2,024 in 2024

 Goal: 2,024 Items leaving our home in 2024

If you've been around a while, you know we did a massive overhaul of our home in 2020. Two big things started this change: 1. We were planning to build a new house and wanted to only move things we truly loved/used. 2. I read The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning which completely revolutionized the way I held onto objects. Even though we abandoned our plans to build, you know...frugal living goals and all...we kept parting ways with stuff. 

Since then, we've done a decently good job of cleaning out several times a year thanks to the fun of having garage sales with family/friends and also the spring and fall HWGA Kids' Sales. As always though, we can do better.

My friend Justina at the The Well Planned Mama shared with me that she challenged herself to get rid of 2,023 in 2023 and even created a great printable tracker to see her progress. I fell in LOVE with this idea and so even though it's not yet 2024 we have started at our house! So far, since November 16, we have parted ways with 150+ items from our home. Want to join the movement? Check out Justina's 2024 Decluttering post with FREE printable to track your own goals. 

I was so excited about the idea that I presented it to the kids right away. It was the week they did their Pre-Christmas deep clean of their rooms so we counted many items that left the house then. We told Mark about it and he jumped right in with some sorting in the kitchen. Having the printable to color has made it even more fun!

If you've been around a while, you also know that I LOVE rules. I had to add some of my own to the challenge:

1. What constitutes an item? Some items like a book, pair of pants, etc felt obvious. But what about every little broken crayon from the school room? We're calling a pile of those just one item. Same with paper scraps or trash from projects. One big pile is one item on the coloring sheet. Maybe you're just beginning your own decluttering journey or want to count every little item - sounds good for you!

2. Although I desperately wanted to, I did not make any parameters for how many items needed to leave each week or month to stay on track. I wanted the others to be intuitive as to when they felt like it was time to part with something vs forced into it. 

3. Be wise in donating. I wanted to be careful and intentional about making sure items were leaving in a timely fashion, not just sitting in a box in the back of the car, and trying to get them to free pantries or the right non-profits to be most beneficial to others. 

But...WHY? Our why is based on previous success by decluttering so much in 2020. 

For one, We do a quick 20 Minute Tidy each day and often don't even need the full 20 minutes because everything in our house has a place and typically gets put in place. We do struggle with kitchen counter clutter, the kids' rooms, and our school room. Once a quarter we do big overhauls of those three rooms and it really helps keep down paper/junk clutter and every time we get faster at getting the big one done. 

And two, by having less stuff we actually want less stuff! It's true. As we have parted ways with so many unnecessary items, it's been very evident to Mark and myself that we've wasted a lot of money buying those things in the first place. Instead of buying things, we want to put aside money for experiences, travel, and opportunities. I plan to track everything we're able to sell as we declutter so we can see how much money we put back into our budget by getting rid of items. 

Christmas Day 2023

We did small, simple Christmas filled with useable, practical items for all

and it was such a joy to LOVE every item entering our home. 

Several times I've done a monthly challenge, for example the By the Numbers Challenge - 1 item on the 1st, 15 on the 15th, etc but the idea of a whole year was thrilling to me! I'll keep you posted on how it goes! 

Do you have any goals in 2024? Wishing you a happy and healthy new year! 

12 Favorite Pictures of 2023

 I always like to look back on the past year and pictures are my favorite ways to store memories.

Here is my favorite picture from each month in 2023...

January

We went to Disney on Ice as the kids' BIG Christmas gift.

I loved that they still loved all of the magic of it! 

They each got to choose a souvenir as part of the trip and wisely chose a snack

that came in a take-home cup so it was a "double" souvenir. 

February

Owen and I had Mesker Park Zoo to ourselves on a cold, winter day.

The highlight?

A half-hour private session with the penguins. 

March

Annabeth and I got our ears doubled pierced on a Sunday afternoon.

I always hoped for a daughter and I am so thankful for mine!

April

Annabeth performing her solo at Just Dance.

When she was little, she set the goal of having leaps "like the big girls"

and what a joy it has been to watch her work tirelessly to achieve that goal. 

May

We celebrated our 14th Wedding Anniversary with a

weekend at the lake. The dock broke as we took this picture so we ended up 

with quite the project. Mark's ideal way to spend a weekend.

June

Dance Recital Night.

We so love watching the kids do what they love to do!

July

Our last morning in Pigeon Forge. We cleaned out the freezer and 

the kids had breakfast sandwiches and Bomb Pops for breakfast so we would

have zero food waste. I love their matching shirts and big smiles. 

August

Owen played a long, HOT, Fall Ball season in a new league.

He grew so much as a player and we were thankful for great coaching and positive fans.

