Back To School Questionnaire {Free Printable}

As we move into another school year, I'm realizing more and more that time just passes by so quickly.  I think about when I was the same age as my daughter is now and while I have some clear memories of that time, I don't remember many seemingly small things that would have been fun to know, like what did I want to be when I grew up?, or what was my favorite subject in school?.  That's why I'm glad that there were teachers who recorded these things for me, which I then took home to my mom, who turned around and saved it in a giant box for me to look at when I was older.  I plan on doing the same thing for my kids as they progress through school.  However, I also like the idea of being able to see how they change from the beginning of the school year to the end of the school year, which is why I created this fun and simple back to school questionnaire.

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5 Fun {and Free} Disney Printables

I love Disney movies.  They make me laugh.  They make me cry.  And I have no problem admitting that I still watch them by myself sometimes at night.  So when I saw this month's prompt for Movie Club Monday was for Disney movies, I was so excited!  Then I felt a little bummed because I was having a hard time choosing just one movie to post about.  And then I thought, why choose just one?  So this month I'm sharing some of my favorite Disney movie quotes and song lyrics with you ("with you...with you...with you...with you...with you!")

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My Hospital Bag Packing List {Plus FREE Printable}

Being prepared when I leave my house, whether we're going to the store, the park or a play date, is something that makes me feel more confident and in control.  And when it comes to packing my hospital bag, I like to do it ahead of time so I'm not worrying about what I do or don't have when the time comes to leave for the hospital.  Even though I'm only about 37 weeks right now, many of the items I'll be bringing with me can be packed ahead of time.  Whether you're a first time mom or one whose done this a time or two, scroll through this list and see if there is something you might have forgotten to pack.  I'd love to hear what else you'd add!

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Deeds of Gratitude: A New Thanksgiving Tradition

When I was growing up, the dictionary was one of my best friends.  It wasn't because I loved looking up words and their meanings.  No, it was because whenever my mom used a word I didn't know and I said, "What does that mean?" that she would say, "Go look it up."  I had kind of a ridiculous vocabulary for an elementary student as a result and even got questioned by my teachers a few times because they thought my mom had written a paper or done my homework for me.  A desire to understand the meaning of different words has stuck with me throughout the years and as we approach Thanksgiving, I've been considering the difference between two words: thankful and grateful.

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{Free} Printable Packing List

A couple of weeks ago, I shared that I would be going to Orlando this month for a much needed vacation with my husband.  This will be the first vacation he and I have taken together that is more than an overnight since our first child was born over 5 years ago.  As you can imagine, we're pretty dang excited!  My goal at the beginning of this week is to get all packed up and ready to go.  I am a list maker and so it should be no surprise that I have made a packing list for myself to make sure that I don't forget anything I need to take with me.  Some people have the attitude that if they forget something, they can just pick it up wherever they are going.  If that is you, then awesome!  But I am totally a planner and that kind of stresses me out.  So, lists.

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Happy Pumpkin Spice Season {FREE} Printable

Fall is officially here!  It's time to bust out all the pumpkin recipes you've been drooling over and pinning if you haven't done so already.  As for me, I actually made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last week and they were so good!  Once I feel the change in the air, I can't help myself.

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Grandparents Day Printables

Happy weekend everyone!  And speaking of weekends, did you know this Sunday commemorates two very important days?

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46 Ways To Have Fun This Summer {plus a FREE printable}

I am totally one of those people who LOVES to-do lists.  I get a ridiculous amount of satisfaction when I put a little check mark next to something that is on my to-do list and sometimes I even add things to my to-do list that weren't there when I first made the list, just so that I can check it off.  Eat breakfast?  Check!  Brush teeth?  Check!  Make sure kids eat their veggies at dinnertime?  Double check!  ('Cause ya know, I have two kids...) *wink*

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St. Patrick's Day FREE Printable

Ahhh...  Spring is in the air.  We've been enjoying some beautiful 50 degree weather the last few days, which is a welcome change from 30s and a week and a half long inversion.  Yuck!  Thankfully the weather seems inclined to stay nice, at least for the next week or so.

