Mother's Day with American Greetings

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MoreThanAMom #CollectiveBias

When I think about my mom, I get pretty sentimental. She means the absolute world to me, and it wasn't until I became a mom myself that I realized the level of love she had for me. Without a doubt I've always known she's loved me, but until you have a child yourself you've never experienced this type of love and therefore couldn't completely appreciate the love your mom has for you. But now I do and I'm so thankful for her and I'm thankful I know that feeling when it comes to my own children as well.

So with Mother's Day just around the corner I'm excited to be able to celebrate her and show her just how much she is appreciated. And being physically distant from my parents due to my husband being in the Air Force, it makes Mother's Day that much more special and its our chance to let her know that even thousands of miles apart, we still think of her, love her, and value what she brings to our lives. 

So I went to our local AAFES Base Exchange (BX) to check our their selection of Mother's Day items and the first thing I saw when I walked in was the American Greetings display filled with an array of Mother's Day cards, gift bags, and more. 

It made my heart so happy looking through the selection of American Greetings cards because it looked as though they have thought of everyone and were truly determine to celebrate every mom! They had cards for wives, mothers, sisters, friends, grandmothers, aunts. They had cards from one mom to another, from kids to their mom, from kids to both their moms; it was so great to see American Greetings had the perfect Mother's Day card for every mom!

When I saw their wide selection I even picked up a card for a close friend of mine that I met when I, myself, was in the Air Force. Being in the Air Force means you are away from your extended family a lot, so friends that you meet in the same situation become more like family and its so important to let them know how much we appreciate them just like we do with our extended family. And what's great is that American Greetings currently has a promotion for "Buy 3 cards, Save $2" so this is prime time to find a special card for several moms in your life, promotion runs from 4/17 to 5/14!

Its common for one to receive flowers on Mother's Day but what's even better are flowers that last forever, am I right?! So the kids helped make a fun, colorful bouquet out of tissue paper that we also grabbed from the American Greetings selection of products at the BX. The how-to is simple. Here's what you need:

SUPPLIES

• Tissue Paper
• Scissors
• Vase
• Rubberband

INSTRUCTIONS

• Choose the size of your flower(s), the larger your flower the bigger sized tissue paper you want. For a fuller look, use more sheets (we used two packages and didn't cut them down in size so our bouquet is big and full). 
• Begin folding the tissue paper like an accordion until the entire thing is folded.

• Place rubberband in the middle (this holds it all together) and fold the whole thing in half.
• Trim the ends if you'd like a pattern on the edges of the flowers or leave as is for a pointed look

• Now gently pull each piece of tissue paper away from the next to create a full, flower look. Fluff to your heart's content! Then place in a vase and you're done!

I know my mom will love her card, notice it has "coupons" for use with grandma? So clever. I always love when my kids make me coupons for things, they love when I redeem the coupons and just get so excited. And the card I got my friend was so perfect ("Momming is not easy"), and on the inside it referenced chardonnay so naturally that's the gift I got for her.

With Mother's Day right around the corner, let American Greetings help you celebrate every mom in your life! To get further inspired for your Mother's Day gift ideas, or to check out their other amazing products check out their site.

Six Cute and Quirky Gifts

Today I have the gift buying guide for...well...the me in your life! Basically, they're quirky gifts that could be great for that person that you just aren't sure what they'd like.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 

If you've ever been to my home you know my overall decor style is anything but traditional. I love unique pieces and my house has a collected look. I'm not one to walk in a furniture store and buy the whole eight piece set, its too matchy for my taste. My wall decor is no different, so when I found this etsy shop I fell hard. These prints are super cute. I recently received the London print because it has special meaning to us; its where life threw us a curve ball and that curve ball ended up resulting in a series of events that lead us to finally getting pregnant with the baby. So I replaced my old DC art with this new London print. And there are others too like the New York one I've linked. 

I love a good coffee mug and this one speaks to me. If words offend you cover your eyes and click that red X at the top of your screen. Then work on not being so sensitive. Jk. But seriously. And if you're still reading this you may know someone that could use this mug. Me! Pick me! For real though, Jodie, this is the next mug you need to buy me. xx

If we're friends you've probably teased me for being a bit of a hippy or crunchy as some of you call me. I'm totally not, I know a crunchy mom and seriously, I'm no where near crunchy. BUT! I do love and do certain things that others may roll their eyes at; my kid had a swig of cows milk one time and one time only, she still nurses, she's never had medication, I don't use walkers or bumbos or wear her forward facing, she's still facing backward in her carseat, I use essential oils, if my kids are getting sick I give them a tablespoon of unfiltered apple cider vinegar, the list goes on. So these beeswax candles are a no-brainer, they're pretty, the smell good, they don't drip, and they release negative ions which trap toxins in the air. 

