Who is excited for some free Valentines Day Printables? I am obsessed with the color pink, so Valentines Decor gets a longer stay than almost any other holiday. I wanted to fill some frames for our main floor and Avés room, so decided to whip up a few Valentines Day printables, and offer them to you all to use too!
For the month of January, to start the new year off right, I wanted to have some guest blogger hop on and give you guys some great healthy recipes to try! My friend Kara Swanson is up first with an amazing Loaded Sweet Potato Recipe. I met Kara on Instagram and can’t help but love her amazing recipes she shares, but she also has a fantastic blog and even offers a bootcamp that my thighs are begging me to join! Make sure to check her out!!
About the Recipe and Words from Kara
This recipe is for those nights when A) you don’t want to cook B) you don’t have time to cook or C) you don’t know how to cook. Basically, this recipe is fool proof and I’ve got you covered no matter what category you choose.
If you think you don’t have time to cook, you’ve just been cooking the wrong recipes because I’ve got loads of delicious, healthy, easy recipes that are so quick to whip up. Which is why I’m so excited to share this recipe with you. Because I know the struggle of wanting healthy food on the table each night and that your whole family will actually love.
These Loaded Sweet Potatoes are a huge hit in our house and a favorite among my clients. They’re packed with flavor and so easy to whip up. And you don’t even have to know your way around the kitchen. These sweet potatoes have a nice sweet/mildly spicy flavor and it will be hard not to eat the whole pan. Top with ground beef, bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado and green onions and you have yourself an easy + simple + delicious meal.
Something I started doing to save time on prep work right before dinner {aka when kids go crazy} is prepping as much as I can in the morning or when I get a free moment during the day. That way when it’s time for dinner all I have to do is assemble and cook. If you have a few minutes in the morning go ahead and cut the sweet potatoes, chop the veggies, or even cook the meat.
And if you only have time for the sweet potatoes and ground beef…it will still taste amazing. Some days are busy and the last thing you want to do is cook, but this simple and easy recipe will help with that problem.
Enjoy these Loaded Sweet Potatoes on a busy weeknight or on the weekend while you’re spending time with family.
Loaded Sweet Potato Recipe:
Ingredients:
6 small sweet potatoes {about 2 pounds}, diced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground beef
Your favorite toppings: avocado, green onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mixed diced sweet potatoes with spices and olive oil. Put on a baking sheet in an even layer.
Bake for 10 minutes, take out of oven to stir and then bake for another 10 minutes or until nice and crispy/tender.
While the sweet potatoes are baking, cook ground beef in skillet until cooked through. Feel free to add a little garlic powder and salt to beef.
Chop your toppings while ground beef is cooking.
Top sweet potatoes with ground beef and favorite toppings.
Let me know what you think about this loaded sweet potato recipe, and be sure to check back next week for another healthy option to make that resolution stick! Don’t forget to check out Kara, and hopefully we can convince her of another recipe down the road!!
What a year 2017 was! I feel very fortunate to think back on the past year and the blessings and health we received this year. I thought I would look back on the highs and lows of the year.
In January we moved Avé to a big girl bed and down the hall to make room for the baby. She has done amazing and I ask Sam all the time if we can just duplicate her room for our room.
In March I took the kids (along with my mother in law) to Destin to enjoy a little vacation. Jack was sick, so it ended up being less of an enjoyable trip than we had hoped but it was still great to unplug and enjoy my babies for a bit!
Spring was pretty focused on my pregnancy with Walker. My pregnancy with him was much harder than the last two, leaving me with migraines and so tired I didn’t feel like I could function, but over all was a very healthy pregnancy like my other 2 which I thank God for daily! My dear friend Leigh, and the rest of my bible study girls threw me an adorable little shower to celebrate his impending arrival, and it was so fun to enjoy a night full of excitement for his life!
Last year we were able to take a break from Occupational and speech therapy for Jack due to him doing so well, which for any other mom who has been through the hell and pain that comes with that, you know what a blessing and relief that was. We have ended the year in speech therapy again, but none the less he has done so well, and watching Jack grow and work through struggles this year was amazing. Those struggles continue to bring low low’s and high highs in our lives, and teach me daily.
