Our 2nd Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Last weekend we had our annual family trip to the Pumpkin Patch. My parents, sister, and brother in-law came to the city for the day and we all went to the Orr Family Farm. This is an annual activity we started last year, and we plan to continue over the years as a fall tradition.

Mac wasn't feeling 100%, so it wasn't as much fun as we had anticipated. If he would've felt better, he would've had a ball! He did do a few of the activities and picked out a few pumpkins to bring home. It was a good day as we made some good memories!

Today, we stand with the Cowboys.

Growing up in Oklahoma, you're usually either an OU Sooner or an OSU Cowboy. Since OU is my Alma Mater, it seems completely accurate that we bleed crimson in our house. We are Sooner Born and Sooner Bred.

With the tragic accident that occurred earlier today in Stillwater and that made national news, we're standing with the Cowboys today. My heart is broken for all of those involved in the accident, including the suspect. To think that a poor decision at 25 years old will now haunt her as long as she lives. I do not judge her, as we've all made a poor decision or two. To the victims and their families, we lift them up in our prayers. We pray for healing, peace, and comfort to all of those affected today and the days ahead. What should have been a fun filled day of homecoming activities, turned in to a day of living hell for some. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them all.

To anyone reading this post, I ask you to please vow to never get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking. To think this tragic and horrific day for so many could have been prevented by a simple decision makes this sickening to me. I know many people who always think they're fine to drive, and I'm sure that's what this woman thought as well. I'm often harassed by friends for not having a good time because 90% of the time my husband and I go out I am the DD. I have no problem sipping on water for the evening as long as I know we have a safe and sober ride home. So the next time you think you're "okay" to drive, please take a moment and think about what life would be like if you caused an accident that took the lives of 3 people. No one wants to live with that guilt; so call a friend, family member, co-worker, or an uber to get you home safe.

Today, we stand united with the Cowboys. May the days and weeks ahead bring about healing for all.

Not Your Mama's Chili

With it officially being fall I wanted to post this older recipe again; it's a favorite at our house when cooler temps hit here in Oklahoma. I originally thought I got this from my mom, but later learned I actually tweaked her recipe and made my own. Chili is often reoccurring on our menu during the fall. I've taken this to football tailgates, watch parties, and pot lucks; and it's always a big hit!

ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
2- 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, chili ready
1- 15 oz. can pork & beans
1- 10 oz. can rotel
1/2 cup ketchup
1 packet of Williams chili seasoning
1 onion, diced (optional)

instructions
1. Brown ground beef and drain any grease.
2. Mix in diced onion and chili seasoning with meat.
3. In a large pot, combine tomatoes, rotel,
ketchup, pork & beans, and meat mixture.
4. Stir well, then bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat, stir, and let simmer before serving.
6. Top with your favorite chili toppings, then serve.

18 months old.

We now have an 18 month old! Our little nugget is half way to being two. WOAH, slow down time. I have no idea where time goes, but I know it's going too fast.

Mac is a busy little boy these days! He loves playing outside; jumping on his trampoline, swinging, going for walks in his big blue truck, and playing with his golf clubs are just some of the activities he enjoys outdoors. He also loves any kind of ball; footballs, bouncy balls, baseballs, he loves them all. Any time he sees a ball of any kind he yells, "ball!" and points. He has a pretty good throw already too. It is looking like we could have an athlete in the house. His Poppie got him his first t-ball set, so he'll be knocking home runs by the time he's 2! Mac adores his daddy and Poppie! He still loves bath time, and hates getting his diaper changed. He's eating really well, and LOVES fruit! He is still getting 1 bottle a day before bedtime, but we're planning to try to cut that out in the near future. We tried a couple months back, but we were unsuccessful. However, I don't think a bottle before bedtime is going to hurt him. Mac loves his friends at school, and is developing right on target. He's running everywhere, and talking all the time. He can say several words, and is starting to put words together. It's been so much fun watching him grow, even though some days it's exhausting having a toddler at home! Mac loves his furry sister, and his laugh is contagious. He's now in a 18-24 month clothes, size 6 shoes, and size 5 diapers. I'm not sure on his percentiles, but we've got his appointment next week so we'll find those out then. At his last doctor visit, he was just shy of 28 pounds. Mac is full of life, ALL BOY, and brings us so much joy!

Mac,
You are now well on your way to being two years old. While this makes mommy a little sad, it brings us all pure joy watching you grow and develop. You are so smart and funny! We pray for God's protection over you, and for his plan in your in life. We can't wait to see what your future holds. We love you more than you know, and are blessed to be your parents. Dream big, sweet boy! We love you to the moon! XOXO

September wrap-up.

Hello, October! It's no one of my favorite times of the year. This month will bring cooler temps, OU/Texas, Homecoming, scarves, boots, sweaters, pumpkin spice everything, and it also kicks off the holiday season (kind of). It's crazy to think it's already October, but before we dive deep in to this month let's wrap up last month here on the blog.

