Tuesday Tips

I'm not sure how great I will be at giving "tips" on Tuesdays....but I'll definitely try ;) Melanie and I both have money saving tips for you today so get ready!

The first tip that I could think of off the top of my head was Amazon Mom/Subscribe and Save. I used to be an avid Diapers.com shopper and that was my go-to for all things baby/kid related (and still is sometimes), that was until I discovered Amazon Mom and the subscribe and save option on Amazon.com.

Sidebar tip first:
I use the Honest Company diapers for Sawyer because she has such sensitive skin and those seem to work best with her skin. I signed up for the diapers and wipes bundle to be sent to our door every 5 weeks. With that bundle, we get 6 packs of diapers and 4 packs of wipes for $80. The diapers are adorable and fun, plus they are made without any chemicals! Sawyer loves getting to pick out which diaper she wants to wear. Anytime I can give her some ownership with something and let her have a choice...I do it!

Back to my original tip -- Amazon Mom is amazing and by far the cheapest way I've found to order diapers, wipes, and most things baby/family related. I'll link in all the details to having an Amazon Mom membership because I don't want this post to get too extremely wordy. But the most important thing is that this membership is FREE and it SAVES you money. My brother would say those are two of his favorite words! Click HERE to learn the specifics behind Amazon Mom.

When you have a Prime account (which I HIGHLY recommend if you are a frequent Amazon shopper) you can opt into the subscribe and save program. When you schedule 5 or more autoship products each month, you automatically save an extra 20% of your order. It's easier than you think to find 5 products that you use each month. I actually have 6 items currently being shipped to me each month (not including the ones that ship every two months). Here are my items that I have in my subscribe and save "cart"
-Formula
-Jansen's wipes
-Jansen's diapers
-Both kids' night time diapers
-Sawyer's allergy medicine
-Sawyer's vitamins
-dog food
-Oil of Olay shower lotion (this stuff is amazing!)
-Tide Pods (shipped every 3 months)

I'm telling you, this is such a money saver for us! I double checked and it costs $44 at Walmart for Jansen's diapers. Through Amazon, I pay $37.75. If I were to buy Jansen's formula at Walmart, it would cost me $132.92. I pay $105.57 through Amazon...that's a $27.35 savings!!! That's more than one can of formula.
Sidenote: I don't know why people gripe about diapers being so expensive, the formula is ridiculous!! Sawyer was only on formula for a month before switching to cow's milk so this is a whole new world for me. Holy cow, I am really wishing my milk supply would've lasted longer!

For those of you who don't have kids...the subscribe and save program isn't limited to those who have an Amazon Mom membership. There are so many items in the Subscribe and Save "store" that aren't baby or kid related. Now go and save some money!!

And if you want to read even more money saving tips, go check out Melanie's Tuesday Tips HERE. She's talking about summer fun on a budget. We all know that as fun as summer is, it can get pricey with all the outings and such. Melanie has great ideas to solve summer boredom and stay within your budget!

Any questions or ideas for a post? Email us!

laurenlou5644@yahoo.com
melroseacker@yahoo.com

Must-Have Monday...on Tuesday

I'm a couple days behind on blogging...I usually write my posts the night before I post them, but the past two nights I have crashed EARLY! We're talking 8:00 people...so sad. I'm trying to play catch up so here we go...

Amber teething necklaces. 

Both of my kids wear amber teething necklaces and I don't plan on taking them off anytime soon. Sawyer started wearing hers when she was about 7 months old and Jansen's had his since he was about 5 months old. I know many boutiques sell these necklaces now but I ordered both of mine off of inspiredbyfinn.com. Follow my link by clicking HERE.

Sawyer and Jansen both cut their bottom two front teeth first. After those first two, Sawyer cut 5, yes I said FIVE teeth and it really didn't seem to bother her much at all. Jansen is working on another tooth right now and he is a little bit fussier than normal, but I just don't think he's as easy of a teether as Sawyer was. I have many people ask me if I think the necklaces really work or not and I tell them I feel like they do, but I don't feel like testing it out by taking them off haha. 

There are several different variations now as far as color and raw/polished. Sawyer has the polished honey and Jansen has the polished green & black. If you have any questions about length, raw vs. polished, or color, email me at laurenlou5644@yahoo.com

Friday Faves

Melanie and I decided that Fridays would be our day to post some of our favorite things for the week. We are both pretty random so these posts will be the perfect "outlet" for our randomness!