The end of may we made a huge change to our house, and added wood floors. It was the best change and I still LOVE them!!! To see more of the changes we have made in check out these posts (1 year update and house at move in), and you can see whats next on our list here. We also worked really hard on Walkers Nursery, which continues to be one of my favorite rooms in the house!
June 2017 brought the HIGHEST OF HIGHS. Our sweet Walker was born. With both my second and third pregnancies my heart has feared I couldn’t possibly have room for another baby to love as deeply as the others, but that fear is always shattered with one cry. Walker was 8 lbs 8 oz and chunky as can be. I was shocked and literally can’t handle how much I love him. Safe to say my obsession is probably border line a problem with that little boy!
With the delivery of Walker also came a DVT blood clot the next week in my leg, which was by far one of the scariest things I have experienced, and still gives me some anxiety. I am so thankful that it really only meant a few weeks of pain and some blood thinners for a few months, but it was definitely a struggle for both Sam and myself.
In September we took the kids to Disney World and on a family vacation to my in-laws home in Florida. We love family vacations with the Jura family, and Disney World was a blast…minus the fact that we didn’t plan things too well ha. While in Florida, Sam and I also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. He makes few appearances on my blog and Instagram, but is certainly the reason it is succeeding. Anyone who knows me knows he treats me like a princess and I’m beyond spoiled! Thanks babe (10 points if he reads far enough into this post to see this haha!).
October was birthdays as per usual. Jack turned 5, which was BRUTAL. I mean I just had him!! The next week our Avé turned 3, followed by Sam’s birthday at the end of the month! It is always so fun to celebrate them all, but a busy month nonetheless! The kids enjoyed a joint birthday party with a bounce house, and I thought about buying that thing as a built-in babysitter. Holy cow they loved it!
The year’s end has focused around the holidays which seem to be more fun each year. The kids are understanding both the fun, and really started to get a grasp of the true meaning of Christmas which was such a gift to us as parents this year. We hope that your 2017 was filled with more smiles than tears, and that no matter how 2017 looked that you can look at 2018 as a fresh start to hopefully make great memories, better yourselves, work harder, and be kinder!! I can’t wait for you to follow along with us in the coming year, and we are so thankful for so many of you for supporting our family!!
Alright, so I am a list maker, a goal maker, and a planner through and through, so it’s no surprise that I make all sorts of goal lists for the new year every December. First up for this year was our 2018 Home Goals.
Our home isn’t necessarily a fixer upper, but we did buy it knowing there would need to be updates throughout. I thought I would share our plans for the house, as well as some “dream” projects that likely won’t happen…but a girl can dream!
Main floor powder room – currently this is the only untouched area on the main floor. I plan to remove the wallpaper, and either replace or paint the current vanity. New lights, New mirror, and DONE.
Basement Guest room – This also happens to be my office. It needs paint, new bedding, and a super functional area of built-in desk and shelves. It will be a project for sure!
Upstairs Gallery Wall – This is easy… Just needs to happen. I plan to do the same gallery wall as the one below, so that I can switch pictures from downstairs to upstairs.
Master Bedroom – I just need to do the finishing touches and new bedding and this will be ready to go!
Finish garage and storage organization – Alright, this isn’t glamorous, but its been a huge project for us this year, and I am hoping that come spring it will be done. I think that having those areas functional and organized will help me a ton!
Dutch Door to Basement
Lighting in office
Outdoor landscaping — or removal of landscaping rather
Command Center Wall in Laundry Room
Update Basement Bar area – The current backsplash and mirror is not my thing
New windows
Dream Projects
New Kitchen cabinets and sink
New Stair Banister
Butlers pantry
Closet Library
Are you a list maker or goal setter? Whats on your list for the coming year with your home? I can’t wait for you guys to follow along and hopefully see most or all of these projects completed!
One thing I get asked all the time is how I organize bills and keep that household paperwork and such in order. I have a pretty good system in place that has worked wonderfully for our family, so in the spirit of sharing all things Organization for the new year I thought I would share what works for us, and the tips that help me!
