We have been taking full advantage of all of the fun Halloween festivities.  We went to Trick or Treat Street at the Children's Museum (above) with our friends and had so much fun!  We also went to Boo at the Zoo last weekend (below) but I didn't really take many pictures plus it was too hot for the girls to wear their costumes.  

Our amazing library had a special Halloween themed story time this week followed by trick or treating around the library.  We decided to change up the costumes a bit!  Mia created her costume by raiding our dress-up clothes and I was very impressed with how it all came together.  I dressed Naomi up as Minnie. : )  Notice how Naomi is always reading?!?  I think she loves books more than toys.

 I hope you have a fun, safe, and not so scary Halloween!

3 years ago I became a mommy.  This little pistol took 3 hours to push out and when she came out, she pooed all over me. She was born on her due date but waited until just a few minutes before midnight to make her grand appearance. It's kind of funny how both of my girls' births are indicative of their personalities.  Mia has always had the most amazing smile and the most intense temper tantrums.  She has the biggest heart and knows when she needs to be helpful.  She really is quite intuitive and will tell me that she is too shy to talk to someone.  She is also sensitive and really values quality time.  She takes time to warm up to people and shuts down in unfamiliar places, but once she is comfortable, she shines.  She thinks she is going to school tomorrow because she is 3.  When she does start school, she will be every teacher's dream because she loves to learn and grasps new concepts quickly.  I wish you could all know her like I know her, because even though she doesn't exactly make my job as a momma easy, she is pretty amazing!  This girl will move mountains.  She might drive me crazy in the process but I have no doubt in my mind that she will do amazing things.  

These photos were taken yesterday and I hope they bring you the same joy they bring me...

Happy 3rd Birthday Mia Kathleen!

Miss Mia turns 3 tomorrow but we celebrated her birthday with a Minnie party on Saturday. I really tried to keep the party budget friendly and we kept the guest list small so it wasn't so overwhelming for Mia.  

We turned the foyer into Mia's Bow-tique that included dress-up clothes, a basket full of bows, a basket with Minnie ears (for the guest's to keep) and a mirror.  I also set up an activity table that had Minnie coloring sheets and paper bows for the little ones to decorate with stickers and sequins.  I decorated the wall with paper plate Minnie silhouettes that I made by simply stapling small, black paper plates to a large, black paper plate and then taped on a bow that I made using pink ribbon. 

Link to printable paper bows

Link to Minnie coloring sheets

The dress-up clothes and bows were ours but I bought Minnie ears from the Disney store for each little girl (since I only needed 5, I decided to buy them instead of making them.)

Mia picked out the banner (even though I told her that I wanted to make one) so we personalized it by adding white circle stickers to the letters.  We also added white circle stickers to the pink cups (see below).

Streamers and balloons are a cost effective way to make a big impact.

I made Oreo Minnie cookies and packaged some for the adults to take home as party favors.

Link to directions

The link is directions to make Mickey cookies. I bought pink melting candy instead of red and put some of the melted candy in a zip-loc bag (make a very small hole in the corner to squeeze the melted candy through) to make the bows.  I did find it easier to attach the ears before dipping the Oreo in the chocolate.  Also, I could only get the ears to stay on the pink Berry Burst Oreos.  I don't know if they had more filling than the original Oreos, but the original Oreos kept breaking.

The beautiful birthday girl!!  I found her Minnie dress at Wal-mart.

Sweet, sweet, sisters!

I put Mickey shaped animal crackers (from Costco) in metal pails (that I bought at Target for Naomi's birthday) to have on the tables but the girls decided to carry them around for a pre-party snack.

This is the best picture I have of my best buddies, Emily and Hillary.  We kept the menu simple with kale salad, fruit and pizza.

Joe was on tattoo duty.  : )

I made the same cake that my mom made me when I turned 3 and I was very happy with how it turned out.  Mia was a little embarrassed when we sang, "happy birthday" but did blow out her candles after I offered some help.

 Mia with her best buddies (and her gift from Grandpa Jones that she was very excited about).

Naomi cuddling with her daddy.

 

The girls decorating the paper bows and playing dress-up.  

At the end of the night, the girls got a little crazy (check out Mia's new heels)!! 

Mia and her friends had so much fun at her party and I think the adults did as well. : )

We have been spending a ton of time outside...the weather is so perfect right now and I know it won't last.  When the girls and I were at the park last week, I couldn't help but look around and really take in the beauty of where we live.

This was after I was extremely frustrated since I was suppose to be running but Naomi was kicking, screaming, and trying to escape the jogging stroller. The second I took her out, she was beaming with joy.  (Little stinker!)

Our quiet suburban neighborhood is perfectly groomed with mountain views, nice people walking their dogs and a park that has never seen any graffiti (and if it has, it has been reported and painted over before anyone could notice)!

The girls' new thing is pushing their strollers (with 2 babies each) to the park.  I love that I'm home with them and that we can take the time to walk to the park and walk home when Mia has to go potty and then go back.

As you maybe noticed, I haven't been blogging a ton lately. It's easy to say that I've been busy and haven't had time, but really, it's because I'm trying to manage my time a little better. There's always time to do things that are important to you and right now, I'm trying to be a better mom, wife and Christan. I'm trying to prioritize reading my Bible, doing my daily chores (I have a weekly cleaning chart that I created to stay organized)before going on the computer.  Joe has been traveling a ton and the girls haven't been napping well so that means less time alone time for me and less time to blog.

Naomi no longer has her paci, which is making nap time a little difficult.  Even though I don't like my alone time to be constrained to a chair, I will always say yes to rocking my sleeping baby who isn't really a baby anymore.

I'm not complaining but simply explaining.  I've really been enjoying my time with my girls lately. Things are definitely getting easier as they are both getting older and more independent.  

The moments we are happily playing at the park or building Duplo towers or exploring the aquarium are so so so great. 

 But the moments I'm scrubbing poop off the floor and cleaning poop out of the bathtub all before 7:30am on a Saturday(true story) are not so fun.

What I'm trying to say in this very random post is that I'm very thankful that I get to be home with my girls even though some days can be mundane. Even though there isn't much of a difference between Monday and Saturday. But, when I look at all of these pictures and think of all the memories, the mundane is so worth it.

It is worth countless trips to the park, knowing the zoo schedule as if I work there, eating PB&J several times a week and hearing my girls ask for each other when the other is sleeping.

Yes, they are worth it.