Toddler Activities: Learning the Alphabet & Numbers

Alphabet Train Matching Game 

I went to the Dollar Store and spent less than $15 on awesome craft supplies. The foam rectangles were perfect for the body of the train and the letters are foam stickers! I cut out smaller squares for the letters that L will match on the train.

Here's the finished project! I used painters tape (by recommendation from other mom blogs) on the backs of the train pieces. Of course this is the only place the whole train would fit... right down the hallway! Oh, well! The fun part will be watching L take all those pieces (with more tape on the back) and match them to the letters.

The Counting Caterpillar

I wanted to encorporate learning with fun so we made a caterpillar with numbers and fuzzy 

balls for sensory play! L loves to count things but needs to learn her order of numbers. 

I also found these awesome foam circles and fuzz balls at the Dollar Tree.

Here's the finished project! This one thankfully fit on the wall in the playroom.

"Mr. Alligator" as L calls him is a furry little guy who is filled with polka dots and numbers.

She will learn her numbers in no time with this fun sensory play craft - hopefully she will learn the difference between an alligator and caterpillar too! (haha!)

Octopus Fine Motor Skill Craft 

After the crafts were done and drying we decided to do another fun craft we found on another mama's blog that I absolutely love! This blog has so many great preschool crafts for fine motor skills and counting! Check it out and have fun getting creative!

http://www.mamaslikeme.com/

I got the construction paper and glue at the Dollar Tree, too! 

Cheerios, of course, we had at home in the cupboard and decided we could spare a handful for this fun octopus craft!

L enjoyed drawing polka dots on the legs of the octopus and then she had so much fun using the glue bottle to put the dots on for the cheerios to stick to. FYI - Yes, at first I was really apprehensive about letting her use the glue by herself but after reading so many blogs about Montessori learning and motor skills play I figured it really couldn't hurt to let her try this! She did AMAZING! She only "over-glued" once and even cleaned it up by herself. It proved to me she can do things like this and be great at it! I was so proud of her. 

I can't wait to make more crafts and share them with you.

XOXO, K. 

Garlic & Beer Marinated Chicken

5 ingredients.... That's it! 

The ingredients are THAT simple & everyone has them in their home, I hope! 

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Chicken Breast (cut into 4 pieces)
• 12 oz beer - I use whatever we have on hand but a Corona or Bud Light Lime is usually the best for flavor. I used Miller Lite and then just add Lime juice to make up for the citrus flavor.
• 2 T EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 2-4 T Garlic Powder or Minced Garlic (Depends on how much strong garlic flavor you like in your chicken)
• Couple shakes of Black Pepper & Salt (Depends on how you like the taste of salt & pepper)

You'll need:

• Mixing bowl
• Meat tenderizer 
• George Foreman or a grill 

Serving Size:

2-4 people depends on how much chicken you want to have each. I cut this into four pieces so we always have leftovers for more salad. I grill each piece separate and add it to the salad while it's still warm. It's PERFECT!

Take the large chicken breast and cut into two pieces. Rinse and set aside onto a cutting board. Grab a large mixing bowl and whisk together all of the ingredients. Pound your chicken to an even thickness before marinating - it will help the chicken marinade in the flavors, then it will cook evenly and stay juicy! Then take the two large breasts and cut in half so you now have four pieces. Place the chicken in the marinade and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. I place mine in the fridge around lunch time (12:00) and it will be ready to grill around 4:30 for dinner.

I use my George Foreman to cook the chicken (but only because it's too cold to grill outdoors)! It usually takes about 10-15 minutes to cook through. You'll have to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn or get too dried out from being overdone. 

My favorite recipe for this chicken is to add it on top of a bed of lettuce and veggies for an awesome tasting salad! It's so yummy and everyone loves it! 

Enjoy!

XO, K.

Our Weekend!

It's finally the weekend which means a few things...

I'm wearing a REAL bra, I actually did my makeup (with actual eyeliner and mascara instead of the usual powder & blush) & I have jeans on and I forgot how uncomfortable these things are. Oh, and I showered before nap time. That's kind of a big deal because it never happens during the week. Woot!

I'm excited to wear normal clothes, well at least jeans and a cozy shirt. I can't let go of cozies all together just for a Saturday. I'm selfish. But, at least I'm selfish & cozy! 

