chiefs

Friday Favorites {#245}

Posted on February 14, 2025February 13, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday…and happy Valentine’s Day!

How was your week? Ours was odd with a snow day on Tuesday. That meant that Wednesday felt like a Monday again! And, I’m still battling my cold which I think is now officially a sinus infection. I’m hoping this is the end of the sickness at my house!

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

Here are some favorites from the week.

On Saturday, Hayden had his second indoor mile race of the season, and he ran a PR of 4:47.

While Hayden was running, Hadley was playing in a sand volleyball tournament with her friends.

Last Thursday, I (finally) put out a few Valentine’s Day decorations. My Valentine’s Day decor doesn’t really change from year to year, but this little heart vase and flowers were a cute addition to my kitchen island tray. The Hershey Kisses don’t last very long!

On Sunday, Hadley and about ten friends had a Galentine’s Day party. One of her friends hosted and was sweet to ask her to come.

They had lots of fun hanging out, having a few snacks and making their own floral bouquets.

Sunday evening, we went to my brother’s house for the Super Bowl. Obviously, the outcome wasn’t a favorite, but we’re lucky to say it’s a tradition to watch the Chiefs in the Super Bowl these past few years.

Win or lose, getting a cookie cake is a favorite tradition too.

All smiles…before the game! haha

My mom gave me this belated birthday card. My favorite ladies!

…and a belated birthday gift. She has this butter dish from Crate and Barrel. I thought it was neat and pretty, so she gave me one too!

Valentine’s Day Card:

The Valentine’s Day card for family continues. This is a fun tradition through the years.

Favorite Mom Meme:

This…#accurate

Favorite Teacher Memes:

As a teacher, I thought these next two graphics are very relatable for me.

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

I will always share these pics of my little Valentines…

Weekly Recap:

I was a link up girl this week!

Share Our Lives

Let’s Look

Wednesday Hodgepodge

This three day weekend, we actually don’t have much going on…and I think it’s just what the doctor ordered!

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#195}

Posted on February 16, 2024February 16, 2024 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

How was your week? All I can say is TGIF! I was at school every day this week until 6:00, and then two of those nights I headed straight to Hayden’s basketball games. Let’s just say that I had no trouble falling asleep every night.

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

This is a “red” and “pink” Friday edition of favorites mostly about the Chiefs and Valentine’s Day.

Here are some favorites:

The Chiefs:

Well, of course we’re excited about the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. It was a frustrating and exciting game.

Per tradition, because my brother and Hayden are afraid to jinx anything…we headed to my brother’s house for Super Bowl Sunday.

My contribution was a cookie cake:

…and cute themed cups…

…that Travis Kelce would approve of…

We had some snacks and pizza while watching the game, and then dove into the cookie cake at halftime…we were definitely eating our feelings.

My brother was desperate to find the Chiefs candle that they got last year after the Super Bowl win. Once we lit it, the momentum shifted…(yay!)

We were thrilled with the outcome.

It’s been fun cheering for the Chiefs these past few years, and even more so hanging out with my brother and his family. Hayden and Connor are next level with their Chiefs craziness.

Of course, the celebration turned to sadness with the heartbreaking events from the parade and rally on Wednesday. It’s gut-wrenching that so many fans, kids included, were at the rally after the parade when another senseless act of violence took place and so many were injured as well as a casualty. My thoughts and prayers go out to my KC community.

Valentine’s Day:

I shared in a previous post how much I love the tradition of sending Valentine’s Day cards to family. I was able to finally get a pic of the kids…even though apparently the sun was pretty bright.

Oh well, it’s the thought that counts.

Once I realized how very late we’d probably all get home on Wednesday night, I decided to go ahead and put out gifts for the kids and Trav’s card on Wednesday morning.

I got a card too…with bubble letters, of course.

It was a card that you can scan the QR code, and the link sent me to a video of the kids saying “Happy Valentine’s Day” which I really appreciated.

Other Faves:

Hadley had a very busy weekend of volleyball, and the team continues to be fun to watch. They ended up in the silver bracket of a really big tournament. So far, she’s had local tournaments which has been so convenient.

