Happy Birthday Braxton

I made the birthday cake this year!

Yesterday we celebrated Braxton's fourth birthday. I can't believe that I have a four year old! I was pretty young when I had him and many people doubted me when they found out I was pregnant but hey, look at us now! I was telling Brian the other night how amazed I was at just how much having Braxton changed us. Sure, back then I knew that having a baby would change stuff, but little did I know that it would be so life changing that I wouldn't even be able to relate to the person I was four years ago. 

Day to day my life has revolved around this little boy for 1,461 days. Granted, he now shares some space with his little sister Ava, but he's what started it all. I have to say that this past year, from age 3 to 4, has been my favorite of his. If you know us, you know that Braxton has a significant speech delay, and it's been rough. I have written about it on here, and you can search the tag "speech delay" if you would like to read more about our journey. 

This school year's picture

Back in May of this year, he finally got tubes put in his ears to see if his hearing was what was blocking his speech. Getting those tubes has been the best decision we have made yet. He went from saying a handful of words, only one word "sentences", to having well over 50-75 words now (if not more, I have lost count!) and he also can put 4, 5, 6 words into a sentence! For him to be able to communicate with us has made the world of difference to our whole family life. There are far fewer tantrums due to lack of communication, he can actively tell us what he wants so he feels more like a kid rather than a toddler, and he also has more of an understanding of what's going on which has helped him calm down quite a bit. 

Pretty much every day when I picked him up last year from nursery school, two days a week, the teacher would tell me how he wasn't listening, during story time he would roam around and disturb the other kids, that he was at times hitting and biting, etc. etc. I got to a point where I didn't want to even take him anymore, just because I knew it was exhausting for everyone. This year is a COMPLETELY different story, in such a good way! The teachers rave about him, how excellent he is doing, how well he gets along with the other children. He's now striking up conversations with his classmates, which is amazing for his development, and also he is showing such great imaginative play. I can't tell you how many times the teachers and I have both said "it's amazing what a year has done for him." As a mom, that makes me the happiest person in the world.

While he is doing so well, he still has a ways to go, to be where we want him. Last week he had a check up at the ENT and we were told that both tubes are still in place, and while the right ear looks perfect, the left one has some blockage and for some sounds he has a mild hearing loss in it. That was frustrating to hear, only because of the progress he has made because of the tubes, and how much more he needs to go to really be speaking like a "regular" four year old. They weren't too concerned however, and they said that we need to come back to see them in four months. We shall see...

Our new kitty friend, a rescue, that has taken to Braxton so well. They love each other so much. 

I'm really excited to see what this next year brings. If he's done this well in under 7 months, I think it'll only be getting better. Wish us luck! 

Salt dough Christmas ornaments

The other day I wanted to do something fun with Braxton for the holidays so we attempted some salt dough ornaments. We went to AC Moore and picked up some cookie cutters and then to Wegmans for some flour and extra salt...and ice cream. I'm not the craftiest but who can mess up something that has only three ingredients? 

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup of flour (we used a little more, but I just eyed it) 
• 1/2 cup of salt 
• 1/2 cup of water 
• Ground cinnamon if you want them to smell nice
• Some extra flour so you can roll the dough 

• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutters 
• Acrylic paint/paint brushes
• Glitter, if you love glitter like me
• Ribbon to hang the ornaments 

What you need to do:

• Preheat the oven to 250
• Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, and the cinnamon if you choose to use it. 
• Pour in the water and stir until it's doughy...like I said, I used a little extra flour because my dough was a too wet.
• Sprinkle some flour on your rolling surface and then roll the dough until it's about 1/4" thick 
• Use cookie cutters and then place on a baking sheet 
• Use a straw to make a hole so you can hang them later
• Bake for about 3 hours, flipping them once halfway through - flipping them is important!
• Let them cool on the baking sheet when they're hardened 
• Decorate! 

The ones to the left are the first batch, I'm loving Braxton and Ava's handprints. 

