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Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Chloe's 4th Birthday Interview


What is your name? "Chloe"

How old are you? "Four" (she also put up four fingers on her hand)

Where do you live? "In a house."

What is your favorite color? "A lot of colors."

What is your favorite animal? "Piggy. And Marlee. And also kitties, mommy."

What is your favorite food? "Broccoli"

What is your favorite toy? "Kitties"

What is your favorite song? "Twinkle little star"

What is your favorite book? "The very hungry caterpillar"

What is your favorite TV show? "Daniel Tiger. And Ariel."

Who is your best friend? "Vivian"

What makes your happy? "A heart. You. Marlee."

What makes you sad? "When Marlee's not here."

What do you like to do indoors? "Play, play, play, play, play...." (she said it over and over again to be goofy)

What do you like to do outdoors? "Play. Swing."

What do you want to be when you grow up? You guys....I kid you not, she pointed at me and said "you." And then I started to cry. That pretty much made my year!

Other things that Chloe currently loves: pickle juice, ponies, kitties, puppies, critters, snakes, playing in the dirt, bubble baths, hot tubs, mermaids, dolphins, swimming, dancing, forward rolls, candy, 'super juice,' graham crackers dunked in milk, peas, broccoli, swinging on her big-kid swing, funny animal videos, books, exploring and tickle attacks.

She is a total sweetie one second, and a feisty stinker the next. But we wouldn't trade her for the world. We love you, Chloe!



Previous birthday interviews:


Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Liam's 6th Birthday Interview



What is your name? "Liam"

How old are you? "Six"

Where do you live? "Sheboygan"

What is your favorite color? "Red. And reddish-pink."

What is your favorite animal? "Bears, giraffes and polar bears."

What is your favorite food? "Pizza. And spaghetti with meatballs, with extra sauce and extra cheese. And blueberries."

What is your favorite toy? "Legos and Magna-tiles"

What is your favorite song? "The moon song"

What is your favorite book? "The red and yellow books with different stories in them"

What is your favorite TV show? "P.J. Masks and Design Squad"

Who is your best friend? "Nolan, Ethan, Ogden and Mollie"

What makes your happy? "Balloons, parties, toys, books, pictures of mom and me"

What makes you sad? "When daddy is not home and away for work."

What do you like to do indoors? "Play with Legos and Magna-tiles"

What do you like to do outdoors? "Build a tree house, swing on the swing, go to the park, ride my bike"

What do you want to be when you grow up? "An astronaut"



Previous birthday interviews:



Saturday, January 6, 2018

Chloe's 3rd Birthday Party (9 months later!)

I have not posted on here for way too long! We celebrated little miss Chloe's 3rd birthday party last April, and here it is January 2018 already. I'm not sure how the time passed so quickly. So I thought I better share the photos before her 4th birthday comes along!

We had a family party at home. Chloe wanted a 'ballet' party, so that involved lots of tutus and pink stuff.

I let the kids help make the batter for Chloe's cake. Here they are being really, really goofy!

My attempt at making a tutu cake, with homemade butter cream frosting and all.
It turned out cute, but never again!


All decorated for the party...

Snacks...

For the kids: pinwheels and frosted cookies

The birthday girl!


Our sweetie...


Liam showing some balancing talent...

Cousin Hudson


Pink punch...

Lucky little girl...



Cousin Rylan

Cousin Bella



Say cheese...

Playing with cousins...

Dinner...





Showing how old she is...



Happy birthday to our sweet Chloe Elise!



Other birthday posts:

See Chloe's 1st Birthday Party here
See Chloe's 2nd Birthday Party here
See Chloe's 1st Birthday Interview here
See Chloe's 2nd Birthday Interview here

See Liam's 1st Birthday Party here
See Liam's 2nd Birthday Party here
See Liam's 3rd Birthday Party here
See Liam's 4th Birthday Party here
See Liam's 5th Birthday Party here

Monday, May 8, 2017

Chloe's 3rd Birthday Interview



In her own words....


What is your name? "Chloe"

How old are you? "Three, put down three fingers"

Where do you live? "By Sheboygan"

What is your favorite color? Red

What is your favorite animal? "A little sheep. Marlee, because Marlee's at home."

What is your favorite food? "Carrots. Olives. Strawberries"

She got up and left the room and said "I'm done mommy!"
And then she came back a 1/2 hour later... (feisty girl)

What is your favorite toy? "Babies"

What is your favorite song? "Trolls songs"

What is your favorite book? "Kitties"

What is your favorite TV show? "Ballerinas"

Who is your best friend? "Liam"

What make you happy? "A sandcastle at the beach. The water table. Putty. Babies."

What makes you sad? "Angry. Mickey Mouse."

What do you like to do indoors? "Play"

What do you like to do outdoors? "Play again."

What do you want to be when you grow up? "A picture." Then giggled.

Mom's notes: She LOVES: playing with play dough, being read to, going to the library and childrens' museum, hiking outdoors, swinging on swings, kicking balls, blowing bubbles and flying kites. She loves her dolls, Trolls, Barbies and ponies. Chloe is pretty shy around strangers and in public, but if she's comfortable in her surroundings or is with people she knows, she truly shines! She is one lovable and snugly little girl. And her imagination runs wild - often talking to herself, her dolls and imaginary friends.  She is already strong-willed, feisty and smart as heck. We love you Chloe Elise!


