Out & About...

I honestly can't believe we are approaching the second weekend in October already. My little family has been so busy keeping up with Savannah's social calendar. Between school, soccer and gymnastics that little girl is living the life.

Luckily, she takes the rest of us along for the ride. Here they are at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens last week. That place was beautiful. It was better than the zoo in my opinion. Simply gorgeous. If you live in this area I highly recommend it for a day out.

And then there is soccer. We are halfway through the soccer season and I am very happy about that. Pretty soon I'll have my Saturday mornings back.
I tried to get an usie of me and my two Mikes but one of them wasn't feeling it…Savannah has taken to soccer pretty well. Depending on her mood she's actually pretty good.

I hope your Fall season has gotten off to a pretty good start. Don't forget to enter the Dr. Smith's giveaway if you haven't already!

Approaching 30

I've been talking a lot lately about my thirtieth birthday. Also known as my Flirty30. I've also been reading a lot about people turning 30. As it turns out many of my blogger friends are also turning the big 3-0 this year (or they already have). My real life BFF turns 30 the week before I do. We were born exactly one week apart. In all these talks and blog posts about 30 I have noticed one common theme…

Thirty is all about "getting your life". That means something different to everyone. For me it means coming into my own. I am so excited about crossing over and leaving my twenties behind. My twenties were so good to me. Graduated school, got married (not in that order lol), worked at some great places, lived in some great places and I had the pleasure of becoming a mother.

My twenties flew by. I'm not really sure that I enjoyed them the way that I should have. I was too focused on making money, learning about what it meant to be married and finding my stride as a Mom. Now that all of that is behind me I am looking forward to getting back to knowing myself again. It won't be easy but in my 30s I am going to make time for myself. Instead of wishing I was doing more of something I'm just going to do it.

I'm going to relax more. Spend more time with my girlfriends. Not stress out over every little thing with these kids. In my 30s I'm going to be more okay with treating myself every now and then. I'm going to believe my husband when he says I am capable of going after my dreams.

I have never been so excited about a birthday before. I'm so ready.

What's been your biggest birthday so far?

Video Diary 08282013

I was hoping to post this earlier but I got distracted shopping online for the kids. It's Labor Day weekend and there are so many good sales. I was able to get them both outfitted for Fall/Winter under budget. I still need to get Sav a couple pair of shoes but other than that I am done shopping for them.

Last night I did a quick video to share what led me to online shopping. We had quite the experience while running errands yesterday. Enjoy the video...

How Nature Celebrates...

It's almost Friday. Yay. Oh. Wait. I'm a Mom. I don't get days off from my job. I still look forward to the weekends though. With my husband home I can truly relax a little. Before the weekend gets started I like to enjoy some quiet time with kids.

One of our favorite things to do is roll out a blanket and create some sidewalk art with chalk. I'm pretty sure Savannah could do this all day. Too bad it gets too hot here to be out all day. In the mornings we enjoy outside time. I can sit and relax while she plays. It's refreshing and a nice way to wind down before the weekend. 

The little guy hangs out in a carrier as usual. I love all of the trees that are on base here. I might not enjoy all the squirrels that are a little too socialized for my taste but I do think the trees are lovely.

When we're done with the sidewalk chalk we take a walk over to the runway to watch the jets take off. Savannah loves doing this. I was able to get one on camera taking off. I wish we could get closer but the runway is a restricted area. This is literally one street over from my house...

Every Friday, Deer Park® Nature's Blends™ Fruit Flavored Beverages is sharing beautiful ways that nature celebrates with a reminder to treat yourself to a celebration, too. Head over to the Deer Park® Facebook page every Friday for inspiration to celebrate naturally and share your own story on their page.

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are my own.*

Video Diary 8152013

It's almost Friday and if I wasn't breastfeeding every couple hours I'd certainly toast to the weekend! I wanted to do a video to share some info about my sleepless nights. I also had a funny moment during a play date that I wanted to share.

Oh. And I'll be posting my review of the Yes To Carrots new line of body washes this weekend. If you're already familiar with the brand feel free to get steamy in your shower with this exclusive code for my readers (Y2LINQ) for BOGO 50% off on all Yes To body washes. Don't say I never hooked you up with anything! You will love the body washes. Can't wait to share my thoughts on them. I'm already in super deep love with the Yes To Cucumber and Yes To Blueberries. 

