Week 2 Goals Recap + Week 3 Goals

Week 2 Goals

1. Put up the Christmas tree Took care of that on Saturday and it looks wonderful. Too bad I can't get Jack to stop breaking ornaments or unplugging the lights. Fun times guys!

2. Get the majority of Jack's Christmas purchased. I got my Christmas bonus and I'm looking forward to shopping for my little guy.  I have everything purchased except one thing. Man that feels good to write!

3. Cook. Cook. Cook. Last week I shared these recipes and I plan on making most of them up on Wednesday. Tomorrow I'm doing the grocery shopping. I cooked so much that I'm all cooked out for awhile. 

4. Get consistent with Jack on picking up his toys before bed. I've been too laid back on this one. He has recently showed more interest in cleaning up his messes and he does it at daycare. I've gotta make this more of a priority at home. Just because it is easier for me to do myself, it isn't teaching him anything. How many times did this happen? Zip. Zero. Nada. 

5. Talk with my mom and sister about my dad's upcoming birthday. My dad tends to get overlooked on his birthday because 1. he's a dude and doesn't really care about a celebration and 2. it is around the holiday and everyone is busy 3. it is deer season and he is in the woods until dark. I hope we can at least plan a nice dinner. Now to decide what to buy the man who needs nothing and wants for nothing. Did not happen but I better hurry because his birthday is Sunday.

6. Go see The Good Dinosaur. Jack has never been to the movies. We had planned to go see the Peanuts movie around his birthday but the weather was awful. We have to travel to get to a theater (small town problems) and so we haven't made it yet. I think he will enjoy the dinosaur movie a little more though. You can read all about that experience here.

7. Shop for some new pants. I bought a wonderful pair of work pants at JC Penney back in the summer. I wear them often and love them. I have them in black and would love to find a gray colored pair that I love just as much. I never went shopping besides online. I hope to get a JC Penney giftcard for Christmas so I'll wait.

8. Start another new book. I'm on a reading roll and I love it. I hope to sneak in some quiet reading time during the week. I started a new Chevy Stevens books. I'm quickly working through all of Stevens' books. 

9. Clean. Lots of cleaning to be done before the whole family arrives.

10. Brainstorm some Christmas gift ideas for family members. My sister is the easiest person in the world to buy for (besides me-ha) but the rest of the crew, not so much. Why can't everyone have Amazon wish lists?  The only family member I have left to buy for is my mom. I have a few ideas but nothing I'm just really excited about. 

Week 3 Goals

1. Survive book fair week at school. It's the toughest week for me. It's busy. It's chaotic. It's lots of hard work both physically and mentally. 

2. Finish Jack's stocking.

3. Get some important documents notarized.

4. Start using our advent calendar.

5. Read Christmas books.

6. Watch Christmas movies.

7. Wrap Christmas gifts.

8. Bring Secret Pal her gift.

9. Print off candy bar wrappers to use as little gifts for co-workers. 

10. Drink more water!!!

The Good Dinosaur and Wild Child

Over the Thanksgiving break I took Jack to see his first movie, The Good Dinosaur. Walking in I didn't have high expectations because I did not want to be disappointed. Jack doesn't have much of an attention span so I set an hour as our goal. We made it 55 minutes. It wasn't that he was behaving badly but that he wanted to leave to go up front where there were "toys". Here are some lessons I learned.

1// Get there late. Of those 55 minutes, 30 minutes were previews and what they called a short film that lasted about ten minutes. I would have rather watched 55 minutes of the actual movie. Lesson learned.

2// Hide/sheild him as much as one can from the "toys". Our movie theater has quite a few kiddie rides and video games that caught Jack's interest very quickly. It wasn't very easy getting him away from those to even go into the movies.

3// Go ahead and buy a drink and snack. Jack loves a straw. I probably could have bought myself 20 minutes with just a drink. I also should have bought some M&Ms which also would have kept him busy.

I think I'll wait awhile before I try again. Thankfully, the lady upfront only charged me for one person, so I was only out $8.

As we were leaving, I told him "let's go eat". He got really excited then. We went to the Mexican restaurant because this child loves Mexican food (like his Mama).

I'm glad we did this because it was a fun mother/son date. Jack was really well behaved at the restaurant and he had a really good time. This is a sad fact-Jack doesn't go out at night much. Y'all he was so excited about seeing the lights. It was like the equivalent of me seeing the lights of Vegas. A McDonalds sign never excited a kid so much. It was cute and it made me feel a little bad about not taking him out much at night. In the car ride home he kept seeing the moon and screaming "moon".

What is your favorite child and mom dates?

