The #ObviousPresident Is Running

I won't pretend for a minute that this year's election is important, but let's face it...every now and then, we need a minute to take our minds off interpreting political banter and think about something else. Like...exercise! Okay, maybe not. How about vacation instead? 

As it happens, there's a new guy who's running. His name? Captain Obvious. And how, you may ask, is he running?

With his feet, #obviously. He's literally running across America! He's taking the presidential race by storm and stopping by each state as he is running. Along the way, he's tweeting about the race and sharing pieces of humor to lighten the mood as the actual presidential election draws near. Follow along at @CaptainObvious for live tweets of presidential events and more.

I don't know about you, but when I exercise, I am done by the time the day ends and it's time to sleep. Captain Obvious feels this way too, because he's gotten Hotels.com on his side for the race. In all fifty states, they're finding him running shoes, socks, shorts, and most importantly - a place to rest his weary head. And his exceptionally weary legs.

When you're exhausted from traveling, what's most important to you in a hotel? I personally am happy just as long as the room is dark and quiet.

Follow Captain Obvious as he runs at CaptainObviousRunsForPresident.com! What does he have to say about your state?

Ch-ch-changes.

Well, hi.

I'm not sure how many regular readers I have out there, but if there are any of you, you may have noticed that I haven't been around much this summer. It's not for lack of effort. I have dozens of posts drafted online, on paper, on the voice recorder on my phone, and (especially) in my mind. There just aren't enough hours in the day - or enough courage to hit publish when I actually do get the words written in cohesive form somewhere.

Life has thrown some rather unexpected curves in the path of my little family this year. Like, really unexpected. I'm figuring out where blogging fits into the scheme of things right now. I won't be giving up this dear little space of mine here in the big wide Internet, but there will likely be a few changes in the coming weeks and months.

When I started this blog, it was to share my latest scrapbooking designs and vacation adventures. Then I had babies and it was a place to chronicle stories about them, or talk about the latest baby products on the market. Lately, though, I've had a somewhat nagging feeling that I should spend some time refocusing what content makes it to the blog. Lincoln will turn five next year. He's already said to me several times "don't put it on your blog, mommy" when I am taking photos of him. He's not just a baby. He's a little person with very big emotions and a heart that's been entrusted to me. I have to be careful how much of his story I share with the whole world. I'll be carefully considering anything that I share about him and his sister from this point forward - and I'll be redesigning the blog look at some point, to feature fewer personal photos and a somewhat more streamlined feel.

That said, I think occasionally I do put together some family-related content that seems to be appreciated. There are thousands of pins leading to my site on Pinterest. I don't want to see that come to an end! I'll be (hopefully) ramping up my crafting and party post sections, and maybe adding in more travel posts as I'm able, too. The occasional essay on motherhood may show up in there, since sometimes I decide that I should share deep thoughts with the world.

There will also continue to be some product reviews and sponsored content shared here. I hope that you're not annoyed by any of these things. Product reviews are often how I collect Christmas gifts for my kids, and sponsored posts and advertising bring in some cash to support my family. This little blog is actually a big piece of the income available for us right now, so while I'd love to be the blogger with a shiny site featuring no advertisements ever... that's just not gonna happen here, my friends.

I want to give you my heartfelt thanks for reading to the end of this post (if you've made it this far!). Leave me a comment and let me know what you like most about this blog... I'd love to hear.

#FuelTheLove: A Family Staycation

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
#FuelTheLove #CollectiveBias

Sometimes, family vacations are big and exciting. You might drive for two days to reach your destination, then spend a week and a half at the beach or an amusement park before heading home. Other times, vacations are a short and simple affair. You pick a destination that makes a good day trip, stay in a hotel one night, then come right back home. And then there are still other times where you don't go anywhere out of the ordinary at all, but you still make memories and have the best family fun imaginable - right in your own backyard.

No matter where you're headed this summer - your local zoo or Kalamazoo or somewhere in between - you will definitely want to make sure that your vehicle is in tip-top shape for the trip. Even for running errands around town (which seems to be what I spend a lot of time doing), it's important to keep up with routine maintenance for your car. That means - yes - actually paying attention to that little oil change sticker on the top of your windshield! I admit that I'm not the best at remembering to have maintenance done on my car - but with the convenience of the Walmart Automotive Care Center and Pennzoil, I am trying to overcome my failings!

The Pennzoil brand is one I have come to trust. It's designed for complete protection and allows you to drive 550 extra miles per year (when compared to a car with a dirty engine). Our van has well over 75,000 miles (we'll drive it into the ground), so we always ask for Pennzoil's High Mileage oil. It's designed to reduce leaks and oil consumption. Plus, all Pennzoil oils help clean out sludge that other oils leave behind. Win-win, right?

From now until September 9th, Pennzoil oil changes are even on Rollback at Walmart Automotive Care Centers. High Mileage is $35.88, compared to the regular Walmart price of $39.88 and Platinum Full Synthetic is $45.88, compared to the regular Walmart price of $49.88.

So on this particular occasion, when I noticed it was time for an oil change, we high-tailed it to our local Walmart. We may not have a big trip planned, but we need our van at its best for all of our day to day adventures. As it turned out...we didn't want to hang out in the waiting area for very long, so we got to have a little staycation right at Walmart! Mini family vacation on a random weekday afternoon? Love it.

