Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is right around the corner and I'm particularly excited about it this year because it's my very first one!  I missed it by a mere four days last year so this one is going to be very special for me!
I'm looking forward to spending the day celebrating with my husband, son, and our families! We usually do a brunch with my in-laws and spend dinner time with my family.

 As for gifts, I've complied a list of seven budget friendly items the mothers (grandmothers, aunts, sisters, mothers-in-law, etc.) in your life are sure to love!  Some of them are practical, some cozy, and some are little tokens of love.

phone case  //  slippers  //  robe  //  bracelet  //  charm  //  recipe tin  //  candle 

The gifts above are just a small sampling of how you can show your love to the special ladies in your life.  There are many other homemade ideas and sweet gestures that will also be greatly appreciated!  Below are a few sentiments that are sure to be enjoyed:

• Let mom SLEEP IN!  And when she wakes up, surprise her with something yummy for breakfast!  An extra hat tip to you if you serve it to her in bed!
• Manicure and pedicure pamper sessions are wonderful and a great way for mom to unwind!
• Clean the house! I tell you this is one I would love to have done for me!  I always feel so relaxed when I know the house is cleaned.
• Draw her a bubble bath with a nice bath bomb and pour her a glass of her favorite wine
• If all she wants is a little alone time, try to make that happen for her.  It's so difficult to find time for yourself as a mother, so let her know you will handle the kids, meals, etc. for a bit so she can relax in peace!

Easter 2017

Happy belated Easter everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones!  It was a bittersweet holiday over here because it was Chase's last first holiday, but boy did he enjoy it!

Saturday while he napped, I put together his basket and filled his eggs.  Since he's still so little, we decided not to do an egg hunt but instead fill a few with his favorite snacks.  I put Cheerios, Puffs, and yogurt melts inside of them which worked out great because he munched on them throughout the day.

I set everything up in the living room on the coffee table for him (which is now his favorite place to stand against) but before he saw his basket, we ate breakfast.  His mouth is bothering him so much lately with his molars trying to pop through so he has been giving me such a hard time eating.  One of the few things he will actually eat are frozen waffles that are just heated through enough to be a little mushy.  He ate a few pieces in his highchair but then started to stop so I brought him outside in his little police car and thankfully, he ate the rest out there.  Afterwards, he tore through his basket and eggs - his favorite item was his little egg sorter set!

After he played, my husband took him for a walk and then he napped as we both got ready for Easter dinner at my grandmother's house.

When he woke up, we got him dressed and ready to go but before we left to spend time with the family, we had to take his first Easter pictures ;)

We had a wonderful day celebrating with my family!  It's amazing that just two years ago, my niece Kylee was the only little one... she had the egg hunts and baskets all to herself!  This year, my nephew Myles was big enough to have an egg hunt as well.  My parents did separate ones so each of them could do their own and we wouldn't have any fights on our hands.  Chase loved watching them!  I can't believe last year he was still in my belly and next year he will be out there running for eggs with the others!

Five Favorites on Friday - the Easter Edition

Since Easter is this weekend, I thought I'd round up a festive Friday favorites list for this week!  Lets hop right in - pun intended ;)

1. I know many kids are gearing up for the big egg hunt that will be happening this weekend!  Here are 11 interesting ideas that will make Easter egg hunts even more fun!  
2. This bunny cake is so pretty and it can do double duty on your table by serving as both the centerpiece and dessert!
3. These cupcakes are another festive dessert option and I know everyone (especially the kids!) will enjoy the sweet surprise!
4. I absolutely love this idea of Easter sundaes on Easter Sunday!  
5. And finally, ladies we can't forget about our big kids on Sunday!  Here's a great "How To" article on how to make the perfect basket for the man in your life!

I hope you all have a blessed Easter with your loved ones!  Have a wonderful weekend!

**Image via Pinterest**

Chase's Easter Basket

I've been slowly collecting items to fill Chase's very first Easter basket for a while now.  Since he's still so little, we won't be doing an egg hunt with him this year so I went a little extra with his basket.  I did purchase a package of 8 clear eggs and I'm going to fill them with Puffs, Cheerios, and yogurt melts for him and put them on the floor in our living room - kind of like a mini egg hunt for our mini man ;)

Last Easter I ordered this wire basket from H&M (I ordered a copper colored one as well for future a sibling one day - yes, thinking WAY ahead!) for him knowing that I would use this for years to come as his main basket.  I love this because it's large enough to hold all of his goodies!  I'm going to purchase a more traditional basket for him to do his egg hunts with since this one doesn't really have handles that would be practical for such a thing ;)

We always had a tradition growing up where we would get one gift on Easter (usually we would find it with a series of clues), and we'd also get a basket with goodies.  For Chase's "big" gift, I purchased this awesome bath toy by Yookidoo and I can not wait for him to open it!  He's such a huge fan of bath time so I know he's going to LOVE this!

