Month: September 2022

Friday favorites – Target bibs, Brooks running shoes, Stanley cup, and Kroger Boost.

/ mandyjoyloves / Leave a comment

Hello Friday and happy weekend! Here are my favorites for the week!

TARGET SILICONE BIBS

These silicone bibs from Target are my absolute favorite for Huxley. We have these exact ones, and I use them every day. I will say, I only use them when he eats baby food because anything that he spits out, runs out of his mouth goes right into the little pocket. It doesn’t go on his clothes or the high chair! And when it’s time to clean the bib, all you have to do is rinse it off in the sink with a sponge and some soap. I just love them. Target bibs can be found here.

BROOKS RUNNING SHOES

I’ve been wearing this brand of shoe for years and years now, I even wear them in the house. I bought a cheapie pair to wear inside the house only. The reason I wear them inside the house is because I have plantars faciitis in my one foot, and these shoes are the only kind that doesn’t hurt my foot. I have about four or five pairs of these shoes, they are the best! Shoe can be found here.

STANLEY TUMBLER

I’ve just recently started using this tumbler, and it’s ginormous. I have the 40 ounce one but thinking I might need to downsize to the one below this size. I have the pink colored one, which doesn’t seem to be an option right now. I mainly drink my water in this tumbler, but it’s so big and heavy. I mainly wanted a larger water bottle to fit in the car cup holders, which it does fit, but again it’s just so huge! Tumbler can be found here.

MARSHMALLOW BITES

For our movie night last week (Pinocchio), we tried these chocolate covered marshmallows and they were so good! They come in a tiny bag, and aren’t the cheapest but nowadays what is right? Even picky eater Hadley liked them. Something different for a sweet treat. Marshmallows can be found here.

KROGER BOOST

I’ve talked about this on my Instagram stories a little bit, but we just recently joined Kroger Boost and loving it! We’ve already used the service five times in two months, and only have to use it one more time to get our money’s worth! The membership is for an entire year. It’s so awesome. I love having groceries delivered, makes grocery shopping with a baby a thousand times easier! Find out more here.

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend.

As always, thanks for reading!

Homework Cart.

/ mandyjoyloves / 1 Comment

Hi friends! School has been in session for about a month now, can you believe it? I’ve been wanting to do one of these homework carts for Hadley, and finally did it this year! Originally, I used the cart for a newborn rolling cart, but in the end didn’t use it for what I intended it for. It stayed in our bedroom, untouched, and basically was a catch all for things I wasn’t using.

This homework cart has everything Hadley could ever need for homework after school. Since she is in second grade now, and we’ve had two years of homework experience, I’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t work for homework.

One thing that has been amazing, is when she gets home from school, she does homework almost right away. Hadley will wash her hands, go to the bathroom if need be, get a drink/snack, and start on homework right away.

Starting this after school routine, has been amazing for her and her dad and I at the same time. Knocking out the homework as soon as she gets home from school, helps for the rest of the day to go super smooth, for the most part. Now, when you throw in sports, practices, and after school activities, sometimes that throws a damper on things. But for the most part, I will say it really helps to do homework right away.

TOP SHELF CONTENTS:
– hand sanitizer
– rubber bands
– scissors
– glue sticks
– pencil sharpener
– writing utensils (pens, pencils, highlighters)
– erasers
– white out
– post-its

MIDDLE SHELF CONTENTS:
– random note paper
– red pens
– markers
– crayons

BOTTOM SHELF CONTENTS:
– ruler
– folders

It has really helped to have this homework cart! To have everything she might need for homework all in one place is super super helpful! She likes to keep the homework cart in the corner in the office, so when she is doing homework, she can go to the cart and grab whatever she might need. Instead of searching all over the house for a pencil, or a marker, or a crayon, or whatever it might be. Having all the supplies in one place has helped so much for homework after school.

I’m sure we will continue to add more items to this cart as the years go on, but for now it is working for what we need it to do! Help with homework! It is super convenient to have everything she might need in one place. We don’t really care where she does her homework, but after it’s all said and done, she does have to put all the homework cart “items” back in its spot each night, and anything else in her bookbag for the next day. I cannot tell you how much it helps to start these little routines early in these elementary years. It can only help them as they get older for school!

Homework cart linked here.

Soccer game treats.

/ mandyjoyloves / Leave a comment

Every year for sports, the parents have to bring team treats to at least one game. I always like to make mine a little “extra” for the kids. Just something to make them smile. And plus, I just love doing things to make it a little more special for the kiddos.

All I did was take a brown paper bag and put a drink and a snack inside. That is it! The making of the tag took the longest, and the hole punch to put the tag through the bag.

Hadley helped me stuff all the bags, and she cut the ribbon for me so I could tie them all on each bag.

A very easy treat for sports! You could do it with anything for that matter. The girls all loved them as much as I loved making them. Good game girls!

Movie Night – Pinocchio.

