Holidays – Page 17

(Happy) Halloween Recap!

Posted on November 2, 2020November 1, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

Hello! How was your weekend? We had a really good one. Of course, Saturday was Halloween, but then Sunday was a great slow paced day to get caught up on life and prep for the upcoming week. On top of that, the weather this weekend was beautiful.

Today, I’m sharing a recap of our very 2020 Halloween.

Andrea shared this meme last week, and I laughed! It’s so true! I know I say all of these statements multiple times!

And…I saw this meme and thought it was very 2020.

Friday Night:

Our “festivities” started off Friday evening with our “Spooky Dinner.” I started this tradition last year, and the kids asked for it again. “Bloody finger” hot dogs, green grape eyeballs, ghoulish green mac and cheese, and this year I added in orange cheese balls because….they’re good 😉…and paired the orange with a black spider for Halloween colors.

kids’ plates…I added the mac and cheese after I took this pic. oops!

Trav said we should play Halloween music while we ate dinner. Hadley found a Halloween playlist with some fun music. This was a great idea until the kids started arguing about song selection. Ugh!

Then, I went to bed early. I feel like I overdid it a few days last week, and it all caught up with me. I was in my pjs by 6:00 and in bed by 9:00.

Saturday/Halloween:

I woke up Saturday feeling a lot better, and, thankfully, we had no plans until having our friends over around 4:30. We kept the menu very simple this year. I made Shay’s Chicken Tortilla Soup like I usually do, but I didn’t make appetizers or chili like usual. The soup was for the adults, and then we picked up Little Caesar’s Pizza for the kids.

Our trick-or-treat time was from 6:00-8:00, so I had our friends and my brother’s family come over at 4:30, so we could enjoy the nice weather, hang out in the the backyard, and eat before trick-or-treating.

Usually, we eat after trick-or-treating, and of course, it’s dark outside by then and we hang out inside. So, with Covid, we changed it up a bit to be able to space ourselves out and enjoy the fresh air.

I pulled a few decorations from my Halloween tub to use on the food tables on our back patio.

My sister-in-law (and the kiddos) made these fun Minion Rice Krispie treats. So cute and delish!

We snapped a few pics before heading out around 6:00 for trick-or-treating.

Hadley was a blue M&M with her group of friends. Hayden was Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. I loved that both costume were their idea, and very simple to put together. Hayden even wore his Adidas (rather than cleats) because he said that’s who Mahomes endorses. Kid doesn’t miss a detail! 😂

I do have to give a shout out to Amazon for most elements of Hadley’s costume, and my friend Amy who cut out the m and ironed it on the girls’ sweatshirts.

I swear…they were just this little!

Then, it was time for cousin pic with Princess Jasmine, and a Power Ranger!

We were excited to see our friends who we don’t see very often. These girls are five days apart in age and besties even though they don’t get to see each other as often as they’d like.

Fun fact(s): we’ve trick-or-treated with these families for 11 years, all these kids have November birthdays, and 80’s girl and kidnapped by alien are boy/girl twins too!

They are all growing up on us too quickly!

Here they are on Halloween 2010.

Hadley was able to trick-or-treat with the other M&Ms for a bit…

while Hayden caught up with some of his crew…

and then we all met back up to finish up trick-or-treating.

Most of the houses we went to had fun tubes to dispense the candy or individual bags out on tables…which is what we did.

Hadley helped me bag the candy Saturday morning.

After over an hour of trick-or-treating, their buckets were full…and it was time for the candy swap. 😂

We had such a great evening. We were able to see so many great friends, hang out with family, eat delicious food (and candy!), and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Lots of things about 2020 have been a bummer, but Halloween didn’t disappoint…and the kids have the full size candy bars to proved it!

and now…it’s November! How is that even possible?!

…which means the kids have started their birthday countdown. 18 days and counting!

What did Halloween look like where you live? Of course, I hope you had a great Halloween!

