{Almost} Fall, Y’all!

 

The calendar is soooooo wrong this year.  Fall in the Bluegrass State started Labor Day weekend when the temp dropped like 40 degrees overnight.  This summer lovin’ girl wasn’t quite ready for the change.  I feel like I just put my boots away, and suddenly it’s time to break them out again.  Am I right in saying this is an El Nino-esque year?  I don’t remember if it is Nino or Nina, but whoever it is is supposed to be bringing us “lots of precipitation” this winter {read: SNOW}.  Grrr.  I’m partial to that white stuff only in December, particularly on Christmas, so I’d rather not have 6 months of it despite my Ugg boot fetish. 

I will say that I’m kinda enjoying our early fall.  Only kinda though.  And mostly because of spiced everything.  Spiced candles, cake and coffee are 12 kinds of up my ally. 

Exhibit A:

We’re Keurig-ers at our house (Father’s Day gift to B this past year), and I about died when I saw the fall sampler pack last night at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  {Yes, we’re totally Old School, and our dates now include trips to BB&B.}  Um, Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Apple Cider? YES, PUH-LEASE!

Us on our date with my sister, Chelsea and her hubs, Matt.  We had so much fun!  The only thing that would have made it better was if Aubs could’ve been there, too!

Exhibit B:

I couldn’t escape BB&B without a new Yankee Candle.  Also, I had about $5 more left to spend to use my coupon. Ha!  So, I went with Apple Cider.  It was a good, good choice.  She burned all day and made my house smell all kinds of fantastic.

Exhibit C:

Then, today, the pumpkin and I made chili, cornbread muffins, and the simplest and most delicious Apple Cider cake you ever did eat (credit: Chels for giving me the recipe, though you can find the deets HERE). 

I should have clarified, Captain Pumpkin.  Don’t ask.  I have no idea.

I forgot to add the powdered sugar to the pic, but you’ll need that, too, to make the glaze.  Other than that, this is everything you need for the cake and the glaze.

Shockingly, the cake batter is just the cake mix and 15 oz of pumpkin puree!  That’s it! And they look this beautiful when the emerge.  And your house will smell *ah-mazing.*

And the final product?  Oh. My. YUM.  It might be overkill, but I can promise you I will be eating a slice of this with my pumpkin spice latte in the morning :)

 

Have a fantastic week, bloggy friends!

OY.

I started writing this post about 2 hours ago while I was shopping at Kroger.  Mainly because I had to get my mind out of that grocery store, where no amount of consoling was calming down my screaming 3-year-old. 

We were having a bit of a throw-the-baby-pumpkin-on-the-ground issue, which resulted in losing the pumpkin beneath the shelves somewhere.  And then I refused to go get another one.  Hence the monster-sized meltdown.  No, seriously, he cried (tears and all) for the last 25 minutes we were in the store, and if we didn’t need food something awful, I would’ve left sooner.  I was already running through it at a Super Market Sweep pace, while occasionally getting a centimeter from Becks’ nose to calmly remind him to please be quiet mommy is going as fast as she can, whispered under my breath.

I’m pretty sure everyone in the store wanted to stare at us, but they couldn’t because they were probably on their phones dialing Child Protective Services to please save this poor child from the wrath of his non-pumpkin retrieving mother. 

Of course, all was right again when we passed the Halloween blow-ups and his mind was taken off of the baby pumpkin mishap.  Sheesh.

Once we got home, I played the whole let’s-see-how-many-plastic-grocery-bags-I-can-fit-on-my-arms game since B was at school and Becks’ is only good for carrying in a bag or two before he gets distracted by the soccer ball in the front yard.  Do y’all do that?  Temporarily risk loss of blood circulation in your arms just for the sake of taking one less trip to the car?  You know you do.

Seeeeeriously.  I need a weekend.  And a tall glass of reisling.  OY.

Well, TGtomorrowIF!

Then & Now

Becks is officially back to school  My word, it feel like we just did the first day of school for him last year.  Why does having a kiddo make life go at super speed?! 

The morning started with donuts and coffee and a big green star balloon.  Typical.  I kid.  It’s just milk.  All the sippies were dirty. Also, I loathe the day he can no longer wear footie jammie because he just looks so dang sweet in them.

Then, we took the standard front porch First Day of School pics.  He was a little more cooperative this year.

