Favorite Warm Weather Drinks

I know I've been talking about the weather-a lot- in my last few posts... but it was a looooong winter and the warm sunshine just makes me happy! Not to mention, this entire week has been above 60- which means the kids have had a ton of outside time to run off energy. ;)

When the warm weather arrives, I ditch my coffee machine and coffee mugs and switch them for cold cups, my espresso machine, and blender!

Here are a few of my favorite warm weather drinks:

Summer smoothies- the possibilities are endless. The kids love to make up their own combinations, too!

 Passion Tea Lemonade- homemade and frozen style!

Easy iced mocha- perfect to get anyone through the day!

My basic green smoothie is a daily necessity. Gotta get the greens in somehow!

Teacher Appreciation Week: DIY Thank You Card

It's Teacher Appreciation Week! Let's all take a minute to thank the teachers in our lives. My mom is a teacher and I know how dedicated teachers are to their students. Their work day doesn't end when their students are dismissed and chances are they were hard at work long before the first student walked into their classroom every morning.

Teaching is a calling. It's not a profession that just anyone can be successful at.

I've always had a great appreciation for teachers, this feeling has grown since my own kiddo has started school.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week and to celebrate I waned to share this little idea with you. I'm not a big fan of overwhelming teachers with trinkets and candy. I try to make teacher gifts meaningful and with a purpose.

This year, I made cards for the teacher's in our lives. Since my son is in Pre-K they have been working on handwriting and practicing their letters. I had the idea to make a card using his handwriting. Rather than just having him write "thank you" inside a card, I decided to try something different.

Yesterday, I had my son write "thank you" in sidewalk chalk. We added some decoration and then I took a picture:

I went to Walmart.com and used their online photo department to create a 5x7 card. I picked it up the same day and have it ready to go!

My son's school PTA has suggested a different gift for each day of the week- Tuesday is "card day".

Personalized gifts are always so nice. I hope that my son's teachers understand how much I appreciate all that they do!

Other gifts I am giving this week:
Starbucks gift card {"sweet treat" day}
Flower + Seeds {flower day}
Target Gift Card {teacher's favorite gift day}

What are you giving for Teacher Appreciation Week?

Family Dinner Time: Conversation Starters

I've posted before about the importance of "family dinner time". Sometimes it's difficult to start new lines of conversation. We get stuck in a rut of "how was your day?" and "so what do you want to do this weekend?"

There are great games, printables, and other resources to spice up the conversation; but I figured it wouldn't hurt to share a few of my favorites. Since I have a 5 year old and an almost-3 year old I have to keep the conversation funny and super simple.

So here's how I get them talking:

• If you could be any superhero which one would you be? Why? (you can interchange "superhero" for whatever the obsession of the week is- "dinosaur", "animal", "Octonaut" all work, too)
• What do you think the birds are talking about when they chirp? (again, interchange the animal and their "noise")
• Do you think Reggie (our dog) likes to watch tv? What do you think his favorite show is? Why? (or some equally silly imaginative question)
• If you could be in the Lego Movie, which character would you want to be? Why?
• What do you want to build with Legos later?
• How many bubbles do you think are in the bath tub when you take a bath?

Can you see what I'm doing here? It's all about using their imagination to answer questions about things that are important to them. You may not have to ask more than one question because the conversation will start to flow naturally- that's great!

My husband and I love to sit back and listen to the funny responses; and the kids think it's so silly when we answer the questions, too!

The whole idea is to make the meal a special and fun part of the day. There shouldn't be stress or pressure at the dinner table. Sometimes it's difficult when you know you want your kids to eat and they aren't- but you want to create a comfortable environment and then the eating part will come.

There are so many ways that quality dinner conversation can enhance your family- it's good for kids, it's good for parents, it's a family thing.

If you have a question that you love to ask your kids- shout it out! We love comments!!

April Favorites

April showers bring May flowers... I hope! It's been raining all week, and although I'm thankful it's not snow, I'm ready for some quality outside time.

The month seemed to whiz by as we celebrated the twins' 5th birthday, Easter, and my 7th wedding anniversary. It was a month full of celebration!

