Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Spring (So Far) Photo Dump

I know I've been away for a long time. I've told myself, time and time again, that this is just going to have to be what it is until I figure out how to manage all.the.things. Clearly, I haven't figured it out, yet. When you have a recipe for success in being Superwoman, please let me know. Thanks! For now, I'll just update y'all on a few of the goings on during the spring season.

I got my nails done. Twice. I can hardly believe I carved out time to do something nice for myself. Looking back, that first one was really ugly and badly done. Second time around, I asked for much shorter nails and opted for a punchy hue (Cajun Shrimp by OPI- one of my summer go-tos) and a simple gold fleck accent nail.
Three generations of manicures: My mom, Sadie, and I went to get our nails done the day before Easter. I stepped to the restroom while S was giving her manicurist instructions. Had I been beside her, I would've suggested that she not make the middle finger her accent nail. But, she's five, and she knows what she wants.
A few weeks ago, I was really sick. REALLY sick. The girls enjoyed several days of movies and snacks. I think this was day 2 or 3 and they are clearly in the zone.
 Said sickness:
This mommy is a sucker for matching or coordinating outfits. The girls donned matching bicycle shirts, sneakers, and flared jeans from Carters, c/o of Gigi and Pop (my parents). They'll only let me do this for so long, so I'm just going to eat it up until Sadie realizes what's going on and doesn't think it's cute, anymore.
 On a rainy day, I took the girls to a new pet store in town (Sweet Pets). I just wanted something to do and I heard there were bunnies and a chinchilla that they could pet. We walked away with Finn, the beta... And a bamboo plant that cost more than him.
 Whilst in the throws of hemming many, many pairs of pants and dresses that have been hanging, useless, in my closet for months, I decided to take a nod from my friend, Jackie, and cut up one of hubster's shirts. I made this adorable shirt dress for Sadie and added a light blue ribbon belt to match the AE bird and pinstripe.
 My MIL visited two weeks ago and, on the way to the park, Norah passed out in the carseat. While Grandma took Sadie to play, I took a selfie to show off my new foundation and eye makeup. 
Note: The eye makeup has been worn almost every single day since I purchased it. It's a miracle worker. The foundation was worn for one day, and one day only. Just didn't feel like me.
Cheap, magical drugstore makeup:
During the spring and summer, I make easy refrigerator pickles approximately twice a week. I'm obsessed. They're simple, delicious, healthy, and taste very similar to the Claussen refrigerated pickles from the grocery store. Mmm. Let me know if you're interested in my recipe!
 I've been cooking a lot of things from scratch, lately. Sadie randomly decided, after five years of really good eating, that she only likes macaroni and cheese and pizza. So, naturally, we stopped having those things once a week (we had mac and cheese for the kids once a week and pizza nights on Friday). We aren't going to ban them, completely, but we needed to make a change. Here is my combination of a soup starter. This batch ended up as chicken noodle with homemade bone broth. Delicious.
Sadie rediscovered this stuffed elephant, from Aunt Whitney, that has literally been around since before she was born. She named it "Clovey," and it comes everywhere with her. She has a special basket in the car, it wears a leash when we go for walks (she sort of drags it, but keeps it above the ground... weird), and she has a special pillow and blanket for it in her bed.
 Meanwhile, Norah became a mother to twins. She's really into baby dolls, and for some reason, these $5 Circo brand dolls from Target are some of her favorites. I think it's that the size is so easy for her to work with. So easy, in fact, that she can easily manage two.
For Easter weekend, Gigi and Pop brought Peeps Dunkin Donuts for each of the girls. Norah, very clearly, enjoyed hers. It was super adorable.
 Sadie was just like, "Whatev. Donuts are cool, I guess."
Yesterday, while I was doing 8 million (5) loads of laundry, and cleaning up after our Easter weekend (7 people, 4 dogs, a gerbil, and a fish in our 1500 sq. foot house), the littles enjoyed another movie and cheddar penguins in their jammies.
We adopted the school gerbil for Spring Break. Here's Sadie talking to him about his cleaned out cage and how he was building a new little bed for himself. I love seeing her interact with animals - even if they're rodents.
I'm sorry to go missing for such long stretches, and I certainly can't promise when I'll be able to post, again. My kids are probably tearing the house apart, as I type this. If you're interested in daily photos/antics. follow me on Instagram and/or Twitter!