Trick or Treat!

This weekend we took the kids to the Halloween event at the Springs Preserve.  It was fun to get out with the kids dressed up, but I really don't think I'm going to any more special events there.  It's always too crowded for what it is.  I don't like "line rides" (you know, where the line ends up being the main event LOL) with a 15mo old and 4.5yo.  We spent the better part of 2.5 hours in lines for what summed up to be a handful of candy.  The activity stations and haunted house all had long lines and the little concert they put on was also extremely crowded.  Top it off with Emberly's refusal to get close to anything remotely scary, just for a picture, and I conclude that the evening would have been better (and more thriftily) spent carving pumpkins at home.  At least a I got a couple cute pictures.

Not!

I took pictures for our holiday cards today.  I took lots of individual pictures because I had the inkling that a) I'm not a particularly talented photographer combined with b) a 15mo old that thinks sitting still is for the birds was not going to make for a photo of them together.  And I was right.  Not happening.  Here are some blurry peeks:

Little Style

One of our favorite places to look for style inspiration for the littles is J. Crew's Crewcuts.  While it's too expensive (or is it that I'm not wealthy enough? LOL) for us to shop there except for the clearance section with a 30% off email coupon (and all crewcut orders have free shipping!), I still get plenty of ideas.
Fall and winter are all about layering texture, patterns and colors.  Endless combinations mean you don't really need that many articles for the kids to look sharp pretty much every day!





  

This fall I'm most excited to style the following:

1) Leopard Flats, Old Navy 2) Floral Button Up, Cumberland via ATG Consignmnet 3) Colorful tights, H&M 4) Sweater Dress, Target 5) Lace Ruffle Tank, Crewcuts 6) Cable Sweater, Gymboree via ATG Consignment 7) Thick Wale Cords, GAPkids via ATG consignment 8) Henley Sweater, Old Navy 9) Cardigan, H&M 10) Chambray Workshirt, OshKosh.
And here are a few gems that I'd love to get if I land some unexpected cash (and they find themselves in the redline clearance section and I have a coupon LOL) :D

Selectively Cheap

I don't know the exact hows or whys of my cheapness, because I'll be so ridiculously reluctant to spend more than x amount of dollars on one thing, but then not even hesitate to spend way more on something else.  Halloween costumes are one of those things.  I'll spend money on props for other cute photo ops for my kids, but Halloween just hurts for some reason.  Maybe because costumes are so cheaply made and one dimensional... I can't really use them for much else once the holiday is past.
That said, I was unable to find a costume for Emberly that seemed worth the money to me.  She wants to be a witch and I already have a witch hat.  So, I found myself at Hancocks Fabric buying shimmery halloween tulle, lining and elastic.  About 2hrs later, voila, circle skirt that matches the hat.  I didn't use a pattern and eyeballed it when I took to the hem with scissors, so it's far from perfect, but, it was fun and Emberly will get to be what she wants within my cheapness parameters.  Win-win.

Mellow

We had a laid back weekend.  Park time, a bit of shopping and some knitting.  The funniest part was putting Bauer on the toilet.  He was obviously trying to poo as he walked around at one point so I thought I'd stick him up there and see what he did.  He played with toilet paper, kicked his legs, talked to me.  But no poop LOL  Emberly was disappointed and told me that when he's two he really has to do it.  Hmmm, I wonder if I can let her potty train him?
The highlight for me though was when our whole family went out early Saturday morning.  Damon put Emberly in the child seat of his bike and I threw Bauer in my new jogging stroller and we wound our way through the neighborhood and worked up a sweat.  Then rewarded ourselves with a great breakfast out.

PS I also made Emberly's Halloween costume; more about that tomorrow...

Ole

I always feel kind of like a flamenco dancer when I put on this bright ruffled top:

Top: NY&Co
Vest: Rubbish via Nordstrom
Short: AE
Shoes: Aldo
Necklace & Bracelet: Express
Bracelet: H&M

PS: Remember when the surgeon general said hairstyles might impede exercise efforts for women, especially black women?  Kind of ridiculous, but I really do hesitate to work out when I've just had my hair professionally pressed because my roots curl right up and I lose the super flat sleekness (the close up pic just happened to be framed to keep my part [where puffy roots are most obvious] out ;) ).  And touching up with my own flat iron just doesn't look the same.