Saturday was extra busy going straight from three volleyball games back home to get ready for the third cotillion dance. The theme was Malibu Mingle, so Hawaiian shirts, shorts, and leis were the dress code.

The kids (barely) let me get a quick pic before Hayden left with friends, and Hadley went to a friend’s house to finish getting ready.

She curled her hair, finished her makeup, and accessorized!

The girls were so festive and pretty…

…and ready for a fun night.

The difference in getting a pic of boys vs getting a pic of girls. Girls will stand there and smile…boys will walk off. (My friend dropped Hayden and her son off for dinner with friends…and them walking away was the best she got…haha)

During the dance, I stayed at my friend’s house after the girls left. It was nice to hang out with the other moms and chat. We don’t get to do that very often.

Favorite Mom Meme:

Oh the morning time…their least favorite part of the day…or so it seems.

Weekly Recap:

I had hoped to have one more post this week, but time got away from me. Here are the two posts I shared:

Share Our Lives

Let’s Look

What are your weekend plans?

After a very long week of school, I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for a three day weekend filled with not much going on than I am for this one.

Thanks for reading,

Holidays, Kids, Life Lately

Life Lately

Posted on February 15, 2023February 14, 2023 by jgalvinwhite

Hello!

How is your week going? Ours is…going.

Here’s a bit of our life…lately.

The kids had a big Friday night! They went to the 7th grade dance. Hadley was counting down the days, and we were all shocked that Hayden contemplated going. 😆

I’m not sure what their school did before Covid, but last year there weren’t any dances/mixers. This year, the PTSA has done an awesome job organizing something for every grade level. They had a school wide mixer (dance/game night) one Saturday evening in January, then the 6th graders had a casual after school dance in early February. The 7th graders had the Valentine’s Day dance on Friday night, and then the 8th graders have a more “formal” dance in the spring.

It’s been so nice to see the kids and their friends have these opportunities.

Here they are all dressed up and ready to go.

One of the moms organized a pre-dance get together with appetizers for the kids at a local restaurant. The moms stayed as well, so that we could then get them to the dance. So, from 5:15-6:45, the kids hung out, ate, and we talked them in to a few photos before they headed to the dance from 7-9.

This really is such a great group of kids. I’ve said it before, but Hayden and Hadley have held on to their close elementary friendships and the new friends they made last year have been such an added bonus. We’ve enjoyed getting to know the parents too.

Hayden rode with friends, and I got to drop these lovely ladies off at school.

Hayden texted about a half hour in to the dance asking when it was over. 😂Some of my friends were chaperones and reported back that both kids were having fun. Hadley gave us all the details when she got home, and Hayden actually said he had a good time.

This was such a nice “rite of passage” for them, and I loved seeing every moment.

Go Chiefs!

On Saturday, my mom decorated Chiefs cookies with the kids. I was impressed.

Sunday night was game time.

I picked up some balloons and a cookie cake. We’d ordered pizza the two previous play off games, so we continued that tradition too. Everyone was up late for the big win! We were all so excited.

Valentine’s Day

I think the kids had a pretty good Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, I’ve been sick this week, so I wasn’t up to make a special breakfast. I did put out a couple of decorations once I got up…

After school, we gave them a few gifts.

I got the kids some candy and donuts. Then, they both got a new alarm clock/sound machine. They both have the same sound machine from when they were babies (seriously – their sound machines are now 13 years old!), and Hayden’s is kind of glitchy. I’m going to put Hadley’s old one in my suitcase, so we always have it on hand for travel. I’ve decided the kids need to start setting an alarm in the morning, so that combined with the sound machine was a good little gift that they “needed.”

A couple of months ago, I picked up a heart necklace for Hadley when Shay had her collaboration with Victoria Emerson.

For Hayden, I also got him this running calendar and Toughness by Jay Bilas. (*I may end up reading it too!) 😉

Then, for dinner, we had heart shaped chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. An easy and delicious dinner made us all happy.

The past couple of years, I’ve made a special weekend Valentine’s Day lunch, but with our already hectic weekend and then V-Day falling on a Tuesday, we made the most of it. Travis and I hope to go out to dinner this weekend.

