The Busy Budgeting Mama

Our Family Photos

2013-06-18T23:17:00.004-04:00

I was so excited...when Jacquie, a blog reader, left a comment on my blog's facebook page about being from pittsburgh...I checked out her blog, The Sweeter Side of Motherhood,

and saw how completely ADORABLE it was!

She is not only a busy mama to two sweet girls.. she is a baker.. an artist..

AND a photographer.

I was so excited to connect with her and have her take some family photos for us.

Her price was incredible..it made family photos actually possible for us!

She was so good at keeping it fun for our girls while capturing great shots.

If you are in the pittsburgh area.. stop over and say Hi and schedule a shoot!

She just invited us over for a princess play date... can't say no to that!

Even prince Micah was invited. ;)

So nice meeting other creative joyful mamas.

Happy to have connected... and excited to share our photos. :)

sorry...I couldn't edit this down any more than this.

**Already printed and put some of these in frames I love them so much!**

LOCATION- Backyard.

My dress- target(current). sophie's-old navy(current)

sienna's dress- target(handmedown)

micah- polo from target, shorts(handmedown)

Our neighbor was so sweet to let us use part of their yard...

he even went out and mowed it and scrubbed down the benches!!

I love my man.

He is my rock. and 'he's got da muscles.'

Thanks for following a long as our family has grown.

Feels like just yesterday we had sophie!

and then sienna! and then micah!

We are so blessed... exhausted-ly blessed. ;)

We are going to try and do family photos more often....

most of our family photos are taken with a phone camera!

So glad we have these memories captured. Love these sweet people.

Learning to love Myself Postpartum

2013-06-17T14:52:00.001-04:00

7 months postpartum...

Some days I feel like one hot mama...

and others I let my insecurities get the best of me.

My post baby weight loss is at a standstill.

Everything I've lost so far has come off from nursing, chasing kids and

going to the gym "ever so often." I eat healthy but haven't gone crazy over it.

I am realizing that getting my body back after my 3rd baby is going to take

more effort than with my first two! With them, I nursed it ALL off.

But Micah doesn't nurse as much (shocking I know.)

I'm really trying to love myself more... and that means to take time to get healthy...

but even more, to not focus on the "problem" areas every time I see a photo of myself.

Harder said than done!

I am so not brave enough to post a photo of me with no makeup...

but this is with a swipe of foundation. As natural as I can go...

and this is a big step for me!!!! haha. (I feel lame being that girly but its' true.)

These sweet little ones are the reasons for

my under eye circles...

the stretch marks..

the dirty hair on top of my head.

Totally worth it.

This post is for all the mamas who are feeling like me!

You are beautiful and courageous and sacrificial.

Try to love yourself today...and realize that God looks at you

and is so in love. Like insanely in love with you.

And He sees the things you have given up or had to bear...

and He takes note of each and every hardship or cross you have carried.

From the big sufferings in life that can leave us feeling worn...

to the "small" crosses of longggggg nights up with WIDE AWAKE babies. ;)

I hope that my inner beauty will shine through...

past my blemishes and squeezy arms. ;)

I hope that I can learn to see the beauty in myself that God sees in me.

I hope that insecurities never hold me back.

and that my girls learn to love themselves.....

by seeing their mama love herself.

"You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."

Song of Solomon 4:7

"You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated

my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace."

Song of Solomon 4:9

MY NEW GAME PLAN- FREE Housework/Meal Planning Printable

2013-06-10T10:57:00.002-04:00

I am the queen of the laundry mountain.

The moment I feel like I'm on top of laundry...

I realize I completely ignored everything else I needed to do

and the world is completely out of control. It's a vicious cycle!

Some days I feel like I have to choose between clothed fed children and a clean house.

I'm a very good list maker...not so much a schedule follower!

But I knew that I needed a new game plan if I was going to be able to tackle working part time.. being a stay at home mom.. a blogger.. a graphic designer.. the list goes on.

I knew that I needed to write out what I needed to do every day so

that it wouldn't get out of control..but also set it up to be doable!

So here is the printable I created for my daily life! I'll print one for each day.

The daily chores are divided up into time frames.. NOT set times.

because that just won't work for me. I can't have my schedule put out hour by hour...

BUT I did put a timeline so that I could plug in different time sensitive things like appointments, play dates or deadlines for each day (It's marked for 5AM-9PM)

(We also have a different page with set times ben and I have time to both work.

whether it's here or at the office. It's amazing how much more work you can get

done in a couple hours when you have no distractions.)

I knew that I wanted to reduce the stress...and by portioning out the daily chores

and having a set area for my to-do-list and notes.. it would help me not have it all

jumbled in my head, looming over me or thinking I had to do it all at once.

There's a spot for marking what you are having for lunch and dinner.

I even created an area to remind myself to drink water! Healthy mind healthy body!

In the To-Do-List area I will usually plug in one of the following when

I think they are needed!---monday-scrub bathroom tub/toilet. tuesday: mop floors.

wednesday: windex windows. thursday: clean fridge/microwave. etc..

I might have put a little motivational wording at the top for myself. ;)

You can download My Daily Schedule HERE.

And because figuring out what's for dinner can be another added stress...

I made up a calendar to fill in what I'm making for dinner!

You can download the Monthly Meal Schedule HERE.

I'm just starting this new routine..but so far it has been amazing!

It was so funny..one of the days ben and I both got up and did our morning

routine we felt so ready for the day and on top of the house stuff!

Ben: "It's kinda stupid but it feels like you conquered the world!" haha...

I felt the same way. :)

And when you aren't stressing about your crazy messy house and

what to feed your family for dinner...

you can enjoy moments with your family!

I've heard that your children sense your stress...

This is SOO TRUE.

When we moved it was intense trying to get all unpacked

and handle all the work load we had...

The girls were acting up more and extra "wild"...

We tried to keep it as routine as possible but there was a

lot of things going on to disrupt the 'normal.'

They totally sensed our stress and reacted to it.

Ben and I made a conscience decision to take moments each day

to not worry about all the work we had to do and just have fun with them..

and to do some 'bigger' family adventure each week.

(they are easy to please at this age.. a garage sale where they can buy

a 25 cent toy is exciting...and the park is guaranteed fun.)

I think every mom needs a reminder that a messy house is completely acceptable.

If you have kids.. even just one.. life gets busy! It's more than just taking care of you now.

But I think I've felt more and more capable with each baby I have had.. You learn how to handle the "chaos" a little bit more each time... and probably a part of that is you realize that it's fine if everything is crazy for a while. Toys will be covering your floor for most of the day..you will find the hand towel soaked and on the bathroom floor.... the cup of pretzels you gave your toddler might be found in throughout the toy bin... BUT. that's ok. My goal of less stress is to tackle certain areas that lead to making me overwhelmed if neglected!

Some days will be crazy still..and the house will go out of control..

but I'm hoping those days will be FEWER.. with this plan. ;)

Try this new strategy with me!

I'm going to see how it goes and maybe make up updated printable if needed.

Hope you are having a great monday!

My New Blog Design is Live!

2013-06-06T23:10:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to finally share the new design with you!

I've been dreaming in html because of this project. ;)

I have loved seeing how my blog has become a community of women and mothers!

I feel like I'm sharing our life, all the ups and downs, with a big group of girlfriends.

Since starting my blog..I have loved seeing how it has evolved and I've found my place.

I really wanted my new design to show my personality and make it easy for my readers, new and old, to discover posts they'll love!

There are different features to make discovering new posts easier!

A featured slider on the main page will showcase different

posts of mine, new and old, that I'm excited about and "want you to check out!!!"

a long with our "We like to Party!" page..where I showcase

all of the parties(big and small) that I have thrown.

The video at the top right is there to welcome any newbies to our community here

and to let everyone know who I am and what I desire for this space!

