Residence Inn Was a Home Away from Home!

19 Jan By Trisha 6 Comments

This past week we went to the Justin Bieber concert for Charlotte’s birthday (See us surprising her here) and needed a place to stay. As a Resident Mom Club member we took this opportunity to spend some time getting to know the Residence Inn. To be honest I had never stayed at one before and while I am an avid Marriott visitor, this was my first time checking out what made the Residence Inn so different from other places you can stay.

Residence Inn: Our Experience

From the moment we arrived we were treated with so much respect. Keep in mind that the hotel has no idea who I am or if I have stayed there before. They just knew I was a guest and they treated me as such. After a less than 5 minute check in process, we were chatting about being in town for the concert and the hotel recommended we take a taxi instead of drive due to traffic and parking at night. I decided to take them up on their expertise and they had Charlotte and I a taxi waiting at 6pm like requested!

When we first walked in we were supervised to see a kitchen…that had a STOVE!

Officially this is the first hotel I have stayed in that had a stove top in it and a fully stocked kitchen!

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Charlotte was enamored with the big bed and the TV that swiveled around. Honestly the entire room was decorated so beautifully. And check it out..you can have someone do the shopping for you! Perfect for a city where you don’t know where everything is at. Had I stayed there longer, I would have taken advantage of this service.

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Of course it didn’t take Charlotte and I long to make ourselves feel at home….

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Don’t worry…we cleaned it up before we left. Even though Charlotte wanted to stay FOREVER.

The funniest part of the trip was that she kept telling me I had to go touch the toilet paper. That it was, and I quote, “like a little fuzzy kitten.”

I started to wonder if we have like 1 ply in our house.

This girl loves to travel.

She also kept telling me she was hoping we would get snowed in and we would have to stay another day.

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Btw, breakfast was perfect after our long night. We had cereal, eggs, sausage and biscuits, OJ, and Oatmeal. I had a HUGE cup of coffee after being up all night with her practically laying on top of me.

It always shocks me how a child can take a King bed and make it feel like a twin.

This hotel was at the top of my list for future travel bookings and I look forward to checking out more Residence Inns.

Have you ever stayed? Do you have a hotel you like the most?

~trisha

*As a proud member of the Resident Moms Club, I have been provided a gift card to enjoy a stay at any Residence Inn I like. Experiences and pictures are my own.

Filed Under: Family Travel Tagged With: charlotte, Moms Club, Residence Inn, Residence Inns, Suites Hotel

Give a girl a flower…

8 Aug By Trisha 8 Comments

Give a girl a flower….

Meanwhile….5 minutes later…..

Just give her chocolates instead.

~Trisha

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: charlotte, flowers

Make Something Astrobright: How to make a paper flower

1 Aug By Trisha 17 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Around here, we are pretty crafty. Like super crafty. We make tutus…..

and tutu hair bow holders..

and fairy wands…

You get the point.

So when we received this very colorful pack of AstroBrights papers the other day, I challenged my daughter Charlotte to make something “back to school”.

Here are the results: You may ask what a flowers has to do with “back to school” and she said it was a back to school present for the teacher!

What a sweet girl she is!

To make the flower like she did (or a whole bouquet with the 23 colors that come in the AstroBrights paper pack), just fold your paper like a fan, stack on each other, secure with a twist tie or pipe cleaner, and then crinkle out.

I asked her where she learned how to make such a beautiful flower and she said HER TEACHER!

A very easy and safe project indeed!

About AstroBrights Paper

AstroBrights Papers come in 23 bright colors, so your bright ideas always get attention. And they’re perfect for projects at home, school or the office. Stand out from the crowd — choose a lively AstroBrights Papers for your next brochure, invitation, flyer, announcement or craft project. AstroBrights Paper is about creativity and getting noticed. We provide a bold color canvas because we believe ideas are important, thoughts aren’t shy and we are not afraid to stand out from the crowd.

