Things I’m Loving Friday #393

Friday is here! I feel like we’re entering into a big holiday week-long break but that’s not really the case now, is it? I guess I’m just feeling a little checked out knowing Thanksgiving is coming up next week and the boys only have two days of school but the anticipation of Thanksgiving is definitely adding to the good vibes I’m feeling going into the weekend.

We don’t have too much on our radar other than family pictures on Saturday and some brewery fun with friends assuming our kids aren’t a mess after our early-evening pictures. (Our picture timing isn’t ideal but we claimed whatever time was available for our crew since I forgot to book them until the last minute! Cross your fingers for some smiles and minimal meltdowns for us please.) I’m sure I’ll share more on the blog on Monday but until then, scroll on down to see this week’s roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style!

Things I’m Loving Friday

• Tineco S3 Wet/Dry Vacuum

I’ve held off sharing this vacuum on the blog for four months because upon first use back in July, I was like THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE and I wanted to be sure it really was a dream come true before I sang its praises too loudly. Well, my friends, it is the best thing that has happened to our hardwood floors and my cleaning supplies in years.

I owe my mother-in-law a huge thanks for putting the Tineco wet-dry vacuum on our radar. During her last visit, she raved about her Tineco vacuum and said it did the most amazing job keeping her tile floors clean with ONLY water. (A cleaning solution may also be used if you prefer.) What!? Life with three boys means our hardwood floors are always a gigantic mess, so I perked right up when she started talking about the Tineco vacuum‘s ability to both vacuum and mop simultaneously and every single question I threw at her came with the exact answer I wanted to hear. Is it cordless? Yes. Does it run for a long time? Yes. (I’ve never had it run out of a charge for me when using it downstairs which is the only place we have hardwood floors in our house.) Does it leave your floors soaking wet after use? No. Floors are nearly dry after use. Is it hard to push? No. It’s super smooth and self-propelled. Is it easy to empty and clean? Yes. As she talked, Ryan looked it up on Amazon and ordered it by the end of the night.

This vacuum has been a life saver when it comes to cleaning up kid messes, especially from Rhett who is in the baby feeding phase where he loves to drop food off his high chair and leaves crumbs, milk dribbles and sippy cup spills in his wake. I use the vacuum multiple times a day and swear it is worth its weight in gold. (I can only imagine how much more we’d love this if we still also had dog messes to consider.) I’ve raved about it so much that my mom, sister and brother-in-law all asked to try it out during visits to our house and then ended up ordering the vacuum for their homes, too.

I joke that we previously lived in a home with a thin film of dirt on top of our hardwood floors because this vacuum makes our floors finally look and feel amazing! I almost never use any solution in the vacuum and typically just use plain water to clean our floors. The gray water left in the tank after we use it every time doesn’t lie… This was a much-needed purchase in our house and one we cannot rave about enough! Note: It’s worth noting that we have the Tineco Floor One S3 model because there are different models. We opted for the one my mother-in-law recommended and have obviously been very happy with it.

• Dr. Becky’s Thoughts on Praise for Kids

Dr. Becky does it again! I recently listened to a Good Inside podcast episode that talked all about praise and children. The podcast didn’t discourage the occasional “good job” for children but it did highlight the importance of cultivating pride in a child that comes from within rather from external validation. As a mother, I hope to raise boys with a strong sense of self and confidence that doesn’t stem from a need to please Mom, Dad or anyone else. The podcast episode is absolutely worth a listen, but I wanted to share some takeaways here as well since I cannot stop thinking about it!

Dr. Becky encouraged listeners to consider asking children questions about something during their high moments versus immediately saying “good job,” and highlighted the fact that “good job” is essentially a conversation ender. As an adult, if you just spent months redecorating your living room and your best friend comes over and says “good job” there’s not much else to say other than “thanks.” If, on the other hand, your friend begins enthusiastically asking questions about how you chose the new paint color or where you got your new chair cushions, you’re much more likely to feel an internal sense of pride for your work and think through how you made the decisions you did that resulted in the hard work you’re proud of yourself for completing.

I’ve been putting this into practice with Chase and Ryder lately and it’s awesome because they absolutely light up when they give me more details about why they chose a particular color for their artwork or how they thought to use certain supplies to build their fort, etc.

• Dove Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark Promises

It’s safe to say these bad boys will be finding their way into my grocery cart all season long. I bought them on a whim to share during our girls’ weekend trip to Savannah and could not keep my hand out of the bag. They’re the perfect combination of rich dark chocolate with smooth white chocolate and I adore the tiny crunch from peppermint candy pieces. If you’re a peppermint bark fan, I think you’ll love these as much as I do!

• Childcare Help

Over the summer, we had the most amazing babysitter watch the boys one morning a week and it was so incredibly helpful for my productivity. Well, it’s been months since I’ve had childcare help and I’ve admittedly been on the struggle bus. Once Rhett transitioned to one nap a day, I quickly realized I simply cannot make time for longer periods of work with three kids in the mix and I definitely didn’t have time to do any other “real life” things like make dentist appointments for myself, fix the cracked window in my car, etc. I finally, at long last, found an amazing woman to help with Rhett on Monday mornings (and possibly one other morning a week — tbd) while the big kids are at school so I can work and schedule various appointments. I’m only one week into this arrangement but I cannot tell you the relief I feel knowing I have the help of an incredibly kind woman who seems to genuinely adore Rhett already. I’m just sharing this here because it seems like so many of us try to “do it all” and that’s simply not manageable. I not only feel like this help will be incredibly beneficial to my business and my state of mind but I think it will also help me be a better mother since I will hopefully be less stressed about all the things outside of motherhood that take up space in the back of my mind.

• Friday Flashbacks

10 Recipes to Make for Thanksgiving This Year (From mulled wine and my favorite cornbread to my mom’s stuffing and easy homemade apple crisp, this post has a little bit of everything… And it’s all delicious!)

Pumpkin Icebox Cake (A fall dessert that’s easy to make but worthy of a spot on your Thanksgiving table)

Question of the Day

What is one thing you’re loving this week?