Enjoy the video! I hope you get a good laugh. Sometimes I crack myself up.

*Thanks to Yes To for sponsoring today's (and tomorrow's) post.

Chic Gadget: The Fitbit One

Whew. First let's talk about smack down beat down tired I am. As you know I've been trying to workout and get in shape by my Flirty 30 (that's how I'll be referring to my birthday from here on out). Between the lack of sleep at night and living my life during the day this Mama is beat down. 

Anyway. You might recall that I had the opportunity to review the Fitbit One. (I spoke briefly about it in this YouTube vlog) The Fitbit tracks your steps, distance, stairs climbed and calories burned. It also tracks your sleep. You can sync to your computer or smartphone using BlueTooth. What I loved most about the Fitbit is that you can use the free app to track your meals, goals, weigh loss and water intake. You can even connect with friends. 

I absolutely loved it for tracking my activity and calories burned. It was also pretty cool to see how many calories I had consumed and how much water I was REALLY drinking in a day.

Now.

I didn't use the Fitbit to track my sleep. I'm pretty sure that feature is incredible but with a newborn in the house I knew the Fitbit would tell me that I suck at getting rest. No need to kick me when I'm down so I opted not to use it to track my sleep. Other than that I have nothing but love for this device. It's a great motivator. It's small enough to snap on to a bra or tank top strap. It also comes with an arm band if that's your thing. Has anyone tried the Fitbit?

*I received a sample product for this review. All opinions are my own.

Pre-School at Home

In an attempt to try not to sound like I'm whining I want to talk about Pre-School and how my child isn't old enough. At first I was very upset that she wouldn't be able to start school. She's ready. After looking up all the schools in our area I learned that the birthday cut off is September 1. Since her birthday falls two weeks after that she wouldn't be eligible for any of the programs this year.

I even looked at putting her in some of the highly recommended private programs. They had programs with curriculums for three year olds, but your child has to be three by September 1. Bummer. I then considered putting her in one of the Mother's Morning Out programs. I figured it would be good for her and she would still be able to learn in a group setting. Once I learned that the MMO program didn't follow a curriculum I decided to take a step back. I was told that the MMO program offers learning through play and that the three year old school is the first time curriculum is offered for students. So, with all that information... I decided that it would be best to continue teaching Savannah at home.

She already participates in activities. We go on play dates and I plan to start taking her to a weekly playgroup once the older kids here go back to school. There is also a program here called Ready Set Learn that's pretty awesome. It's a pre-school type class that meets once a week. We'll be starting that too. My goal is to have her doing something learning related every day. Between the resources that I have available to me thru play groups and Ready Set Learn, her dance class and the activities we'll be doing at home I feel pretty confident in my decision to not put her in a MMO program. Why would I pay for her to go somewhere twice a week when I can get that same learning environment for free? 

I have already started collecting our supplies for our at home learning days. Of course I've been on Pinterest looking up different activities too. I also found a book on Amazon I plan to use as a guide along with a book that I've had since I was a child. I think this will be a good start for us. Here are some of the supplies we have so far. I've been getting paper bags for my groceries for arts and crafts. I love the Leap Frog Learning Skills books for handwriting and worksheet style activities. There are still some things I need to get but I think this is good for now. We already had crayons, paint, playdough, chalk and lots of other art supplies so I didn't have to get much of that. I do however need to stock up on more crafty items like beads, pipe cleaners, colored tissue paper and all those types of materials.

How did you go about getting your little one ready for Pre-K and Kindergarten? 

31 Days 31 Photos 31 Stories of My Favorite Things

Here are my photos for the My Favorite Things photo challenge from over the weekend.

Day 3: Food

I am a sushi lover. I consider to be a social food. Something you can enjoy with others before a meal or late at night with drinks. When we were living in DC sushi was one of my regular lunches. I had to have it at least once a week.

Day 5: Shoes

I don't have a favorite pair of shoes so I decided to share the shoes I wore on Sunday. I've had these gold Nine West sandals for years. I love them. They're the right amount of gold and sparkle.

