Our Little Trip - Sandpiper Bay Club Med

When I was contacted to come check out Sandpiper Bay Club Med I was really excited - obviously.  Who wouldn't want a chance to have a get-away?  I had never been to an all-inclusive resort before, though I wondered if I would actually like it.  Well, I can honestly say that I LOVED it.  I wish we would have gone to ClubMed for our family vacation instead of the short cruise we did in February.

I can also really say that I'm really excited to tell you about this place.  Why?  Because I wish somebody would have told me about it.  It's the perfect family vacation destination.  So, let me share some pictures and tell you why it's worth talking about.

Sandpiper Bay Club Med sits on a little bay and man-made beach.  

The grounds are really beautiful, with lots of flowering plants and trees.  

Hair Week Day 5 - my new look and some links

First off, I wanted to say thank you SO much to all of you guys for voting for my hair cut.  It was fun to hear your opinions and I felt like I got to know all of you better, too.  I even got emailed votes, for those that couldn't get the comment section to work.  So.....it was ridiculously close.  Number 3 got the least amount of votes.  Number 1 and 2 were a very tight race.....

...but the short Jennifer Goodwin cut won out in the end.  So, with no further ado here's my new look:

Hair Week Day 4 - Ashley of the Shine Project

Today we have one of my favorite bloggers visiting.

Ashley from the Shine Project inspires a lot more than cute hair.  Her blog is dedicated to helping others in big and little ways.  She's sharing a cute hairstyle with us today, but I hope you'll also stop over HERE to read about an amazing new project she just launched called Threads.

Welcome Ashley!

Hey ladies! I'm Ashley from The Shine Project. My site is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging others to live the best life possible while lifting others around up! We just launched a new project yesterday called Threads, and we're so excited. We employ at risk youth to make amazing bracelets, and in turn they are able to pay their way through college. Nothing like giving the future leaders of America a chance. After you're done with the tutorial, I'd love for you to come check it out.

I'm a firm believer that if you want to save the world, or even just your kid from sticking that cheerio up their nose, that you need to feel good about yourself. I share different hair tutorials on my blog so you can feel pretty and worry about the other important things. 

Today I'm going to show you how to do the 

Fishtail Pull-back

(Ya, I make up my own names. I'm not fancy enough to know the real lingo.)

Hair Week Day 3 - Abby from My Yellow Sandbox and a GIVEAWAY

Wake Up Wednesday will resume as normal next week.  It's another wonderful day of hair today with a repeat guest from last year.

Last year Abby from My Yellow Sandbox shared THIS beautiful up-do.

She's back with a beautiful new one today.  Welcome Abby!

Well hello!  I'm Abby, the crazy blonde behind the blog My Yellow Sandbox.  I'm twenty-five,  a mother of two and I love Swedish Fish.  You can find me teaching new hairstyles and chatting beauty, fashion, crafts and family with my readers!

Hair Week Day 2 - Christina from Hair Romance

It's day 2 of hair week and we have an awesome guest today that you ladies will love.  

Her name is Christina and she blogs at Hair Romance.  Last year she showed us how to do THIS great twist and pin style.

This year she's back with a beautiful, simple style that's also fast.  Welcome Christina!

Every week should be hair week!  I’m Christina and a haircut completely changed my life. I am the editor (and The Hair) behind Hair Romance, a blog that’s all about loving your hair.

For this Hair Week I’m sharing a super easy hairstyle that is a regular favourite of mine at the moment – the braided bun.

I filmed a little video to show you how I do this style in my hair in under 90 seconds. It really is that quick and easy to do. Even better it’s a great style for “second day” hair. You know when you washed and styled your hair yesterday, but it looks a little slept-on today? No need to restyle, just try this easy upstyle.

Hair Week - Day One

This is our third annual hair week at I Am Momma.  I've brought back some popular guests and we have some fun posts in the works.

The past two years I've always joined in and showed you some different hairstyles and techniques.  I thought it would be fun to try something a little different this year.  After growing my hair out for the past two years I'm ready for a change.

In fact, today I'm going to let you guys vote and pick my new style - because it sounds like fun.  I'm throwing caution to the wind and embracing a bold, new look.  So, here are the three styles I'm looking at, along with the pros and cons.  You can vote at the end.  I'll cut my hair Wednesday and show you Friday.

OPTION #1

Pros: I can still put it in a ponytail.  I like the bold streak.  It's still a big cut, but leaves me some freedom.

Cons: I can still put it in a ponytail (and I will too often).  Not sure I want to do full bangs again.  Wonder about the color streak maintenance.

OPTION #2

Sunshine Sunday - travel, toes, trapezes....

As I mentioned, Mr. Roar and I have been at the Sandpiper Bay Club Med.  I thought I'd share the things I've been thankful for here this week.  I'll give you a full recap later on Saturday, though.

I absolutely love traveling.  I love going someplace I've never been.

It's been fun to feel the sand between our ugly toes :)

I am totally a sissy when it comes to heights.  Seriously.  But, I mustered the courage to try the trapeze.  Woo-hoo!  Yeah, that's really me in the picture.