Have a great Wednesday,

{This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Thanks so much for supporting my blog.}

Friday Favorites, Kids

Friday Favorites {#99}

Posted on February 4, 2022February 4, 2022 by jgalvinwhite

Hello! Well, this week was definitely different. Monday-Wednesday I was in charge of our Extended School Services program for tutoring and credit recovery after school. That meant I didn’t get home from school most days until 7:00.

Then, we had an NTI day yesterday due to the incoming ice storm. All day, we got tons of cold rain, and no ice. That being said, the temps went below freezing after dinner, so freezing rain and sleet began to tap on the windows. Snow may even round out the storm.

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

With the hectic pace of life lately, I’m trying to acknowledge the small favorites in each day. So here we go…

Friday:

We’ve had quite the winter and last Friday evening we got the prettiest snowfall.

Saturday:

Hayden had a basketball game on Saturday, and it was a close one! His team came out on top, and they were excited to get the win.

Sunday:

We are still trying to bounce back from the Chiefs loss on Sunday (and it’s a little rough living so close to Bengals territory! 🤪). That being said, Homer was in the football spirit on Sunday!

…and I still say we have the cutest Chiefs fans.

I hope they have lots of memories cheering fro KC sports together!

Monday:

I was really bringing my “A game” at the beginning of the week, and made Shay’s Turkey Tortilla Soup in the slow cooker. I didn’t get home from school until 7, so it was nice to have this delicious soup waiting for us for dinner.

Tuesday:

On Tuesday, the kids brought home their Honor Roll certificates for last quarter. We’re really proud of their effort!

Hayden’s was all crumpled in his backpack which is a step above last quarter when he threw it away rather than show me the certificate. Hadley’s was nice and neat in her binder which is about the only things she has organized.

Wednesday:

How sweet is this photo? Hadley was so excited because she gets to help at cousin Layla’s dance class this semester. Hadley said her favorite part was that the little kids just randomly come up and give hugs!

Thursday:

After three long days of work, I was happy to have a low key day at home for NTI. Even better was finding my Girl Scout cookie order on my doorstep in the afternoon.

This is the first year in six years that Hadley didn’t sell cookies. I’m happy to support the other troops, and we all have our favorite cookies.

The new cookie this year is the Adventureful cookie. It’s so good.

Favorite Kid Quote(s):

Both the kids had their funny moments this week.

Favorite Hayden Quotes:

Upon hearing the Tom Brady news, Hayden said, “Well, it’s time. He’s basically dad’s age and playing with 25 year olds!” When I said it must be hard to walk away from the game after so many years, Hayden continued with, “See ya, Tom! Mom, do you know how many times Tom has broken my heart?!”

Also, last Saturday, Travis was out of town and Hadley was at a friend’s for the night.

Hayden was saying goodnight to Homer and he said, “Mom, I read somewhere that dogs sometimes yawn when they are stressed.” I said, “Oh really?” He followed up with, “Homer yawns around Hadley a lot.” 🤣

Hadley Quote:

Hadley is always more helpful to Hayden than he is to her. She offered to get him dessert one evening this week.

As she handed him his bowl of ice cream, she said, “Here you go peasant.” 😆 That must be a vocab word this week!

Favorite Mom Meme:

This made me laugh out loud. There are so many nights I don’t want to cook dinner, but I do so anyway.

Between chain supply issues and our ongoing winter weather, the grocery store has been hit or miss. I’m so happy if there are at least substitutions!

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

How about this sweet snow day pic from 2013?

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week including the books I read in January, a few Amazon purchases, and my Valentine’s Day decor.

What I’ve Been Reading

PRime Purchases

Valentine’s DAy Decor

To wrap up today’s post…my favorites for today include that fact that we have a good old fashioned snow day and the Olympics start!

I hope wherever you are, that you stay safe and warm! See you back here on Monday.

Thanks so much for reading.

Life Lately

Posted on January 25, 2022January 24, 2022 by jgalvinwhite

Hello! Shew! Yesterday felt like quite a Monday. We were up really late on Sunday watching the Chiefs game which meant the 6am alarm was rough, I was really busy at school, and then it seems that Mondays are always our busiest evening with activities for the kids.

