Tag: halloween

Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays

Friday Favorites {#43}

Posted on 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!

Posted in What's up Wednesday

What’s Up Wednesday

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

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! 🎉#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. 😂 )

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

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

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

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

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!” 😂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 ❤️😂

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

Jen

Instagram: @showmeandsweettea

Facebook Page: Show Me and Sweet Tea