Happy Friday!!

It's an absolutely beautiful day here! I'm excited to be feeling better and up to some fun things! 

First, I have to share two recipes that we tried this week. I got them off of pinterest of course! 

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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

It was delicious! My only complaint was that ours turned out pretty thick, so I added about a cup or more of extra broth, just until I got it to the right consistency. 

Pinkies

How cute are these? I whipped these up last night to take to Anna-Kate's class for their snack. They've been having color days and today's color is pink. It's a really simple recipe (similar to cake mix cookies) and super fast to whip up! Oh and I did have to try one- so good! 

I've been meaning to share a few pictures of my class at school. I don't know all of the parents well, so I will only share Thomas and his friend Jackson right now. We have lots of fun at school and Thomas is doing really well with everything! He loves to play with the other kids.

Sorry for the poor quality- these are all from my phone!

I had planned to coordinating themed Halloween costumes for the kids this year. I've gone back and forth on this because I can't completely decide on what I want Anna-Kate to be! Plus, Thomas is very interested in mickey mouse and monkeys and even buzz lightyear right now! I love to see him get excited when he sees something he likes! Right now he'll say "loooook!!! looooook!!!" It's super cute. So, I don't want to share what he is just yet, but it is one of those three! I got his costume in the mail this week and it's adorable! Now all I have to do is decide on what Anna-Kate should be! I'm probably going to make her costume, but I'm a little worried about how that's going to go. October is going to be a busy month for us! 

We are kicking October off by going to Lepanto for their "festival," Terapin Derby. This is our first time going back (as a family) to Lepanto since last December! I'm looking forward to seeing some of our friends. We've missed them so much. 

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Tomorrow night I am going to a Busy Bag Swap with several other moms. We are getting together and putting together an activity for our children to do. Each activity helps develop skills and keeps the little ones occupied. By the time we leave, we will each have 13 little activities to take home for our children! It's a really neat idea and a great opportunity to get together with other moms! I'm making this color matching game. 

Oh and just in case you didn't see it, I'm participating in a 31 days challenge this month! I'll be sharing 31 days of fall cleaning. Look for posts about our organizing projects, cleaning tricks and even some simple fall decor! Not to overload you with posts, but I'm still planning on doing a few of my regular posts too, so I've created a 31 Days of Fall Cleaning tab at the top of my blog (under the header) next to my Menu Monday tab! If you'd like to participate, go here and get all the info!

Happy Friday Y'all!! 

On The Mend

I've not been posting lately because I've been sick. Last week I was really tired and drained. I could tell my allergies were the cause and unfortunately by Thursday night I was coming down with a sinus infection. I meant to go to the doctor Friday but I felt better and had a few things to do but I felt horrible by Friday evening. Sunday my ears started to hurt and I could tell I was getting an ear infection. I pretty much spent as much time as I could this past week on the sofa! Plus, I wound up going to the doctor twice. (lesson learned!) 

I'm thankful that today, I was able to do a lot more. I'm feeling a more like myself than I've felt in days! I can tell my ears are still pretty stopped up but thankfully they aren't hurting quite as bad and I've got a little bit more energy! 

Derek was amazing and kept everything going so I could rest! I know he's ready to see me back 100%. ha. Poor thing! It really is hard to do all that a mom does and it's even harder to step in for the other parent and play both roles. 

Derek and the kids actually had a pretty full weekend and he even took pictures for me! 

Thursday: 

They Love their rain coats!

Anna-Kate had picture day when I asked her to show me the smile she gave, this is what she did! ha! 

Friday: 

I made a simple sensory bin for Thomas and he loved it! 

He even picked everything up when he was done. 

The girls love going to the games!

We went to the high school game! Thomas loved it! 

They are so silly! 

 Saturday: 

They went to watch the Hogs play Alabama at a friends house. They love playing together!

Pretty Shelby

Derek said Anna-Kate wanted in that and they played with this for a long time! ha! 

Sorry for the picture overload, but I guess that makes up for the lack of pictures lately! 

Amanda, posted about a fun link up going on the month of October. Basically you pick something to blog about for 31 days. It can be 31 days of knitting or cleaning or your favorite books. Just something fun to share every day! 

I decided to play along and I'm going to be doing 31 days of Fall Cleaning! I don't know about you, but my house needs some good deep cleaning more than just in the spring! Since I've been home I've noticed several areas that need to be organized and deep cleaned. (Under my bed is a scary place right now...) I also think it'd be fun to share a few quick cleaning tricks and hopefully even some fall decor so that I'm not just blogging about cleaning! ha. I think you'd get pretty tired of that! To keep up with the 31 posts, I've created a separate tab, just like my Menu Monday tab. I'll put a link to each days post! 

