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Christmas Gift List

As the holidays come on us fast this year, I’m finally finding my teen more fun to shop for. We’re past the toys and on to cool teen items like water bottles and socks.

But seriously, shopping for teens is fun, you just have to think outside the box!


My Bevi

I am loving this cup from MyBevi! It is a terrific tumbler! With a slide top and great insulation. I’ve tried hot drinks and cold drinks and both are terrific!

We’ve taken it boating, to school, and pretty much everywhere we can think of. My teen LOVES personalizing her tumblers, so once I got pictures and tested it out I let her have at the decorating.

I don’t know about you, but my teen is hard to shop for this year! And this cute tumbler is amazing and perfect for a teen who’s on the go.

Love Sock Company

I am loving these socks from Love Sock Company! They have so many fun and cute sock designs and several different sock styles to choose from.

These are perfect stocking stuffers for everyone on your holiday shopping list this year!

I had to grab this pic really quick before my girls ran off with the socks, they’re loving them.

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Bestway Slip N Slide

One of my favorite things about the beginning of Spring? It’s time to bring out the slip n slide again! This is the first thing out every year and the last thing we put away.

Our yard is surprisingly flat for our area of the country and this H2OGO triple water slide is perfect for our yard! The inflatable ramp – which I do NOT recommend blowing up without a pump – gives the kids just the right amount of speed. And it cushions their landing when they run and jump onto the slide. Really, it’s brilliant!

I think it’s the best slip n slide we’ve had so far – and trust me, we’ve had a lot of them!

#BestwaySlideNGlide #BestwayUSA #H2OGO #Bestway #Tryazon

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Happy Easter!

*Sponsored Post*

Easter is one of my favorite holidays! Probably because it heralds the beginning of spring, and I love the warmer months of the year.

As my kids are getting older. Finding the right items for easter baskets is getting harder and harder! My kids are going to love the items I found for them this year!

Buddha Board

My kids big and little love these boards! They come with the board and a brush for drawing on the board. My little one loves to turn the entire board black, and my older kids actually draw pictures or use it as “scratch paper” for math.

I even illustrated a geography/history lesson for my kids because they just couldn’t visualize it from their textbook. I drew a quick picture and it all made sense!

These boards have provided hours of endless fun.

Jelly Belly Gum

Packed with the flavor of their jelly bellys, this Jelly Belly Gum is super tasty! I had to hide these from my family just to get a picture. Once they tried them, everyone claimed a box (or two) and there was no more for me.

With the bright spring colors and flavors these are such a fun addition to the Kid’s easter baskets!

America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook for Teens

My teen loves this Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs! The recipes are tasty and not too challenging, making success in the kitchen almost easy. I love watching her try new things in the kitchen – and I generally also enjoy eating her creations!

I’m not sure if this is really a gift for her or a gift for me since it makes meal planning so much easier!

Make your own Cookie Kit

This kit comes with everything you need to make delicious cookies! All the way down to the cookie cutters.

And they’re as tasty as they look! These never actually made it to the Easter Basket because the kids helped me make them and then they helped me eat them.

Such a fun and tasty family activity. Those activities that make everyone happy are hard to orchestrate and now that I know we all love making cool cookies and eating them, we’ll be making more!

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Deflecto Organizing

With a small space, organizing is critical. And these cute Deflecto products help me stay organized and fun! All at the same time.

My favorite item is the chair mat. It’s so much fun and brightens my desk space in a helpful way. Their fashion mats and fun and practical!

And check out those little organizational cubbies on the left. They have several different drawer sizes and link together so I can stack them all up and store all my little stuff conveniently. How awesome is that!

Now I just need to reclaim my desk from my teen. She loves how organized it is and wants to take it from me! Actually, my girls love the fashion mat, so I did have to promise to get them each one for their school desks.

What’s one space in your house that you really want to organize?

#Deflecto #RoomRefresh #Tryazon

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The Flirtation Experiment – Review

The Flirtation Experiment

From popular Christian voices Lisa Jacobson and Phylicia Masonheimer, The Flirtation Experiment inspires you to strengthen your marriage with a fun, unexpected approach that leads to the depth, richness, and closeness you desire.