Take care,

Friday Favorites, Holidays

Friday Favorites {#43}

Posted on October 30, 2020August 20, 2021 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Friday! We’ve had a pretty good week around here. Of course, we were busy with school and work, but we also found time for a few Halloween activities which made the week even more fun.

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

Favorite Food:

Amy shared about these rice rollers in a recent blog post. I rarely go into the grocery store, so I’ve forgotten to look for them when placing my online orders. Anyway, the other day I went into Kroger to pick up Halloween candy and saw the rice rollers!

They are a perfect snack, and really delicious.

Favorite Moment:

Well, y’all…we’ve hit a milestone! The kids carved their pumpkins on Tuesday night with minimal help from mom and dad!! #praisehands I love this tradition, but I’m not mad about them doing the work! Hayden wanted his pumpkin to have crooked teeth and the tongue sticking out while Hadley just wanted her pumpkin to say “Boo.”

Both pumpkins turned out pretty cute!

Here they are lit up on the front porch:

Favorite Kid Quote:

Hayden was on a roll this week and two memorable quotes.

Last weekend, Hayden was on the computer and said, “Ugh, every time I’m on You Tube, there are commercials. ‘I’m Amy McGrath. I’m Mitch McConnell. Hi! I’m Josh Hicks. I’m Joe Biden. I’m Donald J Trump.’ I’m over it. Just show me a Geico commercial!” I literally laughed out loud.😂

Then, the other morning, he was fed up with Hadley and said, “Mom, I’m moving my toothbrush into your bathroom. Hadley takes too much time to get ready and all she does is Tik Tok dances in the mirror!” I guess I have a new bathroom buddy.

Favorite Pic:

My favorite pic this week comes from my friend who runs the school pod. They had a Halloween party on Wednesday, and here’s the crew:

As we all know, 2020 is a year to remember. I’m very thankful they’ve had a sense of normalcy by going to school with a group of friends and having fun activities like holiday parties.

Favorite Clothing Item:

I shared the links for these in my What’s Up Wednesday post, but I’ve been living in this lightweight tunic jacket from Walmart.

and…I’m officially in love with my new robe from Target.

Other Faves: Halloween Fun:

Tuesday afternoon Hadley helped me add a few more touches to the front of the house. It’s no secret I love my pumpkins on the porch for fall, but then we usually add some cobwebs on the front bushes with some spiders the week leading up to Halloween.

Last weekend, when we were in Walmart, Hadley spotted these skeletons, so we picked up a couple to add to the cobwebs.

Other favorites from the week include the pod Halloween party activities.

Hadley’s ready to bob for apples.

Hayden’s turn…He took off his glasses, so he could really bob for apples! He was the champ of his round.

My friend joked that this activity was CDC approved because there were fresh apples, fresh water each round, and siblings shared tubs when it was their turn.

I joked that their big mouths apparently came in handy! 😉 #momjokes

Then, they decorated cookies.

and then ate the cookies…

I think they had a sweet afternoon filled with fun.

Favorite Mom Meme:

I saw this on the ‘gram and laughed! Too funny not to share.

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

I shared Hadley’s kindergarten “All About Me” pic a few weeks ago. Hayden’s turn popped up in my Facebook memories this week. #pinchycheekcute

I remember how much he loved reading The Magic Tree House series which he wrote down as his favorite book. Ugh! Some times I really do miss this age.

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from this week in case you missed one and are interested:

Monday Memo: Surgery and Recovery

What’s Up Wednesday

October: What I’ve been Reading

Before wrapping up this post, I do want to say thank you for the love on Monday’s post about my surgery and recovery. From blog post comments and Instagram love, I really appreciate the support and kind words. The blogging community is a good one, and I’m certainly grateful for my readers.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you have a great Halloween!

Friday Favorites, Holidays, Kids

(Flashback) Friday Favorites {#42}

Posted on October 23, 2020August 20, 2021 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Friday! This week has been so different for me! I’ve had lots of time spent on the mend with napping and Netflix. That being said, Travis has definitely had to wear his Super Dad cape this week! I greatly appreciate all he does for me and for our family to keep us a float while we are a (wo)man down!

