Looks this Week

ONE - cropped black denim under $50

TWO - would you believe these earrings are $20? They come in other colors too. 

THREE - I like the flowy-ness of this workout tank. 

FOUR - the 'end of November' me wants to buy this dress for the Christmas parties or any other festive occasion this Fall/Winter!

FIVE - love these cute suede booties 

SIX - this color is so pretty and I like the fit of this shirt too. 

First Days of School

Molly Anne started school on Monday! She was not nervous or any of that. She even picked out her own outfit and I thought she looked cute as a button! She is SUPER excited about her teacher this year and I am too.  

TBBC White Top

Jean skirt

Apple necklace

Scalloped bow (check J Crew Factory for good headbands for girls!)

Cowgirl boots 

Grady didn't go until Tuesday because they do a staggered start so the teachers can place the children properly. He was sooooo excited! He will get his teacher tomorrow and start full time on Tuesday. 











There was little transition. One of our friends who is a teacher at the school, said, "let's go grady!" And he didn't even look back at us! Makes this mama feel good! I know he's happy and in the right place. Always trust your gut! He is ready!! 


No tired like first day of Kindergarten tired! Molly Anne was the same way after her first day. They were both used to daycare and they still get this racked out! So wild! 

Big changes are never easy for children or parents. I have quite a transition coming up for how I'm going to shape my days now that I'm not living in a car for an extra hour or two every day. First time they're at the same school except for one time for about 8 months (short covid school year). It'll be interesting to see how things shake out! I'll keep you all updated on my new life! 

Meals this Week

It's back to school week and I need to get my life together. It was a good summer but wild for a lot of other reasons. I need some structure in my world and meal planning every weekend and then ordering groceries helps me in a big way. I also chop and clean all fruits and veggies on Sunday afternoon. It gets me ahead of the game for packing lunches, and easier other meals. 

This is the easy meals we have on the menu this week:

1. Sliders, steamed broccoli, sweet potato fries

2. Sub in a tub...idea via Jersey Mikes which I eat for lunch too often. The kids loved this last night. I got small rolls for them but I think the reason they liked it so much is they got to make their own! 

3. Spaghetti. The ole trusty. 

4. Mexican chicken bowls - rotisserie chicken from Sam's, sprinkle taco seasoning on, little rice, black beans, lettuce, salsa, avocado, sour cream

Easy is the name of the game! I'll probably do something shrimp related next week. Will definitely share if it ends up being good!

Last Weekend of Summer

I'd like to make a statement. My kids had a dream summer and they don't even know it! Well I hope they do but they think their life is normal! So there's that! Thankful that we get to do the things we do! And I'm very grateful for the time spent with them this summer. For alllll of the special moments and memories. Some written here and a lot not. Just precious, precious time with these two love buckets. They're at the best ages (5 and 8) and they love each other to pieces and I'm just so thankful. 

ANYWAY!

Grady and I went for a bike ride in our hood. He was very glad that his bike worked the same here as it did in Maryland!

Friday night we went to the Larry Fleet and Parker McCollum concert uptown Charlotte at the mini amphitheater. It was hotter than hinges but we survived! It was a great concert. Larry Fleet can sing. Watch for him 

Saturday we went to the pool for awhile then headed to Beef and Bottle for Kevin's dads birthday dinner! 

We scooted back to the hood and made the tail end of an end of summer party at our clubhouse! Kids ran around and swam like wild people and the adults socialized. It was honestly pretty perfect. The DJ was awesome. 

Sunday to church, brunch and back to the pool! Molly Anne, Grady and Neyland. 

Grilled burgers, steamed broccoli and air fried sweet potatoes for dinner. 

First day of school for Molly Anne is today! Grady's is tomorrow. They do staggered entry based on last name for Kindergartners. He starts full time next Tuesday! We are all very excited for the new year!

Five on Friday - Open House, Tennis etc

1. Molly Anne had open house last night and met her teacher and found out who was in her class. We loved her teacher and it's going to be a great year!

