Life Update…Fa La La La FALL!

October 13, 2016

I’m already seeing the glimmer of Christmas bulbs in Target people! You know if Target has it then it must be true….I mean you can’t trust Hobby Lobby or Michaels because it’s basically Christmas 24 hours a day/ 365 at those joints.

Like seriously I’m so anxious to decorate this house because I have more Christmas decorations that I actually have regular decorations so it sort of makes my house look shall we say….”decorated“???

32c28a56dbc52bbe079ac5ac7db16718

This week begins my very favorite Christmas shopping event in DFW Christmas in Cowtown 🙂

Check out our past shopping adventures HERE.

Update on the house…well, we had to buy a pool pump and my washing machine broke along with a thousand other things that need to get done, but that’s okay we have a lifetime right? I’m not going to sell a kidney just yet.

Check out our entry way. Gone is the tuscan Olive Garden feel and welcome sleek and modern clean walls and lighting from Savoy House.

entry

At least all the messy stuff is over and we can relax a bit. I’ve been getting into Snapchat lately: Username: thejavamama

Connor has been having a lot of fun playing soccer again. We are about to start boy scouts too!

I did the prettiest engagement shoot for my friend Kelly’s daughter. The Dallas Arboretum is so gorgeous this time of year and they have pumpkins EVERYWHERE!

Aren’t they the cutest???

Well, that’s about it besides the daily routine of school and work. I’m loving the new show “This is Us”. If you haven’t watched it….DO IT. My parents are coming in for a visit in the next couple of weeks and I can’t wait! For the daily you can find me on Instagram 🙂

xo Becky

It’s Fall & All

October 5, 2016

I can’t believe we are already into October. I mean we have like 80 something days until CHRISTMAS! If you ask anyone and everyone that knows me Christmas time is my absolute favorite ever! When I was pregnant with Connor the very first thing we bought for our new home was a Christmas tree because Terence knew how important that was to me 🙂 I’m so excited to put up our tree this year…it may be the only thing in our dining room right now, but that is perfectly fine with me.

We went really bold on this color. New lighting to come soon!

Oh the joys of moving into a new home….so far our washing machine has broken, the pool pump broke, and we’ve also spent a ton of money updating the house. But, hoping we will be here for the long haul and all this will be worth it. I absolutely LOVE our neighborhood and everyone is so friendly. Connor’s school is only a few streets away….I mean God knew y’all. He really did. Why do I question Him so much?

Speaking of school….Toyota sent us back to school in strait up style.

All the room for all the THINGS! Connor started soccer again…so we are hauling chairs, soccer balls, school stuff.

Seat bun warmers and coolers…yes ma’am!

I like to be in charge of everything. And I am with all the buttons and the nice little shelf for my phone. I meeeeaaaan….I have officially decided my next car is an SUV.

I can’t believe he’s in first grade. My baby…he’s growing up so fast. I need another one before I turn into an infertile myrtle. Waaaahhhh!

Yep, lots of changes going on and YES– I am behind on just about everything in life right now.

We get to do so many fun things as bloggers and social media divas. I just love the community of women I’ve met. Over the last 10 years a lot has changed, but the one thing that will never change is my love of writing and reading. I did say 10 years because my little blog here is TEN YEARS OLD this year! What????

I can’t believe it. Time flies. Enjoy every second. Reflect, love, learn, grow, reap, sew, and for the love of blogging and pen and paper WRITE IT DOWN. Because some day when you are old and senile you will want to remember all the little bitty things in life you forgot.

Maybe one day my grandkids could read this blog? Gulp.

Anyways…that’s a ways off….until then coffee cats 🙂

*House updates to come soon!

It’s Football Time with KING’S HAWAIIAN! #GameTimeGrilling

September 21, 2016

This blog post was sponsored by KING’S HAWAIIAN® but the opinions are all my own.

