DITL Vlog: Week in Review w/ Weekly To Do's | August 10 -17, 2015 |

Hello friends! I hope you are having a wonderful Monday. As many of you know... I post a week in review recapping what happened over the week & weekend. Its something that I have been doing off and on for years. Its just a simple way to give you guys a glimpse into our week. I have changed up the vlogging schedule where I will be uploading a Day in the life vlog Monday...as always and then another on Thursday. However this week, I am only sharing one vlog. There was just not that much going on. I actually debated putting this up, because it's kinda emotional at certain parts. Just know that I am forging on with a new day and a new week. Hope you enjoy. 

The beginning of the week started out with a bang! We had to be up early to get Jackson to the Eye Dr. The week before school starts is always a busy time of the year. I was thankful that with our morning appointment, we were able to get in and out in a decent amount of time. We worry a lot about Jackson's eyes. They seem to be getting worse and worse. Thankfully his Eye Dr. know's what she is doing and got him all checked out before finding a pair of glasses that both Jackson and myself could agree on. :) He tends to look up and out of his glasses like a little old person so we had to make sure the lenses were large enough to cover his entire time without having issues with his long eye lashes hitting the glasses. Thankfully that appointment came and went and now we are just waiting on the new pair to arrive.

Through out this week, a lot of new things arrived that I am in total love with. Who doesn't love Amazon!? And to top it off, I got a big package in of a lot of new Bare Mineral Makeup. If you haven't seen the haul, it's right here. I am amazed at how well the Bare Minerals holds up through out the day and to make it even better, it's been really good for my skin. I plan on doing a get ready with me video sometime soon to show you how I use the products. :) Stay tuned! 

I also finally got the Blog Inc. book that I had been thinking about for a while. I know I have been blogging and doing my thing for years but I thought it might be an interesting read. I also think I need to order one for my sister in law and or oldest daughter Laura too. 

The week seemed to pass pretty quick. We had open house at Jackson's school where we got to meet his teachers for this year. And before I knew it Friday was upon us. I decided that I would go out and do some shopping only to switch things up...and get my hair cut. I know a lot of women love their long locks but for me, I am just over it. I think longer hair on me just weighs me down and a shorter bob is so much easier and more comfortable. My best friend was watching a video on Friday and pointed it that I was wayyyyy past needing a trim! She was right. It feels so much better. Right after, I headed to my local Walmart to pick up a few thing we needed for the weekend. 

If you want to check out the haul, it's right here. I wanted to make sure we had enough food and drinks in the house because my sister in law, her daughter and grandson was coming up to hang out and buy a car from Scott. I grabbed some fresh flowers and quick grocery items only to come home and bake some banana bread. 

I thought this would be a great breakfast bread to have around for our house guests. It was super easy to make...I recorded the recipe and it should be up this week sometime. But let me tell you, it's so easy to make and so delicious to eat. I actually just finished it up this morning! 

Late Friday night they arrived and Saturday we were at the dealership helping Vicki get her first true car that she is responsible for. Vicki's baby boy is Christian and he's such a sweet baby. He did really good at the dealership and had fun running all around! 

We went for a delicious lunch...did some shopping afterwards and waited for Scott to get home. It seemed like forever but he was home about 9pm. We all loaded up for a quick and easy dinner at the Cracker Barrel. At that point I wasn't in the best of moods but we managed to eat dinner and I got home and ended up in bed rather fast. 

On Sunday, they took off and I started preparing for Jackson to head back to school today. I can't believe we have actually started a new school year today but we had a lot to get ready last night. It included a much earlier dinner, packing up his new backpack with all the new school supplies, getting lunch made...earlier baths and an earlier bedtime for all of us. 

It's kind weird today not having anyone here with me. I don't really mind because it's been busy around here with Jackson home for weeks on end, house guests coming in for a quick visit...and so much more. However, there are tons of things I need to try to get done this week...↓

- Work in planner and figure out this week in detail. 

- Remember to put the trash out on Monday's instead of Fridays

- Try to be more forgiving of Scott. 

- Clean out pantry and film

- Update chalkboard walls

- Fill up birdfeeders

- Quick frig clean out

- Bake some cookies

- Order some new stickers from Etsy

- Water the plants

- Clean up cat boxes- Toss laundry around....like always!

