Another creative children shop we love is Treehouse Kid and Craft based out of Athens and Decatur, Georgia. It’s been around for a long time and we’ve picked up some of our favorite toys from there (remember this Rody birthday?). I know when they were very little, I was the primary say so on what toys come into the house, and honestly, much of what has stuck around have been those classic wooden and handmade pieces. Of course, they have plenty of My Little Pony and Star Wars toys too, and those simply get integrated into all their creative play too. Kids are kids, and no matter what toys you give them, play allows them to express their creativity, but I do love toys that are beautiful as they are functional because let’s face it, toys end up everywhere. Here are some popular ones from Treehouse Kid and Craft that fit the beautiful, but functional, and encourages creativity…

Dumye dolls: Made by Sahar, who is a UGA grad (the local college near Treehouse Kid 7 Craft), a doll is donated to children in need for every doll that is sold. These are no doubt heirloom quality and gorgeous to boot! These dolls also have a really sweet little pocket in the back for a little note to whomever you are giving doll to, and later, they can use it for their own tiny keepsakes.

Loog guitars: Professional quality electric guitars for kids. How perfect this would have been for Glow’s Ash costume (see here). These are 3 string guitars and come with an app and cards to help kids learn chords, which makes it really easy to transfer to adult guitars in the future.

Blockitecture blocks: These are made by Areaware. For the little builder, these architecture blocks are amazing to mix in with magnatiles or regular wooden blocks to create kingdoms and cities. One toy you won’t mind being left out on the coffee table.

Snake blocks: The pieces are connected by an elastic band throughout. Make them big and small, these create beautiful sculptures. Perfect for for idle hands and way better than the fidget spinner. Also, perfect for studying sculptures and art.

Technology will save us kits: Fantastic kits that introduce kids to circuits, programing, and coding.The playdough kit is great for young kids and then they can progress to the other kits as time goes on!

Voice Recorders: Just imagine how fun the kids would have recording their voice and leaving messages for each other! There’s also a little knob to alter the sound. They can sing a song, tell a joke, or even beatbox, and then have fun playing it back.

Art supplies: Art supplies never go out of style and children can never have too many. You never know what medium they will take to, so it’s good to give them an array of choices and see which they love best.

Also, if you’re in Atlanta or Athens, you’ll want to check out their Art Carts (creative kits for parties) and Art School classes. My kids personally have snake blocks, art supplies, and the voice recorder on their list, so we will see what they end up unwrapping. What kinds of toys have you purchased this year?

This summer I started letting True and Brave make meals themselves. They started doing both breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. Breakfast is really easy since it’s O’s for some, and oatmeal for others. Lunch though, they started making various sandwiches and grilled cheese type things, as well and mini pita pizzas. Being able to use a griddle or the oven by themselves was a big deal.

I didn’t start cooking until I was 20, even then, didn’t really pick it up until 3 or 4 years ago when I started meal planning and using this blog to keep me accountable. Now, I love cooking and feel much more confident mixing my own things, and being brave enough to not follow a recipe to a T. I get really excited to cook for my family, and trying new recipes to see if they like it, but I do need days off from time to time. Therefore, popping in frozen pizza is okay with us too.

Ben has always loved to cook since he was in middle school and he learned how to cook pizza from Reading Rainbow. His only flaw in the kitchen is that he’s not a multi-tasker, so while it would only take about 30 minutes to make something, it would probably take him double (maybe triple) that. Whatever comes out though, is always guaranteed to be nutritious and delicious.

Anyway, back to cooking with kids, True and Brave have been expressing an interest in cooking, so we’ve been letting them find their own recipes to try out themselves. They write down their own grocery list, then we all go together to pick up the ingredients. We supervise them in the kitchen as they make it, along with little cooking lessons as they go on (e.g., how to cut with a knife, where the pot handle should face when on a stove, etc…).

