Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: May 2026

Hello and happy Sunday!

How has your weekend been? This weekend sure has felt more like summer Memorial Day weekend. The sun has been shining and the temps are warm. It’s truly almost summer.

Since today’s the last day of May, I’m taking a look back on all we did this month.

The first of May started with the Derby…and Golden Tempo being the first female trained horse to win! We watched from home, but it was an exciting race as he came from the back to win.

Major came to visit for a few days. He was able to see one of Hayden’s baseball games as well as a couple of my nephew’s baseball games. We took the traditional front porch pic…

Travis decided to ask Chat GPT for help with some front yard inspo and got started on that project…

Mother’s Day Sunday Hadley had a volleyball tournament in town, so we had a busy day, but Travis planted flowers, Hadley bought me some flowers, and I got front porch ferns from the kids. Oh, and bonus–I didn’t have to cook dinner!

I felt the love during Teacher Appreciation Week…I received a few sweets (and sours) as well as a few cards and notes from students.

Hayden had lots of baseball games in May, and the season wrapped up on a high note. He was the starting pitcher for the last JV game of the season; he pitched four the the five innings, and they won!

His development over the season was really good considering he hadn’t played in four years. His coaches and teammates were so supportive of him. As parents, we appreciated the he got many opportunities to pitch in both high and low stakes situations. Also, he went from pitching one to two to three and then even four innings as he got better and better with each pitching opportunity. He had two starts which was also an accomplishment. He’s not playing summer baseball, but he’ll keep working out and working on those fundamentals. I wasn’t sure what this season would hold for him, but it really was just what he needed.

Hadley’s club volleyball continued this month. She had three tournaments overall in Lexington, Indianapolis and Louisville. Club season is a lot…and her goal was to play with some different girls and grow as a player…and she’s been doing just that…

….while juggling track as well. Hadley has been going to track at least three days a week since November and then going to volleyball two days a week since December. I don’t think there’s really been a day where she’s just come home from school and stayed home. Time management is still a skill she’s working on, but juggling two sports for over six months will help you figure out time management.

The state track meet was last weekend in Lexington. While it rained for most of the weekend, there were a few breaks in the rain. Unfortunately, two minutes before her 4×200 race, it started to downpour. The first two heats didn’t have to deal with the elements, and the third heat, the fastest did. Of course, the girls did their best, and they placed 9th overall. It was a bummer as they were .03 from making the podium, but that’s part of athletics. You win some and you literally lose some…by a raindrop. I’m excited to see what Hadley and the relay team accomplishes junior year.

photo: Brian Simms at Herald Leader

Even though the JV season wrapped up, we still had lots of baseball to watch. Our school had two district games and won the championship, and then they had two regional games. Unfortunately, they lost in the regional semifinal game, but the rainbow was a sight to see.

Memorial Day provided pretty good weather, and Hadley had pool time and a cook out with friends. She made the most of the weekend.

Now, we’re wrapping up the school year…It’s hard to believe that this May post doesn’t include last day of school photos…for the first time ever in my kids’ school years. Honestly, this will only be the second time I’m still in school in June. I know that’s the norm for some areas, but not us…and I’ll head back to school on August 5th, so needless to say, I’m ready for some downtime.

We survived Maycember, y’all.

I hope you have a great Sunday.

Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: April 2026

Hello and happy Thursday!

I’m sure I say this every month, but where did April go?! I will say though, in some respects, April did feel long (hello, end of the school year!), but it certainly went by quickly in some ways too.

Here’s a recap of April:

This month was a doozy…from baseball to track to volleyball to vacation and more, we had a lot going on from start to finish.

One of my favorite parts of April is always Easter…and I literally just put all my bunnies away a couple of days ago.

Easter Sunday was beautiful, and we went to a lovely service at church before heading to Louisville to hang with Trav’s family.

Hadley and I spent a few days in Isle of Palms, SC. While it didn’t go totally according to plan, we still appreciated the sunrises, sunsets, sand and sunshine.

Meanwhile, Trav and Hayden spent some time in Gatlinburg, TN with family.

How cool was Artemis II? From take off to the landing, I loved watching all the coverage.

Sports were in full spring with lots of track meets and baseball games.

I guess this is adulting…when I don’t make it to Keeneland, but Hadley went twice! She had fun with friends both times, and Trav tagged along too.

