Fanny Pack Fashions: Church Attire

Today I am going to talk about church attire for this edition of Fanny Pack Fashions. First and foremost, I want to be clear that IT DOESN'T MATTER what you wear to church. I am just happy to see you there! God doesn't care what you wear, he just cares that you are there at all. With that being said, I like to wear my "Sunday best" and dress nicely on Sundays. This isn't to have a fashion show, it is just a way to put my best foot forward on Sunday mornings. But again, I want to be clear, this post is just for fun and to give ideas. This is not a list of rules for how to dress for church.


I like to wear dresses to church. It is a really comfortable look for me and I enjoy getting to wear dresses. You can find really inexpensive dresses that work year round. For example...I found this dress 1/2 off for $20. It is great for Spring, Summer, and Fall. I could even wear it in Winter with boots and a coat.





Here is another dress example. I try to make sure dresses I wear are long enough to be modest. Missy Robertson's line is made specifically for ladies trying to be fashionable yet modest.



I wear dresses year round and layer based on the weather. On days that I know I will be working in the preschool department, I take a more casual approach so I can work with the kids. A long tunic with leggings and flats is a great option.





I also keep a nice pair of black pants that I can exchange with different tops for different looks. I love buying tops that I can dress up with black pants or make a more casual look with jeans. Versatile items are ideal to think about when shopping.





As far as shoes go, I love wedges. They are comfortable and help dress up outfits. I also wear nice flats to church. Boots and booties are great too! No matter what you wear, I hope you all have a place to worship. It is a big part of my life, and I cannot imagine living without my relationship with God or my church.

Me, you, two sprites, one cracker

After Kole was born, I always tried to make special time for Krews. I had to be creative because I was nursing Kole and wasn't comfortable leaving him for very long. Krews is a bit of a night owl like me....especially back when we didn't have school. I found the best time we could spent together was after Kole and Kyle went to sleep. (Kyle likes to go to sleep early!) So every night after dinner time, Krews and I would start whispering a plan to each other of what we were going to do that night. I made a big deal over it so it was a special treat for him. His favorite drink to have as a treat was a sprite and he loves mini crackers. I would whisper, "Me, you, two sprites, 1 thing of crackers, watch Full House. (Or whatever show he enjoyed at the time.)

As time has gone on and my boys have gotten older,  we haven't had our special nights as often. We mostly have our special nights as a family because  my boys LOVE to be together and with us. Sidenote---I absolutely love that they don't want to leave each other out! But on Friday night, we were all laying in bed watching a movie together and Kole and Kyle fell asleep. I looked at Krews and grinned and whispered, "Me, you, two..." And Krews immediately said "two sprites, 1 cracker, watch Spiderman!"

A lot of people have given me flack for co-sleeping with my kids. And I never argue because I think all mamas are doing what is best for their individual family. Every family and every child has a routine that fits them best! Late nights cuddled up in our bed have always been some of the best times of my life. And I will miss the day when I can't say, "Me, you, two sprites, 1 cracker, watch spiderman." 

Friday Favorites: Captain America, swag, and a roadtrip

Today I am linking up with Momfessionals and Erika for Friday Favorites


1. Favorite new building:

On Sunday morning, our new preschool and young adult education building opened. It is so nice and will hopefully bring in lots of young families! It is so comforting to have a secure, fun place for our kids to learn about God.


2. Favorite road trip:



Sunday after church the boys, my mom, and I went on an overnight road trip. As you can see, Krews was responsible for Punk Beauty Queen Sister's dogs. Shocking, I know.





First stop was soon to be sister in law's bridal shower. Tessa's Granny Lou kept giving the boys punch and cookies. It was so sweet, but it always makes me miss having my Grandmother and Gee. After the shower we went to Shawnee so I could shoot a commercial for Shawnee Honda.


 

3. Favorite show:



We made it home on Monday in time to watch Dancing with the Stars! I LOVED that Alfonso Ribeiro danced to Will Smith's Getting Jiggy With It. I thought it was amazing and the judges scored him too low.


