Gracie's First Prom

Gracie's first Prom was on Saturday, and I'm happy to say, we all survived it.
 It was a busy day, and one that I wouldn't have missed for the world.  And... it was just as much fun as I always hoped it would be.

Gracie and Belle are cousins, and they're only 8 months apart.  It's been so fun seeing them grow up together over the years.

It was a fun day watching these 4 get ready together.

At one point as the girls were curling their hair and trying to get ready, most of our area lost power.  It was only out for an hour or so... but long enough for us to scramble a bit.  Thankfully, my brother in law got the curling irons hooked up to a generator, so we were able to power through.  Nothing like getting girls ready for prom without any lights or electricity.

I feel so blessed to watch this girl of mine grow up into a beautiful and kind young lady.  I can't even begin to tell you how much I love her.

XO, 

Hello Friday!

Hello Friday!

This is a big weekend for us!  The kids don't have school today, so we're soaking up that goodness.   Tomorrow Jesse has a home basketball game, Emma has a birthday/sleepover at a friends house and then we'll spend the rest of the day getting Gracie ready to go to PROM!  Eeek!  I'm so excited to get her all dolled up.  My sister is helping do nails tonight, so tomorrow, we'll focus on makeup and hair.  She's going to look so gorgeous in her dress, and I can't wait to take a gazillion pictures of her.

I would think that last paragraph should have covered enough of my favorites for the week, but in case you want a few more...

How about these dresses?!

source

I was looking for a couple of dresses that I could take on our upcoming vacation.  I think this first dress is so fun and classy.  It's only available in a small, so I'm hoping it fits.

source

And, I went ahead and ordered this second one as well.  I think it's super cute, but I'm worried that it might be too short for me.  I have a long torso and long legs, plus I'm a 34 year old Mom... Nobody wants to see me wearing a dress that hits right below my booty.  I ordered a medium in this, since the small was out of stock, and I'm crossing my fingers that it fits perfectly, and isn't too short.

A friend of mine is coming out to help me paint my bedroom this afternoon, and I can't wait.  I painted one of the walls to make sure that we'd like the color okay, and I think we're going to like it.  I keep reminding myself that this doesn't have to be permanent.  If we change our minds later on, we can always repaint. Does anyone else have a hard time committing to a color?

  

Dan and I attended a benefit where we were able to buy a painting of my brother's.  This is only the second painting of his that I own.  So I'm excited to find just the right place in my house to display it.  Whats better than having a painting that you love, painted by someone you love.  My favorite kind of art.


And because we all need more laughter and humor in our lives, I give you my last 2 favorites for the week.

My sister sent me this meme, and I love it.  If you are a book sniffer, you'll totally relate.  If you don't, just be aware that there are book sniffers out there.  Haha!  :) 

I'm sure I've posted this before, but every time I see this, I laugh.

Okay, so that's it for today...

  I've liked up with Andrea, Erika & Narci.

Christina, April & Natasha with Five On Friday.

Have a great weekend you guys.  I'll be back next week with lots of pictures!  Wish us luck with this whole prom experience.  :)

XO,

3 Tips That Every Blogger Needs To Know

Today, I wanna talk about blogging.

I think blogging is like most anything, where we're continually learning and trying to better ourselves.  There is a whole list of things that I want to learn how to do, that I see so many bloggers doing, and doing well.  There's also a couple of things, that I really want to make sure other bloggers know, because if someone doesn't bring it to your attention, how are you supposed to know, right!

This is something that I've been preaching on for the last couple of years.  Make sure as a blogger that you aren't a no-reply blogger.  If you're not sure if you are or aren't, you can read my post here, or do a quick google search.

It's super easy to fix, and then when you leave a comment on my blog, I can reply to your comment right through my email.  If you are a no-reply blogger, I will reply to your comment on my blog post instead, but I don't believe you'll be notified of it, and you most likely won't ever see it unless you come back to my blog to check for a reply.