Boundaries and Books

As soon as Emberly seemed to have the comprehension skills, I talked to her about how her private parts weren't for anyone to look at or touch, nor should she be made to look at or touch those of anyone else.
She's always seemed to understand the concept, but with horrible stories in the media and anecdotes in parenting communities, my anxiety level about her ability to apply the concept outside of our home rose.  Now that she's a bit older, I wanted to drive the point home without scaring her or making her anxious.  She loves to read, so books seemed like the obvious choice.
We read the following and enjoyed them all:

I said No! A Kid-to-Kid Guide to Keeping Private Parts Private, by Kimberly King.  This book is told from a kid, who talks about the roles different people play in our lives and "red flag" situations and people.  It was the most interactive book, with prompts for discussion, but it's also a little long, so while it is good for the patient preschooler who enjoys reading and discussion, for most, I think it's probably better for the 5-8 range.  Emberly loves to imagine scenarios and what she'd say and so forth, so while she did get little antsy, we finished the book in one sitting.



Those are MY Private Parts, by Diane Hansen.  This one had a rhyming scheme that made it fun to read and catchy.  The illustrations, while cute, were kind of distracting.  Emberly couldn't resist interrupting to ask questions about what parts of the drawings were supposed to be.  Less of a issue the more you read the book obviously.






Some Parts are NOT for Sharing, by Julie K. Federico.  This was really short and basic.  I would have been disappointed if it was the only one we read, but it complimented the others well.  I think this would be good for even younger children as well.

As They Grow

I participated in my first ever consignment sale!
I've shopped at one before but never sold anything.
I've slowly been thinning out my tubs of old baby clothing.  I donated a ton.  Gave another ton to the bff for her daughter.  But there were pieces I had a hard time parting with and it felt better to at least try to earn some cash for them (apparently, I can put a price on priceless memories).
It wasn't hard at all.  I went through and sorted what clothes were ready to go and which ones needed some ironing (enter Damon, awesome ironing man).  I entered them in their easy inventory system, pricing them and sorting sizes.  I was able to hang everything with store hangers already in my possession, pinned sets together, printed out the tags and pinned them to the clothing.  All in all, about 2hrs cumulatively of work.  I dropped it off and was done!
As a consignor, I was able to shop the presale and found great stuff for both kids (I was looking for button ups for Emberly and winter pants for Bauer).  However, after seeing how others had priced their items, I did wonder if I'd sold myself short with my pricing, though I think many of those items are going to remain on the rack.  And!  I found a Quinny jogging stroller!
I went back with Emberly for the last day because many items are 50% off.  I scored some dolls for Emberly, a helmet for Bauer (so he can ride in the child seat of Damon's bike) and a few items for the bff's daughter.  I can't resist little girl's clothing at awesome prices.
24 of 28 items sold!  And if not for the stroller, I would have spent considerably less than I made.  I think it's pretty likely that I'll participate again.
Pics of some of my score (55 bucks for all this, several items pretty high end brands that I normally wouldn't even bother shopping for!):

Food, Bargains and Twists

This weekend we went to the Bite of Las Vegas event.  I knew the forecast was in the 90's, but somehow thought it'd feel cooler since it's mid-October.  Nope.  It was sweaty.  But throw in some ridiculously delicious fresh kettle corn, mango lemonade and barbecue, and it's maybe worth it.  Bauer seemed kind of hot and miserable in the stroller, but he didn't want to walk around either.  Emberly wanted to eat something from every booth and ride every carnival ride there.

Then Sunday Emberly and I went to the farmers market for coffee and salsa and then to the last day of an awesome children's consignment sale where most items were 50% off the already bargain prices.  She was a pretty good sport while I poured through the racks and bins, so when she asked for a hot dog from a vendor outside, I obliged.

I love her hair in this twist hairstyle because it's almost like wearing it down.  And it's actually one of the easiest styles to do.  But she puts up such a dramatic performance anytime she's getting her hair combed lately (... or ever, really) that I'm seriously contemplating a drastic haircut in her near future that's more wash-and-wear.  She's not opposed to the idea as long as I don't make her look "like a boy" (her face is not the least bit masculine, so she'd make for one pretty boy, in my opinion).  And then by the time it's gotten to this length again (it's considerably longer than shoulder length when straight), she might be more mature about having it styled, or at least she'll have a deeper pitched whine that won't grate my nerves so much.