4. Favorite Fanny Pack Swag



In this post I talked about how my house shoes were getting worn out, but I was struggling to get a new pair. One of my sweet fanny pack readers, Erika, made these for me, so I could have new ones! Isn't that a sweet surprise? And aren't they cute?


5. Favorite movie:



We are all a little obsessed with Captain America right now. These boys LOVE superheros! We watched the 2nd Captain America movie Saturday night on DirecTV and then I went and bought the first movie. When I picked up the movie, I bought these for the boys for Christmas. I couldn't help myself though and gave them to the boys early. I posted this picture to Instagram and my sister pointed out that I am the worst about giving gifts early. She is right. I get too excited and cannot keep a secret!!

Growing Pains (and I don't mean the hit TV show)

My sweet oldest child, Krews, is five. Five is a wonderful age. When you are five you are always carefree and happy. That is until you start having growing pains. Krews has been struggling a little in the past week. My boy who loves school and his friends, had his first meltdown at school last week. I went to his school pep rally and when I started to leave I saw big tears forming in his eyes. He started rubbing his eyes trying not to cry. His teacher started to comfort him and I went and talked to him and told him he could just come with me for the afternoon. I got him some lunch and got him calmed down. Then I sat down with him to figure out what in the world was going on! It turns out one of his friends told him to stop following him and that he didn't want to play with him. My heart was broken for him and this was our first instance of Krews having his feelings hurt by a friend. Krews has had people be mean to him before but he has been too young and naïve to realize anyone would be anything but nice to him. I know that his sweet friend didn't mean to hurt Krews' feelings and they are still great friends. The best way I could explain this to Krews was sometimes we say things we don't really mean. For example, he has told Kole to leave him alone before and that didn't mean he didn't love him and didn't want to be his friend. He was ok and was ready to see his friends again the next week.

Saturday was Kole's birthday and when he was opening his gifts and we were taking pictures, Krews got his feelings hurt. He said we only cared about Kole. (Because I clearly didn't get Krews little something too knowing they get a little jealous sometimes) Krews was having another instance of growing pains.

Fast forward to the next Friday and Kyle took him to breakfast and then to school. I asked Kyle how it went and he said "Well he was crying, but I'm sure he will be fine."




And that's when my heart almost stopped.




I immediately text one of his teachers and she said he was doing ok and that she would keep a close eye on him. It turns out Kyle dropped him off in a different place than usual (WHY?) and he got upset. He said he wanted to get him thru the line faster because Krews was nervous about being late. Luckily, when Kyle saw how upset he was, he parked the truck and walked him inside. Krews is a lot like me...if his schedule or normal routine feels off it makes him a little nervous.

What I have learned thru all of this is that it is HARD being a parent and raising kids thru growing pains. This was the first time we have dealt with emotional growing pains now that our kids are getting older. In the past, it has been growing pains based on toddler things of getting older. It makes me nervous for as my kids get older. As a parent, you have to be on it and aware of every little thing going on with your kids. It also makes me sad because what do kids without involved parents do to get thru their growing pains? Any parents of older boys who have been thru this phase, do you have any advice for me?

The Side of the Closet You Missed

Yesterday I posted pictures of my closet and haven't felt right since. I have felt a little unauthentic. I meant for it to be a fun post, but feel like I left out a big relatable portion of it. Not pictured was me sitting on the bench in my closet crying. My closet is where I take refuge when I am upset. I sit on that bench in my closet and shut the door so my kids don't see their mama upset. You never know what others are facing and I have quietly had several difficult situations I have dealt with in the past year. By posting closet pictures yesterday, it only halfway painted the picture. It only showed the good parts of it.

The redeeming side of my closet refuge is that my husband knows that is my hiding place. And he will always either give me a minute to myself, or when he knows I need it come support me. And more than anything many prayers are sent up in that closet. God knows when we have our weak points and need him. Just remember, no matter how put together things my look on the outside, they aren't as perfect as they seem. My goal with this blog is to paint a REAL picture, not a staged one. Even tho I will most likely pick up my house before I ever post any pictures of it, I promise to give a disclaimer stating that it does not always look good in real life. And I have the stained carpets to prove it!

