must have coffee

I can not start the day without a cup of coffee.

How can you?! I mean really, how can you roll out of bed, put on your cozy socks, come down stairs to the kitchen and what, drink water, juice, a soda {blahk}! My husband can, and it's just crazy to me.

I love a cup of coffee each morning and I like it different ways and surprisingly I'm not picky about what brand of coffee. I have tried many kinds and have never found an absolute favorite, but one thing that I do take note on is how well it reheats. In that category, I have found a good one, Mama Java Coffee! They have a nice variety and I can't wait to try their Hazelnut {that's right Pumpkin Spice, theirs a new player in town} Check them out and use my code musthavecoffee for a discount!

I've tried it black with different roasts but I always want it sweetened. You can put any amount of dairy in it and I will be a happy camper. And recently I've become a big fan of bullet proof coffee! SO GOOD! I blend a tablespoon of grass fed butter, a teaspoon of honey and a dash of vanilla extract, yum!

I have had my share of Folders and Market Fresh Target brand Columbian blends as well as breakfast blends from Hills Brothers and Maxwell House. The breakfast blends are a bit weak and the french roast can be bitter for my taste, but Kona coffee is the best for a good strong cup that is still mild and sweet! For more on beans, you have to read this piece, this lays it out really well!
I love getting my french press all set up in the mornings and it is enough time to make the kids breakfast while getting the kettle hat and waiting for the coffee to steep. But if we are in a mad rush you know I go straight to the k-cups, reusable of course, and it is just as tasty as my weekend luxury french press!

And now with the weather turning cooler, I can't help but make my own creamer with some delicious variations for the holidays that are so simple. They really are simple ...
Basic Coffee Creamer
In a small pot over low heat, stir in milk, heavy cream or sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract. Stir continually until mixture starts to steam them turn off heat, stir a bit more and let cool.

For amazing flavors I add in:
Cinnamon
Cocoa Powder
Peppermint Extract & Cocoa Powder
Honey
Maple Syrup
Cloves & Cinnamon & Nutmeg
Almond Extract
Coconut Milk

or any combination of those really! Play around and find out for yourself what is the best tasting morning cup of joe!

I rarely make a stop to the coffee shop in the morning on my way to work, it just doesn't work out for me and half the time I really don't know what they have and I'm holding up the line and that's not how I want to start my morning. So I found this great article on different types of coffee drinks that I might have to save on my phone a s quick guide {ya know what, I bet you there is an app for that, ha!} Check it out because it will save you tiime and hassel when in line.

COFFEE: WHEN YOUR BRAIN NEEDS A HUG

xo

and off to school we go

It's Back to School! 
Or start of school for us really, S is in Kindergarten this year and, even though he went to preschool twice a week last year, all this school stuff is so new and exciting ... and crazy!

The public school district we live in is great and highly rated and all those other things that you look at on all the ratings sites when your looking up which area around town to move to. They have great programs throughout the year with before and after school care, as well as a few sports and clubs, we've been getting all the announcements! 
But I started looking up all this stuff in June, it can't be just me who wants to find out a couple of important scheduling pieces of information that will dictate how our daily routine goes, is it???

So far into the year, I don't know how drop off works, even though the pick up procedure is a page long in the Kindergarten "cliff notes" booklet and the actual parent handbook I didn't see online until the first week of school! I had to ask around to figure out the Box Tops thing {if you are going to advertise that the school does this, you need to let us know where do we turn them in!} Announcements for fun stuff are not handed out until the Friday before, and the calendar the school's website has is a joke - no description, no contact person, nothing to indicate if siblings are allowed {back to school night, which turned out to be another gather for families and students}. There are so many staff members that I don't know if it's another teacher, or a parent volunteer, or it might be the upper grades teacher. I don't know!

Why wasn't any of this stuff in any kind of new student info guide?!? 

And everyone is in a hurry for things to work smoothly, therefore stopping them to ask a question just flusters the shit out of them! To top it all off, the secretaries in the office don't help much or direct you somewhere else and you end up right back at their desk! There are too many apps, websites, redirection of links, etc that the school all wants you to have to make everything "easy" but ends up being a useless pile of crap, so you might as well just use your phone for what a phone is intended for and carve an hour out of your day to figure it out.

I really hope my kid has an easier time getting help while he is at school.

School supplies were not as expensive as I thought they would be, so that was good, but I spread it out all summer with double coupons and online sales. I've working in retail too long to deal with the nonsense of tax free weekend, I'll save that weekend headache for a smart calculator and the laptop to college days. But did you know that you can just go online to target and click you school name and get a shopping cart of your child's class supply list?! 

ME NEITHER, until after the first week of school!! 

Find it at School List Assist! It's super easy and half the list was available, other things could not be found or don't ship to home, but still pretty cool. Yeah I had no idea they did that and it makes me wonder if other stores do and where is it advertised. It must be one of those super secret parents tips that other parents don't tell "newbies" about because they were never told or the thing didn't exist back then so they keep this info to themselves and end up saying "oh yeah, we've done that for years now, its great" when you mention it {then you think to yourself, WTF why would you not share this with me knowing that this is our first school year?!}

Well, all the store that I would normally visit do! Target, Office Depot, Walmart, Staples, Amazon, all have a specific to the school or general grade level list so you can check it out before August rolls around and not scramble to buy loads of supplies all at one. Hey, if your paycheck allows you to do that, luck you.

We are not dealing with bus or lunch line this year, which makes me happy but S asks everyday why can't he ride the bus ... we live literally four blocks away, that's why. And the other days it's, why can't I buy lunch, it's free ... no, the kids just use a pin code connected to their parents money, which he still doesn't understand and now I'm mad as all hell that the school has done away with actual dollar bills {ya'll} being counted and exchanged at the cafeteria lunch line. It makes me nervous about some kind of crazy new math he will be taught and won't have the ability to balance a checkbook in the future and that makes my head hurt!

Did I cry the first day of school? No.
Did S get so nervous and distraught the first day of school? No. 
Does S talk about how his day at school was? No.
Did he visit the school nurse within the first two weeks? Why yes, yes he did.
Is he figuring out social skills? Yes, and it's so stinkin' cute to watch him "hang out" and chat with them and say goodbye to them all!

SO FAR, SO GOOD

xo