Weekending!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Linking up with Biana for a little weekend recap!

Friday was Eric's birthday, but he had to work until about 7:30 that night. I was able to drop off a milkshake to him really quickly while he was on a break. Other than that, our day was a pretty standard Friday. 

Just playing trains with no pants and a blanket on his head. 

We went to dinner with my parents, where Wells finally ate mashed potatoes. He has never liked them (is he even my child??), but I snuck him a bite without telling him what they were and he was a fan! I thought I had fooled him, but then when I was telling my mom that we shouldn't tell him what they were, Wells overheard and informed me that they were "tatoes." #hesnodummy

We got home and waited for Daddy. Wells helped him blow out the candle on his birthday brownies, and we gave him his present and homemade card. This is literally the best picture I could get - Wells being generally crazy, and Eric trying to read the card quickly before Grayer could grab and eat it. Ha! #reallife

 We went to bed way too late, but we had fun celebrating our birthday boy :)

Saturday was a crazy day. We had a cousin's 1st birthday party around lunchtime; I still had to make Grayer's costume; and we had trunk or treat at church that night. Let the record show that whenever I have anything important that I have to get done (like make a costume from scratch!), the boys somehow sense it and do not sync their naps or decide to boycott naps that day altogether. This day was a perfect example. So, Grayer's costume barely got done, and I barely kept my sanity. We did have a great time at the trunk or treat, and I was a chili cook-off judge. Yum! I won first place in the competition last year, but with Eric working weekends and with all the craziness going on with two littles, I decided not to enter this year. I am proud of myself for realizing that because I have a tendency to think I can do it all. Learning to say "no" is something I am working on :)

On to the boys' costumes! My original costume plan for the boys did not come to fruition because it is still ridiculously HOT in Savannah right now. Like 15 degrees hotter than the normally warm temps this time of year. So, I decided late last week that we would scratch it and come up with new costumes. 

Wells was an engineer riding Thomas the Tank Engine. My mom made him a Thomas train out of a diaper box. I love that woman. Wells LOVED the train and was so excited to wear it.  

And Grayer was a bowl of spaghetti :) He was not real excited about his hat at all and only kept it on about 5 minutes. But we managed to at least get a couple of pictures of him, even if they aren't very good. Ha!

Sunday we went to church as usual. We had another 1st birthday party for another cousin that afternoon (I have a big family...obvs). Wells was DYING at having to watch the birthday boy eat his own smash cake. He wanted a piece so bad. Ha! He finally got his own piece, and all was right with the world again. Later that afternoon we went to a local country carnival for about an hour...and I do mean "country." As you can see, there was a game that involved throwing a rubber chicken into someone's pants :)

Eric got home as the boys were finishing supper, and we had a lowkey rest of the night. We watched The Walking Dead and passed out, totally exhausted from a long and busy weekend. 

We are excited for trick or treating tonight! Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

  

Friday Favorites!

This week FLEW by! I didn't get to blog as much this week as I have been lately, but that's just the way it goes sometimes :)

As usual, I'm linking up with Andrea, Erika, & Narci for Friday Favorites

My DIY Magnolia Wreath
I blogged about this on Tuesday. I LOVE the way this wreath turned out, and I love even more that it didn't cost me a penny to make. If you are a magnolia wreath fan but can't justify the price tag (like me!), consider DIYing one!

Day Trip to Charleston
Charleston is just about a 2-hour drive from us here in Savannah, so we hit up the Children's Museum there on Wednesday. It was really nice, and Wells had a blast. His favorite was definitely the room with the giant water table. He played in there for the majority of the day. Before we went in, we grabbed lunch at the food truck, The Charleston Bird, around the corner. Their sandwiches were SO good, and we took them in with us to eat them in the outdoor area of the museum.

Costume/Party Day
Wells had his Halloween party at school on Thursday. I designed a quick tag and made treat bags filled with Hershey's Kisses and rubber bugs for his class. Love the way they turned out and of course how no-fuss they were to make (thanks for the idea, Pinterest).

It was also costume day, but I didn't want to send him in a full costume (because preschool); so he wore an engineer cap, bandana, and took his train whistle. For Halloween, he will have a Thomas the Tank Engine box to "ride" in, but for school. I thought the outfit was plenty.

