Friday Favorites

Here are my Friday favorites for this last day of August!

1. Time with my "littles":

Me and the little kids have had SO much fun this week and every day I have been reminded of how lucky I am to be at home with them. Both Hayes and Lily are FULL of hilarious personality and are peas in a pod which is adorable to watch. Hayes is very into super heros all of sudden and I learn mored and more that even though he is so rough and tumble and "all boy", there is nothing he loves more than to be snuggled and cared for and reminded that he is a good boy. He also says things like, "very please?" when he really wants something which is so stinking cute. Lily Mae-oh good grief that girl. She is the food mooch of all food mooches and pats her babies and dances and reaches out her arms to perfect strangers to hold and snuggle her. She wants to do ALL the big things ALL the time.

I love them!

2. Fall Candles: I am not ashamed to say I've been burning fall candles for the last month. This is the only time of year that I really consistently burn candles because let's be real, no candles compare to fall scented candles and I DO NOT care if I sound super basic by saying that. ;) My favorites are as follows:

"Leaves" from Bath and Body Works
"Autumn" from Bath and Body Works (ALL B&BW candles are 50% off right now! Ah!)
"Country Morning" from Circle E (I can't find a place here that sell them! Wah!)
"Homecoming" from Tyler Candles
"Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin from Bath and Body Works


ALL SO GOOD. Give me a clean house and contented children and a fall candle burning and I am a happy, HAPPY lady.

3. Our new neighborhood:

We have had so much fun exploring our neighborhood these last three weeks. (have we really been here that long?) The pool is awesome and so is the clubhouse, but our latest adventures have been exploring the walking/biking trails (which include a tricycle race track--so cute) and the parks. I love that this neighborhood left so many "green spaces" untouched with HUGE beautiful trees. We actually live across the street from one and it makes me so happy. There is apparently a huge nature trail along the river right down the street from us, but we might wait till it's not 1000 degrees to do that one. ;)

4. "Uncrustable" sandwich maker:

I purchased this little guy from Pampered Chef to make and freeze batches of PB&J sandwiches and I LOVE it.


5. Super cheap custom mats:

The boys have some vintage airplane prints that are from Bryan's grandpa (and hung in Bryan's room until he went to college) and I decided to get them re-framed which requires new mats. They are an odd size so I found this website that sells super cheap custom mats. I'm always a little worried buying from random websites, but I got the mats in and they are super nice! Their customer service is phenomenal (and fast!) as well. I will try to remember to post photos when I get them framed and hung!

6. My sweet Parker Reed:

Sometimes I think I'm doing a terrible job as a parent but then sometimes there are sweet little things that show me that some of the things we are saying and teaching are sticking in my kids' little minds and hearts. Case in point: this week, Parker has been SUCH a helper since Bryan has been working/ out of town a lot, and "Dad isn't here and you need help." Yesterday I took the kids to the park and Parker watched Lily and made sure she was safe and happy and pushed her on the swing and it was so so cute. Last night, HAYES the crazy locked me out of my bedroom (he was sneaky and fast and I had no clue until it had already happened) and while I was (semi-calmly) scolding Hayes and trying to get the door unlocked Parker snuck off.... I eventually followed him to find him making the beds in the boys room because, "I know how much you do Mom and I wanted to help." I about died from the sweetness and the thoughtfulness! ...And that's all I have to say about that.

Happy weekend and HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

What's Up Wednesday (On a Thursday!)

I love doing all the blog prompts from other blogs but never know when they are happening until after they have already happened....case in point: I'm doing What's Up Wednesday on a Thursday!

It's no secret that I read Mix and Match Mama (one of the host blogs for this link up) and if you didn't know--she also lives in McKinney! I kind of feel like a super stalker now that we moved here, too, but I AM NOT (mostly!)-- I will admit, however, that she is the one who made McKinney sound so nice/adorable/awesome/pretty that it prompted me to start looking in the area when Bryan took his new job. I was originally looking in Lewisville/The Colony and then eventually moved to Frisco since it was newer and still close to Bryan's office but after I realized that McKinney was “just the next town over”, I had to take a look. Well...after driving through the BEAUTIFUL area, going to their cute downtown, and seeing how close it is to all the "Dallas things" both me and Bryan were completely sold! Now I'm just praying that I never see Mix and Match our in public because I will probably embarrass myself!

Alrighty--now that I've gotten that hopefully-not-too-creepy-confession out of the way (thanks Shay, for being a walking "move here" billboard for this cute city!), I will move on to the good stuff...


What We're Eating This Week....

I have finally started meal planning since school started last week! It feels so good to be back in a routine.