True and Brave both made the meal pictured above. Brave made a savory Green Oatmeal (recipe from Chop Chop), and True made Chuckwagon Chips (recipe from this cookbook) to go along with it. Both recipes came out delicious, though Ben helped them modify it a bit to make it healthier. Brave was especially excited that True loved it because she doesn’t typically like oatmeal. My girls were so proud of their creations!

We subscribe to Chop Chop Magazine, which has many good food stories and recipes for kids. We like it so far and think this is a good starting place for them.

This old Martha Stewart Good Things for Kids that Ben and I have had since summer 2006 is really what help jump start the girls in cooking. This summer they were making some of the sandwich recipes found in here. We wish Martha Stewart had kept these kid magazines going. You can still find some issues on eBay, but I don’t see this particular one for sale right now.

My BFF got Brave this cookbook for her birthday, so the girls have been enjoying picking out recipes from here. They are simple and kid friendly, but not the healthiest, so you definitely have to do some modification to put more nutritional value into the meals. The kids love it though, so I say it’s given them another good place to start.

I think our Cutthroat Kitchen obsession also inspires them to want to be more involved in the cooking. After they make their dishes, they look at Ben and me and say, “Well judge, what do you think?” Then we pretend we are Cutthroat Kitchen judges and lovingly joke and critique their dish.

Have you allowed your kids autonomy in the kitchen? If so, any tips or tricks to share, or some good recipes for them to start with?

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Found a cool, vintage, denim jumpsuit. I’m a sucker for anything denim. Good finds always make me dance.

Sweet Easter basket stuffers from Kinoko Kids.

Everlane’s got underwear coming out on Monday and I’m excited to check it out.

My brother gets married tomorrow! Woot! He’s the last one.

Basket lovers… Ms. Tips has some good a good spring bag here.

I think my silly girls would like this Don’t Laugh Joke Book Challenge in their Easter baskets.

A rebuke to my heart and a call to shift my perspective in this article, “Parenting Means Wrestling Demons.”

So thankful for the community God has given. Our families and friends are such a gift. I’m thankful for this every week.

Many things have been weighing on my heart this week. The idea of comfort, suffering, eternity, and dying to self. God’s been doing a doozy in our lives, but while it’s crazy now, it’s for our good and we can trust God even when we don’t get it.

Can’t wait to see my brother walk down the aisle tomorrow. It will be so different being on the groom side, since I’m always used to my sisters getting married. It was so different for my parents too. My dad usually waits at the end of the line, but now that get to see it unfold from the beginning. Happy weekending, friends!

***WARNING*** If you don’t care to read about someone’s monthly menstrual cycle and lady parts don’t proceed any further. This is my review on using the cup and period panties for the first time.

So… Aunt Flo came and went, and I got to take my cup and Thinx out for a spin. I was mentally preparing myself for the weeks leading up to it. In my head, I would say, “Okay, you popped out four kids, you could get this cup in and out.” Over and over again. Also, I watched lots of YouTube videos and read all the things to prep myself, but I would still get the heeby jeebies imagining a cup up there. Then, the day finally arrived (and she came 3 days early!). And let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it is to put in, and that’s what I was most afraid of. What caught me off guard was taking it out! I thought it would be as easy as a tampon, but yeah, nope. It takes a little more maneuvering than that (and can be messy at first), but by day 3, I think I got a system down.