The kids still had activities, I still worked from home, friends continued to bring us meals and desserts, and we are just taking one day at a time.

Today, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for their weekly Friday Favorites post.

Today’s Friday Favorites has a Flashback twist. With Halloween around the corner, I thought I’d share the kids’ costumes through the years.

2010:

Lil Pumpkin and chubby skeleton…

2011:

M&M’s…

2012:

Fireman and Princess…

2013:

My favorite costume combo: Batman and Robin! (Being Robin was 100% Hadley’s idea after Hayden said he wanted to be Batman)

2014:

Captain America and Elsa (from Frozen)

2015:

A ninja and a pink Power Ranger…The neighborhood was very safe that year 😉

2016:

A bee and Luke Skywalker…

2017:

Super Girl and KC Royals player Mike Moustakas…

2018:

Soccer player and 80’s party girl #omg

2019:

A Ghostbuster and a nerd 😂

Last year, our Halloween trick-or-treating was moved due to weather. So, we had a fun dinner at home on Halloween. Andrea had shared about her spooky dinner, and I recreated the fun. I hope to do this again this year.

I thought that would be a fun trip down memory lane! Now, on to some favorites…

Favorite Picture:

After a string of dreary days, the sun finally came out! I went outside to tell Hadley to come in for dinner and saw one of our front yard trees showing off.

now…who is going to rake up all those leaves? 🤔

Favorite Clothing Item:

My pjs or comfy clothes on repeat.

Favorite Food:

Again, we’ve been enjoying so many wonderful foods that friends have brought us for dinner. We’ve had soups, lasagna, chicken enchiladas, and a quiche. As well as too many delicious desserts.

Favorite Moment:

When I had my surgery last week, my goal was to rest up and be able to attend the kids’ district championship cross country meet on Wednesday. I’m so glad I was able to attend! The boys and girls teams have come so far, and I’m so proud of Travis for taking on the coaching responsibilities again this year. They’ve had a pretty good season considering the late start due to Covid.

Hadley finished with her best time and highest finish yet with 4th place. Then, Hayden finished again in first. They’ve grown so much as runners in the past year, and again, it’s so awesome to see teammates cheering each other on!

I caught this pic of Hayden right as the race started. He had on his new bright cleats and was chasing the daylight!

On the run…

left: Hadley and her friend leading the pack; top right: Hadley almost to the finish line; bottom right: Hayden at the finish!

Twinsies with their hardware.

Their cousins came to cheer them on 🙂

It was such a beautiful day, and definitely a fun race for all.

Favorite Kid Quote:

This quote goes back to last week. Hadley had her first band class via Zoom for playing flute on the Wednesday of my surgery. That evening, when I Facetimed the kids from the hospital, I asked Hadley how band went, and she told me how the teacher taught her a few notes. I said, “Hadley, I’m so proud of you!” She said, “No, mom, I’m so proud of you.” ❤️She knew I was anxious about my surgery that morning, and that I was so relieved to be on the recovery side of it.

She’s such a sweet girl…when she’s not being sassy 😉

Favorite Mom Memes:

This one popped up in my Facebook memories. Thankfully, I haven’t had to cook in over a week! 😂

Travis is the real MVP this week getting the kids where they need to go. Technically, I’m not supposed to drive yet, so it’s on him to get them to school pod and activities…as well as other errands.

Weekly Recap:

It was a short blogging week for me, but here are my two other posts from the week:

October Memes

Currently

Y’all, by some miracle we don’t have any real plans this weekend. No sports or other major commitments on the schedule which means I will continue to get some much needed rest.

Thanks so much for reading, and have a great weekend!

Holidays, Home Decor, Let's look

Let’s Look

Posted on October 14, 2020October 13, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

Today is Let’s Look!

The second Wednesday of each month, Erika and Shay host this link up, and it’s a fun way to get a peek at different aspects of our lives.

