Friday FAVES

Here we go!!! Some random goodness for the week...

//1// K I N D E R GA R T E N  L O V E
Most of what Cal brings home from school is heading to the recycling bin pretty fast-- don't get me wrong, I love to see what he does at school, but there is no way I can keep it all...they bring a LOT of stuff home!

But this week, this came home:

I still threw it away.  But I did love it before I tossed it.  They are working on paragraph writing (holla, kindergarten...!) and they make a "thought map" before turning it into sentences.  Cal's paragraph after this map was funny, but what I really like the most is his drawing of me.  I am choosing to believe he gave me massive boobies and not a massive gut.  #eitherway I also love that he loves trees.  That is so random- but I guess they were talking about trees in school and he learned that they help him breath- hold up.  Cal now wants to plant trees errrrrwhere.  Nice work, kindergarten.  I am digging it.

//2// W O R L D  M A R K E T
I ran by World Market the other day to get a few last minute birthday presents for some friends (and truth be told, I needed to get them something on a Sunday morning and they opened at 10, so I went there).  I could have bought a TON of things in there! #ifihadamilliondollars I didn't realize all the cuteness they had-- and the jewelry! Oh, the jewelry! I am going to make a trip back there before our Spring Break vacation to get a few more fun pieces and maybe a cover up...or other stuff...

These earrings came home with me:

My finish looks a little different, but I love them!

These earrings were under $5 and are super cute too:

Their bracelets were awesome too- I didn't get this one, but I am thinking I might need to go back for it.  Love the clasp:

And it comes in other colors too.

I bought a really fun bracelet that isn't on the website. I will keep watching to see if I can find it.

I've always known they have great furniture and other finds at World Market-- all of their other stuff is just as great! I am sure I am late to this game though...




//3//: T H I S

I am hoping this is a close as I ever get to politics on this blog-- because this is funny.  I am terrified with this election.  Enough politics!

//4// T E A C H E R  O N E  T E A C H E R  T W O

The sweet comments about our crazy outfits for Dr. Suess's birthday this week were so kind and totally a favorite of mine this week.  We are total geeks, but being a geek makes this "job" even more fun.  And seeing our kiddos faces as they walked in and we were dressed like this totally makes being a nerd worth it!


//5// H A N K

 Andy woke up, came down the hall and curled up...on Hank.  I don't know if he thought Hank was his pillow or what... but he fell sound asleep on Hankers. 

 Bless their hearts. I love this dog with my whole heart.  And the boy too-- I love him too. 

//6// F I N A L  T H O U G H T:

Oh my word-- read this.  Read it again.  Send it to your mom friends who are trying hard to be a mom... I love this.

Short and sweet this week!


 

Friday Favorites!

What a week it has been! I actually have some favorites for today...!

 

1. Under Armour head bands:

I am super picky when I workout and I can not stand for my hair to be all up on my face.  I had two head bands from lulumelom that I looooved.  But after wearing them for forever, they were getting a tad bit nasty.  I went back in to buy more (even though they weren't cheap, I use them every day almost-- it's worth it to me to get ones that I like and that work!), but they were sold out! They tried to sell me some really thick ones that I wasn't feeling, at all. 

When I was Christmas shopping back in December, I went into the Under Armour outlet and saw a pack of thin head bands for $9. There were 6 in a pack so I figured it was a good purchase- if I hated them, I wasn't out a whole lot of money (not to mention, I could get a 6 pack for LESS than ONE headband at lulu....). 

I am OBSESSED.  They stay put.  They don't pull my hair.  I wear them all day and they don't bother me.  They do what they are supposed to do--!

 I got super neutral colors in my pack: solid black, solid gray, gray lined with a darker gray, black and white, etc...

I just found these on the Nordstrom site and I think they are fun!!! Might have to invest in some more.  The above pictures are disgusting, but I wanted to show what they look like. 

If you like to have your hair back when you work out, you might really like these too!

2. Dry Shampoo

Speaking of my head...I started using this Dry Shampoo and I am hooked.  I have been using Dove forever as a dry shampoo, but didn't love the residue it left behind-- felt too powdery.... so I read somewhere about this guy and gave it a shot. 

