Best Mom

I hope you had a Happy Mother's Day celebrating the favorite women in your lives!

I got to celebrate a little early with my mom.

And in true mom fashion she fixed lunch for us and celebrated me.

She's the best.

My mom is the one who taught me everything I know about hosting.  She hosted family and friends nonstop when we were growing up.  If I need to throw a party and need supplies, she's the first one I call. She's got everything to throw a fiesta, wedding or baby shower.

She taught me that it was possible to be a stay at home mom, a working mom, go to college out of town, get your masters, do a job that you love and still be a great mom.  I held all of those titles because she did, too.

She never shows up empty handed.  She picks up things she knows we'll like.  Like when she picks up Leo from school and has a new car waiting for him in his car seat.  Or she'll come over to hang out with the kids and make us a fresh batch of homemade carmel corn.  She knows what we likes and enjoys cooking for us.

My mom is a great baker.  Her specialities include sourdough bread, sourdough cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, caramel corn, Christmas candies and everything in between.  She was always baking and continues to bake.  When we were little she'd wake up early to make cinnamon rolls for our teachers.  We'd come to school with bags of warm cinnamon rolls and deliver them to our favorite teachers.  At Christmas time, she'd make trays of Christmas sugar cookies for our teachers.

She loves accessories.

She sent photo Christmas cards our entire lives.  She'd take the pictures (we'd rarely cooperate) and send off the film hoping and praying for one good shot of the three of us.  She did all the Pinterest mom things before Pinterest was even a thing.  She's crafty and did arts and crafts shows when we were little.  Etsy and Pinterest having nothing on her.

The kids love hanging out with Mimi.  They don't love being sick, but if it means taking it easy at home with Mimi, they are on board with it.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  We love you!

Friday Faves

Happy Friday!  Our week was packed with lots of fun things.  We have 9 days of school left and a busy calendar for the rest of the month.  We were surprised to see a new Pope Leo since we have a Leo, hosted parties and enjoyed time at home this week.

Here are my favorite moments of the week:

1. We had big plans for an end of the year picnic with Kevin's department.  Then a huge storm rolled through.  There was lightning, flash flooding, cancelled plans, uncancelled plans, almost getting stuck on a flash flooded road (terrifying!!) and lots of pivoting.  We were bummed that it ended up being a challenging night, but shortly after we came home there was a giant neon rainbow in our backyard.  So even though the night didn't go as planned, we made the most of it.

A double rainbow!

2. Surprise strawberry party!  Olive learned that one of her good friends wasn't going to be able to have a birthday party this year because of some difficult life circumstances.  Her friend group got together and threw her a surprise party.  We are always happy to host.  It was fun to help her pull it all together.

Olive's cutest Canva invitation.  We texted it out to the girls and their moms and then just told the guest of honor that it was a regular sleepover.

Olive told me I've become famous for making candy salads for her friends.  Yay!  We had all kinds of yummy gummies to mix and spoon out into treat bags for all the girls.

Give me any excuse to use my vintage strawberry cookie jar!

The girls arrived early and planned a scavenger hunt for the birthday girl to find her gifts. I forgot how much excitement is involved when you plan a surprise party.

I rushed home from work to make some dessert.  Then we kept it super simple and ordered pizzas for dinner.

The hit of the night was the portable volleyball net.  The girls played for hours thanks to Kevin helping keep the games going.

I woke up early to make sure they had a yummy breakfast before they left.

3. I transplanted these cute flowers from Kevin's grandma's house last year and they have come back in full force this year!  I smile every time I see these sweet purple blooms.

4. I forgot it was stuffed animal day for Leo and was able to run a stuffed animal over to his school just in time for library.  I can't always fix things that I forget for the kids so when I do it feels great.  The kids had foam parties, pizza parties, fundraisers, signs ups and more.  It is so much to manage this time of year.

5. Olive has an amazing art teacher.  She brought home her 3D art projects this week.  They turned out so cute!

6. Fletch found me a giant 4 leaf clover in the backyard.

7. Kindergarten art is the cutest.

8. Leo + Penny is a close second.

9. I finally figured out why I'm finding dirt scattered all around the kitchen.  Bad Mr. Mittens!

10.  I got some of the sweetest teacher appreciation gifts this week!

11. It was a busy baking week making hundreds of cookies.  I love getting to bake for friends, Fletcher's class, events and baby showers.

