Sunday Funday!

It's been a while since I've participated in Sunday Social and even though summer is my favorite holiday, I'm linking up for some fun fall questions!


1. What is your favorite fall activity? Going for walks in the cool, crisp air.  Visiting the pumpkin patch.  Decorating for fall.

2. Do you follow a football team? If so, which one and why? THE Ohio State Buckeyes!  O-H!  I follow the Bucks because they're the best!  Plus I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio.  :)

3. What is something fun about fall in your area? About 30 minutes away there's a small town that hosts an annual pumpkin show/festival.  It's pretty crazy and lots of fun!

4. What are your favorite fall staple outfits? I LOVE skinny jeans + boots + a comfy sweater.  I also live in cardigans all year in the fall.  :)

5. What things are his looking forward to most about this coming fall season? I can't wait to take Carson back to the pumpkin patch!  He was so little last year and I just know he's going to love it this year!  I'm also super excited to get a caramel apple from the farm where we get our pumpkins!

6. What is your favorite fall holiday? Tradition? I do like Halloween, especially now that I have a little cutie to get all dressed up in a costume BUT I think Thanksgiving is my favorite.  I love getting together with family and eating delicious food!  Even though Thanksgiving is my fav, I'm still super pumped to find an adorable costume for Carson for Halloween this year!  Here are some pics from last fall:

Flashback Friday

Now that it's getting to be back to school time, I decided to do a little flashback into my high school years.  This post was totally inspired by Abby's post over at The Inspired Apple!

Let's start out in the early years....when awkward is still considered cute!  The left larger picture is my kindergarten pic.  Awesome outfit, I look like a beer wench!  I also LOVED my glasses, they were red frames with Mickey Mouse on the side.  So cool.
The remaining pictures on the right are 1st-4th grade.  I like how I have oversized collars in 3 of the 5 pictures.  Don't miss my girly Cosby sweater from 3rd grade!  Oh, and my 4th grade crimped hair is pretty amazing too.

Now onto the TRUE awkward years...the years where you can no longer blame your Mom for your clothing or hairstyles!  Here's my Freshman year picture.  Not only do I look cross eyed but I have some AMAZING bangs.  You know I spent lots of time on those with a huge round brush and tons of hair spray.

I finally got things right by the time I was a senior.  Brows are shaped (almost gone, but shaped), bubble bangs are gone and my teeth had been corrected by braces!

I'm linking up (a day late) with Cara over at The First Grade Parade!

What do your school photos look like?  

Did you follow any silly trends like my puffy bangs?!

Happies & Crappies

I'm linking up with Stephanie & Sarah this week for Happies & Crappies!   Here are some of my HAPPIES:

1. We went out and did something special for Carson every day this week (so far)!  We went to the pool (twice!), a new library for story time, a music class, and a few other things.  I'm totally loving summer and all the fun activities!
2. There was a pesky little spider that was terrorizing me and hiding by my computer on my desk.  He would crawl across my screen taunting me.  I KILLED THE JERK.  Happy day. :)
3. I found a super cute planner at Walmart (of all places!) for $3!  It's 18 months and is full of bright colors and inspirational quotes.  If anyone wants to buy me an Erin Condren still feel free to send it my way! ;)

   

   My planner has different colored stripes: aqua, purple, gray, lime green, etc.

4. I used my broiler in the oven for the first time ever and didn't burn the house down!  I made up a recipe: oven roasted turkey & cheese subs.  So fancy, right?  I had leftover sub buns from meatball subs so I used turkey, pepperjack, red onion, lettuce, and spicy brown mustard.  Nick is always skeptical when I "make up" my own meals but he loved this one and was "surprised" how good it was!  (Thanks, honey!)