The drop down menu bar is now loaded with a bunch of different topics

for you to choose from and see related posts.

I also updated my media kit!
You can view my full media kit HERE.

I updated my stats..and realized that the months I throw

parties..I get over 144,000 more page loads! WOWZER.

This past month, with the move, no parties are happening..

But I'm excited for some fun play dates I'm planning..

and SUMMER TIME means it's the girls' birthday soon! :)

And I'm totally guilty of already thinking of micah's

first birthday in november.. a BOY birthday!

I'm also excited to be decorating our new place..and sharing the spaces as

they come together. This summer is gonna be loaded with fun posts!

I really wanted to include in my media kit WHO I blog for... there is an underlying mission in my mind when I post. To celebrate motherhood! Even when posting about a crazy day.

I want to be a positive creative place women can go to feel uplifted, encouraged or inspired!

Even if that is at the cost of putting it all out there..failures and successes!

I want this to be a place for moms..whether they are feeling overwhelmed with life...

and need ideas or a break from the busy...

Or for those moms feeling underwhelmed

and wanting to DO something creative and fun and bust out of the routine.

I recently asked my readers, via my facebook page, to let me know if my blog has helped them or if they are a fan by leaving their name and where they are from.

I was BLOWN AWAY by all of the amazing places people

are coming from and reading my blog!

Mamas and women all over the world!

I listed a handful of the hundreds of comments I got in my updated media kit.

I blog for you guys!! And in return I have been blessed so much.. the support kindness and love has been amazing these years. ESPECIALLY this past year though.

Again, You can see my complete media kit HERE.

Have a look around and maybe you'll discover some posts to love!

Please share my blog with your friends if you are a fan...

And let me know if you like the new site!

I'm still as giddy as the first days of blogging when I get a comment!

I remember calling my mom and being like woohoo nancy from west virginia left me a comment! ;) Blogging is so fun how it brings us together.

2 Years Since Losing Shannon

2013-06-05T22:42:00.002-04:00

Today marks 2 years since my best friend Shannon was

killed through an act of Domestic Violence.

and an amazing beautiful person was taken from so many people who loved her..

As a whole..each year seems to get easier.

But certain days are easier than others.

I flew into atlanta for a quick 1.5 day trip a couple weeks ago.

And even though I never said it out loud...

that night in the hotel I had a dream...

I was sobbing.

and was wishing I could go down the street to see Shannon.

Deep down I felt like a trip back home to atlanta

wasn't complete without seeing her.

Sometimes I watch the video I made below...just to hear her voice in the first clip.

The last voice mail she left me..that didn't show up till she was already gone.

Some days I just can't watch much further.

While other days I cling to those memories because it was my last moments with 'her'...

The funeral.

What Happened.

The day I walked into her house for the first time since I

walked through that door WITH her...was a hard day.

But also a beautiful one because I was able to see her sweet babies happy and growing.

I look back..and remember how when it first happened.. I just remember this incredible weight I felt. sadness. anger. I felt like I could just tilt and fall right over.

I remember asking my mom if I would ever not feel this way.

But over time I found strength.. and motivation to be a good mom and wife and friend.

I remember finding it so hard to want to socialize with other moms...feeling like a best friend was taken and how could I ever have that connection with anyone else...

but then suddenly it turned into a desire to be with other moms to take advantage of the time we have..the moments we have of interacting with people, to make them happy..to invest time into friendships because you never know when you will lose that person.

I started to realize that God puts people in your life for a reason.

Don't take advantage of the time that you have... and the people in your life.

I remember the first e-mail I got from a reader telling me how shannon's story changed their life and gave them strength to act when in a domestic violence situation.

I remember thinking THIS.... this is why I started this blog so long ago.

If my words on this blog can help ONE person..then YESSSS... it is worth it.

It is very easy to be angry over losing shannon.

I have gone through many stages of grief.. numbness, disbelief, sadness, and I'm definitely JUST leaving anger... I'm trying to shake that.. to not focus on the details of how she was taken...and WHO took her...but how we had shannon for those years.

I never want to forget the good memories..

the goofing off..

the time we were extras for a movie in atlanta.

goofing off on the set and having fun.

(bobby jones: stroke of genius)

going to dances!

getting all dressed up... cassie's mom doing our hair.. ;)

feeling pretty and dancing the night away!

the bridal shower the girls threw me...

when they blindfolded me and took me to a restaurant.

(I just found, during the move, the little notebook that they

all wrote in the pages and gave to me. I re-read shannon's page more than once.)

and having her there next to me the day

I was getting married.. getting our hair done.

I'm trying to hold onto those good memories.

I will always miss you shannon...but happy to have had you in my life.

blessed actually.

blessed to have had you in my life.

To read all posts related to Shannon you can click here.
Please share her story..donate if you can.
If you have been touched by her story and would like to
visit her Memorial Page you can visit here.

Please Pray for peace in our world
and for all those affected by Domestic Violence.

Tips to running errands with kids without losing ALL of your sanity -just a little-

2013-06-03T10:06:00.002-04:00

disclosure: taking small children out in public will cause a minor loss of sanity.

they are children.

Lately I have been reevaluating how I run errands with the kids.

Some days it just HAS to happen.

1. Because we need something

2. Because I NEED to get out of the house.

3. Because sometimes they are angels for me when

we are actually out n' about DOING something.

I've had bad trips and good trips while taking out my little crew.

I am learning as I go how to handle 3 out in public.

One thing I know for a fact...

Going out with 1, 2 or 3...as you have your kids it gets harder

and you will look back and say oh man that was so easy back then...

when you did NOT feel that way when you were living in it.

So I'm trying to remind myself that one day (if we are blessed with more kids)

I will look back fondly on these eassyyyy days ;) ;)

my future self is annoying me right now.

because right now is super hard sometimes.

Some of my readers and and social media followers have

asked me "how do you take them all out?" haha...

Which makes me laugh because just yesterday someone asked me

at church how I handle 3 little kids.. and I replied,

"I'm not gonna lie. it's hard sometimes.

you will call your mom crying.

but it's so AWESOME."

MY TIPS:

1. When you go out in public people will stare at you.

If you have one child..

you will get lots of oh my goodness so cute!

MOST People won't open doors for you while you hold a giant car seat though.

That pampering ended as soon as you gave birth to that child!

If you have two children...

People will look at you like you are running a daycare..

even though you only have TWO children.

You will get comments on how cute your kids are...

and possibly an old lady or two telling your child

not to stand up in the shopping cart.

If you have three children...

people will, with a smile, say "wow you have your hands full!!"

To which your daughter will reply....

"Mom why does everyone keep saying you have your hands full?"

You will probably hear this statement a handful of times and want to snap.

but don't.

that would be bad.

they don't realize they are the 4th person to say that to

you since you entered Old Navy.

(photo: sophie being a little mommy wanted to push sienna around. I'm all about containing that 2 yr old.)

2.When you are out... Be Realistic with your time.

You will not be able to run into target and grab the 2 items you need super fast.

You will have to deal with an I want an icee and popcorn at 9 am melt down as soon as you enter the building. it will be sooo fun. You might get the urge to turn around and go home...stay strong! you are in charge.............

I have found that the times I don't stress about how long it takes us to do things is when I actually am not the most stressed!!

3. Don't stress about what you weren't

able to get done and all that you have to do.

Psh.. This last tip is easier said than done. I know. But I read something yesterday and I loved it..."Do not worry about tomorrow. Jesus is already there."

(photo: I'm not above donut bribery.)

4. Wear a baby if you can.

My K'tan savessss me. I wear it every day- at some point.

I've even gone to the bathroom wearing a baby! tmi. but you do what you gotta do.