Pumpkin Painting
We had a little pumpkin carving/painting night at my Granny's earlier this week. My mom worked on Wells' pumpkin, which was...surprise, surprise...Thomas! He loved it, and it turned out so cute. I worked on Grayer's pumpkin, keepin' it simple with two bats and a moon that looked so bad, I made it into a "G' for Grayer. #paintingisnotmything

Eric's Birthday
Today is Eric's 28th birthday, but we won't get to see him until about 8pm tonight once he's off work. The boys will be making a card for him this afternoon & we've already gotten his gift. We'll have birthday brownies ready for him when he gets home. We can't eat lunch with him because of protocol (lame), but I think I may drop off a birthday milkshake to him while he is on break. I love my hubby so much and can't believe this is the 10th birthday I've celebrated with him! We met in college just before his 19th birthday, and I still remember the sweater I bought him as a present :)

And, lastly, one UNFAVORITE thing: sadly, we found out (3 days before closing), that we are not getting the house :( This was a tough pill to swallow. We LOVED this house, and while there is still a possibility for us to get it that we contemplated very seriously, we just feel like God is telling us to take a step back and look for something else. The entire process has been one of those where it's been a different struggle at every turn. The whole issue has to do with the rare type of loan we need (so that renovation expenses are wrapped up in the overall loan) - and when I say rare, I mean it. We found only TWO mortgage lenders who offer this type of loan. The loan is ridiculously strict, and it's basically been a nightmare.

Even though we are sad to lose it, we are excited to see where God is going to lead us. We thought we would be in the apartment for 1.5 months during the overlap of selling our house and buying the new one, but it looks like we will be here a while longer. And I need help accepting that :) We truly are thankful for all of our blessings and know that this is just a minor setback compared to other things going on in the lives of so many others.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

DIY Magnolia Wreath!

So, I have been longingly looking at magnolia wreaths for a little while now, but my wallet has not been nearly as excited about the decor trend. I just cannot justify the price tag, no matter how beautiful they might be. And, if Eric ever found out that I bought one? He would die. #literally

So, when I was driving around a couple of weeks ago and spotted a huge magnolia branch in a neighbor's yard (courtesy of Hurricane Matthew), a light bulb went off! A quick Pinterest search of how to preserve the leaves left me with one of two options - glycerin or mod podge. Due to the fact that I have a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old, the quickest and easiest way in any situation is always the best option. So, mod podge it was!

I painted the backs of the leaves first and let them dry (on a discarded box of wipes from Sam's #becauseimclassy); and then I started on the front of the leaves. Don't be fooled - this was a process that spanned a couple of days - see previous comment about two littles, But this entire project really could be done in a day, for all you over-achievers ;)

I already had a large wire wreath in the closet, so I grabbed it and got to work assembling the leaves. To get a nice, full effect, I taped the leaves together in threes. Here is a truly horrible picture to show you what I mean.

Go ahead and tape most of the leaves, but make sure to leave some singles so that you can fill in any empty spaces once you're finished.

Again, going with the easiest route, I started taping the leaves to my wire wreath. I did hot glue in some areas as well, but for the most part, I was all about the tape! I started at one end and just went around in a circle. After I had filled up the circle, I started looking for areas that looked empty or just uneven. At this point, I used the glue gun because there were so many leaves, that there wasn't a lot of space to wrap tape around the wire.

I will say that my leaves turned a more muted color - I am not sure if that is because I went the easy route of mod podge as opposed to preserving them with glycerin. I really love the muted color and am much happier than when they were bright green at first.

Only time will tell if the leaves stay their current color of if they turn anymore (I really hope not), but right now, I am LOVING the way the wreath turned out. And I didn't have to spend a penny! I can't wait to hang it in the new house (which we are supposed to close on this Friday!).

Linking up for Tuesday Talk today.

Weekending!

Linking up with Biana :)

On Friday, the boys and I left with my parents to head to Atlanta for my grandpa's 80th birthday. The trip up was pretty good - I held them off on their naps, so they slept a little on the way :) #parentingwin
We got to their house around 10pm, and the boys played for a while. We went to bed really late but had a good time catching up. 