September

Annabeth's first Girls' Trip with Mama, Grandmama, and Aunt Lu for Lu's Birthday.

We spent a few days in Chicago and finding a safe Gelto place was the highlight

for me. I was so happy to allow her to have that simple experience of dessert out!

October

The wonder of connection. 

November

Birds at Sunset.

Long Beach, MS

December

This one is a tie for me. On vacation, Annabeth asked for us to have matching sweatshirts 

which was such an exciting moment for me! Some days she is very 12 so I take the sweet when

I can get it! 

December #2

Our day at Gracelend.

We went as Owen's 8th birthday gift but all fell in love.

It was the perfect day together. 

Thank you Dear Readers for another year of following our journey in Life, Love, and living our goal to "owe no many anything but love." 

Review of Guesthouse at Graceland and Graceland Mansion

 In April, I booked a simple beach week for our family trip this year. We've done several big trips since 2020 and we needed a smaller, more affordable trip. I found a great place to stay right on the beach in Gulfport, MS and we planned several free excursions. Then, for Owen's 8th birthday we decided to surprise our Elvis Lover with a stop at the Guesthouse at Graceland and Graceland Mansion on the way home. 

Up first, the Guesthouse at Graceland. Our overall review 3/5

The Guesthouse Lobby

If you click the above link, you'll see that the Guesthouse is advertised as a "Luxury Elvis Hotel." We beg to differ. In our travels, we have stayed at several other Four Diamond hotels which have been INCREDIBLE so we had very high expectations for this hotel as well. 

Pros: It is an easy walk, or extremely short drive, to Graceland. If you're just in Memphis for Elvis then the location is perfect. It is in a bit of a rundown area so we really appreciated the guarded parking lot ($10 for the night). There are four restaurants and we ate dinner at EP's Grill which was fantastic and also grabbed a morning coffee which was fine. The highlights were the included nightly movie (ours was "Viva Las Vegas") and 9 PM PBJ bar. The service was exceptional. 

Movie night!

Cons: It really is not as special or luxurious as other hotels at this price point (our room was $230 before fees thanks to a First Responder Discount). Our room was larger and the bathroom was larger than your average hotel but they were not nearly as "Elvis" as we had hoped for. Our other Four Diamond hotels have been historic which maybe gave them the more special luxurious feel. The lobby is not very large, very basically decorated, and yet they want everyone to gather there for nightly music so it was quite crammed night and day. The kids were also very disappointed that the beautiful pool is outdoors and not useable year round. 

While Mark and I weren't completely thrilled

Owen was in heaven! He LOVED it.

After our night there, we spent 5 hours the next day at Graceland Mansion and Museum. 

Owen has always been a huge Elvis fan and just couldn't believe we were taking him there. Mark was the only of us who had been and assured me it was worth the detour.

Mr. O with his Elvis hat, shades, and lip curl ready for Graceland!

What did I expect? I expected a very overpriced (roughly $45/kid and $80/adult for tickets) trip to a possibly run down house surrounded by a certain kind of music fan.

I could not have been MORE wrong! Our visit to Graceland was an experience I never knew I needed!

First of all, the home is lovingly maintained by a staff who cares tremendously for Elvis's family and work very hard to keep the home beautiful. It has quite obviously been well cared for despite the half million visitors who walk through it each year. Our tour included the first floor, basement, carport, backyard, several outbuildings that served as offices and gymnasium, as well as a sentimental stop at the Presleys' Meditation Garden. We were surrounded by true Elvis fans who felt such a quite reverence for the man, the music, and the house. It was one of the quietest and most respectful tours we have ever been on.

An afternoon in Elvis's backyard. 

The audio tour is narrated by John Stamos. 

Paying their respect to the King of Rock and Roll

After our house tour, we spend the afternoon at the museum across the street. Here we saw some of Elvis's cars, planes, music, jumpsuits, and so much more. After Elvis died, his family remained in the house and within five years it was opened to the public for tours. Since the family still owns everything, there has been such incredible care about maintaining everything for the next generation. 

The museum intertwines home videos, tv recordings, memorabilia from 

Elvis, Lisa Marie, and so many others

Owen had a must-see list and included Evlis's Pink Cadillac 

He was also thrilled to see dozens of his jumpsuits

I was so thankful that Owen has such a love for Elvis and that Mark pushed for us all to go. We all enjoyed our day there tremendously. Graceland was a 5/5 for all of us!

**Traveler's Tip: Parking is $10 at both the Guesthouse and Graceland. If you stay at the hotel, it's a quick under five minute walk so leave your car there and save the Graceland parking fee. We felt quite silly that we had prepaid both as we definitely wasted $10. 