12. Fletcher's water color art is on display at school right now!

13. Nothing Bundt Cake is always a good idea.  Especially lemon, with a gift card and a sweet note of appreciation.

14. The big kids say that they refresher drinks from Starbucks - strawberry & blackberry - are both delicious!

I hope you have a really wonderful Mother's Day weekend!  We have a packed weekend.  See you back here on Monday.  Linking up with Momfessionals

Laugh with Leo

Leo is hilarious.  He says the funniest things without any prompting.

I keep a running list on my phone and it's time to document it on my blog.

I told Leo to hurry up and doing something.

Mom, you need to be PATIENT.

Look at this beautiful Mrs. Jordan!

Leo announces when I walk out dressed for school one day.

Leo when he learned that a friend didn't live with their mom... That's the worst because moms are more better.

You look amazing!! when I tried on a new dress.

He was home sick.  I told him that I emailed his teacher to let her know that he had an ear ache.  He said, Be sure to tell her that I also have a cough ache!

Asks me to spell something.  I say I don't know how to spell that character's name.  He said, Well, I cannot teach you that.

Leo looks at Kevin and I so sweetly and says.

Mom, you are a beautiful princess.

Dad, you are the worst.

We died laughing because we were expecting sweet compliments for both of us.

Gave me a big hug and said I just love your big squishy belly.

He whispers to me - You are so pretty and so beautiful.  Also, you are the prettiest princess in the whole world.

Mom, it breaks my heart when you won't let me go with you!

Do you think there are see saws in heaven?

He has funny words that he mispronounces:

woggily = wobbily

brown bars = brownies

memleyade = lemonade

scream time = screen time

hunk attack = hug attack

pree sun = Capri Sun

Leo's teacher tells me that he makes them laugh a lot and I believe it.

He was born to entertain.  Olive had friends over and I look up to see Leo doing tricks to make them laugh.

What a guy!

May Coffee Chat

Hello!  Grab your coffee and your breakfast and let's chat.  I've got some hot topics.

1. I'm going to start off strong - Fake plants look fake.  Don't let influenceres tell you anything different.  Sure, they might look great right away.  But, the sun will fade them and it will be very obvious very soon that your plants and flowers are fake.  I have a few neighbors that have fake plants trying to pass as real ones and they aren't fooling me.  Just buy one or two types of flowers that are good for the sun or shade depending on your yard and learn how to take care of them!  I promise, you'll love them!  Or do something simple like ferns.  They make sun and shade ferns so just pay attention to the amount of sun your porch/patio gets and buy accordingly.

2. I've hit the point in the school year where I'm tired of making my lunch and tired of cooking any more food.  I am packing PBJs and dealing with it.  12 more days.

3. Your kids don't need to be on social media.  Even if their friends are.  Or they tell you that EVERYONE is on socials.  Hold the line and don't give them social media until they are way older.  It just terrible for their mental health and self esteem.  Olive hates this rule, but she understands.

4. Raise your hand if you've forgotten something important for your kids with all of the end of year fun/chaos.  Me.  It's me.  I forgot it was read to a stuffed animal day at Leo's school last week.  Thankfully, I realized it quickly and I work nearby.  I ran a dragon over to him instead of eating my lunch to make sure he wasn't the only one without a stuffed animal.

5. Are you able to attend all of the end of year festivities for your kids??  We've got field trips, programs, awards, graduations, field days, celebrations and more.  It is taking some serious scheduling and requesting half days to make sure we show up for our kids.  I feel for the parents that do not have flexible work schedules this time of year.

6. Birkenstock lovers - where do you find the best deals?  I'm looking to replace and refresh mine this Summer and I'd love the best deal.  I realize I should have done this in the dead of winter, but I'm ready to shop now.  I'd love a pair with a brown leather + a big buckle from Anthro or maybe black?

7. Do you need some end of year teacher gift ideas?  Your kid's teacher would LOVE a handwritten or detailed note about all the things you loved and appreciated them doing this year.  Bonus points if you cc their boss on your communication.  They would also love gift cards to their favorite local restaurants, Amazon gift cards, anything from their favorite list that the office might have and cash.  If you know something your teacher loves and know him or her well - buy that.  My kids know I love a stack of bracelets, fun earrings and smiley faces.  Also, Cash is always a good idea.

