one crazy month

Oh my, what a month it has been! I swear all I ever do is play catch up. I think I am going to sit down and schedule in some blog time. I really do miss sitting down an reading all the posts on my blog roll and sharing about what's going on in my world with everyone.

I want to start off by talking about the name of my blog. I have spoke about my little identity crisis in the past and apparently still feel confused. I hope you all don't think I am too crazy. Xo

Now on to the catching up part. I thought the best way to catch everyone up was to just post the pictures. Hope you all enjoy this little catch up post! 

Let's start with these wonderful Strawberry Spinach Popsicles I made for the boys. They were super easy to make and they were super yummy!

This delicious Enchilada Casserole was a HUGE hit with the family! Thank you Jen! 

 My amazingly wonderful friends got me this awesome Kelly Moore Libby bag. And I absolutely love it!

Tyler started flag football, and even though it has been rocky and back and forth, he still loves it.

Love watching him play!!!

Finally got my Fall Bucket List up from Loves of Life. Thank you Katie!

Found this sign at Marshall's and thought it would make a great addition to my kitchen.

 Bought me some new boots for this fall and have been having fun dressing myself from Pinterest :)

 And dressing myself out of things that I find in the back of my closet. 

Well that has been a lot of catching up for the past month. Hoping that I will be better about at least updating every couple of days instead of every month. 

Y'all have a Wonderful Wednesday! 

surviving the holidays with sick kids

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and sadly both of my boys are down with the flu. I am sad that we will not be spending this Thanksgiving with family, but I am happy that we can spend time together as a family while everyone recovers. I am praying that Mike and I don't get it, well at least me so I can stay well enough to take care of my boys.  

I thought I would share my top 3 tips on surviving the holidays with sick kiddos.

1. Make sure that you have a couple cans of soup, some crackers and gatorade on hand. 

It's almost guaranteed that if you cook your sick child will not want to eat whatever it is. I always try to have chicken & stars or chicken noodle on hand so they can opt for that. Crackers come in handy for upset tummies or to eat before they take medicines that require food before taking. The gatorade I think is really important. My kids HATE drinking water when they are sick. I try to keep some gatorade around because high fevers will dehydrate kids really fast. Plus, when you have more than one sick kid you can give them each a different color so they don't get drinks mixed up and pass even more germs around.

2. Have the essential medicines on hand and updated.

Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, Delsym (or some other cough medicine approved by your pediatrician), Vitamin C (for the parents) and Saline Swabs for little noses. And you can't forget the measuring cups and syringes! These are the most common medications used when you have a sick little one. I try go through my medicine basket every couple of months and replace anything that has expired. There is nothing worse than having a child with a 104* fever at 2 am and expired Tylenol. (Another thing I try to keep on hand is Nature's Way Sambucus Black Elderberry Syrup. It is a great natural immune boosting, virus fighting berry syrup that is safe for kids over 2 and adults.)

3. Let your TV babysit.

I will be the first person to tell you that I do not like my kids to lay round all day watching TV. But in some cases it is ok. When you have two sick kids, who's bodies hurt the last thing I need to do is make them play just because I don't want them watching cartoons. To be honest, it makes my life a little easier. They are not as whiney as long as something good is on and it is a lot easier for me to get stuff done around the house (or rest if I am feeling sickly).

4. A MUST: Clorox Wipes, Lysol Spray and Hand Sanitizer.
These are a must for any household with sick people. Normally I go the natural cleaner route, but when someone gets sick I crack out the tuff stuff. I try to spray all the rooms with Lysol at least a few times a day. Especially where the kids have been laying around and coughing all day. I always spray the door knobs, remotes, chairs, etc. And I have strategically placed bottles of hand sanitizer all around the house. I may seem like overkill, but you will be thankful for it later :)

Also...  if you don't already have these, I highly recommend them:

Braun ThermoScan Ear Thermometer 

I have used every kind of thermometer on the market and I absolutely love this one! It is super easy to use, it is ready as soon as you turn it on and it only takes seconds to give you accurate results. Plus, I can even take their temp while they are sleeping without waking them.