View Chloe's 1st Birthday Interview here
View Chloe's 2nd Birthday Interview here

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Things I'm Diggin' Part 3

Sharing some of my current favorite things...


My cousin-in-law gifted this to me shortly after Liam was born. Her friend owns the Wisconsin-born company and hand crafts each product in small batches with pure ingredients. I've had this oil for 5 years and it still hasn't run out! It's made with 100% pure rice bran oil, ylang ylang, geranium, lavender, grapefruit, clary sage, fennel, palmarosa and wild orange. It smells amazing and I use it whenever I feel STRESSED or want a little scent on my wrists.



Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a huge fan of local store Olivu 426. I've tried out MANY of their products and love a lot of them. But this one is my go-to when I just need a pick-me-up. If I'm feeling stressed or tired I spritz this on my face and neck and I get an instant refresh. And it has a pleasant rose water scent. 



I bought this one on a whim on my way to the checkout counter at Ulta one day. I'm a sucker for anything coconut or vanilla. And this one, when I smelled it, took me right to the beach! Some coconut scents smell fake to me, but this one smells just like fresh coconut-milk-out-of-a-coconut. It's not thick like a lotion, it just glides on more like water and leaves a light coconut scent and soft skin.



I'm convinced that EVERY mom, dad, grandparent, daycare teacher and caregiver should own one of these! I found it at a local kitchen store and have loved it since. You just pop the grape or olive or tomato into the hole, push the green stick down and BOOM you have a quartered grape, etc. It's pretty safe too - I let Liam use it with my observation. 



I bought these at a local kitchen store as well and love them. The package comes with four different sizes. I store them in a cupboard above our microwave for easy use. They lie flat and don't warp or curve or stain and they're dishwasher safe. Also important - they're BPA free and FDA approved.



Ceramic Berry Baskets
I'm a ceramic berry basket dork! I love them. Because they're PRETTY and I can display an ordinary thing (fruit) in a pretty way. I got mine as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and have since gifted them to other people. They can be hard to find at actual stores (although I have seen/bought them at Pier 1, Crate & Barrel and HomeGoods). Online is your best bet.



Fizzy Chill Red wine-in-a-can 
I love a glass of wine or champagne after the kids are in bed. But I do not want to open an entire bottle of champ or wine and let the rest go to waste (I'm not a fan of corking wine or champagne). So these work out perfectly for me! I found this Fizzy Chill Red, which I drink cold. It's a sweeter, fizzy wine that's a nice little treat at the end of the day.




Mini Korbel Brut champagne bottles
I pour myself one of these on occasion too. And no wasted champagne afterwards!




Calling all parents/grandparents: you need to let your kids try these. Completely mess-free coloring, other than a few water drips here and there. Perfect for the CAR, for restaurants, in the church pew, on an airplane. And it keeps them occupied for a while.




My kids love this thing. We've had it a couple of years and we play with it at least once a week. We got this one at Target. A great gift idea as well.




Love, love, love these. They get played with EVERY day in our house by both kids. They're expensive but some things in life are just worth it! My kids will spend a good hour at a time playing with these. The only downside is that they end up everywhere! 




A friend suggested that I use this after I told her I have thousands of emails in my inbox (eek). I signed up and it significantly helped lighten my inbox. This is FREE to use and really easy to sign up. If you're someone that gets lots of emails, I highly suggest you try this out!





I'm a granola snob. I'm picky about the texture and flavor. I've never eaten a granola like this one before and I LOVE it. Chloe loves it too! It's not giant, chunky, hard bites (not a fan) - instead it's these light, crunchy bean crisps that pair so good with the almonds and cranberries and seeds and yum-o maple syrup tossed in with it all. We like to eat it dry as a healthy snack. Heading to my cupboard now....




To see other things I love, click here:





Please let me know what YOUR current faves are in the Comments below!

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Liam's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Liam's fifth birthday for an entire week (lucky little boy). First with our extended family, then with our little family of four, and then with two of his friends.

For his family party we invited his grandparents, aunts/uncles and first cousins. Liam has been obsessed with the Trolls movie and Trolls movie soundtrack so it had to be a Trolls themed party!



Most of the trolls on this table were MINE FROM THE 90's!! A big thank you to my mom who saved them in her basement all these years. And now they're 'cool' again!


Sneaking in some snacks...

It was warm enough to play outside for a bit!

Our big FIVE year old!

Of course the kids had cake pops AND cake.

Liam got some cool gifts, including more Magna-Tiles to add to his collection!

The morning after the party. I love that all of the cousins are so close in age :)

___________________________
On the day of his birthday Matt took off of work and we did fun stuff all day:

Birthday breakfast (Liam's choice) of scrambled eggs, strawberries and fresh blueberry muffins.

He opened his gifts from us: a big set of colored pencils

And a Troll

We spent the morning at Possibility Playground.


The lake was beautiful.

That afternoon we walked to Vollrath Park to fly kites

A boy and his kite.



And ended the day with singing and CAKE!

_____________________________
A few days later Liam had a couple of friends over to celebrate one last time.
Party games and sweets!


Happy 5th birthday Liam. You are the coolest little boy we know, so full of love and energy. You amaze us each day with your stories and creativity. We love you so, so much - Mom-Dad-Chloe



Check out all of his prior birthday parties here: