Friday Favorites

HAPPY FRIDAY! I feel like I'm a little late to the Friday Favorites party, but we were up earlier than usual this morning and jetted out to Sandy Lake Amusement park first thing for some Friday Fun! And although it's supposed to be a "cool front in Texas" this week (highs in mid-90's instead of triple digits), the sweat and the sun and the toddler chasing has left me exhausted! 

So this will be be short and sweet!  I'm linking up with Erika today, because she's sharing some super cute pics of the Donut Themed birthday party she just threw for her newest addition! 

1) Y'all know how I feel about going out to eat on Friday night with my fam.  It's my favorite time of the week! No cooking, no kitchen, no dirty dishes! Of course we have our favorite spots, but we try to take advantage of the sheer mass of restaurants at our fingertips and try something new often.  Well, I stumbled on Cuellar's Fajita Ranch in a newspaper article, and we tried it that night.  They are THE BEST fajitas I've ever eaten.  Even 'Lil G was a fan.  

If you're local, you must try it.  When we walked out, they had a cute little and playing outside and Greyson became the tiniest little groupie.  He loved it! If it hadn't had been 799 degrees and almost bedtime, we would've stayed longer. #weturnintopumpkins #at8:00

2) Speaking of local favorites, we hit up another favorite the next day, Henry's Ice Cream. Henry's is well known in the area and their Cinnamon ice cream is TO DIE FOR. It felt so summery to go on a little ice cream date with my fam.  (If this isn't on your Summer Bucket List, it should be!) They clearly gave me MORE THAN ENOUGH. But hey-I've never met a scoop I couldn't finish. 

3) And speaking of ice cream, our buddy Preston came over to play on Monday and they enough some cones while watching Blaze. Look at how they are sitting just alike.  Melts my heart. They are 5 days apart, and looking at them in this picture just makes me wonder how they got to be so big.  

For comparison's sake...here's their first photo together...

ALL THE TEARS.....

4) And speaking of Birthday buddies.....these two were actually born on the same day..just down the hall from each other.  And this week during lunch, Greyson shared one of his FAVORITE Monster trucks with Ford.  Actually seeing my son SHARE was certainly a favorite moment this week.  It's a struggle folks. Maybe the "Llama Llama Time to Share" book is actually having some impact.  ; ) 

5) And speaking of buddies, I had the best time at Mash'd last night in Frisco for Girls Night Out.  This was a Collin County Moms Blog meet up , and I love how Mama's from all different places and seasons can just come together. After another BUSY week of summer activities, this mama needed a night out!  (P.S.-If you're local, you should definitely join this group...click here!) 

And just for a little extra......here's another FAVORITE of mine.... ; ) Even though Summer is a bit crazy and lots of long days, I seriously treasure them. I feel like I've only got him all to myself for a very short time....

My whole heart. 

That's all I've got folks! I hope your Friday is full of fun and fajitas! 

June Must Reads!

We are FINALLY getting back into the swing of things after being gone over a week! We arrived and it was BOOM! THE WEEKEND! BOOM! Father's Day! BOOM! MONDAY AND WE'RE ALL OUT OF CLEAN UNDERWEAR!

It takes me a while to get back on schedule, get the clothes washed, and get groceries back into the fridge!

Anyway, last month I shared some of my favorite recent blogposts, so I figured I'd do that again this month! These are random, but some great topics ranging from emotional to logistical! Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

1) We Are Watching Other Kids Grow Up: I love Christie's blog at Letter's From the Nest, and this one convicted me SO MUCH. It talks about how we are so zoned in to our friend's posts about their kids and activities, that our own child is in the next room playing alone. OUCH. Since G and I have a lot of extra time together during the summer, I'm REALLY trying to not look at my phone constantly. I'm trying to focus on him and just PLAY.

2) Now that you've got all the mommy guilt, let's switch gears.  ; ). My friend Vanessa at Collin County Moms Blog put this genius list together, 10 Things Every Mommy Needs in Her Car.  I don't know about you, but I feel like all the crazy happens when we pull out of the driveway. You'll feel like you are organized and WINNING with these simple but handy tips!

3) Speaking of logistics, this post about Ten Ways to Occupy Your Toddler While Showering by Rachel Randolph is now bookmarked on my computer. Now that Greyson is potty training, I can't let him "linger" in his crib anymore while I get ready, and I seriously have used several of these tips since reading this post! It's awesome.

4) Get ready for some laughs (but seriously, TRUTH) in this post about Unspoken Mom Rules. My friend, Mary wrote it for CCMB, but she also has a great family blog at Trust Without Borders.

5) And finally, I was so excited to see a piece I wrote featured on the National City Moms Blog Website! It's about 2.5 years late getting on "paper", but I finally sat down and crunched out my thoughts at Lessons From the Carseat...Life is Full of Red Lights.

