A Practical Mother's Day Wishlist

Every year Adam asks be for a Mother's Day wishlist.  Some people might think it's dumb that I essentially pick out my own gift, but I love it.  If we're going to spend the money on something I would rather he pick out something I've been eyeing anyways.  Given that Adam has been unemployed the month of April, I have kept this list pretty practical.

1 | I've been eyeing this mirror since we moved to this house in 2018.  It would look perfect between our kitchen and living room.  It's a darker area {I realize this is relative since we have 20945098345 windows in our house and nobody would ever call it dark} and would add so much to the space.

2| I have Joanna's original cookbook and {aside from the fact I had to buy a stand to keep it open!} I love it!  Every recipe we've tried has been amazing, so I really want to check out her new cookbook!

3| Super practical, but I want to start replacing all of the doorknobs in our house {okay, maybe a little impractical since the doorknobs we currently have work, but these are adorable and fit the 'look' of our house so much more!}  I would love 4 more to complete the top floor of the house!  Bonus that they're currently on sale!

+ I would also love a few hanging ferns for the porch!
+ This would look so good with the rest of our travel decor.
+ This cheese board would look awesome in our kitchen.
+ I have also wanted this book for so long!
+ Two of these would be great for our out of control silverware drawer!
+ Now that we've painted the cabinets & redone the counter top, I've been eyeing this backsplash

+ A splurge that I wouldn't be sad about ;)
+ Speaking of splurge, a totally indulgent thing that the kids and I can get enough of is this towel warmer, currently on sale for $75!  The kids have been begging me to get them one for their bathroom.  It might be out of season, but if you're trying to buy for a mother that has it all, I would encourage you to look at this!
+ Now that I've completely transitioned to splurges, this necklace has been on my wishlist for a few years now & a couple of these chairs would be perfect for our back deck!  And if this would ever come back in stock, I would love to add it to our kitchen!

Easter Baskets Fillers for Kids

I went ahead and ordered everything for the kids' Easter baskets {& Cullyn's birthday} since I'm pretty sure we won't be shopping in person for a while!  If you're looking for some fun basket fillers here are a few ideas...

HANDMADE/SMALL BUSINESS

+ Adorable, handmade name puzzles

+ Outdoor activity coins -- we have these & love them.  Perfect for gas breaks on road trips, too.

+ Peeps style bath bombs

+ Pastel playdough

+ Rainbow pencil holder

+ Personalized Easter plates

MORE FILLERS

+ Fuzzy bunny pen

+ Kid sized, stainless steel water bottle

+ Pastel puffy pens

+ Rainbow watercolor gel

+ Easter squish foam

+ Egg chalk & the best bubbles{every year!}

+ The cutest egg book

+ Nail polish for J & for me ;)

+ Slime eggs because my kids still think slime is life

+ Kids journal

EVERY YEAR

+ Swimsuit

+ Sandals
+ Sunglasses & Towel

Resurrection eggs - we bought these before Easter last year and the kids really love them!

Valentine's Favorites for Kids

GIFTS
We like to get the kids a little gift on Valentine's Day.  It varies each year, sometimes it's candy, lipgloss, nail polish, bath bombs, journals, etc.  This year Jordyn is getting this suitcase because she's been using this one {in a different print} since birth and it's getting a little small.  Cullyn is getting this TreasureX thing that he couldn't believe Santa didn't bring him.  For the record the first time he mentioned it to Santa was Christmas Eve!  Our favorite heart themed book is In My Heart which talks about feelings.  Jo Witek has several cute books!  I also have my eye on this one and this one that may have to be added to the collection this year. Jordyn loves her pink camera and rose gold microphone.  This little doll is discontinued {it was Land of Nod} but there are several cute ones here.  And of course, both kids still love their Magnatiles!

CLOTHING
This tee for me.  This sweater & headband for the girl.  Be Kind & Love More top.  And this top for my little wanna be Paleontologist.

RECIPES
Valentine's week calls for all.the.hearts and/or all the pink/red food you can imagine at our house.  Heart shaped sandwiches, pizzas, desserts.  I like to make a festive little trail mix with stuff in the pantry {pretzels, marshmallows, m&ms, chex, raisins, and of course Conversation Hearts!}  Valentine's themed breakfasts are super easy too!

DECOR
We keep the Valentine's Day decor real simple at our house.  I usually just decorate the mantle with a sign, a couple red and pink trees, and a festive garland.

