Oh Hi!

Hey friends!!! We are moving right along here! Welcome to another Summer archived post.

August 24th was baby dedication day at church. Since Quinn was a little older when we started attending here, we never had her dedicated, so the church said we could dedicate both kids that day!

It was really special. All sets of Quinn and Tripp’s grandparents were there to support them & it meant the world to us. Even my mom and Pete made a trip in 💞. The congregation reached out their hands to pray over all the babies being dedicated. Our Pastor even prayed over each child individually. Before praying over Tripp, Tripp went on a little velociraptor/yelling rampage lol so the pastor prayed he would use his lungs to bring glory to God, which made us all smile. I was sweating up there- Tripp was in the thick of a leap/teething and fussy as could be that week, but he held in there!

That evening we had one of my absolute favorite recipes that I wanted to share with my mom and Pete- Slow cooker pork shoulder.

Y’all trust me on this recipe! It’s fantastic. We served with air fryer green beans & white rice. We also had some Best Day non-alcoholic beer which I really enjoyed!

That evening we all went as a family to the park. It was a wonderful day 🩷.

August 25th we went to see Grandma Violet. She was so thrilled to see her great grandbabies!

After we got home and Tripp napped, I snuck out for a little date with Quinn to Nervous Dog Cafe while my mom watched the little man.

I absolutely treasure this one on one time with my girl!! We shared a vegan breakfast cookie. She had some milk and I had an au lait.

Tripp back at home hanging out with Grampy ❤️ (this was before the separation anxiety really ramped up!).

That evening we had lamb chomps from the anti-inflammatory crockpot cookbook. This is probably my favorite recipe in there! I always serve with roasted carrots and couscous.

6 months!!

After getting Tripp’s 6 month photo on August 26th we headed to Szalays.

It’s always so much fun here. We shared some nectarines and perused around outside a little. My mom got us some sunflowers 💕

Before they left, they read some books to Quinnie.

Here are the gorgeous blooms next to beautiful flowers we got at the baby dedication too!

It was really tough to say goodbye that time. Tripp was going through it, as was I. Thankfully things turned around once those adorable bottom teeth popped through!

Next up is Amy’s wedding, yay!!

💗

Mackenzie

P.S. this post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I might earn a small commission if you make a purchase 🫶🏻. Please know I’ll only ever share products I truly stand by and use!

Hey hey ! We are currently having our first snow of the season here, so it feels a bit odd publishing our Halloween post- but at least I’m only a week or so behind, not a few months hah!

Welcome to our trick or treating extravaganza post. We had not 1, not 2, not even 4 trick or treating events. We had 5! Buckle up, it’s costumes galore coming at ya!

The morning of October 24th we were low on groceries so I had to get creative for breakfast. I had some sourdough from Krieger topped with Cocojune yogurt, strawberries and purely Elizabeth granola. This was actually surprisingly delicious! The Cocojune very much tasted like cream cheese & the combo of everything gave me the flavor of strawberry pretzel salad! I decided to take a picture when only 1/2 of the toast was left lol.

Quinn was at daycare that day, so I took advantage of the day to try to surprise her with some projects I was cookin’ up. First up, I got her a craft cart. The previous craft bin we had was a large transparent plastic bin that was constantly overflowing and had a cracked lid. I wanted to get her something more organized especially because she’s so into crafts right now. I found one on Wayfair that has been working great!

Tripp worked with me on organizing this while we watched The Golden Bachelor and Love is Blind.

The next project on the docket was a costume corner! After my sister in law and brother gave us a bunch of hand me down costumes, it motivated me to organize the also overflowing, unorganized and unsightly plastic costume bin.

I found this costume organizer, it’s been awesome! I’ve found Quinn uses all this much more now than she did when it was in a bin.

Lunch break!

Last surprise was “Trolley” for our family Halloween costume. We needed a wagon anyway, and this one happened to double as an extra Daniel Tiger character!

We actually love this wagon so much! It’s great because you can both pull or push & it’s quite spacious with a canopy if needed.

For dinner we had slow cooker pork, couscous, carrots and okra. My

After picking Quinn up, showing her all the surprises, and eating dinner we headed out for Trick or Treat #1!: back to Quinn’s daycare.

I dressed Tripp in Quinn’s Toad costume from her first Halloween.

Quinn was an adorable race car driver! They had trick or treating and then all kinds of cute activities for the kids like pumpkin painting, bowling, a witch hat ring toss and throw the spider at the web.

DJ and I felt like treating ourselves after so we went to Biggby and got ourselves iced lattes 😎. They were so good!

