Two days down & a GREAT Hanna Sale

Monday, bright and early, we all woke up to prepare for the big back to school first day. We'd prepared the night before by picking outfits, making lunches, completing paperwork, and reading our favorite selection of back to school books (as seen here). A neighbor texted a group of walkers were meeting to walk to school together and what is better than walking into a brand new school (that is very similar to a corn maze) alone - walking in with friends! (Just one more reason I love our neighborhood).

Once the boys disappeared behind the school doors I had to wait until 3pm for a full report on their day. My friend and I met with our little ones on the greenway and then headed for lunch. The toddlers were a bit out of practice with our usual 3.5 mile walk and were not happy with being contained in strollers. So we let them roam. And our walk that usually takes maybe an hour, took 2 (with lots of dog petting, leaf collecting, and throwing sippys over the edge). 

Home from walking and lunch, KC napped and I anxiously awaited 3pm (on the couch). Running off the school bus I could see their smiles. N told me he sits next to a girl from our church (yay!). T told me the guinea pig peed on the floor while they were playing with him (yay?! - he seemed excited). And KC was thrilled to see them when she finally woke from her nap. 

Chris arrived home in time to whisk T off for tball practice and our new daily routine came to a close with dinner, lunch prep, and homework (luckily just reading).

We repeated everything today, except walked a slightly shorter way to school. And instead of walking with a friend KC and I took advantage of the Hanna Andersson 40% off tees and pants sale and then played at the mall playground while enjoying lunch outside. Let's hope the smooth days keep going and no lunches, homework, or snack are to be forgotten~!

Here's some great Hanna deals from today - and if you use ship to store you save on shipping! Almost my whole purchase was for N (I did get KC a pair of unjeans - they are so soft but I haven't tried them on her yet to recommend them). I went with the slim jeans bc N is so skinny that they look like straight leg, but we've had the straight leg before as well and love them.

I LOVE their polos and tees, especially at these prices. I often have them monogrammed (or appliqued if they are for KC). They are great for layering too! 

Definitely a sale worth checking out!

Five on Friday

We've been living up it up the last week of summer. I think hormones are getting to me but I'm just really sad about school starting up again. Normally this time of year has me ready for a fresh start and exciting changes, but with so many changes having happened and coming up, I'm really liking the status quo. Here's a little review of our last week of freedom for our Five on Friday:

linking up with April and Christina

1. The boys picked out alarm clocks on Amazon. We've been setting them each morning for 6:30am, a time I think will give us enough room to dress, eat, and walk to school. The boys have been doing great getting up, I have not. I love lounging in bed (and did I mention the boys bring me coffee... it's a great set up).

2. After lounging at home I gave the boys some choices of what they wanted to do. The zoo won out so off we went. It had been a little over a year since we had been and it was a hit. The perfect week to go to the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina is right after SC schools start back - it was empty!

3. We attended our new school open house last night. The boys met their teachers, saw their schedules, their rooms, and they seemed excited. We met friends on the school playground earlier in the day to help ease them in and remind them of another friendly face. The playground got rave reviews from both boys.

4. Poor KC came down with a bad fever and cold. I've never seen her wake up and then want to sleep. There was a lot of Elmo watched during the day. The boys also take such great care of her. T wanted to make her as comfortable as possible and rub her back and N read her story after story. Luckily it was a one day thing and she's much better!

5. Earlier in the week we had our last summer pool days. Oh I hate saying good bye to the pool. 

This weekend we are getting together with friends, baseball starts, celebrating my dad's birthday, and seeing a high school/college friend that's in town. And then... everything changes! (not to be dramatic) I hope you have a great weekend!

Five on Friday

We just picked up school teacher assignments which is making this whole back to school thing feel more real. To keep summer fun going we're heading to the pool today with friends. For today's Five on Friday it's a nice random mix (linking up with Christina and April as always):

1. Last night Chris and I had date night and it was wonderful. We ran to do a few returns (I forgot what it's like walking through the mall without kids) and then headed to dinner. It had rained earlier so it was nice and cool and perfect for sitting outside.

2. In a rare moment KC had a terrible night of sleep. I'm not sure what was going on but she was up a lot. The next morning T asked if he could go wake her and I mentioned she'd hadn't slept well and we'd been up all night. The boys told me to go back to bed and in a few minutes I had two smiley faced breakfasts and coffee! They'd figured out how to work the Keurig. I did finally wake KC at 9am.

