Friday Favorites: A Random Edition

It's Friday!!! In usual Friday fashion, I'm linking up with a few of my favorite bloggers for Friday favorites!

Most Fridays, I talk about how fast the week was, how crazy busy we seem to be. This week was entirely different. Not necessarily great, but not bad either. It was just a typical week, where I stayed caught up on things around the house, work wasn't hectic, and things ran smoothly. 

We needed this type of week, and this weekend, I'm looking forward to a low-key, stay indoors snuggle fest with my girls, and hoping to complete all of the orders on my to-do list!

On Tuesday, I shared a raw, real, and honest post in my #girlmom series! Thank you so much to all of you who confessed that you had the same weakness as me! Thank you for your messages, texts, comments- it meant so much for me to know that I'm not alone, even though I feel like I am every single day! I've been praying for y'all!

One of my Lent goals was to not yell at the girls. Since Lent began, I've only yelled twice, and I can pinpoint the reasons that it happens. I've really been working on avoiding these moments and staying in control. 

In light of this, I've decided that one of the ways, I need to maintain control, is giving the girls some structure when we get home in the evenings. I've come up with simple activities each night when we get home, that are becoming favorites with the girls!

The girls have been loving Cosmic Kids Yoga! I've hooked up our Apple t.v. and the girls have spent hours doing yoga this past week! I've even joined in on the fun!

It's definitely been one of Gretchen's favorite activities and it's been adorable to watch Adalyn do yoga too!

We also drug out our Mr. Potato Head pieces, and it's been one of Addy's favorite activities!

We came home Monday to snow on the ground! It snowed the entire day we were at school, and the girls couldn't wait to get in it!

Gretchen loves the snow most of all! It's her favorite! (Probably because she spent the first half of her life in Indiana!)

Adalyn thought the snow was pretty neat too!

This is how Megan felt about the snow! It is definitely not her favorite!

#itsnotmineeither

Tuesday, Gretchen and I were out of school, so we dropped off the little girls at daycare and ran errands. 

We bought, Gretchen these shoes for our Disney trip. 

She really wanted pink ones, but I don't want to pack a ton of shoes for our trip. (I'm trying to pack as light as possible, since we will only be gone for a few days.) And, I wanted one pair of shoes that will match all of her outfits. 

I bought these shoes from Carters for the little girls. Sparkles are their favorite!

These sisters love each other! I'm so glad that they are each other's favorite friend!

DJ had to stay home with Adalyn on Wednesday, and he sent me this picture. It's one of my favorites! And, I'm sure a favorite moment of his! She crawled up in his lap and within minutes, she was passed out sucking her thumb!

I got these earrings in from Nordstrom this week, and they'll be a favorite of mine, since they're only $8.00!

And, I finished this Easter shirt this week, and it's already a favorite! I seriously love everything about it! 

Unfortunately, I'm closed to Easter orders, but I am open to Spring/Summer orders, including birthdays, and I'll be opening for graduation shirts and 4th of July orders very soon!

You can check out my shop here, and join my group for special orders here.

Last week, I ordered a few marketing materials for my shop! I was out of business cards, so I re-ordered those, and I added thank you postcards, and sticker labels! I also received the tags for my handmade products that will be sewn onto orders! Don't forget that all of my orders get a freebie hair tie! Some of kid size, and others are just for you mom's! And how adorable are these sequin clothespins that I found on Instagram!

All of these items are favorites of mine!

Thanks for stopping by today!

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The Welte's at Disney: Magic Band & Fastpass

Last week, I started blogging about our upcoming vacation to Disney World! Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing how we got ready for our trip and how we planned. I know when I started planning our trip, I was crazy overwhelmed, and lots of y'all have asked about our planning, so I'm going to be sharing! 

You can read my first post here, about why we chose to use a planner and our hotel accommodations.

When you book a Disney vacation, you'll receive a Magic Band! Magic Bands serve as your room key, tickets, fastpass access, Memory Maker (all of the pictures that are taken of you by Disney cast members will be linked to your band and you'll be able to purchase your photos.... this is something you must sign up for), and you can link your credit card and swipe your Magic Band to charge things to your card!

I'm pretty sure, we're going to be loving the easy-access and convenience of these for our trip!

