Binge Worthy Shows

Hey everyone! With school being out for the summer I have been watching quite a few shows. These are a few of the shows I have been binging!

1. How to Get Away with Murder: This is one of my new favorite shows! It is one of the many shows that Shonda Rhimes has created, and much like her other shows it does not disappoint! I could not stop watching this show and ended up finishing the last three seasons in two weeks. How to Get Away with Murder really built the characters story. My favorite person in the show is Laurel and look forward to seeing where her storyline goes in the coming season. You can watch How to Get Away with Murder on Netflix.

 

2. Black-ish: This is quickly becoming my favorite show. It is so funny and I am almost through all the available seasons. My favorite character is Diane. She has a dark side, but it is hilarious at the same time. I highly recommend this show if you like sitcoms. You can watch Black-ish on Hulu!

 

3. Westworld: With Westworld I was unsure if I would like it, but I really enjoyed it! I originally started watching it because James Marsden is in it and I am glad I did. After the first episode I was hooked! I finished 2 seasons in one week it is so good. Westworld can be viewed on HBO.

These are just three of the shows I have watched and loved. What is your favorite binge worthy show? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

Back to School Crafts

Hey everyone! The beginning of school is around the corner and for some already started this past week. Today I am going to tell you about two back to school crafts “A” and I made. They were both super easy to do!

The first thing we made was a chalkboard notebook. For this project you will need: a notebook, paintbrushes and chalkboard paint. “A” and I used chalkboard paint we bought from Michaels, in the color Onyx. To create this notebook you will paint 2 to 3 coats of paint on the notebook cover. In between each coat you should wait 2 hours before painting the next layer. For best results add a clear protective coat to the cover. Another tip for the best possible results is to allow the notebook to dry completely for 24 hours before writing on it with chalk.

The second project is a lava pen. For this project you need: glitter, oil, water, a ballpoint pen, a hot glue gun, and a dropper.  The first step is to take the pen out. After that, use the hot glue gun to glue the top of the pen lid and the bottom of both the inner and outer pen. Next use the dropper to add oil and water into the pen. The last step is to add glitter and put the pen back in. This project took a total of 5 minutes and it was such a huge hit with “A”.

These were such fun projects to do! Have you done any back to school crafts? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

Rocksbox Jewelry Subscription

Hi everyone! Earlier in the year I ordered a subscription for Rocksbox. Rocksbox is a jewelry subscription box that sells for 21 dollars a month. In this box you will receive three jewelry pieces. You can purchase pieces from your box at a discount or if you do not like the pieces enough to purchase you can send them back and another box will be shipped to you.

The best thing about this box is that when you first sign up you create a wish list on the site and the company will choose pieces from that list to send to you. If that was not enough, you can preview the shipment before it is sent out and can swap out any of the pieces for another.  Through the past year I have purchased a ring and necklace from my sets. I do plan on purchasing pieces from my currant set too!

Rocksbox is so great, and I definitely suggest you give it a try! To get your first month free you can use the code ANNMARIEBFF48. If you do not like the box, which I am sure you will love it, you can send the box back free and cancel at any time! Have you used Rocksbox before? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

Code: ANNMARIEBFF48

The Greatest Showman

Hi everyone! This post is a few weeks latte but today I am going to write about The Greatest Showman themed activities “B” and I did. These activities were  created for early school age children, however there is an alternative to one activity if you have toddler aged children.

The first activity that “B” did was a spelling game. She picked up a card from a stack of cards and then would use the clothespin letters to spell out the words. Some of the words that were in the stack are: lion, hat, show, music, fire, and elephant. “B” loved this activity and got super excited every time she got a letter correct. For “D” in the place of this game I am working on a matching game for her.

The next activity was tracing toy animal shadows. “B” liked this activity, especially enjoyed coloring the pictures after. She did struggle with getting around the feet of the animals but all in all this was a fun activity. For this activity she traced a giraffe, tiger, and zebra.

