Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope this week has been a good one for you.  We had highs (field trips and sunshine!) and lows (stomach bugs and cancelled plans!), but we've got a 3 day weekend happening thanks to having to use zero snow days this year.  Yay!  

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

3rd Birthday Recap - Leo had a wonderful day with all of his favorite things.

70 & Sunny Easter - I appreciated all of your sweet comments on the photo of me + Olive!

Lamp Shade Swap for a Steal - I love this deal and this transformation!

Now on to the highlights of our week:

1// New favorite family photo + new favorite earrings

We had a great Easter and Olive has a new favorite accessory - dangly earrings!  

I surprised her with several pairs in her Easter basket this year.  They're from Amazon and I'm blown away by the cuteness & the quality.  They are much nicer than earrings you'd find at Claire's and they are a fraction of the price.  I am giving her the rest of the set of earrings for her birthday in May.  She loved the daisies for Easter and the tiny pink mushrooms and popsicles for school.  We 10/10 recommend them.  And here's my Amazon affiliate link if you've got a girl in your life that would love them!  Preteen approved :)  

Both sets are so cute - we got the $13.99 set and are so pleased with them!

 

2 // New Harmony Field Trip

Field trips have finally returned at our elementary schoool!  Hooray!  I chaperoned the 4th graders at a neat local attraction called New Harmony Heritage Artisan Days where they got to experience what life was like in Indiana in the 1800s.  It was fun to spend the day with Olive and her friends.  We finished up the day by grabbing matching bracelets and having a popsicle date on the patio at a little coffee shop in New Harmony.  She loved the one on one time.  And a big thanks to Kevin for working from home with Leo for the day!  Neither of us had been to New Harmony and we're eager to go back to this cute little town.

3// Everything's Under Control

As the kids are getting older, they like to have more responsibilities.  Fletcher insisted he had the taco sauce situation under control and did not need any help from me... whoops.  I handed him a towel and he said he didn't need it because he'd just lick it up.  Boys...

4 // Walking Buddy

The weather has been beautiful so we have been walking a lot.  Leo told me his favorite flowers were the gray ones haha  We've been walking 30 minutes every day and it feels great.

5 // Sidewalk chalk season

Olive and I had fun making a flower garden in our driveway this week.  Flowers are our favorite and we can't wait to plant some pretty ones this season!

6 // Cousins

These cute cousins are the same age and have the best time playing together.

7 // Pizza Hut

Kevin ordered us The Big New Yorker pizza from Pizza Hut one night and it was delish!  The adults loved the 6 huge slices and I'd definitely get it again.  Fletcher's been reading a lot this year and had a stash of Pizza Hut Book It coupons to cash in.  He was really proud to feed all the kids dinner with his coupons.  Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas were my favorite when I was younger going out to dinner with friends.  So these tiny pizzas bring back some of my favorite memories.

8 // New New Bike

We got Fletcher a new bike for his birthday, but unfortunately the quality wasn't great and Kevin wasn't happy with the way it assembled.  We returned that and he picked out an awesome TREK bike from a local bike shop.  He's so proud of his bike.  He's riding it like a champion every chance he gets!

9 // Lettuce Wrap Burger

We got Freddy's for dinner and I really enjoyed their lettuce wrap burger.  It was a little messy to pick up and eat.  Next time I would just chop it up and eat it with a fork.  But it was yummy!

10 // Stomach Bug

I put Leo to bed like usual one evening this week and out of nowhere he started aggressively throwing up.  That lasted all night long - it was awful. Poor guy and poor us - but thankfully he make a speedy recovery and no one else got sick.  We took it easy and enjoyed all the extra snuggles.  He kept apologizing for the barf and talking about how gross it was.  Sick little ones are just so sad.  Thankfully snuggles, movies and baths all made him happy.

11 // Greek Yogurt Bowls

This is my current favorite breakfast or snack.  Bananas, greek yogurt from Aldi, granola from Sams, chia seeds and fresh berries on top.  Yum!

12 //  Visitor at School

The kids had a fun visitor checking in with them at school this week!  They always love when Jacque pops in to see them.  A little hug from home in the middle of their day!

