I am no toy or parenting expert, but what I can share is the toys my kids keep coming back to over and over again. The toys tend the be the classics, from art sets to sandboxes these are the items that will last.  I am sharing 8 classic gifts that you can't go wrong buying.

Art Set-
We got this craft supplies kit above a few years ago and it is still a staple in our home. When things run out I simply refill the little drawer. The kids have access to it and always know where they can go to get some crafts supplies to start creating. You will never go wrong with art and craft supplies.

Kinetic Sand-
Some people might not like this in their house, but I love Kinetic Sand. A quick tip is remove it form the smaller box it comes in and put it in a larger tupperware. The kids can play with it in the tupperware and keep the mess from getting out of the box. Or you can also use a rectangle baking pan (with sides) and let them play with it on that. It'll keep the mess contained!

Schleich Animals-
It is no secret we are big dinosaur fans over here, but we have a zoo of other animals now. Hands down the best quality play animals are are Schleich. I find these animals get picked from the play bin over and over. I like to separate them by category, such as farm animals, safari animals, dinosaurs, ocean animals etc.

Magna- Tiles-
The Magna Qubix are my go to travel item. The kids have endless fun creating all types of creations with these. I even find myself having fun with the Magna Tiles.

Doctor Kits-
 Doctor kits are just something that I have found continues to get pulled out at our house as well. From giving the dogs a shot to putting on the scrubs are doing a "surgery" both kids really enjoy the doctor set.

Sandbox-
HANDS DOWN the best thing in our yard. When we poured new concrete a few years ago for our patio we had them pour a sand box. Leo is nearly 6 and I think has spent 50% of his life in the sandbox. I often look outside and see him out there in his pajamas at 8am playing. It has been the best bang for our buck.

Wooden Train Sets-
While Leo is beginning to grow out of these train sets were something that my kids have always loved. I had a small one that when we would go on road trips I would always bring. Even today I find my kids still loving train sets and asking me to get them down.

Board Games-
We are on a BIG board game kick right now. As winter comes and it gets dark so early this is a great activity for right after dinner. Monroe has really gotten into Guess Who, but Leo could play Monopoly all day long!

As you can see the classics toys are the ones that kids continue to reach for. Personally we bought a few new board games for the kids and both kids are getting craft sets and a few new animals in their stocking for Christmas.

Happy Shopping,
Jess

Home from a very fun 8 day California vacation. We had planned to do this vacation 15 months ago, but as you know a lot of plans have been ruined in the last 2 years. Once Disneyland reopened, I immediately started planning the trip. I was so eager to get Leo there before the "magic" wears off. Originally, when we planned the trip he was really into the movie Cars. I was a little sad that he wasn't as mesmerized by Cars land as I wanted him to be. But Avengers land put that magic and sparkle in his eye. I am so glad we were able to take him before he got too old. I am sharing a few tips and tricks for traveling to Disneyland and what I would recommend.

Overall it was a great trip! A few other things we enjoyed was a pair of flip flops in our stroller for the water rides. I packed a big backpack with an extra set of clothes for each kid and snacks. I also then had a fanny pack for when I rode the rides to keep my phone and wallet. Also be sure you pack at least 2 pair of tennis shoes and  break them in at home. 

I think the biggest take away was I had to change my expectations. At first I wanted to hit all the rides I remembered, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, but then I realized this wasn't my trip it was a trip for the kids. So if they wanted to go on small world twice in a row then great. We rode smaller roller coaster in Toon Town like 5 times and Ariel at least 4 times. I know there will be a time in our lives when all we will do is the big rides. So while they are little I tried to enjoy Small World all 6 times we went on it:)

Happy Disney Travels,
Jess

Let's see if I remember doing this. This summer has been so much fun and honestly taking photos and blogging just really haven't been my thing. Obviously, I am more active on instagram and I actually thought about just being done blogging. But then I realize it is kind of a journal of my life the past 8 or so years. So although I might hardly post I am still not ready to be done with it. The only thing I have to share right now is my peach fritter donuts. This recipes is so easy surprisingly and you can easily sub out the peaches for apples in the fall. Something I totally plan on doing... with another round of 105+ degree temps I actually am looking forward to fall. I never thought I'd say that, but enough is enough with this insane weather. Ok now to the peach recipe. 

We had a blast picking peaches, these summer activities have been so much fun as Monroe has gotten older and more interested. I don't know if Leo was more into being in an orchard picking fruit or playing with sticks, but nonetheless we had a great time. 