Last weekend volleyball was back after about six weeks since their last tournament. Trav, Hadley and I headed to Gatlinburg, TN (second time for Trav in a matter of weeks), and they are very serious about the black bears. This was on the counter as we checked into the hotel…

We stayed at Hotel Indigo, and it didn’t disappoint!

Hadley played lots of volleyball games last weekend. We didn’t know what to expect because they hadn’t played a tournament in six weeks, and two of their hitters were out. When Hadley is playing front row, you know they are down a hitter! (ha!) That being said, she played lots of front row in middle school. Anyway, they ended up runners up in the silver bracket which is pretty good considering the circumstances.

In between games on Saturday, Trav wanted to try the Hungry Bear Grill he saw on the side of the road. He got some wings, and I had some BBQ nachos; honestly, it was a great dining experience!

Sunday, in between games, Trav and I went to Flapjacks, and again, the food didn’t disappoint.

Even though Saturday and Sunday were two long days, it was nice having some down time to hang with Trav for a bit.

Also, while G-burg isn’t necessarily my fave place, the Smoky Mountain views are a sight to see.

Last week, Hadley crushed her AP Seminar presentation thanks to lots of preparation and a little practice in my room before the big day.

Yesterday, Hayden’s lunch table had quite the treat. The admin let students do a bracket challenge during March Madness. Hayden’s table won, and they chose Chick-fil-A for lunch!

April was more action packed than I realized. This month definitely had its ups and downs, but it was filled with lots of good stuff too.

Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: March 2026

Hello and happy Tuesday!

Well, it’s the last day of March. How did that happen so fast? I don’t know about you, but February seemed to drag on, but March flew by! There is something about the calendar turning to March, knowing spring is on the way, and it’s officially the downhill slide to summer.

Here’s a peek at some of the highlights of March:

We started off March with the indoor state meet for Hadley. Her 4×200 team went into the race ranked 13th in the state, and they had a 5 second PR, placing 6th in the state! She was all smiles.

Hadley had two volleyball tournaments in March, and thankfully we didn’t really have to travel for them. She had one in Louisville…

…and one in Lexington.

Here team continues to come together, and they are fun to watch. They came in 4th overall in this last tournament.

I’m still getting used to being a “baseball mom” again, but we went to the team’s auction at Legneds Field. It was nice to see some school friends and reconnect with some of the other baseball families.

One thing about baseball is…there’s some form of baseball every day. From practices to lessons to games, the calendar is full. I’m thankful Hayden can drive himself to most of these things!

I also made it to one of my nephew’s baseball games on a beautiful Saturday a couple of weeks ago. It was fun watching him play as well.

What a random St. Patrick’s Day we had! We woke up to black ice, causing a very late call for a two hour delay. Then, when it switched over to snow, the district called for an online learning day. I was thankful that I could just stay home rather than drive around in this mess.

Per tradition, I made my St. Patrick’s Day meal of corned beef, cabbage, and Irish soda bread. My brother and his family came for dinner the Sunday before St. Pat’s.

After the random snow on St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve had very springlike temps ever since…so we’re embracing the sunshine with windows and sun roofs open!

…as well as reading and walks outside whenever possible.

Outdoor track season started for Hadley. So far, she’s had two weekday meets, and she’s finding her groove in the 400 and 4×200 relay.

The professional pics came in, and they were so good.

To round out the month, I finally set out my Easter decor on Sunday. Easter kind of snuck up on me this year! I guess you could say that colorful bunnies are my weakness.

What was a highlight of the month for you?

Posted in Everyday Life, Friday Favorites, Monthly Moments

Friday Favorites/Monthly Moments: February 2026

Hello and happy Friday!

How was your week? I feel like this week flew by! It was a good week of school, and we were busy in the evenings too. I will say that my evenings did feel a bit different without watching Olympic coverage.

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

…to take a look back on February…

I feel like I just shared this:

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…for being a shorter month, it did feel like a long one!

We started February how we ended January…with lots of snow and ice.

Homer loves the snow.

We tried a new restaurant, and we’ll definitely go back.

Valentine’s Day was a little different since Hadley and I were in Knoxville for volleyball. We gave the kids a couple of gifts the night before.

Knoxville, Tennessee was a fun town to visit!

Hadley had two volleyball tournaments this month…one in Knoxville and one in Ohio.

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She’s having a lot of fun with her team, and they’ve made it to the silver and gold brackets after pool play.

I’m getting used to the kids driving. They’ve done a good job sharing their car. We just have to have a game plan most days with four drivers sharing three cars.

Of course, we watched as much Olympic coverage as possible…at least I did!

