Happy Birthday, Kevin.

On October 19, 2012, our nephew Kevin passed away for reasons unknown (at the time) that later turned out to be a blocked artery in his heart. Last Wednesday, July 16th, would have marked his 18th birthday.  To honor him and celebrate Eli and Treven's 28th, Eli's family came down from North Texas for the weekend.  Liam LOVES being around little kids! He had so much fun. 

Eli and his twin brother, Treven, were ALL over tanning last weekend. In fact, we couldn't stop joking about how all that was on the agenda was GTL. Holla to all my Jersey Shore fans! ;) 

Liam, Eli, his uncle Treven, and cousin Alaster.

We had a balloon release in memory of Kevin. We miss him so very much and know he was with us on his birthday! 

This was taken back in 2011 when Kevin and the rest of the family made a trip down to Houston for Spring Break.  We sure do miss him being around.

The Fault In Our Stars

Am I the only mama that sits down to write a post, saves it to finish once the babe is down for the night, and gets back to it weeks later? I am so bad at that! I have been working on this post for weeks now and finally have the time to sit and finish it up to publish!

Ok. If you guys want to read a "page turning" book, this is the one! I am not much of a reader, but when I heard some reviews about TFIOS, I had to pick up a copy. I don't know that I'm not really a reader, but maybe more of I don't really have much time to actually sit down and read for long periods of time. This book took me all of 4 days to finish, and I was so sad when it ended! TFIOS is written by John Green, and I am in love with his writing! I finished this book on Monday night and yesterday I found myself in the target (guilty ;)) book section purchasing the rest of his work! I have yet to start reading any of the other books I purchased (imagine that), but I am super excited to start! :)

Have you guys read the book or seen the movie?

#plannerprobs

You guys.

I don't know about y'all, but keeping a planner for more than three months is hard work for me.  I get so annoyed with the cover design or my handwriting, that I make yet another trip to Target and buy a new planner to get me through the next three months.  After months years of debating whether or not I really needed a $50 planner, I decided to make my first Erin Condren purchase.  Not only does this planner offer anything and everything you could ever need to stay organized, but Erin Condren also now offers changeable covers! BINGO. I could not be happier with this purchase!

I think what sold me on this purchase is that I can change the cover any time I want for only $10. I have also decided to purchase washi tape, not only dress up my entries, but also to avoid me hating my handwriting and having to white it out.  For only $5 more, I added July through December of this year so I can get started right away!  With school starting in just over a month, I am finally starting to feel confident that I will be organized enough to keep my shit together. Yay!

Do you have a favorite planner?!

MIA

It is CLEAR that I have been a little MIA, but that's because so many fun things are happening! Two weeks ago, I quit my job to stay at home with Liam for a while. In August, I will be going back to school and it will be full on crazy business from there on out. I do intend on working again, but while I am home with Liam, we are making sure to enjoy every minute! 

A couple weekends ago, my two best friends and I went to lunch and had a great stress-relieving visit! These girls have been in my life since junior high and I am so blessed to call them my best friends! (They even drove all the way here from Austin and Nacogdoches for my baby shower-they rock!) 

Love them to pieces. 

Eli, Liam & I have had lots of fun bath sessions. Eli and I sit in the bathroom while Liam stares at us and laughs because we are weirdos with our phones out snapping a million and one pictures. 

Daddy bought us a pool and we are LOVING it. Each day, when Eli gets home from work and the gym, we eat dinner and jump in the pool for about 30 minutes before it's bath and bedtime. Best $100 spent! :)

Aunt Booboo even comes over to play! :)

A few days ago, my mom came with Liam and I to get my oil changed and he was not having it. He was so bored and the 6x6 play room they have in the dealership was not big enough to occupy him for 90 minutes. We resulted in putting (clean&unused) diapers on our heads to distract him. It worked...but only for a minute or two. ;)

And several days this week, Liam and I woke up and got ready to exercise with my mom! We drive to her house and walk the neighborhood before it gets too hot outside. It has been so much fun and so encouraging to see my mom active!

Eli (and his twin brother, Treven) will be turning 28 this Sunday. To celebrate, his family is driving down to Houston to spend the weekend with us! We are so excited to see everyone. :)

I will leave y'all with a picture of my girl crush and a photo of my new erin condren planner that came in today! 

