Stitch Fix #4 - March 2014

It's my 4th Stitch Fix box! Let's get to my horrible selfies, shall we?!  

First up is this Downing Striped Knit Shirt.  I decided against keeping this only because I really think I could find something very similar at Old Navy.  But looking at these pictures now makes me have second thoughts now.  

Next is the Baltimore Chevron Striped Knit Shirt.  This shirt was amazingly comfortable and I loved the little cap sleeves.  I kept it!  

However, I'm really thinking this shirt needs a pop of something.  So, I tried my red rosette necklace with it. Not sure if that's the right choice or not, but I'll keep trying. Also thinking it could use a cardigan and it would be great for fall/spring time.  

I also received this Andrea Floral Brocade Knit dress.  It was horrible on me that I couldn't even post a picture here.  It was that bad.  I'm sure it would probably look much cuter on someone else, but it was just not for me.  

This is the Evann Solid Maxi skirt.  It fit great, but I already have a couple of maxi's from last year. I don't even wear those enough, so I definitely don't need another one! Sent back!  

And finally, I also got this manteca colorblock short sleeve blouse.  See those wrinkles?  That's what ultimately did it for me.  I don't iron unless it's just absolutely, positively, very much needed - which is never. I don't want something that is going to wrinkle this easily.  However, in my description cards, they have paired this top with coral jeans and I think that may be really cute together! Status: Sent Back! 

This was definitely NOT one of my favorite boxes.  This time I changed my profile to the cheapest options available.  Not sure if that had anything to do with it or not? Also, maybe I should have kept the striped shirt over the chevron one?? For next time, I also specifically asked for an item, so we'll see if that happens too.  I still really like this service and trying things that I normally would overlook.  

My other boxes:

Stitch Fix #3

Stitch Fix #2

Stitch Fix #1

Sign up for Stitch Fix with my link here! :)

What I love about you...

I know Valentine's was last week, but the whole month of February still makes me associate it with love.  

What I love about Jenna:

*you always try to make us laugh

*how much you love your baby sister 

*your jack-o-lantern smile 

*the way you care about others

*how social you are and how all of the other kids love playing with you

What I love about Jillian:

*your giggles

*how you are babbling so much now

*how much you already love dogs!

*when you reach for me or crawl towards me

*the way you sleep and like to hold on to things

What I love about John Michael:

*how silly you are with the girls

*how much of a hard-worker you are

*the way you look at me

*how you truly care about your patients

*your passion for photography

*how socially active you are

*your eyes

*the way you always try to make me laugh

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Also, on a side note, my story of 5 domain name will be expiring around March 9.  This just means you will no longer be able to type in www.thestoryof5.com - You will have to start using www.hardinhappenings.com instead.  

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Around our house...

John Michael got these new USB plugs installed in a few of our outlets a couple of weeks ago.

Jenna made this little area for Max.  She included food and water, his toys, a blanket and pillow, and his very own name sign. It was really sweet.

For Christmas, I got JM one of these tabletop tennis thingys.  We have actually used it way more than I thought!  

JM also got this huge bean bag for the movie room.  It is so comfy!  

And Jillian is getting into all kinds of things and making a mess whenever possible.

I had to say good-bye to my favorite glasses.  I got these as a wedding present. Unfortunately, they are so thin that they have all broken so easily.  This one had a crack in it from the dishwasher so I had to go ahead and throw it away. I just took a picture so I could remember them.  

Just a few random things from around here.  :)

Jillian is 9 months!

Our Jilli Bree turned 9 months on February 7.  I'm a little late posting this because I wanted to wait until after her check-up today so I could remember to put in her stats. 

*Weighs 17.9 lbs and is 27 inches.  So far, I think she is a little bit shorter than compared to Jenna.

*Wearing size 6-12 month clothing. I've already had to put away most of the 9 month clothes.  As far as shoes, I'm not sure because she's been wearing the Robeez type a lot.  Diapers are a size 3.

*Doesn't have any teeth at all.  However, this girl can eat and eat and eat.  She is really starting to enjoy food and she now loves to pick it up and feed herself.  I've been giving her more and more "real" food too and I'm amazed at how well she does without any teeth!

*She has started taking a few steps!  She can take around 2-3 steps before she falls down.

*I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but we've also discovered she's a climber!  She has learned how to get on a few of Jenna's stepstools and she can go up the stairs.

*She has started having babbling conversations with us.  It's really cute.  She says ba-ba, ma-ma, da-da, etc...I repeat them back and then she keeps doing it.

*She can clap and she also started signing "more."  I guess I need to freshen up on my baby sign language skills now because I've forgotten just about all of them.

*Still takes 2-3 naps per day and goes to bed around 7 and wakes up around 7.  (Well, she wakes up around 7 because I usually have to wake her up then. I have noticed on our snow days and weekends that she will usually sleep a bit later.)  Both girls LOVE their sleep!

*And here is a "real-life" picture with her.  She has discovered the joy of pulling all of the books and toys off the shelf.

Jillian Bree, you have been such a joy!  We waited for you for so long, and now I can't believe you've already been here for 9 months!!!!

