Saturday Portrait: October 2016

Saturdays in the fall are the best. Today we lounged around, watched football, burned candles that smelled like cinnamon and pumpkin, and did a really good job at messing up the house. I interested Parker for a brief bit with Halloween decor....but lost out quickly to "train crashes" (This is what he calls anything he watches on YouTube. It is rarely ever actual "train crashes"...which are, in fact, TOY train crashes. We aren't bad parents or anything! Usually.)

Anyways, I like how his sweet little room came out. Thank you, Target for your usual awesomeness. And all for only $7. 

 I've been wanting to start a family game night on Saturdays. Parker is old enough now that he understands board games so we chose Candyland Junior for our first game and tonight as our first game night. It was good, it was fun, and Hayes is not yet ready for board games. :) We were at the doctors office (for the SIXTH time in the last 3 weeks) and Parker reminded me that the torn sterile paper on the exam table was a result of "all the Crazy from The Haysie". Yes, Parker you hit the nail on the head.

Hayes likes tiny hats and watching football. Parker likes hats but not football.

Bryan: "Parker, what sport do you want to play?"

Parker: "Trains!"

Me: "But Parker, that isn't a sport. What do you want to play when you grow up?"

Parker: "Trains!"

**If you know Parker, then you know that this is not surprising at all.**

We can't bring ourselves to tell him that he needs to start liking a sport quick because that's pretty much how we plan for him to pay for college. 

(I'm kind of kidding.)

Lillie Mae is busy stealing the hearts of the three men in our home. She's pretty good at it. Bryan, hold on to your hat! (and remaining hair!) I think your daughter will give you a run for your money.

I have so much more to say about sister....I love her. But I'm trying this new thing of limiting my blog writing to 30 minutes SO THAT I ACTUALLY PUBLISH A BLOG POST. Adios!

I'm Blogging!

Hello!

It's been many months since my eyes have seen this little blogger screen. So much has happened, a lot of it being very, very good, and some of it not so good, but for the the most part we have enjoyed a fun and busy spring and summer with our two little boys and are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby sister any minute now. I mean, I wish. Probably more like any week, now. I am nice and large and have taken permanent nighttime residence on the couch in order to get in some precious zzzz's before we add a third kiddo to this crazy mix. Hayes is a big boy in pre-school now and didn't even say goodbye to his mother on his first day, but that's Benjamin Hayes for you. He plays hide and seek, tries to count with his brother, still takes a bottle and snuggles before bed, and sings the tune to the Universal Studios theme song at all times (buuumm-BUM). Parker is riding a bike without training wheels and swimming without floaties and writing letters and telling me stories and saying things like, "Mom, why do keep talking to me all the single time", and constantly reminding me that these years are so short! (Although many of the days are so loooooong!)

I closed my booth, Bryan switched jobs, we bought a mini-van, put our lot on the market (but are now seriously considering keeping it to build on like the original plan).... we've been on a zillion trips and worked on a zillion projects, spent a lot of time with our good friends and our sweet family....and now I'm here, typing. At 12:50 AM. :)

There is something about being huge pregnant that makes me want to blog in a family journal kind of way. I ordered little miss's baby book today and for whatever reason it led me to think about a blog post that the future Katy could be thankful for when she doesn't remember all the crazy and sweet things that are happening right now in our family's little life.

A few thoughts accompanied with phone photos.

1. This child and his big boys ways...(with a paci)

We took what I'm guessing will be our last swim of the season this past Sunday while Bryan's grandmother was in town. Al and Judy had to heat the pool and football was on and my favorite fall candle was burning inside (I got Judy hooked on Country Morning, too). It's a confusing time of the year, but I like it. Parker likes to play "The Color Game", which me and my sisters also played growing up, except for Bryan launches him across the pool instead of just flipping him when the correct color is guessed. Hayes just really wants to be big and jumps in on the side by himself. :)

2.  MOPS started last week and I actually have a picture on my phone! We have such a big group and I am so excited for another great year (and breakfast pizza, HA!) I'm doing crafts again this year but with my friend Alli, who I'm sorry to say has been on her own for 100% of this first craft as I have been scrambling to get everything baby-ready and selling everything in my booth. Thank you, Alli! I love you!

