Before:

Let me start off by saying my 7-year-old Annabelle is anything but typical. She hates princesses. Unicorns don’t do much for her. She’s all about Pokémon, Minecraft, and learning about animals. For the most part, she has done well handling the pandemic. She is an introvert, despite the fact that she is very 免费60分钟上大床 at school and karate. (She’s just like me- I’m fun and I love my friends, but I also love staying 免费60分钟上大床 and away from crowds- so there are a lot of aspects of quarantine life that work well for us.)

This school year, however, would prove to be an even bigger change. Not only would she be going back to school in a pandemic and expected to wear a mask all day, she would also be attending a brand new school with new kids. That’s why I wanted to do something special to make this year exciting!

The Process of going Pink!

If we were going to do this right, I knew I needed to see my girls at Lark Salon. They make you feel like family, so where else would I go to pamper my baby girl?

Meagan at Lark (美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费: @MeaganatLark) is the color queen! So I tossed the idea out to her and the salon owner, Sara. They had a field day with it and even better, made Annabelle feel like a million bucks being in the fancy salon. First Meagan highlighted her hair using several foils underneath her top layer for a peekaboo effect.

Her color lifted to blonde so well! She looked like an adult almost immediately! I nearly stopped at the blonde because I thought it was so beautiful! That’s when it really set in for Annabelle. We had tried doing streaks at 免费60分钟上大床 when she was younger and it never took. So to see such a big difference was thrilling!

After cutting her hair, Meagan added the pink dye and let that set for another 45 minutes.

Reveal:

Look at those smiling eyes underneath that mask! I am amazed by all the different ways we can now style her hair to show a lot or just a little pink.

It took somewhere between 2.5 to 3 hours, but it was worth it. We were all obsessed with how it turned out. It was way better than anything I had seen or even asked for! As we left, Annabelle told me she was “going to rule 美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费 with this hair!”

It definitely gave her the confidence and excitement like I had hoped. She was so ready to go to school and thought the new kids would think she was a rock star. In my mind, she is!

She got 免费60分钟上大床 from school that day and had already made a few friends (mostly boys). “The boys just surround me.” They had already created a Minecraft club at recess. I think she’s gonna fit in just fine at this new school!

I hope your kids have a good school year, no matter if they’re in class, learning remotely, or 免费60分钟上大床 schooled. Find ways to celebrate the milestones, no matter what life is trying to throw your way! Let me know what you’re doing to make this year special for your kids. Drop a comment below or follow me on 美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费: @the.美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费.美性中文娱乐.mom

Once we got the kids to sleep, we snuck out to the garage and grabbed a few Christmas decorations and a small tree!

In the morning, my husband and I got into our Christmas onesies, and brought pajamas up to the kids. They thought *that* was going to be the fun part… then they came downstairs!

You can see we only gave them a couple presents each and I gave them both advent calendars that had 12 small prizes in them that I bought after last Christmas at Michael’s. It was just enough to bring a smile to their faces without being overwhelmed.

Matching Christmas jammies made it feel real! Side note: It hit 100 degrees outside this day… but the a/c kept it nice and cool inside!

We watched “The Grinch”, 免费60分钟上大床 Alone, and Elf over the weekend. Perfect for snuggling! In hindsight, I wish I would’ve made hot chocolate!

Josh made a Christmas ham and threw a summery spin on dinner by roasting corn on the cob on the Blackstone grill.

Then we got messy and made Christmas cookies. Full disclosure, I bought the cube kind of pre-made dough, rolled it in some flour and we used cookie cutters.

They were crazy, but they had a good time. A memory we won’t soon forget from this crazy period in all our lives.

Have you done Christmas in July before? I’d love to see pics or hear your ideas! Comment below or find me on 美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费: @the.美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费.美性中文娱乐.mom

美性中文娱乐 in news during a pandemic has been a rollercoaster ride- from the adrenaline highs of constantly breaking news to the lows of 美性中文娱乐 from 免费60分钟上大床 while trying to 免费60分钟上大床 school the kids.