Organizing Bills
First off is bills. This part is more advise than a system. I personally pay bills online, and my biggest piece of advice is to keep unpaid bills in the same place and in sight. If you’re a busy person (which if you’re not I want to be you haha), its easier to remember things that are out. For me that means that unpaid bills go inside the front of my planner that stays with my laptop. That means they will be seen DAILY. For you it could be in a spot on the counter or your laundry room. But keep them somewhere you will see them! The first and most important part of organizing bills is after all paying them!
Organizing Paperwork
Next is what to do with those bills, the mail, and all the other crap. I have a few tips to help. My paperwork goes through a cycle of locations:
First when we receive mail or have paper work that I need to keep I put it in a small file folder like this that stays in an “office” cupboard in our kitchen. We have one drawer (the dreaded junk drawer) and cupboard in our kitchen that keeps batteries, office type items, and such. Those papers stay in there until that file folder is full.
Once a year when preparing taxes those file folders are all cleaned out. Anything no longer needed is thrown out.
Following this system makes it easy to keep up with and maintain on a daily basis, but keeps things organized in the long run also.
Organizing Kid Paperwork
I organize our paperwork for the kids differently than the rest. they each have one of these file folders with their names in vinyl on them. Inside are files for each grade where I keep their school photos or projects. At the front are files labeled “immunizations” “school” “medical” and some small ones for each that are specific. I have found that having those items in front and filed alone makes it easy when they are needed. The school file holds things like class lists and directories. My hope is that when my kids are older I can give them these and they will have organized memories from school.
I hope this helps you when you are organizing bills and other paperwork, and helps you this new year!
I have done a few posts on how I keep organized and they are always a huge hit. I know that so many of us are working on getting more organized for the start of the year and I thought I would talk about how we keep organized in a few areas of life in the next few days! First up is Toy Storage in today’s post!
Toy Storage Guide
FIRST OFF, MY NUMBER ONE RULE
USE SEVERAL SMALL BINS, NOT ONE LARGE ONE!
I know its tempting to use big catch-all bins for toys or other items, because it will take up less space and probably cost less, but resist the temptation. Those large bins serve a few purposes, but for the most part if they are storing a variety of toys or items you will dig to the bottom (or if you’re a child you will THROW OUT EVERYTHING) to get to the one item you need. It causes way more mess than its worth. So now I will talk about the toy storage I use throughout my home.
Toy Storage
I have posted before about some stylish toy storage if you’re looking for some of the baskets and bins I use, But I will break down what I use bins for and my big tips when it comes to toy storage!
Main Living Area
Baskets – Okay so I think this is one of the number one issue for most parents. How do you organize toys in those main areas of your home. I personally use a series of small baskets. I have 3 “catch-all” type baskets on my built ins ( I love these, they are not super big but hold a good amount), then 3 smaller bins (this size) but I find them in the dollar spot from time to time and buy them all – sorry if you live near me HA. Those hold more specific items: blocks, play jewelry, balls.
Functional TV stand – If you must have a TV stand anyway, if space permits, use a dresser or something with drawers and storage so you can hide some of those kiddo items. Our TV stand drawers are as follows: Cars, Lego’s, Items for the morning (i.e. Avé’s hair stuff, nail clippers, and so on), animal figurines, and 2 drawers for puzzle type items.
Specific place for books – We have built ins so that’s easy for us, as we have a shelf that houses them, but if that’s not your home, do bookshelves, a basket, a drawer. Books are such a great item to switch out from time to time so you don’t need to have access to 500 at once if space doesn’t permit!
Coloring Basket – Kids love to color, so I always have a small basket out on their table with coloring books and crayons. You could buy something with sections, or do like I did and use a shallow basket and add acrylic containers inside for crayons.
Playroom
If you’re lucky enough to have a playroom then that’s where the majority of your toys should stay. You can always rotate out toys in the living areas. We personally use and LOVE these cube bins from Target. The fact that you can add feet and wheels is my favorite, yet not yet utilized part ha! We also have a closet in the playroom (which was a must for me when we were house shopping), and that’s where we store tons and tons of toys. I love that some are out of reach, and its a perfect spot to park the big items. The playroom is just that – a playroom, so at the very least just go for function! the cube bins will keep things sorted and off the floor and allow more space for fun.
We also use these Ikea shelves for books in the basement and I LOVE THEM. You can see an overview of our basement and its storage here, however I will be updating it soon with the changes that have been made!
