Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope it's been a good week at your house.  The sun is finally shining in the Midwest and the rain has taken a break for the moment.  Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Mild Buffalo Chicken Dip - This is on my Super Bowl menu!

In & Out for 2024 - will you agree or disagree with me?

Little Surprises - I did several of these this week.

Now onto my favorite moments of the week:

1. Dinner road trip!  I drove an hour North and my Terre Haute friends drove an hour South to meet for dinner.  We always have the best time and the craziest things to talk about.  I'm so glad we braved the fog and the rain to get together for dinner.  I look forward to seeing them and eating Old Chicago pepperoni rolls so much.

2. Christmas Diamonds.  I realized I never posted about my Christmas surprise.  Kevin and I agreed to just do little gifts this year and then he surprised me with diamonds.  What a guy!  He reminded me that Christmas Eve was our 20th engagement anniversary and we celebrate our 20th year of marriage in July so jewelry was in order.  He totally surprised me with a diamond band to add to my wedding band stack.  He wanted me to go in and try on all my options to make sure I got a band that I really loved.  I settled on this 5 diamond gold band with 5 round diamonds for our family of 5.  I love it so much!  It's gold and so sparkly.  Surprise diamonds are always a good idea!  Also, I'd like to give my nails a shout out.  They're growing and it makes me so happy.

3. I love winter clothes so much.  The jackets, boots, layers and textures are all my favorite!

4. I've been busy baking cookies for some of my favorite people.  I had cookie orders and friends in need of some cheer so I put together fun cookie boxes.  You just cannot go wrong with this delicious cookie combination.  Any cookie with a chocolate chip in it is my favorite.

5. School lunches.  This mom task is one of my favorites.  I LOVE packing lunches that I know my kids will love.  It's my hug from home in the middle of their school day.  That alone keeps me motivated to pack the yummiest lunches each day.  The kids have been loving the berries, chocolate covered pretzels and the variety of salty chips.  They have both told me that they love to open their lunch boxes to find their favorite sandwich inside.

6. Take my picture.  Leo is going through a phase where he often asks me to take his picture.  It's adorable and it always makes me smile.  I'm not quite sure that Penny feels the same way, but he is holding her nicely so I won't complain.

7. Topher is my favorite old man.  He turns 15 this year and he's just been looking so handsome lately.  He's my shadow after the kids go to bed and sleeps with me every night.

8. Happy Helper.  Leo has been asking for more jobs and to help with more around the house.  He helped me load all the groceries into my van at Sams, he pulls in the trash cans with me every where after trash day and he insists on opening my car door for me.  3 year olds are my favorite.

9. Story time.  We made it back to story time this week and Leo loved the bubbles and the Duplos.  He also love playing with his buddies.  If you are home during the week, check your local library for story time options.  It's our favorite free activity.

10. I'm sticking to my daily salads and this one was my favorite of the week.  I made a homemade lemon dressing and I think I would be happy to eat this every single day.

11. Bible Study buddy.  Leo and I go to a Bible study where he plays with his buddies in the same room as the moms and it's my favorite.  We pack toys to share and he loves doing Bible study with me.  We're studying John right now.

12. My family has decided that any meal + homemade bread is their favorite.  I tend to make a quick crusty bread the most.  Sometimes I'll make sourdough if I plan ahead.  Finding a smiley face in our slices of crusty bread was a favorite this week.

13. Find mom.  Sit on mom. has returned!  And Leo's tongue filled smile is my favorite.

14. This Time and Tru pullover is my favorite.  I don't wear a ton of red, but every time I do I get so many compliments on it.  I guess I'll have to add more red to my wardrobe.  This top has the perfect amount of sherpa for me - just on the shoulders.  I get too hot in full sherpa.  Check your Walmart for end of the season clearance and you might be able to grab one for yourself.

15. Derby Pie.  Kevin has had a really busy work week so I surprised him with a Derby Pie for dessert.  Win-win for me and for him.

16. We received some sad news this week.  One of our very favorite Arkansas friends, Anna, passed away this week.  You may remember me talking about her when we lived in Arkansas, we met up for a weekend in Chicago and Kevin headed to the West Coast to visit them a few years ago.  We lived in the same apartment building totally by chance and our husbands worked at the VA together that year.  We ate tons of dinners together, worked on projects together, spent holidays together, fixed meals together, talked about all kinds of educational issues with our backgrounds in teaching and she made sure that Olive got her first pair of sparkly mary jane tennis shoes for her first birthday.  She was wonderful and so thoughtful.  Anna will be missed by so many.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!  I'll see you back here on Monday.

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