On her birthday...

Yesterday, Kensington turned FIVE!  She gets to have a little friend party tomorrow and then our family will celebrate this Saturday, so on her actual birthday, we let her do her favorite things.  It was such a wonderful day!

Back in August, I was tired of hearing Kensington say, "it's almost my birthday, so can I ____".  And the blank was usually filled with things like "eat ice cream for dinner", "wear my swimsuit to church", "stay up late", etc.  I made this little calendar one day after she said, "it's almost my birthday, so can you go make my cake"...and we had 34 days to go.  She has loved marking off each day when she wakes up :).

Andrew, Smith and I went in to wake her up and sing Happy Birthday!

Downstairs, we had her gifts from us, a little banner, donuts and flowers.  Her favorite things.

Yum!

Here she is marking off her last day before we head to church.

This guy cracked me up yesterday!  He spent the entire day telling us how he is going to do his birthday differently.  For starters, he said his birthday will not fall on a Sunday because he doesn't want to go to church on his birthday, he wants to play with Nixon all day.  Then he said he doesn't want any cakes, cookies or cupcakes, just pizza all day.  When I asked him where I would put his candle, he said, "in my pizza, mom".  He also told me there would be no princess or mermaid talk on his birthday...we will all have to talk about superheroes all day.  January 18 sounds so fun, right?!?!  ;)

At Sunday school :)

He's trying to kiss her!

Kensington wanted pancakes for her birthday lunch...donuts, pancakes, why not?  You're only five once.  This is us in front of the restaurant.  I love these crazies!

:)

Mama had a large pumpkin spice latte in honor of that c-section scar I received 5 years ago.

The waitress brought out K's pancakes with a candle :).

Such a fun lunch with my family of four!  We took a moment and talked about sweet Ashby and prayed that she'll be with us next year.

Kensington's request for her birthday was to make brownies, order pizza, have Ebby Lee spend the night and watch Miss America on TV.  That sounded like the perfect night to me!  (And again, Smith rolled his eyes.  Everyone pray for me this January 18 when it's pizza 24 hours straight with Smith and Nixon...most likely both wearing superhero costumes!).

For dinner, Kensington wanted Dominoes Pizza and basic brownies.  Yes, the child of a foodie blogger was keepin' things simple.  They wanted to eat their pizza on the floor and have a "picnic", so I agreed.  And yes, Smith is wearing his footie pajamas from two years ago...he could barely stand up straight in them.  For some reason, that was the outfit of choice yesterday.

It was such a special little day.

Happy Birthday Kensington!

Need inspiration for dinner this week?  Meal Planning Monday is up!

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Happy Birthday Kensington Kate!

Today, our sweet Kensington Kate is five years old!

I can hardly believe it.  She has grown up way too fast.  

Kensington gave me the best title I will ever receive...mom.  On September 15, 2008, she made me a mama...something I wanted more than anything.  

We love you so much sweet Kensington.  We love how funny you are, how you love your brother so much and are always looking out for him.  We love how you talk about Ashby constantly and are already listing the things you plan on teaching her (the first 20 are all about Disney Princesses).  We love how you try hard to accomplish goals and never give up.  We love to hear you sing (all day!), and we love how you already pray and talk to Jesus.  You have such a tender heart.  

You light up our world.

Happy birthday sweet girl!

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First Day of School

Yesterday was my kiddos first day of school.  Kensington started Pre-K and Smith started another year of preschool.  They were both excited but this mama was a little sad.  I love having my kids home during the day.  Even though they're only in school a few days a week, I miss them.  Next year, Kindergarten...and I'll be a sobbing mess!

My sweet girl :)

I love this boy so much!

Off we went to school!

We pulled up at the same time as Erika and her kiddos.  These four are growing up so fast!  It just seems like yesterday that Erika and I were lamenting over not being able to get pregnant.  My how things have changed :).

After school, we went to Party City to buy stuff for Kensington's birthday parties (yes, she gets two this year...a friend party and a family party...we'll see how this goes!).  When I turned around, both kids had on hats :).

They had a great day at school and were super sweet while we ran two errands.

While at Target, I saw this.  Seriously, the phrase "Praise the Lord" came out of my mouth.  Pumpkin Spice, Vanilla Heat, and Spiced Latte were on the shelves.  I bought all three...I'll keep you posted on what I think!

And today, we have a winner for the Workout Mama's online bootcamp!  

Congratulations to Julie LoPiccolo!! 

Tamara from the Workout Mama will be emailing you today to get you all signed up. 

 And if you still want to participate, tomorrow is the last day to register.  Click here for more details!

And for a fun after school snack for your crew, why don't you try my Maple and Oatmeal Baked Apples...

They would make a fantastic breakfast too!

Have a wonderful day!

