20 Questions (to get to know me better)

Hey guys! Today I woke up feeling like I got hit by truck. I've got a pounding headache and a really bad head cold. Not sure where this came from but since any real movement is making my head hurt worse I'm taking it easy and decided to do a fun blogger questionnaire. Why not?! Then you can get to know me better! :)

Here we go.....

1. Do you have any nicknames?

Yes! Most people I'm close to call me Kris. But my Dad's side of the family (and close family friends who are like family) calls me Krumbs. That has turned into Krumb Cakes, Krumpelstiltskin...etc etc. I was given this nickname when I was about 10 and its just stuck. My Dad never EVER calls me Kristen...unless he's talking about me to people who don't really know me well. I'm Krumbs!

2. Are you named after anyone?

My middle name is Erin after my mom. But they named me Kristen, just because they liked it.

3. Do you have any siblings?

I'm the oldest of 3. My brother Zack is 4 years younger than me and my (half) sister Alexis is 13 years younger than me. I never EVER think of Lexi as my half sister because my dad and step mom absolutely treat her like family, which we are so grateful for. We are one big giant dysfunctional family!

They are my best friends. I talk to them every single day, multiple times a day, and I cannot imagine my life without them! I always say (besides my husband and children) my siblings are my biggest blessing in life!

4. Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Quincy, MA...in the house where my dad still lives today. (Fun fact: its the house he grew up in too!) When I was a sophomore in high school my mom moved us to Holbrook, MA, where she grew up, and I finished out high school there. 

5. What activities did you do in high school?

You mean besides hang out with my friends and talk about boys? LOL! Well, I was a cheerleader from 6th grade until 9th grade, when I left Quincy and moved to Holbrook. Honestly, the move wasn't easy. Fitting in at a new school that was really small....we're talking only 72 people in our senior class small....was difficult. So, I worked, hung out with friends and went to school. It might've been easier if I did an activity but I just didn't have the time. 

6. Did you go to college?

No, I went to cosmetology school and worked as a cosmetologist at 3 different salons until I had Kamryn. Do I regret not going to college? Yes and no. I am now a stay at home mom and I have been for almost 10 years. To think if I went to college and had all the debt just to be a stay at home mom...ugh! What a waste! So, I'm thankful I didn't go. However, I do wish I had that experience. But, my friends and I sure did make sure we visited a lot of schools while all our friends were there so I like to think I sort of experienced college...at least the party aspect of it! LOL!

7. What's one hobby you'd like to take up?

Photography! I always tell myself I'm going to do it more, but I never find the time. The four (almost five) kids might have something to do with it. Oh well.....someday!

8. What did you want to be when you grew up?

This is a hard one for me to answer. One thing I always knew I wanted to do was to be a mom. I knew I wanted a lot of kids, and I wanted to be home with them. I was a day care kid and I hated it! I understood having divorced parents, that they both had to work but I missed out on a lot. So from the time I was 8 I knew when I had kids it would be very important to me to be home with my kids. (I'm so thankful my husband has made this possible for me to do this...what a privileged and a blessing!) But as time went on, I wanted to be a teacher or a hair stylist. So, two out of three isn't bad!

9. What's the biggest project on your to do list right now?

There's two! One's for us to do and one for a contractor!

1. Clean out Lexi's old room and make it into a nursery. I can't find the motivation to do this, I'm so tired all the time, and Lexi has been working like crazy so she hasn't had the time. I can't pick out furniture I like - do I want brown or white? Before we know it he will be there so I gotta get going!

2. We have a contractor coming soon to redo the front of our house, replace some windows, part of our roof and gutters. Ahhh! This has needed to be done for quite some time so I am SO excited! I'm thinking of painting the house white and I just cannot wait to see it all come together!

10. Do you have any irrational fears?

I don't really care for swimming because I'm petrified of drowning. Coming from a girl who grew up on boats this is probably surprising but I guess that's what makes it irrational. Oh, and I don't like fish! Swimming with fish - YUCK!

I'm also petrified of  myself or my kids falling down the stairs. If I see a little kid walking down the stairs (my kid or someone else's) I have to look away. There was a time Logan was walking down my basement stairs and I almost went into a full blown panic attack (you can ask Lexi about this). It's so strange! I don't know where this fear came from but it stresses me out just thinking about it. I probably need therapy...and a one floor house.

11. What are your pet peeves?

I have a few. My biggest one is when people are late for no reason at all. I find it so rude. To me its saying "My time is more important than yours." And go figure, I married into a family full of people who are always late...my husband being one of them. It's been something that has tested my patience for 13 years.

I also can't stand when people complain about silly things. I just feel like we live in a world where there are serious problems all around us. People are sick and dying, people are losing their homes, people cannot afford food. You won't hear me complaining about minuscule things like food taking a long time at a restaurant or traffic because of an accident. Instead I flip perspective and remind myself I'm lucky to be out to eat when some people can't afford it, and hello a night off from cooking!, and I'm lucky it wasn't me in that accident and I'm just sitting in the traffic. Is it annoying? Of course, but not worth me getting my blood pressure up over and/or letting it ruin my day. I will however, complain if my kids keep me up all night....hey! no ones perfect! :)

12. Have you ever traveled outside the country?

Yes! Only once and I want to again and again and again! 

