weekending + meal planning monday

happy monday!
Is it just me, or if I can just make it through Monday & getting back in my routine, the rest of the week just falls into place.  I'm so glad I finished strong today!

First things first.
If you could sum me up as a mom in one incident, it would be the fact that I was doing so many things at one time this weekend-I almost poured Gatorade on top of Cam's cereal🤪

I've been in somewhat of a blogging hiatus since spring break...

life happened & the thought of blogging on top of my other responsibilities overwhelmed me & those are the times where it is put on the back burner:)

But now I'm back to tell y'all what's been going on in the Adams bode these last couple of weeks...

i know you all have been patiently waiting on the edge of your seats for my return

#notreally

----

SO the weekend.

Lot's of playgrounds + food.

I also spent the majority of it in the trenches of trying to figure out how to gradually get the boys out of our bed SO I CAN FINALLY SLEEP AGAIN after five years (don'

t feel sorry for me-totally my fault) & to research how to potty training tips for a stubborn two year old.

I'm all ears.

We had a free friend pass to Dollywood that had to be used before June for Cade, so since he's working Saturdays right now, we decided to leave after Sunday school & head to the land of Dolly!  The boys were so excited Conley even made up a song about it...
"Dollywood, you are so beautiful!"

 It was such a great time, but Cade DID actually make Cam an emotional wreck most of the time by convincing him that if he rode a thrill ride/rollercoaster, he could get "an x wing star wars Lego type thing" that he seen in claw machine.
Way to go, dad.
We stood in line for at least two rollercoasters in which we waited in line up until it was time to board & he then bailed.  If anyone in the park passed us Sunday more than once, I'm sure they wondered why our little boy was crying + petrified every time we went by them.  We're talking he cried ALL day.

Somehow, he finally decided to ride the Barnstormer.  Which... not sure if any of you are familiar with it... but naturally, it's basically the scariest ride in Dollywood.  And big brother rode it like a man.  Screaming "WERE GONNA DIEEEEEE" at the top of his lungs the entire time.

 If I could only bottle up this smile & keep it forever.

Now on to meal planning Monday!

*if your new we are only home Wed-Sun= the shorter meal plan!

THIS WEEK...
This is a L7 weenie week... but I still thought I'd share!

Monday:  X

Tuesday:  X

Wednesday: Lately it's always Bojangles b/c I miss their tea + chicken sandwiches & we are traveling that evening!

Thursday:  Baked Spaghetti

Friday:  Homemade pizza night

Saturday: Leftovers (b/c MAN our refrigerator get's toooooo full after three straight nights of cooking!)

Sunday: Eat Out!

I wanted to kind of explain my method of madness with my recipe board & box.

It's very simple & help's me plan & stay organize for the upcoming week

+ I love having a recipe box in the kitchen.  It's one of my favorite things to admire & add to when we find something we love:)

 If the recipe makes the cut with my picky boys... I place the name of it on the front of my recipe card & then squeeze (AND I MEAN SQUEEZE) all the how to's on the back of the card.  I always come to my box-unless of course, as in this week's case, I have a new recipe book or magazine I'd like to try...& then I pick out all the meals for the upcoming week.  All I have to do is flip the card over for the ingredients, make my list, then hang the cards up on the board in the order I'd like to cook them.

I try at least one new recipe every week...

I can't help myself-so much food, so little time lol

This week we tried this crock pot orange chicken with cream cheese wontons, rice, & sesame noodles.  It was a hit with the hubs--- not the boys.

Prob not gonna be a regular dish at the Adams Abode.

Orange Crock Pot Chicken, recipe here.

It keeps me straight with a visual plan of what's to come & nobody has to ask what's for dinner:). How do you meal plan for the week?  Or, how do you miraculously wing it-my mom does that, & I am always ever so impressed.

 Have a great week, sweet friends.

H54F + friday favorites || Springtime Fun

after an entire week off of work, i have determined that there aren't enough hours in the day to do all one needs to do!

e v e n with time off, everyday has been a mad rush to attempt to conquer my never ending to do's.  
in all my hustle, from the piles of never ending laundry, the messes in the kitchen, things to be organized, & applications to be filled out, i found this reminder:

"and the world passeth away , and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of GOd abideth for ever."
1 John 2:17

a little nugget of wisdom + sweet verse for us all to live by!

per cam's request, our little entryway is all ready for spring now!
& so is my belly for some chick-fil-a...

one. first trip to dollywood 

2018

my sweet nana & papa always get cam + i, season passes to dollywood.  
before i was even married with kids... they did it then, too.  

we headed out for the first trip of the season yesterday, & friends...

i haven't laughed so hard in a long, long time.

conley scout (he's the tiny one).

he wouldn't think of riding the ducks, because i couldn't ride with him.

but buddy, he hopped on the scrambler in a hot minute.

let me just set the stage.  
we've been watching andy griffith where 
the closest things to profanity are "shazaam" & golly." 
 well, i'm pretty sure conley attempted to express his emotions of the scrambler with that wordage, but that little guy... 

just as the ride started, as we started swarping through the air,
 in all his seriousness, quietly said, "go-lly damn."

Cam chimed in-in super sonic loudness to make sure all the guests at the tram stop could hear, (annnnnd as if i hadn't heard)
"MOM!  Conley said GO-LLY DAMN!"

i  lost it.  but it quickly became con's favorite ride of the day.

we rode twice.

😂😳

they know conley will feed them or die trying.

he requested to ride by himself "like a big boy" most of the day...