Martha Stewart glitter is my FAVORITE. These gingerbread men will be cute gifts but I can't decide if we should decorate them more...

Braxton needs a haircut so bad haha

After awhile Braxton got bored of painting so he asked me to finish them but he LOVED doing the glitter...I don't blame him haha 

I plan on sending a couple ornaments to my mom, giving a couple to the in laws, and then also adding a couple to Braxton's teachers' Christmas basket as well as giving a couple to his speech teacher (speech therapy is still going, and going well!) and his teacher's assistant. Easy, super affordable gifts, as well as thoughtful! 

A BabyLit Christmas Eve

Today I wrapped up Braxton and Ava's Christmas Eve presents because I just couldn't wait. Anyone else antsy for it to just be Christmas already? Don't get me wrong, we still have loads to do before the big day, but there's 15 more days until Christmas and I'm overflowing with holiday spirit. 

Every Christmas Eve night, since I was little, I've been allowed to open one present and Brian and I agreed we wanted to carry on that tradition with our kids. It's pretty much always pajamas because I love seeing the munchkins in new Christmas pajamas. This year, thanks to BabyLit books, I got to add a fun little Christmas book for the two of them to open and we will get to read before bed. 

Christmas pajamas are from Carter's (my Black Friday steal) Book from BabyLit, and the cutest headband from Little Miss Athena. 

We own a couple BabyLit books and love them. They're thick board books with fun pictures to some of your favorite classic books. Ava and Braxton both love flipping through them and I love that the stories are broken down so simply for them. I really can't wait to snuggle up in bed with them on Christmas Eve and read them A Christmas Carol!

Another awesome thing about BabyLit is that right now they're offering a free app that goes along with the Christmas Carol book. It's an interactive calendar that your kids are sure to love. Starting today, until Friday the twelfth, I will be hosting a giveaway on my Instagram (@crystalrosee) for ONE person to win the BabyLit book A Christmas Carol...and in the meantime, download the app and let the kids play! 

This is a sponsored post by BabyLit. All opinions are my own.

Double cash back with Ebates today for Cyber Monday

Today, for Cyber Monday, Ebates is offering double cash back at more than 500 stores! That means Kohl's went from 6% yesterday to 10% today, Groupon is 10%, Gap is 7%, Walmart is 5%,  Diapers.com is 4%, Magazines.com is 52%, Nordstrom is 10%...seriously, if you can think of the store it's there almost. Click here to see all stores that have double cash back. 

To sign up for Ebates, click here*

*contains an affiliate link

Sales for Cyber Monday

Here are some of my favorite deals available right now...

Old Navy and Gap both have 40% off online using code CYBER

Overstock.com has this KitchenAid Cobalt Blue 4.5 quart titlt-head stand mixer for $189 and if you sign up for their emails you can receive 10% off.

The Cricut Explore bundle with 2 month Craft Room subscription is only $219.99 here or you can get the Cricut Expression Holiday bundle with bonus $25 gift card, cartridge, and vinyl 2 pack here for only $169.99

Piperlime has 30% off site wide and an extra 40% off sales items using code CYBERSALE which means you can get Hunter boots for $103.60 and shipping is free.

Amazon has the Little Tikes Gas n Go Mower for only $12.49!

Get 25% off of everything at Modcloth using code CYBERMONDAY starting at 3 pm EST today, November 30th, until 1 pm December 3rd. I love these tapestry boots so much as well as this cardigan.

You can get the KidKraft Retro Kitchen and Refrigerator in pink for $129.99 or in navy for $124.99 at Overstock.com

$5 magazine subscriptions from Amazon- perfect gift for that someone you don't know what to buy!

$79.99 Ray-Ban unisex Tortoise New Wayfarer sunglasses as a doorbuster (you save $50!) or you can get them in black for $84.99

Fiestaware is 50% off at Macys.com so you can get a 5 piece place setting for $27.99 and 10% off using code CYBER. There's free shipping on orders of $50

I'll have more coming up soon!

