The Story Behind the Photo: The Birth of Big Eyes

Last June we went on a family cruise to celebrate several things, but mainly my parents 50th wedding anniversary. One of the nights the photographer came by to take photos at the table and Aaron would not keep his eyes open. After telling him to open his eyes, this is what was captured.

This photo was the birth of big eyes, which is Aaron's go-to look. It is still as funny now as it was that night. 

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott who has been my amazing husband for the past 7 years.

• Aaron who is beyond sweet, even if he has a bad day here and there.

• Jillian who is my big helper. I love my time with her.

• Family all around us.

• A weekend away with friends. It was such a great and relaxing weekend. 

• Hearing my first "ay" from Leann. It took almost a year, but it happened!

• The Real Husbands of Hollywood and for my sister who introduced me to it.

• Veranda Blonde Roast from Starbucks. It's the best.

What are you thankful for this week?

End of the Year Bad Behavior?

Aaron has been in a weird phase the past few days, specifically at school. He has been acting out, mainly taking off his shoes, socks and throwing them. This is so unlike him and we are at a loss. 

One of his teachers said this is pretty common at the end of the year with kids because they feel like they are "big kids" now and can do whatever they want. He doesn't act like this at home, so we just aren't sure what is going on.

We had him write apology letters to his teachers and the little boy he scratched (again, not normal).  

I'm not totally sure what else to do. Thoughts?

Our Mini Vacation

We were in desperate need of a mini vacation and this weekend definitely gave us that opportunity. Scott, the kiddos and I went down to visit our friends in Sarasota, but before that, I met up with Michelle for a free 5k.

Yeah, you read that right, FREE 5k.  Every weekend this organization puts on a free 5k, all you have to do is volunteer 3 times a year. Isn't that amazing? We finished with a time of 45:35, which wasn't too shabby, especially considering neither of us were exactly feeling that run. 

After I came home we finished packing and hit the road for Sarasota. The first thing we did was hang out at the marina. The kids were able to play in the park and then we walked along the water to check out the boats.

Seriously, how adorable is that photo? I love when they hold hands! 

At the end of the path there was a small patch of beach, so we were able to check out the shells and dip our toes in the water.

The kids wanted to full on dive into the water and it was a struggle to keep them dry. 

On Sunday we went to Lido Key (where Bob and Vanessa were married last year) and spent the day splashing, building castles and digging up shells. I spent some time in the tent because, well, I'm super white and burn easily. Thankfully, I did not burn. I cannot say the same for Bob and Scott. After the beach we ordered some pizza and curled up on the couch to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because they like pizza. Duh.

Nobody had trouble falling to sleep that night and there was definitely a lot of snoring going on.

On Monday we played a round of mini golf and the little miss actually won a free round because she scored a hole in one (all on her own).  

 She was so proud of herself, but we need to work on not calling our brother a loser because he did not win. 

We all grabbed some lunch at this really yummy burger placed called Square 1 Burgers. Um, holy amazing. There are so many burgers, with any meat you could imagine, and it's all delicious! While we were there I was able to snag this photo of Jilly and her Uncle Bob.

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know Uncle Bob holds a very special place in Jilly's heart. Bob is one of Scott's fraternity brothers from FSU and has been in the kiddos lives since day 1. Yup, he came to the hospital hours after they were born and stayed for the first two days just holding them, feeding them and being an awesome uncle. Jilly and Bob have always been close, I mean the girl pooped on him every time he held her and they are still close. That's love people. 

Thank you again, Bob and Vanessa for opening your home to us and spending the weekend with us! 

I hope all of you had a great weekend as well!

Our Seventh Anniversary

Today is our seventh wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it has been seven years since we said "I do". It truly seems like yesterday.

Happy anniversary, Scott! Here's to another fantastic seven years!

The Story Behind the Photo: We're on a Mission from God

Have I ever mentioned that my brothers are characters? Every family function somehow has a theme to it, for my wedding, it was the Blues Brothers.

