Mother's Day 2016

Today is one of the only days of the year that I take full advantage of it being a day for me. I normally rest on Mother's Day. My husband takes over and plans everything and takes care of everyone. That's really the only gift I ever ask for.

If you follow me on snapchat then you know that earlier this week the kids spilled lemonade on my computer. Totally destroying it. My heart was a little broken. None of the pics or videos on the computer could be saved and the repair cost was so high that I decided to pass on getting it fixed.

When my family presented me with a new computer - complete with song, flowers and cards - I felt so extremely thankful. I would have never asked for it but they said they knew how much I enjoyed "doing my computer stuff" and wanted me to have another computer. All the feels....

New computers are nice but what I always love more than anything (besides the rest) is receiving handmade gifts from the kids. Savannah's gift this year had the most perfect poem on it...

When I think about Mother's Day and celebrating the day I think about my Mom. She is such a great example of the type of woman and mother I want to be. If I can be half as good of a Mom as she's been to me I just might do alright. I talk to my Mom just about everyday. Sometimes we talk several times a day. I keep pictures of my Mom and me in Savannah's room. I hope Savannah and I will be as close as my Mom and I are...

I'm looking forward to spending the day in bed watching tv, resting and eating at one of my favorite places here in San Antonio. Being a Mom is a full time job. I hope you all spend the day doing exactly what you want. Remember that you are enough just the way you are. No one is doing it all and we have to give ourselves a little grace and time to recharge every now and then. 

Motherhood can be tough. Don't beat yourself up about the little things. Remember that the things that get on your nerves will soon be a distant memory as these little people grow up. Cherish this time because it will surely pass way too soon.

Happy Mother's Day, Mamas!

You deserve all the love and appreciation - take it!

April 1-15 Grocery Haul VIDEO

Thanks so much for all the good feedback on our family dinner menu for the first half of April. It has been such a relief being able to scratch grocery shopping off my to-do list.  Here is the video for my shopping haul. In it you'll hear me say that I spent $105 at the commissary but I actually spent $109.

You'll also hear me make reference to our pantry. I keep it stocked with chicken broth, sugar, flour, rice, potatoes, bread and whatever snacks I plan to get for the kids. Let me know if you have any questions. It is my goal to not spend more than roughly $150 a week on groceries and that includes cleaning supplies, paper goods and healthcare items.



If you have any grocery tips please give them to me! I'm in the process of looking for a coupon class on Youtube. If I add coupons to what I'm already doing we could be saving so much money. How do you grocery shop and save money?

Potty Training Tips & A Fun Success Song with Pull-Ups® Learning Designs®

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PottyTrainTogether #CollectiveBias

Potty training little Mike has been going well. We have made some progress thanks to all of the suggestions and advice I received on the Facebook page. I have been reminded that there are several stages to the potty training process and not all kids will go through them as swiftly as others.

Once I received everyone's advice about how they trained their little boys (I swear I didn't experience any of this with Savannah) I decided to buckle down and embrace the challenges that come with potty training. The first thing I did was revamp our bathroom to make it more toddler friendly.

I tried to skip this step and it back fired. Big mistake. While in Walmart one day I grabbed a cool potty stool, a potty seat with handles and Pull-Ups® Learning Designs®. The key for me was to purchase two of everything. This allowed me to make the bathroom downstairs and upstairs an easy place for him to go potty.

Once the bathrooms were all set for him I knew we would have success. I think it made the entire situation less intimidating for him. I guess it's hard to focus on going to the potty if you're worried about falling in it.

To create his space the first thing I did was get rid of everything that wasn't essential to potty training.  All of that other stuff was a distraction. I replaced some of our adult things with a woven basket filled with Pull-Ups.

This makes it easy to grab a new pair if he needs them. Savannah potty trained so fast that I never used them with her. I like that Pull-Ups are soft, comfortable for him and incredibly stretchy. He's learning to pull up his underpants all by himself.

When he's playing I don't have to worry about accidents if he doesn't make it to the potty in time. The wetness indicator shows us if he's wet and that's been super helpful.

