... Me Too Shoes

It is so hard for me to find comfortable and practical shoes that are stylish and good quality! Adam Tucker nailed it with his line of ballet flats! They have a memory foam sole, and are incredibly flexible making them comfortable right out of the box. They're made from high quality materials and they're beautiful! 

... Me Too Shoes are perfect for the on-the-go mom, and sexy enough for the date night out! 

You can find out more about this shoe line on their website or follow them on Instagram

Statement Tees

  

My usually mom "uniform" consists of stretchy, comfy pants, and tees that make a statement! Thread Tank makes the best shirts! They have hilarious tees about being a motherhood, inspirational phrases, being an animal lover and tees about my favorite shows (Gilmore Girls and FRIENDS)! They create each tee to be a wearable, colorful story! 

I love this sweet shirt! Reminds me of the little things that truly matter in life: mainly my littles! But, also the sweet little flowers they pick for me, watching amazing little creatures on the ground, and finding time to appreciate all the moments in life! 

And this tee... accurately depicts so many aspects of my life! Not sure if I should laugh or cry!

I love Thread tank tees! You can find them on their website or Instagram

Tiny Tummy Tales

Our dinner table has been plagued with "just one more bite," or "no dessert until you eat this," for far too long. I am so tired of negotiating with my children! No one wins, and our precious time as a family became the most dreaded time of the day.

I had visions of a happy family dinner table, where we truly came together to enjoy one another and reconnect! Thankfully Kendra has written a story about Flint the Dragon eating healthy green smoothies. All of the other dragons can fly, but Flint keeps crashing. Thanks to his "Super Dragon Rocket Fuel," he's able to fly with the other dragons!

My children rarely listen when I lecture them about something. After reading a story, they identify with the characters and storyline and understand the concepts I'm trying to lecture about much better! This is my favorite way to teach!



The "Picky Eaters 'Healthy Main' Kit" comes with the book, Flint the Dragon Learns to Fly, an activity pack, 5 kid-approved green smoothie recipe cards, and a sticker chart to keep track of their healthy eating!

Obviously, eating anything with an awesome name is way better than eating something with a boring name! I love Kendra's creativity! 

These recipes are delicious! My boys are happy to help make them, and even happier to eat them! 

The sticker chart is a great way to reward and encourage healthy eating! 

The activity pack is perfect for reinforcing healthy eating!

You can find Flint at http://www.tinytummytales.com/ or on  Instagram

Happy Healthy Eating! 

Homeschool Planner

All of our curriculum felt terribly overwhelming when I laid it out on the table. I felt like I was staring at one massive to-do list! Once I got my new planner, I immediately got to work filling it in. I tend to be an over-planner, so I'm trying really hard to keep our school load easy and light, with the main focus on play time and field trips. 

I divided the number lessons by the number of weeks we would like to school to find out how many lessons we'll have to do each week. We're hoping to have formal lessons 3-4 times a week for our first year of kindergarten. 

While planning, I made sure to write in pencil so that I can erase easily and be more flexible! I also only planned out the first month or so, that way we can adjust if our schedule or curriculum isn't working for us. 

This Charlotte Mason inspired planner from Anna Vance is beautiful! Anna is a homeschool mom herself, so she knows what I need! The best part is that it's extremely flexible! I love the calming, soft pastel colors, because I tend to be a bucket-of-stress. Every spread has a beautiful scripture, or inspiring quote. 

The deluxe version is incredible!! It comes with a zillion stickers! I love creating a beautiful, peaceful place to look at my to-do list. 

This is an example of one of our first few weeks of school. Writing everything down, and planning it out makes me feel like this is doable! Once I saw that I'll only have to complete a few lessons a week, that mound of curriculum felt much less overwhelming! 

This might be my favorite section in the planner! The bookmark is covering it, but there's a special box to check if the book is available at the library. This will make our unit studies much more organized! 

I'm only homeschooling one child right now, but there's definitely room for several more children's plans! This is probably how I would organize the planner if I had more school-age children.

I am so excited for our year to begin, and to start using this incredible planner! You can find Anna's planners on Etsy or on her Instagram account!

Happy Planning!

Clio Palmperfect Electric Shaver

My kids let me shower in peace for about 3 minutes before all heck breaks loose! That doesn't leave much time to shave. I love that the palmperfect shaver can be used wet OR dry, because now I'm not confined to shaving during my 3 minute shower.The palmperfect shaver is incredibly easy and fast to use. The smooth and ergonomic shape makes it comfortable to hold, and easy to shave all those hard-to-reach places. No more cuts or nicks - just soft, bare skin! 

You can find the Clio palmperfect electric shaver on their website and follow their Instagram Account! 