So let's get to the donuts. It was pretty easy to prep and I just folded the peaches in at the end. For the frying part I simply just put 2-3 inches of vegetable oil in a pan and get it heat up. Then once it was heated I would drop them in. This recipes by the way makes WAY more than one can eat. You can easily cut this recipe 1/2. We had to throw quite a bit away, but it would be perfect for a big family. 

Ingredients

• 2 cup flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• vegetable oil

​Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until combined; fold in peaches.
4. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil, not letting things get to crowed. 
5. Fry the donuts  for 1-2 minutes or until golden, flip and fry the second side.
6. when fritters are golden brown, remove them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
7. Repeat until all the batter has been used.
8. For the glaze, whisk together the sugar, milk, and vanilla.
9. Dip each fritter into the glaze, coating completely. Allow the glaze to set
10. Store fritters in an airtight container

We are headed camping for our last "trip" of summer and then Leo starts Kindergarten. I don't know what I am going to do without him from 8am-3pm. The house is going to be so quiet. I can't imagine the feeling when both kids go to school, but I have a few years to worry about that. 

Cheers,
​Jess 

It is no secret if you follow me on social media that we live by the pool from mid April - early October. I haven't really shared on here much lately because I haven't had as many creative juices flowing and we quite simply have been busy resuming all the fun life things. Oh how we have missed traveling, going out with friends, taking the kids to parks and playdates, heck we have missed all the things. But nonetheless I finally felt like I had some fun summer items to share all from AMAZON.

I wanted to share a few of my favorite swimsuits I've found on Amazon. I have had the best luck on Amazon with suits and they are pretty inexpensive so I don't feel guilty buying a few new ones every year. I also live in this white sarong during pool parties and these Freedom Moses shoes are nice and comfy on my feet all summer. Lastly the float, we all fight over this float in the pool even the kids so I ended up buying two. We have had is for 3 summers now so it is one that will last.

For the kids the game changes for us are the flotation suits for Monroe. It was a fight to get her to keep her floaties on and she saw her brother didn't have them and so we decide to try these suits. She calls them her "super suits". They actually keep her afloat, but she can also swim pretty well on her own (no water wings). So I don't know if this suit is great for a beginner swimmer but it has worked for us great. I mostly use it everyday because she prefers to be able to swim everywhere her brother goes and it is nice to have it on when  we have people over. It by no means is a life vest but it is an extra layer of safety and it by far as been the best purchase of summer.

My other good finds are these bigger swim goggles. My kids didn't love the small little eyes of the normal ones so I picked up these and they are a huge hit. A few other fun things are the surf board / kickboard, the color changing mermaids, the sharkpedo (this thing really glides) and lastly the swimline boat my sister in law got us a few years ago. This has held up overtime better than any other float we've had.

If you ever drive by me running or at the pool on a normal day I look like a crazy person, big visor, long sleeve shirt, all curled up in the shade. I am in the sun SOOO much so I do my best to protect my skin with long sleeve swimsuit cover ups, ALWAYS ALWAYS wearing a hat, and all the sunscreen. My favorites are the coola face sunscreen and the colorscience powder sunscreen.

We can't forget about the dog, summer gets so hot here so we swapped out our dog bed outside for a raised dog bed. Arson is 12 so this raised bed is easier for him to get onto and off of but also stays alot cooler.

And there you have it ladies and gentleman my favorite amazon summer items. In other news I can't WAIT to get the rest of these cute shots back!! SWOON!!!

For Leo's 5th birthday we gathered our closest family and friends and had a mad scientist birthday party. This was a drop off birthday and in true form of Leo having a February 7th birthday there was an big snow storm. It dropped a foot of snow on us the night of his party. Thankfully all his little friends were able to come and we had one heck of a science party. I have planned quite a few parties in my day but this BY FAR was the best party yet! Check it out.

Happy Birthday Leo! As some of you know I love going absolute overboard on birthdays. It is just my thing so for his 5th birthday we decided to go big. We did a drop off science experiment birthday party. Each kid that came got their own little lab coat, name tag and glasses. The set up was really fun for this and coming up with all the experiments was even more fun.

As far as the decorations went I got everything from amazon. I last minute decided to do a little balloon decor and it wasn't as hard as I thought. I also got these little erupting volcanoes and in each tin container I put dinosaurs or other creatures for them to play with in the lava.

As kids arrived I have 4 tins (from the dollar store) of water beads and different sea creatures to play with. I also had a microscope they could look at different slides with. This gave them some independent play as Jay and I set up the first experiment.

