4 Things

I thought it was about time I do a little fun fact update for everyone.

Just like any family, we've got good things and hard things going on right now.  

But today I'm going to share the highlights for each of us!

Olive // 5th Grade

1. She's making all As and really proud of it.  She has an amazing teacher this year and it's showing.  She's eager to work hard and learn lots.  And choir starts really soon!

2. Preteen youth group is so much fun.  She's hooked.

3. We're on the hunt for cute, comfy pants for her for Fall.  We've been scoping out options online and she's keeping an eye on the 5th grade girl fashion.  Send me all your recommendations because we're hoping to go pants shopping soon.

4. All her dreams came true this month when I surprised her with a Stanley of her own!  Apparently, all the 5th grade girls have one :)  I remember paying attention to things like that when I was her age (think Guess jeans and anything from Benetton!).

Fletcher // 2nd Grade

1. He's making all As and nothing makes him happier than bringing home a stack As on his tests and quizzes at the end of the week.  It's fun to see him working so hard and have such neat handwriting.  His teacher says he's perfect and the model student.

2. If you need Fletcher, you'll probably find him biking, fishing, metal detecting or talking about the kind of car he's going to drive some day.  A truck or a jeep are on the top of his wish list right now.

3. Several of our neighbors have cute little dogs.  Fletcher has been working hard to face his fear of dogs and be friendly to these pups. I'm so proud of him.  He still tenses up and stays far away from larger dogs like the one that attacked him a few years ago.  But he's making progress little by little and we're so happy for him.

4. If you need someone to help you create an Amazon wish list, he's your guy.  He's got several running wish lists and loves browsing for things to add to them.

Leo // Age 3

1. Leo loves story time.  We've been going every week and he participates a little more every week.  It's a highlight of both of our weeks.

2. He's learning so much so fast.  He's memorizing books, counting, singing songs again and again and it's really cute.  He'll come home from church singing a song and it'll stick with him all week.

3. Anytime I walk out in a dress or Kevin in a suit jacket - Leo was gasp and say YOU SO PRETTY!  It's super sweet.  And in very typical toddler fashion, you follow up his nice comment by giving him a big kiss.  He'll say YUCK and wipe it off.  Toddlers are funny!

4. He's working hard to get Alexa to listen to him.  He loves to say Alexa, turn it up!  Or Alexa, play Morgan Wallen!

 

Kevin //

1. His first semester of his Clinical Psychology program is off to a good start.  He's busy and it's exciting to see all the things he's planned come together.

2. Football is life.  His fantasy football teams are up and running.  Notre Dame is WINNING and life is good.  We have a big game this weekend and he's pumped.

3. He's been taking Fletcher fishing a lot and it's been fun for both of them.  We have several lakes nearby to fish at so they're always strategizing the best lures and spots to fish.

4. It's fire pit season and he couldn't be happier.  He's the one who got the ball rolling to get our fire pit designed and installed last November.  So it's really fun to have it done and ready to enjoy this Fall and Winter.

Whitney //

1. I got asked to be the social media coordinator for a mom's group I'm in and I'm thrilled!  I'm excited to help their social media grow and be more engaging this year.

2. I've been working hard to be really mindful of my spending and shopping.  It's so easy to pop in a store and browse and shop during the day.  But we have plenty of stuff and I really only want to buy things we need or things that I love.  I've been decluttering like crazy.  Throwing away, donating and consigning.  It feels so good to be really selective about what comes in and really eager to get rid of things.  Less shopping and less stuff will hopefully result in saving money and having more money to put towards other things.  And honestly it just feels good to see our cabinets and closets have more breathing room and empty spaces.

3. My Dad and I have been working on some plans for a new house project.  He was here measuring and designing with me last week.  Stay tuned...

4. I've been watching some good shows -

Kevin and I are still watching and loving Chicago Fire.  I never expected to love a fire fighter show so much.  The characters are all perfectly cast and perfectly captivating.  We're hooked.

Quarterbacks on Netflix - so interesting!  They follow 3 quarterbacks - Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota - and share their different experiences during the 2022 season.  It was only 8 episodes and I was wishing for more.

I finished The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and was sad to see it end.  It felt abrupt after all those seasons.

Blue Zones - fascinating research on areas of the world where the population lives into their 100s.  I loved learning about each different community.

I'm hoping to catch up on Virgin River soon!  But I'd really love to hear your show recommendations!