So far this year, we’ve looked at:

January: your bedside table
February: your winter wardrobe
March: what’s inside your purse
April: Easter at your house
May: your weekend
June: what’s in your carry on bag
July: your summer wardrobe
August: your desk
September: your school pics

This month’s topic is how you “pumpkin.” Well, we don’t mess around when it comes to pumpkins. As I’ve mentioned repeatedly, fall is my favorite season, and I especially love the month of October.

Here’s a peek at how we “pumpkin.”

Food and Drinks:

Once October hits, I add a dash of pumpkin spice to my creamer and coffee. It definitely hits the spot on a cool morning.

We love the Pumpkin Sausage Penne Pasta recipe that I got off the back of a Kroger coupon pack many years ago. I make it a few times during the fall season.

The kids, with the help of my mom and my Gma, made the first pumpkin pie of the season a couple of weekends ago. I hope to make another one soon.

A new recipe we tried this year was Andrea’s Pumpkin Sugar Cookies. So good, and definitely a family favorite!

Decorations:

I’ve shared about the fall decor at our house. I think I love fall decorations better than Christmas ones because we get to enjoy them a bit more.

Pumpkins everywhere you turn!

Trader Joe’s came in clutch this year for my porch pumpkins because my regular place had hardly any of the fun fantasy pumpkins to choose from when I stopped by in mid-September.

Fall front porch, y’all.

Pumpkin Patch:

As I shared in yesterday’s post, going to the pumpkin patch is a family tradition. We were able to go last Friday to pick out our carving pumpkins, get some apple cider donuts, and enjoy the lovely fall weather.

Pumpkin patch pics through the years…

2019:

2020:

Homer:

We can’t leave Homer out of the fall fun…I’ve purchased him a banana the past two fall seasons. He tolerates wearing them for a bit.

2019:

2020:

And…

Another family tradition for us is to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown together as a family. I need to be on the lookout this year for it, so I can record it for some forced family fun! 😉

Next month’s topic is Let’s Look at your holiday menu!

Thanks so much for reading this fun (for me!) post.

I’m going to take a little blogging break, but I hope to be back with a new post the beginning of next week or so.

Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts too!

Have a great day.

Activities, Holidays, Weekend Top 5

Weekend Top 5

Posted on July 6, 2020July 5, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

Happy Monday! How was your 4th of July weekend? We were busy. I’m so tired! Thankfully, this week we don’t have much going on besides a couple of ball games.

I thought I’d do a little Top 5 recap of our busy weekend.

Canoeing:

We are adventurous, y’all. We started our holiday weekend on Friday canoeing. Kayak/canoeing was one of the activities we had on our Summer 2020 Fun list!

We went with a few friends and got our canoes from Canoe Kentucky in Frankfort. While I was excited, I was a little hesitant because I didn’t know what to expect. Long story short, about four years ago we had a tense and sometimes scary creek tubing experience in North Carolina. I figured a canoe is more substantial and the kids are older, so the canoe trip should be fine…and it was! It’s a great outdoor and socially distant activity. Win win.

We all met to get our life jackets, instructions, and canoes and then we rode on the bus (while wearing masks) to the entry point on Elkhorn Creek. Then, we canoed back which was about 6 miles and took us about 3 hours. We did stop 3 times to let the kids swim and to kind of regroup. Altogether, we had 11 people in 5 canoes and 1 kayak….and we all stayed together! Of course, it was a hot day, but on the water, it was fine. There was shade and the water was cool.

When the instructor dropped us off he said we may see turtles, a bald eagle, deer, and more. We did see the bald eagle, deer, and even a little water snake.

There were a few rapid points that we could easily navigate and there were even times I wished the water would move more! 😂

The adults sat in the back of the canoes to steer while the kids paddled (adults paddled too)—but definitely needed to be in the back to steer.

We really had a great time, and I definitely hope to go again (or make this a summer tradition!)

They enjoyed swimming more than paddling 😉

After we canoed, we headed to one of our favorite spots for dinner…Wallace Station. It’s the perfect spot with picnic tables and shade…and easy to social distance from other diners.

I got the shrimp wrap with orzo side and it was so good!