5. Change a baby in your lap.

I don't care if this offends people... When you have a crew sometimes when you are in the corner of the mall on a bench it is easier to change that baby in your lap then to drag the little crew about to commit mutiny into a mall bathroom. ick.

I have learned how to do the diaper hold---- Put the clean diaper under your armpit and then swap with the dirty when changing...dirty diaper doesn't touch anything..and it's super fast. I've gotten pretty speedy. I realized this when a fellow mommy cheered me after.

6. Have fun!

The other day when we were out... we were zooming through the store..I jumped on the back of the cart full of giggling babies. I'm pretty sure some store employees would frown upon this type of silliness...but Sometimes some toddler giggles make everything better...

and your kids are soaking up everything you say and do..

so let them see you laugh! (not just the cranky mama moments because you are exhausted and feel like you say "don't eat that. don't sit on your brother" wayy too often...)

I try to work in fun stops a long the way if I know we are going to be doing a few errands.

Like the library or getting free cheese or kid cookies at the grocery store.

And take breaks... my girls love to sit on benches. so if we see one.. we chill for a minute or two. sometimes I have to remind myself that my little ones have little feet. :)

7. Pack for the end of the world.

The day you don't bring a change of clothes for baby..is the day you will have a poopy explosion of your nightmares. it will be bad. and you will learn your lesson.

I pack extra diapers/wipes/drinks/and usually a snack to pull out when I need to stop the sisterly leg pinching in the back seat.

If you got anything from this post..I hope it's that you are not alone

and you are BLESSED.

VLOG: What We Would Do with A Million Dollars + Win 1 Million & 5,000 every Week Mega Prize

2013-05-30T16:01:00.004-04:00

Special thanks to Publishers Clearing House for sponsoring today’s discussion.

I think we've all seen the videos on tv of the Publishers Clearing House Van
pulling up and suprising a winner with balloons and a big check!
Did you know you can enter to win that check yourself online??!

Ben and I sometimes talk about what we would do if we won money like that.

The kids and I created a video this morning to share...

Just because videos make blog posts more fun. :)

What we would do if we WON:

-Pay off debt...... student loans, we don't like you.
-SAVINGS! Would be such a blessing to have more security,
money saved for their college, emergencies and the future.

-Be able to help Ben's Brother's Non Profit: Dirty Vagabond Ministries.

-Be able to give more generously to those we meet in need.

-We are in a cozy 3 bedroom one level house...

would love something a bit bigger to fill up with babies and host family! ;)

-Maybe buy a bigger vehicle. We have a little hyundae that fits all three kids
in the back seat with a squeeze. lots of "she's touching meeeee" going on in that car.

- I have always wanted to publish a children's book.

I have one written, and having the funds to back it up....

would make that dream of mine come true!

-Travel to Greece with my husband!..maybe go back to his birthplace of New Zealand!

-Travel with our whole family.. go on some fun adventures!

I’m sure you’d love to be the next person to win $1 Million plus $5,000 Every Week for Life from Publishers Clearing House! June 30th is their Prize Event. Think about how amazing it would be to receive a check for $5,000 every single week for the rest of your life. In one year alone, you’d have $260,000! And on top of that, the winner would get ONE MILLION DOLLARS ON THE SPOT! Think about what you would do with $1 Million. Now think about what you would do with $5,000 a week for life. Then combine those two thoughts and THAT’S what you could do with the Mega Prize!

What would you do if you won the PCH Mega Prize?
Click to enter online.

"No, You cannot marry your cousin."

2013-05-29T15:13:00.002-04:00

We recently packed up our crew and traveled to Indiana for my cousin's wedding!

It was one of those trips where, during the 5 hour drive, I had to keep

reminding myself that we were going to have some good family time!

**"stop being crabby we're having fun family time!!" might have come out of my mouth at one point.**

Before we lost shannon, I was blessed by a random "stranger" with

an airplane ticket to fly down to atlanta to visit everyone.

Little did I know that would be the last time I got to see Shannon.

It's experiences like that that make me so much more determined to make the effort, however challenging it may be with little ones, to visit friends and family. Life is too short to stay in the house doing a routine nap time! pshhh.. lets live a little and lose some marbles.

I'm so glad we made the effort to go.

Family is important.

The girls had fun, but are now stuck on finding their

prince after seeing all the love in the air! ;)

SOPHIE: mom who is going to be my prince? how about jude?

ME: honey you can't marry your cousin. and you'll find your prince one day!

SOPHIE: how about micah? ME: you can't marry your brother either.

SOPHIE: why? ME: because micah is gonna marry another girl.

SOPHIE: I'm a girl. he can marry me.

(I didn't bring my camera..but had my iPhone to snap away!)

car trip tips:

1. BUY and PACK scooby doo graham crackers snacks.

Looks like dog bones... immediately awesome to toddlers.

2. pick up bribery dorito bag at gas station.

3. do NOT share your water bottle with the toddler who just ate the doritos.

My girls have a lot of cousins nearby..

but they don't get to see their atlanta cousins as often.

So I was happy they had the weekend to catch

fish together, eat ice cream and force them to slow dance with. good times.

My cousin's wedding was BEAUTIFUL!!

I made the mistake of quietly whispering in sophia's ear "He is about to say you may now kiss the bride!".... because she then responded with "Daddy says you don't kiss boys!"

loud enough for everyone in the rows around us to hear.

only to follow it up with "Are they going to have a baby now?"........... :::head in hands:::

I love the first dance at a wedding reception. love love it.

But my cousin and her "prince", as the girls call him,

had the most AMAZING first dance.

It was like straight out of a movie. so romantic!

Sophie: "Mom.. the prince is handsome. he has nice hair."

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day!

So thankful for all of the men and women who serve our country and

those who have given their lives!

God Bless America.

Hope you got to soak up a lot of family time over the long weekend!

The Reality of Taking Photos of Sisters

2013-05-22T20:24:00.000-04:00

Sisters..

they are fickle little things!

I'm sure the same thing goes for brothers...

but based off of my experience,

I'm focusing on the little ladies in this post.

One minute they love each other... singing Jesus songs and doing ballerina twirls.

The next minute they are ready to body slam each other

with a very high pitch warrior scream.

I'm scared. for myself and the one getting attacked.

Taking them out in public is always fun and exciting...

(Sophie: 4 Sienna: 2... birthdays in august)

Because of my little ones fickle attitudes about each other during this period of their life..

Photos are a bit tricky to get the first time around.

And because I get lots of comments on Instagram and Facebook

implying how much my girls love each other and how good they are...

I thought it was time to put this out there for the world to see.

They are stinkers. cute-adorable-love each other-then heaven

forbid you take their purple crayon-arm pincher-stinkers.

Pretty sure they aren't the first of their kind.

I'm so glad they have each other though...

Because they are helping each other learn to love more!

learning to share and be patient... learning to roll into a ball for protection.

jk. on that last one but I'm sure that'll came later.

The day I took these photos at target I laughed out loud as I looked through my photo feed.

A delirious, how am I going to ever survive, laugh.

It seriously sums it up right now.

I wasn't laughing DURING this moment...I wanted to pull my hair out because they were acting like I was torturing them making them eat an icee.

As moms, we know you have to take a few MILLION photos to get a good one.

And even though I probably won't frame all the bad ones...

I love my little stinkers. even when they drive me bonkers.

BUMPED by BLANQI Bloggers- Video Reviews!

2013-05-21T20:50:00.001-04:00

It was my job to help BLANQI Founders, Valerie and Sabina, round up

a great group of Bloggers to try out their new line BUMPED by BLANQI

which is now available! exclusively on Target.com!

There were some bloggers I knew we HAD to get...

and then some that I found, and fell in love with immediately! You will too.

Here's the first round of blog reviews!

