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Getting ready for Valentine's Day last minute this year? Here's a super cute Valentine idea for anyone in your life and it's a "piece of cake" to prepare - grab this printable and a squishy from Dollar Tree (or even a cupcake from the grocery store) and leave this on your Valentine's table.
I love this cute valentine piece of cake squishy for so many reasons - I mean, it's adorable, so there's that - but it's also a great "stress reliever" and it's a clever way to remind someone you are thinking of them. It's truly a multi-functional valentine in many ways.
The best part of this little Valentine though, was The Dollar Storehad so many different options! I loved that they had a million different cake squishies, that way you could give each teacher in your kiddos life one of these or even leave them on the secretaries desks at your work with THIS free printable.
If being with your Valentine is a piece of cake - then you absolutely need to give these out this year!
This post may include affliliate links - that means if you click through on a link that I may make a tiny portion of the sale, if you happen to make a purchase! You aren't charged anything additional, you're just helping me support my family!
Valentine's Day is right around the corner, which means things are getting pretty creative over in the Harmon household.
Instead of just buying a box of Valentine's, you know I had to have some fun and make things for D's little buddies. The good news is, I didn't have to spend much at all to create a SUPER UNIQUE and fun valentine for her to hand out! I got all kinds of inspiration at The Dollar Store and then made printables and attached them with pink and white twine to make them just the right amount of cute!
I also got carried away and made a ton of Valentine's, not just this cute set of Seedling inspired valentines! Don't worry, I'll be sharing them all before the holiday!
Today I wanted to share a simple and FUN Valentine you can make in minutes that will really make someone's heart grow! That's right, this fun little Valentine will be so perfect for the plant lovers in your life - and the cuteness and creativeness is bound to impress your kiddos friends at school! You can claim the rights to being a Pinterest Mom without much effort at all!
All you have to do is print this off - I've attached this FREE printable! There is 3 cards for the "You make my heart bloom" and 3 cards for the "I love watching our friendship grow" - that means you can print off like 4 sheets of these or so and have enough for the whole class. I printed using these settings in Adobe! You'll obviously switch the printer to YOUR printer, then set the page sizing to custom 2 x 3 booklet and you are good to go! Use a paper cuter like this one to get a clean cut and then attach the card with a tiny bit of twine and hot glue!
Then, just grab the seeds from the Dollar Store! These were 3 packs for $1 at our location so this Valentine craft can be done for next to nothing!
One thing that I've heard from many couples, that we try to follow, and I also give the advice to others is that you always need to continue to date your spouse. Don't ever lose that special spark between the two of you by always kindling that fire with fun times and special moments shared.
Dating your spouse sounds great, right? But we all know finding the time and hiring a babysitter isn't always a possibility. Here's the thing, dating doesn't have to be complicated. You don't have to do anything special. It doesn't have to mean getting gussied up and going out on the town - you can date your spouse at home.
Here's 18 ways you can plan the perfect date night in:
1. Turn your living room into a cozy indoor campground and snuggle up while telling stories.
2. Create a craft night - get creative with your boo and let it flow.
3. Get boozy and have a little cocktail sampler night, trying new beverages or your old favorites.
4. Set up a picnic in the backyard during the day and spoil each other with some foods that remind ou of your first dates.
5. Have a game night and let the competition heat things up.
6. Try something new with a little taste testing of something completely new for you guys, whether that be sushi or a new take on Korean bibimbap.
7. Stargaze and make wishes on 'shooting stars' even if you don't see any.
8. Take a trip down memory lane and look at old photos or pictures.
9. 'Go to The Game' in your own home, just DVR or watch a game live and chow down on hotdogs and nachos, maybe even surprise hubs with a beer in a cup that features his favorite team if you're feeling fancy.
10. Give each other some touch therapy! Google proper massage techniques and start rubbing!
11. Let your milkshake bring your boy to the yard, make special milkshakes or smoothies and sip with your sweetie.
12. Get into some Karaoke - Sing your heart out with no judgement, just check out youtube for your favorite songs and get to groovin' to your fav tunes!