This book has a lot of suggestions for simple ways to flirt with your husband. 16 years of marriage and 4 kids sometimes make it hard to prioritize us. This book does a great job of giving me ideas for easy ways to show that I’m not just all about running a house but also want to keep that fire alive between us.

After reading The Flirtation Experiment, wives will…

  • be filled with hope and encouragement for how they can make a powerful, positive change in their marriages,
  • become empowered to pursue their husbands romantically,
  • understand the Bible invites women to be proactive in their marriages,
  • be motivated to consistently love in creative ways, and
  • forge closeness and intimacy in their marriages.

The Flirtation Experiment is available for purchase here.

Many thanks to HarperCollins Christian Publishing for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own. I did receive the product in ex-change for this review and post.

#FlirtationExperimentMIN #TheFlirtationExperiment #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

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The Tiger Rising Movie – Review

*Sponsored Post*

I received a pre-screening link to watch Tiger Rising. Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid star in this beloved tale based on the New York Times best-selling book by Kate DiCamillo. When 12-year-old Rob Horton (Christian Convery) discovers a caged tiger in the woods near his home, his imagination runs wild and life begins to change in the most unexpected ways. With the help of a wise and mysterious maid, Willie May (Queen Latifah) and the stubborn new girl in school (Madalen Mills), he navigates through childhood memories, heartache, and wondrous adventures in this heartwarming adaptation.

This film started and I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it, but, me and my 11yr old were glued to the tv for the entire movie! I know the trailer and such are all about the tiger. But really, the tiger is a representation of some of the struggles of childhood and learning to find your “inner tiger”.

I love how this film opened up an easy way to talk about the things that my kids find challenging and puzzling in their life and how we might start working through them together.

Plus…there’s a tiger!

Check out the Tiger Rising Website. And if you want some help getting the conversation started, they have some great resources available.

This film is being released digitally Feb 8. Enter below for a chance to win a digital copy for yourself!

#TigerRisingFilmMIN #TigerRisingFilm #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

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New Year!

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I don’t know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with the new year. On the one hand, I love all the new beginnings, planning, resolutions, etc. And on the other hand, it’s January, it’s cold, and I don’t actually want to do anything.

One thing I do love about the new year is New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Pockimals

We went to a super fun New Year’s Even celebration with friends and got my little guy a new shirt (and a new stuffed friend) for the event.

Let me introduce you to “Pocket”, the little green dragon that fits in my little guy’s pocket. If you check out their website, his name is “Taco” but little man didn’t think that was a good name for a dragon and has landed on “Pocket”. I think Pocket is adorable and he’s so cute with his little Pocket Dragon.

Pockimals makes super comfy clothing with a pocket with a button hole. Each little animal has a button on it, and it buttons into the pocket. Making it easier to keep up with your little one’s bring along toy.

Pocket fits well in his hand and in his pocket and had lots of fun with us at our New Year’s Eve party.

Braxley Bands

One of my goals for this year is to exercise more. I’ve made some good effort at it this year, but with work being busier and with it being a desk job, I’m just not getting in the physical activity that I really want.

I’ve joined a January exercise / nutrition group and was super excited to try out this Braxley Band on my Apple Watch. Because it’s important to look good while I’m exercising, all the way down to my watch!

This band is super comfortable and secure and so much fun! I love having a cool new watch band to go along with my January goals!

Broken Top Brands

I love a good candle! And what better way to start off the new year than with one of these amazing candles from Broken Top Brands.

They started as a candle company and have branched out into home and bath products.

I absolutely love the scents of the two items that they sent me. They’re very natural and smooth smelling and I love using them.

I feel like I can use them to add scent to a space (like a room or linen) and it’s not overpowering. It’s subtle, which I really like!

All of their products are  gluten-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, and vegan. And the scents are all very neutral so that anyone can use them. For example, I can use the linen spray on things for me and for my husband and neither one of us feels like the scent is too masculine or too feminine, it’s like this perfect middle.

 

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Last Minute Gift Ideas

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Looking for a last minute gift that doesn’t feel last minute? Check out a few of my favorite subscription boxes! These are the kind of gift that keep on giving throughout the year, and are fun Christmas Morning as well!

