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fashion2
07.29.11

Fashion Friday

I received several e-mails asking where I got the cute beach/snack bag in my previous post.  The bags are from a company called Thirty One Gifts and I received them when I did this giveaway.  You can check that post for their website along with information about who to contact if you want to order one for yourself.  Also, a sweet blog reader and director with Thirty One Gifts (hi Allison!) left a comment in my last post along with her information because she too sells their bags.  Thirty One Gifts sells a lot of really fun stuff!

Speaking of fun stuff, I thought I’d share a few things I’ve bought lately.  Fall fashion is my absolute favorite and since I haven’t bought much the past two years (due to pregnancy and post pregnancy baby weight that lingered forever!) I decided that it was time to get a jump start on this year’s Fall wardrobe!

These necklaces I actually bought about a month ago and have loved wearing them this summer.  The one on the left with the matching bracelet is from The Limited and the one on the right was from a specialty shop here in San Diego.  
I love the orange/teal color combo in this one.

This shirt from Banana Republic looks great with both necklaces.  I’ve worn this shirt a ton this summer! It fits cute and I love the pleated sleeves.  Works with most of my jewelry, levi, or white skirts/shorts.  A casual ‘go to’ top for sure.

This necklace also looks good with this white dress shirt I just bought (also from The Limited). 

I guess this top is actually an end of summer splurge vs. fall fashion.  But I loved the way it fit so much that it had to come home with me.  :)

Some fun flats I bought at the Nordstroms sale (for only $50 bucks!).  Should be perfect for running the kids around all day.  I don’t buy many shoes like this because my heels are SO narrow.  If my shoes don’t have straps they slip right off my heels and drive me crazy.  I’m a big fan of flats like this that gather in the back!

Another fun top from The Limited.  I have too many shirts this color, but I loved the sleeves and the way this fit.

I wore it to church last week with this black belt, a fun skirt, and my favorite black heels (that are so high I have to really watch it holding Kole so we both don’t go toppling to the floor).  
But the two of us were stylin’!  :)

This grey cardigan was a bit of a splurge (also from The Limited) but it is my favorite thing I’ve bought lately!  You can’t tell from the picture, but it fits so cute – fitted in the back and then it hangs long in the front.  I tried it on with a white tank underneath, my dark Joes skinny jeans, 
and these boots.  LOVE it!  I’ll have to take a picture with it on sometime because it’s way cuter on a person than on the hanger.  

I found this purple sweater on sale at Anthropologie.  Can you tell that I’m into solid colors by this point?    Kind of boring, I know.  But I just love stuff like this.  

This sweater has a fun, funky orange zipper in the back that you can’t see at all when I’m wearing it.  But I know it’s there.  And it will make me FEEL fun and funky.  :)

So far, this belt (also from Anthropologie) is the only purchase I’m having buyers remorse about.  It was 55 bucks – a bit much for a belt – but I just love it so much!!!  But then I got home and thought “will I really wear it enough…. I already have so many belts…. I could take it back and buy 8 belts from Forever 21 for the same price…..”

and then I tried it on with this shirt I bought in the Spring and MAGIC!  
Ok – keeping the belt.  :)
So that’s it for my first rendition of “Fashion Friday.”  I found a fun dress and some other things too, but I took these pictures during Kole’s nap and right after I snapped the picture above, Kole woke up.  
No more pictures were taken from that point forward!
Have a great weekend everyone! 
xoxo, Erin
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organization2
07.27.11

