happy weekend!

aunt talie pushing norah on the swings

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a weekend....NOT in south jersey! i never would have thought it could happen ;) since we aren't traveling this weekend, we plan on spending lots of time together and out doing fun things in our area. there are several fall harvest/music festivals going on both tomorrow and sunday and we're thinking of maybe hitting up a local flea market early tomorrow morning. have a great last weekend in september! (that was fast, huh?)

- speaking of flea markets, here are some great tips for flea market shopping.

- this disney trip (sans kids!) looks like a blast.

- i know a shirt of norah's i'll be doing this to.

- how to not raise a brat. love it!

- great list of autumn goals. what are yours?

- why mom guilt is good. interesting.

- what a family needs after a birth. wonderful suggestions!

- recreating a simpler time.

- LOVE this little dress!

- hehe. yep!

- gorgeous blog.

- and adorable new blog! swoon.

leaf collage

earlier this week we took a bucket over to the manasquan reservoir and collected some leaves. we got home and glued them on some paper. BOOM- fall activity/art project for a toddler!

bonus fun- peeling dried glue off our hands!

5 years younger than us...

we do not eat healthy 100% of the time and i'm ok with that. norah loves her fruit and veggies and she's fine eating whole grains and lean meats/cheeses. yes, she has cookies and ice cream sometimes. yes, i think THAT IS OK. she's a kid! but to survive solely on junk food and sweets? that is NOT.

check out this video:

this is SCARY.
even though we eat fairly healthy most of the time i know we can probably do better. but it's not just about diet, though that does play a part in it. 
a huge problem with this generation is the lack of movement. working in a preschool, it was overwhelmingly obvious which kids' parents brought them outside (and often) and which just sat them in front of a T.V. or put a video game controller in their hands for entertainment.
just like sweets, we do T.V. sometimes. usually for a little bit everyday, maybe 1/2 hour or so depending on the day. but not ALL day. and norah is too young for video games but it's another thing we will not be introducing to her for a long long time. i try to take her outside as often as possible. and if it's rainy or too hot/too cold, we go to the library. (who am i kidding, we go there almost everyday anyway ;) . we also frequent the park and on special trips we go to the zoo or the aquarium. as she gets older i look forward to enrolling her into soccer/swimming/gymnastics/etc.
and when i was a kid?? i was outside all day, every day. my mom kicked us out in the morning and we had to be home when the street lights came on (thanks mom!). i definitely watched T.V. too but it was way less important to us then. now as a school-aged child you might be ostracized for NOT having a nintendo DS or a giant flat screen T.V. at home (something like this happened at my PRESCHOOL). the focus is not on imagination and play, it's on who has the coolest "stuff."
the content on this website [designedtomove.org] is fantastic and i really hope you take the time to read through it. it really made me think, and i know it will make you do the same.
let's give our kids 5 more years!

norah says

tonight in the bath:

norah: (flopping on her stomach and splashing everywhere)
me: "norah, what are you doing?"
norah: "hippo mah-mee"
me: "you're a hippo?"
norah: "hippo swimmin' hippo"
me: "oh ok, fun!"
norah: "HIPPO"

early morning surf-watching

{{ wordless wednesday }}

linked with:

the paper mama

parenting by dummies

project alicia

jenni from the blog

bree: his honey and her mommy

live and love outloud

fresh mommy

5 minutes for mom 

sarah halstead

love bug

 seven clown circus

meet the sponsors!

a month ago i opened up a free sponsor swap. as a special thank you to those who participated, i'd like to take the time to introduce some of them to you! thank you again to all who participated in my swap. the option to swap is going to run until the end of the month so there is still time! FREE advertising! yea!

here we go...

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meet laura of lauryn green:

"Hi! On my blog I love to mix my work with things I like and daily life. I love analog photos, food, drawing, animation and animals. I like to draw clouds, dogs and interesting people. I have an etsy shop where I sell some of my custom designs. I dream of traveling around the world with my camera and seeing wild animals like whales, pandas, wolves and elephants."

blog

etsy

twitter

instagram: @lauryn_mika

thanks laura!

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meet whitney of today's cup of tea:

"I'm a stay at home mommy to two incredible little boys, and a wife to an amazing guy. I love to craft, thrift, cook, and bake. I love Jesus and live to serve him. My blog is just a little tid bit of my crazy mommy life. Stop by, and stay a while (: "

blog

thanks whitney!

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meet cassidy of my little eden:

"My Little Eden is my blog for sharing. For sharing photos, recipes, thoughts and memories. 

About Me - I couldn't go a day without music; I like baking; I'm a Photography student; I race dirtbikes; I try to make decisions to help keep our planet healthy;  I love Autumn colours, giraffes, fejoas, Taylor Swift, leather satchels and typewriters :)

In the future I hope to use this blog to promote and sell my Photography.

