Category: Family

by Allison

Dear children, be whatever you want

Dear children,

I know you’re still small, that you’re growing into your feet and arms, and long, long legs.  I know you don’t have to decide right now who you want to be when you grow up, or what you want to do with your life.  Right now I’m spending a lot of time thinking about you when I fall asleep at night, when I wake up in the morning, and when I’m at stoplights.

In fact, I spend almost all of my consciousness thinking about you and your happiness in this life.  I worry a lot about making sure you eat the right kinds of foods to make your little bodies strong, and I think a lot about you making friends at school so you’re not alone on the playground.  But mostly I think about how I want you to learn how to be good, kind little humans.  And no matter what, I want you to learn to be happy.  Now, and especially when you grow up.  I want you to be whatever you want to be, as long as it makes you feel completely awesome about getting out of bed every day.

dear children, be whatever you want

Baby Girl, you made me a … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

How to marbled Easter eggs

I’d never even heard of marbled Easter eggs until Martha came into my life.  I mean, who thinks up this stuff?  I can see a boardroom in Martha Stewart‘s immaculate and towering offices in Manhattan,

“We need new eggs people, it’s time to mix it up!  Minions, I am QUEEN of crafts and I need new, better, inspiring eggs.  Let’s do marbled, they’re so now, so sophisticated.  So Upper East Side.”

how to marbled Easter egg

So friends, today we learn how to make marbled Easter eggs.  They’re so easy and fun, and my kids went nuts dyeing them over the weekend.  Whip up a dozen or so for your Easter celebrations just to show who’s the boss of crafting in your world.

how to marbled Easter eggs

Here’s how the whole marbled Easter eggs thing goes down.

You only need a few more supplies than usual to marble your eggs and it’s only one extra step.  Trust me though, it isn’t a complicated one or I wouldn’t have done it.  You know how I like it: simple, easy, no fuss.

Supply list for marbled eggs:

  • olive oil
  • white vinegar
  • food coloring and/or dye tablets
  • hard boiled eggs
  • water
  • small deep bowls
  • shallow bowls

Step 1:

If … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

1000 memories photo scan service

How many of you right this minute, this very instant, have at least 4 dusty shoe boxes {or let’s be honest, IKEA boxes} crammed full of photos under your bed?  In the back of your closet?  At your mom’s house?
 
I do.

You don’t really want to know how many photos I have stashed away.  My first baby was born in the pre-digital age so I have approximately 1,300 3×5 photos of her in huge boxes under the stairs.  {I was too tired to do a baby book for her then, and I’m too busy now}  The scant handful of videos we have of Precocious as a baby sit on old VHS tapes; they sit next to our wedding video in a box.  Somewhere.

Enter: 1000 memories, a photo service.  This company is amazing.

{you want to read all the way to the bottom of this post, trust me on this one}

photos of memories1000 memories works a couple of different ways.  The first is to count and collect all your dusty photos, let 1000 memories know how many you have, and get a box delivered to your door.  Put your photos in the box, … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

I need more time in the day

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time in the day
I need more time in the day.  Who doesn’t?  I mean, how often do you think to yourself it would be amazing if there were 3 of you, or if you could just push pause on your day to get everything done before you push play and do all the great stuff you’re always meaning to get to.
So if you had three extra minutes in your day, what would you do with it?  I can think of a lot of things right off the top of my head, can’t you?  I know, 3 minutes isn’t much but it’s something.  If my day had 24 hours and 3 minutes I would:
  • pluck my eyebrows
  • paint my nails
  • sleep in one extra snooze
  • trim my bangs
  • read a magazine article
  • sit down for a quick cup of tea
  • stay in the shower 3 minutes longer
  • sit. and do absolutely. nothing
  • knit a couple rows on a blanket
  • walk in my garden
  • sit on the front porch in the sun

I need more time in the day

I could list things endlessly.  Call a friend, send a quick keep -in-touch email, call … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Show your independence

independence baby

Right around the 18 month mark of tiny babyhood, Precocious decided she was done letting me play dress-up.  Just when we were getting into the really cute clothes stage, out of onesies and jumpsuits, Precocious decided she was a better judge of fashion than I and that she ‘would take it from here’.  As you might imagine, I was a little heartbroken.  I mean what 18 month old have you ever seen dress themselves properly?  We ended up playing battle of the wills, and it should be no surprise I ended up on the losing side of the equation.