Cyber Monday at Kohl's on a Sunday // Fisher Price Power Wheels Mustang for a great deal

Earlier last month we decided that Braxton's Christmas gift this year was going to be some sort of car. We usually don't buy him big, expensive gifts but with his birthday four days after Christmas we sort of justified doing it. He'll still get some other gifts to open for both days, which means clothes haha. A friend of mine's daughter got a Hello Kitty car for her birthday last year and every time we go over to their house, Braxton's insistent on playing in the car, so I'm excited to see his face when he sees this under the tree! I'm already thinking of the perfect bow to go on top of it...

I'm pretty set on getting Fisher Price brand because it's more well known, and there are plenty of reviews, compared to other brands. I have been keeping my eye out for a great deal on Power Wheels but I've been missing out. I wasn't about to stand in line at Walmart or Target on Thanksgiving for their sales. Just yesterday, I saw that Amazon had the Mustang, in yellow, for $200 with free shipping, but it sold out so quickly I couldn't get it. I didn't love the color but for $200, who cares?Ugh, I was bummed for sure when I went to buy it and it was gone!

Anyways, as I was just about to give up, and wait for a hopefully good Cyber Monday sale, I got an email from Kohl's that perked up my ears...20% off using code "CYBERTAKE20" and they also are still offering $15 Kohl's cash for every $50 spent. (KOHL'S CASH ENDS TODAY, NOVEMBER 30th) I did a quick search of Power Wheels on their site and saw the blue Mustang for $311.99 and did the math. 20% takes off a full $62.40 off of the price so the total is $249.59 which is awesome! The only downfall was the $40 surcharge for shipping because after that and taxes, my total went back up to $306. Walmart has the same Mustang for $270 after tax so I was torn. Was buying from Kohl's worth it?

I say yes and here's why...

• Ebates.com has 6% cash back from Kohl's - which would be $15 cash back.
• Ibotta gives you $10 back if you spend $100 at Kohls.com using their link. 
• With the $15 Kohl's cash for every $50 spent that meant I would get $75 to spend.
• Kohl's also has their YES2YOU rewards - which gives you 1 point for every dollar you spend and you get $5 on every 100 points. That is 250 points, which is $10 right there. 

That meant I was technically getting $110 off of my price, in the long run, which I think beats the $270 price at Walmart. This deal is great if you actually shop at Kohl's, which I do. I love Kohl's because they have coupons very frequently, and their Kohl's cash is like actual cash there. There is no spending minimum which is perfect because I will be able to redeem the $75 starting tomorrow and that will buy more Christmas gifts. 

Their Cyber Monday 20% off code is good until December 3rd but the earning period for the $15 Kohl's cash ends today so that's why it's better to buy from them today, compared to tomorrow. They have quite a few different Power Wheels, including Jeeps and 4wheelers, so check it out! 

Vienna Springs Black Friday // Small Business Friday deal

So Laura, the owner of Vienna Springs, and I got together to offer my followers a discount code for her shop. While she doesn't have anything in stock currently, she restocks usually on Wednesdays, and you will be able to use this code for upcoming purchases! I'm giving away one 20% off coupon to @kittyparm and everyone else will get to use THANKS10 for 10% off. What's awesome is that these slings are never on sale so I hope everyone takes advantage of it in time for the holidays! 

xx, 

Crystal.

Deals today...Chicco Nextfit for super cheap!

So a friend of mine showed this to me last night and it's too good to not show everyone else. Chicco Nextfit is on basically a super sale at Target. Only one color is on sale, it's Gravity, but who cares about color when you could be getting a $280 car seat for close to $100. Last night one person, who works for Target, got the car seat for $97! Here's what you do...