I'm so happy with the girls we got on board to try the

Maternity or Postpartum cami and do a video review for all of you!

Look below for links to their blog post where they share their thoughts on the new line.

It was so fun seeing the real people behind the blogs through the videos!

And I loved seeing BUMPED on each of them

after we had been chatting about it!

image via lemon and lavender

Some of these girls are rocking the

postpartum and some the maternity...

ALL of them are giving away a cami of your

choice from the BUMPED line!

AND a $25 gift card to TARGET!

I know 2 or 3 of the giveaways have ended...

but go enter the ones that are still going on! hurrry!!!! ;)

Vanessa of See Vanessa Craft- Maternity

Ruthie of Ruthie Hart - Maternity

Jennifer of Baby Making Machine - Postpartum

Nicole of The Style Hatch - Maternity

Kara-Kae of The Mom Diggity - Postpartum

Sarah of The Stroller Ballet - Postpartum

Heather of Dandy Giveaway - Maternity

Kim of Oh Sweet Joy - Postpartum

Caroline of Chocolate and Carrots - Postpartum

Moriah of Moriah Makes - Maternity

Ashley of Lemon and Lavender - Maternity

ME! Natalie of The Busy Budgeting Mama - Postpartum

Stay tuned ten more AMAZING bloggers who are

set to share their video reviews this upcoming week!!

(and MORE chances to win one of your own and a Target gift card!)

I was that crazy lady in Walmart today +Free Gifting Printable

2013-05-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

I was going to write this blog post...

about my crazy day.

About how I took a trip to walmart because we had NO diapers.. and NO Toilet Paper.

It was a must trip. So I loaded up all three kiddos by myself and headed there.

only to end up being a shoppers' attraction with both girls in the cart, micah strapped to me, racing through the aisles to the bathroom because

sophie was screaming in pain from her stomach hurting and dry heaving

(she is super sensitive and was gagging from her tummy hurting. insane. I know)

I thought she wasn't going to make it and throw up all over the walmart floor...

so we ran for one of those recycle box/trash can things. yup. classy.

when I thought she looked better and wasn't going to throw up,

we made our dash to the bathroom....alllllll while the

LONG line of people for returns stared on horrified.

LOVE hanging out in a public bathroom with 3 kids. it's super fun and not gross at all.

Plus loud automatic toilets are known to be LOVED by small babies.........not.

Poor thing though.. as soon as I got sophie to feel a little better we grabbed the toilet paper/diapers and she started sobbing again.. race to the bathroom!! AGAIN.

We finally ended up checking out. and if one more person told me I

had my hands full I was going to flip. flip or cry. one or the other. haha.

And what do you do when you have new toilet paper in the house....

Play with it of course!!

Later came across this and realized a certain toddler

was trying to cover her tracks..... ::cough:: sienna ::cough::

I was going to write this blog post about how some days

I feel like I'm running in circles..

Sophia came up to me wanting me to check out her hair

"I'm making it not crazy"..................

She thought it was my hair product that I put in my hair to smooth it out.

nope.

my face wash.

Oh and Micah was rocking a hand me down christmas outfit because it

was the first thing I saw that he fit in. grabbed it. he didn't leave the house like this..

I don't want to look tooooo crazy out in public.

But tonight, while snuggling with sienna before bed,

I started thinking how I don't want to post just about how hard my day was.

Of course I want moms to see that we all have hard days...

I want my readers to leave my blog relating to me..but also feeling uplifted!

I kept thinking about when someone dropped off this gift basket for us when we moved in..how I seriously wanted to cry I was so thankful for their kindness.

I feel a connection with you as my readers...

and I wish so badly we could all just do one big play date! ;)

That we could drop off meals for each other when we knew someone was having a hard day.

I kept thinking how important community is as moms.

It made me want to reach out more to my mom friends...

to not just think about my hard days, but to think about them and lift them up!

If you feel like me... and want to celebrate motherhood

and lift up your fellow mamas...

I just made up this printable for you to download and use when dropping

off something to show you care!

I asked on my blog's facebook page:

"If a fellow mama did something to show she cared,

by dropping something off,..what would you be SO HAPPY to receive?"

(click here to read the facebook status,

read what other mamas said and leave your choice!)

FREE "CELEBRATE MOTHERHOOD- LIFT UP YOUR

MOM FRIENDS" - PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD

I'm also offering, by request of a blog reader via facebook, the same design but
with my blog and 'celebrate motherhood' tiny at the bottom of each tag!
Would love for you to share our little community with other moms.
Maybe it'll be the connection that mom needs to feel a boost!
DOWNLOAD that version HERE

AND, since a lot of my readers say Mum instead of Mom..
I made up a british version as well. :)
Download the MUM Printable HERE.
and the MUM Printable with my Blog HERE.

Motherhood is hard...

and so very beautiful.

Sisters.

Please Pin, Tweet and Share the printable!

We all need to bless our fellow mamas more.

We know how some days are hard..and we aren't alone in

feeling 'happily' exhausted while taking care of our sweet babies.

So let's reach out and love on each other a little more!

I would seriously cry if someone dropped off a case of diet dr. pepper at my door.

That's all it would take! haha.

sophie update: she feels better! an hour after we got home she was back

to her normal self. must have been gas bubbles. poor little thing.

Black and White Gallery Wall up in Kitchen!

2013-05-11T19:43:00.001-04:00

In our new rental, we have a big wall behind the eating area of our kitchen...

and I knew right away I wanted to do a gallery wall with all my black and white frames!

I'll do a more detailed post sometime soon.

Right now I just put all the frames up on the wall and

I have some different prints to update them next.

Since taking the photo below, of the frames up on the wall,

I backed up and moved the bottom row all over a little to the right. haha.

The perfectionist in my has been tweaking them. ;)

The next morning we enjoyed eating breakfast while looking at our frames!

Excited to UPDATE the frames next! I'll be sharing what I put in them

and where the frames are all from. Super happy with how it's coming together.

Mommy Confessions

2013-05-08T23:24:00.000-04:00

If you want to feel better about your parenting skills...keep on reading.

I love being a mom.

LOVEEEE it.

It is one of the hardest but most rewarding things I've ever done in my life.

-- I have cried while getting dressed.

1. because everything had baby spit up on it

2. because I don't know what fits or what doesn't fit at this point.

3. because I look in the mirror some days and only see a tired mommy

and not the young fresh faced girl I feel like I used to be.

-- Sometimes I feel like I say....

no. stop. don't do that. time out. slow down. don't put that in your mouth. don't fight. get out of the cupboard. don't lick that. no your brother isn't a motorcycle. talk quieter. get out of the bathroom. don't pull her hair. go to sleep. put your clothes back on. go to bed please.......

WAY too many times a day.

It makes me want to go bonkers. seriously bonkers.

--I have felt overwhelmed.

--I have felt incapable

--I have felt like a failure

--I have felt like my brain was going to burst from the noise in this house.

--My laundry room has a mountain of dirty laundry.

--My bedroom has a mountain of clean laundry.

--at one point this week every single room had laundry in it.

--Many mornings I choose keeping the kids alive and the

house from burning down instead of showering.

--I have texted my husband,

while he is at work, that I was losing my mind.

the text sometimes starting with "blah sdhfjkhsjdkfdhjs"

this happens more often then I want to admit.

--Sometimes I don't have time to wash my hair for a couple days.

thank goodness for dry shampoo.

--I'm TIRED. a lot.

I always wanted to be a mom. since I was a little girl!

One thing no one ever told me...was how TIRED you will be as a parent.

Think cramming for finals times a million......haha.

But the crazy thing about "parenting exhaustion"...

is that it can suddenly be easy to handle in one sweet moment with your child.

a hug.. a giggle.. a reach for you.. it makes you forget how worn you feel...

and gives you the biggest feeling of peace.

