Saturday Randomness on a Sunday

It has been a crazy fun weekend. Time has completely been blown away. I meant to get all these photos posted yesterday but that didn't happen. Saturday Randomness is happening a day late. 

Ella was playing with play doh the other day. Made the ocean and the beach. On the Beach was an umbrella and a chair. I think she is hinting she wants to go to the beach. 

Two weeks ago there was the huge hype over the Unicorn drink at Starbucks. Ella saw it on my Instagram and asked if she could have one. It was  treat for her. She did like it because she enjoys sour food, I didn't think it was horrible but I only had one sip. I will take my chocolate shake any day over all that sugar. Ella barely drank half of her small before it magically disappeared. 

Last weekend we went to our local mall. There is a Disney store. If you know me that means we have to stop. Most of the time we aren't buying anything. Austin however had different plans this time around. His little eye caught Tigger and he grabbed it. It went straight for his house and he started hugging it. How is a mom to say no. He ended up hugging it that whole night and wouldn't let it go. Now a week later he could take it or leave it. 

It is looking like spring outside our hour. I bought a bench to sit on instead of the rocking chair we previously had. This I feel is safer with my wild kids. I also weeded my flower bed (the one to the left) and planted flowers in my Mickey and Minnie pots. They are spring flowers so I will have to buy more in a few weeks. 

I finally did it. I stood my ground the took the bottle away from Austin. I put them in the basement out of reach so I couldn't just easily go down there and cave and give it to him. It has been 6 days now with no bottle. He was ready and so was I. Austin's cup of choice is the take and go cups, and the Mickey Mouse sippys with the hard spout. 

I am loving the gorgeous weather we have been having. I did a couple of my workouts outside while the kids were playing. I love being able to stream my workouts from anywhere. This particular one is a Barre inspire 20 minute workout. 

Aubriella and Brian made me breakfast yesterday morning. It was eggs with veggies and cheese. She loves helping in the kitchen.

We are currently in the process of a few home projects. Today we replaced and prepped our shed to get ready to paint. To do this we had to move the wood pile that behind and next to it currently. Austin and Ella were huge helpers with carrying the wood. The wet, muddy, cold, bug infested wood didn't phase them in the least. 

Friday Favoites

Happy Friday friends. Hope everyone had an awesome week. We have had a busy fun week and more fun planned for the weekend, hopefully it doesn't rain all weekend. 

Time to link up with Narci, Erika, and Andrea for some more more Friday Favorites. 

I have been a reader of the Coffee and Crumbs blog for the past couple of years, plus I have been a loyal listener to there podcast for the past 6 months atleast. When I heard they were coming out with a book "The Magic of Motherhood.", you know I had to have it. I was going to wait until Mother's Day and give hints that I wanted it. Then I found it at Target the other day and decided to pick it up. I am loving it so much. I wish I would have had this book when I first had Ella. You realize you are not alone in this journey of Motherhood. 

Every night for the past week I have went for a walk. Either by myself, as a family of 4, family of 3 (when Ella is with her dad), or just Austin and I. I love that the weather here in Northern Ohio is finally broke and gorgeous. We are getting outside as much as possible to enjoy it. That is when my kids agree to go outside, some days that's a fight in itself. 

Ella is loving the Trolls movie that she got from the Easter bunny. We have watched it twice already. It is cute and I love singing along. It is a great movie for family night that I don't mind watching. 

A few weeks ago Brian and I got new laptops, identical ones. I decided I wanted something to make mine stand out. If you know me I love everything Disney, especially kissing Mickey and Minnie. I found this adorable decal on Etsy and just had to have it for my laptop. Now there is no question of whose laptop is whose. 

Hope you have a fabulous weekend.

Avocado Egg Salad

With Easter not to long ago we had hard boiled eggs in our house that needed eaten up. I personally can not just peel and eat an egg. Mine has to be smashed and made delicious. I love mom's deviled eggs, but they call for a lot of mayo. I found a healthier alternative to use and made egg salad. 

Avocado Egg Salad

Ingredients:

2 hard boiled eggs- peeled

1/2 avocado 

1 tbsp relish

1 tsp mustard

paprika to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1- Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Use a fork to mash egg and avocado together. 

2- Serve alone or on a sandwich

3- Enjoy!!!!

DINOSAURS!

The Lorain County Metroparks, Carlisle Reservation Visitor Center is hosting a fun event for Dinosaur lovers of all ages. It is just $3 for a few hours of fun learning, interacting, and playing with dinosaurs. (kids under 3 are free). From April 8 - May 7, so you still have time to go check it out. Daily from Noon until 6pm.