And while we're talking about negative ions, check out this himalayan salt lamp. I literally keep my on 24/7. It's like a breath of fresh air. 

Cocktails, anyone?! This cocktail shaker is the cutest thing and would look adorable on a bar/barcart. The hobnail glass reminds me of the milk glass pieces my mom had when I was growing up. I just love the look of it. And my husband loves a good martini, so... ;)

These necklaces are adorbs. And while I'm not one for wearing much jewelry, when I do I prefer simple and usually dainty pieces so this is right up my alley. 

I hope this round up of goodies gave you some gift ideas for that person in your life that may be tough to buy for. Twelve more days, ya'll! Happy shopping.

*This post may contain affiliate links

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6  

Toddler Gift Buying Guide

Am I the only one still Christmas shopping? I feel like I'm always rushing up until the big day every. Single. Year. And each year I tell myself I'm going to be more organzised with shopping NEXT year, but it never happens. Le sigh.

So if you're like me and still shopping this post is for you. Below are fun options for the toddler in your life. And if you've found neat things for toddlers comment below so I can check it out! I could always use more ideas. 

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Trains. Avery loves her trainset. It's not this exact one but its similar, hers was actually the big kids' that just got passed down to her and I can't remember where I got it because it was so long ago, like over 10 years ago. She loves them and for now is content with playing on the floor or any other hard surface she deems appropriate. 

Puzzles. Puzzles are fun and educational. And these even have a rack they slide in when you're done so that you're not constantly searching for a missing puzzle or puzzle piece.

Avery has really starting loving to play dress up so these are a must in our house. 

This paper roll is perfect to keep your little one crafting and spreads across most of whatever surface you place it on. 

My kid loves hats and mittens/gloves and it's cold. Need I say more?

This coat goes well with everything and the baby looks adorable in it. To quote her big sister "she looks like a baby doll!"

Here's hoping your holiday is great, friends! Happy Monday! 

Five Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas

If we're being honest, I wouldn't even have a Christmas tree if I didn't have kids. But I do have kids and I'm not the Scrooge so I happily put up a tree every year. I know many-a-people that are pretty obsessive over their tree and that's cool and all but I'm not. At all. I've always let my kids decorate it with me, it's a tradition I remember doing as a kid; my dad would put up the tree, then my mom and us kids would decorate it, then dad would add the star at the end. Same thing happens in our house, except this year our star wouldn't light and we've yet to get another one so we're starless at the moment. And when the big kids were younger they'd make ornaments and this year Avery made a bunch so our tree is a little handmade hodge podge of sentimental decor. And I love it. I remember our tree being the same as a kid and it'd take so long to decorate our tree because I would stop and look at every single ornament as we hung it up and we'd reminisce on the story behind it. Those ornaments we made in school with our photo on it? Oh man, those had us rolling from laughter about ten years later. Perfectly curled bangs and stone washed jeans! Hello 1990s!

So while my tree isn't themed and the ornaments aren't perfectly placed it doesn't mean I don't like looking at trees that are. And whether you also love just looking or if you are in the I'm obsessed about my Christmas tree camp and want to take some notes, I've rounded up five trees that I think are super cute and that I hope you enjoy.

The first is from By Stephanie Lynn. I just discovered her site the other day and I fell down a Christmas-tree-of-past-years rabbit hole! They're beautiful! But be warned, you may spend a good 30 minutes clicking through different posts on her site because her stuff is just so pleasing to look at. This red tree she did has me like, "yes, please!"

ByStephanieLynn.com

And the black and white buffalo check tree she did last is gorgeous! I feel like every room needs a little black in it when decorating so I'm just drawn to this tree. 

bystephanielynn.com

I also love white decor so this tree by The Tomkat Studio won me over immediately:

thetomkatstudio.com

This next one from Shanty 2 Chic has more of a country/rustic vibe. And while it wouldn't be something I'd do to my own tree I think it's still pretty cute and I could see someone that loves the rustic look finding inspiration from this tree. 

Shanty-2-Chic.com

This last tree from Little Inspiration is super unique and simple. I could see it going in a play room in a fun color and even letting the kids help create it.

Littleinspiration.com

Now tell me, what's your Christmas tree M.O.? Are you like me and super laid back about it or are you color coordinated and need it to be Pinterest worthy? Or perhaps you're somewhere in the middle...lemme hear it! 

Our Fourth

The kids and I arrived in country on the 2nd. I was drained from the trip although oddly enough the kids didn't have any jetlag - I'm convinced they're part robot. Besides their lack of jetlag they have the ability to keep going, and going, and going through situations that would typically tire any other non-robotic human. For instance, we can go to the park and I'm that mom that's running around with them, climbing on the jungle gym and playing hide and seek but after about an hour I have to go and take a break next to the mom that sits on the bench the whole time on her cell phone. You know the mom I'm talking about; the one that needs to get off her ass and interact with her offspring and yet she doesn't, she sits there and shoos her kid away anytime he tugs at her leg. Can you tell those moms irk me? Anyway, I need a break after an hour or so, but my brood continues with the same energy they began with. Robots, I tell ya.