8.  I've been working hard to take care of all the adult things lately -

yearly skin check - done and so simple.

jewelry repair - I took some rings in to my favorite local jewelery and got them repaired and sized.

well check - done

cats to the vet - done x3

And now I have a list of summer appointments to schedule for me and the kids and the cars.

9. Recently, Fletcher asked me, Mom have you ever had beef wellington?  I'd like to try that sometime.  So apparently I need to step up my dinner game and learn some new recipes.  Do any of you ever make beef wellington?

10. I'm struggling to figure out a good time to exercise. Anyone else??  I wake up at 5:45am, leave for work at 6:45am or so, am on my feet all day 7:30-3:30pm and then head home.  I'd like to try to go for a walk or hop on the treadmill after school, but I'm usually worn out.  Then starts the homework/dinner/pack lunch/shower/hang out with my kid routines.  All that to say, it's hard to work full time and find a good time to exercise.  Summer will be easier.  I know I could wake up earlier, but I don't go to bed until late.  Woof.  Balancing all the things is TRICKY.

Thanks for listening!  Let's chat in the comments.    

Friday Favorites

Whew!  Happy Friday.  It's been a long week here.  I am ready for the weekend after two field trips, two friend birthday parties, assemblies, work dinners and busy work weeks trying to wrap up the school year.  The best parts of our week were:

1. I took off last Friday to be a chaperone on Fletcher's field trip to New Harmony, IN.  It's about an hour away.  The weather looked awful for the day, but thankfully the storms all rolled through before the kids arrived at the destination.  We had the best day exploring the stations at Heritage Days.  I went with Olive two years ago and what a difference two years makes.  I ran into so many people I knew - church friends, friends from several schools, neighbors and the whole thing felt familiar.  I remember going two years ago shortly after we moved to Evansville and I knew no one.  I had no mom friends to go with and it was a pretty lonely.  This was just a fun day all around.

Fletcher loved the blacksmith the most.  The boys loved trying foods, buying wooden hammers and running from station to station.  The giant bags of kettle corn were fun, too.

We headed to a playground for lunch and the boys found a frog.  It was fun to meet more of Fletcher's friends and their parents.

2. Fletcher got to ride home with me instead of the bus.  His motion sick self was so thankful to not be back on the school bus.  We stopped at our favorite grocery store to grab some snacks for the weekend.  Fletch asked to push a tiny cart and he couldn't have been happier filling his own shopping cart.  He loved strolling the aisles picking out new things to try.  It was so much fun to spend the day with my favorite middle guy.  

3. This book surprised me in the mailbox this week.  It's exciting and hard to believe that Leo will be coming to kindergarten with me this Fall!  We are both excited.

4. The zoo came to PreK.  Let got to pet some ineteresting creatures!

5. We went to a couple of birthday parties.  We played fun games - parents vs kids cups stacking.  It was so much fun that we stopped at Dollar Tree on the way home to get our own set of giant cups.  The kids had fun with their friends and I enjoyed getting to meet a few more parents.

6. Our school just installed a Hammock Garden this Spring.  My class got to try it out and loved it.  The kids relaxed and enjoyed reading in their hammocks.

7. Dinner time!  We have really enjoyed watching these baby birds grow in our backyard.  They are getting so big and filling up the nest.

8. I was playing volleyball with Olive and this giant caterpillar came to say hello.  Five year olds are so silly.

9. The boys were surprise twins one day this week.

10. My class went on a field trip to Audubon Park in Kentucky.  The rain held off and we had a lot of fun doing art, learning about birds, nature and going on a little hike.

11. Kevin picked out some yummy kabobs for us to try.  They were pretty good although I've yet to master cooking them just right when the veggies and meat are mixed.  I think I'll try all meat kabobs and veggie kabobs next time.

12. Yum!  I grabbed this new flavor of Blue Bell on a whim and it was delicious.  10/10 recommend.

13. Penny & my new plant say hello.

I hope you have a great weekend!  We're hosting a surprise birthday party tonight and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Linking up with Momfessionals