• Put the carseat in your cart, but you have to do store pickup.
• Use promo code TGTST8DR for $5 off
• Join Target Baby alerts for an additional 10% off (you will get text messages)
• Use your Target REDcard for an extra 5% off
• Your total will be around $179, not including tax.
• When you go to pick up the car seat, they will do a price adjustment because the Nextfit is $209 in store, and they will take another $70 off of your total.
• The car seat, before tax, will then only cost you $109!
• Don't forget to use Ebates for an extra 2.5% cash back

I'm not calculating tax, only because it's so different from state to state but it's still an awesome car seat for an awesome price. This will only be going for a limited time so jump on it!

More deals today:

Dr. Martens kids are on sale today on Zulily. 

My favorite boutique for Ava's headbands has a flash sale going on for some cute headbands. Headwraps are $5, our favorite chiffon bow headbands are only $3.95, and a few Christmas lace rompers are left in stock for only $8.95. Hurry and order, they won't last long! 

For the love of baby wearing // Vienna Sling Share

I got to take part in a sling share thanks to Mary at Light Sleeper, Heavy Dreamer. The ring sling is passed along to different moms across the country and it was donated by Vienna Springs. The purpose of it is to spread the baby wearing love around, and in the end it will be donated to a mom in need. How awesome is that? Make sure you keep up with the sling share on Mary's blog as well as on Instagram using #viennaslingshare. Here is my baby wearing journey, along with a little about the time we had with Vienna Springs Huckleberry. 

When I first became a mom with my son Braxton, baby wearing wasn't really on my agenda. I didn't know anything about it besides randomly seeing people using those Baby Bjorn carriers...even back then I thought to myself how uncomfortable they looked for both mom and baby so I steered clear of them. When I was pregnant with my second, Ava, I was introduced to the world of baby wearing by some friends. That's when I saw that there was so much more out there than those awful Bjorns. 

When Ava was born I realized that if I wanted to get anything done with two kids, I was going to have to wear her. Baby wearing really is a necessity when you have more than one child. Luckily Ava loved being close to me, and being worn. I started out by wrapping, because somehow ring slings intimidated me. The thing with wrapping is it can be time consuming compared to a ring sling where you just have to basically throw it over your shoulder, put baby in, and go.

Wearing Ava for the first time at 5 days old...excuse the tiredness, you know how it goes. 

I finally decided to buy a Sakura Bloom ring sling when Ava was around 7 months old, and I remember the first time I put her in it I was kicking myself that I didn't do it sooner. It was much easier than I had ever imagined. It may sound silly but because of the sling, I gained friendships with other like minded ladies from all over the world. There really was a community of moms out there that came together out of the love for using these slings. 

Mother's Day 2014 with my plum Sakura Bloom.

 Because of that community I got to participate in the Vienna Sling Share, which is such a great idea. Instead of doing it for profit, or for personal gain, it's purpose was to break in a brand new sling for a deserving mama at the end. It's nice to know that there are people out there that still do nice stuff for others. Ring slings can be expensive, and I know that some people look over them because of the price, but they really are worth it. 

Ava's little keepsake shelf, print by The Printed Palette. 

When we got the sling in the mail, I instantly opened it and put Ava in. She was so sleepy already but I just couldn't wait, and neither could she since she fell right asleep in it. The color, Huckleberry, was seriously the perfect choice for the sling share. It was rich but subtle at the same time, so it works well for everyone...even me with my bright red hair. We were fourth on the list to get the sling and it was already super soft. I have never had a silk sling, only a pure and a simple linen by Sakura Bloom, but it felt amazing. It was pretty much love at first wear. Vienna Springs really makes a great sling, I'm telling you. 

 We got the sling just in time for Halloween and it came in handy! Ava and I put on our kitten ears and did some trick or treating with Braxton around our small neighborhood before putting on the real costumes and going out for the night. Ava's costume was a little too poofy to wear in the sling but it was still fun. I don't see our baby wearing journey going for much longer, considering she's becoming very independent now, but I have cherished these moments. I'm so grateful that I have had something to help me through these "mom of two moments" and that I haven't had to rely on getting flustered with strollers or feeling helpless. My advice to any new parent is wear them, and don't be intimidated, because it will make your life so much easier. 

