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Deciding on the “Right” Preschool
I am an indecisive person and am an over thinker who care A LOT so deciding on what preschool (or school) program to send my children is a task. I sometimes wish I was a mother who just picked one place based on the most important personal criteria and went with it…but no, not me, I have to interview all the options and then debate between them all. Y’all I do not make life easy ha! But I pray through my relentless determination to find the “right” school for my children, I make the correct choice! Our personal preschool journey, when we first moved to this area, I asked around…
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Big Changes From 3 Year Old to 4 Year Old
Time passes so quickly when you have multiple children, especially with the younger ones! It seems like it was only a year ago that I had a baby and now I have a full grown little boy!! Every birthday is bittersweet. I am grateful for another healthy and happy year with my children, but it is so sad seeing how quickly they grow up and knowing that they aren’t going to stay little for much longer. I truly love these days (collectively ;)) and treasure all the time I get to spend with them when they are young. Walker turned 4 this week and it truly feels like he grew…
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A Mother’s Prayer for First Child Starting Kindergarten
Tomorrow, my oldest starts kindergarten. It is hard to believe how quickly time passes by and how we have already reached this spot where he is going to be off to the “real world.” I am sure I will feel the same way when he enters middle school, high school and college. I have been truly blessed to stay at home with him throughout his life. I have been there for every bump, bruise, scratch, laugh, cry, silly story and everything in between. Following advice of others, we started preschool a couple days a week for a couple hours when he was 2. He went a little more each year…
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Life of a Stay at Home Mom in the Summer
Summer time is flying by and it is hard to believe in just a couple short weeks, my baby will be starting kindergarten. I am having all the feels over here, I know he is ready and excited–but a big part of me still thinks of him as that newborn I first brought home from the hospital. He is growing more independent, but still loves to cuddle at night, runs to me when he gets hurt, wants to play with me and his brother and is little in some ways but growing up in many others. We have done our best to soak up all the summer time together and…
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Three Full Days in Outer Banks, North Carolina
We just got back from our beach vacation for the summer. It was so nice to be back in Pine Knoll Shores visiting Drew’s aunt and uncle again. It truly is one of my favorite places and their view from their dock is breathtaking. We have experimented with leaving at different times to tackle the 9 hour road trip, ultimately we decided that leaving first thing in the morning works best for our family. We hit the road right at 7am to miss Atlanta traffic and after making a few rest stops and giving the kids incentive bags; we arrived with smiles on our faces around 4 in the afternoon.…
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Road Trip to Virginia and North Carolina with Little Ones
I just got back from a solo road trip with my 4 and 6 year old boys. While I was super nervous to go on an alone road trip with my boys, I am happy to report it was AMAZING and we made some lasting memories! Here, I will share some of the tips I learned from solo traveling along with some of our adventures to Virginia and North Carolina. Tips for Road Trips with Young Kids: 1. “Incentive Travel Bags” If you follow me on Instagram, then you know my researched hack about preparing bags for kids. I simply placed a small toy, a healthy snack and a treat…
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Fun-Filled Long Weekend Staycation in Atlanta
Happy Summer!! Memorial Day Weekend is always a fun time as it kicks off the start of summer. Our anniversary sometimes falls on the weekend making it even an even more special time. This year, we had original plans to head to a parents getaway in Helen, GA but plans changed and we ended up having a wonderful weekend at home exploring our town! Friday evening, we went to the Atlanta Braves game. Y’all I cannot tell you how much fun it is to enjoy watching your kids watch America’s sport. The boys loved running in the play area, snacking on hotdogs, chips, popcorn and ice cream! Pretty sure their…
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Family Fun Vacation to Fort Lauderdale with Young Children
Recently, we went on our first trip of the summer to visit friends in Fort Lauderdale. It has become a tradition to visit our close friends following Drew’s big budget meeting and the end of the school year. We spent 4 wonderful days playing in the water, chatting, eating and drinking and having the best time spending time catching up. It truly is wonderful how close friends’ children become close friends with each other (maybe there is something to that?!) On Saturday morning, we arrived at the airport after dropping Scout off at the dog sitters. Side note: if you are in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend Rover.com for…
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Myths and Insight on Holding Back Kindergartener
It has been a year since we made the much debated decision to hold back or “redshirt” our 5 year old. I had so many concerns regarding his age and him feeling like he was held back and not advancing like his peers…but you know what? NONE of my concerns came true. Y’all holding Reid back for one extra year to gain maturity was the best parenting decision we have made. Take this with a grain of salt, as we haven’t entered kindergarten yet, but seeing the amount that he has grown and matured this year, I feel confident that he will succeed in kindergarten in the fall. I posted…
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Healthy and Simple School Lunches for Young Children
Making school lunches can be stressful. We specifically choose our boys’ classes based on being able to have lunch at home to avoid packing school lunches. I honestly love eating lunch with my boys and it is a lot simpler to just make them a meal at home than to pack a lunch within the allergy parameters at school. I am pretty sure the whole “you make a plan, and God laughs” applies to this year’s school lunch situation. Our school only had one option for Reid’s age group, which meant he had to eat lunch at school. I was stressed about packing a school lunch for the first time…
