Our Family

We recently had family photos done by the wonderful Tanna Carter. She was FANTASTIC!! She suggested the location (Tom Bennett Park--highly recommend, it was beautiful). It was a perfect morning for them too. It took less than an hour, which was perfect because we start to lose the kiddos around then. And she was great with E and Caroline. Our kids always smile for the camera (well MOST of the time), but for family photos they take their cuteness to a whole new level. Tanna got so many wonderful pictures of us :) It was very hard to pick our faves. Check out her Facebook page Tanna C. Photography :)

A Work in Progress

So if any of you know me, you know I have super thick hair (and wavy when I let it air dry). And to style it takes forever. I normally throw it up in a bun and am done. But I have decided to start styling it more...but it's a long process. I will let it air dry for about 20 minutes and then blow dry it for about 10-15 minutes. I then flat iron it and that takes around 25-30 minutes. So to do my hair nice takes about an hour. See now why I don't do it much????

Well I have learned (or at least I think I have) to finally do my hair. I think the secret for my hair is good products, a good brush, and a hot flat iron. I get Birchbox and love testing out all their hair products. I am in LOVE with all Oribe products....however it is a little out of my budget. I have found that Living Proof products work for my hair type (thick and wavy). I use the Nourishing and Styling cream while wet, as well as Davroe Hair Wellness Ends Repair cream.

I use a big flat brush to help straighten it some when blow drying and use a $40 straightener (Porcelain Series 1 1/2 Inch Ceramic Flat Iron) from Sally Beauty Supply. Absolutely love this straightener........I've had the Chi and other ones too. This gets super hot and works on my hair. Once blow dried and straightened, I use a little more the LP Styling cream because it stops frizz (regular body lotion helps with frizz too...don't know how I stumbled across that one but it works.)

I am also a hair product junkie so my products tend to change. However, when I run out of these products, I will get more :)

Almost as Good

So I absolutely love Reese's peanut butter cups. Especially the holiday ones (the pumpkin-not the new orange one-that's weird, the Christmas tree, and the Easter egg). I have been dieting (trying my best-definitely have cheat days) and with all this candy I around I needed a supplement. Don't get me wrong, I ate a lot of Halloween candy to a point where I think I was done (don't judge I've been running 3-3.5 miles 4-5 days a week and working out). Lol.

I found this recipe on Facebook from Ambitious Kitchen. They are so good!!!! These Reese's Eggs definitely get my fix in :) Check out her blog for more delicious recipes!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Time to Run

So I have been running more lately-about 3 miles a day. Normally, we always do some kind of run for the Turkey Trot. We are headed to Jax this year and are going to do one up there. My mom asked me what I wanted to do, the 10k or 5k. Well I must have blacked out because I am now  signed up for the 10k. The most I have run lately is 4 miles (felt good after). Need to get some more miles under my belt before November 24th :)

Our Life

So as we approach our 9 year wedding anniversary this Thursday, I have been thinking alot lately of how we met, what we have done, and where we have been.

Eddy and I met at a junior college in Clearwater while home for the summer. We were both taking the same class. I told my sister I had met someone cute and she asked his name. I said I didn't know, but I knew he wore a backpack and drove a cool car. So I called him backpack boy. Lol. We quickly formed a friendship and that was it. I remember he used to bring me fountain coke while I was at work :) Summer ended and we went back to school-him to UF and me to FSU. We kept in touch visiting each other. I brought my friends down for the UF-FSU game. Val lost a shoe somehow. Haha! She has a tendency to lose shoes. Nothing happened because we were both dating someone at the time. Well we came home for the holiday break and spent New Year's Eve together. We kissed and here we are almost 14 years later.

We got married in 2007 and were living the dream in Jacksonville. We bought a cute house and started a life there. We had a good time for awhile! Partied like we were still in college. Lots of stories there but that's for another time :) We had our first baby, Edward Owen in March of 2012. Decided to move to Nocatee in 2014. We built our dream house and the day we closed we found out we were pregnant. Caroline Elise came April of 2015. Life was complete! And you know when you say that, things happen real quick! Eddy took a promotion February of 2016 at Fidelity, but in Sarasota, FL. So I quit my job (YAY), we packed up the kiddos, and the house and moved down to Lakewood Ranch. It was an adjustment at first, but we have settled in and are loving it! I am also fortunate to stay at home with the kiddos. Some days are wonderful while the next can feel like I live crazy town and am the mayor.

