Ahhhh, summer.

Tomorrow is the first day of summer!  Yay!  So, I figured I'd share some things that we've done over the past couple of weeks (as well as some cute outfits).

We took a group field trip to a small local farm and look at the sweet little farm girl that I found there!  The girls had a great time.  They picked and ate blueberries, fed sheep and horses, milked goats and fed the babies.  Zion gathered eggs and diligently (and carefully) carried them in the little basket for the rest of the trip.  She was excited to bring these eggs home and have them for dinner.

Summer has provided us with much more time to spend with our friends.  There's nothing better than sweet friends, sprinklers, Popsicles and backyard picnics!

Then there's this.  This girl is the sweetest little human being.  And this frilly, sheer floral top (Guess - $.99 at Goodwill) is one that she LOVES!  Look at that face...

Ashni is discovering her love of accessories.  This fedora gets worn a lot.  She looks so grown up when she accessorizes.

My girls are plagued (ha) with long legs and super thin waists and my husband is plagued with his disdain for them showing too much skin.  This makes buying shorts difficult.  Bijou, on the other hand, is just the right size for her shorts to fit in the waist, but not be too short.  Yay!

pink shoes - Keds ($2.99 at Goodwill)

shorts - not sure of the brand ($1.49 at Goodwill)

tank top - Land's End (free, hand me down)

Total outfit - approx $4.50

Our annual Father's Day spread.  Every year on Father's Day, I make my husband a spinach, portobello and Gruyere quiche.  It only happens once a year and it is a huge hit every time.  This year, we also had roasted potatoes, cherries with fresh whipped cream (thanks Jena) and the girls squeezed two dozen oranges for juice

School, of course, continues over the summer.  Bijou has been working on adding two digit numbers with carrying and Zion is still working on her letter sounds.  She really wants to learn to read.

It's always fun to find pictures like this on my phone.  This is what happens when kids sneak and use your phone while you are getting dressed.  (Notice the stockpile of Girl Scout cookies in the background.)

The playground is a good (free) way to kill time between afternoon activities.  We spent a little time there this afternoon.  I love this lucha libre shirt (Boo Homes - $1.49 at Goodwill) that Bijou is wearing.  LOVE IT!

Zion at the monkey bars

desert boots - Crew Cuts ($2.99 at Goodwill)

trousers - Old Navy ($.99 at Goodwill)

popsicle tank - Gap ($.99 at Goodwill)

Total outfit - approx $5

This is what big sisters are for - to wear little sisters like hats! 

pink sneakers - Vans (previously featured)

shorts - Judith March ($2.49 at Goodwill)

t-shirt - Cherokee (free hand me down)

Total outfit (without shoes) - approx $2.50

We leave in two weeks to take Ashni to fence in the Summer National Championship in Ohio.  Jena leaves for France two days after.  We will go to St. Louis at the end of July to pick up my mother for a visit.  There will be field trips and play days and workshops to fill up all the rest of our long summer days. I'm looking forward to having a great and productive summer!

What's My Kid Wearing Today

We took the kids to breakfast (well, brunch really) yesterday.  It is becoming a Sunday routine because it seems that we are too lazy to get up on Sunday mornings and cook.  Eh... Anyway, I thought the girls looked pretty cute yesterday.  I showed Ashni how to put her hair up so that she could wear the fedora that she has.  She was pretty excited to finally get wear it.

Ashni

pink shoes - Vans ($3 at Salvation Army)

jeans - Gap ($1.49 at Goodwill)

blue and white striped t-shirt - Ralph Lauren, I think (free from a hand me down bag)

blue button up shirt - Gap ($1.49 from Goodwill)

fedora - Not sure of the brand ($.59 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit - approx. $7

Bijou

sandals - Elephantito ($2 at Salvation Army)

shorts - Cherokee ($.99 at Goodwill)

orange t-shirt - Roxy ($1 at Salvation Army)

Total Outfit - approx. $4

Completely NOT staged room redo pictures

I feel as though I am turning into my mother.  When I was young I could guarantee that I would come home from a friends house or the mall and our house would be completely rearranged.  I used to say that was the reason that I never snuck out.  I wouldn't be able to find my way back through the house when I came back in.  I, on the other hand, despise rearranging furniture.  My furniture will be in the same position for YEARS. But as I get older, I find myself waking up in the morning with these brilliant rearranging plans.  It's like my subconscious is drawing up blueprints while I sleep.  Well, on Monday, I woke up with the brilliant idea to pair and older girl with a younger ones in their bedrooms.  To my surprise they thought this was a brilliant idea too and actually decided who would sleep with who WITHOUT fighting!  Bijou and Ashni chose to share and room and Jena and Zion share a room.  So we set about shifting toys, clothes and shoes between the two room.  We separated the little girls' toys so that they each have 5 or 6 bins in their rooms (and they can play together in either room) and did the same with the older girls' things.  So far, it is working like a CHARM.  The little girls are going to sleep faster at bedtime because they don't have the other to keep them awake (they go to bed an hour before the older girls).  And the older girls have been making sure that their rooms stay tidy, which has never happened.  I think my mother would be proud.  These pictures are not staged, so it has its "lived in" feel.  But, this in the neatest either of these rooms has been (without my constant nagging) in ages.

Jena and Zion's Room

Jena and Zion share a full sized bed, which you would think would be a pain, but they all really like to sleep together.  They certainly didn't get that from me, but it's cute to see them spooning in the middle of the night.

Zion's tiny boots next to Jena's boots are just the cutest thing ever!

Bijou and Ashni's Room

Why yes, that is a ballet barre in their room.  It was given to us by a friend.  You can't see it in the pictures, but there's a dance floor there too.  They should never be out of practice!