.One.

Beautiful Day lotion and body spray from Bath and Body Works.

I've actually been using this since October and I'm still in love with the scent. I'm extremely picky about scents in lotions and perfumes and I always have a hard time deciding on my favorite. I'm really surprised that I am still loving this one as much as I do. When I was in the hospital after having Jansen, every single nurse that walked through our door would ask what perfume or lotion I was wearing. I'm horrible at describing scents so I'm not even going to try...just make sure you take a second to stop and smell it next time you are at Bath & Body Works.

.Two.

I totally wish that I could've been the genius behind Sparkbox Toys. Seriously, I don't know why someone hasn't thought of this and created it before now! One of my team members at work mentioned this to me about a month ago and I quickly began to research. Within about 10 minutes of research, I ordered my first box. 

Here's how it goes:

You select your frequency...one box every 8 weeks, 6 weeks or 4 weeks (each is at a different price point). I chose the 8 week frequency for 23.95 a month because it was the cheapest and because I felt like that was an adequate amount of time for Sawyer to use the toys before getting bored with them. We rotate Sawyer's toys out around that time anyways (My rotation of toys explanation will be on a "Tuesday tips" post later on).

Once your account is set up, they create a "Treasure Chest" for your child based on gender and age. This treasure chest consists of four developmentally appropriate toys for your kiddo. You can switch toys out easily by looking through all the ones they have to choose from. Yes, the toys are used BUT they are highly sanitized and repackaged before sending to their new temporary owner. 

Once you have confirmed the treasure chest, your Sparkbox will be shipped to your door. These toys are NICE, good quality toys, not dinky little toys that are cheap or poorly made. The company sends product cards for each toy as well as a mesh bag for each so you can keep the pieces together while you have them. (This keeps them separate from our personal toys as well) All the product cards, paperwork, and return label are attached on a ring so don't have to worry about losing anything you will need in 8 weeks. You simply put each toy in it's mesh bag and paperwork in a box, attach the return label and take it to the post office. There are no "late fees" either. If your child loves a toy so much that you'd like to keep it, you get to buy it at a discounted price. They are extremely understanding about lost pieces and if they never turn up, you just pay a small fee. I couldn't be happier with this company and the toys they send! Coolest thing EVER! Once they receive your box, they will send the next one with 4 more toys for your baby or tot to play with :) 

Here is a picture of the current toys Sawyer has. We gave her the two left toys first and then a couple weeks later gave her the Magnetic Hide and Seek Board. We haven't given her the gears and puzzles yet but I will here soon. She LOVES the laptop and plays on it all the time. Jansen actually plays with the wooden whimsy blocks more than she does. And when I say play, I really mean sticks them in his mouth and bangs them on stuff. 

This is a money saver for us because I know that I would spend more than 23.95 every 8 weeks on toys for Sawyer and sometimes she wouldn't even get much use out of the toy. This is the perfect solution for spending too much money on toys for them to only be played with for couple months. 

Go check it out for yourself HERE! 

Don't forget to go and check out Melanie's Friday Fave's over at her blog HERE.

Shopping for the Kids

I have been in love with shopping for Sawyer since day one and when I found out I was going to have a boy, the only part of my heart that was sad was that part that loves to shop. Boy clothes....so not as fun to shop for as girl clothes (or so I thought).  I know Melanie had the opposite feelings as mine when she found out she was pregnant with Ella. She loved the boy clothes and wasn't sure what to do with a girl!

I could spend every single penny we make on clothes and shoes for the kids and if my husband is reading this, he is probably saying I basically already do. That's not true though ;) The inspiration for this post came as I was picking out Sawyer's and Jansen's clothes for their sibling pictures at daycare today.

These are the outfits I decided on. Jansen's shirt is from Old Navy and it's on sale right now for $10.00. You can find it HERE. His pants are from Carter's and he wears these all the time. They fit him perfectly and I have them in blue too. Both are on sale for $12.99 and they are normally $26! HERE! There aren't a ton of sizes left but I'm thinking I may buy him a size up so he can wear them again in the fall and winter.