Other
So for us those are the two main areas for toys. I do however use these bins in the laundry room and store all arts and crafts type items. They are easy to access but at an adult height so I can dictate when they are used.
We don’t keep any toys in the kids rooms aside from stuffed animals. GO WITH THE BIG BIN on this one. It’s the one place my rule doesn’t count. Each kid has a big basket for stuffed animals. If they don’t fit in there they have too many in their room (or that’s our family rule). They each also have a basket for books. Whether it’s a basket or shelves, have a little spot for them to keep some books in there for quiet time.
So honestly, to me toy storage is all about giving everything specific place. When you do that you and your kids are more likely to put an item back where it belongs, but I also find that it’s a good way to know when you have too much. Toys accumulate fast in our house, and instead of living with the clutter when we have too many cars for the drawer we donate them. I want my kids to learn they can have fun and new items but they should then share their old toys with those less fortunate.
I would love to hear how you are all organizing all those toys you got over the holidays. Do you purge some to make room? I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and are excited to make 2018 a wonderful year!
I will fully admit to the fact that I have not been great about making my kids do chores before recently. I didn’t really think much of it, until I was recently inspired by some AMAZING other moms! So while in the spirit of New Years resolutions and goals, I decided that the kids doing more around the house would be a goal for 2018. I try really hard to look at what can I change, or we change as a family to make us function better and be overall more happy. I know having the kids pull their own weight will not only help them become MUCH better people someday, but will also take away a little of our stress. At the end of this there will be links to free printable versions of this chore chart in pink or grey.
Printable Chore Chart for Kids
I decided to leave our chore chart without typed in chores as they might change over time as they master chores and get older. For now morning routines will be broken down, into items (i.e. – brush teeth, get dressed, so on) but My hope would be after a few months that can just be one item.
I have not fully decided how I want to handle “prizes”. My thoughts on these charts are more that I want my kids to understand they are a part of our family, so helping with our family and taking responsibility for their own bodies is just something you do. That said I think from time to time when they are doing well at completing their tasks I’ll just randomly get them a small dollar section prize and praise their good work. I also hope that not sticking to a “fill your chart, get a prize” type of mentality will make it less stressful for all!
I plan to laminate these for my kids so that I don’t have to print them weekly – if you don’t own a laminator, order one! You will use it SO much for your family that its more than worth the money you save in paper!!
Example Chore Chart for Kids
You can print this chore chart with NO chores you can pick between PINK or GREY.
I know the holidays are fast approaching, and I think one of the hardest demographics to shop for are those expectant or new moms in your life. Especially for those of you who haven’t had babies, or maybe its been a long time, figuring out what they might want and actually use is tricky. After having 3 babies in the last few years I thought I would put together a quick gift guide to help you pick some fun gifts those sweet moms will LOVE.
Balance ball – This is great for workouts while you’re pregnant, but also amazing towards the end of pregnancy for back pain, and to help induce labor!
A Maternity Robe – Pink Blush robes are amazing and work during pregnancy, are super cute for labor and delivery, and still function great after the baby arrives!
A cute Duffel Bag – I know every time I had a baby I realized at the end of my pregnancy how much I wished I had a cute duffel to pack for the hospital, but at that point I never wanted that expense!
A massage gift certificate – normally I don’t find gift cards to be super personal, but trust me – SHE WILL LOVE YOU!
Bath bombs – nothing better than a bath bomb and a warm bath on that aching body to relax.
A cute tumbler – She will be drinking tons of water, so having cute cups are always useful.
A great blanket – I personally don’t think you can find a better blanket that a Saranoni blanket, and I think that anything that encourages relaxation is perfect.
We have been in our house for 1.5 years now (some updates on where we started) making this the second year in our sweet home. This year things feel so much more settled, so I have had more time to decorate for Christmas and buy new decor. One thing I have really tried to focus on with my Christmas decor is accenting with pieces that can last through the winter, or some even year round. Of course I have stockings, and garlands, and plenty of decor that will get packed away at the end of the season, but I have added some that I think will last.
I have also tried to make an impact with a few pieces that are really inexpensive, so if I decide they are a one year item – no big deal! So below are my tips for holiday decor.