So in case you, like us, need some fun ways to occupy your time while also being responsible and getting your car's oil changed, here are a few of our ideas! Lincoln and Addie chimed in with their opinions on what is most fun.

1. Take the long route. Make sure everyone has a partner, and go for a nice leisurely stroll about the store. Warning: avoid aisles with glassware, light bulbs, and poison.

2. Rank toy cars in order of coolness. Beg your mom to buy a few. Throw a fit or two if mom refuses. It'll be fun!

3. Check out the clothing selection. Anything with a monster truck is automatically approved.

4. Practice counting on the ruler at the fabric counter. Climbing and/or standing on the counter (while fun) are not recommended. Moms get a little worried about that.

5. Play with every toy on the lowest shelf. Drag a lot of them onto the floor. Push every button you can find. Other shoppers love that!

7. Stop to smell the roses. Or the candles that smell like roses. Because, those are basically the exact same thing!

What's your favorite staycation destination?

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.

Welcome, Kansas City Live Viewers!

Good morning and welcome to DirectorJewels.com! If you're visiting for the first time after hearing about us on Kansas City Live this morning, we're so happy you decided to stop by.

If you missed the live spot this morning, you can view it online here!

I hope you'll take a peek around while you're here - we do a lot of fun toddler crafts and some of our favorites are the Pipe Cleaner Sea Anemones, Paper Plate Fish Aquariums, and DIY Bird Feeders. Sharing birthday party ideas is one of my favorite things, too - a few popular ones are from our Octonauts party, Owl first birthday party, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party! I'm also particularly proud of our Super Mario Bros nursery!

Today on KC Live, I was able to feature some lovely Baby Shower Gift ideas that are a little outside the box. Yes, every mom wants a wardrobe of adorable newborn attire for her bundle of joy, but when she's awake at 3am with a teething or crying baby, she'll be grateful you went another route with your gift.

Here are the ideas we talked about this morning, plus a few extras!

Crane Animal Humidifier - there's nothing worse than trying to comfort a child with a stuffy nose in the middle of the night. These adorable designs may bring a smile to a sleepy, achy little one's face.

Mommy’s Bliss - the Sweet Slumber Family is a 3 step system designed to relax little ones for a good night sleep. With a Baby Wash, Massage Cream, and relaxing Sweet Slumber Mist, both mom and baby are much more likely to get the rest they need. Also try new Mommy’s Bliss Baby Probiotic Drops to soothe and regulate the infant’s digestive system with natural probiotic bacteria cultures!

Kid's Relief Homeopathic Products. I always turn to natural and homeopathic methods before resorting to medication for my kids, so I think these options are great. They offer options for allergies, teething, and colic!

Xlear Baby Banana Brush & Kids Spry Tooth Gel is what we use in our house faithfully, since we have dealt with early childhood tooth decay. Both the tooth gel and nasal spray from Xlear feature Xylitol, a natural sweetener that is great for oral health.

Most of the products listed above use some combination of essential oils. We are just discovering Young Living essential oils in our home, and so far we love the results. Feel free to reach out if you want more information on how our family uses these oils for more peaceful sleep, focus issues, and more - or you can check out all that Young Living offers here.

I really love including something handmade with each of my baby shower gifts, as well. I try to make things myself most of the time - and I keep my Etsy shop stocked with the extra items I create!

Thanks again for stopping by my little corner of the blog world! To keep up with me and my family, you can follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or subscribe to my email newsletter. Have a lovely day!

Oh, hai there.

Hello, friends. It kind of feels like I fell off the face of the blog world. My last post was just photos and it was four days ago or something. I realize that all bloggers don't have to post every day, but I strive for at least 3-5 good content posts a week...and right now, I've been averaging none.

It's one of those busy seasons of life, I guess, where some things swoop in to take over my hours for a little while. So, here's hoping that I'll get back to normal stuff around here soon, but in the meantime, here's a little of what we've been up to in the past few weeks.

I made Addie's Easter dress this year and was so pleased with how it turned out! Ultimately, I want to list dresses in the shop.

The kids are obsessed with building things right now. And Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

We bought Addie a big girl bed. I didn't even realize it was missing a slat until we got it home and Andrew said "um, did you see this?" Whoops. Hopefully it's an easy fix because the bed was only $15 and I was pleased! Currently, it's sitting in the basement because we haven't had time to take the crib down yet.

For some reason, I decided that the week before drama productions of my own would be a great time to squeeze in an audition so I can try to knock an item off my Thirty by 30 list and perform in a show again. I rounded up my second best friend whom I met in a theatre bathroom and convinced her that the best way to spend our evening was belting our hearts out and then laughing until we cried in my minivan afterwards. It was amay-zing.

We're still waiting to hear if we got parts in the show. It's pretty doubtful, since we didn't go to callbacks, but we had the grandest time ever, regardless.

Did you catch the part about how it's almost production week? Yeah. A week from now, I have five plays performing. Thirty-seven girls to put onstage for their own moments to shine. I really have the best job EVER. But production week is flat out exhausting, so I may be around just a little less than average until the craziness winds down.

Don't give up on me, though! Lots of good stuff on my blog post to-do list. Have the happiest of weekends, okay?

