Milk + Cookies

This winter we did a little "milk and cookies" photo shoot with Brittany from Brooke Leigh Photography. Brittany is so sweet and was wonderful with the kids. It can be hard directing kids - especially in the cold! She has this mini shoot set up so you just show up and take pictures quick! It was so cute and easy. She has the milk and cookies and recommended shooting in pjs. I'm so glad we did this shoot (it was pretty cold out and the kids were troopers!)

I made one of these photos into a puzzle for the kids! I thought they would think it was fun to remember these little moments while doing the puzzle together each year (I will pack it away with all the Christmas decor and only have it out during the holiday). The puzzle has been a hit!

Photos by Brooke Leigh Photography

Pajamas - Hanna Andersson

Prepping our Home for the Holidays with Bed Bath & Beyond

I got to sneak away for a couple hours today kid free and stopped by Bed Bath & Beyond to grab a few holiday things for the home and kitchen. I'm like a kid in a candy store in there, haha. I get so excited about random things and always find items I've been looking for or those "ah-ha" items. You know, the things you didn't know you needed... but you need! ;)

I always leave with some new kitchen gadgets. Check out my Insta stories to see some of the items I was loving! (@whatsup_buttarcup) And guys, I found the cutest sweater for Lincoln! Haha! It's so cute and perfect for cold days. We're running a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day and I think I'm gonna bring him along in his new sweater. :) So cute.

Some of my favorite bedding and family room items are from Bed Bath & Beyond! I am obsessed with cozy blankets and had the hardest time deciding which one I wanted (because there were sooo many good ones) but decided to go with this knit Ugg blanket. I've been dreaming of a blanket like this for the family room! So excited to have this cozy thing to snuggle up with while watching holiday movies with the family.

I also found some great Christmas toys for the kids. And stocking stuffers, too! Ryder has been asking me lately if we can make a gingerbread house and they have the cutest selection. I'm so excited to surprise him with it this weekend!

Here are a few of the items I got to prep our home for the holidays!
Knit Throw -- this thing is HEAVEN, guys.
Pom Pom Throw // Ugg Doggy Sweater
Meat Shredding Claws // Marble Serving Board
Monogram Marble Board -- great gift idea!
Grinch Gingerbread House // ALL Gingerbread Kits
Kitchen Aid Mixers // Stepping Santa -- so fun
Santa Phone // Inflatable Santa // Flocked Christmas Tree
Buffet Server -- Tim and I got this for our wedding seven years
ago and we still use it all the time!
Tic Tac Toe Shot Glasses -- I got this for my brother YEARS ago
and it was a huge hit!

And don't forget to check back tomorrow for their awesome Black Friday Deals!!

I freaking love this Ugg blanket! I may never move ;)

*Sponsored post by Bed Beth & Beyond

Lincoln Ross gets Spoiled at Dollar General

I can't believe it's Thanksgiving week! This year has flown by and the holidays are quickly approaching! In our family, we always get individual gifts for each other. The kids get to go on individual dates with mom or dad and pick out a gift for each family member. The little ones have a hard time keeping their gifts a secret though! ;)

We always get Lincoln some fun little gifts and treats, too! This year I thought it would be fun for the kids to pick out some toys for our favorite furry friend together. They loved this! We went to Dollar General to pick a few things out for Link.

We stocked up on some treats and new toys, it was so much fun! Dollar General is a great place to shop for your pets (whether they're new to the family or shopping for ongoing pet needs). We had such a great time picking out things for Lincoln together. He is the best puppy dog EVERRRRR. I was genuinely worried I wouldn't love my kids as much as I loved him before the birth of Ryder. Haha!

Of course, the kids ended up finding the toy aisle and picking out a few things there, too. :) Safe to say it was a great family trip and we love spoiling our doggy with new toys. I loved seeing what the kids thought Lincoln would like (and of course, I loved the prices, too)!

Here are some of my favorite items!
Leash // Squeaky Dog Bone
"Bacon" Treats // Dental Chews

She had so much fun picking things out for Lincoln. She has always realllly loved Lincoln. They have the cutest bond!

Toys!! And Ryder's "shark smile" haha. Not sure where he got this shark smile idea from? But it's been going on for a least a year now... Bahaha. Silly kid.

Love this doggy so much. He's not a big fan of the camera flash though. ;)

The love these kids have for their pup is adorable. Lincoln looks kinda freaked here (that dang camera flash gets him spooked every time - ha) but he loves them kids! He is very protective and is always near us.

This black bowl (in pic above) is made of waterproof fabric and perfect for an on-the-go bowl for pets! I can fold this up and put it in my diaper bag or stroller when we take Lincoln out for walks. We also got this cute dog bone dog waste carrier (aka poop bag) from Dollar General. It can easily hook on his leash so we never forget it!

*This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General. 

All opinions are 100% mine. I received product compensation for this blog.

Little Red Riding Hood + The Big Bad Wolf - Halloween 2018 (and... Mario Brothers!)

So my big theme this year for the family costumes was Mario. I even bought a very special Princess Peach dress for Blakely. But then last minute I found this Little Red Riding Hood costume at TJ Maxx and of course, the kids loved these costumes/theme! :) I'm so glad I went ahead and bought the costumes for them because they are sooo cute.

We still took some pics in the Mario themed costumes (I'll add some pics of those costumes in this blog post, too) but the kids had way more fun with the other theme. Plus, Blakely was soooooo freaked out by Ryder and daddy wearing those huge fake mustaches. Bahahaha.

I'm so glad the kids see the fun and joy in Halloween. I always loved Halloween! My kids are really into dressing up in costumes right now, so it's tons of fun! Ryder also has an astronaut costume and a new dragon costume. (Both kids were dragons for Halloween last year - you can see those pics here.) And Blake got a Snow White costume and a mermaid costume. Ha! I can't say no. #oops

I love these fun memories with the kiddies!

Ok, lots of pics! :) All costumes linked at the bottom of blog (including Mario).

And Mario!...

She was so excited when he took his mustache off LOL

Photos by Jenna Sparks Photography
Princess Peach dress HERE

Sprinkle + Dot Slumber Party

Last week we had a little family sleepover in the family room in our Sprinkle + Dot tents. You guys, the kids were sooooo excited about this and kept saying how cool it all was! :) It was the cutest thing seeing them so pumped about it.

Sprinkle + Dot is the cutest company ever! They have multiple themes (I can't wait to do the Star Wars theme for Ryder in the future and the Blush + Blooms theme for Blake) and they are all really cute. Like, the cutest ever.

This is a great idea for a birthday party or anything else you might be celebrating with your kids. You choose your theme and they come and set everything up for you! So easy and so much fun. They also brought cupcakes (to match!) and the kids gobbled those up so fast. Haha. We had a little party with our family and stayed up late watching movies, drinking cider, eating popcorn and snuggling in the tents by the fire. Seriously, it made my mommy heart so happy!

Go check out their site. I hope you do this fun activity with your kids. It was the highlight of their life haha! My kids keep asking when the tents are coming back. :) The kids also had so much fun with these lanterns and the cute string lights on the tents. It really was so great. All the heart eyes!

Sprinkle + Dot