10.24.20

Did you hear it? The pin drop. It's been a minute. 

This space...

This place...

So we meet again. 

Years ago, I started this blog as a way to document and vent. A new mom. A baby girl. Time was on my side. 

Flash forward 13 years, 3 kids and many adventures later.

Oh, so many adventures later. 

I have less time, but still the need to record life's moments in pictures and words. 

No promises. No parameters. 

There won't be perfection. There will be ups. There will be downs. 

Life. 

No apologies. 

Flashbacks, flash-forwards and the here and now. 

I hope the craziness makes sense. 

Peanuuuuut, Peanut Butter, 'n Jelly!

Do you remember the Peanut Butter ‘n Jelly song? First you take the peanuts and you dig'em, you dig'em, you dig'em, dig'em, dig'em. Peanuuuuut, Peanut Butter, 'n Jelly! And on and on...

We recently took a quick family vacay and when planning the food for the trip, peanut butter and granola roll-ups came to mind. They are super easy to make and they satisfy growling tummies that need a little boost in between meals. Most often, I have all of the ingredients on hand. It makes it nice to have some snacks ready to go so that you don’t have to buy “all the things” on the frantic trip to the grocery store. It never fails that I forget a thing or ten.

We left for our trip late in the afternoon and drove through the night. The next day, the hubs hit the grocery store (with a prepared list, of course) and the girls and I prepped the bags for the beach. I was ready to make the roll-ups for the snack bag and discovered I had forgotten a key ingredient, the honey. I did however pack the blackberry jam that D made last week. I decided to sub the jam for the honey and BAM. Problem solved. I love how the fruity burst took these tasty bites to another level!

 Peanut Butter and Granola Roll-ups

Ingredients:

• 3-4 flour tortillas
• 1 cup of your favorite peanut butter or other nut butter
•   ¼ cup jelly/jam of your liking (or honey)
•  ½ cup granola (I prefer to keep things simple here, but explore away)

 Directions:

• Mix peanut butter, jelly and granola in a medium size bowl.
• Evenly spread onto tortillas covering entire surface.
•  Roll up tortilla.
• Wrap in saran wrap and place in refrigerator to chill for ~30 minutes.
•  Slice into bite size pieces and enjoy!

 Tip: if traveling, keep in cooler for less mess.

In recent years, I have made it a point to select a peanut butter or other nut butter with as few added ingredients as possible. Also, D has a peanut allergy. Fortunately, she is fine to be in the same room with it and suffer no ill effects. Thankfully so, because J has an affinity for the stuff (sometimes I think this is to spite her sister).

Guess Who is Arkansas Women Bloggers' Blogger of the Month for March?

Now if that isn't a mouthful.

Drum roll please...

it's MOI!

That's right, kids. If you haven't had a chance to hop over and check it out, I'll make it easy for you.

Click right HERE.

I'll be posting throughout the month and I would LOVE for you to say HI.

That's all for now. Just wanted to share that bit of fun news.

Have a Happy Healthy Day!

(and just in case you're NOT having a good day, I'll leave you with the following image:)

(Sometimes you gotta look goofy to make dreams come true.)

Word

Drum roll please...

and my 2017 WORD of the year is

I've created so much chaos that I've had a hard time focusing on the important things. We won't discuss that my word of the year for 2016 was FOCUS. 

I wouldn't say I was a total failure for making that happen, but while I focused on one area, another area went a little CRAZY. 

There's no looking back and I'm ready to face forward to a new year. A year full of promise and adventure. In order to make the most of the upcoming escapades, I want to remove the fuzzy and hone in on the sweet spot. 

Will it be perfect?

No.

Will it happen everyday?

No. 

Will I become a better person while working toward this intentional goal?

I sure hope so.

Areas in which I hope to SIMPLIFY (and this is a starting point; don't want to overwhelm a mama):

all the things

Well, that's not overwhelming at all! Seriously, though. I'm a borderline hoarder. Some would debate I'm full-fledged. It's hard for me to get rid of "all the things". This includes but is not limited to: school papers, artwork, magazines, clothes, dishes, food, etc. You get the picture. Gotta do better.

Looking deeper into the aforementioned "clothes"

I have a closet FULL of things I never wear. I must say that I'm fine with fashion repeating itself. Denim overalls - CHECK. Gauchos - CHECK. But really, I doubt I will wear the tight-fitting 2008 American Legion Championship shirt around the house. This is ~1/2 score and three kiddos later. 

It's gotta go! 

activities 

I want my kiddos to experience all and more than I did. I'm finding that their passions are not the same. I want them to be well-rounded while not being over-whelmed. 

food

So often, simplicity is best. Ingredients: fresh and few. Our busy schedule should embrace this. Not so sure the fam will, but all in good time. I am also hoping to be more diligent with using what is int he pantry and freezer instead of buying all the ingredients to make what I just watched on "The Kitchen". Use what I have and incorporate fresh. Yes! 

I think that's a good start. A lot of the categories overlap and intertwine. Kind of like our bodies. The hip bone's connected to the knee bone. The knee bone's connected to the ankle bone. 

I hope your 2017 has started out just as you wish. 

What's your word? Goals? Hopes?

Hey Y'all - it's FALL

Hello?

