Challenger Sports Soccer Camp

Last Winter I had a really fun opportunity presented to me for a soccer camp during the summertime. Summer is 7 and she loves soccer! I knew this would be perfect for her and I jumped at the chance to do this for her! She loves being active and being around other people and the hot weather. I knew everything about this experience would put her in her element!

Originally scheduled the June session, for 1 week and chose half days. I wasn't sure if a full day would be too long for my 7 year old and just decided to stick with a three-hour session. Obviously, this darn pandemic had different plans for all of us and I didn't know how this would impact soccer camp, but a short time later we got an update that the first session was cancelled and we got switched to the August session. Luckily that worked for us as far as our schedule, because our schedule was pretty empty, other than going to the lake!

Before our session, Challenger Sports sent Summer this super cool jersey and she was excited to wear it the first day of camp! She also got a t-shirt and a ball on the first day when she met her coaches, Callie and Elise.

Challenger Sports, the largest soccer camp company in North America is coming to a community near you and bringing over 30 years of coaching experience. Their international staff will work with your players to teach a fun, technical and tactical curriculum that's filled with training sessions from five of the world's leading soccer nations.

Challenger's International Soccer Camp offers instructional camp programs for all age and ability levels! The TinyTykes program, ages 2-5, provides fundamental soccer activities, games, and stories; designed to enhance technical skills along with physical and social development.

The Half-Day Camp, ages 5-16, is the most popular program and will provide 3 hours of skill development, games, challenges and competitions each day. The Full-Day Camp, ages 8-18, is a 6-hour program filled with developmental practices, games, competitions and challenges.

Register now for Challenger's International Soccer camp and get a free international soccer ball, t-shirt, poster, player evaluation and access to TopYa!'s Juggling Club sampler! Register 30 days before camp and qualify for a free International Game Jersey! https://www.challengersports.com/international_soccer/ #ChallengerSports #ChallengerSoccerCamps

They started the day by exercising, doing drills, games and had so much fun! It was a super hot week! They gave time for tons of water breaks to make sure the kids were well hydrated!

Because of the pandemic they had markers on the ground so the kids knew which area was theirs. That way they keep their distance from one another. They wore masks when they were in a closer range group. But mostly they were distanced and playing soccer and just having fun!

My girl loved her time with Challenger Internation soccer camp and will definitely do it again! She learned so much while having fun, which is the most important thing when you are 7!

And her coach, Elise, was awesome! She was so nice, knowledgable, and so easy for the kids to get along with! Summer just adored her! Elise had tons for drills and games for the kids to do to work on their soccer skills!

If you are in need of a soccer camp for your kiddos, check out Challenger International Soccer camps. I am so happy with how they managed everything and would definitely use them again!

Fall Leaves - 3rd Grade Art

I loved getting to do this Fall Leaves - 3rd Grade Art project with my son's class. And now that I already had two class projects under my belt I felt like this one would go pretty quick. So last week I packed up my materials, my Fall Leaves example (after finding it on Pinterest!) and headed to Tyler's class to teach the kids what we were making.

Like the previous months, Witches Feet, I took my completed painting, a paper with just the lines drawn out and a blank paper to draw it step by step with the kids. This really seems to be what works for us!

Thanks to DecoArt for supplying this paint at the beginning of the school year so I had everything I needed for them to make this fun picture. We used a white sheet of art paper and the paint from the picture below. I used a couple of different browns since no tree is just one color. I love the dimension it can give.

For the leaves, we used toilet paper rolls that I cut into threes. Each kid had two pieces, one for yellow and one for orange.

We started with drawing the tree with a pencil. After they were done drawing they used paint brushes to fill in the tree trunk and branches. And once they were done with the brown we used the toilet paper rolls to "stamp" on the leaves. Some of the kids loved that if they did it just right their toilet paper roll bubbled and filled in the leaves with paint.

I love that every one of these paintings are different, because no two trees, or people are exactly the same. It is easy for some of them to do their own work but sometimes kids want to make it look exactly like mine.  I try to remind them it is okay for theirs to be different. Last, we used our paintbrushes to just add a few small green leaves onto the tree.

Where we live, right now trees are at all stages. Some still have lots of leaves, some have none. And you'll see all sorts of colors on the tree or the ground below.

I am super proud of the kids and I think they did a great job!

In December we have a short month due to Christmas!  I am still helping and looking forward to a fun themed project coming up soon!

3rd Grade Art Projects

At the beginning of the school year, Tyler's teacher asked parents during open house if anyone wanted to help him with doing 3rd-grade art projects for the class.  I asked Tyler what he thought of me being in his class even more often and he just shrugged. I took that as if he were okay with it since he didn't say no. And for a split second, I thought about if I really needed to take on another project but I always love getting to be in the kid's classrooms. After all, that is one of the reasons I have continued to not work, so I can help in their classes as often as the teachers would let me.