How to Take a Quick & Easy Mom Vacation

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DropShopAndOil #CollectiveBias

I am the worst at car maintenance. Really. I never remember when it is time to check tires or fluids, and I honestly don't even know how to do most routine maintenance things to my car. After the holiday season died down, I sneaked a peek at that handy little reminder sticker in the window of my minivan and realized...wow. We're super way behind on getting the oil changed! Yikes! So, I told my husband I was going to go take car of it all by myself. He thought I was being responsible. I thought, let's make a less-than-fun errand something amazing. What, you think I'm crazy? Nah. Thanks to Pennzoil at Walmart, I can tackle an oil change and some other errands at the same time!

Now, some people might choose to do something "normal" like grocery shopping or stocking up on clearance Christmas storage bins while waiting for their vehicle to be serviced in the Walmart Auto Care Center. But not me. I did pick up some dental floss along the way, but I found some other ways to spend my time, as well.

So, without further ado, I give you: 6 Things To Do While Getting Your Oil Changed. 

This is even more fun if you can start off here when no one else is in the aisle and then startle an innocent shopper.

After last year's garden fail, this was a top priority. 

Feel all the sad feels. It's okay. Maybe.

Who doesn't want a giant Star Wars spaceship displayed in their home at all times?

Or, you know, pick out a vacuum for your home. Whichever sounds more entertaining for your personal brand of enjoyment.

The beauty of getting your oil changed at Walmart is that whether you have time to have a mini mom vacation or you actually need to take care of your errands at the same time, you don't have to worry about your car's well-being. The Auto Care Center will take care of everything for you! Pennzoil is designed for complete protection and allows you to drive an extra 550 miles per year (compared to a car with a dirty engine). Our minivan has only been with us for two years, but it it's been on many travels, has seen far more than 75,000 miles and is well cared for with Pennzoil's High Mileage oil. If, like me, you have a car that's in serious need of an oil change, you can save $5 on a 5-quart bottle of Pennzoil with this coupon. And you can have your own mini mom vacation!

Pennzoil Richard Petty Driving School "Experience of a Lifetime" Giveaway

Is your car overdue for an oil change?

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.

20 Random Facts About Me {30 Things My Kids Should Know}

I'm failing a little bit at my "thirty by 30" list. I have not read any books, caught up (or touched) Project Life, paid off any significant debt, or traveled to a state I've never seen. I only have a year and a half left, so I'm thinking I need to double my efforts and see if at least a few things can be knocked off the list.

One of the things on my list is to blog the 30 Things My Kids Should Know About Me series. And that, I think, is definitely still achievable. So, without further ado...here's the first post! Since these posts will be "technically" for my kids, you are welcome to read or ignore as you see fit.  

20 Random Facts About Myself

1. I've eaten fewer than 10 hamburgers in my entire life. I've also only ever chewed one piece of gum.
2. I prefer to sleep with the covers up to my chin, but a foot sticking out from the blanket.
3. My left wrist was severely sprained in a dramatic onstage moment (And Then There Were None, 2007) and still sometimes causes me pain so significant that I have to wear a brace for days at a time.
4. A little part of me wants to live on a farm, but I think I would balk at the amount of work it would require, so I'm not willing to give it a chance.
5. When I was about 8 years old, I refused to wear pants for an entire year. Dresses are cuter.
6. My dream home would have a library the size of....my current home.
7. I want a cat. Kind of. Until I think about how there would be fur covering all of my furniture and clothing.
8. I never had any intention to be a "crunchy" mom. Cloth diapers? Psshhh, no. Eating healthy, whole foods? Why bother? Once I started having to make decisions for other people's lives (aka, kids), my whole perspective changed quite a bit.
9. Stashed in my parents' basement are dozens and dozens of journals from my childhood and teenage years.
10. Everything I know about blogging, I learned from Xanga. Okay - that's not totally true, but I did learn basic HTML coding and that it's important to post regular, interesting content to keep up a readership. My old Xanga had far more comment action than this blog! But that's maybe because at the age of 16, we all had nothing to do but write on each other's blogs....before Facebook, you know.
11. I'm a photo junkie / scrapbooking enthusiast with not enough time to keep up. It bothers me a lot that all of our memories are just sitting on a hard drive and not on display in our home.
12. When I was expecting Lincoln, there was one week I ate nothing but ice cream sandwiches. True story. Thank you, constant pregnancy sickness.
13. My cars have all had names, except for my (current) van.
14. I passed out on the sidewalk across the street from the Alamo when I was 15. Heat exhaustion.
15. I'm a serious packrat. I know this is not a big surprise to anyone. But perhaps admitting it will help me to overcome the irrational need to keep everything?
16. I think it would be fun to live in NYC. Maybe not forever...but just for a season.
17. I can't deal with scary movies.
18. I will always harbor a slight bitterness that Pinterest did not exist when I was planning my wedding.
19. I don't drink. The only exceptions in my lifetime are when I had a few sips of champagne (accidentally) at a wedding, vodka (on purpose) at another wedding, and one time when I had to order alcohol as part of a mystery shop.
20. I'm too tall to be a Disney princess at Walt Disney World by about an inch and that totally stinks. Even if it's not a career path that I intended to pursue, it is a mournful, lifelong sorrow that I shall always bear.

