WHAT TO GET YOUR PARENTS FOR CHRISTMAS ($25 AND UNDER) AND OTHER PEOPLE TOO

Every year I struggle with what to get everyone for Christmas. Particularly my mom and dad! Well here are some ideas that I feel like most parents would like, hopefully they help you too! They might even help you shop for your husband or friends too :) Most of these are under $25 so they're budget friendly too!

1. A customized photo calendar, blanket, mug, or other item with pics of your kids on it. What mom and dad don't love more things with pictures of their adorable grand-babies on them?? If you don't have kids yet, just do a collection of pictures of you and your siblings, or a photo book of a favorite family vacation. This year I made my mom a cute calendar from Shutterfly with a million cute photos of Kai and  Pres. She's gonna love it! It was actually free and I just paid $7 for shipping during a promotion they were having. Shutterfly usually has good deals (subscribe to their emails) but sometimes I just google "free photo calendar" or "free photo mug" and find good deals that way:)

2. A heated blanket. This one is kind of random, but seriously who doesn't love a warm heated blanket during the winter? I found a nice one for $25 at Costco and am excited to give it to someone!

3. For my dad (and my mom since she's a huge sports fan too), I like to get them their favorite sports team memorabilia. My mom and dad are huge BYU fans, so I always get them BYU stuff. If you look online you can seriously find anything from pajama pants to dart boards with every sports team.

4. Kind of along the same lines as #3, stuff from their favorite TV show. My dad loves the show Suits, and last year my mom got him a mug that says "You just got litt up!" (a famous quote from the show). My husband loves Suits too and he wanted to steal it. Once again, its as simple as googling "Gilmore Girls mug" or whatever item you can think of and their favorite tv show. You'll be surprised what you find!

5. A foot massager (or any kind of massager). Because everyone deserves a foot rub! If you go to amazon and search "foot massager" they have good ones ranging from $20-$100.

As for Kai, here's my list for him right now:
1. Mr Potato Head
2. A mini play kitchen (great for imagination!)
3. Little Tykes cozy car
4. Shopping cart with fake food
5. A Buzz Lightyear and Woody (only $18 for both of them at Costco!)
6. Puzzles
7. More Disney movies
8. A fun Play-Doh set

I'm really trying to include some toys that will help him develop his imagination.

And Miss Presley? She's only 10 months and doesn't need much, but I figured she's gotta be tired of Kai's trucks and trains, so I did get her a Cabbage Patch kid doll (I LOVED these when i was little. Did anyone else love how their faces smell?!) and also a Disney princess Rapunzel doll...and here's why. This funny girl is obsessed with grabbing people's hair. She grabs hair every chance she gets, hence why I chopped all my hair off. Now she can go to town on that Rapunzel doll :)

And as an idea for a stocking stuffer or gift for those of you with teething babies, this Nuby nana nubs gum massager is a MUST.  It looks like a little banana and is so cute. I gave this to Pres the other day at Costco, and no joke, she chewed on it the whole hour we were there. At one point she dropped it and started crying, so I gave it back to her and she was right back to happy girl. She finally has her first tooth coming in in the front, and I really think chewing on this thing makes her feel better. Plus her brother always eats bananas, and she wants to be just like him, so this banana teether is perfect! You can buy it here on amazon.

I'l be doing a giveaway for a teething necklace next week, so watch for that!

Be sure to follow Nuby on social media for other new products and giveaways.

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10 THINGS

10 THINGS:

1. My iphone recently got a virus and I lost all of my contacts and videos and photos. Thankfully I backed up my photos and videos 3 months ago, but I had some priceless videos of Kai and  Pres from the last 3 months that i'll never get back ;( So lesson learned, save your favorite photos/videos once a week!!

2. Victory of the week: Price matching at Walmart and getting pomegranates 3 for $1. Yep 33 cents each. Big delicious juicy ones. Life is so much better with pomegranates! And they are a superfood for your body so eat em whenever you can!

