Holler for a Dollar (Tree)

I spent $15 at the Dollar Tree.  It. Was. Amazing.  The best part?  I tried a new one (new to me) on 31st and Harvard.  It was so big and nice!  Like a Dollar Tree multi-plex.  Heaven for a broke teacher (who loves Ulta, HA!)  Anyway.  Next time you are in the Tulsa area, it's seriously worth a shot at visiting!  :)

PS- Buying a one year old maracas is a 'not very well thought out' idea.  Not only are they annoyingly loud, they become extremely obnoxious, dangerous missiles when thrown...  Just sayin...

Ulta-embarassing!

I went Ulta a few days ago.  Ulta is my favorite makeup store.  After my experience there a few days ago, I don't think I'll be going back.  Here's what was 'observed'.

A woman enters the store and immediately puts her daughter down.  She couldn't find a shopping cart so she calmly tells the little girl she can walk but she needs to stay near mommy.  Had the mother paid close attention, she would have seen a fellow shopper roll her eyes as if to say 'good luck'!

The little girl promptly screams at the top of her lungs in excitement, which, I assure you, could be heard by everyone in the store, despite the blaring too-early Christmas music.  The toddler wriggles out of her arms and takes off for the first fragile display she can get her hands on before the frazzled mother can even re-adjust her purse or grab a shopping bag.

The highlight of this mother's shopping trip could be several things.  Her amazingly talented child managed to single handedly destroy an entire body wash display which, according to the store clerk picking up the 'after shock' of it all declared, took hours to construct.  Or maybe it was when the toddler grabbed a handful of lip gloss and chucked it enthusiastically into her mother's purse.  An innocent shop lift (which was immediately caught and 'fixed' by the appalled and now exhausted mother).  I'll bet it was the elephant sized fit the kiddo threw right there in the check out line, struggling to remove herself from her mother's death grip.  Sadly, by this time, the mommy was drenched in sweat, toddler boogers, and a weird smell from a bottle of lotion the 'precious' girl had managed to open and squeeze all over her mother's shoulder.  The pathetic woman was near tears and had never prayed so hard for a Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak.  Or a toddler leash.

Thinking her journey was almost over  (hey, she was almost next in the cashier's line), she relaxed a little and tried calmly reasoning with her banshee screaming girl.  By now the pair had cleared an unnatural path towards the exit door and an elderly woman turned to her friend next to her and loudly says "back in my day, when a child acted like that, we stopped what we were doing, swatted them, and took them HOME."  (The whole time shooting the shaking mother a nasty look.)  What horror!  Luckily, the mommy was the next in line and was able to check out.  After prying her daughter off the counter, where, while checking out, the girl attempted to eat a container of 'impulse buy' nail files, hair ties, and candy cane shaped body washes, she fled to her car and resisted sobs as she strapped her little girl into the car.

The little girl stopped her wailing, smiled, and she blew her mommy a kiss.  Who knew such terror could be so sweet?  Who knew that little girl was mine?  Who knew walking meant independence in a one year old's world?  Man, I have got a lot to learn about toddlers.

Hoping the other two Ultas in Tulsa haven't heard of us yet, 

xoxo Summer

Friday Five

1.  This stuff is awesome!  And cheap!  I am shedding post-baby hair and when I bought this a few weeks ago, I fell in love!  And it's only a buck at Target!  :)  SCORE.  (Lint rollers are a different story...I'm going to have to start buying them in bulk...stupid 'after baby after effect'!)

2.  Old Navy.  $8.50 RIGHT now. Enough said.

3.  

Let me explain.  My daughter LOVES bubble baths and I get frustrated trying to get the bath...frothy...Then I was making an omelet one morning and it hit me.  Use a whisk in the bath water!  It works like a charm.  

4.  Let me explain this picture... no wait.  Can you tell what's wrong with it?  That's right.  One of my closest friends and colleague is a SPED teacher at my school.  She failed to notice the opened tab of the cookies...and decimated the package by opening it at it's end.  Fail, dearest Annie.  Fail.  (I laughed so hard I choked on my cookie.  Karma is ironic.)

5.  My sweet angels at school did a great job wrapping up our ocean unit this week!  Don't you love their creativity?  This illustration makes my heart sing.  My aide had a great belly laugh when she tried to guess what animal was what.  :)  

Praise Jesus it's Friday!

Summer

Bass Babies...sickly edition

Coughing. Snot bubbles. Diarrhea. My idea of a good time! (said no one ever). My kiddos are sick and they are too little for Triaminic or Mucinex. Luckily, through amazing advice from loved ones and fellow Mommies, we have got our sickly snot routines down pat.