Get out the door list

Oh that was too much fun hearing from so many of you!  I’ve loved checking in with my blog throughout the day and reading all of your sweet comments.  Thank you so much for your opinions/advice about the plays.  It’s clear we need to just see them both!  Now I need some advice on how to convince my parents that it is imperative for them to watch my children for a day or two longer than planned.  :)  I’ll keep you posted on how that goes…
For today I wanted to share something that I meant to post at the beginning of summer, but then all of the sudden it was summer and most of my planned posts flew right out the window along with my sanity.  
I’ve found that one of the hardest daily tasks with little ones is simply GETTING OUT THE DOOR.  It requires so much time, energy, and just stuff!  Every summer I write a simple “get out the door list” and tape it to my back door.  It’s a run down of every possible thing I might need for our summer outings. 
Some of the items listed are for when we are heading to the beach (quarters for parking) or the pool (goggles and water wings), but a lot of these items I need to remember every day in the summer for any outing we are going on (sunglasses, snacks for the kids, diapers, etc.)  It’s so nice to have a list to glance at quickly when we’re in a hurry to get somewhere – just to double check that I have everything.  Then I don’t have to think about all of the stuff we need to take and I can deal with Addison’s meltdown over which pair of sandals to wear, Kole’s last minute diaper change, or Ellie’s attempt to sneak 15 toys into the car along with her.  
MENTAL ENERGY PEOPLE. 
I only have so much of it. 
I also keep this bag hanging by my keys so I can quickly grab it for snacks and water…  
and this bag sits in our garage by the door.  As soon as I wash swim suits, cover-ups, and towels I put them in here so they are ready to go.

Anything I can do ahead of time makes life that much easier when we are trying to go somewhere.  
I’m always amazed at what a feat getting out the door can be!  
xoxo, Erin
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home decor 2
07.25.11

paint and advice

Hope everyone had a good weekend!  Ours was a productive one.  I decided to paint a wall.  My house is driving me crazy because I want to re-do everything BUT as I’ve mentioned before, we are house hunting.  We may find a house we love in two days, or we may find a house we love in two years.  I kept putting off decor changes thinking that as soon as I started making a mess of things we would find our dream home.  Then it hit me.  As soon as I start making a mess of things we’ll find our dream home! So I’m tearing into this house with high hopes that it will all be for nothing!  :)

I didn’t know where to start, so I just slapped some paint samples on our dining room wall and picked the one I liked best!

The color is called Jamaica Bay by Behr  and I got it at Home Depot – I hate Home Depot by the way.  But I love this color!  When you hold something blue against it, it looks green and when you hold something green against it, it looks blue.  It’s a great sort of aqua color.  I have to say that Kenny and I are NOT DIY people.  If we want new furniture, we buy it.  If we want something painted, we hire a painter.  But this wall was such a small space that I figured we could figure it out on our own.  At least I hoped we could.  
I taped everything while Kenny had the girls at swimming lessons and then when they came back I put Kole down for a nap and we all got to work!  Kenny painted a little…..

I painted a little…..

Even Ellie painted a little.  Addison opted out because the thought of getting paint on her well thought out outfit was too much to bear.  
Two hours later Kenny showered and came downstairs in this shirt.  I decided it was a sign.  A sign of what, I don’t know.  That we’ll find a new house soon?  That this color is the bomb?  That I should paint more walls and buy Kenny more shirts in aqua?  All to be determined.  For now, we are getting used to this change.  I walked downstairs this morning, walked around the corner, and WHOA – there’s a  bright bluish greenish wall!  Now I just need to make a few other changes so that it doesn’t look so out of place.  But I have to say that I’m very proud we painted ourselves.  Maybe I’ll become a DIYer after all!  Can you be a DIYer and hate Home Depot???
And here is another question for anyone kind enough to answer it….
Kenny and I are planning an adults only trip to New York in the fall and are trying to choose which Broadway musical we want to see.  We’ve seen Les Miserables on Broadway and Wicked and Phantom in L.A. (Wicked was the best!) so now we’re thinking either Lion King or Mary Poppins.  
Has anyone seen either or both of these?  Any opinions on which one is better?  
Thanks so much!  Hope your week is off to a good start!  
xoxo, Erin
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organization2
07.21.11

An organized hutch (part 2)

How is everyone’s week going?  Is anyone else tired yet?  We’re having a fun summer, but my kids are seriously wearing me out!  It’s like they are in hyper over drive or something.  Things are a little crazy around here so naturally I turned to my guaranteed solution for feeling a bit of “inner calm.”  You may remember a while ago when I organized my hutch and put keepsakes in these fun red boxes….

