Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays

Friday Favorites {#134}

Hello and Happy Friday!

How was your week? We had a really good one that included Halloween, volleyball, school and more!

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

Here are some favorites from the week:

A few fun favorites:

Last Friday, I went to see Heather McMahan’s live taping of her show for Netflix. We’d gone to see her back and January, and were excited to go again. We all met at our friend’s house for carryout Mexican food and drinks. Then, we went downtown for the show. The show was a mix of the material from January as well as some new material too. It was a great evening!

Since it was a taping, we couldn’t have our phones out during the performance. Heather looked stunning, and she snapped a photo with the audience at the end.

On Saturday, Hadley went to Great Wolf Lodge with a group from school. She had so much fun.

Halloween Fun:

While we were at the Heather McMahan taping, Hadley and the Student Council were hosting a haunted house. It was quite the success.

Look at my zombie volleyball player! haha

My brother’s kids made some sweet treats for us and dropped them off on Saturday.

We had our “spooky dinner” on Sunday night. I made mummy dogs and brains for dinner…with a side of eyeballs.

Halloween on a Monday should always be a hard no….but it was a great evening. The weather was perfect. Hayden threw on a jersey at the last minute to be a football player while Hadley was a construction worker with her friend.

Hadley and friends ran around the neighborhood together while Hayden and his friends did the same thing. They scored so much candy that it’s ridiculous!

Travis and I hung on the front porch to pass out candy. Honestly, I had a moment of sadness when I realized the last time I sat on the front porch and passed out candy was 2009 when I had a very big pregnant belly. This time has gone by in a blink, but I’m glad the kids were close by and had fun with their friends.

I went to grab a cup for my wine and laughed at my choice! While it’s a Christmas sentiment, I think it applies to Halloween on a Monday!

Volleyball:

Hadley had her first volleyball game this week! Volleyball is one of my favorite sports to watch, so I’m definitely looking forward to watching them this season.

She’s having fun with friends which is definitely a bonus.

Favorite Mom Meme:

This made me laugh way too hard…

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

This throwback to 2013 is one of my favorite photos. So sweet and festive for Halloween.

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from the week:

What are your weekend plans? We don’t really have anything tonight, but tomorrow Hayden has a cross country meet, and then Travis and I will spend the day at Keeneland for the Breeder’s Cup. I’m one of the weird ones who loves the time change (in the fall), and I have feeling I’m going to need that extra hour of sleep by Sunday!

Thanks so much for reading.

Posted in Holidays, This and That

Happy Halloween

Hello and Happy Monday!

What’s scarier than a Halloween on a Monday?! Yikes!

Today’s post is all about Halloween fun with these two graphics I found on Pinterest (c/o @acaracollective). I’ll share them on Insta today. Let me know your answers!

Halloween Favorites

  • Candy: It’s hard for me to resist chocolate…especially a small Snickers or Butterfinger.
  • Movie: We always try to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. While it’s not a movie, it’s a favorite. On Fall Break, we watched The Addams Family which was fun.
  • Costume: I’ve shared before that my favorite costumes the kids chose were when they were Batman and Robin. So cute.
  • Activity: Our favorite fall activity is going to the pumpkin patch. For quite a few years, we’d go to Transylvania University here in Lex to see all the pumpkins lit up. Covid changed that, and then we haven’t been able to make it there the past couple of years.
  • Character: I don’t know that a ghost is a “character,” but he’s cute!
  • Tradition: I love our pumpkin carving tradition.

This or That:

  • Trick or Treat: Definitely treats…no tricks!
  • Not so spooky movies or scary movies: I guess I’m a scaredy cat…I prefer not so spooky movies.
  • Apple cider or PSL: I used to love PSL, but now I prefer a lighter version. Apple cider is good, but I prefer it hot.
  • Pumpkin patches or haunted houses: Pumpkin patches all the way!
  • Buy a costume or make a costume: Buy a costume, for sure. Thank goodness for Amazon. I do remember my mom making a few of our costumes when I was a kid. Then again, Amazon didn’t exist!
  • Craft or carve a pumpkin: We love to carve pumpkins.
  • Trick or treat or pass out candy: Well, sadly, I’m back to the passing out candy phase. I do love seeing little kids in their costumes though. I just feel like walking around with my kids went by in a blink.
  • Chic decor or spooky decor: I prefer chic (cozy) decor to spooky. My kids wish I’d make our outside more spooky, I’m sure.
  • Candied apples or caramel apples: Caramel apples are so good…but too much work to eat. I love caramel apple suckers.
  • 13 nights of Halloween marathon or your own movies marathon: Make your own movie marathon, for sure. I wish we had more time for movie watching.
  • Early night or late night: Early night is my preference. Trick-or-treating is from 6-8 and on a school night…so hopefully we’ll all be in bed at a decent hour.