Brother bonding in their Halloween jams :)

Saturday morning came way too quick. We spent pretty much the whole day at my grandparents' house, and the boys got to play with some of their cousins that they don't see very often. The highlight of Wells' day was most definitely the birthday cake :) He kept going in the kitchen to look at it - it was killing him to have to wait until the party to eat it! Ha! My sister and I made a quick run to Home Goods and Starbucks later that evening, and then I edited her college scholarship essay that she had to submit that night. I can't believe she will be in college (at my alma mater!!) next year! #thisiswhatoldfeelslike

On Sunday, we got up and started cleaning and packing to head back home. On the way out, we stopped by some more family's house. Then we piled in the car and were home by 7:30pm, right around the time Eric was getting off of work. The boys and I were so excited to see him. The kiddos were nowhere close to being sleepy since they had taken late naps on the road, but we had to make sure they were occupied and quiet (ha!) during The Walking Dead premiere. I am still shocked that Eric got me into this show last year - we binge watched like it was our job - because it is so not my kind of thing. But after a couple of episodes, I was hooked. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen last night's episode, but WOW. That is all.

Basically.

We are praying that we close on the new house THIS FRIDAY! In addition to that, we already have a pretty busy week ahead - Wells' school Halloween party, Eric's birthday, pumpkin carving with my family, DIYing costumes, and getting ready for trunk or treat/chili cook-off this weekend. I am tired just thinking about it all! 

Happy Monday, everyone!

Friday Favorites!

Friday's here!!!!! Woohoo!
The boys and I are headed to Atlanta this weekend with my parents to celebrate my Grandpa's 80th birthday! Since Eric is now on weekend shift, he can't come :( We will miss him, but we are looking forward to spending lots of time with family for the next 2 days.

Some of this week's favorites:

1. Family Fun Day!

Eric is typically off Monday - Thursday, and I work a couple of hours in the morning throughout the week as well. Wednesdays are days that neither of us go in to work and Wells doesn't have preschool, so we get to spend all day with each other. It's like our Saturday :) This week we went to the Savannah Children's Museum. Not surprisingly, Wells' most favorite thing was playing with the trains. Also, you have to walk through the Railroad Museum to get there. We have been to the Railroad Museum a few times, and it is Wells' favorite thing ever. So he was happy to see all the big trains again.

2. These Mini Bacon Cheeseburger Quinoa Bites

I pinned these a few weeks ago and finally got around to making them. They were SO good. Eric keeps a sloppy list on a random scrap piece of paper in the kitchen of his most favorite meals I make. He wrote this one down promptly. Ha! Both boys loved them, too, and I served them with sweet potato fries (always a big hit with everyone).  New Hankin family favorite for sure - they seriously taste just like a bacon cheeseburger!

3. Bible Study
Eric got the idea for us to each read through the chapters in Genesis separately and write down our favorite verse of each chapter. Then we get together and share which verses we chose and why. We did this for the second time last night (we do a few chapters each time), and I am really enjoying it.

4. These Festive Snacks!

Easiest festive snack ever award goes to these pumpkin-shaped carrot slices! I was way too excited about packing these for Wells' snack this week :) All you do is make two diagonal notches in a peeled carrot, and then slice away. So easy and so adorable! Right?

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, & Narci.

Confessional Thursday

- I confessed a whole lot of crazy in this post for Andrea's How & Tell Tuesday: Quirks Edition.

- I confess that on Tuesday night, I raced home after our Home Group to watch the new episode of This Is Us. I mean I literally left Eric (we had driven separate) to socialize because I couldn't take the thought of having to wait a day to watch it online. #imayhaveaproblem

- I confess that I just posted Grayer's 8-month update yesterday...and he'll be 9 months next week. Oops :)

- I confess that the one shining moment of last night's debate in my opinion was definitely Melania's romper. Yes, girl.

- I confess that I am going to lose my ever-loving mind if Grayer does not stop waking up at night!!!! I kid you not, he woke up at least 5 times from 1am-8am last night. Mamas, if you have any advice, pleeeeeeease help me out. I lay him in his crib slightly awake for naps and when he goes to bed at night, so I know he can soothe himself to sleep. WHY won't he put himself back to sleep throughout the night?

