Friday, June 16, 2017

One Year Studio Pics

We had Fletcher's one year pictures taken shortly after he turned one, but I realized I never shared them on the blog.  He was so smiley and sweet for his pictures.  Olive wanted to join in the fun so it was nice to get a few sibling pictures.  I thought I'd share my favorites with you today.  I'm hoping to frame a picture of both Olive and Fletcher at one year old.

We are getting family pictures taken this Fall and I'm looking forward to those.  I love getting professional pictures taken and am excited to get some canvas prints made to hang in our house.  How often do you do pictures with your kids or your whole family?  I'm always curious how people do pictures with their family.



 My favorite:



 My other favorite:




Olive insisted on doing a few pictures with the Spring props in the studio :)




Olive's 1 year old photo shoot in Arkansas



Professional pictures are definitely an investment, take time to plan out and schedule and are a lot of work to pull off.  However, they are always worth it.  I never regret having them taken even if they seem a little chaotic in the moment.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

I Struggle...

I loved the prompt from Momfessionals this week called I Struggle... I am looking forward to reading all of the things that people write about.  I'm sure there are plenty of silly things along with serious things that people are struggling with.  I think it's a good reminder that everyone struggles with something.  So here are the things I'm currently struggling with:


I struggle with going to bed before 1am every single day.  I just get so much done from 10pm-1am that it's hard to stop and go to bed.  Then every morning around 7:30am I am wishing I would have gone to bed a little earlier.  Is it silly that I am proud of myself for getting in bed closet to midnight??

I struggle with 4 year old bedtime.  Fletcher goes to bed EASILY at about 8:15pm every night.  Olive takes an HOUR+ to go to bed lately.  It's like a three ring circus to get her to stay in bed with potty, drinks, stories, etc.  I know she's tired and we've seriously tried all the combinations/routines without any great success.  I;m sure it's just a phase, but go to sleep already sweet girl!

I struggle with wanting a new screen protector on my phone, but not wanting to spend $40 to get one.

I struggle with making new friends.  We've moved SO MUCH in the past 5 years that it's hard to make and keep good friends.  4 states in 5 years will do that to you.  I try really hard to make plans, schedule things and plan outings with friends, but sometimes I just want to stay home and hang out with zero pressure to be friendly/outgoing.  Honestly, we have made some really sweet friends in our city so that motivates me to keep working on it, but it is definitely something that I work on every single day.  I gave my phone number to a mom at swimming lessons last week because we had a really nice time talking.  I had to give myself a serious pep talk to do it, but I'm hoping it'll be a fun friend to get to know.  Anyone else have this problem??

I struggle with night time snacking!  I've been doing so good drinking TONS of water, eating healthy all day long, but when the sun goes down I get so munchy!  I've just had to STOP buying my favorite candy or sweet treats to ensure that I don't stuff my face at night.

I struggle with frizzy hair.  I've be working on finding a good summer/humidity proof routine and hoping it'll get me through the hot months.  I've also been working on learning to braid my own hair so here's to hoping for some cute, non frizzy hair this summer.

I struggle with finding a church home.  We are back at our church search in our city and we've found a church that we think is pretty promising.  We've gone a few weekends in a row and enjoyed it.  However, both kids are struggling with their kid classes.  Fletcher loses his mind at the sight of the nursery which isn't all that surprising since he basically does the same thing when I leave the room anytime.  Olive loves her class, is learning a ton, but she struggles with being on her own surrounded by kids and adults she doesn't know.  I don't really blame her, but I'm hoping that we can push through to get both kids to the point where they enjoy going to their own classes at church.  Sunday mornings aren't easy right now.

I struggle with growing my nails.  My hair grows super fast, but my nails are always short.

I struggle with taking tons of pictures and then they all just sit in computer files.  I don't have a great printing routine and tend to just print on an as needed basis.  I've been meaning to print some chat books, have been meaning to delete pictures that I don't want to save forever from my computer, etc.  At least I've always been good about blogging the special moments of our life since 2011.

