I told Coach that this could be the most magical Christmas for our family because Cart is almost three and Calla still believes at 8. He reminded me that this is exactly what I said last year. The truth is, I am holding on to the magic for as long as I can. He supports me in my slight over the top behaviors, because in all honesty… Christmas is his favorite.

Amazon has started their Black Friday deals early and I am sure they will add and update all week. I have lots of messages asking for one post for all of the things. My goal is to be done shopping this week. I know that is extremely high hopes… but if I am being honest, my goal this year is to enjoy the season with my family and not stress. I use Amazon for many things because returns are SO easy. I am also shopping small this year as I always do, but this post is just for Amazon. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE asking for passes to the zoo, aquarium, or a trip. I will ALWAYS say, “money for our next trip” if anyone asks. All that to say, we still buy a few gifts for our children and gifts for family. So here is what I would buy for……….

Every Christmas my girlfriends get together for a girl’s night before the true hustle of the Christmas season arrives. It is a glorious night of laughter, snacks, and sharing our “favorite things” of the season. Each gal thinks of their favorite thing from that year ($10 item) and brings three of that item individually wrapped. Then we all pull numbers and those are the items we take home. It really is the BEST time and I have had the honor to host five of them. It’s GREAT finding what your friends loved throughout the year and why they loved that item. Then you get to try a few different items! It is truly the BEST night. I look forward to it each year. Plus, you can grab a few for family gifts for Christmas.

How often do I find myself saying that? Last week I didn’t go to the gym one time. It was fall break, I was spending time with my family, cleaning around the house, resting, reading, and dinners with Coach. I told myself, “I don’t have the time to go this week.” Such a lie. I didn’t make the time.

One night we were having dinner with some friends and one of them said, “All Carley wants to do is influence you to cook dinner for your family.” Yes. That is it. Well, and influence you tøo: pray for your husband, yell praises for public schools, motivate teachers, be a mom that reads to your babies, say no to jeans and yes to pull on pants, and wash your cars on Sunday. Not too much, right?

However, my main passion in life is mastering the skill of cooking 20 minute meals with as few ingredients as possible all while writing math problems for your big kid, and holding your little kid on your hip.

Here are some things that I HIGHLY suggest to make those meals as easy as possible. Again, if you support this little corner of the field: I truly THANK YOU! I am paid for my reviews but as always, I will keep the reviews 100% REAL LIFE. (It also allows me to keep creating those recipe cards for free!)

Happy Fall Prime Day! I think I love the fall Prime Day more than the summer one. I’m also super thankful we are on a break because my mid season meltdown was strong last week. That’s for another day.

Today I wanted to share some classroom must haves that have been amazing in my classroom this year. Again, my #1 goal for this space is to be REAL LIFE. Everything I am going to share I own and LOVE and what has been a great addition to my classroom. Plus, it’s PRIME DAY. You just might want to check out ASAP because the price changes have been insane this time.