Y3W-In the Bag

You all know her. She's the mom who always has everything in her bag. All the right toys, snacks, drinks, everything. You wonder to yourself "what else is she gonna pull out of there?!" You're so intruiged, curious as to what's in there. Wish you could swap a few things.

Well Mommas, come on in. Open up your bags, show me your perfect happy kid shutter uppers.

First, here is our diaper bag. Do I still call it that even though I have a kid & a toddler? It still holds diapers, so I suppose so. Moving on...

From Kohls. I have this Vera bag, but since both girls aren't needing everything but the kitchen sink in their bag anymore, I downsized. This bag holds...

1. Biggest must have.

2. Brookie's Olivia that Emmy loves to chew on.

3. Diaps.

4. Bribery.

5. Brookie's Leap Pad. Better than TV in a restaurant.

6. The good stuff for tushies.

7. Owie bundle, complete with princess bandaids.

8. Spongebob mac&cheese. May not be better than McDonalds on the run, but it's cheaper.

9. Mada's Place snack bags. Multigrain cheerios go in the owls, goldfish in the pups.

10. Emmy's favorite, vanilla banana custard.

11. Refer to number 1.

and usually more. Sippys & now sweaters. Normally I don't carry my purse when I'm out with the girls, so all my purse shlop gets included. And, of course, my phone & dslr.

But when I'm kid free...

I carry this guy around. From Kohls. It's a good everyday bag, but I'm in dire need of a new one. I got this one in May & I can't believe I haven't made the switch yet. Typically I'm a love em and leave em in 2 months purse whore kinda gal, much to Dustin's pleasure.

Here we have...

1. They cancel each other out, right? Whole grain crackers & pez.

2. Why on God's green earth do I carry 3 pairs of sunglasses around you may ask. Beats me. But I do.

3. I lose lids to things all the time. Travel size hair spray & good ol' Victorias Secret PINK Bold & Playful perfume.

4. Can't leave your driveway without them.

5. Hair tie & bobby pins for Barbados Monica hair occurences.

6. Wallet from Target. Love.

7. A ziplock full of Splenda. Hey, not everyone offers it. At least it isn't a bottle of ranch dressing.

8. To tame the mane.

9. Free samples of Tylenol that may already be expired.

10. Chapstick & the only lipgloss I will ever use. Victoria Secrets Beauty Rush in I Want Candy. Just enough stickiness & perfect color.

11. Ziplock o' wipes.

12. Pens & paper, also doubles as a sanity saver with Brookie.

13. Gotta have spearmint mints.

14. My favorite brush from Bare Minerals.

15. And my favorite powder by Physician's Formula.

So there ya have it. Although the girls typically add more throughout the day, these are our basics. What's in your bag? 4 pair of sunglasses?? Don't try to outcrazy me.

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Waking up on a Sunday morning at 630am when you don't have children at home? Sucks.

Let me start off by saying I'm not a big NFL fan. OSU football? Love. But I just never got into the pro stuff. Until I was forced to by marriage. And with said marriage came rooting for a team that's probably best known for Ray Finkle. A few months ago Dustin came home so excited. His friend at work got tickets to the Browns/Dolphins game. I had just assumed it would be those 2 going, but no. I had a ticket too. He was so excited about taking me with him to see his first live Dolphins game that I couldn't not go. He even bought me a glitter Dolphins shirt on ebay to wear. How could I say no?

So when my alarm went off Sunday morning & I wanted to junkpunch him for agreeing to tailgate with friends in Cleveland a few hours before the 1p game, I tried to remember that this was his day. And that alcohol would be involved so maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be so bad.  

And it wasn't. The haggling was alright at first. Just honest fun. We were on their turf, so we took it with smiles.

And even though we were 1 row from the very top & surrounded by Browns fans, it still was okay.

Then the 4th quarter happened. The Dolphins, who had been winning the entire game, blew it with 2 minutes to go. They lost by 1 point.

The haggling wasn't good fun on the walk back to the car. It started to pour down rain. Traffic sucked.  I had a ginormous headache from all the barking in the stadium. And I missed the girls, who were with the inlaws since Saturday night, like whoa.

But it was for my hubs. He has enough days of tutus, gymnastics, recitals, proms, homecomings, and quick trips to the store for tampons in his future. He deserved this dose of testosterone. I don't think he appreciated me telling him "laces out" after they lost though. Oops.

Things That Make Me Go Ew.

We all have them. Things we "can't" do. Things that make us shudder, gag, or give us crazy anxiety. Me? I can't eat the ends of food---pickles, sausage, hot dogs, especially bananas. I can't stand it when Dustin pushes down on my fingernail tips. And I can't just crack one knuckle. It's all or nothing.

I also can't bring myself to ever come in contact with this.

I. Just. Can't.

Everyone raves about this thing. Calls it a sinus' dream come true. I call it a death wish. I can't think straight pulling onto a 4 lane highway...how could I ever manage to correctly tilt my head & pour water into my nose? In-To. Wasn't this no no number 1 in swimming lessons?