Which lets be honest, who has time for that, right?  If I'm lucky enough to have you check out my post once, I'm not counting myself lucky enough to have you come back to the same post again.

Plus, I think this method makes it so much easier for bloggers to connect even better.  If you want to know where I got some new product I posted about, you'll get an email with my reply, so you won't have to come back to the original post to find your answer... it will be sent straight to your email.

 My second tip, ties into my first one... just reversed.  Make sure that when you reply to a comment on your blog, that your readers are receiving it.  I'm not sure how all sites are set up, but there are a lot of replies I never see, because bloggers will post their replies on their blog, under the comments.  Chances are I'll never see it or even know they replied, because replies straight from the blogs aren't usually sent to me.  (If it's something I should be doing differently, let me know)

If they are a no-reply blogger, you have to reply under the comments section of your blog, since they aren't set up with their email, but if they aren't a no-reply blogger, your reply should be sent to their email, so that they are aware that you have replied.

 I've found the best way for me to reply to comments on my blog is to reply to the email notification that was sent to me, letting me know that I have a comment on my blog.  I reply and the reader receives it, and can further the conversation if they wish, or they can delete it and move on.  Either way, they've seen that I've responded to their comment.

 Making sure your readers hear back from you, helps build a better relationship, and hopefully encourages them to keep coming back to your site.  If nothing else, they'll at least know that you took the time to connect.

 My last tip today is, to make sure you've set up your blogger profile with an easy link to your blog, so you're blog is easy to find.

If you are new to my blog and you leave a comment, I will always click on your name to check out your blog, as well as who you are.  Many times, I have clicked on a name, to have it take me straight to a Google plus site, and then after searching around for 20 seconds or so without any luck, I'll usually give up.  If you have taken the time to stop by, I'd love to repay the favor, but I don't want to have to search you out.  It should be easy and simple for potential new readers to find you.


Okay, so that's my 3 blogging tips for you.

You can find list after list of blogging tips, but these 3, are ones that I can't stress enough.  Make sure you are doing all 3 of these, and I'm positive, you'll see even more growth on your blog.  If you aren't sure, if any of these tips apply to yourself... check it out, or ask me, and I'm happy to help.


What are some of your favorite blogging tips?

 XO,

10 Favorite Household Tips

 Happy Friday!

 Erin is hosting a 10 on the 10th link up today, and it's all about favorite household tips.  I thought I'd share a few of mine with you today as well.

Now, I don't claim to have it all together, in fact I usually stay away from writing, "How To" blog posts, because lets face it... some days I feel like a rock star with how smooth everything is going, and then the next day, I feel like a mess who can't get anything done.

Be that as it may, I'm sharing my tips for you this morning.  If I remember and follow all of these, my day goes so much smoother.

~ONE~

I try and start a load of laundry almost every single morning.  I do this before I even pour myself a cup of coffee.  Sometimes I'll put towels or whatever I'm planning to wash in the wash machine with the laundry soap the night before, and then in the morning all I have to do is close the door and push start.  I can then enjoy my coffee knowing that things are already off to a good start.  I've found for my family that if I can do one or two loads of laundry every day, I can usually stay on top of it.  If I don't, it takes over quickly.

~TWO~

Every night before bed, we start the dishwasher, that way in the morning during breakfast I can unload it and put the dishes away.  Breakfast dishes are ready to go in along with any other dishes from the day, that way nothing is getting stacked up in the sink.  Every once in a while we will forget to start it before bed, and it definitely throws my day off.  Nothing like having a dishwasher full of dirty dishes the next morning, along with any new dishes that need to go in, that there isn't room for.  It makes me crazy just thinking about it.

~THREE~

We have our kids shower at night verses in the morning.  I would prefer having them shower in the morning, but their bus comes fairly early, and my kids aren't natural early risers.  I wake them up around 6:00 and it's all they can do to just function before needing to be out the door by 7:20.  Getting dressed, brushing their hair and their teeth seems to take almost the full hour.  So to make it easier on all of us, showers at night seem to work best, because getting 3 kids up and ready in the morning can be almost as bad as herding cats. 