So when "Shake Your Tailfeather" came on, my brothers and nephews came out looking like this. I have no idea where they stored these items or how they got them in to the reception, but it was awesome and definitely one of the funnier moments of the evening.

The Story Behind the Photo: Is There Another Manager?

When you get married at Disney you receive a gift from them. It was an awesome surprise that was almost spoiled...

On Scott's last day before the wedding he was called to one of the resorts for a possible theft. He was the only manager that could respond and when he arrived he saw our wedding planner who immediately said, "Is there another manager?".  Scott looked at Ken like he was crazy and asked if his area manager could handle the call to which Ken replied "of course".  So why wouldn't Ken let Scott handle the call? The item that was missing was what we would be receiving a few days later, custom watches with Cinderella's Castle on them. It all made sense when we opened them at our reception.

The Story Behind the Photo: May I Have the Rings?

I'm really loving these "story behind the photo" posts, so I have another one for you.

Scott wanted to play a prank of his best man, Harley, so bad he couldn't stand it. When we were meeting with our planner he told us about how Major Domo can bring up the rings and you can just "forget" to tell the best man. Scott was sold. Did Harley fall for it? Not really. Did it make for the most amazing moment and photo ever? Most definitely. I mean, look at Kira's face, it says it all.

The Story Behind the Photo: Something Old Something New

Continuing with the wedding weekend posts, here is another photo and the story behind it.

I love this photo of all of my "stuff" from our wedding day, but most especially because two of the most important things to me are in it. 

The cross in the photo is the same cross my Grandma Ruhling wore on her wedding day to my Grandpa Bednarek. He gave it to her as a wedding present and she gave it to me. I always knew I wanted to wear it on my wedding day.

The handkerchief in the photo was made by my Grandma Janes. Grandma made all of us girls a handkerchief for our wedding day and I had this in my hands the entire ceremony. It was like she was with me on my wedding day.

More posts to come before our anniversary on Monday!

The Story Behind the Photo: Our Rehearsal Dinner

I wanted to share two of my favorite photos from our rehearsal dinner and the story behind them. 

My father hates carrots. Not dislikes...hates. At our rehearsal dinner we served carrots and he specifically asked that he not have carrots. So what did I do? I made sure he had an extra plate full of carrots. The only problem? My wonderful brother Art, who knew about the plan, made sure I had an equally large plate of carrots, my least favorite vegetable. 

This will always be one of my favorite memories from the night. 

Check back all weekend for more anniversary posts!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• 7 years of marriage with Scott. Monday will be our 7th anniversary. I truly cannot believe it has been that long, it honestly seems like yesterday. I love you more than you know!

• Aaron's morning chats, nightly yoga and all around cuddles.

• Jillian's morning chats and off key singing.

• Family, especially their love and support.

• The ability to go see Paul McCartney. It was amazing and an experience I will not forget.

• Leann only needing 3 stitches from the incident last Friday. It could have been so much worse and she's incredibly lucky.

• Silly cards from my sister that can make me truly laugh out loud.

• Holiday weekends.

• European chocolate.

What are you thankful for this week?

Dora Rocks and Bubble Guppies Sunny Days

The heat of summer is upon us, so are summer storms. Normally during the summer we are either swimming or enjoying the outdoors, you know when it is not 500 degrees.  Occasionally though it's either too hot to go outside or it's pouring rain, so we splurge and watch a DVD snuggled up on the couch. Nickelodeon has two new DVD's out just in time for the summer heat wave.

The first DVD is Dora the Explorer: Dora Rocks! In this DVD you follow Dora and all of her friends on a sing-along adventure.

Episode Synopses:

Dora Rocks!
When Benny forgets to send invitations to his Sing-Along Party, Dora and Boots need your help taking their microphone to his barn so they can call everyone to the rockin’ fiesta!