Just knowing you are everything to that child. and this is what God is wanting from you.

THREE KIDS.

Sometimes it's easier to stay home... sometimes it's easier to take them out!

I just have to prepare myself mentally before I go.

I will be slower than I WANT to be.

I will probably think at one point I wish I didn't make this decision. haha.

BUT... I have gotten better at taking the whole gang out.

We once went to target. I didn't have my k'tan wrap... So I was carrying micah on my hip and the girls were in the cart. we got a lot of stares. and a lot of "you are brave!" "you have your hands full!" "do you need help?".... my reply was "oh they are being angels right now! this is a good trip." ;) which they were. I think silly straw bribery worked.

I have learned how to juggle them better.

Micah goes in the wrap. each girl gets a hand.

We have our system down, even though sometimes things get a little crazy and I'll be holding a melting down sienna while micah is in the wrap.

And that is when I get chuckles and stares from passerby's. soo fun!

Cure to any hard day... baby giggles.

You can't help but be happy when you hear them and see a jolly face.

I am learning to accept and not be so hard on myself.

But many days I wish that I could have been a better mommy...a better wife..

Sometimes I wish I trusted in God more.

Every day I pray for more patience.

I have the peace of knowing this is exactly where God wants me to be...

Now I just need to be realistic in my expectations that I set for myself.

I can do this. with HIS help. and maybe a case of diet dr pepper.

Winner of the $100 Visa Gift Card from SHOPPERK...

2013-05-08T10:02:00.001-04:00

and the winner of the $100 Visa Gift Card from SHOPPERK is...

Sarah L.

If you haven't checked out Shopperk yet you should!!

Here's my video post sharing what I thought of it!

Favorites- Fried Fresh Mozzarella and Chicken Parm

2013-05-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

These are two of my all time favorite "special" dinner recipes...

Fried Fresh Mozzarella and Chicken Parm!

Sometimes we make them together but plenty of times I'll make up the fried Mozzarella with some pasta and salad...or as an appetizer when friends come over.

The plate gets devoured.

Cheese.. fried.. c'mon. amazingness.

The Chicken Parm is such an easy meal to make when you have company coming over. You can have all the messy work done with it ready to go..

The chicken parm in the oven! kitchen clean... pasta boiling!

These recipes are low fat, low calories, low everything.........

just go with that. ;)

Once you make this one time you'll be able to cook

without even pulling up the recipe! super easy.

FRIED MOZZARELLA

(Better than store OR restaurant bought!)

Originally posted here when I discovered the recipe on recipezaar.com

I've changed it up to fit how we like it! Below is the recipe I use.

(not the prettiest photo below..but you get the idea! this wasn't a planned post. ;)

INGREDIENTS:

pack of fresh mozzarella (ball or log)..cut into pieces

2 eggs beaten

2 tablespoons water

3/4 cup panko italian bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon dried oregano (I LOVE this spice. heavy handed with it)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/3 cup flour

pinch or two of salt and pepper

olive oil (for frying)

DIRECTIONS:

--Pull out three bowls.

--In one bowl combine the water and egg.

--In your second bowl but the flour

--In the third, and final bowl, combine the bread crumbs and spices.

--Dip the piece of fresh mozzarella into the egg mixture, flour mixture, egg mixture and lastly in the bread mixture. Place on a plate.

--Repeat till all the cheese is coated.

--Cover the plate of breaded cheese with foil and put in freezer.

This helps the cheese to hold it's shape when fried.

--When you are ready pull out the cheese a little before frying.

--Heat up your saucepan..and then add olive oil.

--Make sure it's hot enough.. (test with a pinch of flour.)

--I put in enough oil to have them soaked but not swimming in it!

You'll get the hang of how much to put in.

--Place your cheese in the pan and brown both sides. make sure not to overcrowd the pan.

--Tongs make this whole frying process easier.

--SOMETIMES I place on paper towels to drain..but sometimes if the cheese is melting already I skip that or you'll have a big ol mess. I don't put in too much oil to begin with.

--EAT UP! You can dip in marinara or spaghetti sauce.

CHICKEN PARM

The ingredients are the same as the fried mozzarella... same idea..

You just need thin chicken breasts.. and maybe a little more

of the dry ingredients depending on how much chicken you are making up!

INGREDIENTS:

Same as Fried Mozzarella

+ Jar of Spaghetti Sauce

+Pasta of choice (sometimes we'll make just chicken parm with thin spaghetti)

+Thin sliced Mozzarella (You could use deli sliced...

shredded mozzarella.. or even the fresh ball/log sliced thin)

DIRECTIONS:

--Bread the chicken and brown in pan, the same way I explained the fried Mozzarella.

--put some of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of your casserole pan

--Layer the chicken, sauce and cheese

--Cover with foil

--Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.. depending on how thin your chicken is!

(The chicken is browned but just needs to be cooked through. I always check occasionally)

--You can remove the foil near the end if you want it a little toasted!

--enjoy!

--Leftovers are great for chicken parm sandwiches!

little tip when covering recipes that are cheesy on top, with foil....

spray the foil with cooking spray before you cover!

GENIUSSSSSS. I know. Can't remember who

told me that trick but it's awesome.

(photo from when I last made lasagna roll ups)

If you are looking for a good dressing to go on salad...

This is our all time favorite in the house.

Enjoy!

Fun part of having a Blog: Announcing Giveaway Winners!

2013-05-06T23:14:00.000-04:00

This is one of the best parts of having a blog...

The Winners of the Giveaway... two $50 credit for Caroline G. Jewelry are.....

Valerie D. and Jessica W.!

I'll be e-mailing you tonight to make sure you know you won!

Congratulations girls Have fun shopping!

Having 2 and 4 yr old girls.

2013-05-05T23:01:00.000-04:00

The other day, as I watched my girls driving

around in their little jeep in the backyard...

I pictured them little again.

I'm so glad my girls have each other. They will be 3 and 5 in August.

The fighting over toys and "don't look at me!! mommmm she's looking at mee" moments

are worth the cute ways they play together and giggle.

They make each other pee their pants from laughing.... seriously.

we've had to do complete wardrobe changes.....

Sophie and Sienna share a room..

and even though there are ~~nights~~ many nights we

wish they would just goo tooooo beddd...

It's cute hearing them giggle and whisper.

When sienna first moved from the crib, to a big girl bed in sophie's room...

She kept waking up in the middle of the night and coming to our room.

Or sometimes she would just cry out from her bed for a minute.

One morning sophie told us sienna woke up but that she got her back to sleep by rubbing her back. Once sophie held sienna on the couch and got her to fall asleep...... Tonight at dinner sienna got down and moved her chair closer to sophie's. they are so cute together. They also know how to push each other's buttons.

sienna is a hair puller/leg pincher..and sophie is a pusher/stomp away-er.

we do plenty of time outs during the day because of sisterly love. ;)

GIRL TIME.. + daddy.

Daddy crashed the picnic I made the girls...

Seeing my girls growing up, makes me excited for

all the fun we have in store with our micah!

I love when babies are little and in the newborn stage...

but I reallyyy love the 6-12 month age!

He is coming to life.. giggly and jolly as ever

but moving and ready to rock and roll. a total snuggler.

Trying to savor every moment with my kids...

and have more patience in all the crazy moments...

because they are growing up SO FAST.

My Faith + Finding Mr. Right

2013-05-01T09:11:00.001-04:00

I love getting e-mails from my readers. So many of them start off with,
"this might be weird, because you don't know me, but I feel like I know you!..."
So, even though a part of me wasn't sure if I should share this post...
I felt like my readers might appreciate hearing this part of me too.
I feel like this is.. really personal. but it'll be good to share!
----------------------------------------

Growing up I was a good girl. no angel, but I barely got in trouble.
In all the home videos you see craziness going on and then me in the background either poking my finger into the birthday cake and eating it..or cuddling a baby doll like a little mama. I'm sure I gave my mom head aches..but she has told me that I was definitely easy.

