Six on Saturday

I hope this Saturday evening finds you cozy somewhere curled up on a couch reflecting on sweet things from the weekend.  That's what this girl is doing:)  

April has been one stormy, dreary, rainy month around here...  

It's a little hard for that not to let it drag you down in spirits every now + then.  

But after the rain, there always seems to be that beautiful sunny day. 

This reminds me of my Cam.

As we go to sleep each night, he never forgets to ask...

"Mom, will you stay til' it's sunny?" 

Even in the rain, in the dark, we know the sun is coming.  

Those we love, + whom love us, never leave. 

No matter the weather, no matter the time, no matter the conditions.  

We stay + commit til' it's sunny 😘

+ yes, our lawn care did not show up Friday...<so embarrasing>
#weedsfordays 

one.  easter

We had a wonderful easter weekend + just like every other holiday, it's over in the blink of an eye.  We spent most the hot days before on the playground, but we did attempt to watch Peter Cottontail + try to go to a storybook reading at Barnes & Noble (which we missed).  Instead we read books about sharks + played with the train table for, oh, approximately four hours😛

We got up e a r l y Sunday morning & Cam immediately ask that we go check to see if the Easter Bunny had came for a visit.  We opened the bedroom doors + he spotted two baskets sitting on the bench.  Even at 5 am he was bubbling with excitement:)

E s p e c i a l l y when he seen that remote control alligator.

And even Conley was impressed when he spotted his Elmo + shark peeking through the paper shreds of his basket.  Ok.  Maybe it was just the Arrow Root Cookies...
They admired + gathered their little easter treasures + we packed them into the car in their pjs!  

We slipped into our church clothes + made it to Sunday school to learn the true meaning of easter.  We had a wonderful service + then went to the top of a mountain for a picnic + egg hunt.  The genius that I am, I decided to wear shorts + a t-shirt, which lead me to freeze. to. death.  The boys didn't seem to care:)  As long as they are running + playing outdoors, they wouldn't care if it was a blizzard outside!  

we sure missed daddy.

two.  back to work

We are on a downward swing to summer.  And why does that mean for school employees?  

All the post it "to do" notes!

three.  summer loving

Remember when I was whining about people jumping into Spring when the first days of Winter had barely been welcomed in?  Well, here I am jumping into Summer!  I've definitely got my eyes peeled for cheap summery pieces to liven up the house...

First up?  The coffee bar:)  Target dollar bin is on POINT.

#gimmeallthepineapples

four.  new house projects

there is something about the warm weather...well, no.  I guess just the fact that I have air in my lungs that gets me in the mood for home projects.  Pinterest + my instagram feed are feeding my home decor itch.  I think the first up on the DIY list is this framed ship lap board.  I want to do this as the background for a type of eclectic gallery wall display type thingy on the huge blank wall in the living room.

The tutorial I found looks like it would be inexpensive + fairly simple.  

(As they a l w a y s do...laughing...)

Prob should wait on he hubs for this one.

Find tutorial here.

five.  new hair

These days I am lucky to get to the salon once every 4-5 months.  My poor scarecrow hair was past the point of going.  Thankful for a little refresher.

Of course, it was pouring cats + dogs when I left, so as you can imagine,
 that lasted all of 3 minutes.  Bye pretty hair...
Also.  Sidenote:

Anybody else sit in disbelief at beauty shop chatter? 😂
People watching at it's finest.

six.  bible study

Thursday night we dove into our new study! 

 We ended up choosing "A woman that never quits."  The topic didn't speak to me as something I felt I could relate to initially, but after our little get together, I found that in every aspect of my life, it will + does have potential to help me grow in Christ just as I had hoped.  

I literally still have chills thinking about how God has fit each girl in our group together like a puzzle.   The more we talked, the more God revealed to me why we were all in the same place.  Though we are still practically strangers, I believe we all have similar backgrounds + experiences + God plans to help us help one another.  So excited to see what happens through this sweet group of girls he has blessed me in being a part of...

Wow!

H54F || Good Friday

Cam decided to ride to my barre class with me this morning & on the way, it was the perfect opportunity to talk about what "Good Friday" really is.  A little hard to describe to a four year old, but he was very interested in our conversation.  

