6.20.2016

2016 Summer List

According to the calendar, today is the first "official" day of summer, but our Summer officially started last Monday.
On the first day of Summer Break, I always have some summer "presents" for my kids on the breakfast table.

Flamingo Pool Float {HERE} // Full House {HERE}

 These are little gifts that I give them to celebrate that it is summer. 
And, it is slightly based on working mom guilt. Yikes.

Not pictured was Luke's Summer present which was a super soaker. 
He grabbed it before I took a photo of it  :)

Claire LOVES flamingos, so when I saw that float, I knew the girls would love it, especially Claire. It's big enough for both of them. Plus, Claire decided on a flamingo pool party for her Birthday this September, so the flamingo float will be perfect for the party!

The girls were SO excited about getting the Full House series. The love Fuller House and know that I watched Full House as a kid. They are loving Full House so far. I limit us to watching 2 episodes a day....I told them when I was a kid I had to wait a week until TGIF was on to see a new episode & they are lucky that I am letting us watch 2 a day :)
I love making a Summer List with them because it's fun to see what ideas they come up with.
I also got them a pack of Mr. Sketch Markers!!! They loved that they smell so good! These also bring me back to my childhood :)
I like making a Summer List because it helps with ideas for what they want to do in the summer.
Our summer is pretty un-scheduled for the most part.
We are not doing Swim Team this year like we have the past few years (the girls said no more Swim Team) This is freeing up SO much of our time since we don't have practice each day & we don't have Wed night Swim Meets or Saturday Swim meets this summer.
What are we going to do with all our free time?!?! That is where the Summer List comes in handy!
They have VBS and a couple other camps this summer, but that is about it!

Here is our 2016 Summer List:
We won't get through all the things on our Summer List, but it is fun to try!
Some of the things I am looking forward to that are on the list:
- Glo Stick Swimming at Night (we did this last year, so fun!)
- Movie on the lawn
- Watch the Full House Series
- Waterslides

I am also a mean mom ;) and each day they have to do 20 minutes of reading, 10 minutes of math, 20 minutes of jumping on the trampoline & make their bed each day.

Here is my summer list of things *I* want to get done this Summer:
1. Finish Claire's 1st year Baby Book.
(I made an awesome book for Kate's 1st year and haven't finished Claire's yet...she will be EIGHT in September and she keeps asking where her book is. YIKES. I am the WORST.)

2. Start Luke's 1st year Baby Book
(Don't want the 3rd kid to be without one for almost 8 years like Claire. I REALLY need to buckle down and get these done!)

3. Read a book a week
I just finished my first book of the summer this weekend:

Pretty Girls...such a great book!!! If you liked Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, you will love this book.
It's only $1.99 if you get it on your kindle {HERE}
Summer is when I do most of my reading. 
Looking forward to keeping my reading streak going this summer!

4. Catch up & clean out my email. 
(My inbox is a disaster. I need to organize it & unsubscribe from things!)

5. Clean out closets!
One of the books I want to start off reading is The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up...I know this will help me with cleaning out closets!
(Things get crazy & unorganized as the school year comes to an end. I need to claim back our closets & get rid of things that don't fit the kids and/or that we don't wear anymore)

6. Train for my 4th Half Marathon
I've been wanting to sign up for another Half since the last one I did was in March. 
The SF Giants have a 10K & Half Marathon in September and I have heard it is a fun race. You finish in the outfield of AT&T park!

7. Do "One Perfect Week"
This is basically following Whole30, but only for a week.
I don't think I could do Whole 30 for an entire month, but I want to do it for a week and see how that goes. Anyone done this before?

++++++++++++++++++ 
  I wanted to let you know about my Summer Special that starts today.... all new preferred customers will get get $20 cash back, 10% off your order, free shipping AND I will mail one of our Essentials items.
 SPF 30 body sunscreen, Body lotion, SPF 25 Lip Shield OR a bottle of our foaming Sunless Tanner!
The sun is not your friend..... protect your skin this Summer!
Our tanner sells out every summer & last week Total Beauty named the #1 sunless tanner! 