I struggle with hanging anything on the wall straight.  I don't like to measure, don't have a great eye to eyeball things and usually end up knocking 6 holes in the wall to get something right.  So I've been leaving all the hanging of things up to my husband lately.

I struggle to finish books that don't catch my attention right away.  For example:

I loved the idea of the book Creative Calm in the Center of Crazy by Nicole Johnson.  It seems like everyone would benefit from more calming in their days.  I was disappointed in the slow start to the book.  I struggled to relate to Part one of the book where Johnson was detailing her story without giving many details and it was very slow to wade through.  Part two was more interesting and applicable giving ideas for actually creating calm in your own life.  Part three was definitely the best part of the book!  I really enjoyed it and wished there would have been much more written on the boundaries, keys and calm sections.  These pages were filled with interested research, quotes and tons of helpful application to real life.  I loved her thoughts on boundaries with technology, getting your entire family on board with creating calm and setting yourself up for a life filled with being in the moment, gratitude and calm.  I'd recommend this book, but be sure to tell the reader that the best content is at the end of the book.
*I was gifted this book from Booklook in exchange for my honest review of it.


What are you struggling with these days?
Can you relate to any of mine??

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Wal-Mart Haul

Wal-Mart has some really great stuff right now.  Tons of plants, summer staples, birthday party supplies, home decor and more.  There are so many cute things and the prices are great.  I thought I'd share a Wal-Mart haul with you today.  I know that not everyone is a big fan of Wal-Mart so I hope you can get excited about the things I'm showing you.  You may be surprised at the cute things they're carrying these days.

I went to snap this picture and Olive said - I'll hold his hand :) #bffs

MINI WATERING CANS
These little watering cans are perfect for kids!  They are easy to tote around when they are full of water.  They also have a small spout so the water comes out slowly and they're $2.49 each!  Best $5 I've spent in a while.  The kids have loved helping water our flowers and I anticipate them turning into the cutest little gardeners this summer.  Olive has finally gotten to the age where she knows we don't pick flowers from our flower pots.  Fletcher (aka Flower Destroyer) is still working on that skill.  He'll shout NO while picking the flower with a giant smile on his face.  We've still got some work to do.


PERENNIALS
I found the most gorgeous assortment of perennials this past weekend.  I also learned that I needed some help learning how to spell perennial.  haha  Anyways, I was on a mission to only plant perennials in my flower beds for now.  It just feels like a great investment in our home knowing they'll be there year after year.  These were all really good size 2.5 quart planters and I'm super optimistic that I can help them thrive in our yard.  My assortment ranged anywhere from $3/plant to $7.  A down side to buying flowers at a place like Wal-Mart is that the employees are not very helpful or knowledgeable about plans in my experience.  You're pretty much flying solo and on your own to read the labels.  I'm okay with that if it means I'm getting a great deal on plants.  Plus, I like picking out my own stuff.


OVAL FRAMES
I have been on the hunt for oval frames for several months.  They're harder to find that I imagined so when I saw these at Wal-Mart I had to have them.  Can you believe that they're only $4 each!!  I have a project in the works to do some silhouettes of the kids in them.  Stay tuned.


PIONEER WOMAN KITCHEN RUG
I like a lot of the kitchen line from The Pioneer Woman at Wal-Mart.  There are tons of cute things and only a few things that aren't really my style.  I picked up a new PW kitchen rug recently.  They're regularly around $20 and this one was on clearance for $12.  So be sure to keep an eye out for Pioneer Woman stuff in the clearance section!  The colors are really pretty and the quality seems great.  I'm hard on kitchen rugs with all the cooking I do so I like to find great deals on them since they don't last forever.


METAL STOOL SET
I purchased this set of two metal stools several months ago and I use them all the time!  Reservation Seating Stool 2 Pack for $45.  They're really affordable and I love that they come in a set.  I went with the blue color to give our Better Homes & Gardens kid table some extra seating options when we have friends over.  They're sturdy enough for kids or adults, I love the handle to grab them with and are perfect stools for the bathroom, kitchen or your kid table.




