Thoughts for Thursday | Brody Update + More

Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday with Natalie and I.  Share anything and join along in the fun!  Mine today will be a bit short and a little random.  Random is good though.  Feel free to be random :)

+ Brody: He's 3 years and 4 months old now.  I feel like I need to document a few things lately since I'm not good at writing these down anymore.  He's in school 3 days a week for four hours and I feel like he is a little sponge this year.  It's been such a treat to watch him get so excited for school everyday and when I pick him up, I try to get there a few minutes early, and they are all sitting together singing and learning new songs.  He loves music.
He comes home and starts singing these new songs that we've never sang with him.  Lately, it's been The Lord is Good to Me, God is Great blessing and the pledge of allegiance.  He had us all speechless this week when he just put his hand on his heart out of no where and said the entire pledge of allegiance. The way they pronounce the words at this age just make your little heart melt.

At home, Daddy has a special little bedtime ritual with him and he has fallen in love with Journey.  He knows about 5 Journey songs now pretty well.  Normally, he won't let me video tape him singing; but last weekend, he had the guitar and a good audince and he went to town.  Check out this mini-rockstar below!

+ Brody has been scheduled to get tubes in his ears since the end of July.  His surgery was scheduled for the beginning of September, but he ended up with a pretty bad cough and chest congestion, so we didn't like the idea of having him go under any anesthesia for the surgery and rescheduled it.  Now it is scheduled for next.  And today I took him into our pediatrician because he was complaining of his ears hurting and he has a double ear infection!! Ugh!!  It seemed like they completely came out of nowhere.  Mom's with kiddos that have had ear problems, you feel my pain!!

+ On the bright side, his Buzz Lightyear arrived in the mail today and he was super stoked about it!! It was the only thing that made him smile after he woke up from his nap! He looked so cute in it.  He's missing an essential piece to his costume that hasn't arrived yet, so he'll be ready to fly come Halloween!!

+ Essential Oils - So I've recently fallen completely in love with these (and I'm only beginning).  A friend of mine (hey Hayden!) mentioned them to me a couple of years ago saying she would use them in a diffuser for her daughter when she was sick.  Especially with a cough or congestion.  I kind of laughed at her because I thought those essential oils were such a "hippie" thing.  But as I read more and learned more and my kids kept getting more and more sick, I started asking her a little more about them.  She really just knew the basics, but they do work.  Do any of you use them?  I'm curious.  I would love to hear some of your favorite combinations if you do!

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Portobella Mushroom Lasagna

I made this Lasagna last week and I thought it was AMAZING.  It really was easy and would be delicious if you added some spinach or even more mushrooms than recommended.  Mushrooms cook down so much that I think the more the better!! The best part about the recipe is that you can make the entire thing ahead of time too.  So I made it all during nap time and then it was ready to just throw in the oven when we were ready to eat.

 I thought it was fitting to share an Ina Garten recipe today because I just got notice that her new cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey, just shipped to me!!! Yippy!!  I can't wait to read it.

Portabello Mushroom Lasagna
via

Kosher salt
Good olive oil
3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
4 cups whole milk
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms
1 cup freshly ground Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.

For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.

Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside.

To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and Parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

I hope you enjoy :)

Scenes from Our Weekend | The Pensacola Fair

We had a few things scheduled this weekend, but all-in-all we were planning to be pretty laid back.  Friday evening was absolutely gorgeous.  We met some friends out for dinner and drinks downtown.  I was feeling pretty tired before we went; but once we walked out of the house, I got a second wind from the cooler temperatures.  

Necklace | Sweater (sold out) | Leggings | Shoes | Bag 

Saturday morning we had a birthday party to go to which was so fun.  It was at our local trampoline park that I love.  Brody and I had been before, but it was Matt and Madelyn's first time.  Madelyn loved being on the trampolines and she would hold my hands as I bounced and just crack up laughing!

That afternoon we had some family and friends over for football and an early dinner of boiled shrimp, lobster, and homemade pizzas.  It was a random assortment, but totally hit the spot.  The kids always have a blast running around the room after eachother.  

Sunday morning we grabbed some breakfast at our favorite diner.  We took Madelyn back home to nap and then all packed up to go to the Fair.  I was really not on board for this adventure, but Matt was really excited to take Brody, so I agreed to go.  It was hot as hell, super crowded and I was just not feeling it.  I finally changed my attitude and enjoyed watching Matt and Brody ride a few of the rides.  We did it all pretty quickly and bribed Brody with some cotton candy to head home! 