So far, I really like it!!! It doesn't leave the residue at all, and your hair feels so much cleaner.  I also like it because you can use it as a texturizer-- like if I am curling my hair and need it to have a little umph to it to help hold the curl, I can spray this one before.   Last week, I cured my hair and went out and the next morning, sprayed my hair with this stuff and then re-curled it and I was good to go.  I typically have to wash my hair every single day- so if I can go a day without, I am in!

This brand has a whole bunch of products... I might have to try something else. 

3. TIMEHOP APP!

Oh my ovaries! TimeHope has been KILLING me lately!!!

 I remember the above like it was yesterday- I had been on a trip and when we got back, Andy would not let go of me.  He wanted me to hold him constantly-- I was trying to curl my hair here and he wanted me to hold him.  I mean-- those arms around my neck- I would love for him to fit on my arm and hold me like this-- just one more time. 

 Ohhhhh CalBoy and Hank.... this just makes my heart ache.  I love that sweet face... this was them in the old house.... he ran around in those boots and chased Hank with his car.

 Oh, his chubby little hand around my neck- always with a car in it.  I could just smooch this face over and over and over again...

 hahaha- he still hasn't stopped screaming! But I do love him in a polo shirt...

I remember when we took this picture- Andy thought it was SO funny to have lala sitting next to him.  He kept pointing to things in the store and "showing" lala everything.  Gah, he was a cute kid.  He still is cute, but come on...

It's true- the years fly by.  sigh. 

4. FREE POPUP WORKOUT!

 If you tag 3 people in the post that's on instagram and facebook right now, on PopUps pages, you get a free class! That's it! So easy!

5. Necklaces!

I wear my necklace I ordered from my friend's shop ALL THE TIME.  I am ready to order another one because it is definitely a favorite of mine... but I can't decide which one I want right now-- I want them all! I am thinking one with an antler.... hmmmm...

They are so reasonably priced, maybe I will get two! haha

Hope y'all have a GREAT weekend!!! Due to a leg injury for Cal and a strict restriction on all movement for him, our weekend just got a lot less busy! I will post more on that later...

We are off to Chuck E Cheese tonight for a cuties birthday party-- it's becoming our regular hangout!

 
 

Friday Favorites: LOVE

A few favorites today, this time for Valentine's Day...

It has been a HELL of a day around here.  Holy bad. I am thankful tomorrow is a new day and that we get a fresh start... PHEW.  Did I mention PHEW?!?! ahhaha

/ONE/

I went back and forth about teacher Valentine's gifts-- do I go all pinterest-y for them? Have the boys make a card? What to do, what to do?... But then I realized that I don't have the time nor the energy for that ish.  But I do love these teachers...So I went to Dunkin Donuts (a favorite of mine!) and got each teacher a gift card, and I also grabbed empty coffee cups.

I grabbed some red and white paper and used the cardboard sleeve holder as a template. 

I wrapped the cups, used a little hot glue, and filled the cups with some kisses and topped it with a gift card. 

Beyond easy.  Hope they like them!

/TWO/

Speaking of Valentine's, I always send members of the family a Valentine's Card with a picture of the boys-- usually I order off of Shutterfly or somewhere similar.  I don't send many, but I think they like getting the snail mail with a pic of the boys. 

I discovered the app RED STAMP recently and I am obsessed.  You can write whatever kind of card you want (thank you, you rock, I miss you, I love you, make it a great day...), and then you can decide to "make it a digital day," where they send you the card via your picture album and you can text or email it to anyone, or you can select them to mail it for you-- where they will print it, address the envelope and mail it-- all for like $3.  I don't know if you have looked at cards lately at Target, but it is hard to find a card for under $3... then I have to go find/buy stamps, and it becomes a process.  This was SO easy!

This is the home screen:

And then these are just some of the Valentine's Day cards:

I selected a card and added a picture (it really couldn't be easier) and then chose to have the cards mailed to my people-- and the app has access to your contacts so they just import right in.  

It is probably too late to mail a card in time for Valentine's Day, but maybe you could do a digital card to someone on the actual day-- cards make me so happy... this would be a simple way to make someone's day!