-We had our first ER visit with Wells last night. I wanted to go to the last revival service at my parents' church. Both boys were in the nursery when I heard Wells screaming (through the closed sanctuary doors and down the hall. he has a good set of lungs.). He had been running and hit his head right along the eyebrow bone on a chair. It was wide enough of a split that we knew it wouldn't heal back up on its own. We made it to the urgent care, and they glued it up (sooo thankful we didn't have to get stitches). He was NOT happy, and it may have taken 4 of us to hold him down for the doctor to glue it shut. I confess that I truly can't believe we made it almost 2.5 years without an ER visit because that clumsy boy falls about 5 times a day!

As you can see, he was fine by the time we got home and clearly milked his injury for all it was worth - watching videos, eating snacks, and lounging in Daddy's recliner :)

Linking up for with Danielle for Confessional Thursday and Annie & Natalie for Thoughts for Thursday!

Grayer is EIGHT Months!

Okay, yes, Grayer will be 9 months next week...but in my defense, I did have this post written a long time ago (back when he was a newly 8-month-old babe). I just could never get around to taking the pictures. Well, yesterday I finally took those pictures. So, now I can post it...almost an entire month late. #reallife

Grayer has been a busy bee this month. Here's a glimpse into his life lately:

Weighs: He hasn't been weighed in quite a while (he was 17 lbs and 11oz at his last appt), so I'm not really sure right now. If his vigor for eating is any indication, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has gained a pound or two.

Sleeps: .Last month I reported that Grayer is an awful sleeper. I will stand by that statement again this month. Ha! He has had a couple of nights where he has only woken twice, and it was fab. But, it is by no means the norm yet. I mentioned that while we are in the apartment (only about a month 'till we move to the new house), his crib was moved to our room. Maybe that has something to do with all this waking (because he wasn't waking up quite this much when he had his own room at our old house). He has a noise machine - he and Wells have both slept with one since birth - but maybe he just senses movement in the room. That sounds crazy, but he has to sense it somehow because EVERY night when I get in bed, he wakes up. #hejustknows

Eats: I never thought that I'd meet a baby who loved food more than Wells did, but Grayer is that baby! This boy gets so excited when there is food around. He gets mad when you stop feeding him. He cannot handle anyone to eat without him being fed, too. He eats two solid meals a day and also little snacks throughout the day. He gets a little bit of juice or water but is still nursed the majority of the time.

Wears: He is mostly wearing 9-month and 12-month clothes. A lot of his clothes were Wells' clothes, so they may run a bit smaller just from being washed and worn before, but I would say that 9-month clothes are the best fit, with 12-months sometimes being just slightly too big. He is still in a size 3 diaper.

Plays: Grayer is happiest when there is lots of chaos going on. He gets bored very easily if things aren't loud or eventful (AKA if Wells isn't around!). He will sit and play with toys pretty well, especially if you put them in a box or basket and let him pull them out. He likes to bounce in his exersaucer, and he likes to be outside. He enjoys bath time even more now that he is out of the lounger and sitting up all on his own in the tub. He is showing some interest in crawling, but he mostly goes backwards or sideways when on his belly instead of actually crawling. He loves to stand (with help, of course).

Milestones: Big man learned how to drink from a straw last weekend, and he is now a master of all straws! Like I mentioned, he is now sitting up in the tub instead of using his baby bath lounger. He also pulled up for the first time last week. He learned to clap this week, too, and it's pretty much the most adorable thing ever. Lots of new tasks and skills this month!

This guy is hard at work learning new stuff every day. We love him to pieces and can't believe he's already 8 months!

Show & Tell Tuesday: Quirks

Andrea has a super fun link-up topic today!

Goodness, where to even start? This will be totally random, but here are what I consider to be some quirks and/or little things that make me who I am :)

Chronic Lateness
Anyone who knows me at all knows that I will 99.9% be late to any event. Church, work (oops), doctor's appointments, parties, you name it. I can get up an hour earlier than I even need to and still be late. It's a problem. And it drives Eric crazy. I don't try to be late, but I don't mind it (well, at least for parties). If for any reason we happen to be on time or...gasp...early for a social get-together, I have been known to make Eric drive around the block a couple of times to kill some more time. You don't want to look over-eager, right?

