Rabu, 23 Agustus 2017
Cupcakes Cornhole Celebrations
I can't believe May is almost over!
It has been such a busy & fun month!
If I could sum up this month in 3 words, it would be:
Cupcakes, Cornhole & Celebrations
We ate a lot of Cupcakes this month.
We played a lot of Cornhole.
We had a lot to Celebrate!
Here are some highlights of our May via my phone!
The first weekend of May started off with the Kentucky Derby.
Our family is BIG into horse racing.
My inlaws were at this year's Kentucky Derby and of course, being from California, we were rooting for California Chrome.
Kate was REALLY excited with California Chrome won, she went up & kissed the TV.
When you watch the derby, you must have a Mint Julep!
Mother's Day weekend was also full of celebrations.
I took the kids out for Fro Yo Friday because of all the craziness that was going on in our schools & we were thankful that the week was over!
That Friday night, we had a Mom's Night Out that was put on by our church.
There was an awesome speaker, named Jennie Allen. She was great and so sweet.
The next night was our neighbor's 40th Birthday party with a hummer limo to San Francisco. So much fun! Love my neighbors!
I only had 2 requests for Mother's Day. I wanted to sleep in & I wanted Eggs Benedict for breakfast.
Done and Done. Kevin made that happen.
My loot of gifts from my kids :)
We had the Book Fair at my girls school. Love my little book worms.
A house in our neighborhood had termites. Now, whever I see a tented house I think of Breaking Bad. Which, I finished this month. Yes, I watched all 5 seasons within a 5 week period. SO good!
One of the biggest highlights of our May was my niece being born! So fun hanging out at the hospital on the big day!
Lots of celebrating for the arrival of a healthy baby girl.
Friday Night Pizza Night when the weather is warm means having dinner poolside.
My favorite pizza combo...pepperoni, pineapple & jalapeno. SO good!
We had swim team Time Trials. I think we are going to have a fun year of swim team!
Kevin's Birthday was 2 weekends ago and for his birthday, we had a cornhole tournament our neighbors and I made a ton of cupcakes!
I made my Cookies & Cream Oreo Cupcakes {Recipe HERE}
I also made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupackes {Recipe HERE}
Celebrating the birthday boy!
My neighbor Steph and I dominated at Corn Hole that night. So much fun!
Kate had her final Softball game of the season. Such a fun year. She cried when the season was over because she was going to miss her team so much. After her last game, we had a mother daughter game. It was so fun!
We had Open House celebrations at school. Love the Shape Town that Kate's class made!
Lukey & Boulder waiting for Kevin at the door. So cute!
For Memorial Day weekend there was tons of swimming and tons of yard work.
We also celebrated my birthday and Kevin's birthday.
Since Kevin's birthday is the 18th & mine is the 30th, we celebrate with our families the weekend in between.
My family was on Saturday. My parents have the best view!
Sunday afternoon we went to pool party with friends
And, then another corn hole tournament with our court! Here is our neighbor on their balcony summoning the court with a horn alerting us that it is time for cornhole. Hysterical.
The neighbors begged for more cupcakes, so this time I made my Reeces Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Butter Cream Frosting {Recipe HERE}
Our court has a cupcake & cornhole addiction. Ha! I was not playing good cornole this weekend. Me & my partner got beat way too many times to count. It was still fun!
Monday night we celebrated our birthdays with Kevin's family! We had Ice Cream Cake {Recipe HERE}
Yesterday I had a mini photo shoot for Olivia's birth announcements. I can't believe she has strawberry blonde hair! Such a cutie!
So, there you have it. Our May in a nutshell.
We had a very fun and busy month and it's not over yet!
More celebrating this weekend since my birthday is on Friday!
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A few reminders!
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month and my Rodan + Fields SPF & Sunless Tanner Sale ends on Saturday!
Buy 1 item with SPF , get 1 at 50% off!
*Includes the Sunless Tanner which is BACK in stock!!!