13. Have an exclusive book club meeting, grab two of the same copies of a book from the library and read it together during the week and spend your 'date night' discussing.
14. Learn more about each other, take some personality tests online and share your results.
15. Plan your next vacation together, dream up the wildest places you could visit together or actually start booking the tickets - the choice is yours, just dream big together.
16. Redo something together, whether it's painting an old piece of furniture or reorganizing the pots and pans in your cabinets - spice things up by redoing something and making it feel new.
17. Stretch it out and renew yourselves together with some Yoga fun. Whether you are seasoned yogis or you've never even attempted to stretch, be sure to give this flexibility encouraging activity a try.
18. Make it a spa night with a bath bomb, face masks, and maybe even a steam facial - pamper both of yourselves with self-care.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links, regardless all opinions expressed below are my own.
There's a pretty gnarly flu bug floating around the nation, we managed to catch it while flying back home to see family and we've fighting it since.
It basically took our house hostage, for over a week, but I am finally adjusting back to life without waking up hacking every night again, D is still fighting her cough but mostly her normal self, and hubby is still recovering - but overall we BEAT the bug and I wanted to share how since we know what a doozy this really is.
This flu is different than others, we actually never got the elevated fever but had all the other symptoms to a tee. So know that if you don't have all the "influenza" symptoms, that you may still have the flu - or a similar virus.
If you're currently fighting it, know that "this too shall pass" and persevere... and this is a given, but if your symptoms become abnormally bad be sure to visit your doctor too!
With that said, let me start by saying, I'm not a medical professional - BUT this is what worked for us:
1. Electrolyte Water to help keep your body hydrated, even when nothing else sounds good.
2. Elderberry Syrup to help boost your immune system (for the family).
3. Zinc Tablets to help shorten the symptoms (only for the parents).
4. Emergen-c or Airborne drink mix to offer immune support and boost your vitamin C, allowing your body to fight off the virus quickly.
5. Essential Oils are a must, we set up our diffuser and use some of our favorites from Eden's Garden to help make breathing easier (be careful with oils and research before use).
6. Cool Mist Humidifier is a necessity, if you are dealing with a cough. I would not have been able to sleep without ours and it has helped ease D's symptoms as well.
7. Fresh Cool Air is a given, but something that helped our family greatly. Any time D is experiencing a rough night, one of the first things I do is step out on our back porch and let her take some deep breaths. It always helps calm her coughing fits and my own as well.
8. Steam Showers on the other hand, have also helped us immensely. Without steam showers I don't think any of us would've been able to sleep this week.
9. Theraflu pods were a life saver for myself. D obviously can't drink these, but being able to have one of these warm drinks (with some meds also in it) seriously healed me so quick. I went from being miserable to feeling human within an hour, every single time I drank one.
10. Rest is another given for fighting the bug, but one that truly helped our family so it's something I feel I need to mention.
11. Nose Frieda is a nose suction device that your kid will HATE, but will make them feel better within seconds. We suction D's nose and she can instantly breath easier, even if she is fuming mad.
12. Similasan Kids Cough & Cold Relief was another life saver for us with D. We have both the day & night formulas now and swear by this brand, it's a natural cough syrup that has helped her in the past but especially helped fight this bug and it's safe for any kiddo ages 2+.
So tell me, have you caught this terrible bug that's been spreading like crazy across the nation? I hope not, but if you have - I'd love to hear how you "survived" it and what helped you the most!
And to those of you that encourage others to get the flu shot, that's your choice - but it's one we opt out of year after year, after contracting a terrible case of the flu after receiving the shot years back. I'm not saying anything against others who choose to get it, we just don't in our house and even after experiencing the flu again - I still hold true to my decision.
Letting things go can be hard at times, but letting these 30 things go will be life changing for you.
Things to let go of in 2020:
1. Comparing yourself to others.
2. Feeling sorry for yourself.
3. Spending money on items you don't need.
4. Being obsessed with viewing others "perfect" social media lives.
5. Fearing the unknown and the anxiety that comes with that fear.
6. Holding on to hurt.
7. Putting off vacation.
8. Feeling jealous.
9. Toxic relationships.
10. Waiting for the "right time".
11. The need to control every detail of everything.
12. relying on others to make you feel complete.