I love fun mail days!

What have YOU been up to lately!?

Xoxo

Target Finds

It is no secret that I love Target and over the past week or so, I have made one too many trips to several Targets in our area. ;) 

Here are a few of my favorite finds!

the fault in our stars | hobo handbag | phone case | maxi dress 

bib | ninja turtle cup | burts bees hoodie

What are some of your favorite finds lately?

Sundays

I love Sundays. Everything about it screams family. And relaxing. And most always shopping. ;)

Today was no different. I woke up and was about to get ready for work, when I realized it was Sunday and I don't have work on Sundays. 

Yesterday, Liam and I took our second target trip of the weekend and I bought him his first coloring book. 

After everyone was awake, we took Liam downstairs and we he colored his very first picture! 

Liam quickly lost interest in coloring, so we made breakfast and it. was. delicious. 

Breakfast is my fav meal of the day! And breakfast tacos always hit the spot! 

Liam had a cheese quesadilla (what were we thinking?) for breakfast and of course, he loved it! He ate the whole thing and even managed to steal some of mama's potatoes. ;)

Daddy hit the gym so we hit up target...for the third time this weekend. Yikes! We had found so many great deals, we just can't get enough! For anyone just starting to follow along, target is my happy place. Can't you tell?! ;)

While at target, I picked up ingredients to make cheesy sausage balls. Yum. You can find the recipe here. 

I gave Liam a sausage ball and shortly after, our house fell silent. Eli and I looked at each other and just knew Liam was up to no good. To our surprise, he had walked into our formal sitting room and climbed up on the couch to finish his snack. He melts my heart. 

My parents came over for dinner tonight and we grilled steaks while watching the USA game. To see our awesome finds from target over the past few days, click here. 

What do your Sundays look like?!

Xoxo

Haley

Our week in pictures

This week has been exhausting. Liam is still getting his molars and he has been pulling at his poor little ears! We have been to the doctor twice over the last week and they just keep saying "Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours". Ugh. I could have done that on my own. :( But, we will continue to do anything we can to make this little guy comfortable!

When he is comfortable, he is the most happy baby big kid in the world! ;) My mom (and sometimes sister) take care of him while Eli and I are at work, and he has so much fun with them!!

Auntie BooBoo even takes him swimming if the weather is nice! So much fun!!

Liam is just days away from being a big 15 month old and his personality is so. much. fun. He is full of spunk and always has a new facial expression to try out! I am sure I say this all the time (I know you do, too ;)) but this has been by far the most fun age yet! Look at that face! 

I made a pinterest-inspired dessert a few days ago and let him have some of the chocolate pudding I made. I think the picture speaks for itself, but just incase you couldn't tell.....he really loved that pudding. ;)

So, I have really been trying to get this whole at-home nail thing down. Sure, I can paint my nails-no problem. But they don't last very long with just a top coat so I tried a shellac look...that didn't work  either, however I have yet to try Gelous from Sally's. I have heard from Jen over at First Comes Love that that stuff really works! So, I bought an acrylic kit by Kiss from Target. BINGO. It worked and I LOVE MY NAILS. Best part? It only cost me $7 and there are 3 applications in the kit! Working full time and being a full time mommy, finding time (and money) to go to the nail salon every two weeks just doesn't work for us, so I am soooo happy that I found this kit!

When I get ready for work, I put Liam on my bed and most mornings he falls right back asleep.  Some mornings, I am in such a rush that I have no time to stop and stare...others, like yesterday morning, I lose track of time and love watching our little baby sleep. He is so precious and the time is flying. I remember when I he was a little tiny 8 pound babe and wore newborn clothes. Did I mention I purchased 2T clothes the other day, and then bought 3T sweaters and jackets for the Fall/Winter from the clearance section at Target? Cue tears.

Ah. The Fault In Our Stars. I am only on the sixth chapter, but I have cried about 100 times and am so sad when I don't have time to read. I can't wait to finish so I can go see the movie! Have you guys read this book!? What do you think!?

I hope you all had a fabulous week. Enjoy your weekend!

xoxo

Haley