Honey & Roses

Honey & Roses sells coffee, and it’s delicious! For your last minute gift, they have a variety of coffee subscriptions available. Decaf, Basic, KCup, Cold brew, etc. Basically, something for every single coffee drinker you know.

And they have the most amazing cookies ever! These cookie are so big and rich you’ll want to have a friend over for coffee and share. Maybe offer to bring the snack if your friend will share their coffee with you.

The coffee is made fresh by small batch roasters and has amazing flavor! There are so many varieties to choose from, and as a coffee lover myself, they make it the way I like it. In small batches and recently roasted.

Toca Life Box

Toca Boca is one of my favorite app companies for the kids. And, now they’re doing more than apps! They sent me one of their awesome Toca Life Boxes to review.

This box was super duper cute, and hilarious. The outside of the box was fun and creative, and inside, was a project for sewing your own slippers and sleep mask.

My 10 yr old daughter loves little needle crafts so she was all over this one! I had to help with a few knots hear and there, and she did a great job on the rest. The slippers and mask turned out super cute!

This is a monthly kids box of fun, and each month is something different. This month, I really enjoyed sharing a fun project that produced these super cute slippers for my daughter!

This is a super fun gift for that hard to shop for kid!

Fab Fit Fun

One of my favorite subscription boxes. Click through my link to get $10 off your first box! This is a quarterly box packed full of fun items ranging from household items, to clothing, to kitchen accessories, to bath products.

Don’t quite know what to pick for someone on your list? A few weeks before boxes ship, they can log in and customize the box. I love this feature because I get to choose between some items and make sure that my box is only full of things that I will love!

Fabletics

This is a monthly workout and clothing subscription. I love it because not only do I get cute clothing. They also have an app that has a variety of workouts. It keeps me motivated to try out my new stuff and exercise.

No worries, you get a monthly member credit that you use to select your monthly outfit, so you get to pick what you want to wear. I’ve been super happy with my selections so far.

And, while I may be a bit lazy about it in December, I do love the variety of workouts on their app and I’m making a plan for January!

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Stocking Stuffers

*Sponsored Post*

Looking for some unique stocking stuffers? I have some fun suggestions for you that are good for the entire family!

Bubble Tree

Every Kids loves bubbles! And these bubbles from Bubble Tree are terrific! Not only are they great bubbles – great bubbles being easy for the kids to get bubbles from. They come in metal bottles that are sturdy and refillable. And they sell these bubble refill stations.

So, no more throwing away a handful of bubble bottles every time my kids play. We just refill and have our same bottles ready for another day.

Another really nice feature of having bubble refills is that it’s easy to solve the whole “child spills all their bubble juice” problem. I just fill it back up and everyone is happy again!

Ecologie

I’m loving these swedish dishcloths that they sent me! A Swedish Sponge Cloth is reusable and compostable. It’s a great replacement for paper towels, dish cloths, or a dish sponge. They’re super absorbant and you can just keep reusing and rinsing for months. If it gets too dirty you can even toss it in the washing machine! And then, when it’s totally worn out, it’s compostable so you don’t even have to throw it away.

I’ve been cleaning with my new blue Swedish Sponge and it’s amazing! It leaves my counters nice and smooth and makes scrubbing dishes quite easy. I even used it to sop up some water that the kids spilled and it soaked it up amazingly well.

Not only are these super useful, they also have super cute designs and are perfect for slipping inside someone’s stocking on Christmas Eve.

Toca Life Box

Toca Boca is one of my favorite app companies for the kids. And, now they’re doing more than apps! They sent me one of their awesome Toca Life Boxes to review.

This box was super duper cute, and hilarious. The outside of the box was fun and creative, and inside, was a project for sewing your own slippers and sleep mask.

My 10 yr old daughter loves little needle crafts so she was all over this one! I had to help with a few knots hear and there, and she did a great job on the rest. The slippers and mask turned out super cute!

This is a monthly kids box of fun, and each month is something different. This month, I really enjoyed sharing a fun project that produced these super cute slippers for my daughter!

DKCOS Cosmetics

Looking for something small and fun to slip in a stocking? DKCOS Cosmetics has things like these awesome smelling shampoo bars, sweet pink bubble mask, panda mask, and so many more small fun items that fit so well into a stocking.