Of course, one of the most important parts about potty training is finding out what incentive speaks to your child. We use a sticker chart but what Mikey loves the most is his potty song. One of my many talents is freestyling (I'm kind of kidding) and Mikey's success song is one of my latest tracks.

Steal the lyrics below or create a song for your little one by thinking of a song your entire family loves and switch the words until you come up with something you can all sing together to celebrate success on the potty.

Walmart has a wide selection of baby products to fit your family's needs. My entire potty training kit for one bathroom came in around $30 (for one bathroom). The Pull-Ups® Learning Designs® were $8.97 and Mikey loved the Pixar's Cars Lightning McQueen design. Find out which type potty training character your child is here.

Mikey is actually using the potty when he sits now and I owe that to all of you that gave me your best tips and advice. Any other potty training tips you'd like to share?

Learn more about Pull-Ups® Learning Designs® available at Walmart.

Our Weekend Away as a Party of Five

I'd like to give a shout out to all the Moms who came before me that have taken road trips with their families. I now understand that it is no small feat to travel with multiple small children.

Y'all are the real MVPs.

We were only gone for about three days and I think that was a great amount of time to be away for our first trip as a family of five. My husband participated in a fitness competition right outside of Dallas. The town only had four hotels. We decided to stay at the hotel adjacent to the convention center where the show was taking place. I figured that would make walking back and forth to the event easy for me and the kids.

This was my first time stay at a Hampton Inn and Suites. I didn't know what to expect. The free daily breakfast (which wasn't great - thank goodness there was a Waffle House and IHOP close) and proximity to the convention center is what made us choose them for our trip. I was very surprised to see that the rooms were nice. I think my favorite part about the room was that it came with a nice size fridge and microwave. That was a must for me. I needed to store milk and snacks.

I packed a cooler for the kids with everything I could think of. Going to the store for everything little want or need wasn't something I was interested in doing. I will never go on a road trip without a cooler. Ever.

The only thing that I would change about our room is that I wish my husband had reserved an actual suite. I'm not sure how that break down in communication happened but we'll have to get it right next time. 

Some of the things I learned about traveling with three small kids is that when the trip is not necessarily about them you must bring stuff to keep them entertained. They did great (surprisingly) but I certainly was not prepared for all the down time we had. The hotel didn't have Nick Jr. or Disney Jr. so letting them get their fill of TV wasn't an option. 

We did bring our mobile TV box but the internet at the hotel was extremely slow. In retrospect none of this was an issue until it was time for bed. Next time I'll make sure to bring more books, activities, and movies that have already been downloaded to a device. 

The show itself was very interesting. I learned so much about how your body responds to food. To hear people talk about their meal plans and workouts was actually pretty fascinating. I definitely have more respect for the sport and the women that compete in it. They are on some super strict meal plans. I like eating everything the world has to offer so this sport would never be for me. I'll continue to support my husband from the sidelines.

So - if you plan to take your kids along for a ride that's not about them here are my tips for you...

Pack a cooler with everyone's favorite drinks (I also put fruit in our cooler!)

Bring a tote bag filled with everyone's favorite snacks

Call ahead to see what the movie watching, tv channel situation will be

Bring activities for downtime (books, crayons, play-doh - something)

Look up parks and playgrounds in the area (this was a lifesaver)

Schedule your drive time around nap time if possible (another lifesaver)

Plan for the pool (this helped but was difficult to do when I was solo with the kids)

We'll be on the move again when it's time for us to move. This trip was a nice eye opener to what our upcoming trip will be like. Hopefully I'll be more prepared for that one. What are your tips for traveling with kids?

Potty Training Mikey

Little Mike is definitely the child that gives me a run for my money. He's all boy. Very big and strong for a two year old and he's showing us more of his personality everyday. Because of his size and strength and insane diaper loads I have finally made time to potty train him.

My goal was to have him trained before Moses was born but that didn't happen so here we are...



I actually hate potty training. When Savannah was getting trained I blogged about how potty training is ruining my life. This time around my life isn't totally ruined but these days have certainly been rough. Each child is different and I think I finally figured out what will work for Mikey.