Hope you have a great day!

Exercising Made Easy

I'm so happy to be able to say that I've gotten into an exercise routine that feels EASY.

 

Let me explain.

Kevin surprised me with a treadmill for Mother's Day.  He knew I really missed having an easy workout option to do with the kids around and when the weather wasn't great.  Our treadmill didn't survive our last move.  We put our new treadmill in our office and we have both enjoyed using it so much.  I've been pretty consistent with exercising since May, but I feel like I really hit my stride in July.  I've been looking forward to my exercise routine every day since July.

Here's my routine:

1. I write exercise on my daily to do list.  And I love crossing things off my to do list.  This helps me get past not being in the mood to exercise.  It's a daily task that I just do almost every single day.  I'm not crazy about it - if I don't feel good or if we're busy - I'll skip.  But I really enjoy working this into my day.  

2. I also track my workouts - just a quick note in my planner so I can see progress.  I feel proud when I look back and my exercising track record.  Yay for taking good care of myself!  I'm also competitive with myself and like to beat my exercise minutes from week to week.  

3. I change into work out clothes.  Put my hair up.

4. Surround myself with toys in the office that Leo loves and that he only plays with when I exercise.  When I change my clothes, he now yells LET'S GO EXERCISE!!  He knows the drill.  If I exercise with the kids home, I either have them all play upstairs while I get in my exercise or tag team with Kevin and let him know that he's solo parenting while I run upstairs.

5. Fan + treadmill is the perfect combo.  I love a fan blowing right next to the treadmill.  It keeps me from getting to sweaty in the middle of the day.

6. I exercise for 30-45 minutes every day.  I exercise at a different time almost every day.  I just try to work it into my day when my big kids are at school.  I don't set my workout minutes ahead of time.  I just see how the workout goes.  If Leo is playing great and we're in a good groove, I'll exercise as long as he'll allow.  If it's hard or if I'm feeling run down, then we'll do a quick 30 and move on.

7. Find something fun to do while you exercise.  I'll check social media, listen to a great play list, reply to messages or emails, send friends texts or make some to do lists on my phone.  This might be a good time for a podcast or listening to a book, but I haven't gotten into a great routine with either of those.

8.  Cool down in my work out clothes.  Then change.  Freshen up my hair and make up and get busy on my next to dos.  Then later in the day we'll go on a family walk or bike rides.

What's your exercise routine right now?

Let this be your nudge to figure out your favorite way to exercise every day.

If you need someone to encourage you with daily movement, I really enjoy following @nursekatejohnson - she's a mom of 3 littles and she is really encouraging about movement and healthy eating.  I love that her meal ideas are all real food.  No complicated recipes.  Just real food.  You'll love her!

Hot Hawaiian Roll Italian Subs

I saw this yummy Hawaiian Roll sandwich recipe floating around on social media and I couldn't wait to try it for my family!  It looked like something we'd enjoy.  I personalized it a bit so I'll give you the recipe that worked for us.  Kevin said they were delicious and I agree!  They'd be perfect for an easy dinner or a yummy game day food.

I served sandwiches with a little veggie tray and our favorite potato chips for an easy family dinner.

Prep the lettuce topping ahead of time.  You just need finely shredded lettuce, a spoonful of chopped pepperoncini peppers, a spoonful of chopped dill pickles, a spoonful of finely chopped red onion, salt and pepper and a generous sprinkle of Deli dressing.  You can also add mayo to your salad if you are a mayo loving family.  My crew is divided on mayo so I left it out.  Stir until well combined and refrigerate.  You could easily leave out any of the peppers or onions if you weren't a fan.

This deli dressing was a little hard to find.  I had to go to our local grocery store and it was about $5.  A little goes a long way so it'll last for a long time.

Sandwich ingredients:

1 package of Hawaiian Rolls sliced in half

Spread a layer of mayo on the buns and bake them for 7-8 minutes at 350 to toast them.  My mayo hating family had no idea it was toasted on the buns.  It just added flavor and helped the bread to toast up.

Heat the meat in a skillet:

I did thinly sliced turkey, ham and turkey pepperoni.  Slice it all really tiny and slightly brown it in a skillet.

Top the toasted bread with provolone cheese and then the meat.  Put the tops of the buns back on and bake it again until the cheese is melted.  I'd say it was another 8-10 minutes.