It’s FOOTBALL time y’all! We are big TCU fans in our house. Of course I am torn between two families…my family in Arkansas are big Razorback fans, and my husband went to TCU. Arkansas just played TCU and lost…. 🙁

There’s nothing like a fall weekend with friends and family eating good food and watching football. It’s the obligatory thing to do on the weekends am I right?

So, we love our football…but we also love good FOOD! Last weekend the boys were watching the game and I headed to HEB to make some yummy ham & cheese sliders. This is definitely one of my go-to recipes for football and party food! hawaain

KING’S HAWAIIAN® rolls are great for lots of sandwiches, but this is our favorite!

HAM AND CHEESE MELTS:

You can choose the original or go a little spicy with the Jalapeno rolls
dsc_5504-2

Cut the entire package in half

Layer with ham

Top with cheese 🙂

Put the tops back on the KING’S HAWAIIAN® rolls

Spread the butter/mustard/poppy seed mixture on top!

And ENJOY like my precious boys here 🙂 They love watching football together…it gets a bit loud in there I must say! Ha ha!

KING’S HAWAIIAN® also has a fab new line of grilling sauces & we LOOOOVE to grill while the weather is still nice outside. Here is my hubby cooking up some yumminess on the grill! That’s the KING’S HAWAIIAN® Kona Coffee BBQ sauce! 07042010-25

We try to cook at home during the week to help save and prepare our meals in advance. These sauces make preparation easy and simple!

kingshawaiian_bbq_900

Also, I was browsing in the Food Network Magazine this weekend and LOOK!!! These cute little “spooky sliders” using KING’S HAWAIIAN® rolls are so adorable! See recipes below:

Happy Football season from our little Horned Frog to yours!

connorhornedfrog-3

RECIPE:

HAWAIIAN HAM AND CHEESE SLIDERS

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup melted Butter
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
2 tsp Dried Minced Onion
12 King’s Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
9 oz thin sliced Deli Ham
8 oz thin sliced Swiss Cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
Combine butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, poppy seeds, and dried onion.
Slice the rolls to make sandwiches. Remove tops and set aside.
Place the bottom pieces into the prepared baking dish.
Layer the ham onto the rolls.
Top the ham with the Swiss cheese.
Place the tops of the rolls onto the sandwiches.
Brush or pour the liquid mixture evenly over the rolls.
Bake 20 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned and cheese has melted.
Separate into individual sandwiches to serve.

Fall into a Good Routine with ProNamel® for Kids

September 13, 2016

The ProNamel® brand has compensated me in connection with statements made in this post.

It’s time for back to school and making sure your kiddos are in tip-top shape this year! Bring on the back to school shopping, the school supplies, and yearly physicals. I’ve talked with you all before how important taking care of your child’s teeth is. In my opinion it’s just as important as a well check-up. A healthy mouth can help your child’s overall immune system and prevent infections in the future.

I was at Connor’s class visiting one day and I was astonished as I sat there and saw so many kids with fingers in their MOUTHS! Ugh…

I know we can’t be there to remind them 24/7 not to stick their hands in their mouth & tell them how nasty it is, but we can instill good dental hygiene to help prevent germs and bacteria from growing.

ProNamel® 6-12 Years Toothpaste for Kids is the toothpaste we use and it works great to keep Connor’s teeth healthy! Tooth enamel is precious and needs to be protected, starting at an early age. Acid Erosion compromises the strength of enamel. This is where ProNamel® 6-12 Years Toothpaste for Kids comes in. ProNamel® for Kids actively strengthens enamel and protects against everyday acids and cavities. I work for a Dental office and our Doctor also recommends ProNamel® to our patients.

BBP_0426

It’s never too early or too LATE to start good oral hygiene habits in your kids.

We try to make brushing our teeth fun and we also tell Connor how important it is to keep his teeth healthy. Now that he’s getting his permanent teeth in he knows he’ll only get one set of those. It’s important to take care of your smile, because it’s the only one you’re going to get 🙂

We have another tooth on the loose! Ha ha!