Mooshka dolls for less

When I first saw Mooshka dolls last year I instantly fell in love with them. Ava has quite a few, and they are also on her Christmas list. I love how cute they are but they're also very soft which is a huge bonus. There are different lines of these dolls and they are Fairytale, Fairytale minis, Fairytale Pets, Fairytale Pets mini, Girls, Sing Around the Rosie, Goodnight Starlight, and Tots. You can find them at a few different stores (Target, Toys R Us, and even Walmart now) for all sorts of different prices. Target even has a sale going on right now which is great, but they don't have many options of the dolls available.

 The thing that annoys me with Target's "sale" is that, from what I can tell, they have changed their "original prices" to make them lower, to beat Amazon's prices. I have been looking into these since last week and Target's prices last week, for original prices - not sale prices, were almost $10 more. It doesn't make much of a difference but it's the first thing I noticed today.

If you want the best deal for almost any of the Mooshka dolls, go through Amazon. The Mooshka Girl dolls Dasha, Myra, and Sonia are only $10.98, Ina is $9.34, and Nessa is only $8.49 when they're all originally $17.99 and they all either qualify for free Prime shipping or free shipping over $35. 

You can find their Tots dolls for a bargain as well. Misha, Karia, and Deava are all $7.98 while Zana is $8.50, instead of $12.99 

*Target have a few tot dolls for $6.79 as a promotion but not the full line, and if you're planning on purchasing online, they don't have any in stock online as of right now. 

The Fairytale dolls Fairy Ina, Princess Palia, Mermaid Sonia, and Ballerina Casia are all $16.99 each compared to $19.99 at both Amazon and Target. 

Mooshka Goodnight Starlight dolls Dasha and Jessa are both under $25 when they're usually $29.99 

You can also find Sing Around The Rosie-Lera for $16.98 compared to $26.99 (Sing Around the Rosie dolls seem to be selling out fast) and at Walmart, Fairytale mini dolls* as well as the Fairytale mini pets are at a decent price. *The mini dolls and pets are not completely soft. 

These deals are good as of this morning...

Pictures taken from Facebook and Walmart.com

The best Black Friday deals so far...

I'm a casual Black Friday shopper for the most part. I don't plan our meals around shopping or anything, I always go to stores that are opening later in the night, where we aren't rushing dinner, just because I don't think it's fair to anyone. What I do plan though is where will be the best place for me to go, obviously. I go through countless Black Friday ads and weigh the pros and cons. Thanks to blackfriday.com I can get prepared with plenty of time beforehand. Not very many ads are out just yet but here are some of my favorites so far...check back because I'll be adding more as they come out! While they aren't exclusive deals, these are some of the best, and I've weeded them out and compared them to other prices and stores.


Kohl's: opening at 6 pm Thursday
Kohl's is offering $15 Kohl's cash for every $50 spent (they usually offer $10 for every $50)

• Fisher Price toys: 50% off 
• Playskool toys: 50% off
• Mega Bloks first builder's tub: $24.99 (originally $49.99)
• All bedding sets will be 50-70% off - I love their LC by Lauren Conrad line 
• KitchenAid mixers: Their Artisan 5 qt. stand mixer will be $299.99* (originally $449.99) The Classic stand mixer will be $199.99* (originally $349.99) Their Pro 600 stand mixer will be $399.99*(originally $549.99) And all of them have an additional 10% off *After $50 mail in rebate. 

Target: opening at 6 pm Thursday
Target gift cards will be 10% off from 6 am-12 pm on Friday. They are offering early access to deals for one day only today (the 10th) along with a pre-sale on November 26th. You will also be able to use Cartwheel for extra Black Friday deals and if you're a REDcard holder you will still get an extra 5% off your purchase - Everyone needs to have a REDcard, I'm serious. We have it as a debit card, so no interest, and we always get free shipping on top of the 5% off.

