Fall Break Wisconsin Favorites

I'm finally getting around to recapping our Fall Break favorites from our trip to Wisconsin.  Kevin surprised us with fun plans and a really great room.  It was a lot of work to leave right after work on a Friday, but we did it and we were so thankful to have a full week off of school.

We pulled into the resort at 12:30am and were so excited to wake up to this view!  It was chilly and the fall colors were beautiful.  We spent a lot of time on this pretty patio.

There were pumpkins and mums everywhere!

Kevin upgraded our room reservation an we were all impressed with this beautiful spot!

One of my my very favorite things to do is to grab local cheeses and make cheese boards for us to enjoy in our room.  We grabbed Bucky Badger cheese from Walmart and loved it.  I could eat this meal all day every day.  We even brought home cheese from Wisconsin this time.

We would 10/10 recommend this Wisconsin cheese.

The Fall leaves were so pretty!

Kevin found some new things for us to enjoy in Baraboo, WI.  We love to go to Ski Hi apple orchard there and he was determined to find us some new favorite spots.  Mission accomplished.  The town square is darling.  Head to the used book store, the boutiques and antique shops.  The town is the home of the original Ringling Bros circus so everything is circus themed.  It's quirky and cute.  We loved it!

The Village Booksmith was a dreamy bookstore.  The kid's section was huge and the books were really affordable.  We all came home with treasures.

We did arts and crafts together.  The kids made ornaments and fun things.

We had the best day at Devil's Lake state park.  It's beautiful all year round.  A quick hike on a new trail was a great way to spend the day.

One big breakfast at Camp Social with cheesey potato casserole that I dream of.

Kid's Club is always a good time.

We enjoyed some shopping.  It was CHILLY and I loved it.

The big kids did the ropes course and I watched Leo climb all over this fun maze.

We're counting down the days until our next trip to Wisconsin!

Birthday Weekend

My birthday was on Saturday and we spent the weekend doing all of my favorite things.  I was treated to all of my favorite things at work on Friday, saw my favorite people, we shopped and ate my favorite foods.  You couldn't ask for a better birthday!

We couldn't wait to eat this yummy tuxedo cake from Sams.  We sampled it a few weeks ago and decided we had to come back and get one for my birthday.

Birthday dinner at my parent's house.  Adult table with a delicious meal by mom.

Kid's table.

My birthday is the 16th and my BIL's birthday is the 17th.  My sister made this cake and we also had cheesecake and s'mores.  No one left hungry.

My dad has been working hard to build a fire pit at their house.  This was the first time we got to use it.

Kevin got me a beautiful Fall bouquet!  My very favorite kind - tons of variety and colors.

Birthday paper goods are always my favorite to put together.

My assistant surprised me with my favorite drink and I got treats all day from people at school.  Some teacher friends had lunch delivered for us, another made my favorite dessert cheesecake for our whole team and the kids were cute with surprises all day.

Leo wanted to help me open gifts.

We met friends at the playground.  Our friends brought doughnuts, fancy coffee drinks and good conversation.  It was so much fun!

Jacque is the best!

We headed to Sams to do our usual Saturday shopping because everyone still needs to eat.  We bumped into school friends and grabbed all our favorite foods.  The samples were flowing, we grabbed soft pretzels for lunch and it was just fun to be together.

I got lots done around the house, finished some projects like a closet overhaul, had fun with my family and the weather was perfect.  It was a great birthday weekend!

Burger Bowls

I made burger sliders for dinner Sunday night and I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers for burger bowl lunches.  I love the fresh sliders you can buy from Sams for under $15.  They easily serve one big dinner and several lunches.  They aren't cheap, but they are SO much cheaper than going out with your whole family for burgers.

For dinner, I gave the options of a Hawaiian roll bun or a small tortilla shell or plain.  We all picked a different way to enjoy our sliders.  It was my favorite meal of the week and it brought me so much joy to have it for lunches 3 days this week.

Burger Bowl must haves:

2 slider patties cut into bite sized pieces

sharp cheddar cheese

bacon

dill pickles

lettuce

purple onion

tomatoes

sliced up tortilla shell

ketchup, mustard & fry sauce

*grilled onions & A1 were also family favorite toppings

I love fixing a big dinner and having leftovers to enjoy at lunch all week long.

Would your family enjoy these burger bowls?

Quality Time 5 Different Ways

I have been working hard to spend quality time with every member of my family.  

This was easier when I was a stay at home mom.  I had much more free time to devote to taking care of everyone.  Now that I'm teaching full time it is trickier.  I have to be very intentional to notice what is important to each person in my family and then make it a priority to make them feel loved and special when we are together.  That means doing things when I'm tired.  Making after work to do lists and packing my weekend with quality time opportunities.  Not getting as much sleep as I should and asking for help when I need it.