Now for the bad news, my CRAPPIES:

1. We broke our SHOCK proof point & shoot camera.  Impressed?  Nick was passing it to me and I missed the catch and it fell on a hardwood floor.  I contacted Nikon and I have to send it into their repair center with a letter detailing "the event" and wait to see if they will fix it under warranty.  We just bought it in March so fingers are crossed!
2. My brown thumb has been confirmed....again.  I bought a super cute Chrysanthemum plant for our kitchen and had it out for Carson's birthday party.  Less than a month later and the poor thing looks like it's 100 years old living in the desert.  At least my gardens outside look nice and lush!
3. I slacked on meal planning this week so we cooked out three times.  Oops!  Nick didn't mind one bit!
4. My job "situation" has had me stressed for MONTHS.  I'm extremely thankful to have a job, but stressed about the unknowns that the future holds!

Social Sunday...Looking Back and Looking Forward!

Happy Mother's Day to all of my Mommy friends!  I can't believe this is my first time celebrating Mother's Day as a Mommy!  Last year Carson wasn't ready to make his appearance yet and he was still snug in my belly!

1. 1 year ago I was doing ….
One year ago I was 38 weeks pregnant.  During that week I actually went on a zoo field trip with my kindergartners.  It was 85 degrees and I was H-O-T and very very pregnant!

38 Weeks Pregnant!

2. 5 years ago I was doing ….
Back in 2008 I was getting married!  I can't believe it's been almost 5 years (at the end of this month)!  I remember doing all the festivities and planning (pre-Pinterest...how did I even do it?!).  

3. 10 years ago I was doing….
Graduating from high school!  Our 10 year reunion is supposedly being planned but it seems like nobody can agree on anything so who knows if it will even happen.  I can't believe it's been 10 years since I was a high school student!  

4. 1 year from now I'll be doing…
Possibly (hopefully) pregnant and probably doing the same thing I was doing in 2012 at this time....finishing up the school year and my pregnancy and prepping for a summer with a new baby (and a big brother this time)!
5. 5 years from now I'll be doing….

Carson will probably just be finishing his first year of school as a kindergartner!  Aside from that I have NO idea what else will be going on!

6. 10 years from now I'll be doing…
That's a bit far even for THIS OCD planner!  Let's just say I hope I am [still] happy, in love, and a great Mommy!

Why I Started Blogging

Some of you may know this already...when I first started blogging, I had a different blog!  I started blogging over at Playground Duty back in August 2010!  I started that blog when I got my first teaching job.  I planned to document my experience as a new teacher and share educational ideas.  Over time, my blog turned into a place to share not only educational ideas, but also other stuff going on in my life - personal events, crafts, recipes, etc.  Once I had Carson I kind of took a little break from blogging.  I somehow lost all of my pictures over at my other blog.  I still don't know what happened (love hate relationship with technology!) but I think maybe it had something to do with linking up with Picasa.  I tried a few things to fix it, but I decided to just start from scratch with a new blog that better fit my posting style.  That's when Simple Suburbia was born!

Here's a little excerpt from my first ever blog post at Playground Duty: 

I can't even tell you how long I've debated about whether or not to create my own blog.  I religiously stalk other blogs, rarely leaving comments because I know they have nothing to look at besides my boring profile!  I finally convinced myself that I've read enough boring blogs that I think mine may survive...hopefully!

Why did you start blogging?  When did you start blogging?

This Post is Brought to You By the Number 4!

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!  I hope everyone has a great day.  I'll be cheering my sister on as she graduates from THE Ohio State University!

1. 4 favorite things to do on a weekend

• Spend time with the family
• Bake or get a tasty treat somewhere (like fro yo...yum)!
• Get outside!  (When the weather is nice.)
• Have "at home dates" with the hubster after C goes to bed - movies, games, etc.

2. 4 favorite things about your best friend

• He's super duper attractive.
• He's kind of hilarious.
• He supports everything I do and always has my back.
• I married him.

3. 4 things you would do with $100,000

• Pay off my remaining student loans.
• Buy some fancy jewelry for my husband to give me (haha!)
• Make a donation to a charity close to my heart.
• Invest!