- Make sure Jackson gets to bed early from this point on. We don't want naps happening in the classroom! 

- Call and find Scott a CPR class. 

- Look for grills to go on sale and BUY ONE! 

- Pick up prescriptions from Walgreens

- Get back on schedule with Zone cleaning

- Call and check on Jackson's new glasses. 

- Look for another house in the same area

- Keep getting to bed at a decent time. 

- Wash bedding...today!

- Pre record some videos fro this week...just to make it easier. 

- Run to PO Box

- Keep morning appointments on the Treadmill. Yuck! 

- Enter the text codes in my phone to get updates from Jackson's teachers. 

- Clean pet dishes

- Send ATT a thank you. I can't tell you why but I am sold...ATT forever. 

- Pre-Order some new books. 

- Pull faded plants from the yard. 

- Make Lavender and Honey cupcakes. 

- Start thinking of Labor day plans. 

- Clean light fixtures throughout the house. 

- Replace water in fresh flowers

- Call and make Cooper a Vet appointment. 

- Return a backpack to LL Bean.. Jackson didn't like it

- Make time for a manicure. 

Here's some inspiration to take with you throughout the week:

Thank you so much for stopping by. I plan on keeping busy with things around the house. I have tried to get post up for hours on end but I have stopped and worked on this or that...taken phone calls and so much more. But I hope you are having a great Tuesday...I'll see ya soon! Thanks for stopping by.

DITL Vlog: Back to School Shopping, Piercings & a Exhausted Mom! | July 20, 2015 |

Late night hello to you all...or good morning! I haven't had a lot of extra time here lately so I have do let my blog post go live whenever. Anyway, I am back sharing Monday with you guys in this new day in the life vlog! There is a lot of shopping, outfit try on's, piercings and so much more. You'll see I started out doing pretty good and ended exhausted! Hope you enjoy! 

It was a fun exhausting day. My 13 year old daughter runs circles around me! She's not here all the time so I am trying to pack as much into one day as possible...and we sure did! I understand if this is not your kind of vlog but we had fun and wanted to share it with you guys! :) 

We are now in Ashville on night one of our girls only adventure at Biltmore. Scott is holding the fort down for a couple of days and tending to all the animals and we are getting in a little more summer fun. Be sure to subscribe on instagram for daily updated pictures. ( The link is below! :) 

Back to School: Lunch Box Essentials - Video & Corresponding Blog Post -

Hello friends! I hope your evening is going well. I am back tonight to show you what has been making my life much easier when it comes to packing lunches. As I have said many times its been a journey getting back into the new 2014-2015 school year. And yes, we are well into and I am just starting to feel like I am catching up! If you want to check out lunchbox packing station and some tips I have learned along the way...have look a at the video. More pictures and information below!

I decided to use my large cabinet that I use to store stemware and jars to convert into our lunch pack station. It worked out really well because with the exception of a few wine glasses, the top of the cabinets are not being utilized.

On the top shelf of the cabinet, I keep a small cooler, some extra lunch bags and even some of our on the go cups and thermos containers in case we want to pack a hot lunch.Everything fits nicely in that area and its easy accessible to anyone. Even little Jackson can hop on the counter and get something if he needs it.

On the middle shelf I have everything you would need to package any lunch item. That includes a lot of the Rubber Maid Lunch Blox items, baggies of all sizes, other rubbermaid containers that I found for cheap at the Dollar Tree. I also keep extra forks and such that come with take out that can also be used in any packed lunch. You can find what ever kind of food storage container that you would want for any lunch on this shelf.

On the bottom shelf I have a couple of containers that hold snacks that I like to have just to quickly be able to toss little extras into the lunch box. Just quick little items that are premade. Some of the quicker items I have packaged myself. A good tip to building up a good lunch supply is to take a few helpings out out each bag of the family chips and snacks. I just zip lock them up and they stay fresh while allowing me to build up lunch items easily. If I was just to leave the lunch items in the pantry the boys would just eat it up super fast. If its in this cabinet they know they are not to touch it at all unless they are packing a lunch. Simple as that. 