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Fifty Two Shades of Shay: Organizing, Saving and Donating your kids' clothes

I feel like I should put some sort of disclaimer on today's post.  Some of you are going to agree with me and some of you are going to think I've lost my mind and should hand over my mom card.   No matter what I say, please remember this...I love my children, I am not a completely insensitive human being, and I do have a heart...

Today, we're talking about getting rid of your kids' clothes (and let's just go ahead and say their artwork and craft projects too).

Yes.  I'm going to ask you to part with your kids' stuff.  Bear with me.  Deep breaths.  It will be ok.  (Some of you already toss your kids' stuff like crazy, so this doesn't apply to you.)

A few disclaimers:

1. My mother doesn't save anything.  Really and truly nothing.  I come by this honestly.

2. My mother's mother doesn't save anything either.  Nothing.  My mom comes by it honestly.

3. I knew my mother's mother's mother (my great-grandmother Lockey Brooks) pretty well before she passed away and she didn't seem like a saver herself.  She seemed like a toss it and don't cry about it kind of gal...so you see, we come by it naturally.

I clean out my kids' closets several times a year (with each new season) and am ruthless about what I keep and what I toss (and when I say toss, I mean give to someone else or donate...I never throw away their clothes).  Here's why I'm so ruthless...

Yes, their stuff is cute.  Yes, I have vivid memories of how precious they looked in it when they were babies.  Yes, I think back to those wonderful times and I cling to the knowledge that I remember the day I bought it at Baby Gap and then the days that they wore it and it was so sweet blah, blah, blah...but the bottom line is that at some point, all of these baby/little kid clothes are going to be someone's problem/junk/precious garage space, so I might as well clean it out now, give it to someone who will truly appreciate it and use and move on.

When I say that it will eventually become someone's problem/junk, I rationalize it this way...

If Andrew's mom showed up at my house one day with bins and bins of Andrew's baby and kid clothes and told me she had been saving it for 32 years and wanted us to have it, I would be irritated.  What am I supposed to with his baby stuff?  I don't need it.  I'm not sentimentally attached to it.  It would be in my way.  And then, I would put it in the garage and it would be in Andrew's way.  And we would both consider it junk.  (And let's say she kept it at her house until she was gone...when that day arrives, Andrew and I aren't going to be interested in any old baby clothes...we'll most likely be 65!). 

  I don't want my old baby stuff.  I don't want Andrew's old baby stuff.  I am so thankful our moms didn't hang on to it because it would have been wasted on us.  This is why I donate and don't save...because I know that one day, Kensington and Smith (and their spouses) don't want their old Gap onesie taking up precious garage space...but some people right now, do want those onesies and will be thrilled to have them, so I feel like I'm making better use of these items now and not hoarding them for the future.

So, here is my solution...

At our house, each child has one bin.  One.  And that is their bin of stuff I feel like I should keep forever.  Just one bin.  Right now in their bins, they each have about 6 items.  They each have the outfits they were wearing when they came home from the hospital.  Kensington has a dress in hers that my mom bought her in Italy, Smith has his first little Kansas State onesie...things like that.  I've also included Kensington's favorite book from when she was about 12 months old and Smith's favorite little stuffed animal from when he was a baby.  There is plenty of room left for other items we acquire over the next 18 years or so and don't want to part with.  This way, I can hand each kid one box some day and they can truly appreciate the items inside and perhaps really treasure them instead of handing them 425 bins of old outfits that become meaningless.

This is how we roll at the Shull house.  But don't fret!  I have a system for how things get into this box...

First, I go into one of their closets and sort through the things that I know don't fit or that I really don't think they'll wear again.  Then, I place those items in a big sack at the bottom of each of their closets...

...this would be Kensington's big sack.  

Every six months or so when the big sack is over-flowing (like on this day), I then go back through the sack to make sure we still don't want or need these items before I give them away.  

I love this method for a few reasons, first of all, if after cleaning out her closet, I realize that she still does need that little jacket, it's not already donated...it's just right there in the sack.  (Because sometimes we are quick when we clean out closets and later regret giving something away.)  And then I also love this method because I feel like I'm less sentimental the second time I consider giving it away (the first time I realize she will no longer wear something, it's kind of sad...six months later, I realize that yup, she can't wear that any more, we need to give it to someone who can).  It's when I'm cleaning out the big sack that I select items for their one big bin.  I really think it helps keep me from donating things I'm really not done with and it helps me not be too sentimental.

So, there you have it.  You asked.  I answered.  This is how I clean out my kids' closets.

Of course if you're not done having children, this method wouldn't work as well for you because I'm sure you are saving clothes for subsequent children...but when you reach that point when you know you're done, this is what I recommend you do.