TRADITIONS
How we celebrate Valentine's Day really depends on what day of the week it falls on and what activities we have scheduled for that night.  Over the years we have booked a sitter and went out to dinner {easier when we lived in Des Moines}, ordered a heart shaped pizza in {also easier when we lived in a town that actually delivered pizza -- ha!}, or left the kids with my sister.  This year we're trying to do date nights every Friday {it's not going that well -- thanks basketball!} and it's my week to plan, it's also the also weekend of basketball -- praise.the.lord!  So I'm not sure how it will play out.  I love the idea of making it a tradition to get the whole family dressed up and go out to a nice dinner together.  We'll see...

VALENTINES
I used to spend hours finding the perfect Valentine's from Pinterest or Etsy and spend a million dollars on supplies/Etsy and then give them to all of the kids' friends, classmates, teammates, etc. And last year it finally clicked...in less than a week all of that was in the trash and nobody cared but me.  Seriously, the kids could have cared less.  So here is my PSA to all the mamas of littles.  Give your kids $5 and take them to the Dollar Store to pick out whatever they want for their friends.  It might just be the most freeing thing you've done this year! ;)

Previous Valentine's Posts::
2015 Valentine's | Our 2014 Valentine's | Our 2013 Valentine's Day and Night | 2012 Valentine | 2012 Valentine's Day | 2011 | 2010 | 2009

Cullyn's 6th Birthday

Cullyn's 6th Birthday will be one I won't seen forget.  It was the year we surprised him with a 4 Wheeler and he hated it!  I mean completely refused to put the helmet on or take it for a spin. #ParentingFail  Lucky for him, he also got a metal detecter and a pair of gloves for digging, a pair of baseball gloves, and some other treasures he had been requesting. 

Cullyn was most excited for his first ever Friend Birthday Party.  We rented out the local movie theater and invited his entire class {when we ask him who his best friends are his response is 'everyone!  I like playing with everybody' Bless his heart!  So he and his favorite 20+ friends watched Wonderpark on the big screen.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I wish so badly I was home with my kiddos making everything heart shaped and shades of red today, but now that they're in school it isn't really possible.  I hope they're having a blast exchanging Valentine's with their friends.  I'm looking forward to picking them up a little early and surprising them with a few goodies and then going to dinner with Adam, even if we got the last reservations {8p! -- booked 2 weeks ago!} at Simon's.

The photos below are from a little shoot the kids got to do for my sister's company.

Valentine's Day Ideas

Who's ready for Valentine's Day?!  For the first time ever, ME!  I'm always the mama out there the night before Valentines trying to find supplies for everything I've screenshotted {a verb at our house!} from Pinterest, but this year I set a reminder in my phone to order the kids' Valentine's in January so we're set.  They're even labeled already!  Below are the gifts we're giving the kids for on Valentine's Day -- I hope it gives you some inspiration if you're still looking.  

Cullyn's...

Book | Superhero Crayons | Shirt | Boogie Board

and Jordyn's...

Book | Prayer Journal | Shirt | Boogie Board

The cutest kids classroom Valentine ideas | For my single ladies

Valentine's

Better late than never...here's our Valentine's Day in photos.  We made these Valentine's for the kids' daycare friends {same ones we took to the Friendship Party}.  I wish I had printed cute labels and had valentine-ish spoons, but we had just returned from St. Lucia and decided to work with what we had on hand.  Good news...none of the kids complained!

We made these for Cullyn's preschool friends {thanks to the help of auntie}

Speaking of...Adam and I were gone when the kids' Valentine boxes were due for school and the kids were staying with Ashley & Myles, so they helped the kids make their boxes.  Um yeah, we've decided to make that an annual date with their auntie!  They turned out amazing!!

Jordyn's school doesn't allow food of any kind, so she decided to make these since she's big into Tic Tac Toe these days.  I printed the cards up and she did the rest...easy peasy!  PS...who knew tic taco were so dang expensive, even on Amazon?!  Between neighbor friends, school friends {27!} and dance friends, we spent a small fortune!

Valentine's night was a Tuesday night, so we had a small window between school/daycare pickup and dinner, before dance that I like the kids quickly open their goodies from us, school, & daycare.  Cullyn's highlight - all the food.  Jordyn's favorite - a new sports bra. ;)  

And the week before Valentine's, my parents were in town and brought he kids little candy necklace kits to make, and eat.  They LOVED them! :)