Festive Food:

I ordered some red, white, and blue cookies from a local baker, L’oven Cookies, and picked those up on Friday. We enjoyed them throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, we had our traditional red, white and blue waffles. This year, Hadley made the waffles using a mix and our mini waffle iron. (I usually just use frozen waffles and the toaster ;). She’s become a big help in the kitchen. I put the toppings on!

4th of July:

We actually did have a relaxing day with not much on our plate on Saturday. We lounged around, watched tv, the kids biked with friends, I hung out and read in our pool and that was about it…until it was time for dinner.

The kids did oblige with a red, white, and blue outfit pic with Homer and his new scarf.

He’s good at posing for pics if he knows he’ll get a treat.

Then we grilled out with another family in our neighborhood. The kids see each other pretty often these days to ride bikes and know they can play but to keep some space, and we keep up with the hand washing, of course.

After dinner, we set off a few fireworks before heading home to go to our favorite fireworks viewing location.

Sparklers are my fave.

The 30 minute fireworks display from a local country club did not disappoint.

Then, we came home, set off a few more fireworks (I had just bought a few things at Kroger) and then we headed to bed.

Netflix:

Friday night after we returned home from canoeing, I was exhausted. By 8:00, I was showered and in bed. I turned on Netflix, and The Babysitters Club popped up. I had forgotten that they were doing a series on the books. I swear, as a kid, I read every single one. I remember going to the book store to buy the books one at a time as they were released.

Hadley’s only read a few of them, and enjoys them. I knew she’d love the show and was excited to watch a couple of episodes, so we did. Then, we watched a couple more episodes throughout the weekend.

The show is an updated version that touches on modern topics while also including plot elements from the books.

Sunday:

Sunday was a lazy day mixed with a bit of productivity. We changed all the bedsheets and I made my grocery order for the week.

Hadley and I watched a couple more episodes of the BSC. I snuggled with Homer while the kids played outside.

Then, we met some of Trav’s family at The Stave for an early dinner.

Sunday ended with showers and early bedtimes for everyone. I’ve tried to make Sunday nights a good time to reset for the kids (& myself!)

Tomorrow is Trav’s birthday, so we have more celebrating to do tomorrow.

I hope you have a great week.

Friday Favorites, Holidays

Friday (4th of July) Favorites {#30}

Posted on July 3, 2020August 20, 2021 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Friday! Even though this has been a “different” kind of summer with some extra downtime at home, I’m still looking forward to this extended holiday weekend.

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

With it being 4th of July weekend, I thought I’d share some of our favorite 4th of July traditions. The 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays.

Red, White, and Blue

I don’t know how many years I have left (this is probably it ;), but I make sure the kids have some form of red, white and blue to wear. I usually look in their closet first to see what they already have, but, of course, places like Old Navy and Target always have cute options for very reasonable prices.

Breakfast:

For as long as I can remember, I’ve made red, white, and blue waffles. It’s as simple as throwing a frozen waffle in the toaster and then topping it with whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries.

For Father’s Day, Hadley wanted to make Travis waffles from a mix using our mini waffle maker. So…we may do that again for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Homer:

Last year, I bought Homer a red, white, and blue scarf. When I put it on him for Memorial Day this year, it was a bit tight. I ordered him a new one from Amazon to wear tomorrow.

Outside Decorations:

I don’t really have anything for inside my home for the 4th, but I always put little flags in our planters and by the front porch. Then, I switch out my usual garden flag for my American flag.

Sparklers and Fireworks:

Some years we are on vacation, but the years we are home, I pick up a few sparklers, snap its, smoke bombs, etc. I definitely keep it simple and pretty kid friendly. I’m not trying to scare the neighbors!

I do love the sparklers at night! So fun and festive.

Then, when in Lex, we head to our favorite spot to watch one of the country club’s fireworks. It’s always an awesome display and in a pretty convenient location.

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

This is one of my favorite family pics from 4th of July 2015. We were settled in and ready to watch our favorite fireworks.

Weekly Recap:

Memes

Monthly Musings and 20 Questions

What I’ve Been Reading

Life Lately

Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts too! I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!