Old Navy is my first stop when wanting to find affordable clothes for the kids that are simple and not stamped with cheesy animals or prints. I'm one of those mom that doesn't like to dress my kids in clothes that look like the typical "baby" or "kid" clothes. Don't get me wrong, my kids clothes are always age appropriate, I just like to dress them in clothes that look like mini "big people" clothes...does that make sense? Melanie knows what I'm talking about! I hardly every buy anything regular priced at Old Navy because they have sales so often. The couple times I have bought when there wasn't a sale, no joke the NEXT day I got an email about a huge sale going on. Talk about kicking myself in the behind...needless to say, I've learned my lesson. I also buy the majority of the kids' Old Navy stuff online because the selection is better than what I usually find in the stores. I hardly ever have to pay for shipping and they have more online sales than they do in-store sales.

I've gotten TONS of compliments on a few of Jansen's shirts that I've "splurged" on because I just couldn't stop thinking about his cute little self in them. I've only got a picture of him in two of them so you'll have to deal with the website picture for one of them.

I'm not sure why there are black dashes going down the shirt in the picture...it's not really on the shirt in person (and ignore the drool please) This will always be my favorite shirt of his and I'm so sad he's about grown out of it. It is the softest shirt ever..that vintage slub type. "Go Ahead, Swoon" is from The Printed Palette. Find them HERE. Their quality is amazing and their items are so unique.

I can't look at this picture without laughing because my kids look so NOT happy.  I totally bought them "matching" shirts and I swore I would never do that buuut I couldn't help it. I've been eyeing these "Like a Boss" shirt for a month now and I finally ordered them. TOO CUTE. You can see all the other variation of "Like a Boss" HERE at Slyfoxthreads. Once again, awesome quality and unique items!

I am in love with Jansen's Gotta Stay Fly tee! I haven' t taken a picture of him in yet so this will have to do. Ezra and Eli are only taking pre-orders on this shirt because it's so popular. Find it HERE. They have a tank version too that is super cute. 

Sawyer's top is Matilda Jane and her ruffle pants are by Baby and Me Designs. You can find them on Etsy HERE or Facebook HERE. They were featured on groopdealz.com or jane.com one day (I can't remember which one) and I ordered several pairs. I've tried several different brands of ruffle pants and these are by far my favorite. Sawyer has 5 different pairs of the triple ruffle pants and I am about to stock up on the double ruffle shorties for the summer. What I love most about them is that they are comfortable for Sawyer. They have plenty of stretch and they breathe well. Very important for a highly active 2 year old who runs, climbs, and jumps on anything and everything. I love pairing them with her Matilda Jane tops and dresses!

I mean...how cute are these shorts? Sawyer has that EXACT Matilda Jane top. I told you they look great paired with Matilda Jane!

I get lots of compliments on all of Sawyer's Matilda Jane outfits. I pretty much stick with the MJ tops and dresses because I like to pair them with solid ruffle pants or shorts from Baby and Me Designs. MJ has super cute bottoms as well, but I try to balance my spending ;) Here are some pictures of Sawyer showing off her MJ favorites. My friend Andrea over at Momfessionals is doing a giveaway right now for a $50 Matilda Jane gift card. I've already entered and you should too! Andrea is a "Jane" for MJ and she is accepting wish lists until Friday if you'd like to make on and submit an order to her. Follow the link above to her blog and you'll see an explanation on how to make a wish list and order. If you have any questions, you can email me at laurenlou5644@yahoo.com. I'm telling you, Matilda Jane quickly becomes an addiction. The quality cannot be beat and I love the quirky prints and textures. I feel like I've finally found a clothing line that matches my daughter's cute and spunky personality while still getting to be girly without all the frou-frou and fluffy stuff!

Let's talk shoes....

My go-to shoes with both kids have always been Converse and Toms. I've tried other brands but those are really my favorite. Jansen already has a pretty good Converse collection started because he has inherited 3 gender neutral pairs from Sawyer. That girl didn't like to wear shoes until around 14 months so all of her shoes before then are in perfectly good condition! My favorite places to buy Converse is Nordstrom and Diapers.com (this website will be getting an entire post later on...it's amazing!). I rarely buy them unless they are on sale which is pretty often at my two places of choice. His neon yellow ones in the top picture are from Diapers.com

How fun would THESE red, white, and blue ones be for the 4th of July?! AND they are 20% off right now if you buy 3 or more other clothing or shoes items with the code SUMMERVACAY...I'm so bummed they are out of Jansen's size!

