The End of the Fall-idays

2020 is most certainly a challenging year, but we had one of our best Thanksgiving breaks ever! I know it's contradictive, but this is the most relaxed AND productive I have felt in months. We spent 4 great days together as a family, and I'm not even bummed about it coming to an end on Tuesday morning, because we are all so excited to celebrate the Christmas season together!

Despite being an unprecidented year full of things we never expected to face, this year went surprisingly fast. Spring in quarantine quickly turned into a Summer at home, then my kids went back to school, cheerleading/football began, and Fall arrived. The busyness of (somewhat but not really) normal life took over, and before we knew it, Halloween passed and November was here. 

Before moving on to all things Christmas, I wanted to share my last Fall post. I figured it was easiest to lump the rest of the Fall-idays together. Here are the pictures from our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, and the quickest Thanksgiving recap ever!

Dylan's Sweet Sixteen Pandemic Birthday

It seems like just yesterday that I was staring down at my firstborn child, who had just arrived in our lives, making us a family of three. I blinked, and sixteen years passed by. Now I'm staring UP at my son, and wondering when he slipped through my fingers and who, exactly, this young man is! I desperately tried to slow down time, but today, he celebrated his SIXTEENTH Birthday!

When I started this blog, Dylan was 3 and Lexie was 1. Now they are both teenagers, and we have three more children. Sometimes it's really hard to wrap my mind around that! It's even more difficult to accept the fact that my first two babies are not babies anymore, and are just a few years away from leaving home. That's the point of raising children, but I don't have to like it one bit!

2020 was a rough year for everyone. We try to make birthdays a big deal in our home, but this year we had 4 major milestone birthdays, and we weren't able to celebrate with parties. Sweet Sixteen is supposed to be a big deal, and we had big plans at the start of the year. Unfortunately, we weren't able to follow through with those big plans, but we made the day as special as we could for Dylan. It may not have been exactly what he expected, but he had a great 16th Birthday!

Ten Adorably Festive & Inexpensive Christmas Decor Target Finds

 

I usually have a firm rule of No Christmas Before Thanksgiving. This year is a different story! All the stress caused by 2020 is making me to get into the Christmas spirit early this year. Christmas music is already being played, the Christmas clothing is coming out, and Christmas decor is starting to show up in my home!

Over the past week, I picked up a few new Christmas home decor additions from Target. If you couldn't tell, I LOVE Target! My savings account - and my husband - doesn't love Target, but I'm very thankful for all the options Target has for a big family on a budget!

All of my finds are $5 and under because I love a good deal! Most are from the Target Dollar Spot, and can be used throughout Winter, too. If it's inexpensive, cute, and versatile, it somehow ends up in my cart. I'm not quite sure how that happens, but I sure do love what I brought home!

A Week In The Life - Halloween Edition

For as crappy as 2020 has been, it has gone by surprisingly fast! It's hard to believe that October is already over, and we're in the midst of the holiday season. I absolutely love this time of year, and I'm not going to let the pandemic stop me from enjoying it!

We filled the last week of October with some fun Halloween activities. We went to the pumpkin farm (post coming), carved pumpkins, went Trick or Treating with friends, and went to a small party. A few of our regular traditions had to be canceled, but I'm very thankful for a fairly normal Halloween week!

Now that Halloween is behind us, we're focusing on Dylan's 16th Birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. November is going by so fast! We're just trying to slow down enough to fully enjoy the holiday season!

What We REALLY Want You To Know About Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome Awareness Month has come to an end. Most people are aware of Down syndrome, but the majority of people don't understand exactly what it is. So many people still view it as a tragedy or something to fear. What they can't allow themselves to see is that a person with Down syndrome does have differences - just like any other person - but they truly are like every other person on this planet...just with an extra chromosome!

I advocate for Liam and his peers through inclusion. I share about life with Down syndrome by simply sharing our family. Liam does what we do, goes where we go, and is very much an intricate part of our family unit and our community. Down syndrome is a part of him, just like his big blue eyes that are flecked with Brushfield spots or his joyful smile, but we refuse to let it define him.  

I spent the month of October advocating for Liam by sharing how he has impacted the lives of those around him. I have been advocating for over 7 years, but my ways have definitely changed. I used to share facts, but now I just let Liam and our experiences lead the way. I always share from my heart, so I will let Liam's siblings and grandparents tell you all about life with Down syndrome, before wrapping it up with a few things I really want you to know about Down syndrome.