Can you just imagine the embarassment? You cautiously try the neti pot so you can breathe out of both nostrils simultaneously. You practice the tilt and pour (not to be confused with the bend and snap.) And then once you get brave enough to actually go through with it, you panic mid pour. Forget to breathe out of your mouth. You drown in your own snot. "Here lies Ashley...death by Neti Pot." What a humiliating way to go.

Another I just "can't" do. Watch another second of this.

My mom bought this from a garage sale & it was the worst twenty five cents she's ever spent. What these genius producers did was tape a couple cute kids in Village People inspired outfits in front of a green screen, crop out their mouths, replace with adult mouths, and then hire desperate out of work adults to sing in their best fake kid voice. And then expect buyers ::ahem Mom:: to be like "Ohhhh neat! It's like the kid is singing! Genius. Comedy gold!"

It's not. It's scary as shit. It's unnatural. It's uncomfortable. And my kids adore it. Brookie thinks the singing babies are so funny. Emily claps along to their songs. My babies! They're getting sucked in.

Now these kids? Adorable. Funny. Unwanting of your soul.


These kids? Creepy.
If you make it past 1 minute 46 seconds & you still haven't soiled yourself, mad props.

These are just a few of many. I also shudder at the sight of meat with a shelf life, sauerkraut, and a 3 year old without a nap.

Steppin' Out 9.24.11

::deets::

Sweater--Lauren Conrad @ Kohls

Tank--F21

Jeans--Old Navy

Boots--Target

Necklace--F21

Earrings--Apt 9 @ Kohls

::and on the babe::

Sweater--Gymboree

Tunic--Old Navy

Jeggings--Jumping Bean @ Kohls

Boots--handmedowns from Sis.

So, as you can probably already tell, we did some apple picking yesterday. Every year we go to a nearby pumpkin patch, but we've never been to an apple orchard. Then my friend Haley posted some gorgeous pictures of her & her kiddos picking apples. Love. A quick google search showed an orchard only 30 minutes away, and so we planned a little day trip. Best of all? We came on the day of applefest, so there was alot of extra activites for the kids to take part in. Liiiiiike...

Pet some aminals--Brookie says aminals so much that the other day I honestly thought outloud "Whoa, wait a sec....Is it aminals or animals?"

Act like a worm....

or for Momma, show off a lil cleaves.

Ride a horse named Lily.

Search for the perfect pumpkin...

to paint.

Make silly faces at Momma (nothing to do with applefest, but still. This kid is the bee knees.)

And finally, do some apple picking!

Oh...and sneak in a piece of pie. Oh my gaga it was delish.

Have you been to any apple orchards this year? What are you making with your collectings?

Me? On my to do yummyness list is apple pie, applesauce, & apple cobbler. ::drool::

Squeaky Clean Sillies

Clean kids equal happy kids? Not in this house. Clean kids equal hyper kids. I thought baths were supposed to be a calming experience for a child. A part of a bedtime routine where they become serene & grow sleepy?

Naw. Not these lil rickets.

I've never seen a child physically do laps around a tub like Emily. No matter how many times I tell her to sit on her tush, she stands right back up. I've also never seen a child graffiti up the walls of a shower like Brooklyn. Listen up Crayola! Your tub markers? Not easily removable. God forbid I let the child use the red marker, our tub will look like a crime scene. The extra money spent on Johnson & Johnson soothing bedtime body wash? Purpose-less. Well, not really. It does smell pretty darn good, but has no calming affect on my bathtime heathens.

After the kiddos get all squeaky clean, we always head into Brookie's room, where both closets are, to get them dressed for bed. Why is such a simple task so hard to kids to comprehend? Pat dry. Apply diaper/undies. Then jammies. Attempt to brush tangled mane.

Again, not these lil rickets (who I think have been slipped an upper or pixie stick.)

Ear piercing sqwaking & mind numbing loudness aside, they do look pretty darn cute all squeaky clean & playful.

Quick side note here--I wanted to show y'all The Stauffer Shenanigans new ad space and PR info page. I'm pretty excited about what this could all lead to--BlogHer12? We'll see! It's definately a possibility. Email me, yo.

Cinema Fun

Last night Brookie had another 'first'. I found The Lion King on Ebay a couple years ago & it's been one of her favorite movies. So when I saw it was going to be in theaters in 3D, I knew she would love it. Last night while Dustin had daddy/daughter time with Emily, my mom & I took Brooklyn to the theater. She was so excited all day, it was all she talked about. Even picked out her own outfit :)

I loved seeing her with a Coke slushie (yes, her first pop. Kids gotta live a little), box of popcorn, and 3D glasses on. Her tushie is so tiny, the seat wouldn't completely sit for her, so she spent alot of time on mine & MawMaw's lap. We made it to when Simba & Nala romantically frolic in the jungle when Brookie started getting antsy. It was 7pm, she was getting hungry. And she had a giftcard to Toys R Us from her birthday that was burning a hole in her pocket. Panera Bread sandwich, 3 Cuckoo Birds, 1 stuffed Olivia, and a dog that does somersaults later, we were home. She couldn't wait to tell Daddy about her date night with MawMaw & Mommy. I can't wait until Emily is older & can join in on the fun.

