Friday, August 31, 2018

Friday Favorites {8.31.18}

Happy Friday Friends! Phew, we are week 2 and 1 with the bigs and getting back into a schedule has been good but also a little rough - I was totally enjoying those slow summer mornings! But back to a routine is just what I want/need right now.

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{ONE}

Ella had her first day of all day Kindergarten on Monday and my gosh was she excited!! I wanted to be sad letting her go but how could I when she was so darn happy!? I sent her off with a big hug and she didn't look back! She has been LOVING it all week!

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{TWO}

Everyone knows finding a deal is my jam so when I saw Natives were on sale at Nordstrom I jumped on it! I know there are plenty of other knock offs but I do love this brand and they hold up SO WELL!

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{THREE} 

OMG I posted this in my FB group, but had to share here too!! I ordered this for Ella and it is the CUTEST!!!


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{FOUR} 

I saw this online and just thought it was so cute!! Growing up we always did the "see ya later alligator" "in a while crocodile!" I want to start saying some of these to my kids!



{FIVE}

OMG did you see this?!!? Aldi is having advent wine & cheese calendars this year!! I remember seeing this last year but it was only in another country, I am so excited and will definitely be getting myself one of each!! #merrychristmastomama

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I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!! We need our weather to turn around so we can enjoy our towns festivities!!







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Wednesday, August 29, 2018

What's Up Wednesday {8.29.18}

Oh look, I finally got my act together so I could do a What's Up Wednesday post šŸ˜œ I'm hoping this continual blogging becomes more of a thing now that 2 kids are in school!


Today I'm linking up with Shay to talk all about our month!

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What we're eating this week:

Some easy stuff since our nights are back to being jam packed! Pasta/meatballs, tacos, and a favorite dish we haven't made in a while, cheeseburger gnocchi!

Oh my gosh you HAVE to try this Cheeseburger Gnocchi recipe!! Pillowy soft potato dumplings (gnocchi) are toasted for a crunchy skin, but impossibly fluffy middle. Then they're simmered with seasoned beef and cheese for a 15-minute, one pot meal that everyone will FLIP over!!! So good!! :)
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What I'm reminiscing about:

What am I always reminiscing  about, my kids being smaller! I swear, I'm blinking and time is flying. I'm thinking back to when Brayden started Kindergarten and how nervous I was and how little he was, how Ella was just 2 I swear, and Avery, wasn't I just nursing her to sleep?


What I'm loving:

My new Facebook group!! I'm still rocking We Heart Deals (I would love for you to join!) and now I'm also doing Frugal Fashionistas which is all about looking cute without spending a ton of money!







What we've been up to:

This month has been jam packed with so much fun! We had our annual vacation with Ricks family, crammed in the last bits of summer and Brayden & Ella started school!

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What I'm dreading:

Nothing at the moment - that's a good thing, right?!


What I'm working on:

Oh I have so much I want to get done once Avery starts preschool - organize our life is the top priority!



What I'm excited about:

This weekend is our towns fest and it's always a good time! Rides, games, the craft fair and the parade!



What I'm watching/reading:


Recently I finished Girl, Was Your Face and I know there's controversy over it but I personally loved it! I found it very relatable

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Rick and I are watching Very Cavallari and loving it, especially when Jay Cutler makes an appearance!


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What I'm listening to:

We are jamming out to Taylor Swift these days since Ella & I are going to her concert next month!


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What I'm wearing:

If you're in my group you have been seeing my outfits - I've been on a total Old Navy kick

This tunic I ended up buying in a few colors because I will totally wear them all the time once the weather drops!

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I scored this tee for $5 the other week and I'm loving it! (it's still on sale too!)

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What I'm doing this weekend:

As I mentioned, it's our towns annual fest so we'll be there a couple of days, we also have my cousins baby's 1st birthday party so it will be a fun filled weekend!


What I'm looking forward to next month:

So much good stuff!! Ella's birthday, going to see Taylor Swift, Rick & I are going on an adult only weekend getaway with 2 of our couple friends, we have the Bears game too, it's going to be a really fun month!