We have been so blessed in the last year with so many new friendships that I'm a bit overwhelmed. I find us going and going and going all the time, which is kind of exhausting for two introverts such as ourselves (I am the type who will be very much "on" at social events but then comes home with the goal of sleeping for a million years or at the very least becoming a hermit for a few weeks), BUT I am so incredibly thankful as this is such an answered prayer. Lubbock has always been very dear to our hearts and very hard to ever consider leaving because of all the relationships we made in college, but now this feeling has expanded tremendously and it makes me so happy that we are surrounded by such a good "family" to raise our children with.

That was a long side-note. It's been on my mind.


3.  Sister has a crib skirt, and still no name. We call her baby sister pretty exclusively right now.

There isn't a sheet on the mattress yet either...working on that. Also, my MIL suggested that I velcro the skirt to the frame and it worked like a charm! We are crossing our fingers that this makes shortening the skirt a lot easier when the time comes to lower the mattress (I'm pretty positive it will).

I hemmed the fabric at 3:00am a few night ago and my mother-in-law ruffled it for me (not at 3:00am as she leads a normal, productive daytime life). I attached it all today while the boys were playing "quietly" in the playroom, and by "quietly" I mean that I heard no less than four crashes from either toys or bodies and a lot of "Raaaaaaaaaawwwwwr!"'s coming from a certain almost 2-year-old. We call Hayes The Destroyer for good reason.

This room is PINK, by the way. I'm not a pink person, but I can't help myself. The more Hayes breaks things and Parker toots and laughs, the girly-er the nursery gets.

4. We have done no less than 50 house projects in the last month, but my favorite is that we had new carpet installed!! Guys. I cannot tell you how much more this makes me enjoy our house. I vacuum at least one room a day now because I cannot help myself and...I LOVE the vacuum lines. Let's be real here.

5.  Another addition to our house is a rocking chair in the living room. It's pretty basic and maybe not very stylish....but very traditional which is what I'm going for anyways so I love it. All 3 children have been rocked numerous times since its arrival. ;)

6. I am so thankful that my parents had me in Mississippi because my mother had no shortage of smocked dresses to outfit me and my sisters in when we were babies....and now she has passed them to my baby girl. I cannot wait! I love all of the trendy moccasins and leggings that little girls are wearing now, but I am still such a sucker for a classic dress or bubble with lots of smocking, scallops, and ruffles. 

Since this little one will be born just in time for the holidays I couldn't help but get her a few festive outfits. (These are the only items her closet lacks right now--she has about 30 other dresses from my mom that can be worn anytime!)

I got her this one for Thanksgiving....

And this one for Christmas (I love a good bubble!)

It has the nativity on it. I mean, COME ON.

7. Now I just need to get something to match for these little hooligans...

I feel like I have so much more to say but I am so tired. I got hair extensions and Bryan is looking at buying rental houses. I'll leave it at that. 

Okay! I'll be back soon! (Hopefully!)

Healthy Living (I'm Kidding.)

I took this of Parker the other night and just love it. That is Parker in a nutshell. Smile on his face and no pants. 

So, I've been trying all these new things lately. Every few months, one of the "new things" is a healthy/organic kick. I got really extreme about it when Parker was a baby, but, like all my other obsessions, it ended up being short lived and we were all right back to eating poptarts a few months later.

Now though, Mr. Hayes and I have had enough of his eczema, so I'm looking for other outs. I am a horrible eczema mom, by the way. Trimming his nails is like wrangling a foaming animal to the ground so he scratches which makes it so much worse. We have every skin ointment and lotion known to man, and I've tried everything else from coconut oil to a "wet suit" (which involves putting a dripping wet, oiled up baby into a pair of wet pajamas....so much trauma) but we still have really never found a way to keep it all in check (unless I am totally on top of it 24/7, which as previously stated, I am not). SO we are finally attempting to try pulling things out of his diet and add a few supplements. Yep. I don't know if I can do it. This involves things like coconut milk, quinoa and corn pasta, probiotics, and fish oil. And money. Geez. 

I swear I could get on the healthy bandwagon if it wasn't so expensive. And then there's Diet Coke. And pizza. 

We are taking Hayes to get allergy tested this summer before he goes to pre-school in the fall. I've never mentioned this on here, but he had a very scary reaction to peanut butter and/or honey that involved a trip in the ambulance to the emergency room last fall. (Alright, not that scary, but his lips were HUGE. He was fine otherwise, though.) It was an oversight on my part, of course (welcome to being a mother---it's always your fault! shame!), so I'm very interested to see what he doesn't react well to, but for now, we are pulling dairy and I am attempting to do more gluten free things. 