I can now say I went, but don't plan on going back any time soon.  Here's a little video recap of our day at the fair.


linking up with Biana

 

Saturday Shopping | My Favorite Gold Flatware

One quick sale for ya'll this morning because I love these so much!!!

 West Elm

My favorite gold flatware is on sale 20% off with code SCORE20.  I love it this time of year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it can also be used year round.  It adds so much festiveness to your table setting. 

Gold Flatware

 

 

Five on Friday + Blog Sponsor

It's Friday, so you know what that means...

{one}

We went yesterday to pick a few more pumpkins, this time for my Mom; so we dressed up in our Fall attire and hit the streets.  We also got to go visit one of my oldest friends and her brand new baby!! It was so sweet to see them and I cracked up because this petite little one month old made Madelyn look like a giant.  I realized my baby is no longer a baby anymore!!!

{two}

What are your kids dressing up as for Halloween? I already have Madelyn's costume, but Brody changes his mind daily on what he wants to be.  I'm scared to buy anything.  His latest is that he wants to be Buzz Lightyear which I think is probably pretty safe.  I think he would be happy with this one in the end.  Has anyone seen any cute Buzz costumes around? Here's one from amazon that's okay and it also looks like Party City might have a good one.

{three}

So our county fair is in town now through Halloween.  My husband seems to be so excited for it, but I've never really been a fair girl.  I pretty much hate all rides that spin around and make me sick and I'm not that in to spooky things.  What are you thoughts on the fair??

{four}

Last night I had a fun little cocktail party for a new organization {krewe} that I'm joining.  It's all girls and mostly deals with Mardi Gras festivities.  I wore this littel Mara Shirt Dress that I had from last year and my favorite Valentino wanna-bes.  I was really hoping that these babies would be back in stock, but they're not! They are still sold out in the nude and the black. 

shoes (sold out) Sole Society | dress (old, similar) Mara Hoffman | watch | earrings | purse

{five}

I'm really excited to introduce a new blog sponsor today.  I haven't done one of these and awhile and was flattered when Emily asked.  Her button has been on my sidebar for a little while, so hopefully you have already gone and checked her out; but if you haven't were here today to let you get to know her a little better! She is so sweet and has the cutest little red headed boys that are always dressed to perfection!

Meet Emily from Three Boys and a Girl...

Name/Age/Location 

I'm Emily,  I just turned 31 {why does that sound so old all of a sudden?} and I live in Eastern North Carolina..think small town living!

Family

 I married my husband Patrick in January 2012. On November 5th, 2013 we welcomed our first son, Jack into our family. Almost 2 years to the day later on October 28th, 2015 we welcomed another precious son into our hearts, Graham. We also have a sweet chocolate lab who is 14 and I like to joke has 9 lives.

Work

Up until I had Jack I taught elementary school. After he was born I decided to stay home full time. I have loved being a stay at home mama and thank my sweet husband regularly for the opportunity!

Hobbies

I enjoy being with family, traveling {when I can convince my hubs!}, barre class, cooking..mainly baking, shopping, watching any reality tv, especially bravo,  and sports. You can often find me hosting a get together with our friends most weekends. I love entertaining and now that the weather is getting cooler the porch has become one of my favorite spots!

Why I Blog

I started my blog shortly after Graham was born. I have been an avid blog reader for years and have always wanted to start one but never had the courage to do it. On a whim one day I decided that I was going to do it. I am terrible about keeping up a baby book so I thought if anything this would be a great way to document my sweet boys lives and what we have been up to. I assumed only my husband and family would read it but have been pleasantly surprised at how many sweet readers I have gained and new friends I've met!

What I Blog About

I blog about my family, what is going on in my boys lives, lots of mom tips and lessons I've learned in the almost 3 short years I've been a mama. I love adding in recipes, decorating tips {holidays are my favorite}, and fashion ideas, especially cute and functional outfits for busy moms!

I hope you will stop by my blog and say hi! I love meeting new readers and connecting with other bloggers! You can find me on Instagram @threeboysandagirl and also on Facebook .

Thanks Emily, I loved having you! 

Linking up with April, Christina, and Natasha for Five on Friday

Amanda for Friday Favorites 

Farmer Bell for Oh Hey Friday
Momfessionals for Friday Favorites

High Five for Friday {H54F} hosted by Bright on a Budget, Cup of Tea, Coffee with Caitlinand Della Devoted