Five on Friday - Week Recap

1.  We booed a few people in our hood earlier this week and it was so fun.  I put pumpkin plates, stickers, bouncy ball, swirly straws, glow sticks, spider rings, witch fingers and candy in our boo bucket!  The boys next door were so cute, they actually caught me putting it on their front porch and they came over 15 minutes later and said thank you.  It was adorable!  Thanks April for the idea!

2.  I have been loving walking with Molly Anne.  I've always been more of a runner rather than walker but I found that if I just walked really fast, I enjoy it more with her.  So now we walk 3-4 times a week in the morning or afternoon.  And she loves pointing at things and we talk about each one.  Like "ohhh look at that blue sky or green leaves on the tree"  

3.  She is INTO stuffed animals!  She likes to "love on them" and she'll cuddle it up to her face.  Adorable.  

4.  Took Mills to a new place yesterday to see if he would like a different camp for when we have to board him.  This was an amazing place and as you can see has a big lake that the dogs can swim in!  Glad to know we have a second place if need be.  For locals, this is K9 Ranch and they do pick up and deliver your dog! 

5.  I had calendared it earlier this year to order our nativity set in October so we were sure we got one...I think they sold out quickly last year.  I think Molly Anne will love learning with her Little People in December!  

That's all I've got today!  We have a busy weekend ahead!

A Random Tuesday

Pictures from a random Tuesday...aka two days ago.  We are trying to break up the week by going out for dinner once and it's made all of us happy.  It's fun and best part is - I don't have to cook.  

Molly Anne and I got home and we hurried back out the door to walk then we scooted in the car with Kevin for dinner out. 

She looks so grown up here......ahhhhhhhhh.

Came home and played outside.  Molly Anne LOVES swinging in our hammock.  

Bedtime routine.  We both do her bath then after Kevin gets her dressed he hands her to me so we can read and he blows her a kiss.  She laughs at him every time.  He does it in the morning when he takes her to Ms. Becky's and she laughs at him then too.  So funny!  She knows to blow a kiss back but she just cracks up instead.  Zero personality ;)

She cannot get enough of this little lamb lately.  My bossman brought it to me when he came to see us in the hospital when she was born.  PS now that I think of it again, that was really really nice of him to do.  He completely surprised me and it was so kind that he took time out of his weekend to do that.  

Anyway, Molly Anne continues her love of stuffed animals and furry ones named Mills too! :)  

Greedy with Time

Since July 4, 2015, I have become greedy with my time!  I know, I never thought it would happen but it has and I don't mind it one bit!

One day it'll probably change and I won't care as much but for now, I do.  

If I'm not working then you will find me hanging out with Molly Anne and Kevin if he's home from work.  I used to do a lot of happy hours with friends after work and I even used to run after work most days.  Not anymore.  That's my Molly Anne time.  If I'm not with her all day, you better believe I'm with her after work soaking up all the time I can.  

It's cool because most of my friends are in the same stage I am so they would rather be with their kids in the early evening too.  That's why our bunco nights and supper clubs start after everyone's children go to bed.  Perfect right?

And weekends....it is very rare when we commit to something that is an all day event because weekends are PRECIOUS to me.  That is our real Molly Anne and family time.  We do go out a fair amount at nights but it's usually not until between 6-7pm so we only miss an hour or two with her.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that because it's not every weekend day and because adult time is necessary too!  

Moral of the story - being a working mama, I must savor all my time with Molly Anne that I can and make it count!  And I won't apologize for not wanting to share her or saying no to some things so I can hang with her more.  

Anyone else feel the same way about time with their kiddos?!  

Pumpkin Patch with Friends

This was the second annual visit to the pumpkin patch with our friends!  We went to Hunter Farms in Weddington.  

Here's my little pumpkin ;)

I think this was her look when she saw her friends pull in.

Camille and Molly Anne

Sweet girls

Molly Anne loved the hayride and thought all of the animals were Mills.  She really wanted to touch the cow when they were giving us a little lesson on cows and their milk.

PS - it was 80 degrees so I was sweating like a horse.  And it did feel weird wearing shorts to a pumpkin patch but welcome to North Carolina!

Maggie the cow.  Molly Anne said Mooooooooooo to her.  So cute.

Us with our five girls!