I mentioned their artwork above too and that stuff also goes in their one bin.  As much as I love my kids' things...I absolutely cannot keep everything they draw/make/create/build or you people would see me on a different kind of reality TV show...Hoarders.

I pick special pieces to go in their bin.  My hope is that one day, I can give each of them their one bin with a few clothing items, stuffed animals, maybe a blanket and a few pieces of art and they'll truly appreciate their things.  But if you don't think you can do this, don't fret.  Just give each of them two bins.  Or three.  Just scale it back a bit...life is just so much better uncluttered.

If you have organizing tips, please, please, please share!  I would love to hear your tips too!

On the foodie blog today...

...an easy ice cream sandwiches made with Red Velvet Ice Cream!!  I was flipping out over this stuff!

And don't forget, Sheaffer's birthday week continues!

You should make an ice cream sandwich and then go check out Sheaffer's blog!

And one last thing!!  So many of you asked about the cute Back To School party that my friend Andrea threw for us on Sunday (from my Instagram pics)...well, she did a blog post about it just for you.  It was the cutest party!  Andrea always outdoes herself!  See all the details here.

XOXO

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Kensington's Spa Day

At the beginning of the summer, I was approached by Crafters Crate to review their product.  I had never heard of Crafters Crate, so  I went online to check them out.  Holy moly!  Where have these people been these last few years???  They are a company that sends crafts to your door every month for you to do with your daughter.

I was so intrigued.  I have admitted numerous times, that I'm not crafty.  Just the thought of going to Hobby Lobby and having to create crafts from scratch gives me hives.  So, the idea of someone gathering the supplies and sending them to my door was really appealing.  I agreed to the review and awaited our box...

When our box arrived, we had no idea what was inside...but we were super excited to find out...

Kensington was really into this review!

Ohhhh....

It was a little "spa" kit for your girl.  Inside there was a little board to be painted with chalk paint (included), chalk and a brush, bubble bath, bath salt (that you combined with a little blue paint to make it extra fun, make your own chapstick, instructions on how to make a face mask, and a sleeping mask.

I was impressed with how organized and neat all of the instructions were.  Each little craft came in its own bag with all of the supplies and instructions included.  We began with the little door sign for her to use on the bathroom door...

Door sign, paint, paint brush and ribbon were all included.

Simple instructions to follow.

The next thing we did was make her own bath salt.  This was so simple that she was able to do it by herself. She loved it!

I think her favorite part was making her own chapstick.  This required a little adult supervision but the end result was worth it.

At the end of the night, Kensington hung her sign on the bathroom door...

And relaxed in the tub.  She had her bath salt in there, the bubble bath that was included and her chapstick on.  She absolutely felt like a big girl and loved it!  The only thing we didn't do was the face mask because it required an avocado and I was out.  

That night, she snuggled up all clean and refreshed and wore her eye mask.  Seriously.  She wore it all week!  And yes, those are snowman sheets.  Don't judge.  They are flannel and comfy and we love them.  (You're judging but that's ok.)

Overall, I was more than impressed with my first Crafters Crate!  I really didn't know what to expect, so my heart was really happy when I saw what was inside our kit.  I thought the craft was age appropraite, easy enough to do without a lot of adult supervision and something that she could use over and over again (the face mask and the chapstick are still being used).  I also thought this craft gave us a great opportunity to talk about how things are made (like the lipstick mommy wears) and how it's important to understand the ingredients in beauty products.  The only things that didn't work well for us was the fact that it required an avocado (which I didn't have) and the face mask came with a needle and thread to be sewn together (to fit your daughter's head) but I didn't want to mess with that...therefore, I safety pinned it on.

If you want more info on Crafters Crate, check their website out here.  Right now, they're offering $10 off your subscription with promo code mixma10.  

After several of your comments, the founder of Crafters Crate left this comment on today's post...

Hey everyone! I thought it would be good for everyone to hear about why I started CraftersCrate. I have done lots of work with children, mostly young girls. We don't hate boys at CraftersCrate but I wanted a way that parents could connect with their daughters and teach them about important values like self image and self worth through crafts and activities. We believe that the young girls of today are going to be the leaders, business women and mothers of tomorrow and we want to be the first step on that journey. We do love everyone's enthusiasm however and are looking in to a boy box. so keep checking in with us!

Happy Crafting
Rachael 
Founder of CraftersCrate

And...everyone listen up!  Today begins Pinterest Told Me To's big blog birthday week!  She is giving away a $365 Nordstrom gift card in honor of her first birthday!  You must click here to check it out!!

I am so excited about Sheaffer's blog and her big birthday week!  It's going to be spectacular!!


And today over at my foodie blog, I'm giving you a Back to School Menu that's simple, quick and perfect for celebrating their first day of school!

Enjoy your Monday!

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