So 9 years wedded, 4 homes lived in, and 2 wonderfully crazy beautiful kids here we are! And some great news--we bought a house! We are super excited to be out of this rental and to be planting our roots down here. I would not have wanted to take this journey with any other person. Eddy is my person. He is a wonderful father and a great husband. We still make each other laugh and have fun together. Looking forward to what the next 50 years bring :)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! This was E's 3rd time trick or treating (he's a pro) and Caroline's first. All day E was like "Mommy can I get dressed so we can go?" His excitement was super cute! When daddy got home, we ate and then got dressed. I told him we had to take some pictures first and he told only 3. Well if you have kids you know taking only 3 pictures was never going to work. We gave them their pumpkins (which was an awful idea I know) and Caroline had some candy in there from last week. Well all she wanted to do was to take it out and eat it. With the wrapper still on. Lol.

We tried to take the pumpkin away and Snow White became real angry quick. So finally it dawned on me, make them hold hands! She loves holding big brother's hand. So we did that and we got that 1 great picture :) As a parent it's what we called winning.

Now it was time for the good part-Trick or Treating. Well the pure excitement came over her and she started to run like a wild woman. Her pumpkin was swinging and candy was flying out of it. It was cute. She only did a couple of houses because her little legs wouldn't last long and she doesn't need a lot of candy because she's already wild. And of course she was not happy--but daddy had to deal with it while me and E went on. He had so much fun! Running to the houses getting tons of candy. He was very polite and when allowed to take the candy-only took 1. They then said take more, which was fine. Made me feel good he didn't grab handfuls. We came home after about an hour and looked at the loot. Out of all the candy, his eyes were set on the best one-a ring pop?? I mean I saw Reese's, Snickers, Three Musketeers, and so much more. We saved that for the next day and he settled on Nerds.

He said it was the best day ever! His excitement is what makes me happy :)

Val Got Married

This past weekend, I had the honor of standing by one of my best friends as she married the most wonderful man. Valerie and Jeff had a perfect wedding. Everything was perfect-the day, the dress, the venue, the food, and the company. Not to mention she was absolutely stunning! Her dad was right...she looked like a princess :)

When it was time to go, she wasn't nervous at all. I think it had to do with the fact that the man she married is absolutely perfect. Jeff is an amazing guy. He is SO good to her. He got her to try new food (if you know Val this is a big deal for her) such as shrimp. He loves Kingston as much as Valerie does and even said he wants another puggle. When she walked down the aisle, I turned and looked at Jeff. The way he looked at her melted everyone's heart. It was a wonderful day :)

College besties! These women are something special. And they are gorgeous! The bridesmaids dresses were all sort of the color hue and looked phenomenal together!

Much love to both of them and wishing them many years of happiness!

When E is Away, We Will Play

E goes to school from 8:30-11:30 Monday-Friday, so that gives me and Caroline some one on one time. We go to the gym, playground, and most times play at our house. The other day we went to a nursing home for a Halloween parade. We dressed up our little ones and took them trick or treating there. It was BEYOND cute :) Princess Caroline was Snow White.

We also did a Fun 2 be Fit class where we sang songs, played instruments, and danced. At first she wouldn't stay in the circle. I was like this is going to be awesome-me chasing after her while everyone else was singing and dancing. She settled down after a little bit and we had a great time. Sweet girl loves to dance. She has the shoulder bounce down :)

She has also become quite sneaky...she has learned to move her play table to the door and play with the lights and unlock the door...AHHH. She's trying to breakout already. Lol. Time do bolt the door out of her reach.

It's Fall Y'all

Happy Fall (little late sorry). We have been to pumpkin patches (Hunsaders-totally recommend-it was awesome), painted pumpkins, been in a hay maze, and fed animals. I am fortunate enough to stay home with my kiddos allowing us to do fun activities.  Can't wait for the next upcoming holidays.

E's VPK Year

E started VPK in August and has loved every minute of it (which I am impressed because I didn't think he would like it as much as he does). I can't believe how much he has grown. I can have full conversations that have meaning lol. He is sweet and sassy. He loves to read, play outside, play golf with daddy, and cook with mommy. He loves his sister most of time :) Love this little man.