/THREE/

Oh this is a fun one... I have had to wait to post about it because Eddie's sister, CB, was getting one for her birthday!

I have seen Sheafer's BaubleBar signature necklace before, and I always thought it was cute. They are made to take your signature and turn it into a necklace.  But then someone posted (it might have been Sheafer- I am not very smart...) about having a kid's handwriting for the necklace and I got an idea...

My mother in law is called Mimi by the boys.... so I had Cal write the first Mi and Andy write the second Mi:

 I was able to choose any color I wanted for the "name" so I picked clear-- I wasn't sure how big it would be and I didn't want my MIL looking like Flavor Flave with some mega bling.  Well, she opened it and LOVED it-- and has yet to take it off! The clear is kind of hard to see in the below picture...

Eddie's sister, Carrie, saw the necklace and decided that was what she wanted for her birthday! We got to work and created this template:

(the letters have to overlap somewhere so that the necklace stays together-- try explaining that to a 4 and 6 year old...!). Andy did the C and Andy did the B. 

She opened it and immediately sent us a picture:

She wanted a grey color and I really like it! It looks great with her dark hair.  The next day she posted this on face book... I think she liked it!

That's about all I've got for this week.... We've got a busy (and COLD!) weekend ahead with basketball and football and Valentine's Day brunch. 

Did I mention tomorrow is another day?! Can I get an AMEN to that?!?!?!?!

 PS- I gave up chocolate for lent.  WTF was I thinking? I got a ton of chocolate goodies from my sweet Mouse class.... whhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy???


 

Friday Friday Friday!

Holla! It's FRIDAY!

I am packing my bags and catching an early flight to Austin with some amazing girlfriends to celebrate a birthday.  And I can NOT wait!

My favorites this week are short and simple:

1. This shirt-- it popped up on my facebook feed and cracked me up.  I am certainly OUTNUMBERED in this house.  Big time.  How does facebook know this? Is that freaky? Are those of you with both boys and girls seeing this in your feed too? hmmm....

2.  My friend's new blog! My friend Tiffani is super cute and trendy and adorable-- and she is wrapping all that up into her new blog: Tiffani at Breton Bay.  And you can follow her on instagram here.

She's on bloglovin, so those of you who use bloglovin app, you can follow her there! If she looks familiar, she was with me on my Ole Miss trip back in September.

3. New bedding!!!!

I picked out new bedding forever ago-- like maybe for my birthday back in September...? And it finally came in! I was so excited to make the bed. The pillow shams aren't in yet-- but the new, clean sheets and duvet cover make me want to crawl right into bed!

4. Bruce.  He is a favorite of mine this week.... (he isn't always-- often he drives me up and wall...)

 He wants to be with the boys, wherever they are, all the time.  As close as he can. 

He got into bed with Cal Wednesday night and was so into the story Cal was reading-- talk about sweet!

This dog looooves his boys.

  And his momma.  

 5. Andy can work my nerves like no other.  He is trying. He has fits. He screams. He refuses to do things. He yells.  He is not easy.  But that is mainly all reserved for me.  He made this for Mimi Thursday-- just because he thought "it might make her smile."

 I had his parent/teacher conference Thursday and it was all great things.  Academically, he is doing super-- but even more important to me, he is NICE.  His teacher made a point to tell me a story where he was extra kind to a boy in their class who was having a rough day.  He looks out for his classmates and is very sensitive when it comes to them-- when they are sad, he is very concerned.  This matters more to me than anything else- I want to raise kind-hearted children, and then young men.  So I took his fit he had this morning over socks (him not wanting to put them on by himself and me digging in my heels refusing to help him put on said socks), and put it aside to focus on these positive traits his teacher was sharing with me.  They are way more important them him asking for help putting on socks (even though he is FULLY capable of putting them on himself....haha).

After a good conference, we went on a date to Andy's favorite spot: firehouse subs!

Happy favorites! Can't wait to do an Austin post! Or maybe not...maybe what happens in ATX stays in ATX...??? hahahaha



 

A fun (FAVORITE) week

Last week, before we left on Thursday for Hatteras, we had a fun and BUSY week! Lots of fun stuff going on keeping us busy...

It all wore Andy out.  Taking pictures of him sleeping crazily is a favorite of mine!