Give a Brighter Year

You can also help give your local school a great start by entering the “Give a Brighter Year” sweepstakes that would give $30,000 in cash and supplies to your school!!! Can you imagine? Just head over to facebook and enter! The sweepstakes ends on September 10th and I made sure I entered Charlotte’s school. With funding so low in the education system, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to perhaps be a winner for her and her teachers.

How you can participate!

Make Something Astrobright

Now its your turn to make something Astrobright! Get together your scissors, tape, astrobright paper and head over to their facebook page to check out how your imagination can meet winning! Right now there is a contest to show them your paper flowers (surely you can come up with something as cute as my 7 year old did, right?) and win $200! WOOT WOOT!

Now I think Charlotte did a fantastic job with my challenge…do you craft with your kids?

What kinds of projects to you do with paper?

~Trisha

Filed Under: All About Trisha Tagged With: charlotte, crafting, DIY, review, social spark

Charlottes BRAVE adventure

25 Jun By Trisha 18 Comments

Last week Charlotte was in VBS and they took the kids to see BRAVE on Friday. It may have been the first Disney movie in her entire life I didn’t get to take her too first. Now I am sitting here pondering whether or not my husband and I should make ti a date night movie, because I want to see it while its in the theater myself!

I asked Charlotte if I would like the movie and she said “Oh, YES! You will love it!”

To celebrate the new movie Brave, Mattel is bringing to life Merida, a Scottish royal whose family has a mysterious curse that she must save them from.

From Fandango:

An impetuous princess discovers that her reckless choice has put both her family and her father’s kingdom in peril in this animated adventure from Pixar films. As a toddler, Merida (voice of Kelly MacDonald) saw her father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), do battle with one of the fiercest animals in the kingdom — a horribly scarred hulk of a bear named Mordu. Though Fergus lost his leg defending his family, Merida and her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), managed to escape the beast before it vanished back into the forest. Years later, Merida has grown up to become not just a skilled archer, but also a beautiful princess who inspires a competition among the eligible bachelors in the land. But Merida has little interest in getting married, and the harder her mother pushes the issue, the more fiercely she resists it. When the tournament for her hand gets under way and a deep divide opens between mother and daughter, Merida makes a wish that threatens the future of both her family and the entire kingdom. Now, with only a brief window of time to set things right, Merida must summon the courage to atone for her mistake and prevent a past tragedy from destroying any hope for a peaceful future.

Charlotte playing BRAVE:

I asked Charlotte to tell me a story about Merida…

Charlotte’s Adventure:

One day Merida went on a journey and found blue people.. They lead her to a place that shows her how to get back home. She rides her horse on adventures. She discovers a new world. She goes into a forest. She finds new animals and things. She discovers a new world beside her. In the forest she brings her weapons just in case there is any animals that can hurt her.

She is not allowed to put her weapons on the table in the castle. She has to get up early in the morning because her mom tells her. She has to listen to her mom.”

(I like where this is headed..lol)

Toys Shown:

Brave Gem Styling Merida doll gives girls the chance to decorate Merida’s signature blue gown or red hair with “gems.” They can even flip her reversible cape to reveal a beautiful sparkly print. $20.99, Age: 3+

Brave Castle & Forest Playset brings Merida’s magical world comes to life. When closed the play set is outdoor “forest” where Merida can venture with Angus. Open the play set to play out Merida’s life within the kingdom. $26.99, Age: 3+

Thoughts: The toys are cute, clearly great items for kids to continue the adventure at home. My only issue, and this happens with a ton of toys of this type of caliber, is that when you snap in pieces (like the bed posts, castle steps, etc) they tend to unsnap constantly. That being said, its only $26.99 and has a lot of fun involved for the imaginative child. It just personally drive me nuts to keep having to resnap these items over and over again.

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Did you or your kids see BRAVE?

Did they like it?
~Trisha

*toys provided by Mattel

Wanna Learn more about Brave? Check out my Brave Disney Movie Review here and other Kid Movie Recommendations !

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: brave, charlotte, movie, review

Kids and Swimwear..finding fashion and modesty in one

21 Jun By Trisha 15 Comments

It’s that time of the year again.