I wish they gave out Emmys or Nobel Peace Prizes for Mommy advice. If I won, it would be a great conversation piece on my coffee table... Right next to a spit up rag and questionable sippy cup of presumably unexpired milk. (I'm a good mom, I promise. However, it's survival of the fittest at our house sometimes. Just sayin...)

Anyway. Here is what I have come up with. I hope this helps all new mommies with the upcoming nasty cold weather and flu season!

1. Saline nasal spray. LIFE saver. It's a gentle spray of saline which is natural, harmless, and surprisingly effective at declogging boogers (GAG). I recommend the 'baby' version-which is the one I have- and can be bought in the infant aisle of Walgreens.

2. The nasal aspirator we got to take home from the hospital. I have never bought one... I figured if the doctor trusts it enough to initiate breathing in my newborn, it's good enough to suck out snot. My close friend, Candace, however, swears by a battery operated one. I think you can find them at Target for under $20.

3. Vicks humidifier. Ah-mazing. No more said. Normally removes any congestion and cough through the night. I always place it on the floor next to the crib so the warm air goes up directly into the air the baby breathes. Also, the Vicks humidifier has a little dish you can pour vapors into to help breathing. We have purchased both the humidifier and Vicks vapors at Walmart in the pharmacy section. (these vapors are not the same as the ones you get to rub on the chest.)

4. Vapor rub. Works like a charm. Also, I read on Pinterest if you rub it in their feet and put socks on them right before bed it clears coughs. I tried it and it works! But Bee is going through a FUN stage where socks and shoes are 'optional'. Like I said people, survival of the fittest!

5. Reli-on thermometer. Cheap. Recommended by both my doctor and pharmacist. It can be used under arm, rectally (awkward...), or orally. And it reads in under 9 seconds. Score!  (PS- Thank you to my amazing Mommy for researching and purchasing ours!)

6. Vapor bath. This sweet investment was $1.97 at Target and I do not regret it!!!

I combine all of these things.  Every now and then we have to down a dose of Tylenol as well...but the less 'drugs' in their systems, the better :)

Dreaming of a phlem free world....
xoxo Summer

Ginger SNAP

I love a good cookie. Heck, you could call me the cookie monster. I am picky, however. So when a good friend and teacher brought these to our last staff meeting I was skeptical. Until I crammed one in my mouth.

Whole Foods gets ginger snaps. Their cookies are spicy, sweet, and a groovy combination of crunchy yet chewy. It was hard not to make some awkward, inappropriate noise... After all, we WERE in a staff meeting...

Keeping life snappy,
Summer

Friday Five

TGIF, ya'll!  This week was exhausting!  I learned a valuable lesson...I will never give my children Halloween candy and then send them to school.  It's cruel and unusual punishment!!!

1.  I am going to attempt and follow through with posting each day of November one thing I am thankful for.  Today it is my ah-mazing Daddy.  He is the most caring, intelligent, sweet man.  I have learned so much from him.  :)


2.  I have started jogging again, hoping to get back into running full time!  A teacher friend told me about this fantastic app on her iPhone that has really helped me get started.  It's perfect for people like me who haven't 'worked out' in forever! (2 years...).

•  It's a 5K marathon trainer but it is so easy...it's free until you get to the 5th or 6th week but I have enjoyed the app so much I ended up buying the whole thing for only $1.99 (WORTH it!)  
• It even tracks on a satellite map where I ran! 
• It talks to you ('walk' 'jog' 'warm up', etc...) through your headphones...it also links up to your iTunes so you can listen to your music at the same time.  Isn't that super cool beans?
• Here's the first week of workouts...
• 

3.  My birthday was about two weeks ago.  My amazing Hubby surprised me with something that touched my heart.  He knows my Grandmother had bought me several Brighton pieces throughout the years and I cherish them so much, especially now that she has passed away.  He found the most beautiful necklace and earrings set!  

I love love LOVE the colors!

4.  SCENTSY!  Since returning to work, I have been able to use my cute Zebra Scentsy burner in my classroom (burning the wax made me so nauseous when I was pregnant).  I just ordered some new wax, I'm so excited to get it and start burnin! (Coconut Lemongrass; Pink Pepper, Peppermint Dreams).

5.  Saw this on the Ellen Show yesterday.  Hysterical!Pretty sure my husband and I are going to try this in a couple of years!

Happy Friday, Ya'll!

xoxo Summer