Thursday, November 30, 2017

What's Up Wednesday - November 2017

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Well, apparently I missed the memo about WUW being moved to last week.  #Oops  But since I like to keep consistency on the blog, I couldn’t skip a month, so it’s What’s Up Wednesday for November a week late… and on a Thursday.  Haha.

November, as usual, did not disappoint.  We stayed busy, we spent loads of time with loved ones, and while it was a hard month for me transitioning to the SAHM world from the corporate world, I’d say that after getting through my final goodbyes, I’ve been passing with flying colors ever since!

What We’re Eating This Week

Mon – Eggs, grits, bacon, and toast
Tue – Sausage, peppers, and onions tacos (I feel like this is in all of my WUW posts!)
Wed – Pizza Joe’s, broccoli
Thu – Out before the Christmas tree lighting at Brian’s work!
Fri – Out before the downtown Christmas tree lighting!
Sat – Not sure yet, but we won’t be leaving the house for dinner because we’ll be watching our Dawgs play!
Sun – Momma and Daddy’s for Sunday dinner

What I’m Reminiscing About

I have been out of the work force for exactly 12 days and I’m still missing my coworkers something fierce!  It’s hard not seeing them every day now and my mind keeps wandering back to the good ol’ days at work when I used to love my job and we would all go out together a lot.  I have gotten to see a few of them already since leaving, but most I have not.  And I know my missing them will fade a bit over time and it will get easier, but for now I’ll just keep on wondering, “Is today still too soon to go visit them?”  Haha.

What I’m Loving

Being a stay at home mom!  Yes, I’m missing my coworkers like crazy, but several things I do not miss?

Actually working and being there for 40 hours a week.
Dealing with issues and putting out fires all day.
Rushing in the morning to get Jacob to school so I can get myself to work on time. 
Rushing around like a crazy woman trying to cook/clean/help Jacob with homework/do all the things in the tiny window between getting home from work and dinner every day.
And wearing real pants. 

Just kiddin’, I’m still mostly wearing those.  ;o)

You know what I love the very most, though?  Being able to take Jacob on a field trip yesterday and not having to worry about making up my time at work.  It was the first guilt-free school event that I was really able to enjoy because I was not having to worry about how long I was going to be gone or having to use vacation time.  We went to a play, we had lunch, and we played outside and I was able to enjoy every single second.  And then afterward I was able to spend a bit of quiet time at home before heading back to pick Jacob up when the rest of the school day was over.  #Winning






What We’ve Been Up To

A LOT.  November brought on Jacob’s last soccer game and end of the year party, me leaving my job after almost 13 years and transitioning to being a stay-at-home mom (for now), our first Georgia footballgame as a family of four (Olivia’s first game), happy houring with my old coworkers, and lots and lots of family time for Thanksgiving which also included crossing off a few more things from our bucket list.




What I’m Dreading

One of my cousins who is just slightly older than I am, who has kiddos the same ages as our kiddos, was recently diagnosed with two kinds of cancer, both of which are in the later stages, and one of which is very aggressive.  She has been undergoing chemo for the last few weeks and her first surgery to remove the aggressive cancer is in early December.  I'm dreading it for her, but we are praying and praying that she beats it.  She is so full of life, she is one of the healthiest people I know, and she is one of the most optimistic people I know, so if anyone can beat it, it's her.  <3 

If you're the praying type, she needs as many prayers as she can get.  2017 just keeps beating us down, and we are praying that 2018 is a much better year.

What I’m Working On

Getting all of my to do lists organized and coming up with a plan of attack for the new year.  Now that I’m staying at home I’m looking forward to whittling my to-do lists down to practically nothing.  I kid you not there are several hundred things on there.  Like, for real.  Some of them are huge projects that will take lots of time, like, cleaning out the entire house from top to bottom and organizing and decorating our laundry room, and then some of them are things that won’t take long at all, like, updating pictures in frames and catching up the last few pages of the kids’ baby books. 

I’ve been trying to organize my to-do lists into one big to do list and I’m also hoping to set goals for myself so I can try to get a lot of the things done before the kids get out of school for the summer.  I’ve also been working on a loose daily schedule for myself to help keep me on task with household chores, laundry, and all of the everyday life kinds of things.