The biggest hit was when we made the wishing lamp. For this we froze water in a soda can and then used a nail and hammer to poke holes in the can. When things got a little harder we used an electric screwdriver. To finish we put a flame less tea candle in the can. When doing this activity “B” loved using the hammer and electric screwdriver, under careful supervision of course! If you do this activity I would suggest using a vegetable can or soup can because it is a thicker metal and does not bend as much. The soda can was good, it just got super cold and bent when we would use the different tools.

The last activity was done a few weeks after. This activity worked on her writing skills. For this activity “B” wrote fan mail to Phillip (Zach Efron), PT Barnum (Hugh Jackman), and Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson). She loved writing and decorating the letters and really put a lot of thought into what to write into each letter. If you do this activity and your child wants a response you do have to include a self- addressed envelope in with the letter.

This was a fun topic to do these activities for, and it was great to see how excited she would get when she got each activity done! Have you seen The Greatest Showman? What was your favorite part of it? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

 

Nanny Diary: New Family

Hey everyone! This is going to be a super short post today. There have been quite a few changes for me. If you could not already tell by the title I am no longer watching Baby P and her sisters “B” and “D”. I started working with the old family I use to nanny for again! Today was my first day working with “J”, “M” and “A” again. It felt great being back and I had a lot of fun with them today. I will definitely miss seeing Baby P and her sisters though!
I look forward to sharing more nanny diaries with all of you and hope you will continue to follow me and this new family!
-A

Zyia Products

Hi everyone! Today I am going to tell you about my favorite active wear line. I was introduced to Zyia a few months ago. I had been invited to an online Facebook party and had bought a couple things to help this friend reach her goal. I have been hooked ever since!
Zyia is my top choice because it is like Lululemon quality at a smaller price. The company also releases new pieces each week! On top of all that the clothes have so many great features. Each piece of clothing has moisture control, temperature control, anti-odor, and sweat wicking properties.
I have quite a few Zyia items and definitely plan to buy more. The first shirt I bought was the kettle moon tank in black. I bought this shirt in the size extra small but would recommend sizing up a size for a looser look. This shirt looks great with leggings during a workout but also is perfect to wear with shorts or jeans. This shirt goes for 28 dollars! Another shirt that I bought is the effortless tank in pink. For this shirt I got a size small and the fit is great! However, if you do like a looser fit go up one size. This shirt goes for 25 dollars. Now for my favorite piece, the white bomber sports bra! I have a size small and it is perfect. It is my favorite sports bra I have. It retails for 31 dollars and is worth every penny!
I love all the Zyia products and look forward to buying more! Find a Zyia retailer today. Have you tried any Zyia products? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

Go to http://www.myzyia.com/run to get any of the products I mentioned and other amazing products!

Swallows Grace

Hey everyone! Today I want to tell you about one of my favorite Etsy shops! Swallows Grace is a shop that sells mugs, shirts, and canvas banners. However, a majority of the listings are mugs. These items sell for ten to forty-five dollars. Some of the designs that you can choose from are: “Resting mom face”, “Joanna Gaines is my Spirit Animal”, “I Will Wait. I Will Wait for you” and “Adoption rocks”.

I was originally drawn to this shop because the owners, Kenzi and Austin Reddick originally started this business to fund the adoption of their son. Kenzi and Austin are adopting their second child and the funds from the shop are going to bringing baby number two home.

I have purchased from Swallows Grace twice and each time has been a great experience. Shipping is fast and the product is exactly as described. Packaging is also great! The packaging is personalized with your name and each order comes with a thank you note that also explains the background of the shop. What I loved was that the boxes the mugs are shipped in are hand stamped with the shops name!

The first thing I bought was a t-shirt that says “Joanna Gaines is My Spirit Animal”. This shirt has since sold out.  However, they do have a mug with the same phrase on it. The second item I bought was a mug that has “I will wait. I will wait for you” on it. This is based on the Mumford and Sons song. This mug is super cute and it is definitely one of my favorites!