 Well – I didn’t share the left side of my hutch because it wasn’t completely finished.  I had a lot of loose odds and ends that needed a home so when I found some fun containers last week on sale at the Crate and Barrel Outlet I decided it was time to finally complete the hutch.

This hutch had become a storage place for lots of random odds and ends – mostly miscellaneous fall holiday items because my Christmas stuff is organized in various trunks.  I pulled everything out, made a great big mess, and started categorizing!  Ahhh… feeling the inner calm already.

You may notice that one box is holding a million remotes.  We have one remote that is programmed to do everything but Kenny insists on still keeping the pile of individual ones.  What am I supposed to do with those!?  File them next to computer cords, a Valentine garland, and some Halloween spiders web of course.  See what I mean when I say random odds and ends.  Doesn’t get much more random than that.

Before long, the left side of my hutch looked like this!  With bigger holiday items on top, and smaller items in their oh so tidy containers on the bottom.  The containers ended up being the perfect size and I was able to fit all twelve.  I decided not to do labels.  As much as I love a good label, I usually don’t use them with clear containers.  It’s so easy to see what’s inside and I like having the option to switch things around often.  You know.  Like on another day in the foreseeable future when I’m needing some more inner calm.  
Like maybe tomorrow.  
I was excited because I even had one empty box leftover!  An excuse to buy more!  Bonus.  
So now the left side of my hutch looks like this.  
The right side of my hutch looks like this.
The drawers still look like this (only because a certain one year old can’t reach them).

And the whole hutch is nice and organized.  A place for everything and everything in its place.
The only problem???
The front of my hutch still looks like this.    
A project for another day!  Most likely when my girls have gone back to school.  
How many more days???  
Not that I’m counting or anything….
xoxo, Erin
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Ellie
07.20.11

Ellie’s “hafe” birthday

 Yesterday Ellie informed Kenny and I that today was a special day…

She also handed us an agenda for her “hafe” birthday celebration…

Someone has been watching her mommy and has become quite the little list maker.  :)  What choice did we have but to put on some party hats!?

Addison was in charge of the “dress up fancy”…

Kenny came home from work early to “ice the cupcakes.”  He even mixed in a little food coloring to really spice things up.

The cupcakes turned out fabulous and the girls and their toys put on a great ballet show.  Ellie started age seven and a half with a bang.  
And where was Kole during the celebration?  

Mom put this little guy to bed early.  He had his own little party all. day. long.

xoxo, Erin
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Ellie and Addison
07.18.11

Random Monday

My mom went home today.  I’m officially depressed.  Walking around in a dazed state.  What?  You mean I have to fold those clothes alone?  Huh?  It’s all on me to feed Kole dinner and then clean his leftovers up off the floor?  You mean I can’t just head out the door to get a pedicure right now?  Let’s hope the pedicure I got last week lasts a really long time.  Like until mom comes to visit again.

I’m not the only depressed one around here.  Today the whole family has been in a bit of a funk.  My mom took such good care of my kiddos.

And wore Addison’s homemade macaroni necklace proudly.   :)  We miss you already grandma!

I have another reason to be depressed.  One of my best friends moved.  Remember Shari?  No longer just down the street.  :(  I know we’ll still talk often (and text daily), but still, it isn’t the same and I’m so bummed she’s gone.  She texted me when she got to her new home (small town in a different state) and told me that she made it safe and sound and that she is afraid she will be wearing a denim jump suit by next week.  HA!  I told her “don’t you dare!  You strut your southern California stuff!”  Shari – I’m totally crossing my fingers that you will miss all the botox around here and come running back!  ;)

Sooooo….since I have two VERY valid reasons to be depressed I decided that some retail therapy was in order.  I went a little crazy in Anthropologie last week.  If (more like when) Kenny sees the bill and is ready to blow, I’m totally blaming Shari.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll blame my mom.  And if (more like when) that doesn’t work, I’m blaming the smell of that store.  It is intoxicating and beckons me to enter and spend.

