This is officially the earliest we have EVER decorated for Christmas! I mean like 2 weeks BEFORE Thanksgiving! Yikes! I wish I had the right emoji for that!!!! But it was the right thing to do this year, and here's why..... My kiddos like most kiddos love Christmas and we need a full 6 weeks to enjoy those blow ups in the front yard, and twinkling lights on our tree. AND when my sweet friends at Kids Dream sent me these AMAZING dresses for the girls, we had to turn on some Christmas music and do a . . .
Simple ways to stay organized with kids
Back to school always inspires me to get it together! Does it inspire you too? You know clean out the closet. Organize the pantry. And this year back to school is totally crazy because I have 2 daughters in school, and 3 little people still home with me, two of which I am homeschooling. Needless to say I really had to up my game to stay on top of it all. Staying organized with kids has always been a challenge, but now it's a must! Here are 6 simple ways I am staying organized this fall: I make a . . .
Easy grocery shopping with Walmart’s free grocery pick up
Honestly I love to grocery shop.....when I am by myself. With 5 kids in tow? Not so much. So needless to say when I saw Walmart advertising their new free grocery pick up I had to investigate! And let me tell you friends it is LIFE CHANGING! I am serious! This is in no way a sponsored post. This is just me sharing the love with you. So here is how it works: You download the Walmart grocery app on your phone. Surprisingly the app is super easy to navigate and build your order. They have categories . . .
Winner winner chicken dinner
What are you making for dinner tonight? Me? Well tonight I am going rouge and making what I feel like making in the moment instead of what is on my meal plan for the day. Do you ever do that? I do. I have a hard time sticking with the meal plan, because some days I just don't feel like eating the meal I've planned, and since I am the one making the dinner, I get to choose the meal. :) So tonight it's roasted chicken. It was easy. It looked pretty. It impressed my family. AND EVERYONE ATE THEIR DINNER . . .
Back to school must haves
I say it every summer, but I told my hub today, "this summer has flown by the FASTEST!" Maybe it's because our days are filled with babies and toddlers, or maybe it's because we went on vacation the first week of the summer, or maybe that is just how it goes. Regardless come Thursday I will have a 4th and 5th grader in school, and a 3 and 4 year old doing some homeschool preschool, oh and a 9 month old! Every year the girls pick out a new backpack and lunch box (usually the old lunch box has seen better days . . .
Live Simply the Kitchen
I'm so excited to bring you this new series Live Simply. I have found in my short 36 years on this earth that less is more, and cutting out the clutter really does make a difference. Cutting the clutter physically (our STUFF) leads to cutting the clutter mentally. Seriously I sleep better when I have LESS in my home. So I thought it would be fun to tackle different areas with you in my home and life where I choose to Live Simply. First up THE KITCHEN! This is what living simply in the kitchen means . . .
Gather round
Did you grow up having family dinners? I did, and I hated them....until I loved them, because they always left me feeling safe, and happy, and loved. My mother has an amazing ability to gather people together. She makes them feel like they belong...like they are special. Every afternoon we'd set the table for a 5 o'clock dinner when my dad came home. I even remember her making place mats from construction paper, with pictures she drew of the plate, fork, and knife, so we knew where to put . . .
the kid room
Well I lost my dinning room. Yep it's gone. GONE GONE GONE. And believe it or not I am OK with that. You see when we found out I was prego with baby Helen, I had a panic attack. I mean I thought I was GOING to have a panic attack for sure. I just couldn't wrap my head around 5 kids in our current house. It has 3 bedrooms, an office we made into a 4th bedroom, a tiny family room, and I could go on and on about why we needed a bigger house with 5 kids, but the reality is our home is perfect for us. Yes it . . .
Hello Again
Yes the elephant in the room, let's just say it is, "you haven't bogged in 9 months!" I know! I know! So ,much life has happened in 9 months, but here we are again. Thank you for sticking with me. Thank you for finding your way here again. You might notice I changed the name of my blog to This Loud House (from Marianne's Blog). For a few reasons, one I only chose my original name because I couldn't think of anything better, and two because This Loud House truly describes the state of things around here . . .
The Pumpkin Patch
Hi friends! How I LOVE the pumpkin patch tradition we started when Mia was just a baby. Of course back then I agonized over the perfect fall pumpkin patch outfit for her, and then when Sadie came along they had to be matching. This year I threw all the rules out the window by letting them wear whatever they wanted, and guess what.........I still got great pictures I will treasure for ever :) Our cousins joined us, making it extra special, AND we actually made it there at 9:00am on a Saturday morning . . .
