What's Going in Our Easter Baskets?

Hey everyone! How is your week going? I honestly can't believe Easter is in a couple days. How is it mid-April?! The good news is, spring is here! Hope you have been getting some spring-like weather in your area! The kids have been outside everyday this week, and Sunday is supposed to be sunny and almost 70, which will be perfect for getting out looking for those eggs.

This year I wanted to come up with some stuffers other than candy for the kids' Easter baskets. I'm trying to avoid all that extra sugar. They will get enough of that from the big egg hunt. ;)

We honestly don't get them a whole lot for the kids because, well, they don't need it. So, I try to be logical but still put some things in there they will be excited about.

First up, let me share what I bought for my 1 1/2 year old little guy. I know he won't fit into his swimming trunks from last summer, so I thought it would be the perfect gift for his basket, along with the shirt and hat. We will also tuck this little board book in there because he absolutely loves trucks so much!

Baby Boy's Basket

My daughters' baskets will be pretty identical. {I wonder if that will bother them someday? :-)} They both get a new swimming suit. This year we chose tankinis for them to make it easier to use the bathroom while we are living at the pool for the summer. I will also throw in some underwear. You can never have too much underwear, right?! ;) I wanted to get them Frozen bedding, but I think the price on all the Frozen attire is a little ridiculous right now! Yikes! I may pick up a book for each of them to tuck in their baskets as well.

We can't go without some sort of treat. We picked up the lemon almonds last weekend while we were at Costco, so those will go in some of their eggs {As long as I don't eat anymore!}. We also picked up some of Justin's Organic Peanut Butter Cups. {I don't feel as guilty because these are a cleaner candy option. :-)} We will also fill some of their eggs with money. They have already asked if we will be doing that again because they remember us doing it last year.

Can't leave My Hunter out. I don't know that I got him anything last year, but on Tuesday one of my friends shared with me a plant I may be able to keep alive {Thanks Mel!}... bamboo! With My Hunter's love for plants, I thought this would be a cute gift for him. The kids and I picked this up for him when we were out Wednesday and will surprise him with it on Sunday. :-) And, if I can't keep this alive, I think this relationship I am trying to create with plants is over.

Need other non-candy ideas? Here are a few:

• Coloring Books & Crayons
• Stickers
• Bubbles
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Jump Ropes
• Sandals & a Fun Nail Polish
• Sunglasses
• Lipgloss/Chapstick
• New Tableware (Cup & Plate)
• Bracelets
• Books
• Cleaner Candies:
• A Homemade Goodie
• OCHO Bars
• Yummy Earth Brand Candies
• Surf Sweets Jellybeans

Do you do Easter baskets? If so, what are you putting in them this year? 

What is one thing you would like in your Easter basket?

Marvelous in My Monday

Hello Monday! You just sneak up so fast sometimes! I do love you though. ;)

We had such a nice weekend over here, and I think that is why I am feeling Monday just kind of got here so quickly. Guess I wasn't ready for the fun to end.

Maybe sharing some of the highlights with all of you will take me back and satisfy me before I start in on this week.

Thursday night the kids and I went out to eat with some friends of ours. This restaurant was pretty fun. The atmosphere was perfect for the baby. He was able to run around and not bother anyone else.

Everything on the menu had really weird names. When I ordered the girls their "camel toes" they gave me a look like they were not going to eat "camel toes"! {It was just the insides of bread topped with turkey and cheese.}

Check out how these sandwiches are shaped too. I had to ask them to cut mine in half. I wasn't sure how else I would be able to eat it without making a total fool of myself.

Every Friday night our family does pizza and movie night. I decided to bail for a bit though and take our dog for a walk. It was still 70 degrees at 7 pm and she hadn't been on a good walk in a long time. She was over due. And, I sure didn't mind having some peace and quite for a bit. :-)

In fact, when I got home, I left again to run out to T.J. Maxx to find some new pants. Well, I didn't even make it over to the clothes section. I shopped in home decor, picking up a few new fun things for our place.

Something I totally needed! Ha!

Saturday morning, My Hunter and I got in a quick workout and then we went on a family date to the orchestra. It was geared for the kids perfectly. They told a fun story to go along with their songs and it was just the right length to avoid an embarrassing melt-down that I knew wasn't far away from the baby. After the performance, they had a "petting zoo" where the kids could test out the instruments. Pretty fun!

Orchestra Bound!

Saturday afternoon and evening we spent out at our friends. The guys went shed hunting, while Jenny and I had some girl talk and the kids played. Once the guys got home we all sat down to a wonderful home-cooked supper and enjoyed some great family time.

Sunday was spent mostly at church. My friend and I are preparing a women's conference that will be coming up at the end of this month. We had to announce it at each of the services and then spend time at the registration table talking with the other women. I am really looking forward to this conference! Definitely keeping me busy!