I just received my new planner for 2018 so I’m also working on getting it organized and filled in.  And spoiler alert, I totally ditched my Erin Condren Life Planner for a new brand this year.  I can’t even believe it and I’m hoping I don’t regret it… more to come on that soon!

Lots of people have asked me to do a post on how I use my planner and I’m hoping that I’ll finally have time to do that early in the new year!

What I’m Excited About

Oh my word, where to even begin… having Brian to myself for an entire day on Friday, going to two Christmas tree lightings this week, going to the Santa breakfast on Saturday, watching our Dawgs play for the SEC title, going to Fantasy in Lights and doing all of the other Christmas activities on our Christmas Bucket List, celebrating Christmas with our loved ones, and most of all, HAVING MY BROTHER, SIS-IN-LAW, AND NEPHEW HOME FOR THREE GLORIOUS WEEKS IN DECEMBER.  Y’all, it has been one whole year since I’ve gotten to see my sweet baby nephew in person and I am DYING to get my hands on him!!  He’s one and a half now and he is at SUCH a fun age.  Jacob and Olivia are going to adore him.  It is truly going to be the most wonderful time of the year!

What I’m Watching/Reading

Watching – Aaaallll the Christmas specials – Trolls Holiday, Pentatonix Christmas, CMA Country Christmas, Christmas in Rockefeller Center, The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show!  I am a SLAVE to Christmas specials.  And Brian’s rolling his eyes at this as he’s reading this.  Hehe.

Reading – the second installment of Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter series… this one is Winter Stroll.  It’s really good and it’s the perfect time of year to read it!

What I’m Listening To

CHRISTMAS MUSIC!  Oh, and lots of Taylor’s new album.  I LOVE it.

What I’m Wearing

Lots of Christmasy tops, boots, scarves, the whole wintery nine yards.  And loving every second of it. 



What I’m Doing This Weekend

Can you say Christmas stuff?  Christmas tree lighting and parade downtown, breakfast with Santa Saturday morning, watching the SEC Championship game on Saturday afternoon, and celebrating my nephew’s birthday on Sunday!

What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month

Everything. 

What Else Is New

Emily told me about this tea she is loving called Hot Cinnamon Sunset Tea, and I tried it for the first time this week.  YOU.  GUYS.  It is the best tea I’ve ever had in my entire life.  If you love cinnamon then you need to buy some of this pronto.  You know how deliciously strong a Red Hot is when you first put it in your mouth?  This tea tastes just like that!  It is so rich that it even satisfies my craving for Starbucks.  I don’t even have to put anything in mine.  I just steep the teabag in hot water for five minutes and then drink up.  I’ve already had three cups this week!  Thank you thank you, Emily for discovering this and sharing the wealth!


Another new thing for this month - Maui finally got a hair cut!  Woo hoo!  We rarely had time to get her there when I was working because they have such weird hours, but now, I can take her any time!  Isn't she adorable?  


Enjoy your day, everybody!


*Linking up with Sparkles and Lattes for Confessional Thursday and Home of Malones for Thoughts for Thursday.


Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Best Holiday Graphic Tees for the Whole Fam

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Y’all know I love a good graphic tee!  I have loads of them, and the catchier the phrase on the shirt, the better.  I thought today that I’d combine my love of graphic tees with my love of Christmas because BOOM – you get holiday hilarity!  Where do people come up with this stuff anyway?

F O R  H E R

Is 35 too old to wear graphic tees?  No, okay then!  I would totally wear all of these.  They are all so cute, and some of them are just so darn clever it’s hilarious.  Number 12, y’all, I CAN’T!  That is good stuff.  I would like one of each of these please and thank you.



F O R  H I M

There weren’t as many options for the guys, but some of the options I found were pretty darn good. 



F O R  T H E  K I D S

And who doesn’t love a tiny little kiddo in a snarky shirt?!  #ParentsOfTheYearOverHere



Happy shopping, y’all!

*Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I What I Wore, Pumps & Push Ups for Oh, Hey Girl! Link-Up, The Mummy ChroniclesTucker UpShopping My Closet for Style Me Wednesday, Classy Yet Trendy for Trendy Wednesday Link-Up, The Blended Blog and Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday and Three Boys and a Girl for Christmas Gift Link-Up.




Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Christmas Bucket List 2017

It’s almost December so you know what that means… it’s time for a new bucket list!  And this happens to be my favorite bucket list of the entire year because it’s our Christmas bucket list!

We have lots of Christmas traditions so some of these you may have seen before, but as always, I like to add a few new things to do, too.

O N E – Decorate

Y’all know I go all out with the Christmas decorating each year so I start early.  As a matter of fact, I start so early that I’m already done.  I can’t wait to share our home tour with you soon… I had a great time decorating the bar cart this year!



T W O – Select Kids from the Giving Tree at Church

Our church puts up a tree each year with loads of people on it who are in need of items for Christmas.  Every year we select a couple and go shopping for them.  We love to give to those in need, especially this time of year!

T H R E E – Celebrate 10 Years

I can’t even believe that B and I will have been married for ten years in December.  INSANE.  Each year around this time we like to have a Brian and Lindsay’s Day O Fun where we take the kids to school and then spend the rest of the day together.  This year I think we are going to do that in conjunction with our anniversary because it happens to fall on a Friday!  Fun fun!




F O U R – North Pole Breakfast

I have been wanting to do one of these for years, so this year is finally the year!

F I V E – Christmas Tree Lighting for Brian’s Company

B works for a huge company here in town and they do a big Christmas tree lighting each year complete with hot chocolate and treats, horse and buggy rides, and, of course, Santa.  They ask all of the employees to bring a gift for a child in need, so it’s another great opportunity to give back. 




S I X – Christmas Tree Lighting Downtown

This Christmas tree lighting is always my favorite… B and I have been attending since before we even had kids!  They have a parade, carolers, and “snow.”  You just can’t beat that!




S E V E N – Breakfast with Santa

We attended this for the first time last year and the kids have been talking about it ever since.  It’s on the calendar for this Saturday morning and we are so excited!




E I G H T – Watch Georgia Play in the SEC Championship Game

This one isn’t technically a Christmas thing to do, but I can’t post this bucket list without mentioning – watch our Georgia Bulldogs play in the SEC Championship game!  We have had such an amazing season this year and it would be incredible to get a win!

N I N E – Annual Girls’ Scarf & Ornament Exchange

My girlfriends and I have been doing this for years and this year is no exception.  We are hoping that in addition to our scarf & ornament exchange and dinner that we are going to try to go see Bad Moms Christmas, too!    




T E N – Aaaallll the Christmas movies!

Love Actually, Home Alone, Serendipity, The Santa Clause, Elf, Polar Express… Oh my goodness, none of these ever get old.  I’m all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it! 




E L E V E N – Ramp Up Our Elf on the Shelf Game

Our beloved elf, Cheek, has returned, and I’m hoping to be a little more creative with him this year since I’ll have more free time SINCE I DON’T WORK ANYMORE!  What?  It is still so weird saying that.

T W E L V E – Fantasy in Lights

There is a place called Fantasy in Lights in Pine Mountain, GA and we have been making the trip almost every year since I was little to look at their amazing lights.  It’s a five mile strip that is covered in lights and it’s pretty incredible.  We always ride the tram to make it even more festive and our kids love it. 




T H I R T E E N – Drive Around and Look at Lights

We pack up the babies, and drive through the very best neighborhoods in town while listening to Christmas carols.  One of my very favorite things to do!

F O U R T E E N – Visit With the Mall Santa

The kids have already asked when we’ll go, so I’m thinking the sooner the better!




F I F T E E N – Indulge in at Least One Peppermint Mocha

We are obviously on a tighter budget now since I no longer bring home any money, so I’m cutting out Starbucks.  I do want to indulge at least once, though.  I can’t not get a Peppermint Mocha at least once.




S I X T E E N – New Ornaments for Each of the Kids

Each year we add new ornaments to our big Christmas tree – one for Jacob, and one for Olivia.  I like to get one of their favorite things from the year so we can look back and remember what they were obsessed with any given year.

S E V E N T E E N – Send Out Christmas Cards

Another thing that we do every year… I need to hurry up and get started!