Dry Ice Bubbles- This is such a big hit in our household. Once you make your dry ice container you can use it forever. We made this on using a pickle jar, some tubing and a plastic cup. Most containers suggest making a side port but Jay didn't want to. So we just cut the top into a pickle jar because of this you can't screw on the lid on the jar when the dry ice is in. But honestly it was alot easier and seems to work just as good. This is where we found our information on how to make the dry ice bubbles.

DRY ICE BUBBLE LINK!

After the bubbles the kids each got their own tin with a volcano. All they had to do was pour water into the valcano and they "explode" so to say. The lava was like these mini water beads, I must say this one did get a little dirty. The red beads stained their hand but these kids had a blast.

After this experiment we took a break, did pizza and presents while we set up for the final and BEST EXPERIMENT ON EARTH!!!

This experiment can get a bit messy. I put down a plastic table cloth under the egg cartons.  I bought  6-8 18 pack of eggs and laid the 5 or 6 cartons next to each other. I kept the other 2 carton to replace the eggs because keep in mind some will crack.  You just need to have enough eggs so the kids can at least take a few steps across. I think this path allowed the kids to take 3 to 4 stops across.

The kids were so curious and excited to start this. Even the adults didn't think this would actually work. And we couldn't wait to get started! Before they started I tried to explain to take slow even steps across and if they pressed their heels into the eggs they would break.

I then explained that eggs are similar to a 3 dimensional arch which is one of the strongest forms. The curve shape distributes pressure evenly all over the shell and make them very strong.

We let the birthday boy go first and the kids screamed and jumped. While a few eggs did get broken I would simply swap them out. I am not exaggerating when I say each kid did it 20 times. Out of all the experiments this by far was the best. The kids even convinced Jay and I to try it. I won't lie I even got a little nervous doing it. But to my surprise I was able to walk across it without breaking any. Needless to say this is a MUST!

Despite COVID and snow storm on the day of the party it was a hit. We wished we could of had more friends but I am telling you the drop off parties are where it is at! The kids were on their best behavior and had an absolute blast.

I can't wait to get back to the days of big giant birthday parties! And I hope this theme inspires you to find a cool theme to break the COVID dry spell of birthday parties!

Cheers,
Jess

Unplug from social media! Something that sounds so good in theory, but something I have never done. Social media carries a lot of weight and is the cause of many mental health issues. Fact is studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, harm, and suicidal thoughts. Social media should be a place that makes you feel happier, healthier, and more positive. I also find that it is a big ole waste of time. In fact, not using social media for a week my phone usage was down 38%. During my week off I read a book, listened to an audio book, was more productive and the biggest thing is my husband and my kids noticed I wasn't tied to my phone. I'm sharing some of my other thoughts and tips for a good social media detox. I will be doing another break from social media in May and  I invite everyone to join with me!

I had a few questions I wanted to ponder while I was away from instagram and facebook. The first being what am I getting from social media? The second being what is social media taking away from? I know that I use it reflexively. I check it out of habit not because I need to. But what am I getting from it?

I personally love following people that make me happy. I absolutely LOVE seeing everyone's families, I'm a sucker for a good baby giggle on an instagram story and I learn great tips and tricks from so many creative people on social media. I have chosen to curate my feed to people I enjoy following, I have found profiles that make me smile and laugh. Profiles that add good into my life. And when I go to the browse page and I see certain celebrities or influencers that drives me crazy, I simply block them. I don't follow any news organizations or politicians because I know for me personally that can cause me anxiety. I reserve my social media to a place that isn't controversial, a place that is lighthearted, a place that is fun. I am not saying everyone should do that but for me PERSONALLY it works.

Even if social media brings me joy it does suck a lot of time away from me. When I see people doing fun things and I am at home on a Saturday night  and Jay is working a night shift in the ER you better believe that causes me some FOMO.  But what I have learned if I sitting in my PJs at NYE at 8pm cause Jay is working maybe it is best if I don't scroll social media. I think my take away is that I am in charge of how I use it.

YOU are in charge of how often you use social media, but here are some tips to reducing your time.

• Take facebook and instagram off of your phone screen. All you do is simply click on the app you'd like to delete it then press remove app, then chose remove from home screen. This way I can still search for it but it does take that extra time.
• Set a social media timer on your phone. I never did this before but I recently set my timer for 3 hours a day. I was shocked that the first day back I didn't even come close to the 3 hours. Which makes me think I could set it to 2 hours especially this summer when I am home with my kids.
  
