Share Your Summer: Keepin' Cool

Happy Monday!  We are reaching the end of our Share Your Summer series and have just one more week left after this one.  Today's topic is Keepin' Cool.  Even though my girls have been back in school for a week now, it still feels like summer around here.  I'm talking temperatures in the triple digits.  

Yes, it is seriously that hot.  I can hardly stand to wait at the bus stop for them in the afternoon because there is no shade up there.  But, because I can't just sit inside by the air conditioner vents I'm having to find other ways to help us stay cool during these hot days.  

The first thing I try to do is just avoid the hottest parts of the day. Kind of a no-brainer, but I can't take the mid-day heat and neither can our dog, Walker.  I like to walk him at least once a day and sometimes twice. It's just way to hot to go during the day so I try to get out first thing in the morning or I have to go after dinner.  

We are still trying to swim every chance we get!  Obviously, that is the easiest way to cool off.  We are lucky to have some friends and neighbors with pools and they are kind enough to invite our crew over now and then.  

When we aren't hanging by the pool we're trying to stay very well hydrated.  I send a water bottle with the girls to school each day.  They get to keep water at their desks so they can have it any time, but especially after PE, recess, and other times they go outside.  Fun cups always make water more fun and this summer their very favorites were these mist water bottles.  

It has as sports top to drink out of, but it also has a button to spray a mist of water.  You can spray your face (or a friend) when you need to cool off.  They promised not to abuse the ability to mist and so far it seems to be going well.  These have also been nice outside at soccer and cheer practices.  Highly recommend these cups.  Click HERE to order your own. :-)  

While I drink water most of the day, in the afternoons I like to have a little something different to switch it up.  My new favorites are these IZZE drinks. 

They are sparkling juice, only 90 calories and they are so yummy!  A friend of mine served them at a birthday party recently and loved it.  I couldn't find them at my grocery store, but Costco had a multi pack of three flavors - Clementine, Apple, and Blackberry.  I can't decide which is my favorite!  You can also order on Amazon HERE.  

While I would like to think that fall temps are right around the corner, truth is it will stay hot here until October, so we're going to keep trying to stay as cool as we can.  I'd love to know any other tricks or tips you have, so be sure to share in the comments!  Also, we hope you will link up with us below!  

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Get Rolling With Globber Scooters

With our little ones we try to get outside and play as much as possible. Even in the dead of summer with humidity and temperatures often in the 80's-90's we embrace our ugly sweats and watch our little ones have happy smiles on their faces as they play away. 

Today we are discussing our new favorite outdoor toy - the Globber Scooter - over on Savvy Sassy Moms. This scooter is more than just your typical scooter, and you will love it just as much as your little ones do. 

Make the hop and be sure to check it out! 

How do you get out and play with your little ones? 

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Back to School Favorites

Many of us have already started back to school, and over the next few weeks more and more parents will be feverishly gathering school supplies and students will be taking that first step up onto the school bus.

Going back to school takes preparation. Everyone wants everything to run smoothly to get a great start to the new school year and set the tone for the remainder of those 180 days.

We will be talking a lot about back to school over the next few weeks, and have some fun things to tell you about about and in the works.

Carrie Beth kicked off the fun by sharing her super cute teacher's gift earlier this week. This teacher's survival kit is an inexpensive and easy way to kick off the school year right and show your new teacher just how much you appreciate them.

Then we had a fun Pinterest party with some of our favorite bloggers and created a Back-to-School board to help get you prepped for everything school related. From trendy school supplies, to super cute first day of school outfits, to easy lunch box ideas, with almost 500 pins this board has it all!

With so many great ideas it is so hard to choose a favorite, but we have narrowed it down to our eight favorite back to school pins.

BACK TO SCHOOL FAVORITE PINS

1. Quick Breakfast Recipes for Busy Days by Savvy Sassy Moms

We love this pin. Getting up on those early back to school mornings is already tough and most often a huge race against the clock. These easy breakfast ideas make mornings just a little easier. 

2. First Day of School Shirt by beachtownbaby on Etsy

The first day of school outfit is always fun to pick out. From preschool to senior year in high school it is usually the outfit commemorated most by parents. We found tons of adorable options, but fell in love with this trendy and fun unisex baseball style tee. 

3. First Day of School Signs

A huge trend in recent years for the first day of school is to create or print a fun sign to label the year, teacher, etc., and take a photo of your child holding it. There are free printable covering everything from chalkboard signs to crayon drawn signs available online, but our absolute favorite was this creative First Day of School dry erase board option from Personalization Mall. So stinking cute! 

4. Lunchbox Printables

Speaking of printables, we also found tons of adorable little notes to print and place in your little ones lunch box. What a fun surprise for them to find, and such an easy way to brighten your child's day and remind them you are thinking of them even when you aren't right next to them. These fruit and vegetable themed ones are perfect for non-readers. We also thought these were adorable, as well as these fun jokes. 

