Category Archives: family

cuteness + confetti

confetti-heart-toothpicks

In an effort to do something fun yet budget friendly with the kids for Valentine’s Day, we kept this craft very simple. The kids loved it – a colorful confetti mess combined with cupcakes – what’s not to love?! Using all of the empty Bonne Maman jars that we’ve been saving, I divided all the colors of confetti, and let Marie + Henry each make their own custom blend. They loved exploring the different textures, and making a mess – it was very beautiful though, so I didn’t mind.

mariecrafting

confetti-craft

Crafting is so enjoyable at this age (two and a half) – they are hungry for it, everyday. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, but I earn bonus points for anything messy. After applying glue to heart toothpicks, the kids dipped and stirred them into their jars of confetti, creating fun cupcake toppers. Click through to see more cuteness!

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date nights

movie-date-night

 

I’m sure this looks familiar, especially if you’re a parent. We have been terribly guilty of not making time for date nights in the past two years, and we’re making it a priority this year (and all years going forward, for that matter). We’ve been married for five, together for seven…and ok, maybe “the itch” is a real thing. As parents of twins, each year gets a bit easier as far as making time for ourselves and our marriage, but it’s still very difficult. It is a topic I’ve avoided discussing here, until now. The health + wellness of my relationship is of utmost importance to me, and I feel that journaling it here (as transparently as possible), will be cathartic + nurturing. Our goal is (at least) one date night a month, even if it’s a creative at-home date, like this one. We’ll be documenting them here in an effort to stay on track, and (hopefully) inspire others. Keeping romance alive in any long-term relationship takes work – what have you done to cultivate yours? Please share!

christmas cookies

twinsbaking

 

Our Christmas day was a blur of happiness (as it should be), but many of my favorite moments happened while we were baking as a family. Having never baked together before, I knew the kids would love it, and it was the perfect opportunity for the kids to don aprons for the first time. Little people, wearing little aprons, and using little baking tools? Yes please!

 

stirring

henrysmiling

flourmess

 

That smile on Henry melts my mommy heart, and he flashed that quite a few times during our baking session. He loves to be in the kitchen, just like his daddy. This was our first time baking, and he really loved every minute of it. He was especially fascinated with the mixer and how it functioned of course, but was focused + interested the entire time (which is saying a lot for a two-year-old). Marie is my mini-me, and true to form, enjoyed the cutting + decorating the most.

 

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at the tree farm

treefarmwalk

mariedancing

 

We had a lot of fun on Friday at our local tree farm! With a fresh dusting of snow on the ground, we frolicked + danced our way through the fields, choosing our favorites along the way. I just love the miniature trees, as they’re the perfect size for Marie + Henry! We made time for a snowball fight before leaving with our fresh greenery…it was a perfect day.

 

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witchery + wizardry

ballerina-witch-toddler-costume

witchandwizardsplit

toddler-wizard-costume

ahalloweenkiss

 

The (ballerina) witch + (skeleton) wizard would like to wish you a Happy Halloween! When we started talking to them about the holiday months ago, we showed them costume ideas in catalogs + online, to see what they reacted to, if anything. Marie continuously responded to anything ballerina/tutu related, as well as anything witchy. So…a ballerina witch was born! I’m just gonna take a moment to give myself props for making the tutu…WOOT! Henry, well…he didn’t have much interest in costumes to be honest (insert male cliche here), so I just found a pair of skeleton pajamas and put them on. I got a positive response, so I thought that was a done deal. However, while visiting our local toy shop a few days ago, I spotted the wizard cape, and had a lightbulb moment. A witch + a wizard – YES. Needless to say, it took all week and a few cookies to coax him into wearing it, but he’s really into it now, whew. Sidenote – I think he also resembles a (super adorable + sparkly) grim reaper, or a star wars sith lord. I’m so ridiculously excited for our first family trick-or-treating experience (more than I expected). Wishing you all a very fun, spooky, sugary, memorable…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!