Celebrating Baby Boy

Happy Friday!

I am very happy that Friday is here. I am looking forward to Liza's playdate this morning and to having my husband around all weekend. I hope to get our Christmas tree and house decorated and plan to sneak in a little extra mommy sleep. Or shopping. We'll see.

Last weekend, my mom graciously planned a shower for me to celebrate my baby boy. We tried to keep it very small with family and only a few of my close friends. I felt so blessed that anyone would come at all!

Here are a few pictures that I am very grateful to Katey for snapping!

The belly.

The punch was super cute!

The cake table.

 

The wishing tree.

 

 

 

Me and my girl.

 



 

 

No surprise here, Liza's favorite part of "baby brother's party" was the marshmallows!

 



 

Laughing at Katey's gift. Pee Pee Teepees! Haha.

 



 

 

With Katey!

 



 

I truly am blessed beyond words and am so thankful for all those who helped me celebrate my boy. Just nine more weeks until my due date. SUPER crazy!

 

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back next week with some new ideas to do with your kiddos.

 

XOXO Sarah 



Elf Time!

I LOVE Christmas! I love the decorations, the presents, the kindness that people show, and I especially love the meaning behind the celebration.

The last few years, Elf On The Shelf has become a popular tradition in many homes and this year will be the first year we attempt that popular little Elf  in our house.

Elf on the Shelf

I'm a tiny bit nervous about starting this tradition. Will the creepy elf scare Liza? Is she too young? Will I forget to move it around? I am assuming that at 2 1/2 she won't really get it yet, but it might still be fun to do!

I've been looking around the web for some cute Elf ideas and I thought I would share them with you today.

Snow Angels-


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Fishing elf-



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Tea party elf-



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Chef elf-


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I'll start off keeping things really simple this year. That's the plan anyway. If Liza is super into it than maybe I'll make it a bigger deal then I am intending to at the moment.

Does an elf come and visit at your house?! Do you have any fun and silly elf ideas or stories to share with us?! We'd love to hear them!!

I will keep you posted on our little visitor and hopefully share all the adventures he brings to my house!

XOXO Sarah


K5 Learning Review

Attention Mom's of children in grades K-5, this post is for you!!

A few months back, Simply Mommies was asked to try and review an online learning program called  K5 Learning. I had my 3rd grade daughter and her 1st grader friend participate in the program. 

K5 Learning is an online reading and math program for kids in kindergarten through grade 5. It can be used as a supplemental study and as a reinforcement for what your child is studying in school. It helps to build students reading and math skills. 

Pros of the program:

• User friendly
• Automatic lesson plan selection 
• Ability to add your own spelling words
• Students are put at their appropriate levels based on the completion of the student assessment at the start of the program
• No downloading necessary
• No external links or advertisements making it safe for children as young as 4 years old
• Ability for  your child to work at his/her own pace

Cons of the program:

• The only issue I had with the program is that the old spelling words would continuously show up with the new weeks words. It would be a great addition to the program if the spelling words were organized by week. This way, students would not have to work the previous weeks spelling words.

 I did contact customer service regarding this and it was explained to me that if the student had spelled all the previous weeks words correctly then they shouldn't come up again. I experimented by going through all the words with my daughter spelling them correctly. Even after doing this, they would occasionally show up with a new weeks word list.

Overall, I really liked the program and both children found it easy to use.

The child in grade 1 often struggles to pay attention in her classroom. but did very well using the program. Her mother was pleased with K5 Learning program and appreciated that it was easy to navigate. Her child enjoyed being able to do a lot of the lessons independently.

My daughter, the third grader, loved using K5 for her spelling words every week. It gave her a great way to study for the upcoming test at school. She also enjoyed the math and reading portions of the program.  I felt comfortable enough with k5 to know that this was a safe site for her to navigate without adult supervision. It is extremely child friendly and the lessons always held her attention.

I highly recommend trying  K5learning! 

Click HERE for your free 14 day trial! You won't regret it!

Hugs,

Katey

Where to find the best deals online?

Happy Friday! 

I hope ya'll had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have been kind of absent from the blog lately due to our move. We are finally settled into our new house. I have a few more boxes to go through but nothing major. Now I have to start thinking of Christmas! 

I didn't brave the black friday rush but I have been scouting out websites with deals instead.

My favorite website for posted deals is Hip2Save. She posts tons of deals everyday that are ongoing on the web. 

I have also been trying to look for cloth diaper deals for Sarah, since she is due in January with baby boy. 

Here are a few sites with cloth diaper deals today through Monday. 

