Fall L o v e List

October is here.  Im among the MANY others that are so excited for this time of year.. and my day dreams of sharing this upcoming fall and winter season with a third little girl in the mix are about to get real!  So much about the rest of this year is exciting - and it all starts with this month.  So.. how about we love a little?

1. baby j a m s.

Basically it comes down to having more babies because I just love pajamas so much.  I never realized how much of a collection one could accumulate and more babies means more jammies.  Totally kidding, but really baby pajamas are just more fun than real clothes.  There is a reason why we love yoga pants, right?  I don't know what it is.. AND when there is an opportunity to boost the festive level a bit its even better. 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 

2. pumpkin patch hunting.

WHO are those tiny babies?  So many plans to make and such little time.  Our local pumpkin patch has been setting up all week long in preparation for October 1st!  I cant wait to go pick out pumpkins with our sweet girls.  

3. homemade soup.  One of THE best parts about this time of year is the toasty comfort of delicious food. Soup is my foodie love language.  I could write a book with the amount of soup recipes I have made and created.  This taco soup is a crock pot favorite. Actually anything in my crock pot is a favorite:)  This meatball soup is on my list to be one of the first I make and my favorite potato soup will find its way back into the regular dinner rotation.  Also.  Two words: bread.bowl. 

4. halloween costumes + parties.  Halloween is probably my favorite holiday.  I wouldn't have said this before the babes came along, but there is SO much to do as a family this time of year and I find that as I approach my third halloween holiday as a mom it just keeps getting better.  When Parker and Jolie started preschool last month (its already been a month!) I volunteered to be 'room mom'.  Yesterday at drop off I was reminded that the halloween party was coming up - and I needed to start planning.  What? YES!  I am so excited about this!! I spent the rest of the afternoon scouring pinterest in search of ideas.  I loved these chalkboard pumpkins craft to keep it on the low mess radar for twelve toddlers:)  Halloween Trail Mix and fall dipped pretzel sticks would be a fun treat for the kiddos to take home.  I also think I just want to set up one of these Halloween Bevi Bars  in my kitchen nook. On another note still related to Halloween.. the girls' halloween costumes are DONE and now if these next three weeks could hurry so they can wear them..  

5. fall decor + pumpkin everything.

I usually just have a couple things I set out around the house and on the porch during the fall months, but this year I couldn't resist these handmade wooden pumpkins for the buffet table in my kitchen.  I had every intention of putting them outside and then I saw them in person and realized I needed to see them every single day because I loved them so much.. so they stayed inside:) Fall favorites include all the best smells of the season - I just cannot picture fall without every version of BBW's pumpkin candle.  Pumpkin Pecan Waffles is my all time favorite, but this year there are a few newbies on the shelves.. Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake (oh my yum) and Apple Pumpkin Pancakes! I feel like I need to start baking..

'hello fall' banner // latte mugs

Don't even get me started on the baked goods.
Happy Fall, ya'll!

Thirty One

..is the new twenty nine.  As each year passes I definitely don't feel older (at all) outside of the fact that this baby weight isn't falling off the way it did when I was in my twenties AND the exhaustion from the attempt to keep up with my twin toddlers all day long.  It just doesn't come that easy and at the end of the day I could curl in a ball in my bed and pass out.  I was stopped at a stop light and glanced up at the rearview mirror and caught a glance at the (new?) wrinkles on my forehead.  

So, there's that.

31.  

This weekend was spent with friends and family that are so special to me and I felt loved so well.  Just one of those weekends that you didn't want to end.  Monday- you usually ruin everything.. but lets rewind. 

Friday night our sweet neighbors (that also pull a crazy train caboose where ever they go) took us out to Denton on the Square for dinner and dessert.  We live SO close to that area and have never ventured to that side of town- and it was SO much fun.  Dinner at Roosters and then dessert at Beth Marie's.  Birthday Cake ice-cream for me:)  Denton is a college town and we stuck out like a sore thumb when we plowed our way through with our SIX kids.  I'm giggling as I remember the looks of those barely of drinking age 'adults'.. I thought I knew it all back then and I can't they think the same.

 Live music on the courthouse lawn had these girls dancing the night away!

 Saturday came early and it started with a surprise lunch date for one of my favorites.  Jessica and I share the same birthday and her husband Jon invited us earlier in the week to surprise her for lunch.  He was sending her on a scavenger hunt throughout the day with different girlfriends to meet her at all the different places she would go.  I was excited to get our families together to share a meal.  

Required group shot to document the outing.  We all could use a couple more kids, yes?

 We had a couple errands to run before heading over the the Massey's for a family birthday dinner and while Dad ran into the store to grab something, me and the girls hung out in the car - because sometimes it takes longer to unload than it does to make the purchase.. Miss Baker kept me company in the front seat.

 Saturday evening was really good.  Good food (slow cooked brisket, potato salad, baked beans) and good company.  It had been a little while since we did a 'family photo' and even though not everyone was smiling or even looking at the camera I absolutely love this picture so much.