I'm loving these for Sawyer!!! Perfect summer colors :) 

They are out of Jansen's yellow slip ons BUT they do have a neon orange pair on sale for $19.19. The only sizes they have available are 2 and 3 and there aren't many left so you better jump on it if you want them!

I really love TOMS the most for Sawyer right now because she can put them on herself...now they may not always be on the right feet, but you get the point. Nordstrom is where I get the majority of Sawyer's Toms and I almost always buy them online. I'll get on there periodically and just check to see which ones are on sale.

THESE are my favorite for Sawyer and she wears them almost every day because they go with EVERYTHING. My best friend, Brittney, bought her these for her 1st birthday and of course my stubborn child wouldn't keep them on her feet at the time so they have already found a spot in Jansen's closet (along with a navy pair and a red pair of Toms that she also wouldn't keep on her feet) However, I loved the burlap ones so much that I bought her another pair in her current size about 2 months ago and she loves them!

I'm dying over THESE coral crochet Toms....and the lime ones too!!

This post ended up be WAY longer than I anticipated, but if you ever see an item you like that my kids are wearing just send me an email or post a comment and I'd be happy to share where I found it!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

Behind the Blog...

Melanie and I thought it would be a good idea to do a "Behind the Blog" post to give y'all a little bit of insight as to who we are and why we blog. Melanie has been blogging much longer than I have...I'm still a newbie!

For those of you who don't know me or are new to reading the blog, I'm Lauren and here is what you should know about me. I am married to the love of my life, Dusty, and we have two kiddos, Sawyer and Jansen. Sawyer is 2 years old and Jansen is 7 months old...our kids our 18 months apart to the day. I feel like I run around like a chicken with my head cut off on most days, but I wouldn't trade the craziness for anything! It can be difficult at times (okay, a lot of the times) but I love how close in age the two of them are. I swoon over how close their bond is already and I pray that it stays that way (even though I know there will be times where they'll be driving each other crazy).

Dusty and I have been married for almost 4 years...our anniversary is next month :) I thank God for that man every single day. He makes life fun and is the most amazing leader for our family. I didn't think I could love any more than I did on our wedding day but boy was I wrong. I could go on and on about what I love about him and our marriage and partnership as parents, but it would get pretty mushy ;)

I just completed my first year as a 4th grade teacher (after teaching kindergarten for the past 3 years), and it was definitely an adjustment but I loved it. It was a welcomed challenge and experience and I am so excited for the next school year! Being a wife, a mommy to a toddler and a baby, and a teacher keeps me extremely busy and running on caffeine to make it through most days. I'm also a brand partner with Nerium and I create invitations, cards, announcements, etc...you'll see posts regarding those things later!

I am extremely passionate, have a love/hate relationship with chocolate (more love than hate), and tend to talk way too much. My husband and mom are two of my best friends...I don't know what I would do without them. I want to make memories with my husband and kids and not just go through the motions of each day. Watching The Real Housewives is my guilty pleasure and my husband can't walk through the room without making a comment about how awful the shows are....I just can't help but love the drama. I have a small obsession with my house smelling good. If I don't have a scentsy on, I've got candles burning. Our dog Duke is our 3rd child...he is spoiled rotten and truly believes he is a human.
The most important thing about my family is that we love the Lord and count our blessings each and every day.

I feel as though I'm finally "settling in" to my life and I'm enjoying every single second of it. The past 4 years have been full of life changes...graduating college, getting married, making it through my first year of teaching, having my first baby, learning how to be a working mommy, selling one house, building another, moving, teaching a new grade level, having my second baby, learning how to be a working mommy of two under the age of two....whew!! reading it all still makes my head spin a bit! With all of those huge changes settled and passed, I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of things and I'm not just "getting through" a point in my life.

The reason I decided to really get into blogging is because of the impact blogs have had on my life. When I started reading blogs, the majority of them were educational blogs and they were an amazing resource for me as a new kindergarten teacher. I was hooked on these blogs and spent hours reading them and learning new ideas and tools to use in my classroom. That's how blogging changed my life as a teacher. Most importantly though is how blogging has made an impact on my life as a mom and as a wife. I've fallen in love with the blogging world and the networking that it encourages. The relationships that mothers and wives have created through blogging is just plain amazing. How could you not want to be a part of that?! From mommy advice, to marital advice, fashion ideas, organizational tips, recipes, the list goes on and on for what I get from these blogs. This is why my sister in law, Melanie, and I really wanted to kickstart our blogs into high gear. If we can have a positive influence on any of our readers the way we've been influenced, that would be amazing!

