This Unfamiliar Road

ONE. Ok to Wake! Alarm Clock
Y'all....I have an early riser on my hands. She must get it from me, but I love need some quiet Momma time in the morning, so 6:05am is just not going to do Miss Peyton. Thank goodness we discovered this little dude- I set the timer for 7:00am, the light turns green, and P knows it's ok to come out of her room. It also has a separate nap timer. SCORE!
TWO. Office Renovations
We are almost done with the office! I feel like I've been working on it for half of my lifetime, and honestly-I'm losing steam. We just need to add the finishing touches and then we will actually have a complete room in this house!
Here's a sneak peek at some colors for the room :)



 THREE. Kroger Click List
My local Kroger just launched Click List- order groceries online, select a pickup time, then go to the store and SIT IN YOUR CAR while they load 'em up! The service is only $4.95 per trip, which is totally worth the convenience. (But your first 3 are free- so try it out!)


FOUR. Well Check-ups
The girls had their well visits at the pediatrician yesterday, and everyone left with a good report! What a blessing to have happy, healthy babes (who LOVE their peaches!)




FIVE. Date Night at The Fox
The husband planned a wonderful date night out last Sunday! We enjoyed dinner at a great little Italian restaurant (a place we visited on our Mini-Moon 6 years ago!) and The Wizard of Oz at The Fox. We don't do it nearly enough.


What are your faves on this gorgeous Friday morning?

We got a very light dusting of snow in North Georgia, but for a 3-year old it was a "snow storm!"
Unfortunately, I've been battling a sinus infection for a few days, but the husband (with his Michigan roots!) took Peyton out to play in it.





OK, now that we've had our "snow day", I'm ready for spring!
Stay warm friends

Halloween is always a big deal at our house! This year, we really made it a neighborhood affair. We hosted a sort of "open house" and served chili, baked potatoes and all the toppings! Neighbors brought some "Mummy Dogs" and "Pumpkin Oranges" for the kiddos.


Some of the neighborhood kiddos! We joked that this was our preview of Prom someday ;)



We love dressing as a family!


Just a sample of what our neighborhood looks like! The streets are filled with trick-or-treaters.



It's hard to see, but Ben and Peyton had pull-strings as part of their costumes!



After trick-or-treating, we enjoyed sitting around the firepit watching our Tennessee VOLS!
It was a great time with lots of family and friends!

The most important thing I will ever do is be a Mommy to my children. They keep me on my toes and in a constant state of busy but they are absolute blessings and I feel honored to be Mommy to them.

This year for Mother's Day, we enjoyed our annual tradition of brunch at Olde Blind Dog. The food was delicious and coma-inducing, as usual. I love that we have made this our yearly spot to celebrate our special day!





Check out 2013 and 2014- I love watching my little family grow :)

It was definitely time for some more landscaping, and what better way to spend gorgeous spring days than digging in the dirt?! OK, I'll admit-I'm not really a fan of gardening, but Ben and I recently spent two FULL days completing a major overhaul of our front flower beds. I am very pleased with the way they turned out, and I'm looking forward to being able to add seasonal color every few months now that the base features are in.


In the right flower bed, we relocated 3 Indian Hawthorne bushes and a Gardenia; Planted a Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry tree, a group of Daylillies, and a Monkey Grass border.


In the left bed, we relocated 3 Azalea bushes; Planted another group of Daylillies, Petunias, and even more monkey grass. That's 120 monkey grass plants, y'all. But they do make such a pretty border!



Nothing like teaching kiddos how to care for something and watch it grow :)
Happy Spring!

This is what our beds looked like when we first moved in!

We recently celebrated Ben's birthday...it was the big one: 30! (Although if you know Ben, you've heard him claim he's "almost 30" for about 6 years....now he says he's "pushing 40).

I really wanted to have a big celebration for this milestone year, but Ben's wish was to put the party on hold until the spring so we can have a giant pig-pickin'. Since he's really enjoyed barbecuing, he would rather wait for nice weather and celebrate with a whole hog :) Everyone is invited!

So, I settled on a surprise birthday lunch and brewery tour with our closest friends. He had no idea, which made it all even better!

We started our afternoon at Wildflour and enjoyed The. Best. Sandwiches. Seriously, if you're in Alpharetta you must try!
Afterwards, we headed to Jekyll Brewery for some beer and bonding :) This brewery has been operating for just a few years, but they've grown quickly! The tour was funny and informative, the beer was tasty, but the companionship was the best part!






It was a nice way to celebrate Ben's 30th, and I am really looking forward to an even bigger party in the spring!

Wow y'all...it's been a busy month! December is always crazy with holiday gatherings, decorating, crafts, baking, shopping, and wrapping gifts!
I feel fortunate that most of our time has been spent with family and friends...that's what the season is all about :)

We kicked off the Christmas season by attending an annual Christmas PJ party at the Chiodo's home! Pee Wee's Christmas Special and peppermint mochas were the highlights of the evening :)



We ventured to Kinsey Family Farms to get our Christmas tree. I love this beautiful nursery, and the family-friendly atmosphere and activities!




After a short nap for all, we got to decorating the tree! Peyton was super excited to put the ornaments on, but chickened out when it came to the tree topper!





The annual "Ciwcle Party" was lots of fun! We all agreed that the tone of this party has drastically changed since the first one...maybe the 5 kiddos in attendance has something to do with it!



Of course, we couldn't get through the season without a visit to see Santa! This guy is the real deal, y'all (and the same one that I visited when I was a child...and he hasn't aged AT ALL)!

Peyton was super excited, and her normal social, bubbly self. Eliza slept through it all. Overall, no complaints here :)


I hope you are all enjoying your season as much as we are!