Iron Lady Date Night

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The name of my blog is Social Studies Momma and from that I am sure you can conclude that I am a history nerd. I majored in history in college and was a middle school social studies teacher. Now I am a stay at home Momma so the name Social Studies Momma was born. I still love history and watching historical movies.

One of my favorite parts of history is biographical studies. I love looking in depth at a particular historical figure. Where did they come from? How did their past influence their role in history. One woman that I greatly admire is Margaret Thatcher. I have studied her from a political perspective but had never delved into her beginnings or her personal life. She was hugely influential not only in Britain but throughout the world.

When Iron Lady first came out Hubs and I had wanted to go and see it. Well, with a toddler that just didn't happen. Getting a babysitter is expensive! Add the cost of the movie and dinner and you have a 100+ evening on your hands. We have been anxiously waiting for Iron Lady to come out on DVD so that we could have a date night in.

This morning I reserved Iron Lady at the Redbox website. Then Little Bit and I headed to Walmart.

I got an entire date night, movie and dinner, for under twenty five dollars! That included the movie, two strip steaks, fresh zucchini, Rice-a-Roni, fresh French bread, and some Corona's! Not to shabby if I do say so myself. If you would like to see my shopping trip I invite you to check out my Google + album. 

It was my first time using Red Box and it was pretty easy! While I was on their website reserving my movie I came by this awesome sweeps they have going on. You can win an entire year of free movies. Think of all the date nights you could have with that! Here is the link if your interested. I also signed up to follow Redbox on Twitter and Facebook. Did you know they shoot out free codes sometimes? Cool!

Hubs and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Iron Lady. This wonderful movie tells the story of Margaret Thatcher in flashbacks from her own perspective as an elderly woman. It was fantastically done. I loved all the history that was mixed in and the insights into the personal life of Margaret Thatcher.

This movie was engaging from start to finish. It started with the excellent casting. Meryl Streep was the perfect choice to play Margaret Thatcher. I loved how much Meryl sounded like Margaret! Another character that stood out to me was Geoffrey Howe played by Anthony Head. I loved learning that this faithful cabinet member's resignation is what precipitated the downfall of Ms. Thatcher from power. I was engaged throughout the movie and loved the mixture of her political and personal life. It gave the movie nice flow and was entertaining throughout. To use Couch Critics lingo, I give this movie 5 out of 5 Couches. 
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I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric #CouchCritics

Stay! #ILoveMyk9 #CBias

Tweet Training a dog is all about consistency and rewards. Last week I recanted my story about needing to teach Hubs co-workers some manners. They are a very excitable bunch. I started teaching them the command of stay.

The first thing I did was tell Hubs what the command would look like. I held my hand up and said "stay!" Not yelling the command but using a firm voice. Dogs need to know you are the alpha in your home. That has been our trick to living peaceably with four large dogs in a little house with a toddler. They know that the non-furry ones are in charge round these parts.

There is a baby gate that separates the morning room/office/dog area from the rest of the house. Our spotted dogs shed the least. They also have most favored dog status so they get to come into the rest of the house when invited in. However, they take the gate being opened as an invitation. The youngest dog, our pit mix Peanut, is especially bad for this little maneuver. I worked with him first.

Here is the result:

After he sat there for a tad I gave him a Milk-Bone® treat. 

Good dog!

My dogs are all a little on the pudgy side so I opted to use treats that I knew would not be high in calories. Milk-Bone® Treats and Lean Pup-Peroni Treats were the perfect solution for our training needs. Now the co-workers are a little better behaved in the workplace which makes all of the employees very happy indeed.

If you would like to read about the co-workers here is my first post about their antics.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my very own. #CBias#iLoveMyK9

The Co-Workers Need to Learn Some Manners: #ILoveMyk9, #CBias

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Yesterday you all met Hubs' new co-workers. Affectionately known as the mutts around here. Our four large fur babies are now sharing a space with Hubs as he works from home. Our pups range in age from 11 years old to 3 years old. They all know how to sit and give high fives. Our youngest, Peanut, also knows how to lie down. An important trick that they don't know yet is stay. 