For starters Mikey is not a "sit on the potty every 20 minutes" type of kid, just no. Yesterday I figured out that as long as he's naked he'll hold it. So that's where we are right now. Today is our second day of full on training and he's gone to the potty and remained dry all day today (so far).



His little sticky face and runny nose is keeping me so busy. I wasn't sure how he would respond to boot camp potty training but so far so good. Here's what we've done to potty train Mikey...

1 - Cleared our schedule. You gotta be home to potty train.
2- Determined his process for learning. The naked method seems to be working for him.
3 - Determined how often he needs to be sitting on the potty. I offer the potty every 20 minutes but he doesn't actually do anything on the potty until about the hour mark.
4 - Celebrate his success. We have a potty song that he likes and a sticker chart that seems to be working for him.

I'll keep you posted on his progress and share tips along the way! If you have potty training tips for me please share them in the comments!

Sushi Snack for Kids

Today I spent almost two hours sitting on the floor of the bathroom waiting for Mikey to stop holding his pee long enough to go potty. I'll do another post this week about how potty training is sucking the life out of me...

Once I got up off the bathroom floor it was time for errands, lunch and soccer practice. I loaded everyone into the car and headed to Costco. Costco is my new Mommy hangout. I had to get some stuff for my husband and while we were there I grabbed these rice rolls I had been wanting to try.

I thought it would be a fun base for a sushi activity to do with the kids. I was right.

I sliced one roll into five little sushi pieces before icing them with chocolate spread. Once that was done I let the kids decorate them using sprinkles and fruit. We drizzled honey on top to make them extra sweet. Now they can go to soccer practice and burn off all that sugar.

These were so good. Savannah is on Spring Break this week. It's been nice having her home during the day for activities like this. Yesterday we went to an amusement park and a good time was had by all. The same goes for this activity. It was all smiles as we left for soccer.

Will you be trying these with your little ones? Pin this for later and share it with your friends on Facebook if you like it!

Hello December...

It's the last month of the year and I can not believe it. Where did 2014 go?

I hope your Thanksgiving was delicious. Our's was great. Very low-key and chill. It was perfect. After dinner we put up our Christmas decorations. I have officially jumped into the Christmas spirit even though it's just beginning to look like Fall here.

I've been playing Christmas music and doing holiday themed activities with the kids. This week Savannah and I are talking about the Advent calendar. I really should start wrapping their gifts but there's something about procrastinating until Christmas Eve that I enjoy.

On another note, I have been reflecting a lot about this space. My goal for 2015 is to be more consistent (which was also my goal for 2014 - don't judge) and to really allow this blog to be a reflection of my life. In 2015 I also hope to become a certified personal trainer. My textbooks and study resources have been ordered and I am anxiously awaiting their arrival. Highlighters would be an awesome stocking stuffer for me this year, hint hint.

More on how I came to the decision to become a CPT later. Have you already started on your goals for 2015? I know, I know, we gotta thru Christmas first, right?

Catching Up w/ Fall

I am finally getting around to decorating for Fall. Better late than never. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday so I'm glad that I found time to go grab some things before the end of this month. I still have some decorating to do in the kitchen.

All of my Fall decorations from last year have mysteriously gone missing so I'm having to find all new stuff. I snagged this wreath for nine bucks. It's so pretty.

I really love orange pumpkins but Savannah loves painting them so yesterday we all sat down to paint our pumpkins. She was home from school yesterday so this was a great activity for us. The day before I checked out some pumpkin themed children's books when I picked up the next book in the Junie B. series. If you follow me on instagram then you got to see Little Mike with his pumpkin. Let's just say he wasn't as excited as his sister. He's a funny little guy.
Once we were done with our story and pumpkins we made sugar shaped like pumpkins. Savannah got to decorate them while her brother took a nap. They came out pretty good. Thanks for all the tips you ladies on the Facebook page gave me. I appreciate it!
Backing up to the weekend… On Sunday we went out to dinner. Only in Texas can you still wear a tank top at the end of October without getting strange looks. I love this polka dot sheer blouse tank I picked up at Old Navy for four bucks!  I paired it with some skinny dress pants and strappy embellished shoes. The sun kept giving me a glow and erasing my neck, LOL! 