Baby Bongo’s Big Music Show 
Dora and Boots take Baby Bongo on a musical adventure as they race to the Big Music Show in time for Baby Bongo’s first performance.

Little Map 
Dora goes looking for treasure with Map’s nephew, Little Map, on his very first adventure.

My kids are still a fan of Dora and I still love how interactive the show is. Plus, is there really anything more adorable than watching your kids sing and dance along with one of their favorite characters?

The second DVD is Bubble Guppies: Sunny Days! This DVD has over 2 hours (6 episodes) of fun summer themed episodes.

Episode Synopses:

The Beach Ball!
If Molly’s new friend Sandy doesn’t finish her work on time, she might not be crowned Queen of the Beach at Big Beach Ball! She needs help from some hard-working Guppies for her chance to win that crown!

The Legend of Pinkfoot 
The Bubble Guppies are going on a camping trip! Grab your flashlights and gather around the campfire to make s’mores and hear about the spooky legend of Pinkfoot!

Bring on the Bugs
It’s the Big Bug Parade and the Bubble Guppies are marching with the ants and buzzing with the bees! With so many different kinds of bugs, every Guppy has their favorite. But it’s a special spider named Charlie that catches Gil and Molly’s friendship.

The Sizzling Scampinis! 
The Bubble Brothers Circus is coming to town, and all the Guppies are getting into the act! See Goby the clown, Gil the acrobat, Oona the lion tamer…just watch out for that pie! SPLAT!

Bubble Duckies! 
Welcome to the Wings Over Bubbletucky Air Show! Today the Bubble Guppies are watching a whole bunch of birds take flight! But when a family of flying ducks gets lost in a storm cloud, it’s up to Molly, Gil and a friendly little duck named Beep to fly in and rescue them!

Gup, Gup, and Away!
Pack a suitcase and hurry to the airport! Help the Bubble Guppies fly an airplane through the sky and over the clouds – just be sure to keep an eye out for airplane pirates!

I, personally, love Bubble Guppies. I think they have super fun songs and cute jokes for the kids. Aaron and Jill really seem to like it, too.

Bubble Guppies: Summer Days! will be available on 5/28 and Dora the Explorer: Dora Rocks! will be available on 6/4 at retailers near you.

Disclosure: I received both DVD's to review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way. 

The Seven Year Itch

Scott and I are fast approaching our seventh anniversary. Yup, the seven year itch, if you believe in that sort of thing. 

Seven years ago we were celebrating with his coworkers. They threw Scott a "bachelorette" party. That's what happens when you have an office full of women, they throw you a bachelorette, not bachelor, party.

Can we talk about how young, thin and blonde I was?!

Seven years is a long time and in all honesty, I'm pretty shocked it's been seven years. I mean, didn't we just take this photo a couple of years ago? 

I'll have more "seven year itch" posts coming this week. I truly love taking this walk down memory lane every year and love sharing it!

Couscous Paella with Shrimp and Chicken Sausage

In an effort to continue eating healthy, I found this super yummy recipe for paella with shrimp and chicken sausage and instead of using rice, you use couscous (so good they named it twice!).

Here's what you need:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
1 cup of chopped onion
2 links of cooked chicken sausage, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
8 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup whole wheat couscous
3/4 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Here's what you need to do:

In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat.
Add red pepper and onion, cook stirring for 6-8 minutes or until soft.
Add sausage, garlic, paprika and oregano.
Cook, stirring for 2 minutes.
Stir in the broth and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in shrimp, couscous and peas.
Cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and shrimp are pink, firm and opaque.
Fluff couscous with a fork, stir in parsley and lemon juice.

This was so light and yummy! Plus, it took less than 20 minutes to make, which is perfect for a busy weeknight.

I hope you enjoy!

Paul McCartney: Out There

Cross this off the bucket list...I went to a Paul McCartney concert. This was hands down the best anniversary present ever. 