Bruce started the week with some snuggles from CalBoy...  How can this not be a favorite??

After working out on Monday morning, I took the crew to the grocery store.  They like to hang on to the side of the cart and call themselves garbage men.  It's great until they start grabbing random things and SLAMMING them into the cart as hard as they can.  

It was a HOT one on Monday.  Seriously.  Ugh.  

 The boys got Chick-fil-a for lunch (a favorite, obviously!) and I suggested Cal get a CFA sandwich (a number 1 for those who are familiar......) since he devours some kids meal nuggets and is always hungry soon thereafter.  Well, he loved him some number 1! He kept saying, "this is really so so good...." I totally agree, buddy.  It is quite amazing. Pretty sure Cal has a new favorite this week too...

Monday afternoon, we had BOWLING with the Sharks! All of the coaches go and the kids have a great time bowling with friends and coaches.  

 While bowling may not be a favorite, watching these guys have fun IS!

These two lanes were LOUD and WILD and a LOT of fun! We just need Brad to be there... he was out of town for the week and sorely missed!

With the sweet coaches!  They are definitely favorites of ours. 

Harrison is great with the little guys.  My kids adore him; he's their favorite!

 After bowling, we left and headed to the pool for afternoon practice.  Andy collected his (participation) ribbon from the meet the week before and was SO SO SO excited.  He was beyond pumped to get a ribbon with HIS name on it. He wanted to sleep with it...

 Look closely.... 1:35.28.  That is one heck of a lap! hahahahaha BUT HE DID IT!

Tuesday, we went to morning practice and afterward, Andy practiced getting air off the board.  He was loving hurling himself into the water.  One of my favorite things is watching my kids play in the pool together or solo....meaning they don't need me to entertain them.  I love watching them!

After playing for a while, we got dressed and headed to Target.  The air was cranking in the store and Andy's wet hair made him chilly... Cal offered to warm him up.  Sometimes they fight like you wouldn't believe.  And then they do stuff like this.  It makes me want to freeze time...

 ...until they beat each other up.  Then I just want to roll my eyes.  Still a favorite of the week.

Tuesday night, Eddie took the boys to a Durham Bulls game.  I had a meeting that night so I told them I would meet them there, but it ended up I had the dog sitter coming by so I couldn't go. 

Andy spent the day wearing a baseball hat and singing "take me out to the ball game" on repeat.

Eddie sent me pictures from the game... they had a BIG time!

Cal is a little ham ball... 

Eddie posted the below picture to instagram and someone commented "dude, that little guy on the left is your twin!" and I have to agree...that is soooo an Eddie face....

Wednesday morning, it was Hank's turn to get some love... he is such a good dog... I love him way too much. He is my most favorite ever!

Wednesday was also our NINE year anniversary! WOAH.  How did we celebrate this big day??

AT A SWIM MEET, of course!!! It was super romantic.  

Andy was ready and rearing to go again! Cal was ready to haul tail too....

One more thumbs us before flying off the block...

 Andy did his best again and was about 5 seconds faster than his last race (insert hysterical laughing face...).  He had fun and as he got out of the water, he burst into tears and asked for his ribbon... #instantgratification

Cal managed to break FOUR pairs of goggles at the swim meet.  I was ready to beat him.  (not really).  He was twisting his pair and snapped them in half.  Something similar to that happened time after time.  He swam his 25 free in these borrowed goggles, which were HOT pink.  By the end of the race, they were broken off of his face.  He then borrowed Andy's PRIZED goggles and broke them too.  #damnit

Cal was moved up to heat one because some of our best swimmers were out of town, and he actually held his own and did great! I was proud! He went as hard as he could-- I love watching him swim.

Andy only swims in one race so after he was done, he and Lee had fun goofing around under the boards taking it all in.

At the end of the meet, the other team's coaches challenged our coaches to a relay race.  Our coaches SMOKED them.  It was AWESOME to watch it!

The meet didn't end until super late but I wanted to stay so Cal could watch the race.  We didn't get home until close to 10 and then I had to pack for Hatteras.... it was a long night!

Last week was such a fun week with lots of favorites! 

Have a WONDERFUL 4th of JULY!!!