Aside from the beginnings of my new Fall wardrobe, I also bought the cutest dishes and I couldn’t wait to share them with all of you!

Aren’t they adorable?  These are the colors I’m re-doing my kitchen decor in and these little beauties are going to be so perfect for my next decorating project!  

 I especially love these colorful milk bottle measuring cups!

Aren’t they darling!?  Makes me want to measure something.  I can’t wait to get started on my kitchen this week.  Hoping it will cheer me up.  And if it doesn’t, I can always find my way back to Anthropologie.
(kidding kenny – only kidding…. take a breath…deep breaths….)

I’m signing off.  Time to go over tomorrows to-do’s.  It’s going to be a busy week.  And it’s going to start with getting this house in order.  No easy feat since it looks like a bomb went off tonight.  In every. single. room. Even though it was spotless this morning.  How does that happen?

I think I have an idea….   :)

xoxo, Erin
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Kole
07.15.11

copy cat

Someone at our house is getting too smart for his own good.  Kole has started copying whatever the rest of us are up to.  He loves sneaking the remote and turning on the TV, grabbing my cell phone and holding it up to his head to “talk”, and his latest trick?  Climbing up the girls’ bathroom stool and finding their toothbrushes so he can “brush” his teeth.

Here I go!  Tippy toes to reach the toothbrush.  My sisters never put them away where they belong.
Oh just look at me.  I am HOT STUFF up here on this stool.  
Stop the party.  It’s grandma and mom.  Wait a minute… grandma’s smiling and mom’s taking pictures. 
 Looks like my adorableness has saved me again.  Who’s the man?  I’m the man.  Party on!  
:)
Have a great weekend everyone!  May it be fun and full of good hygiene.  
xoxo, Erin
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Feeling Creative
07.14.11

Rainbow Love

Hi everyone!  Hope you’re having a good week so far!  I’m loving having my mom in town.  It’s like having two me’s around here.  My kids are getting ample attention, the house/laundry is in order, Kole is taking naps when he actually wants to sleep.  Plus we just have a lot of fun together.  I love having a bit of adult company during the day.  We’ve also been able to do a little shopping together during the girls’ summer camps and I’m so excited about all of our finds!  Love shopping.  Love having help with my day to day.  Love my mom.  :)  
Ok.  Switching gears now.  A couple of weeks ago for Addison’s graduation I arrived super early (Kenny came later with the kiddos).  I’m always the first one to arrive at events like that because Kenny and I like to shoot for the best seats in the house.  We’re annoying that way.  Anyway, I was so early that I was able to help the teachers set things up and get the post graduation treats ready.  

They made the cutest little cupcakes topped with fruit in rainbow colors and the kids all loved them.

My girls and I especially loved them because we are big rainbow fans around here!

This was one of my favorite bulletin boards when I was teaching 1st grade.  (Excuse the terrible photo – it’s a picture of a picture because I’m too lazy to scan tonight.)  Remember the tissue hearts we made for our Valentine mantel?  I did the same thing with my 1st graders for the rainbow.  The whole thing was made out of little tissues.  I set a center up in the back of my classroom and my little 6 year olds worked on it on and off for about a month.  I added a little quilt batting for the clouds and wa-la!  A beautiful rainbow for our “Rainbow of Wishes” display for the month of March.  I’m planning on making one with the girls when I can muster up some time to cut all of the tissue into little squares.

Here are a few other fun rainbow ideas I’m planning to do with my girls.  (Ideas from Pinterest of course!)  First a few fun rainbow snacks —

Source: flickr.com via Erin on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Erin on Pinterest

I thought this was so much more fun than a regular veggie tray.

And a couple of fun and easy rainbow art projects —

My girls would love these!  They are perfect little projects for them to work on during our “down time” each afternoon while Kole snoozes.