It is a pretty important skill for them to know now that they are in such close proximity to Hubs. The UPS man is an almost daily visitor and the co-workers tend to get a bit nuts when he comes a knocking. I had loaded up on some fantastic treats for the mutts to help them with their varying issues. Those treats are calorie dense and will not be good for training.

After church on Sunday I just added low-cal treats to my shopping list. I headed to Walmart with high hopes of getting some Milk-Bone® biscuits, Lean Pup-Peroni Treats and some Milo's Kitchen Treats. 

I easily found the Milk-Bone® biscuits and Lean Pup-Peroni Treats but the Milo's Kitchen Treats were nowhere to be found, bummer. I did however find a rocking coupon for $2 when I bought a box of Milk-Bone® biscuits and a box of Lean Pup-Peroni Treats/ Milo's Kitchen Treats! You know how I love a coupon and it was a peelie so I didn't even have to use my own ink. 

I have started the process of training the co-workers to stay. They seem to be pretty excited about this required training as it involves free food. I will report back next week with the results and some how-to's!

 

If you would like to see my entire shopping trip come check out my photo journey on Google +.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions are my very own. #CBias#iLoveMyK9

Disney Champions for Kids #CBias #DisneyCFK

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I am blessed to be the coordinator for the Angel Tree ministry this year. I was on the last leg of the journey about a week ago. I had made sure every one of our Angels had someone to deliver their gifts. Hubs, Little Bit, and I paired with another family to deliver to a girl I will call “Special Girl.” 

I had finished up shopping for Special Girl on Friday at Walmart. Check out my shopping trip on Google + here. Another wonderful family from Church went in with us to buy gifts for Special Girl This morning we got the rest of the presents. I had made an appointment with Special Girls Momma to come and visit at 3pm this afternoon. 

We pulled up to the old house and Special Girls Momma was standing outside talking with some people in a mini van. We waved hello and Special Girls Momma told us Special Girl was in the van and was heading out to do some homework with a friend. I think Special Girl was to bashful to meet us.

Special Girls Momma lovingly welcomed us into her home. She greeted us with gifts! A Barney for Little Bit and some other little gifts she had dug out of her home. I was beyond touched. We were there to bless her and her child and she blessed our child. 

We had a wonderful visit. The family that came with us put the Christmas tree up for Special Girls Momma. We asked Special Girls Momma if she would like us to decorate it for her. She said that Special Girl loved decorating the tree so we left if there ready for her.

Hubs is a computer dude so he got the wireless internet up and running lickity split. He also helped Special Girls Momma with a little computer task while he was at it. How I love that Hubs of mine. It blessed me through and through to see him serve Special Girls Momma. 

When we left there were lots of hugs and we all almost cried. What a fantastic way to celebrate Christmas! I asked Special Girls Momma if I could call and see how Special Girl liked her goodies. She said absolutely and I will call!

I am so very grateful to Disney for helping me to be a Champion for Kids. It was such a moving experience to mobilize and make a difference in the life of a child in my community. I highly encourage all of you to check out the mission of Champions for Kids and stay connected with them on Facebook and Twitter. You can also join Champions for Kids for a Twitter party on December 15^th at 9:00 EST. I hope to see you all there! 

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All the events in this story are a part of my real life and I love sharing my blessed life with all of you! #CBias, #DisneyCFK

 

Cyber Monday Goodies From CookiesKids.com #LuvCookies #CBias

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I love to shop. My very favorite person to shop for is Little Bit. Luckily for me he continues to grow and gives this shop happy Momma a pretty valid reason to peruse for awesome deals. When Cyber Monday came around I knew I had to get out there and find some great bargains.

I got a great email and Facebook heads up from CookiesKids.com of the rocking Cyber Monday sale they were having. There were several codes floating around but either way I was going to get free shipping. Free shipping is kind of a make or break situation for me. I HAAAAAAAAAATE paying for shipping. It bugs me to my core. A percentage off and free shipping was the perfect storm for me.