I did pick up some of these *amazing* lemon covered almonds while we were out. I plan to put these in some of the kids' Easter eggs. Somebody doesn't like the fact that he has to wait another week to have them. :-)

This week ahead is super busy for us. You would think with us not living near family that we wouldn't have many plans with it begin Easter week and all, but I think the only day we don't have something going on is Wednesday.

Hope you all have a marvelous Monday!

Thank you so much, Katie, for hosting this link-up!

Questions:
Do you ever go out shopping for something that you specifically need and then come home with everything but?

What was your favorite highlight from your weekend?

Do you have a busy week ahead with Easter?

Stay Strong Over the Weekend

I know how the weekends can go, because I used to do it myself. You work hard, stick to your goals, workouts and meal plan all week long, and then the weekend rolls around and everything you invested the past week goes right out the window. For some reason, now it seems okay to eat four slices of pizza, have a bowl of ice cream or end the evening with two too many drinks. Sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday is the way you start the day, which throws everything off and means not getting your early morning workout in or eating breakfast because it is now noon. You start to wonder why you aren't seeing results. "How can the weight not be coming off when I ate so healthy all week, stuck to my snacks and meals, and even worked out?"

No matter how healthy you are during the week, if you give everything up over the weekend and make it a free-for-all, you will just end up un-doing the week of healthiness you just had.

But, I have good news, it doesn't have to go this way! And I am here to share some of the tips that I have found to be helpful in reaching my goals and making this lifestyle change.

1. Keep your same routine! If you are in bed by 9 or 10 during the week and up early to workout each morning, continue with that schedule. I know that when I stay up even an hour or two later on the weekends, I am exhausted the next morning. It throws me completely off, and I have a hard time getting up in the morning, as well as accomplishing the tasks I had in mind. Having a schedule like this, where you are up later on the weekends can actually hinder your weight loss goals too.
2. Plan! I take time on Saturday to plan out my meals for the following week. Sunday, while we are out, we run to the store to pick up the groceries needed, and then I start meal prepping when we get home. This just ensures I will stay on track and has me prepared for the days when we are super busy.
3. Eat normal! Why change eating habits just "because it's the weekend"? If you think about it, it's kind of silly to have that mentality, but I get it because I have, and still do at times, think that way. The most helpful thing I have found is having that plan ready to go that I prepared the previous weekend, with snacks and meals all laid out. If I know we are going to be out and about on Saturday, I will have our food ready to go and pack healthy snack options in my bag in case hunger strikes and we are not around options I would prefer to have.
4. Workout! I used to take the weekends as my rest days, but now My Hunter and I workout together on the weekends, which has become a favorite time for him and I. With it being the weekend and having more free time, we are able to get in a longer workout than normal. 
   
5. Get outside! Our family is big into the outdoors. It is just so refreshing to "unplug" from social media and get out to enjoy nature, breathe in the fresh air and spend time with my family.
6. Watch your drinks! As I mentioned above, you can sometimes get in the habit of having wine, beer or pop over the weekend, and while those things are totally fine in moderation, you don't want to end up going overboard on them. There are a lot of calories in some of those drinks, and they can add up extremely fast when you aren't paying attention.
7. Relax! Isn't this what weekends are all about? Take time to read a favorite book, go to a movie, get out to dinner with your spouse or a friend. Unwind from the week you just had and the one that is coming up.
8. Have a treat! You don't want to deprive yourself or you will completely fail. It's totally okay to have a scoop of ice cream or a slice of cake every now and then. Just watch portion sizes and make this an occasional thing versus an everyday occurrence. 

You can be strong over the weekends, and you will learn how. The best part is, once you carry your healthy habits through your weekends, you will find you have more energy, which makes family and friend time even more fun.

Enjoy your weekend! Enjoy this time away from your hectic day-to-day week!

Have a great Saturday, friends!

High Five for Friday

It's Friday; this picture {that is SO cute} pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about Fridays!

I thought I would share some highlights on this Friday.

1. First up, we are going to have some *pretty* excited girls tonight when they find out we are now the proud owners of the Frozen DVD! My Hunter took the girls to see this in theaters when it came out, but I still have not seen it so I am super pumped for 7:00 pm to get here!
   
2. I go through phases on Pinterest where I am never on there, and then I will go on a couple nights and find a ton of stuff I end up pinning. Last night I did this and found this extremely adorable spring outfit
   
   and these cute workout tanks that I can now not decide which one I want the most! {Which one do you like? HELP! ;) }
   
3. The girls and I made these muffins again this week, and YUMMY! {That's all I have to say!}
   
4. Excited for dinner at our friends' Saturday night! I am ready to get out, eat a great meal, and have some adult conversation! :-)
5. My Hunter's Insanity program came Monday, and he asked if I was going to do some workouts with him. After watching him do the fit test this morning, I am wondering if I could make it through one of these INSANE workouts! I may just stick to my 21 Day Fix!
   

Hope you all have an amazing Friday! Comment below with a highlight from your week or with something you have planned for the weekend. I would love to hear. :-)

Thanks for hosting the link-up, Lauren!