If you'd like to join, you can go here to learn more about it! 

Oh, just for a change, I've added a new header! What do you think? I like it a lot more than the last header I had, but I really want to add a family picture. When I was looking for one of all of us I realized that we have not had a family picture made in almost a year! It's definitely on my to-do list and when I get a good one, I'll change my header again! 

Tidbits

I'm super sleepy today, so I don't feel like I'm going to make much sense if I try to make a huge blog post! I just had a few tidbits to share! :) 

We had a wonderful weekend! We got some good family time in and then spent an evening with some friends on Saturday night. It was so much fun! Sunday we had more friends and Derek's family over for some meatloaf cupcakes and homemade macaroni and cheese! It was SO good! 

Yesterday I had a lazy day so today I'm trying to get lots of things done! I feel like things are suddenly extremely busy, even though I don't think they are! I've got to plan Thomas' birthday that's coming up in a couple of weeks, so that has me pretty distracted! 

My 2-year old class did so good today! I'm really getting excited about how much they are learning and interacting. The first week was pretty tiring for me, but now that everyone is getting used to school they seem to be loving it! I'm going to attempt to make some finger paints for Thursday. I think everyone is going to really enjoy that! I've been looking for lots of toddler activities, but I'm always looking for more ideas! Any tips or ideas for 2-year olds would be great! There are 3 teachers and 11 students if you count Thomas. I'm thinking about putting together some small, basic sensory bins too. I think they might enjoy that. 

I'm going to a La Leche League meeting tonight. It's something that is very special to me and I am going to start learning more about becoming a leader. I'm excited about getting to help other moms! 

We had a crazy week last week and I had several meals left over to make- so I didn't post a new Menu Monday this week. It's kind of nice to have everything I need for several meals- made my grocery shopping much easier! 

I'm really excited about the fall premiers coming up! Thanks to DVR Derek and I are tv junkies! ha. We will give just about any show a chance. There are some new shows out that look really interesting! I can't wait to see how they turn out! 

Well I'm off to clean! I promise to work on using my camera more this week too! I know picture-less posts are just no fun! 

Random Happenings...

This week has been such a good week, but it's been really busy! That's the way I like it. I just wish I was not so tired! I've been really bad about staying up late- that just seems to happen when we are out until 8 or 8:30! 

I made the scarecrow crunch mix on Monday. (I know, I'm going overboard with talking about this stuff...) It turned out so good! The recipe made enough for about 2 1/2 gallon size ziplocs! I sent one ziploc to Anna-Kate's school and then we ate a good portion of it at our Bible study. It's nearly gone because we've also been munching on it quite a bit ourselves! From what I've heard, it was a hit with Anna-Kate's class too! 

Derek and I have been doing a Dave Ramsey financial class the past few weeks and it is so good! I was a little worried that we weren't ready, but really it is good for people in all stages of life. Today, I've been working on organizing our student loan information and it's driving me crazy! I really it was easier to deal with student loans! 

Although, I might understand it better if I had not gotten distracted by this website my mother-in-law told me about- 6pm.com! ha! I've only checked out the kids shoes, but it looks like a great place to get good things for less. Anyone else know about this website? I've got my eye on several different things and am fighting the urge to search for some things for me! :) 

Thomas looked so cute at lunch today! I'm still needing to get him some jeans and our weather today is (beautiful) only around 70, so he wore a hoodie and shorts. I don't know why, but I think that's cute together! ha. Plus, with all of the Hogs things he's been into (I still need to share that), I thought he needed a little Tennessee infusion- you're welcome Grandpa! 

Anna-Kate was in the paper this week! Her class visits Harding's retirement facility every month. This month they read a story together about fancy hats and they took a picture with everyone wearing their hats! It's pretty cute! I didn't realize she was in the paper until Wednesday, so I didn't get a copy of it! This morning they had a Thank-You letter in their box with a copy of the newspaper article and a picture of their class in the hat! I'm so glad to have that! 

I am so excited about fall! I think it's my favorite season because it's so busy and it leads right up to my favorite holiday (Christmas)! I love all of the fall smells and the leaves turning colors and falling. It just puts me in the best mood! I'm looking forward to actually getting my fall wreath from last year down and hopefully doing a little decorating this weekend. Hopefully even making a few new decorations! I also found a recipe for a homemade pumpkin spice latte and you better believe Derek and I will be trying that asap! If it turns out good, I may even make it for our Bible study group! It's also time to get started on those Halloween costumes! Halloween is extra exciting this year because we will be in Franklin- the first time in YEARS! 

I am constantly feeling God's blessings all around me and I am so thankful to Him. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm off to do the cleaning that I can't put off anymore! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday and Oh, How Pinteresting!

