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Posted in Holidays, Traditions, Weekend Top 5

Weekend Top 5

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Monday! Tuesday! I took yesterday off from blogging because I was swamped from our action packed weekend! So, I’m recapping that for you today…just on on Tuesday rather than a Monday!

Here’s our Weekend Top 5:

1.

Hadley requested Chick-fil-A for lunch on Friday (what’s new?!), so I picked up a peppermint milkshake for myself! (Also, I’m late to the party using the Chick-fil-A app–I’ve been using it now for a couple months, and it’s life changing. Even better is usually Hadley rides along with me to pick up our order and runs inside to get it!)

2.

Cookies, cookies and more cookies.

My mom came to visit, and we baked lots of Christmas cookies over the weekend. Hadley helped her bake gingerbread cookies on Friday. On Saturday, most of us helped make Spritz cookies and Pfeffernuse. Then, Hayden helped her make more gingerbread men because he missed out on that fun on Friday. Saturday night, Hadley helped GG make fudge, and then on Sunday, Hadley (and others) helped dip the Lebkuchen in the icing.

Ta da!!! the finished Pfeffernuse…

Pfeffernuse, Spritz, and Lebkuchen cookies. Often times, GG bakes ahead of time or when we are in KC for Thanksgiving and sends us home with the goodies. Some years she mails the the cookies to us. This was the first year we all baked together (or took turns baking because…too many cooks in the kitchen…) 😂

A few weeks ago, I ordered cookies to decorate from a local small business baker/decorator (One Smart Cookie). The kids decorated those on Sunday after dinner, and those cookies were our dessert.

We always save a decorated cookie + a few of the family cookies for Santa. I just put them in a baggie and freeze them until Christmas Eve.

3.

I always put a few front porch decorations out, and Travis always puts the lights out on the porch and/or bushes. This year, I wanted to add garland to the porch. I couldn’t really find any I liked until…I made a stop at Trader Joe’s for a few goodies and saw their beautiful (and inexpensive!) garland.

I bought two swags of it…and Travis worked his magic in hanging it! I love it so much.

This may be what I do every year since I only need it a few weeks, it’s inexpensive, looks beautiful, and we won’t have to store it.

4.

Well, it happened! I know I mentioned last week that our favorite Santa spot wasn’t hosting Santa. This year, our club organized a drive thru Santa visit, so we decided to go for it. I’m assuming this will be our last year to visit Santa, so I wanted to take advantage of this offer. We waited in the car line and pulled right up when it was our turn. The kids got to chat with him outside for a few minutes, we hopped back in the car, and headed home.

It was a really sweet experience even if we didn’t get to enjoy all the usual festivities that the club typically offers.

Chatting with Santa, hand “Santa”-tizer, and waiting for their turn to see Santa while wearing their masks.

5.

Holiday lights! We usually drive by these festive lights at some point in December, and we decided to go ahead and swing by while we were out after visiting Santa. We ooh and ahh at them every year!

Bonus:


My mom brought Hayden the rest of her Harry Potter books. Hayden’s read the first few, and she gifted him the rest, so he can continue reading them through the years.

Shew! I told you we were busy! I was even able to wrap a few gifts while watching the Chiefs game on Sunday night! That made for a late bedtime, but it was worth it to cross one more thing off my list!

I hope you’ve had a great start to your week. See you back here tomorrow for Let’s Look.

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#47}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Friday! How’s it going? We’ve had a good week around here, and it actually felt like winter! We are back in a school groove with only a few evening activities, and we’ve been enjoying the holiday season so far.

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Favorites from this week:

Angel Tree:

Purchasing gifts for families on the angel tree is one of our favorite family traditions. It’s fun to let the kids pick out gifts for the kids on the list. As a family, we sponsored a boy and girl and then Hayden and Hadley’s pod also bought presents for a family as well. Of course, I try to instill in the kids to always be grateful and always help those in need…not just during the holidays.

Black Friday Discounts:

I’ve never been a Black Friday shopper, but we took advantage of a sale at a local retailer once I saw that our weather was taking a turn to the colder side early this week. Hadley’s coat was 50% off and Hayden’s was 30% off. My kids know I love a coupon and a discount. I tell them they should never purchase anything full price. 😆

Candles:

After picking out the kids’ coats, I made a stop in Bath and Body Works and picked up some holiday season candles. They had buy 3, get 3 free, so I picked up two hand soaps, two 3-wick candles, and then 2 single wick candles. On my way to the register a nice customer handed me a coupon for a free single wick candle, so I ended up with a third candle! I was very appreciative.

I always pick up the ‘Winter’ candle every year. It has such a clean and fresh smell. I love it so much.

