8 Things

1. Solomon saved and saved his money so he could purchase a video game system around his birthday.  Josh and I didn’t even know he was saving for one until whammo…he had enough to purchase a Playstation.  This is our first go at video games and the Fortnite game has been a massive hit…I mean, the dance moves alone are amazing.  Our sweet nephew Cooper gave the boys a headset to make them feel totally legit and now they look like full blown teenagers.  It’s hilarious to watch and hear them chat all about it…living that big kid life.

2. We’ve hit up lots of hospital foods since Leo arrived on the scene.  It feels as if he has unending appointments and we’re never not at our local hospital and doctors’ offices.  My love of Ben & Jerry’s mint chocolate chunk has been rekindled due to this fact.  Thankful for amazing healthcare and physicians who are helping Leo and our family figure out just what he needs.

3. Leo reminds me of a little parrot most days.  He’s watching our every move and following along like it’s a game of Copycat.  He is a total trip and cracks us up so much.  We’re beyond glad he’s here.

4. The day after our big kids got home from camp we had only one thing on the agenda…the Wave Pool.  The end.

PS: Only 2 weekend left to hit up the wave pool.  Summer is officially coming to a close.

5. Usually when I run an errand and Josh Kelley is home I’ll ask to see if any of the kids want to go with me.  Sometimes just one single child wants to join me.  I love this small window of time one-on-one with them.  Hudson was my recent yes guy and helped me with some grocery shopping.  His sock and sandal game were impressive.  He is funny and quirky and kind and we’re crazy glad he’s ours.

 6. I’m not much of a dress wearer, but this summer I declared it The Summer of Dress.  It was crazy hot and humid here in Tennessee…to no one’s surprise…so I snagged 3 cool summery dresses from Old Navy and wore them all summer long.  Two summers ago I declared it The Summer of TankTop.  It’s just this weird thing I do. 🙂

7. Around the beginning of the year I decided to overhaul a lot of the items we use daily…soaps, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, deodorants, etc.  I did it simply to see if it would help the mood of our house.  We were all so sad and down and I was ready and willing to try anything and so I did.  I ended up making a giant batch of laundry detergent from THIS POST I found on Pinterest and I loved it…so much so I just made up my second batch.  It cost me around $22 to make and it lasted over 5 months and we do a ton of laundry.

Here’s the very simple recipe, but for all the details CLICK HERE:

-4 bars Kirks Original Coco Castile Soal Fragrance Free (I quickly cut the bars up and drop them in my small food processor)

-4lbs Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda

-3.7lbs/55oz Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

-3lbs Oxi Clean Free or Baby

*We use 1TB for a small-medium loads and 2TB for large load.*

And 8. I’m always looking for little special things that remind me of Everett.  My eyes are always looking and my heart is always missing him.  When I spot those special things I tuck them in tight and treasure them.  A rainbow in the zoo’s water mister was just what I needed that day.