healthy halloween treats

my coworker shared this with me a week ago

it's adorable!  i especially love the banana ghosts
standard and mini chocolate chips are used for the eyes and mouths.
the pumpkins {clementines} are cute too.
i'm still trying trying figure out what the stalks are made out of.
maybe celery?

since explorer only allows for healthy treats,
these will be perfect for scout and finn's class halloween parties
next month. i haven't shown to the boys yet, but i think they will like.

~ the boys have finally decided on their halloween costumes.
scoutie's is on it's way in the mail, and i think i found one for myself
that will coordinate perfectly with theirs. i just need to order it or hit
the neighborhood spirit store before it gets too crazy.
{oh i just love halloween...probably as much as the boys}

summer in september

happy friday folks!

i've been neglecting my blog lately.
with the boys back in school {more homework},
soccer practices, more running as i'm training for this race,
and catch up reading so i don't get kicked out of my 'serious'
book club, posting has been a lower priority.

i've missed it....i really have.

despite full days, i did squeeze in a little fun too.
since so many of our weekends over the summer were spent on house projects,
c and i decided to take a little break this month and enjoy our
new {old} home...especially since the weather is so nice.

i finally hosted my 'serious' book club girls one evening
and the past 2 sundays, we had new friends from the neighborhood over
{one family with 6 kids), and new and old friends from all circles of our lives.

the kids swam, ziplined, played in the unfinished fort.
sadly, it's still not done. we really need to focus on it!
the boys want it ready before their cousins visit in nov.
a few fun photos of the past few weekends. 

 

finn saucedo {i coached this cutie in soccer last season}







 

scout {and finn above} made it onto the same soccer team again.

they call themselves the black dragons and though they are the youngest

and smallest on the team {now in the under 8 division), they don't seem to notice. 

they are fearless little fellows....want so badly to win.


a little snack at half time

 

 

~ i'm looking forward to saturday's soccer game and having

(4) 4th graders over tonight for a science sleepover!

 

no, i didn't 'theme' a sleepover {i'm not one of those moms}.

finn's just casually calling it this since all this friends are

science lovers like him.  i assure you there won't be decorations

or snacks based on science/space.  i will however, get up at the crack

of dawn to make pancakes with all the fixings for 6 little boys.

{my 2 make 6}.  whew!!

easy halloween costumes for book lovers

happy friday folks!

i discovered the london-based children's magazine, lmnop a year ago
or so and signed up for a subscription to their magazine.

this popped up in my mail yesterday and i just had to share on my blog:

via

 

what a terrific {and cute} idea,
simple halloween costumes based on book characters!
i'm partial to freckleface strawberry and iggy peck.

easy, cute and unique - what's not to love?!

if you remember the book iggy peck architect i posted on
a few weeks back, you must check out the recently published
book by the same author. i couldn't resist purchasing for our
home library last week.  it's titled rosie revere engineer

even though i'm not a mom to daughters, it's refreshing to
see a book that inspires through engineering, and reminds us
all through young rosie, that it's ok to fail.
and the key to success is to never give up.

another gem!

~ are you ready for halloween?
the san diego gerbers aren't but we are getting closer.
the boys keep going back and forth on their costumes.

magnificent maddy

i found a simple and free collage tool on the internet and tried my hand
at a photo collage {my first ever}. it was kinda fun and made for an easy
way to capture a few photos i took of my niece maddy.



























maddy was such a fun and patient model...
tolerating my two hoodlums who were jumping off
nearby lifeguard towers and rolling {head and all} in the sand.

after the shoot we dropped the boys off at the house with them
promising to go STRAIGHT to the bathroom to shower.
the girls headed to starbucks where we sat until 10pm catching up. 

it's hard to believe this lovely young lady turns 19 next week.
oh how i will miss maddy while she's away at school.

remembering 911

 

 

 

 

tiny treasures

despite finn's pleas for a baby sister,
the baby days are over for c and me.
we made it through practically unscathed,
and are a happy family of four.

i reminded finn he just might get a girl cousin from
auntie leslie in the spring. we'll just have to wait and see.
{it's very early yet}

in the meantime, we've had the pleasure of loving on several babies this summer.
our neighbor's baby boy, case, and our long-time friends son, jackson.
he visited recently and slept in my arms for almost two hours.
finney even got to give him some love.

and this cuddle bug below is my newest nephew jamison who i've yet to meet.
i SO want to smother him with kisses and blow bubbles on his cute belly.
{can he be any cuter?!}

he is already 6 months...my most favorite baby age of all.
finn was watching something about teleporting last night on nova and all i was
thinking about was how cool it would be to be able to teleport myself to florida
to visit this little guy.  i hope to see him sometime next year before he gets too big.





jamison shappard, 6 months

~ i have so much to post and am way behind - some summer stuff i don't
want to forget, including my mom's recent visit, and new photos of my niece
maddy. we had a sunset photo shoot tonight at the beach. we made sure to squeeze
in before she heads back to the u of oregon for her sophmore year of college!

fab friday find: george o hughes

happy friday folks!

i was poking around on art.com a few weeks ago looking for a
vintage or fun print for the guest/boys' bathroom, and i came across
this cute and quirky print.

i fell hard!

it's everything that makes me smile - it's casual, playful, full of
the colors that i love, and it has a little boy playing the piano.
{he reminds me of finn oliver}

for those around in 1960, you may remember it on the cover of
the washington post.  the artist is george o hughes. 

i'm not sure if this print will work in the bathroom,
but it will definitely go somewhere in our new {old} home.

~ we've had a heat wave here in san diego the past week and a half,
which had us turn on the a.c. for the first time since we bought the home.
im not looking forward to the electric bill next month.  *yikes*
with normal weather, i can finally start training for this race
i signed up for with my sister and my coworker.

back to school

the gerblets are back in school!
i'm not sure who's more excited,  them or their parents.

we officially have a 1st and a 4th grader.
and though scout doesn't look too happy here, he was thrilled
to be back with his same teacher, ms. lim and his classmates
from kindergarten. {they looped together}




scout (6 yrs), and finn (9 yrs)

 

 

after scout and i greeted his teacher and said hi to all the kids and their parents,
he kissed me goodbye and headed to the reading corner. 

he grabbed a book from a bin and sat down on the rug under the loft.
this is how i left him my big 1st grader.

when i dropped finn off, i learned his teacher and scoutie's teacher are sisters.
how fun and both are darling.  {i must snap a photo of the boys and their teachers}