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/11/10/6512651/target-announces-biggest-most.html?sp=/100/773/385/#storylink=cpy

• Target will also have KitchenAid's Classic stand mixer for $199.99 but it won't have Kohl's extra 10% off, as well as their Kohl's cash. 
• Britax Marathon G4 convertible car seat: $180 (originally $259.99)
• Little Tikes trampoline: $39.99 (originally $59.99) I'm actually thinking of getting this for Braxton!
• $10 girl's and toddler girl's boots
• $5 kids' and toddlers' 2 piece pajama sets
• This Audi 6V ride on toy will be $129 which saves you $60
• All picture frames will be 50% off 
• All single roll holiday wrapping paper will be buy 1 get 1 free on Saturday - great deal! 

AC Moore: opening at 5 am Friday
Make sure you grab AC Moore's printed ad for additional coupons (60% off any one regular priced item and 40% off your total regular priced purchase)

• Wilton Recipe Right 3 pc. cookie trays: $6.99 (originally $19.99)
• Winter floral will be 50% off - perfect time to get stuff to decorate with, I'm getting stuff to decorate our wreath!

JCPenney: opening at 5 pm Thursday
JCPenney is offering $20 bonus cash for every $75 spent. They're giving out a free $10 off $10 coupon which is nice, and 1 in every 100 coupons will give you $100.

Their KitchenAid mixer deals are like the others seen, but Kohl's seems to have the "best" deal so far on them.

I'm not too in love with much of anything here...and they open at 5 pm on Thanksgiving, which is pretty lame. Checking out their ad, I wanted to point out that they have Carter's baby clothes for 50% off...that is not a great deal really. Considering that Carter's themselves have their clothes for 50% off along with extra coupons, and other stores often have Carter's for sale like that as well.

Change is good...

Picture: forbes.com

So you know how they say, "do what you love, love what you do"? Well, if I'm being honest, I don't completely love blogging. Now don't get me wrong, I love the idea of blogging, but it got to a point where I was running out of things to talk about before. I wanted to share our life, but at the same time I didn't want to bore people; and of course I want people to be intrigued with what I'm writing about. Part of my hiatus was because I didn't want to take time away from my family for something I was unsure about. On my blogging break I was trying to figure out the right way to do this, while keeping it fun for me, and worthwhile. I came up with a couple ideas that I really love, that I'm pretty passionate about, and it's something that I'm pretty good at. 

Brian, my husband, likes to joke about how "cheap" I am. I'm all about saving money because as a stay at home mom, with only one household income, I don't have the luxury of buying everything and anything. (but ugh, how I wish!) While I may be cheap, I still like nice things, and that sometimes gets in the way. I'll admit it, I'm a total brand snob...I can't help it. Saving money on things we normally buy anyways is really exciting for me. I wanted to start blogging about some easy money saving tips along with deals (even some exclusive deals!) that will get you nice things for less. I also want to share some of our favorite brands on here, with reviews and giveaways, here and there.

Coming up, in the next couple of weeks, I am getting things together for a fun relaunch! I will also be posting Black Friday deals along with Small Business Saturday deals (some exclusive deals you'll only find from my blog) here and there before the official "relaunch". I also have a couple fun giveaways lined up that will be perfect for the holidays!

A relaunch

So yes, I have definitely been on a long hiatus from blogging, I'm saying I was on a summer break because the weather was nice and I was enjoying spending quality time with my family. Now though I have the blogging bug again and I'm currently working on a really fun relaunch, with some exciting changes. There are a few things I'm setting up now and will be talking about more in a couple of days. Anyways, I look forward to starting on here again and I hope you are too!

Check out my "Contact" page if you would like to collaborate on anything! I'm always up for new things...

xx,
Crystal.

The end of the school year

It was a very bright morning so he asked if he could wear my sunglasses today.

Today was Braxton's last day of his first year of school! Sure, he only went two days a week for a few hours but it was a big deal for us...it was the first time he had ever been away from me. We picked a small nursery school that had a cute little environment, it was part of a nice local church. The classroom was adorable and his teacher was extremely nice. I didn't have any anxiety sending him there because I knew he would be looked after, and he was safe there.

