Project 52 -- Weeks 12 + 13

If you follow us on Instagram, you probably saw that we just returned from a fabulous spring break in Jamaica. I decided to take a blogging break while we were traveling, so I'm grouping together the last two weeks of Project 52 into the theme of "water" -- easy to do given where we were! The first is a photo of Cam on a sunset boat ride we took. It was a bumpy ride, she was in the front, got completely drenched, and thought it was hysterical. The second is of Kane leaping down a waterfall like it was NBD. More on our trip next week!!

2016 Spring Bucket List -- 60+ Ideas of Spring Fun!!

While technically the first day of spring happened a week and a half ago, I still haven't felt a real spring day yet. In fact, it was 36 degrees when we woke up this morning! But, now that we're on the other side of spring break, we needed to get our ducks in a row and get our Spring Bucket List up and running. So here it is!

p.s. for the record, we crossed 32 items off of our Winter Bucket List. We've got some work to do this spring!

DIY Pretzel Memory Game

Maybe it's the comeback of Full House or just that I'm ready for spring brights, but I have been digging all the 80s home decor popping up. One of the things I loved most my childhood style was the ease with which we combined junk food with bold patterns and bright colors. I can totally picture myself rocking my favorite Esprit outfit (bright blue stirrup pants paired with a long pink and blue patterned top) with my plastic charm necklace dangling all sorts of randomness. And The Land of Nod's 80s Decor Inspiration really brought it all back and spurred us to put together a fun game. Head over to check out our fun DIY Pretzel Memory Game, which you can download for free!

Project 52 -- Week 11

Happy St. Patrick's Day, all!! How fitting that this week's theme is GREEN. We are Irish, we are Greens, so this holiday was pretty much made for us. Needless to say, the kids are just a little excited.

Equally exciting is that they start spring break tomorrow! We are actually all in need of a serious break, so this year I'm taking a blogging break too. I'll still be kicking around over on Instagram and Facebook, and I'll see you all back here in a few weeks. Catch you on the flip side!

Spring Break Essentials -- Carry-On for the Boys

We are very clearly in serious spring break mode. In case you missed it, yesterday we had our tips to pack a Kids' Travel Survival Kit up on the Paper Source blog. But, today, we're taking a turn back towards what to wear ... for the boys this time.

Last week I shared how to pack 25 outfits for your fave lady in a carry-on bag. Given the variety of outfits Cam generally likes to bring with her, that was no small feat. But I'm always surprised at how much Kane gets into packing for vacation too. He is very particular about his "outfits" and how he wants his clothes folded, arranged, etc. But if Cam can do it, so can he.

As with Cam's round-up, the first and last outfits are for the travel days -- wearing the clunkier items and layering are key. Kane likes a mix of stripes and bold colors, but I started with a solid set of basics in grey and navy (and a little army green). Then I picked a few of his favorite brights that coordinate well together and added in some fun patterns for a tropical vacaye (he usually isn't into patterns other than stripes, but I have a feeling he'll go for this). If your guy is into tanks, I'd swap a few in for some of the tee-shirts. But Kane is a solid no on those, so I stuck with what I know he likes. See what you think!

The Basics 
- neutral slub V-neck tee

- navy multi-striped tee / navy striped tee / grey striped polo 

- hooded pullover 

- grey clamdiggers 

- camp green pull-on shorts  

Interest Pieces 

- pineapple tee

- short-sleeved poplin shirt

- awesome tee

- tropical pocket/back tee

- bicycle tee 

- ikat shorts / palm print shorts / neon shorts 

Swim, Shoes + Accessories 

- hat 

- short-sleeved rash guard / long-sleeved rash guard 

- scooter trunks 

- banana trunks 

- flip flops / sneaks 

- sunnies 

Spring Break Kids' Travel Survival Kit

Spring break is almost here and we've got tips to help you and your kiddos survive the trip to wherever you're going! Head over to the Paper Source blog to get the low down on packing your own kit to make a trip.

The Friday Five!

Last week's cold weather crankiness has drastically improved with the arrival of (fingers-crossed) permanent spring temperatures. Here's what had us back in our groove this week ....

Playing -- I wasn't there to witness this, but Kane and his buddies apparently played this board game for almost three hours.

Reading -- My mom just brought me The Secret History of Wonder Woman and I'm all about it. Kane started a research project on Benjamin Franklin this week, so we dove headfirst into Benjamin Franklin Huge Pain in My ... without me giving it much of a read ahead of time. I'd picked it up from the library and noted that it was for kids a little older, but we usually read books with an older suggested age range. But, OMG. It's all about kids in seventh grade sneaking beer and getting to first base. A few pages in, I tried to table it. But the kids insisted we continue, so I'm doing some seriously heavy editing as I read. It also contains very minimal information about Benjamin Franklin, so Kane's report should be interesting.

Making -- I've been spending Monday afternoons helping Cami's class with some sewing projects. Cam wants to bring in pom poms to add in the mix, so we've been making a bunch! We use a pom pom tool, but check out this tutorial to make them without.

Cooking -- I loved these Grilled Turkey Kofta Skewers with Yogurt Sauce!

Wanting -- Once I'm into the clean eating thing, I generally don't have any cravings for things I can't have. But I always miss sushi. Here's the right way to make your own!