveaway and the message it is promoting is near and dear to my heart in a lot of ways. while i was buckling stella back into her rear facing toddler seat after dropping rowan off the other day, i looked over and saw a couple of stickers on a minivan that got me all giddy - one said, 'my toddler rides rear facing, ask me why' and another one about cloth diapering. this was it, an opening to get to know another bethlehem preschool mom. we chatted for a bit about how much alike we were and our passion for extended rear facing then she willingly handed over the name of the online shop where she had purchased the decals. as soon as i got home i looked up educated mama decals hyena cart shop and got all excited - this is when i knew i had to get in contact with this gal and get her name out there. i was sure many of my erf passionate social networking friends would love to know about her product! laura was equally excited and sent me out a decal to try right away.
the communication has been absolutely wonderful and my decal arrived super speedy with easy to follow instructions. i got it up super quickly one morning before preschool and it has already drawn in attention and questions - exactly what it was meant to do! mine says, 'my child isn't a minimum, we ride to the max. proudly extended rear facing, ask me why.' i am already planning to order a cloth diaper one - i am a proud supporter of saving the planet one less disposable at a time and am not afraid to tell the world about it via my mini van, ha! but don't stop there! she has stickers about home birth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, vegan choices, vaccines, home school and more.
i just want to throw out there though, that these opinions are all my own and i in no way judge anyone who makes different choices for their children. only you can be the judge of what is right for your family and it just so happens that my husband and i feel these are the right decisions for us. love you guys - xoxo!

before we get to the giveaway i want you guys to check out some information, it might change the way you view or feel about rear facing. let's start with this video (thanks to shawntae from a little king and i for the idea to go searching for these), it was the kicker for me - i knew just reading about extended rear facing that it felt like the right choice but seeing it puts it all into perspective. click here for video.
Rear-facing is safest for both adults and children, but especially for babies, who would face a greater risk of spinal cord injury in a front-facing carseat during a frontal crash.

Rear-facing car seats spread frontal crash forces over the whole area of a child's back, head and neck; they also prevent the head from snapping relative to the body in a frontal crash.
Rear-facing carseats are NOT a safety risk just because a child's legs are bent at the knees or because they can touch/kick the vehicle seat.
Rear-facing as long as possible is the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatricians, and can reduce injuries and deaths. Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 overall cause of death for children 14 and under.

information via http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html, feel free to read more!

so, the giveaway! laura and i have teamed up to giveaway a $7 credit to her shop, which can get you just about any decal in her store and while i instantly fell in love with the erf sticker you might have your eye on a homebirth or babywearing one - sky's the limit!

how to enter:

1. visit her shop and then leave a comment telling which sticker you would love to have

2. 'like' educated mama decals on facebook.

3. tweet this giveaway, ' #erf , #bfing, #homebirth, #clothdiaper, #doula a part of your life? win a educated mama decal at hibabyblog.com from @olive_juiced '

this giveaway will run until november 18th at 10pm pst - good luck!

rowan's rainbow fourth birthday party.

2011-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

if you have been reading for awhile, you know i am gaga for creating party invitations and rowan's next birthday would be no exception. originally we were going to do a owl theme where i would print a cool owl drawing i found on pinterest onto a piece of book paper. then i came across this party and died, like dead of amazingness-i have bugged amy on several occasions to let me be one of her kids and to plan my birthday...cause she rocks at it.
this was the perfect theme for this year! i mean, let's be honest here - we're really feeling the pressure from buying a house last month; buying appliances, driving farther to work, adding new bills to the month, and more really starts to add up but i wanted to make sure that the girls don't suffer in anyway as we regain our footing. this means just having to get creative when it comes to rowan's party - we'll be able to pull off some major awesomeness with some simple balloons, streamers, colorful food, and homemade crayons for the take-away favors all for a very small budget. and the best part? rowan is over the moon in love with this idea. so far we are at zero dollars spent, the two of us were able to bust out these invites the last couple days all from stuff we had around the house and by enlisting our awesome neighbor to loan her cricut skills on the clouds.
somewhere between denial that she is almost four and sending her off to her first year of preschool we dreamed this up:

first i got out some left over wedding kraft paper and simply sliced it in half, then free-hand drew a rainbow shape to cut out with the xacto knife. when i was tracing the shape onto the rest i would move it around so they wern't all exactly the same.

i printed out the information on some textured white cardstock, i used buggie's rainbow party invite for wording inspiration then changed it around a little bit to fit our party. is it just me or is the wording the hardest part? maybe i put too much thought into it?

i gathered the rest of my supplies - our awesome neighbor has a cricut and she offered to cut out some clouds for me to save my hands from 35 tiny curvy cuts. tim picked up a $1.00 book from safeway (random!) with some change in his car, the book randomly ended up having a character named rowena...fate?

i traced the rainbow shape onto the book paper then rowan and i colored in the rainbows with her fat crayola crayons and then glued on the clouds. i was going to add glitter but it wasn't turning out right and now my whole dining room is covered in gold glitter.

finally, we glued it all together and forced my corner punch through an obviously painful task and voila!

at first i was worried they were missing the 'wow' factor that i was picturing in my head but as we handed them off to her preschool teacher this morning, i was thinking, 'they look just PRESCHOOL enough' and we were ok with that.

i can't wait to share more of her party with you and we go along - and hopefully unlike stella's first birthday i will stop to breath and snap a few photos! ok, so there will totally be a photobooth...and preschoolers in a photobooth? i can only imagine! to see some ideas we are cooking up, check out my 'rowan's 4th birthday' pinterest board.