Polka Dots and Pearls

This has to be one of the easiest pieces in my closet.  Just pull it on and bam, cute, vintage feeling style.  I love it!

dress: Target
belt: H&M
bracelets: H&M
shoes: Aldo

Traumatized

Bauer got his long awaited first haircut today.

I didn't go because my kids have a tendency to be extra dramatic in my presence.  But Damon says Bauer was pretty dramatic without me.
Our original plan was to leave it long enough to curl on the top, but I guess that proved difficult in the shop because I was shocked with this.

I'm traumatized!  Don't get me wrong, he looks like such a handsome big boy with his haircut.  But that's the thing: big boy.  Next thing you know, he'll be going to college.

Forts are boss

Emberly made a fort in the living room the other day and they had a ball going in and peeking out at me.  Until Bauer decided it was more fun to try to run through it a-la banners at sports events.  Which made Emberly shriek about how he was ruining it.  Which made my head hurt and I took it down.  Cuz I'm the boss.

Hiatus Over

I cloth diapered Emberly from newborn to potty training.  It was a great experience.  I started out with cloth diapers for Bauer too.  But he developed a horrible diaper rash that refused to go away and stay away.  I stripped the diapers numerous times.  I slathered him with coconut oil.  I used fleece liners.  Nothing worked.  I would put him in disposable diapers until the rash was completely healed and within a day of going back to cloth, irritation would reappear.  The only diaper rash Emberly had was after a round of antibiotics when she was nearly 2.  I was at a loss.  So I just gave up.
After a few months, I wanted to try again, but in my mind I had made it an overwhelming task.  It was so much easier to just go buy some sposies, right?  I don't know why I felt that way.  Emberly had been out of diapers for over a year by the time Bauer was born, and yet I didn't dread having to do it again.
Well, car trouble and guests and laziness found me without sposies last Monday.  I decided that it was time to go back to the cloth.
I was indeed making a mountain out of a molehill.  And guess what, after nearly a week, we are still rash free.  I guess he outgrew whatever sensitivity was causing that.
One thing I'm not enjoying though is my front loading washer.  No matter how big or small the load of diapers is, it becomes unbalanced and I have to hover over the load to restart it a gazillion times.
And funny story about my sweet helper... I gave her a poo diaper to go shake over the toilet.  It was the first time I'd asked her to do it, since it didn't require any spraying.  And she was happy to help.  After I got Bauer set up in his jammies, I noticed Emberly was still in the bathroom and the water was running.  She was "washing" the diaper, bless her heart.  She thought she couldn't put a skid-marked diaper in the pail.  You can't help but love the way little minds work.

Cactus and Thunder

On Amy, Sam and Jill's last day here it started out pretty.  We went to Hash House A Go Go and Jill partook in the Man vs Food favorite, finished half of it.  Then we headed over to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory.  We went last year, but Emberly only vaguely remembered so it was almost like a new adventure.   But the clouds rolled in and the thunder and rain let out.  Fortunately, the downpour was over before we finished the self-guided tour and buying chocolate inside, so we were still able to go out into the cactus garden.  It was a short walk though because it was humid and it wasn't that fun being kill-joy to 14mo olds wanting to play in puddles!

{I love how Sam and Emberly are smiling at each other in this one}

{we're still working on skirt etiquette LOL}

{does Sam look suspicious or what!}

{flattening a penny from Jill}

They got outta dodge just in time, the weather was wet and unseasonably cool the rest of the week!

Trouser Re-do

There's a lot of DIY and "refashion" buzz going around the style blog world, and I decided to take a shot.
I have a pair of trousers that I don't really care for that much.  I'm just not a fan of the wider trouser leg, it seems less flattering and often too short for heels off the rack.  So I'm attempting to revise the cut of the leg, keeping the same fit in the upper thigh and hip.
Bauer's nap was unfortunately short however, so, I only finished one leg.

Here Piggy Piggy

One of the challenges when people come to visit is trying to pack all the good eats into a short stay.
Sunday we went for both all-you-can-eat sushi AND we went to N9ne at the Palms for a fancy pants dinner after the kidlets went to bed.  In between, we took the kids to the park.  As if a little swinging could even begin to burn off all of the eating!  I'm lucky I can even button up my pants once they left.

Dessert {s'mores are even better when they're complimentary!}

Top: Target
Bustier: F21
Belt: F21
Bracelets: F21
Jeans: Express
Shoes: Aldo