Best Parts: Weekend Review

Before I get into all the goodness that happened this weekend, I wanted to share Jack's "accident" that occurred earlier in the week. Thankfully, it didn't land on his foot. He climbed himself right on up there and then CRASH. Baby's First Piggy Bank broke. I was sad but things happen so for now all his change is in his Halloween bucket. 

Best Parts of My Weekend

1. I finished our advent calendar. I'm going to put little treats in the stockings and let Jack look inside each morning. I'm hoping to find some non-candy options that will fit inside. Also enclosed is a Bible verse for us to read together. 

 2. These cookies got made. There is peanut butter, coconut, oatmeal, and chocolate chips inside. Boom! I made a few for us to enjoy this weekend and froze the rest to make later.

3. Christmas decor (minus the tree) got put up this weekend. We got rid of a lot of things and kept only the things we truly loved. 

Goals Week #2

Here it is. Thanksgiving week is upon us. I'm exceptionally thankful to have the week off work. Jack has daycare the first three days this week so I plan on getting lots done while he plays and learns with his friends. Last week I made these goals and stuck to them (pretty much). It was such a success that I wanted to make sure to write a list this week as well.

Week 2 Goals

1. Put up the Christmas tree

2. Get the majority of Jack's Christmas purchased. I got my Christmas bonus and I'm looking forward to shopping for my little guy. 

3. Cook. Cook. Cook. Last week I shared these recipes and I plan on making most of them up on Wednesday. Tomorrow I'm doing the grocery shopping. 

4. Get consistent with Jack on picking up his toys before bed. I've been too laid back on this one. He has recently showed more interest in cleaning up his messes and he does it at daycare. I've gotta make this more of a priority at home. Just because it is easier for me to do myself, it isn't teaching him anything. 

5. Talk with my mom and sister about my dad's upcoming birthday. My dad tends to get overlooked on his birthday because 1. he's a dude and doesn't really care about a celebration and 2. it is around the holiday and everyone is busy 3. it is deer season and he is in the woods until dark. I hope we can at least plan a nice dinner. Now to decide what to buy the man who needs nothing and wants for nothing.

6. Go see The Good Dinosaur. Jack has never been to the movies. We had planned to go see the Peanuts movie around his birthday but the weather was awful. We have to travel to get to a theater (small town problems) and so we haven't made it yet. I think he will enjoy the dinosaur movie a little more though. 

7. Shop for some new pants. I bought a wonderful pair of work pants at JC Penney back in the summer. I wear them often and love them. I have them in black and would love to find a gray colored pair that I love just as much. 

8. Start another new book. I'm on a reading roll and I love it. I hope to sneak in some quiet reading time during the week. 

9. Clean. Lots of cleaning to be done before the whole family arrives.

10. Brainstorm some Christmas gift ideas for family members. My sister is the easiest person in the world to buy for (besides me-ha) but the rest of the crew, not so much. Why can't everyone have Amazon wish lists? 

What do you hope to achieve this week?

My Christmas List....Santa I've Been Good

1// These are Clark boots and I love all of Clark's shoes so I bet the boots are comfortable too. 

2// I heard about the Flash Air the other day. I have a camera that I sadly never use. I hope that this little gem would be just the thing to get me back into the picture taking groove. 

3// I know the Fitbit is so last year....haha but I want one. 

4// I love this bracelet but I really just want some new jewelry. I'm not partial, however, I do want to add more gold pieces. 

5// Jewelry again. I love these earrings but I'll take these also. 

6// I want this eye makeup and more. 

7// A gift card to any hair salon. I'm desperate people. I need a hair intervention! 

8// An Amazon gift card because I want to read books all day and every day. 

Getting Mentally Prepared For Your Day

Do you want to bring more peace to your life? These 3 things help me each day to mentally prepare for the day ahead. My days are hectic and with these things I have brought more happier moments into my life.

1// Imagine how I want my day to go. It is what I do first thing. I think about all the things I want to accomplish and how I want to be as a person. I like to visualize it all happening. I think about the personal inventory I took the night before (more on that later) and decide what I need to do to make this day better.

2// Morning Prayer. During my morning prayer time I always pray for guidance to do God's will. Of course, I pray for other things, but guidance is always on the list. I feel like I constantly need God's guidance to be the best person I can be.

3// Take a personal inventory. Each night before I go to bed I take a few minutes to go back over my day and ask myself these questions.

* Was there anything that I didn't like and how should it have been different?
Example: The other day I had a parent come to me about their child. I wasn't prepared and ended up promising things I wish I hadn't. I ended up putting more work on me and not the kid. By acknowledging this happening I can work to do things differently next time.

