Today we are linking up with some of our favorite bloggers for Friday Favorites. I have a whole bunch of random favorites to share and honestly, none of them are earth shattering, but they are all little things that have really made an impression on me this week, so I thought I would share them with y'all today!
First up are these Sargento Balanced Breaks little snack pack things. We are not being paid by them to share this, I just really do like them. It's like a grown up Lunchable. I bought them have quick and healthy snack options for the kids to grab, but have ended up eating them myself, too.
There are several different flavors, but they are all equally tasty. I love it because a lot of times I am trying to squeeze in as much as possible while Boo-Boo is at school and I don't like to "waste" my time eating lunch so I'll wait until after I pick him up to eat. However, by that time I am starving and usually end up stuffing my face with anything I can get my hands on. SO, these little snacks are perfect for on the go. I grab it from the fridge and eat in the car on the way to wherever I'm headed. Then I'm satisfied until I can eat lunch.
Then I wash it down with another favorite...
While we are on the topic of eating, I'm just going to go ahead and say this pumpkin bread is my favorite. Read all about how I didn't even think I liked pumpkin bread and see the recipe details HERE. We made more this week and wrapped it up with pretty bows so the girls could each take a loaf to their teachers. I got emails from them thanking me and saying how much they loved it!
My next favorite are waterproof Command Hooks. I know what you are thinking, but I seriously have a great love of Command Hooks. In fact, I use them all over my house for so many different things. That might be a post in and of itself one day, but I just discovered that they make waterproof ones for the shower. Those over the shower racks to hold shampoo and stuff are so annoying way up high and these waterproof Command Hooks are perfect for being able to place it down lower. I am so happy to have all of these bottles up off the sides of the tub now in the kids bathrooms. It is going to be a total game changer when I'm cleaning and not having to work around all those bottles.
Little Mama is currently memorizing her multiplication facts (well, she is technically re-memorizing them since she forgot them from last year) and we have been trying everything we can to make them stick this time around. She has games and apps on her iPod, old school flashcards, practice sheets and everything in between, but I recently bought her this Painless Multiplication placemat and honestly it has been her favorite way to practice and the thing that has helped most. And just like the title claims, it has been as painless as possible.
One side has all of the facts listed and the other side has a place for them to write in the answer with a dry-erase marker. This has been the appeal because it is something different and makes the practice fun for her. It wipes clean so she can keep repeating her practice. She practices at home some, but we also bring it in the car with us.
She loves (and I do use the term "loves" loosely here) hers so much that I ended up buying the Addition and Subtraction versions for Blondie. Unlike her sister, that girl LOVES math and really does think it is fun to work on hers.
While on the subject of kids and learning, I wanted to share these books that Blondie is currently obsessed with. Getting her excited about reading is sometimes tricky and this is by far her favorite book she has read in a long time.
Remember the old-school books, The Baby-Sitters Club? They were my absolute favorite books as a little girl and I would read them all as fast as I could get my hands on them. Well, today The Baby-Sitters Club books have been updated and they are written as graphic novels.
While I would prefer her to read regular fiction novels, these books have her SO excited to read so at least she is reading without being forced to. I even caught her up late in her room the other night reading it and she can't wait to move on to the next book in the series. I'm about to get her this box set of the first 4 books to keep her momentum going!
My next favorite is having my house in order. And by "in order" I mean vacuum lines in the carpet, everything picked up and in it's place and today that also means having clean throw pillows. When is the last time you washed your throw pillows? Well, we've lived in our house over 2 years now and I don't think my pillows had ever been washed. Then last week I saw a spot on one and I became obsessed with getting them all clean. I strive to make our house feel like a home so there is nothing off limits to the kids, but good gracious they make all kinds of messes. So happy to have the pillows back in place and the house back in order after a full day of cleaning and laundry yesterday.
My last favorite for today was one of my favorite birthday gifts. I shared about this on Monday, but I received an electric wine opener and let me just tell you how fun that is!
Seeing as how it is Friday, I will be putting this bad boy to work at happy hour this evening. I'm not usually one to love gadgets and prefer the old school way of things, but this is one gadget that is going to be getting a lot of use in my house. And, I feel like this would be a great Christmas or hostess gift, too! Right now they are on sale for less than $15 on Amazon!
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!
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My oldest is just now learning multiplication facts, so that mat is awesome!!! :) have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteIt really has made learning and memorizing the math facts much more fun for her!
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