Friday Randoms...

As promised, I do have something other than my children to talk about! 

And all the people said...."Amen."

There's a little about my kids too because, well, I'm a stay-at-home-mom...they are 13 of my 16 waking hours and sometimes some of my sleeping hours too. It's kinda my wheelhouse right now. But I had things to talk about before my children and surely I still have a thing or two to contribute to society. So, here goes!

I made Pioneer Woman's chicken pot pie the other night and it was top notch. An absolute winner. I followed the recipe but used store bought pie crust (I used the Pillsbury dough) and added frozen peas. I put them in after the celery and the carrots had cooked and softened a little. Next time I will double the recipe and make one to freeze.

In other food news...pears are so good right now! I have made this salad for a few lunches this week. It's not anything shocking or revolutionary. Just romaine, bleu cheese, dried cranberries, pears, toasted pecans, and Girard's light champagne vinaigrette. You can add chicken, substitute pistachios (my favorite!!) for pecans, gorgonzola or feta for the bleu cheese...the list goes on and on. I also like balsamic dressing with this salad. Quick and yummy!

We had our annual Wurstfest feast. For those of you who are unaware of our annual gig, Dave's hometown has a huge German festival called Wurstfest. It's the "10 day salute to sausage". Yep. You read that right. His dad is apart of the crew that puts it on and we always go, eat our weight in fried food, Dave gets his fill of German beer, we hear really good polka music, see an abnormal amount of adults wearing chicken hats, and have Dave's "unofficial high school reunion". This year we went during the day because we took the babies. Call me old but that's the way to go! No lines for food, you can actually walk around because the crowds aren't so thick, and you can carry on a conversation without yelling. Good grief...I might as well go to Luby's at 4:30.

Parker with his Pops. Getting the low-down on the lederhosen.

Caroline and my Nana watching the carousel horses. Y'all, I die over watching these two together.

Then, P&C had their first ride. Caroline LOVED it! Parker was pretty unfazed. :)

I've gone ahead and put up my Christmas tree. Cast stones...call me crazy...I get it! No, I don't hate the pilgrims, I'm not trying to rush Thanksgiving, and I'm not ungrateful...quite the opposite. I LOVE Thanksgiving! And I don't host. So I enjoy going and spending time with my family and knowing that when I come home my Christmas stuff is up. It's more of a process with my time divided with the munchkins so it's been nice to do a little at a time. The babies love the lights! I am so excited to celebrate their first Christmas with them. 

My rosebush is blooming like crazy! I've brought several inside because they are so beautiful! My Papa's favorite flower was the red rose. These are a bit of a red/pink but they still remind me of him. 

We celebrated Nana's birthday on Monday. She had some helpers! P&C loved helping her open her gifts.

And finally...we're babysitting today. or, I guess I should say dog-sitting. :) The Gyllenhaals are here so it should be fun for all. Parker LOVES Miss Maggie! 

I'm sure none of you actually made it to the end of this marathon recap but if you did, I hope you have a wonderful weekend! It's pretty cold here so I see cider and indoor activities in our family's future. 

Happy weekend, friends!!

A Post About Something Other Than my Children is Coming...

But this absolutely isn't it. 

I'm just tellin' it like it is because these busy bees had a great Halloween and you can bet your bottom dollar  I over-documented it. So, without further ado, and in humble opinion...the cutest bees you've ever seen!

They were pretty hyped when we told them they were going trick-or-treating at the UT Pi Phi House and Our Church's Trunk-or-Treat. 

The bee was the perfect costume for Miss Priss because she is truly a busy bee. Always on the move!

The little Mr. kills me with his expressions.

We started our Halloween fun on Halloween-Eve at the UT Pi Phi house where P&C met these adorable twins! And in a very "small world" moment- I instagrammed this photo and a friend of mine quickly responded that these are her cousins! How crazy is that? 

 It's definitely full circle when you're 10 years removed from college and taking your children trick-or-treating at the sorority house rather than living in it! #officiallyold (Caroline wasn't thrilled about her halo. She was pretty much over the photos!)

On Halloween night we got the babies dressed, took a few photos of them with my other favorite bee (Rookie had to get a costume! You know this!) and then left for the church. Our church does "Trunk-or-treat" and people go ALL out and decorate their cars. It is so cute and the babies were in stimulation overload with all of the colors and costumes. It was so fun to see their expressions and excitement.

"Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!"

  I'm not sure who had more fun...me or the bees! I do know that I can't wait for next year :)

Crazy Friday Nights!

When I worked, Friday afternoons were the pinnacle. It seems like before we had kids we always had a million things on the weekend agenda. We had about 52 hours to do as much as we could. Our Friday nights have taken a dramatic turn since having kids. We stay in a lot, we don't eat out as much, we don't do weekend travel as much as we did. It's absolutely different but in the most wonderful way. 

We had a pretty crazy one this past Friday. Dave made it home from work a little early, it was a beautiful night, and we went for a walk and tried our first hand at the swings. I'd say it was a hit!! Seeing the smiles on Parker and Caroline's faces and hearing their squeals was so much fun. They are such muffins. I can't imagine a more fun Friday night!

Fall in Tennessee...

We took the babies on their first trip! We survived our first flights, no one threw peanuts at us, and we received more sympathetic looks than we did eye daggers, so I'll consider it a win. I did crack up at the couple of people in the security line who asked where we were traveling. I'm not sure they meant to audibly sigh of relief when they found out our destinations differed. :)

Bobby Bones was on our flight from Austin to Nashville. I debated on asking him to be the Babies' first celebrity pic but ultimately decided against it. Then there was this exchange and I was so mad at myself!!

The purpose of our trip was to visit Dave's granddad and take the babies to meet him. That was such sweet time spent with him! We went to the pumpkin patch, took drives around Franklin and Leaper's Fork for nap time, ate our weight in biscuits at the Loveless Cafe, and enjoyed wonderful time spent with Dave's family. 

The pumpkin patch wasn't a huge success for those DARLING pumpkin patch pictures I was hoping for. We had some tears, definite disinterest in smiling for the camera, and a blowout of epic proportions which required almost an entire package of wipes and a full outfit change. You can imagine my surprise when a few photos were actually salvageable! Ha!

P&C with their YaYa (Dave's mom)

P&C loved getting to spend time with Aunt Kate!

Our hotel room was pretty spooky at times!! :)

These Texas babies bundled up! It actually wasn't too cold while we were there but definitely a few degrees cooler than Austin.

Baby-size leopard skinnies. Is this real life?? LOVE.

Dave, with his granddad and Parker

4 generations! Claudia, her dad, Dave, and the babies. Love this so much! (Also, Caroline is named after her great grandmother- his wife)

I'm so thankful for my family. My little family of 4 and a wonderful extended family God has richly blessed me with. It also helps that they all live in places that are really fun to visit. That's an added bonus! XOXO