September 2010:

September 2011:

He’s such a ham!

Then, it was off to school where he played with Rescue Heroes and grilled me a hamburger.

As tradition goes, we hit up First Watch next.  Yummo,

Then, I forced B to take a pic of me and Becks because, seriously, it’s a rarity he and I are in the same frame.  Also, the matching kicks were not intentional. 

We stopped by the house briefly before we had to take Becks to a doctor’s appointment, and that child is all kinds of active.  I’m lucky that all the pics I take don’t look like the one below.

And, the good news is, the pumpkin doesn’t have to have surgery.  He has syndactyly on his tootsies (i.e. webbed toes), which are barely noticeable, but his pediatrician wanted us to be sure that his bone growth was on track. No fused bones, so we’re good!

And one more cute this-year-last-year comparison pic (to make up for my month long absence).

So stinkin’ big!  Love. This. Child.

Stop the World. We’re Alive.

 

Hi, y’all!!!!  Omiword, I feel like I’m reuniting with friends that I haven’t talked to in years.  My heart’s jumpin’ a little, and I am seriously *smiling* right now as I type!  I mean, it’s been a month.  Over a month, actually, since I’ve so much uttered a word on this poor, little neglected blog!  If you’re still reading, thank you!

{And now I can officially get my mom, my sister in Lex, and Dr. B off my back about updating!  Bonus!}

So, things have been cah-razy busy.  In a good way, though!  Life is going well and everything is just fine.  School started quickly and grad school started the very next week.  I love my new kididdles, but – of course – am already counting down the days until Fall Break.  Ha!

Becks is growing like mad.  He starts school tomorrow.  He’s ready.  Also, he thinks he’s a pirate.  And is really into…hmmm…little boy humor?  To put it kindly.  His imagination has absolutely erupted over the summer, and he’s always making up words, playing pretend, and entertaining us with his crazy stories.  Love him.

B starts carpentry school tomorrow! Yay!  It’s about time he put all that talent to use :)

Me?  I’m still thrifting, Targeting, blogging {at The Inspired Apple}, decorating, teaching, and seeking out an extra hour or two in the day to do it all.  I’ve still been visiting all of you on the sly, usually around 6am while I drink my first {of many} cup of coffee.   Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in bloggy world ;)

Happy Labor Day!

Fun for 50 Cents

He spent his Sunday morning completely enthralled in his newest toy...

A set of cheapo Tinker Toys...

Purchased for two quarters...

Whilst yardsaling on Saturday...

He really wanted a deflated UK basketball.  Which I bought (also for 50 cents). 

But, since Mama knows best, and I insisted we buy these too, I would say that it was a win-win for all involved :)

Hi! Hi!

Who was I to think that summer was going to be laid back and relaxing?  Pshaw.  Totally anything but. 

{And I'm pretty sure totally anything but is not a sentence, but I am determined not to backspace as it saves me time :) }

School is coming real soon, so I've been blogging a lot over at The Inspired Apple. If you've found this blog recently and are looking for teaching-related posts, I blog exclusively about school there.

In other news, after almost two months of sleeping in our bedroom, Becks is *finally* in his big boy room!  It's not even close to being done, but when you've had to hurdle a pack-n-play to get in bed every night it doesn't matter that the toe strip isn't in place in his new room yet.  He can still totally sleep there. 

I don't know how many of you live in older homes or have lived through renovations, but it's exhausting!  There is always something to do.  And if you've followed me for any length of time, you probably know that we've been renovating nonstop since January of this year.  That's seven straight months of DIYing, dust, displaced furniture, and the occasional disagreement ;)  I'm pretty sure that somehow spells S-T-R-E-S-S or maybe C-R-A-Z-Y.

I have some great thrift finds to share {soon-ish}, so stop in soon :)

Happy Tuesday!

Three-year-olds are a trip! 

Charleston: The Extended Version

{This is going to be long and picture-laden, but the documentation is more for my benefit!}

We scheduled this trip back in April, excited about taking Becks on a vacation with just us (something we'd never done before) and having the opportunity to take him on a plane (again, something he'd never done).  I'm glad we scheduled and paid for it way in advance because I was totally feeling the pressure of grad school last week combined with the pressing urge to get back to my classroom to prepare for the start of school next month. Admittedly, I was feeling pretty back-out-ish. 