Running Buddies:

The weather was warm enough on Sunday for a run, and I looked out the window to see Trav and Hayden stretching after their afternoon jog. They looked like twins! Homer didn’t get the invite for the run!

Turkey Rice Soup:

We usually use the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving for soup on the Friday after Thanksgiving…but I didn’t end up making the soup until Sunday. It was the perfect Sunday night dinner.

SnOMG:

Monday and Tuesday mornings we woke up to snow! I knew there was talk of colder weather and some precipitation, but I was still surprised to see measurable amounts of snow both mornings.

We got those Christmas lights up just in time!

I usually make snowman pancakes on the first snow day of the season. With virtual school for the foreseeable future, I’m not sure we’ll get a traditional snow day any time soon. So, I went ahead and made snowman pancakes for the kids on Monday morning.

Tuesday’s snow stuck around for a couple days and was enough to play in. The kids dressed accordingly for recess at the pod and then Hadley played with her friend in the snow for a couple hours after school. Hayden did as well, but he was nowhere to be found when I wanted to take a snowy pic!

Homer:

I found Homer on the couch all snuggled up on Tuesday afternoon. Both kids swear they didn’t cover him with the blanket, so who knows! Homer is either into trouble or snoozing! There’s rarely an in between.

Starbucks:

I made not one, but two trips to Starbucks this week. I wanted something warm to drink, but I’d already had my morning coffee; so, I ordered a London Fog tea during both visits! So good. I enjoyed them from the quiet of my classroom.

Winter Decorations:

Over the weekend, I put out our Christmas decorations. I couldn’t help myself, and I did make a trip (or two) to Michaels. I use most of the same decorations each year. This year, I actually did take the time to get rid of the fall decorations I haven’t used in recent years and will do the same when I put these winter decorations away in January.

I picked up two of these crock lanterns and put tealights in them. I also purchased four snow covered swags for our front windows and a few other items. Of course, everything was 50% off and teachers get an additional 10% off all their orders, so I used that as well.

I purchased the basket with wreath at TJ Maxx.

Christmas lanterns // swags

The Return of Red:

Red doesn’t come until December in our house, and he made his arrival right on time on December 1st. On the second night, he left the kids their “Want, Need, Wear, Read” list to fill out, so he can report back to Santa.

He filled in a couple of “needs” for them 😉

GG:

My mom is in town visiting and took over virtual school yesterday. With over 30 years experience teaching 7th grade English we knew the kids would be well supervised.

Favorite gift idea:

I debated on sharing this as to not give away a gift for a few family members, so I will just share this sneak peek.

Every year since my kids were born, I’ve ordered this desk calendar from Vistaprint for my immediate family. I always place the order on Cyber Monday because they offer a great discount. Once my brother and sister-in-law had their kids, we started to include their photos too.

I upload the photos (and we use the same pattern of January is a pic of my kids, February includes a pic of my niece and nephew and then some months, like October, is the four kids) I placed this order late Monday night, and it already arrived yesterday! As usual, it turned out perfectly, and we can’t wait to give it to them. (I even order one for myself and my brother’s family)

Like I said, I’m sure my family is expecting this gift. It’s one I love giving, and they love receiving.

Selfies:

Found this gem on my phone, and it made me smile!

Friday Funny:

Y’all, I feel this deeply. haha

My brother decided to remind me this week that I’m almost 41. Wow…40 has gone by quickly!

Favorite Mom Meme:

Tis the season for my kids to think we are millionaires 😅

Weekly Recap:

Thanksgiving Recap
Amazon Lately
Tis the Season

Looking back, I sure shared a hodge podge of faves from the week. All things considered, we had a pretty good week. Now, bring on the weekend!

Thanks so much for reading, and don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts too!

Take care,

Posted in Holidays, Traditions

Tis the Season!

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Well, Thanksgiving was already a week ago, and we are in full Christmas spirit in my house. We’ve taken Christmas card photos, picked out our tree, decorated, welcomed our Elf back from the North Pole, and even had our first snowfall of the season!

Today, I’m sharing the details of our decking the halls and Christmas cheer so far this holiday season.

Starting with…this meme…

It cracks me up. I’m either watching a holiday baking show or Ozark. My tv watching goes from G to rated R real quick!

I mentioned in Monday’s post that we were pretty busy on the Friday after Thanksgiving. One of our errands was stopping by our favorite place to pick out the Christmas tree for our living room. The weather was perfect for wandering around to find just the right tree. Well, technically the kids each found a “perfect” tree, and had to rock, paper, scissors over which tree we’d bring home. Hadley won.

This is also the place we usually go to see Santa. Unfortunately, Covid is cramping Santa’s style this year! I know there are probably other options, but this Santa is our fave, and I guess for now, we’ll have to live with this very 2020 Santa experience. (or lack thereof)

Y,’all, this Santa really is the best!

