Making Messes (and Memories) in the Kitchen

I know it's been said time and again that the kitchen is the heart of the home and I for one truly believe that is the case for us. Our kitchen is a place where we share meals together, where we gather after school while we eat a snack and I get to hear about the details of my kids' day at school, it's where homework is done, and a place where we work on crafts and art projects, it's also the place where we make food together.


Thank goodness, I tell you, for Clorox® disinfecting wipes. I think we need to buy stock in this company for the number of dirty sticky situations in our home that they helped me clean up. They are literally a mom's best friend. Just wipe and you are disinfecting as you clean. And the best part is that they go right in the garbage so you don't have to deal with washing any dirty rags which is especially nice come cold and flu season which is right around the corner.

I truly love bringing all my littles together to make something in the kitchen. It could be helping me make lunch, baking cookies, or even something as simple as the pouring of cereal into a bowl to make Rice Krispies treats. I love that we are doing something together I think making food is one of our best memory makers we have as humans. I love seeing their eager eyes as we pull out bowls, spoons, measuring cups, and ingredients. I love hearing their sweet little voices as we count out how many cups of this or that we need. I love that they fight over who gets to stir and who gets to add in one thing or another. I love that I can count on the fact that they always, always, always jump up and down begging to lick the spoons, beaters, or bowl once we finish the last step.

But with all that love comes something I don't love so much. I can't help it, I'm a mom. It's those darn messes, the stickiness, the goop, that dirty floor. It's enough to make me say, "I'll just do it myself" because hey, it's less mess for me to clean up in the end...but I don't. Cause that's no fun.

Instead I let them help, I let them make a giant mess. I let them dump a brand new container of sprinkles all over the table and the floor. I can't help it, I'm a mom. It's what we do.

We tend to keep a canister of them in the kitchen, the laundry room, every bathroom, and even in the car too. Anywhere we can get to them when we need a quick clean up.

We wipe down hot spots like doorknobs, light switches, TV remotes, faucets, and toys before and after we host get-togethers, especially during the holiday season. And don't forget that you can also put a stop to the spread of yucky germs this upcoming holiday season by washing your hands frequently with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds and by coughing and sneezing into your elbow instead of your hands. You don't miss out on any fun festivities or holiday parties!

Clorox® and BlogHer are giving away a $100 VISA gift card! Just leave a comment telling me, "How do you stay healthy during the holidays?"

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Be sure to visit the sponsor's brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post, however, my thoughts and opinions are my own. 

XOXO,

Zombie, Witch, Cat, and Mummy Halloween Costumes!

This weekend I actually finished all my littles' Halloween costumes! And with a whole 5 days to spare, phew! :-) We even carved our pumpkins and into more than just jack-o-latern faces too, I tell ya we are on a R.O.L.L.

So back in August (yes AUGUST! Don't your kids start planning out Halloween costumes months in advance?), Noah kept telling me he wanted to be a zombie...a zombie?! Thankyouverymuch Plants vs Zombies. I figured this was finally the year of store-bought costumes and you know what? I was okay with that...I mean it has to happen at some point. I even took him to a few different stores but he just didn't like anything he saw. Finally he asked me if I would just make it for him. Really??? Okay, sure! And then Penny literally begged me to make her a witch costume with lots of purple (her favorite color)...and Ellie, well, she had her heart set on a kitty cat :-) So thinking all this through I figured they were all "classic" halloween characters and, since Oliver really doesn't care what he is, I decided to make him a little baby mummy. Gah! His turned out so stinking cute!

At first I wasn't really sure how to make a zombie costume. I mean they are just an un-dead version of regular people in regular people clothes, ya know. We talked about his vision and really he just wanted to be all bloody and have ripped up clothes, lol! Well, that was easy enough for me.

I sewed up a pair of light grey twill pants using an existing pair of his pants as a pattern except making the legs much wider so he looked really skinny and zombie-like. We wanted the pants to be light enough so that you could see blood and dirt but not white in color.

Then I bought a simple white t-shirt and stained it with tea to make it look grungy and found a flannel at a local thrift shop for $3 to finish off his costume. To make everything all dirty and bloody, we actually just grabbed some Crayola markers in red, brown, and black and went to town marking up his clothes. I used a pair of scissors to make small cuts all over and then took a piece of sandpaper to rough up all the edges.

