Hey friends! Quick coffee chat today as I'm sitting here at Starbucks making my checklist for travel this upcoming weekend. Traveling with kids is not an easy task. Add in the fact that its a long road trip and y'all...traveling with kids can be a daunting task! There are definitely some necessities and must haves when traveling with kiddos! Here's my list when prepping for a long road trip with kiddos! 

Car Necessities:

1. SNACKS- I am LOVING the toggle boxes with different snacks inside. This has been awesome for the girls so they aren't constantly asking for a snack and I am not having to constantly open a snack! I love packing healthier items too: pretzels, craisins, gold fish, fruit snacks, dried fruit, pepperoni, tangerines, etc. Also- just a tip-Set a time limit or amount they eat...if your kiddos are anything like mine they might just eat it all in one sitting- and we don't want that! Favorite Box

2. BOOKS! Lots and lots of books. Thankfully the girls love reading but even on the times they say they don't want to read they always somehow find their way to get lost in books. We like to bring a variety including chapter, picture, story books and picture books too! Even if they aren't reading them the pictures still give them some entertainment! 

3. Coloring Books and blank paper! I love the Crayola mess free coloring books- you know the ones that come with the magic marker that only colors on the special paper- gives me a little relief from them accidentally coloring on my seats! Love this set with lots of colors: mess free coloring pages  

4. Ipad/ tablet + HEADPHONES. We have learned over the years that it is best to give our girls headphones with their tablets. Don't be like us and forget the headphones- this will save you a headache of listening to their games the whole car ride! *TIP*: don't forget the chargers- also extra long chargers are GREAT to have too! Chargers for Amazon Tablet Chargers for iPad 

5. COMFORT: the girls always tend to fall asleep (PTL) in the car. Of course we want them to be comfortable! Traveling with their pillow and blanket is a must! Also, if your car doesn't have window shades these are perfect to put on the window to block sun- because having too much sun in the car is never fun! CAR WINDOW SHADES

Stay tuned for all my BEACH must haves with kiddos! 

Stay in the know with all my favorites: Topknot + Coffee 

Shop favorites here: https://topknotandcoffee.company.site/ 

I'm BACK...but its not perfect. And that's ok!

Its been a minute since I started this venture. I had full intentions when I started this that this would be my creative outlet. Well guess what?!? LIFE HAPPENED. Literally all I can do is laugh. Because, well life changes. Since my first (and last) post our 2nd precious baby GIRL was born, AND now she is about to turn two. Seriously can not believe how much time has gone by since I attempted this grand adventure. But here I am attempting AGAIN at something I have wanted to do for so long. They say try, try again so here I am. Making an attempt yet again. 

I'll be real honest. I am not perfect. shocking I know...right? But this "blog" is not going to be about perfection. Its going to be messy as I learn and grow on this venture. I know I'll do it wrong. It wont be pretty most of the time. And I am 100% certain there are going to be 1000 typos in every single post. But this is raw and real. This is LIFE. Which brings me to my point...don't believe the pretty pictures you see on social media! 

I've learned this so much recently. I follow so many professional bloggers who post all the pretty pictures, with the right editing, perfect smiles, beautiful setups and back grounds. Let me be real honest here...that's not happening here. Maybe one day?? But for now I will learn and grow and build upon what I know. Share my thoughts (and maybe opinions) on a few things. And just know its not all giggles and rainbows over here. We laugh, oh yes we laugh, but we cry and yell too. Life is tough. Being a momma is tough. Being a wife is tough. And although I LOVE my husband and my children, momma fully enjoys her wine too. So behind all those pretty pictures you see on social media is an actual real person, real emotions, real life. Trust me its probably not as perfect as it looks. And that's not to say their life isn't grand (because I'm sure it might be sometimes) there is a lot of work, a lot of grit, a lot of learning and growing behind all that. 

So here I am to share my not so perfect life, with my not so perfect photos, and my not so perfect opinions on things. I hope you can enjoy following along with me as I grow a community here. I promise to share ME. Raw and Real me. And I promise I'll probably always have a dirty, messy topknot and a coffee in hand! :) 

With Love, 

Lindsey

Life Changes

Have you heard the song “Life Changes” by Thomas Rhett? If not, it’s a super cute story telling song which Rhett chronologically orders his life changes beginning in college, when he met his wife, to the adoption AND pregnancy (at the same time) of their two precious daughters. If you haven’t heard it check it out here Thomas Rhett "Life Changes" Song . Super cute song and COMPLETELY describes our life right now…

“You never know what’s gonna happen, You make your plans and you hear God laughing”

Isn’t this lyric the truth?!?! I mean how often do we make a plan, have it all figured out, and BOOM something happens that completely changes the plan? Story. Of. My. Life.  I’ve always been very independent (go ask my parents!) and I really don’t rely on anyone for help. In addition, I pretty much have a plan for my life. I rely heavily on my calendar and I have multiple calendars which I take A LOT of pride in! One spiral notebook planner for home and school (I'm a teacher- yes I color code :/ ), a wall calendar, a desk calendar, calendar on my phone, etc. Here is my go-to spiral calendar: Blue Sky 8.5 x 11.5 agenda  OR Blue Sky 5x8 agenda 

My husband and I met in high school. Yes, we are high school sweethearts, still going strong and about to celebrate our 6-year wedding anniversary (together for 15 years!). I’ve literally known him for half my life so to say that I/ we had our lives planned out would be in understatement. My life plan went something like this…We both would go to college in 2006 (more than likely the same college because DUH! I don’t want to leave him, we would both graduate in spring of 2010, get married that summer and honeymoon in Australia (I’m seriously laughing at this thought), we would both find amazing jobs and purchase a home shortly after returning from our honeymoon a few years down the road we would begin having children let’s say around the year 2012/2013 and we would have 3 children ALL before I was 30 years old (I turn 30 July 2^nd, 2018). I mean when I say I had it planned I mean I HAD IT ALL PLANNED!

“…but I wouldn’t change it for the world..”

Needless to say our lives HAVE NOT been this seamless! *insert emoji laughing face* To make a long story short my husband went and played football at Purdue University, which I did not follow him to! I graduated in December of 2010 from Kennesaw State University. We both did find great jobs in 2011 and moved into a tiny apartment. We got engaged in fall 2011 and married summer of 2012. (We were supposed to be welcoming our first child by 2012! Haha) We finally welcomed a sweet baby girl, Emery Leigh, January 2016. We moved in with my parents in June 2016 (a HUGE life change for us!--jobs and location) and finally found our first home in 2017 which we have been renovating ever since. I’ve been working hard towards my “dream job” in education for about a year now and we recently found out that we will be welcoming our 2^nd baby GIRL in December 2018! 

Needless to say LIFE CHANGES! We made our plans and we definitely heard God laughing! BUT we “wouldn’t change it for the world!” We’ve leanred along the way that you truly can never really plan your life the way you envision it to go. I guess this is the beauty of life. I’ve learned to embrace change and to live more in the moment rather than trying to plan my life away, because well more than likely that plan will change. Embrace the change, learn from mistakes, take chances, and live in the moment.

                                                                    

 This is just a short intro into our lives. I’ll be sharing more in future posts to come. In the meantime, check out these adorable pictures of Emery announcing she will be a BIG SISTER- Oh and our dog is thrilled too!