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  • Fuel Their Adventure + Free Coloring Page

    Fuel Their Adventure + Free Coloring Page

    This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FuelTheirAdventures #CollectiveBias
    Every day should be an adventure, but getting the right start, and putting your best foot forward aren’t always easy. Thanks to Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies I’ve found a way to start the day with a smile, and give my kids an adventurous day. 
     
    Fuel their adventure with Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies on the go snack pack. #FuelTheirAdventures ad
     
    It’s 6:30 AM. 
     
    I drag myself out of bed, because after 4 kids, working from home, and trying to go back to school, I’ve become a night owl instead of a morning person. Somewhere around 6:45-7:00, Little Prince awakes. He seems happy, until I pick him up. It is then he shows his true morning feelings. 
     
    “NO! Don’t put me down! No!”
     
    “Buddy” I say, “I have to get sisters up. I have to make breakfast. I have to get dressed!” But he’s inconsolable; all he wants is me to hold him until he cane make sense of this time called morning. Then I found it, his key to a morning smile – Dannon® Danimals® Cotton Candy Smoothie, and a special coloring page. 
    Download this Free Morning Sunshine Coloring Page #FuelTheirAdventures ad
     

    Download this fun Morning Sunshine Coloring Page to pair with your Dannon® Danimals® Smoothie for a kid happy morning

    Coloring and Dannon® Danimals® #FuelTheirAdventures ad

     

    Hoping this wasn’t a fluke of a morning, we went back to Walmart to stock up on my morning sanity saver. I had all the kids with me on this particular grocery shopping trip, so the girls were telling me all about how if we found the Golden Bongo in our Dannon® Danimals® their school would win a Play 60 NFL Field Day with the pros. Make sure you grab the specially marked packages in your search for the Golden Bongo

    Dannon® Danimals® at Walmart #FuelTheirAdventures ad
     
    Having stocked up on Dannon® Danimals® smoothies, the kids all thought they’d be great to have for breakfast, lunch, and after school snack. While I generally try to limit their snacks, this is one I’m OK with more frequently as it’s full of Only the Good Stuff® – no artificial colors/flavors and no high fructose corn syrup – it’s also full of calcium and Vitamin D.
     
    Easy Snack packs for on the go fun with Dannon® Danimals® #FuelTheirAdventures ad
     
    Usually twice a week Little Prince and I get together with my sister-in-law and her little boy. These 2 boys have so much fun, but with all that energy comes big appetites too. Rather then let them raid our pantry and fridge, this week I put together some Adventure Snack Packs ahead of time. All I had to do was grab one of their favorite snacks – graham crackers – and pair it with their favorite drink – Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies – and they were ready for an adventurous day. 
     
    sleeping child
     
    It was now 7:00 PM.
     
    I slowly backed out of Little Prince’s room with a smile on my face. Hugging his favorite book, and already deep in sleep, I knew we had a successful day. From coloring to outdoor play, it truly was a day of simple adventures. I can look forward to bright mornings again, because I’ve got my stash of smoothies. 

    How do you fuel their adventure? Check out more on-the-go fun from the Dannon® Social Hub.

  • Rise Early with Optimism

    Rise Early with Optimism

    After writing about How Social Media Effects the Home, I’ve been taking some steps back to evaluate my own life and social media use. I wrote about it with an idea already formed, but through discussion with you guys, I continue to think about it, and re-evaluate my own use of time. I’ve been feeling very overwhelmed lately, and even had the drastic thought of forgoing this blog. I knew that was a bit drastic though, and didn’t really want to. This is my outlet. I needed something to change though.

    I then spent 2 days alone with the 4 kids, 1 dog, and fish. The first night was difficult, and I knew I needed to change something. I continued to think about it over the weekend, and came to a solution, or change Sunday night. I needed to start waking up earlier.

    I realize most people have an alarm they set, they get up at the same time each day, and get into a great routine. I haven’t done this for years. Motherhood, and the fact I stay home with no real place to be each day, had me enjoying whatever sleep I could sneak in. The problem with no routine, is it breeds chaos. Not immediate chaos, but slowly overtime, I found myself lacking.  Things I use to have time for, I no longer did. My patience was wearing thin, and my kids, quite frankly ruled the house.

    I told Mark I needed to get up early. In the past I’ve asked him to wake me with his alarm, but he’s always been a gent and let me continue to sleep. So this time, when I presented him with the option of waking me with his alarm I told him why. Having reasons to get up that would benefit our family, was good enough for him (though the threat of buying my own alarm may have helped too..). 

    Monday morning 6am came and I found myself being swatted with a pillow “Get up. You told me to get you up”.
    “uh. yeah I did.” snore.
    “Get up. Why don’t you hop in the shower, it helps”

    He was right, a shower did help first thing in the morning, and after it I was so ready for my day! I got in some quiet scripture reading, and a bowl of cereal with my husband before he left. I was ready for the kids to get up and eat, and jump into homework before afternoon kindergarten. The kitchen got cleaned, 4 loads of laundry were washed, and I was prepared for our family night activity.

    It was amazing! So I resolved to again wake up early to be ready for the day, and create a little more order around this house. So far this morning, it is working. I’m up, I’ve pondered over my scripture reading, had and fed breakfast to the wee ones, wrote our menu for the week, and still feel energized.

    So I might be a little late in this New Years Resolution thing, but I’m making the change now. Rising early, and keeping optimistic will aid you through your days. Order will be kept, and you’ll feel a little less overwhelmed.

    Now if I could just start going to bed early…..

    Weekly Menu Plan Feb 4th.
    Monday – Potato Egg Bake
    Tuesday – Split Pea Soup with Homemade Bread
    Wednesday – Pacific Rim Wraps with Creamy Citrus Ginger Dressing
    Thursday – Slow Cooker Barbecue Pork Chops
    Friday – Chili Cornbread Pie
    Saturday – Leftovers
    Sunday – Salmon Rolls with Strawberry Mango Salad

  • Tuesday Tips – Quiet Time

    Tuesday Tips – Quiet Time

    I was thinking today how I really enjoy some quiet time.  Especially since my children seemed to be non stop screaming today, and my head hurt.  How do you find some quiet time for you? Is there a time that you set aside to just sit and ponder?

    For me I find the best time is early in the morning before anyone else is up.  I used to be a morning person, getting up before the sun, to just have that time to myself.  Listening to the birds wake up and begin singing, and watching the sun come up.  It’s such a pleasant time.  Having three kids, that started to change, I reveled in my sleep, and didn’t get up until the kids got up.  I am slowly starting to change that though.  I want to be a morning person still.  For me, the morning should start right with a little pondering on the day and reading my scriptures.  I personally have a better attitude and more patience with my kids when I follow this routine.  I become less lazy and more gets done around the home.  So watch out, I’ll be getting up early from now on!!