Mac and I kicked off September with a weekend at the lake with my parents. Meanwhile, Clete hosted his brother's bachelor party. We had a great time spending Labor Day weekend at the lake and closing summer with lots of sunshine and time out on the water.

We didn't really do a whole lot in September. Football season kicked off, so Mac & Daddy spent lots of time watching "hut hut" as Mac calls it. :) Clete also traveled two different weeks for work, so Mommy & Mac got lots of bonding time. Queenie came one week and stayed a couple nights with us. We really enjoyed having her here! We also had some beautiful weather, so we played outside quite a bit too. 

We wrapped up the month celebrating friends getting married. Congrats to the newlyweds, The Longs! We are blessed to have our little tribe, and are grateful for wonderful friends that are also family.

That's a wrap for September. Cheers to pumpkin spice, and everything fall! 

Embrace the Mess

Not long ago I came across a quote that instantly spoke to me, "Embrace the Mess!" These 3 words nearly slapped me in the face when I read them. You see, I'm a bit of a neat freak. Okay, maybe not just a bit; I'm a total neat freak! (I get it from my mom, she's the same way.) Some people would call it OCD. I like things to be in their place and for everything to be clean, picked up, and neat. While this can be a good quality to have, it can also sometimes drive a person crazy. As other moms know, it's almost impossible for everything to be in order all the time when you've got a busy toddler at home.

So, I decided to make this "embrace the mess" a new goal for myself. I even had the above print made to hang in our gallery wall in the living room as a reminder. I'm slowly trying to teach myself to embrace the mess. It's often much easier said than done, especially when you prefer things to be in their proper places. My husband often reminds me that Southern Living isn't coming for our home photo-shoot. The fingerprints on the doors, stainless steel appliances, and windows, along with the toys in the floor, are little reminders that our house is filled with joy and love. These little things are also reminders that we are blessed with the gift of being parents to a healthy and precious child. Once every other week, the fingerprints and smears are gone for maybe a day or two after the housekeeper makes her stop by our house. During the time in between her visits, I'm learning to let it go and embrace it all. Our house is a home, and it's the place where we live. I want Mac and our other future children to have good memories from home. I want them to feel like we lived in our home, and have fond memories of it. I want them to remember the times that their mama played with them or cooked their favorite meals, not all the times she spent cleaning up their messes.

Now don't get me wrong, I am still a neat freak. I struggle with embracing the mess almost daily. At the end of the evening before I go to bed, I pick things up and put them in their proper places. We're also teaching Mac how to pick up after himself, and put things away once he's finished with it. I'm just trying to loosen up and live in the moment instead of worrying about the house being in perfect condition all of the time. Because as much I hate to think about, I know deep down that far too soon this little boy will be a big boy and one day our house be too neat and too quiet, so for now we will embrace the mess.

Creating Our Gallery Wall

As a lot of you know, we moved into a new home this past April. With time, patience, (which I'm always short on), searching, and funds, it's slowly coming together!

I knew once we got our new living furniture that I wanted to do a gallery wall on the big wall in our living room. In our previous house, I had very minimal things on the walls but since this will be home for several years I want it to feel that way. I searched Pinterest pinning lots of different pins, and finally found my inspiration to create our wall.

I created this whole gallery wall, from frames to photos for under $100. I already had a few of the frames I used which were wedding gifts from our Pottery Barn wedding registry. After 4 years, I finally put them to use! I purchased all the other frames at Target. I had a picture on my iPhone of a layout I liked, so I kind of used that to "guide me" when creating the layout for our wall. I laid all the frames out in the aisle of Target to ensure I had what I needed before heading home. I'm sure people that walked by wondered what I was doing. Ha! After purchasing the frames, I then went home and filled them with our photos. I laid everything out again, this time on our coffee table. I used it because it's big and is close to the width of the space I was going to fill on the wall. I then added a few initials and a couple of small starburst mirrors to the arrangement. The G's came from Hobby Lobby and the starburst mirrors I already had; they were purchased a couple years ago at Target.

Once I got it all laid out, I took each piece and traced on the back of wrapping paper. I didn't have any craft paper, so I made what I did have on hand work. After tracing each piece, I then cut everything out, and arranged the paper on the wall how I had it laid out on the table. This is what most of the "how-to" posts I read showed to do.

After I got it all taped up on the wall, I made a few minor changes to the arrangement. I then got my hammer, nails, and command strips to start hanging the pieces where the paper was. Once the nail was in the wall, I took the paper down and hung the frame on the wall.

I am so pleased with the finished product! It adds so much to our living room, and makes this house feel more like home. I'm also pretty proud that I did this project all myself! It's exactly what I was wanting.

The 3 G's hanging on the wall are symbolic because we're a family of 3, and obviously our last name starts with G. There's a variety of pictures, and a print that states "embrace the mess". As our family grows in years to come we can add to it, and as we get new pictures all the frames can be changed out and updated.

This is one house project done on my to-do list of many. I'm planning to do another gallery area in the hall way one day. The next two projects to get completed are our home office and entry way.