SO. I'm saying all that to ask any eczema mommas who may possibly read this for tips.... Did you change diet? Did you do something else? I would so appreciate it!

---------------------------

ALSO. I saw Jen Hatmaker this morning at chapel and I'm not kidding I was shaking I was so excited. She stood not even 10 feet from me and my friend Kecia is basically friends with her because they walked down the aisle together and talked and prayed together. I MEAN. My father-in-law was all "Go talk to her", (this was after he had a conversation with her), and I was all, "NO. I LOVE HER TOO MUCH. It will all come out stupid." Agh. I don't do well with celebrities. Ask my sister.  

Anyways, I'm going to see her speak tonight (again, I guess) and I am so excited! If you do not know who Jen Hatmaker is, please follow her Facebook and blog now for some good laughs and read her books....they will speak to your soul! She is so good. 

Okay, I'm out of here! Sorry for the short(ish) and random post!

April Evenings

(I wrote this blog last night but and am just now getting around to posting it. Story of my life.)

I was thinking that I should post some photos.

After my last post I started to look through my photos and realized I have ZERO good pictures of the kids in recent months. Agh. The main reason for this is that my precious Rebel clicked its last a few months ago and I don't have the funds to replace it. Thankfully, my super mother-in-law lent me hers (it has turned into an extended borrow...) and I just ordered some new memory cards (all of mine were full and I have an extreme fear of losing photos so I can't ever bring myself to delete them from those pesky little cards) so now I feel I can finally document a bit of our lives.

Does anyone else have anxiety about that?

Anyways, my kids are a mess but I love spring evenings! We have been outside most nights and the weather is absolutely perfect and the roses are blooming and the Haysie just loves to get dirty. It's all good.

I am getting so excited for summer and popsicles and kiddie pool weather. I mean, I'm excited in the aspect that I will like it until I'm too huge and hot to enjoy it anymore, but I digress.

Parker has recently taking to "cleaning" the windows outside, which involves taking the nasty outdoor broom, wetting it down (with the hose that someone taught him to turn on by himself), and wiping it on the windows. Tonight Bryan got him to actually clean them with Windex and I felt like I was receiving an early birthday present.

Bryan is giving the boys baths right now and a very naked Haysie just scampered out and peed on the floor. I haven't moved because Bryan seems to be handling it really well. ;)


-Haysie's words so far:

Uff (Dog)
Ow (Cat)
Hi
Bye
Da-ddy
Maaaaaaa (Or just crying. That is for Mom. Aren't I special.)
Bubba
Up (for "Down")
Dow ("Up". We are working on this.)
Baboo (Bottle...his favorite word)
Ball
Dadoo (Paci)
Day-doo (Thank You)
Uh-Oh
Hot (always with a blow to whatever is "Hot")
Ight (Light)
Outs (Outside)
Bee (that is a grandpa name)
Pops (that is also a grandpa name)

That's all I can think of right now. He still hasn't learned "No", thank goodness, because I feel that he will be a big user of it once he does. He will shake his head "No" though all the time and also does the "uh-uh" no sound and it is hilarious.

-Bryan and I have been watching the 60's documentary on Netflix and it is SO good if you like that kind of thing.

-I made a 90's country music playlist last week after I got sad while watching the ACM's. Who are these people? (Except for Miranda---my girl! I am also on that Chris Stapleton train.) Anyways, I highly recommend a 90's country playlist. It will make you so happy.

That's all I've got for now! Here's to actually having photos to put in my children's graduation slideshows.

Easter, A Recap, and I Need More Coffee

Hello!

It's been a long while since I've done any sort of personal update on here so I thought today was as good a time as any to do that. Sometimes I attempt to catch up from wherever I left off last, but I don't think that's possible since the last update was definitely more than half a year ago.

I do, however, always appreciate personal posts when I go back through my blog (even though I cringe at the things I have to say in them), mostly because it helps me to remember this fast little phase in our lives, which is spent in a mostly exhausted and busy state (but a happy one, too).

So, here is my 57th attempt to write a little more about our family life.

And there isn't a single good photo, so sorry about that.