 I love seeing before & after pics when people use Rodan + Fields products! How awesome are these Unblemish Results with just 17 days of use? I am so thankful for R+ F products and how they help change skin & loves! The unblemish regimen is one of my most popular products! It works on skin of all ages, teens & adults! It also comes with an oil free SPF 20 sunscreen to help protect you from harmful sun rays! 

I love these results after consistent use with our Reverse regimen.


All our products come with a 60 day 100% money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose. 
We have products for ALL skin types! 

Take this quick 1 minute survey {HERE} to see what is best for your skin type.

Email me at: melissa_larson17@yahoo.com to get this deal!

+++++++++++++++++++++++
  Do you have a summer list? 
What are looking forward to doing this summer?

6.14.2016

Cowboy Salad

I am so excited to share one of my VERY favorite summer recipes with you.
I can't believe I haven't shared this with you before.
I have been making this recipe for about 10 years & it's a staple for us during the summer months.
It's also one of my go-to salads when I need to bring something to a party.
I got this recipe from one of my bridal showers when the host had everyone bring a recipe card with their favorite recipe on it to my shower.
It is so fresh & healthy!
We call it....
Cowboy Salad
 (but I have also heard people refer to it as Cowboy Caviar)
Here is what you need:
2 cans of white corn, drained
1 can black eyed peas, drained
1 can black beans, drained
5 or 6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
4 avocados, chopped
1 red onion, chopped (I buy the pre-chopped onions)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped (Mine is from my garden!)
Juice from 4 limes
Salt & Pepper to taste

 
Directions:
 Rinse and drain the black eye peas...

 Rinse & Drain the Black beans....

And, Rinse & Drain the 2 cans of white corn....

Add to a large bowl:

Chop up the green bell pepper:
Chop the tomatoes:

Chop up the cilantro:

Add the chopped bell pepper, tomatoes, cilantro and red onion to the bowl:
Stir everything together:
Once you are ready to serve, chop up the avocado & put on top:
Then squeeze the juice of 4 limes on top of the avocados:
Add some salt & pepper to taste and stir everything together:
This salad is so refreshing! You can serve it as a side salad or you can serve it with tortilla chips as a dip:
This is a perfect salad/dip to bring to BBQ's or parties this summer!
I hope you love this healthy & refreshing recipe as much as we do!
Enjoy!

6.13.2016

10 on 10 :: June 2016

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!
{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

ten on ten button

Friday the 10th was the day after school got out which meant it was Teacher Work Day for me & my last day of work for the school year! 

Here is a snapshot of my day!
Leaving for the morning with my new cute bag that one of my students gave me! I love it!
 We had a teacher breakfast before we headed to school & my co worker who hosted the breakfast has so many pretty succulents in her back yard:
 After the breakfast I headed back to my classroom to clean up and also I started planning the first 2 weeks of NEXT school year. I got my grades done a few days prior, so we used our time wisely and panned for the following school year. Our district adjusted the school calendar, so we are starting school 2 weeks earlier this August (UGH), so I am glad to have a jump on the next school year.
 Then, I had to go pick up the kids and take Kate to a birthday pool party:
 Claire, Luke and I went back to my classroom to finish cleaning up. Claire had fun writing on my white board & playing teacher to Luke.
It was time for a much needed Iced Vanilla Latte to celebrate being done with school!!!
 We picked up Kate from the party and then headed to check out the Grad Night at our high school.
We got home to a VERY clean house... I have my house cleaner come once a month and I scheduled her to come so that I could start off summer with a clean house :)
 The kids swam & it was time for happy hour & to celebrate the end of the school year. It was my 12th year of teaching & one of the hardest yet, so I busted out the good wine...my favorite chardonnay!
 Since it was Friday Night, that meant it was Friday Night Pizza Night & we also watched the Warrriors game...they won! One more win to clinch the Championship!
We had one of my favorite pizza combinations {Recipe HERE}

 It was a busy, but productive day and I am SOOOO happy that it is officially SUMMER!!!!

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