Disney 2020 vs Disney 2021

 We are just back from our second INCREDIBLE Disney Trip! 

We booked our first trip in March 2020. Our original reservation was for All Star-Movie Resort and 4 Park Days. The parks, with the rest of the world, shut down just weeks after we booked our trip. Since we weren't scheduled to go until November we waited to see what the world would look like. When the hotels/parks reopened, we were upgraded to the Pop Century resort AND received sale pricing on that. We saved around $250 with the upgrade and over $500 on the overall value. As a result, we were able to enjoy shopping at Disney Springs and three sit-down meals.

While we loved our trip, we also realized that so many parts of the hotel and parks were closed while we were there. Early in 2021, we decided to book another trip. 

Last time, only Owen really enjoyed Animal Kingdom so we made the call to book our room at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Savannah view and to skip Animal Kingdom Park. For the frugal record, while we did save the cost of a park day it was NOT more affordable to stay at AK Lodge vs one day at Animal Kingdom. We also cut our trip down to three park days, one resort day. 

Animal Kingdom Lodge Review: It was gorgeous! The lobby was just beautiful, especially with the huge Christmas trees. We loved our room, Savannah View which was 100% worth the cost! It was so wonderful to wake up to giraffes, zebras, and wildebeests. I will say that this was most likely the one and only time that we will stay at AK Lodge. This was such a treat for our animal lover Owen. 

AK Lodge Transportation Review: Our Disney planner did warn us that this park is the furthest from the parks and it does have the longest bus ride but we honestly didn't mind. There were zero lines for the bus at the hotel and then also coming back from the parks. The buses weren't full at all and the ride went quickly. I will say that we go over first thing in the morning and then go back one time at night - no running back and forth. If you are a person who likes to go back to the hotel for a swim or nap the travel time would really eat into your park time. We also enjoyed, at the end of a long day, that the AK Lodge bus stop was the closest to the park exit. 

AK Lodge vs Kidani Village: Animal Kingdom Lodge has two areas - Jambo House, where we stayed, and larger suites at Kidani Village. When we first booked, March 2021, only the Village was open so we booked there. By the time of travel, Jambo House had opened so we moved over. Generally Jambo House is said to be more affordable but we did not have a price decrease with our move. Our decision was ultimately made based on the hotel food options. With Annabeth's food allergies, we felt that the best/safest options for Annabeth were at Jambo House. We opted to stay close to where we would eat several meals vs having to walk the trail or take the bus for each meal. At the Lodge we enjoyed great food, a wonderful heated pool with slide, multiple animal viewing areas, bonfires, and night vision goggle experiences while animal watching. We did walk over to Kidani Village on our resort day to see their animals, to see the pool, and for movie night. It was great to have access to both areas. 

Since I write a Frugal Living Blog, and have been since 2013, I worried a bit about sharing our hotel choice. It wasn't remotely frugal BUT we saved and paid cash for the trip. Here are some ways we saved money/spent money wisely on this trip:

- We took advantage of 10% off giftcards which our Meijer store offers several times a year. We bought the Disney giftcards at a discount and turned around and applied them to our trip balance.

- We stopped in Evansville on the way down/back and my parents generously dog sat for us. We loved knowing that Oscar was being spoiled by the grandparents. This also saved us the cost of boarding him.

- We drove straight through and straight back from Evansville-Orlando and then Orlando-Evansville. We had originally planned hotel stays/activities both ways but cancelled for different reasons on either end. This saved us $300 in hotels and another $150 in activity prices.

- We packed a great deal of food. We ate our own food while travelling and for at least two meals a day while at Disney. 

- At Disney we drink water. We did splurge on the free refills cup at the resort. It makes a great souvenir for Mark and me and the coffee for days is worth it. 

- This trip we had only one sit down meal, last year we did three. We chose the Plaza at Magic Kingdom. It was fun to eat with a view of the castle and even with a 20% tip it was just $70 - much for affordable than the sit down options we had last year. We did do some more quick service than last year but it is shockingly affordable and I love that the kids meals come with fruit, veggies, or yogurt vs fries/chips.

Overall Review: Honestly, this was a HUGE splurge for our family and so worth it for the incredible experience of waking up on the Savannah everyday. We loved the heated pools, great food options, wonderful service, and beautiful artwork in the lobbies and common areas. In all honesty, I would never book this hotel and not pay the extra for the Savannah view room. Without the animal view, it's essentially just a very nice hotel which is something that the Disney World Resort has many of. 

All of the AK Lodge blogs said we "had" to try the Zebra domes

and Zebra cupcakes. They were right - AMAZING! 

My Endometriosis Journey

 March is Endometriosis Awareness Month.