I'm so obsessed with this shirt I bought a while ago but usually never wear it out of the house. I usually wear it as jam's since its soooooo soft & cozy but I figured I would pair it with some boots, jewelry & jeans for a cozy, cute weekend outfit! Everything I love & care about in one shirt. PEACE. LOVE. MUSIC & LENNON. Nothin' better. Except actually NOT leaving the house. Yep. I was fully prepared to leave, go out to Ikea and go shopping but then we decided to stay in.

I use weekends for being a Pinterest stalker & obsess over little shops just wishing I could have them & telling my hubs I want to buy all of the shirts for me & L on there. I came across this adorable shop on IG and I am obsessed already with their shirts. The reviews rock & their clothing is adorable for families. I can't wait to save up some money and get these for all of us! How cute! Look her up on IG and follow.

So instead of going out in the cold to make the trip with a sick toddler all the way to Ikea like we had planned, we stayed home. And, as much as I was dying to go to Ikea to buy new bedroom furniture, I am actually content with this. There's nothing better than cuddling on the couch with my little babe and fur child & hubs, ordering takeout, having some beer and watching movies and the occasional playroom destroy session a.k.a play time, what messy fun. Who's complaining though? Perfect Saturday night! Dan and I were in our bed by 10:30 watching our new favorite show on Netflix and he turns to me and says, "When did we become old?" I said, "We didn't, we became parents and this is what we do now." We realized that this is what we crave. Saturday nights cuddling with our child, watching movies and having snacks. We don't miss the bar life one bit. 

Sunday morning we decided to sleep in (until 8:00 AM but hey, that's a big deal for us). Unfortunately we didn't make it to church because all of us are sick with this nasty cough or cold or whatever it is... we didn't want to risk it. Thankfully, we can read about the service and watch it on the app. Technology rocks! We enjoyed some lazy time, lots of Netflix and lots of take out, junk food, slurpee's and cough medicine. Thank goodness this is happening now and not on Jan. 30th for my special ladies night in! Woot-Woot!

Well, unfortunatly it's Monday morning... Good morning blog world!

I am cuddling on the couch with warm French Vanilla coffee, my huge favorite fleece blanket, my hair that's too short to put into a top knot but it's still in a top knot and looks terrible, and my Warby's on my face that look so funny with my no makeup and messy hair. I am so not leaving my house today. Lennon is sitting next to me, Luke is on my lap sleeping and we're watching my favorite morning show. Lennon says, "Mama you have a cough like me, and daddy have a cough and Lukey have a cough?" haha. Silly kid. I am so thankful for my little cuddle mornings and small talk with L. She's so intelligent and quirky, it's too cute. Hoping to have a great week with lots of cough medicine, hot tea and cuddles to kick this sickness we all have in the butt.

XO, K.

Dear L,

Today while  I was lying you down for your afternoon nap you threw a temper tantrum. You didn't want to nap, which was half the problem, but you're sick with a nasty cough and even though you didn't want to nap, you were exhausted and needed to relax. So, I held you while you cried and kicked and screamed, I brushed your hair out of your eyes while you cried and cuddled you so close to me you when you said, "mama hold me". It hurts me when you're so sick and so sad. All I wanted to do was to take the pain away but I couldn't and that made me so sad. I rocked you in my arms and wrapped you in your blankey until you closed your eyes and held my hand. 

I laid you down, rubbed your back and watched you closely. I was rubbing your back as you took a deep breath and fell asleep. I covered you up, tucked you in and I was going to get up and leave the room to let you sleep but something told me to stay... Instead of leaving you alone I laid right back down next to you and starred at you. I watched your eyes flutter and listened to the sweet humming noises as you dreamed and put my nose close to your face to feel your breathing. I smelled your sweet, soft cheeks and they smelled just like vanilla lotion. I held you close to me, kissed your forehead probably a million times and I told you everything my heart was feeling in that moment. 

I was feeling so at peace right in that moment. No matter how bad your temper tantrums get or how many messes you make that I have to clean up, or how many times you don't listen to me and I get upset... it all went away and felt like nothing else matters. Nothing mattered except for that moment when I was starring at you and holding you close. 