13 // Creek Time

The kids have spent a lot of time in the creek this week.  Climbing, digging, exploring and doing new tricks.  They've all got scrapes as proof of their big adventures.  They also have big plans for different areas.  It's fun to hear their pitches for what the creek needs.

14 // Stickers

I have started putting stickers on the kid's lunch box notes and they love it!

15 // Snuggles

Everyone likes a good Leo snuggle.  He's been really into watching all the minions movies so we snuggle, snack and watch a movie together in the evenings before bed.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  See you back here on Monday.

Linking up with Momfessionals

Lamp Shade Swap for a Steal

Do you remember me mentioning that I was on the hunt for a set of drum lampshades for our primary bedroom, but didn't want to spend $80 on them?

I hit the lampshade jackpot at HomeGoods last week!

Guess how much I spent on new lampshades...

Here's a sneak peek + Pearl.

 

I'd been checking their lamp section frequently for months waiting for a pair of drum lamp shades in the right size for the right price.  My store has several aisles of lamps and the end caps have the lampshades.  I had seen several single drum lamp shades, but I wanted a matching pair in black or any neutral.  I spotted these oatmeal lamp shades and I couldn't get them in my cart fast enough.  They were only $29.99 for the set!  They were in great condition and just the size I needed.

I couldn't wait to try them on my lamps at home.  I carefully opened the package in case I would need to return them.

BEFORE:
We got this set of Stiffel lamps for a wedding gift 19 years ago.  They've been in every house we've lived in and I was ready to update them.  The original lamp shade felt pretty formal and dated.  I was on the hunt for drum lamp shades.  I was hoping that updating the shade would update them enough for me to love them again.

AFTER!

I changed one lamp shade out and compared them side by side.  I love the new drum shade!!  It was just the update I was hoping to give these lamps.

Done!  Both lamp shades updated.  Whitney & cat approved :)

I was really pleased with the quality and price of these lamp shades.  Here's the tag in case you're on the hunt for a great shade.  I checked places like Amazon and Target online and a pair of very similar lamp shades were all going for $70-80.  I didn't want to spend that much so I'm thrilled that my HomeGoods hunting paid off!

I smile every time I walk into our bedroom and see these new and improved lamps.

 

Funny story - I was so excited for this project.  I asked Kevin if he noticed anything new in our bedroom.  He and Fletcher agreed that everything looked the exact same.  Olive noticed the new shades right away.  So this may not be a WOW project for every person in your family, but wowing yourself is important :)

Slowly, but surely, I'm finding the perfect pieces for our home!

Do you have any lamps that could use a shade update instead of purchasing a whole new lamp?

70 & Sunny Easter

I hope you had a great Easter weekend.  We had a fun and exhausting day!  We headed to church first thing on Sunday morning, hurried home to do some baking and then met with family for lunch & for dinner.  My dad turned 70 on Easter sunny so it was a really warm day & a really happy birthday to him.

Any holiday where we end up with a nice family picture is a big win in my book!  Crocs all around.  Boys in matching shorts and stripes and Olive super excited about her daisy outfit.  Love it all!

I made Resurrection Rolls with the big kids on Saturday and Sunday.  They were great helpers.

I had cookie orders on Saturday and then baked cookies for our family gatherings in Sunday.  These bunny M&Ms are my favorite!

I made the kids Easter lunches with sugar cookies from a local favorite spot Donut Bank.  Toddlers to pre-teens loved having this snacky meal for lunch.

Olive asked if we could do matching Easter manicures.  YES!  I happily agreed and let her plan out all the details.  Can you tell she likes color!?  I'll match her anytime.

I filled the kid's Easter baskets with their favorite candies, practical things like blank journals and new pjs and some fun things like kites, Easter Squishmallows and the exploding bunny poop smash and pops.

Leo ate almost all of his Easter basket candy before church on Sunday.  He took advantage of the fact that we were all busy prepping for Easter activities and wolfed down all the chocolate.

We had a wonderful morning at church!  The kids looked cute in their bright colors.

True love.  Leo and his fancy chocolate Easter bunnies.  I had to hide his Easter candy yesterday because he could not leave it alone.

We headed to lunch at Kevin's parent's house.  It's tricky to join in all the holiday fun when you're being mindful of little one's nap schedules, but we made it work.  Leo took an early nap and we showed up a little late to lunch.

