Merry Christmas 2014!

 

From our family to yours, we hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2015!

Once again we went with Shutterfly for our Christmas cards, and I have to say this is my favorite one yet! Make sure to check out their selection---you can still do New Year's cards! :)

Merry Christmas Friends!

Natalie

Let the Good Times Roll!

As I look at the calendar, I cannot believe next week is Christmas. This year has FLOWN by!

This past week has been a busy one for us. On Saturday, we had my husband's Christmas party downtown. It was your usual awkward conversation but afterwards him and I went out for a night on the town!

Below you'll see a photo of us out that night and then yummy breakfast the next morning. Breakfast is my favorite meal, but since having kids we don't get out for breakfast as much as we would like.

Then on Monday, I had a KMB Little Gym Holiday party for the kiddos. The boys had fun as usual and weren't game on getting their photos take at the Christmas photo station.

My favorite part of the week was seeing Nolan's Christmas play! The boy seriously belted out his lines, and I can't describe the emotions you feel as you watch your child perform. Pride, anxiety, joy, fear, and all that rolled into one!

I mean how cute is this wise man?

 

Last night my KMB team and I had our annual Favorite Things Party. Have you been to one? They are so fun! Everyone gives one of their "favorite things" and tells why it's their favorite. My contribution was a book---love this author!

 

 

Big surprise right? Anyhow tonight I have another small Christmas gathering with my friends.

 

Hope you've had a fun week too!



Natalie
 

This House Needs a Mouse {Review}

As most of you know, I'm a HUGE book reader. I hope that both my boys find a love for reading too, so I'm always looking for great books that intrigue and keep their attention for more than 30 seconds.

This House Needs a Mouse written by C. Jeffrey Nunnally is a story of a mouse who's tired of his cage existence who wants more out of his life. He soon meets a family that is looking for a solution to the crumbs in their house and has a perfect new life. However, some unfortunate events turn his new lifestyle into havoc, and he has to find ways to overcome these obstacles.

This book has wonderful illustrations and kept the attention of both my four year old and two year old. They had so much fun following the story of this most adventurous mouse!

This book also is great for those learning to read with its repetition or just older children that love a good story!

This House Needs A Mouse is available now on the book's website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Big Tent Books. It will make the perfect Christmas present for your little ones!

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

Natalie

More Holiday Festivities!

The holiday festivities started early over here and continued over this past week and weekend.

We held a KMB Holiday DIY Mom's Night Out at The Back Porch Mercantile. It was such a beautiful store, and I wanted everything. Not to mention the owner's creative talent!

Then on Saturday, I braved the dreary and drizzly day to take the boys to some fun on the Holiday Square. They weren't much for the outside activities, but they were more interested in the trains and toys in the toy store.

On Sunday, we FINALLY decorated the Christmas tree!

And on Sunday night we went and visited a different park decorated with lights!

How was your weekend?

Natalie

Bring on the Jingle!

This past weekend our household embraced the Christmas spirit! I'm sure since we've started early, we'll get tired of it by the time Christmas actually gets here...but for now we are enjoying the season!

First stop was finding and cutting down the perfect Christmas tree!

After some pizza and a Conley nap, we decided to grab some coffee (for the adults), and a cookie (for the boys) we headed to a park near the zoo that is full of lights.

We then were still feeling in the Christmas spirit and headed downtown to see all the holiday festivities!

What's on your holiday bucket list?

Natalie

The Holiday Hustle and Bustle

The holidays are supposed to be a fun and festive time full of magic and joy!

As much as I LOVE watching the holidays through my children's eyes...I also feel stressed about the mile long to-do list.

I really don't mind shopping for the boys or for my husband...but everyone else seems SO HARD. My mom is pretty easy...but my husband's parents, my brother/sister-in-law, my brother and his wife, my grandmother, and my aunt. And these festivities aren't a one present deal and you're done. Everyone gets you several so you feel inclined to get several for them as well.

I really like to do thoughtful and meaningful gifts...so it's really hard for me to just pick out something on the shelf or a gift card. I sometimes wish I could hold a truce and say hey let's just not exchange gifts and instead just eat and enjoy the company!

I also feel like I should do as many as holiday events as possible. Which in reality I shouldn't feel that way. I need to pick and choose and not make myself feel bad if we don't go to every.single.one on the list. I loved Meghan's post on KMB on how we think the only way we can bring joy to our children is by doing things. When in reality, it's the simple things that create the fun.

Then it's the traveling. I really would just like to stay at my house. I don't mind the drive to the in-laws because they live in town, but each year I dread the long drive to my parents. I long to just have the holidays at my house...and sometimes just with the four of us!

Anyhow, we just received some of our photos from our fall session...this photo captures Conley's personality perfectly!