Details of the sale on THIS post!
And, this Friday is Pin-Spired!
Link up your Pinterest inpsired outfits with me, Sheaffer & Shay!
Hope you have a happy Wednesday...it's almost the weekend again and 2 weeks until school is out!!!!
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Selasa, 22 Agustus 2017
Bunny Banners
My kids love to draw pictures, so this afternoon we created bunny pictures!
First, I printed a bunny template onto different colored papers.
Then I let the kids draw on half of the bunnies, while I made a banner out of the other papers.
Once I had the banner strung, I added little white pom-poms to their bunny butts with modge podge.
Simon was my big helper as I attached the banner onto the fireplace mantle.
What cute little bunny tails!
(Excuse the dying orchid in the picture below. . . )
The bunnies that the kids colored were hung on the sliding glass door.
Although Simon was trying to draw cute bunny faces, his 3yr old art skills made the bunnies look a little creepy, especially the bunnies with the claws. My sweet boy was so proud of his bunnies though that I had to hang them up,
despite their monster-esque appearance.
I hope you enjoy this easy Easter bunny decoration idea. Have wonderful Easter this weekend!
Senin, 21 Agustus 2017
Guest Post Beauty by Mommy
I'm excited to share another guest post today!
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Nikki is a wife to a loving husband, a mother to a lovely and bright little girl, a lifestyle blogger, and an aspiring beauty guru. You can find out more on her blog http://whatzbuzzin.com.
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How to build a relationship with your child
How is your relationship with your child/children? How much time do you spend to just sit and talk to them about their day? Do you make it a point to spend the weekends playing and hanging out with them?
These are some of the questions I asked myself when I was still working. Whenever I dropped my daughter off at daycare, I felt heartbroken. I’m sure all of us parents felt the same way at some point. It was so hard for me to leave her there knowing I wouldn't see her until 5:00! The pain was so excruciating that I had to quit my job and become a stay at home mom. That’s when I learned that having a relationship with your kids is very important.
I was raised by a single mom. So it was just me and my mother for about 22 years. Like other parents, she sheltered me all those years. I remember going to the mall with her and just spending time, bonding and talking about stuff. We didn’t have much but it didn’t matter, because as long as we were together we were happy. I had a great relationship with my mother, and now we still have that unbreakable bond. We fight like normal mothers and daughters, and we argue, but at the end of the day it’s the relationship we built for the past 22 years that keeps us together. This is the kind of relationship I want to have with my daughter. A bond that will last for all lifetime.
As a stay at home mom, I have all the free time to make sure she gets the learning she needs. Even though she doesn’t go to daycare yet, I intend to at least teach her the basics. With learning comes fun and play. Below are some things I do to help my daughter learn and also to build a relationship with her.
Make A Play Area
When I woke up this morning, I decided to make a “play corner” for Cassie. So I rearranged my living room. Seen in the picture are some of Cassie’s toys. As you can see we have a theme going on. The Disney princess table is a set that I bought from a garage sale. The Disney Princess Magic Rise Kitchen Playset and Disney Princess Magic Rise Enchanted Oven are bought from Craigslist by her Grammy just yesterday. The personalized purple toy bin in the corner was made by her God Mother. She didn’t have a play area before but after seeing her play with her kitchen last night (and Grammy almost had an accident because of her toys), I decided to do this. Now she has her own area to play and just enjoy.
Learn With Them
Cassie loves to draw, write and color. So we make it a point to do things that she loves to do. Lately, I have been teaching her the numbers 11-20 since she knows how to count from 1-10. I also bought these alphabet and number posters from the Dollar Store and posted it on her room wall. I remember that’s how I learned since I could see the posters everyday.
I don’t like Math, but I don’t let it stop me from teaching my child the opposite. Learning with them not only makes it a special bonding time, but the life teachings will eventually pay off.