Monday: Santa Fe Soup (I also made my MIL's chocolate chip cookies and they were almost as good as hers..but not quite, as usual!)
Tuesday: Mexican Pile-Up!
Wednesday: Crazy Chicken (that is grilled chicken that I season with Jane's Crazy Salt--try it if you haven't...it's awesome), green beans, and homemade macaroni and cheese. I also made banana bread for dessert. I'm normally not this "dessert-heavy" but I was forced into it by Lily who refused the bananas I bought her all week.
Thursday: Spaghetti, arugula salad, garlic bread
Friday: Ording Pizza!
Saturday: Chili/Frito Pies because it's September 1st and there will be college football on tv!
Sunday: Leftovers/Sandwiches

What I'm reminiscing about: Today I heard the "Despacito" song in Target and it took me right back to the Dominican and our dreamy week of vacation last January! Wah. It makes me wish we were going back again this year but moving is expensive so that will probably not happen. Bryan hates that song by the way, but our resort played it ALL the time (which I thought was hilarious.)


What I'm loving: I don't know? Our new house! New area! Dallas! McKinney! The easy access to Ikea! The churches we have visited! The trees! Our neighborhood pool! There's a lot of new things to love right now which is good because it keeps me distracted from missing our family and friends in Lubbock.


What I'm dreading: I took the kids to the dentist this week (YES ALL THREE OF THEM) and it was awful and I dreaded it but now it's over! Yay!


What I'm working on: SO many things. Obviously getting settled into our house--I still have a couple of boxes to unpack and then lots to hang/decorate. I've got to do some back to school/fall clothing shopping for the kids (hopefully this weekend), and I am HAPPILY planning our fall calendar/activities and it's so much fun I can't handle it. Lilybug will be 2 and Hayes will be 4 in the next two months so we have some fun birthday planning to do to as well! AND I'm planning to work on my Etsy shop more once the littles start school next week.

What I'm excited about: In general: FALL!! Cooler weather! Hearing football on TV! Halloween! I'm also really excited to plug into a church--we went to our old preacher's church last weekend and saw so many people that we know from the past (as I've mentioned before the COC bubble is a small one), and I think I am going to do "Mom to Mom" which is a bible study that starts in a few weeks, so I'm excited about that! I also got a little too excited and agreed to be "VP of Fundraising" for the PTA at Parker's school so there's that. HA! I will keep you updated on my sanity level with that and am just really having a moment right now realizing that I drive a mini-van and am involved in the PTA so basically all my life goals have been achieved.

What I'm watching/reading: We haven't watched it in a few weeks with all the moving, but me and Bryan's newest binge is Suits (yes, the Meghan Markle show) and IT IS SO GOOD. Highly recommend. Yesterday I got a hankering to re-read Redeeming Love (for the 50th time) so I'm happily involved in that right now and it's still as good as the first time I read it.

What I'm listening to: I hate this question. Music always reminds me of how old/out of it I am. We listen to a lot of the Moana soundtrack these days! I'm okay with it, ha.

What I'm wearing: I feel like I have no hot-weather clothes that I like anymore which is weird because what have I been wearing all summer? I'm OVER the hot weather so I've been trying to force cooler temps by weathering jeans and booties (it's not working.) I'm anxious for some free time to go shopping and try out my new mall!

What I'm doing this weekend: Tomorrow Parker has his first pep rally at his school so we will go to that and then tomorrow night is the last "Food Truck Friday" event, and then on Saturday: FOOTBALL will be on at our house! I'm not an avid football fan by any means but there is something about the sound of college football that brings in fall and makes me so happy. We'll also probably be doing more unpacking this weekend and will go to church on Sunday! I'm guessing Labor Day will be spent at the pool!

That's all I have time for today! Me and my big mouth and never-ending sentences. ;)

Life Around Here!

The last two weeks we've been in McKinney have been busy and fun!

The bulk of our time has been spent settling into our new house. The above photo is me relishing in the accomplishment of getting the kitchen unpacked, organized, and clean. The best feeling, really. We have truly loved the house and also really love the neighborhood. It is so pretty here and there are so many trees which makes me all kinds happy. I missed green during my time in LBK. Last week we were driving through town on a particularly tree-covered street and me and Judy heard Hayes whisper, "We in da jungle!" We died laughing. That west Texas baby!

My sweet MIL came to stay a few days and help unpack (and was a life saver, as usual) so Bryan and I were able to make a midnight date run to Andy's which serves amazing frozen custard. Much deserved!

The kids have been busy enjoying their new playroom and the SEGA that aunt Laura got them for Christmas. Please note Lily, the great multi-tasker, who loves to pat her baby while "playing" Sonic.

