Happy Birthday Zion Sage!

Today is Zion's fourth birthday and I think I have come to terms with the fact that she is my last baby.  I didn't feel the little tug at my heart when I thought about all that she has learned and accomplished this year.  I didn't feel sad at the thought of planning my last first big birthday party.  I just enjoyed my girl today.  A few months ago, she decided that when she turned four she would stop crying (for petty things).  She has reminded me (and I have reminded her) of this on several occasions since then.  So far, she has held up her end of the bargain.  She has not cried all day!  Well, she woke up in tears before the sun with an earache and we had to head out to Walmart for drops at the crack of dawn.  But to be honest, I wanted to cry about that too!.
We did our traditional birthday hang out today - ice cream at the local ice cream parlor, play/stories at the bookstore and a drink with Daddy.  It was a good day.  Tomorrow is her party and she is super excited!

So, I am going to insert a "What's My Kid Wearing Today" snippet here.  We went to Goodwill yesterday because, well, there's not much else to do in this town.  I found this super cute cat in cat eye glasses shirt (Gap) on one rack.  Then I found this knit skirt (also Gap) on another.  Voila!  Super cute birthday outfit!!  Both the shirt and skirt were $.99.  The grey and white tights were a whopping $3.50 at Walmart.  Total birthday outfit, approx. $5.50.

I have to say that she wore her birthday crown ALL DAY!!  She is in her pajamas right now and she is still wearing her crown!  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Mama got a new pair of shoes.

That is all.

Party prep is in full swing

Zion's birthday is only a week away.  A week until my baby turns four.  I look back at previous birthday posts for Zion and they all focus on my last firsts.  Last first steps, last first birthdays, last first words... I love the little girl that my last baby is growing into, so this year, I will try to focus less on her being my LAST baby and focus more on her just being my baby.  I will say this, I am in the throes of planning my last first big birthday party!  All of the girls are so excited for Zion's sushi party.  I will be more excited when I have finished cutting and assembling all of these tiny little odds and ends.  I've decided to make goodie bags for this little shindig.  I am not a huge fan of goodie bags myself because they tend to include a ton of candy and a bunch of little plastic toys that end up in the trash before the day is over.  So it is very rare that I do goodie bags (and they never include candy).  Zion's bags will include a kokeshi bookmark that the kids will be able to color at the party, a mini paper koma spinning tops, a paper crane, a pair of chopsticks and a fortune cookie.  Everything is handmade except the chopsticks and fortune cookie.

Little paper sushi will go on tags for the goodie bags.  I am currently covered in glitter (much to my dismay).

I love kokeshi dolls.  I have loved them since I randomly found one in a thrift store in St. Croix five (or more) years ago.  She became my favorite little trinket.  I found a couple of kokeshi designs on the internet that I like and drew up some blank ones and copied them onto cardstock for the kids to decorate.  I will add a little ribbon so that they can be used as bookmarks.  The large kokeshi will be used to play Fukuwarai.  It's similar to pin the tail on the donkey (we always have some version of that at every party).  Kids cut out the facial features and, while blindfolded, attempt to arrange them correctly on the face.

That red take out box in full of tiny little spinning tops.  I had to hide them in the box because my girls LOVE them and will not stop taking them.

One more week until this party and there is still plenty to do.  I'm sure I will be vacuuming tiny paper scraps and glitter from my carpet for weeks to come.

On a completely unrelated note, Jena made lasagna all by herself last night.  Eggplant, spinach, and sweet peppers!  It was tasty.

Look what I made!

As silly as it may sound, I really LOVE socks.  Not super fancy socks, but a good argyle or stripe works.  Actually, I'm really happy with brand new, stark white socks fresh from the package.  Ahhhh...  Anyway, a couple of years ago, my girls got my a bunch of cool socks (and a big bag of Smarties, which I also love).  It was a very sweet gift.  I wear those socks all the time.  I wear them so much that they are starting the wear out.  My favorite black and grey striped socks had so many holes that it was just uncomfortable to wear.  I hated to get rid of them, so I had to come up with some way to reuse them.  Then I remembered seeing something on Pinterest to turn women's socks into kids legwarmers. Yay!  New life for my favorite socks.  Here's Zion modeling her new legwarmers!

I think they are super cute on her and she LOVES them.  She wanted to wear them with her pajamas tonight.  Here's the rest of her outfit breakdown.

Green sneakers - Converse (previously featured)

Legwarmers - Mommy's favorite socks ($0.00)

Leggings - not sure of the brand ($.99 from Goodwill)

Sweater dress - Old Navy ($.99 from Goodwill)

Bomber Jacket - Hawke and Co. (previously featured)

Total Outfit (without shoes and jacket) - approx $2.00

(with shoes and jacket) - approx $10

What's my kid wearing today?

