Friday Favorites

My goodness, how is it Friday already? This week, I'm linking up with Andrea, Erika and Narci for their weekly Friday Favorites. Reading the Friday favorites posts is one of my favorite things to do
:-) Happy Friday!

{ONE}
It rained here on Tuesday and I couldn't wait to get my Hunters on. I received this red pair for Christmas and haven't had a chance to wear them because it hasn't rained since then. Red Hunter boots are my favorite rain gear. And I'm horrible with the full-body selfies.  Tips?

{TWO}
Original New York Seltzer. I saw these at Sprouts the other day and it brought me back to my girlhood.  I loved these, and this is the only "soda" that I was allowed to drink. Of course, I had to buy it. Still as good as I remembered.

This guy thought it was good too.

{THREE}
This new tea place just opened up in my town. I have never heard of them before, but apparently they have a few locations in the Oklahoma City area. I tried their Green Con Panna, which is a sweet and creamy green tea drink.  It was so good!

{FOUR}
Homemade pizza was what's for dinner last night.  My boys love it because we can make it the way they like it and I love it because it's certainly healthier than Pizza Hut. I cheat with the dough and pick mine up at Trader Joes. Is that still considered homemade?

Also from Trader Joes is this dried coconut. It's probably not healthy because its coated in sugar, but I love it.

{FIVE}
This was my favorite part of the week. Yesterday, the boys got to play outside a little before dinner time because they got their homework done a little early. Which basically means that they weren't wasting time bickering and arguing. I love to see them play well together.

It's Almost Friday!

I haven't taken enough pictures these past few months because, well, I see the kids early in the morning before school and late afternoon after school so there aren't many occasions to be taking pictures.

In the morning, I'm running around getting them ready to be out the door by 7:30 and the two older boys don't get home until 4 in the afternoon - I pick Mark up from school at about 1:30.  We spend an hour or two on homework depending on how much push back I get and then it's time for dinner, showers and bed.  If we throw in practices, then it gets all sorts of crazy.

This is the craziness that is after school.  Snacking, doing homework, bickering, hitting and me telling them to stop every 2 minutes.

Matthew had Colonial Day at school last Friday and he actually wanted to dress up.  Look how cute these kiddos are.

He also got new glasses! And he wears them. We are hoping to pick up Michael's new glasses this weekend.

This little guy has spent a lot of time in the nurses office at school this week.  At 4 years old, he has found the key to getting sent home from school. Just say your tummy hurts. I'm on to you, kid.

 And my little Makena.  Already sporting her leopard pants!

What's Up Wednesday - 2/24/16

I'm linking up to What's Up Wednesday hosted by Shay, Mel, and Sheaffer this month!  It's gonna be fun.

What we’re eating this week

We’ve had simple meals this week because it’s been busy.  Fajitas on Sunday night, fried rice on Monday night, tacos on Tuesday night, and tonight, we will probably order in something because Michael has soccer practice until 9pm.

What I’m reminiscing about

Yesterday morning, I spent almost an hour going through pictures and cleaning up my iCloud. I came across pictures of last summer when we visited my parents in California. This was the trip that we learned that my baby sister was having baby. We had such a fun time. 

This is my preggo sissy. She was about 8 weeks here.

The boys love going to Gilroy Gardens with their Grans when we visit.

 My older boys with Cousin Ben-Ben and Kow-Foo (uncle).

What I’m loving

The rain! I know some people love the mild winter we are having but I’m really not digging it.  I love my winters to be cold so the rain we got yesterday is a great little reminder that we are still in the middle of winter.  Please let there be snow this year!

I loved waking up to rain Tuesday morning.

What I’ve been up to

Just everyday life stuff – driving everybody to school, activities, practices. Helping kiddos with homework, running errands, and doing chores.  I know, I live a very exciting life.

What I’m dreading

M will be traveling lots for work in the coming months so I’m kinda dreading not having him home much.  He took a break from traveling for a couple of months and was so very nice. Now that he’s traveling again, it’s gonna be a little busier for me.

What I’m working on

I’ve been busy planning an overnight event at the Ft. Worth Zoo for SAGT – a parent booster club for gifted education. It’s not until April, but there’s lots of coordinating that needs to be done!