2. Had a tennis match last night and I'll be honest - it was kind of rough. We ended up winning but a couple of the gals were pretty rude to each other. And it became a big thing with their other teammates chiming in. I do not like conflict ever and this honestly made me crazy. It's a 2.5 league not Wimbledon but either way there is no place to act that way. I've played enough sports to know how to act on a field or court and the way this went last night, they should be embarrassed. At the end of the day, I let the score talk. And more importantly, be a lady... this town is too small for that mess and we are too old! 

3. We had the best trip to Maryland and drove back on Wednesday (9 hours good times). These two are endlessly close and I'm glad we had the time together. I have a lot of working mom guilt sometimes and occasionally blame my kids behavior on me not being around enough. This was good to be together. 

4. I have a big grocery haul that I'm picking up today. I actually meal planned for the first week of school! Will share more next week. Simple stuff!

5. This week has been sort of full of long work days. Like until midnight the other night then back up at 5am. This too shall pass. 

Happy weekend friends!

Thursday

ONE - I love this pull on skirt and kind of want one in every color. Best part is that it's machine wash. 

TWO - my friend Lauren recommended these adorable flats and they're so cute, comfortable and classic. Perfect for work or fun. I was going to cancel my order after I placed it and I'm SO glad I didn't. It said 10 weeks to receive but took more like 3 weeks instead. 

THREE - my flops that I wear for the beach and pool are on sale. 

FOUR - a pretty dress

FIVE - I want to try these slides - the reviews say how comfortable they are. 

SIX - this dress. They do solid colors so well and I always look forward to seeing the new collections. This is a knit jacquard. I'd wear this to work or to a party. 

Maryland Part Two

For Mom's birthday dinner we went to a place on the water called Suicide Bridge. I know, sounds funny but this place is amazing. It's casual but nice if that makes sense. The food is amazing. You only know about the place if you 're from around here. You can boat to it. It's just awesome.

First up, gin and tonic and cream of crab on top of Maryland crab soup. 

Dad got baked rockfish with crab imperial. Kevin got the same thing but he got his rockfish blackened. The stewed tomatoes as a side are so, so good.

Mom and I got stuffed jumbo shrimp - it's stuffed with crab imperial. Yes!

It was an easy place to take the kids. They loved it. Matchy matchy. Stay this little forever!

We walked onto the docks after dinner. This is a picture of the restaurant. 



They got to feed the ducks!








There was a pretty crescent moon. It was just a perfect evening in all of the ways. 



Saturday morning early walk near the river. There is water everywhere here. 


More bike riding with Poppa! We kind of just messed around the house on Saturday. Kevin washed my Dad's car and we all hung out. It's nice to just be if that makes sense. Something we rarely do at home. 



Saturday late afternoon we took Kevin to the airport to fly back to Charlotte so he could get our world together there and work some. The kids were soooo sad that we couldn't even stay at the airport to watch him off because Molly Anne wouldn't stop crying - it was kind of crazy. I think we've had a lot of together time so that's what caused it. So we had to rip the bandaid off and leave! 

That night we went to Red Roost to pick crabs. We saw some neighbors there and had the best crabs. It was fun! Both kids had some crab. Grady had a bunch of shrimp too. 

Then night scooting for 5 minutes when they came home to show us their light up wheels!



Sunday we messed around. The kids and I went to Lowes and got mulch to take to the cemetary to clean up that for Mom. Then we picked up my new running shoes and went to the zoo.


The kids love the zoo here. It's really nice and well done. They insist on this picture every time. Kind of cracks me up!


The monkeys were out so that was a highlight!


More bike riding - this time to see how fast he could go down the driveway hill. 


An excursion to ride go karts, trimpers rides and play at the Playland arcade in Ocean City! She could finally go by herself!

She did great and she said she never pressed the break haha!


Grady lovesssss go karts!


Pure joy!

She rode this by herself because Grady wasn't tall enough. 

Swings!




Thrashers and Dumsers occurred of course! 

They read to and with Poppa every night!


Always good to be home home! Many fun memories always and I'm grateful for the time with my parents!