Ten.

Dear Banks,

One decade.

10 Years. 

120 months.

521 weeks.

3652 days.

87660 hours.

That's how much time has passed since the greatest moment of my life: the day I became a momma.

The day YOU, my boy, were born, at 5:27 pm, weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces, and 23 inches long, changing my life, and your proud daddy's, with your first breath. 

I would re-live that day over and over again, forever, if I could. I kind of hope that's what heaven is like: that feeling I had the moment I looked deep into your sweet blue eyes and fell head over heels in love with you, in love with mommahood.

I still remember the day your daddy and I sat in the Clemson coliseum (aka Littlejohn) our senior year of college. Although only dating at the time, we knew we would be married one day. And as we sat there, a retired jersey, hanging from the rafters, caught our eyes. It belonged to Banks McFadden, one of Clemson's greatest athletes. "If we ever have a little boy, we should name him Banks," we dreamed aloud. And so, we did, six years later. We had a son and named him Banks. And nothing has been the same since. <3 

We have made countless memories over the last decade, buddy. We have grown together and learned from one another. You have made me want to be the best version of myself and allowed for grace and forgiveness when I have fallen short. 

And here is what I now know about you, Banks Alexander, 10 years in: 

You are smart and wise.

You are athletic and energetic. 

You are passionate and ambitious. 

You are kind and thoughtful.

You are confident and sociable.

You do not love organization. You do love creative messes. 

You do not love admitting mistakes. You do love making people feel special.

You do not love messing up. You do love achieving new goals. 

You do not love sleeping in. You do love making the most of every day.

You do not love missing out. You do love being with others. 

You are the leader of our little Lus and are so patient and loving to your siblings.

You adore your family and still ask to snuggle with your momma. 

You look up to your daddy and love hearing him cheer for, and coach, you. 

You enjoy spending as much time with your friends as possible, spending hours with them nearly every day. 
You are my dream come true, the one who made me a momma. 

You make us so, so proud to call you ours. 

Wow, Bankster. Ten whole years. That went by in a blink. I am so proud of the boy you have grown into and cannot wait to see the man you become. No matter what, forever and always, remember this: You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. 

Ten years. And I thought I loved you then... Here's to the next 10, sweet boy. Our adventure continues...

With All My Heart, 

Momma 

Cheers to the Weekend, Birthday Boy Edition

In two short days, I will have a 10-year-old. Say WHAT?!? More on our birthday boy and his celebratory plans soon, but for now, a glimpse at some of the things we're saying CHEERS to as we welcome in this birthday weekend:

Beers and Burpees. Last weekend, my girlfriend and I participated in a charity workout event in Charlotte called Beers & Burpees. Nothing like good time with a good friend completing a good workout for a good cause. We loved representing our Barre3 studio and can't wait to do it again next year! My hub also participated and crushed it! Go Team #DadBod - ha! ;) 

Breaking the rules. Y'all know how I always say I am a "one-sport-per-kiddo-per-season" kind of momma? Well, I am totally breaking my own rule this year with Banks playing football and golf and Raleigh doing gymnastics and, as of last week, tennis! She loved it and I know two tennis-loving grandmas who are thrilled to have their granddaughter playing the sport!

Birthday shenanigans. As if we needed any more evidence of the difference between boys and girls, please see Exhibits A and B, below. Sweet little lady's at one birthday party and wild and crazy fellas at another. Gotta love it! ;) 

Microblading. Well, y'all, after nearly a year of thinking it over, I finally did it: microblading! In other words, no more spending so.many.hours on my brows. No more waking up to try and create some sort of brow on my face, every.single.morning., every day of the year. I have been self-conscious of my brows for awhile, and while this feels VERY much like a #firstworldproblem (ummm...because it is), I am excited to have had it done so that I can save the time each day and feel a little more confident in my brows. I posted a looooooong Instagram story about it all (sorry about that!) but am happy to help answer any questions anyone out there may have, including referrals the awesome professional I saw (as well as another local friend who didn't do mine but does a great job, too!). I'll let the before/after pics speak for themselves. 