4. 4 favorite books you’ve ever read

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• House Rules by Jodi Piccoult
• Any Alex Cross novel by James Patterson
• Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss 

5. 4 favorite snack foods

• Applesauce 
• Oreos (lately I'm loving the generic double chocolate kind!)
• Peanut butter crackers
• Fruit snacks (I like the Ocean Spray and Welch's!)

6. 4 things that you must do daily

• Brush my teeth (multiple times obviously)
• Kiss my husband, son, and dogs
• Check my email (even if I don't respond, oops!)
• Go over my never-ending to-do list(s)

Social Sunday!

It's that time again!  Today we are headed back home from vacation.  Goodbye sunny Florida, hello Ohio!  While I'm not looking forward to leaving the sunshine and pool, I am looking forward to seeing our pups and hopefully some pretty spring weather at home!

Here are this week's questions: Did you sleepwalk as a child? Yes!  I actually went downstairs once and my mom FREAKED!  She went in to check on me and realized I was gone (freak out #1).  When she found me downstairs I guess she was counting her lucky stars that I made it down there without falling.  I can't even imagine.  I don't do this anymore, lucky for the husband. :)
Did you ever try to run away or sneak out of your house? No, not that I can remember.  I do have a funny story though and it has nothing to do with me, ha.  When I was little my best friend had a younger brother.  He was 5 years younger than us.  When he was about 4 he got in trouble and decided he was running away.  He packed his little suitcase and when his mom found him trying to escape, she opened up the suitcase.  Guess what little man had packed for his big getaway?  Three crayons and a belt!  Life is so simple at 4.  
Did you have any imaginary friends? No!  I think that would have been cool, but my friends were all real. 
Did you ever go toilet papering? No, I think I considered it with some friends one time but we all felt too bad to actually go through with it.  Guilty conscience for the lose, ha!

Did you ever sneak tv shows you weren’t allowed to watch? Ohhh yea!  My parents (divorced) were both totally anti-MTV.  This is back in the day when MTV actually had music videos!  I really loved watching them in the summer while my parents were working.  My mom only had basic cable (no cable box) so she took the channel off of the registry.  So if you were channel surfing it would go 46, 47, 48, 50, 51.  It skipped right past 49 (MTV).  I don't know why she didn't think I would figure out that I could just type in 49.  Duh, mom.  Thanks for thinking so highly of me!  My dad did have a cable box and was able to block out quite a few channels he didn't want me watching.  Guess what he made the code?  "0000".  Once he realized I cracked that code, he changed it.  To "1234".  Wow.

Social Sunday

What is your shopping weakness? Sale items!  Sometimes I get stuff off the sale/clearance rack ONLY because it's a good deal.  I hate that I do that because I end up with some random stuff I'd never buy otherwise.  

What is your food weakness? This is going to sound so silly but generic chocolate oreos!  I love regular Oreos but I honestly have no self control with these chocolate yummies.  The generic are better than the actual Oreos in my opinion.  (NOT true with original Oreos!)

What is your go to movie to watch when nothing is on? I really like comedies but I don't have a "go to".  There's alway something on in my house because I'm always playing catch up with my DVR!  

What is your go to breakfast food? I don't like breakfast food.  :(  I've never been a big breakfast eater and I don't eat eggs!  Pancakes are starting to grow on me.  If I have to go out to breakfast I will order a Belgian waffle (YUM) and hopefully some fresh fruit.  If I'm at home I eat dry cereal (usually Cheerios or Lucky Charms).  So fancy!  Oh and my hubster makes some delicious chocolate chip waffles!

Courtesy of the husband.

Do you drink coffee? If so how do you take it? I used to be addicted!  I would drink regular coffee with flavored creamer (french vanilla is my go to).  I don't drink caffeine anymore but occassionally I still get a decaf coffee.  I love decaf mochas (1/2 hot chocolate, 1/2 coffee) and I also love ....wait for it, this is going to sound a little high maintenance... Decaf Skinny Soy Vanilla Latte, iced if it's warm.  Yum!  

What My Husband REALLY Thinks About Me...