This Girl

Caroline Elise is growing up so quick. She keeps us on our toes every minute of everyday. She loves to climb, play outside, annoy her brother, anything Minnie, milk, and her mama and dada. She has the sweetest laugh and lights up the room. Now don't get me wrong, she is also the queen of temper tantrums and loves to taunt her brother. Pretty sure the other day she hit me with a granola bar because I wasn't opening it fast enough and she was hangry. Lol. We love this sweet little hangry girl!!

It's been awhile...

So I haven't blogged in awhile...the fall us a super busy time for us. And I know I am a SAHM, however I am also a full-time cook, cleaner, laundry doer, and I meant the list can go on. My goal is to blog twice a week. Keep fingers crossed :)

Playing with Great Grandma

Sunday night we went to dinner with my aunts and uncles, as well as my Grandma. After dinner we went back to my grandma's house. Her and E played cards! It was beyond cute...E already said he wants to go back to play at Great Grandma's house.

New Activity

I have been meaning to make this for awhile and have finally gotten around to it. I bought a large felt piece from Michael's as well as other 8 x 11 sheets of various colors of felt (went to Walmart today and I think they are cheaper there, however not as much as a variety). I used double sided tape to attach to the wall (although next time I think I will attach the felt to a foam board). I had to make a border because I cut the blue kind of crooked and it was driving me nuts.

I started to make pieces for the kiddos to play with. I made a color sorting activity for Caroline. I also made a Mickey for her to place on a color that I tell her too. Going to work on colors and sorting!

I made some pumpkins for them to make faces with. Just cut out some triangles and mouths for them to make :)

E loves the "5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate" song from a Halloween Mickey sing a long. So I made him 5 little pumpkins and a gate. Also added a tree with some leaves for them to decorate.

My plan is to make more, but to keep each part in separate bags. The intent is not for all the pieces to be on there all the time since Godzilla (aka Caroline) likes to rip them all down. We are working on this with her.

Excited to make more for the kiddos! If anyone has any idea how I can make small letters, please let me know. I want to make letters for Caroline...I know how to make large ones, but that's a lot.

Pumpkin and Banana Bread

So since I have been home, I have been cooking and baking more. I make a house favorite-pumpkin bread and I have now stumbled on a new recipe for banana bread. Banana bread is my kryptonite. It always turned out funny looking and gross. I think my problem has been using WAY over ripe bananas. But I have seen the light (and found a new recipe) and now love this banana bread. I have started to add mini-chocolate chips (by the request of my boys). Needless to say, the bread only lasts a week.

 Try out these recipes--The pumpkin bread comes from The Magnolia Farm cookbook (I got from the most wonderful family and woman Sharyn Davidson--she is a wonderful cook, as well as her close friends and family. I use this cookbook on a weekly basis) and the Chocolate Chip Banana Bread comes from Tina's Chic Corner (click on the link) PS--they both freeze well!

Happy Baking!

Best pumpkin bread ever and so easy to make!!

Don't mind the writing!! That's not apart of the recipe

A Long Day

After Caroline's doctor appointment, we headed back home to Sarasota. Somewhere around downtown Orlando, I heard a sound and my car started to drive funny. My first thought was wait--I got BRAND new tires put on YESTERDAY so there is no way you have a flat tire. Well, I realized it was indeed a flat tire (and when I got out after I stopped-it was like shredded). Now I had to figure out where to pull over. I happened to be around an exit that was a toll road (that wasn't going to work because it was just longer roads) and then another exit that was closed. Are you kidding me?!?! And stopping in the middle of I4 was not an option since it wasn't safe. By this time something was smoking. Eek!! I finally saw an exit where I could get off. I couldn't make it to the gas station, so I settled for the side of the off ramp super close to the guard rail. I called Allstate and waited for a tow truck.

Luckily, the kids were sleeping through all of this and I thought no way would they sleep through the whole thing. E woke up about 5 minutes after we stopped and Caroline woke when the tow truck arrived. I think we waited maybe 45 minutes, which wasn't too awful. E was so happy to see the tow truck and even more excited when I told him we get to ride in it (I didn't take his carseat out because it's hard to get out and I wasn't about to start messing with it on the side of road on a busy exit AND because our travel time was only 4 miles to the place). It was a fun ride for the kids. The man who took us laughed and played with them. Super nice!

When we got the to place where my tire was going to be fixed, a woman saw me get out of the tow truck with Caroline in her car seat and E. As we walked in, she said "They have finished my car, would you like me to get lunch for you and your kids?" The tears started to fall. I politely said no, but thanked her graciously. We sat there for about 45 minutes. Everyone in there was really kind and was okay with my kiddos running around (normally they don't, but they have been couped up in the car all day and at this point I didn't care). They ate snacks and watched Curious George. They finished my car pretty quick and got us on the road.