Tell me what you've found at Wal-Mart lately!!


It's time to link up with my favorite Tuesday Talk ladies.
Be sure to join us with a current post.




Monday, June 12, 2017

Favorite Fathers

Father's Day is just a few days away and it's time to start thinking about all the special details for your favorite fathers.  Kevin usually buys golf balls for his dad, I typically do some kind of gift card for my dad and then we try to do things that are Kevin's favorites to celebrate him on Father's Day.  I think that's the key - do what your favorite father LOVES to do and he'll be thrilled.

Here are the things that are on our agenda for the week:

1. Work on some projects around the house.
Painting picnic tables was last week and landscaping is probably in the works this week.  He mentioned the idea of planting a tree for Father's Day so we may be doing some tree shopping.

2. Bake his favorite treats.
Strawberry pie is probably what he'll request.

3. Buy Him Some New Shoes.
Kevin has become a shoe guy over the years.  His current favorites are all Ecco.  He loves the slip ones, these leather laces and the dressier Ecco shoes.  He says they're all very comfy and he usually wears them to death.  We'd highly recommend giving your favorite dad a new pair of Eccos for Father's Day.

4. Visit Him at Work
Head to his office with lunch, stop by with his favorite coffee drink or just to say hello.

 5. Get Outside.
We love to go on walks together so we'll be squeezing as many walks in as possible this week!  We may also visit a park together and definitely play in our backyard.

We'll work hard to plan Kevin's favorite things this week so that he feels special and loved for Father's Day!


What are your plans for Father's Day??

Friday, June 9, 2017

Adventures in Strawberry Picking

We started the week by crossing something fun off of our summer bucket list.

We went STRAWBERRY PICKING!!

It was our first time and I can safely say that the girls loved it.  We headed about 25 minutes north of our city to a cute little farm town with friends.  We happened to pick the hottest day of the week, but the skies and views were gorgeous.  These strawberries were definitely the favorite part of our week.



We sunscreened ourselves before we left home which worked out great.  We didn't have to apply it in the hot sun or wait for it to soak in.  Then we picked up our baskets and waited for the tractor to pick us up.  I didn't realize we'd get to go on a tractor ride so Olive was thrilled.  The tractor was too loud for Fletcher's liking so this picture perfectly captures our feelings about it - girls loved it and Fletcher wished it was quieter.  Lucky for him it was a quick ride.


We got dropped off with our friends and got busy picking.  Olive did a pretty great job picking the deep red berries, leaving the mushy ones behind and not eating too many.  She ended up with a strawberry mustache and it was so fun to see her learning the best way to pick berries.






Poor guy was mad about his shoes, mad about walking on the hay and all of his usual favorites were not making him happy.  I even brought our little stroller to keep him in the shade.  I guess I could have tried to wear him, but it was super hot so I doubt that would have been much better.  You win some, you lose some, I guess.  Olive and I picked fast and headed back to the car.  Fast forward a few days and three new teeth popped through his gums.  Guess it's hard to enjoy strawberry picking when your mouth is really hurting.

These two are best buds and they kept stopping to compare their baskets and snack.  It was so sweet :)



Waiting for our tractor ride back to the car.  Olive was so proud of her berry haul.



We scoped out the cherries, blueberries and the apples for Fall.  Can't wait to come back to pick some more produce!!

We got almost a whole basket full of berries and polished them off in no time.  They were so good and so fun to pick.  I think we'll definitely make this a yearly tradition.

Fletcher was back to smiling post nap, in the air conditioning stuffing his face full of strawberries.  His hair is looking extra strawberry blonde here.

We enjoyed strawberry salads, pound cake and strawberry snacks all week long!!


Have you been strawberry picking before??
Isn't it a yummy experiences :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

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