Holidays

Father’s Day

Posted on June 22, 2020June 21, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

Hi~ I hope you had a great weekend! We tried to celebrate Travis as much as possible this weekend. Friday ended with Travis and Hayden having baseball, but on Saturday, the kids and I prepped for Father’s Day on Sunday.

Saturday evening, we headed out to dinner at one of our favorite pizza places. This was our first time eating out in Lexington since early March! We sat on the patio at Grimaldi’s and then walked around a bit. We snapped a couple of pics and then Travis and Hadley had popsicles from Steel City Pops.

They are lucky to have such a great dad!

Sunday morning, Travis woke up to a few gifts and some goodies. Hadley wrote on our chalkboard, I saw these cute (and delicious) cookies at Whole Foods and picked them up for us to enjoy, and each kid had picked out a card for Travis.

Every year I get on Pinterest and find a printable for Hayden and Hadley to fill out about Travis. Their responses have gotten more mature through the years, of course. I do miss the sweet little responses from when they were younger, but I still think it’s a cute sentiment.

Hayden and Travis had a 10:00 tee time, so I wanted to keep breakfast simple. I was going to make pancakes, but as I headed to the store on Saturday, Hadley asked me to see if I could find waffle mix. I just have a mini waffle maker, but I told her I’d look. I found some, and I’m so glad that I did. The waffles were perfect! Hadley made the waffles while Hayden fried up the bacon. Of course for Father’s Day, Travis had his breakfast on our traditional Red Plate.

After breakfast, my dad CALLED ME. He’s the only person I know who will beat you to a phone call that’s supposed to be a day about him. 😂

Hayden has been playing golf off and on since last summer. Yesterday, was his first time playing 9 holes. He was SO excited. I know Travis was too.

Boo was ready to hit the links! #Ithinkthatisagolfsaying 😉

For dinner, I picked up a few kabobs from Kroger. I got the salmon/vegetable combo as well as the steak/vegetable combo. We had watermelon, pasta salad, and I made one of our favorite side dishes: asparagus fries. We all love them, and they are so good.

For dessert, I tried Amy’s Lemon Freezer Pie recipe that she shared the other day. Hadley and I made it on Saturday to let it freeze overnight. It was so easy and so delish!

For fun, a little Flashback Father’s day photo from 2011. I love when this pic pops up in my Facebook memories. I remember taking this picture; it cracks me up every time I see it.

I hope Travis had a great day and knows how much we love and appreciate him. The kids hit the jackpot in the dad department!

Y’all, thanks so much for reading. I hope you have a great week!

Friday Favorites, Gift Ideas, Holidays

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Posted on May 1, 2020May 18, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

**I shared this post earlier in the week, but all of the items are my favorites and perfect for this week’s Friday Favorites. I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika, so check out their posts too!

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, I wanted to go ahead and share some ideas. ❤️

I saw this meme on Sunday, and thought it would be fun to put together some gift ideas for mom. Also, these could be gift ideas for yourself (I do that sometimes…like every Friday after I’ve survived another week of home schooling 😉) or ideas for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

Of course, now you are down to about 10 days!

When I saw this meme, I really did get sad for a second. I love when the kids bring home cute crafts from school for me and there’s nothing better than a homemade card! For Father’s Day, I always print one of those fill in the blank sheets “All About Dad” with Dad’s favorites, etc. The kids’ responses are always so cute.

Per tradition, the kids and Travis know all I would like for Mother’s Day is a card, two hanging ferns for our front porch, no fighting…and maybe an hour of peace and quiet. The past couple of years we’ve gone out for brunch…and I will miss that this year. Since I do most of the cooking, I do take a break on Mother’s Day, and Travis usually grills out or we get carryout from a local restaurant.

To be honest, Travis is a great gift giver. Most years, on top of the traditional gifts, he (and the kids!) usually come up with something special like a framed sign with a saying, a gift card to somewhere I’d probably never go on my own, or a sweetly completed craft project.

