#shayeveryday2013 Week 36

Day 246: Their first day of school!  I love my sweet kids :).

Day 247: I want her to stay four forever.  I love my napping girl (who will be five on Sunday!).

Day 248: He's trying to convince me that this is an appropriate outfit for school.  And yes, those are cow printed Belgian-shoe inspired slippers.

  

Day 249: Just a typical day at the mall for Sheaffer and me.

Day 250: I just love this face!

Day 251: Kensington was so proud that she made her bed all by herself!  She even stood the front pillows up on their ends :).  I love my big girl!

Day 252: Do you think they'll hold hands and walk through parking lots together when they're 13?  Probably not.  Such sweet friends.

Keep up with me every day on Instagram @mixandmatchmama or find me here too...

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And dinner tonight is super simple...Salsa Chicken and Shells!

Who needs boring old spaghetti with meat sauce when you can have something fun like this?!?!  Your family will love this pasta supper!

I hope everyone is having a great week!  Happy Thursday!

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#shayeveryday2013 Week 35

I hope everyone had a great week!  Week 35 was our official end of summer/beginning of fall...

Day 239: On this day, I put out all of our fall decorations.  Tuesday's Fifty Two Shades of Shay will be a peek inside our house this fall (our one and only fall in the rent house!) along with my tips and suggestions for decorating your house during the fall.

Day 240: Kensington got her fall trim...we trimmed off the "swimmy" ends.  That's what I call the chlorinated ends of hair that look pretty rough after all of that swimming!

Day 241: My first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season.  Love. Love. Love.

Day 242: Our first full day in Missouri for Labor Day weekend included going to watch Andrew's high school play football.  We had so much fun!

Day 243: I love this guy.  He gets me.

Day 244: We left the farm and headed home.  Andrew's parents live on a gorgeous farm north of Joplin.  It's beautiful!

Day 245: Our 2nd Annual Scarf Exchange!  Calm down people!  I have received so many emails about our little tradition.  I will blog all about it on Monday!

I hope you had a fabulous week too!

Keep up with me every day on Instagram @mixandmatchmama or find me here too...

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One more thing...do you know who Doxahlogy is????
You should click here and find out.

I bet you love them as much as I do!

And for your weekend...

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

You're welcome.

Don't forget, my You Knew Me When book giveaway ends Monday!

And if you're grocery shopping this weekend, don't forget to check out my Meal Planning Monday for your suggested weekly menu!

Happy Friday!

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#shayeveryday2013 Week 34

Day 232: I had dinner with some of my very favorite people!  I just love these ladies!

Day 233: Off to dance...when did she get so big?

Day 234: I say it every year...the day my September issue of Southern Living arrives is my second favorite day of the year (Christmas Eve being my favorite day).  Look at that cover?!?!  Don't you feel warm and cozy inside just looking at it???

Day 235: The day we announced to the world that we're adopting a baby girl!

Day 236: Happy Saturday to you!!

Day 237: We headed off to promotion Sunday at church (this means that both kids moved up "a grade" in their Sunday school classes).  I love my big kids!

Day 238: Exactly one year from this day, Kensington will start kindergarten.  We are going to make the most out of the next 12 months!  I asked them what they wanted to do on this day to make it special and they said...listen to Christmas music.  So we did :).  I just love my days with these two!

Keep up with me every day on Instagram @mixandmatchmama or find me here too...

Find me on Twitter here.

Find me on Face Book here.

Find me on Pinterest here.

Don't forget to check out my friend the Workout Mama's online boot camp!  Registration ends next week!  I'm going to participate, are you????

And my Labor Day Menu is up on my foodie blog!!  Make sure you check it out!

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Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! And a Guest Post!

First of all, if you missed Andrew's post from Saturday about his feelings on adoption and how the Lord worked on his heart, I recommend you click here.  His story is amazing!

And today, I'm sharing my infertility story over at a wonderful new blog called Due in Time.  This is a wonderful blog for those who are struggling to get pregnant or have a heart for infertility.  You will be blessed by the open and honest feedback from the blog's writer Caroline and her journey to get pregnant.  I'm praying for you Caroline!

And now for some pictures...photo randomness that defines my every day life...

We love, love, love our town.  Money Magazine named our town the second best city in the United States to live in.  That's pretty cool.  My kids think it's pretty cool because there is this awesome candy store with giant lollipops downtown :).  On this day, we headed to the square to eat lunch and celebrate Narci's birthday!

Every other Thursday, I get the boys while Erika takes the girls to gymnastics (and then I take the girls on the opposite weeks).  I love having these boys in my house!  They are so fun and so sweet!  And yes, Bowen looks a little frightened but wouldn't you be if your life was in the hands of these two 3 year olds???

Last Saturday, we ran some errands and my dad got stuck in my third row.  And then I bought a mirror...

My poor dad.