A few Santa pics through the years…

Top: 2017; bottom left: 2016; bottom right: 2019

2020:

I’m assuming my kids won’t be “believers” for much longer, so I actually did tear up taking this pic. As the years pass by, I do miss the innocence of having little ones and seeing Christmas through their eyes. They are still excited for the holidays, but it’s just different than when they were little.

Travis strung the lights on the tree Friday night, so we could decorate on Saturday morning before everyone got busy.

I put any leftover ornaments not used on the living room tree on the artificial tree in the sun room. I think this is our fourth or fifth year getting a real tree for the living room. Last year was the first year we put our older artificial tree up in the sun room, and I’m glad we did that again this year.

We now have a total of five trees up in the house.

  • The kids each have a small tree in their rooms.
  • We have the artificial tree in the sun room.
  • The real tree is in the living room / office area.
  • and… I (Trav) moved my new pencil tree to our bedroom.

Then…we had to have a talk with Homer about behaving and not taking oraments off the tree.

“Who, me?”

He looks innocent, but last year he had a real knack for #Homering nostalgic ornaments and family heirlooms. 😂

I was hoping we could trust him because for the month the skinny tree was in the sun room, he didn’t bother a single ornament. But…within an hour on Saturday, he’d already taken three ornaments off the living room tree. So, I moved most of the ornaments up higher (even though he can still probably reach some), and now our tree is decorated like it was in 2010-2012 or so when we had two toddlers!

On Friday, I also had the kids dress up, so I could take pics for our Christmas cards. I always think I will have my act together in the fall for family photos for our cards, but that never seems to happen.

The last time we had a fall family photo for our Christmas card was 2014…

This year, the kids were adamant we bring Homer again for the photo, so I decided to head back to where we had our 2014 family photos, the Henry Clay Estate. I knew we’d have space to walk around and would be able to keep our distance from people and enjoy the beautiful weather.

When I saw the bench, I knew I wanted to have the kids sit there again, but later noticed they put their hands in the same spots they did for the photo years ago.

This was a very how it started…

how it’s going…

moment! 😆

I will share our Christmas cards (and photos that made the cut) when they arrive. I always order from Shutterfly and take advantage of the Cyber Monday deal they always have.

And…to really keep the spirit alive, Red, our elf, arrived on Tuesday morning. My kids were panicking a bit because some of their friends’ elves arrived after Thanksgiving. I told mine that Red was probably still in quarantine before safely entering our home (just kidding!) Really, I reminded them at Red doesn’t show up until December first, at the earliest!

When we were talking about our elf’s return, Hadley did ask how long the elf will visit. I said, “Well, I guess as long as you believe.” She said, “Well, shouldn’t you always believe?” It was the sweetest and something I need to remember for the next 20+ days 😉

Upon Red’s arrival, he brought the book that we’ve had since 2012. We know he’s our elf because he has the book and a few years ago, he glued a cotton ball to his hat, and the residue has been there every since. Also, last year Red was #Homered, and his torn hat and bandaged hand proves that the right elf came back to our house from the North Pole.

I know these holidays are going to be different (and I’m tired of saying that!), but I’m thankful some traditions remain: decorating, Christmas tree picking, fussing at my kids for pictures, and the return of Red are only the beginning.

I hope your December is off to a great start! See you back here tomorrow for a hodge podge of Friday Favorites.

Take care,

Posted in Amazon

December Prime Purchases

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Happy December 1st, friends!

It’s Prime Purchases blog post day! I love this link up with Tanya because I always like to see what people have purchased over the past month! Today’s post is a two for one because I’m sharing what I purchased in November as well as sharing my TOP 5 Prime Purchases of 2020.

November Purchases:

Clothes:

I’ve had a couple of sweaters on my list to purchase once the weather turned colder. At the end of the month, I ordered these two sweaters, and I love them. They are both soft and cozy.

Fuzzy Knitted Sherpa Sweater

This one is “one size fits all,” and is a bit over-sized on me. (Apparently, at some point, it was $80…I can assure you I paid this cheaper price tag!)

Both are perfect to wear with leggings or jeans!

Kids:

Erika shared these practice baseballs that her sons use, so I picked them up for Hayden as a last minute birthday gift.

Speaking of birthdays, Hadley has asked me for blue light blocker glasses since the beginning of the school year. Since the kids are learning online right now, I thought they would be the perfect gift to go along with a couple other goodies I’d picked up for her for her birthday.

Blue Light Blocking Glasses

She’s always wanted to wear glasses, and they look so cute on her. I keep telling her that her day will come when she will actually need glasses, but I guess she’s felt left out since Hayden (and Trav and I) have glasses.