Read With Them
For some parents, reading before bedtime is a huge part of their nightly routine. Reading allows your child to have great vocabulary, but it also a perfect way to bond, especially for working parents. Don’t complain when they ask you to read “The Little Mermaid” for the thousandth time, it just means they love hearing your voice read their favorite book.
Be Silly With Them
Do they want you to wear silly costumes? Does your daughter want you to wear tiaras? (Yes Dads, I’m asking you.) Do they ask you to hula hoop? Then do it! Being silly as a parent means more than you can imagine to your child. I’m sure that when we were kids we asked our parents to do silly things, and we loved it! Acting immature once in a while with your kids makes a great bond. So if your kid asks you to slide down a very narrow slide with her, even if you end up getting stuck in the middle, do it. And yes, that was based on experience.
Go On A Family Vacation
Now this is a “no brainer." We went to Disneyland this year, and it was a lot of fun. Cassie was able to see her favorite Disney Princesses. Going on a vacation doesn’t have to involve riding airplanes. You can go on road trips, visit other cities, or even go camping. This is another way to bond and get away from your normal routine.
Play With Them
Sit down on the floor, and play with their toys with them. Chase them around the house, play peek-a-boo, build a fort, or play dress up. Playing with them builds one of the greatest bonds because it lets them feel that you are interested in what they do. They will cherish these moments forever.
Talk To Them
Do a “how, what, why, where” question.
*How was your day?, How was school/daycare?
*What did you do today?
*Why are you upset?
*Where did you play today? Where did you go today?
These questions are great conversation starters. It’s a way of them telling you how their day went. This is also a good way to let your kids feel that you are interested. I also learned that by doing this, you also know if your kid is being bullied.
Every parent has different ways of building a relationship with their kids. It doesn’t matter if you are a stay at home parent or a working parent, spending time with your kids every day won’t hurt. As the saying goes, every second counts.
Managing My Time Part 2 of 2
Here, in part 2, I will share with you my strategies for organizing bills, mail, and coupons as I manage my time as a mother of a large family.
This is part 2 of “Managing My Time”. *smile* In part 1 I talked about why it’s valuable for moms to manage their time, and then how I do that using my desk, a calendar, a day planner, how I organize reading material, grocery shopping & errands. Here, in part 2, I will share with you my strategies for organizing bills, mail, and coupons as I manage my time as a mother of a large family.
Being disorganized in the areas of bills, mail, and coupons can carry costly penalties. For the first 5 years of our marriage we did not have a good plan for managing these areas. Mail stacked up on the counter which caused bills to sometimes be lost or more often late because there was no plan for how to make sure they got paid by their individual due dates. And if a bill disappeared in the mail somewhere and never arrived at our house in the first place then we would not know it was missed, causing late fees to be accrued and credit to be damaged by late payments. Damaged credit scores affect the amount of interest people have to pay on loans and credit cards, and can even effect whether or not someone gets employment as employers are looking at credit scores now. When that missed bill did arrive the following month with twice the amount due, sometimes we could not afford to pay it in full which would cause a financial problem to have to manage until it was caught up. Once an organizational strategy was finally established, however, there hasn’t been any of these costly penalties – and the stress of disorder has been alleviated (which of course affects everyone in the family). *smile*
Being disorganized in the areas of bills, mail, and coupons can carry costly penalties. For the first 5 years of our marriage we did not have a good plan for managing these areas. Mail stacked up on the counter which caused bills to sometimes be lost or more often late because there was no plan for how to make sure they got paid by their individual due dates. And if a bill disappeared in the mail somewhere and never arrived at our house in the first place then we would not know it was missed, causing late fees to be accrued and credit to be damaged by late payments. Damaged credit scores affect the amount of interest people have to pay on loans and credit cards, and can even effect whether or not someone gets employment as employers are looking at credit scores now. When that missed bill did arrive the following month with twice the amount due, sometimes we could not afford to pay it in full which would cause a financial problem to have to manage until it was caught up. Once an organizational strategy was finally established, however, there hasn’t been any of these costly penalties – and the stress of disorder has been alleviated (which of course affects everyone in the family). *smile*
Managing the mail
When my husband brings the mail home every day now he places it on my counter/desk for me to organize. But I never let it stay there. Now, I have time in every day for that day’s tasks, but not for today’s and yesterday’s tasks (mail, laundry, etc.), so the mail must be dealt with as it arrives each day. I immediately throw away the junk mail, an easy first step which reveals what is left for me to put away. Then as soon as is convenient – but always that same day – I put the rest of the mail, mostly bills, away as well. Within about 3 minutes my counter is clean and functional again, and nothing from the mail will be forgotten or missed.Managing bills
To pay bills we personally do not choose to utilize automatic bill-paying options because we do not want to have chunks of money disappearing from our bank account when ever the bill-senders are ready to take it. We decide when the bills get paid ourselves (but still by their due date of course), in compliance with when my husband is paid.