(wipes away dust)

It’s been a while. A LONG while.

I was fortunate to attend Megaphone Summit this year, reconnect with some really great friends, and am inspired to get back to blogging. Have you heard about Arkansas Women Bloggers and/or Megaphone Summit? If not, I highly recommend checking them out. You can do so right HERE and HERE.

Now, where were we?

The first topic at hand: Fall fashion trends and decorating.

Fashion

I don’t know the latest trends. My latest look consists of workout wear, messy bun and a headband. When I dress up, I rely heavily on “My own very personal JCrew stylist” Laurie Holman. She’s the bestest. Pinterest comes in handy as well.

This phase of my life, I find that fashion takes a backseat to comfort. There’s a time and a place to glam-out, but for the most part, COMFORT is my go-to.

There was a time when I worried about my girls’ fashion trends as well. I went through a matchy-matchy phase. And then on to coordinated, but not matchy-matchy. Now I’m at the wear-whatever-makes-you-happy-and-looks-appropriate phase. It’s more pleasant for all involved (especially when trying to take a family photo).

What are my fall fashion favorites?:

Beanies.

Boots.

Jeans.

Scarves.

Decorations

It’s the first week of October and they haven’t made it out of the box. Decorating has taken a seat on the backburner. Forget the backburner. It hasn’t even made it to the stovetop.

At Walmart yesterday, I was amazed to see they have already put out Christmas decos. I’m not sure why this surprised me, but I felt a little anxious as I looked around and saw Santa staring back at me. I was in the garden department looking for veggie plants. It’s not time to think about decorating for Christmas yet? Is it?

I do have MOM GUILT with not having the fun, Halloween stuff on display, or the pumpkins and fall decor. I really must do this soon or be tattooed with #badmom for the season. The girls will more than gladly assist. Better yet, I may let them decorate and I’ll be their assistant. Those are pictures I’ll need to post.

Why can't I start with this look? I should buy and carve my pumpkins when they first come out...

ARWB Handcrafted Ornament Exchange 2014

Growing up, I never understood why anyone would have a tree with matchy-matchy ornaments, color scheme, and white lights. It just didn't make sense.

Our tree was REAL and was decked out in homemade ornaments and memories...a LOT of memories.

Through the years, our family transitioned to an ARTIFICIAL tree, but we continued with the sentimental ornaments.

The hubs and I barely had enough ornaments to fill one side of the tree the first year we were married. We used a LOT of mesh, garland, and red, gold and silver BALLS. Yes, the ever-so-popular BALLS that would shatter if you even THOUGHT about dropping them. I'm glad the manufacturers of those blasted things have changed to a much more forgiving material.

When we moved into our new home and had a few more rooms to fill, I was totally grateful and excited to have been gifted a Christmas tree for our GREAT room. This was to be and IS my "decorative" tree. Don't tell anyone, but I hire someone to decorate it. Don't judge. This person is able to do in 2-3 hours what would take me WEEKS to do. I don't have a decorative bone in my body, and this allows me to enjoy my beautiful tree every day in the Month of December (and usually January)!
Just ask the hubs - I still have boxes out from my attempts to decorate mantles, buffets, etc. Then again, don't ask the hubs...

But, the tree that is near and dear to my heart is the tree in our FAMILY room. This tree is privileged to any and all colors, handmade ornaments by the littles, and ornaments gathered from near and far. There are few fillers and no mesh at all.

And THIS year, it was decorated by the three littles with ALMOST very little assistance.

They were proud.

Mama was proud, too.

I was also proud to add another ornament with special meaning. Oh, the anticipation...

This year's ornament was given to me by Monica. You can check out her blog at smalltownmojo.co  THANKS so much, Monica! The ornament made it in perfect condition!

I think it's rather snazzy and I greatly appreciate any and all efforts in the "handmaking" category.

I won't reveal the specifics of the fiascos (yes, as in MORE than one) I went through when trying to make my secret-blogging-buddy their ornament...but, let's just say it only confirmed to the MAX that I am NOT a crafter! (note to self: I will NEVER attempt to spray paint styrofoam again...)

BUT, I had fun, I enjoyed it, and THAT overrides pitiful (which is what many may interpret the looks of my handcrafted ornament).

I have enjoyed participating in the the ARWB ornament exchange for THREE years now. I just LOVE this community of awesome gals (and now we even have a few guys!)! If you have a blog or know someone who blogs, hop on over and check out Arkansas Women Bloggers. You are bound to learn something new and exciting. I know I learn fun stuff ALL the time!

Do you have any cool handcrafted ornament ideas? Please share them here. I need a heads-up for next year's exchange!

 A few ornaments from the tree...

My mom made these with the girls this year.

The girls LOVE this lobster that I got in Boston one year. It's claws move when you tug on the string.

Wha...? Where did the time go. This is Sugar when she was ONE.

HA! Who are those two crazy kids?

 Ta-dah!

Mugshot Monday

Look who is FABULOUS & FORTY...

well, almost.

This is his birthday WEEK and all.

Feel free to hop on over to his FACEBOOK page (here) and give him a hard time!

Say WHAT?!!? Who's FORTY

Sure do LOVE this guy...

Happy MONDAY, y'all!

Now go and give him a HASSLE and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!