Goodbye September...Hello October!

Soooooooooooooooo ready for cooler weather! Don't let the clothes fool you, it's still h-o-t and h-u-m-i-d around here!! 

Goodbye September...

...hello, October!!

We are so ready for all things P U M P K I N!!

Sunday Funday!

Church...

...and then Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2!

Happy Sunday!

Hudson's First Field Trip!

Hudson's preschool class went on their first field trip the other day and I was able to go with them - yay!   This is one excited little boy!!

First up, the pet store!

All these littles had such a fun time learning about and petting all sort of critters!

Thank you, PetSmart!

Onto Papa John's to learn about making pizza...and to have a yummy snack!

This being a field trip all about the letter "Pp", we were supposed to go play putt-putt, but we were rained out so bowling it was!

Sooooo super excited because Daddy was able to meet us during his lunch break!

So cute to watch all these littles bowl!

Teeny tiny bowling shoes...

...and BIG personalities!

I LOVED going with you, Hudson!!

And this crazy little selfie...dusty mirror and all...was me jumping for joy after reaching another weight milestone! :)

Excited for this Fall!

teddy bear day!

Hudson's preschool class had a fun Teddy Bear themed day and it just so happened it was our snack day so snacks galore! I made this little teddy bear trail mix...

...and then created this little worksheet to make it a little more interesting.

The cute tags were a free printable from B Nute Productions {find them here}.

My proud little guy ready to take the snacks to school!

Anytime that cute puppy dog backpack comes home, it means the very next day is his turn to bring snacks AND be the leader, which means he gets to take a show & tell item. So fun! I found the little plastic lunch trays at Target {10 for $10} and thought they made the perfect preschool sized sorting tray so I picked those up as a little bonus for his teacher.

Then there were these...not exactly as neat of a presentation as I would have liked {the milky way bars cracked as I was placing the teddy grahams} but Hudson was crazy about the "Teddies in Trucks" so we sent those as a little extra treat {idea via here}.

A most delicious day! 
{almost as sweet as this little snuggle bug!}

Sparkly Shoes + Pirate Day

The little pumpkin has been waiting 3 years to wear these shoes and they finally fit!!! She said she NEEDED to wear them yesterday to do even better on her spelling test. *wink*

Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world! ~ Marilyn Monroe
Guess it worked...she said she got all 16 of the vocabulary words correct and even 6 bonus points for spelling these additional "robust words" correctly: horrible, invigorated, presented, sweltering, aid, and persistent. Way to go, Grace!!
P.S. Every week I'm amazed at their spelling words...First Grade sure has changed a lot since 1983 when I was making the rounds!!

The littles both got to dress up on Thursday for National Talk Like a Pirate Day...

We lucked out that we had everything on hand...Grace's dress still fit from two years ago and Hudson's outfit was from his Disney makeover last year - LOVE when it works out that way!

Hudson had fun activities all day even though parents were not invited, so I didn't get a chance to take pics - boo!   Grace's class had a super fun snack in the afternoon and my Co-Room Mom and I were in charge of setting it up so I got to see all the littles in her class dressed up - so cute!!  They are the "Pirate Pals" so this was extra fun!

We served cupcakes and "fish + chips" and had little treat bags for the children to take home...

My Co-Room Mom Alicia made these amazing cupcakes! I mean, check out the adorable treasure maps!!!! So talented!!

I tweaked party straws with little personalized flags and added cute labels to dollar store cups for our "Pirate Punch" (lemonade)...

100% healthy Fish + Chips! Yeah, right?!?!

We can't forget the treat bags!!

So thankful for parents that want to have as much fun with all this stuff as we do and sent in all kinds of goodies for the treat bags, which I had in my party stash from the Target dollar spot a couple of years ago... 

And I can't forget the best part!! One of the moms emailed me the day before and asked if she could send these insanely cute donuts as a special morning treat!!! These are quite possibly the cutest donuts I've ever seen!!! Thank you, Liz!!

What a super fun day for all the Pirate Pals!!

health...Dallas...Lulu & Co....a little bit of everything!

THANK YOU to all of you for your encouraging words on my {last post}! I'm still working toward my goal, but I do feel so much better knowing I'm headed in the right direction. 

For those of you that asked, I'm following the {Take Shape for Life} program. I've learned a lot reading the books and really, it was just eye-opening for me {the biology major in me appreciated the medical info. the plan is based on!}.  I also like that the program focuses on preserving lean muscle, eliminating adipose reserves, and has transition and maintenance goals that are doable.

But to be 100% honest, I think that what's helped me the most is just being mentally READY to tackle this challenge. There have been times I've tried to make changes in my life (not just weight) and I wasn't 100% committed, and that's just setting myself up for failure. I'm not a wishy-washy person...I want to see results!! So for me, I have to give it 100% or not at all. I believe you just have to be in the right mindset for it to work...no matter the program followed...and I was tired of the same old, same old, so when I decided to make a change, I was ready to give it my ALL!

These pics are from our girls weekend in Dallas last weekend.  I resisted {Sprinkles cupcakes}...now THAT is dedication if you know me and my sweet tooth! ha!

Finding the right balance has also made me cut back on {Lulu & Co.} orders...and don't even get me started on emails!! {Sorry!}  Bittersweet, but my family comes first. Here are a couple of recent orders that were a lot of fun to make...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Geaux Tigers!

I came home from our girls weekend with waaaaaay too much just enough fabric...

Some super fun party supplies for our annual North Pole Breakfast...
{I'm thinking "Nutcracker" for this year's theme!}

A super cute door wreath...

And the best "souvenir" $14.99 can buy! I mean LOOK how excited they were!!

Cutest lemAnade stand I've ever seen! he he he

It was so wonderful having a little break to refresh and enjoy leisurely dinners and fun shopping with some dear friends, but I sure missed my usual cuddle sessions...

...and time with my favorite girl!

So I'm working on balance and enjoying a little more "me" time here and there...

All with the ultimate goal of being a better wife and mother...progress not perfection...that's what I'm striving for.

Thanks for being a part of our journey!
Happy weekend!