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Category - Toys

Reviews • Toys

K’NEX Sesame Street Neighborhood Review

Reviews • Toys

Toy Testing – Early Years Grip-O-Sphere

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            (This post from 2018 was in my memories today. I w
            	                    
        
    

    
        
            In 2022, I slowly rediscovered my love of reading.
            	                    
        
    

    
        
            It was such a productive week. Revamping this litt
            	                    
        
    

    
        
            2023 Affirmations. 

I’ve never considered yearl
            	                    
        
    

    
        
            Sharing my (loose) plan for a no-spend January. 


            	                    
        
    

    
        
            The good stuff. 

I could have kept going, because
            	                    
        
    

    
        
            This is not an earth shattering, life changing, ne
            	                    
        
    

    
        
            day one of holiday baking 

(something I’ve neve
            	                    
        
    

    
        
            It’s a simple week food wise around here. We are
            	                    
        
    
    

	

			
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(This post from 2018 was in my memories today. I w

(This post from 2018 was in my memories today. I wanted to repost it to this account. For context, Baby Bear was our foster son at the time.)

We went out to eat last night just us and the baby. While we were waiting on a table, the couple beside us asked if this was our first baby.

We looked at one another and laughed and then tried to come up with an answer that made sense. No, we have six kids. He’s our 4th baby though. (which actually he’s our 5th if you count Baby M who we had last summer) Anyways it was comical that we couldn’t come up with a simple answer to what has seemed like a simple question pre-2017.

Of course, Baby Bear decided he was hungry at the same moment our food arrived. My arms were full of chunky baby and a bottle so I was going to wait to eat. But no, my husband asked the waiter to put my plate in front of him then he cut my steak and fed me bites while I fed the baby.

And all I could think was how thankful I am for every decision that led us to one another 14 years ago as kids. And how it’s not the grand gestures that mean the most. It’s the small moments like when he feeds you because you are feeding the baby, and when he fixed my hair for a funeral because I couldn’t function, and that cup of coffee on your nightstand in the morning, and how he changed every trach for months, and when he takes care of Baby Bear every evening to give me a break even though he’s the one who worked all day.

We have been through hell together but God has created a beautiful relationship from all of the brokenness. I cannot imagine this life with anyone else. It’s such a gift to not only love your spouse, but to genuinely like them so much that it melts you even more now than when you were teens.

In 2022, I slowly rediscovered my love of reading.

In 2022, I slowly rediscovered my love of reading. Still, I only finished 8 books and almost all of them were in the last half of the year. Between December and January, I’ve read 4 books so I think my 2023 number will be much higher.

For 2022, there were 2 standouts. I enjoyed all 8 books, but In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner was by far my favorite fiction book. I sobbed through that book to the point I think my family may have worried. It is beautiful. The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi is my other top pick. I fell in love with all things Lazy Genius in 2022- the podcast, books, groups, etc. The book is the perfect place to start. The principles are life changing when applied and I find myself using them daily.

10 days into 2023, I’m on my 3rd book of the year. If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments. What was your favorite 2022 read?

It was such a productive week. Revamping this litt

It was such a productive week. Revamping this little nook under our stairs is probably my favorite project.

This space was one of my favorites to design while building, but it became immediately clear after we moved in that my plans would not work for the season of life we were in. The twins were 16 months old and wild. So I gave the space up to them and turned it into a place space.

Almost 3 years later, they are still wild as ever, but at least understand what’s off limits now. (Not that they always listen.)

So I shopped the house for some plants and brought down this heirloom table that has been passed through my dad’s family. The day I did this- January 2nd- happened to be his birthday. He’s would have been 61 and I think he would love where the table landed.

You can swipe through for the before featuring a skeet thrower. 😅

2023 Affirmations. I’ve never considered yearl

2023 Affirmations.

I’ve never considered yearly affirmations- or really any affirmations.