It's has been a wonderful week so far! I'm linking up and sharing what I'm loving this week! Click here to link up and play along too!

Walking to ladies class at church! Had to get a picture of him wearing sister's headband! ha! 

I'm loving that I got to go to ladies class this morning at our church. It's always inspiring to go and I feel like I get so much out of it. I love learning from the women at our church. I feel so blessed to get to go! 

I'm loving that I got to work at the Mixing Bowl Monday for a few hours. It was really nice to go back and visit with everyone and to know that I had not forgotten how to make pasta salad and pudding on a large scale! :) 

I'm loving that Thomas seems to be feeling better! He was quite the little grump this weekend and after taking him to the Doctor we learned that he had a little bit of a sinus infection and the very beginning of an ear infection in one ear. Poor thing! 

Sorry for the terrible quality- I only had my phone! 

So excited to ride on the carousel!

Big boy!

I'm loving that we went to our county fair parade Monday and to the fair last night! Anna-Kate was so excited about the parade and the candy! ha! The fair was so much fun. We loved getting to see the animals. Thomas' favorite animals were the sheep. He got to pet them and then they "talked" to him and he talked right back! So cute! Anna-Kate was a brave little girl and wanted to ride everything! We let her and Thomas ride on the carousel and then I took Anna-Kate on the big slides! She was fearless... I on the other hand got to the top and felt it swaying and I have to admit I was a little worried! ha! We had a blast though! 

I'm loving that we had parent- teacher conferences last night for Anna-Kate. It is so great to sit down and hear what she is learning in school and to see what she's working on! I had a little mommy moment (and teared up) when I saw how good she is drawing people. She drew a person once for me this summer and never has done it again. I was a little worried about it but I guess she knows how to, she is just not interested in drawing right now. She is following directions really well and is getting a chance to take some leadership in her class since she was in it last year. I think this is such a wonderful skill to teach her and I'm so glad she is leading. I absolutely love her teachers and just feel so blessed that she is there! 

I'm loving that I have had such a great couple of weeks at home. I feel like I'm getting into a good routine and everyone is getting used to me being at home. I still struggle with keeping busy and not feeling lonely or bored, but I am constantly reminded what a gift it is to be at home. I have been a little emotional thinking about how blessed I am to get this time with Anna-Kate and Thomas. 

I'm loving my awesome husband, who stayed up with me last night and helped me bake 50 muffins and 20 mini muffins!! Thanks honey! :)

What are you loving this week?

I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple again to share my favorite pins! 

You can click here to follow me on pinterest or let me know if you need an invite!

I'm hungry today, so I'm going with a food theme! :) 

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I want to take a trip to an apple orchard this fall so I can make some apple goodies like this apple butter! 

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We love tortellini and tomato soup and this just combines both of those loves! Can't go wrong there! 

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 How can you resist these cute lunches?!!

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Cars! 

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I love these lady bug pretzels for a girly snack! 

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I've been wanting to do something cute and different with silverware in my kitchen, when I update it and I think this would be so cute! I could hang aprons on it or old kitchen utensils!  

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I love this fork door pull too! 

You can click here to share what you're loving and here to share your pinterest finds! Hope you're having a great Wednesday!

Menu Monday- Week 36

I've been searching pinterest for more recipes and I'm excited to share this week's menu! 

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Chicken Spaghetti 

(definitely a favorite in our house!) 

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Taco Roll Ups

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Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bowtie Pasta

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Risotto Primavera

(My grandmother made something very similar at Easter and it was SO good!)

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Skinny Meatloaf cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting 

(Can't wait to try these, although I'm certain mine won't be so pretty!) 

We have been doing Friday Night Pizza nights and it has gone really well. We let Anna-Kate make her own pizza and we've just been using what ingredients we have on hand, so I'm not having to buy anything at the store for that meal! 

Other things we are cooking up this week that I thought you might like: 

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Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Muffins

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French Breakfast Puffs

(When I make these for home, I use the mini muffin pans. It's more work but way easier to eat, especially for the little ones! I don't coat all of them, so if that's all they eat for breakfast, I don't feel as guilty!)

All of these are for church, but I'm hoping to have enough to freeze some for us too. These recipes look so good and I don't have a lot of experience with homemade muffins! (Except those breakfast puffs... mmm...) 

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I'm also going to whip up a batch of the scarecrow crunch I mentioned on Wednesday. Yum!!

Don't forget there are 3 ways to find the recipe/ picture source. You can click on the picture, the caption (via) or the meal itself and it will take you to the recipe. If there's a problem, feel free to let me know. I'm sometimes bad about switching around the links!

It looks like it's going to be a great week for us! ha!

What's on your menu this week? If you post a weekly menu, feel free to leave me a link in my comments section! I'm always looking for new ideas!