Loving Lately // March 2017

It's time for another round of Loving Lately!

I am going to do this once a month & they have a color theme.
January was gray, February was pink and March is going to be...yep...you guessed it....GREEN in honor of St. Patrick's Day!
Here is this month's Loving Lately....

// ONE //
Spring has sprung here in the Bay Area & I am loving all the green hills!

  Because of all the rain/snow we got this winter, the hills are just so green!

 I went running up in these hills the other week, I loved all the views.

// TWO //

Speaking of all the green hills, they make a great background for photos!

The girls school had a Kentucky Derby themed auction this past weekend....I loved the theme!

 We met at one of our friends before for photos...it felt like prom :)

Dress // Fascinator
I LOVE getting all dressed up! 

// THREE //
 Now that the weather is nice, it is smoothie weather!
Here are some of our favorite green smoothies....
Peach Pineapple Green Smoothie:

 This is my other go-to smoothie:
  Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Avocado Smoothie
Smoothies are a great way to sneak in veggies without your kids knowing :)

// FOUR //
I am loving this jacket...perfect for when the weather is chilly in the morning, but nice during the day. It's all about layers! The color is mossy brown, but it is a khaki green.

 I like it because it comes in Tall...I have the Tall x-small and the arms are long enough!

You can get it HERE

 // FIVE //
This hummus!!!! So good! 

I am loving it with carrots or pita chips.

// SIX //
I got this cute top in my Stitch Fix last week.

Isn't it so cute?i love it!
I am wearing it today for St. Patricks Day :)

// SEVEN//
Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, I love the St. Patty's Day traditions that we have.
I just do a couple things...set up a scavenger hunt with gold coins....

 Leprechaun going potty in our bathroom....
 
My kids asked if they could set up a video last night so they could see the leprechaun :)
We love St. Patrick's Day around here...I am Irish.
It was 5 years ago on St. Patty's Day that we told the girls I was pregnant.
You can read that post {HERE}

If you need meal ideas for St. Patty's Day tonight....

Guinness Stew

(in the crock pot...I need to convert this for my Instant Pot!)

My Oreo Mint Chip Pie for dessert....delicious & takes no time to make.

You can make it now & have it for a St. Patty's Day dessert tonight!

// EIGHT //
These are some of my favorite earrings....I love them!

I have them in 3 colors now, how pretty is this emerald color?
Just gorgeous!
They come in 12 colors...check them out HERE.


// NINE //
March Madness...I LOVE it! One of my favorite times of year!
Here is my bracket after day 1....not too bad...lots of green which means correct guesses :)

I have Kansas winning the whole thing...who do you have?

// TEN //
Speaking of March Madness...

My Rodan + Fields March Madness deal is also going on, if you want to become a preferred customer.

You get $20 cash back, 17% off your order and FREE Shipping!

 I would LOVE to help you with your skin care needs & help you get longer lashes!

With this deal you would save over $25 on Lash Boost!

You can also take this quick 6 question survey to find out what products are best for your skin {HERE}

It also applies if you join my team...17% off your kit. 

You could get $75-$150 cash back!

Such an awesome deal!

Email me for more info!

melissa_larson17(at)yahoo.com

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Have a great weekend!

My Most Embarrasing Moments

Today I am linking up with Andrea for Show & Tell Tuesday and today's topic is sharing your most embarrassing moments.

 I've had my share of embarrassing moments in my life. 

Like in 5th grade when I peed my pants at soccer.

Or, in 6th grade when a sea gull POOPED on my head while on a school field trip to Alcatraz and I had poop on my head and shirt whole day.

And, in 7th grade when I was at the community pool and took off my shorts to jump in the pool and realized that I forgot to put on my bathing suit.

Or, my 2nd day of teaching EVER and my coffee spilt ALL over my shirt 1st period, so all day long I had a huge coffee spill all down my shirt. (That prompted me to ALWAYS have a spare black cardigan in my desk drawer)

And, that time when I was pregnant with Claire with horrible morning sickness and puked in the Target parking lot (with several people watching)

So yeah. Embarrassing things happen to me. I'm cool with it.

But there are 2 that stand out as my most embarrassing...

 

 {ONE}

It was the afternoon of my Senior Ball (same thing as Senior Prom, but at our high school, Junior Prom was called Prom and Senior Prom was called Senior Ball) 

I went to get my "updo" at a place downtown where everyone got their hair done for prom. After my hair appointment, I had a make up appointment at the mall at the Clinique counter. Because Clinique was my favorite in high school. 

I go to my hair appt & flip through photos of updo's and pick one out.

She starts to comb my hair and then stops. 

Then, she goes to another hair dresser's station and asks the girl to come over. 

They are looking at my scalp. 

Then she says to me "I can't do your hair. You have lice"

OMG.  WHAT?!?!

She said, have you been around little kids lately?

I said, yes...I babysit all the time.

Then it hit me. I realized where I got the lice.

A few weeks prior, I was in Mexico with my church youth group for a Spring Break Missions Trip at an Orphanage near Tijuana. That week, we put on a VBS for the kids at this Orphanage. 

One of the sweet girls there, asked me to give her piggy back rides almost every day. 

Which I did. 

She must have had lice.

Her hair touched my hair every time I gave her a piggy back ride.

OMG.

And she wanted lots of hugs.

The hair dresser told me it to go to CVS and get lice shampoo, go home, wash my hair & have my mom get all the lice nits out and then come back to the salon and she would see if she could squeeze me in.

So, I rush out of there and of course see several girls from my high school at the salon & I think they are wondering why I am leaving with a Panicked look on my face & my hair NOT done. 

I get the lice shampoo at CVS (I also bought some make up since I had to cancel my make up appt at Clinique and I didn't have much make up at home. 