During one of my early therapy sessions, we discussed techniques to help me fall back asleep when middle of the night insomnia struck. Over time, I developed a “game” with myself to redirect my thoughts and help relax my racing brain. I go through the alphabet and will name an item (usually foods or animals) for each letter. Apple, banana, celery, dill pickle, etc. Now, this may sound like the absolute weirdest thing ever, but it gives me something to focus on and helps me fall back asleep. It works for me- most of the time.

Sometimes I start spiraling over a situation in my life that hurts like a death even though the person is very much alive. I do this during waking hours and in the middle of the night.

These affirmations came to me surrounding that situation and I now recite them when I start spiraling. They take the place of my alphabet game if this is what I’m stuck on instead of a million different thoughts. These are my truths. I know this, but I have to remind myself of these truths.

Going through these affirmations and speaking truth to myself- reminding myself especially that we did our best concerning the situation and that it was enough- is so helpful.

The affirmations are obviously very specific to me, but I would encourage you to take time and come up with some of your own. I’d love to hear one if you feel up to sharing in the comments.

Sharing my (loose) plan for a no-spend January.

Sharing my (loose) plan for a no-spend January.

My biggest challenge is online shopping. Daily Amazon deals, inexpensive e-books, Target finds, and the Slick Deals app are all hurdles. I deleted all of those apps from my phone.

My only true IRL challenge is my occasional trips inside Walmart with no real mission- just browsing. I do this once or twice a month typically. All of my grocery shopping is done via the Walmart app then pick-up. I don’t enjoy being out in public so skipping brick and mortar shopping shouldn’t be a huge deal.

Because developing a skin care routine is one of my 2023 goals, I gave myself permission to replace anything needed this month. (I don’t think I will have to though.)

Bella’s birthday gift is already purchased as well as Valentine’s treat and gifts for the kids.

I have yet to place a single seed order for the 2023 season and there are a few varieties that I used up last year that need to be replaced.

Instead of weekly take-out, we will do every other week. Honestly, we improved SO much on this in 2022. I had major food aversions during my pregnancy with the twins so we fell into take-out 2-3 times week. Then, they were born and Justin was building our house so that continued. We finally started cooking more in 2022 and went weeks at a time with zero take-out.

Lastly, we will make our final payment for our mom + dad cruise in April. I’m counting down the days. We’ve never taken a week long vacation with no kids and our oldest is 14. It’s time.

That’s the plan. It may not seem like a challenge to anyone other than myself, but I believe it will help reset some not-so-great shopping habits. My spending has improved as my mental health has gotten better, but there is still a ways to go.

The good stuff. I could have kept going, because

The good stuff.

I could have kept going, because it was a good year. Not in a “we hit the lottery” or “traveled the world” sort of way, but in a “we embraced our life and our interests and just enjoyed our family, home, and property” kind of way.

I put in a lot of work on myself & it truly touched every part of our lives in small but significant ways. The year wasn’t without struggle, but it was one of the most calm & steady years we’ve had in at least a decade.

2022 will always be the year where I chose myself and in doing that, I was able to be better for the people who mattered most to me.

It was the year where I learned to forgive myself for things I cannot change, to release the burdens that were never mine, to let go of the people who let go of me first, & to apologize to my children when I mess up.

It was the year of being beautifully supported by husband. He was with me every step of the way in the flower field. He left work early every other Wednesday to make sure I went to therapy. On those therapy days, he knew I would come home exhausted in every way so he never asked any thing of me on those nights.

It was the year of watching our little kids start turning into big kids. It was a year of a lot of bickering amongst them when it came to nightly clean up, but also moments where I was reminded that I am raising beautiful, compassionate humans who are also learning about empathy which is exactly what I believe this world needs.

It was the year of limiting the voices in my life. I unfollowed my entire Facebook friends list in January and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. I don’t need to know how everyone feels about every single thing going on in the world.

It was a year of watching my girls grow close to their Nana. A year of really letting her in and opening my heart up for the first time in a long time.

It was a year of slow and steady growth. A year of facing all the broken places that hurt and facing my ownership in that hurt by picking up shattered pieces of glass to help others as if I wouldn’t end up cut and bleeding myself. Those pieces weren’t mine. I don’t have to fix everyone.

It was a year.
The good stuff.

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