Giving thanks!

This year we were able to visit both sides of our family for Thanksgiving! It felt like we spent most of the day driving, but we had an amazing breakfast at my moms, followed by lunch with T.J.'s side, and dinner at my aunts. We are totally thank-FULL! 

A "recipe" // So easy, Jack makes it!

I love that Jack LOVES to help cook. It something fun to do together that we both enjoy. He has found a new love of pizza, so the other day we decided to make English Muffin pizzas for dinner. It's super easy, barely a wait time, and delicious! 

Here's what you need:

English muffins(cut in half)

Shredded cheese

Pizza sauce

Whatever toppings you desire(we chose pepperoni)

Set the oven to 375 degrees, place the mini pizzas on a cookie sheet,and cook for 10-12 minutes. So easy!!!  

This is definitely a recipe for moms who work late(me!) and need to get dinner on the table! I'm trying ham and pineapple next week!!!

Snippets // Christmas decorating

 

1. A tiny tree and a bowl that needs candies. 

2. Our front door. 

3. Jack with Santa 2012. 

4. My most memorable ornaments from childhood. 

5. Jack's angel. 

6. Jack with Santa 2011. 

We are far from finished, but it feels good to get started. It's definitely time for homemade soups, hot cocoa, lite 98, and lots of cuddles on chilly nights. 

A weekend of celebrations!

This past weekend was full of celebration. My very best friend's twins turned one! They received an amazing haul from everyone. I can't believe it's already been a year!

After Jack and I left there, I rushed him home, changed clothes, and raced to my friend Kristen's birthday dinner. If you are from Richmond I totally recommend The Daily Kitchen. I had the best crab cake I have ever tasted!!!

So much celebrating and plenty more with the holidays right around the corner! Cheers!

Jack Wilson- 3 1/2.

OK everyone. I have survived giving birth, having C-section, breast feeding, bottles, diapers, baby eczema, diaper rash, 101 degree fevers, shots, check ups, planning three birthday parties, the "no" phase, terrible twos, potty training, all nighters, running to CVS at 3 am because I just swear he needs gas drops(come to find out he was screaming because the hole was blocked in the nipple from formula coming out), and everything else that goes with raising a little man, BUT this is the hardest age y'all.

3 1/2.

Yeah, I said it. he's like an a tiny adult with an attitude, but wears SpongeBob underwear and t-shirts with sayings like, "My Dad Rocks". He has found his voice and will ask a million things/say the craziest things. 

Just when I thought the days were getting easier...... He can feed himself, dress himself, help with chores, communicate his needs/wants/fears....

It doesn't get easier folks. Now are the days of "why", "how come", "where do babies come from" "why do boys have pee pees and girls don't?"

I'm telling you, I don't know how to answer some of these questions and everyday I get blindsided by what he's going to ask. Every. Day. 

Keep in mind I do work 40hrs a week, so once I pick him up from daycare, until the time he goes to bed, I get asked a million things. The things he says makes me literally laugh out loud. 

So I made a list, since I am the queen of lists. These are the kind of questions/statements I get asked today.

"Why you lookin at me like that daddy Gilbert?"

*cartoon character falls off a cliff* 

Jack- "oh no, the party's over."

*hands me a spatula*

Jack- "here, let's flip krabby patties."

"mommy i'm boring." (I'm bored)

Jack-"can I have a snack"

Me-"no, not right now."

Jack-"because you never fun."

"why are all the girl toys pink? Some like purple."

"I'm thankful for snowmans today because it's almost cwismas."

"this is ridiculous."

I love him. 

Five things.

It's hard to really sit back and appreciate your life when you are busy all day long. You just go through the motions of life and never stop to realize how something simple, if you slow down and take a minute, can bring your busy day some happiness. 

Work,kids,school,dinner,laundry,cleaning,bills and every other thing we have to do in a day seems so overwhelming. So today I am going to stress less and think about simple things that really make me appreciate my life. 

1. Long drives. Today Jack and I had to run errands. Jack was sooooo talkative and I enjoyed every minute of our conversation. He is still trying to grasp that we eat animals so our entire conversation was about, "Mommy, what other died animals we eat?" "Do we eat girrafs?" It was so wonderful. 

2. Today I am thankful for lattes. That I didn't make. That taste like the holidays. Enough said. I'm addicted. 

3. This smell is amazing. I am really thankful for these that make my house smell wonderful. 

4. I am thankful I have a heathy,smart,beautiful,amazing, loving son who ran into my room just now and said, " You make my heart feel better. " literally my heart just melted. 

5. My husband. Who works so hard for our family. Who has 2 jobs to make sure we live comfortably. Who is my best friend. The one I can tell anything to. The one who keeps me going. The one who still thinks he is 21 and keeps things entertaining at our house. The one who our son adores. Who talks about him all day. The one that makes our family, a family. I am truly blessed. 

----- Today Jack is thankful for "mommy's car. That's all." 

Etsy & DIY decor

Cheers!  I opened my Etsy shop and cannot wait to start this little hobby! I have been crafting for forever, but my favorite thing to give as presents are handmade items. I personally LOVE handmade items as gifts. I feel people who give them put a whole lot of thought and love into making them for someone special.

Right now I have homemade natural sugar scrubs, but I will be adding lip scrubs, and scented candles. Please stop by my shop and check it out. I added it to my left sidebar, but the address is www.etsy.com/shop/thesimplisticlove

                        

 

OK! on to my little DIY craft. Just so you know, I will spray paint ANYTHING in my house! Frames, bottles, mirrors, vases- You name it! It can change the look of something instantly and it's very inexpensive!

