Show and Tell Tuesday- Best Day Ever

Hey ya'll! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I went to Charlotte with Patrick's aunt for a wedding shower for her daughter. It was a nice get away for me! The boys had a fun sleepover with their grandaddy on Saturday night while Patrick too a night at the hospital to be with his mama.

Today I'm joining Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday. The topic this week is "best day ever".  When thinking about what the best day ever would look like for me I could go one of two days, I could go the best day ever if I had no responsibilities and children, that would include a spa day all to myself. However since I have two precious little loves I definitely would want to spend the day with them so I'm going that route!

The best day ever for me would start with Patrick being off work. My boys would sleep in (naturally). We would all get up and go get donuts for breakfast. If I'm really going to dream big I have to say that the best day ever would also be spent at Disney World. But of course the temperatures would not be hot and there would be no lines, in a perfect world :)

We would spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. There is something about that place that literally is so magical. Seeing it through Jack's eyes back in March has me really wishing we could all go back, Grahammy included.

Of course when you're at Disney World it's a must to enjoy all the yummy treats you can find. Calories obviously don't could on this day. My boys would not have any melt downs and they would naturally get along all day. We would ride all the rides that we wanted to over and over. The boys would get to see Mickey and Minnie and several other characters. Seeing the smiles on their faces would make the whole day worth it.

So that's a total dream world right there. If we are talking reality I think the best day ever would include lots of family time. Good weather. and no whining/crying! I can easily have the best day ever as long as I'm with my peeps!

What would the best day ever look like for you?

*linking up with Lindsay for Tuesday Talk

Five Things That Bring Me Joy

Friday, I am so glad to see you! This has been the never ending week. I don't know why, nothing major has happened but man it's felt like Friday since about Wednesday.

Today I am doing a little different for my five on Friday, instead of my favorites for the week I'm sharing five things that bring me joy!

O N E | Naps....Ya'll, I LOVE a good nap. Like could take one every day, and some days I do. Nothing better to me than cuddling up on the sofa for a mid afternoon snooze.

T W O | A clean house.... I love looking out into my kitchen, den, playroom and seeing everything put in its place. No clutter on the counters, toys put away. But lets be honest here, that literally only happens every Tuesday and lasts until my boys wake up from naps. I am starting to really try and put things away and not let them pile but my boys are tornados so its pointless to put the toys away every single time they get them out.

T H R E E | Putting Graham to bed...While the initial struggle to get him to settle down doesn't always bring me joy, the moments after books when we are sitting in the dark and his head is on my shoulder and we are singing songs, and having a little chat. There is nothing better. I always end it with "I love you" and he responds back "I lu you" melt. me.

F O U R | Conversations with Jack...this boy has such the imagination. Yesterday when asking why he had a red mark on his cheek he responded with "Mom, I was in the jungle and a dinosaur bit my cheek. It was a pterodactyl!! It bit me!!" I mean life with boys is never dull..the fact that he even knew what a pterodactyl is made me laugh.

F I V E | Patrick.... Of  course I couldn't leave off my sweet hubs. He brings me so much joy every day. His hard work and dedication to his family is like none other. I love him to pieces and really couldn't get through the days without him!



*Linking up with Wife Mommy Me, Cup of Tea, Momfessionals, Smidge of This

Coffee Talk

If we were sitting down with a cup of coffee these are some of the things that I would share with you..

// My MIL is back in the hospital. The infection has not cleared like we thought and we are back to figuring out how to get rid of it so she can get back to chemo and kicking cancers butt.

// My spirits have been so down lately. I try so hard to stay positive and keep everything light and uplighting on the blog but man its tough when we are dealing with such a sad situation.

// My boys keep me going! They have not skipped a beat with their Nana being in the hospital and then to rehab...They show up to visit with a smile. They both give the sweetest most tender hugs. Jack knows that Nana is sick but it doesn't bother him one bit. This makes my heart happy because when it comes down to it my heart breaks that cancer is robbing them of the wonderful woman that their nana is.  I just pray that we get our miracle and they will get to truly know just how special she is.

