Friday Favorites 1/11/2019

Happy New Year, everyone! This is my first Friday Favorites post of 2019.

My first favorite of the week is from Sunday. My parents visited last weekend and we went to iHop after church. I honestly think this may have been my first time at iHop? I got the bananas foster french toast and it was delicious. Liam got nothing because he slept the whole time. He was so cute, but I felt a little guilty that he was missing out on breakfast bc he would've enjoyed it.

My next favorite is one I've already shared on Instagram, but it is too funny not to share again. Liam had his 15 month appointment with his pediatrician on Monday, and he had to get shots, so we took him out for french fries and ice cream afterwards. This is the face he makes when I ask him to smile. 

It's been a busy week for my big boy. First week back after 3 weeks of Christmas break, new baby sitter on Monday, doctor visit on Monday as well, so by Tuesday, he was TIRED! He fell asleep on our way home from the baby sitter's Tuesday evening. 

Lee had a meeting and I had big plans for Liam and I to have a date night of the pizza truck, but I needed to stop at home and change out of my heels first. This is what I saw in my back seat when I stopped at home, so we opted to stay home for dinner. 

My next favorite thing of the week is my new coffee station in my office! I was gifted this pretty k-mini for Christmas from my in-laws, and I have coffee, hot cocoa, chai latte, and all kinds of cream and flavor to keep me going this semester. 

My second to last favorite is from dinner last night! I made my Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts as a side, but this time, I also added some purple potatoes! I bought a medley ba of small potatoes from Aldi and it had red, yellow, and purple potatoes in it. I picked a few purple ones out to cook with this dish. It was pretty, and delish. We ate it along side some grilled chicken.

My final fav is another Christmas gift, that we've put to use. Our new clock! It says, "Time spent with family is worth every minute". We've recenly finished remodeling our basement, and now it's time to decorate. We are going to hang two 11x14 framed family pictures on each side of the clock, once we find some frames that we like. 

With this being my first week back to work after Christmas vacation, we've keep things pretty quiet around here, as you can tell from my Friday Favorites. Lee and I are really trying to get Liam on a good sleep schedule, which means we've been crying it out this week at bed time (both me and Liam), but so far we're making positive progress. Liam was tired last night, and it only took him TWO minutes to fall asleep once we left his bedroom.

We don't have much planned this weekend, and that hardly ever happens! I'm hoping we can take some time to do a little shopping for basement decor and picture frames. On Saturday, there's a chance we may get a little snow, so if that's the case, we will get to take Liam out to play in it. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Let's Look! Cozy spots 1/9/18

Happy hump day, friends! Today I'm linking up with  Shay & Erika for a new link up called Let’s Look! This month we're sharing cozy spots in our homes. You can save this photo and link up as well. 

The coziest spots in our home can vary depending who in my family you ask: 

For me, I'm cozy anytime I can snag some baby snuggles. Both of these pics were just taken on the couch in our upstairs living room. 

Liam has made himself comfy in his high chair several times lately. This usually happens at lunch when he's fought off a nap all morning. 

I think all 3 of us agree that snuggling in bed is pretty cozy. 

As you can see, being together as a family is pretty cozy for us, but as far as the coziest SPOT goes, I'd have to name it our basement living room. This room has been under construction off and on for a couple YEARS. Lee did most of hte construction himself, so it took a while because he just did a little bit here and there as he had free time (and we all know how hard it is to get some free time, especially with a baby at home!)

Now our construction is mostly finished, and we can enjoy our time down there. We have a fireplace and TV downstairs, and a sectional couch. We bough the couch with our basement hangout in mind, and ALL sections of the couch recline, except for the corner, AND they are big enough that Lee and I can sit in one section together and snuggle. 

The room is L shaped, and the long part is a living room, and the short part of the L is Liam's playroom, but as you can see above, the toys end up ALL over the place. We wouldn't have it any other way! 

Next month we'll look at our favorite reads, and I'm excited to share and hopefully find some great new suggestions from everyone else! 

Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas, friends! This post is loaded with pics from our holiday celebrations. Let's dive right in:

The weekend before Christmas, my mother-in-law hosted a Grinch themed party for some family and friends. He party planning skills are top-notch... she really could be a professional. She had food, drinks, games and prizes for the kids, and more. She thought of it all. 

I snapped this cute pic: even Liam got to join in on a few of the games.

The kids threw heart shaped bean bags into the Grinch's heart shaped hole in the box. 

Lee is a member of a local men's group that has a pretty extensive collection of costumes that they wear to events, parades, etc. He borrowed the Grinch costume and showed up at the party. The kids were excited!