• Keep your phone out of reach. Let your phone run out of battery and have it charge upstairs or in another room.  Same goes with going to bed. If you scroll at night don't sleep with your phone next to your bed.
  
• It is ok to be away from your phone and it is also ok to be unavailable sometimes.
• Create a mental list of times when phone use or scrolling social media seems inappropriate, to me that is all meal times, when I'm playing with my kids, when I am socializing (in person), driving, or when having any conversation.
• Set boundaries for yourself, I realized I really loved not scrolling social at night or in the morning first thing. I went to bed 30 minutes earlier every night by not scrolling. So this is something I plan to keep off limits. No social in bed!
• Keep a magazine or book in your car. I waste SO much time scrolling in my car while I shuttle my kids around. I started keeping a vanity fair magazine in my car. I love having something to read that isn't my phone.
  
• If you are a parents keep in mind we model our behavior to our kids. So if our kids see us on our phones all the time how can we expect them not to be on theirs (when they get one).

The take away for me is setting limits and boundaries for my social media. I need to figure out when is the best time to use it and to make sure I am not taking time away from my kids or sleep to scroll. I also think when I am having FOMO this would be a great time for me to take a break. I think you need to find what works for you.

Cheers,
Jess

Time to embrace that the skinny jeans aren't cool, j/k! I'm NOT ok with that, but I still want to be kind of cool so I ordered 15 pair of straight leg jeans to give a whirl.  I spent entirely too much time on Nordstrom finding what I think are the perfect straight leg jeans. So here is a quick round of up my favorite straight leg jeans that will have a similar feel as our beloved skinny jeans.

These are the "Daze Mom Jeans" . It seems like the darker washes aren't in either. But for Spring I prefer a lighter wash. I tried quite a few that were distressed, but ended up going with the two that were not. The ones above were a loser baggy fit that are more of that  boyfriend jean style.  Find them here.

Look at those Mom's, that is some squad goals!

While I was hesitant to get on board with this trend I was pleasantly surprised. I actually didn't mind the straight leg, I think my favorites overall were theMadewell straight leg. While they  have the look of a straight leg, but still provided the structure that I was used to with skinny jeans. I won't be trading out all my skinny jeans just yet but I am eager to start wearing them.

These jeans below are more of a boyfriend look. I found with all the jeans I ordered I sized down a bit or was true to size. There is no need to size up.

Cheers to the Mom Jean,
Jess

The "FUN MOM", something I have always strive to be as a Mom. The one that wasn't afraid to get their hair wet in the pool, let their kids paint, or make a mess. I think because I grew up with a fun mom it was just ingrained in me. I often get messages or comments about, wow it's great you let your kids get messy and have so much fun". Or "how do you handle the mess when you do all the activities?" Well I am here to tell you being the "fun mom" doesn't mean your kids and your house are going to be dirty 24/7. Being the fun mom is more of a state of mind. Am I the fun mom every day? Probably not, but I try my hardest to enjoy these years with my kids, and if that means that we get dirty or I get my hair wet in the pool I am here for it. Here are some tips on being more of a "fun mom".

Being The Fun Mom Doesn't Mean Messy House
Let's touch on the idea that being the fun mom means your house is a mess and you do all the crafty things. That isn't true. Being that fun mom can mean you are playful. It is SITTING down with your kids and interacting and playing. It is wrestling with them, tickling them, playing tag, hide and go seek or a board game, or having epic dance-offs. These are all mess free activities. Personally, we are more of an obstacle course kind of family, which does create a little mess but it is so fun. Have you tried army crawling through a tunnel in your mid 30's? It isn't easy.

Pick Things YOU Enjoy
Fun Mom tip- pick activities YOU ENJOY! I personally don't love baking with my kids, especially Monroe. She makes a giant mess. I have found that forcing yourself to do things that you don't enjoy in the end won't be fun. We don't paint a lot but we do watercolor because that is less messy and a good alternative. I tend to really be my happiest when I am teaching them. So we play in our barbie house and our favorite game is "School" where I am the teacher barbie and quiz the other barbies. I also love playing with them outside and that is one of the biggest reasons I have a garden. I love gardening with them.

