Our Homeschool Day Starts with a Nutritious Breakfast #50YearsOfBreakfast #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #50YearsofBreakfast #CollectiveBias

Wow---the past couple months have just flown by for us as we've been so busy! Like many homeschoolers, we school year round---but we don't usually get a good start until about May. Summer and Fall are our best seasons for doing some really fun schooling, so I've been busy preparing new lessons and ordering new books to get us ready to jump in here soon! In the meantime, we've been taking fun field trips and hanging out with some of our homeschooling friends. All these busy, running-around days are fueled by a nutritious breakfast. One thing our family enjoys for a healthy breakfast is Carnation Breakfast Essentials.

I found Carnation Breakfast Essentials in the breakfast cereal aisle at Walmart. It comes in Classic French Vanilla and Rich Milk Chocolate. Make sure to grab some milk to mix it into.

Lynzie or Michael often makes breakfast in the mornings and they like to do special things to make their siblings smile. These are quick and easy for them to surprise everyone with, and they're also great for the younger kids to make themselves, as they just need to open one up and mix with milk. When I'm making this for the whole family, it's easier to mix up a pitcherful.

Our Carnation Breakfast Essentials fuels us for fun days like our trip to the fish hatchery last week, and staves off morning hunger while the kids are hitting the books. With all the things I have to do each morning to get prepared to start our day, it's nice to have a quick and convenient breakfast drink to get me going, also.  

Are you familiar with the Carnation Free Breakfast promotion? Carnation is celebrating 50 Years of Breakfast Across America by giving back to their customers. Just buy any two Carnation Breakfast Essentials products, take a clear photo of your entire receipt, and text with keyword BREAKFAST to 811811. You'll get a message back with submission instructions and then, after submission, a code to share with friends and family for free breakfast! 

You can also email your receipt to redeem@CarnationFreeBreakfast.com or upload your receipt to http://cbi.as/7qnt. Even better, Carnation will donate $25,000 to Feeding America to help those in need through June 30th. It's a win for all of us!

How do you get your mornings off to a good start?

Mom is Coming to Visit for Mother's Day! #BestMomsDayEver #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BestMomsDayEver #CollectiveBias

My Mom is a huge part of our lives and I'm so excited she's coming to visit in just a couple days! She'll be here two weeks---which means that we'll get to spend Mother's Day together! The kids are thrilled---and so am I. Last week, I shopped for a few gifts for the kids to give her and found several cute things at the one stop shop American Greetings display at Walmart.

This display features cards, bags, and wrapping materials from American Greetings, as well as gift items like mugs, flowers, stationery, and purses. It's a great place to find a nice gift for the special mom in your life, and it's quick and easy since everything is right there together. Look for the display in your Walmart near the greeting card aisles.

It's really hard having my mom so far away from us now. When we lived in Oregon, we spent time together several times a week. Now that we're 1,800 miles away in Arkansas, we only see her twice a year. The kids are growing so fast and I hate that she's missing out on our day to day stuff. It will be so great to have her here a couple weeks to enjoy the sunshine and a fun Mother's Day party outside!

I picked out a stationery set, since she and the kids love to write pen pal letters to one another, and I know she'll love this cute travel cup. It's her favorite color and has a perfect Grandma phrase on it: What Happens at Grandma's Stays at Grandma's. (That includes messes...yay!) That is totally something my mom would say.

I grabbed a pretty bag and some tissue for them to gift it in and picked out a pretty card to top it off. There were so many beautiful cards that it was hard to choose, but I think she'll like this tea one as we have fun tea party memories together. I like how all the colors match, too.

It's so rare that we get to spend time with Mom so I want to make this Mother's Day extra special! I've been testing out some recipes the past couple weeks to find some pretty things to eat during our Mother's Day party. A couple weeks ago, I made a Strawberry Teatime Torte that turned out absolutely delicious and looks gorgeous on a tea table.

This past weekend, I made Cucumber Sandwiches to celebrate the new Princess Cambridge. These would also go excellent on our party table. Any time I garnish with fresh flowers, it just adds that extra beautiful specialness to the presentation. Plus, these begonias match the colors on Mom's gift bag!

I think this is going to be one of the best Mother's Days ever! How will you celebrate Mother's Day this year? Be sure to check out American Greetings at Walmart for some super special gift ideas, and check out the giveaway below for more Mother's Day fun!

#BestMomsDayEver Giveaway- $4,000 Prize Value

Welcoming Princess Cambridge with Cucumber Sandwiches and Tea

Close to 200,000 princesses were born around the world today, but there's one special one I'm celebrating! Princess Cambridge, the second child of Prince William and Princess Kate, was born this morning in London. With the royal couple's fourth anniversary having just passed, and now the arrival of a new royal baby, (hoping they'll announce the name before the night is out!) I'm ready to royally celebrate with some sweets, savories, and maybe a few royal "dork"umnetaries. (That's what Jamie calls my beloved documentary shows...)

My mom bought me this pretty Tea For One a few years ago for my birthday. I showed off my newest one a few days ago, (check out my Strawberry Teatime Torte for a great follow up dessert recipe) so I thought I'd better pull out this pretty one and give it the spotlight today. I just love these! Once I collect enough, I'll have a special tea party for my book club friends and we'll each use our own pretty set.

I'm sure there are lots of ways to put together a delicious Cucumber Sandwich. I like mine savory and these are nothing but a simple twist on my Cucumber Flowers recipe. Hope you enjoy! Let me know how you plan to celebrate the newest baby to join the royal family.

Cucumber Sandwiches (makes about 10)

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. mayonnaise 
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. dill
1 cucumber
1 loaf white bread

Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, and dill, until smooth. Spread thickly on each slice of bread. Slice cucumbers thinly and place on top of cream cheese mixture. Put sandwiches together and slice off edges using a sharp, serrated knife. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with strips of cucumber peel, herbs, and flowers. 

Make sure to check out Pink Saturday for more pink goodness!