 

Here are some of my favs:

 

 

 

                                           

 

The fumes are a little much, so I always go outside to spray my items. I had an old Folgers canister that was empty that I sprayed with the blue spray paint. A couple coats and it was done. Now it's used to old my K cups and looks totally cute on my coffee bar!

 

 

                                 

 

 

 

 

                                  

 

 

Glass vases are my next obsession. It's just so easy and you can totally change a room just by adding a little color

                                     

 

                                      

 

But my absolute FAV is my old mirror that I sprayed with chalkboard paint. I took it outside, taped off the edges, an gave it two or three coats of chalkboard paint. It's now in our kitchen do Jack can draw and color while we make dinner! LOVE it!

                                       

Homemade scented candles

I am obsessed with candles. I would love a Yankee candle for every season, but my wallet will not alow me to pay $30 for a single one. That's a tank of gas y'all!!

Sooo I researched on how to make my own. Since I love crafting I thought it would be a fun little hobby and it turns our it's actually really simple. 

What you will need: 

A double boiler 

Wax cube

A scent you would love your candle to smell like

A wick 

A pack of color blocks(if you want your candle to be colored)

I found everything I needed at Hobby Lobby. 

Step one

Melt your big hunk of wax in the double boiler on high

Step two

While it is melting, add your color blocks (optional)

Step three

When the wax is completely melted and a few drops of your scent. Mmmmm!

Step four

Place your wick in the center of the glass you are going to use as your candle container. You can use anything. I've used coffee cups, tins, mason jars, and vintage items from thrift stores. 

Step five

Carefully pour the melted wax into your container. Make sure the wick stays in te center. It will probably take about an hour to harden it will look something like this:

After it hardens it should be ready to use! Enjoy!!

Mine are hardening now. These are green Christmas scented ones for the holidays

I also made some homemade cucumber and green tea sugar scrub, but I will save that blog for another time!

A recipe // The not so sloppy, sloppy joes

                                   

Sloppy Joes were definitely a staple in my house while growing up. I swear we had them at least once a week. They are so easy to make for dinner during the work week while trying to juggle homework, laundry, dishes, bath time, story time....Ect Ect Ect. 

Well this is MY take on the famous Sloppy Joe---

You will need

1 lb ground meat

1/4 cup of black beans(drained)

1/2 cup chunky salsa

1/2 cup of frozen corn

Hamburger buns

A hungry belly

                     

Cook the meat as you normally would until brown. About 5 mins. On high. 

Drain all that nasty fat juice. 

On that note I found an awesome way to dump grease out of your pan is to take a piece of foil, put it in a bowl, and dump the grease in there from the pan. When the grease hardens, just ball up your foil and throw it away. Life saver y'all!!!

Reduce heat to medium. Stir in corn, beans, and slowly add salsa. Cook until mixture is heated through. The end. That's it. Easy peasy. 

I make it a lot and T.J. Hasn't thrown up yet :)So that's always a good sign.

                               

Sunday // Carter Mountain

What a delicious weekend for us! The weather was great and we all got to catch up on some much needed family time.

Sunday greeted us with some much needed simplicity. I made T.J. wake up at the crack of dawn-- 6:30 a.m., and try and catch a rare eclipse outside. As in 1,280 years rare. it was the first of four that was supposed to happen and I was so thrilled. My alarm went off and I immediately put on layers and started the coffee. MMMM coffee, those beautiful swirls of smooth flavorful love....ahhhhh.

But back to the story- I made coffee, rushed T.J. outside still half asleep and what did we see?? Nothing. I thought it could be something romantic and cute to do together, but we saw nothing. boooooo. So T.J. made bloody mary's and I made muffins.

Everyone showered and got dressed to venture out to Carter Mountain Orchard where we have taken Jack every year. First stop on the way- Starbucks. Duh. Anywho It's so fun to pick apples, drink cider, eat apple doughnuts, and rifle through the numerous local jams, jellies and sauces.

The drive up to the mountain is absolutely gorgeous. The colors on the trees are breathtaking and you can see them for miles once you reach the top. It was the perfect time to go. The distance was flawless- only about an hour. Just enough time for Jack to sing the entire way there and get a little cat nap in on the way back. T.J. and I acted like little kids while Jack slept and played the alphabet game.And we actually got to speak to each other without a toddler interrupting every 5 seconds. It was weird. And Splendid. All at the same time. It was a great little day trip for us.

Cheers to the weekend!!

Oh and since it's November, everyday couple days I ask Jack what he is thankful for. Here's how it went.

Me: "Since Halloween is over has Ms. Amy talked to you about the holiday Thanksgiving at school?
Jack: "Yes."
Me: " Can you tell me something you are very thankful for?"
Jack: 'My washing machine."

I have to keep this going, his answers are pure, innocent, and candid. I'm so thankful for him and blessing me with being his mama.

Friday night date night

T.J. was off on a Friday (eeeeeee! This happens.....never). We got off work, picked up the bebe, and headed down to Carytown like normal people do on Friday nights. We almost never get to spend time together since T.J. works two jobs and we are always on the run. We ate at the cutest restaurant right across the street from the Byrd theater. I totally recommend the Patsy Cline burger. Jalapenos, cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce...o-m-g! And we made it before happy hour ended? it's the little things you guys!

After we stuffed out bellies, we looked across the street and Despicable Me 2 was playing tonight--- actually in 10 mins! We couldn't have planned it better. we ran across the street, stocked up on popcorn and snow caps, and grabbed our seats. Sadly after the popcorn was demolished, Jack couldn't sit still. We got to see half of it (mini victory!) I actually think T.J. was sad to leave- he was really into Gru!

All in all it was a simple date night. Dinner and a movie AND I had two very handsome dates. I'm just the luckiest.