Wednesday, October 28, 2015

what's up wednesday?!

Happy Wednesday everyone! You may have noticed the name change on this ol' blog of mine! Yes, my domain URL is still linked to multipurposemama.com but it is in the process of being transferred to my new domain - www.thishappylifeblog.com. I had to add blog to the end of it because I wanted it to match my blogger URL - this happy life through blogger was taken (by someone who never published 1 post and clearly isn't active on it!)

So anyway, yes, this neck of the woods is now called This Happy Life - it's simple, it's clean, and it just seems so much more fitting for my little space here. I always have these random moments where I sit and realize just how happy I am with my life and let me tell you, it's a great feeling. I saw this quote and it rings so true! We create our own happiness!

Everything about this space will remain the same, I just felt it was time for a name change.



Anyway, that's my little behind the scenes recap on the name change. Let's move on to What's Up Wednesday!? This is my first time joining in the fun with Shay, Mel, & Sheaffer




What we're eating this week:

This week I tried a new recipe - a homemade loaded potato soup and OMG was it delish! Hubby asked if it could be added to our dinner rotation. I wish the kids would have enjoyed it more but oh well, can't win them all.  

This rustic Loaded Potato Soup is so easy to make and has a ton of flavor!! Loaded Potato Soup is comforting, warm and you can tailor it to your tastes.:
via

We also had one of our very favorites which is already on the rotation - chicken enchilada casserole. It's soooo easy and soooo good!

Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole – 4 ingredients is all it takes to make this popular Mexican dish. It’s cheesy, it’s spicy, it’s sinfully delicious.:
via


What I'm reminiscing about

With Halloween right around the corner, I've been thinking back on the past 5 Halloweens.  They have truly been the best Halloweens of my whole life because they include my kids.  You can see their past costumes here



What I'm Loving:

The Wet Brush - seriously, why was I so late to the game in how amazing this brush is!? My kids use to cry and scream every time I brushed their hair and now not one single whine comes out of their mouths! It's amazing, you should get one now :) You can find several colors here

The Wet Brush Detangling Shower Brush, Colors Vary


I'm also LOVING my new soak and strain bowl.  I saw this on Pinterest then did an Amazon search and bought it immediately.  I have been using this so much and know I will continue to as well. 

Art and Cook 2.1-Quart Small Soak and Strain Washing Bowl, Green

I'm still loving my Kate Spade planner! I still get so happy everytime I look at it.



What we've been up to:


Well since our house was hit by the plague we haven't really been up to much.  The kids finally all just recovered over the weekend but we've still been kind of keeping it low key. Weekend was spent just soaking up family time and this week was back to our normal routine. 

Me and the girls have been having a fun week so far while big brother is back at school.









What I'm dreading:

Daylight savings time this weekend! Why oh why do we have time changes? I use to love the "fall back" until I had kids...anyone with kids knows how much this time change sucks




What I'm working on:

Right now nothing (which is nice for the moment) I did just finish up putting together my kids' Halloween costumes. I had so much fun this year and you can see how I put them all together here





What I'm excited about:

Halloween!! My kids are SO excited this year which makes me SO excited! They've been counting down the days to Trick or Treat pretty much all month so this week when they're saying "It's almost time for trick or treating!" they are actually right :)



What I'm watching:

The hubs and I have some new shows we just started watching - Grandfathered and The Grinder.  Grandfathered is hit or miss each episode but Grinder is so freaking hilarious! Gotta love Rob Lowe.



How to Get Away With Murder is another one of my fave shows, it's getting SO good, I can't wait to see how this season is going to end.




What I'm listening to:

Right now the movie American Sniper is playing on the tv - the hubs is watching that while I type away.  Buuuut if I was in my car, I'm pretty sure we would be listening to any of of Taylor Swift's songs.  The kids always demand her cd when we get in.


What I'm wearing:

I've been living in my military jacket - I can't find my exact one but this one is similar

My buffalo plaid scarf has been making it's way into my wardrobe rotation and I still love it so much!



The hubby and I went out last weekend with friends and I got to wear some new jeans and a new sweater and it felt so good being dressed up!