What else is new:

Not much other than it's pretty quiet around here with both Brayden & Ella in school! I can tell Avery misses her sister because she's always known her to be around, she was use to Brayden being gone because that's all she remembers, but Ella, that's her sidekick.


Bonus: Favorite back to school tradition:

I always drive the kids on their first day and then have their favorite snack or treat ready for them after school



Monday, August 27, 2018

Weekly Recap {8.27.18}

Good Morning! I totally am not ready for this Monday, today my sweet Ella Bella starts ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN! Insert extremely emotional Mama here!! I know she's more than ready, it's me who's not. I felt the same when Brayden went so I thought by now it would be a little easier, but it's really not - today is going to be the longest day!!

Anyway, enough of my sob story, here's a look back at our week!

Monday was Brayden's first day and it went great!!



I took the girls to the carousel room for some last week of summer fun! They both made friends with girls their own age and had a blast



Then they played this game where they went to sleep, I have to say, I'm a big fan of this game :)



Wednesday we went to this little zoo in a neighboring town with friends - it was another really fun day!!

 


 Each morning at the bus stop we play shadow tag, these are the moments I soak in šŸ˜Š



Thursday night Brayden had his first baseball game for fall ball. This season him and his buddies are all split up but we were all playing at neighboring fields so we grabbed a few pics - and so cute they all chose #17 without knowing the others did!

 

 Then, Brayden won MVP of the game!! His coach gives out this obnoxious wrestling belt to the player of the game and they bring it back next game



Friday I woke up early all ready to publish my blog post for the day to realize our cable & internet was out - I got an appt for 2-4pm later that day for a tech to come but in the meantime, I took the girls to an early lunch at McDonalds and took advantage of their free wi-fi :)



Saturday was a crummy start to the day so we took the kids out for some bowling and arcade games

 


 

Later that night, Avery was having a sleepover at my Moms and the other 2 were going by my in laws because we had dinner plans with my BIL & SIL. But before we dropped them off, they had dinner and were trying out the lady & the tramp move with the noodles. It was so cute watching and listening to them giggle and when they got too close Brayden would run away to the garbage and spit it out LOL



Only pic I got from our night out!




Sunday was a slow start since we were out late then we went swimming at my in laws later on, it was a gorgeous day!


I'm off to get my sweet middle child on her way to kindergarten, somebody hold me!!




*linking up with BLovedBoston & The Sirois Family

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Weekly Recap 8.22.18

Hi blog world! I'm finally getting around to recapping our week on the blog - it was the last official week of summer break for Brayden so we tried to cram in lots of fun!!

Monday we went to lunch and then the neighborhood pool with lots of friends! The kids all had so much fun!!


Oh man, poor Ella - she wanted to jump off this diving board SO BAD but just could not get the courage to. She gets an A++++++ for trying though, because she did try no less than 30 times! It was a little comical watching all the kids cheer her on and getting frustrated waiting on her LOL

 




Another day we went to Gameworks with friends and again, the kids had a blast!! They scored enough points to get a bunch of junk in the game room and they couldn't have been happier






The girls spent time doing their workbooks and as usual, Ella was excited and Avery was NOT - haha



We went to the zoo one day with my Mom and the weather was perfect, not too hot and not cold




They have this new thing where you can feed the giraffes so I let the kids do that - Brayden & Ella loved it and I held Avery while she did it and she got nervous




Friday night I went out to dinner with some friends and girl time is just what I needed!!

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Over the weekend, I had bridesmaid dress shopping, then we went to my aunt & uncles for a pool party for the bridal party in my cousins wedding - the kids swam for HOURS and I actually got to sit and talk!

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Sunday the 5 of us went to practice baseball (Ella's playing t-ball this fall!) then out for ice cream! We ended the night going out to dinner and relaxing before Brayden had school the next day!!






And that's a wrap for our week (last week LOL)

 
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