Curling. And no, I'm not talking about hair styling here. I think enough vanity has been shared in this post, amIright?! (insert biggest eye roll ever at myself). I am talking about the sport of curling! And the fact that my hub and I joined two other couple friends and had a triple date night learning to curl the other week. Y'all. It was SO MUCH FUN. Even with my first attempt ending in a complete face plant (still laughing at that one) - ha! Check your local area and see if it's offered and if it is, book it now!! I promise you'll have a blast! 

Kindergarten cuties. Kindergarten has been fantastic for our Harrison so far, in large part because he has been introduced to the sweetest, cutest, rowdiest little bunch of buddies I ever did see. These sweet fellas get together almost every week and Harrison has been so excited to join this guy gang, most of whom live doors apart from each other! Although we are missing one adorable little buddy from this pic (he was busy meeting his new sisters this day <3), I just couldn't help but capture a quick pic during one of their recent playdates. Love these kiddos! 

Alright, friends, I'm off to eat lunch with my almost-birthday boy! Y'all have a fantastic weekend, and I'll be back next week with some birthday recapping and other fun things. See y'all then! 

Prime Time, Take 3

What did we ever do without our beloved Amazon Prime? Am I the only impatient one who now struggles when packages aren't on my doorstep two days after ordering? Ha! You're ruining me, Amazon Prime, but I love you so. I've shared two of these posts before (Here and Here) and thought it was time for another look at some of the things I've Amazon Prime-d and been happy with: 

Parent on Purpose. I am currently participating in a virtual book club via my church on Facebook, and I.AM.LOVING. this practical, short, easy-to-read book. I am five chapters in and definitely recommend it already! 

Wyze Cam. My hub gets all the credit for this one! Our little Lus like to get out of bed suuuuuper early in the morning; so, he bought this camera so we can keep an eye on them, since their bedrooms are upstairs and our Master is downstairs. So far, so good!

Amino Lean. I love this stuff. It gives me a good, caffeine boost before my workouts, whether they be via Barre3 or Running Club. Definitely recommend if you're looking for that extra oomf in your workouts!

Reusable Strapless, Sticky Bra. I love, love, love this product. I bought one about a year ago and wore it soooooo many times throughout the year with tanks or dresses and it worked beautifully every time! I just recently purchased another one because I love it that much. And can't beat the price!

Buffalo Check Doormat. I am loving the look of layered doormats for Fall and recently purchased this large buffalo check one to lie under my regular one (which use to have our last name on it but has now faded away. Looks Like I need to Prime a new top mat!). 

Beneath a Scarlet Sky. Yep, another book to recommend. This book is, hands down, the best book I've read all year. Y'all may remember that at the start of the year, I set a goal to read two books a month. I'm happy to report I am meeting my goal so far, even reading three books some months. All that to say, I've read a lot of great books this year and this one is the absolute favorite. So, SO good (and apparently, they are making it into a series, that is currently under production. Score!). 

Caseology case. I recently got a new iPhone (three cheers for finally getting Portrait mode - ha!) and thus, needed a new case. I absolutely loved my previous phone case so I just reordered it but in a larger size to fit my new phone. I have dropped my phone countless times and this thing has kept it well-protected. :) 

Eyeblack stickers. We love these eyeblack stickers for football and baseball! We have also tried the eyeblack that comes in a liptstick-type form, but I like this so much better. Easy to put on and take off without having to scrub off the residue. 

Workout tanks. This past weekend, my girlfriend and I are participated in "Beer and Burpees," a charity event in Charlotte that involves three rounds of a specific workout (think slam balls; push ups; running; burpees; etc.) while drinking a beer between each round - ha! More on that later this week. We wanted to wear some cute, matching tank tops. Enter: Amazon Prime FTW. Ordered these tanks on Saturday, they arrived on Monday, and my sweet friend, Molly, of Blanchard Designs was able to fancy them up for us (she is SO good!!). 

Amazon fails: I won't steer you wrong, mommas. Here are a couple of recent Amazon fails:

Cordless vacuum. (Why can I never remember how to spell /vacuum/? It's one /c/, two /u/s. I always do the opposite. I screw up /restaurant/, too). ANYWHO. We were in need of a new one; so, my hub ordered this one after reading all the good reviews. Well...those reviewers were liars. It's....okay. But not worth the price and definitely doesn't live up to the reviews. 

