Slice of Life: September 7th, 2018

Those of you who knows me in real life (haha) know that when I get energized and excited, I get really chatty, really silly, and really spastic.

This is the place I’m writing from today! BAH! I’ve had two cups of coffee, am sitting in Starbucks finally getting a chance to work for more than 30 minutes at a time (ahhh the angels are singing), and it’s FRIDAY! My brother is coming in town tonight, it’s my mom’s birthday tomorrow, and Sunday is shaping up to be a day of taking it really easy. Hoo-freaking-ray. It’s a good day.

I have a “slice of life” for you today full of moments that are way more chill than frolicking at the lake and being on the news. 😉

I love the girls’ new school so much. Getting these daily Remind.com texts from Sadie’s teachers makes me giddy. I’m always so excited to see them to see what she’s up to at school. This apparently was Sadie building a house for her babies. 🙂

We got our swingset back in May, and four months later, it’s still a hit! Swing sets ranges from soup to nuts price wise, and I would highly recommend something like this if your budget is around $500 or less. , and though it’s unavailable to ship right now, there are many similar on the same page if you want to browse.

My friend Erin recommended this candle to me, and I burned it all the way down in less than 10 days because I wanted it lit every second I was home! It smells amazing and is without a doubt my new favorite scent. If you’re browsing Bath and Body Works and want a good fall scent that will make your home smell scrumptious, the Pumpkin Pecan Waffles is where it’s at.

This was me 28ish years ago. My mom loves to tell the story of my dad leaving in a rush one morning, and toddler Erica losing her mind and crying until I could give him a hug. He came back of course and made it all better. She always says that it melted my dad’s heart in a complete puddle, and sure enough, Hadley did the same thing last week.

Jamie needed to leave earlier than usual on this particular morning, and though he gave Hadley a big good morning hug and kiss as he was gathering his stuff to leave, he failed to kiss her goodbye since he was rushing out the door. A few seconds after he shut the garage door, Hadley started squalling because “Daddy didn’t give me hug and kiss goodbye.” Of course I called him and said that he better high-tail it home, and he did without a second thought. I sent her out the front door, and they hugged for a good long while. Sadie had to get her second dose of goodbye hugs and kisses too. Watching from the front door melted my heart. I know I’ll never forget this, just like my mom and dad didn’t.

If you have a spare drawer and need some better spice organization, I can’t recommend this method enough. Five months later, and this is still working like a dream!

Best spontaneous mom date ever = a morning of shopping with the littles while the bigs are at school, followed by a lunchtime glass of rose champagne just because while the two year olds share a kids meal. #noshame

Look at these twins! My parents stopped by for a few minutes last Friday before their little stay-cation for their anniversary, and we all cracked up at how they were dressed like from head to toe. I shared this picture on my IG stories and mentioned how everyone says Sadie looks just like my dad, and so many of you agreed! Everyone says Hadley looks like Jamie and my MIL and that Sadie looks like my dad and my sister. My mom and I were left to twin with each other, which brings me to my next picture…

Isn’t it crazy how much we look alike? One time I was on a work trip in Long Island and decided to drive by the home my parents built there after they got married. She said their next door neighbors (who they were close to) still lived there, so I decided to stop and knock on the door to say hello. As soon as they answered the door, the couple started screaming because they knew exactly who I was based on my resemblance to my mom. They said that they watched me walking up the driveway, and that it was like going back 30 years and seeing my mom walk up the driveway. Genes are such a wild thing! I actually blogged about this funny story several years ago.

Gosh, it felt SO good to wake up in Alabama and enjoy the excitement of an Alabama game day last week. Jamie and I really loved living in a college town in Manhattan and seeing everyone in purple so united around K State, but we missed the fanfare of Alabama football. I got new shirts for everyone a few days prior, which felt like a justified purchase. 🙂

We spent most of game day hanging outside and watching football at a new friend’s home, and we all had such a blast. It’s such a win win when we can socialize with people we enjoy while watching our kids have just as much fun. Also, I’m grateful for people who are includers. My girlfriend was so sweet to invite our family to hang with her friends and introduce us to new people, who quickly became friends.

On Sunday we threw a big potluck BBQ at our home, and it was a blast! It was somewhat spontaneous, but we’d been wanting to have a big housewarming/summer BBQ for months, and the weekends just slipped away from us. We saw that Labor Day weekend was open for us, so we picked that Sunday afternoon to finally have a little shindig. 45 people (including kids) ended up coming, and the whole thing was really laid back and fun. This is the only picture I took all night, and it was at the very end when just a few families were still around. I love that Jamie is watching football. Ha! This is probably him decompressing after a full day of church, cleaning, grilling, and entertaining. We hope to make this an annual thing.

On Labor Day, we mostly stayed home and piddled around the house. Our big project for the day was finally (!) getting both cars in the garage. We wanted a three-car garage so that we could fit both cars + Jamie’s gym, but because of size of our cars plus the angle that you have to turn in to get into the single garage, this was challenging to say the least. We were feeling a bit frustrated lately because it wasn’t looking likely that the garage was going to hold both cars plus the gym, so it was like… why did we focus so heavily on finding a home with a 3-car garage if we can’t use it as intended? Arg. First world problems fo sho.

We ended up pulling every single thing out of the garage, getting both cars + the gym set up the way we wanted it, and then bringing everything in and setting it up around the cars and gym. Team effort. Mission complete, and we are both really happy.

I found this on my phone and thought I’d share. I recently had a good friend PCS to a new area, and she was feeling the slump of being in a new area with an almost one year old baby. She asked if I had any recommendations for things to do outside of the home with her babe, so I thought back to what Hadley and I used to do when we first moved to Manhattan, and I sent her this list (excuse the typo on #5. Should be “gym with childcare”.)

Another tip for parents with kids of all ages: Write up your list of possible outings each season and put it on your refrigerator. We do this all the time because it helps give me ideas for what to do with the kids on quiet days. I may not feel like taking them to the playground, but maybe a stroll around the pet store would work? Ha. It’s helpful to see it right in front of you.

This book called is rocking Jamie’s world right now. His friend Jeremy recommended it to him, and he is obsessed. If you or a loved one is an athlete and/or dealing with physical pain, this book may be an excellent resource. Jamie has struggled with back pain on and off for a couple of years, and he’s now canceled all of his upcoming physical therapy appointments because this book is helping him so much. My dad (a runner) is having some trouble with his knees, and we’re hoping that some of what Jamie is reading in this book will be helpful. Can’t recommend it enough, and neither can Jamie. He literally CANNOT STOP telling people about it. 😉

Finally, are you looking for a homemade pancake recipe? We make homemade pancakes 3ish times a month, and we always use this homemade pancake recipe. They’re perfect!

Thanks so much for reading! Have a fantastic weekend! xoxox

Let’s chat!

Homemade pancakes or from a box?

What’s your ideal “mom date”?

How do you organize your spices?