September Catch Up

Well, I lied again. I said I'd be better about blogging, and I'm just not. Whoops. 

I'm basically doing one big catch up from September. This month had some ups and downs. We had family in town twice, which was great, but it can also be exhausting (in a good way!) I still feel like we're trying to get in to some sort of routine with school, homework, activities, football, chores, work, dinner. I haven't been good about settling in to anything consistent, and I'm trying to tell myself that we always go through some ups and downs at the beginning of a football season. I just don't remember it, because this time last year, we were moving. And, our nights were consistent back in Tulsa because it was so normal for us for 7 years. We're just establishing that new normal here, even though we've officially been in Texas for a year. 

I spent our first away football weekend, decorating for Fall, and shared the decorations here. Since DJ wasn't home, the girls and I went to Old Navy and did some Fall clothes shopping, and then stopped for dinner at Jason's Deli. Did you know they have free ice cream? We didn't, but it's because we never eat here- ha! The one in Tulsa wasn't close to us and I had only eaten there a few times. The girls loved giving it a try, and it was just a nice, simple dinner with an ice cream treat!

That night, these girls had a sister sleepover on the sofa, and Gretchen and I cuddled in my bed to watch Casper.

The next day, we had a friend over and we hit up the pool.

Then we made pizza for dinner.

These girls were big helpers! 

We settled in and cheered Texas on to a win over Rice. This kiddo could only hang through halftime. 

Sunday night, we went to the offices for dinner, but the players were still practicing, so this girl go t some field time before dinner.

Adalyn started spelling homework and I'm so thankful it's only twice a week! Homework is killing us this year, and taking about an hour most nights to get it all done. 

But, we still have time for cuddles. 

Megan's gymnastics coach sent us this picture from their class. Megan is hanging on the bar 2nd from the right. 

DJ's mom came in to town, so I took full advantage of having a babysitter and went for a moms night to see Hustler with these ladies! Our daughter's are best friends, and we've made a great connection! I have loved having these ladies during this season of life! 

Sunday afternoon, Adalyn had a birthday party to go to and I let the big kids tag along. While Adalyn played mini golf with her friends, Megan got super in to a motorcycle ride! 

Monday night, Nana took us for an ice cream treat! 

We were so thankful that she was here! 

Adalyn chose ice cream with lots of cherries on top!

And after ice cream, we headed to the park to play. 

The girls had picture day this past week. Megan wanted her hair curly, and I was happy to oblige since she wore it down. 

I can't believe this cutie is in 1st grade already! 

And later that night, we worked on her reading before heading to gymnastics. I've found that she does better if I let her lay in her sleeping bag on her tummy and read. 

After homework and gymnastics, we had dinner at football, so we didn't make it home until 9. I sent the girls upstairs to put on pj's and when I came up to tuck them in, she was passed out! 

Wednesday afternoon, Adalyn took a nap, and these girls made brownies. 

September flew by but we're looking forward to all of the October fun! 

Fall Home Tour

The first away game of the season, I always decorate for Fall, and since DJ was in Houston this weekend, I drug out all of the Fall decor on Friday. 

Last year I didn't decorate much for Fall because we had just moved and I wasn't in the mood to redecorate right after we had just gotten everything in place. 

So, come on in.... here's a little Fall home tour. 

I added a pumpkin, frame, flowers, and leaf dish to our entry way. 

My grandmother made the little arrangement of flowers, and I'm so glad I kept it and didn't break it apart. I did add the feathers though. 

I always like to keep our dining table simple since we do eat all of our meals here. 

Two glittering pumpkins, my great-grandmother's bowl filled with pumpkins, acorns, and gourds, a candlestick, and little squirrel salt shaker. (Sadly, the pepper shaker broke.)

Since we don't have a fireplace or mantle to decorate, then our TV stand becomes my "mantle"

On top of each book case, I added a few Fall touches too. 

I've had these pumpkins forever, and I'm pretty sure they came from Hobby Lobby. 

I stuck in lots of faux Fall leaves, feathers, and flowers in to a vase, added a big pumpkin, and a little tiny one. 

On the other end, I added some little squirrels, bowls, and pumpkins to my tiered tray. 

All of the bowls were bought at Target. 

This squirrel, and the little hugging squirrels, I've had since college. My sorority mascot was a squirrel, so I had a head start on Fall decorating at a younger age! 

And, little pumpkin dish on an end table completed the living room. 

I had really thought that I would change out some of my Fall decorations to white pumpkins, but I'm loving the warm pops of orange around the house.

Happy Fall. 

This & That

Well, we had a busy but relaxing weekend. After two late nights at weekend football games, the girls and I skipped going to Houston this weekend and I'm so thankful that we did. We needed the downtown and we needed the sleep. 

Today, I'm sharing a little of this and a little of that. 

Last weekend, DJ's parents game to visit and went to the UT/LSU game with us. Dianna's birthday was the Sunday before, so we made sure to celebrate with her when she came. After dinner, she opened presents, blew out her candles, and we all had cake. 

We usually get to celebrate Adalyn's birthday at their house, so it was fun to celebrate Dianna here! 

Does anyone else hate cleaning their make up brushes?

Young Living released this make up brush cleansing set last Spring and it makes cleaning brushes so easy! You just get the little "soap" wet, rub your brush on it, and the swish the brush around on the silicone pad. It gets off SO much gunk! Then, I just lay my brushes out to dry over night. 

Easy peasy. 

Megan and I ran to Target after gymnastics, and this is how she ended our shopping trip. 

And yes, I chopped my hair last week and I'm seriously loving it! I was super nervous and loved my long hair, but lots of you convinced me to chop it and my hairdresser convinced me to keep it just below my shoulders and it's the perfect length. Plus, he taught me how to curl it with my straightener! 