I headed over to CookiesKids.com and immediately found their refer a friend program. I would love for all of you to go and check it out. If you sign up using my link we will both get store credits to buy our Little Bit's awesome clothes at great prices!

I had such a great time shopping for new winter clothes for Little Bit. I just couldn't keep my excitment about all those rocking deals to myself so I shared on Twitter, Facebook, and even pinned all of my cute finds on Pinterest. If you would like to see my shopping experience check out my Google + album.

After all was said and done I had purchased some thermals, a long sleeved Levi's shirt, a fleece Cars outfit, some socks, and a play shirt for $33.25. Not to shabby if I do say so myself! I applied my coupon code but had some issues with it. I ended up calling the folks at CookiesKids.com support. They were terrific. The coupon never did work for me online but the very nice gentleman took care of it for me.  He was super friendly and fast!

Of course, because I am cheap I opted for the free shipping. It took ten business days to get here. I was a little frustrated by that but I am guessing that between the huge amount of orders CookiesKids.com had and the massive amount of packages the USPS had to deliver was the combined culprit for my long wait. 

It did arrive just in time for the living nativity that all three of use were participating in at Church on Saturday night. I opened the socks and found that my mushy Momma brain had struck once again. They were kids sized socks not toddler sized. It worked out pretty well though they were like boy leggings and kept Little Bit extra warm. 

He wore the super cute Cars outfit to Church that evening. We had all gathered together to share a meal before our little act began. The Church is always cold when you first get there so the fleece did a great job of keeping him warm until the heat started working. 

When it was time to get dressed for the nativity Hubs and I put the thermal long jon pants on Little Bit along with the Cars fleece hoodie. all of that went under his Carhart bibs. He was one warm fella and a pretty cute shepherd if I do say so myself. When we got home I threw the top to the thermals on and he was ready for bed. It's pretty tiring being a shepherd.

This morning Little Bit got to wear his new Levis shirt to Church. It was super cute. When we got home I put him in his new play shirt. 

I really am very pleased with the amount of clothes I got for such great prices at CookiesKids.com. I don't think I could have found such a selection, brand names, and really great prices at any shop in town. I will definitely be shopping there again when I need some spring clothes or if there is a huge growth spurt this winter. Happy shopping everyone! 

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #LuvCookies All opinions are my very own! 

Champions for Kids: Angel Tree Ministry

Tweet Something I have always loved to participate in is the Angel Tree at Christmas. Have you ever seen a Christmas tree with little angel shaped tags hanging on it with the name of a boy or girl in need? That is Angel Tree.

Angel Tree is actually a prison ministry. The point is for an incarcerated parent to keep ties with their children through the kindness of a stranger. The stranger adopts an Angel and purchases gifts on the incarcerated parents behalf and then turns the gifts over to an Angel Tree coordinator who delivers the gifts to the children.

I've always been involved with Angel Tree on the buying end of the process. I purchased gifts and happily let someone else take care of getting the gifts to where they belong.

A few years ago our church had quite a bit of upheaval. Our pastor left and so did about half the congregation. It was a hard time. Many of our ministry projects which had been run by certain people for years were suddenly without leaders.

One that broke my heart was the Angel Tree program. We just couldn't stop doing this program. Those kids needed us! Their lives were greatly improved by this ministry. I put my big girl drawers on and volunteered to lead the charge.

Hubs and I have been steadily working at coordinating the program for several months now. We have called all of our families, gotten loads of presents from our wonderful church family, and now we are ready to deliver the presents.

Thankfully, I have loads of helpers to assist me in delivering all of those presents. Hubs, Little Bit and I are pairing up with another family to deliver gifts to a very Special Girl and her caregiver. I have talked with the caregiver several times on the phone. Each time was such a blessing to me. She is a sweet lady who has had surgery and lost her job because of it. She has so many things going on that would bring me to my knees but through all our conversations she has been nothing but positive.