3. I can't believe Greys Anatomy is still going. Most of the stuff they do on that show is so unrealistic (sorry nurse here, can't help it) but I still love it!

4. I just ordered this adorable red "JOY" holiday doormat from Target and it was only $9. They have so many other cute designs too I almost want to order another! Bring on the holiday decorations! (slowly though).

5. Does anyone else throw away tons of produce? I think we are the biggest produce-wasters in America. I buy so much in an attempt to be healthy, and we do eat some of it, but we throw away half of it most weeks :( I get too busy to cut it up or Kai won't eat it because he's so picky. Any tips on this?

6. I'm so happy to have finally found a nursing job that I love. I'm learning so much every time I work and that's the best part for me. I've still got my other nursing job so working 2 jobs and being a mom has been quite the challenge...

7. When to start playing Christmas music and put the tree up has been a big debate at our house. I'm a wait-until-after-Thanksgiving kinda girl, but I live with a Christmas-starts-at-12:01am-on-Halloween- kinda guy....ha

8. We found a new pizza place we love called Main Street Pizza in Provo. It's the best pizza buffet I've been to and the dessert pizza is to die for too. We'll be going there weekly now...time to dust off my gym shoes and get to work lol

9. So this new Lip Sense stuff...you guys it really is AMAZING. I've been wearing it everyday and it does not come off, even when I kiss my cute kids all day. My favorite is the "apple cider" color. Yay for new products I love!

10. Pres likes to chew on this Nuby teething set. It comes with 3 different textured toys for different stages of teething. We had one of Kai's friends come over the other night (he's 2) and he chewed on one for a good hour haha. So even toddlers like them! They are great for massaging the gums and easing teething pain. I sure love seeing my baby girl happy! You can buy it here. Follow nuby on instagram @nubyusa to see all their other great products!

A HOGWARTS HALLOWEEN

Kolby and I have always been Harry Potter fanatics, so I decided it was about time we dress as such. I think the costumes turned out pretty cute, and I'll probably have that photo above as our official family photo for this year...don't be surprised if you see it on the Christmas card ha.

It certainly helps that I married someone who already looks just like Harry :) I always had a crush on him growing up, so I'd say things played out well for me!

For Kolby's costume, we bought a quidditch robe (bath robe) from Target. He needed a bath robe anyways so this is how I justified spending $25 on it. We got the glasses from Partyland.

For me, I bought the gray cardigan, tie, and black skirt from the thrift store. The Gryffindor patch is from amazon, and I wish I had had time to actually iron it on!

Kai's costume was made by none other than my very talented mama! She made the cute robe with Hogwarts logo and the scarf too. We got Kai's glasses from Zurchers party store.

and my favorite of all...Pres as Hedwig! I got her hat from this adorable Etsy shop. Her fluffy white jacket is from Target and it came with a bear hat and claw mittens, and the mittens looked just like owl claws which was perfect. I also saw those cute white furry boots at Target and just had to buy them to complete her owl look. She couldn't have looked more perfect! I think I'll dress her as a snowy owl all winter :)

It was a fun night and I loved that we all matched as one of my favorite movies/books ever. We went to our church's "trunk or treat" and they started off with chili, rolls, and desserts. It was so delicious and I wish I had had more time to eat but i was trying to hurry and get Kai to go around and get candy before they ran out lol. I haven't been trick or treating in a few years and so I needed to make up for lost time! (yes I'm a 100% kid at heart). Funny thing is, all he wanted to do was eat chili! He kept asking for more while we were walking. He's a foodie just like me :) It was freezing outside and Pres was still so cold even with her white fur so we didn't last long. I'm hoping next year we can be out for at least 2 hours haha.

