put on some pants!? my love letter to leggings

I am still hearing so many people say leggings are not pants, or that they are in their "mom outfit" and I really think that they sound silly for thinking, or saying, that it's lazy!
Let me tell you a little something ... whenever I have 5 minutes to myself, I'm squatting, stretching, or lifting something to get in a workout for the day!

 I wear yoga pants or leggings, t-shirt, sports bra, and sneakers just about everyday. And not because it's the only thing that fits me right now, or it's just so comfortable, or that I'm lazy, it's due to the simple fact that if we are not headed to the gym first thing in the morning, I will have to find some time in my day to get in a workout in small portions between playing with the kiddos, grocery shopping, household chores, and working! It really is that simple. I'm not one of those moms who gets up at 5AM to go to the gym before her day starts ... are you kidding me, I barely make it out of bed by 7AM to get breakfast ready for everyone!

What I can relate to in the leggings loathing conversation, is the wearing of a regular t-shirt with leggings as oppose to a tunic with leggings. I personally don't like a shirt that sits at my waist, I end up pulling it down all day long, so a tunic is a much better pairing for me. Also, the thin material of some leggings just doesn't do anybody any good! I have found much success with with a certain lovely little leggings company that has great patterns and material, as well as an awesome tunic length top. I have many pairs and I'm not ashamed of it! I feel like I finally found the perfect tunic and all my other tops were just 'ok for now' as I purchased them.

Yeah maybe the price is a bit steep, but for something I wear every day, it's worth it! The best part about all this leggings love going on right now, is that there are many other companies with similar styles, but take caution since some of those brands might not be the same quality material that you think it is.

Comfortable clothes with a stylish whim, 

that I can wear at the playground or to the gym, 

I will love you for now and forever it seems, 

even when it's considered "out" by fashion magazines

ONE PAIR IS NEVER ENOUGH

xo

let's play!

We just had a 2 year old birthday at the beginning of the month and we are still playing with wonderful gifts from Christmas, so this post a toy review!
I make a wishlist on Amazon (a fantastic idea from a dear friend!) and email family this list when asked for gift ides, I have a list for each kid and a hidden list that I have reminders on, so I can switch, delete, and keep so I don't have to rack my brain when it comes time for birthdays. It works great because I can always note where to buy and they don't need to go through the website!

Little People Zoo
I think this has changed over the years, but if you are lucky to find this one, it's great! Our oldest received this as a 1st birthday gift and would have never thought to get it, but it turns out the zoo and all the animals have kept both of them entertained throughout the years!

Alfie
I mentioned this in an earlier post and I think it is such a great toy for the older ages. It's a little robot computer and has a little cartridge and cards that help kids learn many a thing. Alfie interacts and makes jokes while playing different games and informing kids about the subject on the card. My husband remembers having one of these in the 80's sharing and playing with his siblings!

Kitchen
Both kids love playing restaurant and "making" lots of fun things! I have added many containers, bowls, spoons, cups, etc to the collection, and have been gifted (velcro)cutting foods, and I found a little grocery cart at a resale shop! This one is keeps their little imaginations going!

Cars and Ramps
There are so many cars in the playroom and we have created so many ramps out of gift wrap tubes, paper towel tubes, we add stacked books for hills, we add our Magic Tracks for a raceway, and the list goes on! Anything that we can build with, has been used! And I've found tall, swirly and loop-de-loop ramps at resale shops. I don't think racing cars will ever get old!

Magnets
It started out with the typical letters and numbers magnets on the fridge, then we nailed some sheet metal to the wall in the playroom, and now we have great shape pieces to make all sorts of fun designs with! Another great magnet toy is Magnaformers, they are free-standing, mostly squares and triangles you can build with!




Dot Paint
This is a fun, minimal mess paint or for small hands not skilled for a palette and brush! I've seen another brand that is refillable, so if you have a little artist constinaly painting and want to reuse bottles, look up http://www.discountschoolsupply.com






Trampoline
Enough said! It's a little big, but worth it! We have dance parties, fancy feet jump contest, fastest jumper races, and much more on cold days when they are full of energy!