We talked about how today was "the day" many years ago, that Jesus chose to drag a big cross up a mountain.  People didn't like him b/c they didn't like that they called himself God's son.  So they whipped him, spit on him, & were so mean to him.  Put a circle of thorns on his head to make a mean crown.  They hurt him & then nailed his hands and feet to the cross.  And he did ALL of that because he loved us & wanted us to be able to go to heaven with him.

Man.  

That conversation was powerful (probably more for me than it was Cam).  I pray that these little conversations add up over time & lead to his own salvation one day.  May we each remember in the midst of easter bunnies & eggs, it is all about Jesus & his gift of life + forgiveness.  The best gift we could ever receive.

one.  new recipes

Still over here figuring out the best "Cassidy healthy way to eat."  I truly believe you have to listen to yourself (even STUDY yourself) to establish a way of life.  My worst enemy is getting off schedule🙈  Experimenting in the kitchen + finding the healthiest, happiest alternatives that suit me are all on my constant agenda.  I almost want to go back to school to be a nutritionist (& finish my interior design degree-HA).  But this girl is officially a permanent school alumni!  Too old for all that jazz.

two.  monster truck

R u n!  

Don't walk, to watch this (ES pecially if you're a boy mom.)

  SUCH a cute, clean, family movie!

three.  easter bucket list

Confession...  

Not going so well.  We did meet cousins to play with real bunnies yesterday evening.  

Does that count?

Cam doesn't want to watch The Easter Beagle-He wants to watch sharks.  

Saturday night.  We ARE watching it!  😁

We ARE a l s o going to an Easter book reading at Barnes & Noble Saturday morning.  

And sometime I hope to convince them to die eggs. 

MOST importantly,

I hope Sunday will be full of the true meaning of Easter along with spending time with family.   

four.   Essie's ballet slippers

 I think this is the perfect color for spring! 😍  This has been the best way to defer my cravings for a fresh manicure + pedicure.  I NEVER get these.  But for some reason, (maybe it's because my boots are being replaced with my flip flops?) lately, I feel like it would be kind of nice...so I did it myself!

five.  PickPocketing

So.  Conley Scout has a thing for my wallet.  He always pickpockets me at any chance he gets.  Tuesday night, I noticed he was attempting to slide my cards into the child proofed cabinent under the coffee bar.  I grabbed it from him *thinking* I had rescued all my cards.

Nope.

I didn't notice that my main squeeze...our debit card...was the only card that made it into the childproofed cabinet.  UNTIL.  I was checking out at Sam's the next day.

Grocery day.

The cashier gave me my total + as soon as I realized it was missing, I had a mini freakout sesh!  Searching frantically, I remembered where it had to be.

Luckily, I found enough cash to cover everything but our stash of cheese cubes + sprite.

On my way out, the most precious man came up behind me...

"Mam, Do your children need that cheese & Sprite?  I'd be glad to cover it."

HEART MELTING.

I shared with him our little mishap + & thanked him from the bottom of my heart.  I couldn't help but giggle through the embarrassment to myself while Cam + Conley snickered evily from the cart.

Aye.

I HAD to take this picture.  This sums up outings with them.  Cam ALWAYS has to use every public restroom he comes across, stripping down + touching every dirty thing in sight, for *at minimum* 30 minutes...all while Conley is crying to get out of any type of restraint so he can run free 😜 #thankGodforfamilyrestrooms

Happy Friday!

Teaming up with the girls of High Five for Friday:)

tuesday favorites

Last week was a bit challenging.  I'm not going to sugar coat it.  We have been so off our schedule since March + it's no easy task getting things back to normal.  I've had no motivation to blog lately.  I've had so much planned + failed to post so many fun things.  I almost feel like giving up on it, but I know I would regret it one day... I s u r e wouldn't take the time to write it down in a book as faithful as I post.  After a fresh cup of coffee, the warm glow from a little pink candle, + nap time = I'm feeling a little inspired to get back at it...

hear that?  it's nap time;) #regroup

one.  first ladies night bible study

Many (of the group of 12) were at home sick with the flu or held up late at work/appointments, but the five of us had a great first meet & greet night.  So much fun...loved the girl time + finding out how small of a world it really is<3.  I know it's early on, but it's so cool to think about each person God plants in our lives.  Not to mention- the reason he may have behind it all!