13. Avoiding the real world.
14. Keeping up with the Jones'.
15. Your hesitation to enjoy life to the fullest.
16. Creating unrealistic expectations for yourself.
17. Fearing failure.
18. Living in the past.
19. Worrying about what others think about you.
20. Living a disorganized life.
21. Trying to control the people around you.
22. Being TOO busy for everything.
23. Analyzing and picking apart situations.
24. Trying to fit in.
25. Blaming others for your problems.
26. Friends who don't care about your best interests.
27. Avoiding change.
28. Being afraid to BE you!
29. Holding on to useless items.
30. Avoiding the truth.
This post is sponsored by Earth's Best Peanut Butter Puffs but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
Raising an independent child is something I'm truly striving to do. This may be hard to believe, since I mean, I've openly admitted I have an issue, at times, with being a helicopter parent... but it's something I'm working on, I swear. The thing is, even though it's taxing and sometimes down right maddening debating with a toddler - I'm always excited to hear her speak her truth and that is why it's all worth it. Every hissy fit over a tiny misunderstanding, every crocodile tear shed over a mishap, every little ounce of drama she creates... it's all tough to deal with at times, but it's all a great reminder that she's this amazing, magnificent, overwhelmingly awesome little person and she's just expressing herself.
Now don't get me wrong, we don't encourage her to throw fits at the store after we tell her "no". But hey, it happens and instead of spanking her or abandoning ship and heading out to the car, I've learned that reasoning with her and discussing why she feels upset truly does help. I mean, it may not have a year ago, but now that she's so much more vocal - it only makes sense to discuss her feelings with her.
I mean, Delainey isn't a perfect child, by any means... She's extremely emotional about 99% of the time so we are constantly having discussions, but with encouraging her independence I'm seeing some major changes in her behavior and well, that just warms my heart. Maybe I'm doing something right, after all? I think we all know that warm, endearing feeling.
So I guess you're probably wondering what types of changes we made to fight the toddler struggles of terrible twos and terrifying threes?
How exactly have we encouraged Delainey to be more independent lately...? Here's the scoop:
The first step we took toward independence was encouraging her love of mysteries. She's really been into the idea of "vestigating" [see also investigating] all kinds of things lately and I'm 100 on-board with it.
From being curious about where electricity comes from to asking me to uncover a stone with her in the backyard, I've been going full force and encouraging her curious behavior in a healthy and productive way. Wanting her to solve the mysteries herself, I set her up for success and sit back and help when asked. I love watching her make discoveries and analyze situations and I've also seen her use those same problem solving skills in situations with her peers and sometimes even when she's negotiating with me.
Plus, we've learned new things and we've also solved some mysteries! Being a "detective" with my little firecracker is truly helping her come out of her shell and she's "blossomed", if I can humbly brag for a bit.
The next step we've taken on this path to independence is allowing her to call the shots.
Well, sometimes we let her take the lead, anyways. She doesn't "rule the roost", but she is often in charge of decisions that effect her, as we see fit.
One of the first decisions I noticed she LOVED making was what to have for snack time. From fruit to crunchy munchies, she's always looking for something new to try and she's always excited to shop the organic section at Walmart. So when she saw the delicious Earth's Best Organic Peanut Butter Puffs (with Elmo on the front), I already knew it was game over and she had found a snack she loved.
As soon as she saw it, she grabbed the package and told me "dis one, mama, I want dissss"! I was curious about what she had picked, but once I saw it's an ideal snack for toddlers and made of only 5 ingredients, I knew that we 100% we had found a snack we could agree on and she was thrilled to grab a couple of bags!
This a great "starter snack" for her. These delicious, dissolve in your mouth treats are something we both can enjoy and appreciate... but the best part is, it's so easy just to grab a pack and go!
I promise, you and your toddler will be huge fans of this easy, delicious snack!