The caregiver mentioned that her special girl isn't even expecting anything for Christmas this year. Special Girl knows that things are hard. I am so very blessed to be able to bring Christmas and the love of Jesus to Special Girl.

Programs like Angel Tree help to improve the life of children. I am honored to work with Disney's Champions for Kids program.  That means that along with the gifts that my church family has blessed Special Girl with she is also going to get some super fun Disney themed goodies. I can't wait to hit Walmart and pick them out for her. We go to visit Special Girl on Sunday afternoon so be looking for my follow up post.

Want to know how you can help to change the lives of kids in your community? Check out the Champions For Kids website, Facebook page,  and on Twitter.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions and life experiences are my very own.  #CBias, #DisneyCFK

Surviving Bronchitis With A Toddler #TysonGoodness #CBias

Tweet I have been pretty much absent from the blogshpere for the last week. The reason, bronchitis. What added insult to injury is that Hubs had left for a week long business trip to the other coast. Oh my. It started out as these things do with that slight feeling of being under the weather.

As soon as I got that feeling that I was going to be sick I knew I had to prepare for a long hard week. Little Bit and I headed to Walmart for sick essentials. I got cough drops, pain reliever, and easy to cook food for Little Bit.

Lucky for me my local Walmart had the new Tyson mini chicken sandwiches. Last week we had tried to get these new little sandwiches but they had not arrived yet so I had made my own version. Little Bit had actually eaten them which is rare. He eats very little. 


The mini chicken sandwiches were a perfect solution for me this week. I knew Little Bit would eat them so it was one less thing I had to worry about when being sick. 

This wasn't my most proud week as a parent. There were marathon movie days every day until bed. Chicken sandwiches were served for lunch and dinner every day. I may have even bribed him with lollipops and my house looks like a small tornado blew up in here but we survived.

 Now that I am on the mend I need to find that Walmart receipt to submit for a $5 Walmart Gift Card for buying 2 Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches.  What are you tips for surviving illness while caring for young children?

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias  All the opinions in this post are my very own.

How To Make A Thanksgiving Headdress For A Toddler #GlueNGlitter #Cbais

Tweet The day before Thanksgiving I decided that it would be super fun to make Little Bit and I to make a Thanksgiving project. My Mom's Great Grandmother was a full blooded American Indian. To celebrate that part of our family ancestry I thought it would be super neat to make him an American Indian headdress. It was a great project to do with an almost two year old.

We started out by going to Walmart to buy some supplies (check out our shopping trip here):
                                     

                               Elmer's Craft Bond Glue Dots          X-Acto Scissors

  Elmer's Tri-Fold Foam Board

Later that afternoon Hubs, Little Bit, and I went outside. Hubs was winterizing our small engines and Little Bit and I were gathering more materials for our Thanksgiving headdress. I let Little Bit explore the yard. He picked up some acorns, leaves, and a bit of broken pine tree.

Now we started the crafty part of our project. We got our comfy clothes on and got to business.

 

I free handed some feathers onto the Elmer's Tri-Fold Foam Board . I really liked using this bigger board so I will have some on hand for my next project. 

 

I cut the feathers out. I tried using my new X-Acto Scissors but they were no match for that thick foam board. Luckily my trusty kitchen mamba jamba scissors worked in a pinch. After I had the feathers cut out I let Little Bit color them. I did let him color on the foam board so he wouldn't color on my comforter! 

Next I took a piece of floor paper and measured Little Bit's head with it. I had to add a little to it. Thankfully I had bought those Elmer's Craft Bond Glue Dots. Fold the paper to the width that you want like this.

Add a little extra with some Elmer's Craft Bond Glue Dots if you need to.

Whala! We have a base for our Thanksgiving headdress.

I used my Elmer's Craft Bond Glue Dots again and placed the feathers on the base.

Next we took the outside elements and attached them to the base and the feathers with our Elmer's Craft Bond Glue Dots.

