Thanksgiving + weekend

As I lay relaxing on the couch watching my all time favorite movie {wizard of oz} and bask in the glow of our new Christmas tree, I was sad that the weekend is over . There was no time to just sit and relax ! But is there really ever ?! Thanksgiving was low key for my little family. Nick and i both worked the night shift into Thanksgiving day! Needless to say we were both exhausted from 0 sleep. Thank goodness my mom was staying with us and could keep the kids a little quiet. Although Max would not leave my side in bed. He watched videos on the iPad and cuddled with me. After we woke up we took the kids and my mom to eat. Originally we had planned  to eat at Cracker Barrel. The wait there was over an hour! Nick commented didn't anyone cook at home anymore lol. They were probably people just like us haha. Bob Evans was just was long of a wait. We drove past IHOP and it was open! So that's where we had our thanksgiving meal and it was delicious ! I would rather have pancakes any day than turkey!! After eating we made it to the movies just in time to see Trolls. The kids loved it and we all liked it too!

Friday nick and I both worked! So there was no Black Friday shopping. Well I did get up 2 hours early for work and stopped at Justice! I refuse to pay full price for that and Mere had a list a mile long for some clothes and shoes . You can't beat 50% off. Worth the 2 hours less of sleep! Once I got home from work I decided to let the kiddos pick out a Christmas tree for their playroom. They found the most ideal little tree for themselves. We took it home and put the lights on it and they took turns with the ornaments. I love having the extra Christmas tree and especially having one upstairs. You see it from the top of the steps!!

Saturday we spent with Nick's family celebrating a belated Thanksgiving.  We were able to see the Cats pull of the W against Loser-ville,  I Mean Louisville lol. We were both exhausted and after the kids were in bed we were too. We have been watching a series on Netflix , Hell on Wheels! I am literally obsessed. We were even too tired to watch it ! Last year , we decided to start the tradition of getting a real tree at a Tree Farm. It was so much fun walking through a field of Christmas trees, finding the perfect tree and cutting it down. So this year we went back to Big Tree Planatation in Morrow , Ohio. It was about an hours drive. If the kids wouldn't have bickered and pestered each other there and back it might have been the perfect day. I am convinced that we put the dis in disfunction. There never seems to be a time we plan something fun to do that there is some part of it that makes you want to scream and pull your hair out and rethink doing it. Hopefully the kids won't remember that part of it or won't be in therapy haha! If you look at our pics it looks like it was the most magical time! Deceiving !!! I mean, decorating the tree even turned into a yelling match between who got to hang what ornament! Jeesh! Please tell me this isn't just us! Please tell me other families struggle and that it isn't all #soblessed and #mylifeissoperfect. If it is I hate you, just kidding..... maybe !! 😂 I am just going to look at our pictures and pretend we are that #soblessedwearebetterthanyourfamily haha! For all the normal families like us, you are not alone!! It will not stop me from planning more fun things though.  Hey maybe one time it will go smoothly! Also, ya'll should really experience the whole cutting down your own tree. It really is fun! Oh and Joy the Elf decided to make her yearly appearance. I have a love/hate relationship with her. Right now she isn't so bad but in a week or 2, no so much!!

Now it's crunch time to finish all the Christmas shopping. I am happy to say I am almost done!! I have written and rewritten my list probably 4or 5 times ! Tis the season!


Happy Monday Friends!!

