CHRISTMAS SCAVENGER HUNT | BLOGMAS DAY 5

I'm so sad this is the final day of Blogmas, but I hope that the last few Blogmas posts have been helpful for you this holiday season or that you saved them for next year.

FAVORITE STORES FOR CHRISTMAS DECOR | BLOGMAS DAY 4

For Blogmas day 4, I wanted to talk about my favorite stores for Christmas decor. I’ll be honest, with the birth of my baby girl this past week, I haven’t even had a chance to do much Christmas shopping - which is disappointing because Christmas shopping is my favorite!

LAST MINUTE MAMA | BLOGMAS DAY 3

Are you a last minute Christmas shopper? If so, don't worry! I have the perfect gifts for anyone in the family! Since we are already running behind, let's skip the long intro and jump right in.

MUST HAVE CHRISTMAS SCENTS + DEAL | BLOGMAS DAY 2

Aside from family, lights, presents, Hallmark movies, and Mariah Carey or Michael Buble on repeat, my favorite thing about Christmas is the amazing scents! Christmas tree smell fills the air in just about every place you step into, including my home - and I'm not mad about it!

I recently fell in love with Wallflowers from Bath and Body Works, and BONUS: my sis-in-law works there so she occasionally scores a few good ones for me. I wanted to share 5 of the must-have Christmas Wallflower scents that you need.

DOLLAR TREE STOCKING STUFFERS | BLOGMAS DAY 1

I’m a little late on Blogmas, but we still have time before Santa makes his arrival and I thought I’d share a few of my favorite frugal stocking stuffer ideas. If you’re like me, DT (Dollar Tree) is your happy place. I love finding inexpensive items and transforming them. If you head to Pinterest, you can find a plethora of amazing DIY DT craft ideas for Christmas and everyday decor/life, but today I want to focus specifically on stocking stuffers - for kids and adults.

2018 RECAP

I am so excited to recap 2018. I think it was by far one of the most amazing years we've had. We were truly blessed and I'm so proud of what we accomplished last year, that it motivates me to work harder to keep it.

January 2018 - I quit my job! To keep a long story short, I was working for a company I had been with for a while (on and off) and I was about 4 months shy of delivering baby boy 2. JMWR (our first son) ended up getting double pink eye which caused me to be out of work for two weeks since daycare would not take him back if he even had the slightest evidence of pink eye. We managed to get it under control and I returned to work on a Monday only to be called during lunch time by the daycare advising that JMWR was very fussy and not acting like his usual happy-self. I drove him to the doctor because I knew something was wrong, and come to find out, the double pink eye turned into double ear infection. This was now going to keep me out of work for another week. During this time, my boss was hounding me about my return and I continued to remind her that I cannot control that the daycare would not allow my son back and that meant I would have to be home with him. I remember texting my husband my frustration with my boss not understanding the issue, and told him that I wanted to quit and start my own company. So I did! Overnight I put together a website, some pricing, and stayed up until my husband left the next morning emailing and messaging small business owners my proposition and how I could be of assistance. Within a week, I had five customers and was already making what I was making working for two-weeks at forty hours a week. To say it was a blessing is an understatement! I just surpassed a year of business ownership and am proud to say that things are still going great and I now have eight clients who are more like family than clients.

February through April 2018 - Not much took place during this time as I was just working my business and being a stay at home mom preparing for baby two. We did however have a small diaper shower that was so laid back and fun. It was a "Huggies and Chuggies"theme. Guests brought Huggies diapers, and we supplied the Chuggies aka Beers! Since our first shower was more about me and baby, I wanted this one to be all about dad! It was his turn for some attention and love.

May 1, 2018 - We welcomed our little bouncing baby boy number 2! It was an emotional rollercoaster. We were so excited to be holing baby two but were so sad that we had to leave our big guy for three days while we were in the hospital, although he came to visit, it was never long enough for us. Our second little guy was born May 1, 2018 at 10:45am weighing 8lbs and 5oz. He came out screaming and hasn't stopped since, but he really is a happy baby, he just gets very fussy when he is hungry - reminds me so much of his daddy (hehe).