 ((P.S. the boys decided 4 am was the perfect time to wake up Thursday morning.  And then, they basically napped for like two seconds, + carried on with the day.  Therefore, getting ready for company Thursday night was =😱.  They were table sharks, ogling the food like they hadn't ate in 5 months.))

two.  easter basket fun + easter matchy matchies

||  Broken record here || b u t I love any + every excuse to celebrate a holiday.  Easter baskets are so fun.  I can remember waking up before our "Sonrise Services" on early Sunday mornings to find our little easter baskets stuffed to the brim sitting on the stairs.  They always were filled with the coolest things (it almost felt like Christmas!)  This year, we are going with a shark theme b/c Cam is super obsessed with sharks & shark is a fond word of Conley Scout's new vocabulary.  It was all fine & dandy until he told me yesterday that he wanted a "remote control alligator."  What the what?

😍

Yes, remote control alligators DO exist apparently...

three. moo moos

The president of the cow fan club finally came face to face with his beloved moo moos.
Does this mean we get to sleep again, Conley?

four.  puppy sitting 

Some friends went to the beach this week + we got to keep their pup.  The boys absolutely loved it.  Conley especially.  His whole face lights up + he screams "dawg!  dawg!"  They loved walking her on her leash + feeding/watering her.  (Where was all this when we had our golden doodle, Ony?)  

five.  SPRING BU-REEAKKK is here

We have a little bucket list to visit lot's of parks, watching The Easter Beagle while making easter cookies, having an easter egg hunt in our yard/house since we missed a "formal-ish" egg hunt + making easter bunny pancakes (or fruit).  So thankful to have this refreshing spring break happening over here!

Words + Wednesday+A Four Year Old

Generally, Wednesday's in the blog world, are a fun day to just post pictures & go to bed.  

But today.

mmmmm

This WEEK? 

Has no place for a wordless Wednesday.  We are wordy over here this evening.

ALL words!

I am beginning to think that the people who coined the term "terrible twos" just had no clue what they were talking about.  Can we talk about four???  Y'all, I am at a loss for words.

My next question is...

What happened to my sweet, innocent, loving, biggest heart in the world, Cam?  The past two weeks have been 99.9% whining, complaining, & wanting a n y t h i n g but what I do for him.  This is a real + raw moment.  I'm feeling discouraged about my momma abilities.  I feel unloved.  Unappreciated.  And like I am letting my children down.  And in letting them down...I feel like I'm useless.

Let's just start with the day we dropped Daddy off at the airport.  The exact minute the Mr. shut the door, Cam started begging for ice cream.  He wouldn't eat anything h e a l t h y we cooked for him-but homeboy was all about some ice cream.  Mmmm nope.  

Worst.  Momma.  Ever.

Then, we seen a carnival (oh, you know basically 4 pm on a Sunday evening) & then he set in wanting to go there.  Just what I need to do.  Single handedly drag two sleepy kiddos four + under around a carnival.  Not to mention we were trying to make it home for the Sunday evening church service.  Again, who gave ME license to be a mama??

And let's not even talk about the fact that he wants to have the phone or iPad all up in his face 24/7.  In my best Kevin McCallister impression...

AHHHHHhhhhhHAAHHHHHH:/

Fast forward to Monday & Tuesday...  
Mommy, I hate school.  I don't want to go.  I don't like naps.

Tuesday morning=peeling him off of me screaming refusing to get in the car to go to school.  Mommy, no!  Mommy, no!

I tell you, that was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do as a parent so far.  I know, you're thinking-she's got something coming, right?  

<<PRAY FOR THIS GIRL>>

The m i n u t e I picked him up for school that day?  

The whining set in again.

I looked at his teacher (somewhat concerned he may be sick) & she shook her head.

No, he's been fine for me.

😑

I'll end my post by saying brother boy can pitch one about ice cream + refusing naps.

  And when you give in to him, he's not happy & wants something else.

Then, theres little brother.

You better believe he's gonna join in the whining game.

Little brother got g a m e in that area, y'all.
Ain't NOBODY gonna sit baby in a corner.

Meanwhile, Mama's over here having those come to Jesus moments I mentioned a post or two back- trying my b e s t to remain calm + collected, while trying to convince myself I'm not crazy.

Telling him he has to nap + he can't eat ice-cream for supper isn't equal to 1st degree murder...right??

I'm not so sure sometimes.

Enough of wordy Wednesday.

We are over the hump + Spring Break home free🙌

#allthepraisehands