Back To School!!!!

Here at Fort Benning school is back in session in just a couple of weeks.  A little FYI they have a lot of the back to school deals going on right now...so don't miss out!!!

I thought I would post about how we get ready for back to school.  So here are 5 simple ways to get yourself and your kids ready!!

1.  WAKE UP

This week I have already started putting the kids to bed a little earlier.  I will wake them up at the time they get up for school.  Don't wait until a few days before to do this...it will just make things harder for you.  My children don't really sleep in super late anyways but even that 30-60 minutes makes a difference.

2. ROUTINE

Start having them lay their clothes out the night before and doing their school routine.  I am all about enjoying summer vacation but if I don't start getting them ready now I feel like the first month of school is just chaotic.  My youngest really struggles with taking her sweet time in the morning so I like to get her on a nice routine before the first day.  This includes their night time routine too!!

3. HOMEWORK STATION

I am still not quite finished with mine but create a homework station!  It will make things so much easier on you.  There are tons of ideas out there.  This year I used cans and covered them with pretty paper and chalkboard labels and put the supplies in.  I still need a tray or tote...I have seen some cute ones at target!!  Anyways add all the basics...colored pencils, crayons, pencils, plenty of erasers..a rule, glue, and loose leaf paper.  Then right before I pick up the kids I pull it out on the counter where they do homework and have their snack and homework supplies ready for when they get home.

4.  SHOP AT HOME FIRST

Go through your kids closets and decide if you even need to do back to school CLOTHES shopping. Christmas gifts are sometimes too big so I put them in the bottom of their dressers.  I have forgot in the past and bought stuff I didn't really need.  Go in and really sort through their drawers and closet and see what you truly need.  I know its fun to go clothes shopping but do it when they really need it.  I ended up getting Kylee 3 new tops and 2 shorts (since its still so hot here)  Her summer stuff has lasted almost two seasons so she definitely needed a few new items.  She has brand new jeans her Grandma bought her last year that didn't fit so she is all set.  Just a few new tops that were super cheap at osh kosh made her feel like it was still special.  My son is wearing a uniform and I only need the tops for him as well.  All of his shorts should be fine and when it actually gets cold I may have to get him new jeans.  Also I have about 10 bar erasers that were barely used so getting organized showed me I didn't need to buy any of those this year.

5.  GET ORGANIZED

I have currently been working on a "command center" I don't like stuff all over the fridge and I don't like clutter but I have seen some cute command centers that inspired me.  A cute quote, a dry erase or chalkboard calendar and somewhere to maybe organize the many school papers so you send them back on time?  I have a spare room with our computer and desk area but things seem to get lost in there.  So I promised myself I would get it together this year and have a nice area where I can write every football game/cheer practice....school event, even family birthdays (so I will hopefully remember to mail a card) and my wall isn't complete but its coming together.  Even if you don't do a command center get everything organized and ready because we all know how hectic it can get...all the papers, practices and homework.


Anyways thought I would do something a little different today.  I feel like we are still settling in here but my kids are eager for back to school.  The summer flew by but hopefully with these tips you and I!!  will be ready for the new school year.

Thanks for reading!!!!

Fort Benning Georgia

HI :)

Excited to get back in the swing of things.  We are back from Europe and living in Fort Benning Georgia.  It has been incredible visiting family in Michigan and exploring our new area.  I am loving the sunshine and that my babes are out of school for the summer.

Living in a new area has created new issues with my hair and my skin so I have some upcoming posts planned about that.

Also some posts with girls hairstyles.  My daughter who is 7 has days where she hates when I do her hair but sometimes she loves it as much as I do so when I can convince her I will have pictures and step by steps for different styles.....

and of course I will have different makeup looks.  I have been MIA but I still love all things beauty.

Have a wonderful weekend and look for a post next week :D

~JS

Cute Makeup Quotes

So I thought it would be fun to share some cute/funny/true hair and makeup quotes...I see these on pinterest from the many boards I follow and they crack me up.  Some are sweet and nice, others are funny...either way I hope it makes you other beauty fanatics have a brighter day.

More posts coming soon......

Favorite ;)

 fhahahahah

Makes my day...you have no idea

 Exactly

2015 Beauty Resolutions

Can you believe it is almost 2015!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crazy, I know everybody sets resolutions and we don't always stick to them but there is something about taking some time and thinking about life and things you want to work on, improve....I always plan to eat better, stay more organized, read more....etc....even if you don't stick to them I think it important to TRY and at least take time and put things into perspective.  So I thought why not some BEAUTY RESOLUTIONS????

