You know what feels good? A good unplugging. A little break from the online angst and mud slinging that can infiltrate the internet. So for the last few days, that’s what I’ve done and I feel much more centered for it.

Should we start all the way back at Thursday when I decided to take said mini break? Sure, why not! Thursday meant small group, in which I was in charge of snack.

Now I am determined to recreate this chocolate pretzel sea salt bark from Publix. All the heart eye emojis!

The afternoon was super productive as I spent 3 hours combing through the girls’ closets, making donate and save piles, then restocking Kaitlyn’s closets with hand-me-downs. Little sister problems. But truly she went from having nothing to wear to a closet full of cute fall and winter gear.

By our late afternoon Target trip, we were all pretty worn down so when Hailey started whining about something that rubbed me as being ungrateful, I let the mom lecture fly. This lead to her stating she didn’t want anything from anybody anymore, including me making her dinner. I called her bluff, poured a big glass of wine and smiled, then said alright, get to cooking!

What started from a scuffle turned out really cool. The girls decided on eggs and completely made them solo (minus my hovering because I’m not really a terrible mom). They were both so proud of themselves and devoured their dinner in all smiles.

Evening saved.

This lead to early bedtimes and an entire pan of spaghetti squash pizza pie for just David and me. I took your suggestion to try baking it in the bigger, more shallow baking dish and I loved it that way!

Friday morning was filled with friends, the park and a few Bad Daddy’s tots to kick off the weekend.

I balanced it out with filling our fridge back up with the good stuff and giving in to an afternoon hot bar run too.

#howIhotbar (Is that a real hashtag? I think it needs to be)

Saturday morning was all about relaxation. We’ve had the chess board set up for a few weeks now and though I have yet to beat David, I’m getting closer.

My newest strategy: be more aggressive with my queen.

When the girls wandered down from the playroom we switched gears to family games.

Ticket to Ride is one of our favorites, but Kaitlyn is too young to get it, so I ended up taking her to the kitchen to distract her with snicker doodle baking.

The peaceful morning at home nicely balanced out our fuller afternoon.

The girls attended an art birthday party which was downright adorable. It was our first “drop the kids” fiesta and though it felt strange, David and I thoroughly enjoyed watching our respective football games together at a local spot.

Kaitlyn had a little help.

Saturday night we had a sitter and grabbed dinner before heading over to Molly’s to help celebrate her birthday! I came away with some real frame-worthy pictures from the night, like this gem.

Thanks babe, for your mad picture taking skills.

I tried to get a better one, but decided (incorrectly) that a hair flip was a great pre-picture idea.

My shirt is currently on sale in the colors they have left.

At this point I gave up on trying to capture the moment and just had a blast chatting it up and celebrating the birthday girl!

Sunday morning David had to work and in a moment of weakness (excitement?) this happened.

The girls’ matching nightgowns are half-off right now if you still want Christmas pajamas!

Yes I know. It’s early. #saveThanksgiving and all. I promise you, Thanksgiving is one of my FAVORITE holidays and will not be overlooked, but the joy I am feeling right now with my Wine Under the Tree Candle, Buble’s Christmas songs and some twinkling lights on my banister is totally worth being a week or two early on the decor.

David agrees.

Falalalalala la la la LA!

Ok, that was way too long but just wanted to share what we’ve been up to and to encourage you to unplug for a few days yourself if you’re feeling that pre-holiday anxiety start to rise up. It’s a great time of year to remember to take care of yourself and the ones you love!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! What have you been up to?