this +that

well….this week flew by faster than any week this summer.  almost every day this week felt like it was a different day.  like all day wednesday i thought it was thursday, etc.

anyways…another good and full week in the books.  the weekend will be filled with cleaning, playing, packing, and grocery shopping.

+this guy is a mess.  and after his bath it is so hard to track him down to get his diaper and clothes on.  well on this particular night…his new pair of shoes came in the mail….and he saw them and wanted me to put them on.  then he was off!

 +Sunday morning cinnamon rolls.  in the waffle maker.  yum!  my stepsister, Aubrey, made these and gave me the idea to make them.  i've also seen them floating around Pinterest.  i don't think i'll make them in the oven again…as the waffle maker made just an all-around softer roll…and i loved how the icing filled perfectly into the grooves of the waffles…with hardly any being lost to the plate.

+slowly, but surely i'm doing more with the 3 by myself.  Monday night….frozen yogurt.  we had a really good time.

+and on the way to get the frozen yogurt…there was a 'terrible accident' and Grace's doll, Dolly, got a rip on her back.  and so she needed surgery.  and stitches.  just like Grace had needed.

+on tuesday night…girls' night mini staycation.   we started the afternoon at the hotel pool.  it was so nice!

+our view.

+love these ladies!  we met 10 years ago while teaching together at the same elementary school.  9 years ago we started a dinner club where we'd get together once a month at someone's house for dinner.  at the time…there was 1 kid between us.  and now there are 10.  over the years it dwindled from a monthly gathering…to a few times a year….and it'd be at a restaurant instead of a house.  ;)  this summer we decided to make a night of it.

+thursday, my best friend from college, Jamie, and her husband were in town, and stopped by for a visit.  she only had her biggest 2 kids…and so we decided we'd take the kids to the pool.

nolan didn't quite know what to think about his life jacket.

+and what's better for dessert after lunch in the summer... than a sno-cone?

and this selfie is kinda a joke.  we hardly have any pictures together and so we decided to take a selfie.  it was jamie's first selfie.  and i'm honored.  ;)

abby and grace played so well together in the kitchen.

+the girls really do get along and play together so nicely.  most of the time.  but then….i guess a lot of the time they bicker.  like sisters.

and so i made them give each other a hug to make-up one day last week.  grace was loving it.  and truth be told…i think parker did, too. haha!

+we visited my granny today….and, turns out, they have a stray dog that is basically their dog now.  the girls are terrified….but nolan really liked him.  a boy and a dog.

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linking up to Insta-Friday at Life Rearranged

this and that

these are just pictures from my camera that don't necessarily fit into a specific post, but wanted to post nonetheless.

the girls had dance pictures this week and, at the time, had energy to take pictures with my big camera, too.  (buy the time thursday rolled around i didn't have that same energy)

grace and payton.  they are too cute.

my granny is still in town and i was lucky enough to have her come hang out with us on thursday morning for a while.  it was so nice to visit and she held nolan for a good while.  he was so good sitting in her lap.

tummy time!  on monday at nolan's well-visti, they gave me a little handout about tummy time.  after i saw it, i though, "oh yeh- tummy time!".  so much that you forget about these tiny littles.  so we gave it a little try and he looked so cute doing it.  although- it seemed like he was most interested in chewing on his hand.  ha!

getting it a little higher!

and rest.

sweet little hand.

for the record....the girls ask me to take their picture with nolan, not the other way around.

my loves.

and these feet.  i can't handle it.  those curled toes!

this one's my favorite....with parker holding his hand in the background.

and then just a boring ole pic of him sleeping in his rock and play.  i still love this thing.

and while i was taking pictures of him....parker ran and got my phone so she could be just like me and take his picture, too.  the sound was off on my phone and she even asked me to turn the volume back on so that it would 'click' when she took a picture.

and then she posed, of course, for me to take one of her, too.

mother's day tea and dinner guests

This afternoon at Parker's school, they had a little Mother's Day Tea.  All the mom's came up for some juice (or tea) and cookies.  It was a fun little time with just my oldest gal.  Geoff dropped me off and took the other 2 with him to pick up a few things at the store.

At school- the teacher asked the kids to answer a few questions about their mom.  I love Parker's answers...she was correct on about 90% of them.  Haha!

My mom's name is Marla

Her eyes are brown

Her hair is brown

Her favorite color is the rainbow (I LOVE that this was her answer.  She used to always ask me what my favorite color was and I would always tell her that I didn't have a favorite color because it wouldn't be fair to all of the other colors...and that I loved all the colors.)

Her favorite thing to do is resting (ha! ha! ha!)

She does not like to stay awake all night (because of Nolan crying)

It makes her happy when I share with my sister 

Her favorite food is nachos

My mom laughs when I play silly

My favorite thing to do with my mom is play "choir" and "AWANA's"

The best thing about my mom is the way she smells (????)

All in all...I'd say my she know's her Momma pretty well!

I've mentioned before that my granny is in town visiting with my great Aunt Pauline...and so we threw some chicken and BBQ sauce in the crockpot, and baked potatoes in the oven and had them over for dinner tonight.  We usually just do dinner buffet style....fix our plate then come to the table.  I thought it might be nice to do it how we did it when we were growing up....everything at the table and you pass it around to get what you need/want.

Parker was so helpful and set the table.  Grace wanted some cuddle time with Granny.  (This picture is so sweet to me.  She was Granny's little buddy this evening.)

And Nolan took a little nap in Aunt Pauline's lap..

This is what Nolan did while we ate (which was SO nice of him to do and allowed me to enjoy my dinner!)

Sweet boy.

Dinner hit the spot and it was so good to visit with them.  I really wish we did it more often.  After dinner and dessert...we played a few dances from Dancing with the Stars...and the girls put on a show for us.  It was a good day.  And now I am up past my 9pm bedtime.  ;)

visiting granny

We made another visit to Granny yesterday.  As always- it was a good visit.  

We get there.  The girls entertain themselves somewhat.  We eat.  We eat a lot.

We talk.  And laugh.

And then.....before we leave....meltdown(s) occurs.   ;)

Granny really outdid herself!  We had blackened peas, bacon, sauteed squash, corn on the cob, and cornbread.  All of it was SO good.  She also had brownies and cookies.  Yum!

Kristin brought some markers and coloring books.  She also brought some coffee filters and pipe cleaner and the girls made the cutest little flowers.  I wish I would have gotten pictures of the finished product because they were so cute, but I didn't.

And we totally made the mistake we usually make and didn't take a picture of all the girls with Granny until the end.  And so, of course, it didn't happen. 

 Grace was in meltdown mode, clinging to my hip.  Oh well.  Next time.  ;)