Since it was a 4 pack of glasses, I claimed one pair for myself!

Funny flashback story: For kindergarten registration, we had to get their vision checked. Neither kid needed glasses at the time, but Hadley had her sights set on glasses. Halfway through the exam, the technician turned to me and said, “I think she’s just making this up as she goes!” Needless to say, we had to start the exam over! 😂

Christmas:

I ordered this cable knit tree skirt for my new pencil tree. It’s perfect and fits the homey vibe I was going for with the tree.

Here it is on our tree…that Hadley has named Frosty! 😊

I’ve now moved the tree into our bedroom to make room for our bigger artificial tree.

I hardly decorated the sun room in years past, but we do hang out there so much more now that we switched out the furniture back in the spring. So, I ordered these pillow covers to go over my usual pillows that are out there. They are absolutely perfect, and there are a ton of cute options. I was so pleased with them when they arrived (and happy to not have to also get pillow inserts since I could use my current pillows!)

Here they are in the sun room…

Other:

Last year, I bought a “Clapper” at Walgreens for the sun room Christmas tree since it’s hard to get back behind the tree to plug it in every night. The kids each have a tree in their room, and I moved the pencil tree to our bedroom, so I looked on Amazon and found these plug ins…with one remote. From my bedroom, I can turn off each kid’s tree and my tree with the one remote! Genius.

Since both the kids, especially Hadley, like to fall asleep to the glow of their tree, this has been a life saver!

I love PB2 for my shakes…but it seems to be hard to find at Kroger these days. I found this two pack on Amazon, and they will last me quite some time!

Amazon 2020 Faves:

Tanya mentioned for December’s post, we could also share our fave Amazon finds of 2020.

Here mine are…in no particular order…

1.

This fleece waffle blanket is so perfect that I bought two of them for the chairs in our living room. They come in a variety of colors, but mine are this “slate blue” color.

2.

I’ve been raving about these Hanes sweatshirts since the spring. I have them in pink, black, and this blue color. You can’t beat the price at under $9!!

3.

I shared about this tank last month, and I still wear the black or glacier gray one under most sweatshirts or cardigans I wear. The tank is a perfect staple for your wardrobe.

4.

I heart this mug so much. It’s stainless steel and keeps my coffee warm. I have the aqua color, and use it almost daily. That being said, the only downside is that it doesn’t fit in my car cup holder, but I use it for my morning coffee while at home. I rarely use the lid unless I’m going somewhere and know I can manage not spilling it even while in my car.

I just love the fact that it keeps my coffee warm for quite some time while I’m at home.

5.

These slippers are EVERYTHING. I’ve worn these since the summer, and so far, they haven’t been #Homered. haha They keep my feet warm, I can wear them outside if needed, they are so soft. These are definitely a great gift idea!

I saw Shay share this graphic in her Instagram stories the other day, and it made me laugh.

I’m sure Amazon will continue to come in clutch for holiday shopping! I only purchased a few things yesterday for Cyber Monday on Amazon, but I know that it will continue to be a great resource for me during the holidays.

What have you been Priming lately? Don’t forget to check out the other posts in Tanya’s link up!

Thanks so much for reading, and happy shopping!

Posted in Holidays

Thanksgiving Recap

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Monday! How was your Thanksgiving? I love nothing more than a five day weekend! Five whole days off allows for rest, prep, celebrating, and decorating!

Now, here are the details of our Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving:

Tuesday:

The kids kicked off Thanksgiving a couple days early with a Friendsgiving lunch at their pod. They had Chick-Fil-a nuggets, fries, fruit and ginger ale. Great crew, beautiful tablescape, and so much for which to be thankful.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday, I didn’t even get out of my pajamas until I worked out before dinner. It was pretty dreary out, so I spent most of the day watching tv, reading my book, and then prepping for Thanksgiving.

I saw this graphic on Instagram, and Wednesday was food prep day! My 5w6 Enneagram number rings true with alone time and making my favorite dish(es).

Travis joked that he was concerned that neither myself nor my sister-in-law felt confident cooking the turkey. Thankfully, we had a friend who offered to fry our turkey for us. Travis usually get a turkey from work as a gift, but he continued to leave it at work, in the freezer, so this was my panicked attempt to get it thawed before drop off for frying.

Thankfully, a few hours in cold water in the cooler did the trick. No sure what my neighbors thought of me, but the turkey was ready for frying!

Travis asked who was making the stuffing, and didn’t like my answer of, “no one,” so I made my first ever stuffing. I followed the directions and added in sausage, and it turned out so good.

Hadley made the pumpkin pie. She did a great job following directions and mixing ingredients. I was in charge of taking it in and out of the oven, but otherwise, she can definitely take credit for this deliciousness!

