Tuesday Talk-Hamper Help

 

TUESDAY TALK with Fancy Ashley coming in hot!  Friends, today I'm coming at you with something I really need your advice and help with. 

How do you keep up with all your kids' sports uniforms?

Is there a name for someone who gets majorly stressed over the possibility of losing a sports' jersey {or one sock, or the practice jersey, or the matching baseball pants, or basically fill in ANY sports' uniform item here}?  Because if there is, I'm self-diagnosing.  

I can wake myself up from a great slumber and instantly think-WHERE ARE BOWEN'S FLAG FOOTBALL SOCKS?  And the next thing you know I'm up, out of bed at three a.m. looking in the laundry to see where his socks are.  FYI-as I'm typing this out, I'm realizing this maybe should have been an Owning It-type of post where I shared a little of my mom crazy because I'm pretty sure this qualifies.  😂😂😂😂

What makes me feel the most confident in my ability to wash, dry, and have the uniform ready to go at the next event is having the kid bring me the uniform and I handle it all.  But that doesn't seem like the way to encourage some responsibility.

I'm gearing up for the spring sports season and will have kids in a variety of activities with practice jerseys and uniforms galore.  I need to set something in place that makes my life a little easier.

Mamas, tell me your ways!

Do you have a laundry basket or hamper that is ONLY for sports uniforms?  Is there a special, designated area where your children put these and then you wash it?  Do you ask them to just bring you the entire uniform?  What do you do?  I want to teach them responsibility and make my life a little easier in the process.  We need to set this up soon so by mid-March it's a no brainer.

I do have one big tip for you...

After multiple panicked moments of, "WHERE IS YOUR OTHER VOLLEYBALL SOCK?!?", or "WHERE IS THAT BLUE UNIFORM?!", my girlfriend, Lori, told me years ago and I've been implementing it ever since is the day before practice or a game she asks her child to go touch the entire uniform.  I made the mistake of asking, "Do you know where your baseball uniform is?" and always got the "Of course, Mom", answer, but when it came time to get ready for the game we'd be scrambling.  She would make her kids go touch it...the pants, the socks, the jersey, etc.  If they have to touch it, then there's no scrambling fifteen minutes before you're wanting to leave.  

I'd love to hear how you handle this at your house!  My three a.m. sleeping self thanks you in advance!

XO

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The Bible Recap

 How was your weekend?  My kids have the day off and WE ARE LOVING IT!  When the weather is nice out and we're at home, I feel almost guilty for being super lazy but in the winter I have no guilt.  Give me ALL THE LAZY WINTER days.  :)  My winter weekends have been so lazy that I dare you to ask me if my Christmas tree is still up.  Tab and I have had big intentions every weekend and we lose our motivation around 10:00 a.m. every Saturday.  It's happening sometime this week though.

#butwhoreallyknows

Today, I'm talking about something I'm LOVING...

The Bible Recap!

Before I start, I want to remind you I'm by no means a Bible Recap expert. For the record I've only been working through this plan for the last 17 days {because I started a day late}, but I found this plan through a friend who shared she'd been reading through it in 2020.  I'm here to pass this on to you!

The Bible Recap's plan is a chronological plan to read through the entire bible in one year.  So far it's varied from two to four chapters a day for my daily reading.  And The Bible Recap then takes those chapters that we read and breaks them down into well, for lack of a better word, a recap.  The Recap breaks it down in such a way it's super easy to understand.

You can find all the ways to get started right here on their website.

This seems like a plan you can make work for you depending on whatever amount of time you have to commit...there are groups you can be a part of to dive deeper into the daily reading, the study guide questions can be answered, and more.  Or you can read the verses and the recap in under twenty minutes.  It can be adapted for whatever type of program you're looking for.

This is what I'm doing...I read the daily chapters, then the recap in the Bible Recap book, read the study guide daily questions and answer those and then listen to the podcast.  I'm also finishing up a devotional book and will change it up a bit with whatever I do with it-simply because the exact same thing for 365 days sounds like a lot to me. 