10 on 10 - February 2014

10 pictures for the 10th of the month

Monday, February 10th was a snow day for us!  Actually, another snow day here. We've had so many that I've lost track of them - maybe snow day #6 or #7???  Honestly, I'm not too worried by them all. Jenna is still getting out of school a week earlier than the other area schools. :)   

So, anyway, on to our day:

Jenna woke up close to 9 and this was her reaction when I told her it was a stay at home snow day!!

 

And this was Jillian's reaction to spending some time in the baby prison during the morning. ha.  And don't worry - she's totally fine after a few minutes, but there are times when she has to be in there because at least I know it's a safe place for her very active, little climbing body!  

I completely cleaned out our pantry.  I realized that I don't do this enough because I am so embarrassed at just how much I threw away.  I went through everything and took it all out and wiped down the shelves.  These are all of the spices I threw out because most of them had expired. And by expired, I mean the dates were mostly from 2012!  I'm guessing it just means that it isn't as flavorful?  Anyway, can you tell I don't cook enough???  

Lunchtime!  Jillian is LOVING food right now. I'll blog more about that on her monthly update.  One of Jenna's favorite things right now are sandwiches. She can even make it herself.  And see those cheese puffs?  Those are clearly from me trying to clean out the pantry! ha!  (I'm not a big fan of those.) 

It was a good day for breaking out the new paints that I got for Jenna.  

This one just cracked me up.  She drew a picture of her baby sister and I love how she made the hair ponytail sticking up.  She did this all on her own.  She loves that baby girl so much.  

I got a new app that lets you record all of your kid's artwork and mementos.  I just got it a couple of days ago, so I'm still trying it out, but so far it seems really neat! I took this picture to use for it.

And this is how I think Max feels about another snow day.  :(

I got my Birchbox in the mail.  It came with perfume, breath mints, hair oil, pore minimizer, and nail polish. The nail polish changes color when you are outside, so not sure how I feel about that?!?  Sadly, I was disappointed by this one.  I'm wondering if its time to pull the plug on this one and try a new beauty box.  I really do love the perfume samples though.   

While the girls were playing in the playroom, I worked on my consignment stuff.  The sale isn't til April but I'm determined to be more prepared for it this time around! And with TWO now, we have twice as much stuff! (I do have stuff saved for Jilli, but I can't keep every little thing or we'd run out of space here.) 

So that was our February 10th.  Really just another average day here.  I know this post was definitely not exciting but I really love looking back on our ordinary moments, so that's why I keep on keeping on with this. :) 

Dreaming of Summer clothes for my girls

Well, we are on snow day 2 of this week.  I am dreaming of all things summer - especially new clothing items for my girls!  Here are just a few things that have caught my attention lately: 

The first 3 items are all from Zulily.  I took advantage of their flat rate shipping incentive a few months back and I'm so glad I did now!  

1.  Keens for Jenna.  I've heard so many people say they love these shoes for their kids, so I thought we'd try them out to.  I think they will be great for swimming, playing outside, and going to Silver Dollar City!  

2.  Lemon Loves Lime gaucho's for Jenna -  These are just super cute and will be perfect for Jenna's school dress code.  She can wear a polo with them to school and then one of her t-shirts for everywhere else.  

3.  Bubbles for Jilli!  Oh my gosh - I can't tell you how excited I am to have another baby to dress in bubbles again!  

4.  Swimsuits!!!!!  These are all for Jenna. ( I've already bought a couple for Jillian and I don't even know if I will really take her that much this summer.) Anyway, as you can see, I really prefer the tankini style for her.  She already picked out the anchor swimsuit from Gymboree, so I went ahead and bought that one.  The purple and blue is from Justice and the pink one is from The Children's Place.  I'm really like both of the polka dots so we will probably have to pick one of those too!  (or maybe both...haha!)

5.  And for both girls - saltwater sandals!  I have several pairs saved for Jillian, so hopefully she will fit into some this summer!   Jenna loves these too - she always seems to choose these when picking out her shoes. I'm guessing they must be comfy too.  They hold up very well and just look great with anything!

Ahhhh....summer time - Please come quickly!!!!

Our Super busy weekend!

Well, we had a very busy weekend and we have lots of pics to show for it, so I thought I should get a few blogged.  

On Saturday morning, we went to my friend Sarah's house for her little girl's birthday party.  

Me and my 2 favorite girls. That's Sarah in the background.

We left the birthday party a little early so we could drive down to NWA to meet up with JM's family.  We all had lunch at PF Chang's to celebrate his sister's birthday.  After lunch, we went back to his parents house for a while.  

Jenna loves playing with her cousins.

Jilli had a blast banging on the piano with her Uncle. 

JM's mom with the 3 grand-daughters.  Ellie also really loves Jillian so I hope they become good friends!

On Sunday night, we went to a Superbowl party.  There were at least probably 10 little girls there.  It's crazy how everyone had girls and no boys!  

It was at Elana's house - she's the one with her daughter Grace.  They just moved here not too long ago, so it's been fun getting to know them!  On the bottom left corner is me and Cathy (and Jilli too.)  Cathy and I were at the same mom's connection table last year and now she's at the same table with Elana.  Funny how our paths have all seemed to cross. 

And today is a stay at home snow day!!!!!!!  School was canceled for the day and we are just enjoying a day of being at home!