I hope this video inspires you to make a little lunch packing station with the items you use the most. It really does make packing lunches either the night before or the busy morning of much easier. I would love to hear any of your lunch box essential tips if you care to share!

Have a beautiful night.

Back to School Haul Part 3 VIDEO

Hello friends! I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday! We are on our way back home from our little mini vacation but I thought I would share the last Back to School Haul Video before Jackson actually starts school tomorrow!!!! It costs a fourtne to get kids back in school and besides getting a couple more winter items, Jackson is done. If you want to see what the last few items I got, enjoy the video below! 

Thanks for watching! I'll be back soon. 

If you want to find me buzzing around online, here's where to go! :) Facebook| Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube Main Channel | Youtube Vlogging Channel | Bloglovin

BaCk To ScHoOl Shopping Haul Part 2

Hello friends! I hope you are having a great day. We are on our way to Myrtle Beach but I got all my videos for the rest of the week done and scheduled to pop up here and there! So here is our 2nd Back to School Shopping Haul! Its always so much fun to do school supply shopping....I got a few things for myself too! If you want to see what we got, enjoy the video below! 

Thanks so much for watching! I still have one more back to school haul that will be popping up on Sunday. Have you got all the back to school shopping done!? I would love to hear from you! 

If you want to find me buzzing around online, here's where to go! :) Facebook| Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube Main Channel | Youtube Vlogging Channel | Bloglovin

Back to School Haul Part 1 | VIDEO |

Hello friends! I have another busy day in front of me...meeting a new cleaning lady and registering Jackson in school this evening. School showed up so fast this year for many. We still have a little time left being Jackson doesn't start school until August 18, 2014. This is the first haul of at least 3 if not 4 that will be popping in over the next few days. This haul was purchased by my ex husband and my daughter for Jackson. It was really nice and Jackson is happy with what he got. We still have more to buy but he certainly made things a little easier this year! Hope you enjoy. 

Thanks for watching...Are you still doing back to school shopping? If you find any great deals, I would love it if you share them for others to see! 

Have a great Tuesday! 

If you want to find me buzzing around online, here's where to go! :) Facebook| Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube Main Channel | Youtube Vlogging Channel | Bloglovin

My Back to School Tips! :) VIDEO

Hello friends! I hope you are having a great Tuesday! I am back today with some of my - Back to School - Tips that I thought I would share with you! I cover a lot of tips that have helped us throughout the years with getting the kids ready for school. I tried to cover everything but I did notice I left a few things out. Below you can even more of my tips! 

In addition to the tips in the video I really think nighttime and morning routines very very important. Getting things ready the night before is a life saver. I like to lay everything out the night before along with checking backpacks and getting papers signed. I never leave things for mornings. If I did, life would be so much more complicated! I also think traditions are a great way to start the school year. Maybe a special dinner the night before or a special first day special breakfast just to get the kids more excited for the new school year. Of course first day of school pictures are always great to do too! I just like to do my best to make the kids feel loved and special before they head out the door. 

I know I might still be leaving some tips out, so if you have one you'd like to share, I would love to hear from you! I hope you guys all have a wonderful and safe school year! 

If you want to find me buzzing around online, here's where to go! :) Facebook| Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube Main Channel | Youtube Vlogging Channel | Bloglovin

Friday Letters

Happy Friday Friends! I hope you are having a lovely day.. here's another edition of Friday letters. Hope you enjoy. 