The last bit home was okay! The kiddos were such good troopers given our day. So we got home and then ran to the store because we had no food (no eggs and no milk for my babies means no good lol). I was thinking this is a bad idea-their naps were short and they have been in the car all day. And normally I avoid taking them to the store because it's chaos. They were beyond good. It's like they knew we had a rough day and were like let's give mom a break. On the way home we saw a rainbow and E was like "I've never seen one before!" Made me smile.

We came home, ate dinner, and played. Kiddos went to bed early so this mama could have some me time. All in all, things turned out okay today. There were some people who were super nice and helpful to me and my babies today. Made it much better :)

Well that Didn't Go Well..

Sometime after birth, Caroline was diagnosed with a hemangioma (it's a collection of blood vessels under her skin). She had the mark on the back of her neck, as well as a lump under the mark. It was significant in size and given the location (back of her neck), our dermatologist referred us to a pediatric cardiologist.

We went and saw Dr. James Joyce (we love him and his staff). He said most of the time they go away with age, however ones of her size won't. He recommended the use of Propranolol, which is used to treat high blood pressure. But with hemangiomas, it will essentially stop the blood vessels from growing any larger and restrict the ones already there. So we decided to take this route. She is given a very small dose everyday, 3 times a day. We go back to Dr. Joyce every 3 months to monitor her blood pressure and heart. Everything has been okay so far!

She only wanted one shoe on?? Lol

Caroline was not having it at today's appointment. She didn't want to wear the blood pressure cuff or the device to check the oxygen in her blood. However, he was pleased with how it looked and decided to level out the medicine. We go back in 4 months to check the progress again.

Working on My Goal

So as anyone knows, dieting is the hardest thing to do. Especially with kids. I am not going to post my weight because I am not at my goal yet. However, I can tell you I am close to my goal. Since we moved down here, I have been working out everyday (for the most part). I joined the Y and love it. They have a great kids zone, although Caroline screamed for the first 2 weeks. But now she loves it.

Since July, I have been counting calories.This is the only way I seem to lose weight. It has worked and I feel great. I eat little dairy (fat free half and half in my coffee, and then a greek yogurt for dessrt). And don't get me wrong, I still will eat a hamburger and fries or pasta with cheese. These meals are few and far between. But I still indulge when I want (I indulged last night on banana bread and pumpkin bread lol).

I have also changed up my workouts. I do 30 minutes of cardio (run and stair climber-hate the stair climber but it's a great workout) and then weights. I also add in TRX and body pump. And I try to take the kids for a walk a couple of times a week if it's not too hot.

My clothes are looser and I can see a change. My ultimate goal is to be back down to pre-Eddy weight. Which I can say, I am a lot closer too than before.

Well that Escalated Quick

It's been so hot outside lately that we have been taking the kids to the mall playground (I know the germs..blah blah blah... but it's so hot I don't even care and we wash hands before and after we leave). We got there around 3:30 and it was quiet. Well, I guess when school gets out everyone comes! It was madness. Caroline is going through a pinching phase (ouch) and pinched a little boy. We gave hugs and said sorry. Not two seconds later, E was running and knocked into a little boy who knocked into a little girl. They all cried :( Again, we said sorry and gave hugs. After that, we left like the playground was on fire! Enough for today :)

I know you're thinking....how can this little ham be a pincher?!?!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

Besides the holidays, football season is my most favorite time. There is nothing like waking up Saturday morning and watching game day with a nice cup of coffee! I wasn't with Eddy this weekend, but he sure did dress the kids up super cute. We are a house divided-he is a Gator and I am a Seminole. So the kids have 2 outfit changes every game day :) Still looking for a FSU shirt for E and Caroline has two more outfits coming from Ollie and Peck (a super cute store I found on Facebook). Can't wait to see them :)

These 2! She was calling me because daddy made her wear that :)

She looks good in Garnet and Gold!!

I mean can she be any cuter??

Girls Weekend in Chicago!

Last weekend, we had a girl's weekend in Chicago. My bestie Dana lives there and my other bestie Lauren and I met her up there. It was an AWESOME weekend! Dana had the whole weekend planned out and I loved every minute of it.

