PUMPKIN CARVING

^^ Do these two have the same "Meh." face on or what?!?! She get it from her Daddy... ^^

As is made utterly clear once you watch the pumpkin carving video, I am undoubtedly the most excited and enthusiastic about the whole pumpkin situation. The whole Halloween situation really. But, I don't anticipate that that will remain so for much longer. I fully intend to pass on my enthusiasm for all things "childhood" to Adelaide, lest she turn out like her Daddy who faithfully remains middle of the road in the the best and worst situations. An admirable quality certainly. And that is one of many things that makes Jordan an amazing (albeit frustrating at times ;) husband and daddy. However, it is my belief that a child's life should be full of eagerness, zeal and spirited adventures, so that leaves me to make up for Jordan's meh-ness. Which I certainly try to do :)

Hope everyone has a spooky, sweet and very spirited (oooooooh <ghost sound ;) Halloween!

And now for a quick look at how our baby has grown up over the past 3 Halloweens:

BIG FAT LOVELY WASTE OF TIME

Shirt: Ross (super old), Jeans: H&M, Shoes: Target

Two hours. What's that worth to you? If you've read my blog at all, you know that's huge for me. I like to boo hoo about how little free time I have since becoming a mom. Well, do you know what I did last night for those magical two hours after Adelaide went to bed and before my eyes went on strike for the day? I watched video after video on Zoella's YouTube channel. Anyone else heard of her? If you're my age, I'd venture to guess not. Why do I always get sucked into things meant for those about a decade younger than me? Anyway, I just can't' help myself. I think I've also shared with you my voyeuristic tendencies and over enthusiastic, bordering on creepy interest in the lives' of others. Well, her videos (probably vlogs in general) cater perfectly to that. Plus, she's crazy good at make-up, making even me believe I could master it, pretty in a very nice and non-threatening way and British. Who doesn't love to listen to a nice British accent? I'm pretty sure I'm too old for it, but at least I have the common sense to be a little embarrassed to share this little obsession. 

Now I'm thinking I might like to try to do a vlog or two. Certainly no make-up tutorials or anything! Maybe a favorites along the lines of this?

P.S. If you wanna go gorge on Zoella videos like me, please do. I won't tell. I cannot be the only thirty-year-old who likes it. There's just no way!

WEEKEND WRAP UP

Did I tell y'all that I got Jordan tickets to see My Morning Jacket for our anniversary? Well, I did. And that's what we did on Saturday night. But not before hitting 5 Guys for dinner. Have you had 5 Guys? If not, go. Now. I'll wait. 

Good, wasn't it?

So anyway, the show was cool. My Morning Jacket is way more Jordan's thing, and he really enjoyed it. So, win. But there was a lot of jamming. Like on and on and on and on and on.... you get the picture. Not exactly my cup of tea. But they did play my favorite song and the light show was pretty gnarly. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching the dude in front of me trying to put the mack on the chick next to him for most of the show. (He bought her two drinks and did the hand on the lower back thing when he leaned in to yell in her ear, as you have to do at shows. Smooth guy. They did not leave together, in case you're wondering. I didn't even see so  much as a phone number exchange go down.)

Then, my Giants won on Sunday! And mom brain also snagged another one for the win column. Where was I at 3:00 on Sunday? Sitting on the couch gearing up for the game. Where was I supposed to be at 3:00 on Sunday? Sitting at Fuzzy's with my friends chatting and eating chips and queso, and maybe sipping a margarita. That was the plan. The plan that I was totally and completely excited about and looking forward to. The plan that ran and hid in the darkest recesses of my brain (along with everything else I ever knew!) until I was lying down to go to sleep last night when it suddenly jumped out and said "HELLOOOOOOO! Remember me?!?!" To which I answered, "Well, obviously not!" I really need to start writing ev.ry.thing. down.

COUCH POTATO

Adelaide fell asleep in the car this morning on the way to play date. Do know how long it's been since she's taken two naps in one day? Months. But the rain pounding away this morning lulled her to sleep at 9:30 for a good half an hour, meaning there is no guarantee that she will actually take a nap this afternoon. That's why right now, while Adelaide's in her crib maybe going to sleep, and it's rainy outside and starting to think about cooling off a bit, I just wanna lie on the couch with a blanket and watch Dawson's Creek. So that's what I'm going to go do now. 

DIY NO-SEW SHEEP COSTUME

   

 You dress up, and you get candy. That's how it works :)

I recently shared with yall the story of how we came to a final decision on the Halloween costume front. Now I thought I would share with you how to make said costume, because guys, it's ridiculously adorable and ridiculously easy. Unfortunately, I didn't make Adelaide's costume with the intention of sharing a how-to on the blog, so I didn't take pictures of the process. Fortunately, it was so easy to make that it really doesn't require much explanation. Also awesome about this costume, it'd be just as cute on a boy as a girl. BONUS!

Here's what you'll need:

White zip-up hoodie (I got this one on sale at JC Penny for 5 or 6 bucks)

Black long sleeve shirt

Black leggings/pants

Cotton balls, cotton balls and more cotton balls (I used almost 4 bags)

Black felt
Ear Template
Hot glue gun

Step 1: Cut the sleeves off of the hoodie

Step 2: Start glueing cotton balls on the outside. Keep going until you have covered the entire outside of the hoodie. I started at the edge of the hood that surrounds the face and worked my way down. Try to stagger the rows a bit as you go to keep it from looking "stripe-y".

Step 3: Cut out two ears from your black felt. You can use the template I have provided, or just wing it like I did :) You'll want them to be about 4-5 inches x 2.5-3 inches. Once you have the ears cut out, run one line of glue along the straight edge and pinch it in half to give the curved ear shape. When you're ready to glue them onto the hoodie, it's a good idea to try it on the costume wearer to get a good idea on the best placement.