/ mandyjoyloves / 8 Comments

I randomly picked this movie because it’s on Disney Plus, and it looks super cute with Tom Hanks. I will say, it was not that good. It was really slow, and pretty much just like the original but not in cartoon form. I mean, if you’re a Pinocchio fan then you’ll love it. It was just a tad too slow for us.

Photo via: IMDB

The food is always tied in with the movie, for movie night!

Pizza from Papa John’s, for Pinocchio’s pizza.

Jiminy Cricket’s snack mix was marshmallows, green M&M’s, and goldfish. Of course, my child picks out the marshmallows but will eat the chocolate covered marshmallows in the bowl right next to it! haha

Blue Kool-aid for the blue fairy drinks, and pretzel rods for Geppetto’s pieces of wood.

I printed out this photo, and taped it on the wall above all the food.

Later on, after Huxley went to bed, we made vanilla milkshakes with blue sprinkles.

We always use these lunch containers for movie night, it holds all the snacks well and all contained in one place! We probably watched about half the movie, and then turned it off. Like I said earlier, if you are a Pinocchio fan then you’ll love it because it’s almost exactly like the original but with real people.

Movie night doesn’t have to take lots of work, it’s just the point of sitting down and watching the movie with your child. Hadley just loves movie night. Now that her little brother goes to bed before her, she loves to have that one-on-one time with her dad and I at night. For the next movie, Hadley wants to be surprised and not know which one it is. I love doing that, but it’s always hard to know if she’ll like it or not. I might bring back some old ones we’ve done before. Or try a new one out, I’m thinking the new Minions Rise of Gru might be a good one!

(The most recent movie night we did was The Sandlot, you can read about that more on this post).

Thanks for reading!

Weekly recap.

/ mandyjoyloves / Leave a comment

Recapping our week on the blog! Soccer, lunch duty, picture day, and Oktoberfest!

Monday September 19

Trying so hard to get back on the workout train. I really miss walking / running at the trail by our house, but with the temperatures getting a little colder I’ve been working out at home since I have to bring Huxley with me. Hadley had a soccer game, and they played a team that is tied with them in the league. They tied the game, so they are still tied! It’s been great watching her at soccer, they are finally understanding the game!

Tuesday September 20

When Hadley got home from school, she read her book out loud to Huxley and I. Anything to get her excited about reading, some days she’s all about it, other days she hates it. Her teacher has a daily homework game called homeworkopoly, and the kids get to roll each time they turn in their homework. On this day she got a free homework pass, so she used it! After homework, she put up some gel clings on the front door window for Halloween.

Wednesday September 21

I volunteer for lunch duty once a month, and the first one was this week. Hadley was so excited I was there, and it was fun. I love talking to the kids and getting to know them all. Huxley turned seven months old! You can see more photos and text on this post. Kevin was talking to Huxley about his dream to build a barn dominium one day, it was the cutest thing.

Thursday September 22

Picture day at school! Just love her little one tooth missing smile. Huxley is crawling all over the place, he’s a little more hesitant about the hardwood floor / tile but he will still move. I’m loving the Stanley cup; I drink all my water in that thing every day. It’s huge, but I love it. When Hadley got home from school, she read a little bit to Huxley. We started marking off our fall bucket list by coloring Halloween pictures we print off Pinterest. Huxley has been sucking his thumb a little more these days, during bath time was the cutest.

Friday September 23

Hadley had an early dismissal from school, so they could set up for their Oktoberfest for the weekend. We’ve been slowly introducing Huxley to real food, things that are small and mushable!

Saturday September 24

Kevin was on the medic the day/night before, so he slept for a while on Saturday. Hadley took out my old laptop and loved it, even though it’s slow as molasses. Fall has arrived, and in true Cincinnati fashion it went from ninety degrees to sixety degrees overnight. After Kevin and Huxley slept, we headed to the festival for Hadleys school. We worked a booth, and we still follow the schedule we’ve been doing with Huxley. He’s doing so great at it! Hadley has so much fun with her friends, we just love her school.

Sunday September 25

Oktoberfest didn’t start until after church on Sunday, so we took our normal naps and all the stuff befored heading back up to school. We worked another booth on Sunday. Huxley took his usual after dinner cat nap and was just so good. Hadley clearly has fun with her friends, it’s so cute to watch them all together.

Happy Monday everyone! Have a great week.

Fall bucket list 2022.

/ mandyjoyloves / 3 Comments

It’s here! Happy first day of fall! It’s a lot easier to get into the fall mode when it’s not ninety degrees outside. Finally, it’s starting to get cooler out. I’m excited to get into all the things for the season. Pumpkin carving, mums, chai teas, and comfy cozy clothes.

Our fall bucket list is completed! The list is hung on the wall, right in the kitchen. Ready to be checked off! I think the one I’m looking forward to for myself, is listening to Autumn in New York while drinking a chai tea!

Feel free to copy the image and follow along, or make one up of your own!

Happy Fall!

7 months of Huxley.

