Five and Eight

I really do think I'm in this good period of having kids that are ages 5 and 8. I think it's this sweet little spot of after all the baby and toddler stuff and before all of the harder stuff as they get older. 

I'm the first to tell you - I'm not a baby person. Although of course I did love my own kids when they were babies. Haha!! 

Grady was HARD when he was younger. All of the reflux and crying and nebulizer and croup and alllll of those things. I'm so glad I trusted my gut and took that boy to the pediatric immunologist. Speaking of, he had a check in on his bloodwork last week and looking good on all of that.

Anyway! Molly Anne was easier when younger but definitely harder now. Lots of feelings there, like us girls have!  

Day to day, they don't need me as much now. They can buckle their own seatbelts, take their own baths, wake up with Alexa each morning and get dressed on their own. They could make their own food I'm sure daily as well but I doubt it'd be the healthiest!! They're easy to travel with. All of those things!

They are super close and look out for one another. They back each other up. Grady always asks for an extra of whatever for Molly Anne. Don't get me wrong, they have their moments but they LOVE each other. 

It's just a really special time and I'm so thankful. I'm thankful for each of them. And for their relationship. 

Weekend Round Up - Sports and Swim

Friday after school and work we did a couple of loops around the hood. Grady rolling deep on his big dude 20" bike! 

We just ate at home and hung out. Our typical Friday night! Mills is recovering nicely from his surgery. It's been 10 days now. He chewed one stitch out when he had just drank water and I got distracted and didn't put his cone on right away. Honestly I spend more time (and money) taking care of this puppy these days than I do my human children! 

Saturday morning Grady had flag football. Last weekend it was literally 20 degrees and this Saturday it was 65 degrees and raining. Unreal! He played AWESOME defense and I think it's all starting to click for him!

Molly Anne had a good game on Saturday too. She scored her first basket this season which was super exciting! She took a hard tumble later in the game and got the wind knocked out of her but she regrouped and went back out to play after a short break. 


We went to dinner at Brixx which was fun! We had an extra child of ours with us too haha! She is essentially part of our family anyway! 


Sunday I took Molly Anne to a big swim meet. She swam the 100 IM, 100 free and 50 back! I was so proud of her for getting out there and doing those long distances. Swimming is HARD!

Finished the weekend with choir practice and football watching! Chat soon!

Five on Friday

ONE - Grady's immunologist recommended this Flonase. She said it works better and you don't taste it as it goes down. I picked it up at Target this week so fingers crossed!

TWO - these are the items that count for plant points that I was talking about a week or two ago. We like to have fun with it! 

THREE - had this wrap from Jimmy John's as a drove from my office to an ophthalmology appointment one day this week. It's soooo good and a tad spicy! 

FOUR - 

Was at the airport on Tuesday about to scan my boarding pass to get onto the plane when the elementary school called. Grady had a fever. I turned right around and practically ran to my car. Thankful for an understanding company and cool people around me! Grady > Work Trip 

FIVE - 

Grady has honestly been fine thankfully but when he had to be home on Wednesday, while Molly Anne was at school...he asked, "how much longer until she is home" about 100 times. Like literally every 30 minutes he asked me. Isn't that the cutest thing ever? I love them together. They are TIGHT and I am so thankful. 

SIX - 

Fitting it in...sometimes I have three visitors but it got done. 

Loving These

Told yall I hated my closet! I was on a roll checking things out at night this week. I add everything to my cart then go back and look at it the next day and narrow down. Is that what you do too?! Helps me not order all of the things. 

ONE - this top is so pretty and 40% off. I snagged it...and did size up!

TWO - couldn't decide on a color to show of this this skirt because every color has so many ways to wear it!

THREE - this sweater is super pretty in person. 


FOUR - one of the problems in my closet is that I have zero "going out" outfits. They actually say this top "feels like a tshirt and looks like a going out top!" Comes in black which is probably what I'd get. 



FIVE - I have this top from years ago and wear it so much that I honestly need to get a fresh one. 



SIX - I'm kind of into this chambray popover with black jeans look. 



SEVEN - a great layering cardigan. Comes in a pretty bright green too. 

Sports Update

Now that Winter sports have started I thought it'd be fun to have a recap of what's going on in our world. 

Grady:

Tennis once a week

Flag football practice one week night, game on Saturday

Molly Anne:

Tennis once a week

Basketball practice one week night, game on Saturday

Swim 2-3 times a week, typically only twice during week after school

Grady is on the waitlist to start swim back up. I wanted him to have a "lighter Fall/Winter" to get adjusted to Kindergarten. Tennis is super flexible too which I love that part of it. 

