Chandler's First Haircut

Chandler has been needing a haircut for a little bit now. Nothing drastic, but his hair was over his ears sometimes and it was longer in the back than I liked.

So we pulled out the scissors and went to it.


I don't think he has wiggled and splashed in the tub so much in his entire life. Silly kid.


At least the worst parts are now under control.

Chicky-Dawn

I've kind of been on a craft kick lately. I saw a free (my favorite part) pattern for these cute Black Apple Dolls. Click here for pattern. So cute. Luckily this was a super fast project and Jessica is IN LOVE with her new doll. She named her Chicky-Dawn. We just call her Dawn.

Big Buildings

Yesterday I took the kids downtown for an open gym time at the Rec Center. As we got out of the car Jessica looks up at the building next to us. "Wow Mommy! That is a really big tall building!" I look over:

Really? This is what has become a "really big tall building" to her? Oh dear.

It's Done!

A few weeks back I became OBSESSED with this project. I couldn't believe it. Isn't that the most adorable little playhouse EVER!? Seriously... obsessed. I was determined to make one for the kiddos.

I measured like a maniac on our card table. I took a big roll of newsprint and sketched exactly what I wanted (which basically meant I drew a smaller version of the playhouse I fell in love with). Then I measured again to figure out how much felt (the fabric type I used) I'd need. Then I waited for the felt to come on sale at the craft store. Fine... I went to the craft store fully expecting to pay full price. Heck, I even got up to the register with my cut cloth fully expecting to pay full price. Thank goodness for totally unadvertised sales.

But you don't care about all this. The point is... it's done!!! It took WAY less time than a project of this magnitude should take a good mother. Let's just say that nap time for Chandler turned into quiet time for Jessica. It's a trade-off, right? Here it is - the playhouse!


I thought about putting an actual door on the playhouse, like the one I fell in love with. But that just seemed too dark and too likely to get ripped off.

The mail box comes complete with a few pieces of mail.

The big window side has a window box with flowers that can be removed. I followed the directions from the other playhouse.


The last two sides are my favorite. The garden has corn, lettuce, and carrots that can be removed. Again, look at the inspiration site for extra info.


The tree/dog side is fun too. The apples on the tree come off as well and reattach with velcro. The dog is a copy-cat from this Etsy store. She actually makes and sells these types of playhouses. I can't believe her prices. I mean, the materials were super cheap, but when I count my time... no way I would sell these. No way. There's a bag next to the dog with removable bones to feed him.


The windows are lined with tulle, left over from Prom dresses years ago. I won't pretend that my version is NEARLY as cute as the inspiration, but I love it. I'm fully expecting it to only get a few minutes excitement from Jessica, but that's ok. I'm just glad it's done so I can be a good mommy again and finally clean the bathroom... ugh. :)

Halloween

Halloween was not the night we expected it to be. Jessica was super tired the whole time and after about 5 houses of trick-or-treating she was begging to go home. She fell asleep on our way back. Poor kid. Maybe next year. :)

What it was really like.

28 1/2

I have wanted to celebrate Michael's half birthday for FOREVER! But it's just one of those things I never remember when the timing is right. This year I remembered just a couple weeks beforehand. I kept it low-key: half a cake, hot cocoa for a present, and dinner at Chuck-a-Rama (Michael LOVES this place!). It was a fun night.

Chandler

Here's our boy!

Church Halloween Party

On the Tuesday before Halloween our church had a Halloween party. Rather than a trunk-or-treat kind of thing, they had a carnival theme. Jessica loved the cake-walk and getting her face painted. Michael spent his time overseeing the scout's booth - "Whack a scout." The scouts would pop up out of a hole while kids tried to hit them with a foam bat. Fun stuff.