Favorite Books: June 2018

These boys love to read! We check out as many books as we can from the library, and the kids still cry on our way out because we can't bring ALL the books home! We use our library extensively, we typically only buy a book if we've checked it out from the library and loved it enough to make it part of our home library. These are the books we've wanted to read over, and over again this month!

Screenshot from the Goodreads App 

We observed our caterpillars become butterflies this month, so this book was, of course, a staple in our home! My 2-year-old loves this book so much because he can recite it! Simple words, a predictable pattern, great pictures! Perfect for every age. 

 Screenshot from the Goodreads App

My 5-year-old is obsessed with the Magic Tree House series. We have yet to find a book in the series that we didn't enjoy. They are beginner chapter books that still include illustrations every few pages. The stories are intriguing and educational. Camden especially loved this one because he's been to Pompeii and seen Mt. Vesuvius. 

Screenshot from the Goodreads App 

This will accurately tell what my boys have been struggling with this month! They don't always listen to me when I try to teach them to share, or be respectful. Reading is a great way to teach a lesson without lecturing. If they're fighting about something, all I have to do is start reciting a few lines from the book. It immediately makes them laugh, and then they remember what happened to Fuzzy Llama when the friends weren't sharing nicely. 

Screenshot from the Goodreads App 

Little Blue Truck is the best! The sweet little truck teaches an incredible lesson about treating everyone around you with respect and kindness. Animal friends, and a little humor thrown in. We LOVE this book!

Screenshot from the Goodreads App 

Richard Scarry is an incredible author! Mr. Rabbit isn't looking where he's going, and gets stuck in the cement. The townspeople come up with some very clever ways to get him unstuck! Even as an adult, I was belly laughing the first time we read this book together. It is perfect for those beginning readers!

Screenshot from the Goodreads App 

Mr. Popper and his penguins are so entertaining! Mr. Popper is infatuated with the Arctic, and is very surprised when a penguin shows up on his front door! 

Screenshot from the Goodreads App 

Sometimes I forget that the classics I've read a million times are brand new to my children! The Little Red Hen is a great book to encourage children to help each other!

Screenshot from the Goodreads App 

We love all the National Geographic Kids readers! This Butterfly one was perfect to read while we observed our real-life butterflies. The level 1 readers are a bit more difficult than the level 1 readers form other brands, but the pre-reader level is great for those emergent readers! These books are packed full of information and interesting facts!

Screenshot from the Goodreads App

This book has a musical quality to it when you read it. I find myself reading it in a hushed, soft tone. It's all about the animals that come to life when night falls. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful! 

Screen from the Goodreads App

Once you've read this book, you'll look at water differently. It simultaneously follows the stories of Salva, and Nya in South Sudan. Salva was forced from his country as a young boy, and spent many years in refugee camps or walking in the desert. Nya spends every single day walking to the water hole to supply her family with water. Their stories are incredibly humbling! This is the kind of book that will change you! 

Wash. It. Later.

"The only solution for soaking clothing on the go!"

Matt always teases me for packing so much gear for vacations, day trips, or when we go on a walk around the neighborhood. But, when the kids spilled red gatorade on his shirt while we were boating, he was very happy I brought along the soak & save bags from Wash. It. Later. These bags are perfect for any outing - big or small! 

When you're out and about and someone spills a hard-to-remove substance, the bags can immediately get to work on those pesky stains. If you're on a day trip and a garment gets dirty, add the clothing to a 'soak & save bag' so you won't have to worry about treating it as soon as you get home. Or, bring these bags along on vacation so a stain doesn't set in before you can return home and treat it.  

Wash. It. Later. was created by Hannah, her husband, and her sister-in-law. Hannah is a mom of two and created the Soak & Save bags because she's been there... too many times! Kids are messy, dirty, and sticky, but now there's a way to prevent messy clothes from ruining an outing. Kids or no kids, these bags are great for treating stains away from home!

 Each box contains 3 'soak & save bags' that couldn't be easier to use! I love that the bags are fully recyclable and each contain 1 hypoallergenic soaking pod. They're about the same size as a grocery bag, and will take up hardly any room in your purse or diaper bag.  I am very impressed with how strong the adhesive is; you won't have to worry about them leaking at all!

You can find the Soak & Save bags on their website and follow their story on their instagram page @washitlater!   These will be a staple in our summer adventure bag! 

Birthday Boating

We don't usually make a big deal out of my birthday, but I turned 30 yesterday and really wanted to do something special! Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places in the whole world! We decided to rent a boat and spend the day on the lake. My parents came along to celebrate with us (and drive the boat)! I couldn't believe how great the kids were; they loved it and were completely entertained the whole time!