Sweet Bottoms Baby 

• Free Shipping with NO minimum 
• 10% off storewide
• Buy 2 get 1 free on Grovia
• Buy 5 get 1 free on bumgenius freetime diapers
• Ergo carriers 25% off 
• Freebies on all orders over $15
• Rumperooz 15% off 
• To recieve these deals use code BLACKFRIDAY2012

Moms Milk Boutique

• Free Shipping on orders of $25 or more
• 25% off Ergo baby carriers and accessories
• Fuzzibunz Elite One Size Diapers, Buy 4 Get 2 Free
• Grovia Buy 2 Get 1 Free on select prints
• Discounts up to 30% on select items including:

•  Thirsties
•  Rumparooz
• Moby Wrap
• Boba Carriers
• Glamourmom
• Bummies
• bumGenius
• Flip
• Planetwise 
• Sophie Girafe
• and many more! 

Also check out this black friday sale at Kelly's Closet. They always have good freebies if you spend a certain dollar amount. 

Have you gotten any good deals online today? What is your favorite go to website for all deals online? 

Hugs,

Katey

     

Filled With Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful.

I am thankful for my husband. He is my best friend and I even enjoy grocery shopping with him. He is a wonderful father and works so hard to provide for us. I feel so lucky to have him.

 I sorta want bangs again.

I am thankful for my little best friend, Liza. She has brought me more joy than I ever thought possible and I treasure every second that I am with her. I know these days are fleeting and I want to savor every moment of them.

I am thankful for my growing baby boy. My excitement to meet him grows everyday (kinda like my belly) and I am beyond blessed to have the chance to love my little boy!

I am thankful for my parents. They raised me with ethics and morals and showed me what a true marriage is. They worked hard so my brother and I would never be without.

I am thankful for my brother. He might be a pain in the butt, but I still love him and I treasure our childhood together. See picture above :)

I am thankful for my niece. She will never know how much she means to me. There were many times in college that she brought me relief during stressful times and happiness during heartbreaks. And now I am so proud to have her be such an important person in my girl's life.

I am thankful for my grandparents. They have each influenced who I am today and I will forever be grateful to them.


I am thankful for my best friend. She is an amazing person and I have been very blessed these past 10 years or so to know her and be a part of her life. She balances me out and we are a classic case of opposites attracting.

Six years ago? We look so little.

I am thankful for all the other great friends I have in my life. There are many I don't get the opportunity to see very often, but they are a huge part of my life and I love them very much! I have a lot of friends like this. I'm blessed!


I am thankful for my home. I have to remind myself of this one pretty frequently, but I really am blessed to have a warm safe place to raise my family. I am thankful for my home. I am thankful for my home. :)

 

I am thankful for the blessing of staying home with my little(s). It doesn't make our finances easier, but it is worth every penny we don't have. I will forever be grateful that I am able to stay home and raise my children.

I am thankful for my education. It wasn't easy for me to work a billion jobs and go to school full time, but I am so glad that I did it. I am thankful that my parents instilled in me the work ethic that got me through those many years of busting my butt.

With my grandfather.

I am thankful for my gracious and loving God. He has shown me how to be loving, respectful, and compassionate to all people. No matter what. I have learned the beauty of forgiveness and hope.

I am thankful for Simply Mommies and for Katey. Working with Katey on this blog has brought me joy and challenges me to be a better mom and to really think about my writing. I am also thankful for the 5 of you that actually read our posts ;)

I could go on and on, but I am sure you're sick of reading. Try and make some time this week to think of the things you are most thankful for. It really helps me to keep things in perspective.

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

XOXO Sarah

Just Hanging Out

A whiny toddler while you're frantically trying to throw something together for dinner?  Anyone??

 I am sure you've been there at some point and that's where I found myself on Friday afternoon.

I needed to think quick and distract her with something new to do. Something that wouldn't cause a huge mess and something that would hold her interest long enough for me to finish the mashed potatoes.

My solution? A clothes line!

I found a long piece of ribbon and tied it between two chair. Then I grabbed a bunch of scrap fabric and some clothes pins and threw them in a basket. I showed her how to squeeze the clothespins and drape the fabric over the ribbon.

Opening the clothespins and clipping them to the ribbon was a little too challenging for Liza, but she improvised and clipped them to the bottom of the fabric that was hanging on the clothesline.

 

Sometimes it is good to give our kiddos a task that is a bit too challenging for them.

 

Not so challenging that it becomes frusturating and unenjoyable, but challenging enough to keep them intrigued and excited to figure out their own solutions.

 

Clothes pins are great way to practice fine motor skills and how cute would a little clothes line be in a playroom? I wish we had a playroom!



 

It was a difficult task for her, but she was into it. I was able to finish dinner and snap a few pictures before we were interrupted by a little potty accident :)

I'll be back this week with a Thanksgiving post. Can you believe it's Thanksgiving week?!?!

XOXO Sarah

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Friday!

I'm really starting to feel this pregnancy and I had to give myself a little kick in the blogging bum to get some things up here for you!

