Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Recent Kids Book Purchases

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

We've been buying about a dozen kids books a month since school is out and the library has been closed {it has since reopened}.  Here are some of the books the kids picked out in the last haul.  

They also plowed through the Mac B. Kid Spy series {4 books} and The Misadventures of Max Crumbly series {3 books} right before the library closed.  A perk of having a 7 and 8 year old is that they enjoy many of the same books, helping to justify book purchases! :)

Speaking of buying books.  I've been purchasing used books more and more instead of just grabbing them off Amazon.  If you haven't tried buying books from KidsBooks.Com I would recommend it.  I also bought some from BetterWorldBooks.Com but the quality was pretty poor. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

This & That

Did this:
Alll the after school activities
Wallpapered my bathroom{!!}
Read 'Winter in Paradise' & 'What Happens in Paradise' by Elin Hilderbrand {now I have to wait for book 3!} But a super fun series and we've vacationed to the little islands she refers to in the books!
Had my car break down on the side of the highway -- sigh
Paid $500 to fix the car -- ugh!
Spent much of the weekend working in preparation for meetings last evening.
Survived an ice/snowstorm
Learned how to run the snow blower -- & only fell on the ice twice
Let the kids have a big sleepover {6 plus our 2}

Instagrammed {@MurdocksMamaBlog} that:

I'm hoping to do this:Finish putting my Christmas bins away
Create a photobook from our Jamaica vacation

Take the kids ice skating {now that we finally have ice


Scheduled that:
F: Friday Favorites

Monday, November 19, 2018

PRIME Purchases

Here's my belated PRIME purchases for the month!


1 | Jordyn was in need of winter footwear, and I found these boots for $10!!!
2 | We're trying to transition away from disposable brown paper bags, so I purchased this insulated lunchbag.  It's the perfect size, and bonus, J hasn't even thrown it away on accident yet! ;)  
3 | These booties are adult quality in a little kid size.  Jordyn has been living in them lately!
4 | I know, I know...everyone has a faux Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree.  This one is $40 off, making it less than $50!
5 | This basket is perfect for so much!  I have it in my laundry area, but I want another for our stairwell and one for my closet.  It would also be perfect to put your plant {see #4} in!
6 | This book has beautiful images!  We also bought Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
7 | These transition from gloves to mittens, which I have seen for adults, but never for kids.  Jordyn loves them!


Thursday, February 1, 2018

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...

and Jordyn's...


Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Easter Brunch, Books, & a Playlist


We're hosting Easter this year, a first for us.  We've actually never hosted our family for any holiday, so I'm super excited.  We're heading to church before brunch, so I had to plan things that are super low maintenance.  I also ordered new dishes, something I've been wanted to do since we moved over a year ago.  I chose these plates and these bowls.  The green 'grass' runner came from Micheal's for super cheap and the bunny ear and carrot napkin holders came from the Target dollar spot.  Actual cloth napkins came from World Market.  Here's the menu...

Ham & turkey
Croissants
Cheesy potatoes
Green bean casserole
Fresh fruit
Ham & cheese egg bake

Mimosas
Bloody Marys

Rice crispy eggs
Easter party mix

And a little playlist I put together for the morning...


 Our Easter reads.  The Littlest Bunny is Iowa is definitely the favorite!

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Reading Again


After almost a year 'off' -- I'm finally reading again!  Which is kind of code for 'I'm finally working out again' since the bulk of my reading happens at the gym.  I shared that secret while training for my half marathon a few years ago, but it's easiest for me to make the time to read when I'm running on the treadmill.  It's kind of my one, two punch.  I feel like I'm getting a lot accomplished, plus my little 'reward' for running is being able to read {something I really enjoy}.
However, I have been reading more in the evenings than ever before.  Mainly because it's my off season for photography.  But also because my kids are getting older and we've started to incorporate earlier bedtimes.  Yes, I know that sounds totally backwards.  Maybe I'll share more about that next week. At any rate, I've started incorporating weekly library visits into our schedule and the kids couldn't love it more!  Plus it makes me feel like a better mama. :)

So, the books I've been reading lately...
Uninvited - I'm reading it now.  It's different than I thought it would be.  A good book to read a chapter of each night as opposed to sitting down and devouring it.

Bread & Wine - I really liked this book!  It was perfect for the beginning of the year.  Very motivating!  Perfect for people like like to host {like Adam and I} since she lists some of her favorite recipes throughout the book.

Wild & Free - More like uninvited.  Very thought provoking, large concept ideas.  I'm glad I read it.  Another one of those books it's fun to highlight parts of and write in the margins. :)

Present Over Perfect - This book changed my life.  A bold statement, but it's true.  It really helped me focus on what matters {my family} and decide what I need to cut back in order to make them priority.  When you say yes to something, you're subconsciously saying no to something else. Phenomenal book for the habitually late, over busy, working mama!

The Magnolia Story - Such an unexpected love for me since I don't watch 'Fixer-Upper' and didn't really know Chip & JoJo {other than their name and that they had the show}.  My sister gave me this book to read on our vacation to St. Lucia and I ended up reading it {small, super fast read} before we left for the trip--you know, when I should have been packing and cleaning! ;)  Great book for small business owners.  Full of love, family, God, hard work, & motivation.

Small Great Things - My boss let me borrow this book.  It was on my radar because Jodi Picoult wrote it and I generally like her writing.  Perfect timing though, because I read it over MLK day.  This was a great book on race.  A great read during a time when the country is yet again so divided.

The Woman in Cabin 10 - Not pictured because I borrowed it from my sister in South Carolina and already gave it back.  SUCH a good book!  Very suspenseful!  It won't say more than that because I don't want to give it away, but if you like suspense books, you'll love this.  I read the whole thing in 24 hours -- couldn't.put.it.down!

Big Little Lies - Also a great book.  I happened to read it the day before the series started on HBO.  I'm not a huge TV watcher, but I did record this.  I'm hoping the mini series is a good as the book.

On my wishlist for Spring/Summer...
Two by Two 
See Me
It Ends With Us
Chasing Slow
Loving my Actual Life
She Reads Truth
Freefall to Fly
The Broken Way

This is getting lengthy, so I'll write about kids books & our library visits soon :)

*Affiliate links used to fund my library ;)

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