Friday, June 26, 2015

High Five For Friday

This has been a crazy, jam packed week!!! We had Baby K's 2nd birthday party at home, celebrated Father's Day, traveled to visit Tolar's family, celebrated K's actual birthday with another party and swam, swam, swam.

1.) We had a blast celebrating Baby K's birthday with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed party! It was so fun to see her and her little friends playing together all afternoon.


2.) We bought K a tent (shaped like Sophia's castle) for her birthday and she loves it, crawls into it all the time. All of the balloons from her birthday made their way into the tent and this gem of a picture occurred, too precious.


3.) We have been swimming all week at my mother in-law's house and K has been having a blast. She has been quite the fish and stayed in the pool almost all day! This tube was a highlight for her - there is a mesh bottom, making it so fun.


4.) Swimming has been on our to do list all week, I love all the time we are getting to spend with family in the pool!


5.) On K's actual birthday her cousin and GMa threw her a Minnie Mouse party. She definitely loved the cake this year as opposed to the crying fit she threw over cake last year.






I'm linking up with Bright On A Budget, September Farm, Style Elixir and Meet @ the Barre.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Baby K's 2nd Birthday Party

Over the weekend we threw Baby K her 2nd birthday party with our family and new friends here in Dublin. Because our girl absolutely loves Mickey, we did a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. I hope she never tires of Mickey; he is always welcome in our house!I loved that all of the children in attendance were 4 years old and under, so all of the parents were very much clued in to all of the lingo and cuteness from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

The day started out sunny and gorgeous, but about 30 minutes before party time Tropical Depression Bill invited himself to the party and a huge downpour started. We had planned to have games for both the kids and the adults outside, but due to our uninvited guest, I had to come up with a back up plan. We decided to forgo the adult games and just set up a water/sand table (thanks for the sweet present Grandy and Roo!) and some cloud dough in the garage. The water table was a huge hit! However, I gave my almost 2 year old more credit than she deserved because she was soaked and had to make a costume change mid-party. Although I will just pretend that she is following in her mother's footsteps and knew that a wardrobe change is perfectly fitting for the birthday girl (thanks to Marcy for outfit #1)!

It was such a delight hearing K and her friends run around the house, giggling and squealing as they played together. Our little house was packed full of people we love and I don't think I would have it any other way. Maybe, in a way, I'm thankful to Tropical Depression Bill for keeping us all inside where everyone could really love on Baby K and shower her with affection. The Lord is good and He has blessed us with some amazing friends (and oh so cute friends for K) and family.

We served [mostly] child friendly food and I had some fun coming up names for everything. We served:
Mickey's Main Course (smoked chicken and pork)
Hot Diggity Dogs (pigs in a blanket)
Professor's Pouches (for the kids, but my friend Rachel really enjoyed them as well!)
Pluto's Potato Chips
Goofy's Silly Spinach Dip
Chip's Dip and Dale's Veggies
Clubhouse Cubes (cubes of cheese)
Daisy's Dessert (cookies)
Minnie's Bowl of Fruit

The decorations were made by me (super easy tutorial coming soon!) and I also made the cloud dough. I'm telling you, planning a 2nd birthday party was pretty easy - I was able to make just about everything! And bonus, because her first birthday was lady bug themed, I was able to use a lot of the black and red decor for this party too!
For the cloud dough, I mixed 8 cups flour and 1 cup baby oil in a large bowl and whisked everything together until fully blended. When the mixture started to look like sand, I knew I was done. I made 4 batches so we would have enough and poured everything into a baby pool. The 4 batches took me maybe 10 minutes total to make! I can guarantee you that we will be making more for future play time! At the party we invited all of the kids to get a "Mouseketool" and head outside to play. I found some measuring cups and sand toys at the Dollar Tree that worked out so well. 

The party was a huge success. Baby K had a great time, we got to spend time with our awesome loved ones and at the end of it all everyone was laughing and smiling. Thank you to everyone for celebrating our special little girl!





A HUGE thank you to everyone for the incredible toys and awesome gifts that you gave to Baby K. It has been nonstop fun at our house as she goes from toy to toy...all the while saying "Oh boy!"

Friday, June 19, 2015

High Five For Friday!

Well hello weekend! You were definitely missed.

Here are some top moments from my week:

1.) Baby K turns 2 next week and she has spent the past two years facing backwards in her car seat. We turned her seat around to make room for an additional car seat for my nephew who is visiting, so she had her last ride facing the back. How is my baby almost 2???


2.) Like I said above, my nephew is visiting and that just makes Baby K so happy. She wakes up every single morning asking for him and gets super excited when she gets to play with him. Their relationship is so cute and heart warming.


3.) Tolar got to play in a softball tournament over the weekend. His team played four games - three of them back to back.


4.) One night this week, Tolar and I braved a restaurant with two kids both 2 years old and under. Normally we have backup, but this time it was just us and we all had a blast. The kids were so well behaved and kept us laughing all night.