~FOUR~

Depending upon what we're having for dinner each night, I try and take meat out of the freezer in the morning so it has time to thaw.  I hate looking at the clock realizing that it's almost time to get the kids off the bus, and that I haven't taken anything out for dinner.  Nobody needs that kind of stress in their life.  ;)


~FIVE~
On the weeks where I meal plan, and we have a couple meals with chicken in them, I will cook all of the chicken in one day, and store it in the fridge.  I put around 8 frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with a bit of water or chicken broth, cover it, and set it on low for 8 hours.  At the end of the day, I'll shred the chicken and put it away until I'm ready to use it.  It makes meal prep so much easier, when you only have the mess once.  You can easily put the chicken in a casserole, in a pot of soup, or add some BBQ sauce and throw it on a bun, and you're done!


~SIX~
Lists!!!  I am a list person through and through.  I have grocery lists, Costco lists, to do lists... Dan and the kids have their own lists as well.  This house runs off of lists.  There is way too many things going on with our family, that if I don't write it down, chances are, it's not going to happen.


~SEVEN~
I only use two things as far as stain remover on our clothes.  I use Dawn dishsoap for grease or oil stains, and I use Shout for anything else.  If those two things don't do it, then I consider it impossible.


~EIGHT~
We make our kids help out.  Now granted, they don't help out nearly as much as we should make them, but with me being home all day, I like to just get things done, instead of waiting for someone else to do it.


I have them bring their clothes to the laundry room for me to wash.  I wash them, and then they are in charge of putting their clothes away and hanging them up.  I have them clean their own bathroom, as well as their bedrooms and then I have them help with a couple basic things like folding towels or emptying the dishwasher from time to time.  Things like that, that help me out.  Again I know I don't give a long list of chores, but after they've spent a long day at school, I also want them to have time to just be a kid as well.  They'll have a lifetime of household chores ahead of them.


~NINE~
I diffuse my Thieves and Purification oils every day.  I know there are a lot of different oils out there, but I usually only use these two.  Lemon is also another one that I love, but I don't usually start using it, until Spring.  Through out most of the flu and cold season, it's all Thieves and Purification.


~TEN~
My biggest household tip, is to give yourself grace.  As much as we all want a clean house, sometimes you've got to just roll with it, and try not to sweat the small stuff.  Life happens.  If your floors need mopped, or your windows need cleaned, but you are doing the best you can, and you just can't get to it today... breathe.  At some point, you'll get a chance to get it done, but it just might not be right now.  Be okay with that, and try again tomorrow.

I would love to hear what your favorite household tips are.


Today I linked up with Andrea.

Christina, April & Natasha with Five On Friday.

And Erin.

 

Enjoy your weekend!

  

XO,

Things That Make Me Happy

Today I thought I'd play the "glad game" for a bit.

With crazy winter weather, politics, sickness, human disappointments, bills, etc... I think it's good for us to slow down a bit and recognize some of the good and simple things in life that we enjoy.  I think we need to recognize what they are and then maybe spend a bit more time savoring them each day.


Here's a quick list, that I've come up with...

My first cup of coffee for the day

Rain on a tin roof

A good book

Feeling the sun on my face

A babies laugh

A freshly sharpened pencil

A glass of wine after a long day

A front porch swing

A walk through the woods

When my favorite song comes on the radio

Fresh ice tea

A two hour bath

Laughing with friends and family

Traveling & exploring

A new planner for the year

Horseback riding

A good game of cards

Camping

Holding my husbands hand

Blogging

Watching a movie with my kids

A new cookbook

Brownies

A pair of jeans that fit just right

Listening to a good saxophone solo

Bookstores and libraries

Watching my favorite movie

A rainy thunderstorm

A jeep ride with my besties

Dining out


My list could go on and on, as I have so many things that I enjoy.

