Our Week

This week in the Stephens' house...

It is COLD in Denver City!  We have had to stay indoors more that usual, and to be honest we are starting to go a little stir crazy.  I cannot wait for warmer weather!  Here's what we've been up to...

 This sweet boy is now pulling up on the furniture, our legs, and everything else you can think of! My littlest baby is growing too quickly.

 We made a stop after dinner one night at Cherry Berry for some frozen yogurt.

 We bundled up and drove the two whole blocks to visit Grandma and Poppy for a few hours.  

On Wednesday we headed to Lubbock for a well check-up with the pediatrician, some shopping, and Chic-Fil-A!

Stopping for a bottle in the middle of a store is not unusual for us...

Sometimes during the day I get bored and take 1800 pictures of my kid.  

We played out in the snow until our fingers about fell off...

Then we came inside and made snow ice cream!

Snow Ice Cream:

4 cups fresh snow

1 cup milk or cream (I used half and half)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir until blended and enjoy!

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Tonight it's pizza and game night!

I hope you all have a great weekend.  We will be hibernating inside and dreaming about summer!

xoxo

Starbucks for Life

You knew it was coming...

It's time to talk coffee, y'all.  And I don't mean just regular Folger's or whatever motor oil they serve at gas stations. I'm talking Starbucks. The one, the only. 

This green logo is like a beacon in the night, do you feel me?

Today let's break down my never-ending love for SBux and what you should be drinking from my favorite spot in the land.  

When I turned 16 and started driving myself to school, life got better in more ways than one.  I could pick up my friends, listen to Britney Spears at an unhealthy volume level, and most importantly I could drop by my local Starbucks every morning before first period.  Ahhh, to be a teenager again.  My friend, Kendall, and I would walk ourselves right in (they didn't have drive-thru back then which makes me older than I'd like to admit) and order a grande caramel macchiato. It was sweet, it was hot, it was perfect.  Before I discovered my beloved macchiatos, I was only accustomed to drinking black coffee with a dessert like key lime pie or tiramisu.  Those early morning macchiatos changed my outlook on coffee and caused Starbucks to gain a customer (and thousands of my dollars) for life.

A lot has changed over the years, but my love for that white and green cup has only grown.  

(Yes, I realize this is dramatic.)

My drink preferences have changed throughout the years, but every once in awhile I'll treat myself to my old fave from my glory days, the macchiato.  

During the summer I tend to only drink hot coffee first thing in the morning, then I switch to iced. I can't hold a steaming cup in 100 degree weather (I've tried.) But during the winter I drink them anytime of the day to keep warm and cozy.  

Here are my favorite HOT drinks:

Cinnamon Dolce Latte:

If I have a Starbucks cup in my hand, there's at least an 85% chance it is a latte of some sort.  A latte is basically expresso with steamed milk and a flavored syrup. You really can't go wrong with a latte. Cinnamon dolce latte's are the bomb dot com.  I love them.  If I'm not ordering cinnamon dolce, I ask for hazelnut or vanilla.  Unless it's Fall and then it's ALWAYS pumpkin spice, and if it's winter it's almost always gingerbread.

If you are watching your calories, order it with nonfat milk and no whip cream to save over 100 calories.  But if you AREN'T dieting, enjoy your whipped cream while I hate you from afar.  Just kidding. 

The Flat White:

This is a new favorite of mine.  I discovered it during a trip to Target where I always, 100 million percent stop at Starbucks to fuel up for mindless shopping at The Dollar Spot and to make the fact that one of my kids is going to have a meltdown a little easier to cope with.  Cheers! I have to admit that I don't know exactly what The Flat White is, but it includes expresso and milk so it's a win for me.  If you love sweet drinks, this probably isn't the one for you.  But if you are an expresso fein like me you will love it.   

Americano:

I'll be honest about this one...I only drink Americanos when I'm watching my calorie intake.  This is just expresso with water, and I usually add a splash of milk to make it a little more tolerable.  It's definitely not my favorite drink, but if I need an afternoon pick-me-up and I've just eaten or something I'll grab an Americano.  

Doppio:

Warning: Doppios are not for the faint of heart! This is the hard stuff!  If I'm feeling super zombie-like and don't want to carry around a big drink, then I'll grab a doppio, which is just two shots of expresso in a cute little cup.  My sister, Shelby, introduced me to these during our annual Houston shopping trip. They were perfect to grab in between stores. We tend to need two hands while we shop the Galleria (we don't mess around) so a quick doppio is perfect.  