Thanksgiving Day:

Thursday, was of course, Thanksgiving. We didn’t eat until late afternoon, so we spent most of the morning lounging around before I prepared my last Thanksgiving dish and then we headed to my brother’s house for dinner.

Me, as a mom this week:

I was able to watch most of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade while lounging in my pajamas and sipping my coffee which is always a fave. We were so excited to see the Rockettes at the end…but they didn’t do their famous kicks! Then, of course, Santa brought up the rear to end the parade.

Travis, his brother, and the kids had their own Turkey Trot running about three miles later in the morning.

Then, it was time to take the “I’m thankful for these two turkeys” pic 😉

Family and cousin photos to send to family.

While ordering cups for the kids’ birthday party favors, I also ordered some Thanksgiving cups from (@cupsoncochran). The kids used the “this cup belongs to” while the adults enjoyed a cocktail in the “flocktails” cups. My brother made a delicious mixed drink of apple cider, pumpkin vodka, soda water and a cinnamon stick. I’m honestly not one for mixed drinks, but this one was so good!

My sister-in-law outdid herself with the tablescape. The dining room looked beautiful.

She ordered the template for the name card off Etsy, personalized it for each person, and had them printed at FedEx. Cookies from a local small business were a sweet finishing touch.

Making so many things ahead of time, really paid off. I baked most of the items at her house, and everything timed out nicely. We had too much food for eight people (four of which are kids), but my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the leftovers.

Trav’s side of the family typically has ham and turkey where my side of the family sticks with turkey. On the years we go to Trav’s side, Hadley enjoys the ham. On the years we are at my family’s feast, she always asks where the ham is. 😂I picked her up a small ham from Kroger and baked it before going to my brother’s house.

Also, she was concerned about who would make the gravy since it wasn’t on my list to make …because both my brother and I don’t like it. So, she made it! I bought the turkey gravy in a jar, and we doctored it up with chicken broth, butter, and bit of flour per the recommendation of a couple of friends. She was pleased with the gravy and the ham, and I continued on my quest for mom of the year. 😂

so much delicious food!

After dinner, we enjoyed the pumpkin pie, and then Zoomed with some of my KC family. My dad’s side of the family typically plays a game or two after our Thanksgiving (and Christmas Eve) meal. While on Zoom, we even ended up playing Scattegories which was so fun.

While it wasn’t our typical Thanksgiving situation, I’d say we definitely made the most of it!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday:

Friday, we were sooo productive…probably more productive than my family cared to be, but we crossed quite a few things off our list. After I saw the upcoming (frigid!) forecast, we decided to take advantage of Black Friday sales and purchase new winter coats for the kids. Afterwards, I made a pit stop at Bath and Body Works for holiday candles and hand soaps before we headed to Target to shop for the Angel Tree. Light traffic and hardly any lines made for quick trips to these places.

We went home for lunch, and then the kids got dressed up and let me take their pic for our Christmas card. Then, we went and picked out our Christmas tree.

On Saturday, I decorated the house for the holidays, Hadley went to a friend’s house, and Hayden and Travis went golfing. Sunday, entailed the usual with getting groceries and prepping for the week…and watching the KC Chiefs play!

See what I mean? Five days off and I was able to relax, read, cook, decorate, and more!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well. Have a good week!

Posted in Books and Shows

November: What I’ve Been Reading

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hey, y’all! Before I take a little break for the holiday, I wanted to share the books I read in November. I know we still have a few days left in November, but I wanted to go ahead and share the three books I’ve read so far this month because….I loved them all!

Here are the books I read this month:

The Jetsetters:

I was a on the library wait list for quite some time waiting on this book, and it was certainly worth the wait.

The matriarch of the family, Charlotte Perkins, submits an essay to the “Become a Jetsetter” contest. She hopes to reunite her family for the trip of a lifetime if she wins…which, of course, she does! Charlotte cruises to Athens, Rome and other fantastic places with her two daughters and one son. The family is somewhat estranged until the trip, and Charlotte is hoping to reunite her family.

The family has lots of baggage to unpack (haha) while sharing family secrets, milestones, and heartache.

I truly loved this book so much. It was a quick read with endearing characters on a journey of a lifetime and reconciliation.

Louisiana Lucky:

Louisiana Lucky was such a charming read. Three sisters, Lexi, Hanna, and Callie, grew up in small town Louisiana. They buy lottery tickets every Saturday night in hopes of winning, of course. Well, one night they do!

They split their $204 million fortune three ways. Lexi starts planning her dream wedding, Callie continues to chase her dream career, and Hanna buys a new house and focuses on family needs.

They find, that with money comes responsibility, and the need to reflect on life choices while chasing dreams.