Remainder of May through July 2018 - My husband graduated his 5-year program for his job which allowed him to promote to a Foreman! And, we kept our promise that after graduation, he could buy the truck of his dreams....and he did! He was so excited and I was so proud. The truck he was driving was a single cab Dodge that he got as a Junior in High School, so it was definitely time for an upgrade. When he started the program, he talked about wanting a Dodge Ram 1500, and that's exactly what he got and the look on his face when he got in for the first time after signing the papers - PRICELESS!!! We even took the boys on a few adventures which included Gruene, New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Round Top, TX. It was so fun getting to take them to new places and embark on some small town TX adventures.

July 31, 2018 - We signed the papers and started the process of building and buying our first home. Talk about overwhelming in the greatest way possible! It was a very easy process and we finished building and signed our contract, and moved in, on November 27, 2018.

August 2018 - Lots happened in August. We broke ground on the house, we had JWOR's dedication, and JMWR's 2nd birthday party. It was so fun! There's a little place not to far from where we live that has so many fun things for kids of all ages, and adults. His party theme was "Party Animals," because let's face it, that is exactly my 2 year old! Daddy and I made his cake, which was a guest favorite but didn't make enough and note for future parties: make bigger cakes. It was a great party. He got LOTS of Lighting McQueen toys - his favorite - and after the party, all of the kiddos crashed! Parents were cheering everywhere that their little ones were knocked out. Another note: always have LOTS of activities that wear kids out.

 

September through October 2018 - We celebrated a few birthdays in some fun ways! In September, I turned 26 and in October my husband turned 27. We celebrated his birthday by taking a trip to Rock Port, TX. It was a quick weekend but it was fantastic. Any chance to get away is amazing, and we made the most of it. My best friend let us stay at her parents vacation home with her and it was amazing. We stayed up and played games, and had a few drinks. It was relaxing and the kids loved it too. We took a day trip to the aquarium, and our big guy was in total shock. Overall, it was a really fun way to celebrate. Of course we attended Ren Fest again this year - we go every single year, and this year did not disappoint. We saw shows, played games, and even enjoyed several of the activities. AND, this was the first year our big guy was able to go trick or treating for Halloween. 2016 he was way too little and 2017 it was raining. While we had a little bit of sprinkling, overall, it was a great night. JMWR dressed up as Mickey Mouse and JWOR dressed as a "baby shark."  

November 2018 - Lots of family and love, and packing in super speed. November was great! We celebrated Thanksgiving with the family and just two days later, signed the contract for our home and moved in the same day. It was so hectic. We were packing like crazy because, of course, we waited until the last minute. But it all came together, it was amazing and overwhelming and absolutely the greatest time!

Deember 2018 - We celebrated Christmas in our new home! We hosted family for Christmas lunch, and everyone was so gracious to comment how much they loved our home. Santa came and left, but the memory of our 2018 Christmas has stayed.

After writing this, I realize we were immensely blessed in 2018. God has been so very gracious, and I can promise you that none of this would be possible if not for His love and His promises. I cannot wait to see what 2019 brings. So far, it's been wonderful!

I hope you all had a fantastic New Year and no matter what happened last year, remember this: "Always be Thankful in the Good Times and Faithful in the Bad Times." God has made 7,000 promises to us and He will make all things happen when it is time.

Sending love and hope for your 2019,
Megan

 

 

WEEKEND RECAP {12.07.2015}

MICROBLOG MONDAY!

 

I decided to keep this recap short and sweet! This weekend, we traveled to my home state, Louisiana. My company had a Christmas Party at our Co-President's house and E and I were invited to attend. The original plan was to drive to Louisiana Friday night, but we decided we were too tired to drive and stayed home to pack and rest. Saturday morning was amazing! We got up around 8am, made breakfast together, and then headed out for our four hour drive. Thankfully, this drive was no where near as long as the Thanksgiving drive to Florida. We got into town around 1:30pm and first stop, was my all time favorite place, The Best Stop. I have been going there since I was little bitty. My dad and I would always stop there on the way to Texas anytime we would visit family in Louisiana. It's a sweet memory and I'm so glad that I get to share it with my husband now. We only had to wait in line for about ten minutes to get our pound of cracklins and ten boudin balls. We didn't even make it home with leftovers, that's how delicious it is! Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed a nice lunch with my co-worker and her husband at Texas Roadhouse. We thought it was pretty funny that we were in Louisiana but eating at a place with Texas in the title. I can't help it, Texas Roadhouse is delicious! Saturday night was the party. First off, let me just say that the co-president of the company was sick, but he did come out to apologize and to pray with us. His wife was an amazing host and she is probably the sweetest person I have ever met. We had wine, delicious food, dancing, and fun. We stayed for about four hours and then headed back to the hotel around 10:30pm. Sunday morning we got up around 7:30am, had breakfast in the lobby of the hotel with my co-worker and her husband, and then headed home. E wanted to watch the Texans, so I took a nap and it was amazing! After my ridiculously long, three hour nap, I got up and started working on the house. Did the dishes, laundry, and managed to get the house ready for this week. So overall, my weekend was busy but I love these times because it's more time with my husband.