Pinterest always has cute craft ideas for Mother’s Day. One year, Travis painted a wooden crate, and then the kids put their names and hand prints on it. Then, they filled it with flowers. It was a perfect addition to our back porch. A framed photo is always a sweet idea as well. I think all moms really want is to feel appreciated by maybe sleeping in a bit, not doing any household chores, or getting to stay out of the kitchen.

I posted some recent favorites of mine last week, but here are a few more ideas that are extra special!

9. I have this Amazon blanket in gray. It’s warm and cozy.

10. I have two pairs of these flip flops from Nordstrom. They are my faves and would be a perfect gift with some of mom’s favorite nail polish (I love OPI Bubble Bath and Funny Bunny!) or a nail salon gift card.

11. This “mom” ring dish (can be customized) is so pretty and perfect for mom’s dresser or jewelry drawer.

12. These vases from Rustic Roots would be a wonderful surprise for mom. Just fill them with flowers!

Y’all, mom doesn’t need anything fancy; she just wants to feel the love. Of course, I’m sure she wouldn’t be mad if she received something comfy, stylish, or sparkly to go with that sweetly signed Mother’s Day card.

I hope you find an idea or two for mom, for yourself, or for someone special.

P.S. someone may need to forward this to Travis. Just in case. 😉

Have a great weekend!

Holidays

Easter

Posted on April 15, 2020May 15, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Wednesday. As I mentioned in Monday’s post, our Easter looked a bit different this year (as, I’m sure, was the case with most everyone!) We did take advantage of beautiful weather on Saturday for an egg hunt in the front yard. Thankfully, it didn’t take much convincing for my kids to put on Easter clothes for some pics before the egg hunt. I guess I was technically bribing them with candy, and somehow taking the photos took twelve minutes longer than necessary! haha.

They certainly are growing up on me! I did ask them that morning if they even wanted to do an egg hunt…I just didn’t know if they were “too old” for that now. They both said, “We will never be too old for candy!” (And, bonus –a few eggs had a dollar bill or two in them!)

Before quarantine began, I had seen Erin post about this Amazon dress that she had bought for all four of her girls. I bought one for Hadley, and it’s so cute and such great quality…and only $18! She can definitely wear it more than just on Easter Sunday.

Hadley’s dress from Amazon

Some outtakes from our Easter pic sesh:

We usually go to Trav’s aunt’s house in Elizabethtown where there are lots of kids and a big egg hunt, so I thought the kids would still want to do that. I thought this activity would take five minutes. Well, it took more like 20 minutes because Travis did such a good job hiding them! On two eggs each, I put a star, a rectangle, and a circle and told them they could get one of each of those. Those were the ones with money in them, and the rest had candy.

Picture with Homer!

And, then…we had a pleasant surprise with a family friend stopping by as the Easter Bunny. We heard a knock on the door, and Hadley said, “Mom! There’s an Easter Bunny at our door!” It was the highlight of their Saturday.

After lunch, we dyed Easter eggs in the sunroom.

Then, we decorated Easter cookies. There are a few local ladies who have their own cookie businesses, and I love when they offer cookie kits. This kit came from One Smart Cookie here in Lexington.

There’s no such thing as too much icing! (Just ask my kids!)

We always leave the eggs out for the Easter Bunny to hide as well as some carrots if we have any. Then, this year, we also left him a cookie! As you would expect, Homer ended up stealing the cookie off of the plate, so I had to leave a different cookie for EB.

The kids know that the Easter Bunny hides the hard boiled decorated eggs and brings them some candy. The rest of the goodies come from mom and dad.

I try not to go overboard and thank goodness for Amazon and other online shopping. Every Easter, the kids get new spring/summer pjs, flip flops, a swimsuit and a few other goodies. I try to be practical and purchase things they will need for summer anyway plus a few other surprises.

Easter goodies from mom and dad, in house egg hunt and a pic of the replacement cookie after Homer ate the bunny one.