This was a sweet little read with relatable and endearing characters. It was nice to read a light-hearted book and dream of winning the lottery! 😉

Winter in Paradise:

So…I’m kind of late the the Elin Hilderbrand game! Only in the past couple of years have I started reading her books. I’d say The Identicals is the first book of hers that I read followed by The Matchmaker, The Perfect Couple, and the entire Winter Street series. That being said, I didn’t know anything about the Paradise series until I saw others talking about the third, and final book in the series: Trouble in Paradise.

So, I had to start at the beginning with Winter in Paradise. I loved every page of this book!

Irene Steele travels to St. John after learning of her husband’s death while on the island. She’s shocked to discover that he was even on that island because she thought he was just out of town for work. When she arrives, with her two sons, she discovers that her husband has a whole life that she didn’t know about in St. John as well as a huge home with stunning views.

Irene and her sons meet some of the locals, learn more about the people Russ knew during his visits to the island while trying to piece together the parts of his life that existed while he was there.

This book was written from the various points of views of the characters which I always love. The pace of the plot moved quickly and there was plenty of suspense as the characters work to find answers while enjoying the picturesque setting of St. John.

The ending most certainly left you wanting to read more!

I definitely plan on reading What Happens in Paradise and Trouble in Paradise in January.

Also…

If you don’t follow Elin on Instagram, I highly recommend you do so. She often shares Instagram stories and photos showing her followers around Nantucket and also her apartment in Beacon Hill. I just think it’s fun to see her point of view of Nantucket since so many of her books are set there, and she also talks about her writing process. For example, she’s currently at her Beacon Hill apartment to make edits to her (final?) book Golden Girl that will be out in the summer. And…I believe she spends a few weeks in St. John (or some other glorious island) each spring making edits to whatever she’s writing. She seems to fun, smart, and focused!

Currently Reading:

I’m currently reading Seven Days of Us.

I have a few notes on my phone with book titles: books I want to read, books I’ve read, and a Christmas book list. I added Seven Days of Us to that Christmas list last year based off a recommendation of Shay. It’s really not that Christmas-y of a book, but it’s set at Christmas time.

I will share about it in my December book recap…but, you guys! ….it’s such weird timing because the reason they are together at Christmas time…and for seven days…is because they are having to quarantine.

Excerpt from Goodreads summary:

It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.

Seeing words and phrases like “quarantine,” “no vaccine,” “epidemic,” “asymptomatic,” “number of cases,” “PPE,” and “health officials,” is hitting a little too close to home.

It’s crazy to me that I wrote this book title down over a year ago, and now I’m reading this book and living through a time that seems to parallel our current real life.

To be honest, I almost quit reading, but those references aren’t in every aspect of the plot, and I want to see how it all ends up, of course!

Christmas books:

Like last year, I’m going to read Christmas books in December. I’ve already picked up these books from the library:

  • A California Christmas
  • 25 Days ’til Christmas
  • Mr. Dickens and his carol

Here are the books I read last December:

and my blog post about them…

Lastly, Sarah shared an awesome Christmas book reading list recently. I’ve already read some of the books, and I also added so many titles to my ongoing Christmas book list.

I’m going to take the rest of the week off from blogging to enjoy Turkey Day, rest, and hopefully decorate for Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Here are my other posts from this week:

Monday Memes
Birthday Party Recap

Happy Reading!

Posted in Holidays, Kids

Party Time!

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Today, I’m sharing the details of the kids’ birthday. Hard to believe it, but the are officially 11.

I’ve always been big on birthdays. I started traditions with them when they were young, and we always look forward to their big day. Last year, when they turned 10, I told them we’d probably start scaling back some of the festivities. For example, most years, we’d have a family party and a friend party. For a stretch of about five years, I always made their cakes. I bought them a birthday t-shirt each year, I always make the food for the party…and the list goes on and on.

Insert a pandemic, and well…all festivities look different now. We still made the most of the day, took advantage of a Friday birthday with beautiful weather, and hosted a few friends to play outside.

I still have zero chill when it comes to birthdays, and the zillion photos I take are my proof. 😂

The night before their birthday, I get out my birthday tub with a few decorations. I put those out along with their presents.

Since they were little, I put streamers on doors, so I do that before I go to sleep. I always think I could do the decorating and extra touches in the morning, but with my luck, they’d wake up before I’d get everything set up how I like it.

I always make muffins for their birthday breakfast, and we take this time to open presents and sing happy birthday to each of them. Hayden first…and then Hadley. #birthorder

After breakfast, it was time for online school while I worked. For lunch, they requested Raising Canes. Then, I picked them up each a bundt cake to blow out rather than blow out their candles on the cookie cake.