Bills always get paid on time, we live within our means, but the timing needs to be managed by us. To organize our paper bills I purchased a simple 5x10-inch accordion file at the local office supply store. I labeled the first 3 tabs with the numbers 1, 2, and 3, representing each pay check in a month (most of the time there are two pay checks in a month, but occasionally there are 3 in one month).
When a bill arrives in the mail I open it up that same day, separate the bill stub from the rest of the letter, highlight on the bill stub the amount due and the due date so I can see those quickly and easily and there are no mistakes made (sometimes there are other amounts listed as well, and other dates). I shred the rest of that bill’s letter in our paper shredder. We bought a nice one off of Craigslist.com (“confetti style” shredding is important to avoid identity theft). I then file that bill in the accordion file behind either the #1 or the #2 tab, depending upon whether it needs to be paid from the first pay check or the second. Since my husband receives his pay check every two weeks, we pay our bills every two weeks as well. I simply gather the bills out of the appropriate tab and pay those as a group. With this method I see how much total money is going out in bills from that pay check, and how much will be going out the next pay check, to help us gauge what additional spending can be made at certain times. I can also make sure that bills are paid right off the top of a pay check first thing, so there is not over-spending and then discovering that there is now not enough money left to pay the necessary bills.
Next, to keep track of what bills we have, when they are due, and about how much is due on each one I made up a “Bills Due” chart (you may download a copy of my chart for free from DropBox if you'd like). I list our bills down the left side column in the order that they are due in a month. The tithe is always paid right off the top of the pay check. From there the rest of the bills are then listed in chronological order as to when they're due. The bill due on the 3rd is next at the top, then the bill due on the 7th, then the one due on the 10th, etc. down to the bill due on the 30th.
When a bill arrives in the mail, I mark on the Bills Due chart the date that particular bill is due. This serves two purposes. First, I can see at a glance if a bill did not arrive this month because there is no date written down for that bill. Second, I can know when a bill is due in a month (beginning, middle, end), so I can estimate how much will be due from the next two pay checks if I’d like, which helps us spend money wisely and carefully. See photo below (to enlarge double click on it). I keep this chart folded in half in the very front of my bills accordion file.
In the column marked “Amount” I write down for each bill either the exact amount (i.e. mortgage), or an average amount (i.e. electric bill) that will be due. This again helps me plan how much money will go out in bills in the next few weeks by knowing the usual due date and the amount.
In the row marked “tithe” there is a place for two separate check marks. From the first pay check I put a check mark in front of the back-slash to show myself that I paid it, and from the second pay check I put a check mark to the right of the back-slash.
My Bills Due chart is especially helpful for bills that are due every other month, and bills we get quarterly. These bills can be much harder to keep track of, and without this chart it’s very difficult for me to anticipate when they will be due in the future and hold that in my memory for 3 months *cringe* so I can plan our spending carefully.
