Wednesday, June 28, 2017

What's Up Wednesday - June 2017

*This post may contain affliate links.

We’ve made it to the halfway point in the week and it’s time to recap June!

What We’re Eating This Week

Mon – Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry with Rice and Broccolli
Tue – Sausage and Tortellini Bake with Broccolli 
Wed – B has tennis so I’ll probably whip up some grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids
Thu – Pizza Joe’s and fresh fruit
Fri – Out
Sat – Out
Sun – Momma and Daddy’s for Sunday dinner!

What I’m Reminiscing About

I’m still pretending that I’m lying on the beach with a good book in my hand and a pretty blue umbrella shading me from the hot sun.  We went earlier this month and I am still recapping.  If you’ve missed any of the posts, you can see them below, or if you are anxiously awaiting the next, you will hopefully have another one tomorrow.  ;o)







What I’m Loving

My new bar cart!!  I finally got it painted and decorated this past weekend and it looks great!  I decorated it with these straws, this book, this water, these copper mugs, and many other items.  I shared this sneak peek here and I’ll be doing an entire post for the reveal really soon!  Be on the lookout for it!



What We’ve Been Up To

This month has been pretty busy.  We kicked off the month with a Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds concert in ATL, we went to the beach for a week, we celebrated Father's Day, B and I spent a day together in Atlanta, I celebrated my girlfriend's birthday, and we also attended the summer social for our church’s Contemporary Couple’s Club.  Aside from all of the big events, we have been spending lots of time indoors due to all of the rain we’ve had this month and we have been working on Jacob’s summer homework.  

Upcoming  first graders are required to complete a reading log to show that they read for 70 minutes per week (sounds like a lot, but it’s only 10 minutes per day which we do anyway), and they also have to keep a summer journal.  He has to complete five journal entries that each include 2-3 sentences with matching pictures that use at least five colors.  He has already done two of the entries, so we have three to go with 5.5 weeks remaining of summer break.  That sounds doable!  Oh, and we have to teach him to tie his shoes… we completely dropped the ball on that in kindergarten!  <Insert cringing-face emoji here.>


What I’m Dreading

I wouldn’t say I’m dreading this, but I head back to Atlanta next week for my second treatment for my back issues.  The first one was not pleasant to say the least and I hobbled around like a grandma for the next couple of days after it, so I’m not looking forward to that again.  If it works it will all be worth it, but this week I’ve had a serious case of the what-ifs… what if we spend all of this time and money and it doesn’t even work?  What if something goes wrong during the procedure?  And worst of all, what if this whole thing makes me feel even worse than I was before it?  Ugh, I try so hard not to worry, but I just can’t make it stop. 

So basically, I’m just dreading my own worrying.  Sigh.

What I’m Working On

This last week I have been helping my MIL plan my step-SIL’s baby shower.  We are hosting along with Brian’s two sisters this weekend so it should be a fun time!  We used these invitations and they turned out so cute!  


What I’m Excited About

Honestly, I’m looking forward to not having a lot going on during the next few weeks.  We’ve been busy this last month, and it will be good to slow it down a bit.

What I’m Watching/Reading

Watching – Well, I would say that we’re watching The Bachelorette, but does scrolling through your phone and having it on in the background count as watching it??  This season has been boring!!  Maybe because I’m not a big Rachel fan?  I don’t know, but I’m not digging it this season.  We are also watching America’s Got Talent, and I’m sure you already know what I’m going to say next… Gilmore Girls.  Haha.  We are almost to the end of season 7 and then it will be on to the 4 new episodes and then we’ll be done!

Reading – Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews… I read the entire book with the exception of the last couple of chapters at the beach, but ever since we’ve been home I haven’t had much time to read.  I literally only have like five pages to go and then I’ll be done with it.  Not sure what I’ll be reading next!

What I’m Listening To

The Trolls Soundtrack.  The Moana Sountrack.  The Trolls soundtrack.  The Moana sountrack.  The Trolls soundtrack.  The Moana sountrack.  The Trolls soundtrack.  The Moana sountrack. 

Sound familiar to anyone else??

What I’m Wearing

I’m loving my new J Crew skirt!  I just wore it yesterday for the first time and it is SO comfortable.  I wish it wasn’t so expensive because I would love to have it white, black, hot pink, and white with black polka dots.  Oh, and did I mention it has pockets?!?!

Aside from that, I’m loving off the shoulder dresses like this one and this one, and I'm hoping to finally wear this one soon!

What I’m Doing This Weekend

Hosting a baby shower for my step-SIL!

