What I Loved in May 2017

May was amazing for me.  Can I share what I loved in May 2017?

I rocked sponsored posts, breaking away from simply reviewing products.  Every week in May I published at least 3 posts.  That was exhausting and amazing all at the same time!

I went to Mom 2.0 and was all fired up about my blog.  Not just that though … no, I was all fired up about life.  Mom 2.0 really made my month … but some major loves circulated around the trip.

I think I’d like to end every month with a re-cap of what I loved about that month.  No promises though!  It’s like a resolution and who is honestly good at keeping resolutions?  I’ll give it my best shot though!

What I loved in May 2017

*Disclaimer: Affiliate links are included in this post.

Husband

I’m a firm believer in marriage.  As we get older, I realize just how difficult a marriage is.  Maintaining balance being yourself, catering to your spouse, and raising kids is a ton of work.  Thankfully, hubby’s working hard with me.  He encourages my wild ideas and allows me to grow as an individual.  Taking off from work for a few days to let me visit a blogging conference as he handled being a work at home dad was a huge deal.  He was allowing me to get away and learn while taking on my usual role.

He’s never had the kids alone that long either, but he totally rocked it!

Kids

Now, you probably already know my kids are high-needs!  That being said, I don’t exactly love being home with them all the time.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids but I very seriously need regular breaks from them.

The kids and I experienced some loves this month.

Toddler’s Favorite Bedtime Book

[easyazon_link identifier=”0689817746″ locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ cart=”n” localize=”y” popups=”n”]Snoozers: 7 Short Short Stories for Lively Little Kids[/easyazon_link]

I like the whole book, but the tot is completely diggin’ the “Night Sounds” short story.  His favorite part is the Cheetah’s snore “Chee-chee-tah.”  I’m happy to read it to him every night because I love how much it makes him giggle.

[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”y” height=”500″ identifier=”0689817746″ locale=”US” localize=”y” nw=”y” nf=”y” src=”https://www.sahmplus.com/wp-content/uploads/51DgBA9W37L-1.jpg” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ width=”439″]

No more homework

Oy!  In just a few days, my daughter will be out of school for the summer.  The great part about winding down the school year is that the last 2 weeks were nearly homework-free.  Though S actually loves her paper homework, I think we’re both excited about not having to use iReady for a while.

And the book log!!! I’ll be happy not to have the requirement of filling out a book log for the sake of showing someone else how much we read!

Tasty treats and helping in the kitchen

Receiving [easyazon_link identifier=”B001ECHXVC” locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ cart=”n” localize=”y” popups=”n”]The Original Learning Tower[/easyazon_link] from Little Partners was a huge blessing.  My toddler and I got busy in the kitchen creating Chocolatey Trail Mix Cereal Bars (which is an added bonus to our list of loves this month).

My daughter has loved The Original Learning Tower as well.

And me?  Safety concerns aren’t as much a problem while they help me.

Travel and Blogging

Mom 2.0 was the highlight of my month on many levels.  Tons of education, empowerment, new friendships.  But, also getting time away and coming back to kids who were well cared for by hubby!

You can read about my takeaways from Mom 2.0 here.

Tech

[easyazon_link identifier=”B01L87BG56″ locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ cart=”n” localize=”y” popups=”n”]Jackery Giant+ portable charger[/easyazon_link]

I wanted to make sure I had a nice portable charger for my conference!  My husband set me up with his [easyazon_link identifier=”B01L87BG56″ locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ cart=”n” localize=”y” popups=”n”]Jackery Giant+[/easyazon_link] which helped me charge my phone and a friend’s a few times during the 3 day conference.   But, we charged this before I left and I was able to charge my roommates iPhone and my own a few times during the 3-day conference without ever having to recharge the device itself!  And it still had two bars of power left when I returned home!

[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”y” height=”500″ identifier=”B01L87BG56″ locale=”US” localize=”y” nw=”y” nf=”y” src=”https://www.sahmplus.com/wp-content/uploads/3102odjcNUL.jpg” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ width=”500″]

Google Home

I received a new Google Home device from the Best Buy suite at the Mom 2.0 Summit.

Guys, it’s the second one in our house now.  It may seem silly.  Okay, IT IS silly, but we love it!

Aside from the very important stuff, like finding out about the weather as I make breakfast, our family has found it useful in other ways.  Playing music is done easily by voice command and asking Google what various animals say is the most amazing thing to our kids.  “Google, what does a dinosaur sound like?” yields a cool result for any child who loves dinosaurs!  The only way it could be cooler is if it knew what individual dinosaurs sounded like.  Get on that Google *wink, wink*.

Nintendo Switch

This is all my husband’s doing!  I wouldn’t even know about all the latest tech out, but hubby is a complete tech geek.  Sorry, honey, if I used the wrong wording.

I don’t simply love the Nintendo Switch … in fact, I have a neutral opinion on it.  It’s a game system … I play games… it’s fun.

I do, however, thoroughly enjoy complaining about losing on [easyazon_link identifier=”B01N1037CV” locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ cart=”n” localize=”y” popups=”n”]Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch[/easyazon_link].  This is one of the ways I’m working to manage parenting stress … by stressing myself out over losing in a really fun game.  Makes sense, right?

[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”y” height=”500″ identifier=”B01N1037CV” locale=”US” localize=”y” nw=”y” nf=”y” src=”https://www.sahmplus.com/wp-content/uploads/610a3DcyMpL.jpg” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ width=”309″]

XBox One

Again, no real opinion on the game system itself, although it’s taken me a long time to get used to the humongous controllers.  Instead, my husband has me hooked on [easyazon_link identifier=”B01ABCBXLQ” locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”y” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ cart=”n” localize=”y” popups=”n”]Powerstar Golf[/easyazon_link].  I totally suck at it, but I love that there are not a thousand buttons to push at once, so my fingers aren’t tired after 2 minutes of gameplay.

[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”y” height=”500″ identifier=”B01ABCBXLQ” locale=”US” localize=”y” nw=”y” nf=”y” src=”https://www.sahmplus.com/wp-content/uploads/51ARcp6MyIL.jpg” tag=”ivsvabasaan0a-20″ width=”358″]

Random

Guys, I’ve loved on caffeine way too much in May.  I’d been drinking a single organic decaf coffee for MONTHS and suddenly, Publix stopped selling it.  (Needless to say, I’m not loving Publix for that).  Because I can’t seem to handle my protein shake unless it’s mixed in coffee, I caved and went to caffeinated.

I didn’t think it was a big deal, but then I started having 2 cups a day.  And sometimes I had three.

No Bueno!

Anyone know where I can get good organic decaf coffee (preferably a breakfast blend) that won’t cost an arm and a leg?

So, GO LEAVE ME A COMMENT about what you have loved in May!!