Tuesday, May 22, 2012

It's in the Bag!

I've had several friends sign up with Thirty One lately, and one of them had offered to do a Scentsy party for me - so we decided to trade parties! It's been a long time since I've hosted any parties other than launch parties for myself... so I hope that you'll help me make this worth Michelle's time.

It's beach time in America... so you simply MUST order yourself some of these for your summer pleasure!

This tote is large and in charge... haha, seriously though - I have one and I LOVE it. Mine isn't in this new pattern that I think is super cute, but it really would be amazing for the beach. You could fit all your towels and beach toys in this one bag! Less to carry from the car!! Of course there are a TON of other patterns you can order this bag in - and personalization is only $7 (you can choose thread, monogram/name, and font!)
 I love this too - as the matching companion bag for your beach or pool trips... it's a thermal bag you can use to keep drinks and snacks cold. Gotta love that - especially for me these days with toddlers because it seems like they're eating every hour or two. This also comes in other patterns, and can be personalized for $7!
Another item that is popular in my house is this lovely little nap mat - I've of course got two of them - one with each of the boys' name across the front. Ours are in a maroon pattern that isn't available anymore... but they are GREAT for school - especially if they have the little cots for the kids to nap on. You know the drill, there are tons of patterns and of course personalization is $7.

There are so many other wallets, back packs, purses, totes, home accents, and even stationary! There is certainly something for everyone - and I hope that you'll help my friend Michelle with launching her business.



There is a great special going on for May too - for every $31 you spend... you can get an All in One Organizer for $5! Seriously ya'll - the possibilities for this bag are endless. I've got two of them right now - one of them I use for my Scentsy basket parties to hold all the items that I give my hostesses for displaying... but I could see it in my bathroom, several in the play room... the car... you name it - and I promise you will LOVE it!

**As a side note, if you get this deal - the bag will show up in your cart for $20 but as long as you've spent the $31 the total will adjust for you in the end.

To make this more fun - any of you the place an order within this party (the party ends on the 30th) will be placed in a drawing for one of these All in One Organizers in the pattern of your choice. I'll give you one of the ones that I'll get on sale because I'm just that cool! To keep it fair - I'll let Michelle draw the name from the sales made within the party and just tell me who to contact for the order information.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Mother's Day Weekend Recap

For Mother's Day weekend, my Mom came to visit us from Texas. She hadn't seen the boys since Christmastime, and they thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her. They took to her instantly, and were all smiles. Sadly, when she had to go home - they kept looking for her for a day or two.

She came in on Thursday while the boys were supposed to be at school, but since they were sick last week... they were actually here at the house with John. We let them just play and enjoy some time with Nana on Thursday evening.

Friday, we headed to the zoo after a lazy morning and naps. The boys actually made it through the whole zoo - which we hadn't done before. Normally, we only make it through half the zoo in a trip... so this was an extra treat. Here are some photos from our day at the zoo.











Saturday, we had another lazy morning. While the boys were napping though, Mom and I went shopping for a few minutes. She wanted to get the boys a little table & chairs... and ended up getting them a play grill too. We came home and while we waited for the boys to wake up - we got the toys put together for them. After they woke up, we headed off to have an early dinner at Benihana - and then home for some frozen custard and more play time before bed.















For Mother's Day, we had to get Mom to the airport fairly early in the morning - so we headed off for a nice breakfast at the Cracker Barrel before dropping her off. The boys cried most of the way home from the airport - so we know that they are ready for Nana to come back to visit again soon!

As a side note, we had to adjust our table for a bit - we had a couple of spills out of the chairs on Sunday afternoon... so we've taken the chairs away for a little bit and are using our Pottery Barn chairs instead. They can stand in the Pottery Barn chairs and be at the same height as they would be sitting in the other chairs. We will work with them and when they're comfortable with the other chairs again - we'll set it back up as it is intended.

The grill is STILL a big hit even almost a week later... it's so cute to see them playing like they're cooking us dinner. Of course they "cook" other things too - I've seen some of our animals from our Little People Zoo on the grill this week too. HA!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Here We Go Again

As with most things these days, I'm late to the discussion. In this case though, it might be a good thing - because if I'd written this when I first saw the cover of Time Magazine... it's certain I would have lost all two of you that might still read.

I've got a lot of thoughts on this cover - which I'm sure is entirely their motivation for using it - to shock and get a reaction from people. As with most things they do. My reason for writing isn't really about that though, because whatever your thoughts on breastfeeding until 3 years or older... that's entirely for you and your family.

My thoughts are this: I'm sort of disappointed in Time for the way this cover comes across. The tag line "Are you Mom Enough" is offensive to me. In my opinion it sets us back 10 years in so many ways. Women are constantly debating these issues, and I think it's sad frankly. Breastfeed/Bottle-Feed, Work/Stay at Home, Cry It Out/or Don't, Co-sleep/Crib... whatever it is - I just am tired of hearing women beating themselves up over it.

