What's Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday you guys!

Who's ready for a What's Up Wednesday blog post hosted by Shay, Mel and Sheaffer?!  Let's get to it!

What we're eating this week...

Well since I just went grocery shopping this morning here's what's on the menu:

Wednesday (Tonight):  Chicken and Hummus with a Fattoush Salad

Thursday:  Chili (One Meat and One Vegetarian)

Friday:  Stir Fry

Saturday:  Out

Sunday:  Crock Pot Buffalo Wing Chicken Tacos

Monday:  Chicken and Salad

Tuesday:  Chili (Frozen from Thursday)

Wednesday:  Breakfast for Dinner

What I'm reminiscing about...

Hmm...??  I'm always reminiscing about the kids being little.  But I've also been thinking about what I've been doing since I graduated high school.  I woke up at 4:30 a.m. the other morning only to realize that I've been out of school for 17 years.  This is not something that usually bothers me, but it REALLY bothered me this time around and I couldn't go back to sleep.  I don't know why or what I'm supposed to do about being bothered by it, but I guess I should nip it in the bud...whatever it is...

What I'm loving...

I'm loving that my sister is going to be having her third baby in April.  I'll be the first to admit that I've had kind of a sour attitude about other mama's having their third babies.  I've cried...a lot.  But I feel like I'm kind-of-sort-of moving on...I think?  Anyway, I'm over the moon excited for my sister and her family and I can't wait to get my hands on their newest little peanut!

Me with Eliza...

What we've been up to...

Ha!  Where do I begin?  Seriously, I could write a book on this topic, so I'll keep it relatively short.

Well, I joined a weight loss competition and I'm basically starving all day.  The app, My Fitness Pal, has made me realize just how much I was overdoing it every day with my calorie intake.  It's been rough.

Henry is doing well in school.  He's loving it and he's doing well in math and reading.  He says he and his buddies play "police" out at recess and "watch to make sure other kids are being good."  LOL!  I love this and I'm so grateful for his sweet little friends and their sweet little personalities.

Eliza continues to keep me busy.  If I'm not giving her my undivided attention at all times, then either she takes matters into her own hands and destroys plays in her bedroom or she gets upset that I'm not "pwaying" with her then-and-there and at-that-very-moment, which in turns makes me feel guilty and ultimately gets me to give up what I'm doing and results in me basically giving in to her needs.  I'm exhausted, but I'm happy.  More importantly, she's happy.

Case in point (laundry in the background, playing Just Dance instead)...

Jon just got back from California after visiting with some friends from high school.  He had a great time and I'm so happy he did.  I held down the fort from late Thursday morning to a Sunday evening.  I watched his plane on Plane Finder and my anxiety was though the roof.  I'm still exhausted from him being gone.  LOL!

What's I'm dreading...

Flying.

We're going to Disney World this coming month and Jon bought airline tickets for us just this past weekend.  I cried all day last Saturday because I really, really, REAAAAALLY don't want to fly.  I hate it...and please note that I consider, "hate," a very bad word in our household.  We don't say it...ever.  Yeah, I dislike having to fly THAT much.

In fact, the skies were somewhat clear this afternoon and I'd randomly look up to see jets up above...then poof!!!!  Instant fear and anxiety.  Needless to say, I'll be calling my doctor in the near future for some kind of something to help a girl out.  If you pray, I'd take some prayers for a safe and healthy trip there and back.  Thanks!

What I'm working on...

I've been slowly deep cleaning the house; and I mean s-l-o-w-l-y.  But boy, little by little, it feels ooooh-so-good.  Unfortunately, if I'm deep cleaning one area/section of the house that means I'm ignoring another part and once I get back to my regular cleaning schedule it ends up being that I have that much more work to get done.  It's a never-ending-cycle, but I know that this deep cleaning will help clear the clutter in our home and it'll help clear my head and save me time from cleaning up and organizing unnecessary items in our home.

What I'm excited about...

DISNEY!