And just to prove our love of rainbows, here are 4 beautifully illustrated rainbows that are displayed in my house at this very moment…

RAINBOWS.  We are fans.  :)
xoxo, Erin
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Uncategorized
07.12.11

CDO

I finally discovered the technical term for what I’ve been suffering from for all of these years… 

AMEN and AMEN.
CDO baby.  And proud of it.  :)

xoxo, Erin
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Ellie and Addison
07.11.11

a few things we’ve been up to…

My mom is visiting.  It has been LOVEly and my weekend felt especially fabulous.  The reason?

Three kids + three adults = sanity.

Seriously.  What a difference two more adults make!  One adult is in charge of Kole (full time job), one adult is in charge of the girls (they are a package deal), and the third adult is in charge of the cleaning, laundry, and cooking.  Things are so MANAGEABLE.  Mom is staying the week and I’m already so not excited for the following week when she heads home and Kenny heads back to work and I am completely out numbered again.

Just a few things we’ve been up to — 

Took the kiddos to a local Farmers Market this weekend.  Love Farmers Markets.  I would have taken more pictures (so many fun things to see) but I was too busy managing daughter #1 —

who decided she needed to pet EVERY dog we came across.  Seriously.  Every dog owner at that market Ellie introduced herself to.  “Hi! I’m Ellie — can I pet your dog?  What kind of dog is it?  What is its name?”  I was just along for the ride saying over and over “hi!  I’m sorry…is she ok?  Thank you so much! She’s kind of obsessed right now… beautiful dog… so where are you from?”  Met some really nice people.  And Ellie was in heaven.   
My cute mom with the kiddos.  What is up with Kole in this picture?  Mr. Serious.  You can’t really tell, but he is crossing his hands.  He does this ALL the time.  Whenever he gets in the stroller or car seat he crosses his little hands and his feet.  His way of saying, “I’m ready to go mom — my time to chill.”  I get the biggest kick out of it.  

————————————————————————————————————————————-

El finished up her lifeguard camp at the beach.  She had such a blast!  This camp will definitely become a new summer tradition.  The kids learned about ocean safety, did exercises, played beach games, swam, and spent a day snorkeling at La Jolla Cove.  She made a lot of new friends and is so bummed it’s over.  So is mom.  I loved seeing her have so much fun at the ocean every day.  Although I won’t miss the sandy mess that exploded in my car each afternoon as soon as I picked her up.  You’d think after living by the beach for nine years that I’d be more chill about the mess that always follows a trip to the ocean.  Nope.  Maybe in another nine years?

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A little bunny has been living in our front yard.  Every time we pull up to the house my girls spot him and hop out of the car to try to catch him.  Of course he scurries away as soon as he hears them.

Finally the girls ran in the house and grabbed Ellie’s dog house she decorated for her stuffed animals.  Then they sprinkled a few carrots around it…  

and carefully crept away leaving a perfect bunny trap.  

We check every day to see if we’ve caught the bunny.  Nothing yet, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.  Cross your fingers for us.   :)

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p.s.  Grandma,  thank you so much for the new dresses and for coming to visit us in San Diego!  Thank you for playing with us in the yard, fixing us snacks, taking Kole so we can play without him knocking all of our dolls over, watching princess movies with us, and showing us dogs on the computer (again and again and again).  Also thanks for helping mom.  She is much more relaxed when you are here.  :)

xoxo – Ellie & Addie

xoxo, Erin
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organization2
07.08.11

DVD organization

Dog owners!  Thank you so much for your advice!  Seems most of you are in my camp and agree that owning a dog is too much work.  I am validated.  I showed Kenny your opinions/advice for some back-up support.  His response?  “It was your decision to have a third kid.  You got your boy, so now Ellie and I get a dog.”

Yes, it was my decision that we needed one more child.  And yes, it is my decision that we don’t need a dog.  13 years of marriage and he still hasn’t figured out that it’s all about me and my needs.

 ;)

Ok.  Moving on.  While the kids have their summer to-do list, I have a list of my own.  Just a few minor areas in my house that need to be straightened up a bit.  So a few days ago, Kenny went to find Little Mermaid for the girls and Tinkerbell was in its case… and so he searched high and low to find the Tinkerbell case only to discover Barbie and the Three Musketeers in its case… and he had a minor FIT because “nobody puts movies back in the right case around here!”  It was then that I decided to move DVD organization to the top of my list.

