smile fearlessly + a giveaway

For years and years my dentist has been encouraging me to get myself an electric toothbrush. She said it would help my gums (among many other things but that was her particular reason for suggesting it to me, personally)... as some of us (ahem, me) tend to do we nod our heads and then go  home and go on living our lives... just to repeat the entire scenario in six months. Well a few years ago I decided I would finally pick one up at Target... the cheapest one I could find because apparently the health of my gums is at the bottom of my budget priority list. And it's been working... Nothing special about it. Vanilla, if you will.

When Smile Brilliant (do you remember them? They got my teeth all pearly white?) contacted me asking if I would be interested in checking out their cariPRO Ultrasonic electric toothbrush I was super excited! Not just your run-of-the-mill toothbrush here, no! And it even matches my bathroom color scheme so so well!

What else do I love about it? It has five different brush modes, my favorite are the massage and the sensitive settings, because my teeth are as neurotic as the mouth that wears them. It has a thirty day battery life which means I can take it with me on vacation unlike my old brush. It's way cuter and sleeker and easier to clean. I won't even show you my "before" toothbrush - it wasn't pretty. And what else!? A timer to let you know when you've done enough brushing! This is genius! And I say "timer" loosely... the toothbrush simple pauses for a second so you know it's time to move on to another quadrant of the mouth. 

Need to know more? Check out their FAQ page here.

the drive-in!

There is just something that screams summer about the drive-in right? There is to me anyways. We did this two summers ago and it was on my list for last summer too but we just never got around to it. It's sort of a big undertaking, driving about 45 minutes each way and then you have to be there super early to get that prime spot so basically it's like six hour time investment. So it was the last day of school and a gorgeous  night, not too hot and we thought okay, this is it! We do this right this very day or we just know we won't make it any other time.

We packed snacks. Oh the snacks. Bags and bags of snacks. Even a cooler this time! Because: provisions. The Secret Life of Pets 2 was playing first... of course we all knew we wouldn't make it to the second movie. We set up our little shop in our van complete with private potty station and the kids played with their iPads and read library books and of course: snacked. The movie started right at nine after the prettiest of sunsets and the kids were asleep by the time we hit the highway...

last day of first and second grade

The older they get the faster it goes by am I right? And then I went and put them in the same clothes from their first day to do like a side-by-side comparison and they just look the same and yet so different and the feelings that time passing brings! I officially (as of last Friday) have a second grade son and a third grade daughter!! How that is even a thing is beyond me. No thank you. But also thank you!! Healthy kids growing on up and being their happy but somewhat crazy selves? How lucky are we!?

end of year things...

June, and May to be in fact, are just this sprint to the finish line. Get all the things done in the shortest amount of time all while somehow feeding and bathing your kids and not forgetting their special snack or their lunch. Or their shoes. 

my beachy favs as of late, with formulate!

Oh it is beach season baby! We have ourselves a few beach weekends coming up this summer and we must be prepared for this! I got myself some new suits, including this black number that is an adventure in tan lines.... a new fun tassel cover up.... and new beach bag (because as a family of five one is never enough, never, never!!!) that just makes me feel like I am on a boat in Nantucket or some such thing. Just throw in a book and maybe some sunscreen for Letty and I am set! 

But let us not forget the beach hair. Beach hair is just like, the best hair. The salt water does something wonderful does it not? But as I am a charter member of The Dirty Hair Club, I do not get my hair wet at the beach. Or the pool. I create my own beach hair. Last September I shared with you all my new found love of Formulate. A company that makes good for you shampoo and conditioner, tailor made to fit you and your special hair needs.

So here I am, nine months in, and I'm still using the same bottles. I probably have only one more wash left before I run out so I was super happy to get replacements!