I'm excited to be getting a little closer to meeting my sweet baby boy. I wonder what we will name him. Any ideas? Because we have no clue :)

Yesterday,  Liza and I backed out of a play date that I was really looking forward to going to (it was more of a mom play date anyway!) because I was so tired. I've really been learning to listen to my body. When it is telling me to rest, I need to rest.

Well, as much as I can rest with a busy toddler running around. I love how busy she always is. It just melts my heart to hear her playing and singing to herself.

She has been begging me to paint the last few days and I couldn't deny her any longer!

I drew some lovely feathers and had her paint them while I cut out a turkey body from construction paper.

 

 She loved painting, but insisted that she was, "decorating [her] Christmas trees." I guess my feathers weren't very convincing!


Here's the final product!

I'll be teaching Liza the following poem to go a long with her turkey :)

The turkey is a funny bird
Its head goes bobble-bobble;

And all he knows is just one word...
And that is GOBBLE-GOBBLE!

Let me note that I have no clue where this poem came from or who wrote it (and it doesn't seem to say so online), but I've been teaching it to my students' for as long as I can remember.

Aren't you SO glad it is the weekend?! I am!

Until Monday!

XOXO Sarah

Hello, hello!

Hi friends.

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts this week. Life got hectic for a few days and I am now playing catch up.

We had a little play date this morning and had a lot of fun!

It snowed last week and we took some inside to explore.

We started getting ready for baby brother.

Liza's Side-So far

Baby Brother's Side-So far

We celebrated "Thanksmas" with friends in New York. We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner and a super fun Yankee Gift Swap.

 

 

And now, in lieu of nap time , Liza is fishing for the Alphabet.

 

 

 

 Any type of water play is a HUGE hit with little kids. And it helped me to cope with a tired kid :)

The magnet isn't strong enough to lift all the letters so she is getting creative.

 





And now she is somehow naked and scooping water from one bowl to the other. She is in her glory!

 

 

I'll be back tomorrow with another post.

 

 

XOXO Sarah

 

 

P.S. Katey Update: She moves into her new home tomorrow! Hooray!

Getting Beachy!

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Simply Mommies and other RI Bloggers are sharing some of our favorite Ocean State beach menories.

Rhode Island might be a small state, but we have quite a few beautiful beaches. I am a tiny bit embarrassed to admit that I still have not been to all of our beaches! Not to mention, where I live, the beach is considered "far away." Which mean it is more then a half and hour away (it takes about an hour to get to them!).

Unfortunately, I don't have access to all of my pictures, but I will post a few that I do have.

The beach is important to me. I grew up helping out st my grandmother's beach T-shirt shop each summer and loved to be able to spend hours on the beach.

Here we are at the same beach in Galilee that I frequented most as a kid.

In Newport....

 

And in Narragansett...

 

 

Our favorite beach in RI is a little beach called East Beach. You have to walk off road and down this long path until you see the most quaint and gorgeous beach! There aren't huge crowds and the sand is beautiful! 

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All this beach talk is making me really happy that the snow from our first Nor'easter is melted and we should have a sunny Friday in the 60's!

 

I am making it my mission this summer to spend more time at our coast. I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful state and I am determined to take advantage of it.

 

Don't forget to check out the other RI Bloggers beach posts today! I've linked up to All of Me Now.

 

XOXO Sarah

 

 



Our journey

Hey there and Happy Hump Day! 

 

A lot has happened in the past week that has made my life crazy, to say the least!  

Our movers came over a week ago, and it took them 2 1/2 days to pack and load us. 

 

 

We stayed in a hotel for five days after the movers came to load our things. 

It was a very emotional weekend as we said goodbye to our friends, and as we watched our big girl do the same with hers.  

When you live away from your family you hold the friends you have very close. They become your family, and you spend all your time with them.  We kept each other sane through all the crazy hours our husbands worked.  I love these ladies (and Sacha who is not pictured below). I already miss them and its only been a few days.  :( 

One last night with the ladies. Sad just thinking about it. 

 

We began our journey to Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon, and I was stopped at the border and sent for a secondary  random inspection of my vehicle. I was in our minivan alone with the three kids. I was a pretty upset about it because my hubs wasn't with me and it is such a chore to get out of the car with the kids and wait patiently. 

We got through it and finally made it to our destination. Now we have to try and wait patiently to see if we will be closing on our house on Friday.  The experience we have had with buying this house and a part time real estate agent has been nothing short of a headache. They have had since August to get everything done, and still they drag their feet and we are waiting on something that should have been done a long time ago.

So my advice to you is if you are selling a house DO NOT use a part time real estate agent because your home IS NOT their first priority. I am very frustrated!! 

 

So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we close on our new house on Friday. We are ready to get into a routine here. 

Hugs,

Katey