Lovely Little Bits & Pieces

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With the boys all home for summer, I thought I’d do a bit of a “summer sanity” kind of theme for this edition of my monthly Bits & Pieces post.  Nothing too fancy, but here are a few things that we’ve been enjoying this summer.  

1. I rarely take my boys to see movies in the theater (I know, I’m such a fun mom!) but we did go see Inside Out last week.  I wouldn’t say it holds really young kiddos attention super well, but for elementary school aged kids and their parents, it’s a must see!

2.  I used to wonder why my friends would pay so much for workout clothes, but now that I have my own pair of Lululemon shorts, I get it.  Like I wear them almost every day and don’t care who knows it.  I’m now the mom who wears workout clothes even on days I have no intention of working out.  Awesome.

3.  Since it’s so hot here, summer activities are either something you can do inside, or swimming.  When we aren’t swimming, I have been teaching the boys how to play games – mainly Sorry, Yahtzee, and Uno.  These are all games I loved as a kid, so it’s been fun to see the boys catch on and enjoy them too.  Good to know these classic games are still fun for kids even though they don’t require batteries, electricity, or internet connection, amen?

4.  Have you tried Tillamook ice cream?  I am not exaggerating one tiny bit – it’s the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.  I am passionately in love with Oregon Hazelnut Salted Caramel and I want to tell everyone I know.  Every night this week,  after tucking the boys into bed and putting the house back in order, I have taken a bowl of ice cream with me to bed and enjoyed it while watching Seinfeld on Hulu.

Ice Cream + Bed + Seinfeld = One Happy Mama

5.  Little Boy #2 has a really hard time falling asleep at night, so my husband told him if he stayed in his bed for seven nights in a row, he would take him to Target and buy him a special reward.  Come to think of it – don’t you wish someone would bribe YOU to stay in your bed?  Seven nights later they came home with this contraption, and other than the fact that all three boys fight over who’s turn it is to play with it, it’s a really cool toy that has kept them occupied for a hours.  I’m thinking it would be a great toy to bring along in the car on a road trip.

6.  Another summer sanity activity is playdough.  I used to kind of think of it as a preschool age kind of activity, but I have found that if I sit down with my boys and play with the playdough with them, we ALL get into it and it’s very therapeutic!  I have a recipe that I’ve used for years, and I’m always amazed at how long it stays fresh.  But the best thing about it is that it is so much less crumbly (which means less messy!) than store-bought play dough, which I don’t even let in my house anymore.  Hope you all are having a great summer!

What Matters Most

I am overwhelmed by the kindness and support of those who visit Lovely Little Kitchen.  Without you, there would be no LLK! Each month, a portion of the monthly income from LLK is set aside to support those in need.

Although access to clean water is a basic human need each and every day, the intense heat of a typical summer day in Arizona makes me so very thankful that I don’t have to work hard to fill up my water bottle with cold, clean water whenever I’m thirsty.   But imagine living where clean water is not easy to come by?  This month, a portion LLK’s income with be donated to Thirst Relief, an organization that provides access to clean water to communities by drilling and maintaining wells or building bio-sand filters.  They also provide education about hygiene and sanitation.  It only takes $10 to provide one person with clean water for 25 years!  Check them out and see how you can help.

 Disclaimer: the links in this post for the games are Amazon affiliate links.

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