 After dinner we sang "Birthday TIME" (as Parker says) and blew out candles on homemade peach cobbler.

 The best little candle-blowers

 SUNDAY

There is nothing I look forward to more on Sunday than a lazy day spent flipping between football games.  If we can work it out, we go to church on Saturday nights so we can sleep in and never come out of our jams all day.  

Yesterday we spent my actual birthday front and center at Cowboy's Stadium to see the boys play live.  It has been YEARS since going to a football game - so I was WAY excited.  We dropped the babes off with their BB and headed out just the two of us for a birthday breakfast before making our way to the game.

earrings // tee // jeans // shoes // phone cover

 We had amazing seats thanks to my friend Amy- she's the dietitian for the Cowboys.. basically the coolest job ever.  We have actually been sitting at dinner and her phone ring with a player asking her some kind of nutrition question.  Love it..and love her for sharing her tickets with us on my birthday!  

 After an amazing first half we settled for the loss in the end.  We were STARVING so after picking up the girls we went straight to grab an early dinner.  The second time I've left this little girl and she did so good- practice for when I go back next month.  I don't even want to think about that right now.

Also.. my hat is hiding the aforementioned wrinkles:)

bar necklace

 We stopped for birthday frozen yogurt before heading home.  The girls have really gotten the hang of  taking selfies.

 My heart is so full to kick off this 31st year of life.

Happy Birthday to me!  I have never felt so loved.

Weekend in Pictures

...and there are a lot of them.  Some weekends I completely fail at documenting our time together and then some weekends I end up taking a bazillion pictures and can basically share a picture for every moment of the day.  So.  I'll start with the moment we woke on Saturday.  

Kidding:)

Saturday we spent the morning at a park close to home with our sweet friends Stella + JD to celebrate Will's second birthday!  The weather was absolutely beautiful so sharing donuts and coffee while the kiddos played was just perfect.  

Daddy missed the memo on the stripes, I guess..

Parker kept talking about 'birthday tiiiiiime!' and was so insistent about helping Will unwrap his presents.  Jolie was there for the 'pink donuts'.

Hardly able to get these two to sit still for one minute!  

 piggie clips c/o the trendy turtle // flannel / h+m // sunglasses / tj maxx

 This girl on the other hand slept soundly in Andrea's arms.

bow / a little lady shop // top / gap (similar)

 the sweetest little bootie.  It is amazing how much she has grown- and then I see her little legs and tiny nose and quickly realize that yes she's still a little thing.  

leggings / hen + co

 The beautiful Stella.  Over the last several months our families have grown close and I truly adore my time with her.

 

a f t e r  the party we ran home for a quick lunch and then headed out to meet our Supper Club friends.  Every year St. Ann's hosts a carnival and its a pretty big deal for Coppell residents.  Since dinner this month was hosted by the Tapella's, the girls texted out about heading to the carnival first before dinner.  The first ride we saw as we walked up to the entrance was 'the lady bug' and Parker was giddy about getting on.  I was so impressed and SO ready to have some fun with my girls! 

Mama rode with Parker..

 ..and Auntie rode with Jolie.  I think that girl in the back might have been riding alone.  

Is she laughing or crying?  I suppose we will never know.

 Next up was the fun slide.  I think Jolie's squeals were louder than my own!

 There was a kids tent, too!  Parker and Jolie went fishing, bobbed for rubber duckies, got a couple tattoos, and of course there was candy.  

The last stop- face painting.  I was really interested to see how the twins were going to do with it once they sat in the chair.  Last year when I tried to paint their face for halloween they were having NOTHING to do with it.  I hoped this time would be different!  

We talked about what they wanted painted on their face and Parker was really excited to be a tiger and after seeing the little girl in front of her get an Elsa crown there was no going back for Jolie.

 My Queen Elsa and roaring tiger! The sweet woman that painted their face did SO good.  Parker wouldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror and Jolie was going on and on about her Frozen princess crown and the jewel on her head.  They make me SO happy!

 Parker was really into the fact that she was a tiger.  I took a ton of pictures and every single picture Parker has her mouth is wide open. every.single.picture.  She was 'whisper roaring' and cracking me up!

Jolie be like "Yes, Parker.  We get it.  You're a tiger."

Sweet girls are still talking about their face-painting today.  I loved that they were about to experience that and had so much fun with it! 

 Our crew.  Not even 5 years ago we were a group of 8 adults getting together once a month for dinner.  We shared late nights, wine, whiskey (sometimes too much wine and whiskey), laughter, and lots of food.  We just welcomed number 14 & 15 (Grayson and Baker) and baby number 16 is due in November.  These are some of my very favorite people and my closest friends.  Life has changed so dramatically for all of us, but we still keep it together.

The big kids got their faces painted and in case you cant totally see.. they were all flippin' precious!

Parker/lion - Jolie/queen elsa - Landon/dalmatian puppy - Jacob/clown

Dinner time!  