October 25th we started the day playing in the basement. It’s become a second playroom essentially. Tripp love love loves to strum my guitar. This little guy is alll about music. He loves dancing, drumming, and strumming.

We went for a walk then got ready for the evening! Here is a post with a roundup of our costumes. DJ is on candy patrol and made sure we were well stocked and also had Pokémon cards for everyone. Some people said they remembered the Pokémon cards from last year which was fun to hear!

We kept it easy and ordered Athena’s for the night and Quinn helped me decorate some Bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes.

That evening was our actual trick or treating in our neighborhood! Renee and Chris came over with the kids along with Gigi and Gordie who helped hand out candy. Renee surprised us with another fantastic cake! How cute are these ghosts?!

It was a beautiful, but slightly chilly, night for trick or treating.

It is such a joy seeing the way Ender and Quinn play together. They were two peas in a pod trick or treating. He was Sprigatito from Pokémon (the whole family was Pokémon which was adorable & Emelyn was Pikachu!).

Thankfully we had Gigi and Grandpa helping to hand out candy this year so we didn’t get swiped like last year!

Many houses in the neighborhood go all out. So much so that we stay away from certain homes because we don’t want the kids having nightmares 🫣.

After trick or treating, we warmed back up at home while the kids played in the playroom and we all dabbled in trying the various sweets.

The fun continued on October 26th. We went on another lovely fall walk. It was the perfect day.

We then went to Gigis where the kids half handed out candy and half trick or treated.

She made these adorable mummy hot dogs!

She also made some pulled pork that I just couldn’t stop eating. It was so good.

Quinn was Skye that evening!

October 27th we went to the grocery store and then the pet store. They always have a cat up for adoption and Quinn loves to say hi and chat with them 💕. I’m always happy to see when one is adopted.

I found these chia crackers that I have been loving with hummus!

Quinn picked us out some gorgeous flowers.

I also got this Veggie Craft pasta to try. It was great!!

Tripp learned to clap that day! All day long, especially when he was outward facing in the carrier he would just clap clap clap! Oh and he turned 8 months that week too!

Unfortunately one of my good friends’ daughters broke her wrist that week. I wanted to put together a little care package for her. I asked Quinn if she wanted to make her a craft, and she ran excitedly to her playroom. Moments layered she yelled “I’m all done! I made my craft for Layla”. Her craft was a piece of paper with her name on it, hah!

DJ and I had a good little giggle about it. I told my friend about it and she goes “you know I think I’ll just start writing my name on a piece of paper and mail it to my friends” 🤣. So sweet.

Gigi and Grandpa came to Quinnie’s soccer that week. She was soo happy to have them there! I could tell her energy (and silliness) was up a notch with some extra fans there to cheer her on!

October 29th we went to a trick or treat event at City Hall with another mom friend and her kids. It was so cute. Quinn was a race car driver again. They had a balloon maker as soon as you walk in, Quinn opted for a ghost.

They then had a “corn maze” of trick or treating.

We then did storytime. The librarians from the local library came by. It actually was the library we went to all the time over the summer and the one Quinn calls “The Maggie Library”. When the librarians introduced themselves I whispered to Quinn that they were from the Maggie library. She stands up (mind you everyone is seated) and excitedly proclaims “The Maggie Library!!!” 😆.

After, we went to the nearby park. Quinn made some friends there and we probably were there a good two hours. Tripp had an amazing long nap in the carrier- I think the refreshingly brisk air lended a hand to that!

I was a little emotional because she can now do the zip independently 🥲.

The morning of October 30th Quinn recreated us going to City Hall by setting up a bunch of chairs that were our “car”, then she created a pretend balloon animal station and a trick or treat maze. She loves recreating any real life scenarios like coffee shop, grocery store, daycare, etc.

Later we went to a baby music class. Quinn so sweetly helped Tripp clap 🥹.

We went home for lunch and had a pretty chill evening at home. Quinn did get a hold of my phone and almost bought this on Instacart 😅.

We did not end up getting the fish skeleton, but I did end up ordering 4 bunches of bananas rather than just 4 single bananas. Even Quinn called me out on it- “mommy did you order all the bananas again?” Yes, I ordered ALL the bananas 🤣.

October 31st I filled Tripp’s playpen with multicolored balls. I was naming the colors as we played. I sent a video of us playing to my mom and sister and realized watching back that I said one of the colors totally wrong in the video – baby brain, y’all!!

That evening we went to Gigi’s for some yummy chili & cornbread. Quinn was Jesse from Toy Story, but she’s never actually seen Toy Story so she said she was a Cowgirl. 🙂 All the costumes in this post have been those hand-me-downs I mentioned except for the Katerina Kitty Cat costume. They were soo clutch.