I decided to mention to the teacher that I'd be interested, asking what all was involved. He explained what he was looking for and to let me know. So the next day I decided to take it on. Pinterest makes kids art projects pretty easy to break down and teach, thankfully! And a huge Thanks to DecoArt for providing all the paint I am using for the projects throughout this school year.

For our first project, I wanted to do something without paint. Mainly to get a feel as to how the kids work, how fast they work, etc. Obviously, I know how my own son works, but since each kiddo is different I didn't want to assume anything. I chose "name art".

I made mine ahead of time so the kids had an example. One thing I didn't consider was that I have a short name and some of these kids don't! Also, I have easy letters to "block" and easily touch the edges, where some letters aren't as easy! And one thing I wish I had done differently is to have a couple of examples at different stages so they could see it a little more "step-by-step". Kids at this age love to bubble letter everything and that made things tricky too. Even though I said a couple of times that we don't want to do bubble letters, some just gravitate to that because it's what seemed to work for them.

So going into a Halloween projects I made sure to break it down a bit more. I took a completed project, a penciled in version with me. Then used a blank sheet to draw it out, having them repeat me line for line until completed.

Breaking it down definitely helped the kids and they did a great job!

3rd graders are pretty great artists! This project seemed to fun for the kids and I felt like it went smooth!

I have many more fun projects lined up to share this year. Do you have any fun suggestions for me or others ideas that would be good for 3rd grade art projects?

Don't forget to check out my Pinterest boards for some more of the ideas I've found! Or HERE for other DecoArt projects!

Ranch Chicken Sandwich

This post is sponsored by Hidden Valley Ranch, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Happy Day, Friends!

I am so excited to share a super fast and delicious Ranch Chicken Sandwich recipe with you today!

Ever since Christmas when I got my instant pot I have been trying so many different recipes and anytime I can make a favorite a bit faster is a total win in my book.

How many times do you get to 4 pm and realize you have no clue what you are going to make for dinner? I will admit that it happens to me more often than it should! So I want to share this super delicious recipe that you can make from start to finish in 15 minutes!



One of my favorite parts about this is that there is minimal prep work, minimal ingredients and minimal cook time! And there isn’t much clean up because you’ve only used one pot.



We buy a lot of chicken in bulk when it goes on sale and we typically cut it into thinner strips or into fillets because they are the perfect sizes for our family and the typical recipes that we cook. After we cut them to our desired size we freeze them and it just makes it easier when it comes to cooking time. It saves prep time because they are already in smaller pieces and I can grab a bag or two out of the freezer and they thaw quickly as well.

I grabbed out some thawed chicken strips that I had in the fridge, just because they cook quicker and place them into the pot, adding in the chicken broth.



I know for some people the pressure cooker is a bit intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be! Just set on high for 10 minutes! Yes, 10 minutes is all! And make sure the vent is set to sealing.



While the chicken is cooking I cooked up some bacon. Of course, the bacon isn’t necessary, but bacon makes everything better according to my family!

Once the timer goes off, do the quick release of pressure. Move the chicken to a plate and shred it.



Drain most of the chicken broth, keeping around ¼ cup in the pot. Then add the chicken back into the broth.

Next, add in the cream cheese, shredded cheese (I used pepper jack this time, just for a little heat!) and the ranch seasoning from the Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Shaker.



Have you tried this Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Shaker yet? I love it because it is perfect for adding flavor to so many meals and snacks!  Mixing it into this chicken mixture gives it the perfect amount of flavor and is a great way to spice up any meal! I also love to add it to popcorn!



Ingredients for a Ranch Chicken Sandwich:

• chicken breasts boneless skinless


• 8 oz cream cheese


• 2 tsp Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Shaker


• 1/2 cup pepper jack shredded cheese (any flavor cheese would really work!)


• Chicken broth (just enough to cover the chicken, or you could use water as well)


• hoagie rolls


• Bacon, optional topping

1. Cook Chicken in Instant Pot covered with chicken broth on high pressure (valve turned to sealing) and the timer set to 10 minutes.


2. Cook bacon to your liking


3. When chicken is done, do a quick release and remove chicken from pot and shred.


4. Discard all but 1/4 c. the chicken broth then add the chicken back to the instant pot


5. Add the cream cheese, ranch, shredded cheese, to the pot with the chicken and stir.


6. Let stand for a few minutes


7. Add mixture to a hoagie, topped with crumbled bacon

Enjoy!



What would you add the Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Shaker to?  I’m thinking I need to try it on french fries next!