Most recipes like this call for a thick buttery layer to be brushed on top of the buns.  BUT my family doesn't love buttery, gooey foods so I skipped this step.

And the sandwiches were delicious!  So if you've ever shied away from one of these Hawaiian Roll sandwich recipes because of that buttery mixture, just skip it!  The rolls are sweet enough on their own.

Take a big serrated knife and cut apart all the sandwiches.  Let everyone grab their sandwich and build their own sandwich plate.  I liked the lettuce mix on top of mine and Kevin ate it on the side.  A perk of leaving the lettuce separate is that you can reheat the sandwiches no problem.  They're delicious leftover.

I can't wait to make these again for game days and carry in meals.

Have you ever made a version of these Hawaiian Roll Hot Sandwiches?

Tell me about your favorite combo!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope this week was a good one at your house.  Ours was good and a little long.  Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Delicious Fruit & Nut Chicken Salad

Showcasing Our Personalized Art

Toddler Life with Leo

 

Now onto the highlights of our week:

1. Lunch date

Leo and I met our BFF for lunch.  It's always good to catch up, eat salads and get ice cream.  Leo was a perfect date that was just happy to tag along.

2. Butterflies

The butterflies have found our garden!  They love the fruit in our compost and our flowers.  It's been so much fun to watch them this week.

3. Bonfire Season!

Our fire pit is back open for business.  We made s'mores for dessert.  The kids need to work on their technique a bit - notice the flaming marshmallow in this shot :)  We have the best time hanging out by the fire in the evenings.  It's also our favorite at home date night spot.

4. Sunset strolls

The weather has been so nice in the Midwest.  We've been going on walks every evening after dinner and enjoying every big of sunlight.  The kids bring basketballs on our walks or ride bikes with us.

5. Poor Fletch

Penny and I loved some extra time with Fletcher this week, but we were sad he was home sick from school.  Here's to hoping he bounces back quickly after all the snuggles.

6. Backyard Fun

We have been living in our backyard from 3pm until dark.  The kids have come up with the cutest games - baseball, floor is lava, roller blading and more.  We are so thankful for a shady backyard.

7. Twins!

Olive loves finding ways to match Leo.  It's not easy to find patterns that work for both of them.  We found this cute skate boarding daisy tee at Old Navy and she was sold.  She couldn't wait to match Leo.  It's been chilly in the mornings so Leo stole her vest for the picture together.

8. Care Packages

Leo and I were thrilled to send out 3 important care packages this week.  Our sweet friend Will is battling cancer right now.  He's about Leo's age and could use your prayers.  Then another friend just had her first baby after many years of struggling to grow their family.  And then we got to put together a birthday box for a family we love.  It had been a while since I'd shopped for a built care packages to mail instead of shopping through Amazon.  It did my heart good!

9. Family movie night

The kid's school hosted a really fun family movie night this week.  Popcorn, popsicles and Mario.  We had a wonderful time saying hello to their buddies and enjoying our school community.  They can't wait for Leo to go to school with them.  He made fast friends with all the big kids.

10. Stitch Super Fan

Olive's loves for Stitch is still going strong.  She went to a friend's house and her Stitch backpack purse looked so cute.

11. Prime Fans

The big kids are obsessed with Prime drinks.  They've even influenced Leo who now stands at the fridge asking for "PRINE!"  Olive says the Meta Moon or Ice Pop is delicious.  Fletcher loves the Grape or Ice Pop.  Leo is just happy to sample any flavor.

12. Notre Dame Wins Again

Our season is off to a great start.  We've had a lot of fun watching this team play!

13. Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

I made the yummiest homemade cinnamon rolls this week.  They were so good that we all fought over them.  I need to make them more often!  Are you a fan of pecans in your rolls?  I love to load ours with pecans but the kids prefer nut free cinnamon rolls.

14. Jordan Bakery Box

This was the perfect order this week - half triple chocolate chip and half chocolate chip.

Then I did some baking for fun and noticed cookies disappearing off the counter.  Leo confessed to eating 3 while working around the house.  I"m glad I have his seal of approval.

Have the best weekend!  I'll see you back here on Monday.

Linking up with Momfessionals

Toddler Life with Leo

Toddlers are wild and wonderful.

I stand by my statement.