Between now and next week I need to find a good cat makeup tutorial. Savannah will be dressing up as a cat this year. Little Mike will be wearing a Lion costume that Sav wore when she was his age. I love being able to use the things I'm too emotionally attached to to give away.
We'll most likely be hitting up a party at our local library.

Anything new going on with you?

Preschool Has Changed My Life...

We have successfully started the second week of school. This morning when I dropped Savannah off she didn't even say goodbye. While I was putting my daily info on the sign-in sheet she escaped to her class. By the time I was done signing my name she had joined a group of friends playing legos.

I was so proud. She goes to school like a boss.

Once she's dropped off at school the baby and I either go for a run or we start tackling my to-do list.

I can not even put into words how amazing it has been to get things done during the morning. Everyday I have four sweet hours to clean, cook and spend time with Little Mike. There have even been days where he takes a nap while she's in school. Pure bliss.

We have moved our school time to the evenings after dinner. Since we eat dinner pretty early this works out well for us and they are still in bed at seven thirty.

Because I am getting time on the front end of my day to tackle things I feel less stressed and overwhelmed during the day. I can spend time with them knowing that I've done "enough" for the day. There will be another four hours tomorrow to get more things done.

On Mondays and Tuesdays I do my heavy cleaning and I use the rest of the week for laundry. So far this has been working out well for me.

I feel like a new woman. Which I know sounds crazy. Who gets excited about more time to clean and cook? Apparently, me.

My afternoons are actually enjoyable now. For example, this afternoon I'll be taking Savannah's four year old pics. It feels good to be able to blog or doing something nice for myself without feeling like I have a list of other things I'm neglecting.

one afternoon we played a little soccer. something that I would have never felt like we had time for  before.

I didn't know how I'd feel about her starting preschool but now I know it was the right decision for us. I'm a much better person to be around and I think I'm even sleeping better too.

Preschool at Home: And at School

After giving it some serious thought over the summer we decided to put Savannah in a preschool program this year. This wasn't a super easy decision for my family to make but it was an easy one for me. (insert smile)

Over the summer I realized that I was doing her and myself a disservice. We were spending a lot of time together. Going to play dates here and there. But I noticed that many of our days were spent with just each other. Day after day.

Of course we were still going places and doing things but we were still going to those places and doing those things with just each other. She wasn't getting much time with other kids her age. I have to admit part of that is my fault because I am not really a playgroup person. I prefer personal play dates with people we know. You know, cause in order for play dates to work you have to like the Mom and her kids.

Then there's also the fact that I have a tendency to be in my little bubble where I forget to actually schedule things like that. So. I figured that a great way to give her the social time she craves would be to put her in preschool.

She can learn, have playtime and be back at home in time for lunch. It's perfect.

Preschool has actually changed my life. I'll talk more about that in another post though.

We're still learning at home because I want to make sure she continues to progress academically. Much of what she already knows will be reinforced in class. She'll be learning new things like geometry (on a preschool level) and spanish.  Then there are those life skills like - waiting your turn, working well with others and being quiet when someone else of authority (like a teacher) is talking that she needs to be learning.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel once she started going to school everyday. I think the fact that she really seems to love it has made it a smooth transition for all of us. Our new schedule/routine has been amazing. It's like we're getting the best of both worlds.

I finally feel like I'm checking off all my "Mommy boxes". How has "back to school" been for you? Any tips you want to share with me as we adjust to having a child in school?

Weekend Recap: Soccer and a 5K

This weekend was pretty busy. And full. I'm currently participating in a run challenge with my girls in Operation Snapback™. Our challenge is to run thirty miles in thirty days. There was a free 5k being offered on base in support of Suicide Awareness. I thought I'd go for it. 

I was lucky enough to be given my hometown area code as my running number. My naive mind took that as a good sign. That 5k kicked my butt.

I'm a treadmill runner. I want to become a street runner. Saturday's run let me know that I have a ways to go before that becomes a reality for me.