In the past, I let them each pick out a cookie cake from Great American Cookie, but with less friends at the party and to simplify it a bit, I just chose one cake for them. We picked it up on Thursday and stopped by they party store as well for a few balloons.

Double the 11’s. Double the fun!

I think this is the fourth year I’ve ordered the yard signs. I used a new company this year because they had so many fun options. I think Lawn Letter Kreations did an amazing job! The signs fit their personalities perfectly! And, I felt it was money well spent since their friends got to see the yard too.

Hayden…

Hadley…

turn 11!

I made this birthday banner for their 3rd birthday party. I just keep it in the birthday tub and switch out the age each year. I wasn’t going to put it up, but decided to decorate the sun room a bit in case it was utilized during the party.

Outdoor decorations and food: banner, chalkboard, chips, Capri Sun, and party favors…and hand sanitizer. 😉

I got these personalized cups from a local business (Cups on Cochran), filled them with candy, and added a hand sanitizer in the cup too!

The kids played for about an hour and a half, we picked up pizza for the kids and then had cookie cake.

We sang and they blew out their candles on their bundt cake. We actually sang to Hadley twice because she didn’t feel like the boys put in enough effort the first time! 😂

Cookie cake tradition continues…

Then, they went back to playing!

With twins, boy/girl twins at that, it’s hard to find something they both want to do for a party, and keep the invite list under control…especially during Covid. The kids are blessed with great friends, and I’m glad it worked out for them to each invite a few to play; the weather couldn’t have been better…especially for November!

This little sign says it all…

11 years of being a mom. 11 years of watching them grow. 11 years of worry and love and all the emotions. What a blessing these 11 years have been.

Once everyone went home, Hayden hugged me and said, “Mom, this was the best birthday ever. You should sit down and have a glass of wine. You deserve it!” Ahh…that kid!

I guess a little outside backyard fun, friends, pizza, and some cake are all you really need. It was a great day. We made the most of this pandemic birthday.

As always, thanks so much for reading!

Posted in Memes

November Memes

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Monday! How was your weekend?

We kicked our weekend off with the kids having a small, outdoor birthday party with a few friends. The weather was perfect, and they had a great day! (more about that tomorrow!)

On Saturday, we were able to relax most of the morning, and then headed to the kids’ running club cross country meet. I knew we’d lucked out with Friday’s weather, but on Saturday hanging out in the cold temperatures and blustery winds while watching them run, made me so grateful for Friday’s perfect day. The meet was a national youth race with lots of teams from many states which provided some tough competition. They both ran better than they did at state two weeks ago, and felt good about their races! Hadley ran 40 seconds faster than she ran at the state meet, and Hayden had his first under 12 minute 3k race time. We were, as always, very proud of their effort…and thankful for the food truck selling hot chocolate 😉

On Sunday, the weather was cool and rainy. Of course, I got my groceries for the week, we took some time to organize the house, and then went to another outside birthday party for our friends, who are twins, and turning 13!

OG kid crew ❤️

Then, it was time to settle in for the night, watch the KC Chiefs, and get ready for the short school week!

Like I do once a month, I’m sharing some of my favorite memes with you.

1.

Sarcasm is my spirit animal. 😂

2.

Y’all know I love my quiet time in the morning! I try to have my 45 minutes to myself before the rest of the house wakes up, so I don’t have to say this to them when they wake up:

3.

LOL. We love both Netflix and Chipolte!

4.

Daylight Savings Time is still rocking my world. On Saturday, it was only 7:00, and I was trying to get everyone to go to bed! We all were pretty worn out and in bed by 9:00. #partyanimallyfe

5.

Thankfully, virtual home school is still going pretty well at our house. That being said, it doesn’t matter the age, around this time of the school year, kids start to get extra silly and not take school as seriously as they do August-October.

6.

Another virtual school funny….

7.

2020 humor!

8.

I definitely need to find some time to meditate! That being said, I am getting back into working out a bit since my surgery which has been good for my mind, body and spirit! (and patience)😉

9.

Some day are better than others!

Hopefully, these memes provide a laugh or two to start your week! I hope to post Tuesday and Wednesday before taking the rest of the week off to celebrate Thanksgiving, hang out with family, get caught up on rest, and hopefully put out Christmas decorations!

Take care,

Posted in Kids

Friday Favorites {#46}: The Twins Turn 11

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Friday! I know I always say that when starting these posts, but today is a very special and happy Friday…Today, Hayden and Hadley turn 11! 11 on 11.20.20 🥳

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites post. Of course, birthdays are always my favorite. I have zero chill when it comes to celebrating birthdays in this house!

Today, I’m looking back on this year and giving my two faves a little shout out on their special day!

