Happy Halloween

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

It was a little cold and then rainy here, but we still trick or treated!

He was a little scared at first, but got the hang of it quick.  Grandpa Bill and I are certain we heard him say "thank you" too!

 The guys...

and the girls:)

And poor Uncle PJ too

(he severely hurt his hand at work and even easy things like eating are tough...hang in there, dude!)

 Billy also dressed up as Magic Mike, kidding.  We celebrated his birthday a little early...now, don't go spending that all in one place.

Witching you the best:)

XOXO

Aubrey

Zoo Boo Day

Just like last year we participated in a few Halloween activities.  Zoo Boo at the, you guessed it, Detroit Zoo.  And Boo Day at dad's office.  Before we left for Zoo Boo, I managed to get a few shots of them in their costumes.  

 I wish you could see him all dressed up, we just want to eat him up and kiss those cheeks.  Absolutely adorable as a little lion!  His roar is spot on.

Zoo Boo

We met our neighbors for what was going to be a fun filled evening.  Of course when there was no chance of rain in the forecast, it starts raining almost as soon as we got through the gates.

A sprinkle soon became full on rain, which meant bust our a$$es through this thing and get mom and dad a beer.  I love doing things for my kids, but there is no singing in the rain for this mama!

                                                                             All kidding aside Zoo Boo would a great night out if the weather was better.  Besides the trick or treating, there is a mini maze, craft tent, games and Elmo was even there.

Boo Day

We've gone every year and I know Lauren, and now William really do enjoy getting to see where their dad works.  Though in their minds they probably think it's like that all the time...dad just sitting around eating kit kat's all day:)

I don't know if you agree, but I totally see Billy in William in this picture.  

He keeps putting the candy with the wrapper in his mouth...just give the kid a piece already, right?

I was super organized with their costumes which is the most important.  But just yesterday we finally got our pumpkin (wait till you see this thing), and I have yet to get candy.  Let's hope the good stuff is still there or this house could be passing out smarties or tooth brushes:)

Happy Monday!

XOXO

Aubrey

Witch Craft

Lauren is going to be a witch for Halloween, it changes daily whether or not she is going to be nice or scary. Judging by the costume I created, she's a nice witch.

I wanted share how I glammed up the plain jane hat and broom.

I hot glued Halloween ribbon at the base of the hat and then picked up the flower at Michael's that just clips on to the ribbon.  For the broom, I just cut and tied different ribbon to make it coordinate...cuz, the hat and broom don't already coordinate together.  The things I tell myself:)

And for the inside, I cut circles out of purple and orange felt and hot glued them to the inside brim of the hat.

This costume was really easy on the pocketbook this year.

Dress...$0 (last year's xmas dress)

leggings....$4 (old navy)

hat....$3 (target)

broom....$4 (target)

flower pin....$1 (Michael's)

Ribbon....$0 

Purple shoes....$7.50 (target)

TOTAL....$19.50!!

And she can wear the shoes and leggings after Halloween:)

I'll post some more Halloween pictures over the weekend, but it was a little challenging to get them both to smile.  

XOXO

Aubrey

Organized Linen Closet

Our linen closet had  been the land of misfit medicine and hygiene for way too long.  I had baskets on the shelves to make it appear to be organized, but inside was a MESS.  I can't tell you how many nights we've searched for the thermometer for the kids or I've thought I was out of deodorant, but later dug out three new ones after I had already bought a replacement.  I wanted a better system.

Embarrassing, but here is the BEFORE!

And tada...here is the AFTER!  It was a tight space to get all the way to the bottom and the lighting was terrible.

All the bins are dollar store and I purchased the labels from the Martha Stewart line at Staples.  I can easily erase if I need to change the label.

 I dressed it up a little more with the patterned contact paper.  

Do you have any scary closets like that?  It felt so good to purge and get organized.  I've got one more that needs some TLC but it's going to be a 2013 project.

XOXO

Aubrey

Gymnastics Fantastics

Lauren has been doing gymnastics for almost a year and looks forward to her class every week...always smiling and having fun.  And when the gym was offering a little recital, I knew it would be a great way for Lauren to show off her talents to the family.

Flips are her favorite!

They were even presented with little medals at the end, it was such a fun event for our little gymnast.

XOXO

Aubrey

Detroit Kid City

I noticed this building several times when I would drive by going to the gym, but hadn't heard anything about it.  I finally looked up Detroit Kid City and knew we had to check this place out!  It is a "play" city complete with a market, restaurant, bank, school house, and more!  The kids can just run from shop to shop and let their imaginations run wild.  They also do a craft everyday and there is story time at 11:30am.  

We went last week and have since been back three more times.  The location is so convenient for us and perfect now that the weather is getting cold or on a rainy day.  Yesterday, we just dropped in pre-dinner to burn off some post nap energy.

It is a bit expensive at $10/child (adults and under 12 months are free), but they are running a special right now.  Buy one month ($100), get one month free!  I thought it was a great deal for us.

I'll just let the pictures do the rest:)  

 Lauren loved being the mail carrier.  There are letters with numbers on them that coordinate to different mailboxes all over the city.

Friday Find

I have been on the hunt for some new brown boots for awhile.  I may be short in the height department, but I have some serious heavy weight calves.  I think the politically correct term is "athletic."  Whatever you want to call it, it makes it way hard to find boots!  I gave up and decided to order the brown boots that I already own in black.  

via

It should have been easy, but after a whole mess of orders gone bad I was ready to give up when the fashion gods called, specifically Beth, and she told me what an amazing look for less she found at Target!

I had to run and see for myself.  Look at how similar they look?

Steve Madden (left) = $129

Target (right) = $34.99

Here is the side by side comparison.  In my opinion, the Target boots (right) look better and they were more comfortable!  They are a little darker but much softer too.

I had to share this Friday Find to all my fashionista friends!  

There weren't many left so run on out and snatch these up:)

I would have posted yesterday but was in bed early to get up this morning for a 5K walk for breast cancer.  A great start to the weekend!

XOXO

Aubrey

Mommy Dates

Knowing that William and I were going to have alone time two days a week while Lauren was in school, I planned to make one of those days all about him.  We were three weeks in and had barely even read a book or played with blocks.  I was feeling guilty.  

Compared to Lauren he was an angel in the errand running department.  Happy to just be sitting in the cart without you know who directing our every turn.  But after completing a long list of neglected to do's the few week's prior, I dropped Lauren off at school and devoted the morning to William. We had some one on one time at the park, followed by a trip to the candy store (not pictured for obvious reasons.)

And this week was her turn.  There has been no school but a planned field trip with her class on Tuesday.  Younger siblings were invited, but I wanted to use the time for just us.  With Lauren, the alone time is such a positive thing.  Billy and I have noticed that even an hour of one on one time can make a bad day turn good.

The field trip was to Skyline Camp in Almont, Michigan...we did a scavenger hunt, sang songs, read stories, collected leaves for a project, and enjoyed a hayride.  The day was gorgeous, but much to my surprise Lauren was incredibly shy to start.  It was so unusual for her I thought she was sick, who knows why, but as soon as she felt comfortable she went from this...

to this!

Maybe mixing so many patterns gave her a headache?!?

 

I can get down on myself when I see a need to re access how I'm doing things, like I've made some sort of mistake.  And even though it's not a mistake, I'd rather have these moments where we reevaluate to make it better and try new things.  Sometimes it's just gonna be about me and sometimes it's gonna be about them.

XOXO

Aubrey