You see, in your life you have this perfect image of the world. The world around you is colorful and bright, everyone is nice and trustworthy and the world out of your front door is a big playground. In your little world, the world is just the things around you and the things around you here would never hurt you. I am scared for the days to come, the days when you grow up and learn about the bad things in this world. I guess, I am scared of you not being my little girl anymore. I remember when I was little. I remember the things I experienced, the negativity, the name calling in school, the bullies and drama. I remember being picked on, I remember mean people, I remember people hurting me. I am so scared of this world hurting you. In this moment while I am lying with you wrapped in my arms you're so innocent and so loved in a million ways. You're my little blessing and will always be protected by me and daddy while you're little but we can't always watch out for you. We won't always be by your side every second of the day. I can only hope and pray that we raise you right, so we raise you to be strong, optimistic, intelligent and trustworthy. As I told you everything my heart was feeling I promised you that I would always hold your hand, hold your heart in mine and be there for you no matter how old you are or where you are in life. I promised you that I would never judge you, never hurt you, never leave you. I promised that I would guide you, like my mother guided me and that I would let you make your own mistakes, no matter how hard it may be because in the end, you'll learn. I told you that I want to be your friend, your mom, your inspiration, role model and your teacher. 

L, I will always be here. I will always cuddle you, hold you, and love you unconditionally and you will always be my little girl.

XO, K.

Stay at Home Mom Essentials

Well since I have been a SAHM I've definitely been learning the ins and outs of making it through the day. I've made a must have list of my favorites for all other SAHM's too! 

First things first, (First things first, I'm the realest. Drop this and let the whole world feel it)

Number one: Pandora Radio. I am kind of obsessed with Iggy lately so that's my station and it's the bomb right now. Instead of turning on the TV right away I turn on Pandora. It gets my booty movin', and L dances too! We dance around the kitchen usually while making coffee and oatmeal. Who doesn't like to dance in pajamas while they make breakfast. Spoons are microphones and we are the best booty shakers around! 

So for real... first things first, COFFEE. Breakfast. Vitamins. We usually spend our mornings in the darkness of the house, no lights on, no toys... just some music, some hot hazelnut flavored coffee, oatmeal & fruit for breakfast, then we take our vitamins and after dancing out butts off we'll cuddle watching episodes of Daniel Tiger on Netflix. Netflix is definitely number two on our list of must haves. Netflix = amazing and time consuming. Even though we don't watch much TV during the day, when we do it's Netflix & Daniel Tiger is so friendly and kind. Love him & his quirky songs (yes we dance to those too)! 

Phone time is a must in the morning for me. Since I am alone with a two year old all day long it's imperative that I have adult chat time morning and night. My BIFF is morning chat time and night time is obvi my hubs. BIFF and I chat about anything & everything from our kids poop, our poop, our homes, decorating, latest fashions, lipsticks and the weather. Seriously, it's the best to sit here, drink coffee while L watches TV and chat with my best friend. It's much needed and nice to keep in touch when we are so far away.

Then there's those days where your kid or dog won't leave your side & when you set one of them down the other one whines and cries. Yep, that's my house when I have a cranky toddler (which is so rare) but nonetheless, we need help on those days. That's when you go get a script for Xanax. Kidding! That's when you don't shower... you suck it up, stay in your yoga pants and cuddle non-stop, all freakin' day. (Which is no different than any other day Monday-Friday... I live in yoga's!)

On those days I am so thankful for my collection of products. They're cheap buys for an easy fix! The days I don't have a second to shower or don't want to & need to feel like I'm not a greaseball, or... days I shower but don't feel like spending time blow-drying... there's products like these that come to the rescue. I am in love with Not Your Mother's Brand of products. They're friendly on your wallet, and hair! The dry shampoo rocks, the Beach Babe Salt Spray rocks for the days you really don't feel like blow-drying and of course hair spray & Chi Silk Infusion are staples in my every day life. I love them all and could NOT live without these products. 

My playroom. It's amazing (when it's clean!) We spend so much time in here during the day playing, drawing, reading, etc. It's fun and let's L's imagination run wild. I am so happy that we have a place to have fun and not destroy the rest of the house.

Let me just say, the iPad is essential. Of course, it's technology and I know studies show... blah, blah, blah but, it's not like we use it all day every day. I blog in the mornings with my coffee and have my morning chats with my BIFF so that's usually when L is watching TV or playing on the iPad. The rest of the day we play, do laundry, or clean the house together. The mornings are nice and quiet around here when I let her sit and play on the iPad. Especially for the mornings where I am really tired still and the music didn't wake me up... it's a blessing to have some "alone" time! :)

Silly moments are a must in order to stay happy & sane around here. We like to jump around, exercise together, color with chalk, crayons, water colors, and play play-doh all day long. It's fun to sing our ABC's every time we wash our hands and go potty and the days that I can't shower alone she comes along with me. It's more fun that way! She learns how to wash herself, wash her hair, and we play with Peppa Pig & Ariel, who wouldn't have fun with that? It's so fun to have Pandora radio on while we are in the kitchen making lunch. We seriously listen to so many songs that we love... unless it's "Big Booty", she is literally running around the house right now singing "Big Booty... Big, Big Booty". OOPS! I guess it's time for some Disney Channel Radio, haha. She will definitely sing the songs and even though I have a love of hip-hop & rap music I usually listen to some Boyce Avenue radio or Sam Smith. L will dance and sing with me, it's so cute.

