Weekend Recap

Happy Halloween!! Before we kick off our Halloween festivities I wanted to recap our weekend. We enjoyed lots of our yearly Halloween traditions and had such a great few days. It was just what we needed and the perfect combination of rest and fun. ☺

Friday right after school the boys got to paint their pumpkins. This tradition started a few years ago and is definitely a favorite. It's so simple but they LOVE it. So mama loves it too!

And here are the final DRY products of the boys' mini pumpkins.

Garrison went with a GA theme, Austin went with a bright and colorful theme, and Layton went with a layered theme. Haha. He had soo much paint on his. It finally dried. ☺

Later that night after supper, we finally carved our pumpkin! Garrison was a huge help as always, Austin was pretty grossed out as always, and Layton was a curious, semi-involved observer as always. Hahaha!

I love their faces! Cleaning out the pumpkin is always the most exciting. And grossest. Ha! 

Layton and Austin both used the spoon....

But as you can tell from Austin's faces in each picture, it was fine by him to watch. And me. ☺

Daddy and the boys decided they wanted a Georgia G this year instead of a traditional jack o lantern, so while daddy was hard at work attempting his toughest design yet, the boys watched Spookley. Perfect for pumpkin carving night.

The finished product!

We were really proud of our G. (But I want to go back to a traditional jack o lantern next year... our poor G has already started to cave. #blessit)

Then on Saturday we celebrated our favorite 2 year old at her 2nd birthday party!

It was the sweetest, cutest party. 

The theme was shoes and it was PERFECT for Piper Caroline! Baby Girl is all about some shoes. Everything turned out so cute and fitting for the birthday girl.

Her cake was precious!! And soo good!!

We had lunch together and then laughed so hard watching her open her presents. She loved every single one!

After opening lots of presents, it was time for cake. She was getting sleepy but still so excited. 

She beamed when everyone started singing to her. #cutestbirthdaygirlever

We had so much fun celebrating with her at her party! 

We came home from Piper's party and crashed for a bit before getting ready to head out and celebrate Papa's birthday. We cheered on our Bulldogs and then went out to eat with the whole fam. I'm pretty sure Piper thought we were all singing to her again. ☺

We had such a great Saturday. #actionshot Thank you Lord for the blessing of family. 

Sunday was super cold! We went to church, bought groceries, ate lunch, took a quick nap, and then watched Garrison play soccer. It was a full one but we loved the cold weather! Of course it's warming up this week but hopefully Fall will be back to stay!

We are super excited about enjoying our Halloween traditions tonight! Fun, sweet, yummy, and a tad wild. ☺

Happy Halloween!!

Friday Favorites: Fall Fun Edition

This week has been tiring but full of Fall fun. We are doing all things Fall and Halloween related at school which is the best (so are the boys in their classes!) and we're gearing up for Halloween big time. The countdown is on and the excitement is growing. Layton Thomas is especially excited and ready. ☺

Here's a little look at my faves from the past week or so...

*My classroom now has a brand new rug!! We love it! It's colorful, bright, fun, and new. YAY!!

*I was also gifted with a ton of wish list items from my Pick a Trojan sponsor! It felt a little like Christmas getting all of these goodies! ☺ Having someone purchase a few necessities for your classroom is soooo appreciated by teachers. I love my sponsor and I love my goodies!

*The boys received some Happy Halloween cards in the mail from Granna and Papa this week and were thrilled. They even made a funny thank you video for them. Haha. Piggy bank money and Halloween cards are definitely love languages! (Don't you love Austin's ghost hanging from the mantle? Hahaha. He wanted it displayed somewhere and I'm pretty sure the ghost will make it into our Fall/Halloween decor bins that we pull out every year. ☺)

*We had cancelled soccer practices on Monday night (#happydance #yayforanightoff) so we got in a game night! We had a fun and laid back evening together. 

*Austin came home one day with this little hand print bat and sentences and this was an instant favorite. He is getting better with his writing and really taking off with reading. I'm super proud of my Kindergartner! 

*Speaking of my favorite Kindergartner, Austin was Student of the Month for September but had to miss the luncheon because he'd just gotten out of the hospital a few days before. So he got to participate in October's lunch. We had a great time celebrating with our sweet student. 

*I'm pretty sure this little man had his favorite day of school EVER this week. The firefighters came to his school and brought their firetruck and their mascot Spot! It made his school year. ☺ He told us all about it and had the best time. 