Julie helps me by taking Molly Anne to swim both days. I pick her up. She also takes them to tennis which is super helpful. Otherwise I'm on the kid's Uber driver ha! Kevin helps when I'm out of town for work. 

What's the best way to stay out of trouble?! Keep 'em busy! Plus, I love the physical activity they get. And they learn how to be part of a team. All wins in my book and totally worth the effort of carting them around everywhere!

Meals this Week and Big Sale

A basic little menu this week! The soup was my big hurrah to make. Everything else needs to be quick. Although the soup probably only took me 25 minutes to make. 

Zuppa Toscana soup - this is a copy cat Olive Garden recipe that was surprisingly super good. Molly Anne loved it. 

Make your own baked potatoes (aka put your own cheese and sour cream on it) with fruit on the side

Fajita bowls - black beans, white rice, cilantro lime sauce, seasoned diced chicken, salsa, roasted red & orange peppers & sweet onion

Tomato soup and grilled cheese 

Tacos

PS - the tuckernuck sample sale is happening now and is sooooo good!!

Weekend - sports, choir and out

Mills had four cysts removed on Friday. He's doing really well and having these removed is going to help him. One is on his neck and I had been trying to get it to stay closed since early November. It popped every time I walked him and he loves to go for walks!

Friday night in and watching Instagram videos of magnatiles then making them!

Saturday morning it was 20 degrees but there we were on the football field! He had an awesome catch and ran it to the 1 yard line! I was so proud of him!

Back to check on the puppy. 


Molly Anne had a fun basketball game!




Then we went out uptown charlotte with old friends from when we lived in the high rise condo building up there. We went to Aria and it was DELISH! Kale Caesar...


Chicken parm and dirty gin martini 

Always good times with this crew. We missed David and Jenn!


Molly Anne sung "Wonderful" at church on Sunday morning and it was so special. Grady even stayed in the entire service with us like a good boy!


We had brunch at the club with friends then Grady had Cayden's 6th birthday party Sunday evening!



Watching the football games was also fun this weekend!

Back to it this week! I hate my whole closet and I wanna look for some clothes. Stay tuned ha!

Five on Friday

ONE - had a ride up to Indiana this week for work. Ended up in downtown Indianapolis for dinner. What a treat it was to go to St. Elmo steakhouse. Their shrimp cocktail is famous and I must report in - it was delicious and spicy! The entire meal and vibe was an experience. Glad I got to check this one off. I'll be back!

TWO - went to Cotswold Marketplace one day this week at lunch. Every time I go in there I basically want everything. The whole store has little rooms with different sellers. It's amazing. I was looking for a large round tray for our coffee table. Didn't find one but I loved this orchid to set on a table we have. 



THREE - about ready for Wimbledon! 



FOUR - it was a nice surprise to find these on my camera roll this week. I had forgotten we had taken them. Molly Anne wanted a picture with her daddy in front of the Love sign! 

FIVE - a beautiful sky for football practice!

All of the Hearts

ONE - these shorts are wonderful and on sale for $39 in so many colors!

TWO - this navy and white dress

THREE - a fabulous gift for a teacher or yourself 


FOUR - comfy sweater on sale

FIVE - the hearts got me

The Glass

Oh my gosh this piece of glass in our front door has made me CRAZY since early August. The inside of the double paned glass shattered coincidently when our cleaning ladies had been there. I'm not blaming them but it wasn't like that when we left that morning. They have cleaned our house since 2012 and they're wonderful. It was just an accident. 

ANYWAY. Since we built our house I knew the exact door and manufacturer. I had to order the glass from a company about an hour from our house and they had to get it from Raleigh. When it came in, I had to drive to get it. It was a huge heavy box for one small piece of glass! Then I had to find someone that had a lot of skill and was  able to replace it. Thankfully a friend's husband is super handy and was able to do it. And it got done last Friday. I'm SO happy that the saga is over!! We won't mention the time spent and the cost of it all. Home ownership is fun they say!!!

All fixed! 

Organizing As I Go

I've been on a mission this past week to kind of clean as I go. Like I have 15 min so take care of it kind of thing. First up was our fridge. I took everything out of a couple shelves at a time and cleaned them. It was a lot more manageable like that. 

The door was the worst part. Each of these shelves were gross. I put them in the sink and cleaned each one with hot water and dawn. 

I used my mini Dyson and took a few sections out at a time and cleaned these drawers. 




My spice drawer was kind of gross too. But not anymore!!!


Sunday I did our pantry. Goodness gracious, what a mess it was. There is still more to go but I took care of these two sections!




Just do a little at a time and it's not as intimidating! I'm still on a mission. I do the playroom about once a month and that's made it a lot more manageable. That room drives me insane!! Ha!