Summer 2018 (Week 7) - Play Dates, Cow Day, & Home Improvements

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Happy Monday!  Don't forget, today is Prime Day on Amazon!!!!  They are going to have so much stuff on sale starting at 3 PM, so be sure to check it out if there's anything you've been wanting!  The Echo Dot is marked down from $49.99 to just $29.99!!  If you want to see a list of some of my all-time favorite things from Amazon plus a look inside our Amazon account, check out this post!

Here’s what happened this past week around these parts!

Monday, July 9

Monday was a pretty slow day.  It was sunny, so we hung out in the blow-up pool all morning before finally making our way inside to have lunch – sausage, sweet potatoes, and blueberries for the win!  Sweet potatoes are one of the only veggies I can really get both kids to eat, so we keep them on hand all the time! 

After lunch we got ready and then headed out the door for a couple of errands.  We stopped at the library first to grab a new stash of books and we ended up leaving with eight books and two DVDs among the three of us.  I just finished Emily Giffin’s new book so I grabbed The Royal We.  Yes, I know that I’m way behind on that one, but hey, at least the library had it and there was no wait!

After the library we headed straight to Publix to do our grocery shopping and then the rest of the day was spent reading our new books and randomly napping (Olivia).  We also finished up the headbands for our cow costumes for Chick-Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day that was on Tuesday.

Tuesday, July 10

On Tuesday, we had a Chick-Fil-A date with our friends, but prior to that I did a little bit of cleaning around the house and I got my new throw blanket washed and put up in its basket in my reading nook.  I cannot wait to use this thing when it gets cooler outside!  Oh man, I’m aching for fall!!

We met two of my girlfriends and their kiddos at CFA at 11 for Cow Appreciation Day and we all wore our cute lil’ shirts that my friend Jeannine made for us.  Just look at those babies!  Is that not the cutest little group of cows you ever did see?  And note that my friend Katie even made a cow costume for her daughter Eloise’s baby doll.  <3

We all grabbed our free food, ate, and then the girls and I turned the kids loose on the playground.  When the CFA cow came out, they all took a break to meet him, and then they went right back to playing!  We stayed for almost two hours.  I think that’s the longest I’ve ever stayed at a Chick-Fil-A.  Lol.

The kiddos and I had to make a quick Target and Fresh Market run after that and then it was back home to read and hang out until B got home from work.  He arrived home a little early, we packed up a cooler, grabbed some Chipotle to go, and then met all of my extended family at my aunt and uncle’s house for a little get together.  My cousin and his wife were visiting from L.A. with their new baby girl, Willa Grace.  I got to snuggle her for a few minutes and it was pure heaven!  My other cousin’s kids were also in town staying with my aunt and uncle, and they are Jacob’s and Olivia’s ages, so they all had a ball playing together in the basement.

Wednesday, July 11

On Wednesday, the kids and I headed to the early movie because they were showing Trolls!!  They were so excited and had been looking forward to this for weeks since we never got to see it on the big screen.  Our movie theater here in town is doing a special every Wednesday where they show an old kids’ movie and it only costs $4 per person.  Each person gets a ticket, a popcorn, fruit snacks, and a drink.  We all know how dang expensive the movie theater is now, so this is the best deal ever!!

After the movie, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese’s to meet my aunt and my cousin’s kids that we had played with the evening before.  The kiddos all got to play tons of games, we shared a pizza, and then each of the kiddos were able to get a couple of prizes with their tickets.

The rest of the day was spent running errands – TJ Maxx and Marshal’s – still in pursuit of a side table for our bedroom.  I ended up finding one and I was really excited at first, but I just wasn’t sold on it when I got it home.

Thursday, July 12

Thursday morning I saw the cutest new thing on Instagram stories, so I had to throw one out there for myself.  I got some good questions from my IG followers and I answered them later that evening.  If you missed it, there’s a Q&A highlight in my bio.  There was one question in particular that I got asked over and over again, so I plan to do a full blog post about it once the kids go back to school!  You can see all of the questions and answers here!

The kids and I hung around the house all morning, had chicken nuggets, Greek yogurt, raspberries, and blackberries for lunch, and then we headed downtown to the splash pad which also happens to be right next to our favorite playground by the river.  We met some friends from our church and school family there (Jacob’s friend Gracie from his class at school and her little brother who is just slightly older than Olivia) and the four kiddos ran back and forth from the splash pad to the playground for a couple of hours while their momma and I chatted.  I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to take any pictures.  Whoops! 