He played for almost 3 hours, that's 38 songs. 38 purely amazing fantastically awesome I'm pretty sure I lost my mind at some point songs. 

All I have to say is it was worth every penny we spent. He sounds just as amazing live as he does on any of his albums. My favorites from the night? Blackbird, Yesterday, Maybe I'm Amazed, Something, Band on the Run and Back in the U.S.S.R. 

Thank you, Scott for giving me the best gift in the history of ever.

What You Need to Know About...Febrile Seizures

I registered the kiddos for kindergarten this week. Oh, how I am not ready for this. I really do like their school and think they will do extremely well there. However, when I was registering them and we were going over the paperwork the school nurse was brought in to discuss the febrile seizures they have. Now, Aaron has only had one and Jill has had three. It has been a few years since Jill has had one, but I still put it on the form as an FYI.

The nurse came in and asked if I had my children screened by the neurologist and if they were on any medication for their epilepsy. I reminded her that they have febrile seizures, which is not epilepsy. She then proceeded to tell me that febrile seizures are "really common when kids have fevers" and "it should probably be noted on their chart that they have fever induced seizures".  I reminded her that's exactly was febrile means.

In that moment I just could not get over how wrong this nurse was on febrile seizures, so I thought I would take a moment and educate whomever is reading this on febrile seizures.

So, what are febrile seizures? 

They are convulsions brought on by fevers in infants or small children. The child will most often lose consciousness and begin shaking. This can last anywhere from a few seconds to 15 minutes.  Aaron's was around a minute and Jill's was pretty similar. They both convulsed in different ways. Aaron convulsed violently, turned purple, foamed and had his eyes roll back. Jill slumped over, made a clicking sounds, twitched and one time she threw up.

The majority of children that have febrile seizures have a rectal temperature of 102 degrees or higher at the time of the seizure. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS), "Children prone to febrile seizures are not considered to have epilepsy, since epilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures that are not triggered by fever." Ahem, nurse.

How common are febrile seizures?

About one in every 25 children will experience a febrile seizure. They also usually occur between the ages of 6 months and 3 years. It's very rare to see them before or after. Also, if you have a family history of them (which we do) your children are more likely to have them.

What do you do if your child is having a febrile seizure?

Stay calm. I know, I know, it's hard, but you need especially if you have other children with you. Make sure they are lying on the ground away from anything that may harm them. You should also roll them on their side in case they begin to vomit or choke. Do not under any circumstance restrain them or place anything in their mouth. I know this used to be standard way back in the day and some people still believe in these misconceptions. Do not do it, you will harm your child.

Make sure you check your watch so you know how long they are convulsing. It will feel like an eternity to you, but it may only be a minute.

Both MayoClinic and NINDS recommend taking your child immediately to your physician unless the fever lasts longer than 10 minutes, then you should call an ambulance.  I did not follow this advice and called 911 both times. Aaron was really lethargic after his and Jill's fever kept rising. She actually needed a shot to bring down her fever when we arrived at the hospital.  Go with your gut, they paramedics will not be mad, I promise.

These are extremely terrifying to watch and nothing can honestly prepare you. I had a hard time during and after these to the point that I need to talk to a therapist. I can still to this day see Aaron's face and hear Jill clicking. So when the nurse tried to dismiss this as a run of the mill thing, you know after she thought it was epilepsy, I was angry. There is nothing run of the mill about this and it's always good to educate yourself on the topic.

I encourage you to find out if anyone in your family has ever had a febrile seizure and check out NINDS and MayoClinic for more information.

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott who puts up with my craziness day in and day out.

• Aaron who makes me laugh with his silliness and commentary.

• Jillian and her way off key/high pitched singing.

• Family all around us.

• The Starbucks on campus still being open during the summer months. 

• Sharing an office with someone who dislikes birds as much as I do. 

• Dinners at Prato with friends, even if the wine glass shattered by/near/on our legs.

• Cheesecake, wine and Ray LaMontagne.