What's something random about YOU that you want all the internet to know??

What's Up With Inkling? {A Pondering Creature Report}

Creature report! Creature report! Creature report!

I've not made is a secret that my kids are obsessed with The Octonauts. These adventurous little explorers save the lives of hurt and sick sea creatures every single day! They happily abide in the Octopod, down in the deep blue sea, coexisting as only a cat, a penguin, a polar bear, a bunny rabbit, a dog, and a bunch of vegetable-animals (vegimals) can. They're an awfully prepared bunch - with Gups named after almost every letter of the alphabet, which used for exploring places like the Midnight Zone undetected by dangerous creatures that might eat them all. The vegimals, though mostly incapable of speaking, manage to be in charge of feeding the different animals meals that apparently fit within their food groups - you know, from raw fish to lettuce to seals (what?! That's what polar bears eat, according to Wikipedia).

But perhaps the most puzzling creature of all who resides in the Octopod is Professor Inkling, a pink octopus who is rarely seen.

I mean, he's there sometimes. Occasionally, he produces some knowledge (because, Professor - duh). But a lot of the time, he's entirely ignored. Which leads me to many deep and ponderous questions about this perhaps slighted character.

1. How precisely is he surviving? He's an octopus. The last time I checked, that's the sort of creature that needs to be actually living in water. In the photos here, we see Professor Inkling hanging out around all of the land mammals who have (of course) no problem breathing the air inside the Octopod.

2. Is he just too cool for school? Apparently, the hats worn by the rest of the Octo-crew are totally beneath him. His blue bow tie is sort of the same color, so perhaps that's his link to the rest of the crew. Also, shouldn't he be wearing Octo-boots on all eight of his legs?

3. What is his actual purpose? Captain Barnacles seems to be in charge of everything that goes on. Unless it's a medical situation. Or a meal. Or the repair of a Gup. Inkling's title of Professor indicates that he is knowledgeable about something...but, what, exactly? I would think it's pretty expensive to maintain this undersea ship that is fully powered and operational at all times. It seems that a professor might be better as a consultant from afar, instead of using up valuable resources like food and air (which he's not able to breathe anyway - see point 1). Am I right?

All in all, it doesn't matter, though. Because Professor Inkling has a monocle. And monocles are pretty darn cool.

Did you like this post? You may also enjoy Watch Out for the Shrinky Bush!

I'm Kind Of Over It

*steps up to the microphone* Is this thing on? 

Newsflash. If your kids ever come up to you and say "mom...I think when I'm grown up, I want to be a multi-tasker!" take the opportunity to sit them down and warn them about exhaustion. Chances are, they won't listen, because they'll be too busy planning their next adventure. But that's beside the point. Make them take a nap while they still can.

I don't even know where the last five days (or two weeks? Was Christmas almost two weeks ago?) have gone. I have been up to my eyeballs in Etsy listings and Twitter parties and planning spring drama classes and wiping snot off of little faces and asking my mom to babysit and staying up until 2am to use Shutterfly rewards that I forgot about until the last.possible.second. Suffice it to say: it's been crazy, and I'm over it.

Right now, being over it only means that I might (maybe) give up and go to bed before midnight one night this week. Or I might just watch a movie with the kids tomorrow, instead of frantically working while they are being mindlessly entertained. Or, imagine this, I might ask my mom to babysit just so I can take a nap. I'm pretty sure I'm functioning on like 20% brain capacity right now and that's more than a little frightening.

Also, I hate whiny blog posts where bloggers sob about "me me me" and "I I I" - which is exactly what I'm doing, so let's just cut it out right now. Everyone has better things to do than read nonsense from me. I have real, actual, engaging content in the works for you. I had planned to write a Christmas recap and figure out what my word for 2015 will be and write a post on that, and oh yeah...I still haven't blogged Addie's birthday party that was two months ago. So, I'm going to give myself some grace, admit that it's okay that this is the first time I've accessed the back end of my blog in over a week and take a few days to get some more loose ends tied up before I come crashing back here. You guys will still be here waiting for me...even if it's another week, right?

So, let's make this NOT about me. What's going on in your life? How's 2015 treating you so far?

PS: Trader Joe's brownie mix is THE BOMB OF AWESOMESAUCE. Even when you're not supposed to be eating sugar OR grains because you're trying to cure tooth decay. No excuse. No regret (at least not much). Pass the brownies.

What's On Your... {December 2014}

I will not give up on this series, even if I never remember to post it. Even twice a year is good, right? It will have to do, since the last time I wrote a post for this series was back in May. Maybe I should turn it into a link-up! Would any of you participate?

Dresser | It's a hot mess. Like 13 tubes of lip balm, a bunch of Chewbeads necklaces that my kids beg to drag all over the house, jewelry that still needs to be sorted (it's clear I have other priorities, right?), a stud finder, a box of drill bits, two late 19th-century costume bonnets made out of straw baskets, and I don't even remember what else.

Perennial To Do List | Sewing stuff for my own kids. Editing videos. Figuring out a plan to be an awesome (or, at the very least - functioning) homeschool mom and not fail at preschool whenever we start it up again. MEAL PLAN. Can I meal plan for a year at a time? Because otherwise I feel like I'll never keep up.