So since I was beat and still had loads of boxes to unpack we kept our Fourth low-key. Daddy grilled while the kids played out in the beautiful weather. Ariana and I baked our flag cake that we make every year (It's shortcake with cool whip and fruit). And Ari and I showed the boys our skills (aka we beat them) at a family game of soccer.



A lot of people were disappointed that the base didn't do fireworks due to funding or a lack thereof, and yeah, it would've been nice to watch a massive fireworks show. But we didn't let it damper celebrating our nation's birthday; instead, we made the most of it. Besides, when you live with three people that are part robot the entertainment is sure to never stop.

Xo,

Lorri

Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda

We all know that Sunday was Father's Day. But in our house it was also a bit of a farewell to Seth. If you recall in this post I kinda updated ya'll that I don't get to PCS with Seth to North Carolina. And he left yesterday. So knowing this, Father's Day was bittersweet.

First let me begin by saying that stepparents, good stepparents (in my opinion) are amazing individuals. To accept someone else's biological child and raise them as your own is one of the most selfless acts someone can commit to. And Seth has definitely done just that. Yes, we have our differences like every other married couple does, but he took me (baggage and all). And he treats my brood like his own. We married when Owen was only two. And now that he's six he reminds me so much of Seth, seeing those two together makes me so excited to have our own child, but enough of that, otherwise I may give myself baby fever again...and Lords knows we don't need that because baby Rumbarger probably won't happen for at least another few years. I digress...

In our house we are big on tradition. Additionally, I'm a bit of a nerd and I'm slightly corny so handmade/personalized gifts mean more to me than a $5,000 diamond ring. Seriously. I'm a straight-up dork like that. So, naturally, we made Seth's Father's Day gift. 

First up, Ariana collects stuff...seashells, river rocks, earrings, and the kid has more lip gloss and lotion than our local retailers. Fo' real. So we went with the 'Daddy rocks' theme. I used a glass container I had and we filled it up with river rocks from Air's collection. But I didn't have enough so I had to make a not-so-covert-trip to Michael's to fill the rest of it up. Then we put 'Daddy, You Rock' on one side of the glass container.

Up next the kids used some cute little silver stickers and wrote 'We love you dad' and glued a cute little lizard on the border, then we popped it in an Ikea frame and voila! Cute.

We also made him his favorite breakfast: biscuits and gravy. Ari even broke out her Dairy Queen Blizzard machine and made him some homemade vanilla ice cream. She even added cool whip and pop rocks on top. Meow!

Then Owen drew a pic and wrote a note, as did I...write a note that is, I didn't draw anything, I'm not a good drawer. Say that ten times fast. Drawer, drawer, drawer, drawer... 

That's a crayon, marker, and rock rendition of Seth in case the blonde hair and hazel eyes didn't give it away. I'm not certain why he drew a random car below his Daddy's head though, I didn't dare question the artist.

So there you have it. Our Father's day, just three days before Seth left us. Wait, that sounded bad. Hold on, it is bad. Jesus, I'm gonna stop now. Hope your Father's Day was ahmazing! Happy late Father's Day to all the dads out there! And if you're a truly great step-parent (my kids' stepmom included) Thank you, thank you, thank you! You. are. awesome.

Now I'll leave you with some pics of the crew, and of course I gotta include my main squeeze since this is a Post-Father's Day post and everything. Here's Seth and Owen during our Busch Gardens trip last week.

They were watching the tigers get fed raw meatballs. 'Twas entertaining. And below are the older two - E was a typical man; staring at the map because he was lost. Well, no, I guess he'd have to ditch the map and say, "We're NOT LOST!" to fit that stereotype. And Ariana was telling him exactly where to go, because like all women, we know everything and had he just listened to her they wouldn't be lost. Can you tell by the look on her face that she's not thrilled with him. Gotta love those two. They fight like an old married couple.

And just for fun, here's Jersey and Ari being silly while I snapped the photos of Seth's gifts the other day.

So what about ya'll? Did you cook the father in your life his favorite breakfast or whip up a homemade Sundae? Am I crazy that I'd rather have something creative and personal as a gift than a gajillion dollar tennis bracelet? Tell me I'm not the only DIY nerd that appreciates something DIY a million times more than "a neeeeeewwwww carrrrr!" Imagine me saying that in my best Bob Barker voice. Hope ya'lls Father's Day was enjoyable. 

Peace,

Lor