My best girl!  Give us all the floral and statement earrings.

Leo wanted no help.  Don't touch his basket and don't point out eggs.

Fletcher was so fast that I missed the chance to get a picture of him hunting eggs.  Just a basket full of eggs at the end.

Leo held his own and get a basket full of eggs.

He continued to hunt for eggs well after the rest of the kids had called it quits.  He was determined to find more.  He finally agreed to head in and rest with the promise of a cold drink of lemonade.  Look at their pretty Spring porch!

Kevin's Nana sent all the ladies home with these pretty hyacinth plants!  I can't wait to plant mine.  Nana is my hero - she's in her mid 80s and is still so active.  She dyed 7 dozen eggs for the kids to hunt.  She brought sides for lunch.  She came with candy for the kids and flower favors for the ladies.  I'm so impressed with her attention to detail and the way that never misses an opportunity to make people feel loved and cared for.  I want to be Nana when I'm in my 80s.

Then we headed to Christmas Lake Village to celebrate Easter and my Dad's birthday.  My parents recently finished a big patio remodel project and it's so nice.  Look at their view of the lake!  We got him a red rocking chair and his favorite snacks for his birthday.  The kids hunted eggs with their cousins and we had a great time.

My dad's siblings, friends and family came to celebrate him.  Their house at Christmas Lake is decorated for Christmas year round.  It's my dad's favorite place to be so that's where we celebrated his birthday this year.

Happy Birthday Dad!  These two share a name and a birthday week.

Whew!  It's been a really busy past few weeks of birthdays and holidays!  I'm ready to enjoy the Spring/end of the school year festivities next.

3rd Birthday Recap

Leo had the best 3rd birthday on Friday.  He loved waking up to gifts (that he insisted on opening all by himself) and totally understood that it was his special day.  We planned all of his favorite things from french fries to bike rides.  He even got a beautiful sunset - God knew this sunset loving boy would be thrilled with an extra special sunset on his birthday.

I added balloon letters to the fiesta mantle for his birthday and it looked so cute!  A dear friend - hey Kristen!! - sent these to me when Leo was born and I saved them for the perfect occasion.  Now all the kids want to see their names in balloon letters.

We did gifts before the big kids headed off to school.  They were so sweet getting excited for Leo's new toys.  Some were hand me downs from when Fletcher was little and several new cool toys.  Fletcher loved this city rug and garages when he was little.

Leo came home from the hospital on Good Friday so his birthday always has a fun connection to Easter.  He LOVED coloring eggs this year.

We ran some errands together and made time to do his favorite things - petting the Old Navy pup is a must.

We picked up donuts from his local favorite spot Donut Bank.  The "brown ones" - plain glazed - are his favorite.  He had lunch donuts, snack donuts and dessert donuts.

Funny story - When we tell Leo to do something that he doesn't want to do he puts his finger on his mouth and shushes us.  Or he says No, thank you.  I was asking him to help clean up and he was uninterested in helping.

I set my phone alarm for 4:33pm so I could give him a big kiss on his actual birthday.  It made me smile and it annoyed him.  Toddlers are funny little people.

French fries are his very favorite thing if you can't tell by this picture.  He got his own large french fry from Freddy's and he was in heaven.  He at the whole container.  I'm not sure how we will be able to keep up with feeding teenage Leo.

The weather was perfect so we played outside, road bikes and enjoyed hanging out at "the pit" as Leo calls it.  He insisted on his own chair and the big kids were teaching him some hand clapping routines.

Fletcher is a bike riding pro a week after getting his new bike.  Leo hops on his balance bike and says "Wet's race!" and they race around the yard.  It's adorable as long as everyone remembers to look out for Leo.

Birthday sunset!  Leo's counting to 3 plus a few extra.  Every night he heads to the front door to check out the sunset.  If it's a pretty one, he will gather all of us to come and look at the sunset.

Classic Leo face that rarely gets caught on camera.  Haha.  3 is going to be fun!

He loves nothing more than scootering and biking up and down our street.  I'm thankful he happily wears his helmet and we are already impressed with his balance.

It's good to be 3!!!