Trick or Treat!

Today I am linking up with two of my favorite bloggers, Natasha from Schue Love and Julie from  the Girl in the Red Shoes for a virtual Halloween Costume party...funsies!

The idea for Rowen's costume came from one of her favorite TV shows, Super Why! on PBS.  Rowen loves this show so much, in fact, that every night after her bath she insists on putting her hooded towel over her head while running around her room yelling "Super Rowie to the rescue!".

I found her costume at Target one random day for only $18 complete with a detachable cape (no more bath towel) and headband!  I have a feeling it will be used many times for dress up play after Halloween is over...best $18 I ever spent!

Here are few shots of our little super girl..

Happy Halloween!!

Fall Family Photos 2014

For the second year in a row, my dear cousin Ashley, owner of Ashley Ireland Photography, photographed our little family of three.  I of course sweated all the details in planning everything, but Rowen of course had her own agenda (something I should probably know by now).

Luckily, Ashley had some sort of magic when it came time to get Rowen to smile for the camera and was able to capture great glimpses into our family's personalities.  Thank you, Ashley, xoxo!

Here a few of our favorites from our evening shoot!

Meal Plan Monday 10/27

I'm back!  It's been a crazy two and a half weeks packed with designing for two fall weddings, traveling non-stop for work, running my third half marathon and taking a quick family vacation! Now that things are finally starting to settle down (for now), I can get back into my regular blogging routine starting with Meal Plan Monday...

Monday:  French Onion Chicken Noodle Casserole 

Tuesday:  Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops

Wednesday:  Baked Spaghetti

Thursday:  Not cooking

Friday:  Copy Cat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

Shared with:

Org Junkie

Meal Plan Monday 10/6

This weekend was pretty low key.  Saturday, we got a lot done around the house, took a trip to the library, and ended it with a chili dinner at my sister's new house in Waukee!

Sunday I went for a run, attended a good friends' baby shower and ran our usual errands.
As I said, nothing too exciting so I will get right to it...  

Here's what's on the docket for meals this week!

Monday:  Ravioli Lasagna

Tuesday:  Easy Chicken Ranch Tacos

Wednesday:  Super Fast Swedish Meatballs

Thursday:  Not cooking

Friday:  Sweet Potato Quesadilla

Shared with:

Org Junkie

Artwork Organization

One of the things I love most about where Rowen goes to daycare is all of the art projects she does on a daily basis!  I think over the past two years we've collected 50+ pieces of art from her, which we proudly display in our kitchen! 

After about a month though we start to run out of room for all of her creations.  Eventually I’ll be pickier about the things we keep and the things we recycle, but right now I don’t have the heart to throw anything away.  To solve this problem I set out to find a simple storage solution.

Initially I wanted to buy these, but couldn't justify paying for them.   So instead, I headed to Target and found (for much cheaper) this dry erase ID Box! 

This tote is awesome.  It’s big enough to hold a number of things and also has a dry erase board on the front for labeling purposes…genius!

To help keep it organized I bought a bundle of cheap tabbed dividers.  They happened to fit perfectly inside the tote allowing me to easily separate out her artwork by year!

Like her art, I also don’t have the heart to throw away her birthday cards from the past two years.  I figured this would also be a great place to store those types of things, too!

My plan is to keep this box and fill it up each year with artwork, school work, report cards, class pictures, etc as a way for her to look back on her childhood when she’s older!  I am sure my organization techniques will change over the years, but until then this is my plan and I’m sticking to it!

Meal Plan Monday 9/29

This past weekend we decided to venture out to yet another pumpkin patch (I cant get enough).  This one was much smaller, but still offered plenty of fun for a two year old!

Rowen got to hold a kitten... 

....and picked a few pumpkins...

 ....while I purchased some festive decor for our front porch!  YAY!

This weekend I also made my first trip of the season to the Des Moines Farmers' Market!  In my opinion, Fall is the best time to go because the streets are filled with sun flowers, bright colored produce, pumpkins and my favorite...mums!

I saw some of the biggest, reddest tomatoes I'd ever seen at the market, which inspired me to find a few delicious tomato recipes to incorporate into this week's Meal Plan Monday - check it out...

Monday:  Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup (with Grilled Cheese)

Tuesday:  Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Italian Stuffed Peppers

Thursday: Not cooking

Friday:  Grilled Caprese Pizza

Shared with:

Org Junkie

Sea Life Aquarium in Kansas City

This winter, Ryan and I are hoping to take a couple of family get-a-ways to a few local museums and kid-friendly attractions. One of my goals on my summer bucket list was to visit a museum, but sadly, we just didn't have time to fit it in.  So instead I am going to have to add it to our Fall bucket list!

The Sea Life Aquarium in Kansas City is only a three hour drive from where we live so we have added it as one of the places we hope to see!

SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium will transport you into the amazing underwater world. Come nose to nose with sharks and prepare for astonishingly close views of everything from humble starfish and seahorses to graceful rays. To get any closer you'd have to get wet! Are you a Shark lover or Seahorse fanatic? Perhaps it's the graceful rays or the clever Octopus that you love the most. Maybe you simply can't decide! Here at SEA LIFE Kansas City you can make up your mind and see them all - from the curious and the rescued to the rare and the enigmatic. And you'll be able to get closer to them than ever before.

If you live in the midwest or plan to visit the midwest and are looking for something fun to do with your family this fall or winter they are currently offering $5 Off Sea Life Admission - Receive $5 off full price admission ticket.