We went to our Mimi’s neighborhood to trick or treat. We were one of the last families still out and Quinn got giant handfuls of candy as people wanted to get rid of what they had! We taught Quinn what it meant to “hit the jackpot”. Haha!

Funnily enough the girl has had no interest in her candy. She only wants her mini Neopolitan ice cream pops from Jonny Pops or the homemade strawberry popsicles we make. So not only do we have ALL the bananas, we also have ALL the candy if anyone would like some 🤣.

Have a wonderful week, friends 🙂

Mackenzie

P.S. this post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I might earn a small commission if you make a purchase 🫶🏻. Please know I’ll only ever share products I truly stand by and use!

Hey friends! We are moving right along!

October 17th was a Boo Bash at the library!! We did this last year, and I was excited to do it again! Quinnie wanted to dress as a flower. We didn’t have a flower costume per se, but she was very happy with what we were able to put together.

Gigi met us at our house and then we headed out all together. They had so many cute activities for the kids. I continue to be inspired by the creativity these librarians have!

That evening I was craving chili…but I am more often than not so that’s no surprise. I opted for a white chicken chili that turned out so very good. I think I did add paprika and chili powder because neither were in the original recipe. I used my awesome chicken shredder Gigi gifted to me last year for the recipe. This thing works soo well.

The next day, October 18th, we went to Jack, Kate and Will’s soccer games!

Tripp was getting such a kick out of watching his older cousins ⚽️.

After, we stopped into Core Life. Any time we are in the Strongsville it is a must! Tripp has been doing well with soy being introduced so I started introducing it back into my diet slowly. I had tofu on my salad that day, gosh it tasted so good.

Want to know something strange? I’m losing my usual taste a little for meat lately. I still like it, but for the longest time (since I was pregnant with Quinn in 2021) I was insatiable when it came to beef, bison, steak, turkey, chicken. Lately, I’ve been having more cravings for tofu, bean burgers, all things veggies. I don’t plan on eliminating meat from my diet or anything, just an interesting observation!! Must be some type of nutrient shift in my body I’m guessing?

This little man is pulling up on everything lately and climbing on everything.

I have a little compilation on my phone of all the things he’s already scaled- the nugget couch, a box fan, a guitar case, the list goes on. I am sweating by the end of the day… no, actually not just by the end, the entire day! 😅 Haha.

That evening we went to the park together.

We also did some practice trick or treating per Quinn’s request at our house. DJ and Tripp were inside while Quinn and I walked up and rang the doorbell.

My sister in law and brother gave us hand-me-down costumes the kids had outgrown. Quinn changed into the Skye costume as soon as she could! We rode around the neighborhood with Skye in the stroller while looking at fall/Halloween decorations.

October 19th we were trying to figure out how to kill some time after church. I used my Inspired Minds app and printed Quinn off these monsters. I put them in sheet protectors and she colored “cavities” on them and then brushed the cavities off with a toothbrush.

October 20th we started the day with a gorgeous morning walk.

We then went to the library for a bit.

When we came home, we played a game where I hid dinosaurs all over the first floor and then Quinn had to find them.

Around 4 pm I loaded the kids in the car and we went to Krieger to grab a few groceries. I always put Tripp in the carrier forward facing and Quinn in the cart- it works well!

The morning of October 21st we were greeted by glowing pink skies and a rainbow. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a rainbow in the morning like this? The old adage my mom used to say crossed my mind: “red skies at night, sailors delight! Red skies in morning, sailors take warning.”

We snuck in a walk before any bad weather, and I had to document this scarecrow nearby that Quinn named Quinnie. We always make sure to say hi to her on our walks!

A little video of this girl’s soccer skills! She is loving it!!

October 22nd I whipped us all up some avocado toast and eggs!

That morning we met up with one of my neighbors and her kids (9 months and 2.5 yrs) at the library for storytime.

I’ve not been the best about doing a lot of intentional activities for Tripp the way I did with Quinn. But this day I put together a little mystery bowl for him to play with.

He also loves banging on the pots and pans and teething on the whisk. He’s definitely not as interested in books just yet. The boy just wants to MOVE and bang on things. 😄

Quinn only wants to wear shirts and shorts lately, which is a bit of an issue considering the weather is cooling down. We have an agreement that she can change into shirts and shorts at home but when we leave the house she has to be dressed appropriately. So please don’t be alarmed if she is in shirts and shorts all winter long while at home 🤣.

We busted out some fall crafts we had from last year and a little stick and cube kit I’d picked up from Hobby Lobby. I had a plank of styrofoam from a package that Quinn used to put the assembled sticks and cubes in (she called these her “treats”). This make-believe shop with treats kept her occupied for a while. She even made a sign for it.

