Friday Finds

Okay this has been a loooooong week. N is at school today for the second time, and I'm a mess. I have a random list of finds. Totally random. 

dino puzzle

The first time I saw a puzzle like this was when my nephew was a year old (he's eight now). I LOVED it, and he did too. I happened to find one for N at a consignment sale, but I've never seen where they are actually sold. Surprise - Nordstrom has them!!

diaper bag

I have a hard time choosing diaper bags when I have little ones. And this one I love (and I'd carry it now, not as a diaper bag). It is such a great print!

lamp

I had been eyeing this lamp for our new built in desk, but now that we are talking about finally getting the boys room together, I really think it could work in their room as well. 

dress

A Vineyard Vines catalogue arrived in the mail last Saturday and I loved all their women's and men's items (minus the camo). I knew their kids fall collection must be adorable too. If I had a girl, this would be the dress she'd wear all the time.

bubble bath

My boys haven't had a bubble bath in a long time! We are really careful about how often we bathe them and what products we use. And honestly, we were lucky we started out that way with N because when T came along, his eczema flares up really easily. I saw this product mentioned on another blog, and was so excited. We love this line and I cannot wait to order the bubble bath to bring back some bath time fun!!

Have a great holiday weekend! I am counting the minutes until we pick up my baby - my kindergarten baby!! 

Fall Favorites

striped tunic, tee, jeans, terry dress, tunic, dot button-down, skirt, tights

 tee, jeans, baseball tee, vest, pants, check shirt, sweater

It seems way too early to post fall favorites, but Labor Day is this weekend and all the swim suits are on the clearance racks. It won't be cooler here for a couple more months, but I am loving some of the fall items in stores now. Here are a few of my picks. I feel like I need a whole other post devoted to shoes, so I left them out of these groups. 

phew! we made it.

The first day of kindergarten was yesterday for my little guy! He was nervous, but I could tell he was also a little excited once we arrived. He picked out his outfit himself (he's a Vineyard Vines fan too), and the flowers were a present from family friends.

 After dropping him off, my little guy and I spent some quality time together (which included a "starbucks run" as he likes to say).

I counted down the hours - no minutes - until I could pick N up. We decided to walk there, and I should have pumped up the tires before heading out. The walk is no joke, I was drenched with sweat by the time we arrived home.  After a quick shower and some play time, we headed to dinner to celebrate a great day with friends. N LOVED kindergarten (and is so excited to go back Friday - I'm so excited to have him home today).

Weekend Review

 I hope everyone had a great weekend! Ours was a little different than expected. We had hoped to head to the beach Thursday for a quick summer vacation, but a family emergency sent my husband out of town and left me with the boys for the next few days. We kept ourselves entertained and our family in our prayers.  

 We had back to school haircuts. Neither of my boys was thrilled with the idea of a hair cut, but I treated them to lunch out afterwards, which I think made up for it.

We had breakfast on the patio, which is a favorite of theirs. It was a bit chilly - N wanted to get his winter coat and I wrapped myself in a blanket. We stayed out all morning and I enjoyed FOUR cups of coffee.

We headed to the playground that afternoon. My time with N on playgrounds is going to be so limited after tomorrow. We tried to fit in everything he wanted to do this week!

Our sweet old dog enjoyed some attention and a walk. 

Dad returned late Saturday night so we slept in instead of heading to church. I'd promised the boys a picnic by the lake, so we made it a breakfast picnic. They were so excited to have daddy back!

We ended the weekend playing in the backyard and grilling out. The weather was perfect.

 There was a bit of goofiness too.

 Tomorrow N heads off to kindergarten. I will be a mess (I know because I'm already a mess). He's excited but nervous (and we're still arguing over buses and cafeteria lunches).

Friday Finds

This Friday Finds is all about back to school! I've been last minute prepping this week, and fitting in all our last summer wishes (although technically N only will be in school two days next week, so there is more time). We've been reading our "back to school" books, talking about the first day, and debating taking the bus or walking.
So here are my picks, all lunch related, since that seems to be where the creativity can happen.

1. Nalgene Water Bottle - I LOVE these bottles. You can find them at Target or on Amazon (with the link). They come in different designs (we have quite a few). There's no sippy part to them - when open they will spill. But the best part, there's no valve or straw to clean (and lose). They are leakproof when closed and it's only 2 pieces (that easily go into the dishwasher). I think it might be a little silly how much I love these bottles.

2. Sandwich Cutters - In the past, I've used cookie cutters to make creative sandwiches. My only problem with that is there is a lot of wasted sandwich. This is probably my main reason for preferring cutters made for sandwiches. I know my boys would love the puzzle one!

3. Cloth Napkins - Last year I started sending the boys to school with cloth napkins. Only they were brown cocktail napkins from Pottery Barn (not the Kids one). In May I found some really cute Etsy ones, but at that point I figured why not wait until the fall since my lunch packing days were going on hiatus. So now it's fall and I've ordered these from EgadsandLittleFishes. Honestly I could have ordered quite a few. They are all so fun.

