Oh, hi again.

I took a break from blogging.  Actually, I had completely given up on blogging forever, until I came back to my blog and started re-reading my posts.  I miss blogging.  I miss being able to re-read my memories!  So I think I'm going to start back, but only for personal reasons. So hi again blogging world! 

PS- I had started another blog, but I don't think I'm going to keep up with that one.

And here's our latest family picture! Have we changed much since February? :P

Personalized Valentine's Cards!

It's official. Kenzie will have the most adorable Valentine's Cards ever for her Kindergarten party. And all thanks to Cardstore.

I mean seriously. Look at her face! 

She's a mermaid! 

And of course, I had to add Swedish Fish as a treat. 

Cardstore has 31 different themes for kids. We had a hard time just picking one! 

And the great thing about them is that they come in packs of four.

Can you stand the cuteness overload?

I'll give you a second...

And look! 

Even the backs of them have fun little activities.

Hurry and order yours! 

For as low as $0.89 per sheet, what's not to love?

Your kiddo will have the cutest Valentine's Cards in the whole class! Possibly the WORLD! 

Creativity & Imagination

As adults, we hardly ever get to use our imagination or be creative and think outside the box.  So when my kids start to get ideas in their heads, I love watching them let their creativity flow.  I think it is so important to let children make a mess every now and then.  After all, children learn best when they are playing.  

 These moments won't last forever. So cherish the messes and the creativity.

Weekend Recap

I had a lot of fun this weekend! Saturday morning, Kenzie and I headed to Jackson for a Girl Scout workshop called "Be a Ballerina". Needless to say, she was so excited! My girl loves dancing and I'm hoping to get her signed up for dance lessons soon! She's a natural!

 The girls were so intrigued by the actual ballerinas. It was precious. They got to learn a dance from the performance of Peter Pan, got their hair and makeup done, and got to try on costumes!

 It was really nice to be able to spend some quality time with my baby girl. She's my beautiful princess and I'm so blessed to have her in my life!

Saturday night, my MIL kept the kids overnight. Doug and I ended up hanging out with some good friends playing Cards Against Humanity. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. Seriously, go play that game! 

I even put on makeup for the first time in a week and fixed my hair!
I felt pretty so I took a picture of myself. A selfie. Sue me.

 Sunday afternoon we had dinner at the in-laws with distant family. Delish food + family = great times. And speaking of great food, I've lost three pounds!!! I'm not quite sure how, seeing that I drank like 4 Cokes this weekend, but I did it! I have been eating a lot less though so that helps. Plus if I'm not doing T25, I'm doing yoga. I'm feeling great about myself! 

How was your weekend?

 

Back at it.

Well, Doug and I started Shaun T's T25 workout yesterday. #dead

We are determined. We can do this. I know we can. As long as I can get past the crying and sweating and dying part. And the fact that my back hurts like everyday doesn't help any. It's so easy for me to give up all the time. But this time, I've got Doug backing me up and I'm asking God to help me through this. I started reading The Daniel Plan and I couldn't put it down. I only read the first chapter, but I will be buying it on the Kindle ASAP. It's amazing.

We each took "before" pictures and if that wasn't an eye opener, I don't know what else is. But I can't wait to show those embarrassing pictures when comparing them to our "after" photos!

Now I just need to get motivated to wake up early to workout since that's the only time Doug and I can do it together.

Good things are coming.

Good things are coming. I can feel it. There have been a few "out of place" happenings going on lately, but it's not bringing me down or stressing me out and that's how I know that good things are on its way to me and my family.

The bad:
*I lost one of my school grants this semester (because it ran out) so I owed money. That means I'm out of pocket for my textbooks, too. Luckily, we were able to come up with the money. We will just be tight for a couple of months. Nothing I'm not used to. ;)
*I have strep throat. I got super sick last Friday, but it went away by Monday so I didn't take myself to the doctor. Plus, I just hate waiting at the doctor's office with kids. PLUS, school started this week so I didn't have time. I finally went yesterday and I was actually shocked I had strep! I was thinking just a major cold + cough. Nope. So bring on the meds! At least I'm not too sick to function. Lord knows what would happen if that happened ha! #momprobs
*This semester, one of my classes got dropped which ruined my entirely planned out schedule. So instead of only having classes one day per week + online classes, I know have to drive 30 minutes to get to my classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, AND Thursdays. For some, that doesn't seem like a big deal. But you have to take into consideration that I have to put Tucker in daycare AND find time to do 90 hours of observations for this semester. Blahhhhh.