Fanny Pack Fashions Meets Home Tour: Closet Edition

Anytime I post an outfit I am wearing, you can probably guess I am taking those awkward "selfies" in my closet. I thought it might be a good idea to show you the background of where these pics are coming from. Enter closet tour:

This is the opening of my closet. The door has a mirror on it and I have a bench beside it to put on shoes, have a place to sit after having a closet meltdown, and you know the usual. Next to the bench is a mirrored cabinet that is actually a jewelry holder inside. (from Pier 1)

Next to the mirrored cabinet, I keep my boys nice hang up clothes and keep two bins of sweaters than cannot go on hangers. I also hang all of my scarves on the bottom.

I keep all of my bags on top shelves in my closet

And purses

Right when you walk into my closet you see shoes and drawers. I like keeping shoes in boxes unless the box is just way to big, or the shoes fit better without staying in the box.

And beside that and the kids clothing area is mostly summer tops and all of my jeans/pants

On the other side of the closet is more fall/spring tops and tunics and some shelves with folded items.

I keep more shoes and dresses here:

In the back of my closet, I keep coats and formal dresses. I keep extra sheets in those Tory Burch bags that actually come with bags when you buy them. I thought I should put them to use!

I keep swimwear, snow clothes, etc. In the black bins with cream flowers. One of the things I was most excited about when we bought this house was the closet. I love how functional the design is in this space. It is easy to keep it clean and organized because there is a space for everything. I hope you have enjoyed this fanny pack fashion/home tour edition

Friday Favorites: Absolukely

Today is Friday, which means linking up for Friday Favorites!




1. Favorite thing of the past:


TGIF! I used to love watching TGIF on Friday nights. Why did it have to end???



2. Favorite new shoes:

I have these Toms in gray from last year and wore them so much I knew I would want another pair this year. I was so excited hwen I found them in this fun print! I will use cheetah/leopard print this year as a neutral!




3. Favorite birthday:

Last weekend my baby turned 3!

4. Favorite new movie:

I loved this movie!!! A comedy without inappropriate scenes or foul language! It addressed the stresses of motherhood in such a relatable way. They also talked about God's love for each of us...especially mamas.




5. Favorite shopping trip:

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin Luke was in town. We went shopping for upholstery fabrics for chairs I need to have recovered among other things. (I see a fanny pack project in the future to blog about!) I have always loved Luke..He lives in Chicago, but travels a lot with work. He has redone several houses and apartments and just has an eye for architecture. Every time I show Kyle something Luke and I picked out and I ask if he likes it he say "Absolukely." Code for whatever Luke says goes because he is so good at home projects.




6. Favorite laugh:

Speaking of "Absolukely" my family has a thing for play on words. My dad calls Luke, "Luke Like Lake" because he has always loved lake trips. We were on a family cruise one time and my dad was terribly seasick and Luke finally got his name revenge by dubbing him "Rick Like Sick."
Maybe "Rick Like Sick" can plan another family cruise (hint hint) so Luke and I can finally start the filming of our reality show about our crazy family. I promise people would watch...they might watch in horror, but hey it's the viewership that counts.

Losing control.

Every morning I wake up and go into our office are and read Unglued Devotional by Lysa TerKeurst. I say my prayers and always feel like my day starts out better. But by today I had become unglued multiple times and was losing control. I had a stressful morning at work, Kole behaved kind of badly at lunch and while running errands, every little thing fell out of control. My control that is.

In Sunday school last weekend, we were learning how our first response should be to reach out to God and pray about even the smallest things. In this entire day, I was trying to maintain control and fix everything instead of turning it over to God.

So I showed up to awanas and was late. I am the director for sparks kindergarten-second grade. My job is to teach the group lesson. We were studying the book of Genesis and talking about different people in Genesis and how sin was taking over their lives. People were building the city of Babylon for their own glory. The were worried about themselves and lost all control. The world turned to sin and lost all control, Noah was the only righteous man God could save. Adam and Eve lost all control and ate the forbidden fruit. We talked about how sin comes between us and God. And that is when we lose control.