*My para and I dressed alike one day this week and didn't even plan it. We were on the field practicing for Field Day when we thought to have our picture taken.☺ #twinning 

*We took the boys to our Fall Festival at church this week and they had a blast. I didn't take many pictures at all because I was tired and didn't really think about it once we got started with all the games and keeping up with all 3 of them but it was really fun and I'm glad we made the effort to go.

*Layton loved riding the cow train even though you can't tell from this picture. Haha. 

*Garrison rode with Piper and Baby Girl was beside herself with joy. 

#sweetcousins #allthehearteyes

*It was a fun night for everybody. (Austin rode the train at a different time.) And we had a packed house full of friends and strangers alike. Our Children and Youth Minsters do a great job with it.

*I want to print this picture asap! ☺ #meltme

*Yesterday morning I read this devotion during my quiet time and it was just for me and timed perfectly. I was a little stressed going into the day and had a lot of school related things happening and coming up that were bothering me and God used this to speak directly and specifically to me. Oh how He loves me! 

It's been a crazy 2 weeks since Fall Break. Mama is spent. But hopefully this weekend will bring some rejuvenation! We are planning for lots of fun like pumpkin carving, birthday parties, soccer games and hopefully we can squeeze in some extra rest too! Happy Friday!!

Working Mom Update

I've been wanting to blog more about the transition from staying home/working from home part time for 8 years to working full time as a teacher again, this time with 3 kiddos. I honestly haven't had the time or energy to do much updating. 

So I thought I'd try to give a little update as I feel right now I am truly in the trenches of the school year. And working mom life! I've actually felt that way since day 1 but now is just a little different. I mean, the beginning of the year is exhausting with all things new and ALL THE PREP. It's a crazy time for all teachers with a flurry of things to do and get ready for. It just happened to be super duper crazy for me this year returning to the profession after 8 years away and in a brand new school and grade level. But now it seems as though we've settled in so to speak and are going strong every single day. We're in a good groove. Yay. 

So the really great and amazing thing about this update is that I am still loving my job and PreK in general. God's grace amazes me. I never thought there would ever come a day when I would enjoy working full time in the classroom again. I was retired from teaching and loving my job at home and that was that. Ha. But I love teaching my 4 and 5 year olds and have enjoyed all the fun that comes with this age and all the growth and learning I get to witness. I'm definitely at home in my grade level and my school. Which are huge blessings for my first year back!

I think the challenges have come in managing everything on my plate. Which is true for every mom, working or staying home, first year back or not. For me, having been home full time the majority of the past 8 years I have been used to cleaning my house, running all the errands, having lots of time with my boys, and preparing for things like birthday parties, PTO obligations, school functions (as a parent), Sunday School commitments, or holidays. Before this school year, I had to manage my time for sure, but it was at home. So being away from my house and all my boys for 8 hours every work day with no opportunity for errands or cleaning or anything else but teaching/school itself has been a little challenging and overwhelming. There truly is no time for anything else during school hours. 

So I really like leaving the school by 4:00 every day... 3:45 (the time we can officially leave) if at all possible. I just like being home and with my family. It seems to stress me out to stay late. I'm anxious to see my kids and to have some time at home to clean out lunchboxes, go through book bags, get homework done, etc before Terrell takes two or more boys to soccer. (We actually decided not to do choir this year because of needing a mid-week break and a guaranteed night of being home with an early supper and relaxing evening. I'm a little sad about it but mostly relieved and at peace. I couldn't imagine having that commitment every Wednesday for the entire school year this year.) Most days I'm somewhat on top of things at school by the time I leave but some days I'm bringing things home or leaving more for myself to do the following day. And that can stress me out too. Still, knowing I haven't seen my kids all day, haven't been home all day, am flat worn out, and have things waiting to be done once I get home are good motivators to get out of there on time. 

I know that the first year of anything new can be the toughest. Starting from scratch as a teacher is especially tough. I'm creating lesson plans from scratch, coming up with activities from scratch, and doing a brand new (to me) assessment program for the first time ever. So I keep telling myself that next year will definitely be easier. I'll have so much to pull from and so much already in place and ready to go that my prep time will be cut way down. #allthepraisehands!! So basically this year, I'm doing tons of work every week just in preparation for the actual teaching. And the problem with that is that it seems to leave very little time for doing my assessments, weekly newsletters, and other things teaching related. Unfortunately, I'm about to have to start bringing more home. With conferences coming up in December I'm on a quickly approaching deadline and I can't do it all at school. Because then I might as well spend the night. Soooo, I'm just accepting that that's how it has to be for now. *Sigh*