Hadley is excited for the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance, and the sign she made was so cute.

We packed a lot into February…even with the start of it feeling like Groundhog Day with snow, ice, cold temps and no school!

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from the week:

I hope you have a happy Friday!

Posted in Everyday Life, Friday Favorites, Monthly Moments

Friday Favorites/Monthly Moments: January 2026

Hello and happy Friday!

This has been an unusual week with online learning days, and today we have a snow day. The roads are improving and the sunshine has been helping, but the mess tends to refreeze overnight and we’ve even had some snow showers too.

Next week will be quite the reality check!

I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for to share a few faves…

…but I’m also taking a look back on the month of January…

I’ve already shared most of these faves in various posts throughout the week. We’ve had lots of time at home thanks to the weather. Trav worked from home on Monday, we made dinners with whatever we had on hand, we’ve played games, read books, watched shows, slept in, done school work, and the list goes on.

I always enjoy writing the yearly recap, but last year I started incorporating the monthly recaps as a fun look back in smaller snapshots. I’m going to continue doing the same this year!

I always want January to be a slow month after the busyness of November and December, and January was overall just what we needed.

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Here’s what we were up to in January…

Lots of purging, re-organizing, and refreshing

In mid-January, we celebrated my birthday by going out to dinner a couple of days beforehand.

Jeff Ruby’s is always a fave…as are bubble letters on my card and a cookie cake.

Hadley had her first volleyball tournament of club season, and they played well overall, making it to the gold bracket on Sunday. She was supposed to have her second tournament last weekend, but it was canceled due to the snow.

We’ve had lots of Homer snuggles…

We finally found a car for the kids. Trav brought it home last Friday night, and they were surprised and appreciative. It arrived just in time for the snow, but they finally were able to drive to their activities yesterday.

January started out with pretty warm weather. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if we’d have any January snow days. Well, joke is on me. As I’ve mentioned we were supposed to get 12 inches of snow last weekend, and instead we got about five…plus some ice. Bitterly cold temps have followed, and many of our roads still haven’t bounced back yet. We had four NTI days, and today is a traditional snow day.

January was good to us.

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Weekly Recap:

My blogging streak continued…

Y’all, I’ll be back tomorrow with one more post for January. I did it! I set a goal to blog every day this month, and I made that happen. Thanks for reading!

Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: November 2025

Hello and happy Sunday!

How has your weekend been? Yesterday, we spent most of our time in the car traveling back to Kentucky from KC. We had a good Thanksgiving holiday with family. Today, I’ve gotten groceries, unpacked, organized, and done quite a few loads of laundry. I’m trying to get all my ducks in a row before heading into the three week stretch of school between now and winter break!

Today is the last day of November, so I’m taking a look back on a great month of moments for us.

This month, we saw a little bit of snow…my pumpkins weren’t happy!

I decorated for Christmas a little bit at a time.

Since I knew we’d be out of town for Thanksgiving, I wanted everything up for when we returned. I had a couple new purchases this year including a wreath and ribbon from Target, and this set of trees from Amazon. They turned out cuter than I was expecting!

On a Friday night, the whole fam went to the Kentucky basketball game. We had a great time.

We had many lovely days in November, so I tried to walk when I could in order to get some fresh air, add to my step count, and listen to an audio book.

The kids turned 16!!…and we celebrated with family…

…and friends. Hadley had the sweetest sweet 16 party.

….and we have one new licensed driver! She picked up our dinner last night when we got home, and she picked up my Kroger order this morning. This is what mom dreams are made of!!

One thing I learned quickly while being a mom to twins is that they do things are their own pace…one crawled before the other, one walked and talked before the other and so on. We scheduled Hadley’s driving test a few days after her birthday because she’s shown more interest in driving. Hayden’s appointment is soon. Also, y’all — scheduling two appointments at once is harder than you’d think! You have to get online at 8am (on the dot!) to schedule an appointment three weeks out. Now, the driving appointments haven’t been as cut throat as when we tried to get their permits, but it wasn’t much easier getting their two driving test appointments scheduled. Anyway, soon enough, I will have two who can run my errands. haha

We ended the month with a great Thanksgiving in KC. My cousin always outdoes herself with her tablescape, and the personalized chocolate turkeys that she orders are a fun tradition.

The weather was pretty nice, and it was great to see family.

We ended our visit at the Magic Tree which is a fun tradition.