I'm linking up with the lovely Becky today for a fun post written by my one and only Hubster!  No offense to any sister wives reading my blog today!  ;)

When I was telling my husband about this post, this is exactly how our conversation went....

Me: Oh, I need you to write a blog post for me!

Nick: What?  I don't even know what that means.

Me: What you mean?!  It means exactly what I said. You have to write a blog post for me!

Nick: I can't do that, I don't even know how.  I have no idea what to write.

Me: All the blog husbands are doing it.  You have to do it!

Nick: I really don't know how.

Me: You have to.

Nick: Okay, but you have to help me.

This was followed by a game of 20 questions...

"Do I have to include pictures?" 

"Are the other husbands really doing this?"

"Will this be my own post or will you write most of it and I'll just add a few sentences?"
"What is the purpose?"

...And so on.  He cracks me up.  Come on hubs, JUST DO IT!

My GQ Hubster.  How did I get so lucky?

Before I share this with you, let me just say that it literally made me smile so big when I read it.  Also, I may have shed a tiny little mouse tear.  Maybe.

So without further ado....this is a copy and paste of what he sent me via email:

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Five facts about my lovely wife Emily

She’s obsessed with finding new crafts and decorations to make all the time! She literally makes decorations for 2 seasons out just so she is “ready” when it comes around. I don’t think we could ever move somewhere where we had to live in an apartment, because she wouldn’t be able to store all of her bins full of decorations for each season!

She’s the only person I know who grew out of wearing glasses. She wore them when she was little and her sight got better so she didn’t need them anymore.

She HAS to coordinate every outfit. I think this is a girl thing, but I don’t know what she’s going to do when Carson gets older and starts dressing himself! She may have a meltdown the first time he puts on some brown shoes with black pants. I try to dress him occasionally but normally am not always successful, because his pants don’t coordinate with his top, or his sweater doesn’t match his shoes.

She grew up without really going on vacations at all, so the first time she saw the ocean was when she was 17 with me down in Florida. We went to Ft Myers with my dad, and ever since we go back down at least once, normally twice, per year. She is now obsessed with warm weather (Probably not unusual for someone who has to put up with our crappy Ohio weather all winter).

She is a great mom! She spends all day with Carson, takes him to tons of different baby activities, and she loves doing it. She never seems to want a break she loves being with him so much. I have to get one of our moms to come over and drag her out to get her to leave him for a little bit. She does all this while cleaning, shopping, and meal planning so we always have a dinner planned (and normally cooking) when I get home!

 

Friday Fun Facts!

The wonderful Kali over at Kali Now Living has nominated me for the Liebster Award!  Thanks, Kali!  This award allows bloggers to get to know each other through some random facts as well as questions and answers!  Each award recipient must post 11 random facts about them self as well as answer the questions "assigned" to them by the other blogger.  

I'm on the right.  Oh, and I've used this pic before.  Oops!

11 Facts About Moi

1. I have lived in the suburbs for my entire life and I can't imagine living anywhere else.

2. I like everything to be very organized but I have a hard time getting organized.  I get overwhelmed and sidetracked so easily!

3. I am a cold person.  It could be high 70's and you'll find me in a jacket with goosebumps.  My idea weather is 80-85 degrees and sunny.  Ahhh, perfect!
4. I have never lived in an apartment and bought my first house at 19. 

5. I'm very sentimental and I have a ton of "memory" boxes scattered around the house with cute little keepsakes.  Carson already has his own memory box in his closet! :)

6. I do not own an iphone.  

7. I've been with my husband for over 10 years and we went to my senior prom together (although he was not a senior, haha)!

8. I learned how to drive a car with a manual transmission after I bought one, haha!

9. I wear knee socks almost every day (unless it's summer, in that case you'll find me in flip flops).  My knee socks are never plain, they always have fun colors and patterns!

10. I can't imagine not living by a Target.  I seriously go there multiple times each week...it's my home away from home.  Walking around Target is my idea of fun, ha!