Soapbox Saturday - the Bagster® bag

You all know we are big fans of our garbage man, as declared HERE.  Well, I wanted to tell you a little about a great option from Waste Management.  Often with a home improvement project, there's a lot of things to throw away.....dry wall, carpet, etc.  And often, you don't need a full dumpster, but there's no way what you have can fit into your garbage can even if you jumped on top of it a hundred times.

Meet  the Bagster® bag.

CLICK HERE to READ the REST of the POST

Mommy School in Action - part 3

Here are our top three activities we did this week for Mommy school.

1) I wanted to fit in a music day, so I got some music instruments out.  We talked about how the beat is a constant pulse.

 We played some fun songs and practiced finding the beat.  We noticed which songs had a faster beat and which ones had a slower beat.

DIY Fabric Floorcloth

Mr. Roar and I are heading to Club Med in Florida today.  (You can follow our trip there on Twitter or Facebook.)  Today while I'm gone we have an AWESOME guest post.  Jess and Monica from East Coast Creative offered to post here for the day.  I recently fell in love with their blog.  It is pack with gorgeous decor and great ideas.  They have a fantastic project to share with you today.  Welcome ladies!
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Hey there! It's Jess from the East Coast Creative, (formerly The Real Housewives of Bucks County). My best friend, Monica, and I specialize in DIY and design, but most of all, we try to keep it real about our successes and failures along the way. We consider ourselves super lucky to be able to blog together and would love it if you would on by for a visit!

 I'm super excited to share this project with you because it opens up a whole world of possibilities for us DIYers who would rather make something custom than buy it at the store. Did you know you can make a floor cloth (basically a floor mat) out of fabric? You totally can. Hallelujah! Plus, it's so ridiculously easy you'll want to make one for every room of your house! Let's get right down to business, shall we?

Wake Up Wednesday

It's that time of the week - Wake Up Wednesday.  It's time for Wake Up Wednesday.  For any of you who are new to this blog, Wake Up Wednesday is a challenge to think outside yourself - to wake up and realize what's going on around you.  It began as a personal challenge for me to reach out to others, but you're all invited to participate in the weekly challenges and share how it went the next week.

Last week's challenge was to smile and say hello to everyone you meet.  I can't say that I said hello to every single person I passed, but I did do better.  The thing is, I have to make a conscious effort because otherwise I end up in my own little world.  I'm still working on this one, but I think we're gaining ground :)

This week's challenge is very specific.  Let me give you a little background info first.  I met Jeannett from Life Rearranged while at the blogging conference, Snap.  She spoke about blogging for good and I loved it.  She invited me to write a post for her series on motherhood called, "What the Baby Books Don't Tell You."  You can read my post HERE.

As part of this series, Jeannett is raising money to create wells where children have no clean water.  It's an awesome cause.  Can you imagine not having clean water for your children?

Master Bedroom Plans and Chip It!

After finishing the entryway and office in our home, I decided I wanted to spend a little time on our master bedroom. †We have never painted the walls in there. †They are a melted vanilla ice cream color and the bedding is brown. †It feels a bit lifeless and I want to infuse some energy and color into the space. †

The room is big and I plan on reconfiguring it. †(I also need a solution for Mr. Roar's consistent clothing pile that sits on his side.)

It's all matchy-matchy right now and pretty drab.

For the Love - Auction 3

Today is our third "For the Love" auction.  (If you need a refresher, you can read the whole explanation HERE.)  In short, we're auctioning off a beautiful item each Monday of the summer from a talented blogger.  The proceeds will go to a great cause and you'll find some new blogs to follow along the way.

(You can read about our cause right HERE if you haven't seen the post yet.  I think you'll fall in love with Owen just like I did.)

Last week's auction was won by Jami!  You'll be hearing from me shortly, Jami.  Thanks!

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Today's auction item comes from Skyler at Awaiting Ada.

Skyler blogs about sewing, baking, crafting, and more.  Her sewing skills are excellent and she even has a giant list of things she's made with just a fat quarter HERE.  She loves Diet Coke, used to play in a ska band, and likes playing board games.  Skyler has generously donated this beautiful baby blanket......

Sunshine Sunday - the flu, friends,and fathers

This little guy had the flu this week.  It came out of nowhere.  In fact, we were driving to the store when it hit him.  He was a trooper though and he's all better.  Being sick or taking care of someone who is sick sure is a reminder to be grateful for your health.  

After we got home Rex surprised me a bit.  He walked Baden over to the couch and turned on a show for him.  Then he ran and got him a pitcher.  "If you have to throw up again Baden, you throw up into this," he said as he set Baden all up.  Watching my boys be friends and help one another is one of the greatest joys ever.

Soapbox Saturday - World Market

I recently declared my love of World Market to you and I'm back with a little more.  World Market has all their outdoor stuff out and it's pretty fun.  It makes me want to through a little par-tay, even though I'm not really the party-throwing type :)  Here are some of my favorites.

I love the coastal look of this white set and the pretty umbrella.

