Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up with the hurricane news, but Helene has totally missed us as of right now. The rain may hit later, but it’s all to the east of us so far. The last hurricane two weeks ago, Francine, had some major wind gusts, so it’s been nice that this one has missed us.

Let’s get to my FAVORITES for the week!

one

I CANNOT RAVE ABOUT THIS ENOUGH!!! This spray has been amazing! I ended up buying it maybe the third day of school when I saw how covid and the stomach virus were going around already in the beginning of the year. While the kids have been in childcare, it always felt like someone was sick once a month. Now with Harrison in kindergarten and the babies still in childcare, I was willing to try anything to keep us well longer. Now Merritt doesn’t get this spray because she’s too young, but both Banks and Harrison do. Harrison gets the 4 sprays in his mouth each morning like the directions say, but Banks only gets 2. So far Harrison has been the only one who has gotten sick. He got the stomach but and only threw up twice and was back to normal whereas others who have gotten it have been much, much worse. They also make an adult spray!

two

I’ve been slowly reading this Lynn Painter book that came out this summer. If you’re looking for a light read where both the female and male leads are likable, this one is for you! It starts at Sophie’s wedding where Max stands up and objects saying Sophie’s almost husband has been cheating on her. Turns out, Max gets paid to object at weddings. Sophie starts joining him, and even though I haven’t finished the book, I have a feeling I know how it’ll end :). My favorite Lynn Painter book is still Mr. Wrong Number (hilarious!!!), but this one is really cute, too!

Our school mornings are wild over here! Dustin has already left for work and it’s up to me to get everyone out of the house and in the car. I realized this week that I had been terrible about taking pictures (probably because I’m constantly rushed), so I gathered everyone up to take a picture. Lately, Banks has really been into putting on shoes–his or any shoe that’s around! He was preoccupied with that sandal he dropped (trying to put it on), but at least Harrison and Merritt looked at the camera!

I’m off work today to take both Banks and Merritt for their well checks at our new pediatrician. Harrison has his school’s Sock Hop tonight and then tomorrow Dustin and I are headed to the Alabama and Georgia game! Happy Weekend!!

Hey, hey! It’s been almost two months since my last post–completely unintentional, but life has been super busy since returning to school with three small children now. I’ll do a post on that some other time, but for. now, I’m sharing my FAVORITE things today!

one

I read this book a couple of weeks ago and WOW! I loved it! I really love historical fiction as a genre, so I’m always. more apt to pick up a historical fiction novel. I remembered this book being talked about a lot last year, so I grabbed it from the library and read it in maybe 4-5 days (which is record time for the short amount of reading time I get these days!). Then after I finished it, I read the author’s note and didn’t realize the main character was actually a real person! The writing was great, the story was great, and I loved learning about the US shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed.

two

My mom gifted me this baby food maker when Harrison was a newborn. I made him baby food for just a little bit, but he wasn’t the biggest fan of the homemade version for some reason. Banks cried every time I put him down as a baby, so making his food would have caused me a lot of extra stress. I pulled it out one last time with Merritt because I really wanted to make one of my kid’s food and was hoping she would like it. SHE LOVES IT! I started with sweet potatoes, then English peas, and most recently apples. Apples have been her favorite so far! It’s super easy to make the baby food–the most time consuming part is just chopping up your fruit or vegetable. I store the baby food in this container (which you can also freeze and pop out the cubes to thaw).

three

It’s college football season, so that means….

cute Alabama fans!!! Dustin and Harrison have been going to all of the home games, so this last one, I dressed the babies in their Alabama attire before we went and walked around Hobby Lobby looking at the Christmas decor LOL. Banks was loving the Christmas trees!

four

I’m always working to clean up our food choices, and it’s really hard in today’s society when people are criticized or judged for not wanting their kids to eat something like candy while other kids are. I found this alternative to M&Ms for Harrison that doesn’t have artificial food dyes and he really likes them (so do I!!). We’ve also done this alternative for Skittles that’s really good, too!

five

I went in with some coworkers to DoorDash Starbucks to school, and this is how they brought me my drink :). I rarely treat myself to a flavored latte, but when you’re not having a great day, a pick me up is nice. My order is a pumpkin spice latte with half the pumps, no whip, and sub coconut milk for whole milk because it makes it creamier.

six

This is my most FAVORITE thing of all! This past weekend, Dustin went to Wisconsin to watch Alabama play. One night, Merritt was super tired so she was a little teary but it was almost time to put the boys down for bed before she had her bedtime bottle, so I couldn’t rock her to sleep. The boys kept trying to soothe her and ended up both giving her a kiss. I love how much they all love each other. What a gift from the Lord!

I hope y’all have a wonderful weekend!!

Remember, I’ll be replying back to your comments on this post, so check back!

Happy Friday, y’all! Today I’ve got a random list for y’all–things we did as a family, books, a YouTube channel, a blog post–all the things!

one

Last Saturday we went to Birmingham for the day and visited the Mcwane Center. I remember going as a kid on field trips, but Dustin never went so this was an exciting trip for him (I think he may have had as much fun as Harrison did LOL). We did lots of things–laid on a bed of nails, shot bottles into the air, played in a pretend city, acted as meteorologists, tried to pet a sting ray and shark, and lots and lots of other things! Harrison and Banks had a great time and Merritt just enjoyed coming along for the ride 🙂

two

I read The Women in four days! It was SO GOOD! I learned so much about women nurses serving in Vietnam during the war, but what I didn’t realize (and also learned) was what it was like coming home for them after their tour was done. This novel follows Frankie, who signs up to be a nurse in the Army as a 20 year old and is shipped over to Vietnam. My heart ached for her and I did cry at the end of this novel. If you end up reading this, I’d love to chat about this with you!!!

I finished this book and am so encouraged about lengthening my health span. There are certain goals I want to make sure I can do once I get much older (like carrying groceries in the house, bending over and picking up my grandchildren, climbing stairs, getting up from sitting on the ground, etc) so I know training for those activities starts today. I’ve already been working on adding lots of protein to my diet, but I know I also need to work on adding strength training to my routine. And I was also encouraged to stay active throughout the day in any way I can (which right now isn’t hard with having 3 small children).

three

Our splash pad came in the mail and it has been something we’ve been playing with every day! This was a great purchase and I’ve told Dustin that I’m really proud of myself for buying it haha!

four

I will sometime watch YouTube while I’m feeding Merritt if Banks is napping and Harrison is having his quiet rest time. I came across this girl’s channel somehow and it’s been so fun to watch. She lives in the Cotswolds and I’ve loved seeing what life is like in the English countryside.

five

Speaking of English living, a blogger I love, Shay, blogged yesterday about European lifestyles that she wanted to adapt in her every day life. She blogged about afternoon tea, and I’ve started drinking hot tea at night before bed and it’s been the best thing! I didn’t think about it being an English tradition, but it’s been a really nice nightly routine that I look forward to.

six

Yesterday I needed to grab pajamas out of Merritt’s room and asked Harrison to hold her really quick while I ran into her room. It was the cutest sight so I had to take a picture! My oldest and my youngest 🙂