Of course I run into one of my friends & her mom at CVS and tell them what happened and pleaded "PLEASE don't tell anyone!!!"

 I drive home in tears. I am mortified.

I got lice. On a mission trip.

I have my mom help me wash my hair. I am still in tears because:

1) I have lice

2) I might not get my up-do for Senior Ball & I can't do my own up-do

3) There is no way I will make it to my make up appointment, so I will be going to my Senior Ball with lice infested hair & a crappy make up job done by myself

I had spent the whole year as a Senior Class Officer planning our Senior Ball & I was showing up as a hot mess.

I spent HOURS and HOURS picking out the venue, picking out the color scheme, designing the invitations & doing ticket sales.

For this 17 year old...Life was over as I knew it.

After we got the lice nits out of my hair, I went back to the hair salon. 

My hairdresser was able to squeeze me in.

The lice & nits were gone. 

I got my up-do done. 

I did my make up on my own. It turned out fine, nothing fancy.

It all worked out.

Here I am that night:

 It ended up being a great Senior Ball, despite the craziness that happened getting ready for it!

 

{TWO}

This next one happened 4 years ago when Luke was 9 months old.

I successfully pumped at school after I had both girls & when I had Luke.

Everyday during my lunch, it was the same routine. 

I close all the blinds in my classroom.

I lock my door. 

Then I double check to make sure my door is locked. 

I go back to my desk, hook up my pump and spend the next 10 minutes pumping.

I always have my pump on my desk next to my laptop as a shield, you know...just in case someone came in my room. 

But, that wouldn't happen because my door is ALWAYS locked.

 Several times, I have had some close calls. 

I'll be pumping & a student will try and open my door because they forgot something in my room...PE clothes, pencil pouch, notebook, etc.  

It always startles me when I hear the door handle being pulled, but it's always locked, so the student just leaves. 

{My pumping "station" in my classroom}

Let's rewind to May 2013.

The lunch bell rang, I did what I always do. 

Closed the blinds, locked the door, double checked the door, set up my pump & lap top and start pumping. 

A few minutes into lunch, I hear a student knock on my door & then try and open it. 

It's locked, so no big deal. I keep pumping. 

5 minutes later, I hear talking outside my door, someone trying to open the door and then....

THE DOOR OPENS.

Standing in the doorway is the custodian and one of my students.

PANIC.

SHOCK. 

HORROR.

I screamed. 

Then, shouted,

"SHUT THE DOOR! I WILL BE OUT IN A MINUTE"

O.M.G. 

HOLY $#!%

NO. That did not just happen. NO.

Panicked, they shut the door and left. And took my dignity with them.

Flustered, I stopped my pump, buttoned up my shirt and ran outside to see why in the world they needed to come to my room.

My sweet student had left her lunch in my room and when the door was locked, went and got the custodian to unlock my door. 

She couldn't even LOOK me in the face as I handed her her lunch bag.

And, the poor custodian. He was mortified & said he was so sorry. 

O.M.G

I am "telling" myself that my pump and laptop were a good enough barricade and that no one saw anything. Yeah....that's what I'm telling myself. 

O.M.G.

I don't know who is more traumatized.

Me, my student or the custodian. 

I called Kevin for moral support and he couldn't stop laughing. 

So, then I obviously texted my sister because she had a close call (same situation) earlier this year.

Pretty sure this one takes the cake as my most embarrassing moment ever.

With a glass of (breast)milk to go with it.

 
Feel free make me feel better and share any of your embarrassing moments in the comments or link me to your post with your embarrassing moments!

10 on 10 :: March 2017 & A Winner

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

Here was a snapshot of our day from Friday, March 10th

I just love documenting the 10th of each month and seeing what we were up to.

Getting ready in the morning....every day the girls ask me to braid their hair. Both girls are growing it out for Locks of Love. They haven't gotten their haircut in over 18 months.

We need them to have 8-10 inches to donate....I think we are getting close to donation time...their hair is SO long now.

Trees at school....and all over our town. Everything is in bloom. So pretty, but so much pollen!


Break at school...time for my breakfast while I enter grades.

I have a bar every morning between 9-10 for breakfast. I don't get hungry until mid morning.

In class, my students worked on making posters for the Pythagorean Theorem. They had to create their own Real world problem and make a poster about it.

I love the Eiffel Tower poster one girl made. Very creative.

Ran home for lunch....Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato soup with croutons.

I love soup :)

Then I went to my hair cut. Desperate need of highlights!

I started reading The Magnolia Story...have you read it yet? I just love Fixer Upper and the Gaines.

Then I headed to pick up the kids from school. When we got home, Kate had a long awaited package waiting for her on the front porch. Her American Girl had returned from the doll hospital.

You see, her American Girl needed a head transplant because her hair was a rats nest. We tried fixing it on our own to no avail, so for Kate's birthday, my mom told her she would get her doll's head replaced. They send your doll to the Doll Hospital and she comes back in a gown, hospital bracelet, new socks and as good as new. My girls are obsessed with AG dolls.

Since it was Friday, that meant no homework! Yeah! So my kitchen table was actually clean because it wasn't being used for Homework. Luke and I put up our St. Patricks banner.

I love getting fresh daffodils in March & April.

Then we headed to our friends house to drop off a Kentucky Derby hat for our school Auction...the hills in our town are SO green right now!


It was the evening of our kids school Auction & the theme was Kentucky Derby...here is what we wore:

We had such a fun night with our friends. I just LOVED the theme! And, I love any excuse to get dressed up :)

It was a great 10th....hope you had a great one also!

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And, the winner of the $100 Amazon Gift Card is:
Erin K.
Congratulations!
Leave a comment or send me an email!