Ignore the filter, it was all I could find of him on his first day somehow. Unfortunately Brian is in Canada right now working so we couldn't recreate the picture this morning.

Looking back on his first day, I was so nervous to start out because of his speech delay but besides some hiccups it wasn't so bad. He had some rough moments with sitting still during story time, he started biting at school (which he had NEVER done at home) and at times he made things more difficult for the teacher but she always wanted us to know that she loved him there. I'm happy to say that by the end of the year he was sitting better, he wasn't biting at all, and he had chilled out quite a bit. What a relief...

I have to say, Braxton has accomplished so much since his first day. When he started out he barely said any actual words, he still drank out of a sippy cup, he wasn't potty trained, he really barely listened to directions...Now, he is completely potty trained, we have switched to cups and straws except an occasional sippy cup, and he has become so verbal compared to before. While he hasn't had a "word explosion" necessarily, at least now I have sort of lost count of all the words he can say. Now if only we could get him to string words together to form sentences! 

 I was given Braxton's end of the year folder, which was so cute. Throughout the year, we would get some of his artwork and projects and I have been storing them all away for a fun little keepsake project. The folder had even more of his creations and it made me so proud! I can't even explain how these things make me feel...my baby made this stuff. It's kind of an awakening, like my little munchkin is really starting to be a big kid. 

I'm happy to say that this year was a success and I'm excited for the years to come. I'm really hoping that when he starts the next school year he will officially be talking. We have a lot of stuff to work on this summer but I'm not worried because he has made so much progress lately! 

Monday's Obsessions, on a Tuesday again

Yesterday was crazy busy and the last thing I could think of was blogging so we have a Tuesday's edition of Monday's Obsessions today. I had to take Braxton out to Syracuse yesterday for two doctor's appointments. He finally had his follow up for his tubes that were put in last month. We also attempted a hearing test again but we only got a little bit through it before he kind of lost interest. We'll be going back in a couple of weeks to try again but they said that his ears look great, the tubes are working, and his hearing seems better...which I can tell just being with him day by day. We were out running errands for 7 hours, and it was just me with Braxton and Ava...I have to say, we did pretty well!

In between appointments, I took them to Target because I needed to pick up some stuff for Ava. She's now transitioning solely to sippy cups from bottles so I figured we should stock up on more cups. I found these from Tommee Tippee, which is the same brand bottle we used for her, and they had a cute little cat print on them. We also needed a new bath mat for the munchkins and I found a cute polka dot one which works perfectly because it's neutral for the both of them. Speaking of bath time, we recently ran out of bath products for them and I've been trying to decide which to buy next. Typically I use California Baby and some Burt's Bees stuff with them, which are great because they're more natural, but I've been thinking lately that I want to try Honest Company bath products. They just started a partnership with Target so it was the perfect timing to pick some stuff up. I already go through the Honest Company for Ava's diaper bundle each month so I'm excited to try more of their products. I picked up the bubble bath, shampoo and body wash, as well as their face and body lotion. I'll have to give a review of it coming up!

On Saturday we did a smash cake session with Ava and Mila. We used the little fairy wings and paper poms left over from Mila's party, I ordered the lace rompers and the little flower clips from Etsy, and I made a little cake just for them. Ava, like usual, loved eating the cake but Mila was more focused on playing with Braxton who was in the yard driving Mila's cool new Hello Kitty convertible car haha Like usual, it's kind of difficult getting pictures of the two now that they're so mobile! 

As I was driving yesterday, Go Radio came on one of my old playlists and I forgot how much I used to love them...reminds me of all my days in Florida. 

Since Father's Day was Sunday, here are some funny truths by some famous dads. 

How does bacon wrapped chicken skewers sound? How about that with pineapple and teriyaki sauce? Mmmm

Maybe I'm crazy but Jeffrey Campbell's Prizzy sandal is like my dream sandal for the summer...so flashy haha They also come in black for the not so flashy moments. 

