May 282014
 

I’m working with Tilex® on a paid basis, but my opinions are my own.

Cleaning the bathroom is not most people’s favorite tasks. With these bathroom cleaning tips, though, hopefully the task will be a bit easier and go a bit faster!

5 Easy Bathroom Cleaning Tips #Tilex

Toss the Junk

Before you can get things really clean, you’ll want to declutter as much as possible. It’s easy for samples, bottles of nail polish, and the like to pile up. Be as ruthless as possible; if you haven’t used it in a month or two, it’s probably time for it to go (most cosmetics and bathroom products have a shelf-life, anyway). Continue reading »

May 272014
 

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Swapdom. All words and opinions are my own.

While I started spring cleaning back in February or March, it’s a process that seems to always run into the start of summer.  The general deep cleaning and refreshing is completed, but there are still the random odds and ends you haven’t decided what to do with.  And of course, there are the clothes.

Culling through our spring clothes to decide what we need for summer is usually the last item on my list.  Mostly because Bubbles still grows fast enough that, depending on the brand, you’re never really sure what’s still going to fit two weeks down the road.  So I usually find myself waiting until I realize she only has one pair of shorts or a closet full of long-sleeved shirts on an 80 degree day, and finally make the switch.

Swap Out Outgrown or Unwanted Clothes, Toys & Housewares with Swapdom

What always makes me sad about this process is that Bubbles is not really a rough-and-tumble kid.  Her clothes stay in great shape, she just outgrows them too fast to wear for very long.  This year I even specifically purchased a more “laid back” Easter dress so that she could at least wear it to Ashley and Austin’s graduations and I’d feel less bad about buying something worn three times versus just once. Continue reading »

May 262014
 

This post is sponsored by Global Influence. All words and thoughts are my own.

I’m sure we’ve all had that day where we’re looking in the mirror and feel like nothing is right. Your hair won’t do exactly what you wanted, your makeup isn’t quite covering up the fact you only squeezed in three hours of sleep the night before, and the dress you choose is clinging a little more than you’d care for.

I had one of those days recently as we were getting ready to go somewhere, and as I ran through a mental list of what I wish I had time or ability to change, Bubbles comes up and stands next to me. She’s also in a new dress that she picked out and hasn’t wanted to take off for days, and as she looks at our reflection, she comments, “Mama you are so pretty. And we are the same, we match in our pretty dresses!”

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It made me pause and take a second look. She was right about being the same, and more than just that we were both wearing dresses. We have the exact same hair, and while I always tell her how beautiful hers is (because it is), here I was complaining about how mine looked. And it’s impossible to be cranky about how you look when you have a sweet little girl following you around telling you how pretty you are. Continue reading »

May 262014
 

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This #FamilyMobile Unlimited Talk Text and Data shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser.

Last weekend was a time that our family had been highly anticipating for a long time.  We got up early Saturday morning, packed up the car, and drove the roughly two hour drive to Bowling Green for Ashley’s college graduation.

Unlimited Talk Text and Data Helped Me Keep the Family Updated #FamilyMobile #shop

By the time we met up with everyone else and seated ourselves, we made up quite the cheering section.  Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends.  We totaled roughly a dozen, and that wasn’t counting Austin who had unfortunately been scheduled to work that day and couldn’t find anyone to trade shifts. Continue reading »

May 242014
 

This post and my packing tips are brought to you by Atlantic Luggage. All opinions are 100% mine.

Graduations are starting to take place, and school will soon be out for the summer.  For many people, that means the start of summer travel season.  Whether it’s a roadtrip or if you’re going by air or ship, I’ve got packing tips to help get you where you’re going.

10 Packing Tips to Make Traveling a Breeze

Create a Packing List

Number one on my list of packing tips is to create a packing list.  I have been doing this since the first time I traveled solo (and maybe even before that).

I write out a list of everything I’m going to need to take, and as I pack each item, I cross it off the list.  Then I copy the list over onto a new piece of paper, writing down only the items I actually packed.  That clean list gets placed inside of the suitcase so that I can use it as a check-off list when we head for home; no more forgotten favorite dress or sunglasses. Continue reading »