2019 Goals

With the new year brings lots of new changes. People are making resolutions left and right. But for me, I really like to create goals.



Have you ever looked up the definition of Resolution? It means a firm decision to do or not to do something.

But sometimes I like to change my mind. Sometimes I like to change the direction I am going. Then what? I'm breaking my resolution. I feel like I can't alter a resolution. May seem silly to some, but it is just how I view it.

So here are my 2019 GOALS:



Obviously, my health and fitness is a big priority to me this year. In 2018 I was at my highest weight and I decided to join Weight Watchers. It was the best decision for me. I lost 38.8 pounds in 2018 and I'd like to do about the same in 2019.  (Read about when I started HERE and 7 months in HERE. ) It will be a big goal, but with exercise and making good food choices I know I will be able to rock it!

Most of my life I've had a weight goal of about 145. And when I joined WW I had to pick a goal weight, so that is what I've gone with. But honestly, that could very well change. It'll really depend on how I feel. I am going to completely trust my body as I continue to lose and stop when I feel good about where I am. In the past, I have let a number define me, but I am just not there mentally, any longer. I'm ready to feel healthy, whether that means I lose more than that goal or less than that goal, I am going to be okay with it. And so far I feel pretty great at 39 pounds down!

Besides actual weight loss, I really just want to be more active. Work out more, play with the kids more. Maybe even get a bike? I've been eyeing the banana yellow cruiser at Walmart for a couple of years. Maybe this is the year I'll finally get it?

I have a big list of books to read- I shared them earlier this week and if you missed it you can find that post HERE. So I will be doing a lot of that.

I also want to blog more. I used to blog a couple of times a week back when I was newer. But over the years it's gotten less and less and I just need to make time. Because I really do love to write and share the projects I am working on. Which leads me to my next thing.

Last September we bought a lake house. It was/is a total dive and we didn't get to work on it a lot before the weather got colder. We (and by we I mean my husband, father in law and my dad) gutted the bathroom, did a lot of plumbing work and we did some basic cleaning, but it still needs so much more. I will have so many projects to share. I have taken a ton of before pictures and hopefully soon I can get them on here to share with you all.

But here is a little sneak peek of when I was washing walls. The left side is the unwashed and the right side is washed. And you can only imagine the smell it holds.... Again. lots of work in our future!



Last, but certainly not least, I just want to be more present for my kids. Live less through the camera lens. More of just enjoying every minute I have with them and my husband.

What kinds of goals are you setting for yourself in 2019? I would love to hear!  

One Little Word.

Happy New Year, friends. I hope that everyone had a great holiday! One of my "goals" for the year is to blog more. I am really hoping this is the year that I make that goal happen. So I wanted to jump right in and talk about another goal for the year, which is One Little Word.

Who else chooses One Little Word to focus on for the year?

This is the first year I am actively participating in One Little Word. I have picked words in the past and then didn't go any further than that. So for this year, I thought long and hard about my word and what I wanted it to mean for me. And what I wanted to get out of it.

I chose to go with Dedication.



Dedication to myself.
Dedication to my marriage.
Dedication to my family.
Dedication to my home.
Dedication to our projects.
Dedication to my friendships.

This was such a good word for me because it is going to be a busy year and I know it will take a lot of dedication to accomplish all the things we are looking at doing in the next year.

If you pick one little word, what is your choice for 2019? 

Summer Fun

We just finished up school this week and while we love lots of lounge days I also want to keep my kiddos moving and having a fun Summer break!  I wanted to start it off with a loose plan, of sorts. I used to make a Summer bucket list every year, and the past couple of years I haven't.

Feel free to check out some of our past bucket lists!

Mommy's Summer Bucket List, 2012 Bucket List, 2013 list, 2014 Bucket List,

So this year instead of making a specific bucket list I made this Summer Fun list:



Let me know what some of your summer plans are!

Blogger's Nightmare

Hi there. It's me, Kate.

I know, I know I haven't been around for a while. Why you ask? Well, It was a total blogger's nightmare!



Each year I pay fees associated with keeping my blog running. It was closing in on time to renew everything and I decided to shop around to see if I could get a better price. I wasn't dissatisfied with my current service but I figured why not shop around.

After asking some blog friends I checked out a company that would save me about $15 per year. I know, it's not much, but it all adds up right? And the transition seemed easy enough so why not?

I paid the new fees, provided the company with user names and passwords so they could do the transfer and I was set. And after about a week and a half everything was still good. Service was cancelled with the original company and all was good. But then it was time to get working on my next blog post, which happened to be a sponsored post. I went to log into my blog and it wasn't there. 