October 23rd we played in the basement to start the day. The rubble puzzle was missing one piece. It was driving me NUTS.

Nothing occupies space in my brain more than a missing toy, a a missing puzzle piece, a missing magnet. I can tell you right now we are missing a little lamb from her stuffy farm (I did order a replacement via eBay lol), the green juice from her Melissa and Doug juice set and a cauldron magnet from her fairytale magnet set.

This is where I am fully a type C mom (a mix of a and b). I have meticulous knowledge of every little inch of our home and where things are, but I can’t ever keep track of my own phone and there’s always a chance that we are actually out of diapers or wipes in the diaper bag. But guess what. I did end up finding that rubble puzzle piece, so all is right in the world 😄.

We had a very fun fall afternoon with Gigi. I had originally wanted to take Quinn apple picking, but apple picking season is officially over; we decided to go to Szalays and visit their apple barn as an alternative!

They adorably have pumpkins lining the walkway to the apple barn.

It was such a beautiful day. We were saying we think of Country Maid as a summer place, but their ice cream store is still open in the fall. Next year we definitely want to return on a warm autumn day, get a cone and sit on their patio overlooking the orchard!

There was so much cute stuff in here. Gigi snagged a few festive harvest books for Quinnie too.

Quinn chose some apples and also picked out a pumpkin for a Tripp photo shoot later that day.

All buckled!

We then headed to the Richfield library. I hadn’t been there since probably middle school. My dad used to take us there from time to time. It brought back good memories. Quinn brought her baby in her mini baby carrier. We actually got her this last Christmas but she only recently has had interest in using it! I would link it but I can’t find the link!

We had fun in the kids’ area and were probably a tad too loud considering Tripp was extra vocal and giggly that day! We met another mom and Grandma there with their two kids too. It was a small world because we knew mutual people. I ended up exchanging numbers with the mom before leaving, hoping to get together this winter!

Quinn was all about playing some chess too. We taught her “check mate” (that is the extent of my chess knowledge outside of what I know from Harry Potter).

We had Honeygrow that evening for dinner- never misses! 😋

Time for this little pumpkin’s first Halloween!

We did get his foot stuck briefly in the pumpkin, which was honestly quite scary. We carefully flipped the pumpkin to use gravity and it came out fairly easily (on our camera footage it looks like the pumpkin is giving birth hah). He was totally fine thankfully, just clearly rattled by the ordeal. After, DJ and I were wondering how many babies get stuck in pumpkins each year, because surely we weren’t the only ones that has happened to. We looked it up guessing there’d be some statistic, but nope, it seems we are indeed the only ones. Although, to be fair we did get him out. I felt terrible, he was such a trooper smiling through the whole photo shoot too!

Alrighty time to wrap it here and then I think we only have one more Halloween type recap until we are caught up with all those festivities 🙂

Mackenzie

Hey hey! How is it already November?!

Starting back on October 8th, Quinn and I started the day making chocolate muffins together. We used the muffin toppers we had bought from HomeGoods.

That evening Quinn joined me on my run in the stroller. She loves getting all cozied in her “cocoon” blanket while we blast Forrest Frank and zoom around the neighborhood.

October 9th chef Quinnie made us some eggs!

Tripp officially started pulling up on furniture that week!

That afternoon we went to my in-laws (Sissy and Poppy’s) so Quinnie could help decorate their house for fall! Her Aunt Kylie was there too 💕

While they decorated Tripp and I went to a nearby coffee shop DJ had raved about, The Ardmore.

I ordered a turmeric latte that was so so so good. Just phenomenal. BUT it was the most expensive latte I have ever had- I got it with oat milk and a shot of espresso since it didn’t have any coffee in it, and it landed me at $9. $9 for a latte!!!! BUT was it worth it?! I actually think so 🫣.

Tripp and I perused an adorable boutique across the street called Celebrations and Songbirds. At first, I thought it was just a bird store, but they have a plethora of cute boutique type gifts in there. I may even try to pop back in to do a little Christmas shopping.

We ventured back after a little while and Tripp played a bit too!

It was a fun day!!

That evening we were boo’ed! (My neighbor so sweetly texted me if we wanted to participate this year since it requires some work – you have to gift two other homes in a 48 hr period. That was so kind of her, and of course, I said yes!).

Quinn was thrilled at the festive surprise!

October 10th we started the day on a walk all bundled!! I have gotten tons of use out of this coat from Seraphine. I think Seraphine was bought out by another website, but maternity coats that are 3 in 1 are amazing gifts for moms to be who live in cold weather.