I hope you enjoy stopping by my blog :)"

blog

facebook

instagram: @Mylittleeden

thanks cassidy!

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meet kaitlyn of wifessionals:

"Hello! I'm Kaitlyn and I blog over at Wifessionals. I'm a 20-something newlywed who just got married this past June. I was blessed to find the love of my life, however I never expected to find myself in the life I now lead! My husband, Ryan is an officer in the Army. A week after our wedding, we packed everything up and moved to Arizona. Now, just 3 short months later, we are planning our next move.

We're heading to Colorado! This is a crazy, unpredictable life we now lead, but I love it. I love my blog and all of the amazing ladies it has allowed me to meet (:

If you stop by, you'll find everything from delicious recipes, the ups and downs of military life, DIY projects, the joys of being a newlywed and so much more. I'd love for you to come and say hello!"

blog

bloglovin

facebook

twitter

instagram

thanks kaitlyn!

makin' it monday // footprint mural or - A HUGE MESS!

on saturday we had a warm afternoon so i wanted to get outside and try a "footprint" mural. what started out as innocent feet stomping soon developed into full body mural painting.

needless to say, we did not make a footprint mural this week. we just made a MESS! however, the fun we had was well worth the paint in our hair and all over our arms and legs.

to make your own mess mural, you will need:
- kraft paper (or poster board, newspaper, construction paper, etc.)
- finger paint
- shallow tupperware containers
- toddler who likes to get messy

simply roll out the paper in the grass and squeeze some paint into the containers. hold your child's hands and help them step into the paint, then stomp all over the paper! also, hope that they don't love to smear paint all over their body like mine does ;)

here's how our afternoon went:

nice and innocent feet stomping

hands too? ok no big deal

uh oh

really, norah?

i guess we'll be needing a bath

wow

doing "home alone" // "look sky! paint!" - actual quote

high fives for daddy

and again

so much fun

:) :) :)

i guess she still didn't think she was messy enough...  ::side eye::

happy weekend!

snacks in mommy & daddy's bed

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friiiiiiiiday! and guess what? we're heading down to south jersey AGAIN on sunday. this time it is for an extra special occasion: my foster-brother-in-law (is that a thing? oh well) is getting baptized in the ocean! so we are going to be getting up bright and early sunday morning to make the drive down. i was baptized in the ocean 4 years ago this month and it was such a wonderful experience. i can't wait to be there for my brother! what are your plans this weekend? have a great time, and see you on monday.

- airstream road trip. so dreamy.

- lovely etsy shop.

- remember these cookies from last week? made them this morning - the best ever!

- loving these bonlook frames. i may or may not have entered more than one giveaway in order to get them ;) i also really like these and these.

- adorable DIY fox costume!

- yum.

- pumpkin pretzels. cute!

- loving everything in this big girl room.

- 7 things to do with pinecones. i really like the garland idea.

- i've expanded my ideas for norah's 2nd birthday party to include all animals, not just pandas. good thing i still have 3 months to narrow it down.

- great gift ideas! i'll have one of each, please.

- sweet little wooden brooch.

so long, summer

this morning was so very chilly. summer is finally gone but fall is welcomed with open arms. it is my most favorite time of the year. i think many would agree that they can't wait for sweater weather, crunching leaves, or pumpkin flavored coffee. however, there are some things about summer that i'll miss. like walking barefoot in the grass.. staying up late catching fireflies in the backyard.. sitting on the curb eating popsicles.. swimming at night..

i realized that the things i'll miss the most about summer are the things from my own childhood that i hold near to my heart. norah has allowed me to relive these experiences through her and with her and so it is the new memories we make together that i'm sad to move on from.

but now it is fall and we'll have new memories to make and share and next summer will return in less than a year. so we said goodbye to summer on one of the last 80 degree afternoons we'll likely have. i pitched a makeshift 'tent' and we blew bubbles in the grass, barefoot, in the backyard. here's to the memories we made this summer, and all the ones we'll make in the future.

** p.s. i thrifted that checkered sheet ages ago (when i was pregnant!) and i finally brought it out of hiding. isn't it wonderful? one day it will go on norah's big girl bed. :)

1st time with play-doh

{{ wordless wednesday }}

linked with:

the paper mama

parenting by dummies

project alicia

jenni from the blog

bree: his honey and her mommy

live and love outloud

fresh mommy

5 minutes for mom 

sarah halstead

love bug

 seven clown circus

maverick's 1st birthday

last friday was my nephew maverick's 1st birthday. i can't believe it - another year has gone too fast and already mavvy is ONE! there was a simple party with pizza, salad, cake, and ice cream plus all his favorite people in the world. a perfect birthday evening for such a wonderful boy. happy birthday little man. we love you so very much!

mesmerized by icing

nom nom nom

yummy

the sleepiest birthday boy i ever saw

too tired to care if big sister lucy steals some cake ;)