What I’m excited about

I’m super excited about Matthew’s Odyssey of the Mind competition coming up Saturday. He and his teammates have been working so hard for this competition for the past 5 months.  We are talking 3 practices a weeks for 2-3 hours a day.  It’s basically an engineering competition – they are required to build a vehicle that can move and pick up things and then write a skit to go along with it.  I’m excited to see how they will place.  If they do well, they will advance to State and then to World.

What I’m watching/reading

I’m watching The Bachelor, Survivor and the Amazing Race. I'm a reality TV junkie, if you couldn't tell.

I just finished reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.  Loved it! 

My next book is The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson.  One of the girls from my book club picked it out and I have no idea what it's about so I'm excited to delve into this one. 

What I’m wearing

Yes, it's been warm enough this winter for me to wear this.  I know this is where I link to where you can buy what I have on, but unfortunately, I get my most of my clothes from Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx so it's a challenge.  I will link as much as I can.

Shirt - Lush (Nordstrom Rack) Jeans-Vigoss (Nordstrom Rack)  Shoes - Tory Burch (similar)

Sweater - Old (TJ Maxx) Tank - Target (similar) Jeans - Old (similar) Shoes - Tory Burch (similar) Necklace - Kendra Scott

Sweater - Old (Nordstrom Rack) Leggings - Matty M (Costco) Shoes - Old (Nordstrom Rack) Necklace - Kendra Scott

Shirt - Abound (Nordstrom Rack, similar) Jeans - Old (similar) Scarf - Old (Nordstrom rack) 
Booties - Old (similar)

What I’m doing this weekend

I’m going to watch Matthew compete for Odyssey of the Mind.  Then M and I will have to divide and conquer.  I will be taking Mark to a birthday party and M will be taking Michael to his soccer game.  We don’t have anything on Sunday planned so we will probably just hang out at home.

What I’m looking forward to next month

It’s this boy’s birthday in March so I am excited to celebrate him.  I cannot believe that he will be an officially teenager.

I’m also excited to be going to meet my little niece in California during Spring Break.

What else is new

My little niece Makena Lee Mann is very new!  She was born 2 weeks ago and she is precious.  I have 3 boys, my brother has 1 boy and we finally got our little girl! Can’t wait to spoil this sweet girl.

New Baby!

On February 17th, my littlest niece joined our family. Me and the boys are so excited to meet her.  We will have to wait until our trip to California during Spring Break to meet her in person, but we love her so much already.

She's so precious! Welcome to our family little Makena Lee Mann.

My mama's first granddaughter. She has 4 grandsons, so it was about time for our little girl.

Love her sweet bow.

Valentine's Day Party and Other Things

Mark had his first Valentine's Day party at school and it was so sweet. I loved seeing all the littles in their red and pinks.

He handed out a these gift bags to his classmates. There were a lot of PAW Patrol themed goodies this year...

Mark and his classmates made little lady bug plates. He was so proud.

This is Mrs. Miller. Mark loves her and she is so sweet to him and his classmates.  We got her a little gift card to show our appreciation.

Class picture!  It is really hard to get them to look with 10 different cameras going...

It was so nice outside after school that we played outside for a little bit.

He loves to kick the soccer ball around.

My card and flowers from my Valentine. We don't usually gift each other, but he always gets me flowers and cards for Love Day.

Valentine's Day weekend was extremely warm this year so Mark had his breakfast outside while enjoying his video.

Last Friday, Matthew had Colonial Day at his school.  I volunteered to help with the tin punch station.  There was a lot of pounding, but I got to see my baby. He dressed up for the occasion with a white button down and trousers. Trousers, people!

Working on punching his tin.

This had been our winter.

So, what do you do when your winter feels like Spring? You play outside. I took them to the park and they played soccer and ran around on the playground.

This was a great moment when they were all playing together and happy instead of bickering. Then five minutes later, Michael kicked the soccer ball hard at Matthew and hit him in the gut on purpose. So home we went.

Next weekend is going to be a super busy week - soccer games, Odyssey of the Mind competitions, and a birthday party.  Here we go again!