Refrigerator Shelves | Leftover Christmas Eve food from my grandparents' house. So Delicious dairy-free Coconut Mint Chocolate milk (not an affiliate link - it's just divine). Fresh blueberries. Raw milk. Expired yogurt.

Itinerary | NOTHING. It is almost January and we are going to have a ton of pj-and-movie days and get our house CLEANED UP. I typically function fine in disaster zones, but it's so bad right now I can't even think about anything else until some of it is clean.

Fantasy Itinerary | I have really been dreaming about Disney lately. That's not in the budget, so to pacify us...for now, I think we're buying 2015 Silver Dollar City season passes!

Playlist | We've been hearing a lot of Christmas music lately, and Lincoln knows all the words to a whole lot of Christmas songs (particularly anything from Rudolph) - so that may be influencing our music selection for awhile. Right now, I'm really enjoying the Into the Woods movie soundtrack (which I got for Christmas, yay me!), William Joseph (awesome pianist), and as always because based on her lyrics, she just gets me...Mindy Gledhill.

Nightstand | Some pajama pants, the baby monitor, a big scratch, and my iPhone charger.

Workout Plan | Um. Bahahahahahahaha.

Phone | Not much storage space. Etsy app that goes "cha-ching" whenever someone buys something from my shop. Ebay app where I stalk vintage American Girl child sized dresses to use for costumes and Hanna Andersson clothes for my kids.

Top 5 List | New year, new goals, a clean house, a content heart, a fresh start.

Bucket List | Everything on my 30 by 30 list - because I've barely touched it and I have under two years to do it all now! Ah!

Mind | Purging, cleaning, and cleansing. I'm so over 2014 and need that lovely January 1 to roll around and inspire me.

Blogroll | I always love When at Home because Kristen is super real. I'm hoping to get back into a blog reading habit in the new year, because I've been so consumed with writing and sharing and chattering online, I have lacked time to network much!

Walls of Your Favorite Room in Your House | It's the Super Nintendo Nursery. Always has been, likely always will be. Though if it could have fewer toys to trip over, that would be lovely.

Last Credit Card Statement | Everything on earth and then some. Ugh. 2015 is going to be the year of banishing credit card debt, as well.

Screensaver | Still the same because it's a perfect shot! A really sweet photo of Addie walking at Silver Dollar City, wearing her sock monkey hat and grinning. It's my favorite.

TV Every Night | When the holiday season hits, we start watching epic movies. In the last couple weeks, we've watched several incarcerations of A Christmas Carol, and moving into the new year, we're starting a Harry Potter marathon. So far (in two nights), we've made it part of the way through Sorcerer's Stone. Clearly, parents get the short end of the stick when it comes to movie-watching ability.

What's up in your life this final week of December?

The (Lack of) Fall Decorations in My Home

Once upon a time, I imagined the day when I would have my own household and would decorate it with various crafty things like seasonal banners and weekly flower arrangements and little pumpkins or turkeys or snowflakes, depending upon the nearest holiday.

Then I had two children in less than two years. My standards became a little bit..different. I now have beautiful swirls of color on my furniture (crayon), plastic wildlife stashed in every nook and cranny, and flecks of green and pink Play-Doh in my carpet. I'm all about appreciating the little things, so this is not so much a complaint as it is a reality: my house is not cut out for serious decorating right now.

If I took the time to make a banner with leaves of felt in the colors of autumn, it would look nice hanging on my fireplace for approximately three minutes. After that, it would be ripped down and used as the rope in a game of tug-of-war-as-we-run-around-the-living-room-and-kitchen-entrances.

Putting out any of the cute fall themed glassware that I accumulated in the two years of married life before I had kids is just asking for an emergency room visit. Why, you ask? Because undoubtedly someone will eat or step on a piece of the glass pumpkin they've just tossed down the staircase.

And anything harvest related is out of the question, because every plastic kitchen toy they own (which is unfortunately a lot, see: last Christmas) ends up in their mouths fifty-seven times a day, no matter how many times I harp "they're just pretend!"

So, what then, you ask, did I actually use to decorate my house this fall?

There! Do you see it? That one little $.69 pumpkin (bless you, Trader Joe's). We actually had two, but Lincoln picked holes in the other and it turned all squishy the second day we had it in our house. Thankfully, no one has yet noticed that it's thrown out missing.

That's it. Just one lonely little pumpkin. And I think I'm perfectly happy with it.

Do you decorate your home for every season? I think, deep down, I really still want to have some sort of themed decor out, but the logistics aren't worth it right now. Maybe in a few years, when they can help me design some things and not just destroy them, it will work. Maybe.

PS. I'm clearly having the most random blogging week ever. After Tuesday's epic post about the things under my couch, it only seemed right to follow up with this piece. You're welcome, world.

What's Under My Couch? {volume I}

Oh, hi there, readers.

I always find it so ridiculous amusing when I sit down to blog and realize, oh it's been three days since I've written content? But I've been so busy online, how did that happen?! This week, it's been a combination of strongly promoting the trendy infant headbands in my shop, cheering for the Kansas City Royals, "catching up" on email (there are 104 messages in my inbox right now - CRY), and generally just being a mom. You know. Running around outside like a lunatic at dusk to wear off some energy pre-bedtime (it didn't work, they were up so many times last night I lost track).