I would love to challenge each one of us to really soak up and enjoy all the big and little things in our lives this week.  It might not be a trip to the ocean, but maybe we'll find a few minutes to enjoy a glass of wine and a good book, or maybe we'll just really enjoy that first cup of coffee wrapped up in a blanket on our front porch.  Make time to treat yourself to a couple of things that make you happy each day and hopefully we'll all have a better week because of it.


After all...

What are some simple everyday things that make you happy?

XO,

Hello Friday!

Happy Friday!

I never get tired of seeing the week roll into the weekend!  I'm ready!

A friend of mine posted this shirt on Facebook the other day, and I had to laugh.  Life can definitely feel like this most days.

Between Jesse not smiling in pictures, and my crazy looking eyes because I was trying not to blink... we look a little rough.  Ha!

Jesse had an Orthodontist appointment on Wednesday, so we made a day out of it.  What else are you going to do when you have to drive 100 miles each way.  We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings, per his request.  Got him a haircut, and hit Costco.  We got back just in time to get the girls off the bus.  I love day dates with my kiddos, especially when it means some one on one time.

I picked up a bottle of this Moroccanoil dry shampoo, and so far I'm really liking it.  I've tried a couple different brands before, and this is one of my favorites so far.

I also thought I'd share this new to me, dressing that I came across.  I'm not a huge fan of plain vinaigrette, but I liked this one with basil pesto.  I refuse to eat a salad unless I'm going to enjoy it.  I want to get excited about what I'm eating... so if a salad is too blah, I'd rather find something else to use my calories on.  With all that said, I think this might be a new option for me.

Lastly, if you are looking for a book to read this month, whether for Spring break, or a vacation, be sure and check out this post to see what I've been reading.

Speaking of books... I need some recommendations on what to add to my reading list.  I'm on the hunt for a few good books.  Help a girl out!

Well, that's it for today...

Today I'm linking up with

April & Natasha with Five On Friday.

Enjoy your weekend!

XO,

February Book Review

We are welcoming March in with open arms and I'm hoping that it brings as much green to our area, as there is in this picture. 

 With everyone getting ready for family vacations & spring breaks, I thought today might be a good time to share what I read last month, in case you are needing a new book or two to read.

The Mistress, was the first book that I read this month, and I really liked it.  Honestly, I had never heard of Danielle Steel before, which surprised the heck out of my husband... because I guess everyone has heard of Danielle Steel?!  Anyway, I loved this story.  It was so different from any story I've ever read, which always makes it fun, and it ended up being one of my favorite books from the month.  She leads a life, that none of us have lived or ever will live, so it was interesting stepping into her world for a bit.

 Last month, tons of bloggers recommended, It Ends With Us, and I'm so glad they did.  It was good! It is so much more than I thought it would be.  This is one of those books that I can't even tell you what it's about, without giving it all away.  There are a couple of scenes in this book, but you can just skip over those.  It was such an intriguing book, and one that I'm sure most of you would enjoy.

 I had high hopes for The Second Season, as last month I had really good luck with books of this kind.  This book ended up being okay.  It wasn't what I would say was good or bad... just okay.

 After being a bit disappointed with the The Second Season, I decided to try another Danielle Steel book.  I ended up borrowing, Property Of A Noblewoman, which I thought was good.  I actually liked this one more than I thought I would.  It was another easy read, that also happened to make me want to travel to Europe for a few weeks.  ;)

 Mail Order Bride was another one that I really wanted to like, because mail order bride books are usually some of my favorites.  But sadly, this book was just okay...  I had higher hopes for it as well.

February was such a weird month for books.  I liked everything that wasn't what I would consider my usual reading material, and I was a bit disappointed in what I would normally pick to read.  Who knows what I'll like this month.

Have your read any of these books?  If so, what did you think?  Also, I need a few book suggestions myself, what do you recommend this month?

 

XO,