Latest Loves of Spring

After a heartbreaking loss last night by the Utah Jazz (which sadly ended their season), I'm ready to jump into spring by saying hello to baseball (go Twins!), wearing dresses, and going sockless. I'm hoping now that we're more than half-way through April that we can officially say goodbye to temperatures below 50 degrees as well as those random snowfalls. It is Utah though, so I guess one can never can quite say for certain....
Here's a list of my lastest loves, all certainly worth sharing!

I know what you're probably thinking...who doesn't already know about the handy dandy stain lifter, SHOUT? But I really came to love this product (notice it's the ADVANCED kind) after it was becoming a battle to get my two boys to wear bibs (apparently that really goes against their cool factor). And as I'm sure you can imagine, pretty much every piece of their clothing was in need of a SHOUT-down before washing. So, I'm here to give this stuff a SHOUT-out because it not only magically deletes any spots, but also works wonders on set-in stains. I honestly buy this stuff in bulk and go through about a bottle every month and a half. So worth it to me since I happen to really like my kids clothes and preserving them as long as possible makes me feel good and keeps them looking good. :)


                                      
I forgot to include these in this post that I did earlier this year (they were a Christmas present to us), but wanted to still share their awesomeness. For those of you unfamiliar, they're called MagnaTiles. Basically they're a really fun take on building blocks, but since their magnetic they have WAY more building possibilities. We first came across them at the children's Treehouse Museum, then again at Benjamin's former preschool. They're pretty pricey (I recommend getting at least the 100 piece set), but made very well and suitable for a variety of ages. You can find here or at local toy stores. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Bart and I enjoy playing with them too!

                                            
With the amount of eating we do, let's face it- silverware is important. Well, about a few months ago my husband and I decided that our youngest (almost 2 yrs.) was ready to say goodbye to his silicone covered baby spoons. So we bagged them up and moved on. Since the best utensil for him to use right now is a spoon, I hunted every grocery store here in Logan for a set of nice toddler spoons. SO HARD TO FIND! They either came with a fork (have enough of those), or they were all plastic and cheap-o looking. So, I hopped online and found the brand NUK here (sometimes combined with Gerber packaging) and bought 2 sets for a total of 6, which have been working out great. Quick funny story is that while I was buying the boys spoons, I decided Bart and I should get a few more small spoons (I HATE using big spoons!) for our adult silverware. So, I bought a set of these thinking nothing of actually checking the measurements since they looked just the right size in the photo. Then about a week and half a later I realized they hadn't arrived....thought that was odd since normally Amazon is pretty speedy. So, I waited until one day the doorbell rang. It was the postman asking me to sign for an international package. Huh? I wasn't expecting anything overseas. I even asked him if he was sure he had the right address.....sure enough it was me. So, I signed and opened up the mysteriously small sized box which contained 4 itsy-bitsy (we're talking teaspoon sized spoons) that had been shipped all the way from KOREA! Oops. Good thing is that they are actually very nice silver spoons, and we've got a baby on the way who I'm sure can use them when he/she is ready for solids, plus we'll always have this fun little story to tell. Oh, and if you too are looking for additional smaller sized silver spoons, go to Love To Cook Kitchen Kneads. You can buy them there singly and save $ spent on silly overseas shipping.

                                                         

                                                    
There's only a couple of make-up items that I insist on buying at a department store make-up counter. First is Estee Lauder's brow pencil (I am a devoted fan to the Soft Blonde color), and the second is eyeliner. I've tried a few different brands and kinds but so far this one is my fave. I've also recently become more consistent in wearing eyeliner now, probably because I found that dark brown is less dramatic on me and way more forgiving to smudges/fading off. I also really like a crayon because I find that it doesn't skip as much (big for me since I am always applying make-up in a hurry!), and draws a thicker line. This new eyeliner by Clinique is pretty genius with the sharpener built right in the lid, so no more dull tip. Rejoice!



                                                         
My mom bought a pack of these for us from COSTCO and my whole family loves them! I'm sure you've already heard how Quinoa is so so so good for you, but for some reason I've always been intimidated by making it. Well, thankfully this microwavable pouch makes them incredibly convenient and they're very filling too! I like adding some chopped avocado and cherry tomatoes to mine...yum yum!



                
                                                          
Normally I'm waaaaaaaay behind when it comes to keeping up with the latest movies. But for some reason, a commercial for Rise Of The Guardians caught my eye last year and I miraculously remembered to add it to our Netflix queue. Last weekend we all had a chance to watch it (also very rare nowadays) and all really enjoyed it! At first I was a little worried about it being too violent (cover looks like a lot of fighting and mean scowly faces and it's rated PG), but in my opinion it wasn't bad at all for the kiddos and has a relatable and cute story line  You can watch a preview of it here.

Well, that's it from me ~ hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We'll be partying it up here as we celebrate our youngest turning 2 years old!