You can log on to your My Disney Experience site, and make your own Magic Band color selections. I went with blue for DJ, red for myself, and pink for all of the girls. I decided to NOT get them a different color, because I didn't want the girls to argue over who had the best/most favorite color. Had purple been an option, I probably would have gotten the girls their favorite color. 

A few weeks before your trip, Disney will ship your Magic Bands right to your door!

I ended up ordering these decals for our Magic Bands. I haven't been able to attach them, since our Magic Bands haven't shipped, but they're super cute and were a great price! My only word of caution, get the seller to send you a photo of what your letters will look like, so you can approve, before she ships. I ended up getting DJ only the two letters, and his D was backwards in order to make the design circular! We went back and forth about how the D was backwards (it drove my Type-A personality crazy!) But thankfully, she fixed it and was able to send a new one for him. His just doesn't look circular, but that's fine since his letters actually look like letters now!

I mentioned above, that your Magic Band will allow you your Fastpass access while you are in the parks. You are allowed to reserve up to three Fastpass' per day, in advance of your visit.  A Fastpass will allow you to arrive at a ride, show, or character greet at a designated time, and will essentially allow you to jump in line rather than waiting! 

Once you use your 3 Fastpass', you can use the app or go to the park kiosks to schedule more.

I haven't had a chance to download the app, and I will before we go (I didn't want to download it to take up room on my phone, and I plan on deleting my everyday apps in order to download the Disney app, and then I'll delete it once we return home.) 

About 8 weeks before your scheduled trip, you'll be able to log in to your My Disney Experience and make your Fastpass selections. The registration opens at midnight on a designated day. However, you'll want to remember that Disney World is on Eastern time! Since we live in Central time, I was able to get on at 11:00 pm and make reserve our selections!

If you're staying offsite, or if you have an annual pass, then you'll only be able to book your Fastpass 30 days out.

Now, I am NOT an expert on Fastpasses and which ones you should choose! That's where your Disney vacation planner will come in handy! You can also ask your friends, and this group on Facebook has been really helpful. According to our planner, there were certain things that we would want to use our Fastpass on, and other things we could skip. I'm going to share with you what WE chose.

Hollywood Studios: 

• Disney Junior Live on Stage
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid
• Toy Story Midway Mania

We were also told that we could use one for Peter Pan, but for our family, the others were more important. Many people had told us to avoid using a Fastpass on the Frozen Sing Along, because the auditorium is so large that everyone typically gets in. 

Epcot:

• Soaring
• Spaceship Earth
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends

We were told that we should also use them on Turtle Talk and Test Track. Epcot does their Fastpass' different than the other parks, as they allow you up to 3 selections, and within each selection, there are 3 options. I thought that this really narrowed down our choices too much, because there were two things within one of the options that we wanted, but since they were together, we could only choose one. 

Magic Kingdom:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
• Meet Anna and Elsa

It was also suggested that we used a Fastpass for Peter Pan, Character greeting of Tinkerbell/Ariel, and Enchanted Tales with Belle. Unfortunately, due to the timing, our Anna and Elsa Fastpass can't be used until 6 pm, so we'll pretty much be out of options for the day.

We have also made reservations for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Magic Kingdom, and we have meal reservations for Cinderella's Royal Table that evening. 

I haven't tried to rearrange, because I've heard that the Anna and Elsa Fastpass goes really quick and they're hard to snag!

Hopefully this helped answer any questions that you may have! If not, leave me your questions in the comments below, and you can follow along on Instagram with #theweltesatdisney for any updates I may have on there!

Next time, I'm hoping to share with you how we are looking at SAVING money while we're on our trip!

What I Wore Wednesday

I'm linking up today with a few of my favorite fashion bloggers for What I Wore Wednesday! You can check out their blogs: The Pleated Poppy, Get Your Pretty On, and Because Shanna Said So.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support on yesterday's post! I really appreciate the comments of love and support and of those of you that commented that you can relate! I really do love being a Girl Mom!

Now, on to What I've Been Wearing:

I recently bought this Okie shirt from Sashy Pants. I wanted to be comfy one day at work, so I paired it with a (very old) Gap sweater, and my Matilda Jane Finns. These are the BEST pants ever! They're casual enough to wear on the weekend, but you can dress them up, and they're work appropriate! (I linked y'all to the newest style; you can use Trunk Keeper Traci Claybrook when you check out!) My dreamcatcher necklace is from Sashy Pants too!

