Bits of Life

Fall Back by Kate Brightbill

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Oh hey! Memo! Maybe you've heard? "Fall back" isn't popular with the parents-of-young-children crew. Statuses have been updated, tweets have been tweeted, clocks have been instagramed regarding this issue... 

We all got up a bit earlier this weekend, or so it felt. We didn't, really though. I think four years in, I've realized that it's perfectly fine. I am grateful for the morning light, and the earlier dark. It feels terribly hard to get up at six rather than seven, but I know there are {a lot of} people who think 6 is a perfectly acceptable wakeup time. If that's you, I commend you.   

Fall is good. Cozy is good. 

 

 

Happy Halloween! by Kate Brightbill

Next year I'll plan further in advance so I'm not spending all of my cleaning-the-house time making costumes, but I'm pretty happy with the way our last-minute costumes turned out! Halloween is so crazy fun. It's the best holiday of the year for Facebook and Instagram, in my opinion. I can't get enough of my friends and their kids in their amazing costumes. You with me?  

(ps. this isn't a legit backdrop. it's just cloud tissue paper I was planning to use with the golden gate bridge costume that didn't work, so we used it for a photo op instead!) 

(ps. this isn't a legit backdrop. it's just cloud tissue paper I was planning to use with the golden gate bridge costume that didn't work, so we used it for a photo op instead!) 

It's a lovely holiday {who SAYS that? With its ghosts and goblins, perhaps the word "lovely" is an overstatement, but with tiny kids, it really does feel lovely}, and it's fabulous getting our fair share of sugar for the house for the year. Maggie hooked us up with toddler handfuls at each house. She's little enough to go for the double dose and people said "aww, it's fine" rather than "no, only one!!" Got to love the double standard. 

People had their brilliant Halloween marketing going on the streets too- pens with business names for the parents, toothbrushes with dentists' phone numbers, etc. I'm good with it all. Starting a business is tough work, so you may as well market your little heart out when you can! ;)  

Our costumes were the last-minute type that Heidi Klum says she would rather stay in than wear, ;)... but I'm okay with that. The surprising thing? Sophie got rave reviews on her bridge. I mean, people were stopping her left and right with compliments. It was strange for us because we're always the blend-right-in costumers that no one notices, so I was feeling pretty good about this. It may actually motivate us to put MORE effort in next year... I already told Brian that he WILL be in costume next year. 

So with all this new found love for Halloween {compliments do wonders, folks!}, I'm still happy it's over. It got chilly here... chilly is relative, I know... and I'm ready for some holiday music and gift-buying!! YES.

Confession? We got coffee from Starbucks this morning and part of it has to do with the red cups. I know I'm not the only one. Those schemes are hugely successful... props to them for being marketing geniuses!

And happy Friday! 

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Halloween! by Kate Brightbill

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Is Sophie a fan of her Halloween costume? 

Yes, yes she is. ;)

She requested today... firmly... that for Halloween she would like a Golden Gate Bridge costume. Brian and I suggested grapes. We have a purple hat and everything... all we'd need is to clothe her in purple or green, blow up balloons to tape all over, and voila! Grapes! We'll be doing the strawberry version for Maggie, so they could be fruit themed. 

Nope. Golden Gate Bridge. Or a cracker {she's realized how endless the possibilities for Halloween are, so crackers were the closest inanimate object}.  

Shortly after the conversation, the doorbell rang. Honest diapers at our service...

{side note to those wondering: we did start potty training, but two successes in three days made us realize we should hold off a few months and try again!}.

More important than the diapers themselves? The BOX. Okay, Sophie. Golden Gate Bridge it is. The box settled it. 

Happy Halloween Eve! Here's to hoping I can finish Maggie's strawberry costume the morning of!! Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute, right? 

 

Vacations are Beautiful by Kate Brightbill

Brian and I went on a trip! Without kids!  I missed them with all my heart, but we really needed this time away...

If you follow on Instagram or Twitter, this is old news. If you don't, hey... follow! 

I'm currently sitting on my own couch in our own home and I am refreshed and excited about life as can be. We flew in, gave our kiddos a million kisses and a couple little toys from our travels, and now we are blissfully enjoying our last moments of peaceful quiet before we hit the ground running tomorrow.  

Tomorrow is the day before Halloween, during which the girls and I will be scrambling to create a Halloween costume from who-knows-what. If you see them as cowgirls again on Thursday, you'll know that I had an epic Halloween fail and decided to re-use the rodeo ensembles for the holiday, but I'm hoping I have some creative tricks up my sleeve. I may need to scour Pinterest during their nap/rest time tomorrow.  

We didn't go far for our long weekend... a quick one-hour flight down to SoCal. We started our time at a pumpkin patch to hang with some friends and I'm hoping we can make it to the pumpkin patch with OUR kids before they notice the pictures of us enjoying a hayride with other friends' kids, ha!  

 

When our children aren't around, Brian and I turn our cameras on each other... and yes, we did do the wagon ride, corn maze and pumpkin patch on our weekend away... ;)

When our children aren't around, Brian and I turn our cameras on each other... and yes, we did do the wagon ride, corn maze and pumpkin patch on our weekend away... ;)

Brian and I needed this time away. Goodness, does anyone chase toddlers for a living and relate? The loveliness of motherhood can somehow get lost and forgotten in the depths of exhaustion, so this opportunity to refresh has just brightened everything. We had full, thorough, un-rushed conversations about any and everything that came to mind. Some may say we totally planned our weekend poorly because- well- we planned almost nothing, BUT, the lack of planning was intentional. Having absolutely nothing on our agenda meant we could improvise and do whatever we wanted!! At this stage in our life, this is a total novelty. 

I have so much to say, but so little time. Bedtime now, because two little cuties will be waking us bright and early tomorrow! More soon! 

 

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xoxo.