& then there comes time for cuddles... my favorite thing in the entire world. Being in jam's at nap time usually doesn't happen often. We are usually out of jam's right away and ready to take on the day but then there's those days where you're both feeling SUPER DUPER lazy, especially days when she's sick so we stay in jam's ALL DAY LONG. Like this... But, even when she's in pajama's she's still got a tutu on! Such a girly girl! 

Nap time comes around and it's ME time. Thank God. I really do wish that I could nap when she naps but by the time she's out it's time for me to hurry up & do dishes from lunch, clean up the dog toys, the playroom, the living room that's usually filled with coloring books and such, and then get dinner out and ready because hubs is always home on lunch around 4:30-5:00. It leaves me about 45 minutes of down time after all that's done... I sit here, blog, browse Pinterest for new tattoo ideas, DIY projects for the next day & food recipes that I will fail at making and resort to frozen nuggets and mac & cheese anyway. But at least it's ME time. 

Have a good day SAHM's.

XO, K. 

DIY Mudroom Space

So, remember my post about the coffee table I made into a bench? Here's the project details if you missed it... DIY Coffee Table/Bench Repurposing  

After I made the bench I figured that I would put it in my backroom but it looked a little out of place being on a blank wall in a huge room with the dog crate, back door and a lonely little old book shelf. When we moved into our home we had no idea what we would make out of the back room. It's a decent size back room that leads to the basement, the garage & the back yard. So, needless to say, there's a lot of traffic through there! We thought about turning this into a family room, den, office space, etc. but then it dawned on me that this room is really going to get a TON of traffic. Then I bought a puppy (SURPRISE!) so the puppy needed a spot to sleep and make home (home meaning a mess room where he eats, slobbers and keeps his bed, haha). So, we... (we meaning I) decided to take initiative and design this room myself because let's face it... It was driving me crazy and I needed to keep busy on a new project! Here it is! PS. It was SO, SO, SO easy! 

The beginning steps included going to Pinterest, of course. I pinned so many ideas of paint colors, benches, organization ideas, etc. Then I decided to add them all together and start drawing. Look here at all of my ideas -  My Pinterest Board. Then, I measured the wall to make sure my bench would fit in between my molding and plugs, and baseboards. Here's my plans... Of course they aren't perfect but my measurements were right, that's all that counts. 

Wall Space - 50" 

Molding - 60" Tall on each side 

Shelf in the middle - 50" 

Bench (already made) - 42"

I went to the basement and searched for spare crown molding and wood to make a shelf with! I came across a great piece of molding that was 121" long (perfect for my two 60" pieces for the wall) so I cleaned it up to make sure it would work. PS I picked the top piece, it was thicker and had more design to it that I liked and it's the molding that's used throughout the house on the trim so it matches.

I framed in the wall to leave a 48" gap in the middle. I chose to do 48" because my bench is 42" and there was a plug on the left side of the molding so I couldn't really go much bigger. The walls back here are wood paneling which usually sucks for projects but I went to DIY Network website to look up some great ideas to make this work. Once I learned how to properly attach and secure crown molding to the wall I made my shopping list and then went to Home Depot. 

My Home Depot list consisted of:

Liquid Nails 

Caulk Gun

2 1/2" Framing Nails

Painters Tape 

Coat Hooks (4)

You'll also need (I had at home):

Measuring Tape

Hammer

Circular Saw

Sand Paper or Electric Sander (works better & faster!)

Primer & Paint Color of your choice (if you want to re-paint the backsplash)

Wood for the shelf to build in the middle (2 pieces)

I framed in wall space after cutting & sanding the molding to 60" and making sure the edges are smooth. Use the 1/4 hole cut on the liquid nails bottle and zig-zag the liquid nails using the caulk gun on the back of the molding. Press the molding firmly on the wall and hold for about two-five minutes or until it doesn't easily move anymore. (The liquid nails may seep out but you can wipe it down and sand it off the wall later). Then take your framing nails and nail three nails in the molding (top, bottom and middle of the board), more isn't necessary unless the board is bigger than 60" and you want more support.

