Mother's Day Extravaganza

My mom lives far, far away from me so we rarely get to celebrate Mother's Day together. Last year I drove up and surprised her for the weekend which was awesome! I kept texting my dad to let him know where I was on the drive and what my ETA was and my mom was getting suspicious because he NEVER texts! She had plenty of ideas in her head and me coming to visit wasn't one of them! She was super surprised when I walked in the door-it made my whole weekend!

This year my mom is going on a trip shortly before Mother's Day, so I won't able to make it up there to spend the weekend with her. Since I wasn't going to see her I had to put together an awesome gift! My love language is definitely giving gifts! It's one of my favorite things to do and I love shopping for (or making gifts) and putting together gift baskets etc.! I've been told that I go overboard (and I probably do)-I buy lots of random little gifts for people too-not just on holidays!

I keep a private Amazon wishlist throughout the year with different gift ideas for people on it. Whenever I see something neat in the store, online, in a magazine or someone mentions something I add it to my list. It's awesome because I can add everything straight from my phone right away! I'm pretty awesome at coming up with gift ideas, but I know not everyone else is so without further ado here is the 2015 Mother's Day Gift Ideas List!


Does your mom love snacking? How about some yummy fresh cookie dough from edoughable? The dough is eggless and packaged ready for eating straight from the carton! If anyone remembers the cookie dough they used to serve with school lunches this is NOTHING like that! It's gourmet and delicious! They have tons of flavors from the classic Chocolate Chip to Birthday Cake and PBJ. I've bought several boxes of the stuff and it's ALL amazing! They even have some Gluten Free and Vegan options for those on special diets. Each flavor costs between $8.00 and $10.00 so the price is right (and they ship super fast!)

You can buy it here: http://www.edoughble.com/

For a movie lover in your life a Netflix subscription is an awesome gift that keeps on giving! You can give a gift subscription of one year or six months or set up an account and pay for it indefinitely! You can choose whether or not to give just streaming or DVD and streaming! I went for the DVD and streaming package for both my mom and myself-I think you need both to really make it worth it!
Netflix will send DVDs straight to your door and you can stream tons of choices! You'll never have to rent a movie again! In the five years I've been a Netflix member we've rented ONE Redbox movie!

You can buy gift cards in pretty much any amount. If you just set up the subscription it will cost 17.00 a month for both DVD and streaming. 

You can buy it here: http://www.netflix.com or find a store that sells gift cards here https://storelocator.gmgpulse.com/v2/partner/netflix?locale=en-US

Want something that's sure to make mom cry (no matter how old you are?) How about a cute activity book from the folks at Knock Knock (they also have a Dad version). This is a great gift for kids to make or even grown ups (I made one for my mom this year)! The book walks you through different prompts about you and your mom. You write letters, draw pictures and choose the qualities of your mom. It's funny, but also super sweet! At 48 pages it takes some time to put it all together, but it really makes you reflect on your relationship with your mom and who your mom is!
The price is right at $8.99-and if you have Amazon Prime it can be here in two days! If you want something homemade, but aren't super great at crafting this is the gift for you!
Buy it here! (Affiliate link)

Is mom into traveling? How about a Try the World food box subscription?
This is a monthly subscription box that sends you a box of food from a different country every other month of the year! Each box contains 6-7 gourmet foods from that region plus a booklet about the culture of that region. This month the box is from Morocco! Currently they are having a flash sale where you get a free box if you sign up! Subscriptions are available for 1 month, 6 months or a year. If Mom likes trying new foods or exploring different cultures this is the gift for her! Plus, with different tiers you can find one that fits your budget!
1 Month is $50.00
6 Months are $115
12 Months are $210
Plus you get free shipping, free returns and you can cancel at any time!

Buy it here! http://www.trytheworld.com/pages/the-gift

Is mom a reader? Magazine subscriptions always go over well-and it's a gift that brings joy 12 months out of the year! If you are a United frequent flyer you can use miles to get magazine subscriptions. If you redeem Coke Rewards points you can also earn magazine subscriptions. Amazon has pretty good prices on subscriptions and you can usually find them on sale!

If mom is into celebrities and gossip my favorites are People and US Weekly. Their reporting is a little better than most of the tabloid and they are a little less sensational than the other tabloids.
People is a little pricey at $121.37  but it's worth it. US Weekly is only $52.00 a year! That's only a dollar a week!

       Buy them here (Affiliate Links)            
If Mom is into cooking and home things I can't recommend Real Simple enough! They have tons of awesome recipes, organizational tricks and even a fashion section! It is one of my favorite magazines ever. Plus it's only $23.88 for a year long subscription and the magazines are really thick! It's a great value!