Mondays are jeans days~ I love Mondays! I paired this striped tee from Target with an infinity scarf, booties, and then my leather jacket (below).

I loved how comfy this outfit was!

Last week to church, I paired my favorite jeans, with booties, a navy tee, and this Aztec sweater from Sashy Pants. You guys must check out this shop! Johanna is amazing and is getting in lots of spring clothes! 

My sweater is sold out, but you can find this similar one!

Three days a week, I have to dress up for work, but I've really wanting to be comfortable lately! It's so cold outside and comfort has been key as winter is hopefully winding down!

I bought these cropped pants from Loft, and I use to only wear them in the fall and spring, but now that I've plunged into booties (for reals, I wear them daily!) these pants are perfect for winter! I styled down in my Love tee, found here, an infinity scarf, and distressed denim jacket. 

It was cold and had been rainy on Saturday, so I traded in my booties for my Hunter boots, a navy tee, and my monogrammed blanket scarf. 

Thanks for stopping by my little blogspace today! Don't forget to enter my Stella & Dot giveaway HERE!

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Girl Mom: Momster

Today's post may be one of my most vulnerable as a mom. It's not pretty, but neither is life. Today's topic is something I definitely want to share, but it's also a very difficult one to discuss. 

Several nights ago, I found this written in Gretchen's journal:

"My mom is a angry troll."

Wow. Talk about a dagger to the heart. 

Let's be honest, there are times that I loose my temper with my children. There are times that I have not so proud mommy moments. If we are real, we all do. 

Last week, I had a not so pleasant evening. DJ was working late, and I was faced with coming home from work, cooking dinner, some laundry, dishes, light house cleaning, and giving the girls a bath. Not to mention, making sure we were all ready for school the next day. 

It's a daunting task to work all day and then to come home and face the realities of working more. It takes a small army to run a family of 5, and there are nights, because of DJ's job (and there are weeks in the football season) where I do it alone. It's hard y'all. 

I get overwhelmed, and more times than I'd like to admit, I raise my voice at the girls. After exhausting other options; I feel like it's the only way I can get them to listen. 

That night, after getting on to Megan (because she was hiding and not getting in the tub) Gretchen told me that sometimes I turn into a monster. 

7 year olds, can really open your eyes. Thanks to this event, Gretchen and I were able to have a serious discussion about how overwhelming things can be for a mommy. 

I was able to explain to her (through a few tears) how much mommies actually do. We talked about how mommies have to work, make sure the girls have clothes and shoes to wear, make sure that there's food to eat, and that the house is clean. I may have also mentioned a few other thousand things that are always on my to-do list. 

After Gretchen's bath, she was big helper! She put away her laundry without complaining and I hope that our talk opened her eyes to how much mommy needs help. 

Now, I know that I could come up with some clever ways of getting the girls to help more. I could probably come up with some ways to trick them into eating their dinner..... that's not what I want this post to be about. 

If anything, please take away, that being a mom is hard! It's challenging! For Lent, I've decided that I'm going to try to give up yelling at the girls. I'm faced with the reality that it's going to be a struggle for me. 

Over the next few days, I'm going to have to come up with a plan of action. The t..v. will likely have to be turned off; we will have to "unplug" and we will need to have some rebonding. 

It's been weeks of me feeling overwhelmed. Feeling alone. 

The thing is, I know better. I cannot remember one time my mother yelling at me when I was little. I can't remember her raising her voice at me. I don't want my girls to look back and remember the yelling. 

I will add this about  my girls; they are so quick to forgive and forget. It reminds me of the love that God has for his children. I'm thankful that He has sent that reminder to me through my girls. 

Today, if you're struggling as a mom, please know that you aren't alone! And, please, let me know that I am not alone! We need to be there to reassure each other! We need to be there to offer support, love, strength, courage, and understanding!

So, in this season of Lent, pray with me that I can be a more patient mother, and a better #girlmom.

I shared this on Instagram SEVERAL weeks ago, and thought we all might need this gracious reminder again. At least, I know I do. 

Praying for your mothering today! Praying for grace, because God knows that we all need it, in these moments that are so, so hard!