After the splash pad/playground, I was pretty hot, so we stopped by Starbucks for a little afternoon refresher.  I finally tried a pink drink (I know, I’m about two years behind) and the kids each got cake pops.  It was the perfect little pick-me-up!

Friday, July 13

Friday morning I had a doctor’s appointment so I dropped the kids off with my Dad for a couple of hours (thanks, Daddy!!), and it was nice to have some quiet time in the car.  Lol.  I haven’t been alone since… probably my last doctor’s appointment.  Haha. 

I picked the kiddos up late morning and then it was back home to relax for the rest of the day.  Our week was so full all I wanted to do was just stay home!  Before we had left that morning, we had put the kids’ Magic Water Beads in some water, and when we got home they had all expanded!  We’ve had these since Christmas and we had never played with them, so the kids were soooo excited.  They played with them for a good two hours solid while I got caught up on some paperwork and other “life things” and then we relaxed until B got home from work with pizza in tow! 

B and I opened a bottle of our trusty rusty TJ’s wine to enjoy with the pizza, and then we all piled on the couch for a family movie night, popcorn and all!  None of us had ever seen Tangled, so that was what we watched, and it was even better because it was free from the library.  ;o)

B and I ended the evening with an episode of Breaking Bad.  Have I mentioned that we started watching that?  Stuff like that is not typically what I go for, but I am enjoying this one so far.  It’s kind of like a train wreck… can’t look away.  Some of the episodes are a little intense so I like to chase them with an episode of Friends to put all of the happy back in my head.  Haha.

Saturday, July 14

Saturday started out with homemade confetti waffles, and then I got right down to business doing some things around the house.  I found a new side table for my bedroom on Amazon and I ordered it.  I just didn’t love the table that I had found at Marshal’s even though my poll on Instagram showed that an overwhelming amount of people did like it.

Once that was done, my curtain that I had found for my closet had arrived, so I got it all set up.  Remember how I asked about this gold polka dot one last week?

Well I didn’t love that one, and I ended up finding a plain white one on Amazon.  I like this one so much better!  I think I’m going to keep it!

Once that was done, I grabbed my painting supplies and got started on my next project – sanding and painting my hope chest!  I received that hope chest for Christmas when I was around 16 or 17 years old and I have adored it ever since.  I’ve always wanted to paint it white, especially since B and I moved in our house about nine years ago, so I finally took the time to do it.  I’m SO happy that I did.  It looks absolutely fabulous (and really amazing next to our dark bedroom furniture).  Now I’m even more excited about our new side table that’s coming from Amazon!

The rest of the day was spent churching and then eating Mexican for dinner with our little family of four.  Our typical Saturday night crew had another event to attend so it was just us!  After tacos and margs, we headed to Lowe’s and I grabbed some clear top coat to protect the paint on my hope chest, some more potting soil, and… another indoor house plant.  This time, a fern.  #WhoAmI

We grabbed DQ on the way home and then after the kiddos went to bed, B and I watched another episode of Breaking Bad and an episode of Friends.  We’re watching all of those seasons again as well… for, like, the 25th time.  Seriously.

Sunday, July 15

Sunday morning I spent the morning getting more stuff done around the house… I was on a ROLL this weekend!  I got three coats of clear protector on the hope chest, spray painted a pot for my new fern, worked on some to-do lists for the week ahead, did some school uniform inventory and made a list of what we need for the kids for school, and then we all got ready and headed out for the day.

My MIL and step-FIL didn’t cook lunch so we had Panera instead, and then we stopped by Target to stock up on all of the cheap Cat & Jack uniform stuff because it was all on sale. 

The kids had been wanting to go back to the Botanical Gardens so Brian could be there with us, and we decided it was the perfect Sunday afternoon thing to do.  We walked around for a while and then hiked through the woods on the property, and it was a lovely afternoon with my favorites.  I so love our adventures together.

Sunday ended with dinner at my parents’ house.  Momma made a homemade cake from scratch and my uncle and his girlfriend brought in some lasagna from one of our favorite restaurants and everyone spent the evening gathered around the table that I’ve been eating at for my whole life.  We heart Sundays so much! 

Happy Monday, y’all!  We only have three weeks left of summer break so we’re going to enjoy every single second!

And don't forget about Prime Day today!  Is there anything you have your eye on?  I'd love to know!

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