Make the Most of Your Road Trip!

Road trips. You either love them or hate them. Personally, I love them. Cranking up the music, rolling the windows down, and just having fun! Over the years, I've made several long trips both with kids and without. You could say I'm a road trip professional. Okay, not really. But it sounded good, right? I do have a few tips that have helped make road trips a little more enjoyable over the years.

// Snacks are Key. Let's face it! Fast food and snacks from the gas station can get pricy. Before you leave, load your car with lots of tasty filling snacks. Granola bars are  winner for us! We can usually get away with going to the dollar store a few days before we leave to get things that everyone loves. Along with the snacks, drinks are important. I of course prefer water, but capri suns are great for the kids. Heck, there's even great recipes to make your own granola snacks to save even more.

No one wants to be HANGRY
// Know your MPGs! To get the most out of your journey, it helps to know how often you'll have to stop for gas. You may not be able to map out where exactly to stop for gas, but you'll at least be able to know how often you will need to stop based on how far you're going and your MPG's. For example, when we drive from Georgia to Jersey we know we'll have to fill up three times. This gets worked into our travel budget. Without stressing about stopping too much allows you and the driver to enjoy the ride a little more.
Just watch out for flying Mexican!
// Enjoy the ride. Plain and simple. Just make the trip fun. Just because you're literally stuck in the car for hours on end, you don't have to be cranky about it!You may have taken the same road trip every year and know your route so well that you could do it in your sleep. But don't make the ride boring! Play I-Spy games. This helps keep the driver entertained.

// Crank up the tunes! Road trip songs are the best! Before you leave, get some playlists together that will have you and the driver singing along. My husband and I have a bunch of mixed CD's we use just for road trips. We both sing and dance along. And hey, if you have kids, you DON'T need to keep the kids songs playing. Let's face it, y'all... those get old FAST. The kids can learn to appreciate Journey at an early age!

// Plan to Explore. This kind of goes back to enjoying the ride. Before you leave allow little wiggle room in your travel time to stop and explore. Y'all may not realize there's a zoo you haven't been to before or a random "state's biggest (fill in the blank)" Look up some random attractions on your route and explore! For example, there's a natural bridge in Virginia that someone might like to see!  This makes for great memories and pictures.

See? Road trips don't have to always be  long and boring! Make it fun and make it something you enjoy. 13-15 hours in the car is a long time, y'all. We don't want to kill your spouse at the end of it, right?

What are some things you do on road trips? What's your favorite road trip song?

How to Prepare for Kindergarten + A Giveaway

School is literally right around the corner for us. I'm partially in denial that I will have a kindergartener as of next week. These past few weeks have been spent preparing Zander (and myself) for him to be in real school.

|| Go to the Kindergarten Round Up.
Shortly before the school year ended, the Pre-K told us about the kindergarten round up night. This gives the kids (and parents) a chance to see the school before the open house at the beginning of the school year. Here, you can tour the classrooms, the computer lab, library, and more to get a sense of what the kids will be doing during their day. Also, the kids get to ride the school bus since most have never ridden one before Kindergarten. Zander learned all the bus rules here.

|| Get your supply list early.
Y'all, the closer the first day of school gets the faster supplies at the store disappear. We took a trip to the school about a month ago to get the list and buy early. We still need to get a bookbag and a few new pairs of pants, but this weekend is tax free in Georgia so we'll be doing some shopping this weekend!

|| Practice buttoning pants and tieing shoes. 
This is something I did not consider working on over the summer until we went to the kindergarten round up. The kindergarten teachers actually suggested it. But seriously, I never realized how many times I've had to re-tie Zander's shoes or help him (and Ainsley) button their pants after going potty. Yes the teachers will still help. Zander still hasn't mastered tying his shoes, however he can button his pants (and jackets) with ease now. One less thing for the teachers to help with.

|| Look for letters and numbers everywhere. 
Zander is still not reading, however he does know his letters and numbers. From driving to the store and back or just reading together at home I am always asking him to identify letters and numbers and the sounds they make. Even with doing this will help him develop his ability to read while he's in school. Some kids are reading at his age, but we're not really pushing a whole lot. He practices writing his first and last name daily.

|| Have tissues ready.
If you're dropping your kindergartener off in the car, or if they're riding the bus (like Zander) tears are almost guaranteed. Zander is my oldest. This is our first school experience. I totally cried when he went to pre-k last year. Kindergarten marks the start of his school career. It's real that he's really growing up. I'm fighting tears now.

