The Pinterest Complex

Pinterest is an interesting, helpful, depressing, overwhelming, fabulous invention. What a great way to bookmark things that peak your interest and stumble upon sites and blogs that would otherwise be dead to you. Overall, I think it's a great thing. But as you see all the amazing things everyone else is making for dinner, or crafts for their exquisite home, or flawless hair-dos that can be done effortlessly in 5 minutes, you can also tend to beat yourself up. However, as long as you try not to compare yourself to others and don't get down about things you aren't doing, it's a great pool of stuff to draw from. I saw this funny illustration:

Haha. I also saw another one about spending so many hours pinning new recipes that you're too tired to make dinner. :)

Anyway, I often forget which pins I try and which ones I like or don't like. Because even though something claims to be "the best ________", it's not always true. So I plan to use the blog as a record of new recipes, crafts, kid stuff, etc...

I will leave you with one more funny cartoon... I just love these!

Priceless sentiments

Parker will often come home with his preschool bucket filled with his art made specifically for friends or family. He has made crafts for Dad, for me, for Sadie, for Sadie's mom, for Austin... it's so cute. 

 And sometimes we'll get some art from Sadie too:)

 Hello, Poindexter:)

Hilarious quotes recently...

The boys were watching the Michigan football game at my folks house (what a heartbreaker), and  a player got hurt. As the athletic trainers were crowded around the player on the ground, Parker commented, "Look they are tying his shoe."

Last night I took Parker out with me to make a return to the store, but I told him it was not a toy store and he would not get a treat. He said, "Okay mom. The don't have toys. What do they have have?" "Clothes." "Clothes.... do they have toilet paper?" "No toilet paper." "Hmmm... just clothes? That's interesting."

While playing with his buddy at the park, he was racing past Austin and then he slowed down and said to his friend, "Hey Carter... this is my brother Austin. Pet him.... he's so cute!"

Parker is constantly complimenting my clothes or accessories. "I like your beautiful necklace." "I like your tiger-ly shirt." "Your hair looks very nice today."

Austin can now great Pete with, "Hi dada! How you?" He is constantly saying he loves us and he wants to "hug _______". He's all about the sweet hugs. He's also into music class lately. He's such an active participate and loves to chime in and dance. We were doing a free dance song where the parents are supposed to mimic the dance moves of their child. Austin breaks into a down dog with one leg lifted in the air, so there we are doing yoga poses together. Hilarious.

Halloween costume decisions...

For weeks Parker has told me he wants to be a dragon for Halloween. A) I don't like buying Halloween costumes. They are pricey and I just don't like spending money on something they will wear so briefly.  B)Dragons are hard to find that are not totally scary, except for the baby bunting ones.    C)I always wait until it's "too late", aka actually October, to begin the costume hunt. 

Anyway, we went to Costco and was determined to convince him that he loved one of those costumes. There was an awesome fire fighter, but nope... he saw this knight costume and fell in love. He loved the shine, he loved the cape, and he LOVED the sword. Oh boy. There was no going back. 

 Austin thought it was cool too how he raced around the house "saving everyone". So I found him a beanie and a spatula so he could feel a part of the mission.

 I knew the giraffe costume would be a little big on my little peanut boy, so I tried the horse costume from last year on him (3-6 month size). It zipped up fine, but then I put the hood on and he couldn't straighten his neck. haha.

 I asked for Austin to take one more pick and he said "nnoooooooooooo!"

A giraffe it is.

Wrestle mania!

The boys miss their dad when he's at work. What kid wouldn't when they know they have this to look forward to...

 So hilarious! As soon as they hear the lock on the door start to jostle in the evening and they know that daddy is home they both scurry to the door and say "Hi dada! Want to wrestle?" Pete lays down a quilt for the "wrestling mat" (so there are some boundaries and not a complete free for all around the house), and they go to town. Sometimes they allow him to change his clothes, but most of the time he is still dressed up. This is precious time for these guys.

Halloween bash

Parker's friend Sadie is all about Halloween and given that her birthday is in October, her birth was perfectly timed to have a Halloween-themed bday party. It was so cute. Her mom did such a great job putting it all together. Simple and kid friendly. They originally had a Halloween bounce house, but Kate expressed some concern that it might scare some of the kids. She said there was a ghost on it, but she added "but the ghost is smiling." Then later she texted me a picture of the bounce house with a caption that said, "The ghost is not smiling." haha. She switched it for a Mickey Mouse jumpy and the kids loved it. 

Austin was a trooper in the giraffe costume. It was a little warm that day, but he insisted on keeping the hood on. He had mixed feelings about the bounce house. Initially he was all for it, but then it got too crazy and it was hard to retrieve him. 

 Mostly he was obsessed with a little baby sleeping in a stroller. He loves all babies.

 Parker of course was a maniac in the bounce house. My little silver knight... so glad he agreed to leave the sword at home!

 Love how all the kids wore their costumes. Made for such a festive looking party. Lots of princesses and superheroes.

 Whenever people as Austin, "What's your name?", his response is always, "Parker!" He won't even attempt to say Austin.

 One of the highlights of the party was a scavenger hunt leading to their goodie bags.

 Pumpkin decorating... 30 little pumpkins... the fruits of their labor.

Happy birthday to Sadie. Was a sweet, spunky girl she is. She is a great friend for Parker and I'm so thankful to have such a good friend in her mom as well. Makes for some fun play dates!

Perfect morning at the patch

We made a last minute trip to the pumpkin patch last week and it was awesome. It just rained the day before and was still on the cool side. The cloud cover made it feel a little like Ann Arbor (wishful thinking... oh how I miss AA fall)! Sadie was having a birthday party that weekend involving pumpkin decorating, so they needed to collect 30 small pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and they kindly invited us along. Those kids were running wild through the field, looking for just the right size pumpkin. Can you imagine collecting 30 pumpkins and loading up a wheelbarrow? They were in heaven. Austin mostly liked the snacks Kate had, but he still thought it was cool too.

 We ended with a hay ride, that we joked that we specially chartered for Sadie's birthday, but really there was no one else at the patch:) Such a special day.

Cute...

Pete watches tv in this very same position... like father like son. 

 Austin loves to color. He is very serious about it.

Whenever Parker is writing and list making, he says he's doing research... no joke.