3. The rug for the girls' room arrived (3 day shipping!!) and it's perfect! I love it even more than I thought I would. It's from West Elm and still on sale (it's a great price for a fluffy wool rug).

4. We braved the park in the crazy heat this week so afterward I took the kids to lunch and out for TCBY. It was a huge hit.

5. I started ordering Christmas presents. With an early December due date I want to have everything done and wrapped before the baby arrives (this probably sounds like a joke to people who know me). I follow Kidz Steals and Deals on FB and have gotten a few great deals through there (they post Amazon deals). Any other sites or groups I should follow?

I hope you've had a great week and are looking forward to a good weekend. N has baseball evaluations which means our weekends are about to be swallowed by baseball yet again. Did I mention how not ready I am to start back into schedules and sports?! Long live summer.

Currently Wanting

Today's post is a random mix of items I've been wanting (and one I finally bought)! I have back to school, home decorating, Christmas, all on my brain these days! I think maybe getting some thoughts in order will help me feel more together (ha... not sure that will happen until the house is actually remodeled, right now all the improvements seem so overwhelming).

My favorite Etsy store, True Cotton, reopened after a summer break! I love this print. I also love following her work on Instagram. I have a few of her prints already and have given a few as gifts. 

KC is obsessed with jewelry. She has some Chewbead necklaces and bracelets and I would love to add her to collection. These are off Amazon, but I've found them at pretty much any children's store. She wears her necklaces and bracelets everywhere (if only I could convince her to wear a bow too).

 I've ordered a few back to school items for the kids, but one I haven't ordered yet is a Yumbox. They were a lightening deal a week ago and I missed it! It seems crazy to spend $30 on one, so I need another sale!

Since I'm huge these days I really don't want to shop for clothes, but jewelry is another thing. KC has broken every long necklace I have and I love this layered/tassle look from Baublebar! It's even on sale (which is pretty perfect for not wanting to spend a lot on trendy pieces).

I ordered this rug from West Elm on Sunday. It's on sale through today and I had a gift card and a coupon! Huge score! It will be delivered tomorrow and I can't wait to try it out in the girls' room! 

Have a great Tuesday! I'm trying out an oatmeal muffin recipe (with chocolate chips) today and I'm hoping I'll be able to freeze some for future lunch box staples. Then I have to figure out what to do with the kids in this 100 degree heat! Yesterday we tried out a trampoline park that was a hit!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! In true Friday fashion cinnamon rolls are in the oven. The boys are still sleeping because we let them stay up to watch the gymnastics till 9pm (then I felt bad they missed the best part! not loving the late coverage). This week's Five on Friday will review the week just a bit.

1. The boys were at my parents for the first part of the week. This allowed me to take KC to library storytime. Our closest library is closed for a year for renovations (ironically a month after we move five minutes from it) but the librarians are offering story time at some local churches. KC loved it! It took her a minute to warm up but after that she was all about it. Throw in a stamp and bubbles at the end and she had a blast.

2. My parents brought bins back from their house. We stored so much stuff there when we decluttered (instead of just getting rid of it all). One bin was our CD collection (who uses those anymore!). This was a bit of gem I found (and it was Chris'). Aren't they on like 60 now?

3. It rained almost every day this week which has actually been nice, especially when it happens at nap time. The other day it was bright and sunny and raining and their was a rainbow in our yard!

4. I've been trying really hard to get 5 miles of walking in each week. Not just steps, but like sneakers and sweating walking. It's not super easy with all the kids home because I can't just put the boys in a stroller and go. Usually they ride their bike and I walk around the neighborhood, but I always worry a little when I can't keep my eye on them and we are on a new route. It limits our walks. This week once they returned I loaded up their bikes and the stroller and we headed to the greenways. I wasn't sure how long they would last, but it was worth trying. Luckily we made it 2 miles! It put me at almost 6 miles for the week!

5. Natalie at Design Bags and Dirty Diapers posted this eggplant stacks recipe and we tried it last night. It was super yummy and even approved by my 6 year old. I hear the leftovers are even better, we will find out tonight.

I hope your week has been a good one and you're looking forward to the weekend. Linking up with April and Christina!