Fall is one of my favorite times of year. It also tends to feel really busy as we head into the holiday season. I am finding that I have some really great end of summer/back to school enthusiasm that quickly dwindles after we go on our family vacation in October and the weather starts turning.
It has been a trend in my life the past few years that sometimes included a pregnancy or newborn. But this year, even as I am coming up for air from baby life, I still see myself yearning for less. So I am taking notes and hopefully will be more mindful about what I commit to next year. I really want to hunker down and be at home this time of year and I am learning that is completely okay.
This is so random but my cousin sent this photo to me. Someone they knew found this photo on an Amazon listing and recognized one of our family members! They used one of my blog photos from back when we lived in California for a canopy listing! We searched trying to find the listing but couldn't. I told Brent that surely I should be getting paid for them to use my photo! He said, "we should at least be getting a free canopy!" It was humorous, flattering, and slightly irritating all the same!
We thought this was the autumn moon but turns out it was just the sun! A fun find nonetheless.
I am still craving my salad rotation. Here is some leftover tortellini made into a salad. I love leftover pasta in a salad. It is so decadent but still healthy. I throw some lettuce, vegetables, olives, and cheese with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Just some random stuffies I wanted my kids to have because they are ADORABLE. It was sort of a back to school surprise and they were so happy and thankful. We do plenty of fun things together but they rarely get toys for no reason from us. It was a fun surprise.
T-Rex Dinosaur | Triceratops Dinosaur
We celebrated Brent's twenty year anniversary at his company! We started dating just a few months after he started working there. It has been quite the adventure since then. So grateful for him and his hard work and dedication that has provided a life for our sweet family.
We are quite the spectacle whenever we are out in public places. Maybe someday I will stop taking people's stares offensively? I am so appreciative when strangers are kind to our crew though.
Magical early autumn nights are the best.
In full swing with the Halloween fun. Some leftover icing I had and a package of candy eyeballs to last us the season. These are just as fun for me to make as it is for the kids to get to eat!
More eyeballs and a pumpkin cookie cutter on some leftover pancakes for a weekday breakfast. The key word here is leftovers! Holiday traditions can be fun and still simple.
This little sweetheart sure has grown up in the last few months. She is walking, talking, and playing like one of the big kids. She is so precious. We adore her.
And also quite silly. We love seeing her blossom into her unique self. Fourth child will surely have a big personality?!
Saturday morning donuts and play on a nice day.
More festive leftovers for lunch!
In her defense, I did leave an opened package of toilet paper just sitting there!
I made these sugar cookie bars and oh my they were delicious! The kids didn't like how soft they were but I LOVED them.
I recently bought a few cute little blue plates from my friend who is a potter. Here is one on display holding my nighttime oils.
Fall flowers and little pumpkins. Such a sweet and subtle nod to the season.
Someone please remind me to stock up on the fall apple candle from Trader Joe's next year. Even my daughter asked me to light it more often. It smells so good!
One Costco bouquet went a long way in providing multiple little flower arrangements around the house.
Some new favorite things - these slides are so good. They are my throw on shoes to go outside, I wear them with sweats but also dresses, and they are actually pretty supportive. And I got myself a new blush pink blender bottle after using the same one for like 10 years. I have been trying to do a protein shake in between meals and it is helping me accomplish some of my health goals.
Fall crafting - I find it best to print out a bunch of craft printables ahead of time and then they are ready when the opportunity strikes. I am trying to get these out after school to fight some of the after school/pre-dinner grumpies.
The joys of childhood - everyone piled up on a skateboard flying down a hill!
I trimmed some "trees" that I realized are actually supposed to be bushes. They look pretty sad but I am praying they make it. It will be helpful to have some bushes here to keep balls from rolling down the hill and hopefully to create a more tucked away feel in our yard. I also planted some rhododendrons.
Sweet girl on the porch swing with me. I just love all the little baby rolls and curls.
Since Brent finished our upstairs bedroom wall I finally settled on some frames for here. I am filling them with a family photo from each added person to our family - a picture from our wedding and then a family picture each time we added a child.
Little miss climbed out of her chair and onto the table!
Enjoying some more one on one time with this guy while baby girl naps and the others are at school.
These two are becoming sweet little friends. I am so glad they have each other.
I found some $5 mums for our front patio. They didn't last as long as I would have liked but quite the find for $5! I cut all the dead blooms off and the leaves still look great.
More Costco flowers with a few greens from the yard made for the prettiest bouquet. (I put together this post over the span of a month so as I edit this, I see I repeat myself quite a bit! lol sorry)
Still on a salad kick. Loving hard boiled eggs and leftover meat.
