Mixed McNutts

Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Dreaming of Summer

I can hardly believe that summer time is upon us! The kids will be out of school in just a few weeks and we have decided to put together a McNutt Summer Live List. I'm sure you've seen the Summer Bucket Lists floating around Pinterest - it's our take on that. I love this idea. It allowed us to brainstorm as a family and each person was able to throw in something they would like to do. I'm pretty sure this will become a summer tradition for us.

MCNUTT SUMMER LIVE LIST

Have a picnic

Make S'mores

Have breakfast outside

Find a big hill and roll down it

Take a family trip

Science experiments

Bake

Walk the trail

Listen to live music

Sparklers

Rainy day Disney movie day

Go to the zoo

Puddle jumping

Go to the beach

Kids cook dinner

Water balloon fight

Paint

Make sushi at home

Have a lemonade stand

Go to the library

Have a fancy tea party

Tie Dye

At-home spa day

Celebrate Dad's birthday, Sophia's birthday, and Paris' birthday

BBQ Party with friends

Visit the Farmers Market

Fry an egg on the sidewalk

Volunteer

Catch fireflies

Celebrate Christmas in July

Go rollerskating

Make flower arrangements for your room

Take Polaroids to make a scrapbook of our summer adventures

Backyard movie night

Donut Date

Send a care package

Mail letters to friends

Go to the movie theater

See a play

Egg toss painting

Go to the Science Center

Of course, we'll also be spending a lot of time at the pool and the park in our neighborhood! I can't wait for us to dive into this list!! Cheers to a carefree and FUN summer!

Flashback Friday // Breakfast at Brittney's Bridal Shower

My bridal shower was hosted by my mom and my sister, Jenna. It was beyond what I ever imagined. It was absolutely beautiful and so personalized. The theme was Breakfast at Brittney's - a take on my all-time favorite movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. They organized a mimosa bar, yogurt parfait bar and a candy bar. If you know me, I am a HUGE fan of bars. I always make them for my family and friends, so I thought it was sweet of them to do several for me. :)

We all had such a lovely time and it felt great to be surrounded by women that I love and care about. My heart was full! My sister came up with such a fun gift idea. Because Marvin and I were preparing to move out of state, she was concerned with us transporting all of our gifts across the country. She had guests come up with date night ideas with gift cards included. It was exciting to see how creative and thoughtful the ladies were.

I wish I would have gotten a photo of all the ladies together! I did have a surprise visitor who stopped by briefly, very briefly - too many women in one room, I think. My groom came bearing gifts for his bride-to-be. Swoon! :)

He is Risen!

We had a very relaxing and fun Easter Sunday. The girls woke up early to make sure the Easter Bunny had found us in Charlotte. :) The Easter Bunny definitely found us and left lots of colorful eggs filled with candy that I will be tempted with for the next couple of months before I finally throw it all out. Marvin & I filled the girls baskets with a few treats, Essie nail polish, a Mason Jar tumbler, chalk, bubbles, and the big hit...Hunter boots in fun spring colors! I'm pretty sure I heard some prayers for rain, so they can wear them.

Bunny booty cookies that the girls and I made on Easter weekend. :)

I made Marvin a manly Easter basket. I wanted to put his goodies in something that we could reuse. He's been going to the park lately to workout, so I thought an insulated lunch bag would be perfect for him to take with him. I found a great one at Target and stuffed it with beef jerky, water bottle, Mios, Sandlot DVD, and of course I had to throw in some of his favorite treats!

In other news, the girls started their first day of school today in Charlotte! They were nervous and excited. I'm anxiously awaiting for 3:30pm, so I can pick them up and hear all about their day! Fingers crossed for smooth transition!

I'm Back!

I'm excited to announce that I have dusted the cobwebs off of Mixed McNutts! Our life is always busy, but within the last year it was absolutely hectic and chaotic and I was unable to keep up with blogging. In the time that I wasn't blogging I realized how much I loved and missed it. Then, I got a kick in the ass from my daughter. "Mom! When are you going to starting blogging again?! I LOVE your blog." So, I'm on it! A lot has changed since my last post. Here's a snapshot to get you caught up:

-Moved from the Philadelphia area to Iowa

-Paris turned 11 (where has time gone?)

-Marvin was picked up by the Miami Dolphins

-Traveled to Miami a few times

-Saw Marvin score his first NFL touchdown in a preseason game!