For dinner, we had some seasoned ground turkey, Chickapea pasta and zucchini fries. I am definitely keeping this recipe for the zucchini fries!

After dinner we went to Target to gather items for our Boo bags! We had two homes we wanted to target, one with two boys around Quinn’s age and the other with two older boys, a baby and a 2 year old girl. It was fun making the bags!

October 11th we headed to Ramseyer!! This is one of our favorite fall activities without question. This was our third year in a row I believe!

Quinn insisted we study the map before we got going. She 10000% gets that from DJ 🤣.

So fun being here with both our babies this year!

Here’s from last year: I wore the same outfit because mental energy of planning outfits just isn’t there right now lol!

This year we did a few things we haven’t done yet, starting with the corn maze.

Quinn took a while to warm up, but she was all about the goats!

The construction site digging is always a hit too.

I usually pack us food in case lines are long, but this year we just planned on getting it there. We unfortunately had a probably 45 minute wait to get anything because we got in line during the rush, but it was all really tasty! Once we ate, Quinn and Tripp both got a second wave of energy and were ready to go! (I just gave him a Cerebelly pouch I had on hand).

When we got home, we were so tired. I just remember looking longingly at the couch for a nap, knowing we had about 5 more hours to go before sleep was a possibility lol!

That evening we went to “boo” our first house. Quinn came with me. We walked across to our neighbors, and we noticed they were in the driveway so we sprinted back home laughing. (We ended up successfully making the drop there the next day!). Next we tried the second house and right when we were walking up the garage door started opening! Quinn and I ran behind a bush and waited till we didn’t hear or see anyone there and then dropped it. Wheeewww this booing stuff is serious business!

October 13th our half bath was being demo’ed on our first floor. We didn’t plan on doing any renovations this soon, but we noticed a urine type smell that we could not get out of that bathroom. The toilet was wobbly, so we speculated that during potty training urine had got trapped under there. When the guy we hired pulled up the floor he said he discovered two types of mold- a black mold (he didn’t think *the* black mold) and a yellow mold. Apparently when mold becomes territorial they let off spores, and that’s what we were smelling, not urine! He has most of the bathroom done at this point, but we’re still waiting for the floor to arrive.

Anyway! In order to get out of the noise and out of the house for the day, we did a big errands and lunch day. We started at hobby lobby and got some stuff for the sensory bin & a few activities. Then we went to Panera while Tripp slept in my carrier!

The absolute sweetest older couple came up and chatted with us.

After Panera, we went across the street to Crumbl cookie to pick up some cookies for our contractor’s family. Quinn helped me pick out the flavors.

Don’t mind us with a sink in our front yard!

Time for an afternoon Nespresso!

I’m really trying to cut back on the stuff because it’s so sour on my stomach but I literally can’t, I love it so much.

October 14th Quinn made a lava bridge with books and wrote the sign “no go in lava” (with help on the spelling ;)).

She snaked her lava back around before the “N” and it dawned on me I need to teach her that when you write you start a fresh line. It’s just funny when you have moments of “oh yeah, I need to teach her that, she’s not just programmed to know that”. Vowels were another time that realization hit. She asked me what a group of consonants spelled and I realized she didn’t know words needed vowels. She just thought any group of letters made an actual word, as you would with no concept of spelling!

That evening we took a walk outside after the sun went down to see all the Halloween decorations lit up.

When we got home, Quinn arranged her stuffed animals in this formation below and told me it was the dancing show. She has watched a couple of the DWTS performances, and I thought it was adorable how she recreated it 🥹. Seems like something Cassie would do, huh Gigi? 😄

October 15th was a fort kinda day.

I also started working on Tripp’s Halloween costume as he slept in my carrier. This was actually quite easy! I got some non toxic fabric glue from Hobby Lobby along with some different blue felt. Then I cut out the feathers and glued it all together. I had to order a little more felt off amazon, but it ended up coming together quite well I think!

I got the Owl hat from Etsy 🙂

October 16th we made our hobby lobby crafts! These toilet paper roll puppets were the last thing I made with Quinn before Tripp was born, so I felt a twinge of nostalgia about them!

We stopped into Krieger for some light grocery shopping and I picked up this gorgeous loaf of sourdough while I was there. It is a definite goal of mine in the new year to learn how to make sourdough.

Here’s how our little fall sensory bin turned out!

Ok this feels like a good spot to wrap up for now!

How has your fall been? Are you traveling anywhere for the holidays?

🍁

Mackenzie

Hey hey! Moving right along!! September 20th my Aunt Terry and Uncle Pat arrived! This was their first time meeting Tripp💕. They stopped by our place as part of their RV trip along this side of the country.