Oh and I cleaned out my kid's craft stash, which had overtaken my entire laundry room. It's slightly back in control now. Slightly.

I have a full week's worth of posts sitting here in draft mode, plus more in my brain, but instead of working on any of those, I decided to write something far more random:

What's Under My Couch? Volume I.

Meet my couch!

Wall Art featured in this post, waaaaay back at the beginning of this blog adventure.

It's kind of a pathetic little thing. The cushions don't stay in place and the center piece of the sectional is in our garage because we can't get in the living room if it's being utilized. The pillows are lumpy and I'm not even sure at this point how many times I have cleaned crackers or soda or pee out of this beast. But, it keeps on giving us a place to sit. It also provides a high surface for Lincoln to jump off in repeated attempts to break his neck - but I digress.

The point is: it's a lovely little couch, and it was given to me for free, so it's not like I have any room to complain. Love you, couch. 

Today's story is about what's lurking under the couch. Because, you see, even though it looks like it touches the floor in front, it doesn't. There is a narrow little crevice all along the front edge which seems to attract things like a fly to molasses on a sweat-inducing South Carolina day. Every now and then, we decide to lift it up and see what treasures our children have tried to permanently remove from their toy collection. Tonight's haul was especially impressive - thus, I felt it worthy to share. You can thank my exhaustion for thinking this is valid entertainment for anyone besides myself.

So, what did I find under the couch?

• 11 books, 4 of which are from the library, 1 of which is EXTREMELY overdue and accruing fines. 
• 1 plate, 1 spoon, 1 fried egg, 1 vanilla cookie, 1 McDonald's cup lid from our play kitchen.
• 1 plastic toy credit card. 
• 3 crayons. 
• Envelope from a recent birthday party invitation.
• Tire from a broken car we no longer have.
•  1 Cheerio (not Cheerio brand - it's sprouted).
• Rectangle block that's been missing from our shape puzzle.
• Plastic pink bracelet.
• "Toy School" script, from when I was reading plays this summer to find new material for my students. 

I think this could be a great blogger link-up post series. Am I right?? I can't be the only mom with random stuff under her furniture. I dare you to go look under something RIGHT NOW and come back to leave me a comment of what you found - no matter how ridiculous. Ready? GO!

On Having A Lot To Say

Oh, hi there. It's me. Reporting back to this little blog for one of my "yes, I'm still alive - just in a really busy season at the moment" updates.

I sit here with a paper schedule before my eyes of sixteen posts that I had intended to publish before the end of July. That clearly did not happen.

It's the middle of World Breastfeeding Week and I haven't posted anything about breastfeeding even though it's one of my passions.

I'm behind on paperwork for my drama classes, my Etsy shop, and this blog.

The kids are asleep right now, but they are not super content to play by themselves during daytime hours. And when they are, I'm typically trying to climb out from under the sea of laundry and dishes.

It's just a very busy time of life...and we're not even starting school this year!

I have a lot of aspirations about what this blog may become...what the handmade market could hold for my future....how I'll eventually (probably) own my own theatre someday. But these days and nights and weeks of exhaustion make it tough to open my eyes to greet a new morning - much less make a five- or ten-year plan.

I'm going to do my best to get back to at least semi-regular blogging again. It seems to come in waves for me and I'm ready to ride the writing tide back in now. I miss writing. My brain hurts when I don't make it spit out words that may or may not be read, since I doubt most of you are still reading at this point of this super random post. There are only nine things left on yesterday's goal list before I hit the few blog tasks I had hoped to accomplish. And my email is down to a manageable fifty messages in my inbox, so maybe I'll be able to knock those out in the morning and get to work.

But who am I kidding? The kids went to bed late, so there's a slight chance they might sleep past 7am. Which means, I'm sleeping too.

And I'm not feeling guilty about it. At all.

What's On Your... {May 2014}

I always intend to write a post in this series every few months, but I just realized the last one was in December! Ahh! There are just so many wonderful things to write about...how can I find the time?

Dresser | Well, I still haven't sorted my jewelry. I did throw out some really old lip balm recently. I think currently, there are only about five mismatched socks and a couple of shirts and maybe an Undercover Mama tossed on top right now.

Perennial To Do List | Video editing. I've finished three videos this month and have another in progress! I have hope. I still haven't managed to sew a dress for Addie, so that's going on this list.

Refrigerator Shelves | Leftover stuffed shells. Really, really leftover enchilada casserole. Organic corn on the cob that has probably gone bad. Supplies for broccoli cheddar soup. Probiotics for everyone. Flax oil because potty training is awful. Cherries. Strawberries. Grapes. Stonyfield Organic Yogurt.

Itinerary | Several trips this summer - Omaha, Branson, and Indianapolis. I'm so excited! And possibly crazy, to travel so much with toddlers.

Fantasy Itinerary | I've been seeing a lot of really gorgeous photos of Italy lately. I want to see Europe!

Playlist | Mindy Gledhill: A Pocketful of Poetry. Lots of kid stuff like Disney Jr. DJ Shuffle, Wee Sing Bible Songs, Laurie Berkner, and Anna & the Cupcakes.

