Another Friday...another Five on Friday

Linking up again with Darci and friends for a Five on Friday.   So glad it's FRIDAY!!!

{ONE}

I'm not really a music person.  Not saying I don't like music, I do, but I don't obsess over playlists, always have to have music playing {too loud} like my husband.  For some reason it's never been my "thing". 

But there are sometimes songs that I just love and when I hear them...my mood can instantly get better.  There's one that's out right now by Olly Murs.  Called "Dance with me tonight".

Seriously, every time it comes on the radio I turn it up REALLY loud and bounce around in the seat of my car smiling and singing {now there's a picture for you}.  It's such a fun and upbeat song that's retro too.  And I'm weird and feel like when it comes on, I'm going to have a good day.

Just give it a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3EG4olrFjY

{TWO}

Sorry - I'm just SSSSOOOO close to being done with grad school I can taste it. Two weeks left of class. 

I'm not going to say its been the longest 3 years of my life because that's a little over dramatic because they have been a great 3 years of life...but I will NOT miss going to class, group projects, homework and papers. 

Yeah!!!!

{THREE}

Last week I used a large gift certificate I got from an award at work to buy a Roomba.  My friends, after a week of use...we're in love.  All of us. 

I mean it is a robot that you can schedule to vacuum whole you're gone.  I mean what is better than that???  I read lots and lots of reviews and we ended up getting the 770 version at Bed Bath and Beyond and used a 20%off coupon and had a gift card- so really it was about the same price as a normal vacuum.

But I seriously just turned it in sometimes this week when we were gone for just a bit so I could think about the fact that I'm getting some cleaning done while I'm not at home.  Amazing feeling.

Needless to say, I'm not a fan of mopping either (surprise, surprise), so this baby is going on my Christmas wish list!!!

{FOUR}

 Making our house a home.  

We are starting the fourth month of living in our house and sometimes I feel like we still just moved in.  One reason I feel like this, is there was still nothing on the walls.  I felt like hanging pictures up was such a commitment.  But it needed to be done.  

So guess what??  Last Sunday I bit the bullet.  I decided on some pictures and seasonally appropriate printable chalkboard prints and I got to hanging.  

What do you think?  I am still deciding what I think.  I feel like I might need to make the chalkboard prints bigger, but I do like the mat on the frames.  (P.S. got the frames at Costco for a great deal!!)

Any comments?  I'll take anything.

Also hung up some cute Charlie one year old pictures from our session with the talented Allison.  Found these cute frames on our trip to Branson.

And finally, redid the arrangement in our hearth room.

{FIVE}

Finally, happy happy birthday to my wonderful sister-in-law, Hillary!!!  We love her and I'm so lucky to have such a good friend now that's part of our family.  We miss living right down the street from them so much!!

Charlie and Hillary at the lake!!!

 Cheers to a great year for you and for you and Bobby!!

Five on Friday!! Hurray!!!!

We made it through another week.  And I'm back to linking up with Darci and friends for five random things!!  Love these posts!

{ONE}

How are we already a week into November?  Wow!!  I literally couldn't believe it when someone scheduled a meeting with me at work for "next week" and it was November 14.  AHH!!

Speaking of, we are hosting Thanksgiving this year for my mom's side of our family at our house and I'm getting excited.  A little motivation to spruce up our not-touched house and make it a little fall!!  Finding some great ideas on Pinterest that I'm loving.  No school the week of Thanksgiving, so it will be craft week at night!!

Source

 Love some of these fun ideas and really like the fall pumpkins and decor in the big lanterns.

And I love this site!!

Source

I'm going to print off a combination of letters to say "Thankful".  The hardest part?  Ensuring the decor isn't in reaching distant of my destructive toddler!

Speaking of.....

{TWO}

Toddler entertainment.

With busy bodies like some of us have, that's not always the easiest thing.  I have been scouring the Internet and Pinterest for ideas on how to keep Charlie engaged and busy on the weekends when we are chilling at home.  I'm more than happy to spend my day playing with him in his play room, but believe it or not - that lasts about 15 minutes max.  So I needed something else.  Something genious!

And I found a few things after searching and this one might be one of my favorite pages.  Has things for Charlie right now and things I can use as he gets older.

Source

He was really loving the one where you hang the empty paper towel holder on the wall with painter's tape and put cotton balls through it.  He was entertained for THIRTY minutes.  I was there playing right with him, but didn't want to change activities after five minutes.  Impressive if you ask me!!

Anyone else have great toddler activities?

{THREE}

THREE.  THREE. THREE.