I guess since the kids are full on middle schoolers, our Halloweens definitely look different now {sad face}

I hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Posted in Holidays, Traditions

Fall Fun

Hello!

With our non-stop activities and going in a million different directions, we seem to have to “schedule” in the fun things.

One of the best things about October in Lexington is Keeneland. There’s no place like it in the fall.

Pre-kids, we’d go with friends a few times a meet and even tailgate beforehand…and go to dinner after! Obviously, life is more hectic now, but I like to go to the races at least once in the fall and the spring. It’s always fun to bump into friends and people that you know. Travis is there quite a bit for work, and sometimes I will tag along. When the kids were in elementary school, he’d usually pick them up once or twice and take them for the last few races. It’s just a fun thing to do especially when the weather is nice!

I shared a post all about Keeneland last spring…and here are a few pics with the kids…

through the years…

and now…

We were able to go to the last few races on Friday, and I’m so glad we made it work!

The first race we were there, Travis had the kids each choose a horse, and he placed a trifecta bet…

…and they WON!

Hadley actually had winners in almost every race…and they hit another trifecta too. Hadley said, “This is easy!” {follow us for more parenting tips…}

Keeneland has great food and some great people watching too.

We had a really great afternoon. While it was a short visit to Keeneland, it was a good one!

Other weekend fun:

On Sunday, Hadley helped me put out the cobwebs, spiders and skeletons.

Then, the kids carved their pumpkins. I will say that while it’s bittersweet how quickly they are growing up, I’m not mad about the fact they can carve their own pumpkins!

They both had a “vision” and executed the plan. I love this tradition, and I hope we can do it every year.

When I shared my Pumpkin Everything post a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I wanted to try the Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Cake that I’d saved on Pinterest.

I added the ingredients to my Clicklist order this weekend, and made the cake on Sunday.

I followed this recipe…

Ingredients:

Mix and put in slow cooker…

Serve with a dollop of Cool Whip on top. We all enjoyed some after carving pumpkins on Sunday night.

It was so good! Now I’m thinking this is a fun way to make a cake without having to worry about the oven!

What are some of your favorite fall activities where you live? I’m so glad we made sure to get in a couple of our traditions this fall.

Tomorrow, I’m sharing the books I read this month.

I hope you have a great day!

Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays, Kids

Friday Favorites {#88}

Hello and Happy Friday! I spent all of yesterday thinking it was Friday, so I’m glad that Friday is actually, finally here!

I have so much to share this week! As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Favorite Picture:

I shared in yesterday’s post about our trip to the orchard to get our pumpkins to carve. We were only there for a short period of time, but I’m glad we made it work!

Favorite Moment:

Hadley was an acolyte for the first time last Sunday. It was sweet to see her take on this role.

Favorite Food(s):

Amy shared her Greek bowl recipe, and I had to try it. Y’all, this dish is so good. I’ve had it three times in the past week. When she says not to skip the homemade tzatziki sauce, she’s not kidding. Fun Fact: I hate yogurt, so I was worried that I wouldn’t like the sauce…it’s so good! So good. (I skipped the tomatoes and olives because I don’t like those. I’m kind of picky about some things πŸ˜‰

And…these: 🀣 {hashtag: balance}

I shared about this Pinterest Pumpkin Sugar Cookie recipe earlier this week. I made these on Sunday, and they didn’t last long at our house!

Other Faves:

Last Friday was so rainy and cool that we had the first fire of the year. Friday night was so nice. I was in my pj’s early (after the pumpkin patch), we had pizza for dinner, and I watched tv while enjoying a glass of wine. I went to bed pretty early too!

We had our “Spooky” dinner and carved pumpkins on Wednesday which are both favorite Halloween traditions.