These little goodies make me happy, and I'm giving them away in my oily group this month! If you grab a starter kit, then you're eligible to win! 

This tree is at our tailgate spot and the girls love climbing on it! 

Megan had fun showing off some of her skills at home last week. She's learned so many skills and should move to team in the Spring! 

We're still catching pool days here! Yes, it's still close to or over 100, so we're soaking up the sun and making Summer last as long as we can! Although, I'll admit that I'm ready for jeans, booties, teas, and sweaters. 

In the mean time, we'll just keep soaking up the sun. 

Adalyn came home from school Monday and went to the park with her grandparents and fell asleep on the couch around 7, and then Tuesday, she fell asleep just before 5 and would not wake up! So, we let her skip gymnastics. She was SO tired and worn out! This was one reason that we decided to stay home this past weekend- realizing how exhausted the girls were. 

Last week, I finally sent out some fun gifts to new members that grabbed their starter kits from Young Living! It's always so fun to send them freebies and samples! 

I picked up this gnocchi from Costco for a quick dinner- Adalyn said it tasted like little pieces of garlic bread, and all the girls were a fan! I'm thinking it would be wonderful with some sausage added in! And it's definitely a cozy meal for Fall. 

The girls had a book fair at school last week and Adalyn came home with this marker case that looks like a phone. She was so funny and pretended to text and call her friends! 

Also, if you have a Costco- grab their frozen tortillas! You thaw and then they quickly cook on a griddle, and I love that Gretchen can take over the cooking so I can get other stuff done! 

And, this girl now has homework every night- we're up to 12 minutes of reading, and I think this week, it'll bump up to 15. But, I need some help! She's pretty whiney and hates sitting down to read. We've tried cuddling on the couch, sitting in a chair together, laying in the bed, or sitting at the bar. I think we'll try her sitting on a big ball next, but she can't stop moving when she reads. So, teachers- help me out here! I also think she's super tired, so rather than starting homework soon after she gets home, we're trying to wait until later so she has some time to play and get energy out first. But, i'll take any homework and reading tips you can share! 

Whew! That was a lot of this & that!

Happy Monday friends! 

What You Shouldn't Say to a Football Family.

When DJ and I first started dating, I fully signed up for this football wife life. We started dating at the beginning of a season, and he told me straight up that if I couldn't handle his hours that we wouldn't work. Thankfully, I'm more independent and stubborn than he first realized and here we are, 15 years later. 

What I didn't sign up for was all the snark that would head my way no matter what school he worked for. And now that we're at Texas, the snark game is strong. And friends, it's not fun. 

Moving here from Oklahoma was hard. Of course, so many of our friends from "back home" are either OU or OSU fans, and then other friends from all around the country have their favorite teams too, and more often than not, it's never Texas. 

Let me just say straight up,  the snarky comments are hurtful and there are only a few that I 100% know are kidding and joking and it's all in good fun. But, those are maybe 5 people that are super close family and friends. And chances are, if you aren't sure that it's you, then it's not. 

This weekend, I read comments like "Matthew M. is the only good thing about Texas" or I saw a friend teaching her daughter the horns down and blasting it on facebook. Another person joked about Gretchen not watching the game because she was reading, and another stated their team "rocks". 

Not even to mention the BS that spews from fans mouth on social media pages, that I tell myself every year to not read, and inevitably, I do anyway. 

I understand that you don't like Texas, but here's the truth. You are putting down my husband's job and our livelihood. When you wish for us to lose, you're wishing for us, the coaches, the staff, and their families to be fired. You're wishing for us to uproot our lives yet again and pray that we can find jobs. Look, I know what we got ourselves in to. I know that it's a possibility, but it sucks when you hear people wishing that upon you. You may not say it directly, but you are saying it. When football teams don't win, coaches get fired. I've learned from being a wife and from being friends with so many wives, that they're are hard and difficult emotions. 

When we play your team, you don't have to cheer for us, in fact, I 100% expect you not to, but I always expect that you won't talk smack about it on social media or to me personally. But, it always happens. At Tulsa, I had someone tell me I was wearing "the wrong colors." or, we have friends ask us for tickets and wear the opposing team colors, or say "I'm so glad you were there to watch X team win." 

We will always cheer for wherever we are, and we will always have fond memories and a soft spot for our previous teams. We will still cheer for Tulsa, watch Ball State, Louisiana Tech (except for the last weekend when we played them) and even Arkansas State, our alma mater. We will bleed for the new team, and buy a new wardrobe just to have our new school colors. I never thought I'd have so much burnt orange in my closet, but I do, and I'm proud of it. I'll change up the décor, and act like I've been the biggest fan since the day I was born. It's what we do. It's what I'll always do. 

Our girls will love the team too. And while they miss their friends, our old team, and old traditions, they'll make new memories and they'll be okay. But you know what? When a classmate says out loud in class, that they're glad Texas lost, it hurts them too.  We'll continue to sing "The Eyes of Texas" every night when we tuck them in if that's what they want us to do. 

And when the time comes for us to move on, we'll pick up and do it all over again. We'll buy a new wardrobe, we'll learn a new fight song, we'll cheer just as hard for that team as we do for Texas, and as we did for our previous schools. We'll adjust. And we'll act like we were the biggest fans of that school since the day we were born. 

But, before you post something on social media and you're "just joking" think about if you're really "just joking" or are you being hurtful. Because, it hurts me and it hurts my kids, and thankfully, my husband has thicker skin than I do, but I'm pretty sure it hurts him too. 

You may not like our current school, but if you like us or call us a friend,  then please respect us. Please be kind. Words hurt, even if you didn't mean for them to. 

Until then, Horns Up. 

Hook 'em.