How 'bout a vote for watching a movie in theaters with your daughter & having flashbacks of going with your mom to see the exact same movie when it originally came out in the 90's? Wow.

Accent Game Vlog

My e-friend Kristen at Our Growing Garden had this game on her blog, so the girls & I thought we'd join. This was my very first vlog & lemme tell you---it's nerve wracking! Even though I write honestly & post pictures, I still feel like I'm "hiding" behind the laptop screen. And now here I am in front of it. But we really enjoyed it, and maybe if you guys do too, we'll vlog more often. Brooklyn defintely had too much fun with this. We had a good 5 out takes, one of which she has her hand down my top & says to the webcam "I've got Mommys nipple" lol Yep.

Anywho, here is the accent game vlog. Pardon my million Umm's & my multitasking with both girls.  Basically it's just me saying a bunch of words & answering questions. Then everyone can see how different their answers are & poke fun of each others accent, or in my case, lack there of (at least I think so.) And I'm sorry for the delay, I know it's looking like a shoddy Japanese anime video. Trying to fix it, but not much luck so far--argh.  

 Say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:

•What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

•What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

•What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

•What do you call gym shoes?

•What do you say to address a group of people?

•What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

•What do you call your grandparents?

•What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

•What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

•What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

If you play too, leave me a comment with your post url so I can poke fun at you too ;)

It May Not be October yet...

 But I have a girl who I think loves Halloween as much as Christmas. She asks us daily to go to Wal Mart just to roam up & down the aisles to see all the "spooooky" things. She's begging to watch Spooky Buddies everyday. She keeps a copy of the Oriental Trading Halloween catalog in her toybox. And she's been talking about her costume for a few weeks now. She's had some pretty cute costumes in the past (my favorite being the flower there)...

and here is chunker pie Emmy Kay on her first Halloween.

But considering Brooklyn is 3 and is starting to get an attitude opinion about everything, I know this is the last year I'll have any kind of input when it comes to her costume. {Except for the day that she tells me she's going as a mouse and it's really just lingerie with a tail pinned on the ass and a headband with felt ears. Awww healll to the naw .} I'm still wanting her to be a cuddly cute animal or fruit or giant pumpkin. I still get a say, right? Right?!?

I'd love to dress the girls up in matchy themed costumes, but I'm drawing a blank. Me? Drawing a blank with a theme?! Blasphemy.

What about your youngin's? Do they have their costumes yet? Or how about you Mommas? Dressing up this year?

Dustin & I are total lamesauces & haven't dressed up since 2007.

Pretty sure this flapper costume is rolled in ball in an old Aeropostle bag in the attic. And it reeks of amaretto & Hardees. I definately needs a new costume. Any of these will do, I think.

Steppin' Out 9.18.11

::deets::

Shirt--Old Navy

Skirt--Old Navy--4 bucks. with pockets. POCKETS! best skirt invention ever.

Cardigan--an oldie. from Kohls...I think.

Belt--an oldie. from American Eagle.

Shoes--Candies @ Kohls

Earrings--Kohls

Do you ever get your hair exactly how you want it...and then it bugs the bejebus outta you & gives you a headache? So after 20 minutes, you tear down the hair that took you over an hour to fix? Yeah, well, that was me today. Down & dull, but throb free.

Soooo it's been a pretty hectic weekend. Not that we had too much to do (birthday party Saturday, bridal shower Sunday), but the girls....oh the girls. Brooklyn has definately got a case of the terrible three's {hello sassyface} and well, Emily just likes to sqwak for no reason. Did I saw sqwak? I meant scream.bloody.murder. For simple reasons like Brooklyn walking past her. Today was definately a scream-in-a-pillow kind of day. A day where at 3pm, I'm praying for 8pm. And now that they're asleep, so quiet & beautiful, all I wanna do is hold them and play with them....

 and then I remember. Good God man, let the beasts rest. ;)

Autumn Crafting

I'm not sure what it is about fall, but this is the time of year Brookie loves to do crafts the most. Girl must be taking after her Momma's love all things fall (the colors alone make me giddy) & that's alright with me! Last week we did our first craft.

Hand print fall tree.

What you'll need is:

*Red, orange, yellow, & brown paint--we used finger paint and while it took longer to dry, it worked just fine.

*A paintbrush.

*A paper plate.

*White poster board.

*A hand (I think everyone has a couple of those hangin' around.)

Paint a brown tree stump.

Put dollops of orange, red, & yellow paint on paper plate. Swirl them around a bit. Have your child lay their hand right on the paint. Stamp the "leaves" of the tree with fingers upward and outward. Do as many as you'd like, until the tree is nice & full.

Then dip your finger in the brown paint & make squiggly lines for tree branches.

--You can also use your fingers and make fallen leaves on the ground.--

Voila!

Not too bad for a 3 year old, eh? Perhaps a bit too much red, but oh well. I love this. And she was SO proud of her work.

Up next? Kitty cat pumpkins. Happy fall!