Clara's New Shoes

Clara is not a kid who likes to wear shoes. In fact, she loves to be barefoot and let her toes wiggle free. She takes off her shoes and socks whenever she gets the chance- the second we walk into the house, in the car, in church, sitting in the cart in the grocery store, pretty much everywhere. For the last few weeks I have been looking for some nice, brown shoes for Clara to wear to church or with everyday clothes. While we were at the thrift store looking for costume components for the Harry Potter Party(see previous post) I found some shoes that fit the description, fit Clara, and at $.99, fit my budget. From the second we got these shoes, Clara has wanted to wear them. She does not want to take them off-EVER. Its a sad time in our house when it is time to get pajamas on because those shoes just wont fit inside her footsie jammies. However, nap time is a different story. And that is where this picture comes in...


She couldn't get her feet under the covers with her shoes on, but taking them off was out of the question, so some days, she just naps with her shoes on! I find this really funny, seeing as I deal with her hatred of almost all footwear on a daily basis. So if this isn't as cute/funny to you, just humor me.


And because I am trying to be an equal opportunity blogging mother, here is a picture of Lucas! Isn't he so cute? Especially on this pink Disney Princess blanket of Clara's that has, for some reason, become the blanket that we put Lucas on 9 times out of 10. I try and tell myself that at 3 am when he is screaming his head off. Seriously, he can scream for 2 hours straight in the middle of the night and not fall asleep. I have witnessed it on several occasions. Looks like he (and me) wont be sleeping through the night for a while.(seriously, I spent two weeks sleeping with ear plugs and trying to let him just cry it out and he would cry for 2 hours! Jordan would go sleep in the guest room, and after a while , oh say two hours! I would give in and pick him up. Was that enough? Oh no, he wants to eat. My chunkamonk not so little, 19 lb. not quite 6 month old wants to eat. So I have come to the conclusion thatI will get more sleep if I just keep feeding him in the night, though in the back of my mind, I think he SHOULD be able to sleep through the night. I guess we will try again once Jordan is on Christmas Break from school and I can ensure I get a nap in. Fun.)
Its the most wonderful time of the year! There are toy catalogs all over our house, because whenever one comes in the mail or with the Sunday paper (or from a friend who gives us one because there is a doppelganger of Clara inside. Thanks Lindsey!) Clara inevitably finds it and it gets added to her book shelf because she can't bear to part with them. The other day, she brought one to the dinner table for a little reading during her meal. It was really funny. Again, if you don't think so, humor me.
Well, that is all for now from the Muhlestein household. Stay tuned for a post (if you are lucky) about our no good, very bad week. That's right folks, we are all sick. Thank you to Clara for being the carrier monkey of this lovely sickness. But don't worry, we have been kind enough to share our germs with those around us. Tis the season for giving...

Harry Potter Party

Our friend Lindsey is a HUGE Harry Potter fan. Since we have lived here, she has thrown a party when a new Harry Potter movie comes out. In order to attend said party, you MUST dress up as a character from the books. When The Half Blood Prince came out in July of 2009, I was a witch in muggle clothing, Clara was a house elf and Jordan was a portrait of a former headmaster.

We didn't want to repeat our same costumes, so we headed to the thrift store to get some inspiration. I originally wanted to go as Bellatrix, but then I found this sweet hat at the thrift store and decided that I should go as Rita Skeeter instead. Jordan is a Quidditch player, Clara is Hermione, and Lucas is baby Harry Potter, scar and all.

Here is some of the decor at the party:

And the snacks- licorice wands, cauldrons cakes, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Gummy Flobber Worms, and so much more!


Clara enjoyed the Cauldron Cakes a little too much!

Rita Skeeter and Baby HarryGryffindor Quidditch Player and Baby Harry

Rita interviewing an uncomfortable Hermione with her handy Quick-Quotes Quill.
Thanks again to our hosts, Ed and Lindsey, aka Ron and Hermione!

Latest Project

These little creatures are called amigurumis. They are my latest project. I have been having a lot of fun making them and have plans to make many more in the future. (including Star Wars ones!)