What is Endometriosis? Endometriosis is a condition where the lining of the uterus flows out into the pelvic cavity - instead of flowing out of the body it wraps around organs in the body. About 11% of American women are diagnosed with Endometriosis.

Here's my story...

I always had really painful cycles - I thought that was normal. I knew my other friends had cramps and I just assumed I wasn't as tough as them as I went home early from school or stayed home from events in pain. 

This continued until I was 20. I was in my 3rd, and final, year at college and was in horrific pain not just "that" week but throughout the month as well. The pain was getting worse and I found myself staying in my apartment more and more. At first, I thought it was the stress of carrying 21 credit hours, balancing work and school, and living off campus for the first time. By October I called my mom and said "I think I need to see a doctor." I went home on Fall Break and saw our family physician who ordered and ultrasound. I was back at school by the time it had been read so we just had a phone call about the results. She diagnosed me with Stage 3 Endometriosis. She recommended oral hormones and suggested that when I got married (Mark and I were engaged already) that I see a specialist as I would need surgery in order to get pregnant. 

That was a HEAVY phone call. I was alone in my apartment, not sure want to think, called Mark sobbing to let him know that I may not be able to have children, he reassured me that he was open to adoption, and I went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription. The oral medication did help relieve some pain during my cycles and I had less breakthrough pain during the rest of the month. It felt like the best case scenario and just wanted to survive the rest of college.

Me at 20.

This is my favorite picture from that fall. My friend Daniel

and I walked to the stadium for a UfoL game.

**I do want to point out that I was INCREDIBLY blessed to be diagnosed by the first doctor that I saw and at a young age. Thankfully she was very knowledgeable and quick to name the problem. I now know people who see multiple doctors before getting any kind of diagnosis. 

Mark and I married in May 2009. I saw two doctors in Indianapolis before finding our family practitioner that we love. The first two doctors were not kind or understanding in any way. They were always short with me, quick to get me out the door, and I didn't know how to stand up for myself and to ask for more. I just quietly dealt with the pain and the fear that we wouldn't be able to have children.

By the grace of God have welcomed two biological children. Both times it took us quite a while to get pregnant but we feel incredibly blessed to have had two healthy pregnancies and two healthy babies. While we had difficult, horrific with Annabeth, deliveries none of the issues with either delivery were because of my endometriosis.

We welcomed Annabeth in October 2011.

Owen joined us in June 2015

Having the children was wonderful and exciting and my health took a backseat. I dealt with chronic discomfort and pain over the years and masked it by staying home many days. I was frustrated. I felt like in my 20s I should have been able to easily take my kids to the library or park without terrible pain. Every doctor visit I would mention it but each time I heard "It's just like this for some ladies" or "Some people have a harder time than others" or "You just have to deal with it" 

In July 2018, I sneezed in our kitchen and fell to my knees in pain. I spent months having expensive scans done, meeting with surgeons, and visiting new doctors. I have written about my 2018 surgery here. In short, I FINALLY met a doctor who said "Amy, this is really serious. You have polyps in your uterus and you have endometriosis spread through out your stomach. We're going to do surgery next week." That surgery changed everything for me and meeting that surgeon changed everything. Following that surgery I had 18 months with virtually no pain. My cycles were tolerable. I could take the kids on long walks, go on hikes, visit the park and never worry that I wouldn't be able to walk to the car. I felt like I had my body back and I also felt like I had so much mental health back as I was finally heard.

Then last spring it was back. At first small crampy pain, then that nagging ache, and by summer the pain was back in full force. I thought I was going to pass out from the pain while waiting to turn in Annabeth's 4H project, I would collapse in the car after pushing a shopping cart through the grocery, I began making excuses to stay home so no one would know. 

By July I couldn't take it anymore and called my favorite surgeon. He saw me within days because of the fear of polyps (possible cancer) returning. The ultrasound confirmed what I already knew - the endometriosis was everywhere, wrapped around organs, and a large tumor had formed. We made one last ditch effort to treat it with medication, the insurance company likes to see this tried before they cover surgery, but 60 days into the 90 day trial I was worse than ever. So, last fall, at just 33 I had a hysterectomy (full post on that here) 

Since having Annabeth I have had five surgeries, some too personal to ever include here. For 13 years I fought a battle with the name Endometriosis and for many years before that I fought a nameless beast. I am daily amazed with how I feel - I find myself walking with the kids, afraid to walk too far until I remember that there's no pain - I can make it home. Sitting on hard chairs or in the car used to cause pressure and pain - I avoided visiting family/friends because I didn't want to deal with the pain. We went to Florida after the surgery and I easily made the trip. As of November I am officially cancer/tumor free. The last step of this journey will be a one year check in October to ensure that no microscopic endometriosis was left. 

