Remember those commercials? “Fall into the gap”

Well, if you wanted a track record for Dan and I, ever since the boys have been born the GAP has been our favorite spot to shop for our family.

From basics, to work, from baby to adult, we get it all, and constantly snag amazing deals!

No, this isn’t a sponsored post – Just me rambling on about the clothes I drool over for the littles.  And the items we have snagged for them recently.

THE LITTLES

Winter time is coming.  In fact, Cleveland’s weather forecast is showing snow for this Thursday.  Thankfully, we hopped online and picked the boys out new jackets and hats to make sure they were ready for the cold!

The warmest puffer jacket in black will look adorable on this kids.  And yes, they each got the same ones … I’m a fool for simple coats that they can reuse in the future

I let them pick their hats out.  Because I know they will put up a fight to wear one 50% of the time, so hoping them choosing their own will increase the odds of happiness when wearing them.  Brody’s is the pom pom one, and Owen wanted the “bear” one.

Pj’s are not really matchy matchy in this house.  They never really have been.  You know those cute pj sets that most kids wear every night to bed? Our boys are usually in any comfy t-shirt and shorts.  These pants though have become a favorite, and may I add they look super cute in them … the fit on these are perfect!

Gap has consistently been one of the few brands that we can wash and wash and wash, and every piece has lasted, even passed down to Owen.  Like these t-shirts .. I could have snagged one in every colored but I practiced self-restraint.

my wish list for the littles

It’s nearly impossible to buy everything at once.  So we do it in pieces.  I constantly look online for pop up sales and snag the best deals immediately.  I’m on the look out for these..

How cute are those red pj’s for Christmas time? Forget the milk and cookies, I just want the boys to be in these Christmas Eve!

Dear Gap, I love you.  You make me feel like I am not the only one obsessed over mini fashion.  Keep up the sales so this momma can afford it all.  (Cough) – so the hubs can afford it all.

Want to snag some of these items for your own kids or as gifts for the holidays?

Toddler Boy Clothes at babyGap | Gap – Free Shipping on $50

We did it again this year.  Dropped $$ on pumpkins, that are just waiting to be carved, that are then just awaiting the nearest squirrel to surrender to.  Why do we spend money on this?

Let’s just face it.  It is thee cutest thing to watch your kids run through the pumpkins, picking their favorite one out (trying to push them towards the ones that won’t turn out to be $20 a piece).

This year, the boys picked their pumpkins out fairly quickly.  We were slightly distracted by the smell of fresh baked doughnuts coming from the shop right beside us.

Owen was just beside himself with all of the “tops” that had fallen off a few pumpkins.  That’s all he was interested in … trying to find the rightful owner.

With a full week ahead of us, and not many things to do, we held off on tackling the pumpkins right away.  Prepping for the painting turned out to be just as fun!  They got a big kick out of washing them in the sink to get all of the dirt off.

We spent the rest of the evening revisiting an old recipe of ours, homemade graham crackers.  Tossed a little fall into the recipe by adding 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice and they turned out extra yummy!

The kids loved rolling out the dough, and cutting out shapes with their new Halloween cookie cutters.

Days like these remind me of what staying at home with the kiddos inside all day will be like in the winter.  Coming up with these simple projects to fill the hours of the day up with, makes everything a little sweeter.

Make the graham crackers with your littles this week! They stay fresh in the fridge for a long time!

Homemade Graham Crackers | thethomehome

I have made these cookies at least 12 times within the year.  Rolled in sugar sprinkles, or drizzled with a lemon glaze, these lemon cookies are simply divine.  Soft, chewy, speckled with lemon zest, a delicious cookie to add to your list.  It seems like my recipes dance around the same category huh? Cookies, cupcakes, muffins, breads, brownies … Guess I have more of a sweet tooth than I would ever like to admit! Sorry folks!

The recipe is from craving chronicles, I stumbled across it after googling through tons of lemon cookie recipes last year.  This one seemed to of fit the bill.  I’ve had relatives use the same recipe and rave at the results, and how fool-proof they are.  I altered the recipe a bit here and there, more lemon zest + juice for zing, and omitting the oil for all butter.  Because more butter is always better.

ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• zest of 2 lemons
• 2 oz softened cream cheese (cut into small chunks)
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• sugar sprinkles for rolling

directions:

Pre heat the oven to 350* Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper

In one medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda + powder, and salt.

In a second bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest.  Add the 2 oz of cream cheese, and pour the warm melted butter on top, helping to softened the cream cheese even further.  Stir everything together.  Add one egg, stir.  Then add the lemon juice, and vanilla, stirring until everything is blended together.