Today, I’m sharing a little bit of…

Last week, we only had school (in person) one day! Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday were NTI (non-traditional instruction) days for our students.

I had a few questions about how our NTI works, so I thought I’d share a few details. On these at home learning days:

Instruction is asynchronous.
Assignments are posted on Canvas.
No new material is to be presented.
The district assigned office hour times for teachers at the various levels: 8:30-10:30 elementary, 10:30-12:30 middle school, 12:30-2:30 high school. Teachers are always available via email, but they are on Zoom during those assigned times to answer any questions.
Students have three days to complete their work after each NTI day. (That way, if a student doesn’t understand the assignment, doesn’t have internet access, is sick, etc., they still have time to complete the work without penalty.)
Attendance is marked by participation of turning in assignments.

After having three of these days under our belt, I’ve been pleased with the amount of work my own kids have received. Also, I’m able to work on school things and then Zoom with my regular students in the afternoon.

My former district was more rural, and they have used weather NTI days for years. When I was still teaching there, this was the same format we used except there was no Zoom, but that was pre-Covid! Also, we often gave paper packets for students who needed them.

Anyway, I don’t know if my current district will continue with NTI for weather in the future, but I hope so…or at least a compromise that after the third/fourth snow day, we do NTI or something like that. I know some parents aren’t fond of the NTI model especially after being virtual for a year, but I also don’t think it’s necessary for us to be in school past Memorial Day because we have so many days to make up. No one is happy to be in a school building after May 31 😉

Moving on…

One snow day perk was that we met Travis for an early lunch on Friday. We tried a new taco place in town.

Friday afternoon, I went to Kendra Scott to use my 50% off for my birthday. I love my new earrings.

Friday evening, we went out for pizza for dinner. Then, Hadley went to an overnight, and Travis and I took Hayden and a couple of friends to my school’s basketball game. We had a great time.

On Saturday, Hayden had an early basketball game which went down to the wire.

Saturday evening, Hayden went to a friend’s birthday. It was bowling and an overnight which meant we got one on one time with Hadley. After dinner at home, we went to Cattywampus Station, and Hadley chose the cookies and cream milkshake.

When we got home, Travis and I watched the first episode of Ozark. I can’t wait to keep watching!

On Sunday, we went to church, and then caught Wyatt’s makeup basketball game. I feel like it was just yesterday that Hayden was that little and playing basketball.

After the game, I picked up my Kroger order, made chili, and watched the Bucs/Rams game. Then, per play off tradition, we went to my brother’s house to watch the Chiefs/Bills game. We all went from sad to happy in 13 seconds. What an amazing game. Of course, that meant that we were up too late for a Sunday night, but it was worth it!

After the game, my mom called. She asked Hayden if he was alright, and he said, “No!” 😂 He had told me during the game that he thought he was having an anxiety attack.

A few other things…

It’s no secret that Homer rules the roost. On Saturday night, I headed to bed and found him in my spot:

Last week, I made these Peanut Butter Protein Balls, and the whole family loved them.

Lastly, it’s competition season, and it was Hadley’s turn to be in the spotlight:

So, that’s what has been going on with us lately. We’ve been busy per usual, but it’s been nice to have the snow days mixed in as well.

See you back here Thursday for Monthly Musings and Friday where I’m sharing a few favorite things I bought with my birthday money.

Uncategorized, Weekend Top 5

Weekend Wrap Up

Posted on January 17, 2022January 16, 2022 by jgalvinwhite

Hello! How was your weekend? We had a great one filled with birthday fun, basketball, downtime, winter weather, and more. One of the best parts? Today still counts as the weekend!

Here’s what we were up to this weekend:

On Friday, I picked up the kids up from school and then headed home after a very busy day at school. As I shared in my Friday Favorites post, Friday was my birthday.

Hayden had his first middle school basketball games that night, but I had already made plans with friends before the schedule came out. Travis and the kids dropped me off at my friend’s house, and we had a drink before going to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Carson’s.

The salmon is my favorite!

After dinner, we made our way to the Lexington Opera House to see our girl Heather McMahan. Her show was so funny, and we had a great time.