1.  TAKE MORE TIME FOR YOUR HAIR

I mean wake up, do a full blow out and style...I promise you will feel fabulous and if you are one of the lucky girls you can wear it for 2+ days.

2.  TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN

Buy the right products, invest in a clarisonic (it is so worth it) and treat your skin right.  Do a mask once a week, use your moisturizer....JUST DO IT!!!!

3.  MAINTAIN THOSE LOCKS

Get your hair trimmed regularly....for short-mid length hair that's 4-6 weeks... for long hair 6-8 weeks but if you are really trying to grow it go 8-10 if you can.

4.  FULL MAKEUP APPLICATION

Have fun with your makeup and at least once a week do a full makeup application...I mean take the time to do flawless foundation, contour, highlight, etc....whether its for a date night, girls night out....or even a trip to the store....you will fabulous because you are naturally beautiful but makeup is fun and why not dress things up now and then????

5.   HYDRATE.....

Hydrate your hair with masks, great conditioners, etc

Hydrate your skin with body butters and proper facial moisturizers

Hydrate everything by drinking more water

6. BE FREE

I mean natural....take time to let your hair just air dry no flat iron, curling iron, extensions...etc....no makeup...or for me just a little mascara lol....and just embrace the beautiful you.  I think its important to dress it up and feel fabulous but its just as important to give yourself a break.

I hope these help you set some goals and embrace yourself and take care of yourself.  Happy New Year's everyone.  I know 2015 will be a great one.

My favorite Skin Care Products

So as some of you may know I struggle every day with my skin.  I have pretty oily skin and I also have endometriosis which has a little to do with my crazy skin.  I do take prescription medication and also use prescription topical treatments.

My skin can still sometimes be all over the place but the biggest thing is WASH YOUR FACE EVERY NIGHT.  Of course I always knew I should but through the years especially when my kids were younger when I went to bed I would just climb right in and fall asleep...I was too tired to care.  It is soooooooo important to wash your face morning and night but I think especially at night.  You have had makeup on your face all day or even if you don't wear makeup think about all that has touched your face today..YUCK...So I finally invested in a Clarisonic.  I waited and waited until one went on sale.  I have to say I still break out occasionally  but my skin feels so much better.  I think its definitely worth the price.

I purchased the MIA 2


Next on my list is Mario Badescu skincare products.  I have talked about hem before and I will over and over again.  I just love their products.  Not too expensive...they make my skin feel wonderful and everything I have tried from them is just wonderful.  The eye creams are great and the facial cleansers...I love it all.

One another tip is to just let your skin breathe sometimes.  I do wear makeup most days but on the weekends when we get home from running errands or if we aren't going anywhere I either wash my makeup off right after we get home or I just don't wear any makeup that day.


Just a few little ideas for people just starting to wear makeup or followers that are taking more interest in skincare.

Check out Mario Badescu prodcuts at   http://www.mariobadescu.com/

Clasisonic   http://www.clarisonic.com/

Re-enlistment

So last week my husband re-enlisted in the Army.  We found out we are moving to Fort Benning Georgia....so crazy how it all happens at once....I guess that is the army life haha.  We won't be moving until next spring so we have plenty of time to continue enjoying our time in Germany.

The kids are out of school for summer so we are taking a little trip to Edelweiss lodge and resort in Garmisch Germany.  The Bavarian alps are your view from your room and its absolutely breath taking.

Anyways back to the re-enlistment....when he told me he was having the ceremony I really had no clue what to wear or what to have my kids wear...it was our first time going through it and I didn't have much time.  So I tried to research it and with no luck I just decided to wear a green dress I had bought online at american eagle over a year ago and the kids sort of matched with wearing blue and white and I put a cute red bow in my daughter's hair.  Obviously everyone has different styles but I would love to hear your ideas for what to wear to little ceremonies like that in the military.  It also gave me the idea to do a video of re-enlistment hair/makeup????  I will have to do it next week when we get back but It's just one of those things you don't want to be to over done but you definitely want to look nice and put together.  I don't know I thought it would be fun :)

I am sharing some pictures of my husband's special day...can I just say how amazing he is.  The Army life has been good for our family and I am still amazed at all the adventures that we have been able to have and memories made because my husband has been able to be in the Army and let us explore the world.  It truly is incredible and I couldn't be more proud of him.  I will just say for anyone who also hasn't done a re-enlistment yet ...It is over very quick so don't stress too much.  It was fun and I loved that our kiddos were able to be there and see their Dad do all of that.

Upcoming posts will be about summer hair ideas....simple makeup for summer....and some videos soon too.