                                                                            

 The Good:
*Doug and I are making some healthy goals for our life. More to come about this later.
*I'm reading a devotional every day and love it. One of my goals is to become closer to God and more involved in church.
*I'm working on some blog goals, too!

And yes, this post is quite random....

Also...I don't know if I've ever posted on a Saturday before!

To Read List for 2014

Last year I didn't do so hot in the reading category. I wanted to read 20 books, but college had me at my limits. I'm hoping this semester is a little more gentle on me.

I'm not setting a number goal for my books this year, so I'm just listing the ones I definitely want to read! And with my brand new Kindle I got for my early birthday present from Doug, I should have no excuses:)

AND I got the Harry Potter book set for Christmas! So I'll be re-reading those of course:)

My favorite genre is Young Adult and I'm always looking for recommendations!

Add me on Goodreads, too!

{Click on each picture to read the synopsis}

What are some books on your to-read list?

See you next year!

Get it? Because tomorrow is 2014? 

I crack myself up.

2013 was sort of really boring. Nothing major happened. No births. No marriages. No milestones. I'm hoping 2014 has a lot more to offer!

I've learned to never set personal goals for my NY Resolutions because I never follow through with them. Ever.

But I will set some goals for my blog!

1. Youtube!! I love watching other bloggers post videos, but I always feel like a weirdo talking to the camera + I hate the way I talk + I never really have anything to vlog about. But I will try this year! Give me some vlog ideas!

2. New layout. I'm actually going to pay for a blog layout this time. I never really love my blog when I re-do the template. Plus it's a headache. So coming soon there will be a new fresh look!

3. More personal posts. Here lately, I feel like I'm just throwing stuff together. I'm going to try to post more about my super interesting life *ahem...sarcasm*.

4. READ MORE BLOGS! Ya'll. I am so bad about posting my own post, and logging off. That's a bad blogger right there. I need to connect more! I'm thinking about doing a link-up once a week just so I can hold myself accountable for reading other blogs.

Do you set goals for your blog? I would love to hear them!

 And just because it's the last day of the year, let's do a recap shall we?

Here are some of my most popular posts of 2013:

*I attended a Book Themed Baby Shower that my SIL hosted, and it was adorable!

*I was asked if I regretted getting married so young once.

*I wrote a poem for my children.

*My daughter tested for first grade reading, and she's in Kindergarten!

*Kenzie turned 5 and Tucker turned 3. Happy Birthday babies!

*We visited Metropolis, the home of Superman!

*I got super personal and posted something that most people, even I, am ashamed to admit.

*I talked about my love for music.

*I got a tattoo for my 24th birthday!

Well, so long until next year! (I just love saying that haha!)

I wish everyone a safe and happy new year!

Christmas Traditions

I can't believe it's Christmas time. I think I say that every year, but seriously. Where does the time go? And where is my White Christmas?! I guess Tennessee always bypasses that memo because last week it was in the 70s. Bipolar weather.

Christmas is usually my favorite time of year. Although I do get stressed out and procrastinate entirely too much, I love it. I love the music, the movies, the family time, and the looks on my children's faces when Santa comes!

Here are a few of our family Christmas traditions!

1. Visit Santa at the Mall! Even though the cost for those pictures are ridiculous, you just can't beat Mall Santa. I love listening to the kids tell him what they want for Christmas!

2. Pick out a new ornament! I love this tradition. I love seeing what everyone picks out. This year, I couldn't find ANY that I just loved. Even Hobby Lobby let me down! We did find some at Wal-Mart though. Doug and Tucker picked trains, Kenzie picked a glitter snowman, and I picked a doughnut. 

3. Family time! I have a huge family and I love it. And since we have divorced families, we have a lot of split up gatherings. We have my Poppa's, my Mom's, my Gran's, my Nana's, and Doug's side of the family. Needless to say, there's a ton of traveling and a ton of good eating!

4. Christmas movies! Of course we watch almost every Christmas movie that comes on tv each year. And we all have our favorites. Mine is Muppet Christmas Carol (or any Christmas Carol, really); Doug's is The Christmas Story; The kids love The Grinch and pretty much anything that involves Santa.

5. Santa's Cookies! On Christmas Eve, Doug and I help the kids bake and decorate cookies for Santa! This year, we picked Gingerbread. I just know Santa will love those. *wink wink* 

6. New pajamas! On Christmas morning, we have brunch with Doug's family and we all wear our pajamas! It's so much fun. But this year I waited last minute (shocker, I know), and I couldn't find Holiday pajamas for the kids anywhere. So I just let them pick out "normal" pajamas. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. 

7. Elf on the Shelf! This is our second year with our elf. And I'm crazy because for some reason, I thought our Elf's name was Buddy.