What I'm doing this weekend:

Trick or Treating as I mentioned above :) But first we have Brayden's last soccer game Saturday morning then it will be time to go home and change into costumes and head out. I hope the weather cooperates and gives us at least 50 degrees and not too much wind!


What I'm looking forward to next month:

Thanksgiving! It's one of my favorite holidays and my aunt and uncle seriously make the best food! I' also looking forward to going to chop down our Christmas tree, which we usually do the day after Thanksgiving.  




What else is new:

Not too much (which I'm not complaining about!)  The kids will be starting their fall sports - Ella chose gymnastics (and she'll continue with dance) and Brayden chose floor hockey.



Have a great rest of the week!













Tuesday, October 27, 2015

name change update



I've been thinking about changing my blog name for some time now and *think* I'm finally ready to do so.  I still like Multi Purpose Mama but it just doesn't seem fitting to me anymore. I chose that name when I was a full time working wife/mama and it seemed more appropriate.

There are alot more steps than I realized that go into a name change so I'm making sure I have everything figured out before doing so.  But soon, it will be a little different around here so this is your heads up :) 

I hope I don't lose any readers in the process but I know that's a real possibility.  I'll be sure to keep everyone updated through IG as well in case something goes wrong through blogger.

That's all for today - just a PSA on my blog name change - Happy Tuesday!


Monday, October 26, 2015

{DIY} hallween costumes

Happy Monday, friends!

I thought I'd stop by to show how I put the kids costumes together this year - thankfully this year they picked super easy costumes (and I had some say in 2 of them, ha ha)

I don't always make their costumes to save money, sometimes that's just an added bonus, and other times they cost more to make than if I would just buy them.  I'm happy this year it was super fun to put their costumes together and super budget friendly as well - win win.

First up - my favorite, Batman! Brayden has been telling me he wanted to be Batman since the day after Halloween last year - I thought for sure he'd change his mind but nope, kid knows what he wants, even if it's a year in advance.





For the Batman costume you will need:

  • Black sweatpants
  • Black sweatshirt or black long sleeve shirt
  • Batman mask and cape - can be found here for super cheap!
  • 2 pieces of yellow foam sheets (can be found at any craft store)
  • Modpodge
  • Batman logos (just do a google search) printed in 2 different sizes (I used a larger one for the shirt and cape and a smaller one for the belt) 
  • optional: needle and thread
First up what I did was print my Batman logos and trace them on the yellow foam sheets. (I wish I could take the credit for this but I found a great tutorial here)






For the belt, I traced the smaller logo then put a ruler over the middle and to the sides and traced around it.




Cut the belt out and then you can either attach it directly to the pants or shirt with a needle and thread or you can use an old t-shirt (black preferably) and cut long strips and attach those to the ends of the belt so that way you can tie it around your childs back.



For the shirt and cape - I cut out the larger logos and first attached with modpodge to the shirt and back of the cape.  It would have been just OK leaving it like this but I wanted it to be more secure especially since my boy has to wear his costume a few times this year, so I hand stitched around the outer part of the logos on both the shirt and cape





And that's it - super easy and simple DIY Batman costume! Here's my guy reading to fight crime :)


*I bought my sweatpants and shirt from Walmart in the toddler section for $3.88/each. The foam sheets were less than $1 each and the Batman mask and cape was $9 - totaling under $20!




Next up is Ella's costume - a black kitty cat.  Not just a cat, a black kitty cat. Make sure to say it like that when you see her or she'll get mad :)



For the black kitty cat costume you will need:

  • black leggings
  • black long sleeve leotard  (I found mine at Walmart for $9)
  • cat accessories (I found mine at Michael's and used 50% off coupon making them $10)
  • gold sequins + super glue  (optional)

Since Ella's being a black cat, sorry, a black kitty cat, that's a lot of black so I thought it would be fun to bling out her cat ears.  I super glued gold sequins to them and bam, done. Her whole costume cost me about $25 and I probably could have found a store bought costume for the same or less, but I love how sleek the black is with the pop of gold :)



Her hands on her hips kill me - she's been practicing in dance class and almost has it down :)






Now onto Miss Avery's costume - a chubby bunny, or just a regular bunny. Chubby bunny is what I call her so I thought it fit.