Luxembourg City, Brussels, and Amsterdam all in one day....with KIDS

Okay so as most of my followers/blog readers probably know we are stationed in Germany.  My husband is in the United States Army and we started out in Schweinfurt Germany and then moved to Grafenwoehr Germany because Schweinfurt Army Garrison is closing down.

We are fitting in as much travel as possible with a teeny tiny budget :).  We want to make the most of our time here but don't want to break ourselves doing it.

Our ways of travel might not work for everyone but we choose to pick out a couple sights we want to see in each place and move right along to the next.  Of course we would love to stay for a week or more in each place but we don't have the means to do that.  The longer you stay, the higher the hotels costs....the more money you need for food, etc.  So we say at least we have been there and walked around and enjoyed it rather than not seeing it at all.

On the training holiday (4 day weekend) in March we decided to go to Brussels while on the way stopping in Luxembourg and trying to make it to The Netherlands if we had time.  Here's how it went down.  We stayed at Air Force Lodging on Ramstein Air Base.  Its like 45 minutes from Trier (a beautiful must see city in Germany) The kids had testing at school that week so we couldn't leave as early as we had planned but we took them out at about 11:00 drove to Ramstein, checked in and everything.  Drove to Trier...unfortunately it started getting dark but we got to see the Roman baths and a few other sites but the pictures didn't turn out great.  We went back to the hotel after the short trip and went to bed because we had to get up early.

So on to day 2......

I believe we were out the door at 6:00am and on our way to Luxembourg city.  We walked the streets and strolled through the city market and saw the outside of the Grand Ducal Palace.  Stopped for pastries and hopped right back in the car and set out to Brussels.  Now just to be clear we had planned on just Luxembourg and Brussels this day but plans changed.

So its about 2 hours from Luxembourg city to Brussels.  Our first stop was the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.  We thought the kids would love the Dionosaur exhibit and honestly we did too.  We had never really seen that kind of stuff.  Here is the link..... http://www.naturalsciences.be/museum/dinosaurs

We made our way through the museum quickly and then had a heck of a time trying to find parking to to the Grote Markt (The Grand Place) in the center of Brussels.  I almost gave up honestly.  We walked and walked but really we got to see a lot more of the city and enjoyed it once we knew we were in the right direction.  The traffic looked crazy so we were kind of glad we ended up walking.  We stopped for Belgian waffles (amazing by the way) and of course picked up some Belgian chocolates.  We finally reached the beautiful Grote Markt and honestly pictures just don't do it justice.  To see it all in person was incredible.  I could of stood there all day staring at everything.

We had to move on though.  We decided on our walk that we should just try to shoot up to Amsterdam while we were closer.  We would have been back tracking if we went back to the hotel since we opted to stay at the same hotel both nights.  We were making good time so we hopped in the car and made our way to the Netherlands.  The drive was nice and easy and the kids enjoyed the different windmills along the way.  We found parking pretty quickly and realized we parked right by some kind of boat museum with really old ships and boats out on display....it was beautiful and the kids loved it.  Then we started walking in hopes to finding the Anne Frank house.  Even though we knew we wouldn't make it inside we at least wanted to see the outside.  We enjoyed strolling the streets, the canals were so cool and the city itself is just beautiful.  It was starting to get dark and a little cold out so after strolling around for maybe 1.5-2 hours we got back in the car and drove 4 hours back to our hotel.

Needless to say we slept in a little.  We got back to the hotel around midnight and then we just explored post and went out to lunch before heading home to Grafenwoehr.  The hotel was very inexpensive and we mostly spent money on gas.  I always pack a lot of food so we don't eat out as much.
So the best way to save money when traveling.......

• planning ahead as much as you can....
• Packing water and food
• Budgeting your spending/souv. money and sticking to it (we pulled out 100 euro) 
• Realizing you aren't going to get to see everything
• Not going in every museum/attraction

As cool as it might be it gets expensive with a family of four so we have been in so many castles/palaces/ etc in our time here that they all start to look the same on the inside.  The outside of each one is unique and beautiful but I don't feel the need  to go into every place.  So that really saves a lot too.  

If you are stationed in Europe or just coming to travel just keep that in mind.  Its beautiful here and we feel so blessed just to see all that we have seen but it does get very expensive, even if you do live here.  So make the most of it but try not to go crazy.  Honestly every little city it beautiful to me so we try to just enjoy it all and take it all in.  I hope someday we can be stationed in Europe again because there really is so much to see and do and experience.  

I hope this post helps a few people travel to a few places they want to see or helps them save money.  If you have any questions please let me know :) 

Have a great day.