If Mom is into fashion you can't go wrong with the fashion bible-Vogue! Even though most of the clothes in Vogue are a little out of a regular person's budget it's still fun to look at! For more realistic fashion advice I like Lucky-they have lots of affordable clothes and things that aren't haute couture!


 You can get 6 issues of Vogue for only $6.00-plus a free clutch! That's a dang good deal!

  Lucky is an even better deal at $3.00 with a free scarf!

If Mom likes to cook and likes fun kitchen gear you can't do better than Koziol. Koziol is a German company that makes super high quality and fun kitchen gear. You can find a spoon rest shaped like an Italian Gondolier, a cake knife shaped like a crocodile and a cheese grater that looks like a hedgehog. I got a few of their items in France and I love them! They last forever, are well made and they are adorable (as well as functional).

Buy them here: http://www.wayfair.com/Koziol-C537925.html or at http://www.koziol.de (Amazon also has a great selection.)

If mom is a tea drinker you can't go wrong with a cute tea infuser and some nice loose leaf tea! Amazon has a huge selection of cute tea infusers-they have the standard stainless steel tea balls as well as other cute shapes. The prices are great-$5.00-$10.00 and tea drinkers love them!
(Affiliate Links)
Seriously look at all the adorable choices you have! These are just some of the options on Amazon-I found so many more that I wanted! They even have one that looks like a scuba diver!

For the loose tea you can't get better tea than Chelmsford! They have tons of awesome options and their prices are pretty reasonable (5.49 for 2 oz for most teas). I love the White Chocolate Mousse Black Tea and the Apricot Black Tea. For the Chai teas I love the Lemongrass Chai and the Vanilla Chai. It is totally worth the investment and would go great with a cute tea infuser. They have tea that matches any taste-I would get several different kinds to try. It's hard to narrow it down to just one! They also have a tea of the month club for 150.00 for a one year subscription.
Buy some here: http://www.chelmsfordtea.com/

Does Mom work on her feet a lot? If she does she needs Crocs-and no I'm not talking about the ugly gardening shoes from a few years back! Crocs has undergone a renaissance and I absolutely love their shoes. I have tons of foot issues and I teach so I need shoes that are comfy and cute-Crocs fits the bill. You can wear their shoes 12 hours a day with no foot pain or problems.
Some of my favorites are:

Kadee Flat (which comes in tons of colors-I have them in snakeskin, leopard, black, brown and blue leopard)

Athens Flip Flops-I have them in black and they are my go to flip flop. They have WAY more support than cheap flip flops and aren't as harmful to your feet.

Cap Toe Flat: I have these in brown and in black and they are a great basic shoe! Super comfy for work and they even look professional! 

Cobbler Clogs: These are the most awesome winter shoes ever! Mine are fur lined but they don't seem to have those any more. These are the only heels I can wear all day, every day without hurting. 

Crocs have pretty reasonable prices-most of their shoes are less than $50.00 and even the more expensive ones are under $100.00. They have a pretty decent exchange policy too! Rack Room Shoes and Payless both sell Crocs so you can actually see them in person (plus there are some Crocs stores around the country). If you don't know Mom's size you can always do a gift card! 

Buy Them here: http://www.crocs.com

A new obsession of mine and perfect for any mom is Pomegranate Clothing. I'm obsessed with their comfy cotton nightshirts and pajama sets. Their sets are made in India and are probably the softest cotton I've ever felt! They are a little pricey, but they are so worth it (and they are running a fantastic sale right now!). The prints are adorable and cheery.
I love their nightshirts paired with a part of their Penelope shorts for the perfect summer pajama set! Every mom needs comfy pajamas to hang around the house in and these are probably the best pajama sets ever.

They are the perfect weight of cotton so you don't get too cold or too hot plus they are soft and cozy. I love to put mine on right when I get home from work and just hang out in them all night! I've been debating buying a set of the pants and the shirts for winter. I own 3 of the night shirts (Serengeti (sold out), Pink Elephant and Pink Pony) and 2 pairs of the shorts (Llama Parade in blue and Serengeti) and I'm always lusting after more! I feel like nice pajamas are a very grown up thing and something every woman should have in her closet! 

Pomegranate also has super adorable clothing-lots of breezy tunic tops and comfy dresses! 

Seriously how can you resist dresses this adorable! 

I'm also in LOVE with their home section! Aren't these the most adorable pillows ever?! I'm pretty sure you couldn't pick out anything on Pomegranate's website and Mom would love it! They have a super easy Southern beachy style that I just love (hey I'm a Southern native!). I also ADORE their customer service (especially Elly!)-they are super duper helpful! (And no they aren't paying me for this review-I'm just in love with them!).