Here are a few examples of quality time with my crew:

1. Bedtime chats and snuggles

2. Stocking the pantry with their favorite foods

3. Quality time together running errands - sometimes my errands and sometimes theirs

4. Errands to pick up favorite treats

5. Snuggles while we watch their favorite show

6. Having mom nearby

7. Fixing their favorite meals

8. Date nights

9. Keeping up with laundry so they have all the clothing options

10. Reading a book together

11. Paying attention to the Amazon links they send me and their shopping needs

12. Keeping close tabs on their school calendars to make sure we don't miss anything

13. Helping organize their bedrooms

14. Picking out their clothes for the week so that there is no thought required each morning

15. Helping out in my classroom

16. Strolling around the mall

17. One on one time with me

18. Bike rides

19. Cooking together

20. Saying YES to spontaneous requests - sleep overs, play dates, outings and plans.

It has been a fun challenge to figure out what each person in my family loves and needs in this season of having two busy working parents and kids ages 11, 8 and 4.  I challenge you to do the same!

Friday Faves

Happy Friday, friends!  What a week it's been.  I caught a cold, lost my voice most days by the end of the day, loved all the excitement from Election Day, have Friendsgiving + an early dismissal day at school today and am thrilled to make it to the weekend.  

The best parts of the week were:

1. Kindergarteners are the cutest.  One of my little guys asked me how to spell a few words and then delivered this sweet note to me with my favorite color included.  5 and 6 year olds are so fun to teach.  They are so excited about everything we do.

2. We had a little Election night treat board to enjoy with the kids as the results started rolling in.  They loved the USA treats and loved the election results.  I am excited and optimistic for the days ahead.  I said I wasn't going to stay up late on a work night, but I got FOMO and didn't want to miss a thing.  We stayed up very late for the past couple presidential elections and I'm glad I did the same this time.  Teaching all day on 4 hours of sleep isn't something I'd like to do again though.

3. Mr. Mittens couldn't figure out why we were up so late, but he stayed up to see his first presidential election play out.  He's also become a bougie cat and only wants to rest on my prettiest pillows.

4. Olive is doing so well in 6th grade.  I'm so thankful that 6th grade is still elementary school at her school.  She's thriving with all of the projects, writing and responsibilities that have come her way.  She had a huge presentation due this week.  She wrote the whole thing, did slides to correspond and then wrote a narrative with a set amount of words.  It was fun to see her edit and improve her writing.  Her teachers have always said she's an excellent writer so it's fun to see her SHINE.  I am in disbelief that we are starting to tour junior highs to check out her options for next year.

5. I love seeing this guy at school!  We had a special Veteran's Day chapel service on Election Day and I'm always thrilled to see this guy in his element.  He knows all the songs, all the motions and comes home to give me a report on his day - anyone who got in trouble, any funny things that happened and he loves telling me what he's learned about calendar, letters and the playground happenings.

6. I took the big kids to our high school's murder mystery play last weekend.  The play was fun and it was cool for the kids to get a sneak peek at what high schoolers are doing at our school.  We wished we would have brought more snacks and are already looking forward to going to the spring musical together.

7. Wax Museum time!  Fletcher's class did an author study wax museum and he was Roz from The Wild Robot.  I read the entire series out loud to the kids years ago.  We are OG Wild Robot fans.  It's become very popular lately thanks to the new Wild Robot movie.  We had so much fun making his trifold board and coming up with his robot costume.  He memorized his lines like a pro and had a huge cheering section of grandparents and parents.  I'm so thankful to be at his school so I could just run down to see him in action.

8. Hanging out with Mimi & Papaw.  The kids always have a good time at my parent's house.

9. Off for Election Day!  Olive had the whole day off for Election Day and none of the rest of the family did.  Thankfully, Mimi and Papaw hung out with her for the day.  She got donuts, hung out at their house, got carmel corn making lessons and lunch out.  What a day!  Having 9 other cousins means that she rarely gets one on one time with my parents so I know she loved this special day.  The boys were JEALOUS :)

Mimi's carmel corn is legendary.  It's so good and I really should have her teach me how to make it.

10. It's still pumpkin season here!  I'm decorating for Thanksgiving this week.  I know.  Not many people are into turkey decorations and fall pumpkins, but it's my favorite.  November is my birthday month and I'm going to enjoy the pumpkins a while longer.  I made pumpkin shaped waffles for the kids last weekend.  We'll be making some pumpkin muffins this weekend.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

See you back here on Monday :)

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