What are you thankful for this week?

Déjà vu

You know that moment you have as a parent where you find yourself having a moment of déjà vu? I had that moment today in the pediatrician's office when Jill started screaming, kicking and crying because she didn't want her ear cleaned out.

In that moment I flashed back to my first day of first grade when I ran out of the room and down the hall screaming for my mom. She always told me that she couldn't wait until I had a child that did that.

Can I tell you that my father laughed on the phone when I told him about this? He also said it made his day.

Needless to say, I cannot wait until Jillian has a child just like her. Maybe two...

As a side note, both of the kids were off the charts for heights. I don't know why this surprised our doctor seeing that I'm almost 6 feet tall and Scott is just over 6 feet tall.

Namaste

I'm on an exercise kick again, well...finally. I became pretty lazy after the half this year and with the Tower of Terror 10 miler coming up I need to get my rear in gear. 

Not only have I been trying to get in my runs, but I'm trying to do some yoga to really stretch out and strengthen my body.  The kiddos caught me doing some yoga the other night and wanted to try it out last night. So we tried our hand at the warrior 2 pose:

I think we may be doing this more often.

Namaste y'all.

Evening Bike Rides

The kiddos have so much energy to burn lately and since it's been so nice lately, we decided to go for a bike ride last night. 

We ended up biking almost a mile and a half through the neighborhood. Jill was having some issues in the beginning with her pedal...

Even Aaron jumped off his bike to help his sister, but quickly ran back to his bike to make sure that he was "in first place".

They definitely were biking fast, to the point that I had to jog to keep up. 

I'm so glad we have these nights now and cannot wait for our next bike ride!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: The Quest for the Crystal Mickey

A show that has always been a constant in our home is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Clearly, these kids are a product of a Disney home, because they have always loved Mickey and the gang. They also really like Indiana Jones, so the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: The Quest for the Crystal Mickey was a perfect fit!

Join Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and all their pals in the newest Clubhouse crusade. When the legendary Crystal Mickey goes missing, Mickey and friends go on an adventure to save the Clubhouse from losing its magic. Grab your hat, buckle your seatbelt, and get ready to embark on a thrilling adventure in “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: The Quest for the Crystal Mickey!” 

There’s no time to lose after greedy Plunderin’ Pete snatches the legendary Crystal Mickey statue from the Clubhouse. Without this sparkly statue’s magic, the Clubhouse will disappear forever! 

Can the world’s most extraordinary hero "Kansas City Mickey," get the magical statue back in time? Only with help from young viewers at home…and the right Mouseketools can Mickey journey across the Sandy Desert, brave the Rushing River and make his way through the Hidden Jungle. But watch out for Pete’s trickiest traps!

This movie is super cute and perfectly blends our love of Mickey and Indiana. I also love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because it's interactive and gets my kids to work through problems to help solve the problem by the end of the episode. It may or may not also allow me to make dinner with minimal interruption.

Check out Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: The Quest for the Crystal Mickey on DVD May 21st. 

Disclosure: I received a copy of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: The Quest for the Crystal Mickey to review. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. 

Mother's Day

I cannot believe this is my 5th Mother's Day. It was definitely a great day, mainly because I was able to sleep in AND I could take a nap. Bonus!

I spent most of the morning snuggling with my kiddies.

Then we headed out to church.

Aaron's face? Yup, that pretty much stayed all through mass, but he was not the one that needed to be taken out. Ahem...

After my much  needed and quite frankly, deserved, nap, we went to Abuelo's for dinner.

I am so thankful to be a Mommy to these two little kiddos. They have made these past 5 years the most amazing and rewarding years of my life.

Today is also my parents 51st wedding anniversary. Crazy, right? 

Happy anniversary Mom and Dad! Thank you for being a wonderful example to all of us on what a marriage is. 

Mother's Day Spa

Today was my first ever Mother's Day event at the kiddos school. The room was set up like a spa with hair brushes, nail polish and refreshments.  I was beyond excited to be with my kids at school and I know they were equally excited.