If you ever have any questions or ideas for blog posts, email us and let us know! 

laurenlou5644@yahoo.com

melroseacker@yahoo.com

Mommy Must-haves Monday

I'm so excited to really dive into the blogging world and do more than just my monthly post (which was usually late!). My sister in law and I have been brainstorming blog post topics and "themes" for a while and we just can't wait to get started. You'll see us linking up A LOT! You can find Melanie HERE Summer has officially begun, so let the blogging commence!

I have three Mommy Must-haves this Monday so here we go! All three deal with written organization. If it weren't for this three things, I would be LOST! 

#1. My Emily Ley Simplified Planner. 

This book keeps me sane with all the things I have to remember. Complete lifesaver! I was a such an Erin Condren junkie before finding this gem and now I will never go back. Don't get me wrong... I love Erin Condren's planners, but this layout just works better for me. 

I still have my month at a glance two-page spread at the beginning of each tabbed month. What I love the most is that each day has a FULL page to utilize. This is the problem that I would run into with every planner I've ever had. I'm a writer. I love to write. I love to make lists. I'll make the same list in 3 different places...it's ridiculous I know. Some people just use their phones now for their calendar and lists...I do that to, but I still have to have a hard copy. It just makes me feel more organized in my hot mess of a life. There is a place for that day's to-do list, notes, time blocks, meal planning. Every thing a busy momma needs is there! 

The January 2014 - December 2014 edition isn't available anymore BUT the 2015 edition will go on sale September 3rd @ 10:00 AM! So mark your calendars and just pretend you're writing in you future Simplified Planner for now ;) The website is closed temporarily as they prepare for their summer launch so make sure you check back mid-June.

#2. May Books

I came across May Designs a couple years ago and fell in love instantly. It completely satisfies my love of writing things down. And yes, I have a book specifically for all the lists I make. May books I have had in the past include: Meal Planning, Budget, Baby Bump Diary, Baby Diary and I think that's it. They are the perfect size to keep in your purse without eating up much room or adding a lot of weight. 

You can completely customize your books and they make for great gifts! 

#3. Stabilo Pens

Hi, my name is Lauren and I am a pen snob. What fun is it to do all of that writing if you don't have pretty pens?! I've had both types of cases when it comes to these pens. I loved the hard case, but I've found the roll up case works better for me. It's easier to throw in my purse or school bag and doesn't take up as much room. These are my go-to pens for grading papers as well! 

7 Months

I'm a couple weeks late on JT's 7 month post but I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!!! Tomorrow marks the last week of school for us and I could not be more ready. We've got a full day Monday and Tuesday and then half days Wednesday-Friday. Whoop!! We're almost done :) I've got a running list of blog post ideas that I cannot wait to get to once I've got the extra time on my hands.

Jansen at 7 months:

-is officially a crawler!! He's been allllmost there for a couple weeks now, but as of yesterday he's full blown crawling! 

-sleeps face down with his forehead resting on his hands. You'll notice a red mark on his forehead every once in a while in pictures and now you know why.

-laughs when you raise his hands up above his head every.single.time. without fail :)

-likes to have his pacifier in between bites while eating food. He'll swipe it off the tray and pop it in his mouth before I can get another bite ready for him.

-can get into the sitting position on his own now.

-loves playing with his big sister. He absolutely ADORES her.

-eats 3 meals a day with bottles in between.

-has his two bottom front teeth.

-rocks the faux hawk like a boss.

-still wakes up once throughout the night for a bottle but we are currently in the process of nixing that. We'll come back to that next month.

-watches his dad like a hawk. 

-loves to play on the floor. 

-once he spots a toy he wants, he'll find a way to get to it quick!

-is finally on a pretty set schedule. He wakes around 6:00, takes a 1.5 - 2 hour nap at 9 AM and 2 PM and down for the night at 6:30 PM. 

it was a rough night.

Sawyer loves feeding Jansen.

I love my sweet boy.

I told you she loves to feed him. 

Swoon.

We hold on when Daddy drives.

Getting digital images taken to see if he needed a DOC band. His measurements didn't qualify so no DOC band for JT!