There's something fun about big printed beach towels.  They scream vacation, baby.

CLICK HERE to READ the rest of the POST

Voice Mail Vault

Rex has arrived at the age where he LOVES to talk on the phone.  He loves to call his daddy and ask him when he'll be home.  He likes to leave messages.  Well, if you can relate at all I have a new sponsor you might like.

Voice Mail Vault let's you record and store those sweet messages forever.  It's inexpensive and easy to use.  It also allows you to easily share those messages on twitter and Facebook.  In fact, if you head over to my Facebook page HERE, you can hear Rex's latest message.

If you ever feel technology-challenged, you don't have to be intimidated by this.  Voice Mail Vault has a couple of videos HERE to show you how to do it all.  I love video how-to's for stuff like this.

So, do you have a message that's so funny you want to share with the world or so cute you want to keep it forever?  Want to record and keep a Father's Day message?  Head on over to Voice Mail Vault and check it out.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Mommy School in Action - part 2

Thank you SO much for your kind feedback about sharing mommy school ideas.  I had no idea that so many of you liked these posts.  I think I'll share my favorite three ideas we've used during the week and post them on Fridays for the summer.  So, that being said, here are our three favorites from this week.

A few of you also asked me to mention the ages of my boys, so you could see which activities are good for which ages.  Rex is almost 5 now.  He'll go to kindergarten in the fall and Baden just turned 3.  He'll start preschool 2 days a week for just 2 hours in the fall.

1) Paintable Cardboard Dog Houses.  For our art day we dragged out two cardboard boxes.  I cut and taped them until they resembled a dog house.  Then I got out our washable paints and let the boys paint them.

They both designed a dog house for their stuffed animals.

 I was floored by how much they liked this activity.  Baden painted his three separate times during the day.  He just wanted to go out to the garage and paint some more.

Organization Station

I finally finished my organization station.  It had been on my list for a while.

This project was completely inspired by THIS organization board from Girl Loves Glam.  It was one of those projects that I thought was brilliant and I was dying to recreate it.  Isn't it clever?

So, I put my own twist on it and made my own.  You see, I am an organization nerd.  It makes me ridiculously happy to have lists and calendars and now I love having them all in one place.

Wake Up Wednesday

Last week's challenge was to do something that makes you uncomfortable.  I thought of a lot of things that would qualified for that one.  I hate driving.  I hate making phone calls.  Hmmm.....make a phone call while driving?  Just kidding.  I did decide, however, to call someone I had been meaning to call for a long time.  It's always hard for me to call someone I haven't talked to in a long time and for no apparent reason.  However, I did it and I'm really glad I did.  I really felt I should do it. 

[Source]

This week's challenge is...... 

Fabric Covered Books

I've noticed recently that a lot of the home decor stores use books to decorate.  They are stacked and sometimes tied with hemp.  They are placed on shelves or coffee tables.  Well I only own ugly books.  Well, most of them are ugly.  So today we're making books worthy of decorating a home.

I went through some of the books in our home.  This puppy was screaming for a makeover.

This project is a great way to use up scrap fabric. I got out a stack of books, my scrap fabric, and Aleene's Fabric Fusion.  This adhesive works really well with this project, as hot glue can't be spread thin.

For the Love - Auction 2

Yay!  Today is our second "For the Love" auction.  (If you need a refresher, you can read the whole explanation HERE.)  In short, we're auctioning off a beautiful item each Monday of the summer from a talented blogger.  The proceeds will go to a great cause and you'll find some new blogs to follow along the way.

(You can read about our cause right HERE if you haven't seen the post yet.  I think you'll fall in love with Owen just like I did.)

Last week's auction was won by BrendaLady!  Can you drop me an email, Brenda?  Thanks!

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Today's auction item comes from Jessica at Cox's Corner.

Here's Jessica and her family :)

Jessica is a creative mother of two.  She crochets, crafts, and blogs about her weight loss journey.  She is honest, genuine, and kind.  She has generously donated this adorable fourth of July outfit today.  It includes the tutu, a matching shirt (of your color choice)......

Sunshine Sunday - trophies and derbies

This first week of summer was a hit.  The boys and I had a lot of fun.  One day we were working in the garage when Rex found an old trophy of Mr. Roar's.  It was from his middle school days.  Rex thought it was the coolest thing ever.  He asked if he could go clean it up.  A few minutes later he returned and declared the trophy to be new.  He asked if I could take a picture of him with it.  It cracked me up.  I loved his pose, too.

(Sidenote: You know how sometimes your kids call things the wrong name, but it's too cute to correct them?  Rex calls trophies "loafy trophies" and it makes me giggle.  I can't correct him because I enjoy it too much.)

Maybe a star athlete one day?  (NOT if he gets my genes in that field.)

Yesterday we did something with the boys that I had a feeling they would love.  We took them to a demolition derby.  It was seriously fun and they really did love it.

Walking on Sunshine

Can I tell you something I'm totally excited about?  Mr. Roar and I are going to be sitting here in a couple of weeks.

Or maybe relaxing here.