I'm sure you can imagine my panic. Or maybe you can't. I mean, after all, it was 7 years of blogging about my life that was no where to be found.

I contacted the new company who told me I missed something, I checked, I hadn't missed anything, one thing after another of being told the issue was on my end, I had to upload files, didn't upload them correctly, etc, it was a TOTAL joke! I was getting no where. They would say, "All you have to do is 'such and such' and it'll take 24-48 hours to update then your site will work." So I would, and it wouldn't.... I would go back and they'd say, "oh because you are still missing 'such and such'. Do that and it'll update within 24 hours and then will work." But then it wouldn't.... You see a pattern happening here?

I contacted the original company to see if they could help and they walked me through everything they could. But unfortunately at this point my "files" aka my entire 7 years worth of blogging had been archived and to get it transferred I had to pay a fee to restore it. I had a big decision to make. Pay the $150 restoration fee or bag my blog. I thought hard about it and decided I just couldn't drop the past sever years of blogging and I paid for it.



After a few more days I decided that this was too insane to deal with any more. I contacted the original company, spent the money and switched back to them. Insane, right? But I knew that things were not going to get resolved any other way. So after making the switch back, my little piece of the internet was back up and running within just a few days. And working correctly.



So the moral of this story? Really check into things before you switch. I wanted to switch to save $15 per year but after all was said and done I have put over $400 into switching companies and switching back to right where I began. Yeah, I am over here sobbing in my pillow....

JORD Wood Watches

Recently I was approached about doing a review for JORD Wood Watches. I didn't immediately say yes because I don't typically wear a watch, but after looking at their website and all the watches, I realized that I needed one of these beauties in my life.

But believe me, I was so excited to get the cool watch I chose in the mail.



I received a women's watch from the Cora Series and got the Zebrawood and turquoise wooden watch.

When it first came the box was so light that I was wondering if there was actually anything in it. Because these unique watches are so light weight it really did feel like I was holding an empty box, but when I opened it I found this amazing watch.





It might seem silly, but I love the way the watch opens and closes. There is a spot on each side that you press and it opens right up.



I really wasn't sure how I would feel once I actually had the watch on, because like I said earlier, I don't typically wear a watch. I haven't worn one in years- But I love it. Because it is so light weight I don't realize it is there most of the time. (No pun intended)





Luxury Wood Watch



Want your very own JORD Wood Watch? Check out this contest where you can get a $75 e-voucher to shop!! All other entrants will get a $20 e-voucher just for entering! So whether you are looking for a men's watch or a women's watch, you can get the one that is perfect for you!

Click here to enter!!!

I was provided with a JORD Wood Watch for free to review, however, all opinions expressed are that of TheColbertClan alone. And a HUGE Thank You to JORD for letting me share this unique watch.

Give Extra, Get Extra

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #GIVEEXTRAGETEXTRA #Walgreens #CollectiveBias

Who likes to get things? I do! I love when a friend sees something that reminds them of me, or something we've done and grabs it for me. But you know what I love even more than that? Giving!

I love finding little things that remind me of a friend of family member and grabbing it for them. Maybe it is something simple like a Daryl Dixon t-shirt for my sister, or making coffee mugs for my friends, I am always on the lookout for something fun to give.

So I decided that I wanted to Give Extra, Get Extra!



I ran down to Walgreens and got some gum for me and one to giveaway. I grabbed two kinds:

• Extra® Gum Spearmint


• Extra® Gum Polar Ice®

Both are kinds I already love and are classics, so I know my giveaway winner will feel the same! And I grabbed Extra because of the new Extra® 35-Stick pack. Who doesn't love a bigger pack of gum? Another thing is that it now comes in a super durable recycled package which makes it easier to carry and share with a friend, keep in the car, or in your desk at work.

I also wanted to make something that my winner will love too!



So I ran to the fabric store and grabbed a couple of fat quarters. I felt like I had this genius idea to make a carrying case for my gum.



I started out grabbing some lining and cutting my fabric to fit the lining.



And make sure the "good sides" of your fabric are facing each other. So you are looking at both of the "outsides" of the material.



Then I pinned some ribbon on the inside that will make a handle on the outside. Does that even make sense?



Then I sewed a line all the way around the edge of my material/liner.



Make sure you leave a small space to push the material through so it is right facing.



Then I folded up the bottom to make a pocket. I pinned it and then again sewed all the way around the edge to hold it together.



Now it is all together!



Give it a nice little iron to straighten it all out. I also used a piece of iron on Velcro to give it a way to latch together.



And Voila! You have yourself a fun little gum holder that can slide right on to the strap of your purse, or your gym bag, or your summer tote!

The possibilities are endless what you can do with your Extra® Gum Spearmint! So who are you going to share yours with?