Well, I was WAY more excited before I knew we were going to fly.  Flying has definitely taken the fun out of the anticipation of the trip for me.  But, the FastPasses are in place and our dinner reservations are looking good!  If it weren't for flying I'd be bouncing off the walls right now!!!

I guess you could say I'm also reminiscing about our last Disney trip.  You know, the time we drove (just let me keep complaining, okay?) to Florida!  ;)

What I'm watching/reading...

Fixer Upper and some shows on TLC...hmmm... not a lot.  I've missed a few episodes of The Bachelor and fully intend on getting back on it this week/weekend!  I love me some Bachelor!  As for reading, I bought Capital Gaines, but haven't had a chance to become energetic enough to use my brain to actually read.

*nervous laughter*

*sigh*

True story.

What I'm listening to...

Eliza playing in her bedroom.  She wants me to come and "pway," but this Mama is being selfish which means her bedroom will be a disaster, but I'm just going to just live and let go today.

What I'm wearing...

The same cozy blue shirt I wear every other day when I'm not wearing my other cozy blue shirt.  Ha!  I bought the one I'm currently wearing from Amazon and I love it.  I was actually wearing jeans this morning because I thought I'd get dressed up to go to the grocery store.  After grocery shopping, I picked up Eliza and her friend, Everett, from school, dropped Everett off at his sitter's house, came home and changed into my plaid Christmas pajama bottoms.  Yeah, I'm looking pretty stylish right now.  ;)

What I'm doing this weekend...

Other than attempting to "sleep in" on Saturday?  Hopefully relaxing and stuffing my face with a pizza on my cheat day!  I'm sooooo hungry!

What I'm looking forward to next month...

Disney, seeing family, knowing my favorite season, spring, is right around the corner...maybe some more sledding...who knows how I'll feel about snow after being in Florida.

What else is new...

Gosh, nothing really.  I'm pretty boring.  Oh!!!!!!  I bought my first jean jacket from Gap yesterday!!!  That's something!  For real, I've always wanted one and I finally, FINALLY got one!  It seriously made my day!

Okay, well, that's it for me today!  I hope all is well with everyone out there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Marie :)

Five on Friday

Happy Friday, you guys!  Somehow this week flew by over here.  I was dreading having to actually leave the house, but, honestly, it wasn't so bad.  The kids were happy to get out of the house and back to school and Mama didn't mind having a few hours to herself.

As for today, we have a snow day and I get another day of organizing and cleaning, which I'm actually excited about!

Let's get to the par-tay, shall we?


{one}

Disney Chain Link Countdown

We're going to Disney and Mama is we're sooooo excited!!!

Of course, just like the countdown to our last Disney trip, a countdown was a must.  I thought I'd use some creative juices and make something different this time around, but I ended up buying the same paper and pretty much doing the same exact thing as last time.  Ha!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Here's a link to how I made the one from last time - Disney Chain Link Countdown.  Aaaaaaand here's the one I made this time around...

{two}

Sorel Boots

My Sorel boots arrived about a week and a half ago and I'm loving them.  I've been wearing my rain boots everywhere because I lost my snow boots a couple years ago.  I think I left them at the gym???  I'm guessing they were put in lost and found and by the time I thought to ask about them, a lot of time had gone by, it was no longer snowing and I'm sure they'd gotten rid of them by the time I asked.

Anyway, I couldn't take not having snow boots anymore and asked for some for Christmas.  The ones I received from Santa were half a size too big and were a completely different style, but then I saw a 50% off coupon for these ones.  I sized down, ordered these instead and am now a happy camper!

{three}

Sledding with Family

Now that I have snow boots it makes for heading outside a whole lot more enjoyable!  My toes were freezing when out and about, especially during those single digit days!  I'm happy to report that my little piggies were warm and cozy while sporting my new boots!

It also just so happened that my side of the family (my mom, dad and niece/sister) came over last weekend and we went sledding!  I haven't gone sledding with my mom and dad since I was a little girl - it was so much fun!

{four}

Podcasts

Do any of you listen to podcasts?

I love to listen to them when folding laundry, when taking the occasional bath and when running errands.  These are my absolute favorites and I find them to be motivational and educational.