Play In Intervals
Do you find yourself saying, "just a minute" or "when I'm done cleaning I will play with you." What I like to do is break up playing with the kids in 15-20 minute intervals. Give me all the imagination play, dress up, or play-doh, but after about 20 minutes I am pretty much done and ready to return to my household duties.  If you have laundry to do great, but play with them for a little bit then excuse yourself to tackle projects around the house. I do this multiple times a day. As bad as it sounds to "schedule" your fun time it is necessary when you have to run a household or work.

The Messy Details Of The Fun Mom Life
Now let's talk about all the things that people are scared of when they hear about being the "fun mom".

Will your house get messy? YEP!
Will you hair get wet? YEP!
Is it more work, YEP?
Is is really worth it? YEP X 100!

It recently was snowing on night at like 7pm and it was getting close to the kids bedtime. Jay was upstairs and I yelled for him to come downstairs to help me. You should of seen his face when he realized I was getting both kids into their snow clothes at 7pm to go play outside. Was this what parents want to do at 7pm on a Sunday night? Probably not, but we don't get a lot of snow here and when it does snow at night it is so magical. We all got our snow clothes and played in the 1/2 inch of snow for 30 minutes. I personally didn't think about it as  extra work (like my husband did) I just think of the fun. So maybe it is a mindset that I have, maybe I live in a bit of a fantasy world, maybe I enjoy reliving my childhood in my kids eyes. Whatever it is I love it. So the kids went to bed later, the laundry room had snow in it, we had mittens to dry out. We can clean all of that, but how many times will I be able to run around with my kids in the snow at night.

Shout out to my Mom (pic above) for being the ultimate play in the dirt, build a sandcastle, fun kind of Mom!!

So mamas here are a few ideas or things to do with your kids.

-Make a fort
-Mother / Daughter at home spa day
-Pajama Day
-Sleep over in your kids room
-Build legos together
-Go to the park and PLAY with them, slides, chase, swings etc
-Have a living room or back yard picnic
-Go on a nature walk
-Create a treasure hunt for them
-Dance Parties!
-Playing bucking bronco and let them crawl all over you
-Play barbies
-Teach them hopscotch, 2 square, or something from your childhood
-Swim with them, do dolphin rides, hold their hand and jump in the pool
-Garden, plant flowers
-Play dress up
-Make Rootbeer floats or ice cream sundaes
-Obstacle Course

Also I remind you that Dad's don't have to be the fun ones. You can too. Why CAN'T YOU go down the slide with the kids, do a cannon ball into the pool with them, pull them on the sled? I don't want to be sitting on the sidelines while my husband is making those memories because I " didn't want to get my hair wet", or "it was too cold". Get in there, enjoy every minute of it. And when you look back in 20 years you will be thankful you were the FUN MOM!

Cheers,
Jess

I want to start by saying your early 30's are HARD and in a few short days I turn 35. I mean it isn't as big of a milestone as 30 or 40 but it seems like a big number. Jay and I often reflect on how great, but also how challenging your 30's can be. It is a time you are getting into the swing with your career or for Jay he didn't start his career until he was 31. You are buying homes, starting families, struggling to find a  balance between, work, marriage, kids, family, and friends. For some of us, our interests fall to the wayside because weekends are no longer about skiing with your buddies, they are now about taking down Christmas lights and spending time with your family. For a lot of females especially stay at home Moms in your 30's you can kind of lose your identity. Needless to say, I have a lot of feelings about the 30s but I also have some things I ABSOLUTELY love about it.

Cheers to our best year,
Jess

I am addicted to soaps in the winter, make them for dinner one night and eat them for the next 3 days for lunch. I am a creature of habit when it comes to lunches. I can eat the same lunch 7 days a week. These two soaps have been a fan favorite in my house. The stuffed pepper soap is my take on beanless chili. Jay doesn't like chili and so this is a perfect way to get the same favors without the beans.

My husband refuses to eat chili so this is our altnerative. It is a mix between a chili and a taco soup.

 Stuffed Pepper Soup
-Crockpot
Ingredients

• 2lbs Ground beef,
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 1 Red bell pepper, diced
• 1 Green bell pepper, diced
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery stocks, chopped
  
• 4 cups Chicken stock
• 1 14 oz can Tomato sauce
• 2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tbsp Brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• pinch of red pepper chili flakes
• 2 cups cooked long grain rice (1 cup raw)
• cheese, shredded, optional

Directions- Slow Cooker

1. Add everything to the slow cooker EXCEPT THE RICE. Stir. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
2. I like to cook the rice on the side and add it in at the end. So cook the rice according to directions before you serve the meal.  Add cooked rice to crockpot and cook on high for another 20  minute.