Kids Friendly Design with Their Tastes in Mind

We are MOVING, again!  We closed on our house today, yay!

In order to get the kids involved and help them look forward to the change, I cut out a bunch of random things from magazines including Pottery Barn Kids and let them create a collage that represented what they would like for the new house and/or their room.  It was very interesting to see what they chose to put in their house.

Jonah's 

Elisabeth's

Also, I cut out pages from the Pottery Barn Kids magazine and asked them what they like, if anything about the rooms in the pages.  Here was the result:

Elisabeth likes the different size pillows

She likes the letters on the pillow and the lamp!

Here she keyed in on the doll on the bed and the bird theme

 She likes the fact that there is a bed for her and one for Jonah

Jonah likes the airplane on the wall and the lantern in the window

 He likes all the stuff on the wall!

He likes the Spiderman theme and the bunkbeds

Not sure how any of this will help me when I get around to decorating their room.  At this point, we think they will continue to share a room so that is a design challenge in and of itself.  I may need to enlist some of my more design oriented friends for some pointers on this one.  Spiderman and rose covered lampshades kind of clash in my mind!

In the meantime, if anyone sees a good deal on bunk beds with a natural wood finish let me know.  That's about the only thing I'm pretty sure about at this point.

Gotta go PACK!

King of the Road?

Jonah's latest creation - a motorcycle pulling a trailer. Yes, that is a spiderman trick or treat basket on his head. I'm just glad he knows to where a helmet when he rides a motorcycle!

Twinkle Toes II

These clips are from her last class.  You can see her improvement on the balance beam and I love her enthusiasm.  She loves to run.

Twinkle Toes

It's been a few weeks since Elisabeth's dance classes ended.  She improved over the four classes and really enjoyed it.





Jonah went with me to one of her classes and kept himself entertained with games on an iPod.

Pinky Toes: Another First

It's hard to tell from the subdued color, but I painted Elisabeth's
toes for the first time today. She loved it!

Bargain Hunting Momma

I burned out the motor in my 10 year old blender over the weekend - don't ask. Impatience related....  I was bummed that I wouldn't be enjoying any more smoothies until I got a replacement. Then, I remembered that I saw a blender on the clearance rack at Target, but I couldn't remember the price. Today, I went for some other items and checked the end cap for clearanced blenders and lo - there it was, still.  I looked at the price tag - it said $29.99 originally $39.99.  That was a bit more than I was willing to pay - I was hoping for a $15 deal. Knowing that sometimes the price is lower than the actual sticker, I stuck it in my cart and took it to a price scanner. When I scanned it, the price said $9.98. What?! Hello!  That's what I'm talking about!

I just googled the make and model and found this. At Amazon it's selling for 39.99 and Macy's has it for 49.99. Honestly, I rarely if ever pay full price for anything and 75% off retail is my zone.

Okay, so I know this doesn't seem very mom related. However, I have found so many good deals on kid related items and clothes. I love finding inexpensive clothes for my kids - especially when I know it won't last long.

I am very fortunate to live in a area that hosts a dozen or more children's consignment sales throughout the year.  I try to only go the last day when things are marked 50% off. Well, I went to one in February and found these great Merrell girls shoes for Elisabeth. They were in very good condition almost like new and I only paid $1.50 for them. When I searched on the internet I found that they retail for $35. That is like a 95% savings.

I LOVE a good deal!

My Little Cheerleader

During all of Jonah's gymnastics classes, Elisabeth and I sat next to the wall observing. She was really good and thoroughly enjoyed just sitting there and watching, though she would always ask for a snack midway through.

Also, I think it helped her be comfortable for her first dance class, being in this room with the same teacher for a couple of weeks before her class started

As you can see, on this day Elisabeth was particularly animated.

Jonah the Gymnast

Jonah finished up his last gymnastics class a couple of weeks ago.  Here are some excerpts from the last two classes.

Here he's doing a great straddle jump.


At his last class he was learning how to do a hand stand.


The class before last, the instructor introduced vaulting.

My Prince Charming

Yesterday, Jonah tells me, "You are the most cute, beautifullest girl I can know."

Later on, he said, "my dad is the hansomnest man I know."

And don't forget he likes to be called handsome and not cute.  Jonah will say at times that Elisabeth is cute and will pick out clothes for her saying, "this is so cute."

Sleeping Beauty

Elisabeth is feeling a bit "under the weather" today. She slept until
10 this morning and now she's napping.

Time for a good haircut

Jonah did really well. In fact, I sat in the lobby watching a movie
with Elisabeth nearly the whole time.