Summertime & the little things

Life is undoubtedly about the little things.   And the little things have been our focus since the summer arrived.  We’ve been busy enjoying the long days and hopefully you’ve been doing the same.

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Here are some of our favorite summer Little Things:

  • The Bubble machine aka the BEST $11 we’ve ever spent at Target (and we’ve spent a lot of $11’s at Target).  If you have anyone in your world under the age of 5, the bubble machine is a must!
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Chasing bubbles (notice the high level of concentration with her tongue out)!

BRILLIANCE!

BRILLIANCE!

  • Two new semi-successful yet easy dinner recipes.  Aw yeah!!!!  Busy Moms, take note.

#1 – Mini Chicken pot pies – Relatively easy and very delicious.  This makes plenty for 2 nights.

mini chicken pot pies#2 – Baked Ravioli – Easy AND Cheesy!  It can be prepped in under 12 minutes the night before.. put in the oven at 5:15pm and you’ll be slipping into elastic waited-pants by 6.

easy ravioli bake

  • A Jamberry manicure. This is a fun and inexpensive way to pamper yourself and it can easily be done during naptime.  It takes about 20-30 minutes to apply, and it lasts up to 2 weeks without chipping.  Check it out here

  • Ice cream.  Denny and I have always loved a sweet treat after dinner but it’s even more fun sharing it with Kenzie.
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Mint ting-a-ling! Yummmmmm

  • Black-out drapes. Makenzie seems to think that if the sun has come out to play, then she should get to play too, which means she’s been sleeping less than ever.  But we’re the parents for a reason so we tricked the trickster and bought some black-out drapes.  It was the best $15 Big Lots purchase in a looong time and Kenz has been back to her regular sleep schedule.  Sweet dreams baby girl, Mom’s got some dvr-watching to do!

 

  • And lots of outside time!  We’ve been trying to soak up the warm temperatures as much as we can.  Kenzie has conquered the slide, her trike (kind of) and the swimming pool.  Thanks to her life vest she swims completely on her own and is even brave enough to jump off the edge into the pool (eek – this still terrifies me).  Hopefully I’ll eventually get some pictures of our little swimmer girl in action.
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Pool time!

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Wheee!

Kenzie trike

Tour de Signal 2014. She’s been bulking up on performance-enhancing products to include juice, bananas and ice cream.

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Checking out the ducks with cousin Ryan.

And speaking of little things we’ve only scratched the surface.  There’s a new blog design on the horizon (arriving very soon, yay!), some home projects and a few more little things up our sleeves.  Stay tuned, it’s going to be a fun summer!

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My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Perhaps it’s the holiday season or perhaps it was the recent Live version of the Sound of Music… who doesn’t LOVE that movie (although we all know Carrie Underwood paled in comparison to Julie Andrews but that’s not the point), Either way it got me thinking about My Favorite Things.

favorite things

Last year I devoted 12 consecutive days to listing items that any new Mom could use (check it out here – Mommy McBlog 12 Days of Giftmas).  It was fun to work on every day, but since I’m not on maternity leave anymore, this year’s post will be the abridged version.   And go!!

Mommy McBlog – My Favorite Things

(in no particular order)

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Binkies on a String

If Denny and I were Hansel & Gretel, we could trace our last 14 months by finding binkies along the way.   They’ve been tossed/dropped over balconies, down toilets, in pools, around beds, the list goes on and on.  Then about 12 months into being parents we gained some common sense and purchased a few of these bad boys.

Hello Binkies on a String, I think I love you!!!

binkies on a string

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Mary Kay Peach Satin Hands Pampering Set

Perfect for those busy moms who need a spa trip but don’t have time.  Renew, smooth and pamper those hands!  You’ll be glad you did and your hands won’t feel a day over 25.

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Snapfish.com

I love everything Snapfish… photo books, ornaments, calendars, you name it!  They also have rockin’ 60% off promo codes.  Heck yeah!!

snapfish

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Roomba

Wowza, Amazing, Fabulous!!

The. Best. Purchase. Ever!   I can never say “I don’t have time to sweep/vacuum the floors” again!   It takes a few minutes to pick up loose toys and items but then I hit Go and the Roomba sweeps up the entire downstairs.  It’s awesome!!   Go get one if you don’t have one yet.  Your life will be changed forever.

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Tim Hortons K-Cups …  

This is even better than sliced bread because the last time I checked you couldn’t put Schwebel’s in your Keurig every morning to make your day amazing!

keurig  = erin 2

(I swear I look this happy every morning after I get my Tim Ho’s coffee)

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And last but certainly not least…

Friday Night Date Nights

Well, sort of a date night.  Every Friday night Denny and I put Makenzie to bed, and then we get a little crazy…  We order up a hot Picasso’s pizza for the two of us to share and we hang out on the couch, we catch up with each other, we catch up on some DVR and we get a little bit food drunk.  Talk about hot and steamy nights!  I highly recommend it.

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Those are some of my favorite things.  Hopefully they inspired some ideas for those of you with last-minute shopping (I’m part of this group)!  May your days leading up to Christmas be merry and bright (and if they aren’t all perfectly merry, bright and stress-free, then Congratulations, you’re normal!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Love,

Erin the blog elf

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What gifts Jingle Your Bells?

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Get your Stitch Fix!

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has mornings that go like this…

5:15 am alarm… (groan)… snooze… snooze… snooze…

5:30 am, oops… (more groans)… wake up and see cute baby in bed… realize you made that decision at 3 am when cute baby would not stop crying, oops… also realize your daughter will be sleeping in your bed until she’s 18 if you don’t do something soon… silently vow to yourself that tonight you’ll let her cry it out…but for now, snuggle her and hit snooze again… and again…

5:48 am… sleep too late (curse words)… move babe to pack n play… run for shower… lather, rinse, towel dry… run for bedroom

Commence the what to wear game … stare at closet (groans)… stare more (curse words)… realize baby is getting antsy… dance around in frumpy mom underwear and make monkey noises to keep baby entertained… keep staring at closet… silently curse at yourself for not getting back to gym… make more monkey noises for giggling babe…more staring at closet… settle for boring black turtleneck and gray pants… groan at lame-o wardrobe … make more monkey noises

Run downstairs with baby on hip while making coffee, packing bottle bag, putting on make-up and making monkey noises…

Silently vow that you’ll either buy new clothes or lose weight to fit into pre-baby clothes

Run out door and let the day begin…

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If only there was a personal shopper who could send you stylish, affordable clothes each month… oh wait, there is!!  Hello Stitch Fix!!

For those of you not familiar, here’s how this fabulous little idea works:

Go to stitchfix.com and create your style profile (there’s currently a waitlist, but  it’s not long at all).  Pick a package arrival date and wait for your little box of fashion happiness to arrive on your front porch.   You’ll receive 5 pieces hand-picked by your stylist.  If you like them, keep em.  If you don’t, send them all back!  Easy peasy.

  • There’s a $20 styling fee, which can be used toward your order.
  • If you keep all 5 items you receive 25% off your order.
  • The more feedback you give on the pieces sent to you, the better  they get over time. So be sure to be very specific to your stylists so  that they can send you things you’ll love.

I couldn’t resist this awesome little concept anymore and put in an order for August.  Here’s what I got!image

All the clothes didn’t work out (I clearly forgot to tell my stylist that I don’t get along with skinny jeans) but it was definitely a good experience!  And it’s perfect for busy moms with no time to shop.

So for those of you dancing around in your frumpy mom underwear while making monkey noises while cursing at your lack of clothing options, go to stitchfix.com today (tell them I sent you) and let the fun begin!

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If you think dancing around in frumpy underwear is fun,

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