On the home front things are going fairly smoothly. I have my moments for sure. I mean, mama is exhausted and overwhelmed OFTEN. But all in all, we've handled this big transition well and the meltdowns have been kept to a minimum. I think the exhausted state is my biggest complaint. (Ahhhhhhhhh. I'm about to try something that's supposed to help. So we'll see.) That and my house being more neglected than I want. Somehow, Sunday afternoons and/or evenings have become my time to go on a mini cleaning frenzy. Ugh. I need my house to feel somewhat clean when we start the week so I usually vacuum and do one other "chore" and then the whole family picks up and straightens up. It's necessary for me because I can't stand a messy, dirty house going into a new week when I won't be home to tend to it. I don't like cleaning on Sundays but doing a little here and there during the week just isn't a very realistic option right now. I'm too worn out or busy with feeding my family, keeping up with our nightly routines, taking care of school related things, etc to throw in anything else required of me. Terrell is awesome and does most of the laundry and errands now so that is a huge help. He has been amazing and has really tried his best to make this as easy and painless as possible for me. And of course having our moms pick Layton up from preschool and keep him in the afternoons is such a blessing. Knowing he's going to school but only for half a day until Granna or Nana keep him the rest of the day gives me peace of mind being away from him. I do suffer from working mom guilt from time to time and still occasionally mourn my staying home days, but I also have a peace about where I am right now and God's plan for our family. It hasn't been easy every single day, but I know His plan is best and He has already proven Himself faithful. 

So, that's where I am currently. Loving my job, thankful for my job, but still learning how to manage working full time while keeping up with being a wife and mom and most of all being present for my family. It's a struggle lots of days. But I know it will get easier (I'm hoping and praying it does at least!!) and I know this is God's plan for our family right now. So thankful for His provisions and amazing grace!!

Happy Friday Eve!!! ☺☺☺☺☺

Pumpkin Patch 2017

On Saturday afternoon we enjoyed one of our most laid back trips ever to the Pumpkin Patch! And we've been going almost every year for 9 years! I love this tradition. ☺

We went late Saturday afternoon so we could let Layton take a nap and hopefully avoid a super cranky 3 year old come time for our Georgia party later that night. And our plan worked! Layton got in a good nap and then we were off to our local farm/pumpkin patch for the rest of the afternoon. We stayed until closing time and had tons of fun. Plus relaxed! It was one of our best visits!

These 3 keep growing bigger and bigger every time we go. They are practically full grown now. Waaaahhhhh! 

Look at these sweet babies from back in 2014. Our first Fall back in Bville and our first visit to Twin Oaks Fun Farm. Be still my heart. 

And here they are in 2015. Thank goodness for the blog. It's the BEST having these memories to look back on and read about. 

Saturday afternoon was pretty amazing. It was a little overcast so the temps were pleasant and there weren't many people there so it was easy to do whatever we wanted and just hang out. It was a super fun trip!

They were troopers about the pictures. Every year we remind them we have to take lots of pictures and then they can do whatever they want and this year they just went along with it, easy-peasy, no big deal. #itwasamazing ☺

Mama and her boys

Daddy and his boys

The first thing they wanted to do after making pictures was enjoy the mega playground area. Playing on this is always a big highlight of their trip. 

We even got in some swing time while the boys played. It was so nice! 

The corn house is a big favorite too! 

After tons of fun playing in the corn and a little more time back on the playground they were ready to go feed the animals. Layton let the goats eat right out of his hand!

So did Garrison!

Austin is a little more like his mama and would rather be on the safe side... or the clean side.... either way, I'm with him. Haha!

After feeding the animals they wanted to try "fishing" for goldfish. #whyyyy? But daddy let them and they persisted. They wanted 3 but settled for 2. Terrell caught them both and the boys wanted them to live in Granna and Papa's fish pond. So that was our first stop after leaving. Next year they can fish if they want to but we aren't keeping any! Haha!

We picked out our family pumpkin while we were there and the boys chose a mini pumpkin to paint later. 

We went on a fun hayride (which may have been the highlight of the trip for Layton.... he has now requested a big tractor like the one that pulled us on the hayride for his birthday, hahaha), then the big boys played corn hole with Terrell while I watched Layton on the playground and then everybody ended up back on the playground and we had the whole thing to ourselves. It was such a fun and laid back trip. We all had a great time. Even though I have to force the tradition at times or can be a big hassle figuring out when to go, it always turns out fun and definitely worth it. 

We're all looking forward to carving our pumpkin, painting the mini pumpkins, and gearing up for Halloween! Happy Fall Y'all! ☺

Pumpkin Patch Past:

2016

2015

2014

2013

2011

2010