Weekly Recap 2.29.16

Happy Monday! (Wait, is that even a thing??)

Here's what we've been up to all week

Last Monday I took the girls to the local park district Carousel Room. It's always on the list of places Ella wants to go to so off we went.  I had so much fun with them!

Later in the day, Ella and I did a ton of dot marker printables. She loves these!! 

Then we moved on to manga tiles, we love these so much!

Avery loves knocking over anything big sister builds

Tuesday we had a play date with one of Ella's friends at our house. The girls are lunch them we all headed out to play. Once they left and Avery went down for her nap Ella and I headed back out. 

We had so much fun running around our yard, playing on the swingset and blowing bubbles :)

Before dance class Brayden wanted a photo with his sister :)

I didn't hear Ella so went to look for her and found her in a box, silly girl!

Thursday was ice skating lessons for Ella and she did so well! Until she fell on her butt 2 times then she decided she was done. She wasn't crying or anything but she said "it's time to go home now because I fell on my butt" I tried telling her there were 15 more minutes left but I was not winning that argument :)

Friday we went on a play date to a new fun local place. My sister and nephew met us there too and the kids had a lot of fun!

Saturday I went and saw The Choice with my cousin (which was really good but the book was a little better, probably just bc they give you more) then little man had a birthday party. When we got home we decided to walk over to my in laws and they just happened to feed us dinner :)

My father in law found this awesome jacket at an antique store. Brayden gets it until he outgrows it then it will be passed down to my nephew 

We ended the night over there with a friendly foseball competition. Brayden is getting really good!

Saturday night we finally got around to watching Fuller House. The hubs, Brayden and I really liked it but Ella left us after a few minutes

Sunday we had nice weather again so we spent the morning outside

My mom always gets the kids these cute create your face sticker books so the kids and I enjoyed doing a ton of these while Avery napped and the hubby worked on our night stands.

Once Avery woke up we headed to the park so the kids could ride their bikes in the tennis courts and then played at the park

Avery loves the horn on Ella's bike. She would chase after Ella just to try and get the horn. Finally Ella stopped so Miss A could get her thrill.

The night ended with the hubby's famous ribs and watching the Oscars. It was such a nice week!

Friday Favorites 2.26.16

It's Fri-YAY!! We have a fun weekend planned with friend time, relaxing time, and hopefully house project time :)



{ONE}

Ok, who out there doesn't know about Ebates!? For those that don't, let me explain.  It is a free website that pays you for doing your online shopping through them. Easy peasy people!! So whenever you're going to shop online, go to Ebates first, sign in, and then search your store and go to it directly from Ebates.  You won't be sorry! I've already received 2 checks :)

You can go create an account here.  Earning free money is definitely a favorite of mine!

{TWO}

Ok, I'm on the search for a new swimsuit. I need some help! Let me know which one you like the best, pleaseeeeeeee!

I saw this one in the store and it's so pretty!

Then there's this one that I'm just drawn to even though it's not something I would normally see myself in.




And lastly this one.  Again, not something I normally see myself in but I like it!

I should mention, I already have this floral swimsuit that I got last year so I'm not sure I want to get another floral...

{THREE}


Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE taking pictures. I mentioned our 2015 family yearbook came - and I wanted to share a little more about it. 2 years ago I started to print 1 hardcover book for the entire year so I had all my pictures in one place. I still make separate smaller books for milestone birthdays or big vacations. I started using Mixbook and was so happy with their product! I always make my book in January then wait for a great promo code to purchase.  This time they emailed me with a 50% off code since my book was just sitting my cart. I'm definitely going to wait for that again when I purchase next year!

I made sure to shop through Ebates first and was so happy to see they were offering 12.5% cash back on Mixbook.com!

{FOUR}

Since Spring is around the corner, it's time to order my favorite shoes for the kids.  The girls will be getting pink and purple natives and I'll have to check with Brayden on what color he wants.  These shoes are the best!

via

{FIVE}

Ella and I made dark chocolate oatmeal bars yesterday so I thought I would share today since they are our favorite!! Dark chocolate anything and I'm in :)

You can find the recipe here

Happy Weekend!