It actually led us to break our apartment lease early and buy a house! [That’s for a different blog post!] Instead, I want to refocus on finding ways to have fun again with my family while being still being safe.

Have a Theme Day/Weekend

We celebrated Christmas in July and it was a big hit! We surprised the kids by putting out a few decorations, wrapping a few small gifts, watching Christmas movies, and baking cookies. It was a wonderful weekend! I’m thinking of doing a Halloween day soon!

Outdoor Backyard Movie

I bought a projector off Amazon for about $100 and a FireStick. Boom! Instant “Drive In Theater” will an unlimited selection. You can be as fancy or as budget-friendly as you want, and the kids are bound to find it magical! You can use a white sheet, the side of your house, or invest in a projector screen.

Stroll a Lavender Farm

Okay, maybe you don’t have a lavender farm near you, but I found out we do, and I have every intention of visiting it this summer. Lavender is not only beautiful, it’s proven to have calming effects when breathed in, consumed, or absorbed through the skin. How perfect is that for all the stress and anxiety you’ve likely experienced during quarantine?! If you aren’t near a farm, get some lavender tea or diffuse some lavender essential oil! Or find a coffee shop that serves up lavender lattes- like Dripped + Draped in Omaha’s Benson neighborhood!

Family Pool Day

Thanks to a generous and anonymous donor, Omaha will open multiple pools this summer. And when it comes to COVID, visiting a pool is actually one of the safer public events to partake in because there’s a low risk of spread. If you’re still concerned, a kiddie pool or a sprinkler will still do the trick.

Find Your Beach

Maybe it’s the ocean, a lake, or maybe you need to fake it with some sand, an umbrella, and a kiddie pool.

Have Fun with Food

With all the meals you’re likely having at 免费60分钟上大床, consider creating a taco bar or a sundae bar. Do a “baking show” with the kids. Try a fancy Pinterest recipe and see if you nail it or fail it!

Visit the Farmers Market

Fresh air, fresh fruits and veggies, what more could you ask for? Visiting a Farmers Market is a great way to support local, avoid the busy grocery store, and shop outdoors while maintaining 免费60分钟上大床 distancing.

Explore a New Park or Trail

Most of us have made it a point to get outdoors during the pandemic. (What else is there to do?) Now that the weather is nice, why not try a new park or trail in your state.

Go Tanking or Tubing

If you’re in Nebraska- try Tanking! Four of us adults went and had fun. We played a game and drank along the Elkhorn River for about a 4-hour ride. Would be great with kids because there’s not much effort. I think next time, I’d want to go tubing so I can be in the water more often, but this was a very easy way to enjoy the river and fun to try something different!

Rescue Rangers

Who remembers Chip, Dale, Gadget, Zipper and Monterey Jack!? The theme song alone is worth your time. My kids love this 90s fave!

Tale Spin

So when I was little, I questioned how Baloo the bear from Jungle Book was all of a sudden a pilot bear wearing clothes. Now as an adult, I can get all those answers thanks to Wikipedia! There’s actually a lot of drama associated with this show.

Gummi Bears

I actually didn’t introduce this one to my kids, but came 免费60分钟上大床 to find them watching it on their own one day. I remember being jealous of the kids who had the Disney Channel (when it was a premium on cable) solely because I couldn’t watch this show.

Doug

Disney’s Doug is actually the reason I bought into Disney+ in the first place. I was a much bigger fan of the Nickelodeon version, but it’s still a great show that always has a good moral, especially for 免费60分钟上大床 situations.

Recess

Who remembers Disney’s One Saturday Morning?! Recess was such a staple on Saturdays during my childhood. A fun one to share with your kids!

Duck Tales

That theme song tho. The gold coin pool for Scrooge to dive into? Timeless classic that all kids will enjoy.

Darkwing Duck

Was every intro song in the 90s just SO GOOD!? This Duck Tales spin off has lots of action and lots of great music

Even Stevens

If you have a tween or teen, time to introduce them to Even Stevens! As a bonus, you’ll remember why you first fell in love with Shia LaBeouf.

