Rewind Friday // Crafting with Nature

Welcome to Rewind Friday #5! This month seriously snuck up on me and I feel both relieved it is over (because, worst month of my life #overlydramaticbutappropriate) and excited to welcome October! So onto my flashback post :)

Fall is the perfect time to go outdoors and find natural items to craft and create with! We love talking a walk and collecting leaves, sticks, rocks, feathers, flowers- basically anything that catches our eye can be repurposed and used to create seasonal works of art. This was originally published on September 19, 2014!

"Using natural materials in arts and crafts isn't new but it adds a wonderful element in creative play. Not to mention its free. And tactil-ly pleasing. It also enhances observational skills and fosters a love for the outdoors." {Read more Crafting with Nature}

Last month's Spotlight blogger post was Life Breath Present's 5 Ways to a Great Home Environment!

If you want to be our Spotlight Post, just link up an oldie but goodie with us the last Friday of every month! Thanks for joining Beth, Meghan,Stephanie and I! The next Rewind Friday will be on Friday, October 28th. Now it's your turn to add your link below! Also join us on IG using #RewindFridayParty.

Beth Our Pretty Little Girls

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Meghan The Adventure Starts Here

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Stephanie Wife Mommy Me

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Whitney Work it Mommy

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Linking up here.

   

   

Disney on Ice is coming to the Bay Area!

Fact: I  have never seen any Disney on Ice performances.

Fact: Brian has been to many Disney on Ice performances growing up.
Fact: I am extremely jealous.

Fact: Disney on Ice is coming to a local venue and you best believe I will be there!

SAP Center Oct. 19-23 and Oracle Arena Oct. 26-30 Celebrate the most memorable Disney tales with all your favorite characters in Disney On Ice presents Passport to Adventure. Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald, Goofy and Daisy on a journey to the timeless worlds of Disney's The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, and Disney's Frozen. You and your family will explore the African Pride Lands with Simba, Timon and Pumbaa, voyage deep under the sea to Ariel's mystical underwater kingdom and tour London with Peter Pan and Wendy before flying to Neverland to meet up with Tinker Bell. Plus, travel to Arendelle for an extraordinary adventure with sisters Anna and Elsa, rugged mountain man Kristoff and everyone's favorite huggable snowman Olaf, as they journey to discover that true love is the most magical power of all. Upbeat music, lovable characters and unforgettable moments make Disney On Ice presents Passport to Adventure an experience your family will cherish forever!

Playing SAP Center Oct. 19-23 and Oracle Arena Oct. 26-30.
Save 25% on Disney on Ice - Passport to Adventure - Save 25% on tickets to any show with promo code MOM2. Savings valid on select prices. Savings price based on the original ticket price.
Visit Ticketmaster for more information!

Linking up here.

   

   

Currently // September

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Watching// I introduced Kinsey and Brielana to The Sound of Music and it has been such a joy hearing Kinsey sing all the songs!! 

source

Reading// After a false start with a horribly written novel (I'm not even going to share what the title was) I am thisclose to finishing The Orchardist: A Novel by Amanda Coplin. This was one of those Little Free Library finds and it hasn't disappointed. It is beautifully written and tells the story about Talmadge and his orchard and the two runaway girls who find refuge in his trees. All the feels!

Eating// Ice cream. It's been insanely hot here and this is the only way I can deal with life.

Loving// That we're getting closer to all my favorite Holidays- Halloween, my Birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Planning// Our 8 year Anniversary Trip! It's been two years since we last visited San Luis Obispo and I can just picture all the fun stuff we'll be doing! 

Pinning// Fall Fun!

Praying// For my Papa (always.)

Texting// Everyone. There is no need for calling anyone these days, am I right?

Wearing// Chambray the best transition-into-fall piece ever.

Trying// To stop feeling sorry for myself because September was such a bust.

Decorating// For Fall!! And once October strikes, for Halloween!

To-do listing// I gotta go to the Post Office and send out three packages. This hardly ever happens so I'm actually really looking forward to going. And as Liz put it #thepostofficeadventuresofwhitney ;)

Linking up here.

   

   

Noah's Bandage Project // National Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month

If I wasn't a blogger I would never have experienced the powerful community that is mom bloggers. I feel so honored to be able to share in a group of women that supports and encourages each other. With that said, did you know September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month?

If you answered "no" don't feel bad because I didn't either until a couple of weeks ago when I received an email from Brittany. Whom I didn't even know until said email arrived in my inbox. But when I read her words I couldn't help but feel that she had bestowed a gift to me. Here are Brittany's own words:

Some of you know me and some of you don't - I'm Brittany and I blog at Just Another Day in Paradise sometimes when I get my act together :)

I just took all the emails of blogger folks that also participated in the Summer Birthday Exchange that Liz hosted (plus I added a few folks!), so if you aren't interested at all in doing this - do not feel bad about deleting this.  

Here's the deal - if you don't know, September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness month.  Our next door neighbors lost their little boy, Noah, last June to pediatric cancer - but before he went to heaven, he sure left his mark on the world by starting something called Noah's Bandage Project.  Quick background: at the young age of 6, while going through his own treatment, he quickly realized how un-cool it was to just have the boring skin colored bandages all over his body with all the pricks and pokes that comes with treatment for pediatric cancer.  If he felt that way, he knew other kids did too.  He started a drive to collect fun bandaids (that all our kids love) and distributed them to other kids at Children's Mercy Hospital in downtown KC.  What started as a small drive, turned into something much bigger.  The KC Royal's got involved, the KC news, etc. Noah passed away in June 2015, but his family and friends are working hard to ensure this amazing project lives on.  

So - why am I sending you this email?  Well every day when I pull in and out of our driveway, I pass our neighbors house (as you would guess). This month they have a sign in their yard for Pediatric Cancer Awareness month. There are countless cars at their house working on this project and have been hosting all kinds of events around the KC area to ensure it continues to grow. Deb (my neighbor, who is Noah's mom) said she is even having to talk to local stores about increasing their inventory of the fun bandages because so many schools are hosting bandage drives that they are running out - how amazing is that!!? I just feel the urge to do something to help with their amazing efforts to carry on Noah's legacy.

Ok - onto the point. I'm sure all our kids love fun bandaids (heck my 2 older kids each had 2 somewhere on them tonight in the bath...), so I was thinking it would be fun to find a time this month while at the store with your kid (or kids) to pick up a few boxes of bandaids for these kids suffering from pediatric cancer to brighten up their day. I know as my kids get older, I'm really loving finding ways to incorporate how we can help others and teach them the joy in giving back. I thought how cool it would be if some folks in the blogging community wanted to join in and send a few boxes to Noah's Bandage Project and do a quick post on it to build awareness not only of this amazing project....but also for pediatric cancer. The thing that I found baffling when talking with Deb as I was writing a post about this for the Kansas City Mom's blog was that so little (only 4%!!!!) of the national cancer research budget goes to researching pediatric cancer. Noah's Bandage Project is working to increase that number as well.

I mean how can you not feel compelled to help out such an amazing endeavor?!

After I told Kinsey about going to Target to pick out some bandaids for children with cancer she promptly said she wanted to get "Princesses for the girls and Snoopy for the boys." And that's exactly what she did (plus a couple more.)

It broke my heart explaining to Kinsey about children having cancer so I can't even imagine living through it. I pray over Noah's Bandage Project and the families who are going through treatment. God keep them in Your almighty hands.

If you want to contribute bandages or funds visit Noah's bandage Project or send them to the following address:

Noah's Bandage Project
119 N Parker Street Suite 110
Olathe, KS 66061

Linking up here.