A Little Trip

Today I was asked to "Own It..." over at The New Mrs blog.  Christina has started a monthly link-up for people to "own it" and share their crazy.  She's kicking off the first day of the link-up and asked me to confess my crazy.  Go check it out HERE.

I'll see you tomorrow for Friday Favorites!

What's Up Wednesday

Wahoo for my first What's Up Wednesday!!  I'm joining Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for their very first What's Up Wednesday link-up!

What we're eating this week:  I should tell you this is the worst ever week for me to tell you our menu plan.  Eating out is involved a LOT this week!

Monday-Beef Quesadillas (with taco meat, cheese, and veggies mixed in).  The big kids were big fans.  Bowen didn't even want to try it.  This was his face...

I put a quesadilla, a few tortilla chips, and fruit on his plate.  He ate the fruit and chips and then wouldn't budge.  I wouldn't either.  You moms know what I'm talking about....we had a "food-down".

Tuesday-Mix and Match Mama's Sweet Corn Chili-I'm not even kidding.  When the high is in the 50's, I'm making something in the slow cooker that is warm and hearty.  I made cooked enough ground beef for two nights on Monday, so last night dinner was ready in a flash!

Wednesday-Tab and I have a meeting and are eating out.  Kiddos are having leftovers/whatever here at home.

Thursday-Crockpot Chicken and Black Beans (you know spiced up with some flavor) served over Salad

Friday-Out

Saturday-Out-We usually stay in and cook/grill one weekend night, but it just isn't working out this weekend.

What I'm reminiscing about:  Those days when I had three littles at home.  I cannot believe Nixon will be going to school this August.

What I'm loving:  On the flip side, I'm loving that my kiddos are old enough now to have some responsibilities.  And...I'm also loving that 3/5 of our closets have been cleaned out.  Mama has been busy!

What we've been up to:  Life?  haha!  I don't know just our everyday stuff....school, laundry, tee-ball, dance, homework, laundry, playing outside, laundry.  :)

What I'm dreading:  Cleaning out my own closet.  It doesn't look super crazy to the naked eye, but boy oh boy...it needs some assistance.

What I'm working on:  A Rodan and Fields' graphic....EEK!!!  I am so bad at making graphics.  What do you guys use to make graphics??  I'd love ANY help!!

What I'm excited about:  Summer, no schedules, time at the pool, having all my people home with me all the time, and the beach!

What I'm watching/reading:  I'm watching Real Housewives of New York (so good!) and Gilmore Girls.  I'm reading Keep it Shut by Karen Ehman and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

What I'm listening to:  As I type, I'm listening to Gilmore Girls playing on Netflix.

What I'm wearing:  Our weather has been a bit all over the place but here are a couple things I've been wearing...

Sam Edelman Sandals/Oversized Tee-Similar/Jeans-Similar/Jesus Loves This Hot Mess Tee/Converse/Cardigan-Similar/Rayne Necklace/V-Neck Tee/Skirt Similar/Wedges

What I'm doing this weekend:  Dinner out, two nights in a row!  One night with kids and one without.  It'll be a fun weekend!

What I'm looking forward to next month:  Warmer weather, the pool, lots of make-up tee-ball games, and school being out for summer!!

What else is new:  My Rodan and Fields' team is hosting a little event here in McKinney for anyone who is remotely interested in the business.  There will be some big incentives and a chance for you to hear from some of my business partners.  Eventually there will be a graphic (see above). :)

Thanks for stopping by, today!!

Top Three

I don't know about you guys, but the weather here has been so strange.  One day I'm in the middle of spring cleaning and the next I find myself looking up fall soup recipes.  It's officially spring, Texas!  Come on!  :)

This weekend Tab was out of town for a football game.  The kiddos and I made some big plans with some of our very favorites.  We had so much fun!!  

In Top Three fashion, I'm sharing my top three ways to enjoy your weekend with your spouse gone and you on solo duty.  (Maybe it's a small weekend recap.  But this sounds way more fun, doesn't it?) I absolutely love and adore my children.  During football season the kiddos and I have so much fun. But I must give props to all you single parents out there.  You guys rock!  My three and I do have great times, but some weekends are hard.  They're tough and feel long!  However, this weekend was not one of them!  We made the perfect plans and had the best time.