A couple hours after the race we had to trek over to Savannah's first soccer game of the season. It was also team picture day for her team. When I tell you it was hot out there...

Despite the heat we had a great time. Watching a bunch of three to five year olds play soccer has got to be one of the most entertaining things I've done since becoming a Mom. Sav scored one goal and had two assist during the game. Not too bad for her first game. I was so proud of her. I literally jumped out of my seat when she scored.

Sunday after church we headed to the mall to grab some sneakers for Savannah's first day of school. They aren't allowed to wear open toe shoes to school and I didn't realize that all she had in her size at the moment was sandals until the night before school. Mommy fail. 

Anyway, her first day of school was a success. I'll be talking more about that later this week. I hope you all had a great weekend!  Any big plans for the week?

Thought Bubbles...

Today I DVR'd an entire mini marathon of Caribbean Life so that I can go on a mental vacation anytime I want…

I found the perfect vow renewal dress today on Pinterest. Of course it's a pin of a pic someone uploaded with no details as to who the designer is or where the dress can be found…

BabyM is a little dancing machine…

Oh. And from now on I will be calling him Little Mike…

I have been enjoying running. My goal is 6 miles a week…

When I receive my BOB Flex stroller soon you won't be able to tell me nothing…

My husband's summer work and school schedule is crazy. I don't know how he does it…

I am considering getting a fitness watch…

I've been running a lot lately. I'm doing a marathon run challenge next month. You can join the fun by visiting the OperationSnapback Facebook page. There's no time like Summer to whip that body into shape…

I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight…

I'm suffering from a strong case of cooker's block…

Today my husband came all the way home from work just to pick up a bug for me…

His job is not even close enough for all that…

Gathering ideas for Sav's 4th birthday party. Why do pools in Texas close in August?…

Little Mike is showing himself to be a picky eater. Ain't nobody got time for that…

That phrase will never get old to me. Sweet Brown earned her place in the urban dictionary with that one liner…

We're throwing around ideas for a family trip this Fall. I have no idea where I want to go within these United States…

Maybe it's time we all got Passports…

I should probably head to Pinterest to find something to make for dinner. Procrastination never helped anyone. (Except for maybe the Mom that secretly doesn't want to cook tonight. Chipotle anyone?)…

A Rant About the Kindergarten Checklist Pin

Okay Mommy friends. You might remember this post  where I shared some of the learning goals for Savannah between now and next year when she starts school. Well. In that post I had a pretty little checklist that I thought other Moms would find helpful so I pinned it.

The response has been overwhelming. Thank you to anyone that pinned, liked or shared this pin with a friend. I really appreciate it. The amount of people that "liked" this pin outweigh the naysayers and negative nancies. However, I would be lying if I told you I wasn't confused about some of these comments.

For starters, I would consider myself a good "Mommy friend". Meaning that I'm not critical of what my friends or other Moms choose to do with their kids. I have friends with kids in private school, public school and I have friends who homeschool. All of them made the decision that they felt was best for their child. Now. While I may joke with my friends about things (like how many of them think I should continue to homeschool and I already know I'm not 'bout that homeschool life long term - at least I feel that way now - things could change…) I don't ever make them feel like their decision is wrong. 

That's just not how I get down. If you like it, I love it. If you want to teach your child everything from the basics to multiplication and how DNA works all before Kindergarten - good for you. If you only want to cover the basics with your kid - good for you. And lastly, if you don't want to teach your child anything before they start school then do you boo but that's not how I operate.

As a stay at home Mom I feel that I would be doing my children a disservice if I didn't at least try to give them a stronger foundation for learning. I am home with them everyday. Everyday we have an opportunity to learn something. Sure we still play and have lots of fun but in my house education comes first. It always will. So, there's no point in waiting until they start school for them to learn that. They need to know that now. Those are the expectations we have for our children. 

I strongly believe that a child is capable of learning anything as long as their is someone willing to teach them. That willing person also has to believe that the child is capable of learning. He or she will also need tons of patience and a little time. 