Simple outing to the library on a rainy day make for fun memories.
It's been so fun to see these two start to play together. I am so grateful that they have one another. (I literally just said that but leaving this here so you can laugh at me) And can't believe next year we will start preschool for our third! Time goes by too fast!!!
Loving our little fall patio. Now fifteen year pumpkins that we used in our wedding. I am not sure I can ever get rid of these but they are starting to show their age! Still bringing me joy.
A rare pick out a toy at the mall outing. My sweet girl showing off her slime in front of a pretty wall.
I finally learned about paint markers that you can use on things like rocks and shells. You get much more precise lines and it's way less messy than regular paint! The kids had a fun time painting their shells we found at the beach. I am planning to collect some rocks from the yard to paint on Christmas day. I am finding a fun craft we can do helps break up the toy extravaganza of Christmas morning!
I love it when all my babies are happily playing quietly together. This is my motherhood bliss.
I started letting the three year old play with kinetic sand. It sure gets messy but he will play with it for a long time. I try to tell myself either I need to just let them play with it or get rid of it. So it is an almost always yes to kinetic sand!
This girl is looking so grown up walking and wearing shoes now!
No pumpkin patch for us this year - we were on vacation and then Brent was gone for work. But we did make it to a local hardware store that offered free pumpkin decorating. Especially with my older kids we continue to have to have conversations about how we don't do it all every year and that we have plenty of fun activities to do. I hope our priority of not over scheduling ourselves can also teach our children gratefulness.
Plus these pumpkins ended up being so much fun! Brent was also very excited for all the free hardware he was going to have once we were done with the pumpkins!
I splurged on this Pottery Barn ghost platter that I have wanted for a couple of years. It is gigantic and I can't even put it out on display because it is too tall to lean under our kitchen cabinets. But it sure made for a festive evening and beautiful photos! I love it!
I saw this fun idea to melt a marshmallow on store bought refrigerator cookies and then put an eye ball candy on it. Everyone was very interested in watching the eye balls melt in the oven!
I am getting less creative with my packed school lunches but I feel like I am in a groove where packing lunch is quicker and less of a burden. On M, W, F they get a peanut butter jelly sandwich and sides. Then T, TH they have a bar and string cheese as their main and snacky stuff as the rest. They occasionally will get chicken nuggets or grilled cheese. But this easy to follow schedule has made my mornings so much easier.
For sandwiches we use the Yumbox Panino. And for snack lunch (below) we use Yumbox Original. They have the same dimensions so they make storing together easier.
My friend had made some meatballs with this sauce and it was awesome! I made it myself and it was great.
Our Halloween porch.
A tree service guy who came to our door complimented us on our pumpkins. He said they were very steampunk!
Now the three year old is helping with the trash! I love it! They learn quickly watching bigger siblings.
Family donut date!
This girl is too funny. Whenever I try to take a picture of her in a cute outfit she deliberately will not look at me or smile!
Little sweethearts celebrating daddy's birthday.
Brent is an easy to please guy. We had McDonald's and watched the Paw Patrol movie for the first time. It was a fun family evening celebrating Brent.
Caught this pretty fall view of the yard coming in the house one day. Had to snap a picture.
I always love those gorgeous red leaves on the ground.
And this beautiful house lined with trees!
I haven't used an occasions bin for about a year because it was taking up too much counter space. But this cute scalloped basket is the perfect size to hold all my plates while taking up less room.
Brent was out of town for work so I let the kids watch TV while we ate dinner. Look at those happy faces!
We made some cute little haunted house bags this year. Here is the one I made with my three year old.
My little Halloween cuties! I am very much savoring these little ones who will still let me dress them up to match for the holidays.
Flowers picked for mama on a walk to the bus.
Soaking up these beautiful fall morning walks to the bus stop before rainy season hits.
Same easy traditions...every holiday...every year. Everyone is happy I didn't have to bake any cookies. :)
I always "fix" them when they are done though. Kind of grosses me out with their piles of frosting as they lick their fingers! Nobody seems to care that I do this thankfully.
A simple 15 year anniversary note and photos. Us on our honeymoon and us this year.
My parents usually come for a weekend near our anniversary so we can get a night or two away. Then on the actual day we celebrate at home with our kids over an Olive Garden dinner. It is always so sweet and special.
Watching our wedding video together and everyone has lots of questions!
A fall walk and doing my best to keep them from jumping into that creek!
We had a lovely and busy fall. I am thankful for the change of seasons that remind us to stop and savor these moments.