Another step we took to foster independence in our wild girl was letting her learn new things on her own.
We've struggled through worksheets in the past and I've tried coaching her on how to properly get a toy to work, but allowing her to completely learn to do something on her own has been life changing for us both. Instead of tears of frustration, we now spend our time peacefully waiting as she has decided she will be the one to feed herself, brush her own teeth, dress herself, etc. It may be time consuming and sometimes I have to redo her work, but seeing her satisfied with herself after accomplishing a great "feat", I'm not changing this for the world. That look of success and her absolutely beaming pride as she's accomplished a new task, there's nothing like it in the world.
The last step but possibly the most important step since it relates to all the other steps, is CONSTANTLY reminding myself to let go and let her live.
I mean, I'm still fully involved since she's a tiny little nugget in the scheme of things, but I try to let her do her thing more often than not, as I nervously watch every step from a far. With growing her independence, she's become truly her own person and I've had to let go even more recently and it's been such an amazing, bittersweet feeling. One of the many recent ways I've really had to "let it go" was allowing her to choose activities she wanted to do and watching her form her own friendships. It's been amazing to see who she is becoming, but man, no one warned me this all would happen so quickly. She went from a baby to this strong, capable little kiddo in the blink of an eye.
While it may sound crazy, the independence seems to help her in so many ways, from gaining confidence in herself to better listening skills - we are really in a good spot. I''m curious, do you have a toddler as well - if so, how do you foster their independence? If your little one is in a different stage in life, I'd still love your input, after all - we're all on this journey together and hey, as they say, "it takes a village".
For most infants with
severe eczema and/or egg allergy who are already eating solid
foods, introducing foods containing ground peanuts between 4 and 10
months of age and continuing consumption may reduce the risk of
developing peanut allergy by 5 years of age. FDA has determined,
however, that the evidence supporting this claim is limited to one
study.
With the launch of Disney+ bright and early this morning, it's only fitting that I make a best of the best list of things available to watch on the app! I mean, I was so excited to start watching I had trouble sleeping last night - but sadly, we kept getting streaming errors this morning. It's finally working now, but I had to keep my disney brain occupied and decided to make this epic list of Disney movies you need to watch on Disney+!
So go ahead and make some snacks... and get ready to binge watch some amazing-ness! This list is just a SMALL sample of all that will be available and I'm not even going to lie... I want to watch each and every movie/show!
So my fellow Disney fannatics, check it out... and let me know which movie (or show) you are planning to watch first! Oh... and if you sign up now... you'll get your first week free!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
Dumbo
Miracle on 34th Street
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Lady and the Tramp - The Original
Sleeping Beauty
101 Dalmatians
Mary Poppins
The Sound of Music
The Jungle Book (1967)
The Aristocats
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Muppet Movie
The Fox and the Hound
Spider-Man (1981)
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Three Men and a Baby
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Oliver & Company
Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Turner & Hooch
The Little Mermaid
The Rescuers Down Under
Three Men and a Little Lady
Beauty and the Beast
Newsies
Sister Act
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
Goof Troop
Aladdin
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Sandlot
Hocus Pocus
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Thumbelina
The Return of Jafar
The Lion King
Iron Man
Fantastic Four
The Santa Clause
Spider-Man
Heavyweights
A Goofy Movie
Pocahontas
Toy Story
James and the Giant Peach
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Mighty Ducks
101 Dalmatians
The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue
Hercules
Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
Recess
Flubber
Mulan
The Parent Trap (1998) - The remake
A Bug's Life
Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century
Doug's 1st Movie
10 Things I Hate About You
Smart House
Annie
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
Toy Story 2
The Tigger Movie
An Extremely Goofy Movie
Even Stevens
102 Dalmatians
The Emperor's New Groove
Lizzie McGuire
The Princess Diaries
Monsters, Inc
Kim Possible
Lilo & Stitch
Tarzan & Jane
That's So Raven
Piglet's Big Movie
Finding Nemo
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Freaky Friday
The Cheetah Girls
Brother Bear
The Incredibles
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Chicken Little
Kronk's New Groove
The Wild
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Cars
Meet the Robinsons
Ratatouille
Iron Man
WALL•E
Tinker Bell
The Princess and the Frog
Alice in Wonderland (2010) - live action
Tangled
Winnie the Pooh
Wreck-It Ralph
Monsters University
Frozen
Big Hero 6
Inside Out
The Good Dinosaur
Zootopia
Moana
Puppy Dog Pals
Vampirina
Encore! - Disney+ exclusive
The World According to Jeff Goldblum - Disney+ exclusive
So I'm late to the game but I'm so obsessed with podcasts lately, from binge-listening while working to trying to sneak in a few minutes while D is running around outside with her dad in the mornings - I'm constantly listening.