Hell... might as well have the wine ready for when they get home and celebrate how much fun they had, and how much they can't wait to go back!

|| Take lots of pictures. 
These are the moments made for photo albums. New friends. New memories. All of that. Time goes by quickly and you don't want to miss a single thing.

And now for a real treat, especially with back to school around the corner! Hope and I have teamed up with Firmoo to giveaway one FREE PAIR of glasses from Firmoo.com!! I've worked with Firmoo earlier this year, and I absolutely stand by this company 100%. This is a great chance to win an amazing pair of prescription glasses!

Penning Hope & The Rambling Llama

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why I Refuse to Baby-Proof the House

Baby Proofing. Child Proofing. It's all the same thing. Essentially you're trying to prevent your child from getting hurt. Or in some cases, you're trying to prevent your child from taking down hundreds of DVD's. The things to baby proof your home are pretty much in every store, including dollar stores. So obviously there's people that go for this crap. Based on the title of this post, I am not one of those people.

Josh and I did not spend hundreds of dollars on baby proofing equipment. Things we were gifted at the baby showers were not used. We just didn't feel like it was really needed. At first it was just kind of an unspoken thing for us. I talked to Josh a little before posting this to try and figure out if we had a reason or not. Apparently we did, it was just always unspoken for us.

I want to be able to get into my cabinets and refrigerator.
Y'all. Those things that go on kitchen cabinets, drawers, and the fridge to keep the kid out. I hate them. Despise them. Sure, some aren't that hard to open. That's not that the point. They're preventing me from being able to zip around the kitchen like a tornado and cook something! Also, pots and pans... while loud... prove to be excellent baby toys. When I was a new mom having to cook and take care of the baby; it was safer to let the babies sit on the floor and play with pots rather than getting held and burnt by hot grease. If the cabinets are locked, how can they get to their drums??

I despise door knob things. 
O.K. Yes, I have children that have almost a three year age gap. So my oldest knows how to open doors with any kind of knob. Ainsley has yet to figure out knobs and can open the handles. However, by the time our kids have been able to open knobs or handles or anything, they've also been old enough to understand, "the door is closed for a reason... don't go in there". Plain and simple. I don't want to make my children feel like they're locked into a room, or locked out of one. They have learned to knock on doors to get in. I don't lock them in their rooms for punishment. They are pointless.

The door knob things kind of inspired this post. Zander was at a friend's house last week. This friend has door knob things on the bedroom doors to keep the children in the room at night. Well, the bedroom door got closed while Zander was there and he couldn't get out to use the restroom. As a result he had a full blown panic attack. He didn't know how to get around the child proof knob. If we had them in the home maybe he would've eventually figured it out by this age, but we've never needed them.

Our DVDs are in the open.
This has proven to be a problem with Ainsley. She is more rebellious than Zander is, and she has been more curious about the DVD's. As a result of her curiosity, she's been the one to take the movies off of the shelves. With her it's taken a bit more "no, don't touch Ainsley" and redirecting. But that's been the key. In my opinion, kids are going to be more prone to find something that's hidden to see what it is. If something is out in the open as part of their normal day to day life, they'll be more likely to leave it alone. I promise as soon as I packed away DVD's or xbox games Zander and Ainsley both started to try to figure out what they were.