Lizzie McGuire

…And while you’re at it, stop by and come of age with Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire. It’s crazy to think she’s just another mom like us now!

Boy Meets World

Duh!!!! I almost didn’t put this on here because it seems SO obvious that everyone would be binge watching it. The former TGIF hit show will have us all cheering on Cory and Topanga for seasons! And swooning over Will Friedle until his character Eric Matthews gets too quirky for comfort

How it works:

I decided to share the step by step process on my 美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费 stories

There’s everything you need right in the kit and the best part, it’s pretty fool proof. There are two important things to know right away though.

It’s taken me three months to do this, mostly because I kept forgetting that you can’t eat or drink anything for at least 30 minutes before. I figured first thing in the morning would probably net the best results.

Make sure you also download the app and connect it to your special barcode on your specimen sample tube.

That’s it! From there you put your specimen into the collection bag, seal the bag, and put it into the self-addressed box, no postage necessary!

So what do I think my results will be?

I’ve always been told my dad’s side is French Canadian through my grandpa, as well as some Irish, then Hungarian and German through my grandma. On my mom’s side I think we’re Irish (my grandma’s last name was Kennedy) and then Scottish through my grandpa, and maybe some German on that side, too. However, just a few years ago an uncle on my mom’s side said he found Native American in our family tree, so we will see!! I know I will be devastated if I find no French blood, but supposedly my maiden name was changed from Oullette so I should be safe there.

Now comes the wait. Once my results come back I will share them on here, so 美性中文娱乐 to my blog to get the alert! If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below or hit me up on 美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费: @the.美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费.美性中文娱乐.mom

Shipt

Shipt is life! When you sign up for this grocery delivery service, you download an app, choose your store, and start creating a shopping list that your Shipt Shopper will buy from. In Omaha, Shipt serves Target, Hy-Vee, CVS, and Petco stores. As long as you spend $35, there is no additional delivery fee. You can tip if you want. The other bonus? If you buy certain promoted items, you get money back. My subscription has already paid for itself a few times over!

Sign up now using my code and get a year subscription for only $50!

Grove Collaborative

If I’m being honest, I originally joined Grove Collaborative just to get their awesome Mrs. Meyers gift set. I had planned to cancel my subscription after that. However, I’ve loved trying so many of their products, and getting to try all different scents of Mrs. Meyers that I ended up staying on for more than a year now!

Grove has cleaner living items that are more eco friendly. I’ve purchased things like dryer balls to swap out for dryer sheets, walnut scrub pads, and even makeup removing wipes that are more natural. So many household and beauty products to try! Another bonus? You get free gifts every now and then. Plus, share with your friends, and make money!

Get this free Mrs. Meyers Gift Set now!

Young Living

Young Living has been a game changer in our household. I used to roll my eyes at people who used essential oils; now I’m a believer. I joined after being at my wits end with sickness in our household. We had a bad winter for illness in 2018. My baby boy had even ended up in the hospital for 4 days.

I tried Young Living because I kept hearing about Thieves. My trusted friend who is very practical and a nurse swore by it. She had me convinced. It’s a special essential oil blend they make that supports your immune system. It can be diffused or used to make household cleaners. They even offer a whole Thieves cleaning set. We’ve been so much healthier since we first started using. I then started ordering oils like lavender to help with my anxiety. I roll it onto my wrists at night, diffuse it at bed time and now I’ve become lavender obsessed. I’ve also used oils for teething pain, diaper rash, energy boosts, carpet cleaning and more!

Want to get started with Young Living? Sign up here!

I consider it a “subscription” because I am part of their essential rewards. Basically I buy about $50 of products each month to get the lower prices, but there’s so much you can do with oils, that you end up saving in other spots- like making your own bath scrubs, flavoring your water with lemon EO, diffusing instead of using candles (which put lots of toxins into your air!), putting drops of oil on your dryer balls instead of buying dryer sheets, etc. and the best part is, you’re getting the health benefits, too!