My Top Three ways to have a GREAT weekend when you're on solo duty because the spouse is out of town....

#1 Partake in Mexican food!!

Shay (Andrew happened to be out of town too.  That worked out perfectly!) and I took all six of our kiddos to a local Mexican restaurant on Friday night.  It was yucky rainy outside, but inside we were all enjoying a yummy meal!  And...I've heard if you fall out of your chair with your two-year-old and land on the FLOOR on your booty you might have an even better time.  It's supposed to lighten the mood and ensure that everyone has a good time.  Maybe that's why I fell out of my chair?  ha!  Took one for the sake of my party's happiness.  ha!  I kid. :)

I happened to sit next to this cutie too.  I'd definitely recommend sitting next to a sweet little girl.  Always makes my night better.  Love that Nixon photobomb back there!  haha!

#2  Go Swimming!

Go swimming, even if it's April and the water might be a little chilly.  On Saturday around lunchtime, we met the Shull four at our gym to have lunch and swim.  I seriously think when you're solo for the weekend this is the hardest time...Saturday in the middle of the day.  We had a lazy morning at home until 11:00.  We got back in time for Bowen to take a nap, and enjoyed pizza and playing that night.

#3  When spouse arrives, send all the kids outside with him.  :)

Tab got home late on Saturday night.  Sunday after church he mowed our front yard. Our kiddos wanted to be outside AND be hanging with dad for a while.  I did what any great mom would do...I let them all go hang out outside while I enjoyed a quiet moment in the house alone.  :)

I must say that in order for this exact equation to work you must have the perfect weather.  I don't mean nice sunny weather.  I mean more like this kind of weather...

Lots and lots of rain that cancels two tee-ball games and frees up your entire weekend to hang with friends. 

Here are a few other things the kiddos and I like to do on these weekends:

*Go see a movie

*Play at the park

*Go on a walk

*Bake

*Get our craft on

*Movie nights in the playroom

What about you???  What do you and your kiddos do when your hubby is out of town?  Please share!

Favorite Things Party-Accessories

First of all, the winner of the monogrammed tank is...

ALICIA KEKELIK

Congratulations Alicia!! Alicia, please e-mail me  at alittlebitofeverything83@yahoo.com. Thanks so much to everyone who entered.  Remember you can still order.  Follow Crystal @crystalchilek on Instagram.  :)

I promised you guys I'd tell you how Tab got his name on Friday and totally forgot, so here's the story...

Tab's family is super into family names.  His brother and sister are both named after grandparents or great-grandparents.  Tab's "real" name is John Talbot.  His great-grandfather's name was John.  And his grandfather's middle name was Talbot, so he was also named after him.  But...when he was born they knew he would be called, "Tab".  His grandfather's name was Ira Talbot and was always known as "Tab".  They wanted to pass that down to him as well, so they formally named him John Talbot and called him "Tab" from day one.  I can't imagine him being called, "John".  He looks just like a "Tab" to me.  :)

Hey Girls!!  We're having a PARTY today!  Who doesn't love a good party?  Andrea and I are hosting a Favorite Things Party and today we're sharing our favorite ACCESSORIES!  I'm 100% a girls-girl, so this little chat is right up my alley.  You can join the party!!  Blog your favorite accessories, link to us, and then add your blog to the link up.  Super easy!

Favorite Earrings:

Kate Spade Studs/Kendra Scott "Elle" Earrings/Kendra Scott "Alex" Earrings(Wish List-I'm thinking Mother's Day.)/Cleopatra Studs/Serenity Stone Drops

With the exception of the "Alex" earrings, I own all the others and wear them all the time!!  I don't know about you, but I have many pairs of earrings and somehow I tend to go back to the same ones over and over.  These four are my tried and trues that get the most wear by far!  What are you tried and trues??  Maybe I need to add a couple pair of earrings to my Mother's Day List?  :)

Favorite Necklaces:

Rebel Pendant/Crystal and Stone Statement/Crystal Necklace/Monogrammed Necklace

Again, I have my fair share of necklaces but these are the ones I ALWAYS tend to grab. 

Here is the necklace on my wish list...

Kendra Scott Rose Gold Drusy Necklace

Tropicana Necklace...doesn't that scream, "SUMMER"??

Favorite Bracelets:

Renegade Bracelet/Amelie Sparkle Bracelet

I really must step out of my bracelet comfort zone.  Seriously.  I wear these two bracelets pretty much every single day.  I'll change it up by adding a colorful bracelet to the mix, but for the most part these two are my "arm candy".  No excuses!  I like what I like, girls!

Favorite Scarves:

I love love love this scarf!!  

How cute are the tassels on this one?

Floral is always a winner in my book!  Love this one!

Favorite Handbag:

This is where my accessory loves stops short.  haha!!  Many many girls have a love of handbags and I just don't have it.  I recently bit the bullet and bought this Fossil tote.  Mine is a slightly different color.  They're on sale now for a great price!  I love it because it pretty much goes with everything.  That's just what I need!

**A reader (thank you, Erin) just informed me this tote is $168 at Macy's WITH an additional 25% off if you use the code FRIEND.  And....it's free shipping!!  This is a link.**

Hope you guys enjoyed the PARTY!

 In case you'd like to join us, these are our topics for the upcoming months...

Now it's your turn!!  Tell us what are YOUR favorite accessories!  We'd love to read (and maybe purchase-ha ha!)!!  Happy Monday, Girls!

An InLinkz Link-up

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!!  I hope you've all had an awesome week!  I'm joining forces with my girls, Narci and Andrea, to share our Friday Favorites.  You can join us!!  Even if you don't blog, post a picture on IG with the #fridayfavorites to participate.

I have some very FAVORITES to share with you today!!  First of all, we have a GIVEAWAY!!

One of my new friends, Crystal, who I met through my blog and Rodan + Fields has started making the cutest shirts, tanks, and shorts.  Crystal was so sweet and sent Ebby Lee and I the cutest monogrammed tanks.  

We are definitely not professionals (hence our poses, our shoeless feet, and the gutter in the background...#superclassy) but look how cute these tanks are!  My tank has the monogram on the back and Ebby Lee's is on the front.  SO cute!

This girly was loving her tank!

And...a view from the front!!  Crystal is giving away a tank of choice to one lucky winner!  Enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom for your chance to win! 

You can follow Crystal @crystalchilek on Instagram where she posts all her goodies.  They're all so cute and so affordable!  Or you can e-mail her at cmchilek@yahoo.com to order.

And just a few of my FAVORITES!!!  These would make awesome gifts!  Don't forget to enter to win!  Thank you so much, Crystal!!

My FAVORITE school field trip to date (granted this was only my second-ha!) went down on Monday.  Ebby Lee and her friends in Kindergarten all went to the Sea-Life Aquarium.

Any one-on-one time with my kiddos is great!!  This trip was fabulous and the perfect little fun time for the two of us!

Ebby Lee was in the best little group.  Two boys and two girls.  They were all so sweet to each other and were the best listeners!   

Watching this guy play baseball is definitely a FAVORITE moment of my week!

On Tuesday morning before school, I noticed we were all wearing stripes.  Tab and Ebby Lee had already left, but they were both in stripes too!!  Stripes are apparently a FAVORITE!

Yesterday was the World's Fair at preschool.  Each class studies a country, learns more about what life is like there, and then shares it with the rest of the school.  Bowen learned about Japan.  He told me they learned about horses.  Ha!  I'll take it!

My FAVORITE country experience was in Mexico.  We had tortillas, chips, and guacamole.

And we got to experience REAL LIVE jumping beans!!  SO cool!  Teachers, I heard Nixon's teacher say she ordered them off Amazon.  Seriously...they were the coolest thing.  If you're learning about anything remotely related, you should check them out!  They read a book about it too!  Check them out!

If you missed my ACM awards recap, check it out HERE.  The comments from you guys were the best!!!  Or...the "Owning It" post from yesterday when Elise claimed her crazy is HERE.