So what am I really trying to say??
I guess, I didn't want to be inconvenienced in my regular daily life. As bad as that sounds, hear me out. I knew baby(ies) would change our lives. I knew we'd give up a lot for them, and we have. But I didn't want to give up the way we stored things, or lived in the home just because of the baby. I feel like in not changing anything in the home to create any bubbles, it helped teach the kids.
The kids learned to listen (don't touch. that's hot. corners hurt).
I guess deep down I wanted my kids to feel like the house was theirs too. Which it is. Somehow I got it stuck in my mind that if we changed how we kept the house then the kids wouldn't feel at home. Silly yes. But it's our home. And the book shelves don't get emptied during the day.

Now, please keep in mind... I'm not in any way shaming any of my readers if you baby proof. Seriously. To each their own. It just was not right  for Josh and I. I would love to hear your thoughts though. Do you/ did you child proof? Did it help? Will you child proof with future kids?

Summer Expectations vs. Reality

Y'all. We're about a month into Summer vacation, and I've learned a lot about myself and my kids. I think I had this idea in my head about what summer vacation would entail. Getting all of those pinterest crafts knocked out etc... Y'all. That's not happening. My expectations are no where near my reality of being at home with the kids during the hottest time of the year in the south.

Expectation: We'll do tons of fun crafts and be able to blog about all of my pinterest wins!
Reality: Arts & Crafts portion of the day consists of either coloring or play dough.

Y'all, the material needed FOR arts & crafts is mostly not kid friendly. Trying to make home made flubber or salt dough with the kids at the ages they are now is just not reasonable. Ainsley throws ingredients. Zander gets bored with the mixing.

Expectation: We'll be too busy playing games to watch T.V.
Reality: Nick JR stays on for the most part... all day.

The kids do have plenty of toys, and yes they keep themselves entertained. But let's be honest y'all. Being home with the same toys all day can get boring. So While I'm cleaning (daily), the kids go between playing with their toys, watching Nick JR, and cleaning their room. I do sit and play with them, and we do read. It's just not all day, and I'm not going to lie, sometimes I just don't care. At least Nick JR has shows that teaches math and stuff, right?

Expectation: We'll have lots of outside time to where the kids will get so worn out they'll sleep wonderfully!
Reality: It's Summer in GEORGIA.

What was I thinking, y'all? Summer in GA means 80-90 + degrees. YES, we do go outside. If you follow me on snapchat you've probably even seen us running in this crazy heat. However, most of this is done either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Zander tends to whine about this, and tries to convince me to go outside at like 1:00 in the afternoon. Twice I've let him. He lasted 5 minutes both times before complaining about the heat.

That being said, I'm very happy to have this time with the kids. Because I AM able to do things with them that I otherwise would not be able to do if I was working. Like go to the library each week. (Y'all! I've been reading again! big deal alert!). At least the library has air conditioning AND kid's activities. This week we'll be going to the night time movie.

So yes, some expectations were not met, but the good outweighs the bad. I'm grateful that I'm able to teach my kids a few things. Zander is working on tieing his shoes. If he can catch on before school starts in Aug, that would be a big deal. Ainsley is learning colors and shapes. Both kids are incredibly smart, and I'm so grateful for them.

linking up with Emily

If only this GA heat weren't so terrible. Maybe we'll go play in the water today!

Mississippi Comeback Sauce

Y'all, I cannot be the only person out there that once they find the "perfect" condiment I use it on practically everything I can... right? RIGHT?! Well, thanks to my husband I have found this perfect condiment. Being the nicest blogger ever, I made him suggested he recreate the making of this sauce so I can share it with y'all!

This was something Josh found via facebook. One of those recipes that one of his aunts or friends or someone had shared on their wall. He thought "oh. That sounds good." and wrote down the recipe. Of course, he didn't actually share it to his wall, so I cannot fully credit where we found this. Also, I decided to leave the name the same, cause that's just what Josh keeps calling it.

It's so easy though, and the flavor... Y'all... I put this on scrambled eggs. It's just that good!

What you'll need:
* Don't let the size of the list scare you away. If you're like me, you most likely have the majority of these things in your pantry, spice cabinet, and fridge!

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup chili sauce. (NOT the powder. There is a difference, y'all!)
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard (We used spicy brown mustard)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp tabasco sauce 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbs lemon juice. 