E I G H T E E N – Atlanta Botanical Gardens Christmas Lights

I’ve heard that this is amazing, but since it would likely require an overnight stay I’m not sure that we’ll manage to get there this year since our weekends are already filling up.  If we don’t make it to this one, then I’m hoping to make it to our local botanical garden’s Christmas lights.

N I N E T E E N – Christmas Eve Childrens’ Mass

Celebrate baby Jesus at my favorite mass of the entire year!  So magical.




T W E N T Y – Host Christmas

My aunt and uncle who usually host Christmas will be out of town this year, so we will be having my entire extended family (around 30 people) over to our house on Christmas evening.  I LOVE to host, so I can’t WAIT!

T W E N T Y – O N E – Serve a Signature Christmas Cocktail

Since we’re hosting Christmas this year I want to come up with some kind of festive cocktail to serve Christmas evening.  I have some ideas of what I want, but I need to narrow it down to one and perfect it first.  Anybody wanna come be a taste tester?  ;o)

T W E N T Y – T W O – Snow Mountain in Atlanta

Stone Mountain in Atlanta has Snow Mountain every year during the winter.  They create snow and they have sledding and other fun snow activities.  I am DYING to get the kids there because we just never get snow here and I know they would love it.  Jacob has seen snow once because it snowed when I was eight months preggo with Olivia, but Olivia has never seen it.  I don’t even think she would know what to do!  Haha.

I am thrilled to be off during this time of year so I can soak every last bit of this up with Brian and the babies!   




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

Hosted by:

Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Becky at BYBMG | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
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Sarah at Sarah E. Frazer | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Whitney at Polka-Dotty Place | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram



Monday, November 27, 2017

Thanksgiving Week

What a week!  We have been busy little bees this week and it has been such a great one!  Since I was off the whole week there is a lot to recap, so grab a cup of coffee and settle in… it’s going to be a long one!

Jacob was off all week and I kept Olivia home Tuesday through Sunday so we had a lot of family time!  Monday I got the house cleaned up and got caught up on laundry and then Tuesday the kids and I ran to Target, met B for lunch, and then played on the playground all afternoon because the weather was perfect.



B was off starting Wednesday so we had a five-day weekend, which was nice.  We started off the day Wednesday by taking the kiddos to see The Star.  If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.  It was SO good… I may have even teared up a little… or a lot.  It’s about the birth of Jesus and it’s rated G so it’s suitable for all ages.  :o)


After the movie we had Five Guys for lunch and then we did a bit of shopping.  Kohl’s had a giant Abominable Snowman so the kids had to get a picture, of course!  The rest of the afternoon was spent taking down the fall décor and getting ready for the Christmas décor to go up!



Wednesday evening I headed to happy hour with some coworkers… or ex-coworkers, I guess I should start calling them.  ;o)  We had a few rounds of beers and then we headed to a nearby bar for some karaoke.  It was like old times going out the night before Thanksgiving… that used to be Brian’s and my favorite night to go out before we had kids!  ;o)  It was odd being away from my family the night before, though, but this was the night that everyone wanted to meet so we all just rolled with it!





Thursday morning we were up bright and early for homemade waffles and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  B went out and grabbed a newspaper and we spent the morning perusing the Black Friday ads even though we so rarely go out on Black Friday.  #Tradition


We met my father-in-law and the rest of B’s fam at the country club at noon for lunch.  Their food is always so delicious, and we dined on ham, turkey, dressing, green beans, black eyed peas, sweet potato soufflé, and loads of different desserts.  Their chocolate chip cookies are some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had in my entire life and they are pretty much my favorite thing about Thanksgiving lunch every year!  And fun fact, this country club is where we had our rehearsal dinner before our wedding, so every time we go there I’m flooded with lots of wonderful memories!

After lunch we headed to walk by the river.  The day was gorgeous – sunny, low sixties, and a little breeze.  The leaves are right around their peak here in our city, and we really enjoyed all of the fall foliage. 











After our walk, my sis-in-law and her family headed out, but we decided to stay a little longer and take the kids to their favorite playground since it was just down the block.  The leaves by the playground were seriously stunning, so we snapped a few shots while the kids played. 