(All of my memory cards are also full and I have a terrible fear of losing my photos if I save them to only my computer...it's a problem. I have serious anxiety about it as a hard drive of ours froze up with a lot of Parker's baby photos on it. I just can't.)

Alright! So, Easter was last week. It was good, it was fun, and it has started making me a little teary these last fews years as I feel I finally understand the true power behind it and I also see this as prime memory time with my kids which, sadly, is going by way too quickly. When I was little I used to plan out what Easter would be like when I had a family. Definitely one of those little girls.

I have many more photos from Easter on my phone but my memory is full on that too and I can't get it to back up to the computer. #technologystinks

Parker was all about Easter eggs this year, but not so much about Jesus and the Easter story which made me feel a little bit like a failure. We made Resurrection Eggs in MOPS a few years ago and I decided Parker was now old enough to do them. (If you don't know what Resurrection Eggs are, here is a basic summary and tutorial--super cute.) He did alright for the first six, but after that became extremely impatient to dye real eggs (which took about 15,624 hours to boil). So, anyways. Three-year-olds are tricky.

The Easter Bunny also brought the Jesus Storybook Bible with their Easter baskets this year. I have heard so much about this recently and just had to have it. The stories are sweet (although maybe a bit embellished...I think it's to make kids relate more, though). We have the other kids illustrated bible (which every kid in the 90's grew up with) and we have read through I don't know how many times, but this version is definitely more detailed and I just really like it. Anyways--Bryan attempted to read the story of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection during breakfast and both boys did pretty well,  so I will consider that a success.

The boys enjoyed their baskets (if you want to save money, buy tiny baskets! It helps--after five items I couldn't fit anything else) and I was so thankful that the exhausted Easter bunny decided to hide eggs around the living room at the last second, because when Parker woke up he immediately looked in the backyard and said, "Well, I guess the Easter Bunny didn't come..." to which I replied with oh yes he did but he hid your eggs around the house since it's cold outside. Close one. I didn't think he would notice (or know) about that yet.

We were a matching family for church and lunch this year and I, for one, loved it. (Bryan also buzzed his head, which I for one, do not love, but thankfully hair grows back ;) Sorry, babe. I love matching the boys and I LOVED their outfits this year, especially Haysie's. Suspenders and baby sandals are just so good. My blue dress ended up being a happy accident from the clearance rack at Dillard's and Bryan got a new tie from Steinmart which I thought was a nice touch.

We enjoyed service and both boys did okay (we didn't send Hayes to nursery which proved to be as hard as we thought it would be, but we really wanted him to sit with us at least one Sunday of the year).

Lunch and the rest of the afternoon was spent at the Roberts house. The food was delicious (I LOVE deviled eggs) and the company was (as always) great. We even got to see GG (Bryan's grandmother) which was so fun. She is a mom of 4 boys so she loves our little boys and is so good with them. I made lemon rolls (recipe here--this is becoming "The thing that Katy always brings", which is good because they are super easy), corn casserole (thank you Alisha, for the recipe), and buttermilk pie. Yum.

I have learned that I do more prep on Saturday for Easter Sunday than I do on Christmas Eve. With all the washing, ironing, cooking, egg stuffing, etc. I am always pooped at the end of it all. And Bryan even made the pie for me. It's all good though, I love Easter!

Back to the day--the boys did their (final) egg hunt, in which Parker finally got a golden egg which he was so excited about. I don't know who taught him about a golden egg, but I caught him trying to steal one from another boys basket at the MOPS egg hunt and complaining about the lack of them at his school egg hunt.

Side note: There are so many egg hunts and I can only eat so much candy before it becomes a problem. I have no clue how to remedy this? Suggestions? Oh, self control? I don't have that.

Ah, this post is taking forever and now I know why I never blog! I am certain only my Nanny will read this anyways, but that will be worth it. I love my Nanny.

SO-we eventually went home where we FaceTimed  with my parents (witching hour FaceTime calls are always exhausting) and then sent the boys to bed, but not before watching them sneak 15 pieces of candy.

I also put up our pregnancy announcement on Facebook...which I am just now realizing I haven't even put on here! Yes, baby number three is on the way! We are obviously excited and I am almost 15 weeks now....which by the way--- it IS true what they say about third pregnancies--they amount of "showing" that has happened already is a bit ridiculous. To be perfectly candid, the main reason I was anxious to tell this time was so people would just know that I'm pregnant and not that I've been eating way too many cheeseburgers. (Although I do love a good cheeseburger.)