Sadly, Kai kept choosing all the gross candy from the buckets. I'm like no Kai go for the twix!! He kept choosing lolli pops or Gobstoppers. As you can tell, I take my trick or treating and candy very seriously. Kolby was like well why dont we just go buy a bag of candy you like and skip the trick or treating..?! My response was BECAUSE IT TASTES SO MUCH BETTER WHEN IT'S FREE! Typical answer from me....lol.

My favorite thing was the way Kai said harry potter. This is such a fun stage where he's learning to talk and I never want it to end! 

Here are some more pics...although as  you can tell I have the most picture-hating serious kids in the world...ha!

This kid cared more about getting more chili in his belly than candy! 

We just might make this dressing as Harry Potter characters a monthly thing in our house, along with a Harry Potter marathon and homemade butterbeer :)

YOU'VE GOT IT BETTER THAN YOU THINK

If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that everyone has their "stuff" to deal with.

Sometimes as a mom, it's hard not to get frustrated with how many things I have to do and how little time there is to do them all. It's simply not possible. I can't get all the dishes done, feed both my kids, change them, tub them, clean up after them, play with them, feed myself, shower, work out, church callings, run errands, pay the bills, stay in touch with friends, etc etc all in one day. There is just never enough time. 

Factor in to that equation a mom with a broken back (happened 4 years ago in a car accident), and it just ain't pretty. I have to go extra slow with everything I do, since I'm never allowed to bend over, lean forward, or lift anything over 10 lbs without pain. Every little motion hurts...bending over to wipe Kai's nose. Bending to reach something on the lowest shelf of the fridge. Bending to pull the laundry out...bending to clean up the floor when Kai spills something...heck even putting my shoes on...you get the picture. Count the number of times you bend per day and you'll be amazed. I can't even pick up either of my kids without hurting. I get very frustrated and sometimes start to complain about how rough I have it because of all the back pain I have while taking care of my kids. Especially because this is pain that, unfortunately, will never go away, and there's no medicine for.  (narcotics do take the pain away but unfortunately you really shouldn't take those longer than a few weeks). Some days the pain isn't so bad or is barely there, and those are my good days.

 Not to mention, on the bad days Kolby has to come home and do everything while I rest my back in preparation to survive the next day. I constantly find myself saying "If only I didn't have a broken back..."

So yeah, that's "my stuff." And it's easy to get down and count all the things wrong in my life.

But then I see a mom post about her kid with spina bifida, and how she has to put a catheter in him every few hours, and carry him, and do everything for him since he can't walk. I see a mom who has 5 children under the age of 6 and just lost her husband to cancer at the age of 30. I see a touching video about another mom who is BLIND and still manages to take care of her children.  (see the video here). I see another video about a guy bound to a wheelchair with no legs, who can't have children, and he is still living and LOVING life. I see a girl plagued with bipolar who literally can't get out of bed most days but still manages to find joy in her life. As a nurse I see so many patients with all kinds of life stories, most of which are so sad. One of the worst being newborn babies who are born to moms that use drugs while they are pregnant and then are consequently born being addicted to that drug and have to start their life on this earth withdrawing from that drug, which is such a heart-breaking painful process to watch in a baby.

 And then I feel so dumb for complaining about my back, because look at what other people have to deal with. Who am I to throw a pity party...?

I feel like if everyone were to walk around with a sign above their head listing out their biggest challenges in life, we would be shocked at what every human on this earth has to deal with. Depression, eating disorders, rape, death of loved ones, insecurities, dysfunctional families, divorce, etc....the list goes on and on. And guess what? Most of these we hide so well, so you'd never even know we were struggling with these things.

Truth is, we ALL have our stuff. Even the celebrities, the famous instagram people who seem to have the perfect life, they all have their stuff to deal with too, whether they show it or not. And there's almost always someone that has it worse. So count your blessings. Think about all the things you're grateful you don't have to deal with. Look for the good. Look at the things you ARE able to do and the things you DO have, instead of what you don't. Let the dark times in your life be a way to more fully savor and enjoy the sunny bright moments as they come. One of my favorite quotes is from The 444 Project (a non profit organization committed to spreading joy in the world, follow them on insta: the444project ) says "Darkness makes our blessings glow."