After one cycle, do I believe in the cup? Yes! I had light spotting, so Gabe told me that maybe I didn’t go high enough (even though I’ve never met her, I feel like she should be my best friend with all the personal cup questions and fears I was relaying to her via instagram). And since it was my first time, I’m definitely still familiarizing myself with it and my (inside) parts. On day one, I couldn’t feel the cup, but thought I did, but I think it was because I was thinking so much about it. I panicked a bit when it came time to take it out; this part takes patience and skill. By the way, the C-fold doesn’t work for me and I found the punch down fold the best way to get it in. On day two, I couldn’t feel the cup at all, and I felt so much cleaner, and loved that I didn’t have to change it that often (or worry about chemicals all up in me). For day one and two, I had to get in awkward position to take the cup out (one leg on the tub). It’s weird. Day three… it felt natural going in and coming out, and all this was done over the toilet. Easy peasy! I mentioned the light spotting, so I think it has to do with placement, but other than that, it almost felt like Aunt Flo wasn’t even here. If you’re thinking about it, give it a try. After having kids, I no longer got menstrual cramps, but some say that using a cup somehow lessens them. After one cycle, I’m already a fan and I’m looking forward to it getting easier with time. I’ve been preaching the cup gospel to all my friends and trying to convince them to at least try it. (Most cup vendors, like Blossom, say love it or your money back, which is not a bad deal.)

Now, let’s talk about Thinx. First night of my cycle, I wore the cup to sleep and regular underwear. No issues. I was impressed, though still weirded out knowing I had a cup inside me. Second night of my cycle, I was brave and did the period panties alone (I got this hip hugger one). Lo and behold, there were no incidents to note the following morning. Night three, did traditional pad and panties route because I was feeling lazy, and it was a big mistake. Let’s just say things got messy. Then, for part of day 3 (during the day), I wore Thinx out and about while doing errands for a few hours, and again, no problem.

My cycle lasts for 3 heavy days and then about 4 light days, so after the 3 heavy days, I was done with the cup and switched solely to Thinx. I ordered 3 pairs to start with, so I used them for days 4-7 (I soaked them in cold water and hand-washed them). Now, we were on vacation during this time and doing a lot of outdoor things. I was nervous because I was solely relying on these period panties to hold me in. It’s kind of weird and I was skeptical, but I’m happy to report, it did its job. Mostly. My only complaint is that I think sizing might be slightly off (for me, maybe I didn’t measure right), so I’m going to try a smaller size and see how that does. The size I got (small) didn’t feel as secure on while doing all the outdoor things.

I know you might be skeptical, but I say it’s worth the try. When I first started seeing the ads for Thinx awhile back, I thought it was a joke. Underwear that soaks it all up sounds kind of weird and gross. Like it was some silly, fake product SNL would make a skit for. Similar to the menstrual cup companies, Thinx says that within 60 days, if you aren’t satisfied, no questions asked, you’ll get your full refund. It’s what pushed me to try it. No harm with that kind of guarantee, right?! You better thinx about giving it a try.

If you order Thinx through this link, you get $10 off and I get $10 credit. I wish I had looked into finding someone online with a $10 off link to share prior to placing my order.

Resources if you’re thinking about it:

– This post on New Age Nesting is what convinced me to try and prepare for it.

– A quiz to help you determine which menstrual cup is right for you. Take it here. I bought the Blossom cup before I found out about this quiz. According to the quiz, I should use a Lena cup, but I’ll keep using my Blossom cup for now. I have no problems with it.

– Article on cups for heavy periods.

– Of course, YouTube has a ton of videos explaining how it all works.

– A few tips and personal experiences in the comment section of this post where I first mention it.

If you read this whole thing, thanks for coming here to get up close and personal with me! 🙂 So, would you try out Thinx or the cup?

I had a couple vintage iron-on patches that the girls loved, so I ordered more (from here) so that we could use them to decorate some clothes. It was a quick project that we all loved doing together. They even got a kick out of doing the ironing themselves (with my supervision of course). We chose to put it on Brave’s denim flares, this denim dress, and this  striped dress. True’s dress is a buffalo plaid, and the patches looked too busy on it, so we didn’t iron anything on to hers.

There was one patch that was really old, so it didn’t stay on. I will have to hand-sew that one back on, and I plan on securing the rest as well. It was a simple and fun way to add some quirk to some of their clothes. We have plenty more to use for some other things.