In high school I went to multiple youth groups...I was really picky when it came to boys and only said yes to a handful of dates. Never having a serious boyfriend but having an amazing group of guy + girl friends. (I blog about shannon often, she was in that great group.) We would go on retreats and nights of worship.. along with doing the typical high school fun.
Here's a video from Christmas one year. Since losing my best friend shannon, this video has brought me so many tears. happy and sad ones. I was sooo lucky with my high school years.... blessed with a great group of friends that made it "normal" to be active in your faith and church.

Everyone has a cross in their life. I had hard things happen in my childhood that gave me the choice to either run from God or run TO Him. And luckily I had really holy people around me that helped me realize that He had a plan for me. and not to waist a single tear, to offer up any suffering you may have for others who might need a prayer.

I grew up around some very Holy Consecrated Women and Missionary of Charity Sisters (Mother Teresa's sisters).. they were beautiful, holy AND normal?! triple threat. they inspired me. I even spent a day with Mother Teresa when I was ten. She put her hands on my head and blessed me...pulling my dad down to her height with his tie and saying "you have a good family."(we still have that tie) at the time I really wanted to be a sister.. and looking straight into mother teresa's eyes, I told her, "I want to be a sister!" She laughed at me!!! and with a smile she held my hands in her soft wrinkled ones and told me, "Pray 3 hail mary's every day for your vocation".. I figured she knew what she was talking about. and took her advice to open up that conversation with God to discover HIS plan for me.

Through my parents, and these holy women's examples, I learned how to really pray.
I prayed those 3 hail mary's every night... at first for my vocation and then, once I discerned, for my future husband.. I started a deeper personal relationship with God...prayer was a real but simple conversation with Christ. I learned how to use my talents to tell people about Christ. I was VERY active in my faith. I ran retreats, fundraisers, went on missions, flew across the country and overseas to speak at events for young girls. Right after high school I did a year of volunteer work for the church. they send you where they need you. I ended up meeting/traveling/living with some incredible holy crazy girls who I'm still close with. We did mainly youth ministry at schools and parishes. one of the hardest but most rewarding years of my life. My prayer life was the best it had ever been and the sacrifices we made really helped us mature and go deep. plus we had a lot of fun adventures. We once had no money and needed food for a retreat we were running.. I went with another girl to a grocery store and asked the manager if he could make a donation.. he gave me a shopping cart and said fill it up. It was those kind of experiences during that year of service that I was able to see how God provides.

Then it was time for college.

I chose a VERY small Catholic college.

I immediately met my amazing roommate and a fun group of girls.

They were loud outgoing and we laughed...ALOT.

I love being around people. and having fun and being spontaneous and silly.

I found myself in the "party crowd"... (it was a small school......there was a defined group?)

I had so much fun with these people. But there were times I found myself getting into trouble...ALOT. and I was not respecting myself or others.

I wasn't focusing enough on studying and was going out too many nights.

There are certain friendships, that I made during that time,

that I'm still connected with and cherish.

But there were others where it felt completely superficial.
I didn't feel like myself and didn't like where I was going.
I decided I didn't want to party as much.
It was quickly becoming my identity at this small school.

One day, I was on the phone with my mom.
And I was talking to her about all of these things on my mind...
She suggested that.. when my friends go out to a party...
I should go to the gym on campus and shoot hoops.

So I did.

I'm horrible at basketball.

But I did it.. I would go and shoot hoops.

and one night....

My future husband was there...and that's where we had our first real conversation.

We had "met" earlier that week when I was in the gym talking with a mutual guy friend while watching an inturmural game. Ben walked over and said
(this is the truth. it's in the scrap book. it happened. even though ben denies it. ;)
"Hey girl, I see you all around campus.. I gotta know your name."

BAHHHHHH ::insert melting college girl here::

He was so cute and charming. I didn't even remember his name after he told me it because I was so in shock with how confident and sweet he was. and cute. did I mention cute?

So when I was in the gym that night, while my friends were at a party, we started talking.

He had on those breakaway basketball pants and was showing off his game ;)

We walked together to the campus library to check our e-mail/facebook.. (what else?) and then we were talking outside and I remember being in complete shock when, after saying goodnight, he didn't ask me for my number.. we just said bye and walked opposite ways.
I remember making that face like what??? haha.... Makes me laugh now looking back.

We eventually ended up exchanging numbers...and he took me on a date.
I was in my notre dame sweater and yoga pants. we went to eat n' park. classy.
He had his baseball hat to the side with stud earings in.

And he interviewed me on my family, how many kids I wanted etc. etc..

He jokes that he knew I was the one when I ordered a huge burger.

But in all honesty, we both knew very quickly...this was IT.

I had never felt that way about a guy before. It was more than the butterflies that did it.

He was sweet, kind, funny, but most of all.. a holy guy.
He was my first and last exclusive relationship!
We weren't a perfect couple..but we both had the desire to strive for holiness.
We prayed and went to church together. Ben had a passion for ministry and
He started doing part time youth ministry while we were still in college..
and, as the girlfriend/fiance, I was there a lot too! Doing ministry together was really fun.

THE PROPOSAL: "ben told me that we were having a dinner with our youth group kids and that everyone was dressing up..but when we got there...he got me into the church and I saw that it was all glowing with candles down the aisle to the altar..100 roses everywhere..candles all over the altar with the monstrance. it was so beautiful. he walked me down the aisle I was freaking out haha and at the end he said all this amazing stuff and then knelt down and said natalie catherine will you marry me?? and I said yesss and we hugged and kissed and some of the youth group kids who set up all the flowers and candles for him screamed from the cry room where they, and our priests, were hiding haha. then we knelt down infront of the tabernacle and said a prayer then everyone came out and we took photos and the priests stood over us and blessed us and my ring with holy water (which they gave us at the end) then ben and I took more roses to the statue of our lady and we prayed together and he gave me a couple gifts that he got while we were in medjugorje over christmas. then ben said we had dinner reservations so we left for the george town inn that looks out onto the skyline of pitt. we walked into the restaurant and there was his family and my family!!! all waiting for us to get there and celebrate. I was so suprised I cried haha. it was the most amazing night ever. and the festivities carried on all weekend. I am so thankful for the amazing man God put in my life. "

It's funny because I had texted my mom "false alarm" on
thinking it was proposal night...only to it really being the night..and her in town!
He tricked me good.
When he proposed, Ben told me how since he was younger he had been praying for his future wife. So even though we didn't know it..we were praying for each other!
We occasionally are asked to speak at high schools and retreats, and we always share that detail. how we felt God working in our lives through that unknown prayer from the other person!

I really feel like God put me right where I needed to be... in that gym.
I was there trying to be faithful to Him, and He blessed me with ben...
and we were able to start our life towards the path of where we are today.
It's amazing how God works in our lives!

We ended up getting engaged within 8 months. married 8 months after that.

Looking back it went FAST. like.. super speed fast. But we really stayed close to God during that time and prayed a lot as a couple and He led us. Every day we prayed those 3 hail mary's to our Lady asking to interceded for us and our engagement.. then we continued those prayers after we were married.. and to this day, we still include in our pray time every night, those 3 hail mary's for our children's vocation. We pray that they will know how amazing they are and that God has a plan for them in their life.

I'm so lucky to have a man who randomly asks "do you want to go have some prayer time?".... "do you want to go to novena tonight?"... "do you want to go to that talk on ___?"...