Why do I share this?

I share for my 20 year old self who didn't know that I deserved more than a phone call diagnosis and a pill treatment plan.

I share for my 20-something year old self who was ignored, belittled, and shot down by OBGYNs who should have done better.

I share for my 30-something year old self who finally understood how to stand up for myself. 

As for you...

Get checked. Go to your yearly exam. Be open. Be honest. When you're not heard - say it louder and find someone who WILL LISTEN. You get one body, one life. Don't waste it because it's hard to speak out. 

Frugal Friday - Disney Edition

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Last week we had a 7 day adventure with Mickey Mouse and the Georgia Mountains!

We planned our Disney trip with a lot of help from our friends Joe and Michelle Dillon. We love supporting this fellow LEO Family and you can book with them for FREE here Vacation Planners. 

(For Southern Indiana/Louisville friends wanting to book with a local planner contact our friend Amanda Williams. Her services are free too! Amanda.williams@magicalvacationplanner.com)

We originally booked our trip at the beginning of March 2020. We have been planning and saving for this trip for several years, we had a few setbacks as we had a flood in our kitchen and then Annabeth had the opporunity to dance in Chicago so we pulled from this trip savings for that trip. By March we were finally ready to book and planned for 4 park days, 5 nights at the All Star Movies Resort. Within two weeks, the world shut down due to COVID-19. When Disney finally reopened, they decided not to reopen the All Star resorts right away so we were automatically upgraded to Pop Centrury Resort. Disney upgraded us for free which was a great deal since Pop Century runs higher price per night than All Star Movies. 

Our awesome vacation planners also credited our account when Disney ran a sale. We were credited about $250. Between the credit and the upgrade we came out about $400 ahead of where we would have been without the sale/room upgrade!

Other ways we saved on vacation - 

- We asked family and friends for giftcards for the kids' birthdays. They each came to Disney with at least $75 to spend on the souveniers of their choice. Thank you everyone! 

- We packed our own food so most days we ate at least two meals from our packed groceries. We did not have the meal plan so we were able to choose to just buy our favorite meals. 

- We have always made pressed pennies as the kids' souveniers on vacation so over the past year we've been saving all of our quarters and pennies. Fun Fact: Disney uses a credit/debit card machine at each Pressed Penny location. We used our cards there and used the loose change to pay the Florida Tolls and for small items in the stores. 

- Annabeth found an Anna-Safe sucker but none of the stickers would ring up so the store gave us the $4.95 sucker for FREE!

- Mark and I chose Buy One, Get One Free candy bars as our treat. The stores actually had a great deal of little candy souveniers buy one, get one free. 

- We chose most of our gifts/souveniers from the 70% dated 2020 items. I like having the year on ornaments and things anyway so this was a great deal! Bonus buy for being there at the end of the year! :) 

- On the way home, we stopped in Dahlonega, GA with an Air BnB in the mountains. This was much less than staying at a local hotel and much more fun to be in a cabin! We eve had our own deck overlooking the mountains.

- Our last stop was Amicalola Falls State Park. We paid the $5 parking fee and had a great fun day at the falls and hiking. 

- Mark hiked the Approach Trail into the Appalachian Trail - a lifelong dream. 

We had the most wonderful week away - the cleanest park on earth, low heat most days, low crowds, socially distant lines to wait in, and SO much magic and fun. Now we look forward to saving for the next vacation. 

Reviews and Reccomendations: Carseat Poncho

Over the summer, our dear friend Kelley at Heaven Bound HCA asked if I would be interested in a carseat poncho for Owen. She offered to make him one for us to use and then review. My answer was: "Yes Please!"

If you see us out and about in the winter, 9/10 times you will see my kids in just fleece jackets meaning *gasp* no heavy winter coats! Both of our kids are still in 5-point harness carseats which means they should not wear coats under them for safety reasons. That means that we get to where we are going, get out of the carseat, freeze our tooshies off while we put our coats on, then we walk the 100 yards into the store where my kids promptly rip their coats off because they are hot, then those coats get put in the dirty shopping cart, after wrestling the kids at check-out I then have to wrestle them back into their coats to walk back to the car where we have to take the coats off again. So when someone offered a coat I don't have to take on and off I was SOOOO excited! I love that these ponchos can be worn from house to car to store to car to home - no on and off!!

Kelley sent me all of her color options and I chose a great dark green for O. He was happy with it too. Then when the actual canopy came...he refused to wear it. It was summer and still pretty hot so I wasn't too worried. But even as it has gotten colder he has refused to wear it. Owen is very into picking out his own clothes and will only wear fleece jackets with a hood. So...much to Annabeth's delight she is using the carseat poncho and loving it!

