Ashley & the J Crew

Chick-fil-a Upcycling Challenge 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 04:42:00 +0000

I have once again accepted the Chick-fil-a Mom's Panel Upcycling Challenge! Last year we made salad bowls into fun new things (and I was one of the winners!), but this year we had to think smaller!

We were given the tough task of purchasing and consuming a small bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup from Chick-fil-a. Tough job, but somebody had to do it! (One of my favorite menu items there!!!)

We were then supposed to come up with a fun use for the bowls once they were empty.

Pretty much the only thing my 8 year old does is play with/talk about/think about/watch LEGO, so I started to think about brick activities. He's great at following the directions that come with sets, but I thought it might be time to try something harder, so along came... LEGO Challenge Boxes.

First, I selected the pieces I would use
and hot glued a base plate to the lid.

I then built a variety of structures using only the
bricks in the bowl, then photographed them from the
front and the back, so he could see all of the pieces.

I printed the pictures out and glued them back to
back, to keep the front and back together. He then
went to work deciding which design to try first.

You know he's working hard with the tongue comes out.

Trying to figure out what comes next...

Done! Here's the front side!

And here's the back!

Then we moved on to the harder box.

ALL THE SAME COLOR.

He definitely agreed that these were harder to figure out.

Since I just printed these on our printer at home, the pictures

weren't too clear, but once we sat at the computer and looked at

the originals, he was able to get it. I will print them again at the

store as photographs and it should work much better!

That was tough!

And one of my favorite things about this project is that it's portable!

He can do it in the car and the pieces are contained in the bowl.

And when he's all done playing, the bricks and

photo cards all fit right back inside the bowl.

Perfect for home or on the go!

We really enjoyed this second year of the
Chick-fil-a Mom's Panel Upcycling Challenge!
Hoping to do it again someday!

Chick-fil-A Upcycling Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 May 2016 14:11:00 +0000

As a member of the Chick-fil-A Mom Panel 2015-2016, we were challenged to get a new Chick-fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad (Yum! And only 420 calories!) and then take the container and upcycle it into something fun.

Two of my son's favorite things are his Legos...

...and his sandbox...

Because it's been raining so much lately and we've been stuck inside, I thought it would be a fun idea to combine the two and have fun with sand inside!

We started out with the cleaned out container and filled it with sand from our sandbox. The only problem with the container was the fact that there were holes in the lid. I wanted to protect it from spilling when we were finished, because nobody wants sand all over their house!

I pulled out my tape collection (yellow electric tape and black striped washi) and decorated the lid. I chose this design to match the construction theme, but it also served the purpose of covering up the holes. Cute and functional!

You see where this is going? So much cuteness.

I did put it on a tray to try to contain the mess, but next time I'll put it in something bigger, like an under-bed storage container, because sand still got on the kitchen floor.

He was very excited to play with his Legos in the
sand AND play with sand in the house!

He loves to bury things in the sand and dig them back out.

"Aaaah! Help me!!!"

After a little while, we took the Legos out, sprayed it down to make it wet, and got out the alphabet fondant cutters. He had just as much fun with this as he did the Legos. I'm pretty sure we'll be pulling this out in the fall as another way to practice spelling words!

When we were all finished, we popped that lid back on,

which secures very well, and put it away for next time.

Thanks for the upcycling challenge, Chick-fil-A Mom's Panel!

We both really enjoyed it!

I Heart Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 23:12:00 +0000

I got the chance to try out new Hershey's Spreads, courtesy of Crowdtap and Hershey's, and I have one word... DELICIOUS! Everything we dipped in it was great!

Animal crackers.... yum!

Cinnamon sticks... extra yum!

Nilla wafers.... yes!

Marshmallows... very yes!

And then I had a great idea... graham, Hershey's Spread, giant mallow, more Hershey's Spread, 'nother graham... five seconds in the microwave and...

Holy Cow.

Easiest Best S'more Ever!

We didn't have any fruit around to try it, but I am definitely going to try some apples and strawberries, as well as whatever else I can come up with. SO GOOD! You definitely need to pick up a jar!

Kroger is the Best!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 15:10:00 +0000

Kroger is the best, y'all. I used to think, "Why in the world would people shop at Kroger and spend way more than they would at the big store down the street?" Well in my recent years of couponing and bargain-hunting, I've learned that you can get everything SO much cheaper at Kroger if you just shop the sales! Watch for what's on sale each week, grab some coupons (either paper or the ones you can load to your Kroger card) and stock up so you'll have enough to last until the next time it's on sale!