HAPPY READING FOLKS! I'll be back tomorrow to recap our Summer O' Fun Week 2!

Friday Favorites

OH MY STARS.....I actually started this post last week, and never got around to posting it. What the heck happened to the past seven days? And to answer my own question, everything and NOTHING all at the same time...you feel me friend??? 

Okay, so, I'm officially linking up with two of my favs, Erika and Narci for Friday Favorites! 

1) Can I just be honest and say that I've been a little emotional this week? Mainly due to some sleep deprivation thanks to a few nights of extreme INSOMNIA. Ya'll, I wasn't falling asleep until like 4:30 or 5:00 a.m., and up at 6:45 with Greyson. Made me think twice about having #2. 

And as Jeremie says, it's NEVER the big things that finally GET ME. It was the man at the car dealership that sorta made me feel like my day was "unimportant" that broke me. I called Jeremie in tears resulting in his indecision to beat up the salesman, actually try to SOLVE my problem (HE KNOWS TO NEVER ATTEMPT THAT), or just say "Sorry, babe, I hate that." He opted for a combo of #2 and #3, so he was pretty safe. I still had to do my full Kroger run wearing my sunglasses, but I finally straightened out. 

I made it through the day and as I got out of my car that evening for Bible Study, this was my view: 

I felt like all the failings of my day just got a LOT smaller, and it felt so good. God is BIGGER and stronger, and compassionate, and present. So this pic was definitely a FAVORITE for me this week.

2) On a MUCH lighter note, I have a new love affair called Hello Fresh. I feel like it's going to change my life as much as Wal-Mart Grocery Pickup. It's a meal delivery service that comes with ALL the ingredients pre-measured and a recipe with step-by-step instructions. I ordered a box that came with three meals for two people. (A few of the meals had leftovers too!) I think I'll have to do a full blogpost devoted fabulous-ness of this service and the food itself, but just HAD to mention it in my FAVORITES! For me, just having 3 less meals I have to even think up is huge.

3) I am also SUPER EXCITED to announce that I've been selected as a Contributor for the new Collin County Moms Blog that will be launching October 17th! This is a branch of the popular City Moms Blog network! The mission of City Moms Blog is to connect, encourage, and share with other moms! All those things are my FAVORITE! I'm so excited! My first post will be published in October! If you are local, you can go ahead and follow CCMB's Facebook page here. 

4) In other FUN news, I finally got me a new ride, PRAISE THE LAWD. Ya'll, I pretty much drive something until it won't drive anymore. Actually, my old Avalon WON'T DIE. It was my car from college and my parents STILL HAVE IT. It's got 300,000 miles on it. It came to a point where Jeremie wouldn't allow me to keep it. Anyway, I have literally driven the wheels off my ole Camry. Literally-like they wouldn't let me renew my inspection sticker without new tires. Something was happening every week; she new she was getting replaced and she was DYIN' ON ME. After a big search, I ended up with my third Toyota, yes please. They're the best. And it's MAROON. #hailstate

4) This was actually last Friday...or wait...maybe two Fridays ago??? Whatever.....I took Greyson to the Vintage Market Days at Southfork Ranch, and we had a ball....my FAVORITE little TEXAS boy....



5) Greyson also set his eyes on a darling little gal, Zoe, at one of our playdates last week and I caught him HOLDING HANDS with her as we were walking out. Mama's heart melted a little bit. Trying to get him to hold MY hand is like baptizing a cat.

6) As I previously mentioned, my emotional state was not swinging par this week, so neither was my household. But I needed to catch up with my friend Emily.....so here's the text I sent her before she came......

And you know what....girlfriend needed to fold clothes too....so she brought her big basket, dumped it on the floor, and we had a big ole laundry folding party! By the end, all of our clothes and emotions had been folded and organized. ; ) That's a REAL friend ya'll.

7) Last night, Beth Moore spoke at Prestonwood church in Plano and she is my ultimate FAVORITE! So my friend Melissa and I hit up the Sonic for a fancy corndog date and then to see Bethy. And as always, she brought the WORD while being adorable and hilarious at the same time. I've never seen her in person, and she was awesome!

8) Lastly, we've started going out to eat every Friday night when Jeremie gets home, before the 7:00 crowd hits. (Another plus of having a child that goes to bed early!) We've been trying to hit somewhere different each time, and let's face it, living in DFW, you could do this for eternity. We've really enjoyed this new tradition! I realize we won't always be able to do this, but Greyson does pretty well in the restaurants, so we're gonna milk it while we can! Plus, it's so nice to have a night where I don't have to cook or clean the kitchen! 

Last week we headed up to Firewater Kitchen at Watters Creek and it was so fun! We ordered a bunch of appetizers and they were all delicious!!! And there is the most darlin' play area outside that G loved. He especially loved the duck statues......he kept running up to them thinking they would chase after him.

That's all I've got folks! Hope ya'll have an awesome weekend!