I didn't create that pin to make anyone feel inadequate about their own decisions. I made it for parents like me that want to expose their child to as much as possible. Learning can be fun and is a great way to bond with your child. We are our children's first teachers. I will always push my kids to go above and beyond what the standard is. That is what you can expect to find here. 

Be a good Mommy friend and support what your fellow Moms are doing. This is the last time I will address the Kindergarten pin (here, on twitter and my email). Be comfortable enough in your decisions to not be swayed, upset or critical of what someone else is doing. 

Before I go I also just want to encourage everyone to not ever come for Savannah's (or BabyM's) mind again unless it sends for you. I would hate for you to meet "Ratchet Mommy". She isn't about being politically correct for the internet and I don't think she knows Jesus. 

Thanks again for all the positive support. It means more than you know!

Preschool at Home: Learning to Read at Home

I have decided that our main learning objective for the summer will be reading and handwriting. As you know I am constantly trying different things to find the right fit for Savannah and I. I also use all this research to form a blueprint for BabyM's learning path too. Of course, different kids respond to different things but at least by the time he is ready to learn to read I'll have a better road map for teaching him.

While doing a search on Amazon I came across this book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. The title alone peaked my interest. The promise states that all you need is twenty minutes a day everyday for 100 days and you and your child should have a nice foundation for reading. That seemed right up my alley. I can do twenty minutes everyday.


This book has been amazing. Not only does it teach your child how to sound out words but it also focuses on reading comprehension and handwriting. I did things kind of backwards with Sav. I taught her the alphabet and each letter's phonetic sound then I taught her sight words. I wish I had found this book before we did sight words. It hasn't really hurt her but I see now where it would have been better to use this book to teach her how to take the phonetic sounds she knew and turn them into words with these lessons. 
Hopefully I am saying this all clearly, LOL…
Anyway. I highly recommend this book if you are a parent that needs a road map. The book tells you exactly what to say to your child. It doesn't get much easier than that. It is such a joy to see Sav sounding out words and actually reading. We are only about a quarter of the way through the book and I am really pleased with her progress so far. After her lesson we sit and read a book together. She reads to me and I help her when she asks me to.
Has anyone else heard of this book? Have you used it? What did you think about it?
*I am not a teacher. I am not in the education industry. I'm just a Mom teaching my child at home. I did NOT get paid for this review. I purchased the book myself.*

Preschool at Home: Establishing a Routine for Learning

Whew. Hello. I feel like I have been neglecting the blog a lot lately. A while ago I talked about simplifying our schedule by taking a couple weeks to quiet my life and regroup. That's where I've been the past couple weeks. Quieting our routine so that I can get a good understanding of what can stay and what can go.

The weather here has been beautiful. Hello Spring. We've been hanging out at the playground a lot. Once the triple digits hit in a couple months it'll be hard to get out to play so I'm trying to let Savannah soak up sun while she can...


It has been really great enjoying them. Taking the time to worry less and play more has been a huge sense of relief for me. It also gave me the time to determine exactly what I want our schedule to be going forward. It's hard to revise your schedule/routine when you're always doing something or going somewhere. While all of her activities were on Spring Break last week I took that opportunity to really figure out what's going to work best for us.


I discovered a lot. Mainly that we were not getting nearly as much playtime in as I thought. Don't get me wrong we were going to play dates, classes and dance but my little family wasn't getting much play time together. We were playing with everyone else but each other, LOL!

As Savannah approaches the age of four and BabyM turns one I want us to settle into what I think is going to be the routine that works for us. It's a 50/50 learn and play routine. The best of both worlds. In the mornings we'll do all of our learning and development. When the baby goes down for his nap Sav and I normally eat lunch. Once he's up, we'll play together until it's time to make dinner. We can go to a playground or play some of her board games. Whatever she wants.

handwriting practice. she's getting better. we've got to work on that backwards N though.

During my little hiatus I also figured out exactly what our learning goals are going to be. I know what I want to teach them. I'll share my goals for learning in a different post. So far our new schedule has been working out really well. I still have some fine tuning to do with grocery shopping and housework. It's a work in progress but at least I can say we are progressing.
Have you changed your family schedule lately? Have any plans to?