5. Back to School Sneakers DIY by Lovely Indeed

You know we love us some theme wear. Back to school isn't just for the children - teachers, volunteers, school administrators, and parents can get in on the first day of fun too. We absolutely swooned over this fun Pencil Sneaker DIY. Seriously, how cute are those?!?

6. Cool Lunch Boxes

Aside from picking out their backpacks, children get super excited to express their personality with their lunch box. We love these lunch boxes from Pottery Barn Kids. We both have purchased these for our children, and have adored them. From super heroes to sports themed to their favorite color the  options are endless. We also loved that you can usually personalize inexpensively (and sometimes free). One less thing to label! Based on reviews and amount of pins we saw, you guys love them too! Also, don't forget to check out this great list of reusable lunch box items to help make packing that lunch box each day an easy and environmentally safe task. 

7. Creative Lunch Box Ideas

Not many things are more frustrating to a parent than packing their child's lunch box each day. Navigating your child's eating preferences, mastering the grocery shopping list, and offering a variety so that your child doesn't hit lunch box burnout becomes a school year challenge. This fun list of non-sandwich lunch box ideas gave us some fabulous inspiration. We also loved this list of 10 creative lunch box ideas. 

8. Back to School Dinner by howdoesshe

What a fabulous way to end that first day of school, or wrap up the first complete week. This back to school dinner is not only cute, but a special way to celebrate and kick off everyone's school year right. 

It was tough to narrow the list down to just these pins! Definitely check out the Back to School board, and use it as a resource for inspiration throughout the year! We can't wait to share some more back to school fun with you over the next few weeks and look forward to you guys sharing your thoughts with us. 

Here's to a great new school year!

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Atlanta City Gems

Happy Thursday, friends!  Our first week of school is flying right by and I can't believe tomorrow is Friday.  I'm happy to have almost made it through our first week.  We're slowly getting back into our groove, but still missing summer just a bit. I was just reminiscing about all of the fun we had this summer and so many of the great places here in Atlanta that we visited.

Jen and I really do love our city and we were super excited to be able to share all about some of our favorite places over on Savvy Sassy Moms.  It's a great guide of things to do in and around Atlanta with kids so be sure to click HERE to read and check it out!

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Book Club: August

It's book club time, but before we get to that we wanted to announce the winner of our Bison Cooler giveaway.

Congratulations to Jamie S. Clark!!!  

Be sure to email us at themagnoliamamas@gmail.com to claim your prize and we will get all the details from you!  If you didn't win and are still interested in one of these coolers, you can order your very own HERE.

Now onto our book club for the month.  We love summer because we can actually get a lot of reading done that we can't during the busy school year. We were so excited to learn that one of our favorite writers, Mary Kay Andrews, was coming out with a new book just in time for us to both enjoy beachside (Is there any other place to read an MK book?). Today we will discuss July's selection, Beach Town, and announce our August selection. Fair warning - we just had to keep the summer in the south theme going for another month. These Georgia peaches aren't ready for summer to end any time soon!

Carrie Beth's Review:
Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorite authors.  I have loved all of her books, mostly because they are fun and easy to read.  I like books that I can pick up here and there when I have a little time, read a few chapters and get lost in the book for a while.  I don't want to have to think too hard or figure out a mystery...I just want to read and enjoy and that is what these books do for me.

I loved the story of Beach Town and the main character, Greer.  It was fun to get a behind the scenes look at the movie industry and learn all about what really happens and goes into making a movie.  So many details were shared that I never would have even thought about.

Also, the setting of this book was intriguing.  I loved reading about the almost forgotten coastal town in Florida and all of the people who had lived there for years and years.  There was a lot of history here and having a big-time movie production come to town definitely stirred things up a bit and gave them excitement (good and bad).

Overall, this was the perfect summer fun read and I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I did!


Jen's Review:
I love Mary Kay Andrews books, and Beach Town did not disappoint. I love how MKA always chooses southern settings for her novels. It just makes me feel at home, and during Beach Town I found myself wanting to visit Cypress Key. I just love sleepy small beach towns, and loved the peek at a slightly different Florida than what we are typically used to.

Beach Town was just what I was looking for in a book this month. I wanted something light and fun while traveling and this was perfect. I loved learning about Greer and following along her journey and how the people of Cypress Key began to ground her in a her typically Hollywood paced life. The push and pull of her relationship with Eb was fun to follow along and I was glad of how their romance ended up wrapping up.

The parent issues in this book made me a little sad, and I was appreciative of how they were tied into the story and molded the characters. I felt like everything worked out in the end the way it should have. Typically MKA books take a more humorous approach, but I felt in Beach Town she was a little grittier than normal.

At the end of the book, I wanted to know a little bit more about their life once the movie wrapped. Maybe there will be a sequel?? And I am hoping my daughter never ever meets a Kregg. :)


Now to Discuss: Did you enjoy Beach Town? What did you think of the romance between Eb and Greer? What did you think of the dad relationships in the book? What surprised you about the novel?

August Selection: Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patten

From the Back Cover: 

Lisa Patton won the hearts of readers last year, her book Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter became a sleeper-success. Building on a smashing debut, Lisa's poised to go to the next level--because whether in Vermont snow or in Memphis heat, Dixie heroine Leelee Satterfield is never too far from misadventure, calamity...and ultimately, love.