My Tips
Buy pillows and throws with red OR green. Having a single Christmas color on them allows for them to stay out past the holidays. I went with these Dark Green pillows from Ikea and a throw with some green on it. I also did this with some glassware that is on open shelving.
Frame free printables or decorative paper. This is a super inexpensive way to changes things up season to season. I personally framed some tissue paper from the Hearth and Hand line in frames that normally have more bright airy prints.
Buy wreaths that are not meant for Christmas and add small accents. A magnolia wreath is very on trend and great to hang year round. I weaved some berries into mine without using any adhesive – making it festive then able to be left as is after the season! For our back door I added a simple wreath that again is not a Christmas wreath, but does look Christmas-y due to the rest of the decor.
Use what you have! For our entry way I used two scarves in a basket to look like a blanket. The scarves are from the Target Dollar spot last year and worked perfect for that space! I also used a basket and rug that were not in use as a “tree skirt” in the dining room instead of buying new. Repurposing items saves you money and many time ends up being a more unique and fun way to decorate.
Find inexpensive items that you can use to tie together multiple areas of your house. Your whole home doesn’t have to have the exact same theme, but if you tie each room together with some aspect of your decor it will flow. For example: Houses were a common theme this year for me. The little white houses from the Target dollar spot, and the House print paper from Targets Hearth and Hand line (which is also on a kitchen towel and hot pads). This little aspect really tied all of my rooms together.
As a side note for moms
Target frequently has festive bins or baskets in their dollar spot, or you can find them online or in other stores. I think that switching up toy bins for the seasons is a super great, fun way to keep things festive, while still being practical!!
I would love to hear what your tips and tricks are for decorating for Christmas!!
Getting Organized and Cutting down on Weekly Chaos
Getting Your Family Organized
If you read my blog post last week then you saw that we are kicking butt at being parents of three… Okay, so you actually saw that I admitted to how much harder three is. But one thing I noticed was that some of what was ‘hard’ was that we weren’t organized. We can no longer divide and conquer 1 on 1 during chaotic times of the day, so we had to implement some new ways of keeping those times organized. I’m going to tell you about what we have implemented in this post, and would love to hear if there is anything you do in this area!
My Tips
Cut down on small jobs for later. Do all the tiny jobs that come up during the week at once. It will save you time and chaos later, and help keep you organized. Our lists hang in our laundry room available for Sam and I.
Get organized for the week. Sunday nights I gather clothes for all three kids for the full week. I bring the clothes to a hanging organizer (like this one) and put them in a bin for each day of the week. Picking out three outfits each morning is chaotic for us, so this has been the biggest help for us!
Bags are packed. Sunday nights my diaper bag is always loaded up for the week. (ever been caught out without a diaper or wipes?…I am here to tell you that it’s the worst lol). We also make the kids lunches and get their bags packed for school on Sunday nights (and any night before they need them). Mornings are much more stressful for us, with three kids running around, so doing those little things when no one is awake is MUCH easier.
Wake up early. Sam and I have started to wake up earlier, and the reward of less stress, much outweighs the loss of sleep. Having time to get yourself or your day together without kids running around is needed, and allows Sam to get his workout out of the way.
Meal plan. enough said.
Cleaning lists. Having laminated lists available to both Sam and myself allows for our weekly and monthly cleaning to be divided without even discussing. My lists are laminated, and we just cross of what we have done.
Keep a family calendar. We are getting better at this, and working on a better command center, but write things on a calendar. It will help you as a parent, as well as you and your spouse to not forget things or have surprise events come up.
I would love to hear what you do to cut down on chaos. Drop me a comment!!
Hi guys!! I still exist. Sort of. But mostly these days I just walk around hoping I have clean underwear and fabricating (or the opposite of fabricating…??) how long its been since I washed my hair. I have started and failed a diet 9 times in the past week. That’s right people. That means I have gotten BACK on the diet train and failed it again more than once in the same day (which totally takes talent)! I’ve practiced lots of self-control in not pouring a glass of wine at 3 o’clock, because it felt like 9 pm, and I basically feel like I do not have my crap together. Basically what I am getting at is that Walker has fully become a little human who voices his needs, and keeping three little humans alive is HARD WORK.
