5 on Friday

1. I am making these labels for inside my children's dresser so they can better put their clothes away.
Find the free printable here.

2. Just placed an order for bows. I love Bloomies Handmade. 

3. I think this is a cute, simple idea. 

4. We broke down and bought a Blendtec. Well, I did... for my husband's birthday, but if I didn't buy you better believe he would have got it in the very near future... like his next trip to Costco. Excited to make some delicious smoothies. This rise and shine smoothie looks delish and is on my list to try. 

5. I have decided to become an Usborne Book rep. I love children's books and am passionate about early childhood literacy. Want to check out some of the titles? Check here. 

Happy Friday! Yay for the weekend! 

Marriage Monday: Add some sweetness to your marriage!

Does your hubby like sweetness as much as mine? My poor husband is sweet deprived most of the time because if I keep it around I will eat it, so I just don't get it very often. I thought these little love notes (free printable) that go along with candy bars were fun. Check them out here.  Don't see what you are looking for? Check out this list of sayings for just about every candy out there! 

Marriage Monday: Geocaching Date

One of my favorite dates is geocaching. 

What is geocaching? Watch this short video if you are not familiar with it. 

Check out this site. There are so many geocaches out there you wouldn't even believe it! There are 846 geocaches near me! It's exciting, a unique date, fun and free! We get to work together and laugh together! There is also a mobile app. Just search "geocaching" in the app store. 

If you try this out or have done it before, comment and let me know what you think of it! 

What I hate about Motherhood

You read that title right... I said the word hate, even though I tell my kids we don't use that word! I 

•  I hate having to see my kids get left out when going to the park. My kids are really outgoing and usually make friends where ever we go. However, on occasion their sweet "hellos" or "what's your names?" are not reciprocated and it breaks my heart. This one time there were two girls maybe a couple years older than my little one and she tried really hard to play with them and they kept running away. My sweet little girl thought they were playing until one of them said they are the "queens of the park" and to stop following them! Kids can be ruthless and down right rude. I want my kids to be liked and hate to see their confidence shot down by immature kids that don't know any better or if they do are mean. I want to protect them from the world.
•  I hate seeing my kids not feeling well. Without fail sick kids means constant waking in the night, sometimes with either my husband or myself laying on the couch with them and very little sleep. It also means lots of snot, laundry if their is throw up involved and crying. I hate it not just because the lack of sleep and crankiness that inevitably comes along with it, but because I want them to be healthy and can't stand to see them feel less than awesome.
• I hate when they grow out of clothes. Not just because that is more money that I need to spend to get a new wardrobe, but because that means they will never be that little again.
•  I hate going to the grocery store with my kids. Not just because they want to buy everything in the store and there is always a tantrum at the checkout... why the heck do they put candy bars and gum at the checkout line?! I hate it because I want to give my kids the world and wish I could buy them everything, but not only could I not afford to do that, I want them to learn that we don't always get what we want in this life and that can be a tough lesson to learn sometimes.
•  I hate telling my kids to calm down because I don't want to stifle their energetic and fun personalities, but my neighbors below us I'm sure hate the noise.
•  I hate potty training. Not only because that means we are trapped in the house 2 feet away from the little potty for a week, but because that's just another sign that they are growing up and saying goodbye to their babyhood.
•  I hate that every time we go out and no matter how bad I wanted and needed the break that I can't stop thinking about them and how I think about all the things they would enjoy if they had come along. Seeing things through a child's eyes is magical.
•  I hate how my kids can call me out when I am in a bad mood. I hate it because I really do want to always be happy for them and hate that they have to see me otherwise.
•  I hate crying kids in the car because most of the time (not all the time!) the tears are legitimate and they need a drink or are just so tired and need to be held, rocked and put in their nice cozy beds with lots of hugs and kisses, but at that moment there is nothing I can do for them.

I LOVE being a mother. There are rough days, but nothing gives me more joy! 

What's Cooking Wednesday: Joanie's Heavenly Corned Beef & Cabbage

Today's recipe comes right in time for St. Patty's Day, which is also my birthday! Growing up I didn't like corned beef and cabbage, but I think it is mostly because it was tradition to eat it for that Green Day and I probably was wanting Red Robin or Mac n Cheese for my birthday dinner instead! With this recipe, I am begging for corned beef and cabbage for my birthday!


Corned Beef (I like Bailey's from Costco the best)
Yellow MustardBrown SugarPotatoesCarrotsCabbage

Trim some of the excess fat but not all. (it adds flavor)
Put in crock pot and cover with water. Sprinkle with some Pickling Spice. Cook on low for about 8 hours or until fork tender. When done take it out of the water, but don't throw the water out. Now remove any extra fat. Then place the meat on foil lined cookie sheet and spread yellow mustard all over the meat. Then cover it with brown sugar. Bake at 325 for 20 min or so. The brown sugar/mustard will make a bubbly crust on the meat. Put the water in a separate pot to boil vegetables. Cook cut up potatoes and carrots in the reserved water (you will need to add more water to it) in the last 8 min of boiling time add cut up cabbage.

Marriage Monday: Love Languages

Do you know your love language? My husband and I were not shocked at one another results, but it was a good reminder. We recommend taking the quiz together, even if you already know each others language and then make a goal of how you can better "speak" each other's love languages. My husband's love language is different then mine and is actually towards the bottom of my love languages. My love language however, is not the most important to him, but is towards the top. It was eye opening to me and made me realize I need to put extra attention and effort into speaking his language. Check out the quiz by following this link. It doesn't take long and can make a huge difference.

Marriage Monday: Lucky In Love

I didn't tell Taylor about this new Marriage Monday series ahead of time. He saw my post and immediately texted me to tell me how much he loves the idea.  He just may be more excited than I am about it! I made him promise not to read my post each week. He said he will wait a week and hold me accountable and make sure I did what I shared and I hope he does!

I know we are still a couple weeks away, but 1. I'm a planner and 2. I love the holidays and any excuse to celebrate. With that said, I love these St. Patrick Day printables by the Dating Divas.

Check it out, print them out and then come back to this post and comment! Share with us your lucky man's reaction! Here are the links: here and here.