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I love Starbucks' iced options.  When the weather is warm I always crave one of these ICED drinks:

Passion Tea:

This is by far my favorite of SBux's Tazo teas.  It's naturally sweet, so I'm able to drink it plain.  Occasionally I will ask them to add a little lemonade to make it sweeter and tangy.  It's so refreshing!  I also buy Passion Tea bags to brew it at home, although for some reason it never tastes as good. It's all mental...  If you like sweeter drinks, try a Passion Tea Lemonade.  You will love it!  I've also had Passion Tea mixed with apple juice (a barista suggested it once) and it was really good.  When you order a Passion Tea they will make it sweet (by adding their classic syrup) unless you tell them not to.  It's great either way. Just try it today.  Unless you're stuck indoors because the weather is psychotic and it's snowing outside like it is here.  Today is not a good day for passion tea in West Texas.

Coffee Frappuccino:

I really am not a huge fan of super sweet drinks, so when it comes to fraps I keep it simple.  They are plenty sweet on their own, so I never add whip cream and I almost always stick to coffee fraps because I like my drinks to taste like coffee and not ice cream.  Adding whip cream makes it a dessert.  And I'm not up for dessert at 8 am.  Unless maybe when I'm on vacation.

Iced Coffee:

An oldie but a goodie, this is one of my go-to drinks.  I always ask them to add about an inch of non-fat milk and voila! Summer coffee! You can ask them to add a flavored syrup as well if you'd like some sweetness in your life. I am usually surrounded by lots of sweetness so I don't need the extra sugar in my coffee.  Ha. 

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Starbucks has a really good rewards program that I recommend you use if you like free caffeine.  Simply buy a gift card and register it on their website.  You can track all your purchases by using the Starbucks app.  It's really simple.  You earn stars for each purchase and will earn a free drink after 12 stars.  If you drink enough coffee to fill a swimming pool in a short period of time, they will send you one of these bad boys:

The Gold Card. Can I get a hallelujah? 

I jumped on the rewards bandwagon after my friend, Joanne, told me about the perks.  I owe her my life.  Or at least a cup of coffee.  

There you have it! Hope you are inspired to make a run while you're out and about today. 

What are your favorite Starbucks drinks? I would love to know!

*all coffee images belong to starbucks.com*

Crew

When Rowan was born, Derek and I agreed that we would wait until he was at least five years old to have another baby.  This sounded like the perfect plan...until I was hit by the semi-truck otherwise known as baby fever two years later.  I somehow convinced my unsure husband that my new plan made sense, and a few months later we were expecting again.

Let me just say that being pregnant the second time around is a WHOLE different experience.  My two year old, although sweet, didn't care how I felt and he didn't let me punch the clock for a daily nap.  He's kind of a tough boss. =)  It was exhausting and awesome all at the same time. One of the things I'll remember most about this pregnancy was how much weight I gained.  I was starving all. the. time.  My doctor would scold me (nicely) at almost every appointment. I would leave his office, call my mom, and cry my eyes out! It's funny now, but was so upsetting at the time!  Once when I was just entering my third trimester, my OB started the weight talk once again and I burst into tears.  He hugged me, and then told me he would never mention it again.  And he didn't. Thank the Lord.  I left that appointment and headed straight to Sonic for a chocolate malt. 

After a loooonng labor, Crew came into the world on July 2nd, 2014 with his eyes wide open.  He is sweet, smiley, beautiful, and everything that a baby should be. 

Because he is our last baby, I have really tried to soak in having a little one in our home again.  The baby laughs and cuddles don't last long so I am appreciating every minute.  

Or trying to.  I appreciate it a little more now that Crew sleeps through the night...

Sleep deprivation is a real thing, y'all.  

A few things about the smallest Stephens boy:

This little guy is a monkey.  He went straight from crawling to climbing. If he needs something, he will figure a way to get it. 

He adores Rowan and watches his every move.

Crew is a great eater! His favorite foods are squash, sweet potatoes, and peas.

He loves music! He uses his hands to drum on things and instantly calms down when daddy plays the guitar.

He isn't a good shopping buddy. At all.

Crew Robert is named after his great-grandddaddy, Robert Summers. 

He sleeps best in his own bed.  Getting him to sleep anywhere else is a nightmare.

During my c-section, my doctors rocked out to Aerosmith while I nearly puked of nervousness. Men...

Our sweet boy ready to come home from the hospital on July 4th!

Crew is the perfect addition to our family.  It is hard to imagine life before him.  I can't wait to see who this precious angel grows up to be.  

