What's Up Wednesday: October Edition! {10-26-16}

Today I'm linking up with Shay at Mix and Match Mama for What's Up Wednesday!  I cannot believe it's already the last Wednesday in OCTOBER!  October is my favorite month, so I'm a little sad that it's almost gone.  But, with November comes the real start of the holidays for me, and hopefully cooler weather, so I'm excited for that!

Today, I'll be answering these questions:

What We're Eating this Week:

This week and last week, I've been delving into recipes from the Diabetic 4 Ingredient cookbook.  We made Parmesan Chicken with Candied Acorn Squash on Monday night and the chicken part was good!  The squash? Not so much.  

This week, we also had Spinach Sausage Pasta, which is a definite favorite of ours.   

I made Sweet Corn Chili by Mix and Match Mama.  We loved this!  I made some sweet cornbread with it, and it was so so good.  Michael particularly enjoyed it, so I made some more for us the next night!  

One night, we did super simple grilled cheese (with ham for the grown ups), and tomato soup.  Aaron thought this was the BEST!  It's his go-to "fall"meal, so he was really excited that we had it this week!

One night we'll do breakfast for dinner with pancakes and bacon, and we'll finish out our week with pasta probably. 

What I'm Reminiscing About:

This time of year, it's so easy to reminisce about the costumes my little boys have worn.  Michael was 2 months old at his first Halloween, and he was a little tiger.  He was also a tiger the following year when I was majorly pregnant with Noah.  Michael was Spiderman when he was two, and Noah simply wore an "I love Mummy" onesie.  Michael was Thomas the Train, and also Scooby Doo last year, and Noah was Aubie the Tiger.  This year, Noah might be Spiderman, if he chooses to wear the costume.  Michael is going to be Yoshi from Mario Kart. :)

What I'm Loving:

I love to open up the windows in the morning and let in the cold air while I begin my workday in the dining room.  After Aaron leaves for work, I leave the garage door open, and use the screen storm door to let a cross breeze through.  It's so nice and refreshing!

What We've Been Up To:

I'm finishing up my last couple weeks of practice with the Upwards Cheerleading program at our church.  Being a coach has kept me busy since September!  Monday & Tuesday night practices, and Saturday morning games-- so it'll be nice to have some free Saturdays in the upcoming weeks!

What I'm Dreading:

Aaron informed me today of the insurance changes that will be taking effect at his company beginning on January 1st.  Oy.  Insurance changes always make me nervous. 

What I'm Working On:

I'm attending a free business seminar this Thursday afternoon, and I'm meeting with a CPA on Friday afternoon to discuss business taxes, etc.  I feel like the seminar will help ease some of my fears and answer some of my questions about starting a business, and I'm hoping that working with a CPA will help relieve so much stress on the financial side of the business.  I'm not a mathy person at all, and taxes make me nervous!  I want to do everything by the book, so I don't want to overlook any single part of filing taxes, and I think it'll help me so much to put that part of it in the hands of a CPA. 

What I'm Excited About:

I'm actually excited for the time change coming up!  (Well, I'll be excited once my kids get on that schedule and sleep til 6:30am.  Right now, Noah is getting up at 6:00, which will be 5:00am in a couple weeks and that's just not good!)  I like when it gets darker in the evenings.  It's so fun to me to cuddle up on the couch with blankets and watch holiday shows!  My boys have really been into "Rudolph" and "Frosty" and "Frosty Returns" lately, and I know we'll throw some "Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin," "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving," and "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" as well.  Can't wait!

What I'm Watching/Reading:

I'm currently watching seasons 1-3 of The Americans on Amazon Prime for the fourth time.  I like to have something on in the background while I work, and this show is perfect for that.

In the evenings, Aaron and I are watching Royal Pains on Netflix.  I think we're on Season 5.  I've watched it all the way through, but he hasn't, so it's fun to see his reactions as we watch.

I'm currently attending a Women's Bible Study at a nearby church and we're working through the study Seamless by Angie Smith.  I'm loving it!!!

I'm also reading the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People." It's actually very good!  I got the idea to read this from the wedding photographers Amy & Jordan. They suggested it as a good read for learning how to treat people and get them to respond positively when posing for pictures!  This book, although written very long ago, is still highly relevant today.


What I'm Listening To:

The boys and I tear up Third Day's Lead us Back CD everyday on the way home in the afternoon.  We know every song by heart.

If I'm by myself in the car, I'm listening to KLove, and when I get home and can choose my songs, I'm pretty much listening to Come Alive by Lauren Daigle.

This song drives me to tears every.single.time.  I think about Michael's illness the entire time I'm listening to it, and I'm earnestly praying to hold steadfast to the promise that "we know that You are God, Yours is the victory."

What I'm Wearing:

Lots of peplum.  LOFT recently had a 50% off sitewide sale, and I grabbed three peplum shirts.  They're great for hiding the midriff that I'm trying to whip into shape.

I did not wear the red pants with the peplum top, though.  I was just taking a picture of the pants to send to my mom.  :)  The pants are also from LOFT.

I also recently bought two pairs of jeans from Nordstrom.  The Wit & Wisdom Ab-solution jeans, and the BP Piper Skinny Jeans.  Holy wow, you guys.  The Ab-solution jeans!  I could wear them all day long.  I even took a nap in them the first day I wore them-- they were THAT comfortable!

What I'm Doing this Weekend:

I'm single handedly coaching my Upwards Cheerleaders this weekend. It's our second-to-last game of the season.  Afterwards, I hope to do some photo shoots and put together a costume for our work's OctoberFest on Monday.  Our team is supposed to dress like the Blues Brothers.  I'll keep you posted. :)

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

The Thanksgiving Day parade, of course!  Also, I'm hoping my sister-in-law gets to come down on the 25th so my older brother can go hunting (it's his birthday that day), and so my sister-in-law and I can watch Gilmore Girls!!!!

What Else is New:

My hubby and I are trying to add to our family!  Any prayers you can send our way would be much appreciated!

What's our Favorite Halloween Tradition:

I'd say it's probably getting our kids dressed up and visiting each grandparent's house.  This year, we live only 2 miles from one grandparent set, and we live in the same neighborhood as our music pastor, so I'm really looking forward to showing off Yoshi and Spiderman. :)

Until Next Time, 

Much love, Reba