I purchased the Bible Recap book {I found it on sale at Christianbook.com} and the Bible Recap study guide {this guide has 2-5 questions for each day}.  I got lots of questions about these.  Do you have to have them?  Absolutely not!  The book is pretty much the podcast but in written word.  The podcast might have just a little more information.  I like reading and listening but it's absolutely not necessary.  

If you have the YouVersion Bible App, you can find this plan under The Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble.  Once you begin, it's easy to stay on track with this app.  I use the app, but read the verses in my bible.  I will add here-The Bible Recap uses the ESV.  

I got TONS of messages via Instagram about how many of you guys are doing this plan in 2021 {and many of you have done it before} and are LOVING it!!

Some questions I received {many of these were asked multiple times}...

*Am I using an ESV Bible? 

No, I wasn't but after two weeks of using my NIV, I decided I'd prefer to be using the same version so I ordered one and am awaiting it's arrival.  You don't have to though.

*Is the book easier to follow than the app?

No, the book is {almost} the equivalent to the podcast...it's the podcast in book form.

*How much time each day do you need?

I'd say it's really up to you!  But at the least-I'd say 15-20 minutes.  I've heard from many of you that you listen to the podcast while you're getting ready.  I like listening in the early morning with a quiet house and a cup of coffee.

*Am I using a certain system for highlighting?

No, I take little notes for myself in my bible but don't use a highlighting system.

*Do you need a certain bible for this?

No, the app {or you can even print out the plan} tells you what chapters to read each day and you read those from your own bible or directly from the app.  

*Do you think it's boring?

No, not at all.  I'm sure some books are more challenging {I'm looking at you Numbers and Leviticus}, but for now I'm reading Genesis and Job-it hasn't been boring at all.

If you listen to the podcast, be sure to check out the show notes.  On certain days, you'll find links to The Bible Project's introduction to a new book or other resources allowing us to dig deeper into certain verses.

Again, I'm no expert or Bible scholar but am a mom/wife/daughter/friend who's found a new Bible plan this year that's helping me learn so much about God's word.  2021 is going to be a great year!  I'm so excited about reading through this with many of you! 

If you have any other questions, {I think I answered most that I got through IG}, please let me know and if you've read this plan {or are reading}, let us know what you think!

Happy Monday, Everyone!

XO

Friday Favorites-1.15.21

It's FRIDAY!  Girls, I've gotta be honest...I feel like I'm behind on my life this week!  Whoever said, "The days are long but the years are short", I need to have a word with because my days have been flying by.  Or maybe I'm overestimating and underselling the amount it takes me to get things done?  haha!  Could go either way!

I'm here with Andrea to share some FRIDAY FAVORITES from my week...

First up, so many FAVORITES in this pic...this casual easy pullover, those earrings {on MAJOR sale}, house shoes, and that cutie holding onto my leg.

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FAVORITE #2...is Britty and her love for this gymnastics bar.  Santa brought this for Christmas and she's in LOVE!

You'd be amazed at how many flips she had to do in order to get that picture.  My reflexes are so slow...they all kept looking like this!  

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I've shared this chronological bible plan already this year but I've gotten tons of messages with questions about the book, the podcast, the study guide and more.  I'm by no means an expert on The Bible Recap but I'm happy to share what I've been doing.  And spoiler alert-it's a FAVORITE!  If you have any thoughts or questions, please leave a comment or message me.  My entire Monday post is all about The Bible Recap....LOVING it!  {And I got that same message from lots of you when I shared on IG!}

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Tab and my kids started watching Duck Dynasty this week and it's probably Bowen's new FAVORITE!  They all enjoy watching it and the fact that at the end of every episode the family gets together to pray before enjoying a meal makes it one of MY FAVORITES for them to watch!

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Okay, let's talk about this FAVORITE...Matt James as the Bachelor!!!  I'm LOVING Matt as the Bachelor.  What do you think?  I followed along with he, Tyler Cameron, and Hannah Brown as the "Quarantine Crew" in 2020 so I knew of him but didn't know much.  He's doing SUCH AN AMAZING job as the Bachelor!  

