halloween ’20

Posted on October 31, 2020 by tandem in love

last year it snowed. this year it was near 70 degrees!!!! it was gorgeous out and the kids were so excited to not wear coats!

there are a few parts to this post.

pumpkin carving night. party decor. trick or treating.

we switch pumpkin carving between my parent’s house and our house. depending on the mood. this year, we decided to do it at my parent’s house. one…because of covid, we haven’t been over there a lot and two, it just felt right.

while the big kids carved, the little kids painted. the girls got dressed up because why not? it’s halloween season and they never get many chances to wear their costumes.

*****

PUMPKIN CARVING

[painting pumpkins]

[family time]

[silly sister, silly auntie]

[ellie’s pumpkin]

*****

i decided to decorate our place for a halloween party for no reason at all. i had a collaboration with a balloon shop for the big garland that you see and i thought, why not decorate? it’ll be fun – three hours later. LOL

i did have fun creating this festive space! the girls went nuts over the floating witch’s hats! that was a big pain in the butt as i had some trial and errors on figuring out how to keep them afloat without them falling down but i succeeded!

HALLOWEEN

[i decorated just for the hell of it]

[creepy cake]

[pretty blooms]

[cauldron of candy]

*****

halloween arrived and olive WAS SO EXCITED!!!!! she could not wait to go trick or treating! the best part about this day was the WEATHER. it was near 70 degrees and amazing!! it made for the best kind of trick or treating. when you are in the midwest, the weather on halloween is most likely cold, snowy, raining, or something not pleasant or conducive to being outside and asking for candy.

add in covid…everything was up in the air. no one was quite sure if trick or treating was allowed leading up to halloween but the most amazing part was how everyone came together and made it happen. so many houses made it so fun and special for the kids!

the creativeness behind candy chutes, tables, packaging, and community was off the charts. it seriously was the best halloween ever. people were awesome, welcoming, and festive. it added to our experience and the girls were having so much fun running from house to house. what was also great was the fact that you could identify which house was participating and which house wasn’t and that created the most efficient trick or treating time ever!

it’s obvious the girls are getting bigger as their stint of trick or treating lasted the longest it’s ever lasted. they literally succeeded in making it around the entire long circle block in my parent’s neighborhood. by the time we reached the house before my parent’s house, olive was done. just in time to head back home. their bags were filled to the brim with candy and they were super happy!

it was seriously the best halloween to date…thanks covid for inspiring the creativity in everyone and neighbors banning together to make it special for the kids!

TRICK OR TREAT

[such a gorgeous day for trick or treating!]

[super auntie thuy started them out on their route]

[back at home with her loot]

[eating her loot]

[watching room on the broom]

xoxo

kids halloween party

Posted on October 29, 2020 by tandem in love

it was so sweet of our friend elisa to throw the cutest halloween party for our girls!

elisa and i are cut from the same cloth…as in we love to craft, be super extra, and throw parties! haha! yes, our minds never stop creating and before we know it, our simple party blows up to a crazy craft storm where too much is never enough. LOL

well, elisa’s party for the girls did not disappoint! we arrived late because the girls had swim lessons and we walked into a frenzy of crafting craziness. the girls who were already there were making halloween inspired wands, masks, and other fun things.

olive and ellie jumped right in and were instantly having fun with the other girls. all the moms were congregating around the drinks and food and that’s exactly where i ended up! my love language, food and drinks! and you can’t beat the great conversations we engaged in…these mamas are the best and are so fun!

there was so much cuteness involved. elisa not only had the girls crafting for hours, she had a pin the tail on something game, a candy bar where the girls could choose different types of goodies to put in their cauldrons, a photo booth, and the most festive favors to take home! it was absolutely adorable!

these are the moments i live for. i love socializing and i love that my girls have so much fun with their kiddos. it’s the best combo in life! hanging out with mamas who get you and kids who are besties cannot be beat.

[excited over their handmade wands]

[the cutest cupcakes]

[sweetest luisa]

[surveying the scene]

[the cutest charcuterie board]

[we have a queen barb and a mermaid]

[spider cake]

[handmade masks]

[she’s so sweet!]