Another favorite is seeing the kids do what they love…

Hayden has been having a good time with his new basketball team, and is really growing as a player. Also, I think he really is growing! Hadley doesn’t seem to be a head taller than him anymore!

Hadley had her first performance with her school dance team during halftime of the girls basketball game on Monday. Their routine was so fun, and she had a great time!

My favorite front yard trees are starting to show off! We have some rain coming through today, and I hope the leaves don’t all fall off. I want to enjoy this view for as long as possible.

It’s been Red Ribbon (Say No to Drugs) Week. Hadley has fully embraced the dress up days, and Hayden joined her on Tuesday…”I’m too smart for drugs…” Dress up in your favorite college shirt or your favorite career clothes.

Hadley and friends were so cute on Wednesday…”Travel with your pack drug free.” You and your pack of friends dress alike. Doesn’t every tween girl have black leggings, a black t-shirt, and a colorful tutu on hand?!?

It’s been fun seeing her excited about all of these middle school activities.

Also, Hadley and a couple of friends went to the Fall Festival at her friend’s church on Wednesday. They had lots of fun, and she brought home some candy!

giraffe, elephant, and waffle!

Favorite Mom Meme:

I definitely used to be the mom who would bring the cute homemade treat, but I must have outdone myself during the primary years because once the kids hit intermediate grades, this was me:

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

I think I probably share these around Halloween every year, but I always get a kick out of looking back on what the kids were each year.

Seriously, Hayden still doesn’t know what he will be this year because I keep saying no to “killer clown!”

(Batman and Robin in 2013 are my favorite costumes for the kids!)

Weekly Recap:

I had a busy blogging week. Memes, all about my teaching career, pumpkin cookies and pumpkin fun!

I hope you have a great weekend and a very Happy Halloween.

Posted in Holidays

(Happy) Halloween Recap!

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 πŸ˜‰…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!
my plate

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! πŸ˜‚

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!

2010

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. πŸ˜‚

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,

Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays

Friday Favorites {#43}

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, β€œUgh, every time I’m on You Tube, there are commercials. β€˜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.πŸ˜‚

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! πŸ˜‰ #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:

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!

Posted in What's up Wednesday

What’s Up Wednesday

Hello! How is it already the last Wednesday in October? October is my favorite month, and I feel like it needs at least 14 more days! haha Y’all, it’s completely flown by!

As always, I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer for their What’s Up Wednesday series.

WHAT WE ARE EATING THIS WEEK:

I’m back to cooking this week which has been good for me!

  • Sunday– Chicken chili and cornbread
  • Monday- easy pork loin, Bob Evans mashed potatoes, and veggies
  • Tuesday- leftover chili and cornbread
  • Wednesday – Baked chicken thighs (my dad’s recipe!), Trader Joe’s Risotto, and fruit
  • Thursday– leftover chicken, bagged salad
  • Friday Spooky Halloween dinner (hot dogs, mac and cheese, and grapes)
2019 Spooky dinner
  • Saturday– It’s Halloween. I usually make chili and/or Shay’s Chicken Tortilla Soup and some other family faves.

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

This pic of Hadley popped up in my Facebook memories from 2016 when she dressed up for the 50th day of school. I can’t get over how the elementary years have flown by and how fast this crazy school year is going!

WHAT I’M LOVING:

I’m loving this Chex Mix that I whipped up after seeing it on Instagram Stories.

  • Chex cereal
  • Candy Corn
  • Peanuts
  • Reese’s Pieces

WHAT I’M WORKING ON:

I’m just continuing to rest up and heal from my surgery. I have my two week appointment with my doctor today. This week, I’ve definitely been easing back a bit more into “real life” with cooking, laundry, helping the kids with school and continuing to work from home.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO:

This week we’ve had a little more down time now that baseball is over. Cross country and dance have continued, but we’ve had a few extra weekend days and weekday evenings just at home rather than running around everywhere.

The kids have been focused on their Pod President campaign. Over the weekend, they worked on their slogans and signs before taking them to their class pod. The election is next Wednesday, I believe. Before then, they will each give a speech and participate in a debate with the other candidate (three kids, total, are running for the position).

Pod President gets to choose the seating chart for the day, bring their favorite snack to share, and choose the recess activity.