What you'll need to do:

1. Combine all ingredients into an airtight container (like a good ole mason jar) 
2. Refrigerate overnight
3. Enjoy as a dip, topping, or whatever your little heart desires! 

Seriously, y'all. It's THAT easy. The reason to refrigerate overnight is to let the flavors "marry" together and get to know each other. Trust me... it makes all the difference in the world. So good.

If you try this, please tell me what you think. I love hearing from other bloggers when they try something I've shared! Hint, cucumbers dipped in this tastes really good too.
Happy Friday, friends! xoxo

Project Date Your Kids

Growing up. It's something kids look forward to, but something parents dread. As parents though, it's up to us to make sure kids have a good grounding and what to expect for when they do grow up. This includes learning how to date.

Mamas Tell All || Week 7 

That Southern Mama//Everyday ThoughtsThe So-Called Homemaker//The Rambling Llama

Our kids are still at ages where we don't need to be concerned about who they're dating yet. Thank goodness. But that doesn't change the fact that they are forever watching my husband and I and taking everything in. What you do as parents and how you act impact your kids at a very young age.

Josh and I hug and kiss each other in front of the kids. Not only because we love each other, but because we want the kids to know it is okay to show affection. I grew up in a home where affection really wasn't shown all that much. I want the kids to be okay with hugs and kisses.

We have yet to actually take either of the kids on a "date", but it's absolutely something we plan on doing. It's important for them to know acceptable dating behavior. I have several friends that have taken their older kids on dates. The dads will take the daughters out and the moms will take the sons. They all dress up and go on a genuine date.

Some ideas I had for taking Zander on a date included the typical dinner and a movie. We'd probably start with some Chick Fil A and go to a movie he'd enjoy.

This is still new to us though, so any tips or date ideas would be appreciated! Have you dated your kids? What do y'all do together?

link up with the other mamas and share!

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Next week is the final week for Mamas Tell All... talking about pets!
May 20: Last Year We Bought a Zoo (or Not) – a discussion on pets in the family - do you have any? why or why not?

Hero In a Half Shell: DIY Turtle Costume

Welcome to the last week of school for my precious five year old. This week, his teachers have basically decided to completely forgo all educational planning and essentially make this week a party everyday for the kids. Which I absolutely love. As a kid in school, what was better than counting down to summer? Why not countdown to summer with a fun different activity each day? Today is Super Hero Day!

Zander wasn't really sure what he wanted to be for a super hero. He's totally in LOVE with every super hero lately, so this was a hard pick for him. Finally he settled on Raphael. AKA the Red Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. He already had a mask. Technically we have two masks which turns into all 4 ninja turtle masks. They're reversible, so one mask has two colors. Boom. Awesome. We're partly there for the costume! What about the rest? Enter my rare creative DIY Mom side of my brain. Thus the need to share this with y'all. You're welcome.

Y'all. I'm not gonna lie. I'm super proud of how this turned out. You see, I refused to buy anything for this super hero day thing at school. Refused. I immediately started googling how I could make this costume for Zander.... and I immediately got discouraged. Most of what is online required things I didn't have around the house. (Like spray paint)... So I really had to get creative.

How I made Zander's costume!

Turtle Shell
What I used:

1. Cardboard box insert
2. Markers
3. Ribbon
4. Stapler 

What I did:

• The insert was a rectangle. I drew the oval shaped turtle shell in the middle of the box. 
• Using markers, I drew the shell pattern and colored it in. No, it's not perfect, but who cares? It's for a 5 year old. 
• After coloring, I bent the edges of the box so it would form a shell-like shape. 
• Holding where I folded, I stapeled it in place
• Using Christmas curling ribbon, I strung it through the folds & formed a "back-pack" like method to where Zander could wear the shell on his back. 

Turtle Belly.
Y'all! Huge props to Amanda for this. When I was posting all over instagram the progress of the shell, she suggested how I could do the belly. I took that idea and ran with it!

What I used:

1. Old white T-shirt (too small for Zander so he won't miss it)
2. Markers
3. Scissors
4. Needle & Black Thread
5. Pins

Because Amanda is a Genius and really helped me out. I had to share via Snapchat!