 
Having watched her life turn into a nor'easter, 34-year-old Leelee Satterfield is back home in the South, ready to pick back up where she left off. But that's a task easier said then done…Leelee's a single mom, still dreaming of the Vermonter who stole her heart, and accompanied by her three best friends who pepper her with advice, nudging and peach daiquiris, Leelee opens another restaurant and learns she has to prove herself yet again. Filled with heart and humor, women's fiction fans will delight in Yankee Doodle Dixie.

BOOK CLUB 2015

| February | March | April | May | June | July |

Happy Reading!

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Back-to-School Teacher Gifts

I'm sad to say that the summer is over for us. Those 9 weeks passed by in the blink of an eye and now I'm trying to figure out how I have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader.  My girls started back to school yesterday and I'm happy to say that they both had a fantastic first day!

(Side note- if you are wondering why it looks pitch black in the picture that is because they get on the bus at the crack of dawn and it is still dark out!!!  Not a good thing for this night owl mama.)  

I knew they would do great today because I had the pleasure of meeting their teachers at Meet & Greet last week and they both seemed wonderful. Being a former teacher I think I really have a greater appreciation for teachers and I love to spoil them with little gifts throughout the year just to show them how much we do appreciate them.

The first impression we get to make on their teachers is at Meet & Greet so we always like to bring a little something to say we are excited to be in their classes.  I usually put together some sort of basket filled with goodies and so we continued that tradition this year.

In years past I've filled it with everything from nail polish to Clorox wipes and this is what made the baskets this year.

Honestly, there wasn't a ton of thought that went into these items.  I just picked up things here and there.  I bought a pack of pens and highlighters that I split between the 4 teachers and when I was in the Dollar Tree I saw the packs of Advil and thought it would be the perfect addition.  I'd like to think my kids classrooms will be quiet and calm at all times, but the fact is that I'm sure on occasion the kids might give the teachers a headache. I'm hoping the teachers will stick these away in their classroom or in their purse so they will be prepared for that day.

I always get baskets from Dollar Tree.  Seriously, that is the best place to go if you need any sort of plastic container.  They have them all all shapes and sizes. In fact, these came as a set of two, so it was a super deal. I'm sure the teachers can use them for holding something in their classroom, too.

I have the kids write a note telling their teacher how excited they are to begin their class and include that in the basket.  Then I wrap it all up in clear cellophane and tie it with cute ribbon.  Easy-peasy.

So there you have it!  Those were our back to school teacher gifts this year.  As always, the teachers were delighted to be given something, it sets the tone for how we will show appreciation for them throughout the year,  and it puts a smile on their face which is exactly why we do it!

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Share Your Summer: Lemon

Happy Monday everyone! Today marked the first day of school for many people. Fortunately even though our school district started today our preschool decided to hold off for a few weeks, so we still have two more weeks of summer. 

I am most definitely not ready to give up summer just yet. The humidity can take it down a notch, but  otherwise summer is still in going full swing in this house. 

Nothing says summer to me more than lemon. I was so excited when this Share Your Summer topic came up because I love everything lemon, and during the summer months I indulge in the yummy flavor of lemon as much as possible. From lemonade to lemon pound cake to lemon ices you can't go wrong.  

In my lemon craving, I decided to make lemon bars. I hadn't tried to make them on my own yet, but baking is my jam and I found a easy enough recipe that I couldn't wait to try. 

I followed the instructions to a tee and couldn't wait for them to cool off so I could officially try them. The scrumptious smelling lemon flavor was almost too much to handle, but I held back and let them cool appropriately. 

I am so glad I did because the result was worth waiting for. They were the perfect bar consistency with just enough lemon tart flavor. Southern summer in a dessert form for sure. 

LEMON BARS

Ingredients

(For the pastry bottom)

- 1 cup of butter, sliced

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 2 cups of flour

(For the lemon mixture)

-1 1/2 cups of sugar

-1/4 cup of flour

- 4 large eggs

- 2 lemons juiced (approximately 2/3 to 3/4 of a cup)

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for darker pans or glass pans)

-Blend the butter, flour, and sugar together in a food processor (will be kind of textured)

- Place pastry mixture evenly in the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan. 

- Bake for 10-15mins 

- While baking the pastry, place ingredients for the lemon mixture in a bowl and mix until sugar has dissolved. (Will still have some lumps in it.)

- Pour over the hot pastry base. 

- Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the top begins to brown. 

- Remove and let cool completely (approximately 30 mins)

- Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. 

- Divide and serve. 

**Using a wet knife will make it easier to cut the bars. 

Seriously so yummy! If you are craving a little more lemony goodness check out the lemon board we created on Pinterest with some of our favorite blogger friends a few months ago. There are tons of great recipes, cocktails, and fun fashion trends. 

We can't wait for you to share some more of your summer with us. Be sure to link up what has inspired you this summer and share all things lemon. 

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