WHAT WE'RE EATING THIS WEEK...
S-We are having Frosted Meatloaf -it's meatloaf covered in mashed potatoes!
T-This is another slow cooker week in our house! I made chili this week. It is a super easy recipe and my kids and husband love it.
1. Brown turkey meat (or ground beef) on the stove and put it in the slow cooker.
2. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 jar of salsa, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 medium onion (chopped), 2-3 cans of kidney beans, and 1 packet of chili seasoning.
3. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Enjoy!
WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT...
S-Around here, we have been discussing our time in our home. If you have been following us, you know we are building our dream home a couple of miles from our current home. The kids have been talking about being nervous to move when the time comes. We have lots of wonderful memories in this home. And Will and Elliot have never lived anywhere else...we have shared a lot of firsts here.
And Halloweens past...
My sweet Gavin who has always tolerated Halloween.
Will, who LOVES Halloween. Always has.
T-My husband and I always marvel at how quickly time flies. The Facebook memories pictures that pop up every now and then bring me joy (and a few tears)! Here is the latest one:
This is when they were flower girls in my sister in law's wedding 5 years ago. Where did those little girls go?
WHAT I'M LOVING...
S-If you follow us on Instagram, you might have seen that yesterday I had a great mail day! Actually, it was a good UPS day. Either way, I got 100 Days of Real Food's latest cookbook and a package from J.Crew Factory. I ordered a puffer vest, after seeing so many of you wearing them, I decided to try one! I LOVE IT!! What have I been waiting on to try one?!!? ICYMI...
And if you did miss it, please be sure to follow us on Instagram @momscoffeedate so you don't miss anything else!
Also, I have been loving sneaking into the Halloween candy. I hear those Reese's Cups and Snickers calling my name some evenings after the kids go to bed! Don't worry! I bought replenishments so the trick or treaters aren't missing out!
T-I have been loving Aussie Bites from Costco, A friend told me about them and I can't stop eating them! I also recently found a recipe so that you can make them at home. I plan to try it soon!
Here is the link to the recipe: http://thestayathomechef.com/homemade-aussie-bites/
WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...
S- Honestly, not too much. Just daily life. Nothing particularly exciting. We take daily trips to our lot to see the progress and that has been exciting. We've been kind of boring.
T-We just got back from a 3 day trip to Massanutten Resort. We had a great time! I will do a full blog post soon. Here is a sneak peak:
These are pictures from a hike that we took. The views were AMAZING! I wish that we had had more time to explore the area.
WHAT I'M DREADING...
S-The time change!!! I feel like I struggle to make it through it seems like 2 weeks!! I get so exhausted! And the kids don't love it either. Not to mention it's dark SO early!! Ugh!
T-I am dreading colder temperatures. I love the fall, but I not a fan of the really cold weather that comes with it. I love my husband, but he does not believe in turning on the heat until it is BITTERLY cold. Needless to say we wear a lot of layers in our house these days!
WHAT I'M WORKING ON...
S-Being more organized and trying to prevent the Christmas crazy from settling in and getting a head start for once this year.
Also, I have been wanting to update our site to be more visually appealing. I am researching some themes, but yet to discuss too much with Trina yet! Stay tuned, we hope to be improving it soon!
T-I am also working on organizing. My husband and I have been working on our garage and attic to try and make it easier to find things. This is not an easy task because we have a lot of stuff! I have found that I have enough Christmas decorations to fill at least 2 houses. I need to get rid of some of it, but I have a hard time parting with decorations that we have had for years. I plan to make a donation pile this year as we decorate. Stay tuned...I will let you know how that goes!
WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT...
S-I am excited about lots of things!
First, we are taking a trip to Disney World next month, and I am excited to go AND to get to take Elliot to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!
Second, Thanksgiving! I LOVE Thanksgiving. I think it is my favorite holiday. I love the smell the house takes on roasting the turkey, and all of my loved ones come over, and I get to cook and bake all day, and usually someone else cleans up!!
Third, one of my FAVORITE days of the whole year is Black Friday! But not for the reasons you think. My family has a tradition...every year we get up early, get dressed up and go to the mall. We head straight to see Santa for our family Christmas photo. There is literally NO ONE there. We might have had to wait for 2 families in the years and years we have been doing it. Here is last year's picture!
After we sit on Santa's lap, we all go get some Starbucks and wander the mall until it starts getting more crowded around noon. We all leave and head home, but on the way, we stop at Chick-Fil-A and pick up lunch to bring home. The rest of the afternoon is spent lounging and bugging my poor husband to put up the Christmas tree. I CANNOT WAIT!