Happy Friday, Girls!!  XOXO

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

Owning It

I have a new friend to introduce to you.  Have you met Elise over at Cheers Y'all?  I randomly checked out her blog months ago from a link-up.  I mean look at her cute picture...

I mean she's so cute.  Right now, her and her hubby are expecting their first baby girl, Nancy,  ANY day now.  Like maybe today or tomorrow any day.  We're talking soon!  She is a darling blogger.  She lives in North Carolina with her husband (who's from England-how fun is that!).  I'm so excited she's agreed to join us today.  You must check her out!  You will love her!  Here is Elise sharing her crazy and Owning It...

1. I went to five Backstreet Boys concerts growing up and one in my adulthood. My favorite BSBer when I was in middle school? Kevin. Whose favorite was Kevin!? This girl's, apparently. 

2. As much as I strive to be healthy, the best foods in my book are still pizza, french fries (with lots of ranch), anything Mexican (especially nachos), and the piece of cookie cake that has the most icing.

Elise....we need to plan a date.  You come to Texas or I go to North Carolina.  Either way we would totally get a long in the food department.  I couldn't agree more about EVERYTHING you mentioned.  :)

3. When I was little, my parents used to drag my siblings and I around to "look at houses" ALL THE TIME...even though we weren't moving or planning to move. Now, I am that person. Zillow is a hobby, and HGTV is the best network on television. Wanna go look at houses just for fun? I'm down.

4. I never had a serious boyfriend before my husband. My sister was the younger, cooler one with all the boys hanging on her every word. I, on the other hand, didn't get asked to my junior prom or senior homecoming. Blame it on #goodytwoshoesprobs?! Maybe?

This picture is STUNNING!!!

5. My husband, Mark, and I have our own language sometimes. It just kind of evolved from us talking for our dog.  Our language includes words like shooba, frequent use of the expression "MEEHHHH," and often involves adding eez onto random words. Yep. Yikes?! Never. We love it. (And thank goodness we only use this "language" around ourselves.)

6. Y'all, I stinkin' LOVE Wheel of Fortune. For real. Auditioning for the show is on my bucket list. I watch it almost every night. And--owning it--I'm kinda good at it. ;)

Love this one!!  Tab and I used to watch this show every night while eating dinner pre-kids.  I've definitely lost my "wheel" touch.

7. I don't really like watching movies. It drives my husband crazy that I don't enjoy your average "cinematic adventure" like the rest of the world...but I don't.

8. I'm in love with Christmas and always begin listening to Christmas music and busting out the decorations on November 1. I love making the holiday season last as long as possible! Oh, and Christmas cards are one of my top favorite parts of Christmas. I giddily run to the mailbox each day in anticipation of opening the mail to pictures of loved ones near and far!

 

9. I'm a homebody, and I think I'm an ambivert with more introvert than extrovert...if that even is possible. My husband is much more extroverted than I am, and I like it that way. He can light up a room and have everyone laughing immediately, and I can just sit back quietly and smile. It's perfect. 

10. I always imagined my firstborn being a boy. Of course, now that we're having a girl, I can't picture it any other way!

I thought the EXACT same thing!!  I knew we'd have a boy first.  What's that saying about us making plans and God laughing at them??  ha!

11. Last--but certainly not least--I'm obsessed with owning it. It's my favorite life motto and #1 pet peeve (when people don't do it!).  I can claim plenty more crazy for ya here and here!

Elise...thank you, thank you, thank you for Owning It today!!!  I loved getting to hear more about you and am looking forward to seeing that new sweet baby girl!  Go read more from Elise here.  Thanks for sharing your crazy with us!!!  XOXO

An Awards Recap is Always Fun, Right?

