Let's Look-- Coffee Bars

Today I'm linking up with Erika and Shay for the monthly "Let's Look" series!  This month's topic is all about coffee bars!

My coffee bar is located in my dining room.  (This Keurig was a Prime Day find from 2019, and it's currently on sale again right now). Above it, I've hung up some canvas prints of Washington state that I took a couple summers ago. 

Next to the coffee maker is my mug holder from Costco!  I love this mug holder so much.  Fun coffee mugs are my thing, and I love seeing them all on display!

Here's the view from the kitchen side of the dining room.  I love having the coffee area next to the big window. 

I keep my coffee in the upper cabinet of my pantry.  I use the reusable k-cups for cost savings. 

I drink my coffee black, so I get serious about it and buy my coffee grounds from Costco in the bulk size packaging!

At work, I have a little coffee area set up in the back of my classroom by my desk.  I keep a couple different flavors of K-cups at school since it's easier to add a K-cup into the Keurig in between classes, rather than making a reusable filled with coffee grounds. My current favorite is the Southern Pecan flavor by Green Mountain Coffee.  (I found it at Walmart). 

And that's it!  Making a cup of coffee is one of my favorite parts about the morning, and it's certainly a treat to be able to make some cups at work during the school day too!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Noah is 7!

Noah woke up today as a 7 year old! He's spunky and sweet with an easy smile. He's doing a fantastic job being a first grader especially a virtual one! He loves to play outside & can also easily entertain himself with toys in his imaginary world.  He plays well with others and can be perfectly content playing alone. He's very creative and currently likes drawing and creating abstract art (by rearranging his toys to represent other things etc.). He thrives with compliments and likes to know someone is always nearby. He's the perfect middle child that this family needed. 

He still loves all things garbage truck, school bus, and rescue vehicles. In fact, his party theme today was "school bus!" 

He chose apples, Oreo Thins, and Ritz crackers for party snacks in addition to his cake. 

We played inflatable bowling...

And tic-tac-toe / checkers...

And bean bag toss! 

For birthday dinner, he chose takeout pizza. We had a great day!

Happy Birthday, Noah! I love you! And I love being your mommy! I'm so glad God created you & put you in this family. I pray you seek Him earnestly & always. His way is best. Always keep your spunk and your joy. These things are so uniquely "you." Love, Mom

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Friday Favorites 01.08.21

 Today I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites.  

This week, Avery found some Frozen stickers and gave herself a little makeover. :)

Michael was pleased to show Gigi that the new shorts she bought him fit very well!  Right now he's using them as night-shorts since it's too cold outside to wear them during the day.  However, later on this spring and into summer, these will be used often!

Santa brought both boys a National Geographic Dinosaur Fossils kit, so Noah and Avery were working on Noah's set this past weekend. 

She thought it was hilarious that I overlaid some of my dark brown hair over her light blonde hair!

These days since I'm wearing a mask most of the day (unless I'm in my classroom alone), I choose to accessorize with big earrings.  These are part of a set on Amazon that Michael gave me for Christmas!

They're very lightweight and make a big statement. 

Michael (and little sister helper!) conducted an experiment this week for one of Michael's virtual classes!  

We are blessed with some AWESOME sunrise views in our backyard.  This was a very "wintery" version one day this week!

When cousins come to play, rolling down the big hill in Grandma's front yard is a must!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Selfie Selections: Toddler Edition

Avery likes to sequester my phone to take selfies. Here's a rendition from the past few weeks. 

These are sweet days & memories!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

2021... So Far

Although 2021 rolled in fairly unannounced since we live in a rural area with few fireworks (assisted by the addition of heavy rain at midnight), I'm not upset by this at all.  The kids didn't even ask if they could stay up late or anything. We all said Happy New Year's Eve before tucking them in, and we talked about how we'd wake up to a new day, a new month, and a new year. 

Avery led the 2021 awakenings at 6:21 (which is sleeping in!) and then also woke up her brothers (oops). Because it was still raining, it made for a nice, slow morning. We went to Aaron's mom's house around noon to steam some clams her family overnighted from Washington state. The boys liked them this time around. After we returned home, Avery & I took a nap in her room which is the darkest room in the house and makes for a great nap spot. I did some lesson planning when I woke, and Aaron cooked a fantastic Hungarian chicken and rice dish for dinner. 

I am hoping for cooler temperatures soon. We spent December in the 40s most of the time, but we welcomed in January with 70s today. This is annoying to me. :)

We ended our evening by playing Dos (a variant of Uno) and are about to tuck the kids in bed. 

Aaron & I plan to watch some episodes of Top Gear (the old original episodes with the hosts of the current series Grand Tour) on Amazon Prime. Tip: if you're going to watch the series, stick with the "specials." 

Welcome, 2021. Here's hoping the year is smoother and less scary than 2020. 

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Elf Fun

Our elf, Q.E., was certainly busy this month!  Here's a list of things he did and brought.  We like to look back on these lists later on and remember the fun times. 

Bringing a book for each kiddo (12-01-20)

Drinking from a k-cup with a straw (12-2-20)

Hiding in bathroom (12-03-20)

Cup of water (melted snow from North Pole) (12-04-20)

Bringing ornaments (12-05-20)

Elf car wash (hot wheels with sponge) (12-06-20)

Brought "Pick a Pine tree" book (12-07-20)

Sock sleepover (12-08-20)

Toilet paper tree (12-9-20)

Floor is lava (modified this to be “counter is lava!”) (12-10-20)

In fridge wrapped in a washcloth like a blanket (12-11-20)

Bubble bath (12-12-20)

Rock star (this is an “Elf on the Shelf” item) (12-13-20)

Tissue box nap (12-14-20)

Sticking himself in toast (It might be cold outside, but I’ll be “toasty!”) (12-15-20)

Campfire (this is an “Elf on the Shelf” item) (12-16-20)

Drew a crayon picture of himself that said "Wanted: One Elf. Looks like this" sign, then he was hiding in clear bin right near the picture (12-17-20)

Made a ginger "bread" house (12-18-20)

Dog biscuit "gross" cookies (Found these cookies in the laundry room.  Gross! Do NOT leave for Santa!) (12-19-20)

Reindeer poop (chocolate chips) (left a note: Why do you have reindeer poop in your freezer?) (12-20-20)

Fort out of Lincoln logs (12-21-20)

Space man (12-22-20)

Toothpaste smile on bathroom mirror (12-23-20)

Measuring stockings with measuring tape (Yep! I checked.  Your stockings are the perfect size for Santa’s treats!) (12-24-20) 

 

My kiddos love Q.E. so very much!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba