The Beginning of Summer

Summer is so close I can almost taste the freeze pops! I can't wait for this fabulous season to begin and for everything that comes with it. Summertime means boating, swimming, beaches, ice cream, and best of all every minute spent with my baby girl. There is something so special about waking up in warm, humid air and relaxing while drinking my morning coffee instead of the daily hustle and bustle that comes with work mornings.  It feels like from sunup to sundown on work days I don't have a moment to breathe in life and really enjoy everything that is going on.  In the summer however, every single second seems so special. The sunrises take a little bit longer, splashes from the pool are extra refreshing and moments with loved ones can be cherished instead of rushed. I can not wait to soak up these moments in a  few short weeks! Ahhh the life of a teacher ;).

A Day In The Life - List Style

Things that I have accomplished today in no particular order:

• Planted herbs to enjoy all summer long ( basil, cilantro, and stevia. Is stevia an herb?)
• Make a donation basket for charity
• Worked with 18 very chatty first graders for 7 and a half hours
• Went for a walk to look for turtles in the pond with Camryn
• Made dinner ( BLAT Sandwiches, broccoli and sweet potato fries)
• Laundry
• Tagged items for a consignment sale
• Finished a binder project for work
• Cleaned out my car 

I am sure there is more.  To say I am exhausted is putting it mildly.  On top of my crazy busy day today I am exhausted from an even busier day yesterday. Unfortunately at the end of my work day yesterday I experience what can only be described as searing pain and extreme nausea. I immediately threw up and then drove myself to an emergent care hospital where I proceeded to get an IV with anti-nausea medication and lay down for 3 hours with a barrage of tests. I was then referred to an gastro-enterologist with instructions to get a hida-scan of my gall bladder.... Apparently 28 year olds can have gall bladder attacks!  

This is really shaping up to be quite the week so far! 

Negative Effects of Diet Soda

So the time has finally come... I am quitting diet soda for good. I spent a great deal of time today checking out the negative effects that all these ingredients have.  I have noticed staining on my teeth and really think that is doing other things to me as well that might not be apparent right now! So as of tomorrow I am quitting for good.

Not only am I concerned about the negative effects of the aspartame, I am also concerned with the caffeine content.  I know that there are better ways to get through the day and I don't think caffeine needs to be one of them.


In lieu of my beloved Diet Pepsi, I am going to be turning to an all natural alternative.  I have been adding lemon oil to my water for some time now and will continue to do that but will also be adding in Zevia. It is an all natural and calorie free soda that is sweetened from the stevia plant. Hopefully this will keep my soda cravings at bay :) Wish me luck!

Have you ever given up diet soda? What were your reasons?

Sunday- It's A Love Hate Kind of Thing

Happy Sunday! Or is it? I always love Sundays because it is the day to get organized and prepared for the week. But is also means the weekend is over and that just makes me sad! My Sunday always starts the same way, with lots of early morning snuggles and this Sunday was no different. Cam woke  up bright and early before the sun! We lounged around and watched Cinderalla for quite a while before we actually began to get moving. 

After the snuggles though I am pretty predictable. LOTS of cleaning taking place. The fridge gets emptied and ready for groceries to be delivered ( I always order my groceries so I don't have to leave the house and drag the babes with me). Dinners for the week start to get prepped and lunches are made! On Sunday we always usually have a nice relaxed dinner before getting our clothes all ready for the week and finally going off to bed :) 

Speaking of prepping dinners, here are our meal plans for the week: 

Monday: Clean Eating Chicken Bake from pinterest

Tuesday: My version of Italian Wedding Soup with orzo and turkey meatballs

Wednesday- Pulled BBQ crockpot Chicken- Again this is my own version of it and I don't really follow a recipe

Thursday- Spiralized Zucchini Chicken Parm- I bought a spiralizer and I LOVE it. It makes my actually want to eat zucchini all the time! 

Friday- DIY/ Frozen Pizza- In an attempt to save money and not order out we have started making our own pizzas or making frozen pizzas. We were spending $40+ dollars a week and decided we could save that money instead to put towards our new house! 

Saturday- Wing It/Leftovers- I don't usually plan for Saturdays because we aren't usually around on these days.

Well that's pretty much it for my lovely Sunday! What are your plans for today?

Long Time No Talk

Well its been a while and it is absolutely hysterical to look back at the last post while my now 19 month old rules around trying to throw things at me! How quickly life can change! I can now say I am a proud mama with so many other amazing things going on! I am going to sum it up into 3 categories:

1- New House- Hubby and I have moved back in with my parents as we prepare to build our home. We have hired a builder and started our driveway. I am hoping that this entire process is over by October but I am hoping for the best and expecting the worst so we could most certainly be in our current situation for MUCH longer.

2- New Job ( sort of)-  I switched grade levels and am currently teaching 1st grade after teaching 3rd grade for five years. This was a very welcomed change and this year has been exciting to say the least...But more on that later.

3- New Fun- I am have begun crafting pretty regularly and have made a nice little side business out of it! It is such a fun way to relax and enjoy my night as well as fulfilling my crafting itch! If you are at all interested you can locate me at www.facebook.com/ladolcevitabymadison.

Other than that it is life as usual. I look forward to posting on a regular basis as well as doing product reviews, sharing my crafts, and my explaining my crazy little life. Talk to you soon! 

Crazy Holiday Months

Is it just me or do the months of October, November, and December just fly by? I can not even believe that October is almost halfway gone and that all of my favorite holidays are right around the corner! And even though today's date is not even half way through October, I have OFFICIALLY started my Christmas shopping and have already crossed three of my favorite little people off the list! This my friends is a big deal!

I make Christmas shopping my personal challenge to get everyone I know name brand everything but for the lowest price possible. I use coupons at every single store, to the point that I won't even go in if I don't have a trusty "coup" in my hand.  While this may seem extreme, between the hubs and I, we buy holiday gifts for a total of about 28 people. That is extreme! On top of that, I always make doggie gift bags for our furry friends. It can be a hectic time of year to say the least...

But not this year! I have outlined a list of the things I am going to do to make this shopping experience as quick and painless as possible.

1. NOT shopping on black friday. There is nothing that is worth waiting in line hours for and chances are it will be cheaper again right before Christmas anyway.

2. Doing all children's gifts the same so that they are cohesive and easy to put together.  Last year we did movie baskets for each of the kids and this year we will be doing the same as they went over so well! They looked a little like this :

Picture from Pinterest!

 

3. For everyone else I plan on shopping with a coupon or on Amazon using my prime free two-day shipping! That will be hard to beat as amazon usually has the lowest prices and with free shipping I won't even have to leave my house!

 

So that is my game plan...I am hoping that this works.  With 25 people left to shop for, I am going to do my best to get moving!

 

 

Excitement

There is a feeling of excitement in the air this week! The hubs and I are headed on a mini-vacation to Boston! We are going to be spending some serious time together which is hard to come by lately. We have tickets to see one of our favorite bands play and some dates set up with family ( some of Matt's family lives there and some is going out as the same time as us). Fortunately, some of our other family members have taken on the responsibility of house/dog watching. As excited as I am, I also get so nervous letting other people watch my fur babies. I know they will be fine but I always get so anxious about it.


I am also excited that it is officially October! One more month until my birthday month, our fur babies birthdays are this month, and October is full of warm and cozy things. We have another fun trip planned for the end of the month as well as a visit half way through from some friends. I can't wait!!!

And lastly, all of our house projects are mostly complete.  After a visit from some friends who have volunteered to help me paint a little, there will be NO projects on the to-do list. Unheard of !!! I think I am going to have to come up with some new ideas and things that I want to work on in our house.

What are you most looking forward to this October?