Hadley upped her campaign game with buttons! 🀣

WHAT I’M DREADING:

Nothing really at the moment. I’m just always overwhelmed with the school situation (even though we have a great routine going), and now I guess we need to start thinking about the holidays. I’m not sure how all of that will shake out.

WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT:

My Missouri Tigers beat Trav’s Kentucky Wildcats in football last Saturday.

They say, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it…” Well, I have an MU garden flag, and it’s flying! πŸŽ‰#zerochill Hayden noticed right away, and I’m not sure if Travis has noticed I changed it yet or not.

WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING:

Last week, I binged Million Dollar Beach House on Netflix in a matter of a couple of days. In my defense, there are only six 30 minute episodes.

Then, I moved on to Virgin River which a few people suggested. I just finished episode 7, and I really like it. A perk to be late to watching VR is that I will finish Season 1 and Season 2 will be out next month! (Side note–Travis saw me watching it, and said he’d watched it back when shut down/quarantine started! I had no idea. πŸ˜‚ )

I’m almost finished with The Guest List. This was definitely a popular read, and I was on the library wait list for quite some time. It’s pretty good. I hope to share about the books I read in October tomorrow or early next week.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:

Honestly, I haven’t been listening to my regular podcasts recently since I mostly do that on my walks and while working out. I hope to get back on track with listening to those very soon!

WHAT I’M WEARING:

Landyn shared about this Target robe that she’s had for years. Apparently, Target quit selling it a couple of years ago, but a follower of hers shared that they saw Target was selling it again. #rundontwalk This is the best robe ever. I had a Target gift card, so I felt even better about the purchase.

I was in Walmart recently and saw this lightweight tunic jacket. It comes in a few colors, and I picked up the dark gray. I like that it’s lightweight, so I can wear it in the house or layer it to wear outside.

WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND:

It’s Halloween! This is one of our favorite holidays. Cool weather, candy, and costumes. So fun.

Hayden and Hadley’s costumes through the years..

2019: Ghostbuster and nerd

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

The kids’ birthday! Hayden and Hadley will be 11! How is that even possible?!

I think we wrapped up the birthday t-shirt tradition last year. I loved it so much, but I thought 10 was a good age to move on. I’ve said before that Hadley probably would have let me buy a her a b-day t-shirt until she’s 50, and Hayden was over it a couple of years ago.

We haven’t made any solid birthday plans just yet. This year, their birthday falls on a Friday, so we may let them hang with a few friends and keep it kind of simple.

Thanks so much for reading my What’s Up Wednesday post! Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts too!

I hope you are having a great week.

Posted in Holidays

Halloween Recap

Halloween 2019…also known as the week long Halloween. Our Halloween festivities started off last Sunday at our church’s Halloween Festival where the kids could trick-or-treat on Spooky Street, play on inflatables and other games, and eat chili. They had a great time loading up on treats and seeing their friends.

Plot twist with Halloween: with a forecast of rain, highs in the 40s (with temps dropping), and gusty winds, some communities, including ours, moved trick-or-treating to Saturday from 3-5. This isn’t the first time trick-or-treating has been moved due to weather, and I kind of rolled my eyes at the idea…that being said, Thursday legit felt like winter! By Thursday evening, I wasn’t mad about a low key evening at home, an easy dinner, and some tv watching with the kids. Since it was Halloween, there were no other activities planned, so we were kind of forced to slow down and have some time at home. We had eaten dinner by 6 (never happens), kids were showered and clean by 7 (really never happens), and then we actually had time to catch up on our family tv shows.

I read Andrea’s post on Thursday morning for an easy dinner of Zombie Brains and Bloody Fingers. Sounded easy, fun, and delish, so I stopped by Trader Joe’s on my way home from school to get what we needed. The kids loved it.

Trick-or-treating in the daylight on Saturday felt a little odd…but to be honest, I ended up enjoying it. We weren’t rushed to beat the daylight, it was a Saturday, so no rushing home after school to get ready, and then we had time after trick-or-treating to hang out with friends while the kids swapped candy. Then we ate chili and soup and hung out…while not worrying about an early bedtime.

It was sunny and high 40s, so not super warm, but definitely better than how it would have been Thursday night.

