Save the thoughts....fight for change

I was looking forward to Valentine's Day just like most mom's eager to bring a little smile and sweet surprise to their little one's face. I left little boxes of chocolate on their dressers, and took them to school since it was a Wednesday. The day was like any other day. Mariam and Layla were picked up like usual. We rifled through their cards and sweets they got from school. At 3:00 pm, I loaded the little one's in the car and drove to Serena's high school. About 5 minutes away, I turn the radio on and that's where I first heard about the shooting. It didn't seem right. It didn't seem real.

 How can another school shooting have happened?! How could it have happened in Parkland 30 minutes away from us in Boca?!

No that can't be right.....They didn't know the number of casualties at the time, but later we learned the shooting claimed 17 victims. Today during mass we learned the parents of one of the victims attends our church. My heart is broken for all the people involved in this senseless violence. As a parent I can't even begin to process what the parents of the children that passed feel. It's unthinkable. I've had trouble falling asleep for the past 4 nights because every night before bed, I get so sad and angry that this has happened again. No matter where you stand on gun control, something is very very wrong in our country. I refuse to live in a world where sending our kids to school could mean we might never see them alive again. I for one am sick of the thoughts and prayers and everyone just arguing their side on the matter, and nothing gets done!

Nothing!

I encourage everyone to get involved however you can. This affects all of us. There are several organizations that you can join:

 Moms demand action

Every town for gun safety

The coalition to stop gun violence

You can also contact your representatives and Facebook them. Here's another great link on more ways to get involved:

http://www.30guncontrolactionsyoucantakenow.com/take-action/

Please don't look the other way. Enough is enough. Not one more.

Valentine's Day learning with Education.com

Tomorrow is almost Valentine's Day! I don't know about you but I love Valentine's Day. Every year I try to do a little something special for the girl's and H on love day. This week is crazy though and the girl's scheduled activities are still on for tomorrow. I will have a sweet little surprise for them when they wake up though, and also make heart shaped pancakes. Tonight we'll be baking heart shaped chocolate chip cookies for the teachers and some friends. Should be fun!

Of course even with our busy schedules, homework still needs to be done and learning is an every day thing. My 6 year old is currently doing addition and subtraction in her class and this fun little Valentine's Day addition worksheet is great practice! Add more love to your learning as you practice addition with this worksheet from Education.com! If you love addition, check out these fun addition resources too.

Valentine's Day worksheets

Charming breakfast nooks including ours

I've been wanting to update all week but I feel like all of us spent the week just trying to recover from another Disney World trip. Even though we had a blast, we weren't feeling great during the trip and coming straight back to the usual chaos of weekly activities, took a lot out of us! 

I've been wanting to share another home update which is still an ongoing work in progress, because I'm super picky and like a million things come up with the family, but little by little right? I've currently got about 10 different projects I'm working on, but for now here is the state of our breakfast nook. 

It's no secret that I love a white, light and bright home with pops of blue. Our breakfast nook is small so I wanted to find a round pedastal table to go in the space. I found one on offer up last year that I've had sitting in the garage for 8 months now. In October I finally found some chairs that I loved and when I saw it in person, I ended up loving the table. It was perfect for our family size. H was out of town but I was able to bring that bad boy home by myself from 2 cities over. The best thing is I actually don't need to repaint this table. The chairs do need to be reupholsterd because they are sagging a bit and I'd like to change the fabric with one that has more color, but it's not urgent. As for the first dining room table--that's still sitting in my garage, I'm hoping to start painting it next week and then sell it. 

Crystal Pendant{Home Depot}

The french provincial mirror came with a matching dresser that I found from a thrift shop for $50. The whole set! If you know me, you know that I love finding used furniture and making it beautiful again. You don't have to spend a ton of money to have a beautiful and put together home. Just takes a little bit of patience and work. The mirror did not look like this when I got it, I had to paint it. 

A recent addition to the left hand wall are two shabby chic shelves I found at Joann's fabric store. They were 50% off when I bought them last October. A few places you wouldn't think of that have cute decor are: Michael's and Joann's. 

This is the only picture I could find from fall where you can see the shelves. Currently there is nothing on them except for one picture. 

I love charming breakfast nooks. They are cozy and an inviting place to start your day. I've always liked farmhouse style, french country and shabby chic decorating so here are a few gorgeous ideas.

Have a great Monday!

Loving lately....Children's Edition

1) Ruffle Poncho's

Ruffle poncho (Target)

This adorable poncho was actually 50% off in store at Target, so you may want to check out your local Target store first. It's super cute, warm and has a nice weight to it. It's easy to put on and off and the ruffles are simply adorable and elegant!

2) Melissa & Doug Deluxe Star Diner Restaurant

Melissa & Doug Diner (Target)

This was a Christmas present for Mariam and everyone loves it. We all play with it taking turns being a customer, waitress, or chef! It's a wooden diner with a kitchen on one side and a two person booth on the other. The kitchen has an ectra large oven, realistic burners and dials, a two shelf refrigerator, and plenty of counter space. It comes with 25 accessories. The girls all loved their Christmas presents, but this one has definitely been used the most!

3) Made Good granola minis

Made Good granola minis (Amazon)

We finally caved and got a Costco membership even though it's a little further out, the parking is horrendous and the hours don't work for me, but these kids are eating us out of house and home. Good lord can they eat these days. I swear they just want to snack all day. I can't seem to keep the littlest ones out of the kitchen. I picked up some snacks last week on my first shopping trip there and one of them was this bag of Made Good granola minis. The girls really liked them and went through them in no time. You can find them on Amazon, but I got them at Costco for $9.99. They are organic, non GMO verified, gluten free and contain the nutrients in one full serving of vegetables from six different sources. 

4) Napen clothes stand

White clothes stand (Ikea)

This clothes stand is a great inexpensive buy! You can hang anything on it and use it as a decoration in a room. Sometimes I even use it for a few product photos, but it mainly stays in the girls room with a dress on it. It's also adjustable and easy to clean. 

Have a good weekend!