Hopefully, we are pulling out of a stint of very depressing weather here in Mississippi.  We have had rain for days  (we did have that one 70 degree day last week), then freezing rain and ice, then snow.  Fortunately, after the snow, came the sun.  I need the sun.  It keeps me motivated and driven to anything other than sit on my couch in sweatpants.  It wasn't 70 degrees today, but the sun did pull us out of the house.  And going out of the house means that the kids have to get dressed.  So, here's what my kid was wearing today...

Bijou

Multicolored sneakers - DC ($0.00 free from a friend)

Striped leggings - Gymboree ($.99 from Goodwill)

Skirt - Gap ($1.49 from Goodwill)

Red Jacket - Gymboree ($1.49 from Goodwill)

Floral western shirt - not sure of the brand ($1.49 at Goodwill - handed down from Ashni)

Total Outfit - approx. $5.50

Zion

Green sneakers - Converse ($3.99 from Goodwill - they were a bribe so that we could throw away her raggedy silver Toms that she LOVED)

Black jeans - Levi's ($.99 at Goodwill)

Green Cassette t-shirt (not that you can see it) - Old Navy ($.99 at Goodwill)

Purple puffy vest - Old Navy ($1.49 at Goodwill)

Cowl neck scarf - made by Mommy ($0.00 AND I got to use up some of the millions of balls of yarn that we have around here)

Total Outfit - approx. $7.50

Okay, because my older girls choose their own clothes when we shop, I have no idea what brand most of their clothes are.  But since I still have to pay for them, I DO know how much they cost.  Jena is by far my most difficult child to buy clothes for.  She is pencil thin and about 75% legs.  She has long arms and long feet.  Boots this winter were a challenge.  They do not make a woman's size 7 boot to fit a leg that tiny!  But anyway, here's what she was wearing today.

Boots - We got these at Rue 21 (which I had NEVER been in until I had to find boots for her) for $24

Leggings - these are actually Bijou's leggings ($.99 at Goodwill)

Skirt - $1.49 at Goodwill

Striped shirt - $2.49 at Goodwill

Jacket - (This one I do know, because I bought it when she was not with me) Gap ($3.99 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit, with boots - approx. $33 (These bigger girls are getting expensive...)

Zion's Sushi Party

Party prep for Zion's 4th birthday is in full swing.  Well, maybe not FULL swing, but there are things being done.  Invitations are about 90% done.  I have to say that I am pretty proud of them.  I think they are super cute.

What's My Kid Wearing Today

It was 70 degrees and sunny yesterday (we have been in an endless routine of clouds and rain which will continue for who knows how long), so I decided that the ladies and I needed to get out into the world. So, we headed out for frozen yogurt and a walk around the square (that's what you do when you live in small town).  I figured I's take the opportunity to take pictures of all of the girls together (and it's not even anyone's birthday).  Thanks to our sunny Friday afternoon, you all get a four-fer.  Here's what my kids were wearing (note: most of these are posted simply because I am entertained by the ridiculousness of my children):

Okay, Ashni's face?  Really?

 Anyway, here's the outfit breakdown starting with Bijou.

Brown cat sweater - Gymboree ($1.49 at Goodwill)

Jeans - Gap ($0.00 free from a friend)

Floral T-strap Mary Janes - Doc Marten ($2.99 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit - approx. $4.50

 Ashni

Grey Boots - U.S. Polo Assn (these were actually purchased new for Jena last year $24.99 at Shoe Dept)

Multicolored Argyle leggings - Circo maybe ($1.49 at Goodwill)

Skirt Overalls (?) - Tommy Hilfiger ($1.49 at Goodwill)

Denim Jacket - Gap ($3.99 at Goodwill)

Total Outfit - approx. $32 (pretty steep for me)

Jena

Blue canvas sneakers - Old Navy ($0.00 gift from her grandmother)

Supe skinny jeans - Arizona ($3.00 from Sears)

Yellow Harajuku t-shirt - ($2.00 from Goodwill in St, Louis.  It's an import!)

 Zion

Silver shoes - Toms (previously featured)

Striped Leggings - not sure of the brand ($.99 from Goodwill)

Brown Skirt - Gymboree ($.99 from Goodwill)

Atari T-shirt - not sure of the brand ($.99 from Goodwill)

Corduroy Jacket - Old Navy (honestly, I'm not even sure where we got this from)

Total outfit - approx. $3.00 (without the shoes)

And finally, just wanted to show that my sweet little darling will indeed forcefully shove her sister out of the shot if she feels like her photo op is being invaded.