They are also currently offering Free Friday Downloads! Each Friday they add a coupon to their site for a free product. I've been able to get a bunch of things so far, including Quaker Popped, Chewy Bars, Dr. Pepper 10, Clear shampoo, Tostitos dip, and more! You just go online and download it to your Kroger card and when you shop, it will take the cost off your total so it will be FREE!

Wait. Download to your Kroger card? Yes! If you go to Kroger's Website and sign up. If you already have a Kroger card, you just put in your card number and your info and then start loading your coupons. (Coupons can be found here!)

Why should you create an account at Kroger.com or on your store’s website? For starters, it saves you money and makes your life easier. And that’s just the beginning of the benefits.
If you don’t already have an account, register your Shopper’s Card today over at your store’s website to take advantage of all these exclusive online features:

Download digital coupons (like the Free Friday Downloads offers) directly to your Shopper’s Card
Track your Shopper’s Card savings and Fuel Points
Sign up to receive emails for special offers, coupons and more
Browse weekly ads
See what’s happening at your local store
Create and save shopping lists

To take full advantage of these awesome benefits, be sure to opt in to emails when creating your account. Then, search for your store in the App Store (for iOS) or Google Play (for Android) to amplify your on-the-go experience. With the mobile app, you can access all the benefits above from your mobile phone or tablet!
So, what are you waiting for? Register your account right now and download the mobile app to start saving – and smiling – more!

Back to School Allergy Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 20:14:00 +0000

Well look who's back! (Hint: It's me.) It's been over a year without a post, and before that there wasn't much of anything either. I would love to start posting again if I can just get back into it. Over the past year I've had a bunch of opportunities to try some new (and old) products. Many times, I'm offered a chance to try out some things in exchange for letting you people know about them and how great they are! Today is one of those times.

Children's Claritin is simply the best. Jake has allergies pretty much year-round, and Children's Claritin always kicks them in the hiney. If he wakes up in the morning with runny or stuffy nose and sneezing, I will give him some in the morning and it really helps him make it through the day. I love the chewable ones because I can just keep some in my purse for whenever he needs it, but when we're at home we also use the Claritin liquid.

Now that everyone is back to school and approaching fall, allergies are going to become more prominent. So I'd like to offer to you some back to school allergy tips for you to remember:

1. Be sure to have Children’s Claritin, the #1 pediatrician-recommended non-drowsy allergy brand, on hand!

2. Multi-vitamins are building blocks to having a strong immune system. Make taking a multi-vitamin part of your child’s daily routine.

3. Let there be light! Mold doesn't like sunlight, so try to keep your curtains open during the day. Should be easy during the summer months!

4. Did you know that most pillows trap allergens, dust mites, and bacteria? Monitor the cleanliness of the pillow your child with allergies sleeps on and replace if necessary.

5. Back to school season means lots of laundry for many moms. Be sure to remove laundry from the washing machine promptly. Allowing wet clothes to sit in the washer means mold can quickly grow there.

6. Monitor pollen counts and adjust outdoor before and after school activities accordingly. Dry, windy days can be particularly high in pollen.

7. Showering or bathing at the end of the day as opposed to the morning can be helpful in removing allergens from body surfaces and hair.

8. Stay hydrated! Always send your child to school with a bottle of water. Drinking lots of clear fluids through the day can help get rid of toxins and flush out body.

9. Peak pollen production typically occurs in early morning, so try to plan outside activities at other times of the day.

"As a member of the Children’s Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit. No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience."

It's A Miracle!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 03:17:00 +0000

I HATE shredding chicken for recipes. Yes. Hate.
I saw somewhere online that you could put it right into the mixer while it's still hot and it would shred it.
I thought "No Way!"
Way.

Put it in hot.

Use the regular beater (on a Kitchenaid).\

Turn it on for like 30 seconds.

Voila!

I will never shred chicken again!

I'd way way WAY rather clean out the mixer than shred.

A Favor Please...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:02:00 +0000

Are you on Pinterest? Do you follow me?
I won a spot as a Lego Duplo House Party host and there is a bonus contest to win a $500 LEGO gift card. The Pinterest board with the most followers wins! Please please please just click over to this board and follow it! Thankyouverymuch!

Click here!!!

Party Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:16:00 +0000

Another thing we've been doing a LOT on Saturdays is birthday parties. Here are just a few we've been to in the past few months.

Caleb's was at a skating rink . The kids all brought ride on toys since they were little and can't skate yet. It was fun!

Jake enjoyed pretending to drive.

Ryder's party was at a local gymnastics place.