Here are some tips to make brushing fun for your kids:

Let them pick out their own toothbrush and toothpaste, they have an opinion too! Toothbrushes come in so many fun styles these days- some have lights and even music!
Show them how to brush their teeth in a routine way. Side to side, back to front.
Try rhyming or music to make brushing teeth fun.
Tell them how sparkly and pretty their teeth look when they are done. It helps build self esteem.

As you get ready for back to school, send your child out there with confidence. A bright smile can go a long way. Education is key and having the right tools and great products help make this Mom’s life a lot easier.

COUPONS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

Follow along for all the latest on ProNamel® for Kids on Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube.

Entry Instructions:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/13 – 9/30

Be sure to visit the ProNamel® brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by ProNamel® or GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare

Home Remodeling…and other Stuff

September 7, 2016

So, let’s play catch up shall we? A lot has been going on and I want to remember these things when I’m an old gray mare….so I shall blog about them 🙂

We closed on our house!!! Whoop! Whoop! It only took almost a year and a half, but it was worth the wait 🙂 The market here in DFW is crazy, so we feel like we won the house jackpot and the best part is Connor still gets to stay at his wonderful schools.

14114871_10157314639955125_3333435312607133787_o

We found a new ice cream place that freezes the ice cream on a hibachi type slab and rolls them up. It was fun to watch and Connor loved it! 14206046_856553344445349_8222023181738132229_o

My first friend in the new house, my bff Kelly 🙂 (Ignore the plastic EVERYWHERE!) 14207821_857193031048047_7843104448549306073_o

This was one of the funniest things I read all week. It’s sad but true, our generation has lost all sense of conversationalism. Something I truly enjoy, but am also guilty of being on my phone. If I’m alone, almost always on my phone…it’s a serious crutch. raqj636g9e69

We’ve got a bunch of remodeling going on at the new house and we are super excited to get moved in. It will be fun to share all the details with everyone as we go through the design process.

Here’s an example of what we are trying to do right now:

LIVING ROOM

And the chaos that ensues:

The entry way already looks a ton better with the faux brick gone. We are getting all new lighting from Savoy House. Lighting makes SUCH a big difference! I can’t wait to show you all the after photos!

entry

Connor had his first swim in the new pool. I posted some videos and things as we go through the remodel process on Facebook and Instagram if you want to follow!

pool

All the wood will be painted white.

The kitchen currently…

The dining room will be a very pretty dark grey from floor to ceiling. The color we chose is called “Peppercorn” from Sherwin Williams. We are changing out all the lighting to fit more to our liking. The former homeowners had a more “Tuscan” style.

Connor playing Legos in my new office. I’m so excited about this space! I really want a chalkboard wall…

The hall bathroom

Anyway, so that’s a bit of what has been going on. We are so thankful that God has provided us with the perfect home after a long year of searching! So so thankful. Connor boy started soccer again and seems to be enjoying the first grade. Except he brought home a book about snakes this week and I can hardly stand to open it! Yuck!

I’ll be attending the Megaphone conference next week and I’ll be sure to document all that fun too! I can’t wait to hang out with all my Arkansas peeps and one of my favorite bloggy friends Michelle 🙂 Yippee!

So, yeah a lot going on and some days I feel like this…but you know what it’s FALL and I’m ready to scarf it up and throw on some boots!

05139285a3b9df8059194a0f932cd3ba1ebb23-wm

Hang in there…the best is yet to come!

That Week I Drove a Swagger Wagon…and LOVED it!

August 29, 2016

Connor had his first week of FIRST GRADE last week people! Hold me…

To say we’ve been busy would be the understatement of the century. We are closing on our new home today!!! After a year and a half search we FINALLY found our home and I’m so excited to share with y’all. It’s going to take a lot of paint and love to make it ours, but I’m looking forward to that whole process.

Well, y’all we have definitely been riding in style lately. I got to test out the brand spanking new sparkly and shiny 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. This van definitely puts the “swag” in “swagger wagon“.

