What's My Kid Wearing Today

So we are somewhat recovered from our days of driving.  Lots of new things have come about in the last couple of weeks.  We were originally going to move to Asheville, NC next summer, so we'd been researching the neighborhoods and restaurants there.  Then, out of the blue, the owner of the restaurant where the hubs currently works called and offered him a general manager position in a restaurant that he'd just bought.  This is a huge opportunity for us, so we had to take the offer.  So, our move plans have been cancelled and we are Oxford, MS residents indefinitely.  The rest of our summer activities have been pretty routine - library workshops, fencing practice, school and co-op etc.  Jena is enjoying every moment of her time in France and we can not wait to see her and see pictures and hear all about her adventure!  

On to what my kids were wearing today...

Ashni

grey flip flops - Old Navy ($1 at Old Navy)

shorts - Judith March (previously featured)

t-shirt - Old Navy (I'm not sure where this shirt even came from)

Total Outfit - approx. $5 max

Zion

boots - Crew Cuts ($2.99 previously featured)

yellow skinny jeans - Gap ($14 previously featured)

teal polka dot tank top - Old Navy ($.99 at Goodwill, I think)

pale green button up shirt - Children's Place ($.99 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit - approx. $19

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!

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.

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

Spring Break 2013....WOOOOO!

Okay, so it's not Cancun or anything, but the Brown-David clan is hitting the road for spring break.  We are loading up and driving to Virginia to visit our family and to meet the newest member.  The girls are very excited about meeting their new baby cousin.  On the way, we plan to stop overnight in Asheville, NC.  Hopefully, Asheville will be the next locale for our little tribe.
At this point, we are road trip pros.  The girls are excellent travelers and they look forward to every trip we take, no matter how long or short.  I have to say that the main thing that keeps us all sane on road trips is preparation.  Lots of preparation.  I make packing lists for each on of the children.  It includes all of the clothes, pajamas, underwear, toiletries, and accessories they will need for the duration of the trip.  I make a travel menu.  It's expensive to feed kids out on the road, so we pack food to take with us.  Got this idea from Pinterest for the girls to use for food in the car.  This is ingenious and I wish I'd found it sooner AND the dollar store always has a ton of these containers.  It was $4 well spent!  I also like to make sure that the girls have plenty of things to do while they are in the car.  Those things are always things that they don't already have at home and they can not use/play with them until we are in the car.  That means a few purchases from the dollar store.  For this trip, I made each of the girls their own travel journals.  I bought four spiral bound 4x6 index card books for a dollar each.  Then I covered them with adhesive craft foam that I always seem to have a ton of in the house.  (We color code everything for the girls that leaves the city limits.  It cuts down on the bickering in the car.) They will also have a glue stick, pencil, eraser, tape and a package of markers (all color coded, except the markers).  They will be able to collect things from the trip and them to their book, write about things that they've done and draw pictures.

While the older girls will have books to read on the road, I still have one little that can not read yet.  So she gets a couple of activities that don't require reading skills.  I love having self contained activities in the car, so I had the idea to make Zion a set of magnetic paper dolls.  Originally, I was going to get some adhesive magnet sheets and make a set of dolls for her.  Then, I found this set of magnetic paper dolls for a dollar (a dollar seems to be my spending limit) at Dollar General.

 I was not really a fan of the girls, but for a dollar each, I figured I could make it work.  I traced the shape of the dolls on regular white paper and drew my own dolls.  A quick coat of Mod Podge and voila!  A new, much cuter set of magnetic paper dolls. I also found a plain metal lunch box to store them in for (gasp) a dollar!

I will add a few more odds and ends to the travel gear, but for now, we are all excited to hit the road!

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.