Nope.

It's Happy. 

But we've been going along with "Buddy" and the kids haven't caught on yet. Well, Kenzie found the name "Happy" in the back of our Elf book but I closed it pretty quickly in hopes she wouldn't ask questions. ha!!

So those are our family traditions for Christmas! I would love to hear yours!

Student Mobile Plan - Save BIG! #APlusPlan

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client.

Yesterday, we took the kids to see Santa at the local mall. I was expecting it to be a madhouse, since we are only 5 sleeps away from Christmas! But it was just the normal hustle & bustle! Since the closest mall is about 25 minutes away, I only visit about once every month. But when I go, I can get everything I need in one place! And that includes my technology support! The Best Buy Mobile Specialty Store is conveniently located in the Jackson Mall with some of best new gadgets and deals for first mobile plans.

And when I say convenient, I mean it. As a mom of two, I'm constantly battling with my kids to keep them occupied while shopping. This Best Buy Mobile Specialty Store had parents in mind when they opened their doors! 

 I can't begin to describe how big of relief it is to see something like this lol!

Now I could easily speak with the GM instead of having to shoot death stares at my precious children.

Being that the Best Buy Mobile Specialty Store is located inside the mall, I was able to talk with someone right away, rather than have to wait in line at a regular Best Buy, especially during the holiday season! I love being able to get in and get out with excellent customer service. 

While I was visiting the Best Buy Mobile Specialty Store, I was informed about this amazing deal JUST for students! And being a college student myself, I'm always looking for ways to save money. 

Sprint now has the option to completely slash the cost of your phone bill! But the cool thing is, when they say "student" they mean anyone in school! 
Elementary, Middle, High, College, Vocational, or any accredited school! 

To qualify for this plan, you must:

• Purchase the phone at Best Buy at the student activation price.
• Activate phone at time of purchase on Unlimited, My Way Student Promotion.
• Account holder must validate student within 14 days of phone activation date.

To validate your membership, you can download the student verification form located on the Best Buy website.

The My Way Student Promotion provides students with a FULL YEAR of free calls, texts, and data from Sprint. To qualify, you must be a student and you must purchase a Sprint phone through Best Buy and activate a new line via Sprint's Unlimited, My Way plan.

Right now, there is a special going on for the Samsung GS4 Mini (Sprint) for $349.99. 

And if you are like me, you want to squeeze in as much as you can for your dollar! Best Buy also does trade-ins. You can receive a gift card up to $200 for your trade-in and use towards your new phone!

I think the Sprint My Way Promotion is a great way to save money, whether it be for your child's first phone, or to get by during your college years. 
I will definitely be letting all my college classmates and friends with children know about this plan!

Vegetarian Chili - Picky Eater Approved!

 

I know what you're thinking. Vegetarian? NO meat? Surely you have gone off the deep end.

Well, even though I may have gone a little crazy, that has nothing to do with the food I cook. ;) 

Let me tell you...everyone had second helpings of this. EVERYONE. Including my super picky husband. He didn't even care that there wasn't meat in it. The kids loved it! My daughter hates onions, but I didn't even tell her there was any in here ha! I was worried about the jalapenos being too spicy, but it was just right!

I got this recipe from eMeals and this site has changed my life. Well, at least the meal planning part of my life. As a member of Markerly, I was able to sign up for a free 12 month weekly meal plan and I love it! I use the Portion Control meal plans from Walmart. 

I don't do Weight Watchers, but one serving of this Chili is 6 points for all those who want to know!

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

*1 tablespoon vegetable oil

*1 cup diced onion

*1 cup diced green bell pepper

*2 tsp. minced fresh garlic

*2 fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

*2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

*2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

*1 cup water

*1 tablespoon chili powder

*1 tsp. ground cumin

*1/2 tsp. salt

*15 oz. can yellow whole kernel corn, drained

Directions

*Heat vegetable oil in a large stock pot; add onions, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapenos. Saute 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in black beans, tomatoes, water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn and simmer 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Family weekends are my favorite.

This weekend we surprised the kids and took them to the Memphis Zoo. It was their annual "Zooper Hero" weekend, where some pretty cool guys showed up.

 

The kids LOVED it. It was pretty cool, but my arms were DYING from having to hold Kenzie up for 30 minutes lol. Obviously, I need to start lifting weights.

 I love the zoo. Although we didn't get to see all of the animals, since it was so cold, we still had a blast! And we saw my favorites, the penguins and reindeer.

 I love family time. I love making memories with the kids. And I'm so thankful that we are blessed enough to be able to do these things with our children!