For dinner we had my go-to lamb chops from the anti inflammatory cookbook with roasted carrots and couscous. It was a hit! So much so, my Aunt bought the cookbook. During dinner, we were talking about ages and we asked Quinn how old DJ was. Without hesitation and with the utmost confidence she responded “forty-one”. It took us all by surprise and we laughed pretty good – (DJ is 33).

It was a beautiful evening so we went outside while Moose ran around having the time of his life with my Aunt and Uncle’s dogs, Stout and Archie.

All this patio furniture and somehow we still find ourselves sitting on the stairs 🤣. Old habits die hard!

September 21st we went to Church then ventured to Blue Door after (we used their waitlist otherwise it would have been an impossibly long wait!).

Thumbwars with Aunt Terry!

Almost seated!

The kids were… as to be expected. Lol. Some chill moments, some hectic moments. I didn’t get a lot of pictures of the food because the minute I could I was trying to scarf it down. But! I did get a picture of their almond croissant the table shared!

I had their avocado toast because it’s one of the few dairy free things. It was so tasty though, so I didn’t mind one bit. DJ got the Monte cristo crepe that he raved about – it had rosemary ham and Gruyère cheese with syrup and maple Dijon.

After, we went back to the house and had a nice relaxing afternoon. Also, my Aunt brought me one of the most treasured gifts I’ve ever been given of an ornament with my Grandma’s thumbprint 💕.

We were sad they had to continue on their trip that evening but so grateful for the time we had together!

This sweet boy was ready to go to sleep after a fun weekend 💤

September 22nd we went on a little morning walk before getting ready for the day. I cannot with this girls curls! 😍 She definitely gets them from her Gigi!

That day was pretty chill at home. Quinn played with the sprinkler a lot and we did some chalk.

September 24th we spent a good portion of the afternoon at the library.

September 25th we went to Nervous Dog. I brought a bunch of activities with us & the kids did well! We didn’t stay super long but it was fun to get out of the house. I told Quinn YETI stickers usually go on a cooler, and I think she thought I said preschooler 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ok ok I even made myself cringe a bit with that joke 😆. If you want proof that I don’t use AI in my posts, there ya have it lol. (And yes I will forever be the millennial that uses “lol” at the end of my sentences just because!).

I’ve been getting one pump of vanilla in my au laits lately & have been loving it. There was a time when I was in the thick of disordered eating where I wouldn’t have fathomed ordering anything that wasn’t sugar free/extra calories in a drink. It’s these seemingly small moments now that I realize how far I’ve come over the years. Intuitive eating and focusing on generally eating real, diverse food has healed my body and mind in so many ways.

Anywho! Didn’t mean to get all serious but you know how it goes around here 😆.

That evening my friend, Sarah, stopped by for dinner. We went to Youth Group together growing up and realized recently how close we live to each other!! We ordered from Clean Eatz. I ordered the burnt turkey ends in a bowl to try something different – ok they look charred and gross, but surprisingly they were SO good! They didn’t taste as burnt as they look, they just had a nice smoky flavor.

It was so nice to have her come by. I feel like recently more and more people that have left Ohio are starting to come back, and it’s been wonderful rekindling old friendships.

Oh I have to share this pic of Moose popping into Marie and Jorge’s window 😆. “Hi guys!”

This little man turned 7 months that week! My smiley boy 💙

The evening of September 26th we worked on Quinn’s first ever homework assignment! Side note: I’m not sure how much I’ve discussed our current schedule- Quinn goes to preschool twice a week now, and it’s been working so well! She’s usually excited to go see her friends, and it’s nice to have some devoted time with Tripp & to get a couple things done around the house. It’s funny how mom math works- I feel like 2 kids feels like 5, and 1 kid feels like zero kids 🤣. I miss her while she’s there, but I’m so glad she loves it. Anyway, this homework assignment was an “all about me”. She insisted on using poop emojis & I am in a pick your battles phase of parenting, so I let her have creative liberty.

September 27th was a wonderfully fun family fall day! My sister in law, Renee, and Gigi planned a whole day for the kiddos when the cousins from Chicago were in town. We started at Szalays with their Corn Maze.

They do such a great job of this every year- you have to find 8 pumpkins I believe? Each pumpkin discovered has a different theme & the kids love it. Now, the actual navigating of the maze I left to the real adults because we would all be in trouble if I tried to guide us.

Tripp was just along for the ride!

We then did their hayride, which I’ve actually never done there before! It was super cute. The kids particularly loved the dinosaurs along the ride.