The foam pit was awesome!

The in-ground trampoline was Jake's favorite.

(Blurry) Dancing with the birthday boy!

A lot of running happened. This was a really long trampoline.

Jake had his first blower.

The same afternoon as Ryder's party we went to Parker's party.

Parker's grandpa bought him this sweet bounce house.

Pinata Time!

They filled the ball pit with balloons! Fun!

And then cousin Joey's first birthday!

Jake LOVES Joey!

Jake and Joey sharing the car post-birthday cake.

(Thus Joey's nakedness.)

Museum Day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:58:00 +0000

Since I started working again, I'm trying to plan fun things for us to do on Saturdays. Jon works Saturdays, so it's usually just me and Jake venturing out.

One week we went to the children's museum.

They had a dinosaur exhibit at that point.

Jake enjoyed it.

Despite how it looks here.

I was honestly SHOCKED at how big

the triceratops head was. HUGE!

They have a cute little kid play area to explore.

Of course Jake liked the pirate ship.

They had a really neat shadow wall where your shadow was multi-colored. We spent the most time here. Jake really had fun with it.

Making a hurricane. Or something.

It was wicked hard to pull him up on this.

I'm not sure why.

(See the black line on the left?

That's me pulling him up with the rope.)

A little tennis ball bowling.

Doing the weather report.

I was there too.

After the museum and lunch, we stopped by our almost-every-Saturday stop: Petsmart. Or as Jake calls it "The Dog Fair". These little guys were too cute to not take a picture.

Music Break

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 20:50:00 +0000

Just a little pre-swimming singing. My favorite part is the fast-forwarded second verse. And how the motions don't quite match the words.

Easter: It Was 2 1/2 Months Ago

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 18:16:00 +0000

Yes. We celebrated Easter. By going to FIVE egg hunts. FIVE.

We did one with some kids from church. They did some activities before including follow the leader. They were walking backwards here. Jake carried that stick the whole time.

Jake only got two eggs.

Everyone else got like 20.

He got two.

It was sad.

The day before Easter we scouted out churches

having free hunts for the public.

He did better on this one because they

did the "Everyone Gets Ten" rule.

Thanks for the hard candy.

Church #2 didn't go as well, as parents were not allowed into the hunting area. But some teens felt sorry for him and gave him some big handfuls of eggs. Good ol' teens.

They had cute inflatable Easter decor everywhere.

They also had a fun train that went around the church.

Easter Day

Put your kid on a swing.

He'll sit still for a picture!

He found the Elmo egg!

He totally won our front yard egg hunt.

He loved his HUGE Dinosaur Train coloring book.

He went to town coloring apparently

evil dinosaurs on his new table.

Cracking the eggs.

Jack really wanted to help.

That baseball in a baseball is exciting!

Baskets make excellent hats.

And lastly the hunt at Mimi and Pop's house.

Jake found rocks.

They made it really hard for the biggest kid.

Jake enjoyed hanging with his BFF/second cousin (?) Joey.

GroopDealz Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 17:31:00 +0000

Yes. I'm just doing this to try to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My New Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:35:00 +0000

This is my new thing.

I make personalized coasters.

They're pretty cute.

Check out my coaster blog if you're interested.

To Put Your Cup On
The potential for your design is almost limitless.
Pretty much anything you can come up with, I can do.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Just click on over to the coaster blog and see if there's
anything you like. Or come up with something totally new!

Sea World!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Jake and I were going to visit my dad for his 60th birthday. (Jon had to stay and work.) Then my parents decided that they wanted to take us to Sea World while we were there! What?! So much fun. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. The rest are here if you care.

Of course we had to go visit the Alamo the night before.
Pardon the blurriness.

We're here!

Shamu: Statue Edition

Shamu: Real Edition

He LOVED it!

Sea Lion: Statue Edition

"Feed me!"

Feeding him.

We went to Shamu twice because it was so awesome.

Love this picture.

First time in a big bed. He was exhausted.

St. Patrick's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:52:00 +0000

One time it was St. Patrick's Day...

Green shirt.

Green oatmeal.

Green grilled cheese.

Green grass.

And of course green bath.

Pirate Parrrrrrrrrty!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:47:00 +0000

Jake turned three waaaaaaaay back in March. He is ALL up into pirates (see: Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney), so we had a pirate party. Here are a few of the highlights and favorites. If you care to see more pictures, I have some more on Facebook.

This was the only three seconds that he had on
the bandana and eyepatch the whole party.

The party table.
I actually bought that tablecloth on clearance last
summer thinking we would have a Cat in the Hat party.
Totally worked for a pirate party too.