// Jack starts soccer in two weeks and I'm equal parts excited and regretting signing him up. ha! I I like our lazy Saturday mornings, now we are going to have to be up and out of the house before 9 am! I am also scared about Graham going with us, homeboy is going to be all over the place. I'm seriously debating getting a sitter to come over and play with him for the hour we are gone. I don't want to miss out watching jack because I'm chasing Graham around.

// I am headed to Charlotte this weekend to celebrate Patricks precious cousin with a wedding shower. I am going with his aunt Patsy and am so looking forward to a weekend of girly stuff. We are going to go to one of her dress fittings and I am hoping that I can squeeze in a visit with a few blogger girlfriends turned real life friends!

// Next week the boys don't have any camps and school doesn't start until the following week so we are packing up and heading to the mountains to see my best friend. I haven't seen her in over 2 years!! y'all, that's crazy, we both have had second babies and not met them! I can't wait to squeeze her neck and watch our kids play, funny enough, she has 2 girls who are stepping stones to my boys, and have red hair! It's going to be the cutest little friend fest!

// I have convinced Patrick to let me get estimates on getting new counter tops in our kitchen! This is something I've wanted to do for awhile. We have dark granite and it's fine, but I definitely would love to brighten it up with some white. I have found a quartz that I love! Stay tuned...we will see if he actually lets me pull the trigger and do it!

Okay that is enough chatting. Thank you so much for letting me be a bit of a downer lately. This is definitely my outlet and I am such a sharer that I can't just keep this in. Come back tomorrow, I'm sharing 5 things that bring me joy!

*linking up with Annie and Danielle

Weekend Recap + $10 at Target Giveaway! {August}

Hey ya'll! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a low key one. Friday night I had girls night with some other preschool mamas and it was just what I needed. We had the best time chatting and laughing until I had tears streaming down my face.

Saturday was a lazy day, we went and visited my MIL for a bit and then all came home and took naps. Jack had a sleepover with my FIL that night and was so excited. Graham didn't go this time so it was just a special Jack and Grandaddy night. They did some work at my FIL office and went back and hung out with Nana before going home for a late bedtime. He even had McDonalds twice that day (gasp!), he was so happy I didn't even care one bit! We enjoyed an evening with just Grahammy and after he went to bed we grilled Lamb Chops and had a nice little date night in. Patrick ended the night watching some GOT and I watched "The Shack", it was such a thought provoking movie, I really loved it.

Sunday my MIL came home from the rehab center and we all enjoyed lunch together. I think it was good for her to get out for a bit but it really wore her out. The rest of the day was spent just hanging around with the boys!

Now for my $10 at Target this month! I actually did not go shopping for this link up because....we are doing a giveaway!! Instead of spending $10 at Target we teamed up and are giving away a gift card to Target to one lucky reader! We thought with it being back to school time so many of you could use a little gift card either to spend on yourself or put towards your kiddos and school supplies! All you have to do is follow the rafflecoptor link to enter!

This giveaway will go through Tuesday, August 29th.


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Now just because I didn't spend $10 at Target this month doesn't mean you didn't! So link up below with us and show us what you got!

Meet Your Hosts! 

Stephanie | Wife Mommy Me

Beth | Our Pretty Little Girls 

Becky | By BMG 

Tif | Bright on a Budget 

Christine |Sword Fights and Starry Nights

Ashley | Ashley Newell

Emily | Three Boys and a Girl

Shani | Sunshine and Munchkins

Sarah | Foxy Domesticside

Johannah | Johannah Sirois

Stephanie | The Gifty Girl 

Kristyn | Everyones Sleeping But Mom

Danielle | Sparkles and Lattes 

Jess | Secrets of a SAHM 

An InLinkz Link-up

Friday Favorites

Happy Fri-yay!! This has been a pretty good week. The boys have been wild as ever but overall there haven't been many major meltdowns, so I'm calling that a win!