This is a comparison...2015 on top, 2016 on bottom.  3 little girls to 5 little girls.  Molly Anne was only 3 months old.  Camille and Gigi are 1 in the picture on top and Molly Anne is 1 in the picture on the bottom.  We love our friends!

This is as good as it gets when you have three toddlers in a pumpkin patch and try to get them to pose for a picture.

Another comparison...2015 on top, 2016 on bottom.

Two cute little girlies.  Til next year!  Who knows what our crowd will look like next year but I love our little tradition!

Fall Weekend

We had a nice Fall weekend and hope you did too!

I want to rewind to last Wednesday.  On a whim we decided to take Molly Anne to a nicer restaurant...at 5pm of course!  She was surprisingly so good even though I apologized to the waiter ahead of time haha.  Ms. Becky had told me she liked putting cotton balls in and out of a diaper wipe container so I put them in a snack container that has rubber sides.  The container is quiet - aka she can't bang it on the table and cotton balls are obviously quiet.  Genius.  Ms. Becky really should write a book with all of her tricks!  Anyway, Molly Anne enjoyed her fancy grilled cheese and ate almost the entire fruit container.  It was a nice family evening out.  We left before 6 and headed home haha!

Friday night we went to 521 BBQ for dinner which we like to do on Friday nights.  We walked in and they seated us next door to our future next door neighbors...it was so funny!  They have two young girls (Molly Anne is in the middle of them agewise) so they were there early too.  It was fun catching up and chatting.  We've met them a few times now.  

On Saturday morning, Kevin went to his parents to powerwash their driveway so Molly Anne and I did a few errands.  We walked and walked around Blakeney.  It was nice to spend time just she and I and I got a preview of shopping with her.  She wants to feel everything and loves all of the soft clothes ha!  I look forward to our days at the mall.  We called Mom on the way home and told her we missed her being with us.  Mom and I always have loved shopping together.  

Saturday night we went to a late dinner with Brad and Shauna.  Molly Anne was already asleep by the time we left.  Anyway, we headed up to Village Tavern and it was so good as usual!  

Yesterday we took another long walk around the neighborhood then went to the pumpkin patch with our friends!  I'll do a separate post on that!

We watched football and chilled last night.  

Happy Monday friends!

Five on Friday - Trees, HOA, Rental, MA

We've had a big week!  Here are our top 5 of the week...

1.  We had 5 trees trimmed and one cut down yesterday.  Not fun money to spend but it looks so much better.  Two trees out front would hit the car every time we drove up or down our driveway.  The two in the backyard have become humongous and one was all over our house and patio.  The side tree needed to desperately be reshaped.  And the other side evergreen is too close to our house too so that's coming down.  I do love having mature landscaping in our yard but it was time for a trim!

2.  We are really close to submitting to our HOA board for the new house!  This was a LONG time coming and I'm relieved we're almost in for approval.

3.  We are scheduled to close on selling one of our rental properties on Monday and I cannot wait.  This was a duplex in a really great area of town and the buyer is coming in and tearing down all of the houses to build new high dollar homes.  This turned out to be one of our best investments we've had in the few years we've owned it.  Kevin is so good at finding deals then flipping them when the time is right.  It was crazy trying to manage it but last year we turned it over to a property management firm and it has been well worth that minimal monthly fee each month.  Anyway, we are down to only two rental properties (and they both have really great, easy tenants!) unless Kevin finds something else that sparks his interest.  Ha!  Anyway, this week we have had to do a bunch of paperwork on that so I'm glad that will be finished on Monday!

4.  Most importantly, we finally figured out what was going on with the back of Molly Anne's head.  It ended up being a fungal spot which is really weird but basically her skin is susceptible to these type things...but within 12 hours of taking the oral medicine, the spot on her ear was so much better.  I'm so glad.  We should see tremendous improvement by the early next week but she'll continue to take the medicine for 14 days total.

5.  Last night I had neighborhood bunco which we hadn't done in months.  It was so nice to see everyone.  We don't even play bunco, we usually play 4 rounds of left right center but last night we only got to two rounds ha!

6.  Because I can't stop...

7.  I love going in to check on her at least twice a night after she goes to sleep!  

Words of Wisdom

I've been given so much advice since I started this thing called motherhood and I wanted to take a few minutes to write things down in no particular order so I don't forget.  I'm not giving you all advice, I simply just want to remember these things!  I know I've forgotten things and who has given me what advice but I'm just going to type...