[candy bar]

[they’re the cutest]

xoxo

first tooth

Posted on October 18, 2020 by tandem in love

olive’s friends have lost so many teeth. she wasn’t pushing it but recently noted that her friends were losing their teeth and she couldn’t wait! well her wait was over. it finally happened. a couple months ago, she mentioned to us that her tooth felt loose and sure enough, it was! weeks went by and it became looser and looser.

hc’s cousin ryan was coming into town for his birthday and his wife invited a bunch of people to a house they were renting in michigan. we were game to see ryan and celebrate his birthday. we drove up there to stay the night and leave the next day. the party was in full swing when we got there and we just shimmied our way into the festivities.

it was definitely a fun and crazy night. i felt like i was at a frat party with kids. now everyone there had kids but not with them like us. LOL the girls were super good and gramma and auntie missy were there for the early part of the evening and spent it with the girls. they left early and i then put them to bed. they brushed their teeth, put on their jammies and really wanted to watch t.v. for a bit and of course i let them. they definitely went to bed way too late! but hey, it was a party!

the next morning, while i am getting ready, hc comes downstairs with olive, ready and excited to show me something. oh my goodness!!!! baby girl lost her first tooth!!!! hc literally yanked it out of her mouth and olive didn’t flinch. i was so excited for her. she was soooooo excited herself! she couldn’t wait to show the entire world that she lost her first tooth! oh to be a sweet little kid!

she couldn’t wait to go back to school and show her friends that she lost a tooth! i also forewarned her that since most of her friends have already lost a lot of teeth, it might not be that exciting to them. ha! also, that she had to wear a mask all day at school and it might be difficult for her to actually show her friends her mouth. LOL

well, that didn’t matter…she was excited to show anyone who she saw and let them know she lost her first tooth. i love her for that! that night, we put her tooth in the tooth fairy pillow that she’s had and the tooth fairy brought her big bucks for her first lost tooth. way to score some dough olive!

[the day she lost her first tooth!]

[showing off her tooth]

[she’s excited for the tooth fairy to come!]

xoxo

pumpkin farm ’20

Posted on October 10, 2020 by tandem in love

the year of the corona. it didn’t stop us from going to the pumpkin farm.

everywhere you go…something has changed. so, we bought our pumpkin farm tickets in advance as they were only allowing a certain number of people to attend. i was excited we were able to get tickets for everyone and couldn’t wait to go.

it was supposed to be a beautiful day and it was. the sun was shining and the temps were supposed to be warm enough to not wear a jacket. soooooo i thought! ughhhhh! it was warm when we left the house and when we arrived, it was freezing! the temperature completely dropped and we were not prepared! so not prepared. even my hubby was cold…and that’s saying something! we only had cardi’s for the girls but they were running fools and didn’t need anything else to stay warm. where i was just standing around all cute and flipping cold. LOL

this is basically how it goes. our kids run around like crazy people exploring everything and us adults just stand around and talk and follow the kids wherever they go. hahaha! it works out perfectly!

once they explored all the rides, games, and animals…we decided to grab some grub and go inside to their open tent. the only place where it felt somewhat warmer. eep! hot cider, doughnuts, cookies, and all the fried greasy food you could eat! hc ordered a bunch of food for the girls and of course all ellie wanted was a cookie. she loves, loves sugar. especially chocolate but she won’t deny anything sugary.

once the kids were done eating, we were like peace out! we were cold and did not want to do anything else, after a couple hours of already exploring the entire place we were dunzo. i was hoping to grab a pumpkin or something festive to take home, high hopes before we got there but the cold just wanted me to run to the car. haha!

the girls had a blast with their cousins and we were happy! we got into our warm car and headed home to rest. our favorite thing to do!

[pete, rich, and terry]

[watch out everyone! ellie’s driving!]

[cheese!]

[corn maze!]

[peace out kim]

[she’s so fun]

[reagan is always so sweet with her!]

[trapped! they’re in jail!]

[pig race]

[yummy cider]

[the sweetest duo]

xoxo

pre-school birthday party

Posted on October 2, 2020 by tandem in love

ellie was invited to her first preschool birthday party for her friend Sienna {back in september}!

sienna and ellie started in prek3 together and will continue on as classmates for the next many, many years to come!

her mom, kelli, hosted the fete at a local princess party place in town. it was a beautiful day out and ellie was super excited to attend her friend’s party. olive had attended a party there for her friend betty, several months prior – right before the shutdown, but i didn’t take her, hc did. so, i had never been to this establishment.

we arrived to a lot of pink and princess everything. the girls could dress up as fairies, by picking out fun tutus, wings, and crowns. ellie was obsessed! she loved the rainbow wings and tutu. she originally picked a pink iridescent skirt but then soon found a matching rainbow one that went perfectly with her colorful wings.

once dressed up, they could walk the runway to show off their pretty gear. couple by couple, the girls working the venue eventually got all the little ones into their make up chairs and painted their faces and bedazzled their hair with a ton of glitter each. LOL i was like, dada is going to be so mad. he hates glitter!

after they had their hair and make up done, the girls then got manis! once everyone was decked out, they all walked the runway again before the pizza and cake was served!

overall, ellie had the best time with her friends! it was nice to be able to go to a party with just ellie’s friends! she’s always hanging out with olive’s friends – which is great! but it’s nice to have her hang out with girls her age, specifically the girls she goes to school with.

thanks kelli and sienna for having us at your party! it was so much fun!

[nice photos by morgan clare photography…bad photos by my iPhone LOL]