Happy Tuesday friends and Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have tons of family fun with lots of turkey :)

Natalie

So Long Fall, Hello Cold Weather

So it's snowing today. I'm not ready to let go of fall. I'm not ready for 5pm sunsets. Or the sickness...or bundling the boys up.

I'm just not ready.

I always feel cheated of fall as the summer lingers to long and the winter creeps in too quickly.

The next week is full of colder temperatures. We are already combating our first cold of the season, and I have a massive sinus headache. 

I do however love the holidays, the family, the good cheer, and the buzz the season creates. It is something magical with the festive music and cozy scarves and sweaters.

(Family Fall Photos....more to come)

 

Today on KMB we released our holiday event guide, and everyone is SO EXCITED about the festivities. We have a ton of fun family events throughout the city.

Last week's birthday bash was a huge success, and I was so glad to see all my planning paid off as I watched it all unfold.

I'm also glad not to be planning it anymore. Isn't that how it always goes?

(Celebrating a year of KMB)

It's almost the weekend friends, so raise a glass!

Natalie

5 Random Things About Me

It's been awhile since I've been "tagged", but my good friend Alison is taking is back old school.

The topic is five random things about me:

1) I wear no bracelets. I have seen some really cute ones lately, but I guess with having children I just forgot about them. Maybe I need to change that! I also don't wear a watch.

2) I don't drink juice. I'm not sure if that caused me to almost hurl when I took my glucose test when I was pregnant, but I realized I don't really like sweet drinks in general.

3) I LOVE breakfast food! I don't dine out much for breakfast (and our breakfast here is pretty basic). I love bacon, pancakes, French toast, toast, eggs, hash browns, and sausage!

4) I HATE winter! I don't deal well with the cold. I would really like to just omit that season. Fall is my favorite, and I don't mind if it gets chilly. But below 40...I'm not a happy camper.

5) I like playing chess. Or I should say I used to! It's been awhile, but I bet I can still play!

Pretty random right? I tag everyone!

This week is fun and stressful at the same time as it's the big one year birthday bash for KMB, and I have a HUGE event tomorrow. (Below the beautiful KMB ladies!)

The FUN=my birthday on Friday and going out of town to visit with my best gals...with the relief of knowing my big event planning for the year is over! YAY!

Happy Wednesday friends!
 

Natalie

The Year of Four So Far

Last week and the week before we celebrated Nolan's fourth birthday. It's crazy to think that I've been a mom for over four years. It just goes by soooo fast.

Nolan at four is so far a really fun age. We really struggled a little after 3 1/2 with his need to voice his independence. But recently, we've been able to leave fun places without a tantrum. The dread I used to feel about rounding him up from school or playground has subsided. Could it be....could we be past that stage? Fingers crossed my friends, fingers crossed.

Tidbits of Nolan at four:
-Super sweet boy that loves to give compliments: "You look pretty mommy," "I love that shirt mommy," or "You smell nice." He always surprises me with his vocabulary and the way he uses phrases properly.

-He has great manners! He says please and thank you or that was very nice of you mommy. (Don't get me wrong plenty of demanding moments too!)

-He's a worrier. It's funny how your own words can be used on your or your other child. "Mommy be more careful," or "That could be dangerous," are some phrases that apparently I have used that come back at me in other moments.

-He loves talking about storms, rain, tornados, tropical storms, and all those types of weather related news. We used to have to watch The Weather Channel, but for now we are past that stage.

-He loves his brother. As much as they bother and pester each other, when they are doing separate activities or one goes with the other parent or grandparents they cry for the other to go. It's sweet to see even if it hampers your plans.

-He has such an imagination! He's always coming up with stories and songs. He's really enjoying the spooky Halloween season!

-His favorite shows are Octonauts, Sheriff Callie, Mickey, Handy Manny, and Bob the Builder.

-He's still a huge fan of construction trucks and all things emergency vehicles. His new favorite is his huge crane truck as he loves tying things together.

-He's still not a huge fan of drawing, coloring, or painting. He's good for about 10 minutes, and he's ready to clean up and move on.

-He's still huge! We haven't been to his four year appointment yet but this boy is probably over 45 inches in height and 43 pounds! He seriously looks like a 6 year old.

I'm super excited to see him grow in this next year. I think four will be the best year yet!

Natalie

Happy 4th Train Birthday Party!

Happy Friday friends! While Nolan's official birthday isn't until Monday (I'll share a little more about my four year old then), we celebrated a small train birthday party with our playgroup.

We've had several bigger parties before, but this year decided to take it down a notch. Nolan said it was the best yet! He kept saying how he loved his birthday decorations. He really can be a sweet boy. Maybe we're entering the "favorable fours?"

So today I'll just leave you with a short post with photos! I pretty much kept it simple. I ordered a printable design for the birthday banner (and it really turned out so cute!)

