Fab 5: Terryn and Cara

Hello and Happy Friday!  Today I want to introduce you to a new series I'll be hosting each month to introduce you to new blogs and the amazing women behind them.  I'm calling it Fab 5.  Why? you ask. Simply because I ask 5 questions to each blogger.  (Obviously, this was a very scientific way of doing things. *wink*)

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The Mid-Summer Slump

Lately, I've been feeling a lack of motivation.  A kind of blah-ness, if you will.

Blog posts have been a challenge to come up with and write, even when I plan them out a month in advance.  My kids are driving me up the wall with all their little fights over little things.  And there's me, probably driving them crazy with my seemingly constant use of "stop fighting" and "play nicely" or "do I need to separate you two?"

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3 Fun Ways to Paint with Toddlers and Preschoolers

As a stay-at-home mom, I'm always trying to come up with fun activities for my kids to do beyond coloring and Play-Doh.  Not that there's anything wrong with these things, but my kids get bored of them pretty quickly.  And when they get bored, what do they do?  Bug each other.  Which in turn bugs me.  So it makes everyone a lot happier if I have a few new activities to offer, especially during the winter when it's cold and we're stuck inside and even when it's summer and it's hot outside. *wink*

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Top 10 Craft Supplies From The Dollar Store

A week or so ago, I was at the dollar store picking up some supplies for the magnetic puzzle I was making when I realized how much craft stuff I buy there.  Now, granted, there are some really crappy items at the dollar store that are definitely not worth your dollar, but we'll save that post for another day.

Today I'm sharing the top 10 craft supplies I buy at the dollar store.

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Travel Hack: Magnetic Puzzle

Driving in the car.  We've all been there.  Screaming, crying kids in the car.  I think it's pretty safe to say we've all been there too.  I remember growing up and driving to every. single. vacation. we went on.  I grew up in Utah and we drove to California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona and Texas.  (It wasn't until I was a senior in high school that we finally took our first plane ride to Florida.)

Me and my two younger sisters shared the backseat, so inevitably we started arguing or fighting about something or other.  "Mom, she's touching me!"  "I need to go to the bathroom!"  "Stop looking at me!"  "You're breathing on me!"  "I'm bored!"  "Can we get out yet?"  We got tired of our books and games within an hour or two of the drive and the rest of the time was spent asking the ever-popular: "Are we there yet?"

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20 Minute White Bean Chicken Chili

Over the weekend, I saw a lot of Christmas in July sales and it kind of freaked me out for a minute!  I feel like the summer just started, but if I think about it, my daughter is going to be starting her second year of preschool in about 6 weeks, which means fall is just around the corner and then it's Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas!  If there is one thing you need to know about me, it is that I don't like the cold. And living in Utah, we get some cold winter days.  I'm definitely not ready for it to be cold any time soon.  Give me 90 degree weather and a pool and I will be one happy camper.

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How To Motivate Your Preschooler To Do Chores

At the beginning of the year, I shared a preschooler chore chart I had made for my daughter.  It was a really simple system of moving a magnet with the chore on it from the 'not done' side to the 'done' side.  However, we started running into problems when my son hit a growth spurt and could reach the chore chart too.  He would run off with the magnets and it would be a couple days before we found them again, usually in the most unexpected places.  (Isn't that always the case?)

11

How To Tie Dye T-Shirts

In my mind, there are few things that say summer more than "tie dye t-shirts", especially when it comes to kids.  I love how happy and bright the colors are and that each shirt is as unique as the child who wears it.

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Pineview Reservior and Anderson Cove Campground

Last summer we made the drive up north to Pineview Reservoir (right outside of Huntsville, UT) for a family friend’s birthday. I had been up to this reservoir many times growing up, but it was new to my husband and kids. We drove through Weber Canyon and took a road that cuts through the mountain called Trapper’s Loop. It is an absolutely beautiful drive.

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Multi-Purpose Closet Organization

When our home was first being built, my husband and I visited the site multiple times a week to check on the progress.  We were walking through one day during the framing phase and noticed what looked like a closet where we weren't expecting one.  This was really exciting for us because you can never have enough closets!

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How To Stain Wood

About a month or so ago I was wandering around one of my favorite home decor stores (The Wood Connection) and I saw a cute shadow box with the patriotic decor that had been stained.  The result was a more antique look to the wood since you could see the grain.  Now, up to this point, I'd never stained anything.  Paint is my go-to and wood stain was totally foreign to me.  I decided it was time to add it to my skill set and took it up to the front to pay for it, along with the shadow box.  I talked to the ladies up front and got a couple of tips and went on my way.

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Why I Love the 4th of July

Each year when the 4th of July comes around, I think back to the many memories I have growing up.  Mostly they include parades and fireworks and BBQs.  I never had any family or friends serve until my best friend's brother (who also took me to my senior prom) was deployed to Afghanistan.  That year, Independence Day took on a whole new meaning.  I knew someone who was fighting for our country.  Someone who was away from their family and friends in a foreign country.  It was humbling.  It was scary.  It made me think of all the other men and women who were also away from their families doing the same thing as my friend was.

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Banana Bread Muffins

One of my favorite things to help my mom make growing up was banana bread.  I loved mashing the bananas, pouring them into the batter and waiting for the warm banana bread smell to waft through the house.  We'd eat huge chunks of bread with butter slathered on top.  So. Good.  I've carried on the tradition with my daughter, letting her mash the bananas, mix up the batter and then wait impatiently for the bread to come out of the oven and cool before she can gobble it down.

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