 Enjoying being warm and snuggly in the car while being safe in her carseat!

I love that if she gets too warm she can just pull it over her head.

Annabeth loved wearing the poncho this morning while we worked in the yard.  

Kelley at Heavenbound HCA is offering these items as a custom order available on her Etsy Page and at Heavenbound HCA. I encourage you to visit her sites for these, and many other, beautiful items that can be enjoyed for years to come!

**I received this item free from the seller but was not financially compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own**

September Banana Box Review

Last Saturday my friend Jeanette and I headed up to Greenwood to the new Under the Sun location for their banana box sale.

I would say that this sale was about even with my thoughts on the last sale.

I really liked that the new location is just 20 minutes from home instead of nearly an hour drive. It also wasn't nearly as busy so instead of waiting in line for an hour we waited about five minutes. The new store is smaller though which meant we were really packed in with all of the other shoppers. This banana box sale did not have a coupon like last time so I paid the full $30 for the box. Here is what I got:

1 box instant coffees (a brand that Mark loves for backpacking/camping)
1 Gluten Free (and Anna-Safe) pancake mix
1 Box of slim fast snacks
1 Progresso soup bag
1 Knorr rice side
1 can of fruit
1 can of veggies
1 box of pasta
1 box of GF pasta
1 bag of pasta
1 protein oatmeal cup (Mark likes to take these for breakfast on work days)
1 box of pop-tarts
1 box of movie theater style candy
1 box of gum
1 box of applesauce cups (18 cups total)
1 box of gummies (20 packs total)
2 boxes of Fiber One snacks
2 boxes of Krispey Kreme cake mixes
2 boxes of pineapple upside down cake mixes
2 boxes of GF cake mixes
2 boxes of organic soup
3 boxes of potatoes (all were 2-meal packs so enough for 6 meals)
4 pack of diced pear fruit cups
That all filled the base of my box. But I had about 1/2 an inch at the top and some funky holes to fill so I really felt like I was getting my $30/worth. I filled them with:
8 juice boxes (these were seperated from their package so I could stick them in little spaces)
5 bags of candy (like people buy at gas stations for $1.39/each)
13 candy bars

The Experience Overall:
I really like that the new location is so much closer to home. I do wish the store was larger as I felt like I had less room to move around and a smaller selection to shop from. At the last sale I was able to get more items for meals and more options that were GF and Anna-Safe (peanut/tree-nut free) Like the last sale, many items were out of date and I was not willing to waste room in my box on out-of-date items. I also think these sales would be easier if I didn't have to check every box for both the expiration date as well as the ingredients list.

Biggest Disappointment:
I felt like they had the same items in huge quantities. I bet there were 50-100 bags of the same kind of soup. The shelves did look full but there were many multiples. Some I didn't want and some we couldn't use. There were also a TON of seasonings which people were grabbing in huge handfuls but we never use.

What I Will Do Next Time:
- Mark is considering going too. That means we could fill two boxes at the same time and I wouldn't have to debate over every item as heavily. This sale I ended up trading items around a lot.
- I will take Jeanette! She is like a puzzle master and helped me get SO many extra things in my box.
- I will really look into prices at the grocery. I thought my big box of applesauce was around $10/retail so I thought I had a great deal with that in my box. When I got home I found that it retails for around $5.50. The kids will eat it and the individual cups will come in handy when we have other kids over for meals but I didn't get the awesome deal that I thought I was getting with that in the box.
- I will try to get more canned goods in my box. I realized when I got home I could have added a few more canned goods instead of the bagged candy.

Overall, I calculated that my $30 box would have been around $100 retail at our local grocery stores!
Saving money sure does make me happy! :)

Anchors Aweigh!

Last month, I found the cutest anchor shirt and dress on Zulily and I decided that the kids needed these matching items!

Fast forward to last week when the package arrived and I opened it to find that I had ordered the white shirt for Owen and the grey dress for Annabeth. It doesn't sound like a big deal but Annabeth refuses to wear grey. She wouldn't even try the dress on. Zulily doesn't do returns so I decided that I would just let Owen wear his shirt and I would try to sell her dress.

That afternoon, our friend Kelley posted a new item on her Etsy shop - a patriotic quilt that included an anchor material that matched Owen's shirt almost perfectly. I messaged Kelley to see if she had any fabric left and to see if she could make a dress.

Kelley, of HeavenBound HCA, found the anchor fabric again, and an adorable roll of anchor ribbon, and made Annabeth a custom dress to match her brother's shirt. We gave Kelley and her girls the grey anchor dress as a trade. I am SO excited to have these sweet outfits for the kids to wear all summer. Thank you Kelley for saving the day!