Yesterday, we drove home in mostly rain, and half of the drive was in the dark. It’s always sad leaving family, but we loved being reunited with Homer and sleeping in our own beds last night. Plus, my to-do list is a mile long today.

Now we’re ready for the December hustle and bustle!

Have a great Sunday!

Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: October 2025

Hello and happy Saturday!

How was your Halloween? We had a busy day at school…and most of the day our district was without internet. Talk about scary!!

It’s hard to believe that today is November 1st, and October is in the rear view mirror. October has always been one of my favorite months, so I loving looking back on all that we did this month.

First of all…

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This month started at the beach on our annual fall break trip to 30A. This was our fourth year, and we had the best time.

Once we returned home, it was time to decorate the front porch…one of my favorite fall things to do.

Hadley and friends had the best time at Homecoming. They did “brunch and bouquets” in the morning followed by getting ready together.

The group took pics before heading to dinner and the dance.

Keeneland in the fall is one of my favorite traditions. Trav tends to go quite a few times for work, but also for fun too. I joined him one afternoon; the weather was lovely, and we were able to hang with our friends.

Hadley’s sophomore volleyball season wrapped up! I’ve loved watching them play.

Last weekend, we went to my niece’s performance in Legally Blonde, Jr., the musical, and it was so fun.

We also made it to the pumpkin patch which is one of my favorite things to do in the fall. We grabbed hot apple cider, apple cider donuts, and pumpkins to carve…

….which we did on Tuesday night.

Thursday night, Hayden went to the UK basketball game with a friend and Hadley and Trav (and one of Hadley’s friends) went to an outdoor concert…Ole 60. Travis definitely won cool dad points for going to the concert…and getting them Taco Bell on the way home. 🤣 They were out late on a school night!

Last night, we had lots of trick-or-treaters which was lots of fun to see.

This month the kids have also had lots of fun going to our school’s sporting events like soccer and football games as well as UK football and basketball games, but they’re out there having fun…and making memories…occasionally sending me pics along the way.

October was a good one, and now we turn the page to November, setting the clocks back an hour and soon, my kids will turn another year older. Bittersweet, for sure!

Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: September 2025

Hello and happy Thursday!

Well, even on fall break, I guess Thursdays are still my favorite day of the week. That being said, I do wish time would slow down a little.

Speaking of time flying, September is over, so it’s time for me to recap the month.

Here’s a look back on September…

We still had a little pool time in September. Our pool stayed open a couple of weeks after Labor Day.

There were lots of cross country meets and volleyball games.

The volleyball team traveled to Tennessee, and the JV team had a great weekend of volleyball.

School picture day was a success…

My dad came to visit for a few days, and it was nice to see him.

I decorated for fall which is always a favorite for me. I love that we get to enjoy that decor for a couple of months, and now I’m ready for the weather to cool off.

I even pulled out a couple of my favorite mugs.

We did end the month in one of our favorite places…Seaside, Florida for fall break with friends. I will share more on that after we return.

That’s a wrap on September. Like the month of May, I kind of feel like I’m in “survival mode” as we get into our back to school routine. Now, on to October…my favorite month of the year.

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Have a great day!

Posted in Monthly Moments

Monthly Musings

Hello and happy Thursday!

I feel like this week is moving right along, and well, September seems to have somewhere to be?! My favorite month is next week…I love October.

Since it’s the end of the month I’m linking up with Patty and Holly for Monthly Musings.

This month’s topic is…fall decorating and fashion preview.

I love all things fall, so here we go…

1. Share how you decorate for fall.

I have quite a few favorite fall decorations. I like that we get to enjoy that seasonal decor for at least a couple of months. That makes it definitely worth the effort. I felt a little behind, but I decorated for fall last weekend….just in time for the temps to *finally* dip a little, and we’ve had some rain this week.

2. Halloween decor…yes or no?

I used to put a few Halloween decorations out, but this cat is the last man feline standing. He’s cute.

A couple of days before Halloween, I put spider webs on the front bushes, and stick these little skeletons in my mums. Through the years, the kids have been annoyed that I make the front porch cute instead of spooky. haha

3. Pumpkins, cornstalks or hay bales?

I love pumpkins…by now, I usually have my front porch all decked out, but that hasn’t happened yet this year.

I also usually add cornstalks to the front porch as well.

4. Favorite fall fashion pieces?

Whenever these lovely ladies throw in a “fashion” prompt, I have to stop and think because I don’t ever think of myself as fashionable. Put together, yes…fashionable, occasionally!