The kiddos came over and brushed my hair and painted my nails (and quite possibly my hands).  Jill picked a sparkly color and Aaron picked a hot pink.

They also gave me a basket of paper flowers and a picture.

This will go down as hands down one of the best days. I love these moments and am so glad I was able to pop by and have this morning with my kids. 

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott who still does little and thoughtful things for me to remind me that he's thinking of me and that he cares about me.
   

• Aaron who tells me I'm beautiful almost everyday. He's going to make a very lucky lady very happy one day.
   

• Jillian who loves being girly with me. I cannot wait for all of the girly days to come!
   

• Family all around us.
   

• Everyone that came out to celebrate Aaron and Jill's birthday this past weekend.
   

• An upcoming weekend of birthday celebrations.
   

• Leann being back from vacation. It was far too quiet in 238E.
   

• Starbucks still being open on campus when it seems like everything else is closed. I'm glad to see people have their priorities straight :)
  
  What are you thankful for this week?

Truffula Tree Cupcakes

Yesterday I gave you a step-by-step of my Lorax cupcakes, so today I will show you how I made the Truffula Trees.

I bought the majority of my supplies at JoAnn's in that baking aisle that I should just own. I bought lollipop sticks that had strips (from Wilton) and really adorable pale green polka dot cupcake liners. I sent Scott out on Saturday to buy some cotton candy.

After the cupcakes cooled I mixed up some green frosting. Again, this is something you will have to play with to get the color just right. I used a round tip to pipe on the frosting and then placed the stick in the middle of the cupcake. After I pulled some of the cotton candy and placed it on top of the stick. I was really surprised at how well this stuck to the stick.

You can see the lollipop sticks in the background (you can also see a dozen or so Matchbox cars).  After doing this I remembered that the cotton candy would probably dry out, so I pulled all of it off (maybe sampled it?) and waited until the party to replace it. 

Of the two cupcakes, I thought this was the easiest by far. I'm so glad I accepted the challenge to make them myself!

Lorax Cupcakes

Since the kiddos had a Lorax themed birthday it was only fitting that we had Lorax themed cupcakes. Originally, I was going to hire someone to make them, but an injury sidelined them and I had to make them myself. 

I decided to make two different cupcakes and hit the baking section at JoAnn's.  I could max out a credit card in that store like it's nobody's business. I found some really adorable orange ombre cupcake liners, candy eyes, sparkle gel and yellow candy melts. Somehow all of this was going to make a hopefully awesome cupcake.

My main challenge was making the mustache. I tried to find a mustache mold, but they were too big for the cupcakes, so I had to free hand it. It was rough. I melted the yellow candy melts in a piping bag, lined a baking sheet with wax paper and set out to make something that somewhat, kind of sort of maybe, looked like a mustache. 

Artist I am not, but it worked. While these were chilling in the fridge, I mixed my frosting. Talk about a challenge. It took me a while to get the orange just right. After I spread it on the cupcakes I placed the wacky eyes on the cupcake. You can find these in the baking aisle of JoAnn's or Michael's. 

After the eyes, I used the sparkly gel to make eyebrows and a nose. You can also find this in the baking aisle.

Then I placed on the mustaches and voila! 

I think my Truffula Trees were better, but these weren't that bad. I'll have a Truffula Tree step-by-step post tomorrow. 

The Lorax Birthday Party

The kiddos celebrated their fifth birthday yesterday and we had a Lorax themed party at one of our favorite parks. 

I originally planned on hiring a baker to create the Truffula tree and Lorax cupcakes but she tore a tendon, so I had to rely on Pinterest and pray that I could pull it off. 

The kiddos had a blast hanging out with their friends and barely sat down long enough to eat. 

When it was time for cupcakes, Jill was the only one that wanted to have 'Happy Birthday' sung.  Aaron absolutely wanted nothing to do with it, so he hid off to the corner.