We paraded back down the street to the Tapella's for dinner..  The weather was perfect!  Still a little warm in the sun, but in the shade it was great.

 We were all starving and so excited for dinner- take out!  Supper Club doesn't always have to be homemade and can be low maintenance.  We ordered from a local Mexican place and had yummy fajitas.  

The kid's table keeps growing and growing.  They will all actually sit there and eat together while the adults sit at the 'big' table.  How things have changed! The sweetest little babes you ever did see.

When SC falls on a birthday month we ALWAYS celebrate!  September is my birthday month and for my birthday cake Jacqueline made this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake .  

Hello delicious and hellloo fall!   

Last year Jacqueline made my birthday cake, too!  I love celebrating life milestones with these people.

s u n d a y 

Daddy was at the fire station and me and these girls hung out at home, ate dinner, and snuggled until it was their bed time. Cowboys v. Giants for the season opener and it was a heck of a game!  The last minute of the game I was bouncing around the living room silent-yelling (roaring??) at the television.  

How'bout them Cowboys??!

I hope you all had a great weekend. We have a FULL week ahead, so here's to a great start!

XO!

Firehouse Rules

I had something completely different planned for today's blog post..something along the lines of toddler indoor activities.  I think I'm bringing you something better.  I'm just about half prepared for that aforementioned blog topic, and I promise I will bring it to you.  I continue to be inspired by things, and unless you want nothing less than 'stacking dog food cans' I promise it is worth the wait.

Jordan worked a full 48 hours at the fire station over Saturday and Sunday this weekend, so that left us with little time on Friday to get in a weekend's worth of daddy time.  Jordan left on Saturday morning and I spouted out promises we would visit.  Sunday afternoon rolled around and it was time to load up the monkeys to visit the fire station.  

over this last month they have been very interested in trucks.   big trucks- like 18-wheelers completely blow their toddler minds and it is screeches and squeals from the back seat, demanding 100% acknowledgement of the 'big trucks'!  I didn't even think about it when we opened the door to the apparatus bay and there parked was the biggest 'trucks' they'd ever seen.  these girls were enamored.  Immediately running towards the engine with the biggest grins on their faces.

we have been to the fire station before, several times, but never had they taken interest the way they did this time.  they sat proudly in the driver's seat (thats daddy's seat!) and played with all the buttons.. turned on the lights, let out the siren, blew the horn.  I mean.. Parker's face says it all.   

 my favorite people in the whole world.  can't even express the gratitude i have for my husband for his service.. not just for the city and strangers, but for his amazing service as husband and father to Parker and Jolie.  

 so, whats next?  we did al the typical 'fire station' stuff.. and then the best question ever came out of daddy's mouth.  do you want to squirt the hose? never even a thought to my mind, but Jordan has probably been waiting for this day since forever.  Parker acted like this was the best day of her life.  she was jumping around like a hungry puppy.

 they weren't totally sure what to think about it all.  the loaded hose was wiry and moving all over the place before Jordan picked it up under control.  when the water started to spew, the lit up faces never dimmed.  

 again.. Parker has got it covered for explanation as to the time they were having.

 and it wouldnt be a fire house visit without the impromptu engine pictures.

I promise them cookies..and Parker was holding me to this promise by shouting about it.

gimme all the cookies, ma!

 only if you give sister sugars.

never fails.  

and sister sugars never, ever, ever, never, ever get old.

ever.

Jordan talked about how much fun he had, and how much fun the girls seemed to have for the rest of the evening.  he was basically gushing with joy to see his babies be so excited about where daddy works.  I love it.  this is such a cool place to visit, and sounding the siren, whether you are 2 or 30, is equally as special.

such a perfect end to our weekend.  and daddy got to be apart of it, even while working. 

I hope yours was the same! 

happy Monday!

head wrap // two little bees

kimono // camden & kate

tee // hip little tribe

leggings // odarling handmade

boots // old navy

Supper Club | 'Friends'giving

Last night we celebrated with our sweet friends for a Supper Club Thanksgiving.  Every year around this time we always plan something special and fun to do - We typically take the months of November and December 'off' and just plan to have a night out, doing anything festive we can think of.  Now that babes, babes, and a couple more babes have been added to the mix, our Supper Club looks much different. 

Ashley and I planned dinner for this year, and I literally have the least amount of Thanksgiving leftovers one can possibly have.  Everything was delicious, and the evening flew by.  

Love these people and I am thankful to be able to celebrate with them.

clickables

spinach dip

cranberry brie tartlets 

pumpkin hummus

caramel apple sangria

crock pot creamed corn

shredded brussels sprouts salad

green bean casserole 

(^ used canned green beans over frozen)

twice baked potatoes 

caramel apple crumble pie

roasted boneless turkey breast | spice rub: smoked paprika, garlic powder, rosemary, crushed red pepper, black pepper, seasoned salt; Coat a 3 pound breast with olive oil and the spice rub, roast at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 40 minutes |