5.) Some great news happened this week, the incredible Rodan + Fields eye cream that was previously sold out came back in stock! This stuff is awesome and has kept me looking bright eyed and totally removed my sister's dark circles. To celebrate this amazing product, I'm giving an eye cream away over on instagram. Just click here and look for the below photo - all you have to do to enter is tag some friends.






I'm linking up this post with Bright on a Budget, September Farm, Style Elixir and Meet @ the Barre.

Friday, June 12, 2015

High Five For Friday

It's my favorite time of the week! Where I recount some fun happenings that occurred.

1.) You will probably see a lot of pictures like this - GRAPES! These babies were all washed and ready to be popped in the freezer. I'm kind of addicted to frozen grapes.


2.) If there is a big grocery cart with extra seating available, you better believe that is the cart that Baby K wants.


3.) Our friends Brad and Jessi have the perfect backyard for summertime play, complete with an awesome tire swing.


4.)  During the Wheels and Wagons event that we went to last Saturday, we also got to check out the Blacksburg Children's Museum. Four Baby K's...I'm fairly certain her mind was blown.


5.) Every month we have a ladies night out with our church and this month we headed to the Artful Place in Blacksburg for a Paint Party. I don't think I've laughed that much in a long time - what a blast!





I'm linking up with Bright on a Budget, September Farm, Style Elixir and Meet @ the Barre.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Weekend...Is Almost Here Again

I was supposed to post this on Monday and well, hello Thursday!!! This week has definitely gotten away from me and I cannot believe that tomorrow is the weekend. NOT that I am complaining about that one bit!

Last weekend we attended a really cool event called Wheels and Wagons and I just had to share the pictures. The town of Blacksburg hosted the event where firetrucks, police cars, safety vehicles, buses, snow plows, dump trucks and more were on display. But, they weren't just there for the kids to look at them; the kids could actually climb inside and explore everything too. What an experience getting to see what all of the vehicles look like from the inside! I think Tolar and I had just as much fun as Baby K. The best part? The event was COMPLETELY free. I was amazed at just how many vehicles there were and that the policemen and other workers were really in to showing the kids how everything operated. I learned quite a bit myself.

And of course, there were rides on a fire truck and a town bus. We might have taken four trips on the bus because K loved it so much! The event was a blast, as you can see by the crazy amount of pictures I took. We cannot wait for Wheels and Wagons next year!



Monday, June 8, 2015

Simple Moments Change Everything

I didn't think I was going to post today because I just never got around to blogging over the weekend. My to do list takes over my life sometimes and then by the end of the weekend I am exhausted and just want to veg out on the couch and watch Gilmore Girls (my current Netflix series I'm working my way through).

But then God uses simple moments to completely change my day. Below is what I posted on instagram and felt like maybe one of you needed to read this little reminder too. And while you are checking everything out, why don't you come follow me over on instagram. Even if I'm not posting on the blog, I definitely have pictures to post over there. I'd love to interact with you! So come follow and leave me some comments!
XOXO


THIS MAY BE LONG, BUT MAYBE YOU NEED TO HEAR IT. I HOPE IT BLESSES YOU. This morning I woke up tired and weary and a bit defeated and really just wanted to stay in bed. I even told Tolar that "I didn't want to adult today." Well, I think God used my family to speak to me this morning and remind me just how much He loves me and will be there to give me strength to carry on when I don't think I can continue. It started with an unexpected and extra special hug from Tolar. Usually our mornings are rushed trying to get Tolar out the door for work that all we have time for is quick peck. But this morning Tolar grabbed me into a bear hug, just what I needed. Then later, K and I headed to the store for our normal Monday morning grocery trip. And she was a complete angel! This isn't always the case for a curious toddler who prefers to be on the move instead of stuck sitting still in a grocery cart. But she was so good and we had a fantastic time together. And the cherry on top of everything just happened...while sitting on the couch together K leaned over, nuzzled her head into my side and said (unprompted) "I love you Mommy!" Thank you Jesus for these special moments that to some may seem small, but to this tired Mama they were exactly the fuel I needed. God is good, all the time. He hears your cries, He cares about your wants and He will carry you on when you think you have nothing left. #thankfultolars #love
A photo posted by Lindsay Tolar (@lindsaytolar) on

Friday, June 5, 2015

#FreeToBe An Outside Mom


It is no secret, I really dislike messes and things that are dirty. I like things neat and tidy and if a mess has to be made then I want it to be easy to clean up. And the funny thing is, I'm the mom of a toddler. Toddlers don't understand that life exists without messes and the ironic thing is that I believe toddlers shouldn't have to understand. Yes, I want to raise my daughter to clean up any mess she makes, but I also want to raise my daughter to know that life is fun!!!! And that sometimes a mess does need to be made to have said fun (I cannot believe I just said that either, but it IS true).