Having our faith helps us get through the tough times that come with family life.
We had children right away.. and we love it. I can't imagine not having sophie.. sienna.. micah... they are amazing and a blessing even when they drive us insane + to exhaustion. haha. There are days...we feel like crazy people. not gonna lie. This past sunday....was one of those days. we arrived to church, only the underneath part of the bottom part of my hair was straightened. (as far as I could get) ben's shirt was on INSIDE OUT... and sienna had dressed herself and we just "went with it".... BUT.. we made it to church. we were there and had that hour with God and got a bunch of blessings to help us through this week.

It's been incredible seeing how God has worked in my life.

Taking me where I'm at and helping me discover His plan for me.

Sophie asks me all the time right now...
"mom..what do you want to be when you grow up? You'll be a superhero"
and to tell you the truth, sometimes when I get through
a day with 3 kids under the age of 5.. I feel like one. ;)

I always had the desire to be a wife and mom.. that's what I "wanted to be when I grew up."
And I always had the passion to be creative and to connect with people.
I feel blessed with where I am in life right now. Who knows the crosses that might be ahead of us... but I know that I have a partner in my
husband who loves ALL of me and who wants to help get our family to heaven..
so with our faith and family as our rock.. I'm excited for our life.

ps. we were made for each other.

VLOG: Smart Grocery Shopping Made Easier + $100 Visa Giveaway from SHOPPERK

2013-04-30T16:01:00.001-04:00

I have to admit...I'm still perfecting the art of grocery shopping and meal planning.

And now with another baby in the mix, my time to spend on this task is limited.

I'm always getting bored with the meals I make and am wanting to find new recipes to try.

I usually end up looking through pinterest to see new recipes to try...

and then get distracted by DIY projects before I actually end up

adding those recipe's ingredients to my grocery list and checking for deals.

And don't even get me started on wanting to spend less at the grocery.

I know I'm not alone on that!

I couldn't resist this new company's proposal to be one of the first to have a look at their new App. SHOPPERK is all about making Smart Shopping Easier.

After using the Shopperk App I realized it makes finding recipes easier, with big yummy photos and search options... and offers big savings all in one place by showing you deals from stores in your area...on a bunch of items but also on the actual items on your grocery list from the recipes you chose! genius.

Here's a video I made to give you an idea of how it works!

ignore my dorkyness. Micah makes an appearance for about 3 seconds

before that teething wiggle worm wanted to go play.

I'm curious to see if you would use something like this!

If you are interested put your e-mail in and you'll be one of the first users.

$100 Visa Gift Card
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
The giveaway will end May 7th.
A winner will be chosen via random.org and e-mailed!
Put your e-mail below as an entry! Good luck!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas- Something I ordered for my mama + Free Stuff and Discount Codes! (Caroline G. Giveaway!!)

2013-04-29T15:28:00.001-04:00

Mother's day is around the corner!

If you want to send me mail with chocolates(I could live off of take 5's)

you can e-mail me for my address.. ;)

I wanted to offer my readers some good deals to gift the special mothers in their life with!

A friend of mine Carrie, Owns an amazing shop called Caroline G.

Her jewelry designs have taken over the blog world.

(I'm wearing one of her pieces in my blog bio photo over there --->

I went to a blog conference this year and saw her stuff EVERYWHERE!

We had been talking about doing a giveaway for a while and

thought this was perfect timing!

She is offering TWO $50 Credits to shop all her jewelry!

She is ALSO offering a 50%OFF CODE
for ALL of her Jewelry!

CODE: busybudgetingmama50 (valid till 5/6/13)
----ENTER GIVEAWAY AT END OF POST-----

Amazing right?! 50 percent off........ Girls, she is hooking us up.

I think it's because she thought I was so sweet when we met at BLISSDOM.

I'm gonna go with that as the reason. ;)

I have a couple of her pieces and might be using the 50 percent off

myself to add to my jewelry collection.

They are classic pieces and well made. Love her statement necklaces.

I get compliments EVERY time I wear them. every single time.

people want to know where I got it. And that makes me fell nice since

I usually get ready quickly and with melt downs going on.........

I also wanted to share Cardstore.com is

offering free shipping right now.

I ordered cards from them for the

special mothers in my life.

Mother's day cards are $2.49 and

Use Code:CCF3425 for the free shipping!

(Their site says Offer is valid 4/25/13 - 5/6/13)

I designed this super easy and fast with kids running around at my feet.

LOVE how they turned out. You can have them ship directly from the site to your person...but I wanted to see them up close and in person so I clicked the option to have them stamped and addressed but sent to me first. The girls loved putting them in the mail box.

and I didn't have to search for stamps.

EASY process.. and I love their whole site's look... so cute!

Hope these give you ideas/motivation to bless your mamas!

And good luck to everyone entering the Caroline G. Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FREE PRINTABLE- Movie Themed Teacher Gift Tag

2013-04-28T13:35:00.001-04:00

Most of my popular printables this time of year... are ones for teachers!

I sell a variety in my shop. But I thought it might be fun to offer a FREE one that I just created for a client. She planned a whole week to celebrate the teachers at their

school. It was a Hollywood Theme based off of one of the printables she saw in my shop already. LOVEDD IT! We need to celebrate our teachers more often.

I hope that this post inspires you to do the same at your school.

Even if it's just one of the days!

Here's the flyer we made up to put in all the teachers' boxes:

Here's my free teacher printable for you!

Please Go make your teachers feel special!

FREE MOVIE THEME TEACHER TAG PRINTABLE-

Winner of a PICTURE PEFECT YEAR

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

Click the above link to download the full page pdf. Print, cut and attach to a gift.

You could do a movie theatre gift card or a bag of popcorn/candy!

I also offer a customized one...

"Thanks for a PICTURE PERFECT Year! Love, _____"

One of my top teacher themed sellers. I add your text.

I also have a (write in your own name) immediate download version of that one too.

Here are some more of the tags my

client is gifting to her teachers each day!

Pair these tags with STARBURSTS for a cute gift!

Immediate Download - $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

I think a single soda or a cute 6 pack of mini sodas

would be perfect with this tag!

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD- $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

These would be cute attached to a container or bag of popcorn!

You could make it fancy with white chocolate or

go real crazy by gifting a variety of flavors! ;)

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD - $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

I did a fun post on yummy popcorn recipes while

I was doing party prep for my girls' Vintage Circus Birthday Party

I originally created all of these for teacher gifts...

but they would be perfect for a Movie themed party,

movie night with friends or an Oscars Party!

My Sister's new line with Target: BUMPED by BLANQI- My Postpartum Miracle Worker!

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This is it!!

The post I've been teasing you about for over a month!

Excited to finally share with you the new

BUMPED by BLANQI Line that my sister, Valerie,

and her best friend, Sabina, just launched exclusively at Target.com!

My sister and sabina are the founders of BLANQI and created a maternity support tank...

I loved my BLANQI..wore it all through my pregnancy with Micah.

Even documenting my growing bump in it each week.

But after I had him I always wished I had something similar to my BLANQI to help smooth me out and make me feel pretty! (I'm 5 months postpartum) I was not the only one!

Valerie and Sabina heard our plea and created not only a new maternity cami, but a Postpartum one..at a more affordable option to their original line. only $34.

It's for sale on Target.com. I'm wearing the Black Nursing Cami size S/M in these photos.
I also have the black M/L :) (Pants from Kohl's. Top from H&M. Shoes from Target)

Check out my video review below!

I decided to include the dorky outtakes. for your viewing pleasure. haha.

Visit Target.com to see their line!

So proud of my sister and Sabina.

BUMPED by BLANQI Postpartum Nursing Cami- Black or Ivory $34.99

BUMPED by BLANQI Maternity Support Cami - Black or Ivory $34.99

Couple key things about my BUMPED Cami:

1. It's a soft light material.. very breathable...tight enough to make you feel secure and slim..but not restricting. wicks away sweat.