Weekend whereabouts

Ya'll  can you believe this week is Thanksgiving?! I may be in denial that it is already here. Our thanksgiving will be pretty low key. I am working Thanksgiving Eve night shift doing my old job (11p-7:30...I hope I can stay awake) after working day shift at current job! It's hard to pass up Holiday pay so momma is going to put on her big girl pants . I will be able to sleep a little on Thanksgiving. Our families are celebrating other days so it will just be my little crew anyway. But back to our weekend. It  was literally jam packed!  Saturday we had family pictures at the firehouse. Anytime we do them I am super stressed out. The kids whine and complain about what they have to wear. I run around like a mad woman just doing circles around the house while getting us all ready. Then there is the hubs. He is not a fan but sucks it up for me. But we can get about 30 minutes out of him and then he is tapped out. Maybe before the kids haha. But god bless Denise , our photographer's  sweet heart. She puts up with us! I can't wait to see what she was able to capture. After pics the kids and I drove to Augusta to celebrate my niece's 11th birthday. My sister cooked a Thanksgiving meal and we all stuffed ourselves until we were about to burst. The kids love playing with their cousins and even found some kitties that they begged me to bring home. Nope. Didn't happen . Max was asleep in the car on the way home and didn't even wake up when I put his Jammies on. mere and I were aslep by 9:30. I am officially an old lady when it's a Saturday night and I can't even hang.

How cute is Mere's new haircut?! She has been begging to cut it shorter. Momma finally relented . I have to say I do love it and so does she:)

Sunday nick and I had tickets to the Bengals game. I had gotten him the tickets back in August for his birthday. We haven't been to see them play in a very long time. Of course, it was freezing. But nothing a couple layers and some hand warmers couldn't take care of. We met some friends for a little bit to tailgate and then headed over to the game. It was a fun day and always nice to be able to do something together without the kids. Oh and Mere had her first basketball game of the season Sunday evening. One thing to the next. She even scored 2 points!!

Hope everyone has a great week heading up to Turkey day! Oh and don't forget to place a Beauty Society order by Black Friday to be entered in Carissa and my fun giveaway. Only spend $50 to be entered. Go to my website here to place order!

Beauty Society Giveaway

I am so excited to announce my first blog giveaway!! I am partnering with my good friend and fellow Beauty Society diva, Carissa! Carissa is responsible for my obsession with the skincare line and a guru when it comes to what products work best for your skin type.


Yesterday I shared Beauty Society's Holiday specials. If you missed my post check it out here. There are so many great collections part of the specials.

So back to the giveaway. Let Carissa and I take some stress off of you by helping with some Christmas shopping. Our Holiday collections will be sure to "WOW" your loved one or treat yourself to beautiful skin for the holidays- we all know you deserve it. There is even a collection for the men in your life.  To be entered in our giveaway all you have to do is make a $50 or more purchase between now and Black Friday and you will be entered to win a Holiday Lip Kit valued at $64. 

Now you are asking yourself  where you can make your purchase, right?! Head on over to my website here or to Carissa's here. Make your purchase of at least $50 or more by Black Friday and that's it. Just cross your fingers and say a prayer that the Holiday Lip Set is yours!! We will be drawing the winner on Saturday Nov. 26th.

Beauty Gift Guide {Beauty Society}

The holiday season is the perfect time to buy some new makeup or skin care products for yourself or as a gift ! Who doesn't want perfect looking skin in time for all your parties and pictures?!



If you have never heard of Beauty Society do yourself a favor and check them out here. This has been  my go to skincare regimen for more than 5 years. I have been obsessed with it from the word go. It has made my skin go from super dry to feeling soft and smooth. My skin would get so dry during the winter and itchy! Beauty Society is AMAZING! I could not live without their skincare line. I can see an improvement in the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and overall “glow” to my skin.  Every holiday season they come out with holiday specials.





On my wishlist to try is their new lip stick LIP NIRVANA. Lip Nirvana matte lipsticks are smudge free and long lasting. The unique texture prevents color from bleeding and makes it versatile enough to be worn alone or combined with Lip Glisten colors. There are so many colors. I can't choose which one to try first.

Holiday specials!

The perfect gift set for yourself! This is also on my list! I currently use fake id and drama free but have use the others in this package as well! Excited to get them in my beauty rotation again! 

Not only does Beauty Society have amazing skincare their makeup line is to die for as well!! A lot of products will break me out! Not beauty society!! 

