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Aug 19

Birth Order, New Shoes and An End of Summer Track Meet.

This post is sponsored by our friends at Zappos.

Have you guys ever read books about birth order? It’s something that totally fascinates me. I believe there is real truth there. I am the first born in my family and obviously so is Rowan. I can tell already with her that she is sooooooooooo a first born. Rowan looooves to follow rules, is super bright, hardworking, and very motherly to her siblings. It’s fun to read about each child and what characteristics they might have based on the order they were born. One thing I’ve paid close attention to is what they say about middle children. Dear, sweet, sensitive Finley. I really try hard to not, what we like to call “middle child” her. We try to give her as much individual time and attention as we can and make sure she always gets her very own special things. I try to keep the hand-me-downs to a minimum. That’s why I was so excited to team up with Zappos and let her pick out these new Leepz sneakers by Stride Rite. I knew she would feel so special since these were our very first venture into light up shoes in our family. She has been walking, jumping and skipping around the house making them light up. It’s been so, so cute. I think (I mean I know) a part of her really likes hearing Rowan say she wishes she had a pair as well. I love being able to give her special moments that are all her own. Finley is also super excited because, as the middle child she’s so in looooooove with her older sister, and she can’t wait to take her new shoes to the track and be like Rowan. She told me she thinks she will be able to run just as fast as Rowan does. We found a high school in the area that has weekly family track meets. Everyone is invited to come race, no matter what age you are. Finley races, Rowan races, Kev races, it’s awesome!! The kids have been having such a great time going every week and with Finley’s new shoes you can bet she is going to run like the wind.

These are the perfect shoes to take her from the end of summer and keep her running straight into the back to school season. We don’t need tons of back to school gear this year because we are homeschooling the kids (I can imagine there will be lots of pajama days) but new shoes were definitely on the list. I am glad that we could easily (Zappos makes everything easy!) check that off the list. Whooohooo!

A few from the past track meet…

^^go FinFin go!!

Aug 14

Through the Eyes of Rowan | Part 1

Aug 14 | Lifestyle

Last year for Rowan’s birthday we decided to get her, her very own camera. She has carried that thing around with her everywhere ever since. I’ve been meaning to post the pictures she takes, but I’ve just never gotten around to it. We had a mess up with a memory card at one point, and lost a ton of her photos. Total bummer!!! However, here are some of her pictures from the last few months. I love looking through them! It’s like a little inside glimpse into what she thinks is interesting or beautiful. The camera we got her isn’t marketed as a kids camera but honesty, I can’t imagine an adult buying that camera for themselves (Sorry if anyone has it for themselves- hahaha!) I mean, there is a slideshow function with dancing bears?? And all the borders?? Anyway, what sold us on the camera for her, was that it was waterproof and shockproof. It’s had its fair share of drops, etc… and it’s still working perfect. It’s a great little digital camera for any kid (it also takes videos).

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Through the eyes of rowan

Aug 11

One Big Happy Shopping Trip | Our Everyday Style

Aug 11 | Our Everyday Style

It’s back to school season! I love this time of year. I’ve always, always felt like this is the real “new year” more so than January 1st. Anyone else? I love the buzz in the air, the school supplies, the change in season and of course… back to school shopping! We are starting a new homeschool journey this year with the girls. We couldn’t be more excited about it!! So even though the girls don’t necessarily have a actual need for back to school clothes- Everyday this summer I’ve looked at them like “how in the world are you guys this big? this grown up?” Crazy! Rowan put on a pair of her jeans the other day and I swear they barely even came to her shins. Everyone needs new clothes for fall. For me, ease is key to shopping for the kids, and that means shopping online. I love when shopping can be easy!! Anyone with small children knows that going to the mall can be a disaster waiting to happen.

We teamed up with Gymboree today to share their new easy to shop, back-to-school bundles. Each bundle was handpicked by a expert stylist, making it easy to find pieces that work well together and cover all the bases on your shopping list. I love seeing the girls styles emerge as they get older. I let them look around the bundles and pick out the outfit they wanted. Finley is always looking for poofy skirts or dresses. Anything pink or purple with glitter and sparkles. Rowan on the other hand is growing in to a much older style. She has ditched the pink and purple and seems to go for denim and blues/greens. So cute!

Make sure to head over to Gymboree and shop all these cute pieces!!!

(p.s. omgosh you guys! If these aren’t the cutest dang pictures of my kids to date!!)

OUTFIT DETAILS:

Rowan:
Plaid Dress
Ankle Boots
Denim Jacket

Finley:
Tutu Skirt
Kitty Tee
Sparkle Sneakers

Orion:
Roar Tee
Jeans

This post was sponsored by Gymboree. All opinions and pictures are my own.

Aug 03

Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale Naan Pizza

Aug 03 | Clean Eating Recipes

Do you guys want to know what one of my most favorite foods are? Pizza! I don’t mean plain cheese pizza though. I’m talking fancy pizza. You know, the kind of pizza with crazy delicious toppings that you don’t normally see on pizza. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about this pizza. I’ve shared pizza recipes before on the blog, but today we’re making pizza with roasted butternut squash and caramelized onions. Are you ready to have your mind blown? One of my other favorite things about homemade pizza is that it’s pretty quick. This recipe took no time with our oven’s no preheat feature- Ahh I love that feature. I hate waiting for the oven to preheat! Love how it makes cooking a quick dinner, that much quicker! Let’s get started shall we?

Ingredients:

3-4 cups butternut squash, cubed
2-3 cloves of garlic, skin removed, halved
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch of cinnamon and chili powder
1 tablespoon of maple syrup or honey
1.5 Sweet onions, sliced thin
1-2 Tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of gorgonzola
1 cup kale leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 pieces of Naan bread

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Add cubed butternut squash and garlic to a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and a pinch of cinnamon and chili powder. Toss to coat.
3. Bake for 20-25 mins or until soft
4. While the veggies roast, caramelize the onions. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with butter. Add the onions and cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. When done turn off burner and set aside.
5. When veggies are done roasting, transfer to a blender or food processor and add remaining tablespoon of olive oil and maple syrup. Blend until smooth. Adding a touch of water to adjust if consistency is too thick. You want the texture to be spreadable but not too liquidy so that it won’t hold it’s shape.
6. With naan bread, spread the butternut squash sauce down as a base for the pizza.
7. Top with caramelized onions, kale, parmesan cheese, gorgonzola and pine nuts.
8. Turn oven up to 425 and bake pizzas on rack for about 10-15 mins, or until edges of naan are getting crispy and cheese is melted.
10. Slice, serve and eat up all the deliciousness!!