SUMMER

And if I am not mistaken, today (as of writing this post) is the first official day of summer. I seriously thought winter would never end. Regardless of how mild it may be over the colder months, I always miss the kiss of the sun and how it warms you when you step outside. Now one of the things I love most about summer, and about living on the Gulf, is the never ending supply of water and water events to attend.

Swimsuits

Now Charlotte is a fashion diva. If it were up to her, she would own 14 swimsuits and she would find an excuse to wear at least 2 a day for the rest of the summer. This year though, I get to dress two little babes, and we can’t leave Mr. Little P out of the equation. For her, I need a swimsuit that covers her appropriately for her age, allows her to be who she is and not think about it coming off or sagging in odd places, and is also cute. For Phoenyx, I need one that can get over the big swim diaper and feel comfortable around his little baby rolls. I am so happy that I found a brand that can supply all those things and more…but do not take my word for it, let the pictures speak for themselves!

Little P is wearing the Lands End Summer Floral Zip pocket Board Shorts in size 2T

($24.99)

The shorts have an inside draw string that makes for an easy adjustment and a liner.

Charlotte is wearing the Girls Ruffle Front Adjustable Tankini ($14.99) and bottom ($9.99) in Light Turquoise Stripe in size 7.

Also comes in 1 piece version here Girls Ruffle Front Adjustable Swimsuit

Charlotte is a size 7 and it is exactly a size 7. Fits her fantastic with nearly full coverage. If she puts her hands over her head, the tank comes up slightly over her belly.

And yes…she has a blue Gatorade mustache.

What I love the most about Charlottes swimsuit is she doesn’t sacrifice modesty for fashion. I want nothing more than for her to be a little lady but still feel up to date. I am very strict about bikinis at her age, but loved how this tankini was adjustable and nearly the same coverage as a one piece, without the hassle of a one piece.

I think this is Charlotte’s 3rd suit this summer and I can tell her favorite so far.

How many suits do your kids own?

~trisha

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*swimwear provided by Lands End to facilitate this article

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: charlotte, Land's End, review, swimsuit

What did you do this weekend?

1 Apr By Trisha 12 Comments

I spent the weekend doing a some much needed shopping.

I tell ya, I went out with the entire intention on getting some new clothing for myself and found ONE shirt I liked.

One.

That is just sad right there.

For some reason clothing styles are currently tossed between being too short, too see through, or too 80′s. I settled for a black tank top just so I didn’t go home completely empty handed. If this is going to be fashions I am stuck with all season, it’s gonna be a hella long summer.

Then I stopped into Ulta, which pretty much is like Sephora on crack, and spent a good hour wandering around, testing out products, and doing a walk in for the 2 for $20 on facial treatments.

Best. Saturday. Ever!

Today I went out and took some pictures of my cousin at the beautiful Bellingrath Gardens.

(…isn’t she so pretty!)

After I got home, just pretty much a lazy day, hung out with P while Chris and Charlotte went shoe shopping

cooked dinner (pecan encrusted chicken with a side of Dijon green beans, if you are wondering) and watched Charlotte and Chris do some glow in the dark sand.

This stuff is pretty rad.

So….that’s it.

What did y’all do this weekend?

~Trisha

Filed Under: All About Trisha Tagged With: charlotte, phoenyx, weekend

Beach Days!

28 Mar By Trisha 16 Comments

Over the weekend we saddled up the car (at nearly $4 a gallon) and drove over to Pensacola Beach. Of course before you go, you have to pack the car. Going to the beach with a baby is not easy, let me tell you that!

When you just have older kids, you are packing stuff like sun screen, sand castle toys, drinks, and towels. However when you are hauling a baby to the beach, you are packing all of that PLUS diapers, change of clothes x2, swim diapers, bottles, bottles in a cooler to stay cold, jar food, spoons, baby wipes, and blah freaking blah, the list goes on and on.

I was telling my spouse it looked like we were going on vacation for 5 days instead of just going to the beach for 5 hours.

True to our family form, we forgot a blanket to sit on….so once we got to the beach, I had to go spend $12 to buy two more beach towesl to spread out and do my best to keep Phoenyxs body parts out of the sand.