Nightstand | A huge pile of board books, a couple of which are covered in applesauce from an unfortunate incident from when I tried to take a shower last week (shocking, right?). A bottle or two of water. There was a lip balm yesterday, but I think it fell off.

Workout Plan | I've been having weird stomach pain, so exercise of really any sort is out right now. If Addie ever sleeps longer than an hour on a consistent basis, I might try to start running again, though!

Phone | Voicemails from a mystery shop company who seems to desperately want my assistance. Cartwheel. Timehop. Etsy shop stats that I check far too often. Blurry photos of my kids.

Top 5 List | Big hugs around the neck from my girl. Hearing "Mommy, I not want to grow up" from my boy. My thriving little backyard garden. The potential for my Etsy shop. Summer possibilities.

Bucket List | Between my 30 by 30 and our Summer Bucket List - a ton of things!

Mind | Oh, heavens. This could go on for weeks. Some health issues. Addie's teeth. What to pack for vacation coming up soon. The play I haven't written yet for the drama class that starts in a few weeks. Things I learned recently about chiropractic care and genetic makeup and predisposition to certain conditions. My mind is weighed down right now. Trying to let go and trust that all will be well, but that's hard.

Blogroll | Sad face. I haven't read any blogs in weeks. I've been slammed and Bloglovin' has been the thing to go for the moment. Looking forward to reconnecting soon!

Walls of Your Favorite Room in Your House | It's the Super Nintendo Nursery. Always has been, likely always will be.

Last Credit Card Statement | Some groceries. Some takeout. Bill for the removal of Andrew's wisdom teeth.

Screensaver | Hasn't changed. A really sweet photo of Addie walking at Silver Dollar City, wearing her sock monkey hat and grinning. It's my favorite.

TV Every Night | New Girl. Currently season 2. The Nick and Jess kiss. Ahhhh!

Wordless Wednesday: Snow is Coming. BUY ALL THE BANANAS!

What's On Your... {December 2013}

The last time I wrote a post like this was in July! I can't believe we are less than three weeks from 2014. That's just....crazy!

What was on my kitchen floor while I was trying to multitask last week!

Vanity | I don't have a "real" vanity, but my poor, poor dresser has been in pretty much the same state since April. Even though my ears are pierced, my holes seem to have closed up in the last few months (?!) so I am planning to go through all my jewelry and make a box of things I really like and may want to use should I ever decide to have them re-pierced. I'm also going to make a small collection of earrings from my era of hoops and dangly and random - to keep in case Addie wants them someday.

Perennial To Do List | I still have a huge backlog of video editing projects. I'm getting closer to the opening of the Etsy shop, however! My goal is to have the shop open before the end of the year.

Refrigerator Shelves | Organic Lemonade. Butter for making sugar cookies. Kale. Broccoli that has certainly gone bad by now. Cheese cubes leftover from Addie's birthday party (they're certainly bad, too). Lots of probiotics. Half a bottle of pumped milk.

Itinerary | Nothing. But we're thinking about getting a 2014 season pass to Silver Dollar City after our fun at the Old Time Festival.

Fantasy Itinerary | Disney World! And Europe, but when the kids are much older than toddlers.

Playlist | Frozen Soundtrack (loved the movie). Mindy Gledhill: A Pocketful of Poetry. Wee Sing for Christmas and other random Christmas-inspired playlists.

Nightstand | A cloth diaper insert, half a bottle of water, tropical lip balm from Gap, a lot of dust, and a random old Christian fiction book that I enjoyed when I was 15 and tried to read last year. I honestly can't remember the title!

Workout Plan | I would like to go running! Unfortunately that does not seem to be a possibility these days, since a certain miss does not sleep unless I am with her. That leaves very little time for anything, and exercise is not at the top of the list.

Phone | Voicemails from AT&T because our Internet was out last week, Instagram (my favorite), Momento (wonderful for keeping track of little moments with the kids), Kidoodle.TV app (for an upcoming post - watch for that).

Top 5 List | Christmas morning. Addie saying "Pooh" and animal sounds (owl, lion, dog, monkey). Lincoln saying "Love 'oo, mommy" before bed each night. Planning birthday parties. Wrapping gifts and curling ribbon!

Bucket List | I'm actually writing a 30 Before 30 bucket list that I hope to share soon.

Mind | A little bit of exhaustion. Financial stress.

Blogroll |  Mom-a-Logues Reviews + Giveaways (she gives away the CUTEST things). Momma in Flip Flops. The Pierogie Mama. Mommy Panda.

Walls of Your Favorite Room in Your House | Hm. This is tough. I don't love any of my walls right now. We do have new paint in the master bath, which is nice.

Last Credit Card Statement | More than perhaps necessary? Lots of food. Some Christmas gifts. Craft supplies.

Screensaver | A really sweet photo of Addie walking at Silver Dollar City, wearing her sock monkey hat and grinning. It's my favorite.

TV Every Night | The Good Wife. Currently season 2.

iPhone Tip: Are You Using Your Emoji Keyboard?

I spend a lot of time on Instagram. This week, I learned something that is so fun: how to type those little icons or symbols or emoticons or - what they are actually called - emoji.