iPhone Photo Dump

 The Best Stop in Scott, LA - best place in the world to get meat, boudin, and cracklins

 Lofton Christmas Party 2015

My sweet little furbaby (oldest furbaby) Chief sleeping in his pillow fort on the sofa will I watch TV with E

 

THANKSGIVING & WEEKEND RECAP {11.30.2015}

It's officially the last day of November! Time seems to be more of a thief the older I get, so it's nice when I get to spend time with my family. Over the Thanksgiving break, E and I made the long thirteen hour drive from Texas to Florida. Considering the fact that the only living relative I have is my grandmother and my step-grandfather, it's an emotional time when we visit. Aside from spending Thanksgiving day together, E and I were able to pick lots of oranges, grapefruits, and lemons fresh from their backyard. We mostly relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful view from my grandparents lake house, but we also managed to visit Gainesville, Fl. It's such a small town, but the University of Florida is there so we walked around the city and the campus. To our surprise, it was not cold in Florida. Last year, we were freezing and this year we were dying of heat, especially since we only packed winter clothes. No worries though, when we returned home to Texas, we were greeted with very cold weather.

 

After arriving home around 4am on Saturday, we spent most of the day sleeping. Trying to catch up on it before work. Needless to say, Saturday was a lazy day in our house. Sunday, we watched the Texans get a big win, though I couldn't be too happy because they beat my home team, the New Orleans Saints. When the game ended, we stopped by E's parents house to drop off the grapefruits we had picked for his dad, and spent some time with them before heading to the grocery store. We managed to snag a few more Christmas decorations before the shelves were bare. Once we got home, we started working on the Christmas tree and decorations around the house. It didn't start out great. We literally had the entire tree wrapped and then all the sudden, the lights just blew. We're assuming that the wires were damaged, but it was frustrating to have to completely unstring the lights, find new ones to put up, and then re-string the tree up. Thankfully, after that little mishap, the rest of the decorating process went flawlessly. We usually put the tree in the living room, but this year, we got new sofas and there was no room left for the tree. We decided to shuffle the table from the dining room out to the patio and made the dining room home to the tree.

 

Aside from all that, I was able to get the laundry done. I still have a few things left to deal with, but I'm trying not to get to "unpacked" as we are going to be heading to Louisiana on Saturday (more on that later). All in all, it was a truly wonderful Thanksgiving, and although we missed E's family, we are thankful to have my wonderful grandparents.

 

iPhone Photo Dump 

Delicious Thanksgiving Feast 

E and I with the gorgeous lake in the background 

Picking oranges (ignore the fact that I have no makeup on) 

Our views all weekend 

E picking oranges and grapefruits 

Huge alligator on the wall at Blue Water Bay in Melrose, Fl 

Best shrimp I've had in a while at Blue Water Bay in Melrose, Fl  

University and Main St. in Gainesville, Fl 

Sights around Gainesville, Fl 

E was so impressed that they spelled his name right

Stopped to grab a Starbucks and just loved all the production posters on the walls in Gainesville, Fl

My sweet grandparents 

They love E so much and that makes my heart truly happy 

The resemblance between us is amazing 

Two of my favorite men 

Love doesn't have to be by blood 

They kept asking how to take a selfie, so we took one with them 

Back home, our tree and decorations; I absolutely adore my Nutcracker that my grandmother gave me during our trip, ironically, the Nutcracker is my all time favorite holiday play

 

Thank you for reading, we hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!

 

P.S. - Happy Cyber Monday!!!