Day 5: Person

I couldn't pick just one so I included my entire family for today's photo. I am so lucky to have such a funny little family. I can not believe Sav will be three next month and little man is already almost two months old. Time is flying!

- posted from my chic iPhone

Video Diary 7312013

I wanted to share my plan for getting back into shape after the baby. I am going to attempt to use the same plan that I used after having Savannah. My goal is to be in great shape by the time I turn thirty in February. I don't have a goal weight or size. I just want to feel good and be as toned as possible without looking like a body builder. 

Ab Workouts

This app makes you watch a twenty minute video before you're able to do any of the work outs. That was kind of irritating but it might be helpful to you. 

Nike Training Club

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this app! There are several workouts to choose from within the different categories. Each workout is broken down into minutes. I like that feature because I can break down the work outs if I'm short on time. You can also try the workouts in the Get Focused category if you need a shorter workout. Those workout target a specific area for about 15 minutes. This app works. Trust me. I  used it after I had Sav and I had some really great results. 

What are some of your favorite ways to workout?

The Thing About Parenting That Surprised Me The Most...

*I have received product or compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Today I wanted to take some time to reflect on what surprises me the most about being a Mom. All your life you hear these stories about parenting. You might hear a parent with a new baby talk about the sleepless nights. You might hear a Mom or Dad talk about having to drive around the block all night to get their little one to sleep. Since I grew up with a baby in my home I was pretty familiar with babies. 

What I wanted to talk about today were the little things that have surprised me. The stuff I didn't grow up hearing about. The stories that don't necessarily get told all that often. For starters, I am very surprised at how selfless you become once you become a parent. I've heard this before but no one ever made the degree of selflessness that clear to me. I remember when there was a day when I'd shop and shop and shop. Ever since I became a parent I don't have the desire to buy things the way I did before. Of course I still love trend watching and treating myself to something every now and then but I have to make a conscious effort to shop for myself. I want to do things for myself and take time out for myself but the truth is whenever I do have free time I use it to do something fun with my kids. Being selfless goes far beyond these two examples but you get where I'm going...

I'm also way more cautious than I've ever been in my whole life. I've never been so aware of how to prevent something from happening. Before I had kids I don't remember using sunscreen unless I was at the beach. Now I'm rubbing everyone down before we leave the house and then spraying everyone every two hours while we're out. Since babies have sensitive skin I've already started thinking about rubbing a little diaper rash ointment on Baby M's bottom at night to prevent diaper rash. I would hate for him to have any discomfort. I plan to use Dr. Smith's diaper rash ointment for long car rides and overnight sleeping. We'll be going to the beach in September and I've already started gathering things for water safety and researching baby tents for the beach. These are some of the little things that surprise me about parenting. There are so many little things you'll do just to prevent something else from happening. From choosing the right car seat to finding the perfect beach tent I'm so much more cautious then I ever thought I would be.

Another thing that surprises me about parenting is how much it has made me appreciate my own parents. Before I became a Mom I don't think I ever really thought about how hard it must have been for my parents to raise my brothers and I. I had a great childhood but I'm sure it came with some sacrifice. I think about my parents in a completely different way now. I am so much more understanding. Now I know for sure that everything they did for me (whether I liked it or not) was done out of love and in consideration of my well being. I am so much more appreciative of every time they told me no or changed my curfew. For every Christmas and family vacation. I can definitely get where they were coming from. 

What has surprised you the most about parenting?

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Video Diary 7232013

This video is a little bit (or maybe a lot) of a rant. Hopefully it helps someone or maybe it will give you a good laugh. Enjoy! 

What are some of the things you get from strangers while out? Share them in the comments!

Video Diary 7172013

Here is another entry for my video diary. Please be gentle with your comments. I attempted to cook and do this video at the same time. I almost didn't post this video for very ridiculous and shallow reasons but then I reminded myself that I just had a baby and I got over myself.

Oh. And if you've ever wondered what a kitchen looks like in military housing here it is. Florescent overhead lighting, gotta love that! Other than that this is probably the "best" kitchen we've had on a military installation. It's actually pretty spacious compared to what we've had at other duty stations.

Video Diary Entry 7152013

Hope you enjoyed this video!! More to come!!!