/ mandyjoyloves / 1 Comment

Takes his bottle like he’s having an out of body experience. Kicks his legs, smacks his bottle, sits up when we take the bottle away, and wants it back immediately. It’s like it tastes so good he doesn’t know how to react.
Loving all kinds of baby food, veggies, fruits, all of it.
Took his first plane ride to Florida and did amazing.
Still in size 3 diapers.
Size 9/12 month clothes, fit better than 6/9 month clothes.
Taking two decent naps a day, sometimes a cat nap around dinner time.
Doing really good on this schedule.
He is now crawling, and on the move.
We have to watch him like a hawk now.

My little seven-month-old, we love you so much.

Fall home decor 2022.

/ mandyjoyloves / 2 Comments

Hello everyone! Today I’m sharing some fall / Halloween decor throughout our home. Even though it’s pretty warm outside, decorating for the changing of seasons helped me get in the mood a little bit more.

When you first walk in our front door, the only fall decor you’ll see is the little pumpkin season yard stick in our flowerpot. I might get some mums for the porch this year, but I’ve not had much success keeping those babies alive. They do look so pretty right now! I just can’t part with my porch flowers just yet; they are still thriving!

Behind our front door are some fall like signs, behind the door, and on the side walls.

As you walk into our living room, you’ll see our table. I like to switch tablecloths; I have a few fall ones and some Halloween ones. The “happy harvest” centerpiece was a gift from my aunt last Thanksgiving. We host Thanksgiving every other year for my side of the family.

The bar cart is mainly Halloween themed. My husband has started a small mini-Bourbon collection. Do you have any new Bourbons he could try? I think it’s hard to incorporate Halloween in with fall stuff, so I am just doing one part of the house Halloween this time.

Our downstairs bathroom, I always like to have napkins and hand soap to use. Some people don’t like to use hand towels, and some prefer it. I could care less either way, just wash your hands!

In the kitchen, I have some fall hand towels on the stove, salt and pepper shakers, a pumpkin mug, and some mini pumpkins on the cake stand for the soap/sponge. Just some small touches, can give some extra seasonal vibes.

Our little kitchen table, looking into the family room. I always use vinyl tablecloths for this table, it works best with the kids since we sit here most of the time. The little “bar area” as we call it, I put some small candle centerpieces with fall candles.

The little side table as you walk into the family room, holds our essential oil diffuser, a picture frame, and a small house plant. I love this little corner of the house; it always looks so cozy to me. We try to keep the small gray bins to a minimum of toys, to help keep the cluttery look away.

In our family room, I added some small pieces to the mantle, and the small wooden crate by the fireplace. I love simple decor. Although, my daughter Hadley thinks the mantle looks too crowded! I love it!

And that my friends, wraps up the fall decor home tour for this year! I pretty much do the same things each year, with some small minor changes. Hope you enjoyed it!

Weekly recap.

/ mandyjoyloves / Leave a comment

Recapping our week on the blog!

Monday September 12

After we drop off Hadley to school, we’ll walk or workout, and sometimes we’ll go outside for a few minutes on the front porch. Check out the flowers, pull some weeds, water the flowers, whatever we might need to do to the flowers. Our neighbors like to pull their annuals out of the ground each year, but I like to keep ours as long as they look nice. I mean, the weather is still in the eighties most days! Hadley has been having sour patch popsicles for her dessert lately!

Tuesday September 13

Super low-key day, hung around the house, did some laundry, took some good naps, picked up Hadley from school, and went to soccer practice.

Wednesday September 14

Some days, Hadley looks more grown up than others. This morning, she looked particularly older than normal, so I had to take a photo. Little brother Huxley fell asleep during soccer practice, I walked around the fields a little bit to keep him asleep. He takes a little cat nap before his last bottle of the day. When I give Huxley a bath, Hadley is super patient most nights just chilling in her room watching her iPad.

Thursday September 15

We like to change spots on where Huxley eats his baby food and drinks his sippy cup. He seems to really like it sitting by the window lately, so we’ve kept his little hand-me-down chair by the window. After school, Hadley has Spanish class and then we had meet the teacher night. It was a casual open house style, since we didn’t have the traditional meet the teacher before school started since it was a late start this year.

Friday September 16

When Huxley wakes up from his naps, he is almost always so happy. Reminds me of his sister so much, Hadley was the same way. Since Huxley has started eating baby food, Hadley thinks its super gross and never wants anything to do with it. For some reason, she wanted to feed him this night and he loved every second of it. Even drank all of his sippy cup for her! It was the cutest thing to watch. I recently talked about Kroger Boost in my Instagram stories, but it’s a new thing for us and we love it! So worth it!

Saturday September 17

Saturday, we pretty much just chilled around the house all day. Played outside, played inside, Huxley took a nap, Hadley played all day long. Someone posted this saying on social media, and I re-posted it because it’s so very true. I know I’m going to miss these busy days, soaking every little moment in.

Happy Monday everyone, have a great week!