* What were the happiest moments of my day? How can I make these moments happen more often?

There are some days that basically just suck and that's when I turn to my journal. Getting that stuff out is so helpful. Not only is it good to get it out but it helps to see problem areas.

Example: Each morning I was leaving for work angry. I would get in my car and feel like I had already had a stressful day. This went on for weeks. I complained about all the things that were causing me stress each morning. It was all happening to me. Poor me was what I was thinking. This will get you nowhere but we all go there from time to time. Finally, I got smart. I wrote down all these things that were getting me stressed each morning. Bing! I made a few adjustments and now my mornings are WAY better.

Is there anything that you mentally do each day that makes your life better?

Thanksgiving Favorites

My Mom handles the turkey and an extra turkey breast each Thanksgiving. We have the whole family over and it gets pretty chaotic. My Mom makes her usual wonderful dishes but each year I'm in charge of a few things myself. I make the same dishes each year. Here are the classics that I make each year.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans


Here is the recipe I use. I LOVE these. I pretty much cook them just for me to eat.

Sweet Potato Casserole


One year my aunt made the best ever sweet potato casserole. She didn't keep the recipe and we have never been able to reproduce it. Each year since, I try. This year I'm giving this recipe a shot.

Hashbrown Casserole



Love! Love! Love! I only make hashbrown casserole for Thanksgiving so it is always a nice treat and something I wait all year for. Check out the recipe here.

Broccoli Rice Casserole



You can not go wrong with this recipe. The only thing I do differently is I use frozen broccoli. It tastes just as great and way easier.

What I enjoy most about casseroles (besides the wonderful tastiness) is that they can be made beforehand. I don't freeze mine but you could. I make mine the day before and cook 40 minutes before the turkey is done. It gives you more time to visit with family when you don't have to slave the day of Thanksgiving.

I also will make a dessert but I do something different every year. My mom is in charge of the dessert staples like banana puddin, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and cherry crunch. Oh the pounds will be coming! Is someone doing a how to not gain weight around the holidays? I need to read that.

Goals + Thanksgiving Videos

Christmas is quickly approaching and in order to have the most stress free holiday I am doing lots of prep work. Over the weekend I tried to start decorating. It did not go well. I hung some Christmas lights from Jack's window. I had to take him down. The child would not leave them alone. I put them where he couldn't reach them. What did he do? Pull up a chair. I thought, okay, he is just curious so I supervised him touching them. We looked at the colors and talked about how they would break. I figured he would be done. He wasn't. Of course, he pulled up a rocking chair to get to the lights. All I could think about is a broken leg. The lights had to go. Yeah, so I'm worried how the rest of the decorating will go. I want to start breaking down my goals for each week, at least until the holidays are over. 

goals week #1

1. make fudge and freeze

2. wrap my sister's ornament 

3. continue going through Christmas boxes to find all of our Christmas stuff

4. make list of Thanksgiving dishes and ingredients

5. buy 2 of Jack's Christmas gifts

6. get my Secret Pal a Happy Thanksgiving present

7. start a new book

8. get book fair set up before Friday afternoon

9. buy garland for advent calendar

10. confirm details about sibling Christmas buying (are we swapping gifts this year? are we setting a limit?)

It would be so awesome if I get all of these things done this week. Oh to set goals and accomplish them. Y'all seriously Thanksgiving is next week. Lordy! So many things to do! For those sweet little ones here is a few Thanksgiving videos that Jack has been loving this weekend. Hope you enjoy!

Pinterest Win and Fail

I'm doing my part this year to make Christmas as calm and pleasant as possible. Being stressed out during the holidays is no win situation for anyone. Here is what we've been working on.

Here is my Pinterest win! After my Pinterest fail, which you will soon see, the feet art was a much better choice. I'm happy with the way it turned out and even happier to have one of my Christmas projects complete!

Now for the Pinterest fail! This is what was suppose to happen.

This is what really happened. When I put that first painted hand down and he started opening and closing those fingers I knew it wasn't going to work. I tried to salvage it. It wasn't working. Finally, I just said forget it and let him mess around in the green paint while I got the things together for the Pinterest win. 

I've also been working on our advent calendar. I found 4 packs of mini stockings at Dollar General so I picked up enough for 24 days. I then found these perfect size numbers on Pinterest. Inside each stocking I inserted one of these Bible verses. Originally, I had planned on doing Elf on the Shelf but decided against it this year. I think Jack is still just a little too young. However, with the Bible verses I am going to insert little treats each night. I am a little worried how he is going to react the day after Christmas when all the daily prizes are cut off. 

