Homemade Fall Fun

I love this time of year!  It is so amazing to see the leaves change colors and the temperatures get cooler!  There are so many things that I have wanted to do with my girl but days get busy and we were quarantined for a week with a yucky virus.  So...  here is a look at our homemade fall fun!

We made homemade gingerbread play-doh!  It was a lot of fun having a cute little helper in the kitchen!  My girl LOVES play-doh so she was especially excited to help make some!  I know gingerbread is a little more Christmas-y than fall-y but it's my favorite so we went with it!  Super easy recipe and it lasts a really long time if stored properly!  I try and save play-doh time for when I'm getting dinner ready.  That way, my girl can sit in the kitchen floor with a tray of play-doh and cookie cutters and she's having fun while I'm cooking!

 We went on leaf hunts!  Once my girl was satisfied with her collection of leaves, we took them home to make a leaf banner for our mantle.

 I followed the directions from Sarah at Clover Lane.  It was simple and turned out beautifully!  My favorite kind of project!

I love how it turned out and my girl talks about the leaves every time she walks into the room!  It is really sweet and this will certainly become a tradition in our home now!

Looking forward to more fall fun... pumpkins, Halloween, and more! 

Calgon...

Calgon took me away a few weekends ago!  It was such a welcome and much needed break from the JOYS of being a wife and mommy! 

My dearest friend works full time, has a nearly 3 year old daughter, has a hubby that travels a good bit and lives across the city from me... so needless to say, we don't get to spend much time hanging out like we used to (before kids, before we moved across town, before life became a whole lot less about US...)!

It was so nice to get away to a hotel in the city for some girl time!  We shopped... found GREAT deals at Anthropologie for some lucky people for Christmas presents!  We enjoyed a really, really nice time at the spa (it was crazy expensive but I don't go to the spa often so it was definitely a treat).  Then, we enjoyed a delicious dinner out... just the two of us... no kiddos eating from our plates... no hubbies having any input on where we ate (or what time)... no spilled drinks... no bibs... no sippy cups... no kid noise... no talk of sports teams or politics or current events... nothing like that at all.  Just heavenly food with a great friend!

I did not do a good job documenting our time away but I did manage to get a few pictures of the really important things...

this ceviche was to.die.for.  will go back to this restaurant just for it!

wine.  a bottle.  not the baby and milk kind either.

half eaten oreo cheesecake for dessert.  yes - dessert.

It was a great time!  We talked and laughed and slept in and watch Friends reruns and got breakfast the next morning in our bare feet (that was probably against the rules but nobody stopped us!).  Can't wait to do it all again next year (or maybe sooner?)!  Thanks T... love ya!

More please!

A sweet, impromptu tea party with MK!  I love seeing these little girls together!  The are fun and different and sweet and sassy and shy and bossy and everything in between!  (yes, my girl is still in half of her pj's... it was early)

I am so thankful for this precious friendship.

"Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family." 

Proverbs 18:24 (The Message)

Lions, tigers and bears, oh my!

We (finally) visited Zoo Atlanta a few weeks back... thanks to sweet friends that gave us free tickets!  I really thought our girl would love it but she was a little overwhelmed.  She did really love seeing the pandas... they were safely behind glass.  But as for the elephant... it was a little too close and too big!  We had a great time at the zoo and we'll certainly go back... soon but not too soon.

After the zoo, we were all hungry so I was allowed to join our girl and her daddy at their favorite date place!  What'llyahave?

It was fun making memories with my family!  I am amazed at how blessed we are and what a wonderful life we have together!

Apples!

Back in September, we went with some new friends up to the mountains in Blue Ridge to pick apples!  I was so excited when Lori invited us!  It was a perfect trip!  The girls had a great time together!  We went to Mercier Orchards and it was amazing!  The weather was a little cool at first but warmed up quickly!  There were apples everywhere!  We will definitely be going back next year! 

Thank you Lori & C for a GREAT day!  My girl and I are already excited about next year's trip!

School!

As a former teacher, the beginning of a new school year is my favorite time of year!  I love the smell of new crayons and freshly sharpened pencils!  I love seeing clean desks with name tags still neat!  I love the nervous excitement of meeting new students and getting to know them!  I love all things that come with this fun time of year!

This year was especially exciting because we decided it was time for our girl to go to "school"!  This year I was the parent instead of the teacher and it was great!  After a slightly rocky start (long story and not worth repeating), God led us to a wonderful Parents Morning Out program at a church near our house!  Our girl was super excited to be going to big girl school!

Hubby stayed home long enough to take her to school with me.  She happily trotted into her big girl classroom without even a glance over her shoulder!  When I picked her up (a fast 4 hours later), she was playing and having a great time!  She did indulge her mommy and allow me one picture of her with her teacher on this first day!  We capped off this momentous day with a taco at our favorite Mexican restaurant!  Yummy end to a GREAT day!

July 2012 (a little late)

Again... REWIND....  This is a couple months late but better late than never, right?

July is a fun month in our family!  We always cheer on my hubby as he runs the Peachtree Road Race and this year our girl REALLY got into it!  She loved seeing all the people run past her!  She especially loved the "clapper" things we got from the Bank of America people!  These lovely noise makers are still in her toy box and she still loves to take them out and talk about "Daddy's race"! 

We also celebrate my sweet hubby's birthday in July!  This year we had a fun family birthday dinner with the Leslies!  We love them so much and we really enjoy the time we get to spend with them!  Aunt Tedda (also known as Aunt Teddy) spent the night with us and went to the Children's Museum the next day for some more fun family time to celebrate hubby's birthday!

We also got to celebrate our girl's best friend's 2nd birthday!  These girls are joined at the hip and it is fun to see them grow in their personalities individually and as friends!  Really cute!  We are so thankful to have such wonderful friends in our life!