Only three more weeks left of grad school.  Then one final (only one my classes has a final, other one has presentation the week before finals and just a 30 page paper due during finals week) and then I'm done.  Forever.  Graduation is December 13 and that's it.

I literally about lost it in my class on Tuesday night.  Too much going on with life + school + other things that I was on my last thread. 

I keep telling myself the end is literally almost HERE.

Three MORE weeks of class.

(this includes not having to go to class at ALL the week of Thanksgiving, which is amazing!)

{FOUR}

 Remember in this Five on Friday I begged for suggestions on where to get longer shirts so I can wear them with leggings and cover my booty.

Well friends, H&M delivered.  I made a quick trip there after work and before class on Tuesday night and I found some goodies that I just couldn't pass up.  One of them was this tan sweater and another were these red jeans.

I also got another long sweater and an awesome sweatshirt that are both long enough to wear on Saturday/Sunday with just leggings.

Here are some pictures I awkwardly made Jimmy take before work.

Charlie was not OK with not being in them obviously.  And you can tell why I'm not a fashion blogger...right??

This is like an addiction now! But thank you for sharing your tips on where to find!

{FIVE}

Source

Christmas shopping.  I know, right?  I'm talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas in one post.  Well - I've decided that I'm not going to wait until the last minute this year.  Nope.  I'm going to try to squeeze it in leading up to Christmas so once we get down to the few days before Christmas I can focus on enjoying the season and having good times with my family and little man.

So we've started.  Charlie....I actually think after our craigslist find that we're picking up this weekend - he will have his "big" thing done!  Yeah!!  Need to think of something good for my mom and dad since they are taking us to Florida for a week for our present (cannot wait).  And for Jimmy's parents!!  Why are parents so hard to buy for?  I'm really going to try to make them meaningful gifts this year!!

Also, we usually hit up Black Friday every year (not sure if we will this year), but I want to take advantage of that day and those sales.  Versus years past where I seem to buy things for myself...bad Brittany.

I'm working on making a list (and checking it twice...haha) for each of the folks we are going to buy presents for and keep my eyes and ears open to get the best present and the best deal.

Anyone have any great early shopping tips??


And just for one more...because surely you did not see enough pictures of my sweet boy...here is a picture of Charlie who was STYLIN yesterday.  I about died when we picked him up from day care and when we told him it was time to go he literally went to a little girl in his class and gave her the sweetest hug ever.  AHH!  What a sweetheart.  And what an improvement from earlier in the week when he continued to sit on kids and they bit him...

Happy weekend to you!

Just a little bit of GRASS

While everyone says "I don't know how you do it" to me regarding working full time, going to school 3 nights a week + HW, studying and group projects, maintaining a somewhat normal social life/marriage/house and attempt motherhood at its finest...my answer is usually to shrug my shoulders and say "Eh, you make it work!".  I leave out the no sleep, dirty house, resorted to only washing my hair every OTHER  day (my sister and Erica say that's normal) details.  And I often fail to mention the REAL reason all this madness is possible and doesn't fall apart. 

Jimmy Carter

(Yes, that's my husbands name if you're new here- not the president)

Honestly- he picks up the baby watching, dinner compiling, putting to bed, some cleaning/laundry responsibilities with little to no push back.  Now, I do my fair share of complaining about him and he does with me.  The worst thing we get caught up in?  The "I do this, you don't do this" game. DON'T PLAY THIS!! We have had to make ourselves conscious of it and try to stop. Not good and not healthy, but do easy to do.

At the end of the day- I need to thank him for being my number one supporter. He's always saying "just go to Starbucks and knock your HW out" on the weekends.  I know we will both be soooo happy when this is all over, but it sure has been a test for our relationship as a couple and as parents.

The lesson learned?? Life is not always easy...it won't get an easier...but your teammate in life makes a hell of a difference.  And Jimmy, I'm so happy that you are my teammate and right hand man.

Ok- so enough of the sappy stuff. Let me show you his handy work he's worked hard on this fall at our new house.

I haven't blogged much at all about our house...I will soon.  But long story short, it was a foreclosure. And had been vacant for almost 2 years.  The inside was great but the outside? Not so much.

Enter Jimmy and his lawn transformation skills. He took our backyard from this:

To this:

Don't mind the white undershirt from Toby's Halloween costume still laying there....

In just a matter of a month or so. I mean look at that lucious grass. It's amazing after that dirt pile. The trees came down because they were dying and full of thorns (OUCH). Charlie loves it too!!!  And you wouldn't believe all the neighbors that stop by to comment!!! They love it too!!! I kind of secretly love that in both our houses we were originally the eye sore of the neighborhood and turn transformed it!!