After all of our crafting fun it was time to try on the Thanksgiving headdress. Well that didn't quite work out. It didn't work out the day before Thanksgiving or on Thanksgiving day. Le sigh...

We did however have lots of fun putting it together, taking out nature walk to find elements, and gathering up more Elmer's products.

Have you ever made a Thanksgiving headdress with your Little Bits? Does this look like a simple project you could do? I think we may have to do this again but with a winter inspired theme! Happy crafting everyone.

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Elmer's #gluenglitter #collectivebias #cbias but all of the opinions and the tutorial are my very own. 

STP Multipurpose Motor Treatment #CBias #engineluv

Tweet Hello all, Hubs here. It's that time of year again. Thanksgiving? Christmas? Well, yes, however I'm talking about the time to winterize and perform maintenance on lawn equipment. Lawn equipment, no matter what you have, costs enough money that it is in our best interests to take care of it. Much like your car, truck, or van, lawn equipment has an engine. Tractors, lawn mowers, tillers, weed eaters, chainsaws, etc. I needed to make sure our tractor, tillers, and chainsaw were ready to be put in long term storage as winter has arrived. I don't mind doing this maintenance myself, because its pretty easy and saves a lot of money over paying someone else to do it. Or worse, you don't do the maintenance and serious problems occur that require a trip to the repair shop.

When an engine sits for a long period of time, gasoline breaks down and can cause hard starts and rough running. That's why if you don't treat your fuel in your lawn mower or tractor in winter, they're so hard to start when spring arrives! I needed a product that can stabilize the fuel for storage. I also needed something that could clean up deposits left in the engine and in the oil crankcase after running my equipment all spring, summer, and fall. I needed something that could clean the carburetors, help clean deposits out of the cylinders, and something I could add to the oil crankcase to help it fight acid breakdown to keep the oil stabilized too.

We bought a single can of STP Multipurpose Motor Treatment to treat the engine on the tractor, the big tiller, the small tiller, and the chainsaw. I liked that the STP product treated both two-stroke and four-stroke engines. It can also be used in diesel engines as well. With several thousand dollars invested I want to make sure I help protect the engines for as long as possible. STP Multipurpose Motor Treatment is easy to use; just measure out how much you need to pour in the gas tank by how big the tank is. You only need 3/4 oz. of it for each gallon. I dragged all the equipment out while Amy watched Little Bit play in the yard. I quickly measured out how much treatment I would need for each piece of equipment and added it. I also took the opportunity to measure the oil in the big tiller and tractor, and added a bit to the tractor. I put a little bit of the STP motor treatment into the oil crankcase as well to help the oil during storage.

One I was finished checking over all the equipment for any obvious issues and checked fluid levels, I needed to start the equipment. It's best to start the equipment after you add fuel treatment to make sure that every part of the engine is treated. If you just add motor treatment to the fuel tank you'll treat the fuel, but not get any of the other benefits. So, I started the engines and let them warm up to make sure the treatment had reached the carburetors and cylinders to clean out deposits, oxidation, and sludge. With the fuel treated, our lawn equipment was now safe to hibernate for the winter. This simple bit of maintenance eliminates a lot of headaches and issues in the spring, and keeps these engines running well so I don't have to have them in the repair shop. With the gasoline stabilized and the engines cleaned out, they ought to start easily after four months of storage when spring rolls around!

Check out our shopping trip to Walmart here and watch my vlog about the features of STP Multipurpose Motor Treatment.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions are my own.

Pre-Thanksgiving Quick Dinner #TysonGoodness #CBias

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Today is the day before Thanksgiving. Holiday madness officially ensues in the morning. This evening I needed to have a nice quick dinner before the festivities begin. 

I had read about a new product that I thought would be yummy and quick, Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches. What really made me want to try these little yummies was the deal I ran across for them. When you buy 2 Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches at certain Walmart's you will receive a $5 Walmart Gift Card. Yes please and thank you! 