Go check them out!

The Mom Hour

Mom Blog School

Young House Love

Marriage More

The Eight Minute Millionaire

{five}

This.  Just this.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Happy Friday!

Marie :)

This post contains affiliate links.

I'm linking up with April, Natasha, and Christina for the Five on Friday link-up Paaaaarty!

I'm linking up with A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, and Grace and Love for my Friday Favorites!

I'm linking up with September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for the Oh Hey Friday linky party!

Winter Warmth Essentials

Being that it's January and it's colder than cold outside I thought it'd be fun to share some of my winter warmth essentials with all of you.

First up, these boots.

Santa actually had purchased me a different pair of Sorel boots for Christmas, but they were a tad too big, so I knew that I'd have to send them back.

Luckily for me these pretty ladies were on sale with an extra 50% off!  YAY!  They're scheduled to arrive sometime today and I'm crazy excited to try them on!  These "boots with da fur" sure are going to beat the non-insulated rain boots that I've been sporting under my snow pants.  Let me tell you, no amount of wool socks can do what actual insulated snow boots can do.

I've feared on my multiple occasions now that I've lose a toe or two to frostbite.

My little piggies are sooooo going to thank me.  :)

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I bought my first C.C. hat over on Zulily about a month and a half ago and I'm loving it.  That little pom pom is so cute and it keeps me feeling young and little bit sassy!  Ha!  34 is the new 24, right?



Source

Jon bought me a Nike Dri-Fit Pro fleece lined shirt like this years ago.  It's become an absolute necessity for running in the winter months, strolling around downtowns in the winter and is my go-to shirt for playing outside with the kids in the snow.



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Okay, so - we don't have these yet, but the other day I told Jon that something needed to be done about the kids' wrists always getting cold from the snow that would get in-between their coats and gloves and that's when I thought, "I know what I'll do!  I'll invent them, go on Shark Tank and become a millionaire!!!!"  But wouldn't you know it - after a quick Amazon search, they popped right up!  Dang!

The good news?  They DO exist and I can get them in two days, thank you, Amazon Prime!

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A few days after Christmas Jon wanted measurements of my waist and I was all, "Umm, for what?"  I mean, there's nothing I could possibly need that would require measurements of my waist.  I barely wear jeans and I live in yoga pants and leggings.  I honestly had no clue what he was up to.

Well, he secretly ordered me some new snow pants!  I opened the box and thought, "Wow.  Cool," that was until I saw the price tag.  I told him to send them back.  I wasn't sure I could justify wearing them, especially since I knew for a fact I wouldn't be climbing any mountains anytime soon.  ;)  Ha!

Well, he convinced me to keep them and let me tell you, we've been outside four out of the last five days and these puppies are amazing.  A-Maz-Ing!  They're so light weight and the fit is perfection.  Jon has a pair from the same company and he'll wear them out and about in town.  He even wore them to the movies.  They're wonderful, I can't say enough good things about them!  Oh and based off of my ability to move about with the kids and the fact that my bum has felt nice and warm, let me tell you, they're tooootally worth the money.

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Here's one more product I plan to order for the entire family over on Amazon.

When you can't feel your cheeks and your nose anymore, it's a sure tell sign that a warmer option is needed.  A scarf is nice and it looks cute, but when you can barely talk, it's time to order something like this!  I like the versatility of this product and will be ordering a few of them ASAP!

Source

Stay warm out there, friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Marie :)

This post contains affiliate links.

Happy New Year - Weekend Review

Happy New Year!

It's 2018 and I suspect I'll continue to write 2017 for the next month or so!  Well, that is if my extremities ever thaw out.  You guys, it's been cold...no freezing...wait, no - worse than freezing...it's bitter, it's glacial...it's hypothermic.  Any and all synonyms to describe freezing but actually sound much, much colder than "cold" or "freezing."  I like winter, but we've reached the beyond cold stage and it makes going outside a chore.  However, it also makes the arrival and anticipation of spring that much more worth it.  So I guess there's a silver-lining somewhere in there.