My favorites from this week..

O N E | The Beachwaver...I ordered this a few months ago per one of my girlfriends recommendations. I love how easy it is to curl your hair, all you do is clamp and push and hold the button and it rotates as far up as you want. My curls stay much longer when I use this vs a normal curling iron. I stumbled upon mine onsale on amazon, so be on the look out for it to drop and thats when I'd get it!

T W O | Wet Brush... Ya'll, if you do not have one of these run to Target or oder one off amazon NOW! I have the worst tangles after a shower and would be in so much pain ripping through my hair with a paddle brush. Well the wet brush has bristles that move with your hair and I can now get out of the shower and brush through the tangles without pain and pulling hair out. Also, great for little girls who don't like to have their hair brushed!

T H R E E | Haircuts..The boys both got a haircut the other day. I have been so lucky that both boys sit so still for a haircut. I give them a sucker and they are happy as can be. I die every time I see Grahammy with a haircut, his little face and those curls get me every time!

F O U R | Update on my MIL.. While she is still in rehab recovering from the infection we are noticing that each day seems to be getting a little better. Her strength recovery is slow but I see improvements each time I see her. She goes back next week for an apt with the oncologist and we pray that she will be able to resume chemo treatments in the coming weeks..pray!

F I V E | Moms Night Out.. I am fortunate that Jacks preschool class has a group of moms that I have gotten to know and love. We frequently try to get together with and without kids. So when one of them texted asking if anyone wanted to do a Moms Night Out Friday night we all quickly responded with "YES!". So tonight Patrick is having boys night with the boys and I'm going to dinner with these ladies. It's so nice to have a group of women who are in the same season of life as me!

Other than going out tomorrow night we don't have any plans for the weekend. I'm sure a donut shop visit will be in order. Have a happy Friday and weekend!



*Linking up with Claire, Andrea, April, Jennie, Anna, Tiff , Amanda, katie

Whats Hap-pinning Wednesday {August 16}

Since its back to school time I'm starting to get things ready for the boys. I have wanted to start a few "traditions" to help get them excited over starting school each year. Getting some new back to school books to read the night before school starts is a great way to start. I bought a few of these last year and plan to add to our collection and get one or two more for this year.

There are so many options out there and tons that can tailor to whatever grade your child is entering. These are just a handful of the ones Ive found and ones that I know my boys would enjoy reading.

one // two // three // four // five // six // seven // eight

So what are some first day of school traditions you have? I'd love to know what you do and maybe it'll be something I want to start doing with my boys! 

*linking up with Jenn

Summer Questions from The Blended Blog

Good Monday morning! I hope ya'll had a great weekend. We didn't do a whole lot, in fact I took like zero photos. Friday night Patrick and I went to dinner with two other couples. Saturday we hung out and had some friends over for pizza that night. Sunday Patrick and I went to see his mom for a bit and then I went to Raleigh to visit my friends baby who's in the hospital up there. Low key, but a pretty good weekend!

Last week I didn't get to participate in The Blended Blog's monthly questions so I figured that I'd go ahead and do it this week! Enjoy getting to know me just a little better..

1. Pool, lake or ocean? I'd say I love being on a lake the best, but on a boat. If I'm swimming I prefer a pool. 

2. Camping, cottage, or hotel?  Hotel for sure

3. Favorite ice cream flavor?  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, or anything Peanut Butter 

4. PJs, nightgown, tshirt/shorts or birthday suit?  I love a night gown, something super soft! 

5. Fave summer beverage?  I am not a big drinker (thanks to my Crohn's) so my drink of choice anytime is a Diet Coke...so boring I know! 

6. Would you rather be hot or cold?  Cold, definitely cold! You can always put more on, you can only take so much off  

7. Sandals with heels or flats?  Sandals, but I enjoy wedges every now and then! 

8. Shorts or skirts?  Dresses, but I really prefer pants (leggings to be exact hah)

9. Sit in the sun or the shade?  Shade, the teenager in me likes the sun to get tan but the recovering melanoma girl says shade all the way. 