I looked up which Walmart closest to me was carrying them. Here is the link if you want to find them for yourself. I recommend calling your store before you make the drive and get your hopes up like I did. When I got to Walmart they did not have the mini chicken sandwiches even though the Tyson store locator said they did. I had Hubs call the other Walmart that said they carried the mini chicken sandwiches only to find they also didn't have them. 


While I was at Walmart trying to find my sweet deal via phone I had taken Little Bit over to the craft department to get some supplies to make a neat Thanksgiving headdress. Then it hit. The tantrum of the century. I collected my child bought the few craft materials I had in my hand and left. Without dinner. Le sigh. 


Little Bit went down for a nap as soon as we got home. Hubs works from home so he was able to be there while Little Bit slept and I headed back out to get dinner and some pain meds for Little Bit. Little Bit has been sick and I am sure that is what brought on the epic fit. 

I braved the day before Thanksgiving madness one more time. By the time I got to Walmart my nerves were shot. I stopped and got my hair cut to collect myself. It's amazing how a haircut can improve your mood. I sprang into action. I tried a different Walmart that wasn't on the Tyson list hoping they were tucked away in the freezer section somewhere. Alas, it was not meant to be. 


I got some chicken paddies and biscuits.If you care to see my whole shopping trip you can check it out here. After all this I was going to eat some chicken biscuits! I brought them home and cooked them up. The Tyson Chicken Paddies were super simple to cook. I just threw them in the oven for 20 minutes. After I baked the biscuits and paddies I used a cookie cutter to make mini pieces of chicken. They fit perfectly on the biscuits! 

We all liked them. Even Little Bit liked the little sandwiches and he doesn't like hardly anything. It was pretty fun to make them. The novelty of it was neat for Hubs and I. The small size made them more inviting for Little Bit. I also liked how I could easily pair healthy options with them. Hubs happily ate grapes and raw carrots as his side dishes and I enjoyed a massive amount of squishy broccoli. Little Bit even willingly tried a carrot. Amazing, I know. 


Dinner was so effortless that I had enough energy left to put together the last touches of the applesauce cake I made for tomorrows meal. Alas, I may have sampled some of it so it isn't nearly as pretty as it was. Dern, I should've made something harder for dinner that way I wouldn't have taken the applesauce cake out of the bunt pan. Cursed easy dinner! 


Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Have a blessed holiday. 


This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions are my very own!

Holiday Outdoor Decor at #Sears! #CBais

Tweet It's the most wonderful time of the year! I have been begging Hubs to put up our Christmas tree and lights for weeks now. I love getting so excited about Christmas. I remember literally squealing in delight when I would see houses with tons of Christmas lights on. It just gives me so much joy.

Yesterday dear Hubs braved the cold temperatures and went into the attic to get my tree and our outdoor lights. Well when I was pregnant I must have donated almost all of my outdoor decorations. GASP!

Last year we were just so tired from almost a year of no sleeping through the night that was were lucky we even put up the tree so I had no idea how very few lights were actually left after my purging.

When I opened the box I asked Hubs "is this all of them?" He confirmed that was indeed all of them. Now that I am back in my right mind I knew we had to make a trip to Sears for some outdoor lights.

This morning I loaded the fam up and we made a pilgrimage to Sears. Little Bit had so much fun looking at all of the outdoor Christmas decor. It was a joy to watch him be amazed.

Probably the funniest part of the trip was when he crawled into a recliner as we tried to leave.



Hubs worked really hard when we got home. He cleaned the gutters and put up all of the lights. Even Little Bit helped by pushing the old lights to the front yard so I could put them on the evergreens.

Here is the finished result.

Not to shabby if I do say so myself. We are the first on the block to have our outdoor Christmas lights up! Where is your favorite place to shop for outdoor Christmas decor? Have you ever seen the great bargains and selection they have at Sears? When do you put up your tree and lights?

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias I really did want new lights and I am happy to share my experiences with all of you, so all the opinions in this story are my very own.

