Mall Date

Hubs and I both had the day off so we went on a mall date - and a certain 4 year old tagged along.  We have an outlet mall about 30 minutes away from us in Niagara Falls.  They have a Gap, J crew, Loft, Kate Spade, Nike, Under Armor and a Carter outlet store.  I wish they had a Tory store!  We grabbed little dude from preschool, got him pizza and we did some damage at the Polo.  Their shirts just hold up so well and after sale prices and coupons I pay less than $10 a shirt.  It's tricky to find matching because my oldest is wearing a size 12!! If you ask the youngest, the best part was riding on a hippo. We didn't get to go to every store we wanted before Reid was done and whining he wanted to go home - I missed Kate and Loft and J Crew.  But Reid loves being home in the afternoons with us and cuddling on the couch.  I guess he saved us some money haha.  This leaves us no choice but to go back without kids if you ask me!

Our upcoming Disney cruise has a Pirate Night and I love the boys in matching shirts when we travel or go to a theme park.  I ordered the kids these adorable shirts off Etsy for Pirate night!!  We leave in less than a month :)

Footwear

Summer = Sandals.  And Buffalo could use some warmer weather!

I just purchased a new pair of Stride Rite Phibians for Pierce.  He wore these last Summer and we both fell in love with them.  They are the perfect sneaker sandal combo.  First off, they are SO durable.  If his feet didn't grow he could have worn them again.  Second, they never stunk all Summer.  And my boys get stinky feet!  Get them wet, muddy - hose them off!  Their little feet do have to break them in around the ankle but that's with all new shoes.  We got asked about them all Summer from other mamas.  The only downside is they don't come in wide sizes.

So for our little man with the little bricks for feet :) we got him crocs.  I can't help the way I love little kids feet in crocs!!  We heard crocs are perfect for kids with wide feet.  These are the ones Reid will be rocking this Summer and hopefully the tri-color will go with everything.

Purchased

I have been buying a ton of stuff for the boys in my life and I decided mama needs some stuff too.  I purchased my 2nd pair of Nickel and Suede earrings - a creamy champagne color.  That hopefully will go with everything.  I hate heavy earrings and these are so lightweight I forget I am wearing anything!  And they are nickel free so no itchy lobes.  I am trying hard to resist getting the leopard ones.  These earrings come in small, medium and large.  I wear size medium and they are just the right size.

And Mindy Mae's came out with this springy hoodie with flowers and I jumped!  After all it is still snowing in Buffalo.

And a new pair of sandals too.  After buying leopard tieks I never realized that leopard can be a neutral and go with so many things!  So when I saw this print I knew I needed it.  '

Retail therapy is the best therapy!

Easter Basket Fun

I really love Easter morning with the kids.  It's just not as stressful as Christmas can be and we just relax and have cinnamon rolls every year.  Our dinner is usually much later in the day.  As many of you know my children don't really eat chocolate - I know crazy right?  They do like the sugary stuff though Starburst, skittles, mike & ike's, etc.  But that stuff is so cheap and just "fillers" really.  So we end up doing different stuff for Easter.  Here's a peak into what those baskets will have in them.  I bought Brady these Steph Curry socks, his favorite basketball player.

Pierce is obsessed with Hatchimals.  I had no idea he would love them so much but he does.  He has the Hatchimal nursery and a carrying case for all of them.  I found these that come in a basket and I have to say they are perfect for Easter.

And our youngest who can't seem to get enough of Power Rangers has been begging and pleading for a power ranger phone.  He watches this little Asian boy on youtube kids who clearly has power ranger stuff sent to him or his dads a doctor :)  This stuff is so expensive and most of it is discontinued which leaves amazon or ebay.  Well, I found his beloved phone and paid way too much for it. He keeps saying it comes with a key - it better come with something!

What is the Easter Bunny picking up for your little ones?

Vaca Prep

Every year at this time it seems like there is so much to buy.  We leave April 20th for a night in Orlando and then we board a Disney Cruise and set sail for a week.  It is our first time going for the 7 day and we have never taken our youngest.  It will be so nice to be all together! I want to put all the kids to bed and sit on the balcony with a beer and my husband and listen to the ocean.  Travel section at Target here I come!!!!

We had 3 nice days in Buffalo so I took out some size 5 shirts for our youngest 2 boys and they were too small!  I panicked and my gap card has been smoking ever since.  With both boys wearing the same size I really need to have a lot of shirts like at least 25.  Or I will be doing laundry a lot.  And our oldest son just went from a 10 to a 12.  I have been stocking him up too.  New sneakers for the Summer, sandals, shorts, bathing suits.  Thank goodness I had $125 in gap cash to use.  I have the Gap silver card and it is so nice because you always get free shipping.  You don't have to spend $50.  Which helps if I only see a shirt I want and it seems like I always have a reward certificate laying around.   If you see my middle son in this shirt everyday, just know I am trying to get it off him :)

Seriously obsessed with this hair product.  Perfect for spraying on dry hair before curling.  And it's made in the USA.

And sign me up for any sunscreen that smells like coconut!  A little pricier than others but my kids didn't break out and it works great.  Amazon has it way cheaper than Target.  Stocking up - my blonde children don't do so well in the sun.

The new normal

Hubs got a day job!  After spending 6 miserable months on nights it happened and we are so grateful.  We have all adjusted quite well.  I work 2 days a week and husband works 3.  So we are with our kids a lot.  And yet we still somehow manage to miss them.  We leave our schedules up to chance - knowing if we work the same day Papa will be here.  But our papa days are getting few and far between.  Like 3 days for the entire month so the kids have been missing him.

Life is so good now with our schedules I don't want anything to change!  We usually have a day or 2 during the week together.  We usually do a breakfast date while our youngest is at pre-k.  We do pick-ups together and just enjoy the days.  It is SO nice he isn't gone all day every day anymore.  So do we talk about work?  Yes - but its more the highlights of the shift.  I mean we both understand the life of a nurse so only the real crazy gets talked about :)

Do We Ever!!!

We are just getting over our middle being sick.  So sick he needed an IV and some fluids.  I swear these kids never get sick when we are both around.  It was all me last weekend.  Thank goodness I could drop the other kids off at Sunday school.  It's always so hard when a child gets sick - you really feel pulled in different directions!  And with three its even harder but I wouldn't change a thing <3

This whole ordeal made me realize the real mama must have is a big ole ziplock bag.  I always have one in the car, in my handbag, on vacation.  Those things come in handy - marinate some chicken, ice pack for a boo boo, wet bathing suit, kid ralphing in the car.  Seriously, mamas need to register for these things!

This mama got a new pair of tieks for Chirstmas so if the weather ever gets nice in Buffalo I can wear them.  They are the perfect neutral!  Silver Lake, they are from the vegan line so cheaper than most tieks.  I got them because I like the color so hopefully they hold up well.