My Baby K is an outside girl; she loves to play on her swing set and blow bubbles and run around and roll in the grass and just have fun - outside. And I certainly don't want to stifle that fun for her, so I make sure that I have a trusty sidekick to help me clean up any mess that might be created. With all free clear laundry detergent I am #FreeToBe an outside Mom, the Mom that K needs! I love to see K run around and smile and giggle and even say "this is fun." All of her joy really warms my heart.

Because of all free clear, I never have to worry about grass stains on her clothing from her crawling around outside. I can dress her as girly as I want, let her play outside and know that my laundry will come out clean because of the powerful stainlifters included in the detergent. And I really enjoy using the all free clear mighty pacs for easy laundry washing because there is no measuring involved - just toss in one pac and clean an entire load of laundry! Easy peasy! The ease of the all free clear mighty pacs allows me to get back to playing outside with my girl! AND I know that K's skin is protected from irritation because all free clear is super gentle.

If the weather is sunny and warm, it is a guarantee that we will do some sort of activity outside. Crawling in the grass and popping bubbles is the current favorite pastime for K. She will run and crawl from bubble to bubble saying "pop pop pop" or "I pop it." I love her want to be outside and to let loose and have fun. She inspires me daily.



Just for you guys, I have a coupon that you can use to get $1.00 off your purchase of all free clear.
That is right, click right here to get your savings!!!

Oh and all free clear has some awesome new products that you might be interested in too. They just added all free clear OXI mighty pacs and all free clear OXI laundry booster. With extra strength cleaning power, you can clean, whiten and tackle stains without the worry of irritation. Because really, you have enough to worry about with little ones in the house.



High Five For Friday

The top moments from my week...and...go!

1.) The highlight was introducing Baby K to live theatre. We took her to see FANCY NANCY at Roanoke Children's Theatre and had a blast. The show is adorable, the musical numbers kept her interested and they even have a dress up trunk. I hope this is the first of MANY plays that my daughter and I attend.


2.) I finally ordered some shirts from Riley Clay Designs and I am in love with them. I've been eyeing these "Jesus Saves, Bro" t-shirts for so long and I am so glad I bought them. The fit is perfect, they are super soft and the shirt has quite the perfect message. I cannot wait for all three of us to wear these shirts together as a family (Tolar will be thrilled...I'm sure).


3.) It doesn't take much to entertain Baby K, a flashlight and a wall will do! Seriously, the girl is entertained by the simplest things: bubbles, a box, a styrofoam cup, old party balloons. There's the birthday wish list!



4.) An empty track at Randolph Park with nothing but me, a stroller and a cute little red head tucked inside! Baby K and I have been hitting up the park to walk quite a lot lately and we both are really enjoying it.


5.) We had a church picnic over the weekend and I snapped this adorable moment between K and Tolar. Love these two so much!





I'm linking up today's post with Bright on a Budget, Style Elixir, September Farm and Meet @ the Barre.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Lists, It's All About The Lists

I'm a list maker through and through. I make lists for everything; things I need to do, grocery lists, blog ideas, tasks I need to complete for the theatre, a list of jobs to tackle around the house, birthday wish list for Baby K...it is endless. I love making lists because it helps me remember everything I need to and I find such accomplishment when I cross stuff off (although I'm not one of those people who adds things to my list that I already completed just so I can cross them off). So I guess you could say that I couldn't live without lists.

There is one list I started recently that I definitely don't want to live without. It is a list of things I WANT to do. It's a fun, random list of things I'd love to accomplish in the very near future. There is really no theme to the list, except that these are things that would make me smile.

List of things I WANT to do

At the top of my list:
Take much better photos. I've gotten a whole lot better at taking photos since I started this blog 2 1/2 years ago - see examples below - but I'd love to learn even more tricks. 



Also, I'd like to...

-Learn to play guitar.

-Take a calligraphy class.

-Drive a stick shift. (I don't even think I can drive a stick shift in an emergency. My college roommate, Amber, taught me briefly one summer but I sure don't remember anything.

-Mail happy packages more often.

-Attend some sort of Kentucky Derby party and wear a really big hat.

-Make Meatless Monday an actual "thing" in my house.

-Do more brave things, especially in front of Baby K.

-Work on graphic design. (I've been toying around with some design and I would love to be able to do a redesign of my blog one day all by myself.)


What about you? Are there any fun things that you would add to your list of things you WANT to do?


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AND NOW FOR A QUICK UPDATE ABOUT THE I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT link up.
Katie and I have decided that we both could use a much needed break over the Summer. So today is your last chance to link up with us until we return in the Fall. So take advantage of this, link up and join us!






Link up with us and share something that you couldn't live without: a recipe, a piece of clothing, a person, an iphone app, a bible verse, a baby product, song...whatever. Just share something that made your life better this past week.
You can link up on either of our blogs. And feel free to grab the button below to help us spread the word!!!!