On Saturday morning, I woke up to a card and cookie cake from Travis and the kids. With a hectic Friday night, we pushed some of the celebrating to Saturday.

We actually had a pretty low key day, and then Hayden had two basketball games.

After the games, we picked up dinner on the way home, and watched football the rest of the evening.

Sunday started with us keeping an eye out on the weather. It started to sleet around the time we left for church, but Hadley was scheduled to be the acolyte, so we headed that way. After church, it was just raining, so we went to another favorite restaurant, Josie’s, for lunch. I had the quiche and side salad. Both hit the spot!

Then, I braved the grocery store. I decided it was probably best to go ahead and shop myself rather than do Clicklist because items have been so limited and I was afraid with the weather, items would be even more limited. I was at the store about an hour and found 90% of what I needed.

After everyone helped me unpack, Travis and the kids took Homer for a bath.

In the late afternoon, the sleet picked back up, and we settled in at home for the evening. I had time to read for a bit, and even took a brief nap.

For dinner, I made Bev’s Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.It hit the spot on a cold and wintry evening.

Then, we watched the Chiefs playoff game against the Steelers. The first half was a bit too close for comfort, but we really enjoyed the second half! Hayden loves to watch every second of the game! With now school today, I let him stay up.

You know I love books, and of course I love the Chiefs. I saw this floating around Facebook. The local KC library sometimes puts books together, and this was perfect for yesterday’s game.

We don’t have big plans today. I need to do a few things around the house, and then I think I will watch a few episodes of The Golden Girls in honor of Betty White’s birthday today. Hadley also wants to watch Sing 2. We’ll take one more day of downtime, and I bet the kids will play some out in the snow.

Take care,

Linking up with Sarah & Holly…

Weekend Top 5

Posted on September 20, 2021September 20, 2021 by jgalvinwhite

Hello! How was your weekend? Ours was a good one. I swear I always underestimate how much we have going on. If you talked to me on Friday, I would have said, “On Saturday, we only have a cross country meet and then not much on Sunday.” Well, I didn’t sit down all of Saturday. It was a just a “go, go, go” kind of day, and then Sunday I was really productive around the house and getting things in order for the week.

I’m not sure when I will catch a break, but I feel like I need one. Here’s a recap of our weekend with The Weekend Top 5.

When I say a highlight of my weekend was getting pumpkins, you’ll see how crazy I am this time of the year. I forgot my lunch Friday, so I stopped in Kroger to pick up a salad. As I walked into the grocery store, I saw they had the stackable “fantasy” pumpkins that I buy every year from my favorite garden center. These were really reasonably priced, so I went ahead and picked up a few.

I had always planned to go to my favorite spot after school, and still went there to pick up a couple of smaller pumpkins. The kids joined me since I had picked them up from school. Last year, there was apparently a pumpkin shortage, so my favorite place was pretty sparse. They were back in action this year!

I was happy to see that they had quite the variety of fantasy pumpkins, gourds, mini pumpkins, squash and more!

Then after I got everything put out on the porch Saturday afternoon, I went to Trader Joe’s for a few things for lunches and then bought a few extra mini pumpkins and mums at Trader Joe’s. I usually get mums from Trav’s work, but couldn’t pass up the mums in the cute baskets.

It’s sort of embarrassing how pumpkin obsessed I am but a mid-September Saturday is my black Friday 🤣 I’m not 100% finished with my front porch, but how about this cute moment on my front porch table?! I found this little stand and Hobby Lobby. It’s perfect for holding a cute little white pumpkin for the next couple of months!

Another highlight from the weekend was Hayden’s cross country meet. One of the kids’ friends came to cheer him on.

I won’t sugarcoat it…it was a difficult course on a hot day. He put forth his best effort. He was a little down after the race, but everyone ran a little slower and and rose to the challenge.

Hopefully, the temps will finally cool off and these runners can catch a break this week.

After the race, Hayden went and played in a golf match…and loved every second of that.