With the temps all over the place, a light sweater is the way to go for me. I still love this sweater vest, and wear it often. I plan on wearing a light weight long sleeve t-shirt or turtle neck under it in the winter.

This light-weight sweater that I have in a couple of colors is also one that I wear often. It’s a great transitional piece. (It comes in a ton of colors and is an amazing price!)

5. How do you transition your wardrobe?

I transition my wardrobe by wearing the outfits above.

I start the school year wearing dresses, but then start adding my favorite cardigan (that I have in four colors) as a layer. Light-weight pants and light sweaters are how I transition from summer to cooler weather. That being said, I wear my sandals for as long as possible. Seriously…my least favorite day is when I start wearing flats to school instead of sandals.

Once the temps really cool off, I still start wearing sweatshirts or heavier sweaters. Yesterday, was cooler and rainy, and I was tired…so I wanted to be comfy. I have zero regrets about purchasing these Wit and Wisdom ankle flare jeans in the Nordstrom sale this summer. I’ve worn them quite a few times to school. I threw on my Aerie sweatshirt and sandals and called it a day. Again, put together and comfy…but wouldn’t call myself “fashionable.”

6. Do you decorate inside and out?

Yep! ‘Tis the season for all things pumpkins. I did add a couple of new things to my decor this year.

I wanted to change up the entry table. I already had all these faux pumpkins, but a trip to Michael’s, and I found this cute metal bucket to put them in.

I wanted some decorations with a little height for the mantel. I already had the pretty orange floral, but found two of these pumpkin vases to put next to my fall sign.

Everything was at least 50% off and teachers always get an additional discount, so it was a cheap shopping trip!

7. Favorite fall scents?

Pumpkin muffins or bread baking.

I love seasonal candles…I typically burn apple flavored in September, and then I turn to pumpkin, vanilla and other scents in October.

8. Go to fall outfit?

I’m still a leggings and t-shirt/sweatshirt girl, and then if I need to look more put together, I throw together an outfit like the ones I shared earlier.

I do love a dress with boots when the fall weather hits just right.

9. Do you change up your makeup/skincare in the fall?

I don’t. I stay pretty true to both of those things year round.

10. What makes your house feel cozy for fall?

Dim lights and candles are my favorite way to cozy up in the evening. The past couple of evenings have been rainy which has been perfection!

I’m definitely ready for fall, y’all!

Posted in Everyday Life, Monthly Moments

Monthly Moments: August 2025

Hello and happy Sunday!

It’s not often that I write a Sunday post, but since it’s the last day of August, I’m sharing a quick recap of the month.

This month seemed to be mostly about back to school and sports while clinging to summer!

Volleyball started for Hadley in early August at the Bluegrass State games.

I finished up moving into a new classroom, and I’m really liking it. I see the kids and their friends a bit more which is a pleasant surprise.

For our back to school dinner, we went to IHOP for the second year in a row. I always get French toast or pancakes (with a side of bacon) when we go there.

Then, it was back to school! The kids have had a great start back to school. They seem to be adjusting to block scheduling just fine and are keeping up with their school work…so far!

I’m adjusting to block scheduling too. I actually really like it…the only thing is I’ve felt like it’s taken me a bit longer to learn student names seeing them every other day.

The kids have continued to get in some driving time. Hadley continues to have more of an interest than Hayden, but Hayden’s been driving too. As expected, there’s less driving time now that we’re back to school.

We did get a new (to us) car after my car was hit a few weeks ago. It’s a good size for both kids to drive too.

I did go to the pool the few chances that I had in August. I will miss reading poolside.

Hayden and I have been watching Royals baseball when we have the chance. They aren’t too far out of the last Wild Card spot, but they’ll have to have a solid September to make the playoffs. We’ll see.

Hayden has has two cross country meets, and he is off to a solid start. He was two seconds off a PR in yesterday’s race. I know he wanted to run faster, but at least he was close to where he left off last season.

Football is back in the Bluegrass State….Trav and Hayden went to the game yesterday, and Hadley tailgated with friends. The weather was perfection, and the CATS pulled out the win.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join in on the fun…I have a raging sinus infection that’s kept me pretty miserable since Friday. Thankfully, I do think the meds are finally kicking in, and maybe I can salvage the rest of this three day weekend by actually getting out of the house tomorrow! I’m thankful for the time to rest, but I’d hoped to have had a bit more fun this weekend!

I hope you have a great Labor Day, and I will have more posts later in the week.