I personally tend to listen via itunes on my computer and on my old school ipod, but I know there's all kinds of apps you can use to listen to your favorites on. This list can all be found on itunes, but I know several of these shows are available on other platforms as well!
Beyond HOW you listen, I know a few of you are wondering why should you listen? The main reason I can give you, is that these shows are life changing... all in different ways!
So let's get started with the best of the best... (and be on the look out for more of these "best" lists in the future)
1. My Favorite Murder - HILARIOUS... and outrageous. Murder and comedy don't seem like they would tangle together well, but these two genius ladies have created a cult-like following and the most epic podcast. If you like true crime, start with episode one and listen through. I'm only about 130 episodes in... but I'm in awe of these ladies and their comedic talents and their story telling abilities.
2. Creative Processing with Joseph Gordon Levitt - Another genius creation, made by the famous man, JGL. He has done so much with his life, always finding a way to help others express creativity and this podcast is just another epic creation. He interviews some amazing people and gets their input on challenging questions posed by his audience. I enjoyed listening to every episode in his first season and long to hear season two, ASAP!
3. Raising Good Humans - If you're a parent, this podcast is going to be LIFE for you. Get parenting tips and be the best mama (or dada) to your little one with the helpful advice she offers. From handling tantrums to helping kids learn, I love her input on challenging parts of parenthood.
4. Seriously, Let's Be F***ing Honest - While this podcaster 100% has a potty mouth, she can help you learn to be a better you... starting at episode one. Give it a listen... and let's get honest about a little bit of everything.
5. Office Ladies - If you love The Office, you will LOVE this podcast. Angela and Pam changing up the game... and making podcasts even more hilarious.
6. The Expand Your Awareness Podcast - If you like mindfulness and learning about complex theories, this may be the podcast for you. I've questioned the world around me after listening to episodes of this and that's exactly why I love it.
7. The Business Life & Joy Podcast - This podcast is seriously life changing for small business owners and/or bloggers. She's so knowledgeable and encouraging - it's definitely worth a listen if you are ready to make some changes and lead a happier life.
8. Great Women of Business - I didn't expect to love this podcast as much as I did. It has limited episodes, but OH MY LANTA, it's amazing. Learning about so many amazing women and the way they have succeeded, through all kinds of struggles. It's truly encouraging and something every woman needs to hear.
9. The One You Feed - This was my hubby's recommendation, but it's also another inspiring podcast that makes you think. Whether you're analyzing deep thoughts along with him or wondering how you can change the world, this podcast is different and enchanting. I promise you'll enjoy it.
10. The RobCast - This one is definitely one I knew I would love immediately, without question. I first head Rob Bell preaching back in my high school days. He shared messages that were DIFFERENT, he wasn't demeaning or condemning, but optimistic and eager to teach... and that changed my life. Now that he isn't on stage, but still behind a mic, nothing has changed. Listening to the RobCast has been a learning experience, over and over again, each time I press play.
11. Crime Junkie-Another one to check out if you are a tru crime fanatic is Crime Junkie. This was the first podcast I ever binge-listened to and it'll always be one of my favorites. It's much more serious than most of my other favorites but it's been one that keeps me coming back again and again for each episode.
Beyond that, I know there are HUNDREDS more that I need to hear... so tell me, what is your favorite podcast to listen to?