So I don't brag about my husband enough. I am not good at giving him compliments on a regular basis.  But I an good at publicly announcing how great he is at lawn stuff!!!

Love you Jam!!! Can't wait to be done with school and ramp up the house projects!!

What I want to be when I grow up

Lately I have been struggling with the question "what I want to be when I grow up?"  Asking myself the hard questions about my career and what I want out of it all.  When I was 23, I feel like I had this weird "quarter-life crisis".  So maybe it really isn't a quarter-life thing for me and I do it every 5 years?  Or maybe this is because I'm about ready to finish my MBA. Who knows.  I'm weird.  I just need to chill out and realize how blessed I am!!

And then I watched a video that a friend of mine posted on facebook.

You can watch it here.

After watching that video, I realized exactly what I want to be when I grow up.

I want to be my child(ren)'s hero.  Plain and simple.

I want Charlie to see me as his hero, his best friend.  No matter if I really am a "supermom" - if I'm "pretty, funny, awesome and the best" in my kid(s) eyes...I win.  No matter how many things I think I do wrong as a mom.  What I want to be when I grow up is a great mom to my kid(s).  I will always have my job/career - but at the end of the day - I want to be a hero to him (hopefully "them" someday). 

P.S.

I bawled my eyes out when I watched this video.  So hard.  It is so true and so beautiful.  Being a mom is pretty much the most awesome thing ever and the hardest thing ever.

Trip to the farmstead

First off - how is my child 15 months old and we have never taken him to Deanna Rose? 

Besides declaring us the worst parents ever, I'm just going to state that not only is this place a kid's heaven...but it's only $2 per adult and under 2 are free.  Um, yes please.

We met Emily, Jeff and Jackson right after 9AM on a Sunday morning (awesome timing because it opened at 9).  It will still a little chilly - hence the winter coats and hat - but the boys had quite a good time.  What I cannot believe is that my son kept those gloves on.  Hilarious.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Such a great shot of father and son!!!  

They look at each other and stare.

These Indian tee-pees, oh my goodness.  I think this little man needs one of these to be on his Christmas list.  Both the boys just loved hanging out in there.

I mean - look at that face!

And this my friends - are the pictures that demonstrate that this child is ALL boy.  He literally went back in after we were trying to get him to leave and laid right now in the middle of the dirt face first.

And then got up and made this face.  I might frame this one.  Pure JOY right here.

Who said a little dirt hurts someone?

Next we headed to the baby goats.  And we bought some bottles to feed them.

Which turned out fine for Charlie and I, but Emily and Jackson?  Well, they had a couple issues arise when the goats started eating Emily's purse and coat.  Apparently they like leather?  Haha!

Next time - maybe we'll be big enough to ride the horse named Jimmy!!!

Mom BFFS + baby boy BFFS

We went right before Halloween and there were some scary decorations around the barn.  Charlie wasn't quite sure of them or the barn until he saw his dad walk in.

And then we fed the goats.

And it was amazing.  This kid has no fear at all.

Nope - no fear.

Oh and then came the bridge.  He spent at least 15 minutes on this thing.  I kind of want one in our backyard.   Up and over.  Up and over.

And then he made faces like this.  That make me laugh.  Because who wouldn't at that face?

And then Charlie finally convinced Jackson to get on there with him.   And these were the best pictures we got, but it was a pretty cute moment.

More walking.  More snacks.  Looking at some longhorns.  You know, the usual.  But didn't last very long at all.

Then it was time for the swings!

And some cute family pictures...

The Matlocks!

The Carters!

And then we were off just like that to eat at Pie Five Pizza for the first time and oh my goodness it was so freaking good.  If you have one near you - try it out!!

So here's the best part of the story.  Our intention was actually to go to the pumpkin patch (Pumpkin Hollow) they have there.  But it was $7 per person (only under 1 was free to that)...so we had a quick "team meeting" and decided that the boys were having so much fun as it is and $21 per family was probably not worth it at this point.  We might have reconsidered if we could have seen all the stuff that the pumpkin patch entailed - but all we could see was hay rides - which we tried that with Charlie and we're not really in the "sit still" mode at this point in his life.  The website said they had a corn pit - which I was dying to see him in again - but you know what.  We all still had a good time and these two boys will have no idea.  And next year - they won't know what hit them!  Because they'll be big enough to understand and MAKE us go then!!!