4. Stainless Steel Container - For years I've used plastic, and honestly I've been eyeing these containers since last fall. They are pricey but I have a hard time finding a better price especially for the amount of containers. I am done with plastic. I want something durable!

5. Dinnersaurs Fork and Spoon - There are our favorite utensils! They are sturdy and fun. I will say that the tip of the tails were quickly broken on ours but the boys never noticed - just I did. We use the spoon a lot more than the fork, but they make a super cute pair!

I hope everyone has either started a great school year or is looking forward to a great school year! While I feel on top of things with N, I completely forgot all the preschool prep for T. We will be dropping forms by the peds office this morning! Have a great weekend! 

Cheesy Pasta

This is T's absolute favorite meal. He will ask for it morning, noon, and night. It probably gets as excited about cheesy pasta for dinner as he does about making cookies. I like this dish because it's crazy easy to create. I found the original recipe on Sugar and Spice. 

T likes to help add the butter, cream and cheese.

Here's how I make it (which is honestly quite similar):

8 oz of Orzo

1 bunch of asparagus (trimmed and cut into half inch pieces)

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 c parmesan

1/2 c heavy cream

• Boil a pot of water and add the orzo. 
• After five minutes throw in the asparagus. 
• Drain after another five minutes, and place back into pot.
• Add butter and parmesan, mixing until combined.
• Add cream, and mix.

That's it! You're done. I have substituted many veggies - peas, broccoli, chopped spinach - they are eaten every time. I would definitely prefer whole wheat orzo, but I have yet to find that. 

This is also a school lunch staple for T. In a super cool Spiderman Thermos. 

Favorite Back to School Book Choices

As a teacher, I became acquainted with quite a few of these books. When N headed off to preschool, I had a chance to experience the books in a different way - as the parent. N loved preschool, each an every minute, however he is feeling a few nerves about starting kindergarten. And I'm feeling more than just a few nerves about him starting. Here's our back to school choices:

amazon

This one gets me every time. And the past two years, N's school has had us send in "kissing hands". Maybe I'll throw one in his lunch for the first day next week.

amazon
This is by far N's favorite. He LOVES reading it anytime. 

amazon
While this one isn't so much about starting school, both my boys enjoy this one and it has a few reminders about good school behavior.

amazon
I just ordered this one since my little guy is off to kindergarten! I've read it, but I thought it would be a nice surprise to own it before he heads off. 

amazon

I've never read or heard of this one, but I did order it (and it will be here today). It looks really cute and who can resist the rhyming structure!

amazon

My boys love this story about a dog going to show and tell!

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One of all time favorites, definitely one to giggle through. 

I'll be pulling these out next Sunday and Monday (or maybe before). If only there were sweet books like these for mommies who aren't ready for their little loves to head off quite yet.

Our Final Week Before School

I'm already having heart palpitations! N starts school next Tuesday (and doesn't go again until Friday). I realized I never shared our school supply shopping pictures. The list we received was no joke, although very similar to the lists I remember handing out as a teacher. 

 He was so excited he was a blur running things to the cart and coming back for more.

 The whole deal (I swear it's the correct orientation in my file):

 All of our supplies will be communal so there isn't a need to label them, but if I did need to, AndersRuff has the cutest labels. (There were super cute ones Maureen did on Instagram with lego man labels, I haven't seen them in the store yet though).

This weekend we painted the kitchen and then put up our official bookbag shelf. If you happen to purchase this shelf - do not use the included hardware (we had two holes in the wall to patch). I love the look and now I need to head to Ikea for some frames. A little artwork above, a calendar maybe, would completely finish it out!

I'll be back tomorrow to share my favorite back to school books! (and if you have a little lady, the Lilly Sale is on - sort of - hopefully technical issues will be figured out soon).

And Back To Blogging

What a week! We started off the week (does Sunday start the week, maybe not, I guess that's the last day of the week) - Anyway, we saw Planes on Sunday. It was a hit.

 Then the boys, dog and I packed up and headed to my parents house. N chose a dictionary to read in the car. Such a funny kid.

 We spent two full days at the pool, in the bright, cruel son. Even after many reapplies, we still burned. We are all wearing long sleeve rash guards next summer! They worked great for N (from Gap, but JCrew has them too).

 When the weather turned and our skin couldn't take another day exposed, we headed to our favorite children's museum. I didn't realize when I told N to get dressed that he put on T's clothes. I knew the shorts looked short, but it wasn't until T was wearing N's top that I realized the tops were wrong too. Maybe it should be a hint to stop dressing them alike.

We spent five hours here and N still whined when it was time to go. 

There was no love for stopping for pictures, although I may frame this one.

We arrived home yesterday, tired and happy. The frig is empty and I have a kitchen to paint (and a husband who worked a continuous 35 hours while we were gone, making him more zombie like than I prefer). I may have to make the Friday Finds, a Saturday Scores?