 

Ella isn't huge into Dinosaurs, like Claudia is, but we thought it was be a fun surprise to do. We went last Friday, the last day of her Spring Break. It was a little crowded inside but once we got outside it was nicely spread out. Ella ended up having a lot of fun and talks about going back. We have thrown around the idea of going back again before it closes. 

We started off inside. Right when you walk in the door was a Dinosaur staring at you. Ella liked him at a distance but was a little scared of him when she got closer. 

I should probably have started off by saying I am not a Dinosaur person. Never really have been. Yes I grew up watching the Land Before Time a million times with my sister but not much beyond that. I can't name off the type or anything, but I am fine with that. I know I will learn a lot more once my kids get in school and I have to help them with stuff, (or I send them to my sister for anything Dinosaur related)

Throughout inside there were different Dinosaur displays. You will notice that Ella always poses and has her hand on her hip and Claudia just smiles. Can you tell which one is a Diva?

The girls stood at this poster for a good 5 minutes pointing out the different types of Dinosaurs. Claudia corrected Ella on a couple. It was cute. 

There were replica skeletons. 

Plus a replica of a T-Rex head. Ella was shocked by how big it was. 

Also inside was a craft area and a movie that played on repeat. The girls had no desire to do either of those and they were also pretty crowded so we just skipped it. For younger kids there was a play area, Claudia and Ella were to tall for the area so Austin didn't get to play either. 

Next we ventured outside. There was a little paved path that went in a circle that had animated Dinosaurs with descriptions and facts along the way. 

I was a little nervous at first that Austin would be scared but the animated Dinosaurs, but he did awesome. They didn't faze him at all. He really liked them.

He even sat up to look at them, stared and pointed. 

There was this Dinosaur that was in the water with a bridge going over it. Claudia was scared of it at first because it was in a different spot from when she had seen it a week before. 

Ella was surprised that a Dinosaur bone was almost as big as her. 

Austin talked to this Dinosaur. 

They saved the T-Rex for last on the little animated trail. There was a momma and a baby. 

The T-Rex was Austin's favorite one. He kept looking up at it. Maybe it's because his middle name is Rex?

After the little trail, there is a 1/2 mile trail that is also paved that you can walk that has facts about Dinosaurs along the way. The girls had no desire to learn anything, they just wanted to run and smell flowers, and look at the water. 

The kids has so much fun, both girls keep asking to go back again. I love little fun affordable family activities. 

Yard House Date Night

This past Saturday was a much need date night. It was Ella's weekend to be with her father and Brian's mom offered to take Austin overnight. It has been on the schedule for us to have a date night every month. We hadn't had once since the end of January, which was actually an awards banquet that Brian was required to be at anyways. We had originally planned on doing dinner and a movie and dessert, using gift cards we got for Christmas. After looking at the movies available we didn't see anything that interested us so we just saved the movie tickets for another time.

I can't tell you the last time I actually straightened my hair and put on make-up, well besides my eyes those are always done. It felt great to do a little primping for myself. 

Brian and I chose to go to Yard House for dinner. Our wait for a Saturday night was only 45 minutes, which I didn't think was horrible. We ended up walking around some shops while we waited.  

Since trying Poke for the first time a few months back, I am addicted. Any change I get the option to have it I order it. We decided on Poke Nachos. OMG they were amazing. I could have eaten 3 plates as my mean and been happy. (now all the fried nachos wouldn't have agreed with me the next day though) It also has Sriracha on it but wasn't to over powering. 

I ordered Maui Pineapple Chicken and also had a Pineapple Beer. I honestly would have not ordered the chicken if I would have known it was bone-in. However it was so moist and delicious. The sweet soy pineapple sauce on the side, I loved that I could just drip my fork in the sauce then get my chicken and have the flavor without having to much sauce. 

Brian ordered Peppered Crusted Filet. It came with Parmesan mash potatoes, asparagus, carrots, and a brandy shallot cream sauce. He loved it and inhaled it. You would have thought he hadn't eaten all day. He said it was the best steal that he has had in a long time. (making mention to the last time being 2 and a half years ago when we went to Disney World.) He also had a beer, I forgot which one,

Our waitress was awesome at dinner. We had absolutely no complaints what so ever and plan on going back again to Yard House to try all there tacos.