After the wall is framed in you'll want to paint it BEFORE adding the shelf to the wall. It's much easier and I had to paint the shelf white anyway! I primed the wall with white crown molding paint, it's thicker and durable for all the traffic and dirt this wall will encounter. I also lightly sanded and put a fresh coat of white on the molding because there were some scratches on it.

See those two blocks at the top of the molding? I found them in the basement too and they match the rest of the finishing on the house so we added them here for extra design.

After the white paint was dry I decided to paint the wall teal. Why am I so obsessed with teal lately?

It looked great and really brightened up the room! If you looked at my Pinterest page for my mudroom ideas you'll see that eventually I want to paint the entire backroom a light yellow. The teal and yellow will go great together and match my bench too! This Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint from Home Depot ROCKS and I wouldn't ever use anything else on my walls in my house. It's a primer & paint all in one.

(Let's take pictures of paint drying...)

Once the wall was dry I had to touch up a few spots so we got the paint back out and decided to add our own special touches to the wall in our home. Here's hubs painting our initials next to our handprints! (Don't worry these are eventually covered with the shelf).

^ This picture looks green, it's really teal. Weird! 

When my shelf was drying I had some free time so I found some more wood in the basement and made a sign for Luke's little corner in the mudroom. It matches... YAY! (I love finding projects in my basement).

Here's the wall with the wall dried, shelf ready to be hung up and bench in place! I was so excited to get it done, I couldn't help but take a pic of the almost finished wall.

Sorry, I didn't get a photo of the shelf making process but it was really simple. Take your two pieces of wood, whatever width you choose as long as it's long enough to fit in-between your molding, and use liquid nails to hold them together then framing nails to secure it. Once it's dried and then painted, add hooks with pilot holes (instructions for that is on the packaging for the hooks. I think the pilot hole needed to be 5/64 bit) and then use 2 1/2 screws to screw the board onto the wall. We found two studs behind where the shelf was going to be so we used larger screws for the hooks than the ones that were included because we wanted it to be more secure to the wall. Sometimes you just have to improvise.

& it's DONE! 

It's amazing, so useful and looks great in the room. We are eventually going to get a cute rug for under the bench and add a couple of baskets for shoes and the hats/gloves. The door to the right is the garage door and across from that is the back door so it's the perfect spot for this. 

PS - I have to give a ton of credit to my hubs for helping with this project. It went so much quicker having his help but ladies, you can totally do this 100% on your own! :) Have fun! 

XO, K.

Mornings are for Blogging!

& drinking coffee while watching Kelly & Michael & cuddling with my fur baby and L. I LOVE mornings! 

We went to Church Sunday morning, took L out to lunch then came home and literally spent the remaining time of the day on the couch snuggling, napping and woke up just in time to get re-ready and out to dinner with the in-laws and family. Red Lobster was AMAZING and definitely the perfect end to a great weekend! That's how I like to spend my Sunday's... Snuggled, napping & with family! Look at these two cuddle bugs during their nap... They are adorable.

Getting ready for church made my mood especially GREAT. L picked out a polka-dots dress to wear to church and insisted that I match her. I told her that I didn't have anything that fit me in polka-dots but she opened my closet doors, peeked inside and of course found a shirt that's over a year old and is a size too small. It's NEVER fit me right... I told her that it didn't fit me but, who can really argue with a two year old? So, I tried it on to prove to her it didn't fit me... but guess freakin' what? It FIT! I fit into a size medium top! My boobs fit! My waist fit! IT FIT! I was so happy! Happy dance in the bathroom definitely happened and L joined! It was a wonderful feeling.

Backtrack a bit... of course I had my coffee before getting ready for church and was so excited to wash my new mug and use it. It fit not ONE but TWO cups of Keurig and I was so happy for two reasons... 1. I love Pottery Barn mugs and i've wanted this for a while now 2. I love my coffee and this gives me a reason to be lazy so I don't have to get up and brew another cup. SCORE. (Thanks for the awesome housewarming gifts to our dear friends Sarah & Toby!) I will definitely use this cup for the wine that our other guests bought us but I really couldn't get away with wine before church.  

Backtrack a bit more... recap from the week we had... L chased me around the house all day everyday, what's new? She stole my glasses and wore them while I was getting ready. Silly girl. But, it was absolutely adorable.

I finally got around to taping off and painting the one wall in our bedroom I've been wanting to paint for a while now! It's a dark grey although, the light silver blue on the other 3 walls kind of make it look blueish gray. I do love it though! The only thing that will make this 100x better is when we finally get down to Ikea to get some bedroom furniture. Can't wait!