Crates make great, free book storage and also works as stairs to get into the top bunk.  They are attached to one another with zip ties.

What's My Kid Wearing Today (and a Summer School Update)

Ah, I just completed my first full week back home with the kids.  I think it was a productive week.  We did some school work and decided on a summer school schedule that everyone is happy with.  We will do math and writing everyday and the rest of our subjects will be:
Monday - Science
Tuesday - Grammar/Essay Writing
Wednesday - Geography
Thursday - History
Friday - Art
This way, they have time to really get immersed in what they are working on without having to be concerned with the 4 other subjects that they need to get done before the end of the day. We also got the house somewhat organized (color coded our school library...again).  And my husband has been able to get more than four hours of sleep each day (working nights and homeschooling days is tough).  So, I think everyone is happy.
Yesterday, we were invited over to a friends house for a crawfish boil and general smorgasbord.  Bijou, Ashni and Jena even tried raw oysters for the first time.  They oysters received mixed reviews.  They gorged themselves on fruit, crawfish, cheese and crackers, veggies and popsicles.  SO many popsicles. And I'm pretty sure that several hula hoop contests occurred.  Anyway, this is what they wore.

This is five minutes before they all turned into America's Next Top Model and the pictures got goofy.

Bijou

pink sneakers - Keds ($2.99 at Goodwill)

dress - Cakewalk (free from a hand me down bag)

Total Outfit - approx. $3

See the madness...

Zion

Grey sneakers - Converse (gift from my mom...pretty sure they were $3 at Goodwill in St. Louis)

leggings - Old Navy ($.99 at Goodwill)

denim skirt - Justice (previously featured)

Super Grover t-shirt - Old Navy ($.99 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit - approx. $5 

Jena (and her legs...)

shoes - ana ($6.99 at Goodwill)

tights - Target (maybe $2 on sale at Target.  She bought these herself, so I'm not sure)

patchwork skirt - Gap ($1.49 at Goodwill)

ruffle tank top - Crewcuts ($1.49 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit - approx $12

Ashni

fancy pink tank top - Old Navy (free from the hand me down bag)

black jean leggings - Gap ($8 from Gap)

yellow sneakers - Converse ($6.99 from Goodwill.  She bought these herself)

Total Outfit - approx. $15

What's My Kid Wearing

It is beginning to look a lot like....SPRING!  Yay, spring.  I am so over being cold and wet and stuck in the house.  So I am incredibly grateful that we finally saw several days in a row of above average temperatures.  It's so nice to feel sun on my face and ride in the car with my windows down.  My allergies are not big fans of this time of year, but it's almost April darn it, and I need to be warm.  The other good thing about spring is the outfits contain less layers and are, therefore, much cheaper.  The kids got their first trip to the playground in 2013 on Tuesday and this is what they were wearing...

Zion

yellow and white polka dot tank - Crew Cuts ($.99 at Goodwill)

denim leggings (I can not bring myself to refer to them as "jeggings") - Cherokee, I think ($.99 at Goodwill)

And her favorite white oxfords (previously featured)

Total outfit (minus the shoes) - approx. $2

Bijou

grey and white striped tank - Kiddo ($1.49 at Goodwill)

skinny jeans - Children's Place ($1.49 at Goodwill)

sparkly gold shoes - Justice ($1.99 at Goodwill)

Total outfit - approx. $5

Growing up

That's what they are doing.  And I'm enjoying it.

What's My Kid Wearing East Coast Edition...

We are in Virginia!  Hooray for getting out of the south for a little while.  We decided to break up our drive into two legs, so we stopped overnight in Asheville, NC on Sunday.  We really enjoyed it.  It seemed like a place that we would fit in well.  We will visit again soon, I'm sure.
We always enjoy coming to the east coast to visit my husband's family.  My sister in law just had a baby, so the girls are ridiculously excited to get to meet their new baby cousin.  The weather here (despite the last week) is really nice - upper 50's, low 60's.  We've just been hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

Ashni was feeling business casual on our stay in Asheville.

Her t-shirt has a chimp with glasses and a necktie - $1.49 (at Goodwill)

blue button down shirt - Gap ($1.49 at Goodwill)

Navy pin striped blazer - Children's Place ($3.99 at Goodwill)

mustache earrings, priceless, lol.

total outfit (not including the bottom half of her body that isn't shown) - approx. $7

                                                     

Bijou was SUPER cute yesterday.  There weren't too many pieces in her outfit, but that's how I like it.

Brown leather oxfords (in great beat up condition) - Footmates ($1.99 from Goodwill)

Jeans - Old Navy ($10 from Old Navy)

Houndstooth Jacket - Children's Place, I think ($3.99 at Goodwill) - Editing to add that this jacket is actually from Gymboree, not Children's Place

Total outfit - approx $16

Zion was a mess of patterns, but she can make it work!

Shoes - Converse (previously featured)

polka dot tights - Children's Place ($.59 at Goodwill)

ruffled skirt - Gap ($1.00 at Salvation Army)

striped sweater - Old Navy ($.99 at Goodwill)

jacket - Gap (previously featured)

hat - not sure of the brand ($7 at Target)

total outfit - approx $10

What Was My Kid Wearing The Other Day...

I forgot about this outfit that Bijou wore the other day.  So, here it is...

Shoes - DC (previously featured)

pink floral leggings - Gap($.99 at Goodwill)

denim skirt - Gap ($1.49 at Goodwill)

striped t-shirt - Label of Graded Goods ($.99 at Goodwill)

jacket - Hawke & Co. ($3.99 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit - approx. $7.50

The Lady Clan makes sushi with Daddy

After the sushi party yesterday, the girls decided that they wanted more sushi.  Fortunately, they persuaded daddy to make more with them.