Hillshire Farm #GourmetCreations

Tweet If you have been reading Social Studies Momma for a little while you know that Hubs and I are in the process of adopting a baby from Ethiopia. This is a stressful process. A process where it is easy to get wrapped up in the busyness of paperwork, research, and worry. When you get so involved in something like this it can overtake your life. Engulf your whole being and alienate you from the people right there next to you.

On Monday and Tuesday Hubs was able to take a few days of vacation time. We have both been kind of absent from each other lately. He has been busy with duties as the chairman of our pastor search committee at Church and I have been little miss paperwork. Although both are worthy tasks we have been neglecting our time of being "present" with one another. Time to enjoy each others company and reconnect.

On Monday we had a big talk about this lack of commitment to nurturing our time as a couple. Today we were able to have a wonderful day together. Hubs did something for me that made me feel so loved. He started to clean his things out of our office. The office is getting turned into Little Bitty Bits nursery. I have already cleaned out 95% of my things in this room. I have been waiting for some time for Hubs to clean up his half of the room. I felt so loved and blessed that he would take his vacation day to bless me in this way.

When lunch time came around we headed out. Little Bit had left that morning with Pap Pap and Nana so Hubs and I had a wonderful time talking and enjoying our lunch. We needed some things at Walmart but I decided it would be nice to honor my wonderful husband with a fancy meal.

We got some Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Sausage, salad fixings, fresh bread, pasta, and pesto. It's amazing how you can turn the everyday into a special occasion just by a few little touches.

Little Bit came home and was happily playing with the new tractor that Nana and Pap Pap had gotten him. Hubs and I hit the kitchen to make our gourmet meal. I cut up the Chicken Apple Sausages while Hubs cleaned the skillet.

Then I sauteed the sausages.

Hubs got out a pot, filled it with water, and turned the burner on. I added the pasta when the water got to a boil.

While I was at the stove Hubs was making the salads.

Little Bit started to get grumpy that no one was paying attention to him so Hubs left our little dance and entertained him. I put the Hillshire Farm sausage into my prettiest pyrex bowl along with the pasta and pesto.

I sat the table with matching plates and an assortment of vintage pyrex bowls. I put the flowers I arranged onto the table along with a little candle far from Little Bit's long fingers. My collection of milk glass sitting daintily on top of the piano was a wonderful backdrop. Our special meal was all about rejoicing in the every day, being present, and having fun in even the most routine things. Such and ordinary day. Such a special day.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. This is a snippet of my real life. I only write about what really happens in my little corner of the world.

Shop and Swap #ClearAmerican

Tweet My parents live next door to us so they are very active in Little Bit's life. One thing they bless us with is babysitting every other Friday. Hubs and I can go to Bible study all alone and have adult conversation. It is AWESOME. The only payment they ask is a steak and cheese sub and soda ordered from the local pizza joint.

I love my parents and I always want them to be healthier. My Mom in particular is addicted to diet brown soda. I have read many stories lately about the adverse effects of brown soda on the kidneys. In an attempt to introduce her to something a little better I bought some Clear American Flavored Water at Walmart.

On Friday I handed over the water before we left and was met with a considerable amount of resistance.



Mom said she didn't like it. If it's not brown it gets a thumbs down in her book. Aren't I clever?



Dad said it was weird but in his defense he has been off soda since we found out he has acid reflux. Both my parents vetoed my attempt to swap their normal drinks with Clear American Flavored Water. I do have one other family member who is a HUGE soda addict, Hubs.



He did not care for the Pom Blue Acai but he did like the Honey Dew Melon. He said it tasted like a form of Mountain Dew. I personally have liked every flavor that I bought and will be buying more on my next trip to Walmart.

Have you ever tried Clear American Flavored Water? If you would like to see more of my shop and swap adventure check out my thisMoment for details.

"Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, which is a vendor for Cott Beverages Inc., the manufacturer of Clear American ® brand beverages." I only ever recommend products I like, even if my parents think they are icky and all the opinions in this article are mine, my Moms, my Dads, and Hubs'. #CBias