What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month

4th of July!  I always love getting patriotic and spending time with family.  I’m hoping to go to the fireworks downtown since we haven’t been in a couple of years!  If you’re in need of any red, white, and blue ideas, I have you covered!  See below.



And most importantly, I’m looking forward to celebrating my sweet Boo for his sixth birthday next month!.  He will no longer show his age on one hand.  :o(  My, how it has flown.

What Else Is New

You may remember in last month's What's Up Wednesday post that I discussed that I was going to see a doctor in Atlanta to hopefully start a new experimental treatment for my back… Well, you just read in my “What I’m Dreading” section above that I’m dreading the second treatment, so you probably put two and two together and gathered that I obviously did qualify for the treatment.  The doctor I saw does think that this treatment will help me and he thinks that I will only have to have two treatments which would be such a blessing since some people require 6-12 over the span of several months. 

Part of me is extremely skeptical since six years’ worth of every other treatment under the sun hasn’t helped, but part of me is also cautiously optimistic.  Only time will tell, I suppose.  I am feeling worse than I’ve felt in a long time since my first treatment last week, but that can happen since this particular form of treatment doesn’t produce results rapidly, and instead focuses on long-term growth.  I’ve waited six long years, so what’s another six months?!  Oh wait, the worrying might kill me.  ;o)

Anyhoo, please continue to pray for me if you’re so inclined.  I’ll take all of the prayers that I can get.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

*Linking up with Shay, Mel, and Sheaffer for What’s Up Wednesday and Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.
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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Panama City Beach, FL 2017 - Days 3 and 4

*This post may contain affiliate links.

 Days three and four were our rainy days at the beach.  Therefore, we took way fewer pictures so I decided to combine the two days into one post. 

The third morning when we awoke, it wasn’t raining quite yet, but the sky was dark and menacing so we decided not to risk getting down to the beach only to get rained out a few minutes into it, and instead, we chose to drive over to Destin to shop at the outlet mall.  We had the last of our donuts for breakfast and then we headed out around 9 AM.  The drive from PCB to Destin is only about 45 minutes, so we arrived just in time for the stores to start opening.

Our first stop was the Nike outlet to get Jacob and B some new tennis shoes.  B didn’t have any luck, but Jacob found some that he loved.  The next stop was GAP to check out their deals.  I left with a cute watermelon swing tank (that I couldn't find online to link), and Olivia left with a flamingo romper that I also couldn't find online.  

By the time we were done there, it was almost time for lunch, so we walked down to Ciao Bella Pizza for a few slices.  It was SO SO good.  Definitely a gem in an unexpected place!

Next up was the Disney Store outlet.  You guys, I have never in my life seen something so crazy as that place.  It was so jam packed that they had an employee outside controlling how many people set foot in the store.  When we arrived, the line was about 7 or 8 people deep, but fortunately we only had to wait about five minutes to get in. 

It was a complete zoo, y’all.  A ZOO.  We let each of the kids pick something out from there as their souvenir from our trip.  Jacob got some sort of superhero thing that you wear on your wrist that shoots darts, and Olivia picked out an Elena of Avalor doll… which is weird, because she never even watches that.  Lol.

We let the kids browse the entire store, and then we hightailed it outta there as fast as we could… I thought I was going to go insane if I stayed in there for another minute.  Between the music and the screaming kids and the fact that there were 8,500 people in there, I was ready to GO.


We stopped at Carter’s and didn’t find anything, and then we let the kiddos take a break and play on the playground to burn some energy.  At that point it was barely sprinkling, so it was nice for them to get some fresh air after being cooped up shopping all day. 


We made one more stop at Ralph Lauren Polo where we loaded up on these basic polos for Jacob (since they were outlet prices) and I wanted so badly to buy this darling seersucker dress for Olivia, but the outlet price was still outrageous and I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on one dress.  (Although, it's now half off... go figure!)  

We loaded the kids in the car and started their movies after that, and then B dropped me off at J Crew so I could browse alone for a bit while they stayed in the car.  You guys, I was in heaven!  We don’t have a J Crew here in our city, so any time I get the chance to go I’m always excited.  I tried so many things on – this dress, this darling ruffle striped top, and this gingham off the shoulder top.  I wanted all of it, but I ended up leaving with this skirt in khaki even though I wanted one in every color.  It is just so perfect, so easy to wear, and so flattering.  And I also left with this scalloped cami in white.  It’s perfect to wear with all of my colorful print shorts. 