I bought some face paint at Target and lightly painted his face white and then added some black around his eyes so he looked tired and undead.

I was even able to get him out of character for this one...do zombies ever smile?

Penny had her heart set on a purple witch...you know, a "good" witch. A witch! I didn't think my kids would ever want to be a witch with all the princess-y stuff out there. How fun it was to make a witch costume!

I made Penny's dress from a lightweight knit fabric so it has a nice drape and some stretch to it. I patterned it after a peasant dress but extended the sleeves into bell sleeves for that perfect witch look. I added a black cord for a witch-y belt and I bought her tights a Jo-Anns for 60% off. PS. they have lots of fun colors!

To make her cape, I bought some of this fun purple "Halloween" novelty fabric at Jo-Anns for 50% off...come to think of it all the fabric I bought for these costumes was 50% off...so inexpensive! When I did the math it costs about $12 or less to make each costume, such a great deal for handmade costumes!

I made a big witch-y collar on it and sewed a length of bias tape at the top of the collar that doubled as the string to tie it on.

I found the hat and broomstick at Target for a few bucks a piece, you can't beat such inexpensive finishing touches!

Ellie wanted to be a kitty cat, so sweet! All she wants to do is say "meow, meow" which actually sounds a lot more like "mow, mow" when she says it.

She picked out this kitty (cougar-y?) fleece fabric all by herself, it is so dang soft! And it's nice and thin and a dream to sew with.

I used Simplicity Pattern 1584 to make the dress except I added a small velcro closure on the back and omitted the black fuzzy collar as I figured that would annoy her after awhile.

I was also lucky enough to have just enough leftover fleece to make her a pair of pants to match. Love when that happens...and I actually don't mess up and have to buy more fabric after deciding to go through with it ;-)

Oliver. 

Oh, this costume is just so fabulous on him! I just love everything about it!

I bought 4 yards of white gauze and tea stained it in my crockpot along with a simple white onesie. I bought some white fleece and made him a pair of pants and a little hat and then just hot glued the gauze all over. Back and forth and side to side. 

If you are planning on doing a mummy costume and using hot glue, may I just warn you that you will want to stretch the clothing as you hot glue or you will have a really hard time getting said clothing on. Since it was hot glue and gauze it stretched and ripped apart without a problem but just took a bit of extra time having to re-do some of it.

I was a little worried he would hate this costume but he actually really enjoyed having it on! I think since the base is a simple onesie and a nice cozy pair of fleece pants all the gauze doesn't really bother him.

I just had to black and white one...so mummy-like!

I have to laugh at my attempt at group shots...4 kids in one frame...it's tough stuff, especially with a 16 month old who has no desire to stand still!

 I hope you enjoyed this year's Halloween costumes!
Are you done, getting close, or just buying at the store this year?

Thanks for stopping by today!!!

XOXO,

Happy 3rd Birthday Eloise!!

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Last week my little lady Eloise turned a big 3 years old. It still seems a bit unreal that she is 3!  3??? I know the math is right but it just doesn't seem possible that she has been a part of our family for three years already.

{Enjoying her birthday crown that big sister made for her!}

This little girl is such a light in our lives.  She is a hugger and a kisser and just loves with all her heart.

Literally, every day (and multiple times a day at that) she says this to us...

"I love dah, I love momma, I love No-No, I love Peh-ie, I love Ah-bur, I love E!"

Translation...I love Dad, I love Mom, I love Noah, I love Penny, I love Oliver, I love Olivia (our doggie whom we all call "E" thanks to Noah's toddler-ese back in the day!)

She loves to play with her babies and she will play for hours on end. She has the most elaborate baby set-ups I've ever seen.  Feeding schedules, diaper changes, clothing changes, bedtime routines, she has it all down pat and takes it all so seriously, what a good momma she will make one day!

And yet at the other end of the spectrum she is my one child that I like to call my "hot mess". She loves to get down and dirty and do the craziest things like go full body diving into a pool just filled with freezing water straight from the hose. She will roll around in dirt and sand and wash her hair in it if she has her way. If there were dirty finger nail and toe nail awards they would go to her hands down. She cracks us up every day this child of mine.

She definitely marches to the beat of her own drummer and we love her so much for that! What a blessing from above she is!!

Oh Eloise, how we love you so much! You are now THREE!!! You have learned so much in three short years and I am excited to see what you will continue to learn each and every day. What a fun year you have ahead of you starting preschool this fall!  What will I do with myself without my Ellie Bellie to keep me company at home?