Hayden picked up dinner with a friend after golf, and Travis worked all day and wanted to stay in on Saturday night and have leftovers. Honestly, I wanted to as well, but Hadley wanted to go out on the town. She and I grabbed a quick dinner at one of our local spots. She caught me up on all the details of middle school, and then we all hung out the rest of the night with a decent bedtime. I swear that dinner on Saturday night was the first time I sat down!

I was up pretty early on Sunday morning, and decided to light my fall candle and finish my book. I didn’t get very far with my indoor fall decor, but the candle had me in the fall spirit!

I finished Yoga Pant Nation which was the third book in the Class Mom series. I still think the first book was my fave, but this one was great too and provided a lot of laughs.

A couple more Sunday highlights included church and Sunday Night football.

Per tradition, Homer let me dress him in the appropriate Chiefs attire. He’s become such a good boy! (besides the fact he’s not supposed to be up on that couch!)

He could be the official mascout of the Chiefs…Homer (AKA: MaHomer!)

For fun, here he is in September 2019 and September 2020.

I finished this before knowing the outcome of the game! I hope the Chiefs didn’t disappoint me. (*update: just woke up to the score 😩…thankfully, Homer still looks cute in his scarf)

So, there’s a peek at our weekend. I hope you have a great week. The temps are finally going to cool off a bit, and I’m here for it! See you back here tomorrow for Tuesday Talk.

Linking up with Heather and others…

Life Lately

Posted on January 20, 2020May 16, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

Happy Monday! Long time, no talk! Because…the flu tried to kill me! I was so sick last week…I even missed the entire week of school. Hadley was sick as well for a couple of days. I think she shared her germs with me 😉 I’m feeling much more like myself, but very thankful for this 3 day weekend to get back on track with life while continuing to get my energy back as well.

Before I got sick, sweet Travis threw me a surprise 40th birthday party on Saturday, January 11. I was shocked; I had no clue. At all. I was genuinely touched at the friends and family who were at the Bear and the Butcher (one of our favorite places) to help celebrate.

When we got home that evening, Travis said he’d been planning it for weeks, and of course wanted to include as many friends who have been in our lives through the years. I so appreciate his thoughtfulness!

Me with Travis, long time friends and our sweet sitter, some of my “mom” friends who are the best, and my neighbor friends. I’m so blessed.

Travis and I with some of the best long time friends!

My brother, sister-in-law, myself and Travis

I’ve felt pretty indifferent about turning 40, but I did have a few goals for myself before turning the big 4-0. This past year, I focused on finding a church home for our family, and I feel like we’ve found a place that’s a great fit for us. Also, starting this blog was another one of my major goals. My only regret is not starting it sooner!

I’m also working to find the time to make working out and clean eating a priority again. I’ve done so for the past few years, but November/December (and now the beginning of January) proved to be quite hectic and I’ve put those good habits on the back burner a bit. I do love to work out. I feel so much better while eating clean and getting exercise in 4-5 days a week. I’m going to continue getting back on track with healthy eating and get those workouts in after I get my energy back from the flu!

All last week, Travis was Super Dad taking the kids to activities and practices while also helping with homework and finishing up the kids’ school Science Fair Projects. Thursday night, I couldn’t attend Science Fair Night, but Travis sent me the pics of the kids with the good news! Hayden received Honorable Mention on his project and Hadley is moving on to the district competition. They really put in so much time and effort, but I’m the most proud of their presentations. I know both kids were pretty nervous talking to the judges on Thursday, so I’m proud of them for pushing themselves outside of their comfort zone (especially Hayden who is pretty quiet and shy) After school on Thursday, when I asked Hayden how the judging went, he said, “Good, but my face was as red as an apple!” haha

Sunday was a big day in our house. Since I’m from Kansas City, I’ve been a Chiefs fan for my entire life! Of course, that means both kids are too (especially Hayden—Patrick Mahomes is his fave!) We cheered the Chiefs on during the AFC Championship game, and now they are on to the Super B O W L! Hayden said, “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this!” (Me too, kid. Me too.)

Just watching the game, I exerted more energy than I had in the entire week. haha

That’s just a peek at our Life Lately. I hope you have great week. I’m so ready to get back into a normal routine.

Take care,

Jen

Instagram: @showmeandsweettea

Facebook Page: Show Me and Sweet Tea