The First Week of Kindergarten

This blog is going to be my journal today! These last couple of days have been not what I expected. But you really cant expect the unexpected. As you all know my oldest on started Kindergarten this past Monday. It was a proud success. I am so happy and proud of him. The first day he did great and he did even better these past few days. He is beginning to understand this is the real deal. He is learning to have more patience and focus. I know he will get better with time.
Thinking back on last week I thought that I would have so much free time now, even though I do have my 2 year old at home with me. I had so much planned but after yesterday I realized I made no actual "free time" for myself. I over planned. I'm starting to notice that I always do that & my husband agrees LOL. I plan too much then I get overwhelmed. So glad this new me notices mistakes earlier so that I can correct them. I definitely have a full schedule now. I am starting to make realistic goals for the day so that I can accomplish and sit down!

Here are a few pictures of my son on his first two days at school! I didn't get a chance to do a little kids school clothes haul but if you have any questions on anything he is wearing let me know.

<----------------First day

Second day-------------->

Third day

I will have the DIY desk space for kids up soon!

Back To School Time

So its finally almost time! I can not believe my oldest son has turned 5 years old and is starting his first day of school on Monday!!!! I get to meet his teacher this afternoon for the parent teacher meetup. I am very excited. I think I have him super excited about this new time in his life too. He has been in Head Start the past few years so he is already aware of a classroom setting. I have also been taking the time out to do things at home that will get him prepared. My son doesn't forget anything SERIOUSLY! LOL so Im hoping he will use that in school as well. Just a few things(not all) I have been doing with him at home are:

1. Working on his handwriting

2. Making sure he can recognize his full name, alphabets, and numbers

3. Reading together

4. Working on his patience and attention

5. Simple addiction 

I recently found a website called Kids Activities Blog. It has been a great resource for me to help him start school and to also get organized. I have the weekend off so I will be focusing on getting ready for Monday so prepare for some awesome DIY projects. Check out the link up top for some of those great ideas. For school supplies, I wanted to wait until I actually talked to the teacher. Sometimes they have their own list of things instead of the general school list for that particular grade. I do have a few things like:

 1. Notebooks

2. Pencils & case

3. Glue

4. Ruler

5. Backpack and lunch bag

I will be buying more after I speak with his teacher today. I will also be doing a little more school clothes shopping this weekend so look forward to a little boys haul! 

What did you get so far? Leave me some comments. If any of my tips and the things I did helped you let me know. 

Women Crush Wednesday

If you know me you know that I love to take the time out to recognize great women. Whether you are in the fashion world, working a career, being a spouse, or being a great mom you deserve to be recognized. Today I want to put the spotlight on a friend of mine named Chasity Womack. She is a hard working mother of twin girls and is fabulous at looking pretty. I got the chance to interview her so that she can give my readers a little insight into her life. Enjoy!!

1. Tell me a little about yourself.  I'm a very loving, caring, and family oriented person. I've had a challenging journey on becoming a mom, but I'm finally one and I love being the mother of my beautiful twin daughters.

2.Describe your style. I honestly don't think I have a particular style! Lol! I just like what I like and think it's presentable.

3. What are 5 must have pieces your cant live without? Five most have piece are tights, maxi dresses, heels, a cute shirt, and jeans.

4. What would be your "go to" outfit? My "go out" outfit would be a pair of skinny jeans or tights,  a nice shirt, and a pair of heels.

5. How do you make time to feel pretty and what do you do? To have some "me time" I love going to get my hair, feet, nails done, and also getting a full body massage. So like, a spa day.

6. What are your must have beauty products? skincare, hair, makeup, etc? My must have beauty products are cleanser and moisturizer from Mary Kay, lip gloss, a little eye shadow, eye liner and lip liner and I'm good to go!

Big Birthday Bash Under a Budget

Hey Everyone!!! This past weekend we celebrated both of my sons birthdays. My oldest turned 5 years old on July 20th and my baby....well toddler turns 2 years old this Thursday August 7th. We were definitely on a bit of a budget for this party plus kids especially boys their age they just want to have fun. I really wish I would have remembered to take more and better pictures. Here are a few things that we did to throw a Big Birthday Bash under a budget:

1. I handmade the birthday decorations & games. Actually I printed them off Nick Jr.com LOL!

It was super easy! All you do is go to the birthday party section on the website and find what character(s) your kid likes. My boys LOVE Wallykazam! Its educational show and still fun for them. 

I even went on Pinterest and found a kid friendly punch. I named it after a character on the show because of the color. 

2. My husband has his own bakery business so guess who baked the cake? He did! And of course it was so AWESOME!!! 

Go check out his Facebook page at Oh So Delicious

3. We rented a bouncy house for $50 to have the entire day

4. I wish I would have taken a picture of our table spread but we stuck with a huge Walmart brand Marketside pizza, chicken wings, hot dogs, and chips

I know you all are wondering what the heck that is in that vase.......well yes its some magic beans and Wally's magical stick. Go check out the show and you will understand. 