Thank you God for sharing this little soul with us! We are so thankful she is a part of our family!

XOXO,

Oliver: One Year Old

Well, it finally happened.  

The day I was dreading for a year.  

My little dude, Oliver, turned the big "1" on Saturday, sigh. 

Where, oh where has the time gone? 

Birthdays are so bittersweet, aren't they? Especially that first birthday.  You hate to see them grow up from your sweet little baby to a moving force of toddler energy but at the same time you are so excited for all that they have learned in just ONE year.  And for all the cool things they are going to learn in the coming years. 

Who's One Year Old--I am!!

I have to say this little guy has just been heaven on earth for us.  Such a sweet and easy-going personality. I know I've said it before but it continues to be true.  He is just a go with the flow kinda-kid.  He's always getting dragged to soccer games and practice, swimming lessons, gymnastics classes, ballet, and on, and on, and on...and he's just as happy as a clam the entire time, all day long :-)

All my kids have been really good natured babies, I can't believe we lucked out on a 4 of them, but since Oliver is my last I really have been relishing just how lucky we are to have such a sweet tempered little guy to enjoy.

This kid is such a ham, I love it!  

He has such an awesome personality that I am blessed to be able to witness.  It truly is the coolest thing to be able to watch a little baby's personality come to life before your very eyes.

Bye Bye!

We thank God every day that he has given Oliver to us to watch over and care for, what a huge blessing from above. I still can't believe he is one but I'll take it, I'm thrilled to be called his mom!

PS. for those that are curious, my good friend Carrianne took all of these amazing pictures of Oliver for his first birthday (she also took our family pictures seen here).  She is so dang talented, it blows me away.  She can always capture my kids personalities just perfectly.  If you live in the Chicagoland area you MUST give her a call, she is incredible at what she does, I highly recommend her!!!!

XOXO,

The Latest Happenings.

Just thought I'd share a bit of the latest happenings in our house over the last few weeks...or, ummm months? I guess it's been awhile since I've posted about my littles!

This little dude turned a whopping 11 months old earlier this month.  Oh, it kills me that he is going to be a whole year old in June.

He is such a happy little guy. He's been cruising on furniture for a while now and over the last few weeks has figured out how to stand up in the middle of a room all by himself. He has even got the hang of waving bye-bye and clapping those sweet little hands of his. I can't tell you how much I want him to stay like this forever...please, never learn how to walk, that just lead to all sorts of big kid things like climbing on the kitchen table and talking back, sigh.

He has become the epitome of a drooling baby, 4 teeth down with more on their way.

And his sweet brown hair is getting the ever-so-slightest curl to it. He's growing up and changing right before my eyes. TIME. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make. It. Stop.

In other news, last week Penelope had her last day of school. No more little preschooler, she will be off and running to Kindergarten next year, waaah!

The kids and I made her a "Hello Summer" banner to run through and welcome summer with a bang.

I took this picture that same day. Ummm, does she look so grown up here!?!  Child, you are 4 NOT 14!!! This being a mom stuff is hard.  They keep growing up and I just want time to freeze.

Noah...he lost 4 teeth last month, 4!!  Like boom, boom, boom, boom, all in a matter of a couple weeks!  And they all came with a pretty entertaining story too.  Not sure if the best one was when he  found it floating in the pool during swim lessons or under a pile of couch cushions and blankets at a birthday party...seriously, he has been so lucky.  Those things are tiny when they are out of their mouths.

This girlfriend. Well she just became potty-trained, holla!  I was planning on attempting that this summer since she needs to be to go to preschool (whaaat! yes, I said preschool, how is it that SHE is old enough for preschool now!) but wouldn't you know that all it took was one hot day and the understanding that if she wanted to play in the pool and slip-n-slide with the neighborhood kids that she better not have any accidents...she was going diaper-less since I didn't have any swim diapers. I told her she wouldn't be allowed to play if her suit was dirty and holy cow, it worked! I'm a huge proponent of "when they're ready, they're ready" more so because I'm too lazy to get timers and change clothes 267 times a day so it was pretty awesome that she was ready as I was thinking I'd have to change my ways in the potty-training realm later this summer ;-)

So there it is...a little of what's been happening with us!
How about you, anything new and exciting happening with you and your families???

XOXO,