Dear God, We made it through another week together. Thank you for keeping us safe during our travels. As you saw, my panic attacks in the car are no joke so if you could help...it would be so appreciated! Dear Body, you are feeling tired and heavy. I guess yesterday was just a long day but I need to start taking better care of you. Dear Mom, You will be happy to know that I have been working extra hard on not using the f word! Ha! I was so worried about you when you were sick. Soooo happy you are feeling better. Dear Jackson, I am so proud of you doing better in school. I knew you could do it! I love you.  Dear Bad Ass Kitty Cat, The video that I watched of you protecting that child from that terrible dog just made me proud to be a kitty cat owner! My hat is totally off to you! Dear Scott, Thank you for driving us most of time during our trip up North. I had a great time and I think you did too! Summer is coming! :) Dear Barbara Walters, You are really going to be missed everyday on The View. I can't believe you are freaking 83 years old. You are iconic. Dear Brittany Belle, I am so glad that I got to wrap my arms around you when we were home. I love you so much otherwise I would flip out about you living with your dad! You are growing up way too fast on me. Dear Shanna, I think you need to start eating more. You looked wayyyy to thin to me when I saw you. Now I am totally worried about you. Dear Blog, I have changed you up again but this time to a much simpler clean design! Lets hope everyone likes it! Dear Trina, I sure enjoyed seeing you last weekend. I am pretty sure I would be knocking on your door OFTEN if we lived there! Your dinner was really good too...thank you! Dear Solange, I know this is probably the wrong thing to say but I kinda liked watching you flip out on Jay Z. I am sure there are a ton of people around who kiss his ass except YOU.  No matter how wrong it was, he probably needed it. Dear Dad, I was by the house when we were up there. I took one look at it and tons of memories came rushing back. I know you are ok on the other side, but could you spare a little time to come visit me in my dreams? I miss you...everyday. Dear Chalkboard Wall, I have got to get you cleaned off today. I love drawing and writing on you but I don't like cleaning you afterwards! But you are on my to do list today. Dear Vicki, I am not so sure that I am going to be able to make it to the baby shower but I promise I will send gifts. I wish we could come up for it but I know your Uncle is not going to want to make that trip again so soon. Really sorry but maybe after the baby is here, you and your mom can come for a visit! Dear Laura, We had such a good time with you last weekend! You are so adorable..and we are so very proud of you!  Dear Sleep, I would like just ONE MORNING when I bounce out of the bed feeling wonderful. I know I am tired a lot because of my wacked out schedule but you need to come around more often. Dear Grey's Anatomy, I am sooooo very much going to miss Christina. I had tears running down my face last night watching but Shonda Rhymes, she should have ended up with Burke instead of taking his job. Take note please!! Put them back together! Dear Blog/Youtube Friends, I first want to say that I am sorry for taking such a long time to reply to emails. I know its kinda pathetic but it is taking about a week for me to get them answered. We were gone, and then once we got back home, its been crazy just trying to get our lives back to normal. - And I am still not done - but I promise to get back to you asap. I am not ignoring anyone on purpose. Thank you so much for coming back to this blog and my youtube channels and letting us be a part of your life if even only for a couple minutes a day. I love getting to know you guys too. :) 

Have a great weekend! 

Away He Goes!

Well Jackson's class started about 20 minutes ago! It was a rather easy morning being I got prepared so well last night. I won't lie.. it wasn't a great feeling to pull myself out of the bed but we were all up by 7am.. and I got busy in the kitchen making.. 

Back to School Sprinkle Pancakes! 

Scott and I both took him to school.. Scott kept remarking how so many moms looked tired with messy hair Ha!! I bet every mom in the county is happy that the kids are starting school today! Its going to be like a vacation to all of us. 

I'm really not treating it like a vacation around here.. I have already made the beds upstairs, tossed laundry around,  picked up the kitchen from breakfast.. and fixed myself an espresso! 

I have some freebies that I am going to get posted.. then lay back and relax for a couple hours! 

Have a great Monday! 

K Jaggers

♥

Tis the night before SCHOOL!!

Its been a very busy day around here for me.. all to get one little boy off to school tomorrow!!

- He got a sweet suprise after dinner just to celebrate his big day tomorrow! ... We use any excuse we can to put a candle on a cake! -

Scott and I did a little shopping for Jackson. Time to get ready to pack lots of lunches.. 

We did our best to pick out some healthy options.. but they are not all healthy. We have to do it a little at a time! 

Here is a quick Lunch Box Food Haul!! 

I had a lot to get done today. I had the Back to School Part 2 that I wanted to get finished.. which took a while.. then I got busy on cleaning the house and doing laundry. I even got the kitchen mopped. I woke productive to say the least! 

I had to have dinner done by 7 tonight. Sounds about right but we haven't been eating that early around here. Most nights we are eating about 830.  That drastically changed tonight and now we are back to being on a much more strict schedule. 

Instead of a big back to school dinner, I decided on making 

Pulled pork sandwitches and tator tots. Its a double duty meal.. ( will show you what I mean tomorrow ) .. 

