Friday Favorites

Hello! I attempted to ride this Friday Favorites bandwagon a few months ago, and of course fell off. I really enjoy going back through personal posts and reading about our life though, SO I am going to try and hop back on....we will see how this goes.

1.  This week I made this apple crisp from my friend Alisa's blog for the second time. We listened to Christmas music and had it with ice cream. Amazing and gone the next day. I also made my friend Alli's chicken and rice soup, for the second time, and loved it again, for the second time. ;) Last night, I made this baked potato soup. Delicious. It is super processed and unhealthy but nice and cozy. And fattening.

I also made a cookie recipe that I will share next week because we are doing it for our next MOPS craft.

I am apparently quite the cook this week, BUT let me assure you that I usually try maybe one new recipe a week. We eat a lot of spaghetti. And grilled cheese.

2. The boys enjoyed Halloween this year. Hayes was such a wee baby last year that I kept getting all sentimental about how big he is this year. (WHY do they have to grow?) We turned on some Halloween playlists and (again) carved pumpkins this year, and (again) Parker lost interest quickly and I ended up carving his pumpkin as well as Hayes'.

(Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese! Can you tell?)

I do not recommend carving a Thomas the Train pumpkin. For-ev-ah with those tiny lines.

Parker LOVED the trick-or-treating part this year. Finally! Hallelujah. He has a mom who is a bit obsessed with any holiday so it made me proud. Also, our neighborhood is generous with their candy.   Don't worry, I collected plenty of candy tax. ;)

This child was shaking with excitement about his costume. I am so happy to make things for him that he enjoys. Hayes actually liked wearing his too, since he wants to do whatever Brother does.

We made it to Trunk or Treat to see the girls and our gaggle of kiddos all dressed up! (I was Emily the train....just explaining the bandana. Also, I was SUPER tired by the time we got there with Bryan being out of town.)

3.  Favorite decor pins this week:

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4. I just picked up my first REAL paycheck from KK's yesterday and am finally seeing some of my hard work pay off. And then there's the miracle that is Etsy. Thank you, Etsy. And to top that off, I've also got some AWESOME new things coming up with Jo-Ann and KAMR that I am pumped about. How did I get so lucky? I am so thankful. So thankful that I get to work-at-home with all of these amazing jobs and opportunities and I am so thankful that they allow me to be with my kids all day every day.

(The booth next to me just got some super cute clothes in, BTW.)

But this also means that I am busy. :)

I need some work-at-home mom advice. I have always struggled with balancing working at home even when Etsy was my only job (and it is an actual job and still my main job....I sometimes have to chuckle a bit when people still call it "that Etsy thing that you do"). Bryan and I have toyed with the idea of a cleaning lady and I've got one coming next week to give me some pricing. I'm kind of just feeling at this point like I need something off my plate...and well, cleaning sucks, so that would be the one to go first. ;) Anyways, any secrets or tips are welcome! I've got a feeling all of us are just surviving with coffee in hand, but I would still love to hear what the super-moms have to say.

(Newest listing...originally a custom order. I love it! My new goal is to get 1 new design up per week.)

Work-at-home moms....I salute you! Stay strong. And caffeinated. What I'm learning is this: Don't say YES unless it's something you genuinely LOVE to do. (The above jobs were "Yes's" for me...I've said "No" to a lot, too).

5.  I'm way past my 30 minute blog writing deadline, so I'll just share this:

A favorite post from Kelle Hampton that I read from time to time when I feel like I can't (and don't want to) fit into any one particular box. I love the way she writes. And I love Little Women. And we are all A Great Many Things!

Have a wonderful weekend.