Last but not least, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet.  Mix until the dough forms.  Scoop one cookie at a time with a small cookie scoop, roll into a ball, and then roll the dough ball into the sugar sprinkles.  Place onto the baking sheet.  Finish your rolling until, placing each cookies 1 1/2 inches apart and bake at 350* for 11 -13 minutes.  The bottoms should be barely golden.  Place onto a cookie sheet to let them cool.  Store in an airtight container.

barely tweaked from:

Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies | The Craving Chronicles

Life with little boys is filled with love.

dirt.

bugs.

stinky feet.

super heroes.

stinky bathrooms.

bickering.

And leaves mom with the feeling of being a constant referee.  Yesterday was an amazing day.  A day where I embraced the craziness that embodies my kids and just rolled with the punches.  Literally.

I stepped in where I needed to.  Tried not to gasp at each and every boo-boo.  Let them argue for a minute, and figure it out for themselves.

By 12:00 we enjoyed a morning of meltdowns, and I tried my best to just brush it off.  That morning we went to look at pumpkins, and came home to play outside.  I fixed myself an iced chai latte (latest fall addiction), and sat on the computer and wrote a post.  Tried to get them to nap for 2 hours straight.  But, my boys usually have never-ending energy.

In the bathtub they went, and played for an hour.

We rounded our night out with quick visits to the grandparents, and even snuck in some pictures while we were waiting for their GiGi (my mom) to come home from work.

And a quick picture of some pretty flowers on my parents porch.  I didn’t realize till now how they perfectly match the shirts the boys were wearing

Back at home by 5:30, to make our asian turkey meatballs + brown rice.  Enjoy a dinner with Dad and the kids hit the hay by 7:00.

I loved not playing the referee for a day.  Stepping in as needed, but not being a helicopter over them every second.  I am a type A personality, but need to embrace that these kids are type B.

BOYS!!

Every parent knows that feeling of anticipating the arrival of their spouse coming home from work.  An extra hand, an adult to talk to, just the presence of someone else being home with you takes a lot off your shoulders.  Dan had the entire week off last week and it was delicious.  Each day passed without an agenda.  Usually we pack ourselves with things to do, and this time around we rolled with each hour as it passed.  Some days were sheer lazy days, and others we soaked up the gorgeous weather Cleveland tossed at us last week.

Love that we stayed home and chose not to go on a trip this time around.  As much as we want to move, it was nice to spend what we hope to be our last fall, here, in this home that holds so many memories.  To think Brody will be 5, and Owen 3 come spring spins my head around.  The years are creeping faster and faster.  A lazy stay-cation was exactly what the doctor ordered to slow us down a bit.

Brody and Owen were of course elated to have Dad home all the live long day.  Each morning when they realized he wasn’t dressed all snazzy and on the way out the day, they were thrilled.  I, on the other hand think I fell even more head over heels for this guy last week.  Some how, I don’t know how he does it, over the years he keeps getting better and better.  My man’s like a fine wine, by his 80’s he’ll have all the widowers fighting for a piece of him when I’m gone.

We went a little over board with the zoo this summer.  We have gone a few times each month.  Each time though with the kids, we all discover new things and it’s just as fun as the last time.  By packing lunches and drinks, you can stay all day long.

Most days were topped off with Mom cooking dinner, and Dad satisfying every drop of athletic drive in this house.  Brody ate it up.  Owen, he preferred to dig for worms.

If the day ever came that I had to go back to work full-time, and Dan wanted to stay at home with the kids, I am glad to say he would do amazing, if not a better job than I.  Glad we got a lot of Dad all day long for 7 days straight.  We could have used more, but hey, you take what you can get!

September.  Huh?

September flew by faster than any month this year.  Dan’s sister got married at the end of the month and Dan and I were both in the wedding.  It was a blast.  It was beautiful. She was gorgeous.  The wedding was a hit.

We are still recovering.

Not a lick of alcohol entered my body.  Dan cannot say the same.  And yet some how he has bounced back faster than I this week.  I definitely feel like I disappeared from the blog the past few weeks, but finding any spare time at all was a miracle, and that spare time was spent in the shower.

Now that all the celebrating has come to an end, our family has been enjoying this week with Dan home! A perfect time to schedule his vacation.  Tuesday we went apple picking.  The grass was wet, our shoes were soaked, Owen was miserable from allergies, and Brody had a blast with Dad in the golf cart.

A few hours of sunshine and fall fun was all we needed to refuel our bodies and start the month off right! I was lucky enough to snap a few pictures in between cuddling with Owen.