Happy 11th birthday…

…to my two most favorite people in the world!

Last year I shared a post with 10 things I love about each of them…and shared some of my favorite pics of them through the years.

While they don’t read my blog (maybe someday?), I still want to write to them…

Dear Hayden and Hadley,

This year, to celebrate you turning 11, I thought I’d share my 11 favorite pics of each of you this year!

Hayden:

Hayden, you were “Baby A” born at 12:08 p.m, so your trip down memory lane is first…

You love to be outdoors, and look so cute in a stocking cap!

You are a great friend. You cherish having quality friendships over quantity of friendships.

You know how to relax (and your tan seems to last forever!)

You are an adventurous eater, and you can eat your weight in oysters!

You can be pretty serious, but when you smile, it’s the sweetest.

I admire your quiet confidence (& occasional flex after scoring two on the basketball court) 😉

You give it your all when you are doing what you love.

You take chances.

You persevere.

You are humble.

And…you like to have fun!

Hayden, being your mom is one of my greatest gifts, and seeing you work through the ups and downs of life makes me proud to be your mom.

Hadley:

Well, you may have been born one minute later at 12:09 p.m., but you’ve been dominating the world ever since!

I love that your inner beauty matches your outer beauty.

Like your brother, you like to have fun!

You love the surf and the sand and time spent with your family.

Your whole life, you’ve gone either 0 or 100. No in between. You rarely sit still, but when you do…

You’re always smiling.

You are graceful and exude positive energy.

You aren’t afraid to try something new.

You never give up.

You are a good, inclusive friend.

You are confident.

And…you are a free spirit.

Hadley, being your mom is one of my greatest gifts. Continue to let your kind heart lead you through life, but your confidence and sass will come in handy too!

Happy Happy birthday!

I love you!

xoxo, Mom

Y’all, babies don’t keep! Being a mom is the hardest yet most rewarding job I’ll ever have. They aren’t perfect, nor am I, but I feel pretty lucky that I get to be on the sidelines of life cheering them on.

Weekly Recap:

And since it’s Friday, I’ll go ahead and share my weekly recap of my posts this week.

Monday Meals: Chicken Chili
Tuesday Talk: Fave Quotes
Currently

Thank you so much for reading. Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts too!

Have a great weekend.

Posted in Currently

Currently

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hey! Hey! We are so close to the weekend which is giving me life at the moment! Today, I’m sharing a Currently post just sharing a little bit of this and a little bit of that about what’s been going on. So..

I’m Currently…

Reading:

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand. I’d heard everyone talking about Trouble in Paradise, the third book in series, and realized I needed to start at the beginning with this book. I’m flying through it and certainly enjoy it. I think I will add the other two to my list to read in January (as I’m going to read Christmas books in December like I did last year!)

Prepping:

for the kids’ birthday! The weather is going to be pretty mild tomorrow, so we decided to let them each invite a couple friends over to play outside for a couple of hours. I ordered these cups from a local small business (@cupsoncochran) as a party favor. We are going to fill them with candy and add in a small hand sanitizer in the cup as well. #2020bday

Reminiscing:

about how we went from this…

to this…

in the blink of an eye. I can’t even believe how quickly these years have flown by!

Planning:

for a very different and simple Thanksgiving. The holidays are such a special, but sometimes stressful, time. This year is just so complicated. Ugh.

This year, we’ll make the most of it. There will still be turkey, carbs, and pumpkin pie, so I will be ok 😉

Last week, I did share some of my favorite things about Thanksgiving, so I will cling to those and pray that next year we are back to some sense of normalcy.

Opening:

The kids have been opening cute (and funny!) birthday cards over the past week or so.

My dad is taking Covid seriously by not taking unnecessary trips to Hallmark and using the resources he already has on hand 😂

While my mom and Gma always deliver with the beautiful handcrafted cards!

Watching:

Thanksgiving and Christmas baking shows! This time of the year, I love to watch these shows on the Food Network. The shows put me in the holiday spirit!

Laughing:

(so I don’t cry) at this meme. I’ve loved watching the Queen’s Gambit, and 2020 has been rough, so this meme really hits home!

That being said, I’m certainly also…

Reflecting:

On this year and counting my blessings even if the holidays and our daily life look differently right now. 2020 has forced my family of four to slow down, I found time to take care of a health issue, the kids have a wonderful school schedule with awesome teachers, and we’ve been able to navigate these uncharted waters somewhat successfully. Of course, there have been times of stress; it’s sad not being able to see family easily, that mask wearing is now the norm, and my kids are missing out on a regular school year.

We just keep taking things one day at a time, and hope that there is light at the end of this dark tunnel.

See you back here tomorrow for a VERY special Friday Favorites…the twins turn 11!