Family Musings

I did something a little uncharacteristic the other night. I let the girls run around outside for about 10 minutes just before bedtime. No toys. No shoes. Just one another to enjoy and cherish. I should be more uncharacteristic more often. At least my girls think so!

Finally! Today the temperatures dropped into the 80's and stayed there! This is the first Fall-ish day we've had yet. While that might not seem like Fall to those of you who live where there are real seasons, it is to me. After sweating through this past week, I was so happy that the temperature stayed relatively low today. In honor of that, I decided to make myself a fall-ish snack. The kids are in bed and I'm home alone so I didn't want to bake something and be tempted to eat the whole pan of brownies. Instead, I settled on these. Pumpkin Mallow S'mores The Ingredients Ready to be toasted and assembled 2 yummy toasted pumpkin spice mallows, toasted just until I can smell the burnt sugar Almost completely assembled and ready for noshing Once I pulled those toothpicks out I thoroughly enjoyed this crumbly snack best eaten in private. Unless your friends and loved ones have a good sense of humor and don't mind crumbs. Oh, and if you a...

I did a little better this week at trying to appear "put together." It will never happen 7 days a week since I stay in at least 2 and some days are morning rush out the door doesn't allow time for anything other than throwing on my mommy uniform. Playdate Chic Shirt: Old Navy, old; Cardigan: No Idea;  Shorts: Lane Bryant clearance; Belt: Wal-Mart, $4; Bracelet: Accessory swap; Necklace: Fancy Flea, $3  Sweet Sunday Chic Top: Kohl's, someone else paid for it; Earrings:  Premiere; Necklace: Sterling Grace; Hair Flower: 31 Purple Power Chic Dress: Wal-mart, $12; Leggings: Target, old; Belt: Thrifted, $0.70 The next four weeks of fashion are going to be entirely different! I am participating in the October Dress Project and will be styling the same dress for 31 days! But I'm not the only crazy one! There are 18 other women in Lakeland doing the same thing. Last night we participated in a photo shoot with Nate Mundell Photography . Here is the sh...

It is so fun to me to watch how my children's personality and interests develop over time. In fact, it might be one of my favorite aspects of being a parent. It's a good reminder to me that that God makes all of us different, and that is a good thing. Recently, Mary has been certain to let us know about her personality and interests. Her favorite activity right now is playing with her "friends." This is how we refer to the myriad of dolls and stuffed animals that live in our "friend box" downstairs. Mary is incredibly caring towards them and loves to put them to bed. She lays them gently on a pillow and then searches for a blanket to cover them. Sometimes though, she puts so many of her "friends" to bed that we don't have enough blankets for all of them.     The Twins      Not enough blankets for everyone, but no one is alone.   And a laundry hamper makes a nice soft spot to rest.        If Mary can't find a b...

Inspired by a friend's FB status update, I wrote my own, short version of the popular "If you give a" series by Laura Numeroff. For better or for worse, here it is: If you give a toddler a chocolate croissant, he'll want some milk to go with it. And as you go to the kitchen to find a clean sippy cup, you'll remember that all the cups are still in the car. On your way to the car for a clean sippy cup, your neighbor will want to chat with you. While you are chatting, the neighbor will not be able to keep her eyes off your clothes. You think you must be pretty stylish today. Once you get back into the house, you'll need to go into the bathroom to rinse the cup out (because the sink is still full of last night's dishes). You'll walk into the bathroom and then stare in horror at the mirror as you realize why your neighbor was checking out your clothes. As you trudge upstairs to change out of your now chocolate stained clothing, you'll remember that you...

Fall may have arrived according to the calendar, but for those of us in FL, we have to be a little more creative to entice Fall, and cooler temperatures, to arrive. Apart from burning a pumpkin spice candle, I thought a preschooler craft might be in order this week. It might convince Fall that we are serious about its arrival! Last week Charlotte and a friend made handprint trees. They are easy to do if you don't mind getting some paint on your hands and arms. First, find some brown tempera paint. Wait, you don't have brown tempera paint. That's ok. I didn't either. Until Google came to the rescue. And I learned that you can combine the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) to make brown. Sounds great. But then, I didn't have any yellow tempera paint. What's a anxious crafter to do?  I improvised.  Orange is made of yellow and red, so combined with blue, I had brown! (This also works with purple and yellow or green and red.) Once yo...

Inspired by some blogging friends, I've been trying to bust out of my jeans/capris and t-shirt/blouse routine. And since I'm always texting or calling them to ask if something works, I though I might give them a bit of a break and ask all of you. My idea is to post a couple of what I think are my fashionable outfits each week and let you politely and constructively chime in with your thoughts. This week, I have only one picture. It is the outfit I wore yesterday. I like this outfit because it includes a skirt, which I really do prefer wearing. I also like the accessories because I know how boring this outfit was before I added them. Skirt - Kohl's clearance, Shirt - Local Consignment Shop, Belt & Necklace - Lighthouse Thrift Store, Bracelet - Accessory Swap, Hair Flower - 31  I picked up several belts at the Lighthouse Thrift Store this week and this one is my favorite. Not only did it only cost $0.70, it is brand new and genuine leather with a chocolate brown s...