And, to brighten your spirits a bit, head over to my Facebook page and enter to win this gorgeous Stella & Dot bracelet!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend flew by! I probably say that every Monday, but honestly, I feel like I need one more day! We had snow yesterday in Tulsa, and I was really hoping we'd get enough to cancel school! I'm not caught up on laundry, Gretchen's room is a mess (again), and I need to get some more orders caught up. I really could use one more day!

Last week was a short school week since we had Monday off for President's day, and the girls were all out on Tuesday for a snow day. We had a rough week with being "off" for those days, so it will be good to reset and start this week off on a fresh start......

Gretchen had a 50s day last week at school. The PTA planned a sock hop and ice cream social Thursday evening, and the kids could dress up in 50s attire for school. I let Gretchen wear her poodle skirt, even though we weren't able to attend the sock hop.

Megan's teacher posted this picture on Facebook last Friday, and I had to screenshot it and share! Every Friday, her preschool goes to chapel, and last week they had their Ash Wednesday service. All of the kids went up to the alter to get a cross on their hands. I love, love, love that the girls get to attend a Christian preschool and learn about God and Jesus. 

Megan told me later that evening, that they put "nasty stuff" on her hand at chapel, and she wiped it off. I died laughing! Side note, but every evening we review a Bible verse with the girls, and Megan always says our verse is, "Chicken is the Lord." 

#cantmakeitup

Friday afternoon, Gretchen came down to my office and told me that she finally passed her 3, 4, and 5 Math a Minute!!! Her class does these 1 minute math tests every day, and once she passes, she moves on to the next higher number. After she passes, 3, then they do assessments on the 3 numbers. It has taken her weeks to pass this one!

We arrived home Friday to find a goody package from Nana in the mail! The girls were so excited! Nana lives were Albanese candy company is~ they are typically the ones that ship candy to candy stores nationwide!

After getting gummy bears, the girls played with Mr. Potato head and did yoga while I cooked dinner.

We were super excited when daddy walked in the door!

Adalyn is definitely the daddy's girl out of the three of them!

She was pretending to take her temperature. Apparently, we've all been a little too sick over the past few weeks!

Saturday morning, we found Meggie shaking her booty since she was excited for the weekend!

The girls had cinnamon toast for breakfast and Meggie had a little beard of cinnamon!

After breakfast, Gretchen and I headed out for some girl time.

I ended up getting my hair cut, and then we tried to shop for shoes for our Disney trip. It is so hard to find shoes for a 7 year old!!! 

We weren't successful, so we headed home and DJ took Gretchen to the TU women's basketball game. 

Once Adalyn woke up from her nap, I took Megan and Addy out looking for shoes again.

This past week Meggie told me that she wanted light up shoes and to wear them to daycare and show all of her friends. We were shoe shopping for Gretchen, but I let Megan look through and try on some light up shoes. 

She was in heaven!

Addy did some shoe shopping too!

We were unsuccessful yet again, so we loaded up and went to Target. Megan convinced me to get one of those jumbo buggies. Y'all, they're awful. I HATE them, but the girls think they're so much fun!

We got home and ordered pizza!

All of the girls were excited for pizza night!

So yummy!

After the girls went to bed, DJ and I watched a movie and ate popcorn that Nana had sent us!

I found the big girls watching you tube videos together on the couch when I got up Sunday morning. They were being so sweet!

Adalyn climbed in the bathtub and played while I got ready for church. 

It was my Sunday to volunteer in the 2 year old classroom, so DJ finished getting the girls ready and took them all to church. 

Afterwards, we all went out to eat. 

We came home and Addy went down for a nap, Gretchen and Megan watched The Goonies, and DJ ran to Best Buy. I worked on another shirt.

Once I was finished, I took a little nap and cuddled with Gretchen.

Somehow, she picked up a little tummy bug, and wasn't feeling too good. 

Once Adalyn woke up, I went and finished another shirt, and DJ fed the girls dinner. We picked up the house and reset for the week ahead. 

Megan and Adalyn played Ring-Around-the-Rosies while DJ and I put away laundry.

For real, the weekend was busy and just not long enough! 

I'm hoping this week will be productive!

Y'all have a great Monday!

And, before you go head HERE and enter my giveaway for a Stella & Dot bracelet!