It hit me so hard as I was teaching this lesson. By being sinful, and losing control I am seperating myself from God. How easy would it have been for me to have taken a minute in each difficult situation today to pray and turn it over to God? And how much sweeter would my day have been if I had seeked out God's help to become closer to him? We have a choice everyday. Are we going to loose control or turn control over to God? Tomorrow I am choosing to relinquish control to God because I NEED to be close to him. Life will not always be perfect but we can at least take heart in knowing that God is working with and for us.

I need Jesus. The world needs Jesus. This may be a silly blog, but I pray within my posts about fashion, my family, and our adventures I can help spread the message of how much we need a relationship with God and how wonderful it can make our lives.

"The LORD has done great things for us and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

"...I have made you and I will carry you..." Isaiah 46:4

Best. Weekend. Ever.

Friday night our Sunday School class (parents and kids) loaded up on the church bus to go bowling and have pizza. I would have snapped a picture of the bus, but I was busy worrying I would get car sick. Riding the church bus THRILLED my kids. They were beyond excited! We made it to the bowling alley and we split up boys, girls, women, and men.  I hung out down by the boys since my crew was thereI had just had surgery and still wasn't comfortable having to throw a 10 pound ball. Plus knowing how competitive Kyle is, I knew he would be in the zone  and unaware of anything going on outside of his lane. The boys LOVED bowling  and equally loves sliding around the floor.

A little while into the game a strobe light came on and the kids were fasinsted and kept trying to grab the light.


A few minutes later the lights went off and it was a full on disco. My fun truly began when two big screens dropped down and songs like Michael Jackson's PYT started playing. It was pretty funny!


We didn't get home until 10:00. I know, I know PARTY ANIMALS! We were all exhausted!!! The next morning was Kole's 3rd birthday! I told him Happy Birthday when he woke up and he said "Mom, am I this many?" (holding 3 fingers up) I said, "Yes, you sure are you are three years old!" He said "Oh, how long until I am 5 like my bubby?" All he wants to do is be a big boy, yet he's still my baby! We headed to the soccer field for Krews and Kole's games. Kole's team sang happy birthday to him and he had a better week. He still didn't play full out but he enjoyed being out there the entire game. Krews played a great game too!

Saturday night we went to our county fair. We ended up meeting and hanging out with several of our Sunday School class friends. Kole rode a roller coaster for the first time (I use the term roller coaster lightly) and Krews rode with his hands in the air!

I might have had a funnel cake. And it might have been delicious. They boys enjoyed the big slide. *Sidenote* Thank goodness Kyle is one to ride these rides. I am the girl who grew up scared to ride or when finally talked into riding was quickly sick. Even this big slide would have made me nervous.

Kyle and one of our friends, Jason, then lost their minds and rode the NEMISIS 360. The nemesis 360 was frightening. And this is not Six Flags where rides are permanent fixtures. This is a county fair where rides go up in less than an hour. However, Kyle is not one to back down from a challenge and Jason had already been on it once.

Who rides this??? My friend, Fran, was going to ride it with them for another round but the line was too long. I later found out my brother and soon to be SIL rode it too! We immediately went home and showered and burned washed our clothes. We got up the next morning and had snake pancakes upon request of the boys.

Then, we headed out to church while still in birthday mode.

When I asked Kole what he wanted to do for his birthday, he responded, "Go to the place where they throw eggs in your mouth with William, Emma, Luke, and Mary Juuuulia"

That places is called Fuji's Japanese Steak House. And they do cook in front of you and throw eggs in your mouth---correction everyone's mouth but mine because I just can't deal with the stress of that situation. And I should note all of the kids named above are much older than Kole, but he LOVES them all. William and Emma are our neighbors and Luke and Mary Juuuuulia are their cousins who we love to see too. They are SO sweet to my kids and always take good care of them. They even brought him birthday gifts and made such a big deal over him. Love it! Overall, I would say this was the best weekend ever for my kids. I hope to have many more weekends of jam packed fun that my kids can always remember!