After the indoor egg hunt, we had breakfast (pancakes & bacon) followed by a game of Jenga and then watched our church service online. Last year’s service was so beautiful; we certainly missed being there in person this year.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around. It was cold and rainy which was perfect weather for reading and movie watching.

We ordered Easter dinner from a local place, Minton’s, and it was so delish.

We had ham, potatoes gratin, brown sugar glazed carrots , brussel sprouts, and cheddar biscuits. For dessert, we had graham cracker pudding cake (I will share the recipe tomorrow) that Hadley helped me make.

We pulled out our China for dinner…& by that I mean that I had to go find the other place settings besides the two I have on display in my cabinet. 😂We found them in the garage, so clearly we don’t use them very often.

Once I put the napkin rings on, I wondered if I could make a cute name tag. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a little bunny tag, took white paper and put it up to my computer screen to trace the small bunny. Then, I outlined the bunny using black marker, and used some raffia to tie a bow. Hadley wrote our names and glued a little cotton ball to the tail. Then, I attached them to the napkin rings with a small piece of tape. Quick project that turned out so cute.

Using what I had, I made a quick centerpiece using the tray from our coffee table, candles and holders I keep in our cabinet, one of my bunny decorations, grass from the kids’ baskets and some of our dyed eggs.

I love trying to use what I already have in my house to add little touches here and there.

After dinner, we played a couple more rounds of Jenga, enjoyed our delicious dessert and headed to bed pretty early since Hadley had woken us up at 6:50 ready to start the day 😂(which is very unlike her! She tends to sleep in!)

Of course, we missed being with family on Easter but it was also nice to just be home as a family…since holidays usually have us driving here, there and everywhere.

See you back here tomorrow with a delicious dessert recipe.

Thanks for reading,

Holidays, Let's look

Let’s Look – Easter at Your House

Posted on April 8, 2020May 15, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

It’s time for another Let’s Look link up with Shay and Erika; make sure you check out their posts too.

Well, needless to say, Easter will look a bit different this year. I’m actually thankful this post came around when it did to remind me of some of the traditions and activities that I still do have control over right now.

Here’s a look at what we typically do for Easter.

Well, of course, the kids have to wear cute Easter outfits every year. Shhh! Don’t tell them, but I’ll probably ask them to put on some nice clothes this year to at least get the cute Easter pic. Plus, I’d hate to miss out on the tradition of fussing at Hayden because he doesn’t want to wear nice pants! 😉

Here are some Easter outfit pics through the years.

2010 is just the sweetest. First Easter (and they shared their candy with me!)

2011, 2012, 2013 (Sunglasses were all the rage then), 2014 (Hayden should be smiling bigger because it must have been warm enough for him to wear shorts!)

2015, 2016, 2017 (Poor Hayden was sick—we took the pic before Hadley had Travis left for family Easter), 2018 – braces 🙂

When I was kid, we always dyed Easter eggs, and left them for the Easter Bunny to hide. Then, my brother and I would search for them throughout the house. We do the same now with Hayden and Hadley.

Here are some pics of the egg dyeing through the years.

Only within the past year and a half have we found our church home…so a new tradition for us is the pancake breakfast and egg hunt at church. Also, attending Easter service has become a new favorite and important part of our family tradition. It’s difficult that Easter does look so different this year, but we will make the most of it.

Pancake breakfast and egg hunt at church with cousins last year.

Before bed, we leave the eggs out for EB to hide as well as some carrots if we have some (and a cookie or two!)

In the morning, the kids see what the Easter Bunny has left them and search around the house for the eggs.

I try to make a special breakfast on Easter morning. Cinnamon rolls, a breakfast casserole, etc. One year I made these cinnamon sugar bunny rolls for Easter breakfast.

After church, we head to Elizabethtown for Trav’s side of the family get together. The kids are always excited to see their cousins. Travis has a very big family with plenty of cousins, himself!

So that’s a look at Easter at our house…

Next month’s topic is Let’s Look At…Your Weekend. Why do I have the feeling my post will be about how my weekdays and weekends look quite similar these days?! I’m hoping we are somewhat back to normal very very soon.

Thanks for reading!