Halloween 2020

2020 has been quite a year, and I really didn't think Halloween was going to be the same. As Fall began, and social distancing guidelines were still in place, I started to brainstorm alternative ways to celebrate. I didn't have to worry too much. Trick or Treating was still on where we live, and the community came together to make it extra special for the kids!

This Halloween wasn't filled with the usual amount of activities, and hand sanitizer was a staple while Trick or Treating, but it went surprisingly well. Actually, I said I preferred the C-vid Halloween! Everyone was in their driveways, extra festive candy tables were set up, everyone was just HAPPY to be out, and it was much more efficient!

There are stressful moments every single day in a big family household, and Halloween was no exception. I was a bit bummed that Dylan went off with his best friend and his girlfriend, but they made a surprise appearance later, and it made my night! Overall, it was a great Halloween, made even better due to the fact that it was on a Saturday! Here's how we celebrated...

The Weekly Review

As October nears an end, we're back to our typical level of busyness! We're just not seeing as many people as we typically do, and life does look a lot different than last year. My kids are still going to school in person, and participating in some activities, so that keeps us going!

This past week was filled with school, time spent outdoors, time spent with our quarantine circle, and cheerleading. Fall was in its full glory with beautiful colors and 80 degree days, and I LOVED it! Then it all came to an end on Saturday. The temperature dropped 30 degrees, Lily's cheerleading season came to an end, and the trees lost most of their leaves.

And here we are, in the last week of October! We jumped straight into Halloween week. I'm not overly bummed about the beauty of Fall coming to end, because it's officially the holiday season, and we're here for it! It might look a bit different than previous years, but we're excited to celebrate Haloween, Dylan's 16th Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve!

Favorite Finds of the Week - Sam's Club & Aldi

 

Confession: I love shopping...but I love a good deal even more! I even love to shop in a mask! With 5 growing kids, we have to shop smart, search for deals, find things that work well for our family, and add extra money to the weekly budget to allot for clothing, household necessities, and gifts.

I frequently share my finds on Instagram, but got away from sharing them on the blog. Sometimes I only bring home a few things other than groceries, while other weeks are a bit heavier in the extra stuff department. (This week, we have a birthday.) I decided to transition my finds back to the blog again, in addition to sharing on social media. I love discovering new things on social media, and love sharing mine as well!

My weekly shopping trip is an undertaking with 7 people in my family. I also shop for my neighbor each week, and occasionally grab things for my parents. I always stop at Sam's Club for the bulk items (we go through a LOT of food), Aldi for the rest of our groceries, and I rotate between Walmart and Target for the extra grocery/household items that I can't find at those stores. Every so often, I stop at a different store, but most of my finds come from Amazon, Target, Aldi, and Sam's Club. This week, I'm sharing my favorite Sam's Club and Aldi non-food finds!

Long Time No See

Hello, strangers! It has been a hot minute since the last time I really blogged about US. Back to school, a family vacation, a busy cheerleading schedule, a husband working from home, and juggling life and 5 kids takes up every single minute! 

I miss blogging so much, so I'm going to attempt to get back into it. I can't make promises anymore, though. This stage in our lives is just too busy right now, and my number one priority is spending time with my family, especially since my kids are growing up so fast. Guilt over not being able to put the time into writing has consumed me, but I refuse to let myself feel that way.

So here I am. I will write when I can. Sometimes I'll be able to blog more, while some weeks might be silent. I have so much to catch up on - Lily's birthday, Liam's birthday, our awesome beach vacation - as well as some new topics I want to tackle. For now, here's a look at life lately...kind of a reintroduction since we're pretty much strangers now!

Supporting Kids Health With Gut & Immune Supplements

I received this product for free from Moms Meet in exchange for my honest review. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

Health and wellness is a regular part of my family's daily routine. Although we focus on a healthy diet and daily exercise, we boost our immune systems with vitamins and supplements. Right now, my kids are using Gut Connection Kids from Country Life!

Did you know that 70% of the immune system resides in the gut? That's why a balanced microbiome is so important! Gut Connection Kids is one of the first children's supplements to contain Epicor Whole Food Fermentate prebiotic which was clinically studied and shown to improve gut microbiome health.

Every child has unique needs, and it's definitely true with my five kids! Gut Connection Kids has a variety of formulas to support their growing bodies and individual needs. Several formulas have become a regular part of our daily wellness routine! Read on to find out what my kids are taking, and how you can win a supplement of your own to try!