Rowan

Since I started this blog to act as a type of memory book for my family and me, I decided to spend some time writing about each of my kiddos, and what they are up to in this stage of their lives. I want to remember all the tiny things that are part of our day-to-day so that when they are older I can look back and cry crocodile tears all over my computer while reading this.  Just kidding....kind of.

My little Rowan Jack made me a mommy on June 10th, 2011.  He was a little stubborn right off the bat, and didn't join us until after 32 hours of labor.  Oh the joys.

But let's not focus on that experience.  Let's focus on this little guy.

Rowan's favorite thing in the universe right now is his collection of little 3-inch tall superhero figurines.  He has quite the ensemble in his cast of characters.  Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Hulk, you name it...he has it.  In fact he has superheroes that I have never heard of. He knows their names, their enemy's names, their mode of transportation...he is quite the expert. I love this stage of his life.  It's precious to see him put them in scenarios and talk to each other about saving the day.  

I know I'm a biased mama, but this kid is smart.  

Row is a PICKY, horrible, no good eater.  We've struggled with his eating habits since he started solids at 6 months old.  He's just not a fan of food, which is confusing since he is directly related to me.  He likes a handful of things and will NEVER agree to trying new foods.  He does however have a mild addiction to chocolate milk.  I swear he would live off it if I let him.  This whole food thing is a stressful topic for me, as I tend to blame myself and think that maybe somewhere down the line I did something wrong.  Our pediatrician tells me not to worry, that his weight percentile is low but he's not underweight.  His advice was to let him eat whatever he wants when he wants it, to keep offering him meals and snacks, give him a daily multi-vitamin, and to buy him all the milkshakes he desires.

I wish my doctor would recommend the same for me...

Rowan attends a Christian based preschool twice a week here in Denver City.  He really loves it (once he recovers from mommy and Crew leaving him each morning) and has learned a lot.  His little school has been a blessing to us.  He's made friends,  adapted to being in a classroom type setting, and has learned a lot about Jesus.  Rowan is a bit of a homebody and definitely a mama's boy...and as much as I love having him with me all day, this little break twice a week has been good for both of us. 

This little guy blows all of us away with his vocabulary.  He uses the biggest words and says the funniest things. He is smart, insightful, sensitive, and loving.  He tells all of us everyday how much he loves us, thanks us 20 times for a toy that we've bought him, loves family bear hugs, and is the best big brother of all time.

Random Facts About Rowan Jack:

He loves watching YouTube toy reviews on his iPad (weird, I know...)
His favorite songs are Katy Perry's "Eye of the Tiger" and Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off."
His favorite part of the day is when Daddy comes home from work.
He would spend all day being pushed on his swingset if it were possible.
His favorite TV shows are Paw Patrol, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Doc McStuffins.
His Nana, his cousin Reid, and his brothers and sister are his favorite people on earth.

He has a habit of crawling into our bed at around 4:00 a.m. a couple nights a week.

 He LOVES Target.  This is how I know he is in fact my child.

He is left handed.

He can throw a ball further than most third graders. Seriously.

He uses perfect grammar (most of the time.)

He is extremely cautious, and always has been.  He is scared of heights.

I could go into mega mom mode and brag about my biggest boy all day long, but I'll spare you and just say that Rowan has such a special place in my heart.  For three years he was my only little teammate, and we did everything together while daddy was working. Now that we have added his little brother to the mix, we have had to do some adjusting, but neither of us would have it any other way.  Our family is complete.  

More about Baby Crew next week...

Quarantine

It's been a little chaotic in our house lately.  I can describe the craziness in just two words:

Sick.  Baby.

Is there anything worse?  I have spent the last week using our Nose Frida like it's my job.  I wish it was possible to teach that little seven month old how to blow his nose.  It would make both our lives much easier.  We went to the doctor on Monday and they tested my sweet boy for the flu, strep throat, and RSV.  Thankfully he didn't have strep or the flu, but he did have RSV and an ear infection in both ears.  We started him on antibiotics right away, but that stuff has lingered around all week. Yesterday was the first day that I noticed a big improvement in his mood so we headed to Target for some retail therapy.  When you are stuck inside for a week or so the walls start to cave in a bit.  

My poor guy has really had a rough week, and I'm hoping our weekend is better than the last few days have been.

Here are some highlights from our week:

Everything started out fine...

 And then he crashed....

And crashed some more...

 My big boy and I were able to escape for a walk around the oilfield, I mean, neighborhood.