Allergies

I have always been allergic to dogs & cats - well, really all animals with hair :) I get itchy, blotchy, and wheezy. It's really attractive. If we are going to someone's house that may have a dog (and we haven't yet told them about my allergy), Eric has to go in first in case there is a dog and "play" with him so it doesn't get to me. Ha! One time when we were dating, he had to occupy the slobberiest dog in the world for like 10 minutes just so he wouldn't come over to me.

Blinkers

I am one of those people who uses their blinker for every turn. Parking spots? Carpool line? Parallel parking? Yes to all of them. #cantstopwontstop

Speaking of driving...
I have never gotten a speeding ticket. I rub this one in Eric's face all the time.

Coffee Creamer

I drink coffee for the creamer. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Politics
Politics are my jam...said no 27-year-old besides me ever. I love politics, and if you get in the car with me, chances are I will have talk radio playing. Eric and I are both talk radio junkies and get way too excited about all things politics. We are very much the go-to people for our families about any political topic because they know that we will be know everything there is to know about it. Also, this election season makes me want to literally throw up. It is giving me serious anxiety.

Chewing

I HATE to listen to people smack their food. It has been a pet peeve of mine for as long as I can remember. It drives me completely nuts. Sometimes I can't even handle the normal sounds that people make when eating even if their mouth is closed. One time, a girl brought an apple to a Business Finance class I was in in college. She was across the room, but the sound of her chomping down made me want to walk out. I still think about it from time to time. #dontbringapplestoclass

Coughing
Along the same lines of hearing someone chew, I hate to hear people cough. One cough will get you a pass. Two coughs, and I may be able to ignore it. But three or more? I can't. I'm not proud of this at all, but Wells had a really bad cough last week, and I almost lost it a few times. I had to consciously tell myself that he could not help it and that it was bothering him way more than me.

Thick Hair

My hair has always been VERY thick. In middle school (before the really good flat irons were available for the average gal), I would get up extra early so that my dad could iron - yes, as in on the ironing board - my hair before school. I wish I was joking. It was the only way I could get my hair to be somewhat "sleek." Even now, I have very high-maintenance hair. I cannot just wash my hair and leave the house. I have to curl or straighten it, or it will inevitable end up in a (very large) top knot.

Always Cold
I get cold very easily. My hands and feet are always as cold as ice. Sometimes in the summer (summer in Savannah could easily mean a heat index of 110 degrees), if I am by myself I like to sit in my car without turning on the A/C. Not for long, but just long enough to enjoy the warmth. It's weird, I know. I also use the seat warmers in our van year-round.

Smells
There are four things that I put in the same nauseatingly-smelly category: Play-Doh, Tootsie Rolls, candy corn, and raw celery. Just no. I get queasy thinking about them. Let's move on.

Scaredy-Cat
I hate being scared, and unfortunately I scare easily. I can barely watch something even remotely suspenseful before going to bed. I once almost had a panic attack walking to my room after watching the movie Clue one night in high school. Yes, I know it's supposed to be funny not scary.

Meat is an Obligation

I'm not a vegetarian. I eat meat - I just prefer side dishes :) That's why I love holiday meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas, when there are billions of sides! I could very easily forget to put some turkey on my plate and not be sad at all. When I was little and staying with my grandma for a week one summer, she served pork chops for dinner. Well, I didn't finish mine...and do you know what I had for breakfast the next morning? Pork chop. And the morning after that? Pork chop. I had to eat that thing all week until it was gone! Ha! #porkchopsaretheworstmeat

Chocolate Bars
Chocolate is not the key to my heart. I will eat chocolate cake, brownies, and things like that, but the though of eating a candy bar makes me sick. It must be hard chocolate that I can't handle? Anyone else in this same boat?

Birds
Birds are a big no for me. I cannot stand seagulls at the beach, and I am so scared they are going to come land on me. I don't like bird shows at places like Disney World, etc. It's the talons, I think. And the beaks. And the screeching.

So, there you have it. Just a few of my quirks. I can't wait to read everyone else's!

Weekending!