Leo is so much fun 90% of the time.  Less fun when he sneaks in a car nap in the car line after school and then is running laps around the upstairs when his siblings are trying to sleep or when you tell him no.  He's a bit like Ferdinand right now often breaking things on accident.  Vases of flowers.  Picking my potted flowers or insisting on doing something himself and making a huge mess.  

Whew.  Toddler hood requires a lot of patience from everyone.  God knew what he was doing when he made toddlers so cute and funny because they are messy little people.  He's curious and funny.  Silly and sweet.  I wanted to document some of the hilarious things he's been doing.  I keep a running list on my phone otherwise I'd never remember these moments.  I hope you get a laugh or two!

 

If anyone sneezes/coughs/falls down, Leo is the first to say, "You okay, Mom?"

 

Anytime we do something he says ME FIRST.

 

He never just says thank you.  He always says "Thank you berry much!"

 

He tells people often "I'm doing potty trains!" which sounds much more fun than potty training.

 

Anytime we tell him no to something he says, "Oh - too spicy??"

No more cookies - too spicy :)  Don't want to share my drink - too spicy.

 

Leo holds grudges.  For days he kept telling me, "Papaw took my juice box!" and the real story was that Papaw did take his juice box so that he'd have some juice left to drink when his meal arrived. Leo has yet to get over it.

 

He's either quick to say sorry or totally refuses.  There's nothing in between.

 

Snacky and starving 24/7.  He must be growing.  

 

One day he loves a big hug and a kiss.  The next day he wipes off your kiss and says YUCK.

 

He loves dinosaurs and cars so much.

 

Biking as fast as he can around the neighborhood is his very favorite thing.  Thankfully, he's finally getting the hang of paying attention to cars, other bikes and golf carts.

 

If you do something wrong, Leo is likely to pull out a chair and tell you to go to time out.  I spilled something in the kitchen making a huge mess and he told me to go to time out.

 

Ask him to do something he doesn't want to do and he'll say DAT IS SO RUDE.

 

Cowboy bed = big boy bed

 

Leo has a great imagination.  He talks nonstop to his cars and dinosaurs.  He also sings as long as he thinks no one is watching him.  He turns chairs upside down instantly turning them into boats.  Then he drives his boat shouting pirate like commands.

 

We were shopping at the mall and we passed a clothing display.  He screamed and said "Where'd that head go!?!" to the headless mannequin.

 

Anytime he sees a boat he asks to go on a Duck Boat Tour again.  Or anytime someone mentions Wisconsin, he says "Wisconsin so pretty!"

 

Any stormy days at home are "Double red flag days" based on our stormy days at the ocean this Summer.  Poor guy doesn't realize that doesn't apply in the Midwest.

 

Leo will tell you he's four and his name is Nuggy or Beebee.  He's just starting to say his full name.  Leo = Wee-O.  But he can say Leo Marvin Jordan if he concentrates enough.

 

"I hurt my hinger' = I hurt my finger.

 

Bandaids are king.

 

He could live on milk, Honeycrisp apples, Gardettos, cookies and candy.

 

Leo fell down and hurt his bottom.  He said "Owww!  My tail!!"

 

Leo is the funniest when he's chatty.  We walked out our front door to tell the big kids to come in for the night.  Some neighbors were walking their big dog.  Leo was surprised to see them and said "Hi guys!  Dat's a really cute doggy!"  All the neighbors love his friendly little self.  He will stop his bike to give a full wave to anyone he sees.

 

Photos that completely capture life with Leo right now:

Happy to shop as long as snacks & matchbox cars are involved.

Look at this cool "boat".  Not as cool when your boat collapses and pins you though.

Cute Leo.  Age 3 and wearing size 6/7 clothes.  He's growing so fast!

Happy to help.  I cleaned out and organized our garage and he supervised from his patrol car.

Would you believe that I get asked to rescue him when he gets stuck all day long??

"Wook at my hat!" haha

Leo loves going to story time.

Will Leo be a lefty??  He eats right handed but throws a ball left handed.  Time will tell.

The way to Leo's heart is through Reese's Cups or cookies.  He was so excited to discover my Reese's Cup pumpkin stash on the top shelf of our cabinets this week.

Always lining up dinosaurs.

Or sampling cookie dough.

"Bust Busting" is his favorite chore to help with.

Big dinosaur meeting.  He spends so much time carefully lining them all up in the same direction.

It's good to be Leo.

We love him so much!