So, what did we do on a 14 degree heatwave of a day?  First we went out to breakfast with the kiddos, then we went to our local recreation building for some indoor bounce house fun...

...then we went sledding...

In the 11 and 1/2 years Jon and I have lived in our town, we'd never gone down this hill.  Why?  Why hadn't we ever done this?  It was so much fun!  Thanks to our neighbor, Amy, for inviting us to tag alongside her and her family - we would've missed out on so much fun had we not gone!

The kids LOVED it!

Heck, Jon and I loved it!

But boy-oh-boy, it sure was nice once we got back into the car and cranked the heat!

Then, to be extra crazy, we went again the next day!  It felt even colder, but it was still so much fun!

 On Sunday, we took a break from sledding and I took the kiddos to our local children's museum while Jon stayed home to get in a workout.

I was super excited to take the kids to the museum for their noon-year festivities and balloon drop.  Alas, it didn't end so well.  The museum was great, but I believe there may have been a little bit of confusion amongst those of us parents assisting in making New Year's hats for the kiddos.  I may or may not have had some paper that I had just cut taken away from another parent and I had to cut more, which in turn resulted in Henry basically running to the balloon drop in tears because his hat wasn't done.  Not to mention it wasn't the color yellow.

I felt like the worst mom EVER.

Oh life with kids.

So, what do you do when your kid is in tears at his noon-year celebration?  Why, you wipe away the tears, promise your own balloon drop and head to Walmart to pick up a few items to help make it up to him. ;)

The kids DID have fun while they were there...well, that it is until the "Paper Mix-Up of 2017."

'

We bought balloons, sparkling cider, candy to fill the balloons, poppers and those bang snap fireworks.  We went home, ate lunch in the basement, filled the balloons with candy, and hung up a balloon drop bag made out of garbage bags and painter's tape.

The kids couldn't wait until "midnight."

We headed out to dinner and we made sure to wear our New Year's hats.

Mama got herself a well-deserved drink and it was absolutely delicious.

We headed home, Henry ran inside the house and shouted, "We have so much to do!"

I popped twisted open a bottle of sparkling apple cider for the kids.

The kids thought it was THE coolest thing.  LOL!  

Their reaction to their first sip...

Henry's face is exactly the face I make when I get to open the real thing on Friday nights!  Hahaha!

The kids "decorated" and moved around the furniture in the basement for the big balloon drop.  As you can see, they even set out plates so that we could have our "second dinner."

These kids know me.  ;)

s

The balloons were popped, candy was consumed, poppers were popped, bang snaps were thrown, a dance party commenced and the sparkling drinks were a-flowing.  

New Year's at 7:14 was THE best EVER!!!

The kids took a bath, got into their definition of pajamas and then danced some more...

They were finally both fast asleep by 9:30.

Jon and I stayed up and watched some tv and rang in the New Year with a mixed drink or two.  I also read somewhere that if you play Phil Collins', In the Air Tonight, at a specific time then the drum solo would start at exactly midnight.  We kept the tv on to watch the ball drop and attempted the Phil Collins thing.  We were twenty seconds too early, but the sad attempt made us laugh our way into 2018!  It was great!  We turned the volume up on the tv and slow danced to Frank Sinatra's, New York - yeah, we did that...and I loved every second of it.

The next morning the kids were wide-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready for more sparkling juice and all of our attention.

At noon we watched a disappointing Outback Bowl.  Michigan lost.  Major bummer to an already disappointing season.

After the game I said my goodbyes to our garland that has been getting everywhere.  By taking down the garland in the family room and kitchen, meant that my pretty lights would be leaving, too.  It made me extremely sad to take down the lights...

Jon and I took the kids sledding one more time and it was, by far, THE coldest of all three days we went to the hill.  I think we only went down four or five times.  We came home, had leftovers or anything we could find for dinner and called it a night.

It's time to start getting dressed again every day, hit the gym and to stop eating so much cheese.

Happy January 2nd, you guys - make it a good one!

Marie :)