41 Amazing Free People-Inspired DIY's

I've been using a small bit of essential oils for awhile now, thanks to Brian's awesome aunt who makes her own blends, but I thought this summer essential oil guide was great for people just starting out, or wanting to try new stuff. 

Totally obsessed with Lauren Conrad's jewelry lately like these bracelets, this necklace, and these earrings. They're dainty, pretty, and affordable. 

And don't forget to enter Ava's girly birthday giveaway, there are only a few days left! 

Here's to a good week xx 

Freshly Picked Giveaway// June 2014

Don't forget to enter my Freshly Picked giveaway, there's one more week left! In the giveaway, you will win a pair of moccasins from Freshly Picked, a set of bows from Mina Loves Bows, The Striped Fig's "After the Storm" tee (shown below), an 8x10 print from The Printed Palette, bloomers from Czarina's Project, AND a $15 store credit to Curly Q's Counter. That's over $150 worth of amazing stuff going to ONE winner! 

And remember, after you enter, for an extra entry you can also repost from my Instagram. Good luck! 

Poor little girl scratched her face...learning how to walk is hard work.

Raspberry Freshly Picked moccs

Guest Post // A fun way to learn colors

Yesterday I saw my friend Whitney post the cutest thing on Instagram and I instantly asked her if she would like to share it on here. She is actually always posting fun little activities for her son and I think she really has some great ideas for learning games for the littles. I loved the idea of this game particularly because I knew it's something Braxton could get into and he could excel with it even with his speech delay. This is my first guest post on the blog and I'm excited that it's this! Make sure you follow Whitney on Instagram for more fun ideas as well...


Hello everyone! I’m Whitney and I’m thrilled to get to share my “color game” idea on Crystal’s blog! I am a stay at home momma to one wild little 19 month old boy, Brody. I absolutely love staying at home with him and take full advantage of teaching him everything I can. Just like any mom, I expect a lot out of myself when it comes to what I teach Brody. I want him to love to learn and believe it’s my job to fill his tiny brain with as much knowledge as possible.

            So, here I am writing out my list of what all I want to have taught him before he turns 2... Knowing and identifying basic colors made the cut. Wham! The idea for my color game was brought to life. Now here is a little fact about myself, I love to save money. I mean, who doesn’t love a good bargain? That’s exactly what this color game is. My goal was to create a low cost yet equally as fun game to teach my tiny son his colors.  This is where the local Dollar Tree came to my rescue!

                                                            Here’s what you’ll need :

•  5 small basket (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, & Purple)  $1 a piece
• 1 pack of colored Popsicle sticks $1 *side note, you want to do basic colors so the sticks and baskets match
• 1 piece of paper
• Tape
• Colored markers, crayons, or whatever you have to write the name of the color on a label

Ok here’s what you’re going to do, take your colored basket, tear a small piece of paper to label the color of the basket and write in the same color as your basket then tape the label on, like this.

Take about five of your popsicle sticks and match the same color stick to basket. You want to make it where they can identify that the red stick goes in the red basket. What I do is pick up one of each of the sticks and tell Brody what color it is, then I put it in the matching basket. After that I ask him to try. Sometimes he picks up more than one color at a time and that’s fine because he is just learning. Just make sure to correct them if they put the wrong color in the wrong basket. I tell Brody "Uh-Oh" and ask him to pick it back up and place it in the correct basket.

 You want to praise them a lot when they get it right! That’s what makes it fun for them. When they get really good you can try mixing up the sticks to make it a little harder for them. Also, its ok if they don’t catch on right away or they only participate for 2 minutes, they are still learning. We have days where Brody likes to play for ten minutes straight and days where after 2 minutes we have flying sticks so it’s really a go with the flow type game. 

Have fun with learning colors and I hope that ya’ll find this game to be very useful!            

                                                            -Whitney