Pirate ships and buried treasure cupcakes.

Another birthday banner courtesy of Cricut.

Jake: Every Six Months

Everyone got an eyepatch, bandana, tattoo,
and sword when they came in.

Treasure to take home.

The favorite game: Dig for Treasure

Pirate Fishing

Toss the Gold Doubloons

Walking the Plank with Granna

Cupcake Time!

Happy Birthday Jake!

(Two and a half months ago!)

It Snowed. Sort Of.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:40:00 +0000

One time it snowed for a second. They made it sound like it was going to be terrible. Schools said they were going to close. People bought bread. Then it snowed for two seconds. By the time we got up, ate breakfast, got dressed, and went outside, most of it was already gone. It was still cold, but there wasn't much snow.

It had been so warm earlier that the
daffodils had already bloomed.
They survived the blizzard.

Valentines

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:13:00 +0000

Remember? I'm trying to catch up? Here's Valentines...
We went to a Valentines party for some kids in our Sunday School class.

They decorated bags.

Stiiiiiiiiiiickeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!

Passing out the treats to friends.

Enjoying a delicious cookie that he

decorated while having terrible hair.

We went into Party City (which has since burned down!)

on Valentines Day and saw the biggest balloon on earth.

My precious Valentines lunch date. Weird hair again.

Bringing me flowers from Daddy.

Our treats for friends at the party.

Guess where I got the idea.

(Bought those tiny candy canes at 90% off after

Christmas. Totally doing it again next year.)

And my top-of-the-desk decorations.

The canvas I copied exactly from here.
(LOVE her site - so many cute ideas!)

And the garland I just made with wooden
hearts, scrapbook paper, and ribbon.

I also made this.

Wooden letters, scrapbook paper, and ribbon. Again.

And these little felt hearts? 90% off Christmas ornaments.

And this picture again. (I took it last year [but apparently didn't post it] and the year before.) This year's picture was easiest to take.

The Lego Duplos

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:37:00 +0000

Jake got a 200-piece box of Lego Duplos for Christmas. Then played with them EVERY DAY for about four months. He's recently found something new he plays more, but man we played a lot of Duplos. We still play with them when I'm tired of the other thing. So here are some pictures of our creations over the past many months...

Jake.

ALL of the pieces end-to-end.

Ramp for the cars.

Time Tunnel for the Dinosaur Train.

A building with all the pieces.

We love to make "tall towers". This one has all the pieces in it.

A train.

Trees, a pond, some bridges, and a building.

More tall towers.

He can reach shockingly high.

I was very proud of this helicopter that I made. (Me, not Jake)

The craziest thing we've made with all the pieces.

This Place is FUN!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Back one time. When it was cold. There's this preschool play place here that I took D to a couple of time when I was his nanny. It's cute and all, but I've secretly been boycotting them because they charge admission for the parents. Boo! But there was a groupon/living social/something for the place for buy one get one free, so I got it and got in free! Here's a bunch of pictures of the fun:

He is NOT a fan of dirty hands.

Our favorite was this wicked cool air tube system. You cram pom-poms or pieces of cloth into them and they fly through the tubes and pop back out the top. So fun!

We'll go back next time I get in free.

Other December Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:07:00 +0000

This is ridiculous, but I had a post saved as "Other December Stuff" so here it is...

Chillin on the couch with the pillow pet.

Snuggling Santa Snoopy

He loved that tree!

Cheeseball.

One day it snowed for a minute.

Family picture!

Hugs from Pop.

The boys.

First time in Big Church - for the Christmas musical

A visit from the neighbors!

Just parking some trucks in Daddy's big shoes.

Just wearing Daddy's big shoes.

Boot arms!

First tat... a pirate of course!

Cute monkey towel that he got for Christmas.

It has a tail!

Jenna and Me

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:33:00 +0000

Ok. The blog is coming back. For real. I have like 8 posts already uploaded. So get ready. Four months of events are about to come at you like a whirlwind.
Also, forgive that ridiculously small header up top. I'm working on it.
P.S. Blogger has TOTALLY changed their format since I've been gone, so give me a break on the appearance of posts until I understand it.

So Jenna. She's the greatest. We met in college when we randomly had 3 classes together in a row at A&M our Freshman year. This was us Junior year when we got our Aggie Rings. (We just had our Ten Year Aggie Ringiversary!)

(I can't get this picture to center.)

This was the last time we had seen each other.

It was four years ago.

She only had two kids.

I had zero.