With Jack's birthday being last week he quickly learned that boxes meant he was getting a present. Two days ago when the new microwave came in he freaked because he wasn't allowed to open it. He didn't understand that this wasn't for him. He had a total meltdown. All boxes that come in will be promptly hidden from Jack (we get a lot of stuff from Amazon). 

Yesterday, I finished up this project (this picture is from the site).

I haven't gotten a picture of our's just yet. On the one I completed I used pictures from previous Santa visits. Here is my favorite one.

I know it makes me kind of a bad parent for loving this picture so much but it just cracks me up. It was such a great Santa and Jack was so excited, up until the moment Santa took him. Last year went great and I'm hoping for another successful Santa visit this year. We are going to start discussing Santa and looking at pictures soon. I want him to be very excited about seeing Santa. 

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend! 

Ornaments

I love Christmas ornaments. Each year my tree is full of ornaments that mean so much to me and my family. Some of these ornaments have been around before I was born. Every Thanksgiving my sister and I exchange ornaments. This year I picked her up the last ornament you will see. I think it is perfect for her since Maybree has completed their family. Here are some other ornaments that I also found to be super cute. My absolute favorite ornament I have is a really old (sad looking) Santa that belonged to my mom when she was a child. 

What is your favorite ornament? 

Wire names

Santa

First Christmas

Boy sports

Girl sports

First Christmas

Girls Group

Teacher Ornament

Family 

Jack's Christmas List

1// Radio Flyer My 1st Scooter, Red 

2// 12 Piece Dinosaur Set

3// Kids Kindle Fire Edition

4// Goodnight Train book

5// Tractor Flashlight

6// Monster Slippers

7// Mickey Mouse Bookset

8// Bath Boats

9// Toy Kitchen

Birthday Weekend

1// One of the gifts I got Jack was this fishing game. As you can see from the picture Jack is cheating. In his defense, this game was much harder than I remembered. They don't use magnets anymore. As of Sunday afternoon two of the fish are MIA. 

2// I decided to go with a monkey cake this year for Jack. We have done Mickey Mouse and Thomas the Train. We all call him monkey so I found this to be fitting. We have the bet cake maker in our little town. It is the best cake I've ever eaten. 

3// This picture is all Jack. Never was there a more perfect picture that summarizes Jack up completely. Wild child!

4// Jack goes to the best daycare. He had a little party there on Friday. I just love this picture. These children are so joyful. 

5// Jack's favorite present is this Jack in the Box. I knew he would love it. He loves to be surprised and he enjoys you scaring him. Oh the magical laughter the first time that clown came up. He giggled and laughed for so long. We have had lots of laughs over this toy. Classic toy for the win!

Trying Something New

I have kept a pretty consistent routine. I didn't have anything physical for Jack or myself to see but we did the same things each night. I made this chart as a physical sign for Jack and myself to see. I'm going to make a big deal out of each item "okay, now it is time for pajamas" then do lots of praise. Lord, I pray this helps with bedtime. I've also read some articles and I have a new plan. I wrote out this plan and am going to give it at least 3 days to see if things change.....I'll let ya know. Wish me lots of luck!!!

Parenting Struggles

I'm keeping it real today.

I'm struggling with parenting Jack. He turns three on Saturday and he is more difficult than ever. His energy is excessive. I know toddlers have lots of energy but is Jack's energy level more than most? I work with children everyday, some with ADHD, and Jack seems to have a lot of the same symptoms. Is it ADHD or is it just being a toddler?

I know I can take him to the doctor but I just feel like he will dismiss me as being an over sensitive parent. Jack gets into everything. I mean everything and quickly. He'll be on the table one minute and in the fridge the next. I get him out of the fridge and then he is jumping on the bed. By the time bedtime comes around I am exhausted and then the real chaos starts.

Bedtime is awful now! He will not stay in his bed. He continuously turns the closet light on. I've tried everything I can think of and I'm exhausted. By the time he does go to bed it is almost midnight, I'm exhausted, I'm frustrated, I'm upset that I'm so frustrated, and it just makes sleeping an awful event. The only way he sleeps in his bed at all is if I move him to his bed once he falls asleep in mine. Most nights that doesn't even happen.

Struggling as a parent is hard on both the parent and child. I can feel his struggle. He is so loving. He loves to hug and kiss and be held. I love these sweet parts of him. I even love his energy (even if I wish it were contained a little). I keep his schedule consistent to help him feel ease but even that isn't helping with bedtime. Maybe this is just a phase and next week he'll be a model sleeper. Maybe as he matures he'll stop being so wild. I want him to enjoy the excitement of putting together a puzzle or completing a task during free play but it seems he can't stay in that moment.