On Christmas Eve Eve we went to our church's candlelight service, which was beautiful, as always, and then went to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant with my mother in law, and 2 friends who also joined us for church. I failed to take pics of this fun. 

Christmas Eve started with a brunch celebration at my in-laws for my husband's immediate family. I didn't take many pics, but we did get this one of us 3. Since it was brunch, we wore or matching elf jammies. 

Liam is really into raising his arms as  way to show everyone that he is "sooo big!" 

That evening, we went to Lee's aunt's house for dinner with his mom's side of the family. I always enjoy this gathering because we get a chance to visit with several of Lee's cousins who live out of state. 

Lee's gma is Christmas Eve, so we sag Happy birthday to her. Many of her great-grand kids surrounded her. 

We captured this cute moment of Liam and his great-grandpa playing "drums" on the chair. 

 Lee's mom and aunt arranged a live nativity for Lee's gma (since it was her birthday). All of the 6 little kids shown are great-grand kids. Liam was too hot in his little drummer boy costume, so we stripped him down, and he really was only the drummer boy long enough to snap this pic. He was not feeling it. Notice baby Jesus? That's my 3 month old niece, and she was the BEST baby Jesus! She sat there swaddled quietly. Her big sis was The Virgin Mary, and she did great as well. Notice that I got to be one of the wise women, and believe it or not, this was my first Christmas "pageant" so I was excited to be included ;).

Christmas day started with breakfast and gifts at our house, just us 3. Liam had 3 gifts to open, and one bigger gift, and he really didn't care about much of it at all! Lee and I typically do not exchange gifts, but instead fill each other stockings. 

 

Check out the fake smile that Liam has down already! He already had the car, but Santa set it out so he could see how his new gas station worked with the car. His gifts had the "Something you want (gas toy), something you need (portable high chair seat), something you wear (hat x2 and gloves), and something you read (2 books).

After we exchanged gifts at home, we packed up and headed to IL for Christmas at my brothers with his family, and my mom. My mom had dinner ready for us all, and I brought cookies for everyone to decorate. 

I didn't take many pics at my brother's house, but I did get one of Liam, my mom, and his toy. My mom gifted Liam this adorable ice cream cart, which he has been playing with ever since.  

The next day we had a lazy morning at my brother's house, and then went to my cousin's house for a visit. She is prepping for her scheduled c-section THE NEXT DAY! We were so happy we got to visit quickly before things got too crazy for her and her family. Her youngest son and Liam are about 2 months apart, and look how cute they were together! 

Before heading home, we stopped at my grandparents' house for a quick visit. My grandma couldn't get over how HEAVY Liam was for her to hold (he weighs about 25 lb) haha. 

The Sunday after Christmas, we took a day trip to the St. Louis area to visit my other set of grandparents. We stopped at Trader Joe's along the way and picked up some goodies, and then spent a few hours with my gma and gpa. I'm so sad that I didn't take ANY pics. FAIL!! We stopped at Steak n Shake on the way home, and Lee did manage to snap this pic of Liam and I. 

Liam was tired and a little grouchy from so much time in the car, so I put on this silly hat to try to cheer him up. This boy LOVES french fries, so we opted for chicken tenders and fries to make him happy :) 

As you can tell, we had a busy, but GREAT Christmas filled with lots of love and family time. I'm so thankful for all of my family, and for that little baby born in Bethlehem who saved us all. Merry Christmas, friends! 

Friday Favorites 12/14/18

It's been so long since I've participated in a Friday Favorites post! I'm happy to be blogging more again, and this is one of my favorite link ups to join in on! The link up is hosted by Narci, Andrea, and Erika. Today I have 6 favorites to share:

My first FAVORITE for the day is:

HELLO CHRISTMAS BREAK!!! WOO HOO! 

I have given all of my finals and graded them all... after I submit my grades on Monday, I'm off work for THREE WEEKS! I really do love my new job, and I'm so glad I made the career swap from Financial Aid Counselor to Professor.

Another FAVORITE of mine from this week is that our Christmas shopping is F.I.N.I.S.H.E.D! No more pressure to find just the right thing. We did a pretty good mix of online and in-store shopping this year, which made the process a lot easier.

No work, and no more Christmas shopping.... what am I going to do these next 10 days between now and Christmas?! Snuggle my baby, watch Christmas movies, and BAKE! I'm looking forward to all 3 things. I'm planning to use this recipe which is one of my FAVORITE ways to make cookies bc its so easy.  I'll use red and green M&Ms to make a cookie cake for my family Christmas this weekend... I'll probably write, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS" on it.

This is a random Google image, not actually my cookie cake. 