😯 (best attempt at puppy dog eyes)

then after getting an ice cream, & routinely dropping it in the floor.

he said, "i hate that."

we wiped it off for him & he went on to hopping off of ledges & causing pedestrians in the street (i say this jokingly) to veer from preferred dollywood traffic patterns.

a few minutes later after the ice cream had practically melted in my hands, 

he said, "it fell, i better get another one."

sure con, that ice cream has way more germs on it than that train post you licked thirty minutes ago or the toilet seat you petted earlier this morning.🤨

two. a post about toast

is this a dork mom post or what?  

cade + I just stare at it sometimes in admiration.🤷🏻‍♀️  

if you're thinking about buying a reasonably priced, large toaster.  pick me!

it makes a mean peanut butter & banana toast.

also, please stay...
i can't promise i won't always give you photo dumps & stories about my kids, 
but i promise i don't always post about lame things like toasters.😬

source

three.  superhero live here

twenty four hours.

iron man + batman on the job.

but these guys take lunch + supper breaks. 
 they ain't skipping that to rid the world of bad guys.  
and their mom may or may not make them still have naptime.

conley slept with his costume in his arms & cam wore his to the playground.

iron man would have worn his to the playground as well, had he ate his supper.

he had to stay behind.

as cam marched proudly to the playground in full costume, in his best batman voice:

"Mom, what if those people think i'm really batman??  then they'll run up and want to hug me like in those disney commercials.
(disney cruise commercials? anyone?)

over & over, i tell myself: these are the days.

never forget these moments.💙

four. 50 ways to take a break

it being spring break, i thought this was appropriate...

source

five. spring time closet

source

anybody else in a bit of confusion in how to dress for this springy weather?  
it's hot. then cold. then chilly. then hot.  then cold!

this gave me a little pinspiration of how to layer & stay warm/cool but still not look like it's the dead of winter.

happy friday, friends!

linking up today with the girls of friday favorites and H54F!

What's Up Wednesday

I figured I would try something new this week!

I've never really reached out much & networked with other bloggers in the world of blogging & with all that I'm involved in & the time it takes to invest in a post - I figured if I'm going to make time to do this...I might as well make the most of it.  Right?

 

Since some of you may be new...here's a little about me.

For those of you who have followed along for a while-you can skip!

 

I'm a brand new "30 year old," mama of two boys (Cam, 5 + Conley,2), & married to my high school sweetheart of 8 years.  I started this blog as a way to document my first pregnancy (YES, FIVE/SIX YEARS AGO!!) along with my journey through graduate school.  I'm so glad I did!  There are so many sweet memories + milestones of those years here that I wouldn't trade for anything. 

 

Along with the memories + milestones,  I love to mix it up a bit & use it as a creative outlet to share anything I'm passionate about!  This can range from Jesus chats + praise, to my favorite styles + home décor+ holiday fun, recipes (or in my case, more like kitchen experimentation!)  I hope to include more pediatric speech therapy ideas very soon. 

As that's my "day job!" 😋

 

Thank you for visiting + I hope we can connect through these link-ups & get to know each other better.

PRACTICE RUN!
***And I've already messed up...it's a once a month link up done at the end of the month!  BUT I'm going to share anyway!  And do it all over again in TWO weeks😜

 

What we're eating this week...

 If you missed it...I linked up with a Meal Plan group, & got tons of inspiration for planning our dinners:)  Here's the link!  We just grilled out for the first time yesterday & it was so nice!!

What I'm reminiscing about...

We just took Cam to his Kindergarten registration yesterday evening, so naturally, I've been reminiscing about the past five years & wondering WHERE they've gone & how we got here so fast...

What I'm loving...

 Spring break & the lazy days I'm getting to spend with my boys!

What we've been up to...

 Making lego creations, making our playground rounds, & decorating/getting house ready for spring!🌷

 

What I'm dreading...

 Going back to work after spring break!  Even though I love my job, it's nice to not have to hustle & be on the go all the time!

What I'm working on...

planning a garden, rereading my speechie textbooks (YAY---not), & organizing my speech bins.  Also, spring cleaning-but the boys aren't really about letting me do that so far!

 

What I'm excited about...

 my garden (I will prob drive you as crazy as I drive Cade talking about it! ha!)😬 #sorrynotsorry

What I'm watching/reading...

I'm so thankful The Office is on Netflix...it has been the go to "adult time" show for Cade & I since Thanksgiving...but we just haven't had much time to watch lately. 

It's perfect when you need a good laugh!  Dwight is my spirit animal.😂

Totally unrelated, but I really wanted a Michael Scott quote for spring for my letterboard, but apparently there are none! 

 I'm reading through my bible, one chapter at a time, or a little more if I can, in the mornings before (most of the time) the boys wake up.  I'm in 1 Kings!

 What I'm listening to...

I LOVE "Young Man" by Justin Timberlake!  On REPEAT.

 

What I'm wearing...

Lord, you don't want me telling you what to wear!  Ha;)
I love the whole atheleisure look when I'm not working. 

 I love to blog about clothes & accessories, too- I just do NOT take myself seriously about it.  So I hope you don't take me seriously, either!  All in fun.

No fashion blogger here.  Just fun for the creative outlet!

 

 What I'm doing this weekend...

Maybe the zoo with friends, maybe a monster truck jam, or maybe nothing!

We shall see! 

What I'm looking forward to next month...

Does wearing sandals again count?:)

I guess warmer weather & the start of summer.  It's a little bittersweet for me!