Turquoise Tuesday

What.  You didn't get the memo??

Apparently it is Turquoise Tuesday!! We walked in to our bathroom for the kids to say good morning to Brad and he pointed out the fact that we matched!  I recycled clothes from yesterday since I was going to Tae Bo (yep, I sure did.) and Katie picked out her flamingo outfit.  And then I just grabbed whatever was on top of the stack for The Dude.  And....we matched! Oh, and please excuse my "just rolled out of bed" look...I threw on clothes, brushed my teeth, and pinned my hair back.  No need to look glamorous for Tae Bo!

Posts coming soon....our trip to Phoenix (how has it been a month since we were there and I never did a blog post?!  Oops!), our Girl's Weekend, a new edition of funny things Katie says, hopefully Jack's 15 month post, before/after of our dining room and the kids' bathroom, consignment finds part 2, and who knows what else!  I think that should provide lots of entertainment and keep me busy :)

War Eagle + Camera Practice at the Park

Last Saturday I wanted to take some pictures of the kids (surprise, surprise) in their Auburn gear!  I did get some cute pictures...especially since Brad was helpful and got the kids to smile for the camera :)  It really is a 2 person job with these crazies! 

 I love this one - Jack is clearly trying to escape but Katie is determined to keep her grasp!

 I happened to catch them next to each other AND got a smile.  Definitely a win!

 Love this picture of my sweet girl - she is growing up way too quickly!

 She played some games on the iPad during quiet time - she is absolutely amazing on that thing!  And she does so well with the activities on there!

 Love this boy!  HA!  Looks like he is carrying a boombox :) Makes me laugh everytime I look at this picture!

 And I caught a classic Jackaroni smile - so cute!

 We had friends over to grill out and watch football...the girls had a BLAST playing!  Katie got to stay up past bedtime and did super - so glad!  Look at all that blonde hair! :)

And after church on Sunday, we stopped at the park on the way home so I could try to get a few pictures of the kids.  They weren't really in the mood and Jack was all over the place, but I did get a few cute ones.  

I love this one - they were looking for fish in the creek! We also saw a woolly caterpillar and the kids thought that was the neatest thing ever!

And I got this cute one of the kids.  I just love it!  And yes, I know - Jack has the same outfit on that he did the day before :) He only wore it to watch football...so he wore it again to church :)

And Brad got this cute one of me and the kiddos - love it!

I know they get tired of pictures, but I love them - and one day, they will love them too :) (or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!)

Foodie Friday: Perfect Panko Chicken with Hummus + Zesty Honey Carrots

Welcome back!  And stop the presses - I know...it has been forEVer since I've done a Foodie Friday!  Well, to be honest, it has been forEVer since I've cooked a good meal! Jack is just at an age where it is way hard to get much done since I have to chase after him!  Well, when I was walking through Publix for the groceries for the week, they were making this meal - it was delicious AND the card says it is only 20 minutes total time.  I almost hugged the woman.  I bought all the things I needed to make this and was excited and proud to announce to Brad that I was actually going to cook this week! 

Wednesday was the night and I could hardly wait.  I hoped that I could make it as deliciously as the woman at Publix.  And let me tell you.  It did not disappoint!  I could have easily eaten all of the food I prepared!  And it was so easy!  It may have taken me more like 30 minutes, but I'll take it!  And I may have given the kids snacks and put the TV on to get it made!  Here is the recipe (from the little Publix Aprons recipe card)...

Perfect Panko Chicken w/ Hummus

Ingredients:

-juice of 2 limes

-3 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped

-4 chicken cutlets (about 1 lb)

-1/2 tsp kosher salt

-1/4 tsp pepper

-1 (8 oz) container deli cilantro/jalapeno hummus, divided

-3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

-2 pouches boil-in-bag rice

-3 tbsp canola oil

-1 tbsp water

 Steps:

1) Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Reserve 1/2 cup hummus for sauce, then coat both side of the chicken with remaining hummus (about 1 tbsp for each cutlet).  Place panko in shallow dish.  Dip chicken into panko (coating both sides).  Wash hands.

2) Cook rice following package instructions.

3) Preheat large saute pan on medium 2-3 minutes.  Place oil in pan, then add chicken; cook 3-4 minutes each side or until 165 degrees F.

4) Combine reserved 1/2 cup hummus with cilantro, lime juice, and water; drizzle sauce over chicken. Serve.