Oh, and I also had a nice little "oops call" that turned into a great chat with my Aunt Kathy! I just love her. Mom #2.

Guys, I was going to say more but I just can't. In the time I've written this Hayes has cried twice, pulled a roll of toilet paper completely off the roll (his favorite pastime), and if I'm understanding correctly now wants his Daddy and some more food. So I must go!

Hope you all are having a great week! April is such a crazy month for us---wish me luck!

Leprechaun Lollipop Garden

Hello!

I was in search of cute crafts that we could do for St. Patrick's Day and came across the adorable idea of a Leprechaun Lollipop Garden. This is such a great tradition for young kids (very similar to Santa or the Easter Bunny) and is SO easy.

What you will need: (All supplies purchased from Joann. Except for candy. ;)

-Wooden Tray (I spray painted mine white)
-Floral foam
-Green crinkle shred
-Shamrock stickers and foam pieces
-Dowel rods
-Suckers
-Rolos candy
-Glitter
-Sandwich baggie
-Rainbow ribbon (I used red, yellow, and green)

The idea of this tradition is to "plant" your Lollipop Garden the night before St. Patrick's Day and then have your kiddos wake up to see it has grown a whole bunch of lollipops and gold. So cute.

Here are the basic steps:

1. Paint tray and cut foam pieces to fit inside.
2. Cover with crinkle shred "grass"
3. "Plant" your shamrocks for good luck.
4. Sprinkle your garden with "lollipop seeds" or "gold dust". I made my gold dust more official looking by pouring gold glitter into one corner of a sandwich baggy, cutting, and tying with ribbon.

(Excuse my use of "quotations". I am annoying myself, even.)

You can have the kids help with the above steps, but after the head to bed, it's your turn to be the Leprechaun who makes the garden grow!

5. Cut slits into a few shamrocks and slip the suckers in the middle. Stick suckers all around the garden. Toss a few Rolos in there as well.
6. Hot glue large shamrocks to wooden dowels and stick in the garden.

And look at that! A sweet craft and a great way to kick off an easy holiday.

I'll be demonstrating this craft today on KAMR at 4. :) I'll try and remember to link up the video once we are done!

My 2016 Book List

It's February and I've been a horrible reader so far for 2016. I normally read about two books a month (which may not sound like a lot but it's really all I can manage), but in January I started a total of 5 books and didn't finish a one of them. FIVE. I think it was mostly because they were all non-fiction and required too much thinking about my life and I just can't. handle. that. right now. You know? Too busy. Need escape.

I started The Girl With No Past over the weekend and am loving it. A good fiction is always the ticket.

I thought I would go ahead and post a little list of the books I would like to get to this year. I would love to know if you've read any of these and what your thoughts are. Also, new recommendations are always FABULOUS. I would love those as well. :)

(Titles are linked.)

1. The Girl With No Past by Kathryn Croft
2. Love Does by Bob Goff
3. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (I've had this one for YEARS and have never finished it....but everyone I know is obsessed with it.)
4. The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner (another one I started...about halfway through)
5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
6. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
7. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
8. Strong and Kind by Korie Robertson
9. Audacious by Beth Moore
10. Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty
11. Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson
12. Simply Tuesday by Emily Freeman
13. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
14. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
15. After You by Jojo Moyes
16. Bossypants by Tina Fey
17. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
18. Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
19. Rising Strong by Brene Brown
20. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
21. The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner
22. Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
23. A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
24. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
25. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
26. Looking for Alaska by John Green (my sister got me this for Christmas!)
27. Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
28. Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
29. Missional Motherhood by Gloria Furman
30. Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti by Bill Farrel
31. The Five love Languages by Gary Chapman (read this one before....need a refresher)
32. Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker (this one, too)
33. Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours by Kevin Lehman (this one, too--it's good!)
34. 7 by Jen Hatmaker (I've actually never read this one!)

We will see if all of these happen. I could have added more non-fiction, too---there have been so many on my list lately that it is just getting ridiculous. I also feel like I'm greatly lacking in the fiction department, especially since that's what I enjoy the most anyway.

Again, I would love suggestions! What are your favorites from this list? What would you add?