Speaking of Christmas shopping above, one of my FAVORITES that we purchased this year was from Food for the Hungry We have been sponsoring a child for about a year and a half, which is a monthly donation that helps purchase food for her and her family. FFH also offers gifts that give back. This was great as a gift for my grandparents who have everything, and want/need nothing.

I purchased "two chickens" for a one set of grandparents. This is a gift that goes to a vulnerable family in honor of my grandparents, and can provide both food and a way for the family to earn money. For my other grandparents we purchased the gift of a household water tank that provides a vulnerable family access to clean water, in honor of my grandparents!

Once you make your donation, you get a certificate you can print out to give as the gift. I paired it with a box of chocolates, and that's my Christmas gift to each set of my grandparents!

Another FAVORITE gift that we purchased this year, was a little less thoughtful, but I think my niece and nephew will love: Altec Speakers . These things are awesome! Waterproof, sand proof, etc. and for being as small as they are, they are LOUD! We tried them out at Kohl's ($30) but ended up buying from Amazon bc they were cheaper ($25). Here is a pic below of the speaker next to a Tall Starbucks cup, so you can see how small this thing is. (This is an affiliate link above, so I will get a small Amazon credit if you purchase!)

My next FAVORITE is my little cutie in his Christmas sweater! We found it at Target, and I plan on having him wear it several times over the next two weeks. I took this pic last weekend at my work's family-friendly Christmas party. You can find Liam's sweater at Target. (this is not an affiliate link, just sharing bc the sweater is so cute!)

He wasn't sure sure about santa, but look how cute his elf sweater is! 

My last FAVORITE for the week was a little swing time with my big boy. We have this swing hanging in our garage, which gives us something to do when the weather is too cold or rainy! He LOVES it, and has even started lifting his arms if we say, "Woo Hoo!!" Its so cute!

He claps when he is excited or if we say, "Yaaay!"

Arms go up when we say "Woo Hoo!"

That's all of my favs for this week! This weekend Lee and I are going solo to his work Christmas party, then we'll spend the weekend at my dad and step-mom's house celebrating an early Christmas with some of my family. Sunday when we  get back to town, we're gonna try to take Liam to see Santa with Lee's sister and her family. I'm looking forward to all of the family time! Happy Friday, my friends!!

Weekend Recap 12/15/18

Last weekend we continued our Christmas celebrations! On Friday, the school I work for hosted a Christmas event for students, families, staff, etc. They had Santa and Mrs. Claus, a bounce house, snacks and hot chocolate, and all kinds of kids games. Liam enjoyed a few of the activities, and he was looking so cute in his little Christmas sweater.

Liam loved Mrs. Claus' glasses

He wasn't too sure about sitting on Santa's lap

The goal was to throw the hoola hoop around the stockings, but he just liked listening to it rattle.

Family pic by the "fireplace"

On Saturday, my mom came over and watched Liam for us. Lee and I picked up our friends Derrick and Kelli, and headed to Louisville, KY for the day. We stopped at a winery on the way and did a wine tasting. After the wine tasting, (I switched to water so I could drive), and we ate some salami, Gouda, and pretzels and the rest of the gang had another glass of wine. I definitely want to come back in the fall, because they have a nice deck with tables and chairs that overlooks a pretty treeline that would be extra pretty when the leaves change.

A little wine tasting with 2 of our favorite people 

After the winery, we went to Lights Under Louisville, which I definitely recommend. Lee and I have gone here 3 times now for the lights (and 2x zip lining) and it is a great light display! Its an old limestone mine, and you get to drive through the cave to see the lights. It is about a 25 minute experience. You definitely want to plan your timing, because on the weekends there's a nice wait to get into the cave. I think we waited just under an hour, but we didn't mind because we were catching up with friends.

A few pics of the lights we saw!

This ice skating rink made of lights was my fav!

Before heading home, we stopped for dinner at Monnik. This was our first time eating here, and we really enjoyed it! I didn't take any pics of our food, but we had the truffle fries as an appetizer, and Lee ordered a burger, and I had the Pub-Style Chicken Curry. It was not too spicy, but rather a little sweet. A unique choice for me, and I was glad I stepped out of my usual box.

Heading to dinner!

Of course we stopped at Starbucks before heading home, and I enjoyed my favorite Starbucks drink, Caramel Brulee Latte. The coffee + company kept me awake while driving home.

Sunday we went to our nieces' church dedication, and had some Red Lobster for lunch. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up the house and playing with our sweet Liam.

We had to take a pic of our food and send it to my dad, who loves Red Lobster, but wasn't with us for lunch. 

It was a fun weekend with a perfect mix of friend/family time, and lots of holiday fun.