If you sign up for their mailing list you get an instant 25% off coupon for your first purchase-you can save quite a bit on such expensive items! And they have an awesome sale section on their website. 

Check them out here: http://pomegranateinc.com/

Honestly, the most important and special gift you can give your mom is TIME! It's important to spend as much time as possible with your parents-and Mother's Day shouldn't be the only day of the year you appreciate your mom! Take her out to lunch, take her shopping, take her to see a movie, taker her hiking whatever she's into! Some of the best days I've spent have been curled up on the couch next to my mom reading while she reads. We don't do a lot of talking other than to read each other interesting passages of our books or to discuss our books, but it is such a bonding experience. Make time for your mom-it's a gift for both of you! Get your mom to pass down the family recipes (and teach you how to make them), show you family pictures and tell you stories of her youth-these are things you will want to know as time goes on!

While I love giving gifts and think it's important to acknowledge my mom on Mother's Day I also give her gifts throughout the year and I make sure we have a close relationship. The time I spend with my mom is probably the most important thing in my life-and she's one of the most important people in my life. You can never be too busy for your mom and that's a fact!

What do you like giving for Mother's Day? Let me know what I missed in the comments-I'm a shopaholic and would love to know of other ideas!

Happy New Year!!

Well, we survived the drive home and made it safely into 2015. Now I get to spend the next 4 months writing the wrong date on my checks, forms and on the whiteboard every day (inevitably one of my 8th graders will point it out and my kiddos will mercilessly make fun of me....until they right the wrong year on an assignment).

Yesterday we left my parents' house about 1:00 in the afternoon-it was so tough to leave. Every visit, no matter how long it is, seems too short. When I visit them I have so much fun and it makes me realize how much I want them to live closer. My awesome dad spent about an hour loading up the SUV with 2 weeks worth of stuff-somehow he managed to fit everything in. I was pretty sure we would have to leave something behind, or tie the dog to the roof, but he managed to fit it all in. We couldn't see out of the rear view mirror, but who needs that anyways. 

The ride home took about an hour longer than it was supposed to. This is all because DH was driving. When I drive I follow the GPS and take the shortest route possible-I don't want to spend any more time than necessary in the car. DH, on the other hand, likes to take a new route each time and see new things (even if it's longer). He has no problem stopping at a gas station 3 miles off the interstate, whereas I try to stop only when my bladder is about to explode and only at a gas station right off the interstate. I run in and out without browsing and get back on the road. 

DH also tends to get distracted when driving; fun signs, interesting machinery, other vehicles etc are all apt to catch his attention. This tend to cause issues-such as missing our exit in Kansas City and driving an extra 25 minutes. 

We finally made it home and unloaded all the stuff. For the amount of stuff we had shoved into the car it only took us 2 hours to get it all unpacked and put away! 😃 We chowed down on a Tarte d'Alsace from Trader Joe's and watched some of the New Year's show in Miami (since we couldn't find the New York one on antenna vision) while sorting through all our mail. We finally got to see all the Christmas cards people sent us-I was surprised that we didn't get any letters this year only cards. It made me wonder if letters were passé (I sent one this year along with a cute photo card from Shutterfly-it was my first year sending Christmas cards so maybe I'm not up to date on the etiquette). DH went to bed shortly after midnight, and I stayed up until 2:30 reading.

We kept New Year's Day pretty relaxed-we both slept in and we let the dog sleep in bed with us last night (a rare treat for her when DH is home-standard when he isn't) so we had some family cuddle time. After we got up and around we headed to town to do our grocery shopping and to make a stop at Petco. After Christmas Petco puts their Christmas packaged toys and treats on sale for 50% off which means it's a great time to stock up for the year. My puppy LOVES rawhides-she gets a big rawhide once a month or so and she makes it last until she gets a new one. Raw hides are ridiculously expensive (10-15 bucks EACH) so we would be spending 100-180 bucks a year just to satisfy her need to chew. Rawhides are the only thing that she doesn't eat through in a day and she has so much fun carrying them around, burying them in one of her many hiding spots around the house and chewing on them. Plus, if she's chewing on a rawhide she's not chewing on my walls so that's a plus. Petco puts the Christmas rawhides for 50% off just because they are red and green, have holiday packaging or have cute bows. I'm pretty sure the dog doesn't care if her bones aren't seasonally appropriate so I buy a year's supply during the after Christmas sale and dole them out throughout the year.

We picked up 13 large rawhides and a package of treats for 53.00! Plus, the dog had fun on her outing to Petco (and she actually behaved on her leash! Score!). After grocery shopping we ran up to school to drop some stuff off and do some work in my classroom-DH got enlisted to do some heavy lifting and carry some boxes of books up to my 4th floor classroom! We grabbed some Taco Bell for a late lunch to celebrate our anniversary. It's really not as white trash as it sounds, when DH proposed in the middle of a massive New Year's party he handed me a Taco Bell sauce packet that said "Will you Marry me?" (Wait is that white trash?). Now it's tradition and a special reminder of that night!