I just wanted to say I'm struggling. I wanted to be real. I wanted to let people know they aren't alone. We all struggle as parents from time to time and it means everything to know that you aren't a failure and that what you are feeling is common.

Reading and What I Want to Read

I've been doing lots of reading again. I think it has to do with the weather. Today I'm going to share with you 3 books I've just read and 3 books I want to read. 

What I've Read

1// Somebody I Used to Know. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. I really debated giving it 5 but settled on 4. It is a great mystery novel. It is a wonderful quick read that is very entertaining without bogging you down. 

2// The Gifts of Imperfection. This was one of those books that I've been hearing about for awhile. I checked out a digital copy but will soon have my very own copy in the mail. I loved the message. I even went to the author's blog and downloaded other material. I really loved it (as if you couldn't tell). 

3// Going Off Script. I love Giuliana Rancic so I knew I would be reading her new book. It is a very fun read. It has great stories of her childhood and then there is the celebrity stuff that I just gobble up. 

Want to Read

(summaries provided by Goodreads)

For over a decade, Jenna Metcalf obsesses on her vanished mom Alice. Jenna searches online, rereads journals of the scientist who studied grief among elephants. Two unlikely allies are Serenity Jones, psychic for missing people who doubts her gift, and Virgil Stanhope, jaded PI who originally investigated cases of Alice and her colleague. Hard questions and answers.

Once the thriving attraction of rural Vermont, the Tower Motel now stands in disrepair, alive only in the memories of Amy, Piper, and Piper's kid sister, Margot. The three played there as girls until the day that their games uncovered something dark and twisted in the motel's past, something that ruined their friendship forever.

Now adult, Piper and Margot have tried to forget what they found that fateful summer, but their lives are upended when Piper receives a panicked midnight call from Margot, with news of a horrific crime for which Amy stands accused. Suddenly, Margot and Piper are forced to relive the time that they found the suitcase that once belonged to Silvie Slater, the aunt that Amy claimed had run away to Hollywood to live out her dream of becoming Hitchcock's next blonde bombshell leading lady. As Margot and Piper investigate, a cleverly woven plot unfolds—revealing the story of Sylvie and Rose, two other sisters who lived at the motel during its 1950s heyday. Each believed the other to be something truly monstrous, but only one carries the secret that would haunt the generations to come.

A young widow raising two boys, Sarah Laden is struggling to keep her family together. But when a shocking revelation rips apart the family of her closest friend, Sarah finds herself welcoming yet another troubled young boy into her already tumultuous life.

Jordan, a quiet, reclusive elementary school classmate of Sarah's son Danny, has survived a terrible ordeal. By agreeing to become Jordan's foster mother, Sarah will be forced to question the things she has long believed. And as the delicate threads that bind their family begin to unravel, all the Ladens will have to face difficult truths about themselves and one another—and discover the power of love necessary to forgive and to heal.

Maybree is Perfect!

My sweet baby niece is here! She was born on Monday at 2:11 pm. Mom and baby are doing really great! Maybree Lynn is my only niece and I plan on spoiling her rotten just like I have her brother. I am thrilled to be a LaLa again. These two pictures were snapped in the waiting room. It was pretty much waiting room hell with two toddlers. By the end of the day, both boys were hyped up on sugar and soda (both things they rarely get to have and used all they had on great grandparents and grandparents to get said sugar and soda). At one point (as you can see below) Jack went out. It lasted 15 minutes and he woke up so cranky. The waiting room was full and these two entertained the crowd by playing American Ninja Warrior. It was a mad house! 

It was all worth it, of course. Maybree is a natural at breastfeeding (thank God!). Hopefully, they will be home by the time I get off work and I will get to hold that sweet baby again. Oh that baby smell!

Jack the Scarecrow

In years past I bought Jack's costume. Those things can get expensive! Last year I bought a costume that without the head piece it wasn't much of a costume. Of course, Jack didn't want to wear it. I vowed that night to never go that route again. His costume had to be one that if the hat was gone he would still look dressed up. 

I put together this scarecrow costume without too much work. We had this sheriffs hat that I put burlap on. The shirt is from Fabkids. I attached burlap to the overalls using safety pins so I could take it off without damaging the material. The most difficult part was the "straw". I found this great yellow/brown yarn at Walmart. I glued the yarn to felt and used velcro to attach to the inside of the overall legs. Mama's lipstick makes great scarecrow makeup. We threw on some rainboots and headed out the door. 

My sister is having her baby today. We are all so excited!!! Baby girl Maybree should be here around two this afternoon. I'm working half a day and then heading up there and I've taken tomorrow off just to spend with the new baby. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!