But, last Saturday, we arrived at the airport a good two hours in advance so that we could make sure we got through security and to our gate in plenty of time.   We were totally "that" family - carting a stroller, carseat, and multiple carry-ons around the airport.  Fortunately, Beck was so enchanted with the airport and the bagel stand, we knew it would be an easy wait. 

At least that's what we thought during the first two hours. 

Our flight was delayed and delayed again.  And then it was delayed some more.  We spent FOUR HOURS in the airport awaiting our re-routed flight.  We were also one of the last to board once the plane was there, and while the carseat was a brilliant idea for keeping Becks seated and comfortable during the flights, it was a big ol' pain to carrying through the terminal and hook securely in the plane seats. 

Becks *loved* the plane rides.  He giggled during take off and told us how "fun" the turbulence was.  My biggest concern was making sure he didn't kick the passenger in front of him!

Once we arrived in Charleston - four hours after the time were supposed to initially be there - it was POURING.  Not just a little drizzle, but literally dumping buckets from the sky.

And did I mention our luggage didn't make it?  That was just the cherry on top of our very long day. 

So, there we were in Charleston, four hours late, experiencing a monsoon, drenched, and without a change of clothes.  The positive attitude I usually carry was lost somewhere in Charlotte when we caught our connecting flight.  The only saving grace was the glass of Riesling B found for me at the hotel bar, combined with a delicious (albeit late) dinner from The Kickin' Chicken.  Oh my YUM.  And that was only the start of my spiral into all things southern and delicious.  Because once I started Saturday night, I didn't stop eating until we departed on Wednesday when I had a super delish mini-pizza in the airport. 

It also bears mentioning that our luggage didn't arrive until 3:30pm the Sunday, so we spent one stinky day touring the city in our once-rainy-then-sweaty clothes we wore on the plane.  Because Charleston turned into a sunshiney sauna the whole rest of the trip. 

Lucky for our smelly selves, we happened upon an *amazing* public fountain where Becks spent a good hour or so splashing around.  So much fun. 

We also treated him to gelato for lunch.  Because who doesn't eat sweets for lunch on vacation?

Our hotel - The King Charles Inn on Meeting Street - was all kinds of awesome.  Our accommodations were great and the staff was helpful.  They had a pack-n-play waiting for us when we arrived with brand new sheets and all.  I was so impressed.  They also had cocktail hour every night where you could get complimentary hors d'oeuvres and happy hour priced drinks.  A sweet tea mint julep for this Kentucky girl?  Count me in.  Becks was smitten with the free cheese, crackers, and grapes.  It was like they were catering to his specific three-year-old palette.  We attended every night we were there. 

For dinner that night we ate at Jestine's (meatloaf for me and B, a peanut butter and banana sandwich for Becks), and then toured the fire department across the street.  A successful first day (minus the missing luggage). 

The second day we were there we ate breakfast at Toast, and then decided to rent a car to drive to the beach.  Money well spent.  {I really wish I would have taken a pic of the snazzy little Kia Rio we zoomed around town in.  Not ideal for the ginormous carseat, but great on gas mileage!} 

Breakfast at Toast.

We had no idea where we were going other than across the bridge.  We made it to Sullivan's Island, found a parking spot on a side street that appeared to lead to the beach, and spent the next several hours oceanside.  In short: Becks *LOVED* it.  And, if we ever return to South Carolina, I can promise you we will stay in a beach town close to the ocean.  Live and learn. 

 

Dinner that night was at Hyman's for seafood and this is where I decided I would subsist on shrimp and grits alone forever and ever amen.  Seriously amazing. 

Before dinner at Hyman's.  B's souvenirs were a Charleston pirate tee and that foam sword. He loved it so much that he fell asleep holding it that night.  See below!

Just throwin' this one in there since we didn't get any other shots together!!!

On day three, we visited the market, ate a whole bunch, and revisited the fountain.

We came home last Wednesday and our flights back were perfect (Becks even slept on the last one!). 

Overall, here's the DL:

beachtowns I'm used to visiting - ignorance on my part, I realize.  I would LOVE to go back with B or another couple - sans kiddos, of course!  Also, if there's a cooler season to visit in, I'd totally go then :)