*560 calories for 1/4 of the recipe!*

Zesty Honey Carrots

Ingredients:

-1 (16 oz) bag dip chip cut carrots

-2 tbsp honey

-2 tsp chili powder

-1/4 tsp kosher salt

-1/4 tsp pepper

Steps:

1) Place carrots in microwave-safe dish and cover; microwave on HIGH 4-5 minutes or until tender.  Drain any water in dish.

2) Whisk together in medium bowl, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper until blended.  Stir carrots into sauce.  Serve.

*70 calories for 1/4 of recipe*

And this is what my plate looked like before I devoured everything on it!

 The meal even got the Katie Seal of Approval!  She especially loved the carrots - she asked for seconds! :)

I cannot wait to make this recipe again.  It so easy and so delicious.  Who could ask for more?! Let me know if you decide to add it to your menu plan - you won't regret it!

Sadie Girl

When playing with my new camera, it seems a little easier to try and get pictures of Sadie.  She listens just slightly better than the kids do, so that helps :)  And Katie loved helping me try to get Sadie to sit and stay and look at me with "happy ears" (which involved lots of, "Sadie, do you want a treat?" or "Sadie, do you want to go on a walk?") - poor dog.  We did give her treats though!  

I loved using my new lens - and even the fish eye lens!  Just look at that sweet face!

 I love how all of her whiskers show up in these pictures!

 You can see the "fish eye" effect best in this picture...kind of blurred leading your eyes to Sadie as the focus.

 But this?  This one is my favorite.  She is even smiling!

In Katie's words, "Sadie is the BEST doggy ever!!!!" She gets stepped on, hair pulled, ears yanked, and jumped on - and she takes it like a champ.  I think she has figured out that the kids will play with her and drop food for her...she is one smart cookie!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

WHEW!  I have several blog posts bouncing around in my head right now, but I opted to just stick with a What I'm Loving Wednesday instead - and then I will keep playing catch up the rest of the week :) So come back for some fun posts...but for now, here's what I'm loving today...with a new format!  I made a collage so that it isn't so picture heavy :)

top left: I'm LOVING playing with all my new lenses and filters and toys for my camera!  I know I already posted this picture of Katie, but I just love it.  And I've gotten some other cute ones too - of the kids AND of Sadie!  So check back - hopefully tomorrow! // top right: I'm LOVING these dark chocolate covered blueberries.  Like I could seriously sit down and eat the whole bag.  Thanks a lot, Costco!  Like I need something else chocolate-y and amazing to obsess over :)  But dark chocolate is healthy...and blueberries are fruit - so I'm okay, right?? :)

bottom left: I'm LOVING that I've started a Bible study at my church!  We started this past weekend - and we are doing Beth Moore's Daniel study.  I think it will be intense but very beneficial....can't wait to dig deeper! // bottom right: I'm LOVING the Apple Press Scentsy fragrance!  I put it out in my Scentsy pot last night and it smells amazing!  I need to check and see if they have other good fall smells...pumpkin?  Something cinnamon-y? I feel certain they do...I think I may need it!

What are YOU loving today?? Link up {here}!

Mommy Date Monday

This morning I woke Katie up and surprised her with a Mommy Date! We haven't gone to Krispy Kreme together in a really long time, so I thought it would be so fun!  Brad didn't have any early meetings, so we hung out with Jack while Katie and I ventured to eat some donuts!  We always have so much fun singing and laughing and talking...and of course eating our donuts!  I love that we have special time together...even if it is only a little while!  And what a perfect way to start a new week!  Happy Monday!

Just Us Girls

I am so thankful for good girlfriends!  And an added bonus? These girls are my neighbors!  Last night I went out with Jill and Jenn and we ate and had drinks and caught up - it was fabulous!! Here we are when we first got there!  Cheers!

We are already planning our next outing - but rather than eating and drinking, we are going to get adventurous!  We want to do stand up paddleboarding or rock climbing!  I can't make any guarantees that there wouldn't be food/drink involved after we finish with the adventures though :) So glad we can all get out and do fun things together every few weeks!