Step 4: Throw on the black shirt and pants, add the hoodie on top and prepare to hear endless "Ooh's" and "Aww's" and "He/She looks soooooo cute!"

You can also check out this year's DIY Ghost Costume here!

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT OUR WEEKEND: THERE WAS A FUNNEL CAKE

Our weekend started off normal enough, then at some point on Saturday Adelaide developed a snotty nose and cough out of nowhere. But we pushed through with our plans and headed out to the Celina Balloon Festival, and I for one, had quite a good time *SPOILER ALERT: WE HAD A FUNNEL CAKE! :) Adelaide was a little more hot and cold. The carousel to start and end was a highlight for her. The funnel cake that Jordan waited in line for for thirty minutes was a highlight for me. Well worth the wait my friend. Oh, and did I mention the homemade root beer? Jordan estimates that we downed about 32 ounces each. That was fun. And made for a somewhat uncomfortable ride home. The midway this year left a lot to be desired. Were all the good rides at the state fair or something? The choices of rides could best be described as lame. But yeah, the funnel cake... that  made up for anything else that may have been lacking. And I guess we'd better invest in a magic invisible but super cozy and warm coat for Adelaide, because the fight to keep a sweater on her was epic. Okay, maybe not quite epic, but I can already see the struggle we're going to be enduring over the coming months when it comes to the sweater/coat/I'm-just-trying-to-keep-you-from-freezing thing.

   

Her dissatisfaction with the sweater situation was fairly apparent I would say.

There was some dancing...

 ... and people watching rudely staring. It's the way of children across the globe I believe.

   

^^ There it is, the funnel cake of my dreams. ^^

Initially the balloons firing up impressed even the toughest critic...

 But it didn't take long for the lure and mystery of camera lens to take over top billing. It's pretty clear who enjoyed this particular outing the most. Cause did I mention the funnel cake? ;) 

   

ANOTHER YEAR GONE BY

Tomorrow marks 7 years of marriage for this guy and I. They have been pretty great years, full of all kinds of adventures, fun and even some hard times (most of which have occurred in the last 2 years... ahem, Adelaide :). But when you're spending your years with the best person for you, it's all good and it's all worth it. Even the infant chapter ;)

Happy anniversary Jordy! I love you x1,000,000!

OUTFIT + HALLOWEEN COSTUMES + HAIR = TOTALLY UNRELATED AND WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT TODAY

 Outfit that you've probably seen before: Shirt: Old Navy, Skirt: F21, Sandals & Sunnies: Target

Last night, as I was lying in bed waiting for sleep to take over (which doesn't usually take long for me, lucky I know), I was composing a blog post in my head. It was going to be a good one. At least it was going to be about something specific, rather than just a ramble. Too bad I don't have the slightest idea what it was about. I guess that's the thing about the things you think before you go to sleep. If they put you to sleep, they must not be that important. Or interesting. Maybe we're all better off that I don't remember.

In Halloween news, the great costume debate is officially over at our house. Adelaide's costume preference started out as a kitty cat. Then upon seeing this costume, it quickly changed to robot where it stayed firmly at number one until I actually threw together a sample for her to try on, at which point she cocked her head to the side with a crooked negotiation type of smirk and said, "Maybe a kitty cat." So, kitty cat stuck for several days, though at one point I successfully convinced her to be a fox. It didn't take long for me to realize that finding a matching orange shirt and pants was going to be far more difficult that it should be, at which point we dropped that idea. So, we were going to stick with kitty cat, much to my displeasure. I mean a kitty cat is cute, sure. But let's face it, not the most original costume to grace Halloween night. So, as we were looking for a much easier to find black shirt and pants, Adelaide came across a fuzzy coat and decided she wanted to be a sheep (also one I had tried to convince her of previously, though she wasn't taking that bait at the time). I guess once she realized she would get to be covered in something soft and fuzzy, she was all in. That girl likes herself some good soft and fuzzy. And now that that costume is about 75% complete, she has no choice but to stick with it. How's that for a great "How we settled on this Halloween costume" story?

Anyone want a little sneak peak?

Also, how bad would it be if I put a boxed dye over the highlights I just had done by a professional and paid good money for? I don't know what I was thinking. While I've coveted many gorgeous heads of hair covered in highlights, I've never really felt like I'm personally much of a highlights person. And with the current length and bangs I just had trimmed up again, it's feeling a little more suburban soccer mom than I would typically go for. My indecisive bone is making really hard for me to decide what to do here...

IT'S OCTOBER, SO OBVIOUSLY WE WENT TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Pumpkins, farm animals, hay ride, free hot dog, what's not to love? Well, if you're Adelaide and it's anywhere between, say, 10 and noon, then plenty. She did the pumpkin patch in the way only she could: with a "Meh." attitude firmly in place. In an effort to take advantage of the few cool hours we were going to get over the weekend, we ended up at the pumpkin patch at precisely the time of day when Adelaide is least likely to smile and have a good time (unless it's play date, cause play date is always a good time). It's like her morning milk jolt wears off somewhere between 10 and noon and good luck to you if you want to take pictures of her smiling. She was also on a mission that day to keep her back to me as much as possible, I swear she must've been planning it for weeks in advance. But, lack of adorable photos aside, I think she had fun. I mean, she didn't hate it at least. Following are the photos that would lead you to believe we had the time of our life ;)

   

   

   

^^ It's just not a real, down-home feeding of the animals if there's not a good amount of cow saliva involved. vv

^^ Post animal feeding. She wasn't amused. ^^

^^ Hay bale maze! Can you tell from the supremely fake smile below what a blast she was having? vv

At some point in the last year it seems Adelaide went from baby to bonafide little girl. How and when did that happen?!?!