Happy Friday

It's Tyler's last night on nights so that is reason enough to celebrate.   I'm excited to spend time with my boys & not have someone sleeping in my house 24/7 so I can get some things accomplished.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

This video makes me smile (and Tyler roll his eyes since his son is playing with make-up). 

Jack loves to hang around while I'm putting on my make-up & tries to steal my brushes as much as possible (two went missing and I'm almost positive they were put in the trash can and were thrown away).

Loving the Leaves

 

Jack and I recently took a run up to Ellington Ag Center to take a few fall pictures.  We're trying to take advantage before all the leaves fall off the trees! My subject was not very cooperative.  This boy loves playing with leaves.

 

 

I was sweeping the driveway recently (which was pointless...they were all back the next day.  Live & learn) while Jack & Jake played in the yard.  I looked up & found Jack in the corner of the yard sitting & playing in the leaves. 

 And then I looked over and he was just lying in the middle of the yard.  Silly boy.

Meal planning

When I was working I cooked about 5 meals over and over repeatedly.  I wouldn't plan before I headed to the store because I didn't have time to plan so I would pick up the same ingredients & meat each time and just figure out what was for dinner at around 5:15.

 

Now that I have more time on my hands (understatement?), I've been branching out and trying new recipes (which sometimes don't end well, but you never know until you try!).

 

Thanks to Pinterest I found this great "eat sheet" to help plan the weekly meals & grocery list.  It's been a lifesaver & helps me avoid having to run to the store 5 different times during the week.  I just print out a bunch at a time and stick them in my planner.

 

For really busy weeks I have also discovered the website eatathomecooks.com which has print outs with weekly meals already planned and the entire shopping list to go with it (there are three years worth of weekly meals listed).  When I first used it I found a couple of weeks that I really liked, but keeping it healthy has been a bit challenging.  Also, I alter most of the recipes since I'm only cooking for 2.5 people.  It's still fun to just pick a week & try some new things or find some new recipes while searching.

 

 

 

Pinterest is such a great resource to find new recipes and dishes that look great since you can see the pictures.  Has anyone figured out how to determine if they taste as good as they look?  Or does anyone have any other websites or resources they use for new recipes?

6 year anniversary

Happy 6 year Anniversary to the love of my life.  It feels like our wedding day was forever ago and yesterday all at the same time.

You are my best friend and my everything.
Through the last twelve years we've changed as people but have loved and supported each other through ups & downs, new jobs & cities, & this adventure of parenthood.

Every year on November 11, I love to pull out the wedding pictures & relive that day.
I love seeing the faces of all our family and friends that were there to celebrate & all the fun that we had.

 Tyler has been on a nights rotation but did have Saturday night off. Our babysitter wasn't available and we failed at our back-up attempts so we had a nice dinner as a family of three and a surprise trip to Nordstrom for a pair of these...I'm now prepared for rain & snow.

Here's a flashback from last year's anniversary.

I love you, Tyler Lee.  To many, many more!
 

Gentry Farms

Vanderbilt has a great organization called the VHA (Vanderbilt Housestaff Alliance) that is a group for significant others of residents at Vandy. They schedule social activities for the couples & families.

 

The month of October included a couple of family friendly activities like Fall Fest & a sponsored event at Gentry Farms in Franklin, TN.  Tyler had to work (shocker) but Jack and I had fun and it will definitely be on our list of things we MUST do each fall.    In addition to a pumpkin patch, there were lots of activities for the kiddos & adults, including animals, corn mazes, a hayride, & lots of slides. It was a VERY cold day but Jack was in heaven.

 

Love this face

There were big corn mazes in the fields, which say to allow at least 15 minutes to go through (aka- not Jack friendly), but they had a maze going through the barn with slides that was perfect for the tots.

Always like seeing a random Texas.

Big Day in the USA

It's a big day in the USA.

 I took advantage of early voting while Jack was at MDO a couple of weeks ago. 

It made me feel like I had accomplished so much in a quick 15 minutes.

The last four years have been full of questions, new policies, & confusion regarding healthcare and as a family supported by a physician the next four years will be impactful on our future.

 We have prayed & voted & now we wait...

 

 

On to something a bit lighter, here's a few things I have been loving the last couple of weeks:

 

 Am I the only 29 year old that bought Taylor Swift's album on the day it came out at Target?  I'm pretty sure that Jack might know all the songs since we listen to it all the time in the car (Am I supposed to be listening to baby music?  He's happy :))



 

Again, with the fall thing...but this is a tree in our neighborhood that was literally glowing recently.  We went by yesterday and all the leaves had pretty much fallen off, but it was gorgeous right before they all dropped. 

My boys.  Tyler had a day and half off this past weekend so we were able to spend some time as a family which is sparse now-a-days.  He's been to church with us 2 weeks in a row which hasn't happened since he started in July.

 

Today at storytime Tennessee Titan Alterraun Vernen read Goodnight Moon to the kids.  Not really familiar with the Titans or Alterraun but he was a really nice guy & one of the local tv stations was there filming him.

 

I made an easy, delicious meal last night that got the thumbs up from Tyler (and Jack), which doesn't happen too often when I'm trying new things. 

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

We ate a roasted chicken for dinner Sunday night and, as usual, had lots leftover.  Our leftovers often get thrown out, but I boiled another chicken breast & together there was plenty for the recipe.  I had all the other ingredients in the fridge & we used whole wheat tortillas.
I'm always looking for new, easy, & healthy recipes with chicken!

Happy Election Day! 

A Blog Makeover

When we moved from San Antonio to Nashville we did a major purge of our stuff. 

Well, I did...Tyler still has boxes & boxes of old cd's and every old piece of electronic equipment ever (do we need 2 discmans?).
It was nice to clean out everything and know that we were starting with a clean slate when it came to clothes, decorating, and life.

 

I figured it would be a great time for a blog makeover, too. 

 

After a few months of anticipation, the wonderful Kelly at Fabulous K has given us a bright, updated design.  She did the original blog art a few years ago and we love the new look!

 

I'm looking forward to including more DIY projects, experiences of being a first time homeowner, a new SAHM, decorating, living, & dressing on a budget, recipes, photography, parenthood, and all the new things we are learning about this awesome city that is Nashville, in addition to the blog being our online scrapbook.

 

Sitting in front of my computer has begun to be a relaxing place for me and I enjoy it.

I hope you enjoy it, too!
Sometimes you just need something to help you relax...especially on certain days like when I walked out of the laundry room and saw this...