My FAVORITES for Matt right now are...Abigail, Bri, Lauren, Mari, and Sarah.  Who do you like for Matt?  Do you have a FAVORITE or two?  I've watched with one eye open for the last few seasons but I can already tell this is gonna be a season I'm ALL IN!

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It's short and sweet today, friends but I want to wish you a very happy weekend!  Hope it's a great one!

XO

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A Little Mom Meme

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

THIS IS MY LIFE!!  Anyone else relate?

I like to stay a day or two ahead of my blog calendar but this week I've been frantically working just one day ahead and this was my life yesterday...eye doctor appointment, speech appointment, all the kids had some sort of practice after school, and between shuffling my people to all their places I ran out of time.  

Instead I'm leaving you with a funny Mom meme for your Thursday...

Periodically I have to say something to a kid and I quietly think to myself, "I can't believe you just had to say that".  Nine times out of ten I'm standing in the bathroom when I'm thinking to myself.  Have you ever had that moment? 

Such is mom life.

Happy Thursday, Friends!

XO

Let's Look-COFFEE

Ladies, we've got a very serious topic today on our first round of Let's Look for 2021.  Each month Shay and I team up to share with you how we handle something in our home.  We invite all of you to join us by linking up at the bottom of each post to share how you handle it in your home.  At the bottom of this post, is our new 2021 list of topics for the year.  These link-ups are one of my favorite days of the month.  I hope you stick around all year long!

Like I said, today's topic is one I take very seriously and I'm sure many of you will understand...

This is one topic I can really get behind!  Can't you?  Today, we're chatting COFFEE BAR!  {My space is really simple so we're gonna be doing some coffee talk as well.  How I like my coffee and I wanna hear how you like YOURS!}  I'll be sure to show you where I make my coffee each and every morning....errrr and all throughout the day.  😉  My space isn't fancy but boy, oh boy do those cups of coffee taste delicious! 

On January 3, 2013, I made and drank my first cup of coffee...it was 1/3 cup of creamer, 1/3 cup of Splenda, and 1/3 coffee.  And since that day, {well I still really enjoy some creamer} I've now graduated to 2-3 cups every single day.  I get excited about it every single morning when my alarm clock goes off in the morning!

Just for the record I took a picture of that first cup and posted it on Instagram.  Otherwise-I'd never remember that day.  Can you believe I spent the first THIRTY years of my life missing out on the enjoyment of coffee?!

And no matter what-nothing, absolutely nothing, tastes as good as that first cup of morning coffee.  Am I right?  The second and third cups don't even compare.

Here's a little peek at my set up...

A nice and simple Keurig is what makes the magic happen.  This was on Monday afternoon...the time is ALWAYS off on this coffee maker.  I enjoyed almost all of my cup and then realized I needed a pic so that's why there's a little more in my cup.  While I'm working on planning Walt Disney World vacations, this coffee mug is my mug of choice.  :)

I store everything coffee related in the cabinet right above.  A little clear container holds all our coffee pods...right now Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice and Green Mountain's Breakfast Blend are happening.  I always add one Truvia to my coffee so it's located in there as well.  We have one of those re-fillable coffee pods you add your own coffee to and keep extra coffee for those days I don't plan correctly causing us to run out of pods. 

I'm far from a plain black coffee drinker but I don't use a frother or anything fancy like that.  To be honest, I wouldn't even know how to work it.  Give me a splash or two or three {depending on the day} of hazelnut creamer and a little Truvia..then I'm set!  Remember my post yesterday?  We're simplifying in my house and apparently, the one part of my life I've been living pretty simple for years is my coffee.

#gofigure

My very FAVORITE coffee is anything "pecan" or "hazelnut" flavored.  If you enjoy something similar, please send me your recs!  My favorites are Green Mountain's Southern Pecan {I have a really tough time finding this one in grocery stores but Amazon usually has it}, Green Mountain's Maple Pecan, and Dunkin' Donuts Hazelnut.  As I was searching for those to link for you, I found Butter Pecan!!  Doesn't that sound good?