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these products and be sure to check out their page! Here

Sunday funday {park + cincy street car}

Sunday was literally the perfect fall day! I worked on Saturday so by the time I got home and we went to church it was time to relax and get ready for bed. I knew on Sunday I didn't want us to be stuck inside . Of course, the time change was not an extra hour of sleep in our house! I was able to get all my chores done early and we were at the park by 10:30. The kids played around for about an hour on the swings and slide. We decided to walk the track and noticed there was a nature trail that we have never done. It was just right for the kids ! They loved it! We ended up doing the trail twice .

After the park we had lunch and Nick was finished up in the yard. He asked if we wanted to do anything else . I had been wanting to go over to Cincinnati and Try their streetcar. I knew the kids would love it. Plus it isn't very expensive (you can find more info here and on their Facebook page ). We bought the $1 ticket for 2 hours. We weren't planning on getting on and off so this seemed like the right choice. We did end up getting off at Findlay Market and walking around. But still the 2 hour $1 ticket ended up being just right. An all day ticket is only $2 so maybe next go round we will have more time to jump off and on at the different stops! Because we will definetly do this again . We parked in Covington and walked across the bridge and got on the streetcar at the Banks . I think when Mere and I go to the Nutcracker we should take the streetcar . One of the stops is at the Aronoff.

Sunday was a great end to the weekend! Bring it Monday!

Spaghetti Squash + Max 4 yr checkup + The Nutcracker

So today's post is going to be a lot of this and that!! That's just how my brain is wired right now lol. Anyway, yesterday I was off and I try to make dinner that is a little more effort than cereal or sandwiches. I wanted to try to make something that I had at the house and use up before making a big grocery haul. I needed a few things but wasn't ready to spend more than 10 minutes getting my items. I decided to make spaghetti and meat sauce for Nick and kids and try spaghetti squash for me. I found a recipe here because I wasn't sure how to go about making it. I had to have Nick cut it for me. I don't think I would have been able to. But ya'll it turned out really good. Aside from not being able to cut it myself it was easy to cook. I took and the seeds and coated it with olive oil and salt and pepper. I baked it for 45 minutes.  It may be my new go to for spaghetti substitute (I love pasta). I even brought left overs for work today!!

Max was due for his 4 yr checkup. We went yesterday morning. He got his flu shot a few weeks ago so the shots were fresh in his little brain. He normally is ok with shots and has even asked for them in past. But I am guessing he just doesn't remember them. Even this summer when he had to get stitches below his brow bone he never winced or even need to  be held down. He didn't let me sit on the stretcher with him. He said he could do it by himself. But yesterday before his appointment he wanted me to call the office and tell them he didn't need shots. Good try buddy. He always does so well at dr's offices. Meredith does as well. They love anything medical. He stepped on the scale and got his height like a big boy. He did well for his eye exam and answered all his questions from the doctor. Then when the nurse came in with the shots he was like "mommy I don't want shots". I told him he needed them, though, so he get bigger. lol. He wasn't buying it. I did hold him just in case he decided to move. I was so proud of him. He cried but held still. It drives me insane when parents won't hold their kids still even if it has to involve a death grip. I guess it is part of working in the medical field and having to repeat stuff because parents can't or won't hold their child still. I get it that it is heart breaking to see them cry and upset...but it lasts for a few minutes!! Max was literally done crying as soon as she was done. He got his sucker and stickers and out the door we went!

Now on to Christmas! I have been wanting to take Meredith to see the Nutracker Ballet at the Arnoff Center for several years. This year I have a few days off in December where I shouldn't feel so rushed for time. I went to the Cincinnati Ballet website to do a little research for dates and times. It starts Friday December 9th and runs through the weekend with several shows and the following Wednesday through December 18th. The tickets starts as low as $32 and as high as $100. In this week's Reach magazine there was a coupon code for $5 off per ticket (not valid on Premier tickets or previously purchased tickets). Code is 1617REACH. (valid until November 30th). I think this would be an amazing Christmas tradition to start with Meredith.

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