I think its better to set up a sweet back to school breakfast with sprinkle pancakes and sausage. 

In fact I got the sausage cooked tonight.

I cooked them while I was cleaning the kitchen and in the morning.. 

I can just warm them up in the microwave!! EASY! 

Everything for the sprinkle pancakes 

Is ready to go.. 

I got all his lunch ready except his sandwich.. 

Chips with a couple healthy crackers..

Small helping of cottage cheese

A little fruit.. - mandarin oranges

and a couple healthy chocolate chip cookies

Can't forget the sweet note! 

I think getting as much done as you can the night before saves a lot of stress in the morning. 

All I have to do is make his sandwich and put a drink in.. and done! 

I also got his name on everything and filled out his little personal identification card with his bus # on it just in case that will stay in his backpack. 

Everything is ready on the love seat to go!! 

Tomorrow morning will come soon, and we will be prepared!!! We are taking him in the mornings and letting him ride the bus home. He would ride the bus full time but I would rather us take him in the am. 

I have to be up at 7 - SHOCK - so I am going to try to get to sleep soon. I need at least 5 hours.. with maybe a nap! Its going to be strange not having him here with me. When we were saying his prayers tonight he told me that he's really going to miss me tomorrow. The feelings are mutual. ♥

Wishing you a great Monday!  Talk to ya bright and early! 

xoxo

K Jaggers

♥

Back to School - Part 2 -

So with School starting around here tomorrow.. its time to get these Back to School posts done! If you didn't see part 1, check here!! Its a big post with lots of great tips!

This part 2, is mainly going to be more about
  technology and homework!

I was watching the news when friendly



Clark Howard popped on to talk about what you should and shouldn't be paying for computers for the kids.

His advice was to spend no more than $250 per computer for the kids. He thinks that the models in this price range are perfect for kids who don't need a lot of the bells and whistles..

My personal opinion, is you should have 1 family computer that sits right up against a wall in the living room. That way, you can see everything they are doing.. HOWEVER, in our house.. the kids have laptops. I would totally change that if I thought it would work for our family. Our kids travel back and forth to their fathers house and they take their computers back and forth with them. But really, it goes against everything I believe is right. Because this is the case in our house, I keep a very open eyes to what the kids are doing online. I have complete control over every account and I have no problems taking away the computers if I need to. I think the parents can still have private laptops but keeping a computer in your busiest area is a much better idea.

Another great tip is.. don't worry about buying fancy software.. ( if you do find it necessary be sure to check for student discounts )

Open Office is very similar to Word and is totally free. 

You can find it here.. Click the download button at the top and you are set. I downloaded it a few days ago and like it a lot. Its very similar to Word and easy to use.



Smart phones have really changed many of our lives.. my especially. My daughter even carries a new blackberry torch.. ( I spy on that all the time too!! ) More and More kids and parents are using these little computer phones to make everything easy.

Here are my top favorites for Back to School..

Super Why ABC Adventures

This is a great app to have on your phone if you have little preschoolers and kindergarteners running around.  

Are you ready to go on an around the world, ABC adventure? With the “SUPER WHY ABC Adventures: Alphabet” app for iPad, your child can do just that while playing a comprehensive collection of five interactive literacy games that help build strategies and skills to master the alphabet! With each game hosted by a different Super Reader, your child will be introduced to uppercase and lowercase letters, the order of the alphabet, common letter sounds and writing letters in fun and exciting ways!

ALPHA PIG’S LICKETY LETTER SAFARI

Go on a lickety letter safari with Alpha Pig by identifying letters in the jungle and taking pictures of safari wildlife from A to Z!

PRINCESS PRESTO’S UNDER THE SEA SOUNDS

Swim under the sea with Princess Presto while matching all twenty-six letters to their sounds to form words! 

SUPER WHY’S Z MARKS THE SPOT

Help Super Why follow the alphabet trail in ancient Egypt from A to Z, by connecting the dotted letters on an interactive map to reveal special treasures!

WONDER RED’S LET’S LETTER FLY

Fly around the world with Wonder Red in her Why Flyer collecting treasures in her Wonder Words Basket, while practicing with common letter sounds and objects that begin with them! 