The bottom line is that everyone is different - what works for you... might not work for me. What works for James doesn't necessarily work for Tyler - and so on. Why do we have to debate it? Why do good mothers have to feel guilty for their circumstances and/or choices?

It makes me sad that this debate can't be put to rest for the better of us all. My goal isn't to compare my life with other women - it's to do the best for my family with what I have. Personally for us, I wasn't able to breastfeed - and that doesn't make me any better or worse of a mother. It just is. I have two happy and healthy children that grew up on formula... and I'm perfectly happy with that.

I have worked, and now am able to stay at home - they both are hard. I think on any given day - you could make an argument for most of us wanting to do the opposite of what our current situation is... because the grass is always greener on the other side. Somedays, you enjoy the extra time to snuggle and nurture - other days, you'd give your right arm for some adult conversation. Either way, it's hard and a struggle because parenting is just HARD.

We did a combo of cry it out and attachment parenting. We didn't do any formal sleep training or plans like Babywise or the like. The reason was mainly because with James - we were working on building a bond with our adopted son based on the advice of our adoption counselors. So when needed - we let him sort things out, and when needed we cuddled and consoled him. Tyler needed a bit of a different approach, and we took that as it came.

For us, sleeping with the boys in the bed with us is not a good mix - none of us get a good night of sleep. We did have them in a bassinet in our room until they were sleeping through the night, and now they both sleep great in their own cribs.

I don't look down on anyone for choosing different for their families - we all just do the best we can for our families based on the needs of our families. My wish is that we could all just support each other and not have to compare different decisions. Sure, offer advice and suggestion... just don't belittle or make someone feel badly for doing the opposite.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Cherry Vanilla & Chocolate

Hi there everyone! It's that time of the month again - the 1st of the Month!! This month is sure to be fun and exciting for us - with Mother's Day, a visit from my Mom, my birthday, my Mom's birthday, the end of the MOPS year, the end of the school year, and of course new business ventures and sales.

I'll start off telling you about the new Scent of the Month for Scentsy - Cherry Vanilla! (there is no warmer of the month this month because of the new exciting launch that I'll talk about in a just a minute.)


It is described as: Sweet as the finishing touch atop your favorite sundae. Cherry Vanilla is a delightful swirl of candied cherry and sugared almonds folded into velvety white chocolate ice cream. It is 10% off for the month of May.

Also - anyone that would like to host a Scentsy home/basket/online party in the month of May will get a special incentive from me... just let me know you're interested and I'll fill you in on the details.

You ready to hear about some chocolate?!

This morning Scentsy launched it's new brand venture - Velata!

I couldn't be more excited to share this product line with you - because who doesn't love chocolate? I know I do!! It's even better when it's warm and I can dip yummy things in it. Even better than that? When it's warmed by a light bulb instead of a flame... so it's safer for my toddlers to participate in some family dessert fun!

We're starting off offering 3 styles of warmers in a good variety of different colors:


This is called the Curve collection - it comes in Blue Razz (as shown), Clementine, Huckleberry, Key Lime, Licorice, and Marachino. $40 each and comes with a matching set of 4 fondue forks.


This is called the Pedestal collection - it comes in Blue Razz, Clementine, Huckleberry, Key Lime (as shown), Licorice, and Marachino. $40 each and comes with a matching set of 4 fondue forks.


This is the individual collection - currently in black and red (as shown) - also $40 and comes with a matching set of 4 fondue forks.

Now for the chocolate!! Melt the chocolate in its convenient package, twist open the spout, and pour it into your Velata Fondue Warmer. Chocolate fondue has never been simpler. It comes in Caramel Milk, Dark, Milk, and White chocolate. The chocolate is $7 a pouch and is a high quality Swiss chocolate designed to be warmed in our warmers. Additionally, if you don't finish your chocolate - you can put it in the fridge and rewarm it again at another time.








Lastly, we have a couple of accessory options including: additional sets of forks for $5. You'll get 4 additional forks for that price - available in  Blue Razz, Key Lime, Maraschino, and Licorice. There are also lids available for the Curve and Pedestal warmers for $5.


Lastly, there are some Combine and Save packages available as well to help save a little bit of money. I would love to help bring fondue back to your home in an easy and stylish way - this would be great for Parties, Book Club, Bible Study, Ladies Night Out, Slumber Parties, Birthdays... you name it - and it would be a fun addition to your menu!


Anyone that would like to host a Velata home/basket/online party in the month of May will get a special incentive from me... just let me know you're interested and I'll fill you in on the details.