happy halloween

I was so nervous that their costumes this year were going to be a bust.. but I present to you..

PIÑATAS!

First we planned Batman and Robin. But as I spun my yarn in a previous post there were no patterns for a boy version. Which it's so awesome there were girl patterns of all the superheros, but that's not what Ken was looking for. Next, we decided they would be old fashioned trolls; mainly because I thought it'd be simple to find nude unitards for both girls. Wrong. I could only find them in kid sizes. 

So then what is a desperate and strung out costume artist left to do?

I did a line of Pinterest, and thus an idea was born.

While it boasted that this was going to be an easy thing to pull off they were wrong. Had I glued the entire thing, maybe. I still think it would've been a trial. But for the hope of longevity and Kennedy wanting to use it to play with afterwards I sewed as much as I could before busting out the fabric glue. Said fabric glue was busted out late Sunday night to make sure I had Ken's costume done before school on Monday morning for their Halloween parade.

Guys. I could have cried. I was beaming with excitement to have Ken try her costume on and be proud to take it to school with her. HAHAHAHAHA, it was SO tight from the stitching that it barely fit her and you could hear the threads tearing and popping trying to get it on and off.

Luckily her costume from two years ago still fit and we packed the fixings for Snow White (Dorothy from last year is in need of some repairs from last year, still). Since I wanted to go to her Halloween parade I kept my cool until after it was over to try and brainstorm how to fix her costume by 2pm. The time I had to get ready for work.

Meanwhile, la, la, la Halloween parade, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Thanks Ken, you really know how to work the camera. There were so many awesome costumes I was sad that she couldn't go as her piñata. I wanted to document them all but felt like a total creeper. But this one I just couldn't resist.

AWESOME, RIGHT? He's so stoked to be the solar system.

Back home with my plan in mind. I cut open the back of the shirt (with sweaty palms and a racing heart), sewed in extra coordinating pieces of fabric at each color strip and then glued on some velcro. I'm not sure why I didn't think to get the next size up. 

At the end of the day it worked out perfectly and trick-or-treating was a success. Well, aside from the fact that their hats kept falling off and they really only wore them for pictures before we set sail.

^^ And can we please admire granny for a second? Mouse in da house!

Kennedy of course wanted to sprint from house to house and Piper wanted to linger for more than one piece of candy. She'd get all set and turn to walk back down the driveways but as soon as another crowd would come up she'd turn around and follow them hoping for another turn. She was extremely polite and yelled thank you multiple times at each house. How I wish I had documented more and maybe gotten a video but I was too wrapped up in the excitement of it all.

Trick-or-treat, smell my feet.

Leia

kindergarten fun facts: week 8

(^^ A few home improvement projects have been underway. More details later.)

Spanish has hit an all time high this week and she's really getting the hang of it. Constantly practicing at home (luckily I took some Spanish in high school and can verify some things, haha), and consistently asking us if she wants to know the new words she's learned.

Counting is what she has been working on the most but sometimes she goes WAY TOO FAST and flubs it all up.

Kennedy: "Do you want to hear me count in Spanish?"

Me: "I sure do!"

K: "Uno, dos, siete, ocho, nueve."

Three, four, five, six and ten get cut from the mix almost every time. It's a work in progress but it's amazing to me! I know when I was five the only language I could speak was English.



Come on, vamanos. Everybody let's go!
Leia

wedding bells on carolina beach

Shortly after her bachelorette weekend in Chicago, my sweet cousin asked me to be in her wedding. Let me tell you.. I was so nervous that I could have puked I was when I realized the turn around time for getting my dress ordered and altered was barely three weeks. When I talked to Amanda on the phone she calmed me right down and assured me everything would be just fine and work out perfectly. Yeah, I know! The bride was less nervous than me! But hey, one of the many reasons that make her great!

But to really show you the time line:

October 5: ordered dress

October 13: my dress came in and put in for alterations

October 20: my dress is ready to be picked up

October 21: we hit the road for the wedding

YAH. Major stress sweating going on.

Well, fast forward through our road trip and Kennedy's birthday to wedding day!

The weather: perfect.

The bride: beautiful.

The dress: amazing.

The aisle: jealousy seeping in.

The ceremony: tear jerking.

The reception: fried chicken left a grease stain on my dress.

Getting ready with everyone was so fun (though everyone was probably annoyed they had to take care of my hair and makeup since I am totally untrained). Mainly we were trying to patiently await the moment we got to see Amanda all dolled up and beauteous in her dress.

 And now for the dress reveal.

JUST. GORGEOUS.

