Favorite Things Under $10 Party and Giveaway Winner

Hey, y'all! I am linking up with Andrea over at Momfessionals for their Favorite Things Under $10!!

I love this because it is so neat to see what people love and it is all in a nice price range.

#1 I love this scarf at Nordstrom and right now it's on sale for $8.98! You can find it HERE!  I just ordered it. Something about it caught my eye and the price is pretty sweet too!

#2 My Starbucks drink. I get the same thing every time. A venti iced coffee with extra extra nonfat milk and 3 splendas. Oh.M.Gee....I love it!

 

#3 Laughing Cow Light Cheese

I eat this every.single.day....I am a creature of habit.  It is only about $3 or $4. It is great with carrots and wheat thins. I even put it on turkey burgers instead of cheese...may sound gross...but I love it!

 

And our winner for the Lia Sophia giveaway is Liz Wright House!! Congrats! I wish we could have given everyone something because we loved seeing all of your pictures!!! We can't wait for the next one!!! And....Lauren is announcing her winner for her giveaway here!

Mommy Must Have Monday: Keepin' it Simple!

First, I just need to start off by saying you NEED to check out Lauren’s blog today (HERE). I read it this morning and so wish I could have read it when my kiddos were 2. I have a distinct memory of being at Northpark (of course) when Grayson was about 2 and we were having lunch in the food court and it was close to Grayson’s nap time and he was throwing a fit. Nothing and I mean nothing would make him happy and a lady kept staring at me and giving me mean looks. I was embarrassed and angry. I was wondering if that lady had ever had kids or maybe hers were perfect? I think your anxiety level during fits triples when you are a teacher or counselor…haha. I always feel like they may think, “How can she be a counselor and help others with behavior if she can’t control her own kids?” But then I realize that every kiddo is a toot sometimes and that is normal. Developmentally it is normal and sometimes even I am grouchy and can totally understand wanting to throw a fit…haha. So check out Lauren’s post HERE today if you’re a mom of littles because her words will probably speak to your heart and the quote from Nana (Lauren’s mom and my mother in law) are just perfect.

So, my Mommy Must Haves for today may seem so simple but they are things I use every day. Let me first start off by prefacing this with my goal this summer…..my goal is to keep it simple. I was talking to the kids last week and we were just drawing outside on the picnic table. They were having so much fun and I thought, “Wow, this is so simple and nice.” If you know me, I am always wanting to plan and do something BIG and feel the need to plan out something to make my kids feel like they had the BEST.DAY. EVER! I am not sure why, this may be that my heart was made to be a Kindergarten teacher and I love themes!!

So, I asked the kids if they could do anything this summer, what would it be? We were talking and made a little chart. I have been seeing these everywhere this summer and thought it was precious, so we made our own. Ella’s summer to do list is in purple and Grayson’s is red. I was amazed because the things they wanted to do and totally made up on their own were so stinkin’ simple.

I felt a rush of emotions come over me. Had I been so busy looking at the big things that I missed the little things that make childhood memories great? Grayson put that he wants to search for bugs and play in the sprinkler. Gah. So, my focus this summer is to not plan big play dates that go all out or make picture perfect plans in my head…..I will let them lead and have some good ol’ fashion fun.

So, I have a little Simple Summer Mommy Must Have list:

Many of these things you probably already have at home. With the items above, you can have a good ol' fashion simple summer. I hope to have a Read-In this week. I remember doing those when I taught. Plus, we can log the books we read for our Summer Reading Club!

I will feature the homemade ice cream recipe on my blog tomorrow....I have to get it from my BFF, it is hers. I am going to taste the one she made and she said you DON'T have to use an ice cream maker. Bonus!!!

Watch for the announcement for the Lia Sophia winner later this afternoon!!!

Sum It Up Sunday and a Blog Makeover

With Lauren and I getting into blogging more now, I don't want to take away from the initial reason I started blogging and that is to document my family's happenings. One, to keep our family all over the world in the loop and two, because I get it all turned into a book!!! Here is the one I had printed in January and I love, love, love it!!! I use The Cutest Blog on the Block which you can find HERE!

 So, as usual, I have so much stinkin' stuff to blog about! Summer break officially started last week in our house and we have been trying to fit in the things we want to do and need to do!!

We had Liv and Vann (my niece and nephew) spend the night which was sooo fun!

The first morning the kids jumped in bed and pretended to sleep but it was pretty cute! We had play dates swimming and kicked off our summer reading club and made a visit to see a puppet show at the local library with friends!

We made a little visit out to Grapevine for some shopping and to hang out at Lego Land. Joey wanted to make a stop at Guitar Center on the way back and that may have been the kids' favorite part of the day!

I had a 3 day conference to go to in Dallas but enjoyed hanging out with my sweet co-workers and learning more about the AVID program. I now how have soooo many ideas for this upcoming year!!

Joey and I got to go on an anniversary/date night and it was much appreciated (shout out to Nana). We had dinner, went to Starbucks (where we used to hang out when we first met) and then a cool music shop in Forney where musicians hang out and play. The Forney Arts Council (which I am excited to be helping out with soon) had brought in Dan Navarro and he even stopped by after his show. Joey even got to play with him which was a cool experience.

Joey on guitar and may I say that our town has the coolest mayor ever? That is him singing.

Joey getting to play with Dan Navarro.

We enjoyed some random fun during the week!

I worked on Ella's party. Thankfully, my BFF is SUPER crafty and made the E and a banner.

Need 31? This is me at the pool but I would not be organized without my 31. I am a 31 Consultant if you ever need anything.

Out to dinner with this handsome guy

I love pretty stationary. These cards and pens were on major sale at Vera Bradley. Wrote some notes to some sweet people.

Frozen hairstyles and manicures with Liv

Ella and her pet goat, "Scout" this morning before church

Getting corn ready to grill at Mimi and Pawpaw's

The kids made their summer to do list

Then Ella's birthday came around and I think this is the most anticipated birthday for her ever. This age is so fun! We had a swimming party in our neighborhood's clubhouse area.

The night before her party...manicure and curlers in hair...anyone remember these pink curlers...haha!

This was at 5:15 a.m. on her actual birthday.

After the party, we headed to run a booth for our church at our community's July 4th Celebration.

Nana and the kids

Amanda and the kids

I was creepily taking pictures of my crush....

So that was our busy past week. I am excited for lazy days of hanging by the pool, crafting it up, and reading books and cuddling. I feel like mid to end of July is when it gets calm for me and then I go back to work the beginning of August!

I still have some house projects to do like making window seat cushions for the sitting area, kids' rooms, and our room and figuring out what to do with the wall above the stairs.

So BARE

??????

Don't forget to check out the blog tomorrow and Lauren's!! We will be announcing the winner from our Instagram challenge for the Lia Sophia necklace. Thanks to everyone who participated. We had sooo much fun seeing your pictures!!!


And if any of you know of a good candle that lasts a long time and smells good, please let me know. I am on the hunt for candles!! Comment below, comment on fb, or email me!!! I really need suggestions!