We went to Aruba when I was 21 and I'm dying to go back. I'd love to visit many more islands and lots of places in Europe. There's a big giant world out there and I'd love to see as much as I can!

13. Any vacations planned?

None planned but a lot of talking about where we should go in the next year or two. We really want to do a trip for Lexi's 21st birthday. We're thinking maybe Nashville. And Mike and I would love to go on a trip just the two of us soon. It's been SO LONG! And of course, we are trying to think of somewhere we could go with the kids that doesn't involve flying, because, I'm not ready to fly with 5 kids. (Just being honest)

14. Do you speak any other languages?

No, I took a few years of Spanish in middle and high school and I don't remember any of it beyond hello and goodbye. Whoops! 

15. What is one talent you wish you had?

I wish I could sing!

16. What is one thing you wish you could do one more time?

I wish I could go back in time and start my family all over again. I wouldn't do anything differently but these past 10 years have been the best of my life and I would live them again and again and again. It is true what they say, it keeps getting better, but what I would give to go back to just me, Mike and Kamryn, and then have Logan again and Kensington and Tenley...ahh! It has truly been amazing!

Ahhh! My babies!

17. How old were you when you got, engaged and married?

Engaged at 23, Married at 25!

I met Mike when I was 19, by 22 I was holding a positive pregnancy test in my hand, I was a mom at 23, engaged a month later and married at 25. Those years were absolutely incredible! It was just blessing after blessing after blessing.

My favorite story is how Mike proposed. We were home, wearing pajamas, in our little apartment on Valentines Day and he went to change Kamryn's diaper. About 30 seconds later he said he didn't feel well and needed me to come change her. So I got up, went to the changing table and there was my sweet baby wearing a bib that said "Will you marry my Daddy?" Next thing I knew, Mike came around the corner shaking holding my beautiful ring telling me how nervous he was. We both laugh because we cannot remember if he actually said "Will you marry me?" I just remember him down on one knee, both of us crying and me saying "yes! yes! yes!" We turned around and Kamryn was out cold sleeping. Seriously. One of the best moments of my life!

18. If you could do any job in the world what would you do?

Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. I'd still be a stay at home mom. This job isn't easy by any means. It's isolating at times and exhausting but I know without a shadow of a doubt its exactly where I'm supposed to be.

19. How did we pick our kids names?

All of our kids are named after someone in their middle name. 

Kamryn Alexis - after my sister.

Logan Michael - after Mike.

Kensington Bree - after my dear friend Breda who passed away when we were only freshman in highy school.

Tenley James - after my dad (Peter James) and Mike's brother, Jim.

For the girls first names, honestly, I heard them all on tv. I'm not going to lie. They were names I heard and loved! And for Logan, we had our wedding reception at the beautiful Hyatt Harborside Hotel at Logan Airport - so Logan it is!

As for baby boy - His middle name will also be a family name (on Mike's side) and we are down to one name, the only name we agree on (seriously naming this kid has been driving me nuts), and that too is a name I heard on tv.  Shocking, I know!

20. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Well, to think by then Kamryn will be almost 20 is enough to make my head spin! I just hope Mike, myself and our kids are happy and healthy in whatever it is we are doing. I have no idea what that season of life will bring, just like if you asked me 10 years ago where I would be today, I never would've guessed I'd be about to have my 5th child. If I've learned anything it's not to try to predict anything. Right when we start to do that, God throws us a curve ball. I'm just going with the flow....

Well, that was fun! And definitely distracted me from my headache for a bit. The kids only pulled me away liiike 30 times. Not bad!

I'm going to get the kids some lunch and then put Tenley down for her nap and maybe try to close my eyes for a little bit while the other three have "quiet time". Wish me luck!

I hope you all have a great day! 

Back 2 School

Happy Monday!!!

A couple years ago I shared some back to school must haves for the Sass crew and it was a really popular post so I thought I'd so the same this year. 

Kamryn & Logan start school in 2 weeks. I can hardly believe it!!  Our town always starts before Labor Day and then we get an extra long weekend. This year they go back on a Wednesday, have school Thursday then they are off until the following Tuesday. It's always a nice way to ease ourselves back into school. This past week Mike and I have been implementing earlier bedtimes and doing whatever we can to get things back to our normal schedule. Summer has been so much fun and yes I will miss them when they are at school all day but I'm also really excited to get back into a more normal routine. I cannot believe we have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader! How did that happen?!?

Here they are last year one morning before school

I can already feel that shift in the air. The nights and mornings are getting cooler and it just feels like school is right around the corner! :) Ahhhh!!! FALL IS ALMOST HERE!!!!

Okay, back to school! Here we go....

Lucky for me, our school system provides all the kids school supplies so you won't see any of that here. They are provided in elementary school and then when the kids are in middle and high school we buy them. I've seen some of the lists people get and, woah, I am so happy I won't be getting one of those lists until Kamryn is in middle school. 

I get the kids new backpacks and lunch boxes every other year. 