T-I am excited that my husband is almost finished helping with volleyball games at the high school where he works. He will be home to help with the "dance taxi". I feel like all that I do is drive up and down the road taking my kids places after school. I know that many of you reading this can sympathize! And I have so much respect for the single parents out there who do it without help. My mom was a single parent and I don't know how she did it!
I am also excited to take my girls trick or treating on Monday. I know that my Halloween time with them is coming to end in a few years. I love how excited they get about dressing up and being silly. This year we are keeping a little of the candy and taking the rest to a local orthodontist who pays kids for their Halloween candy by the pound. My girls are excited to get some spending money, and I am excited that we won't have a ton of candy in the house!
WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING...
S-I am excited to dive into that cookbook I was telling you about. And I am currently on the hunt for a good, light fiction book to read! Any suggestions?
T-I have been watching reruns of Gilmore Girls on Netflix in anticipation for the 4 part return on November 25. I am SO EXCITED! They just release a new trailer today. I can't wait! Check it out here:
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO...
S-I will probably always be boring in this category! I don't get to listen to much music these days!
T-I have been listening to the Nutcracker sound track over and over in my house. My youngest daughter's theater class is putting on a mini production of this classic soon and she has been practicing a lot! I definitely have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head.
WHAT I'M WEARING...
T- I have been wearing a lot of scarves lately. I love boots and scarves this time of year. Infinity scarves are my favorite. I really love this one from Loft:
You can find it here: http://www.loft.com/mixed-plaid-infinity-scarf/412801
S- Lots of Plaid! And Boots and Scarves, Oh My! Loft & Nordstrom Rack and J. Crew Factory!
Note: I could not arrange the pictures in any way I wanted! Sorry!
WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND...
S- Spending some family time! I am looking forward to making s'mores by the fire pit, carving pumpkins and attending our future neighborhood's Fall Festival! We will get to meet some new neighbors! Can't wait!
T-Our neighborhood is also having a Fall Festival this weekend. The kids are excited to wear their costumes more than once. Am I the only one that thinks that Halloween should always be the last Saturday in October? Halloween on a Monday night is no fun as a parent and teacher.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH...
T- I am looking forward to Thanksgiving! It is my absolute favorite holiday. I love eating all of the delicious food and spending time with my family. It is not as hectic as Christmas, so I find that I enjoy it more. This year is the first year that we are staying home for Thanksgiving and I am excited to cook the entire meal myself. It also means that we can start decorating for Christmas earlier since we will be home.
S- I guess I got ahead of myself earlier!
WHAT ELSE IS NEW...
T-We are starting to make our plans for the Christmas/winter season. The hustle and bustle of the season can make it hectic at times, but we do a lot of great things as a family. One of my favorite traditions is going to Arlington National Cemetery and laying wreaths on the graves. We started this a few years ago and it has become a tradition. We recently made our hotel reservations, and we have been planning the other activities that we will do while we are there. I love having fun activities to look forward to during the year. My girls love to make "count downs" in their rooms so that they can count down the days to the big event.
S- I think I have covered it! We are really looking forward to having our niece and nephew home for Thanksgiving!
BONUS QUESTION: What is your favorite Halloween memory/picture/tradition?
S-I made my poor mother look for old Halloween photos. These first three are ones she could put her hands on. Apparently, I was Snoopy when I was little.
I actually kind of remember the thin, plastic mask and weird coveralls. Look! Here I am trick or treating at my own house!
My brother and I are posing with our carved pumpkin circa 1980-something. You know because I am rocking some killer knee socks!
Here I am in my Cinderella costume I remember BEGGING my mom for. It was expensive, as I recall and I wanted it so badly even though she used to make awesome costumes for me every year. I talked her into it and wore it multiple times! And I got to eat doughnuts in it, so....
This is me post doughnut, schmoozing. Check out the super cool mock turtleneck and stretch stirrup pants! Sssssuper Stylin'! What am I doing with my hand? I can't help but think every time I see it...Yo! Word to yo mutha! Sorry-too much 90's rap going on in my brain.
T- Wow, Sara! I can't compete with the photos. I have no idea where my old Halloween pictures are located. My favorite Halloween memory is winning a costume contest when I was younger. (I think I was about 7 or 8 years old.) I dressed up as a corn stalk with a pumpkin head. A picture would truly be worth a thousand words in this case! Let's just say that I had a burlap sack with Indian corn sewed on it that I wore and we sprayed my hair green and painted my face orange. It was definitely one of a kind!
Here is one of my favorite Halloween pictures from the not-so-distant past:
I love that sweet Minnie Mouse and tiger!
Previous What's Up Wednesdays
#100DaysFastandFab
© 2016 Moms' Coffee Date All Rights Reserved
Comments
Post a Comment