I highly recommend this shop. It is great service and cute products. Plus the profits from the shop go to such a great cause! Go check out Swallows Grace at:

https:www.etsy.com/shop/SwallowsGrace?ref=s2-header-shopname

-A

Star Wars Day

Hey everyone! It has been a while since I last posted. I am out of school for a couple months, so I do plan on posting regularly again. For today’s post I wanted to share a few Star Wars products I have. It is May 4th which means it is Star Wars day! I’ll be honest I was never a huge fan of Star Wars. It was not until just recently that I began to watch the movies and now I really like them.

The first thing that I want to talk about is the two shirts I bought from Target. The first is a blue t-shirt. It says “The Rebel and the Wookie” and has Han Solo and Chewbacca on it. This shirt is seriously the most comfortable and I could easily wear it everyday! The next shirt is a golden tank top. It has “Star Wars” printed across the top and also has a few of the characters on it. It is the perfect shirt to wear on hot days! I love both shirts and I will definitely be wearing both of them a lot.

The next and last product I wanted to mention is the Star Wars planner stickers I bought off of Etsy. They contain pictures of the characters from the films. This set is a full set for a planner and I purchased it for a dollar. To get this sticker set I went to Gotta Lotta Stickers shop and scrolled through until I found it. They are digital download so I have a file saved that I can access and print off to use in my planner. I have not yet put them in the planner, but when I do I will share a picture on my Instagram account!

These are just a few of the many great products out there. I hope you all enjoyed this post! May the fourth be with you!

-A

One on One Time

Hi everyone! This post is a couple weeks late, but I had the chance to spend time with B, D, and Baby P individually this past week. It was such a fun experience and I wanted to talk a little about that.

I started out the day with D. We started our outing with a trip to the library. While there we got books, played with puzzles, and played with toys they had there. After the library D and I went to Paradise Valley Burger Company for lunch. D loves cheeseburgers and she devoured it in minutes! We had such a great experience while eating lunch. The guys at Paradise Valley Burger Company drew a smiley face on her burger in ketchup, which she loved! According to her “she felt happy after eating her burger.” It really was such a fun trip!

When we got home it was Baby P’s turn for some one-on-one time. She is a baby so it was not as big as D’s time. Baby P and I sat on the couch and read the new library books D and I got. She loved looking at all the colors, and loved looking at the unicorn book. However, by the time we got to the dog book she was totally over it, and ready for a nap!

B was the last one to have her time alone with me. She was not feeling well that day so we stayed in. B and I used our time to put together a Valentine’s Day craft. It took quite a bit of time to put the craft together, but it was a lot of fun!

Being able to spend time with each of the girls individually was such a great experience. It was a lot of fun for me and I hope for the girls too! What are some of your favorite kid friendly activities? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

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Things I Never Thought I Would Say

Hi everyone! Today I am going to do a nanny diary on things I never expected to say. Watching kids definitely makes you say some interesting things, and I am going to share those with you!

• “Stop licking me, you are a human baby not a puppy baby.”
• “We are not going to baby bird your sister.” (This was said to B when she tried to spit chewed up food in Baby P’s mouth.)
• “Goats do eat grass, but you aren’t one so don’t eat that.”
• “Well nothing you are a human not a goat.” (Same conversation as the previous one)
• “Please do not sing the hello darkness song while I am using the bathroom.” (This is in reference to The Sound of Silence from Trolls.)
• “You can’t eat playdough.”
• “You can’t eat the fake snow.”
• “Don’t eat this glitter.”
• “I will give you a quarter if you pet that dog right now. “ (This has been said more than once)
• “Be careful or you’ll end up like Bobby Bramble.” (Reference from D’s favorite book)

These are just a few things that I can remember. Even though I have had to say a lot of weird things I love all these moments with the girls. I would not trade the craziness for anything! What is the weirdest thing you’ve said to your kids? Let me know in the comments below!

-A