Check out my Pinterest page for diffuser blends and other essential oil recipes!

But why Young Living instead of some $10 oil at Walmart? No fillers. You know your product is really coming from the earth. You can actually visit and walk through Young Living’s fields across the globe. It’s part of why they have the reputation they do.

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If I’m being really honest… that feeling has lasted all day. (In my defense, I think I’m getting an inner ear infection because I’ve been dizzy, off balance, and my head hurts.) But alas, that’s nothing compared to what so many people are going through.

This year, I’ve decided to put down what I’m most thankful for.

My dad’s in remission from prostate cancer

When I got the call in late March that my dad had Stage 4 Prostate cancer, everything changed. I think it’s particularly tough to hear it when you live 11 hours away. I’m a daddy’s girl, I call him everyday, so you can imagine the rollercoaster of emotions this year has brought. But, it was great news to hear just days before thanksgiving that his PSA level dropped from the high 220s now down to .02! He’s been responding well to treatment, and doctors consider him in remission. He said he saw the words in remission on a piece of paper, and I can only imagine what that felt like for him.

My Marriage

We just celebrated 7 years of marriage on November 24 and this was probably one of our best years yet. We got out and had several date nights this year, we went on several trips as a family. I’m thankful to have a good teammate, a good co-parent, and a funny and handsome one to boot!

My Children

I’m thankful both children are happy (for like 60% of the day) and more importantly, healthy. (Although the doctor just said Hayden needs to switch to 2% milk ) They are exhausting and drama-filled little mini versions of Josh and me, but they make me smile and make me proud.

My Career

I love my work fam and I love my job. This has been a particularly rewarding year. I’m now 16 months in and it’s really starting to feel like 免费60分钟上大床. Because of our position in the Omaha market, I feel like I have a bigger opportunity to make a difference. We have a large reach, surprisingly bigger than what I had 美性中文娱乐 in larger markets because we have such a bigger piece of the pie. We’ve gotten to do some meaningful stories and investigations that have been inspiring to be a part of. Management can be really stressful and draining, but also very rewarding. I’m thankful this opportunity found me and looking forward to what’s next.

My Squad

I’m so thankful to be making friendships here in Omaha that I suspect will last for years to come, and I’m also thankful that I still have a large support system that spans the country. Technology I has certainly helped this. I get to FaceTime my family often, I have so many group chats that still connect me to buddies from college, Detroit, Pittsburgh and beyond. I love that if I need to vent, need a shoulder to cry on, or just want to reminisce or have a few laughs, they’re only a text away! Also so thankful that I actually got to see Mary, Jackie, Cindy and Barrett over the course of a few trips… and the entire Yobbi family when we went to Natalia’s wedding this year!

Travel

One of my favorite things about Omaha is how it is within road tripping distance to some other great cities. We had so many adventures this year. And with both of us making more money, there have been more opportunities for getaways! We spent a week in Denver, I visited Minneapolis twice, went to Kansas City twice, spent a week in Michigan, had a quick trip to Pittsburgh, got to meet up with Cindy and Barrett in Sioux Falls, day-tripped to Lincoln. And in just a couple weeks, Annabelle and I will be flying to New York City to get into the holiday spirit!

Memories Made

We’ve made more of an effort to use our weekends and time off the clock to make memories. Annabelle and I have seen so many shows this year like Cats, the Wizard of Oz ballet, Phantom of the Opera in the front row. Josh and I saw Hamilton and went and saw Third Eye Blind in Concert. We’re going to see the Nutcracker next week. Josh and I did one of those “float tanks”. We’ve been to the zoo and museums multiple times this year and of course the pumpkin patch and local farms!

“Will my child come face to face with a school shooter?”

Granted, I work in news, so I tend to imagine worst case scenarios more often than I’d like to admit. But at the end of the day, I know that no school is immune.

I haven’t blogged in a while because most of my creative energy has been focused on work… one of those projects being an investigative piece.

It all started after we had Active Shooter training at work. During that, I learned that one of the reasons the Sandy Hook tragedy was so deadly was because those 20 babies bled to death. Out of that tragedy, Stop the Bleed training was born.