Fanny Pack Fashions: What's in my bag? (plus the $200 Blackbird winner)

I love when I see celebrity editions of "What's in my bag." I am clearly not a celebrity, but I thought it might be a fun fanny pack fashion edition! This bag was given to me as a gift from PBQS for my birthday/I do a lot for her and I deserved it holiday.



Inside view:



First things first, I have my wallet and sunglasses. I can't every go anywhere without either. I wear Maui Jim sunglasses because of the comfort. Anytime I am outside I wear them, because I have a headache within 5 minutes if I don't. I have to carry my wallet because I clearly need my drivers license and a credit card.

To try to keep my life organized, I carry my Erin Condren Life Planner, matching markers (OCD is a true sickness) and my favorite portfolio/notepad/organizer from Calvin Mitchell.



I also have a pocket where I keep extra makeup, mirror, a compact hair brush, etc.

And a pocket for pens, gum.



My ipad for that I use a lot for work and even note taking in meetings.

Not pictured are random things my kids could throw in the bag at any point, empty gum rappers from my kids because I am clearly a trash can, and any other possible things.


And the winner of the $200 Blackbird gift card is Melissa Posey! Check back for more great giveaways!! I am so excited at how many of you participated!! So excited that I will try to put together lots of good stuff to help you with your Christmas shopping this year.

Friday Favorites with a $200 Blackbird GIVEAWAY!!!!

Today is the biggest edition of Friday Favorites Fanny Pack Mom has EVER had!!! My friend, Taylor, who owns Blackbird Clothing is teaming up with me to giveaway a $200 GIFT CARD. You can spend it in store or you can order straight from the photos they post to Facebook or on Instagram so let's talk about my Friday Favorites from Blackbird.

1. Favorite vest:

The minute I saw this vest posted to Blackbird's Instagram account, I called the store and bought it. For two years now, I have been wanting the J. Crew version of this vest that is around $300. I was able to get this lookalike vest for just over $60. This vest has been ALL OVER Pinterest and vests are in style for Fall.


2. Favorite Sweater:


First of all, I love the big stripes. I also love the grey, cream, and turquoise. The fit is amazing and flattering. I also love the V-neck. I paired it with my pink tassel necklace, also from Blackbird. Tassel jewelry is popular right now!


3. Favorite flannel top:

Y'all. This is hands down the best flannel top ever made. It is as soft as your favorite blanket. Plus it is not hot or itchy. It comes in several different patterns/colors. I need another top like this. I will live in it this Fall.


4. Favorite jeans:

You will notice in every. single. picture. I am wearing a different pair of AG Jeans. Taylor took this pic of me in the latest AG style and another fabulous Blackbird top that is now sitting in my closet. I cannot say enough good things about AG Jeans. They are comfy and cute. They are like Photoshop as they make your legs and hips appear smaller. Buy a pair at Blackbird. They are the only jeans you will wear. The great thing about Taylor is you can call and order things and she will pull the right size for you every time. She is like a personal shopping expert and loves to help customers.


5. Favorite GIVEAWAY:

Now it's time to give you all the detail about how to win this $200 gift card so you can have some of these amazing pieces too! There are 3 ways to enter:

1. Go to the right side of the blog and select Join this site. That will make you a Fanny Pack Follower! Don't worry...joining will not result in any unsolicited fanny packs.

2. Follow Blackbird (blackbirdclothing) AND Fanny Pack Mom (audrawray) on Instagram.

3. Follow Blackbird AND Life of a Fanny Pack on Facebook.

If you just do one of these, you are entered once. If you just do two, you are entered twice. If you do all three steps you are entered three times to win the $200 Gift Card!

After you enter, you must leave a comment ON THIS POST telling us where all you followed Blackbird and Fanny Pack Mom. Hopefully you already follow BOTH of us on Facebook, Instagram, and joined my blog and can go right ahead and comment you are entered all three ways!

A winner will randomly be selected on Monday! Good luck and happy shopping!