After dinner we ended up walking around Crocker Park for a little bit, wondering around Barnes and Nobles, then stopped in the Cheesecake factory for drinks and dessert.

I wasn't in the mood for another drink, I really just wanted a hot mocha latte or something along those lines. Then I saw on the menu a Espresso Martini. That got my pick and was delicious. 

The cheesecake I chose, which you know can be an absolute hard decision with all the options for cheesecakes they have to offer, was the Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake. It was amazing. I only ended up eating 1/3 of it, which is fine since one slice is like 1200 calories. I don't understand how that can even be possible. 

Our service at the Cheesecake Factory was also great. Our waiter John, was awesome. We sat at a high top table, he knew we were only there for dessert and didn't treat us any different or give any looks. 

We ended up having a wonderful evening. Did a lot of talking that had been put off and enjoyed ourselves. Hopefully these date nights can continue once a month as planned. Unfortunately Austin didn't want to sleep and didn't really behave himself over Grandma's so he won't be having a sleepover there anytime soon. He needs to grow up some more and realize mom and dad will be coming back. Our date nights will just have to end with us picking him up, which I am completely fie with.

Do you and your significant other have any date night traditions?

Huge Announcement

Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Time for a new week. Ella goes back to school after being off for Spring Break, time to get back to some normalcy. These past few weeks have just been crazy busy running around, enjoying the weather, being sick. I kept wanting to go live on my Facebook about this but it just didn't happen.

Time for my huge announcement. (well huge for me) Two weeks ago I had to make a decision for myself and my family. I knew whatever I decided would affect my family, hopefully in the positive. I am officially a stay at home mom. I decided to leave my job as a hairdresser to stay home with my kids full time. I have been home now with them for two weeks and have loved every minute of it. (well most of it) We have spent a lot of time relaxing, playing outside, not having a schedule....

I left with no hard feelings for the company I was with. I am still staying in touch with my boss and coworkers. I am welcome to come back whenever I want (if a position is available.) I had many reasons for leaving. The big one being to be home with my kids. The added stress of finding a sitter and making our schedules match so one of us was available to pick up Ella from school was being a lot on both Brian and I. His real state business is doing very and is requiring more work then he was able to do with me working out of the house. Brian and I had been talking about me leaving my job for a while and it just never seemed like the right time. I may not be very religious but I got a sign and knew it was time to take a step back. I walked with Brian, my family, and a few girlfriend about their opinions and they all supported me. (Just wanted to make sure I wasn't completely losing my mind) One thing a friend told me was she could tell that I was no long happy with going to work. That is when it really hit home. We all just want to be happy right.

I say I am a stay at home mom, but I really am a work at home mom. I am still a health and fitness coach with Beachbody. I have always been the girl to help people feel better about themselves, (having a fresh haircut) and helping them along their health and fitness journey. I now have more time to help more people get results and run more groups. To start it off right I am running a FREE 5 day back to basics clean eating group. It starts May 1st. If you are interested in more info here is the link for the event on Facebook. (the group is held over on facebook) 

Plus I also have more time to blog. I am hoping to do some collaborations, grow my followers, and do more reviews. 

Have a Fabulous Monday!!!!!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends. Hope everyone had a great week. It was Spring Break for us and we had gorgeous weather and lots of fun. We are ending our last day with a little local surprise, then Ella goes to her dad's for the weekend. Tomorrow night we are having date night and Austin is having a sleepover at Grandma's house. 

I am linking up again with Erika, Narci, and Andrea for Friday Favorites.

Brian and I are both home every morning for breakfast and coffee. I lied I am always home, Brian is home 90% of the time. We have gotten away from using the Keurig and buy whole bean coffee, grind it ourselves, and use a simple drip pot instead. We both just like the taste so much better. My coffee of choice is Kona blend from World Market. I drink it black.

This is a Misto olive oil spray from Amazon. I saw this sprayer being used on the FIXATE cooking show and had to have it. Instead of using a lot of oil in your pan, or using cooking sprays that have so many additives in it, you use your own oil of choice. You simply pump the top then spray. I use it now instead of cooking spray in my pans, and use it to toss my veggies. Love this healthier alternative and not washing EVOO.

I saw this online the day. It is a life goal. 

I may not be the best at steering this cart, but it makes my kids so happy. Ella always says "It's a great day" whenever we go to the store and they have the two seater cart. 

Ella is so excited about gymnastics every week. I have been taking Austin with me to sit for an hour with a 21 month old is another story. We do a lot of walking back and forth, playing with toys, eating snacks. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.