I flew out Friday morning (yes the morning that Hurricane Hermine was passing North). I have anxiety about flying as it is, so add in a hurricane?? No thank you!! However, it was one of the smoothest and quietest flights I have ever been on. I took the train to the city and met Dana. We went to Shake Shack, which didn't disappoint! I had a cheeseburger and fries (we did a lot of walking so all I ate that weekend was justified) It was delicious! We did some shopping around on Michigan Ave which was fun. That night, we went to Bar Siena for dinner. I had a fancy drink (don't remember which one lol). We shared a salad, short ribs, and pizza. All was good!

Saturday morning we woke and drank coffee--which was super nice because normally I'm drinking coffee and chasing after the kiddos. We got ready and headed toward the river. We took an architectural tour of the city on a boat. I can see why Dana lives there...Chicago is gorgeous city and I am in awe of all the beautiful buildings! After the tour was over, we went to a place called Eataly. It was like an Italian grocery store on the bottom and restaurants on the higher floors. They had several different themed restaurants-sandwich, fish, pizza/pasta, etc. We ate at the pizza and pasta one. We had the Ventura White Pizza which had mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto di parma and extra virgin olive oil and then the pappardelle pasta that was a wide, flat pasta with braised brisket ragu, parmigiano Reggiano® and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We shared both dishes and it was so tasty. We did some more shopping and headed back to Dana's place.

Saturday night we went to Hampton Social for dinner which was a super cute restaurant. We sat by these huge open windows (totally forgot to tell you the weather was absolutely perfect). I had scallops and smoked cheddar grits (again didn't disappoint--every place we ate was so good. Dana did a good job). After that, we headed to a speak easy and had drinks and listened to an awesome band! Needless to say our Uber driver was very entertained on the way home.

Sunday we brunched (because that's what people do on Sundays) at a place called Sienna Tavern. An omelette and potatoes was what I got. The most interesting meal was Lauren's. She got avocado toast-but it was fancy toast with prosciutto standing up on it! After that we walked around a little and went back to change for our bike ride. We rented Divy bikes and rode along Lakeshore. It was so pretty--such a gorgeous day with gorgeous friends!

This dinner deserves it's on paragraph. Sunday night we went to RPM Italian (Giuliana Rancic's restautant). It was everything I thought it would be and more! We all got salads, an Italian one and a wedge. We shared bread with ricotta and marina too. It was a good starter. I ordered Papparadelle Bolognese that had a shorts rib ragu (the same thing I had at Eataly). It was so good. I was full at this point but I couldn't stop because it was sooooo good! After I ate the whole thing, we had these Italian donuts. And you can only imagine how these were--melt in your mouth deliciousness. They also had Nutella in which you can dip them in.

All in all, it was such a fun weekend! Lots of good food,wine, and conversations. The weather was perfect and the city is so pretty! What made the weekend better was spending it with my best friends :)

E and C

So I have been a SAHM since April and I have to say I am loving it! I thought I would be dying to go back (which don't get me wrong, some days I am!!). But I love staying home with Eddy and Caroline. Since E started school, we have fallen into a good schedule. I grocery shop most days with just Caroline because when I take E, I end up spending a ton of money (although I have tried to change up where we shop--but that's another story). Some days I take both (eek!!) and of course we have to stop for a cookie. Sometimes it's chocolate chip and the other times its sprinkles.

Cheese!!!!

That face :)

Still my Baby

Even though he's a big boy (according to him), he's still our baby :)

These 2

E and Caroline are besties! Sometimes they love each and the next minute they are rolling on the ground. Lol. She adores him and vice versa. Every once in awhile I catch a sweet moment and it makes my heart melt :)

MyLittle Helper

Caroline likes to help (sometimes makes more of a mess) with some things. She will dust with our swifter duster and put items into the dryer when I am loading it.

It's that time of Year!

So I know it's early, but we made our first batch of pumpkin bread.This recipe comes from a cookbook that I got from Sharyn Davidson. I worked for this wonderful woman and hew sweet family when I was in school at FSU. She is an amazing cook!!

 E requested it (because I refuse to buy him those mini-muffins because him and Caroline eat so many of them and it wasn't cost effective lol). He panicked mid way through and said "wait--is this like Grandma's bread??" I laughed. Nothing tastes as good as Grandma Barb's pumpkin bread. E wanted to help and decided we should add some chocolate chips. We added some chocolate chips to a few loaves and it got rave reviews!