Glow got the patch that said “MOM” because she always needs to be next to me. We joke that she is obsessed with mommy. When it’s family movie night, everyone is cuddling in bed, and I’m usually the last to join … typically, she can be found sitting by herself far away from everyone and saving me a spot. Once I get in, she snuggles right up to me, and she does not like to share mommy with anyone else. I guess that’s what happens when you’re the baby.

on true: buffalo plaid dress and sweater cape c/o old navy. boots, gap (similar here). on brave: striped tee, flares, and trucker hat, c/o old navy. docs, shoes.com (similar here). on soul: denim dress, c/o old navy. clogs, lotta from stockholm. on glow: striped dress & cat shoes, c/o old navy.

This post is sponsored by Old Navy. Thank you for your continuous support of this space and the brands I partner with.

I’ve been leaving Ben a little surprise every day since February started, and we have the girls’  Valentine’s gifts ready, so I put together a little something in honor of Galentine’s Day! By the way, did you know 62% of women think Valentine’s Day isn’t that big of a deal, and 74% think there should be a holiday just for celebrating friendships (so enter Galentine’s Day!). Thus today, the girls and I (they’re my favorite gal pals) are going to go deliver these to some of my local friends. Most of these ladies are people with whom I have been friends with since high school, and we’ve experienced a whole lot of life’s ups and downs together. One of my close friends is THE reason my ex-boyfriend and I broke up (and well, I met Ben not too long after that, so the rest is history!) I always joke with my friend and tell her, “I’m so glad you were there to break us up!” HA! My friends and I have had fights too over the years, but I’m so thankful for all the forgiveness that has countered.

Anyway, the package has lots of goodies… some of Skinny Cows’ newest, gratifying treats, which include their ice cream (did someone say ice cream?!), chocolate candy (would you like milk chocolate or dark chocolate?), and creamy iced coffee (comes in vanilla latte, mocha latte, and creamy cappuccino). There are also some handmade things too, and of course, flowers. Each gift also came with a special poem; some are some silly (cheesy) poems I came up with, and others are a play off familiar poems. I used my (very novice) calligraphy skills to write out the poems, then I scanned them, digitalized my writing, and printed them out on card stock. Once I cut them out, I did a few watercolor brushstrokes on each one, and there you have it, every gift had a corresponding poem. I put all the pieces of the gift together in a berry carton, and now they are ready to be dropped off.

To go with the handmade necklaces (made with simple beads and leather cording)…
Galentine, O, Galentine
I’ll be your friend, and you’ll be mine,
Our friendship has gone through rain and shine,
Here’s a token to decorate your neckline.

To go with the flowers…
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I treasure our friendship,
And I hope you do too.

To go with Skinny Cow’s Creamy Iced Coffee…
Love is what makes the world go round,
I know for some in coffee that’s found.
If you find that statement to ring true,
Savor the Skinny Cow Iced Coffee that’s here for you.

Accompanied with the Skinny Cow® Blissful Truffle Candy Bars (or the Skinny Cow® Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Bars for the friends coming over)…
You dear friend are a sweet gal,
We’ve talked about everything,
Even when our kids went through our birth canal.
You bring laughter and make my life bright,
So for you, enjoy this Galentine delight!

Heart Strings Garland

Supplies:
Cardstock
Heart puncher
1/8″ hold puncher
1 yard paper rope (per garland)

Directions:
Cut out a lot of hearts in a plethora of colors, then hole punch the center of each heart. Mix up the colors and string onto your rope. Double knot each ends, so the hearts can fall out. I attached another one of my silly poems to the end of it, and wrapped the garland around all the gifts.

The poem that came attached to the heart strings garland and sums up the whole surprise…
Days go by, in and out they go,
Our lives get busy, as I’m sure you well know.
Even still, our friendship has stood the test of time,
You are special, dear friend, you are my Galentine!

This post is sponsored by Skinny Cow, and as always, all opinions are my own. Thank you so much for supporting this space and the companies I choose to partner with.