When a bill arrives in the mail, I mark on the Bills Due chart the date that particular bill is due. This serves two purposes. First, I can see at a glance if a bill did not arrive this month because there is no date written down for that bill. Second, I can know when a bill is due in a month (beginning, middle, end), so I can estimate how much will be due from the next two pay checks if I’d like, which helps us spend money wisely and carefully. See photo below (to enlarge double click on it). I keep this chart folded in half in the very front of my bills accordion file.
In the column marked “Amount” I write down for each bill either the exact amount (i.e. mortgage), or an average amount (i.e. electric bill) that will be due. This again helps me plan how much money will go out in bills in the next few weeks by knowing the usual due date and the amount.
In the row marked “tithe” there is a place for two separate check marks. From the first pay check I put a check mark in front of the back-slash to show myself that I paid it, and from the second pay check I put a check mark to the right of the back-slash.
My Bills Due chart is especially helpful for bills that are due every other month, and bills we get quarterly. These bills can be much harder to keep track of, and without this chart it’s very difficult for me to anticipate when they will be due in the future and hold that in my memory for 3 months *cringe* so I can plan our spending carefully.
Managing coupons
Another way to manage money carefully and frugally is by using coupons. However, years ago the coupons that I clipped with the intention of saving us money never got used because they were not put in a place where I could see them, or use them by their expiration date, and remember to have them with me when shopping. You wouldn’t think it would take years for me to come up with a better plan *smile*, but it did. Now I only use coupons for the stores that I already shop at every week: Costco and Wal-Mart, and maybe for an occasional trip to Jo Ann Fabrics or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I do not clip coupons for grocery or other items at lots of other stores because I don’t have time or the ability with lots of young kids with me to drive around to all different stores in order to “save money” with coupons. I would actually make up the difference in the amount of money saved by the gas money spent driving all around! *laugh* So I keep coupons very simple, and I usually have about 4-6 of them at a time clamped to the top of our refrigerator door, next to my Master Grocery List (See also - Charts and Lists That Save My Sanity). I do also shop at the dollar store periodically, Value Village, and the Good Will to save money, however. Before I go shopping each week I check to see if I have any coupons for items I’m already purchasing (I do not purchase items simply because I have a coupon for them). If I do have coupons to use then I’ll staple them to the top of my grocery list in an effort to not lose them, and to remember to use them.
For those of you friends who use crazy amounts of coupons *wink*, I do have an idea for you of how I would manage those if I needed to. I would try using another accordion file, like the one I use for bills, and I would mark the tabs one for each week in a month: “week 1”, “week, 2”, through “week 5” (for those rare months when there’s an extra week or part of one). Since using coupons within their due dates seems to be the main issue, I would file each coupon in the week that it would begin to be available for use. Then before shopping each week I would check in the pocket of that week’s coupons and see if there’s any I would like to use. If I choose not to use some that have dates which reach in to the following week, then I would move them to that following week’s pocket so that I have the option of using them still. Any coupons that I chose not to use or have expired I’d throw away. When coupons are good for as long as a month then I would put them in the first week’s pocket that they’re available for use, and simply move them to the next week’s pocket until they were used or expired. You could also do a similar system using paper mailing envelopes, clamped or paper-clipped together in order by week.
With an organized plan in place that has become habit, managing mail, bills, and coupons takes almost no mental energy or attention (the reason I forgot to include these systems in part 1 of “Managing My Time”! *laugh*). I simply keep these systems running smoothly, daily putting things where they belong, and leave them alone until I pay bills every other week. No worry, no confusion, and there are pretty much no mistakes. *beam*
Blessings on your efforts!
You may also be interested in some of my related posts:
Managing My Time, part 1 of 2 - Why it's valuable & How I do it
Orderliness - A Closer Look
Charts & Lists That Save My Sanity
Enjoying Being at Home
Managing My Time, part 1 of 2 - Why it's valuable & How I do it
Orderliness - A Closer Look
Charts & Lists That Save My Sanity
Enjoying Being at Home
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