Then we headed to the market side for lunch!

Tripp had his first corn on the cob!! He did great with it. I’ve mainly done purees this time around to make sure he’s getting enough iron with exclusive breastfeeding, but for fun we will do some safer baby led weaning food.

The kids all picked out pumpkins then we headed home for naps for the kids that still nap. After naps we went to Renee and Chris’s for pumpkin painting, pizza and cake.

Aunt Renee had the table so well set up and ready to go for the painting!

We were then spoiled by Chris making us each our own pizza in their pizza oven. They have the pizza oven craft down to a T, so I was taking notes while I was there.

Then we were spoiled further with dessert. Renee had this beyond delicious cookie dough cake waiting for us. Also, all her cakes are dairy free, so I can happily enjoy them too!

This feels like a good place to stop!! I think our Ramseyer trip is next on the docket 🙂

Hope you all are having a lovely fall!

Mackenzie

Happy Halloween from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood!

From,

Daniel Tiger, Katerina Kitty Cat, Dr. Anna, O the Owl, King Friday and special guest, our Radio Flyer wagon as Trolley!

🎃

Hey all! I’m going to skip over some posts that are more season-neutral, hah, to get to all the fall stuff!! But I will definitely come back to those after!

Cruising right along into September! September 7th we had a nice easy dinner of steaks, roasted carrots and peas.

September 8th I took the kids to the park! We walked to one a little further away this time. We then just played around the house most of the day.

September 9th began our kick of pumpkin waffles for the next few weeks!

It was around this time that I really started implementing the morning walk. It’s been the BEST change to our routine. Also Quinn no longer does any screen in the morning which has been a game changer. I hate to admit that it became a morning crutch during pregnancy and after having Tripp. It feels really good to have broken that habit!

A lovevery box arrived that day & we were very excited to set up the puppet theater!

We went to Walmart because I needed basic blue sweats to create Tripp’s Halloween costume (stay tuned), we found a couple other goodies while there too. Quinn loves going to Walmart because they have the giant screened security monitors, so she thinks she’s on TV 😊.

Doing this little shopping haul gave me the bug to do our annual fall shopping at TJ Maxx and HomeGoods. So September 10th off we went!

We also went to Target and I got an au lait at Starbucks and Quinn got a milk.

It was a success! A little too much of a success 😬 lol.

Quinn wanted to get this card for DJ (she had no idea what it said inside 😆).

Of course, we had to get Moose a couple things too. Quinn picked them out as she does many of his toys that are very pink 😂.

I felt such a sense of accomplishment that day doing this big outing with the two kids. Leaving the house and going out and about used to be so daunting. But I feel like it’s kind of a muscle you have to exercise, the more you do it, the easier it gets!

That evening we ordered in HoneyGrow!

One of the fun crafts we did was a spooky house with stickers and paper doll characters. Quinn enjoyed playing this for a while.

The next day we had Tripp’s 6 month appt and grabbed Biggby on the way home. I had the matcha latte which was fantastic.

It was a beautiful day so we spent a lot of it outside and at the park. Quinn brought her camera along and took lots of pictures.

Quinn has been all about throwing birthday parties for her stuffy friends lately 🎂

That evening we had a crockpot beef pot roast. I used some random ingredients to make this that were sitting in the pantry: coconut milk, tomato paste, garlic, carrot and celery. It turned out delicious!

September 13th I was putting together our Instacart order and it messaged me while I was playing hide and seek with Quinn and DJ. Well I had my AirPods in when Siri notified me of the Instacart notification, and it texted back what I was saying to Quinn to that number 😂. We got a good laugh out of this.

After church, I went on a little date out with my girl! We were going to go to First Watch, but it was a super long wait so we went next door to Starbucks. We loaded up on some snack boxes and sandwiches, a milk for Quinn and an au lait for me. I’ve been loving one pump of vanilla in my au laits lately.

The evening of September 15th we stumbled upon a cute little interactive chalk trail neighbor kids drew. They had all kinds of different activities drawn out- hopscotch, a balance beam, stomp on the pumpkin and spell your name. It was adorable and Quinn did this maybe 25 times before we headed home!

September 16th we went to a sweet storytime at the library with Gigi. At the end of every story time they have a craft for the kids- this day they made dog puppets!

Tripp is all about this busy block the library has!

Weeeee

We love these days with Gigi!!

We went back to the house after and had some lunch. Tripp thought it was absolutely hilarious when Gigi was dropping a cap on the table over and over.

September 18th was just a kill time at home day. We did lots of chalk, a pot and pan band, and just tinkered in the playroom.

September 19th the neighbor kids came by to play in the sandbox. I just adore that we have kids similar ages.