I was cleaning up after dinner the other night, and this is what I saw out my window...my hubby sitting out back watching my kiddos play in their little pool :).  You might think, why weren't you sitting out there too?  Because it was 105, so I chose to stay inside where it was cool and clean up while watching the Red Sox game at the same time.  They were sweet to look at sitting out there...but mama was quite happy inside staying cool!

Sweet Presley had her birthday at this fabulous little dress-up store that my friends and I are obsessed with!  Kensington had the very best time!

Look at that glitter!

The girls even got a manicure!

All of the pretty princesses!

On Tuesday, I was downstairs working when I checked my Instagram feed...and this is what I saw.  My mom was upstairs in my house playing with my kiddos. They love their Lovie!!

And this is what you call a wild Friday night at the Shull house...popcorn with Chutes and Ladders!  (By the way, I won!)

And did you see Bar #1 yesterday?!?!  My new series kicked off with to die for Oreo Bars!

And dinner tonight, is Pesto Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers!

Don't forget to pop over to Due in Time to check out my guest post!

Have a great Monday!

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Find me on Instagram  @mixandmatchmama

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#shayeveryday2013 Week 33

Day 225: I love my boy.  One of these days, I'm going to so wish he would still sit in my lap in his Iron Man costume and let me hug on him.  (And yes, apple-eating Kensington is photo bombing in the background!)

Day 226: We had the best day by the pool with Erika and her kids!  It was really overcast and no one else was out there.  It was so nice and relaxing!

Day 227: We pulled up to our doctors' office to pick up some records and all of a sudden Smith realized what our doctors' names were by reading the front sign.  (Since the hubby is our doctor and his wife in the kids' pediatrician, we refer to them by their first names without ever really saying their last name.)

Day 228: Friday night of Mexican food and Planes!

Day 229: Kensington and I took down the pumpkin scent at Bath and Body Works!  We loaded up on candles, lotions, sprays, anti-bacterial...pretty much everything they had with the word pumpkin written on the front.  I just love my sweet girl!

Day 230: It's never too early to learn how to walk in platform heels.

Day 231: We multi-tasked on this Monday!  I let them eat McDonald's in the Target shopping cart.  That's called killing two birds with one nugget.

Keep up with me every day on Instagram @mixandmatchmama or find me here too...

Find me on Twitter here.

Find me on Face Book here.

Find me on Pinterest here.

My friend The Workout Mama is offering an online boot camp this fall to help ladies get into shape before the holiday season.  I've signed up to participate and you should too!  You can find all of the details here.

And for dinner tonight...

My easy Tortellini Taco Bake!  

Today is the last day to enter a chance to win some great Stella & Dot prizes!  Click here for all of the details and click here to shop Stella & Dot!!

Have a great Thursday...come back tomorrow for a really exciting post!!! 

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Everyday Life

Smith wakes up on his own every morning around 7:00.  Most mornings, I have to wake Kensington up.  She's not always excited to rise and shine.

This sums up us at Costco.

We love having friends come and play!  Andrea's son Luke and Kensington always say they're going to get married and have a chihuahua.  I would be thrilled to be related to Andrea!!  On this day, my kids were already in their jammies and ready for bed when we decided to kidnap Luke for a few hours to play :).  

The natives come running when there is brownie batter in the house!

Two of my sweet clients came home from Scotland & Ireland with goodies for my family.  Isn't that just the sweetest?!?!  Thank you Amber and Bethany!

We will now call this phase, "that time when Smith wore his old Iron Man costume all day, every day".  He put it on Monday morning and has worn it every.single.day this week (including at night when he sleeps).  I don't let him wear it in public but he still takes it with us in the car!  Seriously!

This is him in the back  of the car.  We were headed to check on our new house development, so I let him wear it out.  He's trying to watch a movie in the car with that mask on...crooked of course.

 I love finding autographs on my grocery list :)

Andrea better watch out!  I might steal her sweet baby one of these days!

Someone gave me a sweet gift card to Bauble Bar, and I bought 3 bracelets.  I love, love, love them!!  If you don't know Bauble Bar, you should check them out!

And look what landed on our doorstep?  Casey sent us some of her new holiday bows for the fall.  My sweet cousin Casey has the best bow company!  One Stop Bow Shop is also giving away a free Halloween bow right now with any purchase (plus some other great discounts for the fall!).  Find her Facebook page here.

We have a nice and relaxing weekend ahead, and I hope you do too!  Next week, we're going to talk a lot about jewelry!!  My Shade of Shay will be on organizing all of that mess (because let's face it...sometimes a bunch of jewelry in a box can be a giant mess!).  Plus, due to high demand, I'm bringing back Stella & Dot for a giveaway!!   Fun times ahead!  

Dinner tonight is the perfect One Pound Meal...a yummy twist on meatballs...

Do you follow me on Pinterest?  Now is the time!  My Fall Pinterest Board will make you crave falling leaves, spice cakes and a roaring fire.  I'll be pinning away this weekend.

And today's the last day to enter Sheaffer's big blog birthday contest!

Happy Friday!!

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