And can you believe that St. Patrick's Day is already around the corner?  With February being such a short month, it seems to come even faster.  To get you in the green spirit, I've created a fun printable for you!  There are two different colors and they each come in either an 8x10 or a 5x7 size.  Just click on the link below the picture to open the file.  Then print it out and display it.  Who knows?  You just might get a kiss or two!

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Love Note Envelopes {plus a FREE printable}

I was browsing Hobby Lobby's Valentine items the other day when I saw the cutest oversized felt envelopes.  At $3.99 for 2, I couldn't pass them up and threw them in my cart, not totally sure what I was going to do with them.  I forgot about them for a few days when I had the idea to use them as love note envelopes for my family during the month of February.  These felt envelopes will be perfect for our family.  I know my kids (mostly my daughter) is going to love getting little notes throughout the month sharing reasons why they are loved. And this isn't just for kids.  I plan on sending some notes to my husband too. *wink*

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Reindeer Day

There is something so magical about reindeer.  Maybe it's the thought of them flying through the air pulling Santa's sleigh.  Or Rudolf's red nose.  Whatever it is, my kids can't get enough of them.  So I decided to put together a couple of fun activities and create a "Reindeer Day" for them.

My kids are still fairly young (21 months and almost 4), so I had to keep it simple.  We spent a total of about 3 hours doing these activities over the course of the day, however, if you didn't want to do reindeer activities all day, you could choose any one of these, or split it up across a few days.

Hand Print Reindeer

My kids loved this activity!  They are super hands on and don't mind getting a little messy, so paint is right down their alley.  They thought it was so fun to create a reindeer using their hand prints and some paint.

Step 1: Gather your supplies--We pulled out some blue construction paper, acrylic paint (white, red, brown and black), googly eyes, red or black pompom balls, bells and glue.  You will also need a foam brush, paper plate and paper towels or baby wipes.

Step 2: Squirt some brown paint on your paper plate, grab your foam brush and paint the palm of your child's hand (just one hand!).  If they are old enough, you could let them do this part themselves.  I had to make sure and use a little more paint on my kids' hands since acrylic starts drying quickly.  They thought this part was so funny and kept squishing their hands to feel the paint.

Step 3: Have your child press their hand onto the paper and push on the fingers to make sure the paint touches the paper before lifting it off.

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Winter Bucket List {plus a FREE printable}

I'll be honest: I don't like winter.  I don't like being cold.  In my ideal world, it would only snow on Christmas Day and then melt the next day.  Oh, and it would be 85 degrees outside at the same time.  I'm just a warm weather girl.  BUT don't think that means that I don't try my best to embrace the season and everything that comes with it.  I have a lot of wonderful memories surrounding winter: My husband and I met in the fall and dated during the winter.  Our first date was ice skating and hot chocolate.  We got engaged on New Years Eve.  So while I don't like the cold, I do my best to bundle up in cute clothes and think about the things that make winter fun and magical.  Now that I have kids, I see how excited they get when they see the snow falling, put on their snow clothes and run and jump and play and lay down in it.  After all, I grew up in Utah and I still live here and there are some things that I actually love doing during the winter.

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6 Simple Ways to "Halloween-ify" Your Home {plus a FREE printable}

So...Halloween is next week and you might be like me and realize that there's not much Halloween-ish-ness going on at your house.  While I do like to decorate during the holidays, I generally just have a few places in the main living area that I put up decorations.  (I've also got littles in my house who like to play with the decor if it's not out of reach.)  I'm not into creepy or spooky so my Halloween decor leans more towards pumpkins and witches, rather than skulls and zombies.  But whatever your Halloween decorating style is, there are a few staples that you can't go wrong with.

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