Watch my investigative piece here for more information.

I learned that because of Stop the Bleed training and a more widespread use of tourniquets to respond to mass casualty incidents, we’ve had a better survival rate.

The Vegas Massacre, for instance, could have been much deadlier. Hundreds were wounded, but they survived. By that time, Stop the Bleed training was more commonplace. Our law enforcement and first responders are now trained to respond more like the military does. Let’s be real, they have to be since these incidents tend to look more like a battlefield where assault weapons are used.

Leaving that seminar had me wondering, does my daughter’s school have tourniquets and do her educators have Stop the Bleed training?

I made some calls, and what I learned was unsettling. That led me to start reaching out to school districts across the metro.

Throughout my investigation, I learned the training is pretty much free. You just need to find an area hospital, police or fire department to come teach it. It only takes about an hour. I sat through a session myself.

It’s eye-opening. It’s chilling. But it also has the potential to save lives. That’s why I want to spread the word.

Parents, call your child’s school district. Ask if there are tourniquets in their building. Ask if there are staff members who have Stop the Bleed training.

Ask your workplace. A good tourniquet kit only costs $50. The training can also teach you how to stop the bleed without a tourniquet. Both are invaluable.

If you have questions, feel free to comment below! But please, make those calls and spread the word.

First off, I’ll start by saying I’m a proud Millennial.

I think our generation has overcome a lot of obstacles, like the Great Recession hitting at the same time we started our search for jobs, or the mountain of student debt we had to incur just to have a fighting chance for a job that would pay $27,000 a year.

I also believe our childhood will forever be marked as the last generation of innocence. We couldn’t Google if there was a Santa, we didn’t have unlimited access to pornography at our fingertips, and we didn’t know that 9/11 was coming our way.

But then two major incidents would forever change our world while we were still kids.

April 20, 1999: Two teens walked into their high school and shot up their classmates. They killed 12 students and one teacher. 21 others were injured.

The Columbine Massacre would shatter our innocence forever. Our nation would fight for decades about whether it was our video games, the guns, the bullying, or the music that caused it.

September 11, 2001: 2,996 lives taken. 6,000 injured. A nation unites temporarily through tragedy.

Columbine set the stage for kids to realize we weren’t safe in our schools. 9/11 would remind us we weren’t safe anywhere.

Now we’re grown, and the country is no safer.

In fact, it’s more dangerous. Our churches and synagogues are under attack. The terrorists are our neighbors, our colleagues, our children’s classmates.

While everyone is busy blaming Millennials for the closing of Toys ‘R Us or making fun of Millennials for eating avocado toast, we are spending our days in the workplace worried our babies won’t make it 免费60分钟上大床 from first grade.

I often ask myself how can I parent in this climate? I never know whether I should share these concerns with my kids so they can be prepared should the day come they are under attack.

Annabelle’s already been through lockdown drills “in case a bad guy or a deer” gets inside her school. She’s aware of the opioid epidemic and I’m trying to pass on critical information that pills won’t fix everything- despite the commercials on TV telling her there is a pill for every problem.

But, there are lessons Millennials are learning along the way…

…that it’s okay to be who you are. Whether that’s straight, gay, bisexual, transgender, black, white, Hispanic, Muslim, Christian, male, female, a stay at 免费60分钟上大床 or an 美女高潮黄又色高清视频免费 美性中文娱乐 mom!

Millennials are “whiny” because we want better for you, for our kids, for the future. We just might make up for the security taken from us at such a young age.

Will we screw our kids up? Maybe. But we won’t go down without a fight. Millennials are lazy? We’ve been fighting our whole lives. Fighting for a sense of safety, equality, a 免费60分钟上大床 we can afford, and an educational system that is fair for all.

As we take power in this country, we will be cognizant of the financial burden that families carry. We will recognize corporate corruption is not okay, that the earth needs our attention. That racism is not okay. That love is love is love. And we will teach those messages to our children.

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