Okay, after all that COFFEE TALK I'm off to go make one more cup! 

Hope you join us next month when we're sharing LOVE LANGUAGES!  And please send me your best coffee pod recommendations!

XO

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Simplifying and Decluttering

 A new year always brings a blank slate and for me one thing I get really good at in the beginning of the year is decluttering and simplifying.  When September rolls around my closets are stuffed to the brim but I'm a decluttering rockstar in January. 😂😂  I've learned that with six people in our family over the course of a year our rooms, lives, and closets get full of clutter but now is the time to rectify the situation.  

Last year or maybe in 2019,  I read Emily Ley's A Simplified Life book and am reading through it again this year.  She has great tips for simplifying your home with lots of checklists and step-by-steps to make it really easy for us to know where to even begin.  According to Ley, "Simplifying is a journey.  It is not a destination."  Love that and am excited to dig into decluttering over the next few weeks.   

When I asked for blog topics back in December, this was one of the most requested topics which lets me know it's something all of you want to work on as well.  I recently started following Simplifed {by Emily Ley} on Instagram and she just started her Annual Simplicity Challenge in January.  Even though I'm a little behind I started yesterday and will keep it going!  You should join me!  If you're interested you can find it all on Simplified's Instagram account but these are the 30 days of steps...

If you click on that graphic, it should make the print a little bigger for you.  

My plan is to after the thirty days, check in on you and share how it went at my house.  Then I'll dig a little deeper in each room of my house to ensure everything has been decluttered.  Okay, now I'm off to clean out the refrigerator! 

See you back here tomorrow!

XO

5 Things-1.11.21

 I started a 5 Things on Monday tradition back in 2020 and my plan is to keep that going strong.  It's really a brain dump from my weekend.  Sometimes the "things" might include pictures and sometimes they might not but it's just a way for me to share what's been on my mind over the weekend.  I'm working on a cute, fun graphic to go along with this new Monday tradition.  It's coming soon, friends!

In no particular order, here are 5 Things from my weekend...

1.  GYMNASTICS-Can you spy my girly in the middle of the pic swinging on the bar?  Britty went to her friend, Opal's, birthday party this weekend and it might have been her favorite party to ever attend.  Britt Slaughter loves getting to participate in all things gymnastics!  Not pictured to the right is Bowen and a few of his friends cannon balling into the foam pit over and over again.

2. MEMPHIS FRIENDS/ARKANSAS STATE FRIENDS-Do you recognize this?  If I saw this picture, it would instantly take me back to college and maybe even high school.  

Here's a hint...

The Rendezvous is a famous BBQ restaurant in downtown Memphis known for their dry rub seasoned ribs along with the charming historic decor inside the restaurant.  The most popular appetizer plate is the sausage cheese plate served with pickles and pepperoncini peppers.  They add their famous dry rub seasoning to both the sausage and cheese and it's DELICIOUS!  To be honest, I haven't thought about this in YEARS!  Well, that is until Saturday night.  Our Saturday evening plans included nothing but being lazy and watching those NFL Playoff games so I invited Tab's dad and Marla over to join us for grilled burgers as well as football.  Marla told me she'd bring a little appetizer and this is what she brought.  It took me RIGHT BACK TO MY COLLEGE DAYS!  YUM!  My kids were all big fans so now today I find myself ordering Rendezvous seasoning online in order to replicate this myself.  You can too!  It'd make the perfect Super Bowl snack plate for 2021!  

*Slice up some pre-cooked sausage and saute it in a skillet.  I prefer mine to get a little crispy on the edges. 

*Cut up your favorite cheese...colby jack, cheddar, just whatever you prefer.

*Sprinkle the Rendezvous seasoning on the cooked sausage and cheese...just as much as you'd prefer.

*Serve it with pickles {the spicy Wickle's Pickle's are my favorite}

*Also serve with pepperoncini peppers and your cracker of choice.