10. Water, tea, or soda coke?  Diet coke

11. Fave summer fruit/vegetable?  Corn and Strawberries

12. Sunrise or sunset?  Nothing beats a Michigan Sunset! 

13. Bike ride or walk?  Walk 

14. Winery or brewery?  Brewery

15. Garden or no garden?  I would love to have a garden, but my husband doesn't believe I'd ever keep it up (he's right!) so I will just enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor! 

16. Big summer concert or music in the park?  Big summer concert!

17. Fave cookout food?  Burgers/hotdogs 

18. Dine indoors or patio?  Inside unless its not hot/humid and there are no bugs. (I'm so needy)

19. Fave summer destination  Torch Lake, Michigan

20. Big theme park or local carnival?  Unless its Disney World I say neither! 

21. Drinks blended or on the rocks?  I do love a pina colada! 

22. Popsicle or freeze flavor of choice?  I love the blue flavor ice pops

23. Hot dog or hamburger?  Cheeseburger 

*linking up with Biana, Heather

Our Trip to Torch Lake

So, it's taken me way too long to recap this trip of ours. I am sure at this point it's not even interesting to you but I want to be able to look back and see this for myself! Our trip was so wonderful and low key, I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking since our days were spent doing most of the same thing, playing by the water and hanging out. I don't think besides two outings that the kids left the house.

Our trip started very early Tuesday morning. We had a 6 am flight which means we had to leave our house at 3 am to drive the hour to the airport, check in and make it to our gate. Which we barely did, who knew that the airport was hopping at 5 am! The boys did pretty well with the flight, I was shocked neither one slept at all considering they were up at 3 am. We had about 30 min of sitting on the runway before we took off which was annoying. We had a layover in Detroit and originally we were only supposed to have an hour layover, which would have given us enough time to get to our gate and change diaper/potty before boarding our next flight. Well, we had an hour delay and all the boys wanted to do was run around, which was great for them. Not so great for Patrick and me who just wanted to chill..jokes on us!

We arrived in Traverse City about 10 and were at the house by 11:15!

The Next 10 days were spent playing on the water, chasing Grahammy around (thankfully we had an awesome local sitter who came every day) and eating some wonderful meals!

The Next 10 days were spent playing on the water, chasing Grahammy around (thankfully we had an awesome local sitter who came every day) and eating some wonderful meals! 

 The sunsets in northern Michigan are like nothing you've ever seen! We saw some spectacular ones but this was by far the best!

We took family photos one morning, everyone did awesome and there wasn't one major meltdown from anyone. Can't wait to see them!

Our babysitter lives on an Elk farm and has tons of animals so we took a field trip one even over there!

 My mom and I took the boys to one of the many orchards up there. They have a fun play place and we got the best donuts!

My dad's garden is amazing, he has over 100 hydrangea plants and they are all gorgeous! 

 My dad cooked Shrimp and Grits one night, so yummy!

These two boys loved playing with each other. They explored and had so much fun chasing after one another!

 Our lake is a mile over from Lake Michigan, so one morning we took the big kids over there to hunt for rocks.

After my sisters husbands left the 3 of us and Patrick went to dinner one evening while my parents went to a neighbors party.

This was the only time we took Graham on the boat..he did love it!

We celebrated my nieces birthday with cupcakes!

Then it was time to go home! I will spare you details of our flight, lets just say it involved a lot of screaming and crying and by the time we landed in Raleigh I was almost in tears myself.

He didn't fall asleep until we were 5 minutes off the plane...

It was such a wonderful trip and one that I look forward to every single year! When thinking about my dream vacation there are a ton of places that I'd love to go..but if I had to choose one real place that I know I could go, it would be here! 

*linking up with Annie and Lindsay