We came home and did some work around the house which included cleaning the oven (and I managed not to set off the smoke alarm! Winning!). One of our friends came over in the evening for a dinner of cornbread muffins and black eyed peas and ham (according to DH if you don't eat black eyed peas on New Year's you will have bad luck). We all played Monopoly and watched some Big Bang Theory. I won at Monopoly for the first time in my life (well technically our friend and I decided that we tied)! We haven't seen this friend (he's my husband's best friend, best man in our wedding and a close friend of mine too-we usually see each other a couple of times a week) in about a month so it was awesome to get to catch up!

It was an awesome and relaxing day-just what we needed after a CRAZY two weeks. I realized I'm old when I enjoy a day at home more than any crazy party! How did you celebrate New Year's?

Merry Christmas

I know this is a little late but time hasn't been on my side. One thing no one tells you about marriage is the difficulty in splitting holidays. During our blissful dating days DH and I split up for Christmas. I spent my 2 week break enjoying time with my family watching endless hours of tv and sharing book recommendations with my mom. DH spent 2 weeks at home running the family farm and running to endless family celebrations. It was a great system and a win win for everyone. 

However, once you're married separating for the holidays means imminent divorce and custody battles so that wasn't an option. Last year was our first year spending the holidays together (even though we weren't yet married) and we (meaning I) spent hours coming up with a equitable holiday schedule that would allow everyone equal time.

My parents live almost 7 hours away from us and his parents are about 3 hours away. By virtue of distance we see his parents way more than we see my mine. DH also has tons of mandatory small town or family functions that require us to spend a weekend in his hometown. He also misses the farming life so he tries to go home as much as possible in order to soak up a dose of cow manure and tractor driving before returning to his boring semi-rural suburbia existence. 

Both of us are lucky in that we get 2 weeks off at Christmas, me because I'm a teacher and we get tons of time off which delays the progression of our insanity and inevitable commitment to a mental institution. Usually engineers don't get a full two weeks off since employers already know how insane they are and figure no amount of time away from work will fix it, but DH manages to save his vacation days each year to get an extended break. 

The schedule that we worked out gave Thanksgiving to one family (which rotated each year). We split Christmas break into three sections. The first section includes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the family that didn't have us for Thanksgiving gets that one. We leave on the 26th for the next destination (whoever we saw at Thanksgiving) and then we head to our home on the 31st which allows us to spend New Years together. We got engaged on New Years so it is our special day together. By coming home then we have at least a few days before I have to go back to work which lets us get the house back in order and catch up on chores before getting back to work. 

Of course the schedule isn't perfect and this year it got all messed up. Last year was the first Christmas I spent away from my family and I was miserable. This year was my year and I was super excited! However, DH's hometown Christmas pageant fell on the 19th and heaven forbid we miss that (one of those mandatory small town things) so the schedule ended up getting shuffled around. We spent the 19th-24th at his parent's house and on the 24th we made the 9.5 hour drive from his parents to mine. We're spending the 24th-31st at my parent's house which means they get to see us more this year (talk about hurt feelings!). So much for keeping it equitable.

Essentially instead of getting to relax and spend time together over the holidays DH and I spend two weeks traipsing around the country spending a few hundred dollars in gas in order to please everyone. We live out of my SUV which, by the time we head home, is filled to the roofline with stuff we picked up along the way (our luggage, xmas gifts, stuff from sales and the collection of old junk both sets of parents insist on gifting us with every time we come). Our relaxing New Years is spent unloading the car, unpacking, settling ourselves and one exhausted dog back into the routine of home and gulping down dinner from the gas station before falling asleep in front of the tv. Last year we managed to stay up until 10:30! Big partiers we aren't! Forget going to a fun New Years party, after two weeks of living out of a suitcase I'm excited to stay home and never leave the house again. 

I'm thankful that we get to see everyone and that both sets of parents work with us without too much guilt (honestly most of the guilt I feel is self-imposed), but it does make for a stressful trip. Life would be so much easier if we all lived closer to each other. It would be a dream come true to get both sides together for a holiday (even one of the smaller ones-like Fourth of July) or to spend part of the day at each before returning to our own home at night. It would also be awesome to maybe host our own small holiday party (not sure I'm ready for the responsibility of the big show yet). If we saw our parents year round for nightly suppers or church on Sunday's it might make for less pressure during the holiday season to cram in as much time as possible with both sides. We do the best we can with the time we have, but it's not a perfect solution.