The snack table had popcorn with free printable stickers I found online, a pennant banner and cupcake toppers, and as a party favor everyone received a bandanna and train whistle! (all from Oriental Trading)

This almost four year old had a blast at his train birthday party!

Natalie

Fun Fall Festivities!

Happy Friday my friends!

This week we received the kids school photos from their Mother's Day Out program. I really didn't expect them to be good, but I must say I love them! How are my boys old enough to have school photos???

They actually have another one of Nolan actually smiling. In the above photo is his classic "No I don't want to take a picture!"

Last weekend we attended a birthday party for Ethan at a pumpkin patch. You might recognize Laura from her former blog My Thoughts Uninterrupted. She's not writing anymore because of her new business Pop of Happy. You really should check out her shop as she has great home decor and party items. Ethan's birthday party was SO CUTE! Her theme was a farm theme with apples, popcorns, and old pickup trucks. Unfortunately it was very windy so she couldn't hang all her decorations BOO! 

We had a station to season our own popcorn and add delicious toppings to our apples. She always has the most creative ideas!

The pumpkin patch was huge and so much fun! All the kids loved running around, climbing on hay, picking out pumpkins, and even seeing a pumpkin launched from a cannon and blown up!

Do you make an annual trip to a pumpkin patch? 

Natalie

An Amazing and Inspiring Weekend

This past weekend I traveled to Houston for the City Moms Blog Network Sister Site Conference for Knoxville Moms Blog.

I was a little anxious to meet all these ladies as we had never met in person.

But it was like we were old friends getting together for the weekend. Ashley who inspired me to start KMB who I met through this blog 3 1/2 years ago was someone I was so excited to meet. She was amazing and smart just like I knew she would be. Without her, I would not have KMB as a business or as a fulfilling part of my life.

So many inspirational women with big hearts and wonderful ideas. I felt honored to be surrounded by such empowering women.

We stayed at The Woodlands Resort in Texas which was AMAZING and HUGE! If you have to ride a golf cart to get to the lobby you know you are in a big place.

I left with so many great ideas and a long to-do list...but mostly with a feeling of friendship.

If you sometimes doubt if your online friendships are real, I assure you there are some true ones.

I'm almost ONE YEAR into KMB. That's just crazy talk! I know it causes me to post less here, but it's such a great outlet for me. I love connecting the moms in our community.

Have you ever met someone in person that you only new previously from online? 

Natalie

Fall Weather is Here!

I absolutely LOVE everything fall. I'm pretty sure I've talked about it a MILLION times on the blog.

This week the weather has been the perfect fall weather. We get a little cheated most of the time and fall is only here for a few weeks---we go from hot summer to winter. I want my full season of fall!

From crisp fall air, to pumpkin spice everything, and cozy sweaters. The lack of humidity is such a breath of fresh air.

We've enjoyed "workshop" time with play dough, rides in the gator, and date nights!

Doesn't Nolan look so cute in his Home Depot apron? They are obsessed with play dough, and so I am allowing it outside so I don't have little crumbles all over my house. Nolan is also obsessed with his own gator and has finally figured out to really drive and even reverse. That child does everything on his own timeline!

Both the boys have been so funny lately with their sayings. Conley has started saying, "What in the tarnation?" which is from Sheriff Callie. We finally bit the bullet and purchased a new computer and Nolan said, "I really like your new computer mom. It's really cool and fun." I wish I could remember all the funny things they've been saying!

Have you been enjoying this great weather?

Natalie

A Few Books and a Trip to Houston!

When I was at the beach last week, I did some heavy book reading and finished two books!

I really like the author Diane Loriarity and have read three of her books---The Husband's Secret, Three Wishes, and What Alice Forgot.

In What Alice Forgot, Alice fell and lost 10 years of memories. She thought she was 29 newly married instead of 39 with three children and in the middle of a nasty divorce.

Since she couldn't remember the past 10 years, she had no recollection of her bad feelings for her husband or why they were separated. As you read on, Alice gets glimpses of herself bring bitter and thinking poor thoughts of her husband.

It got me thinking---is that how the road of divorce starts? All happy in love and somewhere down the road we become bitter and can't stand the one we are with? It really was an interesting and eye opening book, and I highly recommend it!

Marriage is not easy and takes a lot of work and compromise. It's a tough journey, and it's hard not to get lost in the day to day routines. On KMB this week, Christie shared about celebrating 10 years of marriage and some tips on what's worked for them. It's a good read!

This weekend I'm heading to Houston for the Sister Site Conference. I AM SO EXCITED! I finally get to meet other site owners that I've known for a year and a few longer than that.

It's the first time I've traveled on a plane and out of town from the kids by myself!

When was the last time you traveled out of town by yourself?