This year I sprung for Pottery Barn backpacks and lunch boxes and I'm hopeful they will last longer. When Kamryn was in preschool I got her a backpack and lunch box from Pottery Barn and it is still in fabulous condition. It's just too small for what she needs now. 

Here is what Kam and Logan chose for this year. We had so much fun designing these and they were able to pick everything out from the backpack itself down to the font and color of their name. This just makes back to school seem that much more exciting! Because as you all know, it really is a bittersweet time of year. Anything we can do to make it a fun time, I am all for it!

Now you all know I am a huge fan of Old Navy. This year was one stop shopping for the Sasses. I got all the kids' clothes from there. Here are a few examples:

Kamryn is my dress girl. Actually, all my girls are. Nothing makes them more excited than a pretty dress. 

It would not be a back to school haul for Kamryn if we didn't get some cute dresses. This is one that we got (Pssst: It's only $15!!) and it's very versatile. She can wear it with booties and/or sneakers. We love that! And as the weather cools down we can throw a jean jacket over it and some leggings underneath. Nothing says a Sass girl like a dress, jean jacket and leggings! :) And of course a bow! But I don't know how many bows Kam is going to let me put into her hair this year....she is a big girl now...sigh.

Speaking of being a big girl. This year Kamryn really wanted some big girl denim so we grabbed these. Kam, just like her mama, loves a good distressed denim!

Those jeans will pair perfectly with this star print tunic. It is SO super soft! When Kamryn tried it on she could not stop talking about how soft it was!

Now for Logan I like to get him some new jeans and long sleeve tee's. Logan gets really hot this first month of school. As you all know the weather can still rise up into the 80's and this kid comes home day after day sweating. Luckily, he has plenty of short sleeve and shorts he can wear through September until the weather cools down and a lot of days he will wear a new long sleeve shirt with a pair of shorts we already have. Then when it cools down we bust out the jeans. I also plan on hitting up TJMAXX and Marshalls to get him some Under Armour stuff because Logan loves being comfy! But I'll do that in another month or so, he has plenty until then!

Logan LOVES animals but I am not really a huge fan of graphic tee's (just a personal preference) so I thought this one was a great compromise. He can still look put together without a giant bear on the front of his shirt. (PS- he did get one graphic tee with a giant bear on the front! LOL! Mama's gotta let him have his way every once in awhile...)

And then with his jeans I like to get him ones with an elastic waistband. 

For those of you who do not know, Logan gets some OT and PT at school to help his motor skills and one thing that has been difficult for him is zippering and buttoning his pants. He is making HUGE strides but this is one less thing to worry about for him (and me). His shirts are always longer than the waistband anyways, so you'd never know! And Old Navy has some great fashionable options with this little trick for both toddler boys and big boys!

Right now Old Navy is having an online 40% off sale so it's a great time to get your kids some great back to school stuff! (And maybe some stuff for you too...I don't judge!)

As for shoes, I always get Logan a new pair of sneakers. I learned the hard way for him it's better to pay more for his shoes and they last longer. He is SO hard on shoes so I always get him a pair of Nike's or Adidas or something like that. Last year his Nike's lasted him all year! Such a smart investment! For our girly girl, she likes more options so I spend less and she gets more. This year she got 2 new pair of booties, gym sneakers and casual sneakers. Kamryn is not nearly as hard as Logan is on shoes so these will last her all year long as well. We got all of her shoes at Target when they were having a buy one get one half off sale. So truthfully, I ended up spending about the same on both kids when it came to shoes.

I've linked everything I shared in this post to make shopping easier for you! 

I've got one more year with Kensington home with me and she'll be off to kinder next year and then the following year Tenley! Holy crap! It's hard to believe! Mike is worried about the cost when they are all in school! eeeeekkk! I just make sure to remind him what a great bargain shopper his wife is, and then he calms down!



Where are your go to places to shop for your kids? Let me know in the comments!

Baby Update

This very well be the one and only picture of me pregnant this pregnancy so might as well document it here. I actualy got dressed yesterday, when my usual go to is joggers, leggings or comfy shorts and a t shirt so I figured we might as well snap a picture.

Things are going very very well. I'm feeling good for the most part...just getting daily headaches and swollen feet and ankles due to the heat, but that's okay! It happens! Baby is doing great, measuring right on track and his heart beat is nice and strong. 

We have FINALLY agreed on two potential names but have made the decision to wait and see him and then pick a name. We did this with Tenley and it worked out great! Funny thing is, the name Tenley wasn't even on our radar until we saw her. So we shall see! He might be one of the two names we picked out...he might be someone else! But isn't that kind of exciting?! And yes, the names are still a secret. But maybe just maybe if you ask me privately...I'll let you know! ;)

Well, I'm off to put up my swollen feet....that is until one of these kids needs me for something! HA! Oh well, I do what I can!

Have a great weekend!!

T-Ball

I don't think there is ANYTHING cuter than a t-ball game. 

.....And Logan makes it look even cuter...if you ask me ;)

We're so proud of our little all star! He's done great this season. Next year its on to baseball! Can't wait!

(Thank you Pappi for the great pictures!)