Summer is officially here! BBQs and pool parties are happening, freshly cut grass is around every corner, lightning bugs come out, the days are longer, and life is good! One thing that I associate with summer is a lot of salads! They are so easy to make, they serve a lot of people, and there are literally thousands of different kinds you can make. One of my all time favorite summer salads is ...
Recovering…
Living with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy This is real life for me. It's not always fun. It takes a village. My mom has the boys while I am here for 3 days getting IVIG treatment for my CIDP. She drove me here, and will pick me up when I'm done. My kids don't understand why I have a needle in my arm. Or why I'm at the doctor for so long. Or ...
Potty Training 101
Let's be real. Potty-training is not a fun part of parenting. It might be the WORST part of parenting. It's messy, it's frustrating, it's 24/7, it's a guessing game, it's smelly, it makes A LOT of laundry...like, A LOT. You really have to get creative if you want to be successful at getting your littles potty-trained as fast as possible. So I'm going to share some of my tips and tricks we learned ...
7 Health Benefits when You Drink Lemon Water
When life hands you lemons, make lemon water! We all know we are supposed to drink water throughout the day. Do you know how much is the recommended amount? According to the Mayo Clinic, it used to be about 8 glasses of water each day. But new research has shown that because that wasn't a one size fits all, it's best to "try to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound ...
Mother’s Day Gift Guides
Woah. How is it almost May? It's been a minute since I made a post on here. I have been working on my Etsy shop, The Lapis Boutique, creating new tshirts and gifts for Mother's Day. Have you checked out my shop?April showers have been hitting us hard here in Nashville...so there better be some awesome flowers that bloom in May! Also, it's that time of year where this meme is going around...and I ...
5 Tips to Save Money Shopping Online
Let's talk about ways to save money...because we never seem to have enough of it, and our kids are constantly wanting new toys, Roblox Robux, FortNite VBucks, Hot Wheels, clothes and shoes. Who can blame them, right? We took away their social calendar the past year. But with all of us being at home, my husband included, means that our grocery bill is considerably bigger since we are eating at home ...
One Box at a Time
*This is a sponsored post by Moving Solutions. All opinions are my own* For starters, I will tell you that I have moved A LOT in my life. Like, A LOT. When I was just 3 months old, we moved from Chicago to Omaha, NE. When I was 6, we moved back to the Chicago suburb of Lisle. When my parents got divorced, my mom needed to move us closer to her work so she wouldn’t be ...
Screen Time During a Pandemic
*Please note, some of these are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. This helps me support the blog and allows me to continue to make free content. I only recommend products I use and love. Thank you for your support! If you are like 150 million others in the US right now, you are facing cold weather, ice ...
Product Review – Nerf Gun Target Game
If you have kids with Nerf Guns, this post is for you! It has to be noted that I do not condone violence with Nerf Guns or weapon toys of any kind. And they can not shoot their Nerf Guns at each other, other people or pets. They know this before they play with them, and if they do not follow the rules, we DO take their Nerf Guns away. With that said, they received this Nerf Gun target game for ...
New Year, New Start
2020 is on its way out. (Bye, Felicia!) We may have unresolved resolutions that we didn't get to accomplish because, well, 2020. This year prohibited a lot of what we all wanted to do, so here's to hoping that 2021 is so much better! The activities are starting up again, school is starting back up next week, athletics, vacations, things are going to be returning to the "new" normal. So here's to ...
Product Review of Hyaluronic Serum
Since 2020 is almost on it's way out, I do want to accomplish at least ONE of my 2020 New Year's Resolutions before 2021. And that was to take better care of my skin. That is why I jumped at the chance to try this Hyaluronic Serum. Especially during the winter months, my face gets super dry, and I have always just used a facial moisturizer in my everyday regimen, but this serum is something ...
Christmas thoughts
Merry Christmas to you! It has been a year, y'all. No one can deny that. 2021 is going to be bigger and better, I just know it! At least I am hopeful. We learned this year not to take things for granted, like a simple hug, a hand shake, a family gathering. We all became home school teachers involuntarily. We learned to adapt. We learned to buckle down and stay at home even when everything inside ...
Baking Christmas cookies with the kids
One of my favorite things to make in the kitchen is cookies. All year long. But around Christmas time, our cookie jar and holiday tins are FULL of cookies of all flavors. Peppermint, Shortbread, Sugar cookies, Chocolate Chip, oatmeal, Gingerbread, there is something for everyone. And now that the kids are getting older, they want to get involved too! Which I have love/hate feelings about, but they ...
Activity Gifts for Kids
Hello, friends! Hope your week is going well so far. I am diving into top selling gifts that need to be on your shopping list for your kiddos today. I don't know about you, but it is such a headache when we see all the toys pile up and they don't even know what to do with them all. So this year, my family has decided to gift each other ACTIVITIES to do as a family and have an experience, rather ...
It’s December!
Post-Thanksgiving, a Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe, and Holiday Thoughts Wasn't it JUST 4th of July?? Weren't we just shooting off fireworks? Crazy how long this year has been, but also how fast it has gone by in some ways too. I just can't be-wreath it! Had to do it. Sorry, hope you like puns. So, Thanksgiving is LONG gone since now all we're seeing is Christmas ads and sales here and there ...