2. The straps feel invisible! there are two thin soft straps on each side

and they don't dig into your shoulders at all... comfy.

that was one of the first things I noticed. so many times tanks that are made to smooth you out are too restricting especially in the straps and chest area. this one is under the bust for easy nursing so you don't even have to worry about being smooshed there.

3. It helps smooth me out as I work towards losing the baby weight. It is SO easy to give yourself a hard time about your body after you have a baby...having garments that help you feel good about yourself as you work towards your goal is important.

4. I found myself, even as I lost weight from nursing, still wearing baggy big clothes because of some bumps here or there.. but once I put my BUMPED cami

on I felt like I could wear those tighter fitting shirts again!

Like I said in the video, BLANQI asked me to find some great blogging mamas to try out the new line. I rounded up a great group of girls, both maternity and postpartum, and they will be sharing their video reviews every day for the next couple weeks! a couple a day! So you will be able to check out what they think about it..how they wear it.. AND enter their giveaways!

(A BUMPED by BLANQI Cami and Target Gift Card!)

Lots of baby bumps and postpartum mamas out there...so go check them out.

I'll be linking them up all week on The Busy Budgeting Mama Facebook Page.

Follow me on Instagram if you don't already to see a pop up giveaway...

win one for you and a friend!

Thank you val and sabina for

looking out for us postpartum mamas.

Veritas Designs Giveaway Winner

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The winner of the Giveaway

from Veritas Designs is....

Tamara M.

Congratulations and You'll be

getting an e-mail soon to arrange delivery!

Enjoy!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

And just because I know we all love free stuff.......

How does a $100 Visa Gift Card sound?! Stay tuned for that next week...

along with a fun Giveaway with Caroline G. on monday!! eek! so excited.

Her pieces have taken over the blog world. (I'm wearing one of hers in my bio photo.)

ANDDDD.. saturday I'm sharing about my sister's new line with target!

(BUMPED by BLANQI)

Video review and all the fun details tomorrow. :) stop on over!

Spice up your Snacking Ladies!

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I'm a nursing mama. I like to snack.

But sometimes our pantry is a little boring.

I can only eat goldfish and animal crackers for so long before I start turning into a toddler.

Sometimes I'll feel brave and see some interesting organic snacks and after pondering in the aisle while wrangling the kids for way too long a period of time.. I buy it..only to realize it tastes like crunchy cardboard. Which only leaves me wishing I could have tested it before I spent money on it. I remember when I was in high school, going to costco with my mom.. and "grocery shopping" but mainly having fun eating the samples and getting rasberry smoothies. Samples are the best!

So when I discovered Goodies Co...It was just what I was wanting!

Subscribers to the Goodies Co. Taster’s Box receive a
monthly box of 5-8 snacks for $7/month. (I can do $7!)

At Goodies, your opinion matters, and you get rewarded for it!

After you try your snacks, go back to the Goodies website and give a review of your box.

I'm excited for that step..It'll be like doing a fun little survey and getting points for it.

You can redeem the points for rewards and free Taster's Boxes!

*Goodies Co. currently only ships to the continental US.*

Typically, there is a waitlist to get an invitation, however Goodies Co. is

offering a code so you can skip the line and get right in.

Use Code BLOGVIP when requesting your invitation and you'll get your invite

and Taster's Box right away!

Once you enter the code into the promo page, you will receive 2 emails from Goodies. The first will state you are in line for your invitation, the next will instantly tell you your invitation has arrived. This shows you how you skipped the line!

My kids love getting mail.

Every time the mail comes they ask if something is in there for them..

and I admit that sometimes, we'll get those random coupon packets and instead of going right into the trash we tell them it's for them. haha. genius parenting. I know.

They are going to FLIP when a box full of SNACKS arrives..

seriously.. toddler world officially rocked.

Jump the waiting list and subscribe to a service that

makes it easy and affordable to try new snacks,

or even different flavors of old favorites.

I'm excited to spice up my snacking.

or sweetennnn it up?? yes please. ;)

Are you a snacker? Sweet or Salty?

I was a snacker and had cravings when I was pregnant..

but I think I'm MORE hungry for a snack throughout the day now that I'm nursing.

Any other nursing mamas relate?

I think chasing my kiddos around is part of that too ;)

Thanks to Goodies Co. for sponsoring today's discussion

One of the things I love most about Ben...

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One of the things I love most about my husband, Ben, is his passion for ministry.

Ever since I met him I have seen his desire to serve others and tell people about Christ.

Not only with words..but through his actions.

He has given his life to tell people about Christ's love for them.

He is a youth minister...and I think he has one of the most important jobs.

One of the greatest poverties is thinking you are not loved.

So many of our youth don't realize that they have a God that loves them...

that they are worthy of love.

He helps his teens form a relationship with God.. helps them to realize that prayer can be a simple conversation.. that they are capable of starting over to live for Him, taking it one day at a time.

You don't always see fruits from your ministry, but luckily we
have been able to see some amazing things happen over the years.
It's been challenging at times to be a ministry family..but mainly a blessing.

My husband comes from a family full of youth ministers.

His big brother started Dirty Vagabond Ministry.

Each year they run the Pittsburgh Marathon and fundraise for the ministry.

We are ten days away from the race!
Here's a video of Ben's brother bob and it talks about Dirty Vagabond Ministry.
Some of the stories of how this ministry has impacted the teens will blow you away.

Please consider donating to Dirty Vagabond Ministry.

Ben is running the half marathon for them and Like I said, you don't always see fruits from your ministry..but in moments like this, it is so inspiring and encouraging to see the community support you and join together.
I have an amazing readership... I have known this by the sweet comments I get each week...but especially when I wrote about grieving with shannon. You have blessed me in ways I never even thought.... by your prayers and support in e-mails....
by your donations to help shannon's children. I am seriously in awe of you guys.

Thank you for taking the time to watch the video.
It's important to my husband..and it's important to me!
One year we bought a bunch of baseball tickets for them so they could take the kids to a game. My husband always says if he wasn't a youth minister he would be a baseball player for the phillies ;) We have been able to see firsthand the amazing things happening through Dirty Vagabond. Please help their mission with these kids.
All of the money they fundraise goes directly to Dirty Vagabond.

The Busy Budgeting Mama

Our Family Photos

Learning to love Myself Postpartum

MY NEW GAME PLAN- FREE Housework/Meal Planning Printable

My New Blog Design is Live!

2 Years Since Losing Shannon

Tips to running errands with kids without losing ALL of your sanity -just a little-

VLOG: What We Would Do with A Million Dollars + Win 1 Million & 5,000 every Week Mega Prize

"No, You cannot marry your cousin."

The Reality of Taking Photos of Sisters

BUMPED by BLANQI Bloggers- Video Reviews!

I was that crazy lady in Walmart today +Free Gifting Printable

Black and White Gallery Wall up in Kitchen!

Mommy Confessions

Winner of the $100 Visa Gift Card from SHOPPERK...

Favorites- Fried Fresh Mozzarella and Chicken Parm

Fun part of having a Blog: Announcing Giveaway Winners!

Having 2 and 4 yr old girls.

My Faith + Finding Mr. Right

VLOG: Smart Grocery Shopping Made Easier + $100 Visa Giveaway from SHOPPERK

Try ShopPerk for Yourself

Mother's Day Gift Ideas- Something I ordered for my mama + Free Stuff and Discount Codes! (Caroline G. Giveaway!!)

FREE PRINTABLE- Movie Themed Teacher Gift Tag

My Sister's new line with Target: BUMPED by BLANQI- My Postpartum Miracle Worker!

Veritas Designs Giveaway Winner

Spice up your Snacking Ladies!

One of the things I love most about Ben...