I hope the things I did can help you save a few dollars on your next birthday bash! Let me know how it goes!

Early Morning Mom Routine

I recently read an awesome article about the perfect morning routines for a SAHMs (Stay at home mom). I am not a sahm anymore but I am home majority of the day since I work at night. Honestly most days I get up with my kids. One because I normally don't go to sleep until sometimes 1am after work or two because since their still sleep I figured why shouldn't I get some extra ZZZZZZZZZ! Anyway I started to realize that I was getting up really cranky and my days were not going as smooth as I would like. I really didn't have anytime to adjust to waking up and starting my day. I had to go straight into mommy mode as soon as I got up. And ladies I have two boys so you know they cut me no slack!
Don't get like me ladies and want to clean the house or do any intense work because you are only going to make yourself tired. If you are a working mom like myself try to move those things to your day off and if you are a sahm I feel that cleaning is much easier once my kids are finally asleep at night. So the article had some good tips on what to do in the morning to make you day so much calmer. Take a look!

1. Get up before the kids-The obvious
2. Massage yourself with your fave oil- To loosen up muscles
3. Get pretty- Do you hair put on some cute comfortable clothes
4. Get your soul happy- Listen to music, read bible, or pray
5. Hydrate- If you love coffee have a cup but make sure to drink plenty of water
6. Relax- Last but not least.....SIT DOWN, watch some TV, put your feet up

I woke up this morning 20 minutes before my kids and I could tell the difference just from that little bit of time. So tomorrow I will be waking up earlier. I will let you all know how it turns out. If you like these tips and decide to try it please leave me a comment or two about your morning!

Picnic Time

Since I have started to work nights now I make sure to spend as much time as I can during the daytime with my boys doing fun activities. One thing I know my boys love for sure is a great picnic. Its a way to go to the park plus eat lunch all at the same time. Its always nice out here in California so why not enjoy the weather whenever you can. Then after the park picnic adventure that will more than likely ensure naptime......YAY LOL!! 

Here are a few items that I like to bring to ensure great picnic time. Of course you cant go on a picnic without food/snacks and drinks. My boys love sandwiches plus they are so easy to eat. Pack a bunch of finger foods, things that you don't have to cut and you can easily hand over a Ziploc bag. I make two Ziploc bags for each different finger food I bring so I don't have to worry about them "sharing" if there is ever any when it comes to food haha! Use a nice lightweight picnic basket and I love a good thick picnic blanket. The thicker the blanket the more cozy and it feels like I'm some soft carpet. 

As far as your outfit......nothing fancy! You are going to be running around and stretched out on grass for the next hour or more so be comfortable. Some cute denim shorts and a nice over sized top is in order. Throw on a pair of comfortable sneakers, a hat for the sun and you are good to go! 

Have Fun!

Picnic Time by breshaunaderr featuring a pic nic basket

Loose shirt
blackfive.com

Destroyed shorts
delias.com

Converse footwear
$91 - amazon.co.uk

ASOS crown hat
asos.com

Pic nic basket
lampsplus.com

Splurge or Save?

I recently saw an article about luxury products, the worth, and is it actually worth the buy. It made me think about a white leather tote bag by Michael Kors that I repinned on Pinterest a few days before. It received over 60 repins and over 40 likes.......that doesn't sound like much to some but that's a plus for a Pinterest beginner like myself. My Pinterest is like my style journal for all the stylish things I love. I do find myself loving a few expensive items but I definitely don't have the budget for them. I often wonder even if I did would I actually buy them or would I go for a cheaper look alike. 9 out of 10 it would be the look alike! 

In my mind who wouldn't want a Chanel, Saint Laurent, Prada, or Gucci bag but that Michael Kors bag can be of the same quality for a better affordable price. Now don't get me wrong if you have that extra money to spend on luxury items, by all means buy it! If you receive them as a gift, by all means receive it and be grateful. But if you are like me and don't have those funds please don't feel pressured to live that life. I know I been in that feeling. Trust me there are so many more awesome bags out there in the world. I'm more of a H&M and Forever 21 buyer when it comes to a lot of my purchases including handbags. I love that I can find great quality bags but for a really cheap price at those stores. 

Here are a few examples of bags below.  If you are on a smaller budget like myself, the bottom row of bags are Michael Kors bags compared to H&M bags. Which one would you buy?

Splurge or Save? by breshaunaderr featuring a brown bag

Yves Saint Laurent leather strap bag
ysl.com

Yves Saint Laurent genuine leather purse
ysl.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors satchel style purse
bloomingdales.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors gray tote bag
nordstrom.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors brown bag
$530 - zalando.co.uk

MICHAEL Michael Kors brown bag
$485 - zalando.co.uk

H M pink handbag
$60 - hm.com

H M black zipper bag
$26 - hm.com