It's my birthday and I'll blog about myself if I want to.

Helping Mommy blow out candles :)

33. That's 2 years away from 35 and 7 years away from 40. I loved turning 30, but the closer I get to 40 I'm kind of freaked out--not gonna lie.  I proclaimed that I "wasn't a spring chicken anymore" to my husband who happens to be 12 years older than me. He politely rolled his eyes and told me to shut the hell up. ;) I may have celebrated my birthday for 3 days in a row this year. I don't know about you but I like to milk my birthday for as long as I can..especially if a weekend is close to the day.
Screw the inch, I'm takin' the mile! 

My birthday was last Thursday. My actual birthday was pretty low-key. I bought myself some birthday loot, ate dinner at Chili's {had to go the family friendly route since the boys were coming with}, and then my baby sis came over with the most amazing Heath Bar cake for me. :)

New tennis shoes, Fall faves from Bath & Body, and Starbucks!

Dinner at Chili's--which I obviously picked because Daws stays quiet the longest here.
Thank you chips, salsa, and ranch for the win!

Worth EVERY calorie.

Friday I continued the birthday festivities with dinner at Houlihan's with my middle sis. This was my first time eating here and the food was delicious! I'm such a weenie when it comes to trying a new restaurant. I'm sure it's just my neurotic type A personaity, but I always get nervous when trying somewhere new. I just don't want to have a bad experience when I'm A. super hungry or B. celebrating something. Hence why I go with the known vs. the unknown. Okay, enough about my craziness. ;) We had a wonderful time and I am so thankful I am blessed with 2 amazing sisters!!

Mini Martini's...yes, please!

Saturday we met my Dad half-way so he and my Mom could take the boys for the day/night so we could...wait for it...celebrate my birthday. Yes, that makes day #3 of celebrating. ;) We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, then did a little wine-tasting at  Buck Creek Winery. The winery is super close to our house and every time we pass it we always want to stop, so we finally did. :) Not my favorite wine, but it wasn't bad. 

My fave appetizers at Cheesecake Factory.

I think I need that cute wine tree in my back yard. ;)

We had dinner plans at a winery/restaurant but decided last minute to just cancel them and go to Target get a bunch of snacks, adult beverages, and watch a movie. Homebody party of 2 right there! Sometimes you just need a relaxing night {without the kiddos} at home! 

So see, not so high maintenance  even with a 3 day celebration. ;)

Because sometimes you just want to cancel dinner plans and eat snacks like a pig...in bed...with no pants on. ;)

Happy Monday!! XO

Kid Craftin'-Fall Style!

Well, it's no shocker that I'm mildly 120% obsessed with Fall. :) It's just around the corner and I'm ready to get my craft on with my kids! I have quite a few crafts from when I taught preschool, but I was looking for some new ones to add to my list and came across these.

Thought I would share some of the cute ones I found for the "Mama and Me" craft lovers our there!

{Candy Corn Footprint}

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{Pine Cone Creatures}

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{Cork Print Fall Tree}

{Football}

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{Footprint Bat}

{Candy Corn Math}

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Happy Crafting!!

Festivals, Fairs, Nature, and Ice Cream!

This weekend was a jam packed one! Just thinking about it makes me tired all over again. In fact, I still have a fair hangover. ;) Exhaustion aside, we did have a blast! Friday evening after naptime, we headed over to Dawson's school for their annual festival (Augstravagaza!) Get this, they actually close school for two days for this festival-well played Catholics, well played. A little side note about myself...I do not ride rides. The carousal is where my adventure ends...such a daredevil, I know. ;) On the other hand, Daws is just like his Daddy--fearless. So, while Daws was draining our bank account riding every ride possible, I was perfectly content shoving an Elephant Ear in my face.

 I mean, that is the REAL reason everyone goes the fair, right?! :)

"We can get more tickets when these run out. Right, Mom?"

Just for the record-this slide gave me a straight up heart attack. Over half of Daws' tickets went here because he wanted to go again and again!

One of my two wild animals. ;)

Saturday morning is usually spent at the gym, but since I had the cold from hell all week I opted to take a break and just relax at home that morning with my boys. I also needed to get some cleaning done since my Dad was coming to town to spend the afternoon with us. :)

I love morning that begin with coffee and Fall. :)

After lunch, my Dad met us at the house and we took off for a little adventure in the park. We visited a couple parks/nature centers on the northside of Indy, and then headed to one of the best places to get ice  cream! One of the parks we went to even had a little car show going on-complete with a bounce house and a Sno-cone truck-major score! ;)

Garry was gone pretty much all day and evening, so my Dad coming was a nice break in the day. :)

I love this picture. :) 

It doesn't get much cuter than baby feet in Crocs.