I’ll wrap here and share more fall festivities soon 😊

Mackenzie

Hey all! I think I’m going to start incorporating some more recent posts into my lineup so we get some fun fall happenings recorded before the season gets away!

But for now- jumping back to August!! August 1st I made a super easy recipe that is now part of our rotation! This is a slow cooker taco pasta– so yummy. I used a high protein pasta for it (Chickapea) & it turned out great.

That evening our nephew, Ender, had his pre-K graduation. It was just about the most adorable thing ever.

August 2nd was a very special day! It was my sister-in-law, Amy’s, wedding shower! Renee made this stunning cake below. Her cake making talent never ceases to amaze me, and they taste as good as they look too!

Amy and her now husband, Chris (this is Quinn’s now third uncle Chris, lol!), have a rock garden in their yard so we all painted rocks for it. I thought it was such a thoughtful idea, and fun too! (Although I’d be hard pressed to admit which one is mine- painting is far from my forte 😅).

Tripp came with me to the shower and did very well! He seemed to enjoy all the festivities for the portions he was awake. I am so happy for Amy!! 💕💕

While at the shower, DJ played this adorable game with Quinn where he put her stuffed animals in hard to reach places all over the house- she then wore her super hero cape and had to rescue them as he lifted her up to get them or find a creative way to get them down. They were playing when I got home, and it was so adorable!!!

That evening we had a crockpot Tuscan chicken with rice and asparagus.

August 5th we went with Maggie to Szalays. We walked down to the creek portion and skipped rocks there, grabbed some nectarines to share and then walked on the towpath a bit before it got too hot.

Soccer time! Quinn had a few practices where she wanted to wear her cape. It was quite cute watching her run around the field with it flowing behind her.

That evening we kept it easy with turkey, roasted carrots, zucchini and couscous.

August 7th we went to Gaga for Goats. Maggie told us about this place, and I couldn’t believe we just heard about it considering it’s local- and it’s so cool!

Maggie, Quinn, Tripp and I ventured on a beautifully sunny Thursday to this little farm. It that has all kinds of animals- goats, ducks, rabbits, and chickens. They have one side of the Billy goats and the other side for the female goats. You can pet the goats and feed them- they’re so friendly!

It’s near Blossom (a concert venue here), and they have a wall with all the famous musicians who have stopped by! There are some big names on here!! Some that stood out: Dave Matthews, Jelly Roll, Yellow Card, Kenny Chesney, Noah Kahn, and Hozier.

The property it’s located on is just gorgeous! Any time I visit places like this I get that itch…..you knowwww, the homesteading-chicken-cooping-bread-making itch!!

There’s even an adorable area for photo ops!

That evening, DJ and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! It was actually on the 8th, but Gigi and Gordie were able to come by that evening to watch the kids for a bit.

Tripp is a barnacle baby as they come, but I do not mind- I love the cuddles and baby wearing. It does make it hard to leave though- he cries pretty much the whole time we’re gone (especially now at 7 months). We’re working on it, but due to this we decided to just stay home and order our anniversary dinner in. This way if he totally went off the rails we’d be in the house. Originally, we were going to eat outside but we got attacked by flies, so plan B!

We took our food inside and ate on the floor in Tripp’s room. But we loved it. If Tripp is the reason we were spending our 10 year anniversary eating takeout on the floor- I wouldn’t change that for anything!!!! If you’ve been hanging around here, you know it was not an easy road to him, and even things that may seem not ideal are just blessings because we have him. So it felt perfect, reflecting on the 10 years of memories we’ve made, the life we’ve built together, how we’ve grown and matured together, our babies. It was so special. Also eating any meal uninterrupted is SUCH a treat haha.

Now, we may have ordered takeout, but we didn’t just get any takeout! We had Ken Stewart’s which is a phenomenal restaurant near us. We had steak tartare to start. Then I had their scallops (divine) & DJ got a steak.

Tripp actually did very well that evening, and it was nice we were right there if needed so we didn’t need to stress!

We also got out our bin of cards/pictures/gifts/scraps that hold sentimental value for our relationship that dated back to 2010 when we started dating. Quinn enjoyed going through it with us!

August 8th the library hosted a music class. It was nice we could do one more fun library event before Maggie headed back to school!

Tripp loves music so he was all about it!

Just a mermaid and her dog on an island lol.

DJ surprised me with gorgeous flowers that day & we got some from family too! Quinn wanted to make a bouquet for DJ too so we picked some from the yard. It was so sweet.

She was so excited to give them to him. 🥹

More to come hopefully soon!

🤍

Mackenzie