Friday Favorites

Well, it should show what kind of week we had that I'm just now sitting down to write this post at 10:19 pm. :) It's been crazy (I realize I say this in every post....but I have been barely treading water here recently!), BUT at the same time, we have been doing a lot of fun things.

Bryan and I went on a much needed date last Friday night to eat at Garcia's (the best!) and to see The Martian. We had so much fun! It was also the first night that BOTH boys stayed the night at Grammy and Bee's. That's right! The weaning process is going really smoothly with Hayes as he loves his new best buddy The Bottle. We are down to one nursing a day and I don't know how much longer it will last. I'm actually pretty sad about it (which is weird because when he turned one I was really, really ready to wean) He is just such an easy (and fast) nurser and I know I won't get to snuggle with him near as much once we're done. Bittersweet, for sure!

Bryan also started ripping out our bathroom last weekend! I came home and we didn't have floors....surprise! Ha. But seriously. Surprise! Everything has been going really well and he is actually putting in new baseboards as I type. :)

(the tile for the bathroom)

On Wednesday, I drove up to Amarillo for my craft segment and got home in time for dinner at my in-laws. It's nice because I leave around 2:00 and get home at around 6:30 so I don't feel like I miss out on much with the kids. I am also so thankful to my mother-in-law for taking my kids on these days and feeding me and my family dinner when I get back! Life saver, I tell you. We stayed late and talked about house stuff which has already been proving to have a few more bumps in the road than expected. I will post more about that later!

On my way to and from Amarillo, I've been listening to podcasts (that is my new thing....good grief they are addicting), and the one I'm listening to right now is Being Boss. It's for creative entrepreneurs but their ideas would apply to any entrepreneur, I would guess. The hosts are like, way too cool for me, but I love their personalities and advice.

The rest of the week was spent doing our usual things and getting ready for MOPS craft which was this morning. We made recipe gifts to give out at Christmas time. Many trips to Sam's Club for this girl but it turned out really well EXCEPT that I put too much salt in the cookie recipe and didn't notice until after meeting....gosh. I was so mad at myself.  HOWEVER, I made the recipe twice tonight (with the too much salt) and they were still good, so I'm trying not to obsess over it (easier said than done since I obsess over everything....especially things I do wrong).

Anyways. I will share both recipes in a few weeks. (With the correct amount of salt, just so you know.)

We got our family photos back today and I LOVE them. Here is a little peek.

WHAT. I cannot handle it.

Monica is awesome. So awesome!

The housekeeper is a go! She came to our house on Tuesday (her name is Cynthia) with her assistant (I cannot remember her name but she was very nice and sweet to Hayes), and they looked through the house and we agreed that once a month will work great for our home and our budget. I have felt so snobby about this for some reason (which I have no clue why....my mom has a housekeeper and she is far from snobby!), but the truth is, I'm doing way too many other jobs right now to have time to regularly clean and be with my kids. This will be such a load off my shoulders. And my floors haven't been mopped in 4 months, so...

(I posted a photo of our kitchen explosion on Instagram last night and Bryan said it still didn't do it justice so here is a pulled back version.....yep.)

When I'm busy, I tend to escape by either A) taking a nap, or B) reading. This week, I read. I finally picked up Where'd You Go, Bernadette? It is REALLY good so far and I have about 30 pages left. Read it if you haven't yet! (This may or may not be why our kitchen was a mess.)

Parker and Hayes have been adorable lately. Parker is killing it with the funny and truthful comments, and Hayes wore squeaker shoes for the first time this week....so, you know...I have pretty much been in a constant state of mommy-melting.

We got a toy catalog in the mail and I told Parker he could circle a couple of toys he wanted to ask for from his grandparents. Last year when we did this is was super cute, but this year, it was a little taxing on my "making sure we're raising our kids right" tab. I did think it was completely adorable though that he worked so hard to draw the circles so exact around every single toy. ;) Pretty cute. Still trying to decide how spendy we want to be with Christmas....it's a hard battle!

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I also really want to end this post with some sort of acknowledgment of the attacks in Paris. We have been watching the news coverage all night and are so sad. The whole city, country, and really, the whole world just needs a lot of prayers.

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.

A Couple of Things for Friday

Okay, actually a lot of things. (HA!)

We have had, by far, the craziest month of the whole year these past few weeks. But that's okay. It has been FUN.

I'm just going to catch up through photos (most of them look like they were on Instagram even though they weren't, because I have a terrible obsession with editing things in Insta and then not posting them. It is weird. Does anyone else do this?)

Father's Day golf outing for Dad and P. These two….and the bucket hat.

Saturdays hanging frames. (DIY from the Homegoods clearance section)

And some cute kids.

And a pretty pillow.

This is my husbands' fave activity. I'm kidding.

…………...

As few words as possible: Abby and Luke's wedding. Beautiful. Busy. Whole Family.  Happy tears. Fun. 

Read her letter from the new husband. (!)

Sweet sibling time right before the big walk.

There were never such devoted sisters.

Summertime fun with both sides of our family. So thankful for this.

The wedding programs and menus. (!!!!!) I made them and was SO happy with them. 

And that should be it for one post. But it's not. Because all the happened 3 weeks ago, and then….GALVESTON. 

As few words as possible: Humidity and salt. Lazy days. Home-cooked food. The best family. Lots of sun. A little redneck. A whole lot of fun!

Three-year-olds love a good outdoor shower.

And the beach.

We love a good Schlitterbahn trip.

Brisketttttttt.

Go to The Strand if you go to Galveston. One of our faves!

Golf cart parades are where it's at.

Sandbars, yo.

……….

We always drive through Waco on this trip. This year we made a special pit stop. #fixerupper

I made a friend from Ohio who insisted we take a photo. :) 

We got back in time for swim lessons with THE Mrs. Sumer. (AKA best preschool teacher ever.)

I decorated with some antiques I got in Galveston.

And we freaked out a bit that our cousins got to stay for an extra week. (Movie theater selfie: Inside Out)

Parker showed Hensley around the Science Spectrum. You know, because he's a pro. ;) #everysingleday

I gave my poor child an earth head. (I also didn't edit this photo. Sorry.)

(We did chalk paint in our hair…mine is still pink. A week later. Yep.)

And we saw Minions because minions are way cool. (Also unedited.)

And then the cousins left and we had withdraws! So sad. :(

……………...

Parker got a new train. (Surprise!)

I'm trying to get a bit more courage about sharing our house.

The bathroom will never be done. But I do like these drawer pulls. 

I put some magnolia leaves in a little urn I found in Galveston. Hello there, lovely.

We've been sleeping in a lot.

And this guy turned NINE months old. I just can't process it at the moment. 

And that's us!

Summer is the best. But we do have a lot more fun coming up. 

I hope everyone else has been having a great summer. I have a few BIG things going on at the moment. They are the result of a quarter-life crisis. We are excited. We are nervous. But we are mostly excited. And thankful. And we are about to be super tired. :)

And on that vague and cryptic note, have a great weekend!