Legos

Last but not least, we like our Duplo Legos and the little people in the sets! But I came across a fantastic add on from another brand, Hubelino, that fits perfect on Duplos! It's a ramp system or a marble run, we use the large shooter marbles, along with the balls that it came with and it all works together! Even the teenage nephews liked playing with it! Although, to build bigger towers with more turn going in and out of multiple levels, a grown ups help is needed.

If you are into making some cool toys for your kids, check out my Pinterest page 'Being Mom', I have pinned some awesome little things that you can create that will keeps kids entertained and learning. Some turn out great and we still have, others have been well played with and that was that!

TOYS DON'T HAVE GENDERS

xo

follow me

There has been so much going on, I can't believe there's been no time to write!! Not even jotting down ideas! Well, this blog is off to a slow start and I am trying to get it together, but in the mean time follow me on Pinterest and Instagram.
If I can't get a few minutes to write a cohesive post, I know I can get at least a couple seconds to scroll through and post some ideas or fleeting thoughts on either of those two platforms! https://www.pinterest.com/chrisannetcraig/

BE 100% YOU

xo

fun without the sun

The cold snowy St. Louis winter is almost behind us {and it really wasn't that bad this year} but the wet and windy spring is just around the corner, and on days that I need to pack a carry-on size diaper bag because the weather is not sure if it will rain, be humid, drop to freezing, or be sunny and delightful, I still plan indoor activities for S&Z.  All the great Pinterest ideas have been cycled through, everyone is just going crazy, and Z doesn't understand that even though the sun is out and bright she might get blow away ... so now what?!

I love letting them play in the rain and splash in puddles, it's a fun sometimes activity, and we are getting back into the swing of things walking and finding scavenger hunt items which is great, but I need to have my inside plans as a back up! Here are a few of our favorite places to go when it's just not quit ideal weather conditions!

~Library! There are so many great events that the St. Louis County Library puts on, it's the best! Such a variety for every age as well as Home School kid activities, it's definitely worth a look at their online calendar!

~Forest Park! Yes, I know it's an open park (the site of the 1904 World's Fair and the seventh largest urban park in the country!) but the wonderful museums that our park has is worth a look! The History Museum, the Science Center , the St. Louis Zoo, and the Art Museum all have awesome activities for kids throughout the year that will also amuse the elders in your group, and cost little to nothing to enjoy them!

~Miss Kelly's Gym! We love this place! Three days a week they have an open gym time for two hours and all the equipment is available for kids to swing, tumble, and balance on with a instructor in the space to help out. It's $8 per kid and if you are enrolled in a class, that kid is free. Everyone is so great and really make it a wonderful place to play!

~Dream Play Rec Room! This is a playground retail store that has a few days a week that kids can come and play on the inside displays! There is a $5 cash charge for each child and playtimes vary, but not bad price for an hour of running, swinging, sliding!

~Whole Foods! Yes, it's weird but they have activities as well as tours every month, free of charge! Check out your location for the calendar!

~Sky Zone! The best trampoline park around has a toddler time on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 9am-10am and open jump times Tuesdays-Sundays, it's $5 and a fee for jump socks.

And if those weren't enough, there is ... The Magic House, Monkey Joe's, Toy Tyme in Chesterfield Mall, Bounce U, Kokomo Joe's, We Rock the Spectrum, Chesterfield Sports Fusion, Hi-NRG, Contemporary Art  Museum toddler Tours, Mall Playgrounds, The Butterfly House in Faust Park, Barnes & Noble Storytime, Rise Coffee House.

DON'T FORGET TO PLAY!

xo

more modern couponing

I took you through my favorite apps for primarily groceries, and there are so many more out there and a few even have wait lists! That's a tad crazy to me ... but I'm not a crazy coupon lady, I just do some modern couponing.

By the way, is it {coo-poning} or {cue-poning}!? How do you pronounce it?! Maybe it's one of those 'where you grew up' kind of things. Although my SIL sounds like she's from Wisconsin but all of my husband's family grew up and pretty much stayed in St. Louis county area! Anywho, so here is the second installment of my favorite ways to save some money when shopping!*Cartwheel - If you don't have Cartwheel for Target trips, you have obviously been living under a rock! Sign up for free, shop Target and while you are in the store you can scan each item to see if there is a savings or make your list ahead of time, name brand and Target brand items are in the list, tons of items and a variety of categories to choose from all about 5%-20% savings, earn perks each time you shop (I got a full size cozy throw to snuggle up with while watching tv with the husband, FOR FREE!) items on the list change regularly and there is an expiration date on items so you know when to use the savings by!