Netflix or a Couple of DVD's

I know that not everybody has Netflix on demand, and that is okay. Dvd's work wonderfully too! The kids love watching movies when they are sick. They have a bunch of great kids holiday movies out this year!

Simply Saline Nasal Swabs

I found these the other day at the store. My oldest was having problems with his nose going between runny and super dry. When it would get super dry he would have these horrible nose bleeds. These have worked wonders! For little ones, I think they work better than the spray. 

ready for that getaway!

If you read my post last week about wanting to go on a mini vacation then you would know that I stalk the webcams in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There is just something about the place that makes me want to throw on some Uggs and curl up with a big ol' fluffy blanket and a good book. 

I would move there tomorrow if my husband would let me!

I am a fan of the warm weather and all, but it has to be in the right setting. You know, like a beach vacation or something. 

Just looking at these pictures makes me feel all chilly and in the mood for Fall. 

This is what town square looked like when I logged on to take a glimpse...

Beautiful! Doesn't this just make you happy to see that someone out there is getting this lovely weather.

So jealous! I would love to be outside with the boys building a snowman or making snow angels. 

I can keep dreaming. If this winter is anything like it was last year, and I pray it is, then we will have plenty of chances to make snowmen and snow angels!

pumpkiny fun

On Saturday since Mike was bow hunting I decided I would take the boys to the local pumpkin patch and farm. The last time I went was last year when Jake was in kindergarten, so I thought that it would be fun for the boys to run and play till they could't run and play anymore. 

And it was GREAT! 

Except for the fact that it was 90* outside! 

Maybe I'm just being difficult, but when I go to the pumpkin patch I want it to be cold. And if not cold at least a little chilly. Don't get me wrong it's nice to be outside and not freeze to death, but it would be nice to pick out pumpkins and not be dripping with sweat. 

No matter what the weather the boys had a blast and at the end of the day that is all that really matters!

Here are a few pictures from our day :)

dreaming of a small getaway

With Fall here and the temperatures still in the mid to high 80’s has me dreaming of being somewhere where there is actually Fall going on. One of my #1 places I want to visit is Jackson, Wyoming. They have webcams set up throughout town and the place just looks absolutly gorgeous!

The leaves are already changing colors and the temps are in the mid 50’s during the day.
Perfect weather for Fall!

Just looking at these pics makes me want to put on some old sweats and cuddle up with a cup of hot chocolate next to a roaring fire while looking out at an amazing view of the mountains.

My poor Hubby hates the cold so I think I may have a hard time convincing him that we need to leave 80* weather for 40* and 50* weather.

fall wreath

On one of my weekly trips to Hobby Lobby, or as my hubby likes to call it... the money pit, I noticed all these beautiful wreaths hanging on the wall. Then I noticed the price tag. WOW! Even at 40% off they were still to expensive. Then I remembered that I had a stick wreath at home just sitting in the closet. I took a minute to decide whether I wanted to attempt a wreath or not and in the end I decided what do I have to lose. So I bought a few things and made my very first Fall wreath.

Not too shabby eh?

 

 

fall mantle

This past week I have been getting my house ready for my favorite season... Fall!

it is so much fun to get out all the pumpkins and leaves to spread around the house. I honestly don’t think that I have enough, but you know how that goes :)

This last week I went and bought some new frames for my mantle since we recently moved out TV. I personally like this setup way better than when we had the TV up there. But that is a whole nother post which is coming soon!

Here are some pictures of our Fall mantle this year!

And of course I had to throw in some antlers :)

gathering leaves

This morning Tyler and I went outside to gather leaves for school.

I thought it was a perfect time to grab the camera and take some pictures.

 

  

autumn pinspiration

Have I mentioned today how much I LOVE PINTEREST!

If not here I am giving a heartfelt declaration of love.

They have so many wonderful ideas and tons of inspiration, and all with just a click of the mouse.

I thought I would share some fall inspiration that I just found wonderful :)

Happy Tuesday!