Over Christmas break though, we were both in the DFW area at the same time! Unbelievable. So Jake and I met her at her in-laws' house for a gather of the children. Yes, she has four precious adorable children now. Baby Karis was only about two weeks old, but they had come to town for the big kids to be in a wedding.


If we lived in the same town , Jake and Carlee would totally be boyfriend/girlfriend.

Stop looking at Kennedy! She's too old for you!

Sweet big sister.

And this was the first of many attempts to get a picture of us all.

Colby's my favorite in this picture.

Love you Jenna! Let's not let it be four years again!

Fort Worth Not-Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

We stayed in Fort Worth for another week after Christmas. Here are the things we did. They were mostly involving playing with the Christmas gifts.

Posing in front of the fireplace.
Where 90% of posed pictures taken in my parents
house for the past 29 years have happened.

Checking out all of Granna's ornaments.

An army of tiny dinosaurs.

And then they blew them all down!

Reading with Uncle Josh.

Finding Granna's fingers under the door!

Wearing a silly hat while pretending to be a marching band.

And then a whole bunch of playing in the front yard with Grandude...

Then he enjoyed playing with the bungee
cord in the back of Grandude's truck.

And spotting himself in the window.

One day he decided he wanted to look at all of his gifts again.

And some stuff I made...

I totally showed that almond bark who was boss. (Dipped pretzel rods, regular pretzels, mini cinnamon sticks, oreo bark and chocolate and regular peppermint bark.)

This held my uncle's gift card to... Lowe's.

This was my grandmother's greeting card sorter.
I got the box at The Container Store.

Then I made the dividers and sorted out her cards for her.
I'm really happy with how it came out!

Fort Worth Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

I uploaded these while in Fort Worth, but totally forgot I hadn't posted them yet. So here's the other half of Christmas. The one in Fort Worth with my fam.

Christmas Eve in the old man pajamas that I love!

I could not possibly fit more in that stocking.

Checking out his loot. Those cute crayon books are like I Spy books and are still in the dollar section at Target if you're interested.

Bag o' Dinosaurs. No clue why I bought it.
Clearance after Halloween.

Showing Daddy his Sesame Street characters.

Clearance after Easter (?)

Watching the Disney Christmas parade with Granna

He loved it!

Doing one of the crayon books with Grandude.
And pointing with his foot. Of course.

My parents just got a new dining table (like three days before Christmas) and it's one of those tall ones. So my dad made this sweet platform for my grandmother so she could join us.

Story time with Uncle Jack
He was reading the original Yes, Virginia letter that
had been re-published in the paper that day.

Hanging out with Uncle Josh and Aunt Ashley

Very much enjoying his microphone... quickly given to him
first to keep him busy while the gifts were being passed out.

He remembered how to open gifts from Christmas #1.

My dad in his dorkopotamus (like hippopotamus)
earphones to protect his ears while shooting guns.

He LOVED his Dinosaur Train from Josh and Ashley

Getting a little help from Josh opening his annual box-o-books, a gift that I got from my mom every year growing up that I LOVED so am continuing the tradition.

Discussing his gift from Grammy with her... play food to go in the...

SHOPPING CART!
This things is SO cute and he l-o-v-e-s it!

First train set

My mom got Jon and I pillow pets.
This is their first of many showdowns.

Relaxing with Daddy after all the gifts were open.
On the A&M pillow pet, I might say.

Grinnin' with Granna

The fam.

Back in the old man pajamas Christmas night.

And Emily, as you are one of the few people I know that regularly looks at the blog, I'm sorry that you are the only one not included in this post. SORRY! You are still loved! :)

Christmas Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:54:00 +0000

We had Christmas with Jon's family on the Thursday before Christmas, since we were heading out of town and so was his aunt.

Just a cute picture from that morning.

Holding the gift I made for Jon's mom.

Just a little hopping before dinner.

Like me growing up... the only one still at the
table when everyone else was done eating.

The girls were very excited to open their gift from us.

They got the same thing they got last year... costumes
that I bought at 90% off clearance after Halloween!

Jake didn't quite get "opening presents" at first.
We had to help him with the first few.

Then he got the hang of it.

He got a fun dinosaur that roars and opens
its mouth when you squeeze the tail.

Aunt Candice got him some super cute dinosaur
pajamas that came with this funny mask.

He loved his Dinosaur Train (tv show) search and find book.

The girls started putting on their costumes right away.

Right over their clothes.

The fortune teller/gypsy costume was actually an
adult one, but I knew it would still work and be super cute.

Opening his stocking.

Jake enjoyed the costumes too.