As I was browsing Pinterest, I found this awesome photo challenge!  I thought it would be something fun for me to do this year.  I take so many pictures of my boys, but this list is a way for me to step outside the norm and take some more interesting photos.  I'm way excited about this!

Enjoy your weekend!!
xoxo

  

Monday Morning Bliss

I love Mondays.  Do you hate me?  Yes, I realize I'm totally in the minority here.

 Our house is normally pretty chaotic on the weekends.  We have football or Mickey Mouse blaring on the TV, up to four kids who for some reason enjoy bouncing off the walls, and I usually have at least one project on my honey-do list for Derek to complete.  It's a bit of a circus, but I love every minute of it.  Well, almost every minute of it. The tantrums and sticky floors I could live without, but you get the idea...

Mondays are refreshing for me, as I'm sure they are for many stay at home moms.  It's the day I get my house back in order and prepare for another week.  I also love turning the page in my planner to see a whole new week full of possibility! It's really the little things in life, right y'all?

In the spirit of my Monday appreciation, I've decided to start a new habit of listing a few of my favorite things each Monday that I love or that makes my life easier in some capacity.  They will most likely be random and may or may not pertain to your life, but I thought it would be a fun way to start my week.  So here goes....


My number one favorite "mom item" has to be my Erin Condren Life Planner. Hands down. It's something I love so very much that I actually feel sorry for those that haven't discovered these yet. Weird, I know.

This little book is my go-to for all things Stephens.  I very jokingly call it our household Bible.  If it's not written in my planner, it doesn't happen. It's as if it never existed.   have been a faithful "planner" since the 4th grade. I remember our elementary school giving us a spiral planner to write all of our assignments in.  I'm sure my mom had to send in a couple bucks for it or something, but I got my hands on it and I was hooked!  I've had one every year since (yes..that's a LOT of planners) and this is probably pretty pathetic, but I usually buy my planner for the upcoming year in September.  I have used a ton of different brands, but Erin Condren definitely is the most functional, and she has the cutest designs around.  You can choose from lots of different covers and even personalize it with your family names or quotes. After finding this one, I don't think I'll ever go back to a "normal" planner.  

 Here's a look at my planner for this week.  Yes, I needed a little motivation to get up this morning and work-out.  I secretly think all of those little notes to myself keep me accountable! I use the bottom portion each day to plan out our dinners (more on meal planning later..) and I use the margins to write out a specific goal I have for the week or an inspirational quote or verse.

I also found these super cute stickers made specifically for the Life Planner on Etsy.  Etsy is an official time waster at my house by the way.  If I start browsing that site I immediately seem to lose part of my day.  It's addicting.  And awesome.  Anyway, back to the stickers. Aren't they the cutest? Let me know if you'd like to make your planner even cuter and I'll send you the name of the seller!

I really just love these planners.  If you'd like one, use this link to check out their site, and you can enter your email address to get a $10 coupon to apply towards your first purchase. They are a bit pricey, but worth it.  Trust me! It's not too late to get yourself organized for 2015!


I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

  

TGIF!

It's Friday and we are home sweet home from our little getaway to Nana's house.  We spent a week with my family and as always, made lots of sweet memories.  The week started out great, but Rowan got sick the day before we left and he is still kind of recovering.  It's times like those I'm thankful to have my mama around!

Here are some highlights of our trip:

As you can see, my mom's first grandchild makes herself right at home as soon as we arrive.

I love going through old photographs! I found this little gem of my sister and me with Uncle Jessie.

Crew loved the warm San Antonio weather! It was tough coming back to cold and windy West Texas!

Whoever had the idea to put a playground in the middle of the mall should have won the Nobel prize.

Rowan and my 90 year old Granddaddy bonding over some serious Mario and Luigi.

It wouldn't be a trip home without a visit to my favorite mexican restaurant.  Shout out to El Chaparral!  We used to go every weekend when I was a kid. Back then it was just a tiny hole in the wall...now they have 3 beautiful locations scattered around the city.  If you ever visit San Antonio make sure to stop by for Valerie's Special and an El Jefe' margarita!

No room for mommy.  I don't get much sleep when we go on overnight trips.  My boys tend to only sleep well in their own beds.  Thank God they make a big pot of coffee every morning.

Sweet brothers holding hands on our drive home. 


We had a great time, but it was so nice to get back to Denver City.  There really is no place like home.  I officially declared today a pajama day at our house.  I caught up on laundry, meal planned, and binge watched The Bachelor.

Have a great weekend! 

xoxo