"We have this hope as an anchor for our soul."

Hebrews 6:19

"Thank you for being the anchor in my life,

and for keeping me grounded yet always knowing when to let me float"

"The anchor of the gospel and the rock of the Redeemer

will keep us steady and secure."

President Dieter Uchtdorf

Please visit Kelley at her website HeavenBound HCA or on Etsy for your own adorable, one-of-a-kind homemade items!

*Owen's shirt by Neati Kidi from Zulily. 

Banana Box Sale Review

Last Saturday, a friend and I made the drive to downtown Indy to go to Under the Sun's Banana Box Sale. I first heard about this sale on a mom's group Facebook page that I am on and it's the first time they have done the sale since I heard about it.

Each person gets a banana box at the door, then you walk the warehouse filling your box like a live Tetris game, and as long as your top items are even with the top of the box you get everything in it for $30! This sale had an added bonus of completing a short survey for a 10% off coupon so I got my box for just $27!

The store's Facebook page often shows awesome deals on nut free and gluten free snacks and Plum Organics. I was mostly interested in finding these items. I went into the sale with kind of a mental list but I quickly realized that many of the items were well past their expiration dates. I changed my game plan and decided to just grab anything, not expired, that I thought we might eat. Then my plan was to edit at the end to make sure everything fit into my box.

Here is what I got for $27:

6 Bags of Popcorn (Specifically Annabeth's favorite!)
3 Boxes of Glutino Crackers
3 Cans of Fruit
2 Cans of Veggies
2 Cake Mixes
2 Fruit Teas
2 Family Size Boxes of Macaroni and Cheese
2 Boxes of Belvita Breakfast Cookies
2 Butterfinger Bars (One of Mark's favorites)
2 Jars of Pasta Sauce
2 Boxes of Barilla Gluten Free Pasta
2 Big Boxes of Granola Bars
1 Cookie Mix
1 Box of Jello (a rare treat in our house)
1 Box of Annie's Cheddar Shells
1 Box of Gluten AND nut free cookies
1 Box of Gluten Free Bread Crumbs
1 Large Container of Oats
1 2lb bag of Italian Pasta
1 Box of Belvita Breakfast Sandwiches
1 Box of Skinny Cow Chocolates with Caramel
1 Bag of Chocolate Covered Lays (my favorite)
1 Large bag of Milton Gluten Free Crackers

The Experience Overall:
To be honest, it was really overwhelming. We waited in line about 45 minutes before being able to go in to shop and then many more items were out of date than I was expecting. I quickly learned that every company puts their expiration date in a different place on their products and it got to the point where I couldn't remember if we were in the year 2016 or 2017. I tried to be very careful checking dates so I didn't waste space on expired items.

Biggest Disappointment:
I was most disappointed with how quickly the stock was moving. I had seen some brands in early morning shoppers Facebook posts that I really wanted and they weren't out when I was there. I was also disappointed that in order to have all in-date items I ended up with three cans of fruit, two cans of veggies, two jars of pasta sauce, and one box of jello. These are all items that will get eaten, probably within the next month, but they are also items I can always get for less than $1 at the grocery. I had really hoped to find more high dollar items like the kids' allergen free snacks. I definitely would have felt like I got more for my money if I had found more of those.

What I will do next time:
- I will not go in with any kind of list. There were far too many items being taken off the shelves by shoppers and added by stockers to go in with the hope of finding specific products.
- I will go later in the day again. I think we arrived around 11:30 or 11:45 and the line wasn't terribly long at that point.
- I will wear my reading glasses. My eyes were twitching and my head hurt from reading the tiny numbers!
- My friend Andrea suggested grabbing anything I might think we want and then sort later. That was great advice and I actually still had room in my box after my first go around! I made a second pass around and found the popcorn that Annabeth loves! I was glad to have reorganized my box and made room for as many bags as I could.

Overall, I calculated that my $27 box would have cost me around $125 at our local Kroger! That made the trip well worth it!

Customizable Wreaths: Reviews and Reccomendations

A few weeks ago, I was checking my "to buy for Christmas" list and as always one of the last people I had to shop for was my Momaw. She has everything and I find her so difficult to buy for. Then, my friend Hillary shared a beautiful wreath on her Facebook page. I clicked on the wreath makers page Customizable Wreaths and found the perfect wreath for Momaw's new beach themed porch!

I contacted the wreath maker, tweaked the above design, and in less than 2 weeks I had a perfect wreath in my hands! Monica worked so quickly and contacted me several times during the process to let me know that my order was started and when it would be completed. She also was very accommodating as for as time and place of location to meet so I could pick up the wreath. I was so pleased that she was early to meet me. I was so excited to meet her - she is so sweet!