Linking up with:

Momfessionals

Hello Happiness

September Farm

Vintage honey shop teething necklace

Hey hey friends! Today I'm sharing with you an awesome product for teething.

Avery is teething sooooooo bad right now, like seriously, we are in teething Hell.  We have never been ones to use any of those over the counter teething remedies (I'm looking at you Orajel) and I just never thought those natural teething tablets would really work.  Honestly, when it gets real bad, we treat with a pain reliever, but of course that can't be used too often.

Enter The Vintage Honey Shop! I follow them on IG and have always seen their nursing/teething necklaces and of course loved how cute they were!

So many Mama's were always raving about them so they must do something right! I was very happy to be able to find out first hand just how great they are.

Avery immediately was drawn to my teething necklace.  She of course wanted to play with it and didn't get it at first that she could actually chew on it. I wasn't sure she would be into something like this, but once she figured it out, game over! She actually really loved it! And of course that made me love it.

I wear the necklace on the days when I know Avery is teething pretty bad.  I can tell when all she does is put her hands in her mouth and acts extremely needy.  We sit down on the couch together and I let her have at the necklace.


I have at times, handed her the necklace to chew on without me wearing it (under my supervision of course!)

What's also so great about these necklaces is they are not just for your teething baby! They can also be used during feeding time! They can help keep mama from being scratched & pinched while nursing or bottle feeding. The necklaces provide a focal point for baby, and give them something to play with and grab onto while being close to your heart.

You can go here and check out an entire page of the FAQ's - here's just a snippet:

The necklaces are made from the best quality fabric, organic wood beads and rings, double sided satin ribbon and a little dab of non toxic fabric glue at the very ends (where fabric and ribbon meet)


Another benefit of this teething necklace is that it's cute enough to wear out.  Now if we're out to eat or at a birthday party and Avery is clearly miserable from her teeth, I can easily have this on hand to wear and help give her some relief.


Readers can use code VHSHARE for 15% off your purchase! Now go check out The Vintage Honey Shop now :)



* I was given this product in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own

Whats Up Wednesday

Today I'm linking up with Shay for What's Up Wednesday!?

What we're eating this week:

Lots of easy meals this week and this is one of them - I've made this once before and it was a huge hit!

via

What I'm reminiscing about:

I just received our 2015 photo book so after looking through that I'm thinking about all the fun we had last summer :)

What I'm loving:

My new straightener! Seriously my hair has never been straighter!

What we've been up to:

Lots! Dance, Ice Skating lessons and Floor Hockey plus tons of family time :)

What I'm dreading:

I can't say I'm dreading anything - however, I know everyone else living in IL is probably dreading the winter snow storm that is coming our way today...but me? I love snow so there's nothing to dread there

What I'm working on:

Still trying to finish Miss Avery's scrapbook of her first year of life....I'm well aware she's almost 19 months old. #thirdkidproblems

What I'm excited about:

Easter! We don't over celebrate it but it's always a fun holiday and I love putting the kids' baskets together.  If you want to see an easy tutorial for cute Easter baskets, check it out here

What I'm watching/reading:

I just finished reading The Choice and am going to see the movie on Saturday.  The book was so good and I was crying ALOT towards the end so I can't imagine how I'll be in the movies! If you're looking for a new read, check it out!

What I'm listening to:

Kidz Bop - all day long!

What I'm wearing:

The weather is all over the place here so most days it's leggings and a long tunic, it's literally my Momiform :)

What I'm doing this weekend:

Friday night we are hanging out with friends and their kiddos at our place, Saturday I'm going to see the movie The Choice (yay!) and then Brayden has a friend's birthday party.  I'm hoping at some point throughout that day the hubby can build our nightstands since that didn't happen last weekend but we'll see..

And of course Sunday I'll be watching the Oscars!! My Mom got me hooked on all the award shows growing up and the Oscars is the best (even if I don't know half the movies, it's all about the red carpet!)

What I'm looking forward to next month:

Warmer weather! Even though I love snow, once March hits I'm ready for warmer weather and to be outside whenever possible!

What else is new:

Hmm really I can't think of too much. We have lots of plans for house projects so hopefully those start soon but that's really all!