Wednesday, August 31, 2016

What's Up Wednesday (8/31/16)


It's the last Wednesday of the month and time for another What's Up Wednesday!



On the last Wednesday of every month I'm linking up with Shay to answer these questions:



1.  What we're eating this week...

Birthday cupcakes, cookies and ice cream!  We have lots of left overs from Vincent's 3rd Birthday.


(All that Vincent wanted for his birthday was ice cream with 
gummy bears and m&ms, so that's what he got!)

2.  What I'm reminiscing about...

Since my baby turned 3 on Monday, I've been very nostalgic of how fast he's grown.  My sweet boy has gotten big so fast, and I'm reminiscing about those sweet baby days of his.  If you missed my post from Monday about my sweet boy, you can find it here
(Right after my boy was born)

(Vincent's 1st Birthday)

(Vincent's 2nd Birthday)

(Vincent's 3rd Birthday) 

3.  What I'm loving...

How talkative and loving Vincent has been lately.  He loves to tell us stories, sing us songs, and I just love listening to him.  

4.  What we've been up to...

Watching lots of movies.  Uncle Matt bought Vincent about 15 new movies for his birthday, so we've been watching all of them, and hiding out from the Tropical Storm slamming the west coast of Florida.  

5.  What I'm dreading...

I dread getting phone calls from daycare.  They are never something good to receive.  Either someone's busted their lip, or running a fever and they need me to come pick them up.  Yesterday, I got the screen image of daycare calling.  Arianna was running a fever and needed to be picked up, and wouldn't be allowed to come back for 24 hours.  We took her to the doctor today, and its just a bad cold virus, but a sick baby with a fever is never fun.  

6.  What I'm working on...

Working on a business idea for a niche yoga market.  Hoping to get something launched by the end of this year, stay tuned.  

7.  What I'm excited about...

FSU Football!!  Heading with Mike's cousins to see them play against Ole Miss at the Citrus Bowl on Monday night, and I can't wait to see my boys back in action.  Also going to the FSU vs. USF game on the 24th of next month with some close friends, so looking forward to that as well.  

8.  What I'm watching/reading...

Still watching the final few weeks of Big Brother.  The season is almost over, and I can't wait to see who wins.  I think I'm secretly rooting for James, even though he's a huge Clemson fan. 

The new season of The Profit started, and Mike and I really enjoy watching that show.  Have you ever seen it?  Its about a businessman who goes into partnerships with ailing companies to help turn their businesses around. 


Also reading Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty with some of my girlfriends.  This is the first time I have read one of her books, and she truly keeps you guessing the whole time.  I haven't decided if I really like it, waiting for the end to make that decision :)


9.  What I'm listening to...

Listening to Spotify to work on my play list for my September Flow classes.  I love making a new play list every month and switching it up for my students.  

10.  What I'm wearing...

Lots of Garnet and Gold next month >>------>

11.  What I'm doing this weekend...

Our annual cousins weekend is here!  Can't wait to spend time with Mike's family for our annual Labor Day tradition of swimming, eating, drinking and fantasy football drafting!
(this pic is from Labor Day 2014)

I am also going to meet my new second cousins, Adeline and Olivia.  My cousin Erin gave birth to twin girls on the 26th, and I can't wait to snuggle them!

12.  What I'm looking forward to next month...

My birthday! I love September, and I love celebrating my birthday.  Also, lots of FSU football (I already mentioned that). I also love decorating for fall, so I am excited to get those decorations out.  

13.  What else is new...

Arianna still doesn't have any teeth, but is in heavy teething mode.  She's also spinning in circles and close to crawling, she will be on the move so very soon.  



XO

Shari

Monday, August 29, 2016

All about my boy!

Today my Vincent Whalen is three!!  I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday, and the years really flew by.  








He is changing so much every day and growing taller by the minute.  He weighs 30 lbs and is 36" tall.  He is a picky eater, but will never turn down candy or goldfish.  For dinner he usually has a hot dog, fish sticks, mac and cheese or corn dogs. Not healthy choices, I know, but I'm hoping eventually he will grow out of it.  He loves his new role this year of being a big brother.  He's so great with his little sister.  He also enjoys swimming, playing at the park, riding his bike, and playing on the ipad.  He loves to watch movies and color.  





I asked him a few questions to remember some of his favorite things at this age:

What is your favorite color?  Green

What is your favorite toy?  Animals

What is your favorite tv show?  Mickey Mouse

What is your favorite thing to eat?  Cheetos (as he stuffs his mouth with cheetos)

Who is your best friend?  Campbell

What is your favorite snack?  Hot Dog

What is your favorite movie?  Minions

What is your favorite animal?  A bear

What do you want to do for your birthday?  Go to the Splash Pad, see Finding Dory and eat ice cream with gummy bears, and M&Ms



That is exactly what we did.  We had the best day today with our little man!

XO

Shari

Monday, August 22, 2016

Yummy Treats

Last month, I shared that Vincent and I made some yummy greek yogurt popsicles for a nice summer snack.  Today I'm sharing the recipe with you all.  They were so fun to make, and more fun to eat.  The older Vincent gets, the more I like to get him involved in helping me out with things in the kitchen.  

I got the recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, Mix and Match Mama.  Here is the link to the recipe on her blog:  http://mixandmatchmama.com/nutella-butterscotch-popsicles/

When I saw the title, Nutella Butterscotch Popsicles, I was immediately intrigued.  They were so easy to make, with only three ingredients. 

(5oz) containers of Vanilla flavored Greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
1 cupe of Nutella
1 cup of butterscotch chips



Vincent mixing them all together :) 


So proud of his work!

This is the popsicle mold I used.  It was so easy to clean, and worked great, I would highly recommend it.  

After freezing for a few hours, we tested them out after his nap. 


Enjoying his creations! (laundry in the background, on the couch #reallife)

Seeing how easy these were to make, I am excited to try a few more recipe combinations and enjoy making them with my son.  

XO

Shari

Saturday, August 6, 2016

One Year (Blogging) Anniversary!

Simply Shari is ONE YEAR OLD!  On August, 5th, 2015 I posted my first blog post, announcing that we were expecting our second baby.  I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. 

I feel that the older I get, the faster time flies by.  Maybe it's because I'm now a mother of two, or a working mom.  I don't know what it is, but time is truly speeding past me!  I have to admit, with the current pace of life, I haven't been able to do everything I wanted with my blog.  I have great ideas and plans, but find little to no time to execute them.  This is something that I'm going to work better at in year two.  

Even with that said, my blog has reached more people over the last year than I could have ever imagined.  Blogger, the publishing service that I use, provides lots of fun stats about your blog.  My page has been viewed 2,146 times!  It also shows this cool map of your world-wide reach.  Who knew that people in Europe and Alaska would be viewing my blog?!

I know when I look back a few years from now, I will be so glad that I have these posts to document what our daily life was like when we first found out we were expecting our second baby and welcomed her into the world.  I have so many other things I want to do with my blog and can't thank you all enough for your support!

For those of you considering starting a blog, but something may be holding you back, just do it!  I know I have a lot of friends who have considered it before, but don't know where to start.  These are the steps that I took: 

1.  Do a web  domain search.  Come up with your blog name, and see if there are any websites out there with that name.  I purchased my domain through google, and pay $12 a year to keep the website up. 

2.  Do your research on a publishing service.  Like I said, I use Blogger.  However, I've also heard good things about Word Press.  

3.  Create your social media sites.  Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest - how are you going to market your blog?

4.  Write your first post! 

XO

Shari