I remember when we told people we were expecting baby #3, everyone said it was the game changer. But I also felt like people used to say that going from 1 to 2 was really tough, and it didn’t really phase us, so obviously I knew I was immune to the hard transition when adding more kids. You know, because I’m super mom. (In hindsight, my mom of the year trophy was nowhere to be found with 2 kids, so I think I might have been more than a little delusional). The transition at first was easy ish. We were in the newborn euphoria stages and Walker slept all day, so basically I felt like I was kicking butt, and my floors were mopped on the regular.
Fast forward nearly 5 months to now, and it turns out 3 really is hard haha. The laundry and dishes seem to pile up faster than I can keep them clean, and finding a window of time to clean my full house does not happen. Don’t get me wrong, the hard does NOT outweigh the joy. I don’t think I have ever been happier than I am right now, even with all of the imperfections that our lives possess. I mean something about watching them interact and grow and the fact that although someone is always crying or whining, someone is pretty much always smiling or laughing. That part is REALLY great. I keep telling Sam that maybe the Duggars are onto something (and he always grabs his car keys when I say it…).
So the outcome of my chaotic life is less of me imparting wisdom (HA, trust me I am kidding), and more of me searching the blogosphere for ways to organize our crazy household. I’ll report back on some of those tips and tricks soon, when I decide to chug some coffee and jump on here. I have been working on some projects, because not even 19 kids and counting (see what I did there?) could keep me from a good home decor or DIY project. And we have been learning that things go much smoother when the kids do their part, and we are organized as parents. But all of that takes time and is probably more work while its becoming habit, especially for Jack and Avé.
In all seriousness though, we have just been adjusting to Walker developing a personality (which we love) and being a family of 5, which we also love. The chaos is stressful, but I can’t help but love it. I always wanted a big family and love the lessons and the spunk each one of these kiddos bring to our lives. So even if my jeans don’t fit, and I could send them to college on the money I’m saving on shampoo and conditioner, we are having a blast over here in our little corner of the world. I’ll be back later this week with a checklist for all my mama-to-be readers, and hopefully our updated Playroom full of lots of DIY project in the next week. In the mean time here are some fun pictures from the past few weeks.
This kiddo napped for the first time in SO long. I hate how fast he’s growing!Sassy little DancerJack lost TWO teeth right after his 5th birthdayCan’t handle him!The whole family on HalloweenMiss. Style on a Target run
This post is sponsored by Carter’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
With the holidays fast approaching I can’t wait to dress the kiddos up for all the events! We have family meals, dinners out, and even a fun train ride where they get to wear their PJ’s in public!! I love that Carter’s has so many options for the kids to wear for all the coming occasions, and at a price that isn’t breaking the bank – because HELLO third kid. This mama needs affordable and cute! I plan to hit their big Black Friday sale starting 11/17 for even more PJ’s and clothes for the kids! If you plan to do some Black Friday shopping in store, you can find a store near you, on their store locator!
I am a sucker for matching Holiday Pajamas, but its a struggle to find boy and girl pajamas that match, in my opinion, so when I found these cute, comfortable matching sets for all the kids I jumped on them! How cute do they look all matched up (even if Walker isn’t so great at those sibling pics yet). You can check out the Carter’s PJ shop here, and Carter’s believes all children deserve a good night, so they are partnering with Pajama Program, a program that provides children with new pajamas November 1st -31st. Customers can help by donating a new pair in store, or making a monetary donation at checkout in store or online. Carter’s will match up to 100,000 pairs of pajamas, and I am thrilled to be supporting a company that’s benefiting my local community in such a big way!
I also strive to find pieces for both of my big kids that can be mixed and matched, and are comfortable and stylish, so I headed straight to Carter’s for all our Holiday Dressing needs. We got this cute sweater for Jack and this skirt (that I totally need in my size) from the Carter’s Holiday Shop, and I can’t wait for them to wear them in so many ways this holiday season! ha. For Walker he already lives in Carter’s white onesies, so this addition of this adorable baby hat was perfect and still shows his cute festive side even in his car seat.
PS – When you’re a kid, Holiday Clothes should definitely allow for all the leaf throwing and jumping!