Social media has always been about photos for me, so it's (in my oh-so-humble opinion) quite possibly the best network out there. In my stalking casual observance of Instagram users, it seems frequent that these cute little Emoji appear. It's probably totally common knowledge and I'm sure I'm not astounding anyone with my wit here, but I'm so excited that I figured out how to use them that I have to share.

My iPhone 4S apparently came with a built-in collection of Emoji. I assume other models have them as well. Here's how to access them!

-Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Add New Keyboard
-Select the "Emoji" Keyboard

Yeah. It's that simple! Once you have enabled the keyboard, click on the globe icon whenever you are typing something on your iPhone. This will give you the option to switch between your keyboard options - so you can add all the cute little characters you wish.

Before I realized that it was so ridiculously simple, I had downloaded a free app that featured some Emoji icons and perhaps someday I'll experiment with adding more options. For now, I'm perfectly content with the included collection.

So tell me - did you already know about this or did I just blow your mind?

Baby Ears: To Pierce or Not To Pierce

The conversation kind of caught me off guard. It was a few weeks ago, and my drama students were chattering about whether or not their ears were pierced - and when they had had them done.

I've heard a wide response from my students over the years:

"I got my ears pierced when I was ten!"
"I was six."
"I had to wait until my twelfth birthday."
"Ughhhhh I can't get mine pierced until I turn sixteen."

And then, during this conversation: "I got mine pierced when I was a little baby."

It just made me think....would I pierce my daughter's ears?

I, personally, had to wait until the age of sixteen until I was allowed to pay for the lady at the Walmart jewelry counter to poke holes in my ears. My best friends had theirs done at age twelve, so I felt that I had waited literally forever. I was pretty excited about it and purchased just about every pair of 10 for $5 Claire's clearance earrings I could find.

In hindsight, I think my parents had a great strategy in making me wait "forever" to get my ears pierced. I'm still glad that I had them done. I enjoyed several years of amazing dangly earrings, in between the early phase of "what!-there-are-cherries-or-flip-flops-or-gnomes-on-these-amazing-earrings!!!!" and the stage I am in now - where I'm afraid to wear any sort of earring for fear that my earlobe will be ripped clean off by my loving offspring. I think Miss Adelaide will be waiting quite a few years before she is allowed to make the decision for herself.

Ultimately, though, it will be her decision. I have nothing against those who pierce their baby's ears - to each their own. I admit that I can't even imagine how to deal with caring for an infant's ear piercing (especially if it became infected!), but aside from that - I just don't think it's my decision to make.

And I'll enjoy looking at those beautiful, perfect un-pierced earlobes for...oh, about the next fifteen years.

Did you - or will you - pierce your child's ears? Why or why not?

What My Toddler Eats

I've learned a lot since I became a stay-at-home mom. One thing that's near the top of the list is that it's really easy to wake up one morning and think to yourself...how am I going to come up with ways to occupy another entire day? It's hard enough thinking of ways to entertain the munchkins, but sometimes the monotony of simple things like what to feed my toddler for breakfast is almost enough to throw you over the edge.

I try to keep a variety of healthy meal and snack options available for Lincoln. Until recently, Addie was content to just gnaw on a teether, but now she is demanding puffs or pieces of food every time Lincoln eats. I'm still trying to get into a rhythm of feeding both kids "real meals" at the same time.

Sometimes it seems like the only thing Lincoln eats is cheese, so I wanted to document a little bit of proof that he does generally at least taste a good variety of foods!

What to Feed a Toddler for Breakfast:

Pancakes, blueberries, and frozen apple juice stars (made in a silicone ice cube tray).

Cheerios with milk. Or, artistic interpretation of a map.

Organic waffle, sliced banana, GoGosqueeZ AppleMango sauce.

What to Feed a Toddler for Lunch: 

Spaghetti with marinara (or as we call it, "red noni" - macaroni), cottage cheese, blueberries.

Annie's Mac & Cheese, GoGosqueeZ Applesauce, string cheese.

Cantaloupe, cottage cheese, sliced banana. This was a really picky day. He didn't want anything.

What to Feed a Toddler for Dinner:

We typically serve Lincoln whatever we are eating for dinner, along with a side item or two that we know he will eat. I know that it is important for kids to learn to eat "normal" foods - but I also don't want to send my child to bed starving because he refused to try anything on his plate. When he is five? Maybe that will be reasonable, since he will understand that he needs to eat what is placed before him. But for now, I try to find the middle ground.

Pasta with homemade Alfredo sauce (also known as "white noni"), string cheese, cantaloupe, GoGosqueeZ Applesauce.

Grilled chicken, French fries, cantaloupe from the Farmer's Market, GoGosqueeZ Applesauce. Yes, in case you haven't noticed, we should very likely buy stock in applesauce.

French toast, scrambled eggs, blueberries.

Looking back on this post, it seems that the only fruits we serve are blueberries and cantaloupe. Quite honestly, that's not true - we've just had these particular fruits on hand the last few weeks. We also have a lot of apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and watermelon. Noticeably absent from these photos? Vegetables. I know. We are a work in progress about that over here. Lincoln generally won't touch them - no matter what - so I try to hide them in muffins or pasta sauce or something like that. If you have more clever ideas for getting toddlers to eat veggies, please throw them my way!