For his basket fillers, I did a mixture of his favorite snacks, useful items, educational items, and some fun toys!

-  For the snacks, I picked up a tin of Gerber Lil' Crunchies and a pack of colorful Goldfish crackers.
- For useful items, I grabbed him this festive shortie PJ set, a new tooth brush (the boy loves to brush his teeth!), and this fun little silverware set (Paw Patrol is a favorite in our house).
- For the educational items, I love to get him a holiday book for each passing holiday and this board book is a classic.  This egg toy is not only festive for the Easter holiday, but it encourages dexterity and helps kids recongize shapes and colors!  Fisher Price makes great toys for every age and this alphabet tablet has three levels for development and helps kids learn letters and words!
- For the fun items, he has the VTech Go! Go! Police Station already so I got the fire truck to add to the road!  A teddy bear will be in the basket too - it's seriously the softest thing ever and I can already see him cuddling up to it - heart melt!  And finally, these bath drops are going to be fun to use during one of his favorite times of the day!

Easter Sunday Best

Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  I love spending time with family celebrating each holiday and Easter is always a special one.

As we look forward to any oncoming holiday, there is always so much to prepare for!  Easter is a big one, especially if you have children!  Not only are you planning menus, baskets, and egg hunts, you also have to find a sweet little outfit for your bunnies!  I've had Chase's first Easter outfit since the end of February (yes, I'm turning into one of those moms that plan for everything in serious advance!), but below, I've rounded up some style inspiration for kids that are very budget friendly!

Dress // Headband // Bunny Flats // Plaid Shorty // Straw Hat // Bunny Sneakers

Easter Baskets Ideas

Happy April everybody!  Easter is officially right around the corner and it's time to do some thinking about what to fill up those baskets with!  It's Chase's very first Easter and I've been planning his basket for a few months now (I'll do a post on his basket and the contents as soon as I get it all together).  I've rounded up a few simple ideas for both little ladies and little men below.  I tried to include a festive toy, some colorful pajamas, and a little something to use.  All of the items are fun and functional - which is a win win!

For the Little Ladies

ONE     //     TWO     //     THREE     //     FOUR     //     FIVE 

For the Little Men

ONE     //     TWO     //     THREE     //     FOUR     //     FIVE 

A few other items to add into baskets are holiday books, snacks (other than candy), coloring tools and books, puzzles, hair accessories for the girls, hats for the boys, DVDs, tooth brushes, bubbles, bath toys... just to name a few.  I hope these ideas were helpful in some way!

Stylin' for St. Patrick's Day

The day of all things green is upon us!  There are so many ways to celebrate with kids - whether it be a color coordinated breakfast, themed activity, holiday book.. you name it!   One of the numerous ways to celebrate is by dressing the part.  Here is a bit of outfit inspiration for your little leprechauns...

For the Boys:  Sweatshirt   //   Jeans   //   Sneakers  

For the Girls:  T-shirt   //   Jeans   //   Espadrilles   

Hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day and lots of green everything!

St. Patrick's Day Books for Little Ones

I could not wait for holidays to roll around once Chase was born.  I was so excited to celebrate them all with him and start new traditions for our family.

Even though he is still little, I do like to do something special for each holiday that comes.  One of our favorite things to do lately is read.  He's finally at a stage now where he will sit on my lap without squirming the entire time and listen to the story - but he's most interested in the colorful pictures.  

We started this tradition on Valentine's Day and bought him his very first holiday book and he just loved it!  Now that St. Patrick's Day is approaching, I've been looking at some new books that I think he'll like and wanted share some favorites.

• The Night Before St. Patrick's Day:  Personally, I get more excited for most holiday eves than I do for the actual holiday.  I'm one of those strange people that loves to prep and plan.  When I first found out about The Night Before series, I knew I'd have to pick them all up for Chase.  These books all are a play on The Night Before Christimas.  They're adorable and I highly recommend them!
• How to Catch a Leprechaun:  This book has the sweetest illustrations and catchy rhymes! This is another small series of books that are great for little kids!
• Happy St. Patrick's Day, Curious George:  We are continuing our Curious George collection with this tabbed board book.  I love that each of the tabs is of a topic or item related to St. Patricks's day.  Each tab has it's own beautiful illustrations and poems.  
• The Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever:  This is lively book full of fun characters and events that will put you in the St. Patrick's Day spirit!