African Shea Butter. Our Bels has suuuuuuuper dry skin thanks to a skin condition that she has. A doc recently recommended that we homemake a skincare cream, comprised of coconut oil, tea tree and lavender oils, and shea butter. We had all on hand but the latter, so I ordered this from Amazon. Womp wooooomp. Her skin didn't change in the least. To be honest, the ONLY thing that has helped her skin in the Rodan+Fields Active Hydration Body Replenish - not prescription creams, not over the counter creams, not oils, not nuthin', aside from this R+F product (let me know if you want to try - I'm telling you, this (and not the all natural concoction we tried, actually works wonders!!) 


Alright, off to find more Amazon goodies! Let me know your recent faves so I can add them to my cart! Clothes? Home decor? Products? Toys? Gifts? Lay it on me! I'd love to hear!! 

Cheers to the Weekend, September Summer Edition...on a Monday...errr, Tuesday ;)

Y'all. It's hot. And September is typically always still hot in the South; so, it shouldn't come as a surprise, but it's really hot this year. Like, 10 to 15-degrees above average hot. Bleeeeeeh. Fall, we are so ready for you! I'm not sure whether to pull out my swimsuit or my long cardigan. Please, Fall, the latter. 

An.y.who., we sure are happy to be welcoming in the weekend week again! Whoops! Meant to post this last Friday, and then yesterday, but here we are: Tuesday. So, a few things we are saying CHEERS to as we settle in for the week: 

Drama Queen, Bels edition. Bless it all, y'all. The Littlest Lu has been in rare form the last few weeks: think tantrums and non-compliance and all the drama. But, there have been sweet moments, too. Like when I got to take her to her friend's birthday party at the Charlotte Nature Museum last weekend. <3 Homegirl LOVED it! And I loved seeing her so enthralled and so happy (and local friends, it will be shutting down soon for a renovation so go while you still can!). 

Football, Season 1. Finally, after years of eager anticipation, Harrison had his first ever flag football game last Thursday night. He absolutely LOVED being on that field, and we loved cheering on our Jaguar! This kid, you guys. He would be clear across the field, and no less than five times, he proudly yelled as loudly as he could while waving with all his might, "HI MOM!!!!" Melt my heart. And THEN? Then he started cheering for one of his buddies, whom he was facing off against on the line of scrimmage: "Go Jamison!" he cheered, rooting on his opponent. So, so sweet. <3

And then, on Saturday, Banks had his first ever tackle football game! Although his team lost, he loved being on that field, and we are excited to see how much he learns and grows this season. Go Blue Dragons!

Marc Lapointe Golf. We are lucky to have a dear friend who just so happens to be an incredible golf pro and spends his days helping golfers of all ages improve their golf games. Local friends, SEEK HIM OUT!!! And currently, Banks is one of his lucky students! He has been participating in the current golf sessions every Thursday and started matches last weekend. And I may be biased, but I think Banks' official caddy is pretty darn handsome. ;) 

Lil' entreprenuers. We've talking to our kids a lot lately about giving back to others, and nothing made me prouder than to see Raleigh and Harrison set up their very own Toy Store, right at the end of our driveway, with plans to donate 100% of their proceeds to those in need. Only problem? Each item was $10. And by "item," I mean things like one Magnatile, one crayon, one plastic golf ball, one Slim Jim. Sweet kiddos had the right idea but the wrong merchandise and pricing. ;) SO, I told them we'll do a cupcake stand soon and donate 100% of those proceeds to the charity of their choosing. Will keep y'all posted as details come to light, local friends. :) 

Fun Run x4. Last Thursday was our school's annual fundraiser, the Boosterthon Fun Run. And try not to be too jeals, mommas, but I got to attend four.separate.fun.runs. in the 98-degree temps (but hear this: REAL FEEL WAS 106 DEGREES) because (1) my older three's runs were scheduled for three different sessions, and (2) for the first time ever, they decided to let the preschoolers participate in the Fun Run, too; hence, four separate fun runs. While I loved cheering on my little fundraising runners, I'm pretty sure I sweated out every ounce of water I've consumed over the last 30 days during Banks' color run in all that heat. Bless it all. 

Fun Run #1:

Fun Run #2:

Fun Run #3:

Fun Run #4:

Alright, y'all. It's time for this here momma to skedaddle. Have yourselves a great week, and I'll mosey back this way again sometime soon to share some things I've been Amazon Prime-ing lately!