-Marvin was then picked up by the Carolina Panthers

-I traveled about every other week to Charlotte (and I HATE flying)

-Paris, Sophia, and I traveled to Charlotte for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years

-Wedding planning

-Marvin came to Iowa for his off season

-Ditched my wedding dress that I found in NYC

-Found a wedding dress that I L-O-V-E in Chicago!

-Bridal Shower

-More wedding planning

-Vegas trip for our Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties

-More ~~headaches~~ wedding planning

-Marvin and I got hitched on 3/15/14! BEST DAY EVER.

-Honeymoon in Cancun

-Moved to Charlotte, NC

The girls and I drove from Iowa to North Carolina last Saturday and it took us about 20 hours. We had a UHaul trailer hitched on the back of our truck, so we had to stay around 55 MPH. So frustrating! My intentions were to stop about halfway and grab a hotel, but I drove straight to Charlotte because well, I'm a beast. Actually, it's because I planned so poorly. Somehow I thought I would just find a hotel in Kentucky without booking ahead of time. Well, the Kentucky Derby kickoff was in full effect, so as you can imagine there wasn't any vacant rooms to be found. The girls and I were both sick and tired by the time we arrived, but being greeted at home in Charlotte by my husband was well worth it. We all love our new home and location! I'm in the process of unpacking, organizing, and finding my way around the neighborhood. I'm looking forward to new beginnings and experiences!

Super Dad: Man Of Steel

Marvin is a kick ass dad. Hands down.

He is a selfless, kind, motivating, loving, encouraging, patient, nurturing father. He is so incredibly supportive of every goal and pushes our daughters to put in hard work and dedication in whatever they are doing.

There are only a handful of things in life that make me cringe. One of which is super heroes and comic books. Ew. No thank you. But since Marvin is such a great father, I decided to embrace his favorite super hero, Superman, and plan a day dedicated to a Super Dad. I'm a sucker for a good theme, so I was THRILLED to find out that Man Of Steel was opening Father's Day weekend. Perfection. I was oblivious that this movie was even coming out.

~~The girls and~~ I decided to plan a donut bar for breakfast. I got plain donuts from the grocery store and lots of yummy toppings. I scoured the internet to learn more about Superman, so that I could get a little creative. Here's what I came up with:

Ice Breath Potion: Blue Hawaiian Punch & Sprite

Super Hearing Carmel Syrup

Mental Power Chocolate Syrup

Morsels of Mega Muscles: Chocolate Chips

Powerful Praline Crunch

Pebbles of Power: Fruity Pebbles Cereal

X-Ray Vision Nuts

Super Strength Sprinkles

Ice Breath Flakes: Coconut

Flight Sugar: Powdered Sugar

Powerful Shooters: Fruit Kabobs

Hero Cookie Crumble Crunch: Crushed Oreos

Kryptonite Cupcakes

We dipped the top of the donut in either the chocolate syrup or carmel and then sprinkles on the toppings. It was heavenly!

The girls woke Marvin up with confetti and gave him a Superman cape to wear for the day. After opening presents and watching church online, we headed to the theater to see Man Of Steel. Marvin wore his cape. See, amazing daddy, right? :)

Sophia felt that he needed a shield. :)

I found an amazing artist on Etsy to draw the girls and Marvin as Superman and his little Super Girls! The artist, Mike, did a fantastic job! I was so impressed with how great it turned out. You can find his Etsy shop here.

Marvin opening the drawing. Nailed it. :)

Happy Father's Day to this Super Dad! We love you. xo

Sophia's Birthday!

Wow! Sophia would like to thank everyone for all the fabulous birthday wishes she received! She was thrilled to see all the sweet messages.

We kicked off her birthday celebration with a pancake breakfast - her favorite! I used mini pancakes and piled them on top of each other to create a Birthday Palooza Pancake Tower. Between the pancakes were thinly sliced banana, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup, then topped with more whipped cream, sprinkles, and a couple shakes of powdered sugar. Sugar overload, I know. The bananas balance it out though, right? :)

Birthday Palooza Pancake Tower

And for my little girly girl who adores pink, I made these cupcakes for her to share with her friends at school:

Pink Ombre Cupcakes

You can find the pom-pom toppers here. Thank you to TiTi's TuTus for the rush order - the look on Sophia's face when she saw the cupcakes was priceless!

We ended the night with Sophie's Sundae bar and opening presents.

Once Marvin came home from Miami, we were able to celebrate her birthday together! So, we headed to NYC to spend the evening at the American Girl Doll Place. We had a fancy dinner, ate delicious cake and did a little shopping. Fun was had by all as you can see!