This past week was crazy busy for us at home. We had so many projects going on... fixing the doors, painting my bedroom at last minute and making my backroom into a mudroom... but, we did it! It was busy, messy but it is so fun making our house a home little by little.

Lennon has become mama's little helper. She's wonderful at helping me around the house and learning to do whatever I do throughout the day. It's been great teaching her how to clean, help cook, open and shut doors and the fridge without getting hurt, etc. But, when it came to house projects like hammering, painting and sanding things... she had no clue what to do but grab a hammer and bang it on the floor or grab a paint brush and try to paint anything. So I decided to let her have some fun and paint something all by herself. I grabbed a blank canvas I had lying around and let her pick out her favorite colors. Great choices, I might add! This morning she actually told me that she wanted to be a ballerina but not just any ballerina, a Minnie Mouse Ballerina. Thank goodness we had a Minnie Mouse Dress with a tutu! Win! Anyways... She picked out her favorite colors and painted her very own canvas! I let her do the painting, then she grabbed the bottles and squeezed the rest of the paint out. I actually think she's got a little artist in there somewhere. She may have a little Jackson Pollock inspiration in her blood, he is my favorite artist and there are MANY MANY MANY paintings done by L and I in our home that Jackson Pollock himself would have LOVED. I can't wait to take L to NYC some day and to the museums that I went to in High School when I fell in love with his artwork. Okay, rant done... 

Let's hope this week is an easy going, happy week for me and L at home. We have no errands to run, nothing to clean, paint or sand. Nothing to do but have fun relaxing, learning, cuddling and playing all day long! 

Staying at home with L is better than I could have ever imagined. Do I ever want to go back to work? No. Sure, I complain a lot but it's usually just because I didn't have time to shower without L or Luke destroying the house while I am absent for 10 minutes... or I didn't have time to switch laundry over so my yoga pants aren't washed or dried. SAHM problems are the worlds best ecards. This one was perfect and so fitting! I literally don't wear anything but yoga pants, sports bras and my hubby's t-shirts! It's amazing.

Honestly, this weekend I got ready and I was going to put jeans on for our house party Saturday night but then I said... F THAT (out loud actually!) and figured, why would I wear jeans? Nah, yoga pants it is. Ha! Sunday I actually did get ready for church with my jeans, a REAL bra and makeup. I told hubby that it's the first time in a week (since church the weekend before) that I have worn a real bra. Man, I  forgot how uncomfortable VS bra's can be compared to sports bras. PS ladies, do they make sports bras with support? These DD's need some help. That's a little TMI... but let's face it, you're on MY blog right now. So for real, help a girl out.

Last week it was like someone grabbed the knob and turned my anxiety levels all the way up. I don't think I have taken that much Xanax since I was prescribed it. I needed a break. I am so thankful for my friends and family that came over Saturday night, it was a much needed break from reality and much needed adult interaction time. I spend all day long with L and Luke at home and sometimes forget what adult time is like. Sure, I spend the hour lunch that Dan gets home with him eating dinner and not talking much because he's stuffing his face quickly and playing with L. But, I so needed more and time with my girls! So, thank you, thank you, thank you. The kids had a blast, the adults drank, played games and had a blast too! Thanks everyone for coming. :)

I've been on Pinterest lately trying to find a good SAHM schedule for the day. I've been home now for about two months and still haven't gotten a routine down to a T. I found a blog online that outlines the ideal stay at home mom schedule for every day. I love it! 

Here it is - http://www.themilitarywifeandmom.com/stay-at-home-mom-schedule/

I went kind of crazy for the first few weeks being home with L. Now that I have learned her ways, her ups and downs and her hyper times... I am planning our day out with more structure, activities, games, coloring, lunch and nap at a certain time, etc. It definitely makes the day go by faster, we have more fun and I am more at ease knowing we have things kind of planned out. I still need to plan in some time for a shower and get ready so I don't look like a homeless person all day long but hey, at least she's happy! 

I found this mug online at this Etsy shop and I am obsessed. I really need one to go along with my amazing new pottery barn mug too. Literally, some days I just want nap time to be earlier in the day and last longer. Is that too much to ask sometimes?

So now that it's Monday that means I need to plan out my week, my grocery must-have to make it through the week list and watch some Rachael Ray to have her rub in how much I don't know about cooking and make me feel hungry since I didn't eat breakfast. Happy Week, friends!

XO, K.