Growing Kiddos

WARNING: LONG POST WITH LOTS OF PICTURES

(if I were you, I would skip the text and just look at the pictures!)
I am a slacker when it comes to blogging. I know this. I am mostly ok with this. The only times it bothers me is when I see how much my kids have grown since the last time I posted pictures of them. That usually means it has been a while since I have actually gotten out the camera and taken their picture. I wish I were one of those people who captured all the fun little things on camera, but that is a goal I am still working on. So in the meantime, here are some pictures over the last couple months that show a little bit of what we have been doing, but mostly just some growing kiddos.

Back In August, after Lucas' baby blessing, we attempted to take some family pictures. Nothing fancy, just us and our handy camera after church trying to capture a good image. Not so easy, but hey, that's life!

In the past few months, I feel like Clara has been changing from toddler to little girl. Maybe its just because she is so darn big for her age, but she just seems so grown up! The transformation begins...
Back in August we went to a hot air balloon show called Balloons and Tunes. Here are some pictures of the event. Clara got her first experience with a bounce house. I think it was a success!

We enjoyed a giant cream puff from Schmidt's. I love those things!
Jordan and Clara watching the balloons
I tried to get a good shot of Lucas, but he was sitting in my lap. Oh well, at least you can see how much he has grown!

Lucas kind of lost it at dusk. We wanted to stay and watch all the balloons light up at night, but two tired kids vetoed that idea with their resounding screams.

And a picture of the parents who made this lovely outing possible!As we were walking out we were able to see the balloons lighting up. It was really fun to see.

On Labor Day, Jordan and I ran a 5k, toting the kids along in the jogging stroller. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the only picture I had of all of us at the race, so instead, here is a picture of Clara eating one of the cookies that was in our participation packet.

And another one of her wearing one of our race numbers. That is all the proof you get.
The kids chillin' with their favorite parent. Yes, we all know its true.
So stinkin' cute! (Though this picture would be a lot cuter right now if this little boy weren't sitting on my lap right now screaming as loud as he can)

This picture is so coming out when Clara goes on her first date.And he is growing...

And growing...And growing! He ate his first semi solid food a few weeks ago. He wasn't a fan. Fast forward to today, and you can't shovel it in his mouth fast enough!
Look at that chub!
I took these last two pictures today. I am in LOVE with this little outfit, but Lucas seems to have mixed feelings about it since every time he wears it, his bodily functions get the best of it.

Done and done! I am now caught up! We will see how long it lasts...

Halloween and Other Scary Things

In Columbus, most of the trick or treating took place on the Thursday before Halloween, so our Halloween celebrations took place then (and yet I am still kind of late blogging about it!) We had quite the adventurous day! My mom was here visiting for two weeks while I recovered from having my tonsils out, and sadly, she left that day. Good thing we had so many other things going on, or Clara would have had more serious Grandma withdrawals (read: tantrums) than she did!

Clara was really excited that she and Lucas both had shirts with owls on them. I attempted to get pictures of them both, however Clara was not very cooperative, so you take what you can get! Here are a few cute ones:
While my mom was visiting us, we had quite a few exciting moments involving the police. A house across the street from ours was being rented by a drug dealer and the police were trying to catch the guy, so in the two weeks my mom was visiting there were three or four SWAT team visits. The last one happened on Thursday and I captured a few pictures of the action.

This last visit was the final one. The police boarded up the house and shut down the operation. It was really crazy to see all the action!

That night, we went to downtown Grove City to Boo on Broadway. A bunch of businesses all come together and hand out candy (and a little bit of advertising) to all the kids that come trick or treating to them. Considering the action on our street as of late, I considered this as a much safer option than going in our neighborhood! We went with some friends of ours, the Avery's, and had a great time! My mom helped me make the kids' costumes and I was really happy with how they turned out.

Lucas was Yoda

And Clara was Leia. She LOVED the ear buns. She kept calling them her princess ears. I was so happy she liked her costume so much!
Family Shot. Jordan and I were responsible adults for Halloween. Creative. I know.
The Avery's (Leila is one of Clara's favorite friends)

Me and Clara. It was the first cold night, but Clara couldn't have cared less. She was so mesmerized by the whole experience. It was really fun to see how magical everything was for her.
On our way home, we stopped by David and Megan's house so Clara could see her cousins, Harry and Wyatt in their costumes. It is really hard to get a good picture of four little kids! So here are two pictures for your enjoyment.