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Anniversary Trip to the Inn at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina
We just got back from an amazing night stay at the Inn at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. We were very hesitant of staying in a hotel given the state of things right now, but decided since we haven’t had a night away in 8 months it was worth the risk. I will say that I was beyond comfortable at the Inn, they are taking precautions and everyone is very respectful in keeping distance and wearing masks. I highly recommend traveling to Asheville or anywhere in Buncombe county right now as the people and visitors are being very diligent. We got to the Inn around 6 on Thursday…
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Whether or Not to Send Kids to Preschool During Covid-19
Parenting is a challenging season, and parenting during a pandemic is even more challenging. I have learned more about myself and how I parent in the past 4 months than ever before. I have learned to give myself grace when things don’t go exactly as planned. I have embraced the occasional TV time when I am nearing my breaking point. And I have dug deep to find fun activities that bond us closer together. We have become such a tight little family and for that I am grateful for this quarantine. That being said, one of the parenting challenges that came up recently is sending the boys to preschool. Both…
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Road Trips with Toddlers (without screen time): Tips and Tricks for an Enjoyable Car Ride
We have gone on our fair share of car rides this year and I thought I would share a couple of the things we do to make the car rides less chaotic! Having two energetic toddlers confined to a car for 5+ hours can be daunting, but we have a few tricks that allow us to make the road trips enjoyable and lets be honest, tolerable 😉 It is probably not a popular opinion, but I am not a huge fan of screen time. For us, it makes my kids become little monsters as soon as we take away screens. I would rather not deal with the mood shift, so…
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Father’s Day Weekend Recap: First Visit to See Family in Waynesville, North Carolina
Seeing family is so good for the soul! It has been since February since we have seen Drew’s family and since December since we have seen mine. While we FaceTime often with family, nothing replaces visiting in person. This past weekend, we had our first trip to see my in-laws for Father’s Day weekend. Both of Drew’s step-siblings and sister along with their significant others were there which made the trip that much more special. My in-laws were very kind to keep the boys for an evening on Thursday night while Drew and I ventured to the Inn at Biltmore for a much needed child-free evening (separate post on our…
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Lazy Girl Grapefruit Margarita Recipe
If you know me, then you know I love me some wine. While I may not be a “wine-o,” I am the girl that orders wine at breweries and takes it to the beach (even though it is inconvenient ha!). However, over the past few months I have had issues drinking wine. The next morning, even if I only have one glass of wine–I wake up feeling horrible and not able to function as optimal as I like. I tried drinking organic wine, sulfate free wine, wine with low sugar, and really any trick in the book to make wine not cause me miserable mornings—well, nothing seemed to work. In…
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Weekend Recap: Visiting Friends in Sullivans Island, South Carolina
We just got back from a weekend away visiting friends and family. It has been so nice traveling again and I feel super comfortable as we are basically just quarantining in different locations. This past weekend we visited one of my best friends and Drew’s sister. It was a quick trip but was wonderful being back in the city we love. On Friday night, we stayed with Drew’s sister in Park Circle (a super cute and growing town just north of Charleston). She welcomed us with a wonderful home cooked meal and kept the kids very entertained. The boys shared a room and a bed for the first time–lets just…
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Anniversary Weekend and Weekend on Lake Lanier
We celebrated our 6th anniversary this weekend with plenty of family time and sunshine. While it wasn’t a typical anniversary of going to a tropical island, to the beach or even out to a fancy dinner–it was exactly how I wanted to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary (lets be honest, a tropical island vacation will always trump everything–but you know what I’m saying!). We started the weekend off with a pool night with a few of our neighbors. Our neighborhood is starting to “turn over” with new, younger families moving in which means that our boys are finding new friends to play with. It is amazing to see the boys…
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Indoor Toddler Boy (and Girl) Activities
We have been so blessed with beautiful, sunny weather the past couple of months. My boys thrive when they are able to be outside and use their imaginations surrounded by nature. Unfortunately, our luck has changed and it has been rainy in Atlanta for the past couple weeks. The next few days calls for rain, which means this mama needs to be creative to make fun indoor activities for two rambunctious little boys. Today, I am sharing a few of the activities that we enjoy doing inside and that allows the boys to get their energy out. Since it is warmer outside, we use our covered porch to do some…
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Memorial Day Weekend 2020: Family Time and Pool Time
This long weekend was filled with pool time for our little family. Luckily, our neighborhood pool opened on Friday which allowed for us to enjoy the pool four days in a row. I am pretty sure this summer our boys are going to become quite the little fish. Our pool has many restrictions, which are actually not that hard to follow and allow us to have a safe environment to enjoy swimming. The basic rules: sign up online for your spot (limited to 50 people), no floats, keep 6 ft apart and bring your own chair. People are not allowed to bring guests at this time, but it allows for…
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Finding the Right Workout for YOU
Discovering what exercise is right for you can be trial and error mixed with learning a lot about yourself. It has taken me years to realize that it is alright to change it up and switch out of your routine when you find yourself in a workout rut (or in quarantine). There are so many different things you can do, but at the end of the day you need to find something that you enjoy (and even if you don’t a hundred percent love it, you like it enough). We are all so lucky to have bodies that we can move each day and we need to not lose sight…