1.  My cousin Kit told me before I had Molly Anne that Kevin and I set normal.  We as the parents set our children's "normal."  She is so right.  Molly Anne operates on our schedule and in our world.  It's what we expose her to and expectations we have of her that she knows.  We set normal.  I love this.  Probably the best advice I've received.

2.  My SIL is a Mom (and a teacher!) who I really look up to and quite frankly, my brother too.  I like how they parent, what they expect of their girls and how they follow through with it.  And you can tell by how the girls act that they know right from wrong and manners.  Anyway, she told me this past weekend to not take your children somewhere all of the time.  They also need to know how to play at home and not get bored.  This helps their imagination and it's good to be less programmed.  And it makes going to Discovery Place or Disney on Ice a big deal and something special.  They need to be happy and content just "being" at home.  

3.  Something else she has always said about the girls is that they need to be children.  They need to not be forced to learn how to write their names at age 6 months (exaggeration obviously).  But they don't need to be pushed pushed pushed all of the time.  Let them be children.  Let them play and be silly.  I forsee this as something I'll need to keep myself in check on!  

4.  Let it go - you can't do it all.  Yeah...I REALLY need to work on this one.  Although, I will say.  I remember at the very beginning when Molly Anne was born, Mom told me I could not do it all.  That I needed to let certain things go.  Likeee......I was most interested in having the house picked up at all times.  I actually have let a lot of things go this year and it's been a big learning curve for me.  I do go to bed without all the laundry put away and the playroom not picked up.  I have released control of our house not being dusted weekly.  I don't and honestly can't have a perfectly cooked meal for dinner on the table at 6pm every night.  It just ain't going to happen.  And I need to get right with myself that all of that is okay!  I'm a mom, a full time employee, I help Kevin with things for his businesses and our rental properties, I am a friend, we're building a house, I'm a wife, we're BUSY.  Can I get an amen for drive through grocery pick up and Amazon Prime?!   

5.  My co-worker Brendan told me years ago before we had Molly Anne that he and his wife go out once a weekend.  He said if we aren't happy then our kids aren't going to be happy.  Truth!  Kevin and I are good about going out and about.  And it's usually more like two or three times a month versus every weekend but I think that's good.  We've gone on trips just the two of us.  This stuff is important!  Molly Anne came into our world, we didn't come into her world.  Gotta still keep your life/marriage right.  You can't ONLY be a mom all the time.  Refer to #1 above.  

6.  Flexible.  When she was first born, my Mom basically told me to quit being so crazy about her nap schedule and let her be flexible.  She was right (of course) but babies do thrive on a schedule...actually don't we all?  But I wanted Molly Anne to be flexible and not down to a minute.  Also, I didn't want her dependent on anything.  I obviously want her to have a lovie and something to be attached to but I didn't want her to be 4 years old with a pacifier hanging out of her mouth.  Happy median right?!  Also, food-wise I want her to try anything and everything.  She had deer tenderloin thanks to Uncle Clay last weekend.  She loved it.  

7.  Put the camera down and enjoy the moment.  So true.  Some of my favorite moments with Molly Anne are when I don't have my phone in her face taking her picture.  

8.  We are all doing the best we can.  We are all in this difficult time of our life trying to juggle raising kids, being wives, working full time, traveling.  You cannot judge other moms (even though this is so natural) and you cannot compare your child to other children.  Easier said than done.  But at the end of the day, we're all doing the best we can.  Reach out for help when you need it.  Ha, that's funny for me to say since my friend Sarah says I'm the queen of never asking for help.  

9.  Surround yourself with good girlfriends that get it.  My girls get it and we're all in the same stage of life.  We are on a group text and sometimes one of us will say, "what do I do about this.... or please commiserate with me while I take my toddler on a plane ride" and you get responses from Moms that have been there.  You must have good girlfriends to get through life with.  

10.  Make time for yourself every now and then so you feel like a human.  AKA - exercise, shower, pedicure, time to get ready in the morning, go walk around the block, whatever.

That's all I've got.  Now I'll go read these again and maybe follow some of the advice I've written down for the future.  Ha!