We’ve been arguing about fashion ever since.  In fact, at least once a week Precocious tells me she absolutely cannot believe what I’m wearing, and for that matter that people actually PAY ME to style them.  It blows her mind.

independence

It doesn’t take a lot of math to figure out that between the ages of 1 1/2 and 12 years old, we’ve had our fair share of tug-of-wars over wardrobe choices.  A striped tank with plaid pants?  How about a gold and glittery skirt with paisley patterned tights and a pink ruffly shirt, topped off with pink flowered rain boots?… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Some weekend reading for your eyes

I’ve rounded up some weekend reading for your eyes.  The stories run the gamut from Rush Limbaugh to an angry birds craft, so there’s a little something for everyone.

Please to enjoy.

Happy weekending!… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

And then I cut my finger off

I’m working on a regular post for today, but I got a little derailed last night by a minor flesh wound which is making it ridiculously hard to type.  Stay with me.  It took me 3 minutes to type that sentence.

Golden.

and then I cut my finger off

Viktor refuses to shave like a normal person; instead he uses a super old fashioned antique straight razor which sits atop our bathroom counter.  I came home from the gym last night and felt like flossing {stop judging}, grabbed the floss off the counter {I’m an OCD flosser, leave me alone} and pulled the floss hard towards the mirror to cut it off, into the path of danger and straight razor blades.

My brain didn’t even process what happened, blood started gushing all over creation, and I started shouting words baby Charming shouldn’t know exist.

Would you like to know what? I’ll tell you what: fingers bleed like bananas.  Bananas.  I didn’t take a bullet to the chest or even cut off a length of finger, but I bled all over the bathroom floor anyway.  Just for fun.  And a few things happened all at once:

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Fun birthday celebrations for you!

Birthdays are a big deal where I come from {Utah Valley thankyouverymuch} but in Viktor’s family they merit little more than a greeting card.  All the love falls on your patron Saint day in the {original} Czarnecki household.  When we were in college Viktor would have a huge mail day somewhere in September wherein he received the entire contents of a party store, but on his actual birthday not so much.

I took the reins on that one as soon as our households merged because my mom rocked. the. house. on birthdays.  She recently told me that it was the only day of the year where we got all the attention as kids, {I’m one of 8 kids} so she gave it all she had.

fun birthday celebrations for you

I came home from the 5th grade on my birthday to a maze of yarn spanning the entire family room and kitchen.  My mother literally spent the entire afternoon with my older siblings creating a labyrinth of yarn with treats at every end for me and all my giggly friends to unravel at the beginning of my party.

I wish I had photos because it was the coolest thing my mom ever did … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Instagram Friday

There aren’t enough words in the English language to adequately encompass the range of voodoo that has been my week.

Voodoo hoodoo.

doctors office

Picture the Twilight Zone, especially the freaky music part.  Now throw in a family, a bunch of really important back-to-back deadlines for work, Valentine’s Day with 50+ cards and treats for kids, assorted school projects, a couple of reluctant trips to the gym, 4 stops at the pharmacy, two late night visits to the doctor, and one shellac manicure.

What you’ve got there is a pretttty fancy week on your hands.

Fancy, I say.

valentine

Handmade Valentines.

marriage

An ode to my Valentine.

shellac

OH MY GOSH what have I been missing all this time? Shellac is my new best lover.  I don’t know if I can ever go back to the dark side.

high fever

What? A fever of 105.1 is for sissies.

I heard one time my brother’s-friend’s-sister’s-mom’s-aunt’s-uncle’s-little sister had a fever of 107 and she totally didn’t lose annnny brain cells.

And! One diagnosis of Pneumonia for my baby.

Boom goes the dynamite.… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.