Now I'm off to listen to Walking in Memphis, think about the baseball games I watched at Auto Zone Park, and remember that most special night on top of the Peabody....those college days!

One more thing...as I was looking up that Rendezvous picture I noticed you can order BBQ ribs, nachos, and more directly from them and they'll ship them to your house.  Maybe I got a little too sentimental for a bit and I said, "TAB!  We can order Rendezvous BBQ and it'll get shipped right to us.  Should we do that for dinner this week?".  I wish you could have seen his face.  Needless to say, THAT might be a bit much for a random Tuesday night dinner but the good news is we can recreate this at home!

3. BAKE EAT LOVE-Is the baking subscription box Ebby Lee got for Christmas and Saturday night she made these delicious Sugar Plum Cupcakes {they were from the December box-hence the theme}.  The box came with very detailed instructions, a cute whisk {each box has some type of item you can use and then keep in the kitchen}, and all dry ingredients needed to make the recipe.  I will say the little white chocolate piece on top the cupcake was supposed to be molded into a snowflake but Ebby Lee took one look and decided it was too complicated for her first box.  She's never felt more like my daughter.  hahahaha!  In case you're wondering a Sugar Plum cupcake is a chocolate cupcake with a plum icing.  We NEVER would have chosen that combination when making dessert but they were good!  

4. WINTER SPORTS-Right now the only organized sport anyone is playing in our house is volleyball.  This weekend we got to watch our volleyball player take the court for the first time in 2021!  I love love love watching my kids enjoy sports and activities they enjoy participating in but it's also nice to have slower evenings and nights that aren't spent at the baseball fields.  It'll be here before we know it.

5. BLOG LINE UP-Just wanted to send a little reminder Let's Look is coming up THIS WEDNESDAY!  It's always on the second Wednesday of the month.

Tuesday Talk is happening again this year as well!  The third Tuesday of every month you should join us by linking up!

And of course, every Friday, I'll be here sharing my FRIDAY FAVORITES!  

Okay, everyone!  Let's get this week started on a high note!  We got this!  

XO

Friday Favorites-THE FIRST OF 2021

 

It's our FIRST Friday Favorites of the year!  Andrea and I will be here each Friday sharing our FAVORITES and we invite you guys to join us!

I have a little list of FAVES and then I'm sharing my day in the life from stories yesterday.  When you guys speak, I try my best to listen.  ;)  So, those stories will not be their own post anymore.  #ipromise  Just in case you're not on Instagram, I'm sharing at the bottom.  I'm adding questions I got, recommendations, etc. from those stories too.

First up is this FAVORITE link-up!  Shay and I are hosting Let's Look again this year on the second Wednesday of every month.  Simply blog about this topic...

and add your blog to our link-up!  Easy Peasy!  It starts next Wednesday when we share coffee bars!  Hope you join us!

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And,  these boots {that made the Top Ten list} are a FAVORITE from 2020 and they're holding out for a winter 2021 spot as well.  I don't think I ever shared this sweater from Amazon but it's super comfy, super soft, and the quality is great.

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A FAVORITE Christmas gift is this air fryer!  I wanted an air fryer that was big enough to cook something for my family of six.  The air fryer I had before I loved but the basket wasn't really big enough to make an entire "something" for my family.  I'd have to make two batches which took a long time or I'd make half in the air fryer and half in the oven.  Spoiler alert-we all fought over the air fryer version every time.  So my parents made my Christmas wishes come true with this gift!  I really like it because I can throw enough chicken breasts for the entire family or I can add sweet potato fries to one rack and broccoli to the other...two veggies at the same time.  The only thing I've noticed is I have to flip things more in this one or they get dark on the bottom.  I still much prefer this version with a big family but that's the one difference.  

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Another FAVORITE from the week are answered prayers!  The kids and I were driving back from Missouri {a 9 hour trip} when we stopped for gas about mid-way.  I tried to start the car after refueling and NOTHING.  After multiple attempts the only thing flashing was the battery light.  I majorly panicked, tried to call my step-dad {he didn't answer}, and then prayed...it worked!  I did not turn the car off again until we pulled into our driveway.  Thanks to that moody battery, I was reminded how much prayer works. 