We're going to take a little break from our usual, "What I Wore" posts to discuss the Academy of Country Music awards that took place on Sunday night here in Dallas, Texas!!  I grew up a country music fan.  Think big fan.  I had some kind of country music magazine that had every artist known to man.  Remember I have that thing with lists and going in order??  So, I started with the A's and chose one person per page I would write asking for an autographed picture.  I think I only made it a couple pages in before I lost interest.  However, I did receive some photos!  (That little story should be included in my "Owning It" post.  haha!) Nowadays we listen to any station that plays songs I don't mind my kids repeating. Lots of Christian music with a little bit of everything thrown in the mix.  Because even when we don't think kids are listening, they are!  And...they can start repeating the words at the least opportune times.  Maybe I know someone that happened to?  ;) 

Back to the ACM awards, Tab and I watched almost the entire five hour awards show or maybe it was only three hours?  It felt so LONG!!!  But...I must say it was so entertaining!!  It was the 50th anniversary so they pulled out all the stops.  All the BIG stars were there!  By the end of the show, I had Tab convinced we should have bought tickets and gone.  I'm not even kidding when I tell you that he kept asking, "What would I have worn?".  haha!!  When the cameras showed the crowd, you could see everything from tuxedos to business casual to jeans with sport coats on the men.  For some reason, Tab had the hardest time imaging what he would wear.  I promise you he told me, "But I don't own a cowboy hat".  Those words seriously came out of his mouth.  I'm sure if the ACM awards are here in Texas again...he'll pass because he'll be so nervous about his outfit!   

Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, the Duck Dynasty people, George Strait, REBA, Garth Brooks, Tony Romo-Dallas celebs were representin', Christina Aguilera, Reese Witherspoon, and I could just keep going.  There were definitely some songs I'd never heard before, but I appreciated the fact that they threw in some oldies like, "My Maria".  Everyone knows that one, right?

Here are a few of my "Best Dressed" picks...

Luke Bryan and his wife...aren't they cute??  I remember when he sang that song about "corn" on Celebrity Apprentice, was super new to the industry, and no one had ever heard of him!  Wow!  He's come a LONG way!

Dierks Bentley....I always thought Dierks Bentley was a group.  I learned something new on Sunday night.  I adored their patterned outfits....not too matchy-matchy, but perfect!

Floral is so in right now!!  I was a big fan of this formal Oscar De La Renta floral gown on Mickey Guyton.  Super girly but conservative!

See what I mean about Dallas celebs representin'??  Troy Aikman and his date.  I googled this girl to see who she was.  She's a Dallas model named Tracy Ripsin, in case you were wondering.  Troy has been linked to some major ladies...Sandra Bullock, Lorrie Morgan, and Tosh Pattengill (ha!-I just threw that out there.  Totally kidding!!  Tosh is a high school friend who had the biggest crush on Troy back in the day.).

 This group is Little Big Town and I forgot to find a picture of their "award clothes".  These are their "performance outfits".  I just wanted to tell you how pretty all four of these people are!!  There is another guy on the right (not pictured) and they were just all really gorgeous people.

You know who is 60?  Yes, I said 60, but doesn't look a day over 40?  Reba!  That's who!!  She rocked the stage and looked fabulous while doing it!  And...am I the only who missed the fact that her son, Shelby, is married to Kelly Clarkson?  I pulled out some fifth-grade country music knowledge I owned (that nugget of knowledge was in the magazine) and Tab was shocked!  haha!!  He was laughing hysterically about me knowing that Reba had a son named Shelby!  Thank you Google for proving me correct!  I should clarify...Google proved me correct that Shelby is Reba's son, but Kelly Clarkson married Reba's STEP-son.  Thanks so much, Jen!!  

Miranda Lambert was the belle of the ball so to speak. She walked away with SO many awards and looked gorgeous while doing it!

Those were my very favorite looks from the night.  To be honest, I didn't really think there were many "misses".  Mostly everyone looked great (in my opinion).  These were my two least favorite choices of the evening....

I'm a fan of a high/low dress or shirt, but this was maybe a little too high and too low??

And Steven Tyler...Dude, Looks Like a Lady on his pants, huh?  I'm a big fan of Aerosmith, but this little ensemble was a "no" for me.  It did get me talking about him which could have been the point of the whole outfit.  In that case, well played.  :)

Did you guys watch??  Let me know who your faves were and your least faves!  Love hearing your opinions!

Come back tomorrow for an "Owning It" post from a new friend!  I can't wait to share her with you!  She's darling and so cute!  You'll love her AND her crazy!!  See you then!