And remember you aren't fighting or struggling alone. We all are. And you've probably got it better than you think :)

I'm gonna try to start picking something happy each day to focus on. Today it's this sweet little angel face:

Love you all! Please feel free to share this post if you think it will help anyone!

PRESLEY GIRL IS 8 MONTHS

My Pres-babe is 8 months old today. 

If I had things my way, I'd sit and snuggle this girl all day long, everyday. She's just that sweet! 

She is rare and beautiful. 

She's currently going through a phase where she's crying if she's not held. 

She's got the cutest dragging crawl. She's starting to pull herself up and stand up while holding onto things. 

Her brother is her most favorite person. She crawls towards him any chance she gets and tries to get a hug but sadly he's not so friendly at the moment. She smiles at him all the time and sometmes he makes her laugh, and hes the only one that can make her laugh! 

She is on the move 24/7, never sitting still, even on my lap. 

Peek a boo can almost always get a smile out of her. 

"Crying it out: is definitely not an option for her because she will cry for hours. I've tried it so many times and it just doesn't work with her! Kai would always cry it out in less than 30 minutes which made things easy :) Pres is always very determined to get her way though, and it's so cute. 

If she sees any kind of plastic bag in sight, she won't stop until she gets her hands on it. 

She looks so much like Kolby to me, but everyone says she's my little twin. 

She is so happy when she first wakes up in the morning, instantly smiling when her eyes open. There is nothing I love more than waking up to that cute fuzzy head. 

She won't play with baby toys and constantly tries so hard to get a hold of my keys and phone. 

She is my happiness! We sure love you Pres-bug. Thanks for making all of our dreams come true baby girl!

12 THINGS

Gosh these two just kill me! I've said it 1000 times and I'll say it once again, I am the luckiest mama in the whole world.

So 12 random things right now...

1. I finally fit in my pre-pregnancy jeans and am back to my old weight, so all is well in the world.
2. I've only got 2 more weeks of working full-time, and then I get to be back at home with my favoritest people all day!
3. I got the best text ever from my mom this week saying that we are planning a family trip to Hawaii in June to visit my grandparents. YAY!!! Kai, Presley, and Kolby can finally meet my cute Japanese grandma!!
4. I get temporarily depressed when the cold suddenly hits and summer is over. Can we move to Hawaii....
5. Can The Bachelor just start yet?!! I'm dying over here.
6. I don't know what it is about my baby girl lately but I just wanna hold her all day long and never let go. I can't wait to experience life with her.
7. I usually end the day with a big (we're talking 3 cups) bowl of French Silk Kroger brand ice cream. It's the creamiest most delicious ice cream ever!
8. Does anyone else think Mike Posner's song "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" sounds exactly like Savage Garden?!
9. One thing I do love about fall is all of the yummy soups I get to make...with copious amounts of bread to go with them :) Creamy tomato tortellini soup, broccoli cheese soup...GIMME ALL THE SOUP!
10. I'm one of those people who LOVES Halloween. My husband HATES it. But I still make us dress up every year :) I am getting some things together for our costumes and pretty excited! I found some great stuff at the thrift store this weekend and am SO excited to be my favorite character ever! I'm also so so excited to take Kai trick-or-treating! This will be his first time doing it and I know he will love it. I might love it more though ;) #immakidatheart
11. I found a Cars Lightning Mcqueen backpack for Kai and he loves it. He wears it whenever we go somewhere and it's just the cutest!
12. Last Fall we went to Banff, Canada when I was pregnant with Pres. We had a blast and I'm dying to go back. I can't believe Pres was a tiny thing in my belly a year ago! And that Kai had just started walking and was the cutest little 1 year old...I wanna go back in time. Looking through these pics from 1 year ago makes me want to book a trip back there right now.