I am love with so many of her designs and look forward to ordering from Monica again! Please visit her Facebook page to place your order and to support her small business!

Monica has a great selection of team spirit wreaths!

I loved this Notre Dame one since 

we are HUGE Notre Dame fans (thanks to Great Uncle John @ ND)

Look how beautiful this wreath is for the Christmas Season! 

And of course, I have to share, her Thin Blue Line Wreaths! 

Our LEO Family loves these too! 

**Disclaimer: I purchased my wreath with my own money. I was not asked to write nor was I compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own**

Review: InStyler Wet to Dry Tool

Last month I took a short beauty survey and was later contacted by Kendall Viewpoints to try the new InStyler Max Wet to Dry hair tool. The tool came this week and I was able to give it a try this morning.

I always love things brand-new, out of the box!

The Instyler tool is designed to dry and staighten or curl damp hair. It's purpose is to eliminate the blow dry and then style process by combing them into one tool.

I took a shower and allowed my hair to air dry, heavily towel dried my hair for 15 minutes.

Damp - part dry, part wet hair

Not my best look. 

I spent 10 minutes using the tool, after carefully reading the instructions. I decided to test the tool for its straghtening ability. I have naturally curly hair and can achieve great curls with little effort with any curling tool. After the first ten minutes, I got pretty fed up. My hair was slowly drying and was slightly straight but mostly it was getting frizzy and poofy. I was unhappy with how long it was taking for the pieces to be dry. 

Not impressed.

Parts were very wet, parts were very poofy.

The tool had promised quick results but as I was working, the kids decided it was lunch time. I cooked, ate, and cleaned up lunch and then decided to try the product again. Now I had been out of the shower for over an hour and my hair was almost all the way dry. I worked with the tool for about 10 more minutes. This time, with my hair almost completely dry, I was able to achieve straighter, sleeker hair. It did not give me the results I love from my straightening iron but it did turn out okay.

 The end result.

This is roughly what my hair looks like after blow drying it straight

before I run a flat iron through it. It was quite a lot of work to use this tool

to get to this point. I can do this with a blow dryer in about 20 minutes vs the 90 this took.

Overall: I feel this tool would work much better on someone with thinner hair. Thinner hair would dry faster coming out of the shower and would work in fewer passes of the tool. It was almost 90 minutes between my shower and my final hair-do. That would not work on any day as I am busy teaching school and chasing little people. I think I will stick to my blow dry/flat iron routine (approx. 20 min) for special events. 

Thank you to Kendall Viewpoints and InStyler for this opportunity. 

*Disclaimer: I was contacted by Kendall Viewpoints to complete this review. They sent me, free of charge, the InStyler Max Wet to Dry tool to review. I am allowed to keep the product for my own, personal use regardless of my review. I was not financially compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

"We Are In A Play!"

A few weeks ago, we went to Bloomington with my parents. While there, I saw an advertisement for an upcoming performance of We Are In A Play! by Mo Willems based on his Piggie and Gerald book series. Annabeth and I LOVE to read the Piggie and Gerald books and I knew she would love seeing this play.

We were able to get tickets for the show this afternoon. So, today was our first long Mama-Anna date since Owen was born AND Mark and Owen's first Man-Day since Owen was born.

Annabeth and I drove down to Bloomington and made it in time for lunch. Since the play was at Ivy Tech, just south of Kirkwood St, we had lunch at Trojan Horse (one of my top five favorite restaurants ever!) I enjoyed the hummus plate and grape leaves and Annabeth had pitas and fruit. We didn't have time for dessert there so we got it to go - a vegan Brownie for AB and baklava for me. SO good!

Lunch with my best friend!

We love love loved We Are In A Play! It was SO funny! The characters sounded just like we make them sound when we read and we loved trying to figure out which book inspired which scene. The songs were so fun and the cast was excellent. Annabeth had so much fun and I loved watching her face almost as much as I loved watching the show.

The Cardinal Theater Company in Bloomington is putting on this show the next two weekends as well. Please check their website for ticket information if you are also Piggie and Gerald fans!

 She was very serious about looking at the cast in the program before the show.

She is very unsure about people in costumes/make-up so she needed to see the real

people behind the costumes. 

While the other kids lined up for pictures with Piggie and Gerald,

she bolted for the door but did agree for a picture with the sign. 

Mark and Owen said they had a great day at home playing and making messes with baby food. Mark was really thankful for his first day with Owen to himself. 

Annabeth and I had a great date day together and I am looking forward to the next adventure we take!