They have vegan products, charcoal products, and natural products. So, there’s a little something for every stocking on your list!

MyWish4U

Fun and unique lunchbox notes. These are super fun and they have all sorts of different holidays covered. You can stick them in a stocking and be reveled by jokes from your kids all day, or make it an early Christmas present, or all year present, and put a note a day in your kid’s lunchbox.

Either way, I tested these out on my kids and they loved the jokes. I even made the mistake of letting each kid grab a tablet to see what they thought of things and all 4 wanted to tell jokes at once! Whoops. I ended up making them take turns and we had some really great dinner conversation that evening.

I know these weren’t designed as dinner conversation starters, but they work really well for that with kids. So, think of all the fun the kids have at lunch time when they have a joke to start it all off with!

For Keeps Fashion Dolls

Just small enough to fit in a stocking, For Keeps Fashion Dolls are not only a great fashion doll with fashion forward hairstyles, outfits, accessories, and the like, it’s also the ORIGINAL positive message driver at retail delivering a unique, and sincere message of Inclusivity, Love, Acceptance, and Self-Empowerment.

Standing 5.5”inches with 9 pts of articulation, interchangeable outfits, a secret positive message tee, an autographed photo, a 20 pack of affirmation stickers, and a cupcake-style stash box which you can share your positive messages with your friends in secret without being interrupted!

When mine arrived to review I barely got a picture in before my daughter took it off to meet her other dolls. These dolls are super cute and so fun! Perfect for Christmas morning!

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Christmas Gift Basket

*Sponsored Post*

One thing I love to do is hand out Christmas Gift baskets to friends, neighbors, teachers, employees, and basically anyone else I can think of this time of year. This year, I found several fun, new items to include in my gift baskets!

I LOVE gifting snacks! I feel like their consumable – so they don’t sit around someone’s house forever. And, I feel like snacks are super easy to regift. If you don’t like a specific snack, wrap it up and pass it on to that impossible person to shop for on your gift list. So, this year, I’m including a few favorites and a few new items as well.

Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels – I discovered these a couple years ago and just cannot get enough of them. They’re amazing! Seriously. I don’t actually ever like pretzels, but these are so good. They have tons of flavor and a great crunch.

Hot Monkey Nuts – They sent me 3 of their 6 different hot nuts to review. And they don’t disappoint. They’re hot! And full of flavor. My kids don’t like spicy, so these are mine and my hubby’s (who loves spicy!) and we’re sticking a few in Christmas Baskets for friends who we know love a little heat. They’re gluten free and made with non-GMO ingredients. So, not only tasty and fun to eat, but also a pretty healthy snack – something we all need a little more of during the holidays.

Congo Tropicals – They sent me coffee and chocolate to review. But, they also ship other tropical fruits – or there’s local delivery if you’re in Florida. I usually find dark chocolate a bit bitter but this Congo Organic Dark Chocolate is delicious! It’s got lots of chocolate flavor without being bitter. Amazing! I can’t be without my coffee and this coffee is terrific! I had coffee in my gift baskets last year as well and it was amazingly popular, so I’m excited about sharing another new coffee brand with friends!

Preggo Pickle – These are made by the pickle company. They have 3 flavors of preggo pickles and 3 different kinds of pickles (if you’re not wanting to give preggo pickles to friends there’s also the Pickle Co and Cleveland Pickle). Though, I will say. I love pickles – see above, I could pretty much live on pickles and coffee and chocolate – and these are delicious! They’re cut kinda chunky and they have amazing flavor. Even friends who aren’t pregnant, I want to give some pickles to, because they’re so good! These pickles are certified kosher, vegan, soy free, dairy free, gluten free, and fat free. Basically perfect for practically everyone on your list!

Apex Meat Sticks – I love a good meat stick pretty much any time of the year, and I feel like the holidays are a great time for gifting unique protein snacks like these. Of course, my kids tried to steal all mine for after school snacks! Theses Jalapeno Flavor Backcountry Meat Sticks are amazing. They’re just enough spicy, but not too much and each stick has so much protein, it’s almost not a snack! I have been slipping a couple sticks into each of my gift baskets this year. It’s a super fun way to gift the traditional “meat and cheese” while being just a tad non-traditional.