Last Thursday the kids and I went on a park search, specifically a covered park since it was 100 degrees in the middle of the day (poor planning on my part but we were stir-crazy). We found a huge one right across the street from Parker's school that included a splash pad. I can't be sure, but I think they loved it. ;)

Thursday night was Meet The Teacher at school and Parker's teacher is every bit as sweet as we were hoping and praying for! Parker said he never wanted to leave ever (a great sign!) and although I couldn't get the actual Kindergartener to sit down a take a photo, his little brother was more than happy to oblige (and is really mad that he can't start kindergarten, too).

On Friday night we went to "Food Truck Friday" at our neighborhood pool. My goodness, it was an event. The had food trucks obviously, but also a DJ, bounce house, lawn games, and then the pool and splash pad. We stayed long past bedtime and had a blast!

They are doing this every Friday in August so we are looking forward to going back for the fun tonight! It seems that we are in a very involved and active neighborhood which is basically my dream. I'm excited to meet even more neighbors and make new friends!

On Saturday night we drove in to Frisco for dinner and an IKEA run. Let it be known that Bryan actually said the words, "Let's take the whole family to IKEA. It will be fun!" I am not kidding at all. We went to the new boardwalk across the highway for dinner and is was so neat! The kids loved the fish in the pond and I LOVED The Biscuit Bar. So cute and absolutely delicious!

It actually clouded up and started thundering SO LOUD and by the time we got to Ikea it was raining and the storm was right on top of us. We could hear the lightening crackle in the marketplace of Ikea which is saying something because that place is obviously huge. I LOVE all this rain though!

We have done a lot of other activities that I failed to get photos of--including getting my hair cut and colored for the first time in NINE years, and trying a new church! The COC world is a small and tightly knit community, so one of my sweet co-workers from LCU had messaged me and connected us to one of her best friends at this church--we were able to meet her and her family and go to lunch with them and meet a whole bunch of other families. It was SO fun and they were such a welcoming group. We look forward to going back and going to class this Sunday. Parker knew we were "trying" churches and was so cute on Sunday when we got in the car and said, "Yes. I love that church. I can't believe we found one on the first try!"

Other than the big event of this week (starting Kindergarten!), we have continued to unpack and get settled (and play baseball in our big backyard, go to Target a lot, and of course make a trip to Chick-fil-a!) A pretty uneventful week, but a good one!

Oh! I also let the kids (boys) watch The Avengers one night this week (mostly the action scenes because according to them, the talking parts are bor-ing) and I think it's safe to say we have some new superhero fans! Crazy lady (pictured above) has been entertaining us with her antics all week as well. She is sure to give us a run for our money as she gets older--her personality is big, funny, cuddly, and mischievous! Also, when did her hair get so long?

First Day of Kindergarten!

We've made some HUGE changes since the last time I blogged...we moved! It's been a whirlwind and definitely not lacking in drama, but Bryan accepted a new job with a roofing company in the metroplex back in June and last week we moved into our new home and have been attempting to get the family settled and ready for life in a new city! There are of course a million things I could/need to blog about concerning our last few (emotional) months in Lubbock (we miss our friends and community there SO much) but today I'm going to focus on a big, big event in our home: Parker's first day of Kindergarten!

Look at how big my baby looks! He was excited and ready to go on Monday morning.

Since I'm new to this "big kid school" thing, I decided to make some new first day of school traditions. On Sunday night (after a semi-traumitizing haircut in the backyard), we prayed for Parker before we tucked the kids in, with the most help from Hayes who LOVES to say prayers. It was so cute and Parker was super embarrassed but I hope it gave him some comfort and reminded him how much he is loved and that God is always with him! 

I decorated our mantle with a little apple banner from Target and displayed his outfit for the day along with his backpack and his "First Day of School" sign on the hearth. I also got some extra school supplies, clorox wipes, and hand sanitizer and packed that up for his teacher's gift to display as well. I OF COURSE forgot to take a photo--but it was cute and easy and Parker was so excited to wake up on Monday morning and see the set-up. Anything to make an early morning feel like Christmas is fine by me.

He ate waffles, put on his new shoes (that are about 2 sizes too big but are SO cute on his little boy legs) and we packed up the whole family to head off to school. We surprised him in the car by blaring "rock and roll" (his favorite type of music and frequently requested) in the form of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". Oh my goodness were we looking cool in that minivan. 

I held his hand as we walked in to school and once he was in his classroom he was pretty much ready for us to leave, ha! 

After school I found out just how intense the pick-up line was and then we headed to Braum's for ice cream! Very exhausting with three small children but still fun and I managed to get a few words of post-school report from Parker which included, "it was fun but the day was too long and I thought it would never end." I guess he has some adjusting to do from his pre-school days! Welcome to big kid life! (for the next 17 years!)

We love our sweet Parker Reed and are forever thankful for him.