Month: June 2021

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Summertime Favs!

ashleylfrancis

Oh I’m loving some things right now. Loving, them BIG!

  1. I ordered this blanket for myself for my birthday a few weeks ago. Back Story: my kids were constantly wrapped in Aden and Anias muslin as babies. Lil and my nephew, Ephram, would not leave the house without one as toddlers. I just got really used to that soft & cozy fabric around me and it reminds me of when these precious lumps were babies. Sooooo, I saw that they sell blankets for adults made of muslin and I needed something for the summer months. Enter: this blankie for adults. It has one great review and one not so great. I love it. Judah talks about how soft and cozy it is every time he slips in to cuddle when he wakes me up in the morning. It’s pretty much a dream come true.
  2. Vivofit jr. 3 for kids! A few friends of ours have purchased these watches for their kids and our kids wanted them bad! So we asked for them as a gift for their birthdays and they haven’t taken them off since. I will say, I had a talk with both of my kids once they got them that we don’t care how many steps they have in a day, or how many minutes they are active, but that we want them to know its important to move their bodies so that they are strong and can do everything they want their bodies to do. I’m hyper-vigilant about our messaging when it comes to bodies and health in a society (and family line, honestly) full of eating-disorders. So our language is health/strength/movement vs. anything visual! If only I spoke to myself the same way!
  3. I really like birkenstocks but sometimes they bother my arch. I saw these Cushionaire birk look-a-likes as a great option on instagram from someone who has the same issue. They are SO comfortable and for goodness sakes they’re $25 instead of $100! I’m usually happy to spend the money for comfortable and long-lasting shoes because I have a lot of arch pain and am prone to issues but I don’t think I will buy birks again.
  4. I’m at the point in my life that I buy clothing from Costco. I won’t apologize for it. One of my closest friends texts me from Texas when she (or her mom, haha!) are at her special Sams club in Texas and I text her when I’m at Costco. The athleisure is unreal at these stores! Enter: this drawstring dress that was $11.99 in store! What!? Does Costco know what clothes cost in the rest of the world?! I actually forgot to text her about this dress so I may get yelled at. (Sorry, Missy!)
  5. My kids don’t typically LOVE homework. They are sour every summer when I get out bridge books to help get them ready for the next year. I don’t know what kind of voodoo magic is in these particular books but I literally have to stop them from doing more! “sorry kids, time to stop the books, we’ve got to go to the pool”. WHAT? This is not normal for our family. I’m here for it, though!

Okay! That’s it for now. Hope you’re loving summer!!

Favorite Things

Our Family’s Kid Stuff that Has Stood the Test of Time

ashleylfrancis

Our kids are now 6&8. How did THAT happen? I see a lot of posts on social media asking for gift ideas and favorite toys that will last. I thought I’d put together a short list of our family favorites.

  1. When we moved to our current home, we sadly had to come to grips with the fact that our play room was smaller. Waaaaaay smaller. So our oversized furniture wasn’t going to work. We sold it and bought this Nugget Couch in navy as a replacement. It is a couch sometimes, a ramp, a slide, a fort, etc. It is everything my kids want it to be and we LOVE it.
  2. Magnatiles, or picasso tiles. We have a huge collection of these and it is definitely cost effective to get the Picasso. They work together and my kids have loved them for years. We’ve gotten a few additions along the way, like vehicles bases and they really have been a favorite.
  3. Memberships. Zoo, Science Center, or anywhere else you can think of. I find taking the pressure off of “this was really expensive so we need to be here for 8 hours for it to be worth it”, is very helpful to my personality. Making the zoo a casual, frequent experience has been a true gift to our family.
  4. Magic Tracks are a huge hit for our Judah. He loves to watch things move and has a very critical, “how does this work” kind of brain and this toy has been a real joy for him to manipulate.
  5. Legos. That is pretty self explanatory.
  6. Dress-ups. Anything from Elsa to Harry Potter to ninjas to Dory. My kids have LOVED dressing up forever.
  7. We have had a few different “kitchen” type options for our kids over the years. At the end of the day, they end up playing with the play food more than the play kitchen. Unless they are at someone else’s house. Then they obsess over the kitchen! I don’t know why.
  8. Nintendo Switch. There, I said it. My kids play with screens.
  9. Craft supplies. Alllll day long. I love gifts that run out and don’t need to be stored for life and Lillian loves creating. Clay, model magic, paint, paper, markers, pastels. Any of it!
  10. Anything with wheels outside. Bikes, motorized cars, scooters. Anything that requires a helmet is beloved.

A note: Lillian is like her mother in that she has a one-track mind. (I remember in middle school telling my mom I would forego lunch if she would use that money to buy me a pack of Pokemon cards). My Lil will beg and be so hyper-focused on getting something, then she gets it and rarely plays with it. Insert LOL dolls, Polly Pocket, or any other miniature kind of doll-ish thing. They have a short shelf life in our house but they are beloved for a week or two. If you ask her about her favorite toys, she will say Polly Pocket. They just don’t get the hours of play I’d think they would.

Image of what I would love our play room to look like. It does not, however look like this.

Playroom HD Stock Images | Shutterstock