{fall favorites}

Not only am I pining for fall fashion, I'm also longing for the days of changing leaves, pumpkin-scented candles, acorns blanketing our yard, and trips to the apple orchard.

I channeled all of these things into a new print for the shop yesterday...

You can purchase a printable here!

{hello monday}

I was so happy this morning to wake up and feel like I had a sufficient weekend. Quality time with the boys was much needed. After working the whole weekend after their first week of school we were all aching for time together. 

So yesterday morning we snuggled...

And we visited the homeland...

where I tried on some cute dresses to wear to the Influence Conference ...

{Yes I'm going! I need to do a post on this!}

This one ^^^ was the winner...it is so cute!

And before Ben could go to sleep last night he asked me to sit and rock him. The older he gets the more willing I am to say yes to this. School has been a big adjustment for him and I know feeling the safety of my arms helps him feel secure. And it doesn't hurt me either. ;)

And finally after the boys were in bed I was reunited with Jillian...

I've been a bit unhappy with my body {specifically my everlasting baby belly} lately, so I decided I have to do something about it. The last time I did the 30 Day Shred I lost 10 pounds, and that was only doing level 1 for 20 or so days, so I know that it works. 

I'm also trying to watch my calories...drinking smoothies for breakfast, snacking on healthier things like almonds and dried fruit. {OK...I did sneak in a few Starbursts today...can't take away this girl's sweet tooth completely.}

I actually felt ready to say hello to Monday today and for that I'm grateful.

I've also had another blogger and her family in my thoughts quite a bit. Diana from Hormonal Imbalances is facing an unthinkable situation with her newborn son, Kaden. You can find out more on this Facebook page. Today at lunch I had these Sara Bareilles lyrics stuck in my head and decided to doodle them with her sweet Kaden in mind...

If you have a moment could you pray for them? For healing for Kaden and peace for their family, in whatever form that will need to look like?

What are you saying hello to today?

Linking up with..

Blair
Lisa

{bees in my belly}

That up there is the reminder I needed after the rough transition week we've had in our little family. The boys started kindergarten on Monday...if you follow me at all I'm sure you already knew this. :)

And WHOA. What a bumpy ride it has been. 

School sure has changed since the early 80's when I started kindergarten. I remember my Mom walking me into my classroom, getting me settled and saying our good-byes. Now, and I'm sure it is partly because of the school violence we've seen in recent years, it is a whole new ballgame. 

When we drop the boys off at their school, ALL of the children grades K-4 are gathered in the gym, lined up with their class. It is A LOT of kids and really loud. So of course the first day was super overwhelming for the boys. Both Monday and yesterday Landon had a really tough time with it. We had to leave him with the teachers, screaming and crying for us. Talk about the most horrible feeling as a parent ever. Thankfully both days, once he got to his classroom, he was fine and both the boys have enjoyed their days so far.

It has been rougher on my hubby and I for sure. Letting go. Admitting they are grown up. Giving their security and minds over to people we've barely met. Scary stuff. 

We've talked a lot with them about being scared and nervous and what that feels like. 

Ben said it feels like he has "bees in his belly."  

Don't you just love 5-year-old analogies? We've been talking a lot about those bees and how we can acknowledge them but not let them take over. I think this morning the bees were finally making their belly exits for all of us when we dropped the boys off and none of us cried. What a huge victory that felt like. 

The hardest thing for me over the past week has been to put my anxiety aside and show them only my excitement about them starting school. I get my tears out in the shower, the car, sometimes even behind my closed office door. They've seen me a little bit teary, and I think that's completely OK, but they've been spared the ugly cries. Nobody wants to see that. :)

I can honestly say that this has been the biggest parenting test for me since the boys were infants. Going to bed and waking up with a whole swarm of bees in my belly. And not that those times are fun or even desirable, but they sure do make the bee-less times even sweeter. 

Being a person is hard. Being a parent is hard. We all go through ups and downs but ultimately those are what make life exciting and worth living. Can I get an amen? :)

And this post wouldn't be complete without the boys' first day of kindergarten photo...

Handsome devils. 

{july insta-life album}

I've really been on a roll lately with my insta-life albums. I can't believe that we're only halfway into August and I'm done with June!

Here are my favorite pages from the month...it is my thickest album to date...

August's album will undoubtedly be filled with lots of school-related photos with the boys starting kindergarten!

{Back-to-School with Post Pebbles #PebblesBTS}

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Post Pebbles but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PebblesBTS  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

First of all, how ridiculous is it that I'm doing a back-to-school post.

Really ridiculous.

I'm still a bit in shock that the boys start school today but since we have no say in the matter I figured we might as well embrace it, right? Right? That's what I thought. ;)

So with the help of Post Pebbles I put together a fun little back-to-school party for the boys complete with sweets and crafts {my two favorite things of course}. 

Yes...those are cookies made with funfetti cake AND fruity pebbles. More on that later...

First, the boys and I headed over to our local Walgreens and grabbed a box of Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles...

I promise they have faces behind there. :)

Then while they were sleeping last night I decorated our dining room with a little back-to-school party complete with journals for each of them made from the Post Pebbles cereal boxes...

The journals were super easy. I cut the boxes down into 5x8 pieces, cut the handwriting paper down to fit, and connected everything together with metal binder rings...

And then for the fun! The boys chose dinosaur printed paper to cover the cardboard and then used a variety of stickers to add their names and other fun touches...

After all of that crafty fun was over, I used the Fruity Pebbles and this recipe from Pinterest to whip up some colorful cookies for an afternoon treat. {I had a funfetti cake mix in the pantry so I substituted that for the yellow cake mix.} I honestly didn't have much faith in this recipe, but they actually turned out pretty good! Very fruity and crunchy!

And Landon happily approved...

Could he look any older in this photo? Where is the pause button?

I guess we're about as ready for them to start kindergarten as we'll ever be!