After becoming one with nature all afternoon, the next stop was a trip to {brics} for some ice cream!!

Cookies and Cream for me, Vanilla for Daws, and poor Hudsie got the shaft with some Gerber Puffs. :)

Another fun-filled day-check! We were ready for a good night's sleep (and a glass of wine for Mama!) because we had to wake up on Sunday and do it all over again at the Sate Fair! 

The chorus Garry directs had to sing three different times, so we just decided to tag along for the day. 

Once again, Daws rode rides and I ate myself into a grease coma. ;)

This was the first thing Daws wanted to ride. Heart attack #2. Obviously, Daddy took him on that one. 

And, this one is just like his mother...always shoving snacks in. ;) {"Watching" Daddy!} 

Daws couldn't wait for Daddy to get off stage so he could give him a big hug. So sweet!

Fried Green Beans with Ranch and a Lemon Shake-up.  So yummy!

We were spoiled this weekend....we got to see Mimi and Papa on Sunday too!

We survived the State Fair! ;) 

After our busy weekend, I was *almost* looking forward to today {I know, who looks forward to Monday?!} because I knew we had zero going on besides school for Daws this morning. 

Of course, I tried to hold out on putting up my first Fall decoration...but we all know how well I do with resisting anything Fall related. I'm sure my husband was thrilled to see Fall creeping in already. ;)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and got to sneak in a little more relaxing than we did! :)

Happy Monday!

Coxhall Gardens

Yesterday we met my sis and one of the kiddos she nannies for a little playdate. I have been wanting to check these gardens out for awhile, so we decided to see what it was about! It was super cute, and Dawson loved running through all the houses with his new "friend" he met there. He kept saying, "Wait for me, my friend!" Even when he found out her name was Alice, he still kept calling her "my friend"...it was pretty damn cute. ;) I tell you, that kid could make friends with a fly on the wall! 

Hudson, being my little wild child, was crawling all over the ground trying to eat mulch. That boy keeps me on my toes, that's for sure! There wasn't much for H to do there, so I just tried to keep him in the stroller and feed him snacks. Good thing he likes to eat! :) I can't wait to take him back in the Spring when he will be walking--I can't believe I just said that (tear!) 

After we played in the gardens for awhile, we headed to one of our fave parks that was just down the street.  The kids had fun, the weather was perfect, and I got to visit with my sister--triple score!

How cute are these little playhouses?!

Dawson didn't waste any time checking them all out.

The jail was his favorite. He kept calling it "the dungeon." ;)

"As long as you keep feeding me Mom, I'll stay in here forever."

Lover of mulch, dirt, and plants.

Taco Soup & Mini S'mores

Our Fall-like weather lately has me wanting soups, sweatshirts, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes! 

Since it's not quite time for the latter two, I thought I would share one of my fave soup recipes that I made for dinner this week.  It's super easy and so good! Perfect for a chilly night :)

Taco Soup

Ingredients: 

1 lb. Ground Beef {Browned and Drained}

2 Cans Stewed or Diced Tomatoes

2 Cans Ro-Tel Tomatoes

1 can Kidney Beans {you could also used black or pinto}

1 Bag Frozen Corn

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Don't drain cans. Mix all together and bring to a boil on Medium, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30-45 min.  Serve with Fritos or tortilla chips and top with cheese and/or sour cream. Enjoy!

I also found THIS RECIPE for Mini S'mores on Pinterest and decided to make them this week. Um, they were so good that I was poppin' those puppies like Tic-Tacs! ;) 

I'm definitely going to be making these again!

Wal-Mart for the win! (Who says that?!)

Me. That's who! Yes, I'm a Target girl 98% of the time. 

BUT, I did snag a few (cheap) gems that I'm pretty excited about. :)

These shark slippers were around $7! Dawson loves them so much that he has been sleeping in them for nap and bedtime. ;)  To say that he is OBsessed would be an understatement. I bought these as a surprise for him since I was gone over the weekend and he has been wearing them since then. :)

Yes, I'm one of "those people" who if they like something they buy it in every color. Daws has outgrown all his shoes and is now is a size 11. These were $5.87 a pair! As fast as he goes through shoes and grows out of them, I have zero problem admitting I buy cheap shoes. When I saw these I couldn't pass them up. Luckily, they fit great and my picky child approves! ;)

First step: Ignore this awkward selfie.
Last but not least I found this cute phone cover for $4.88! I like a little sparkle, so I thought this was cute. I don't like over-the-top sparkle that makes you wanna puke...but this was subtle enough that it works {for me at least!} :)

Like I said, I love my Target. 

But every now and then Wal-Mart puts out a few winners that I just can't pass up!