I grew up in a GMC Safari the size of the Titanic. You know the vans that looked like a tank. I wish I had a better picture of Big Blue…but this is her peeking out of the corner there 🙂

My Mom loved it because of the captain seats in the middle so my sister and I couldn’t touch each other or breath in each other’s direction…hence less fighting. She is also 6 feet tall, so she had extra leg room in the tank. Anyway….good times were had and I have to say I never saw myself owning anything related to a mini-van because they just seem so large and in charge. scn0062

Until a couple weeks ago when I drove the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. Ahem…sleek, modern, and definitely not a tank.

I want to show you some of my favorite features.

Okay, so when I first got in the van I was like “How do I reverse?”

It’s on a KNOB people! No more stick shifts or gears…a beautiful little round knob that would make your iPhone jealous.

The security features, gadgets, and gizmos had me playing for a while. I absolutely love the media and radio apps.

Heated seats and a heated steering wheel to give you warm fuzzies in cold weather. We Texans thank you Chrysler for a VENTED (air-conditioned) seat option because Lord knows it’s 110 degrees outside 7 months out of the year.

There is plenty of room in here for 7 people. Let’s just take a look at the captain seats in the middle shall we? If you and your sibling can’t stand to be within 5 inches of each other there is your answer!

Ample sized cup holders for my Starbucks addiction & plenty of storage compartments. 🙂

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of gal that likes to know exactly how many miles I have left in my tank until I get to a gas station. Because sometimes I’m cutting it a little bit close. Also, see the lane change warning, and speedometer. Basically, the people at Chrysler care about you and want you to be SAFE!

Okay, now this is what my son freaked out over and cried about when we had to give this van back. TWO TVs. The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica comes with the Uconnect^® Theater and as a Mom this is appreciated by both parties. I get to listen to my music and Connor gets to watch Star Wars to his heart’s content. It’s a win/win! Bring on the road trips!

Also, loved the hands-free power sliding doors. Because I only have two hands people!

Thank you so much Chrysler for our week in the Swagger Wagon dreams are made of, the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. I would definitely be driving this van loud and proud. Let’s just say I’m quite happy the days of driving a tank are over.

I think we need more kids to fill this…

14053852_10157269525210125_4272755957504399407_o

Here is a Facebook Live video Connor and I did together. I wasn’t planning on posting it, but it does show a lot of great features. We literally JUST got this van and drove to Starbucks…so we were still exploring! Ha ha!

Looking for a new car, but have an old station wagon sitting in the garage? Check out Junk Car Medics & make some extra cash off that old set of wheels!

I hope you enjoy it or at least have fun laughing at us and my frazzled state…

School Lunch with Pearls Olives-To-Go

August 22, 2016

This post is sponsored by Pearl’s Olives to Go. All opinions are my own.

Oh my gosh school starts TOMORROW people!

I’m over here like…

D7K_4969

I pack Connor’s lunch for school every single day. He’s gotten a lot better since Kindergarten, but he has always been a picky eater. Then again, sometimes I’m surprised what he likes. A lot of days it’s the same thing over and over again…so we like to switch up our routine with something different every now and then.

Last year we tried Pearls Olives-To-Go and they are soooooo great for school lunches people! There is no pitting, stuffing, or chopping. That adds extra time to my mornings and allows me to spend time on more important things. (Like maybe an extra 5 minutes of sleep! Ha ha!)

There are four different Pearls Olives-To-Go varieties to choose from.

olives

Packing lunches is so easy & I know Connor is getting a fresh fruit in his lunch!

We are so excited for first grade tomorrow and thank you for a yummy lunch Pearls Olives-To-Go!

Enter to win the Pearls Facebook sweepstakes:

#BetterWithPearls Mini Moments, where you can enter to win a weekly prize pack or the grand prize, a Mega Moment prize pack valued at $1,000. The sweepstakes runs from 8/15-9/9/16.

Category: Family