Thank you to everyone that came out and celebrated with us! The kiddos had a blast and we are so lucky to have all of you in our lives!

Aaron and Jillian Turn 5!

Every year I make a video of the kids throughout the year for their birthday. I cannot believe they are already 5, it seriously feels like they were just born.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Happy Birthday Aaron and Jillian!

Iron Man 3 Review

I will start this post with an admission. The only Marvel movie I have ever watched, prior to this review, was The Avengers. All of my super hero knowledge comes from a combination of that movie and the Super Hero Squad cartoon.

Scott and I were able to go and check out an advanced screening of Iron Man 3 on Monday and let me tell you, it was awesome. I'm a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan and I love his as Tony Stark. I think he is just truly fantastic and made for the role. After seeing the previews, I knew I was going to love this movie.

Marvel’s Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

 

The film is rated PG-13 and I truly think that is a fair rating. It is pretty intense at times, so I would hold off taking your younger kids to see it until you've had a chance to watch it first.

The special effects were pretty amazing throughout the film, but they were not overly done. There is nothing I dislike more than a film that is strictly about the effects and loses you with the story. This film had a great balance.

 Are you going to see Iron Man 3 over the weekend? I'd love to hear what you think of the film!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott who busted his bum this weekend helping put up some of the fence. 

• 5 years of Aaron and Jillian. I cannot believe they will be 5 this weekend...where does the time go?

• Aaron who chit chats with me in the morning while I get ready. I'm loving these moments together.

• For girls days with Jill.

• Our family.

• Being able to work with two really great girls this past semester. I'm sad to see them graduate, but I know they will do great things with their lives.

• The end of the semester and what appears to be a quiet summer.

• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. No explanation needed.

What are you thankful for this week?

Vitafusion Multivites and L'il Critters Gummy Vites - Review

I have been trying to live a healthier lifestyle lately (please ignore all posts about my love of cupcakes from food trucks as you are reading this) and taking vitamins is essential.  However, I hate taking large pills, they seriously make me nauseous.

Vitafusion Multivites are the perfect alternative to hard-to-swallow pills because they are gummies. Yes, gummies, like when you were 4. Two of the Vitafusion Multivites contain 200% of the daily value of vitamin D3 (this is as much as 3 oz of salmon), as much vitamin A as one cup of broccoli, as much vitamin C as one tangerine and many, many more good things.  The flavors (berry, peach and orange) are all really yummy too, which is always a plus.

Vitafusion also has a Multivites Sour version of their gummy vitamins. Now, I'm not a huge fan of sour gummy candy, so this was not my cup of tea, however if you love sour candy, I think you will like it. The flavors for this version are citrus and berry.

Both Multivites sell for around $11.50 for 150 vitamins and can be found at drug, grocery and mass merchandise stores.

Vitafusion also has versions specific for men, women and 50+.  There are also supplements for vitamin D3, C, B complex, B12, CoQ10, calcium, vision, omega 3 and prenatal. Awesome, right?

I was also able to try the L'il Critters Gummy Vites for the kiddos.  When they were younger they took
the vitadrops and I was able to mix it in with their drinks. Now that they are (gasp) almost 5, we needed a big kid vitamin. The L'il Critters are the perfect transition between toddler vitamins and big kid vitamins.  They also have a sour variety. What's even better? The colors are from plants and vegetables, so no need to worry about artificial dyes and colorings.

We are still trying to get used to taking a big kid vitamin. Aaron is definitely showing more resistance than Jill, but we are working on it.

I'm really glad I stumbled upon this brand and had a chance to try them. I can honestly say I have not missed a vitamin since I've had them and love it. And, let's be honest, it's always funny to take gummy vitamins.

Disclosure: I received samples of Vitafusion Multivites, Vitafusion Multivites Sour and L'il Critters Gummy Vites for review. The opinions expressed are my own.