Tab was on the field at the time during his football game and after the game, he called.  As we were discussing he was very sweet but told me that I'd have had to ask someone to jump our car.  I started laughing and told him in my panicked state all I could think about was getting a hotel room for us until he could come and pick us up the next day.  Hahahaha!  I MIGHT have jumped to conclusions.  

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My FAVORITE Christmas craft Britty made is this one!  Do you guys recognize this "L" lamp?  Preschool teachers, the whole family got a kick out of this one!

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A FAVORITE view while we were in Missouri.  

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A look at my day yesterday via Stories...

I started my day off WAY too early.  I prefer a 5:00 a.m. wake up but wanna know something I dislike more than an early wake up??  Laying there, not being able to sleep, and just thinking about how tired I'll be.  Does anyone else do this?  SO, I got out of bed to get the day going and had coffee brewing at 4:19 a.m.  And thanks to my New Years' Resolution....I choose gratitude and thought about how thankful I was to have a warm house with coffee to wake up to bright and early. 

The Bible Recap is what I'm studying this year.  Well, the Bible is actually what I'm studying but I'm working through the Bible Recap's one-year guide.  It's in the You Version Bible App...you can find this plan by Tara-Leigh Cobble.  After reading the scripture, I listen to the daily podcast which is 5-10 minutes where she reiterates what we just read, gives it context, and answers questions.  I think this is so good because it's that whole...visually learning the scripture and then auditory learning through the podcast.  I purchased the book but the podcast is more in-depth and covers the same information.   And that devotion book I shared from on Wednesday is a quick few minute read beforehand.

Got myself ready and made it to the gym for an early morning workout.

Workout complete

And then I was tired.

Got home and grabbed a coffee flavored protein shake...I needed all the caffeine!

Working while I waited for Britt at speech.

Preschool drop-off with this cutie!

I stopped at Market Street on the way home for an egg breakfast bowl and a few other things we needed.

Lots of questions about this top...you can find it here.  {Also comes in white-on sale and pink-also on sale.}

And this ring sold out...boo!

Tab was working from home in the office so my "desk" was the dining room table.  My blue-light blocking glasses are these.  I'm not really sure if they work but I like to think they do.  ;)

I took a lunch break and had leftovers...salmon, part of a twice-baked potato, and green beans, and then got back to work.

Stopped around 2:50 p.m., grabbed one of these hunks {got them from Costco-they're so good}, and then left to grab the kids.

It was chilly in McKinney yesterday so I threw on my jacket before pick-up. {Jacket is over 50% off.}  And got 3/4 of my people home!

Got Ebby Lee too!

All four of my kids have something on Thursday afternoons so they're our crazy day.  I take Britt to gymnastics and Brooke's daughter is in gymnastics at the same time.  I get to hang with Brooke and Willow while Britt and Libby are working.

I missed her attempting her cartwheel, but snapped a pic while she was sliding.

Britt and I beat everyone else home so I got dinner started...the plan was shrimp bowls-brown rice, shrimp, veggies, avocado, salsa, etc, but my two bags of Trader Joe's shrimp didn't look like enough once I started cooking them.  EEK!  I grabbed any other leftovers we had and it quickly became an eat-any-of-this kind of night.  I thought it was super random, but Nixon was a huge fan! Some shrimp bowl, meatballs, asparagus, pasta, etc.  After dinner we all get to work so it takes us 10-15 minutes to get the house reset for the day instead of just Tab and I working.  Britty is my best helper.  She puts the silverware away and is so happy to do it.  The other kids do different jobs-just whatever needs to be done.

I got in bed last night at 9:05 and then remembered I had to add these last few pictures to this post...almost finished and it's 9:23 p.m.

For those of you who followed along yesterday, THANK YOU!!

Hope you guys have the BEST weekend! 

XO

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