First thing I did was to round up all of the DVD’s from various spots throughout the house.  And yes, I’m aware this is a ridiculous amount of DVD’s, but if you know us, you know that our whole family enjoys a good princess/barbie movie now and again.  And while we’ve no doubt wasted an obscene amount of money on these movies, when I think about the countless hours of peace and down time they have brought me over these crazy years of raising littles I say to myself — well. worth. every. penny.
Moving on… 
 Kole was a DVD organizing maniac.  I didn’t expect anything less.

I went through EVERY DVD case and made piles.  Piles of cases with the correct movie in them, piles of cases without the correct movie in them, piles of movies for the kids, piles of movies for us, piles of movies we don’t watch anymore and can get rid of… piles, piles, and even more piles. 

And then Kole came a long and destroyed all of my piles.  I didn’t expect anything less.  
This is my “movies are in the wrong case” pile.  I know.  It’s a problem.  I’m working on it.  Admitting it is always the first step.  

And finally, the end result!  A drawer full of DVD’s for the kiddos that are not only all in their proper cases, but are also in alphabetical order!  With room to spare!  And all of this will last about a nano second!  But at least it’s done!  And for one weekend Kenny can find DVD’s with incredible ease!  And I’m clearly excited! Because I’m ending every sentence with an exclamation mark!  So I’ll stop that now.

But I am happy about having a check mark next to this little project on my list.

**And let me go on record as saying that while Kole may not actually be the best DVD organizer out there, he sure beats having a puppy.  And at the end of the day, I think his daddy would have to agree.  :)

xoxo, Erin
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Ellie and Addison
07.07.11

Dogs and Graduation

{a word on DOGS}

So yeah.  Ellie’s never ending quest for a dog has been going on for FORever now.  She wants one so badly.  She has a four step plan that we hear about daily.

Step 1:  Wait until Kole gets older (since mom won’t even THINK about getting a dog until Kole is older)
Step 2:  Take Addison to the doctor and find some medicine he can give her so she won’t be allergic to dogs (yes – Addison’s allergies are another obstacle Ellie is desperately trying to surpass)
Step 3:  Make a home for my dog  (she has crafted a cardboard home for her stuffed animal dogs -complete with drawings and stickers – and now plans to set aside some time in her busy schedule to construct a home for her new real dog)
Step 4:  Get my dog
It’s quite a well thought out plan.  In fact, her pro-dog arguments have been so compelling lately that she even has her dad convinced that yes — we do in fact need a dog.  
Mom, on the other hand, is NOT buying it.  I know all to well who will end up taking care of said dog and quite frankly feel like I am already stretched pretty thin taking care of others’ needs around here as it is!  I told Ellie to present her four step plan to me again in three years and we’ll see how I feel about it then…
{PRE-SCHOOL GRADUATION}
Sharing a few pics from Addison’s graduation.  

Here she is getting ready to “cross the bridge” when they called her name.

And across she goes, with a confident walk and her little tongue out of the side of her mouth in true Addie fashion.  

I’m so proud of my sweet girl.  I was also so proud of myself for making it through the whole graduation ceremony without tearing up.  
I waited until the car ride home to cry, just like I did two years ago after Ellie’s pre-school graduation. 
 My girls are growing up.   

Following our post graduation tradition, we took them out for yogurt after the ceremony.
They both got their favorite flavor.
You’ll never guess–

Vanilla.  :)

This week Addison started her pre-Kindergarten camp and she has loved it so far.  On the first day of camp she went through several outfits before deciding on “the one”.  I saw what she was wearing and said “you decided on that outfit huh – well you look cute.”  She said “Mom!  This is Kindergarten camp.  I don’t want to look cute.  I want to look REALLY cute.”  And then headed back into her room to change her shirt.

Oh boy.
Good times ahead.

xoxo, Erin
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