Here are my favorite posts from this month:

Favorite spring post: Container Gardening

Favorite recipe post: Strawberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

Favorite cleaning post: Spring Cleaning the Natural Way: The Kitchen

Favorite tip post: How to Season Stoneware

Happy May, friends! 

Gardening for Fun and Physical Activity

By now you guys know that I'm all about making everyday activities count towards the physical activity I need in my life. This weekend, we planted some colorful flowers around the front of our house and this was one of those opportunities to make every movement count.

Let's go over a few tips for how to burn more calories while gardening:

1. Proper form. You can't burn calories if you have to go inside after throwing out your back. So watch yo-self. Depending on how you like to garden, either kneel or sit on a stool so that you aren't straining your back muscles. Keep in mind that you have the opportunity here to strengthen your core so pull your belly button into your spine to engage your abs. This will help take some of the pressure off your back.

2. Squats. Ensuring proper form, as you bend down to pull weeds, go ahead and do it with a squat. Pretend like you're sitting in a chair and don't let your knees go over your toes. This exercise can be done as a wide squat with your toes pointed out and feet more than shoulder width apart; or as a regular squat with your toes pointing forward and knees shoulder width apart.

3. Arms. Digging can be tough. Especially if you're like me and like to buy the 3 gallon plants :-) Keeping proper form, really try to engage your arm muscles and let them do all the work. This will also help to take pressure off your back. This weekend I was having to dig through and around some well established root systems- my biceps will thank me tomorrow, I'm sure.

4. Think of it as a workout. If you have the mindset that you want to burn extra calories then you will be better prepared to work at a faster pace. The more leisurely you garden, the less calories you burn. It's still a great activity, but you're the boss so kick it up a notch and dig faster, squat more, and don't lolly-gag.

Make the most of your time. Be mindful of the opportunity you have while doing "chores" and you will see that you'll be working up a sweat and enjoying a beautiful yard in no time!

My Favorite Water Bottle

This is not a sponsored post
The Easter Bunny isn't just for the kids. Nope- hubs and I always get each other a little something for our Easter baskets and this year was no exception. The bunny is pretty good at picking out something I'll love- last year it was some cute ceramic containers for my office and the year before that it was Pioneer Woman's new cookbook. This year? This super cute glass water bottle. 

I have a slight obsession with water bottles, coffee, cups, cold cups, etc. and I'm not gonna lie- I may be running out of room for them all. I've owned a ton of water bottles in my day, but this one is my absolute favorite! It's durable and doesn't leak at all. You can actually lock the lid, which prevents it from leaking or opening on accident. It's also an awesome bottle if you're a runner- it's made to "take a hit"- so if you drop it there's a good chance it won't break. You can find it at Target in the fitness equipment section.  The other reason I love my glass water bottle is because every morning I put lemon essential oil in my water. It helps detoxify the body and, as a bonus, sanitizes the inside of the water bottle! 

How to Clean Carpets While Potty Training

My two and a half year old is in that fun potty training stage where she doesn't really want to go to the bathroom on the potty, but she doesn't want to wear her pull-up either. Needless to say it's, er, messy.

We had our carpets cleaned last week and I asked the professional what he recommended for spot cleaning- white vinegar + water. Good news!

I was able to test his recommendation yesterday and I have found the magic formula! Here's my trick...

You will need:

Spray bottle

Towel

Microfiber cloth

White Vinegar

Baby wipes

Here's what you do:

If you're cleaning up urine, use a towel to absorb the excess.

If you're cleaning up poop, use the baby wipes to get as much as possible wiped up.

Mix 1 Tbs vinegar for every 1 cup water in a spray bottle.

If there is a stain or smell, spray the vinegar and water solution to soak the spot and use the microfiber cloth to gently rub the stain first in a clockwise motion and then in a counter-clockwise motion.

Do not rub vigorously back and forth- this will rub the stain in instead of lifting it out.

Trust me.

I'm so ready to be done with potty training... but at least I've got a good carpet cleaning method out of it! :-) Silver lining, folks.

For more all natural cleaning recipes, click here.