Friday

Friday was pretty typical and very low-key. I went to work for a couple hours and took Grayer with me while Wells stayed with my dad. Then it was lunch, naps, and playtime. I got a call from our doctor's office to say that the boys' labs from the day before were back - and they have 2 bacterial sicknesses and 1 viral sickness, which perfectly explains all of the snot, whining, and overall crankiness they've been experiencing the last couple days. Not fun at all, but at least they are now on some antibiotics and hopefully on their way to feeling better. Eric got home later than usual Friday night, so we were all going crazy beyond ready to see him. He played with the boys, and then we put them to bed.

I was exhausted and decided to unwind with a bath, a book, and a bowl of ice cream. And then about 10 minutes later, Grayer woke up crying. #momlife

Saturday
Grayer was up and at 'em early Saturday morning. He didn't get the mom-wants-to-sleep-in memo. We played for a while and waited for Wells to wake up. We had scrambled eggs with cheese & ham - one of Wells' favorite breakfasts - and got ready for the day. We made a trip to Target with my parents, and I was pretty happy with the stuff I found. Because we are in an apartment for just about 2 months while transitioning from our old house to the new one (but mostly because Eric put my decorations box in the storage unit #ahem), I have not decorated for Fall/Halloween. But Target's Dollar Spot sucked me in.

I actually did very good, though, and only got a few things. I LOVED this black and white watercolor pumpkin (only $3? yes, please). I got the boys some festive Halloween glass milk bottles and also grabbed a cypress cedar-scented candle. My mom and I made a simple little Halloween craft later in the afternoon. How cute is this little monster?

We just glittered the inside of a clear, plastic Christmas ornament and hot glued some googly eyes on it. I hung it on Wells' doorknob, and he loves him! Eric got home and played with the boys and watched some football while I packed his lunch/dinner for work on Sunday.

Sunday
Church and Sunday dinner with the family as usual. Wells has a little girlfriend at my parents' church, and they ate breakfast together that morning :)

The rest of the day was pretty much just a blur of naps, playtime, wrestling (literally) an 8-month-old to the ground and forcing Amoxycillin down his throat. and mentally preparing for a new week! Wells was out of school all last week because of the Hurricane Matthew aftermath, so it will be good for us to all get back into our normal routines. Eric is now off until Friday, and I think we may plan a little day trip on Wednesday to do something fun with the boys. Looking forward to a great week!

Linking up with Biana :)

Friday Favorites!

Sorry for the absence this week, but it was Hurricane Matthew's fault! We went to the next county over to stay with family to get a little bit more inland than where we live and avoid the worst of the storm. However, Matthew hit a lot of places pretty hard that were not under mandatory (or even voluntary) evacuation orders. We lost power for about 36 hours, and the Verizon cell tower for the area has been down from overnight last Friday when the storm hit up until yesterday afternoon. And everyone's wifi in the area has been down, too. So, no blogging for this girl. Savannah took a pretty hard hit, and clean-up will take a while. But we are so thankful that God took care of us and that all we had to do was replace our fridge/freezer food. So many people had, and still have, it a lot worse than us.

So let's get to some favorites!

Water & Electricity!

It is crazy how much we take for granted and how quickly we can lose all of our comforts. It was humbling to have to carry around flashlights and boil a pot of water on the grill to use for bathing.

Quality Family Time

As I mentioned, we stayed at family's house during the storm and a couple days after. There were 6 adults, 2 teenagers, 2 kiddos, a toddler, and a baby. It was crazy but fun to get to spend time together. The little ones had a great time playing together and keeping each other occupied without electricity.

This Book

I have been wanting to get into the Killing series by Bill O'Reilly. Last week, I finally got Killing Kennedy, and I loved it. I could not put it down and can't wait to check out the other books.

A DIY Project

I have not quite finished yet, but I have been working on a little project. Thanks to a neighbor's debris from Hurricane Matthew, I was able to get a few branches of magnolia leaves. I preserved them and am making a wreath. So excited about how it's turning out so far. 

All Things Halloween 

My mom bought the boys new Halloween pjs, and I was telling Wells that you say "Trick or Treat" on Halloween, My new favorite thing is hearing him say "Tricky Treat!!!" :)

  

I'm glad to be back in the blogging swing of things and can't wait to read all your Friday Favorites!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, & Narci.