Jack's All About Me Poster + First Week

We survived week one of school for both kiddos!  I am so proud of Jack for doing so well!  It is a big transition for kiddos his age - he has been with me so much up to this point!  The last couple of months, he has not been a huge fan of us leaving him in the nursery at church.  He wants to be held, acts tired, and just isn't his normal smiley, happy self!  Well I mentioned that on Tuesday, he sat still for like 30 minutes and his teachers questioned whether he could walk or not! HA - they quickly learned that he isn't still :) He took a while to warm up to them but finally came around and was all smiles!  Yesterday, he cried at drop off.  They said he was fine almost immediately and had a great day!  He ate literally ALL of his lunch and slept for just under an hour.  They worked on making all the kids happy with lots of bubbles - and they said Jack got really happy when they went to the playground...that he loved going down the slide!  They also took a ride on the Bye Bye Buggy, which happens to be one of Jack's favorites also.  When I got there to pick him up, I had to wait for someone else to get their child which gave me the chance to watch Jack play and interact without him knowing!  He was running around and smiling and having the best time!  He was playing with this toy that is like a little pretend house with a door, mailbox, kitchen, birds, and flowers - he loved it! (we actually have one under the deck that needs to be cleaned off - maybe now we will clean it so that he can play with it!)  And one of the other little boys came into the house with him and Jack smiled so big when a friend came to play with him!  Too cute :)

Here is Katie showing Jack how to get to his classroom again yesterday....

And here is Jack's All About Me poster.  I had so much fun putting it together!  The teachers made a train with the squares and they drive by each one when they are in the Bye Bye Buggies and talk about each kiddo.  If someone is sad, they also use it to look at pictures of things that make the child happy :)  Love it!

We are off to the dentist and a make-up gymnastics class for Miss Priss! Happy Friday!

Katie's All About Me Poster

I love looking back at Katie's All About Me posters from the past few years.  This year, she took a bigger role in putting it together!  At the meeting before school started, her teacher gave us this sheet to fill out....My Very Own Poster All About Me!  It required magazine cutouts and drawing and really thinking!

 This is Katie's picture of our family...

 Here is a picture of her and her self-portrait....my favorite is that she put a "K" on her shirt :) Yay for monograms!

 And her three wishes and a little about her!  She wishes she could be a princess, could ride a helicopter, and that she could wear makeup :)

 When she grows up she wants to be a fairy (and have rainbows, apparently)...

 These are things she doesn't like - hot dogs, salad, bugs, scary guys, and thunderstorms.

 And here are some things she does like - doggies, cookies, makeup, Disney movies, birthday cake, coloring, talking on the phone, Strawberry Shortcake, Cinderella, and sunglasses! :)

It will be so fun to look back at this poster.  She is loving school this year and that makes me so happy!

College Football, Family, + Labor Day Fun

What a fun long weekend we had!  And be warned - there are lots of pics in this post - it is from Friday-Monday, so I guess that's to be expected :)  We got to see lots of friends and family - that combination always makes for a good weekend!

Friday morning, we met Katie's friend Annalane and her mom and brother for breakfast at a yummy local place!  Then we came home and Cat came over to swim with us - there were hardly any people at the pool, so that was fun!  And after Jack's nap and Brad getting home from work, we met Cat and Tyler for dinner!  Jack thought putting the noodles on his head was a good idea - crazy guy!

Saturday morning I got up and went to Tae Bo (I am finally not sore anymore! whew!) and then stopped at the grocery to get goodies for football watching with friends!  Then it was time for Katie's final swim lesson of the summer - she did great!

Then it was time to head home and have quiet/nap/get ready time before going over to Dallas and Katherine's house to watch football!  There were 20-25 folks over there and we had a blast!  Here I am with the kids before going over there...

And here's Brad with the kids!

This is about as good as it gets trying to get a pic of the kiddos - Jack is such a wiggly worm!

I think this is such a sweet picture :)

My sweet girl! So glad this dress still fits her :) At least for now...

And my wild man!  Look at that mischievous face!

Katherine, Ashley, and me!

And this was the best I could get of the kiddos...not too bad!

Here is an outtake :) I think it is hilarious!

On Sunday we got up and went to church and then headed home for playtime, lunch, and quiet time!  I ran some errands while Katie and Brad had quiet time (and Jack napped) and then we headed to my aunt and uncle's for a cookout!  They live on a golf course and Jack had a blast running on the cart path!  We took Katie's scooter and she rode around the cart path too!

Such a goofball!

Jack prefers to yell instead of smile :) All boy - that's for sure!

Love this pic of us!

And we got a family pic before we headed out too!  Not too bad considering the kiddos were worn out!

Monday Brad played golf and the kids and I ran around getting things ready for the first day of school!  Here are the kids sporting their red, white, and blue for Labor Day!

After Jack woke up and Brad finished golfing, we went over and cooked out and visited with Tanja, Nick, and Sina!  It was so fun and relaxing!

Then it was prep time for the kids' first day of school (I didn't go to bed until midnight!)...whew!  Fun but busy weekend, that's for sure!