Natalie

Livin' the Beach Life

We usually take our vacations in the off seasons and usually in September. However we did take a beach vacation in May so I thought we were done for the year. We then decided last minute to another beach vacay, and I'm so glad we did!

We went to Hilton Head, SC and stayed in the Palmetto Dunes area. We ended up having good weather besides the first day which was awesome because sometimes you never know about September!

This was Nolan's second time to HH, Conley's first, and my fourth. Nolan really has become such a beach bum!

As always vacations with kids aren't the same as pre-kids, but we did have a great time minus a few tantrums here and there.

We really love the food in HH, and I cannot say enough about how awesome The Lucky Rooster was! The food and service was unbelieveable...I had the best shrimp and grits EVER!

When we sat down, the group sitting behind us (all middle aged adults) just rolled their eyes because we had two young kids.

Doesn't that make you want to just punch someone in the throat? I know it does for me. Seriously why can't people give a little grace to others? Anyhow, my boys were angels, so they really had no reasons to be jerks. The staff were wonderful and went at the perfect pace for a couple with kids.

We are back home now and happy to be back in our own beads but miss our toes in the sand!

Natalie

Back to School Time!

This Tuesday both boys started Mother's Day Out.

This is a totally different experience from when Nolan started back in 2012, there were no tears or heartstrings being pulled.

When I took Nolan to start his first day of MDO, the only people who had cared for him were myself, my husband, and my in-laws. It was a big shock to his system to go, and it took us a whole month to get him excited about going.

Conley on the other hand has been in childcare (for just one hour) at the barre classes I attend and at the YMCA. Those times were hard for him at first, but he did get used to it. And it made all the difference him going to MDO...he didn't cry...he wasn't clinging to my leg. He was happy to go in and play with the "toy" kitchen. He's only going once a week, so we'll see how that goes when he realizes big brother is going...and he stays with mommy!

Look I even got photos with the two of them close to each other...now that is a miracle!

How is back to school going at your house?

Natalie

Fun with the Fleet

Last weekend KMB was the official snack sponsor at the Fun with the Fleet in our local town. This is an event we've attended for the past three years, and the boys always have a blast climbing and "driving" all the trucks. If you have an event like this in your town I strongly suggest to check it out!

I swear my boys don't look like brothers...and seriously how tall is Nolan now...he's like a 5 year old!

And I've been meaning to share this wonderful animal cuddly mat Conley received from the RedEnvelope in their new baby gift items. It's so soft and cuddly! You should really check out their baby items when you are looking for the perfect gift for a friend.

Happy Wednesday friends---almost the weekend, right?

Natalie

Rainy Weekends

Rainy weekends make my household go crazy with cabin fever. I was so glad that we had celebrated Conley's birthday the weekend before since the following weekend weather was horrible.

This week we are looking forward to sunshine! The boys start Mother's Day Out the last week in August, so we are enjoying our last free days. (Or are they just driving me crazy? Ask me about 4pm every day, and I will say yes they are!)

(Trying to survive the rainy cabin fever days!)

And out of such a rainy weekend, we decided to book a last minute beach vacay in September. I can't be more excited because I really didn't think we could fit it in since I am traveling to Houston at the end of September. Toes in the sand here we come! 

So that means I'll be in need of some great book suggestions for you guys!

Also in honor of back to school (if you didn't know as a child I was a lover of all things back to school...trapper keepers, Lisa Frank), I wanted to share Jennifer's post about back to school traditions. I haven't done any of these fun Pinterest ideas, BUT I totally would. No but these are some simple ideas!

How is your household handling the back to school transition or do you still have a few weeks?

Natalie

Tomorrow You Are Two

Two years ago, I went to the hospital to give you a little "nudge" since you were 5 days overdue. 7 hours later we met our precious baby boy, who now is a big two year old.

It's hard to believe the "baby" is now two and how fast life moves.

We celebrated your birthday last Saturday with a Nautical Theme styled by Laura from Pop of Happy. It came out wonderful! If you guys need help planning a party and need some decor, she's your gal!

Now onto the photos!

Happy birthday to my 8/8 boy and his rambunctious nature! We love you more than words can say and can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Natalie

Fun with the Gals

This past weekend I had a fun one night away with some of my friends from high school.

We headed to Chattanooga and stayed at the Chattanoogan. That place was awesome, and I strongly recommend it!

We had a good meal at The Urban Stack and went for drinks at The Flying Squirrel. That place had lounge areas, so it was perfect for sitting back and drinking with the girls.

This week is full of party prep for Conley's 2nd birthday! It's hard to believe he is now TWO!

August is a pretty busy month with KMB events, and then the boys start school (Mother's Day Out). Conley is going just for one day a week, and I think he'll do great.

I'm WAY behind on my blog reading because this week is crazy with birthday party planning and KMB event planning, but I'll try to catch up next week!

What's on your agenda this weekend?

Natalie