And then the ceremony followed. Small and intimate and I don't think there was a dry eye in the house on the beach. It was everything you would imagine a beach wedding to be. Since I was part of the happenings I didn't document a ton and I am SO excited to see her photos when she gets them back.

Vroom, vroom off to the reception. These two did it right. Southern fixings on the buffet and casual proceedings for the rest of the night.

^^ Mandatory basic pic.

 ^^ Just look at them!

The moment I just absolutely lost it was during the father/daughter, mother/son dances. In 2011 Amanda's dad passed away suddenly, so for the wedding, his shoes were being filled by her older brother Mark. The ceremony was OK because I at least had the rehearsal to get some of the chills away. But the dance, my heart was aching. Definitely one of the main reasons I hustled ass to get everything together when she asked me. Family. 

Cheers to Mr & Mrs Smith!

Leia

sisters + the atlantic - day two: a photo series

The morning of Kennedy's birthday we were just waking up in Carolina Beach and she requested a trip to the ocean. Being early in the morning the temperature wasn't even 70° yet, but what does Kennedy want? Her swimsuit on. I tried talking her out of it but since it was her birthday I let her do as she pleased. I had her put overalls on top and we headed out. I didn't bother with Piper's swimsuit because I thought there was NO WAY these chicks were gonna get wet! Especially after Hurricane Matthew I assumed the water was going to be like ice.

Well, lo and behold Kennedy immediately stripped off her overalls. I had to plead with her to leave her shirt on for a little while, but shortly after we hit the shoreline that was stripped off as well and she was playing happily in the water. The water was warmer than I imagined it would be but it was definitely not a temperature I would associate a desire to swim with.

^^ Glad I checked my camera after the first few pics..

Piper was definitely hesitant at first and she had a horrible case of vertigo. Her body swayed with the tide coming in and out and one particular medium sized wave knocked her right into the water. After the initial shock she realized it was where she was meant to be and she wasn't going anywhere. Yeap, fully clothed because I thought I was being smart.

Oh and like a bad planner I didn't bring a full sized towel because yet again, I didn't think anything but our feet would get wet! Needless to say it was a cold and windy speed walk back to the condo filled with wonderful weedy barbs to the feet in the rush to not put any shoes/socks on. Luckily I got the brunt of it all and Ken was only poked once.

Then it was time for me to head off to the rehearsal dinner for a few hours and then to celebrate a birthday dinner with my eldest. She requested shrimp and macaroni and cheese. You better believe we made those dreams comes true!



Thar she blows!
Leia

sisters + the atlantic - day one: a photo series

Last weekend the girls, my mom and I hopped in a rental car to North Carolina. Initially to attend a wedding and then to be in a wedding! 

After a very long and tiring car ride (which the girls just did FABULOUS on - no sarcasm) we arrived to our Air BNB and hit the beach.

^^ Girl, I get it.

It was chilly and windy and the sun was just starting to set. We explored for a little while and headed back when the sky turned dark and sketchy.

^^ Uh, sand? WTF is this?

 We headed back to the condo to unpack and have some dinner and we called it a night. My mom and I were going on a 36-48 hour day with little to no sleep in an attempt to keep the girls on a solid schedule. I'd say it was worth it.



 Yay, vaca!
Leia

kennedy grace turns five

The girl that made me a momma turns five. It surely has been a crazy road with this one. From the first newborn moments to the sarcastic statements that make me want to rip my hair out I would change almost nothing about the road thus far.

She's sassy and smart, hilarious, outgoing (for the most part), a scholar, a reader and an artist. She's mean a bitter, too but luckily that's just a tiny piece that makes up the wonderful kid she is. Being a big sister is very important to her and her lil' sister is the light of her life most of the time; always watching, always wanting to play and do things with her, always loving. It's amazing.

Her biggest feat this year has been early kindergarten. We've only had a few minor hiccups but she's excelling in all areas and I'm just so proud of her and who she is as a little human.

There are many more words and pictures I could share to commemorate this moment but hey, they are reserved for my sweet girl to hear herself.



Happy Birthday, Ken!
Leia

kindergarten fun facts: week 7

Did you learn anything cool in school this week?

Kennedy: "Yeah, but I just really want you to let me buy hot lunch."

I'm really not sure what the draw is for hot lunch at the cafeteria. A lot of kids in her class must get lunch at school and she wants to join in, or maybe it's because it's a new thing and she wants to try it out. And actually the school's lunch menu doesn't seem horrible, so that's a plus.

So, I set her up to have some hot lunch every now and again. Day one was nachos.

Too cool for school.

Leia