We settled in for the drive back to PCB after that, and Olivia ended up falling asleep in the car on the way back, which pretty much never happens.  Since she had fallen asleep, B decided to stop by the Nike store in PCB to grab the shoes that he wanted.  He had found a pair in Destin that he loved, but they didn’t have his size, so he snagged them in PC.  It was pouring at that point, but by the time we got back to our condo, the rain had subsided, so we headed out to the beach so the kids could play and run around for a bit.  They were in the best moods and they were both being so silly and playful.  It was the best!


























After the kiddos had burned some energy, we cleaned up and headed out for Mexican.  B and I were in heaven with large margs and the kiddos were in heaven with their chips and salsa and cheese dip. 



After dinner, we walked across the parking lot to end the evening at a local ice cream place called Pink Pelican Ice Cream Bar.  We had never been there before, but B and I agreed that it was some of the best ice cream ever.  All of it was homemade, and you could tell!  I got the banana pudding and oh my GOODNESS, it was good.

Day four looked much like day three first thing in the morning – dark and gloomy.  The kiddos watched Curious George and I caught up on some blog reading first thing in the morning, and then after a quick check of the hour by hour forecast as well as the radar, we decided it was probably pointless to try to go to the beach again, so we drove to Pier Park and arrived at Dave and Busters right when it opened.  We had never been to one before, so it was a new experience for all of us.  The kids were THRILLED.  We have something similar back at home and Jacob always loves going there, so he was in heaven!


We put $25 on a card for each child and they played and played and played.  It just so happened that Wednesday is half off day so our money got us twice the amount of games and twice the amount of tickets that it would have on a regular day.  The kids completely racked up!  Around noon we stopped to break for lunch and their food was pretty good, too.  I ordered some chicken Caesar wraps with avocado that were yummy, but I was incredibly jealous of Olivia’s pretzel dog.  When in doubt always get the pretzel dog.  ;o)  I had fully intended to eat her leftovers, but she dropped them on the floor.  Womp womp.


After lunch we went right on back to playing games.  Jacob happens to be a master at skee ball, so he played several rounds, and Olivia wanted to do the same thing that big brother was doing, but after almost taking a couple of people out, I had to put the kabash on that.  Lol.

Well into the afternoon we decided it was high time to split, so the kids checked their tickets.  Jacob had 1,142 and Olivia had 1,632 so they both loaded up on prizes.  Jacob chose a Star Wars mini figure, two boxes of Nerds, and some other candy and Olivia chose a stuffed llama sprinkled with hearts, a stuffed purple elephant, a box of Nerds, and some gummy bears.  See?  They loaded up!

We got back to the room in time for Olivia to take a pretty late nap and during her nap I sat out on the balcony and read for a bit while the boys watched TV.  The day had mostly been overcast with a few sprinkles here and there, so I could see several groups of people down on the beach who had decided to brave the weather.  About 30 minutes into my reading, all of a sudden out of nowhere a HUGE gust of wind blew in and it started pouring.  The wind was so strong that all of the beach umbrellas, beach chairs, and even a full size tailgating tent flew up in the air and started blowing down the beach.  People were screaming and running and it looked like something out of a horror movie.  It was crazy.  I ran inside and told B and Jacob to come out and we watched the craziness unfold.  It was hard to tell from our balcony, but I’m fairly certain one person had gotten knocked out by an umbrella.  I saw it hit her and she stayed laying in her chair for a while with a group of people gathering around her.  She eventually got up, so I think she was okay, but by that time, the torn up tent had blown out in the ocean and the guys who worked at the condo swam in to pull it out.  It was just crazy.



After the storm blew through, the skies cleared and we got Olivia up from her nap and headed out for an early dinner.  We ate at Sharky’s, which is one of our favorite places.  We were able to get a table outside that was covered just in case the rain came back, but fortunately it had all blown through and was long gone by then.  B and I enjoyed some yummy cocktails (a cherry limeaid for me – SO good) while the kids colored. 




By the time dinner was over, the sun was peeking out, so we let the kids walk out to the restaurant’s playground right there on the beach and then we hunted for shells until the sun set.  We stopped by DQ for Blizzards on the way back to the condo and it was the perfect end to day four.









In case you missed the first two days of the trip, you can see them here and here and I will be back to recap days five, six, and seven soon!  Spoiler alert, the sun finally comes out and stays!  Woo hoo!  The best is yet to come, friends.  The best is yet to come!


And now it's time for the Tuesday Talk Link Up!

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Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Becky at BYBMG | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Lindsay at Lindsay's Sweet World | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Sarah at Sarah E. Frazer | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram


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