WOOFSTER’S GOLDEN LETTER BONES

Collect all of the golden letter bones with Woofster in the Wild West by writing all twenty-six letters of the alphabet in uppercase and lowercase! 

MAP OF THE WORLD STICKER ACTIVITY

Earn over 400 themed souvenir stickers that you can use to decorate 8 themed backgrounds around the world! You can also save your pictures to share with family and friends. 

ABC SING-ALONG-VIDEOS

Watch and sing-along with four alphabet themed music videos that expose your child to all twenty-six letters!

CHILD PROGRESS TRACKER

Track your child’s progress in identifying letter names and letter sounds in Alpha Pig and Princess Presto’s games.

ABOUT SUPER WHY

SUPER WHY, the breakthrough preschool TV series on PBS KIDS, is designed to help kids ages 3 to 6 with the critical skills that they need to learn (and love) to read! For more exciting SUPER WHY online games, music and activities visit pbskids.org/superwhy. 

ABOUT OUT OF THE BLUE DIGITAL 

Out of the Blue Digital is a division of Out of the Blue Enterprises, a leader in children's educational 

entertainment.

For middle school I think the Khan App is amazing. 

It’s largely based around videos which Khan initially uploaded to YouTube while trying to teach his cousin, Nadia, maths from the other side of the country. The videos became so popular that he quickly left his job as a hedge fund analyst and began working on the site full time.With access to more than 3,000 video lessons that you can either stream from the site or download and watch any time you don’t have a connection. You won’t find every subject represented just yet. There is heavy bias toward the sciences - including a particularly good maths section - but the humanities category seems to be growing and the finance and economy one is an extensive eye-opener.

Khan’s teaching style and personality aren’t going to be to everybody’s taste but the lessons are undeniably good. They run from the absolute basics, such as simple addition, all the way up to heavy calculus and beyond, and the whole app is really as interesting for those just looking to broaden their horizons as it is for students seeking an alternative way of understanding something that’s been troubling them in class. Great App!!

App

(not an official Khan Academy app)

Do you enjoy learning from the Khan Academy? 

Now you can do that on your iPhone or Android phone.

• Browse the entire Khan Academy curriculum.
• Videos organized by subjects, sorted in curriculum order.
• Bookmark lessons for quick access.
• Feedback welcome at admin@khanapp.com

To install, open http://khanapp.com from your phone.

Requirements:

Compatible with iPhone, Android and iPad.

For high school students I think the My Homework App is a great way to keep organized. 

The key would be making sure they actually used it which in my house means.. setting it all up for them. With this handy app reminders will be flying in so there will be no excuses for late or missing assignments. 

iPhone & Android

• Quick Access

  Quickly access assignments and classes with a simple touch.
  
  

• Calendar

  Easily know what's coming up.

• Reminders

  Receive due date reminders on your devices.

• Sync to myHomeworkApp.com

  Access your homework and classes on your computer online. 

Designate and clear a place to do homework.

Older children should have the option of studying in their room or a quiet area of the house. Younger children usually need an area set aside in the family room or kitchen to facilitate adult monitoring, supervision, and encouragement.

Make sure to schedule enough time to get all the homework done.

A lot of times, kids wait till wait too late to get things done... making it much more stressful rushing to get it finished. 

TV should stay off during homework time.

My kids would love to have the tv on while doing their homework but in my house no tv during that time. Its too hard to focus on something you really like on tv and focus on dreaded homework. TV would win every time around here! So.. until homework is done.. tvs are off.

Be available to help.

Kids should not just have to sit down at a table and do homework alone. You should be there to supervise, answer questions, offer assistance but never do the homework for them. They have to learn it.

Take Breaks..

Kids eyes get tired a lot quicker than adults. It may be helpful to close the books for a few minutes, stretch, and take breaks.

Take Charge

Stay in touch with the teacher. For me, emails work best. Keep communication open about how your child is doing and what they need to improve. If your child is struggling with a particular subject, a tutor could be the answer. Talk it over with your childs teacher and they should help give you some suggestions.

I find that homework is where I strive at. I learned some really good study skills in college that work well for kids of all ages. I will be sharing them with you as the dog days of school start back up! 




Have a great School Year!

K Jaggers
♥