Out of all 3 costumes, Avery's was the easiest and the cheapest.  Her total costume cost me $10! I bought the long sleeve onesie and leggings at Kohls using my 30% off coupon and the bunny accessories were from the $ store.



For the chubby bunny costume, you will need:

  • Grey long sleeve onesie
  • Grey leggings
  • Bunny accessories (I found mine at the dollar store!)

This costume doesn't need much explaining - just put everything on and you're done :) I think on Halloween I'll put a nose and whiskers on her too.





And that's how I made my little ones costumes this year. I LOVE doing stuff like this and I'm happy they don't know any different to bug me for a store bought costume, I'll be so sad when that day comes!


Friday, October 23, 2015

Happy Friday {10.23.15}

Hey hey friends! A very happy Friday to everyone! I for one am just thankful that the crazy sickness that hit our house is on its way out! All 3 of my kids caught adenovirus and I truly hope no one has to ever deal with it because it is BRUTAL. Brayden has missed school everyday this week, including today!



Anyway, no more talk about being sick, moving on to bigger and better things, like the Friday link up party.


{ONE}

The hubby and I are going out tonight and I cannot freaking wait.  People, listen, I've only been out of my house 3 times in 9 days and it's been to go to the dr or the store to get more medicine. You can only imagine how ancy I am to get out.  I might just skip the actual food part of dinner and focus mainly on glasses of wine.



{TWO}

This is so random but last week I watched a Hallmark movie and the woman was wearing a mermaid Halloween costume that was gorgeous then while browsing Pinterest the other day I saw one very similar.  I know I don't love dressing up myself for Halloween but if we ever go to a fun party, this is what I want to be!

Of course I would have to DIY this because that price tag is crazy!
Kim K Mermaid Costume by ItsavGlamour on Etsy, $325.00:
via


{THREE}

Has anyone tried the whole DIY photo canvas thing? I think I'm going to give it a try, the tutorials are so easy and so much less expensive!

Print out photos from your home computer and mod podge onto canvas boards. The texture will make them look like they were printed on canvas!:
via

{FOUR}

I use to have a white puffer winter coat when I was younger from Express that I LOVED. I wore it until it turned yellow.  I would love to get another one although I'm not sure if it brings out my inner 15 year old, thoughts? This one is so cute!








{FIVE}

Velvet hangers - do you own them? I made the switch a couple of years ago and it was the best move! Our closet looks so much cleaner now and my clothes never fall off them!



Alright friends, that is all I've got today.  My duty as a professional snot wiper is calling :)


Happy Friday!






Linking up with:

Momfessionals

September Farm

Hello Happiness

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

halloween costumes {link up}

I'm linking up over at Momfessionals today to show off our Halloween costumes.  Well, really, the kids' costumes.  I've never been a fan of Halloween, I mean when I was little yes, but as I got older I never cared for it...that is until I had kids.  Kids change everything, don't they?

Now, I LOVE Halloween but still just for my kids, not personally. I don't usually dress up beyond a pair of cat ears or a witches hat, but for my kids I enjoy so much picking out what they're going to be then putting their costumes together. Yep - we don't usually do store bought costumes around here - I love making them!

This year my littles are being:

Brayden - Batman
Ella - Black Kitty Cat
Avery - A Chubby Bunny (that's her nickname around here)









2014 

I made Brayden's and Avery's but bought Ella's.

Brayden - Leonardo
Avery - Pumpkin
Ella - Minnie Mouse 







2013

This year we had 2 Halloween parties to go to so we dressed up as a family, the Flinstone Family. This was one of my favorites!! I was Pebbles when I was little so to recreate that with Ella was so fun :)






2012

This year Brayden was Mickey and Ella was a witch - Ella was only 1 month old so she didn't get much trick or treating experience :)






2011

This year was Brayden's 2nd Halloween and he was a cowboy who refused to wear his cowboy hat :)


Oh my gosh he was so small :)



2010

For Brayden's very first Halloween he was a doggy - and the cutest one I ever did see :)



This picture of him and Max kills me :)




There we go, that's as far back as I can go :) I can't wait to see everyone's Halloween costumes!


 
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