The kids chose their costumes pretty easily this year…and, as always, thank goodness for Amazon. Hayden has an interest in Ghostbusters, so I showed him the costume online and said, “Do you want to be that?” and he said yes. Hadley was adamant on being a nerd…and instantly loved the “Nerdy Girls Rock” shirt she found on Amazon. The bowtie, suspenders, and socks were in a pack together…and when the glasses arrived, she said, “We have to put tape on them like they’ve been broken.” Lastly, she asked me to bring a dictionary home from school. Girlfriend had a vision for her costume!

Hadley in costume (and character!)

Hayden’s costume did come with a proton pack…and I figured it was only a matter of time before Homer popped it!! We made it to Halloween though!

My brother’s family comes over for Halloween. The kids know we need to get a cousin pic on the steps!

I call this the “OG of trick-or-treaters” pic. These kids have grown up together, and I’m blessed to call their moms my friends! The oldest two (twins!) are in middle school now…Also, all except for “Dorothy” have November birthdays, so we see each other quite a bit in the November/December months.

For fun (or to make me cry)…here’s our first year trick-or-treating together ….2010.

We trick-or-treated with lots of friends and ran into many other friends and neighbors.

Homer dressed as a “good dog” this year…definitely a disguise. haha

I can’t get over all the candy they get each year! It’s insane…and this year they received many full sized candy bars. Crazy!

We definitely had an awesome (week of) Halloween. Up next: birthday party planning for these two almost ten year olds!

Have a great week.

Jen

Instagram: @showmeandsweettea

Facebook Page: Show Me and Sweet Tea

Posted in Flashback Friday, Holidays, Kids

Flashback Friday: Halloween

I seriously wish I’d started blogging sooner….then, I wouldn’t have to have Flashback Fridays to get all of my pics in one place! haha. Since Halloween is next week, I thought I’d take a stroll down memory lane with the kids’ Halloween costumes through the years. I only cried twice while writing this post!

2010

Hadley as a jack-o-lantern and Hayden as a skeleton.

2011

A friend mentioned that the kids should be M&Ms for Halloween but have H&H on their chest…and I loved that idea. Insert homemade costumes by GG.

2012

Fireman Hayden and Princess Hadley

2013

Hands down my favorite costumes ever. I clearly remember Hayden saying he wanted to be Batman and Hadley chimed in that she’d be Robin. Seriously, it was her idea. Love love love this costume combo!

2014

We had just moved into our new house, and thankfully the kids were very decisive on what they wanted their costumes to be…as I didn’t have time for them to change their minds! Hayden was Captain America because he was at the age to love all things superhero …and Hadley was obbbbsessssed with all things Frozen, especially Elsa.

2015

This year seemed kind of random…Hayden as a ninja and Hadley has a Pink Power Ranger! The neighborhood has never felt more safe!

2016

Hayden was Luke Skywalker and Hadley a bumble bee. Funny Hadley story about Hadley’s costume. Her older cousin had given her the striped bee dress as a hand me down for play clothes. I remember Hadley wanting to look up costume ideas on the computer. At one point, she showed me the computer and said she wanted to be a bee. She remembered she had the hand me down costume when she saw a picture of a woman in an adult version of a bee costume that said, “Buzzed!” πŸ˜‚I couldn’t quit laughing…

2017

2017 was another costume favorite of mine for both kids. I thought Hadley was so cute in her Super Girl costume, and Hayden was his favorite baseball player…Mike Moustakas of the KC Royals. The price of Hayden’s costume was $0…so no wonderful I loved it so much.

2018

Last year, as we drove home from our October fall break, the kids started discussing costumes. Both were pretty definitive with their choices as last fall Hayden decided to play soccer again…hence the Cristiano Ronaldo costume. From the back of the car on that ride home from South Carolina, Hadley said she wanted to be an 80s party girl…and I said, “Oh, an 80s girl…” She said, “No, mom….an 80s parrrrttty girl!” I laughed and wondered what that costume would entail…as always, Amazon for the win!

Time sure does fly. Where have my babies gone? Any guesses what they will be this year?

Bonus Flashback!

My brother and me in 198?…

Cheerleader and Care Bear β€οΈπŸ˜‚

I hope you have a great weekend! We have soccer, UK football game, and neighborhood pumpkin carving on tap!

Jen

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