What I did:

• With I pencil, I sketched the outline of a turtle shell belly on an old white t-shirt. (I used the help of a google search image to see what several looked like.) I combined the look of two different pictures into one. 
• Using a black marker, I went over the sketch once I was happy with the design. 
• Now color away to how you want your shell to look! 
• Once I was happy with the look, I cut out the outline of the shell. Here, I cut out both the FRONT and BACK of the t-shirt. The idea here, was I didn't want it to fray, so I was planning to sew a little. 
• Because I wanted to sew, I left some of the white on the edge. 
• Here, I sewed by hand with a running stitch along the black outline. Once I was happy with it and satisfied there'd be no fraying, I cut the remaining white. 

To finish the look:
// I took Zander's green ninja turtles shirt and pinned the belly over the logo. This way, he looked green and didn't have to ruin his favorite turtle shirt!
// We put the "back-pack" shell on, and finished the look with the mask and khaki shorts!

What I love is that this can easily translate to a Halloween costume with long sleeves and pants. Plus, super easy! Literally, y'all I didn't even make my markers go dry coloring everything. I was pretty impressed by that.
Do you make your own costumes? I feel like this would've been easier if I had a sewing machine, but lucky for me my running stitch has improved while doing this! What do y'all think?

My Best Friend is the Father of my Kids

OMG, y'all do you know we're in the 5th week of Mamas Tell All? I feel like time is flying! I've been having so much fun getting to know other moms in the blog world with this linkup.

This week, we're bragging on our dudes a little bit. Talking about the Man Behind the Mama.

That Southern Mama//Everyday Thoughts//The So-Called Homemaker//The Rambling Llama

I feel like I've bragged on Josh quite a bit since my return to the blogging world in February. But I have every reason to. He's an amazing father and a wonderful husband. I thought because I'm sure y'all are sick of the "I'm so grateful" stuff from me I would take this a different direction and share how Josh and I actually met.

Josh and I in 2006

It was in 2006. I had quite literally just graduated high school, and really not looking for a boyfriend. Amanda can testify to the fact that I had a horrible ex. So realistically I definitely didn't need to be looking for a boyfriend even if I wanted one!

After work (at Kroger) one night, another co-worker had asked if I could take him somewhere for his birthday. He had lost his driver's license and some of his friends were throwing him a party. I thought, "why the hell not?" I didn't have anything better to do that night and now that I was 18, my mom was more forgiving if I stayed out super late. So I took him. We got there first and a group of 4 other people showed up a little later. I literally only knew the birthday boy, but it wasn't a problem for me because I can make friends with a wall.

Did I mention the birthday party was at a karaoke bar?

Yeah... I totally sang Joe Jackson's Is She Really Going Out With Him? in front of the man that would eventually be my husband. Sober mind you. I was 18 after all. It was also horrible. As someone that spent her entire life in chorus, this was by far my worst performance. I wasn't nervous or anything, I just didn't see the words moving on the screen and the song was too quiet behind me. Josh of course still laughs about this incident to this day!

The night went on with one of the guys I had never met before trying to hit on me. I completely ignored him. He's one of those guys that you can tell he's trying too hard. Not attractive. Josh on the other hand was quietly sitting in the corner. Those that know him know this isn't surprising. He was just smiling and taking it all in. Only talking when spoken to. Honestly, he and I didn't really talk at all that night. I think he was mostly laughing at the guy that was trying too hard.

After that night, we actually started chatting on MySpace. Yes. That's right, I said MySpace. I was the first to ask for his number.
The rest, as they say, is history. He actually had a girlfriend at the time and left her to be with me. I win. Now we have two beautiful children and have been happily married since 2008.

Josh and I 2015... being extremely goofy!

Tell us about your man! Husband, boyfriend, whatever! Link up with the rest of the awesome mamas below!
Next week:
May 6: Fighting the Green-Eyed Monster - talking about how all mamas sometimes get jealous of others 

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