Giveaway: After Bedtime Fun...

I feel like Varnell Hill from Martin… "Did ya miss me?!"

I know it's been a week since I've updated the blog. My kids and husband have been fighting pretty bad colds. The kids actually got better after a couple days. My husband is still on the sick and shut-in list. Pray for a brother.

Anyway. I always promised myself that I would make my thirties all about getting in great shape and strengthening my relationships. If you come by here often, you've read all about my husband and I. How we met, fell in love, got married young - all that.

I feel that it is so important to foster the relationship with my husband. One way to do that is by trying new things to keep our lives interesting. Our trip to Vegas was amazing. We really got a chance to reconnect and have fun with each other.

While I can't giveaway a couple's getaway I can giveaway the next best thing. A couple's kit from Nite Time Toys.

People don't like to discuss their sex lives. I can respect that. However, if you have kids then it is pretty obvious that you like to get it poppin' every now and then. Why not try to spice things up a bit by trying something new? This couple's kit is valued at $200. Enter for your chance to win below, Good Luck!

Oh. And if you prefer to just buy a little something for you and your man feel free to use this exclusive discount code while you're shopping, ChicMom. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

My "Wayment" Moment...

Today I was trying to do Savannah's hair while she having a picnic with a headless Princess Tiana and Peppa Pig. She kept moving and squirming and serving sandwiches and I became frustrated. Doesn't she know she has dance tonight? I have to get her hair done before we run errands and start dinner. She needs to sit still I kept thinking (and repeating over and over again).

While I was cooking dinner I decided to start researching some half day programs. My baby girl will be four this year. As I was seasoning ribs, talking on the phone to the preschool lady and listening to the baby cry Savannah kept asking me to blow up some balloons for her. "Can't you see I'm on the phone?", I thought.

After I got off the phone I started blowing up balloons. She was so happy. Twirling and playing as if she was seeing a balloon for the first time. That's when it hit me…

Wayment…[Pronounced: way•mint] 1. the act of saying, "wait a minute…" in a hurried fashion.

She will be starting school next school year. This is my last year having her home with me all day. This is it. She's going to be at school. With a teacher. In class. All day. My baby will be gone… at least from eight to twelve anyway, LOL!

So.

I am sharing this because it made me realize that maybe we take our kids for granted sometimes. It occurred to me to day that I am guilty of this. I have been letting her 3s work all my nerves lately. All of them. It has caused me not to truly enjoy the little moments. I should have been enjoying that picnic with her but I was too busy letting my frustrations get the best of me.

Can anyone else relate to this? Have you had a 'wayment' or aha moment lately?

Vegas Recap: Flirty 30 Day Three

Our last day in Vegas was bittersweet. We both agreed that we could have gone home that morning and been happy. Since we weren't leaving until the following morning we decided to venture up the strip to check out some of the sights. 

I kept the look for the last day very natural and relaxed. Here I am dancing on one of those moving floors. We realized that Bellagio had one that puts you right on the strip. Very convenient.

I can't get over how amazing this hair color is. Gorg! If I do say so myself...

We ended up spending a lot of time in the MGM. I actually flipped a dollar into $20 in there. I was excited, LOL! I really liked the MGM. The vibe there was so young and fun. We have LOTS of photos from this trip. I feel like a photo dump would be slightly offensive and too much to bare. I think I'll occasionally slip some of my favorites into some upcoming Thought Bubbles posts.

Sunday morning when we woke up the view was so peaceful and serene. The sky was so many different colors. It was beautiful. Our shuttle picked us up (a little tardy) and we were on our way to the airport. In true Vegas fashion one of the other passengers had to throw up so the shuttle driver obliged him at a red light and opened the door. It was gross.

My husband was like, "Don't touch anything. He's either drunk or contagious." 

My view from the plane on our way home. Gotta love Southwest….

And my last footage round up from our trip…

I hope you enjoyed my Vegas trip as much as I did. I have a lot of fun and exciting things coming up on the blog in the month of March. Thanks for reading!