The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and cooking, and then we headed to my aunt and uncle’s house for Thanksgiving dinner with my family at 5:30.  We all enjoyed some wine and we stuffed ourselves with more delicious food, and the evening was pretty much perfect.  We were missing a few family members as always… my brother, SIL, and nephew, my cousin and her family, and one of my other cousins and his wife.  They all happened to call to Facetime right around the same time and my aunt and uncle were holding phones up to phones so the Facetimers could see the other Facetimers.  It was a hoot!



We got home a little after 9 and the babies fell fast asleep.  B and I watched an episode of Stranger Things and then we called it a night.  I could not be more thankful for this sweet life of ours and the traditions we have created together.  <3

Friday has always been my day to decorate the entire house for Christmas and that’s exactly what we did.  We decorated for six straight hours before finally getting ready and heading out to get our tree.  We stopped by the playground on the way to let the kids get some fresh air because it was another gorgeous day!







At the Christmas tree place, we ended up finding our tree right away, which never happens!!  We ended up getting the second tree that the guy showed us!  Definitely a record!  We loaded it up, swung by our favorite place to grab a pizza, and then we spent the evening eating and decorating. 








The Trolls Holiday Special was on Friday evening, so after we decorated the tree we all sat down with some popcorn and watched that.  It was so cute, just like the first Trolls movie.  I, of course, adore JT, so he can do no wrong in my eyes.  ;o)





Saturday morning I arranged our first North Pole breakfast.  I’ve seen so many people doing them and I knew the kids would love it, so we had one to welcome our elf, Cheek!  Funny story, though… I had planned this in advance, and I had loaded up on goodies at Target earlier in the week.  I had wanted to have everything laid out the night before so it would be ready when the kids went downstairs on Saturday morning, but Friday night when B and I were almost asleep he said, “So we’re doing that North Pole breakfast tomorrow, right?”  I was like OH NOOOO!  I had completely forgotten about it and therefore hadn’t set up a single thing. 

Well, in the morning, the kids went downstairs the same time we did and we just parked them in front of the TV for a few minutes and I totally set everything up right there behind their backs.  All it would have taken was one of them to turn around or to get up and go to the bathroom and the surprise would have been ruined, but fortunately I was able to get everything set out without anyone even noticing. 

When we called them over to the table they were both SO excited.  Cheek had brought them new ornaments for the tree – a Darth Vader ornament for Jacob and a Belle ornament for Olivia – as well as two kinds of donuts, gingerbread men, and candy canes.  They were thrilled.








The rest of the day was spent doing nothing but watching football.  We watched ESPN College Game Day followed by the Georgia/Georgia Tech game (we whooped ‘em) followed by the Alabama/Auburn game followed by the Clemson/South Carolina game.  I did do a little bit of paperwork catch-up during aaaallll the football, though!  I got my planner organized and caught up, I sorted through a bunch of junk mail, and I also organized my to-do lists.  Whew.  I was so behind on “life stuff” that I was afraid I had dropped the ball on something.  Thank goodness I hadn’t! 

Sunday we were up at the crack of dawn to go to the early mass and the kids were absolute angels.  I was so proud of them.  Afterward, we headed back home for a bit and then at lunchtime we headed to my MIL and step-FIL’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving one last time.  I brought pineapple casserole (I really need to put the recipe on here sometime) and we also had turkey, dressing, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, broccoli, peas, and lots of other yummy stuff followed by chocolate chip cookies, brownies, snickerdoodles, and a pumpkin roll for dessert.  And yes, I ate all four desserts.  Haha.  SO GOOD.

Sunday evening was spent relaxing at home and gearing up for the new week.  The kids are back at school this week and B is back at work, and this will be my first week of being a stay at home mom… this past week felt like holiday vacation so it didn’t really count in my book.  ;o) 

On the agenda for the day?  DOING ALL THE THINGS.  My to do list is so freaking long I honestly don’t even know where to start.  What I do know is that I’ll be heading over to the gym for an extra long workout because I’m pretty sure I put on about five pounds this weekend with all of the yummy food!

Happy Monday, y’all!


*Linking up with B Loved Boston for WeekendingMy Glittery Heart for Hello Monday,  More Pieces of Me for Hello Monday Linkup, and HoHo Runs for Weekly Wrap.