11. I hate singing in front of people but I'll belt it out in my car.  

Here are the questions that Kali left for me to answer:

1. What’s the story behind your blog’s name? I live in the suburbs, and I'm a fairly simple person!  Naming a blog is SO hard!  I wanted some alliteration so it would be easy to remember and I wanted it to have something to do with my life since the blog is about my life!

2. What do you hope to gain from blogging? Friends and ideas!  I love "meeting" new blogger friends and hope to meet some of them in real life someday.  (Midwest blogger meetup anyone?!)  I have already gained (and shared) SO many ideas through blogland including crafts, recipes, and mommy ideas!  

3. What place in this world do you want to visit the most? I would love to go to Australia and snorkel in the great barrier reef!  I would also love to go back to Hawaii (Kauai specifically)!

4. If you could go back in time, which era/decade would you go back to? I think the 80's could be fun....lots of neon and big hair! ;)  I also think it would be really cool to live in the 50's when my grandparents were at the stage of life that I'm in now!

5. What is your favorite movie and why? It's so hard to pick favorite movies.  I like most comedies and also love stories.  The Notebook and I Love You, Man are two that I will watch anytime if they're on!

6. Do you leave comments on blogs or are you a silent reader? I try to leave comments but I read from my phone a lot when I'm feeding Carson or in bed and it's not easy to comment!  :/

7. Is your significant other involved with your blog? No.  He doesn't read it and he doesn't really understand it.  However, he has some homework to write a blog post for me for an upcoming linkup....we'll see how that goes!  

8. Who, from the present or past, has influenced your personal style? Ummmm, stylish moms?  Hahaha!  I honestly don't consider myself to have much "style" but I try to dress somewhat cute.  That sounds so pathetic!  Maybe I should go shopping, haha!

9. What do you look for in a blog (as in following a blog)? I love when bloggers are totally real and honest.  I also love when bloggers share ideas, recipes, etc.  Oh, and if they're funny....bonus!  

10. What is your ultimate dream? I would say my ultimate dream would be to have a big family and move south to a place where we could still get a sense of the seasons.  I wouldn't mind seeing snow 0-2 times a year, ha!  As long as I'm happy, in love, and with my family, I think it's perfect!

I'm going to go ahead and nominate any of my wonderful readers!  If you're reading this and want to participate, go for it!  Make sure to link back to me and send me the link so I can learn more about you!

Social Sunday: Easter Edition.

Happy Easter, everyone!  I hope you all have a great day, whether you celebrate Easter or not!  Carson went to meet the Easter bunny for the first time on Friday!  He was actually pretty interested in the bunny but was also ready for a nap which is why he looks so serious. 

1. Favorite type of work out to do? I really don't like working out.  So bad, I know.  I would say my favorite would be exercise videos.  Is that totally 80's?!  My cable has some exercise on demand channels where you can do various videos with different focuses (cardio, toning up, etc.)  I like that I can pick a quick 5-10 minute video or a longer workout.  Plus it offers some variety rather than just doing the same thing every time!

2. Favorite guilty pleasure candy or sweet? I love cookies!  Homemade are the best but I also like some store bought cookies, too.  Yum, hard to have self control when there are good cookies around!

3. What is one thing you continuously forget to do? This is going to sound silly, but I always forget to put things on my 'To Do' list.  I have multiple lists - in my planner, on scrap paper, and in my phone.  My lists on my phone are categorized (to-do, errands to run, chores, etc....it's kind of embarrassing how many lists I have).  I'm constantly thinking of more things to do and I hate when I forget to put them on my list because then I never end up doing it!

4. Posts its or phone reminders? Why? Post-its.  I'm one of those people that still uses a paper planner.  I have this irrational fear that my phone will crash and I'll lose all of my important notes! 

5. Favorite picture currently on your phone that always makes you smile. This is my most recent favorite picture but I had to limit myself to pictures taken within the last few days because otherwise I could never decide!  This is a picture of Carson after he had been sick for a few days.  It made me SO happy to see him so happy and back to his old self!