*QT - QuikTrip gas stations are not everywhere but if you do have a location near you, you need this app! Sign up for free and you get a 32 oz fountain drink for free, lots of promos on lots of store items (not gas, oh well), just about every holiday they have something buy one get one or marked down, for Christmas they did the '12 days of Christmas' and gave FREE drinks or food for 12 days! The locations by us ran out of Hotzie breakfast sandwiches during this promo it went over so well! They always run a special on the pizza (which beats the other pizza chain, any day) and that is one of the best deals around.

*Swagbucks - I like this one a lot but don't spend much time on it, you can set your search bar with this one and every time you are shopping online it will pop up how much you earn on the purchase, there are games, offers, surveys, and videos you can earn more money by doing, refer a friend for more money too, simple and straight forward when shopping online!

*Inbox Dollars - Super easy and you already check emails all day, so why not open another one and just click a confirm button!? Every time you check email there will be a few that you click to confirm or to take a survey, each email if for a certain dollar amount and that adds up to actual cash, each time you reach $30 (I think) you request a check, they have other games and offers you can do to get more money, also refer a friend to get more money.

*Ebates - This one is tons of different brands and categories, so many that it's a bit overwhelming! If you're shopping online and want to find a coupon code check out this one for just about anything, get cash back for each store code you use and then redeem you points/percents, refer a friend to get more cash added to your account!

SHOPPING IS CHEAPER THAN THERAPY

xo

love is love is love

It's Valentine's Day and nothing exciting is really happening tonight ... or ever really does on this holiday in our house. Why? There is really not a good answer for that, we just never have made it a big deal. We usually have a nice meal over the weekend, something we haven't had in awhile or is really indulgent! And while at the grocery store for the ingredients, I point out flowers that would look great in a vase on the table. We have never be out on this holiday and never will, crowded expensive restaurants are not fun!

But now that we have kids, it's a silly, fun holiday that little treats are great for! I went to Dollar Tree and picked up silly headbands (the ones with boing-y hearts!), and fun socks, and pulled out beads, got them candy kisses and stickers! They were so surprised by all this! We watched Daniel Tiger's Love Day episode this morning and also talked about showing love and kindness to our friends, family, and community! We also had a dance party and made chocolate covered treats!

Holidays like this are meant for goofiness. I don't teach S&Z the history of such

days, I teach them that love is love and love is wonderful and kindness should be thrown around like confetti! That's what littles like them need in their life and

need to be taught ... and how to make treats that are delicious!

Chocolate Covered Treats

ice cube trays

chocolate chips

coconut oil

almonds, coconut flakes, peanut butter, mini marshmallows, walnuts, pecans

medium sauce pot

In the sauce pot, mix the chocolate chips and coconut oil until melted and creamy over med/low heat stirring so it does not burn. Once melted, pour a little bit in each well of the ice cube tray, return pot to stove and turn off heat.

Now is the fun part! In each well, place whatever ingredient you like!

I made almond and coconut flakes, another tray had a dollop of peanut butter in each one, and I also made "rocky road" treats with marshmallow, walnuts, and pecans, best to freeze mini marshmallows before putting them in so the don't melt. After everything was in, I poured more chocolate to fill up the well (if you need to melt everything a bit more, turn on the heat and stir, add more chocolate and coconut oil if needed) and placed each tray in the freezer, and a few hours later had bite size chocolate covered treats!

LOVE NEVER GIVES UP

xo

sahm+feminist = me

I love Scary Mommy! It is one of the most witty, insightful, and common sense parenting blogs out there that I like to keep up with. I was scrolling through Facebook the other day and came a cross this wonderful post by Farrah Alexander about the recent Woman's March and feminist views and it totally hit home for me! 

Feminism is the "radical" notion that woman are people too.
Strong women are awesome woman, no matter if they work outside the home in a pantsuit or work inside the home in an apron and oven mitts.

Read this, you will be a better person for doing so!

http://www.scarymommy.com/feminist-sahm/?utm_source=FB

EQUALITY!

xo