Happy Birthday!

I'm not going to lie. I was a little bummed when my birthday plans fell through. I'm always on a "grand" trip for my birthday. 

When I turned 16, I was in Costa Rica. 

When I was 18, I was in Europe...specially on my actual birthday, I was in Venice, riding a Gondola!

The year I turned 19, I was in Mexico...

 Last year, I went to the Keys. 

But this year, they fell through. That's ok. I still had a great birthday!

Where else does one go for their birthday?? It was a perfect beach day. 

Spent the day with my girl, Jolyn...drinks on the beach...not a bad day!

Then lunch at Cantinas Dos Amigos....yum!

Then, came home and was surprised by a cake...and song by my 3 year old.

And MORE dessert! This was a pastachiotta. Jolyn made it...from scratch. It's a classic Italian dessert. SO YUM!! I tried finding a recipe online, but I couldn't 

(I don't' think she spelled it right when she told me what it was...lol)

And how did I end the night??? With a little snuggle from B. I hope this never ends....

I still love when Autumn even comes into our bed and snuggles up with me. I know it won't last forever, so I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts!

Just another day in paradise!

You never know what kind of treasures you'll find when you go to the beach!

and after playing at the beach all morning, what's better than fish tacos and beer?!

That's my kind of day!!

T25: Week 2

I have been SO busy this week, I have TONS of pictures to update with, but for now I'll just share my stats with you for this week. Not much has changed. I blame how I've been in and out of town - and you know how hard it is to stay on course when you're out of town.

One of the things I've noticed that's changed the most, though, is that my body can't handle eating bad things anymore. Since I have literally changed how I eat, and especially how I eat Shakeology every day. We went to one of my favorite places where I grew up the other day, and when I was so sick after I ate. Not like food poisoning sick, but "my body can't handle this kind of food anymore." I will say that it's nice that my body rejects that kind of food.

And isn't it horrible that when we go on vacation now that I kind of cringe at what I know I'll be eating like? Why is it SO hard to eat right when you're not at home!? Why aren't there more variety of healthy foods out there??

Anyway, here are this week's stats. Not much change from last week, but still a change from the beginning!

Weight: 154.

Thighs – 22.5”

Butt – 39.5”

Waist (a.k.a Tire) – 36”

Arms – 10” 

I'll be back later to catch up on what we've been doing!

T25: Week 1

Today is day 7 of my T25 Challenge that I'm in. (check out my before pictures and post)

I don't have picture this week, because well, I thought it might be too soon for visual results, but, I will say there are some results! I took my measurements this morning...and I was surprised!

Weight: 153.6

Thighs – 23”

Butt – 39.5”

Waist (a.k.a Tire) – 36”

Arms – 10”

There are some differences in my inches and my weight!

One of our assignments this week was to post three positive affirmations to ourselves anywhere we wanted. I want to show you two of mine...

This one I really liked because I see it every morning. I took a dry erase marker and wrote myself a little "reminder" on my makeup mirror in the bathroom.

And then, I put a post it note on this picture.

This picture is from 8-9 years ago. I was at my heaviest, about 30 pounds heavier than what I am now. When I first lost all that weight, I lost about 40-50 pounds. Then, I had 2 kids. And while I'm not back to my lowest weight yet, I feel much better about where I am and where I came from. I essentially weighed the same in this picture that I did when I was 9 months pregnant...both times.

I keep this picture to remind myself that I used to be heavier. 

So, here's to my "Keep Going!" hopefully, by day 30, I'll be able to SHOW you how far I've come!

Water Babies

In case you don't know already, my children are definitely water babies. If they see any form of water, they are in it...be it a puddle, pool, ocean, lake.  And they don't care if they are fully clothed or not. Bathing suits not required. (which frustrates me more than anything because it just adds to the never ending mound of laundry.) Well, pool-time when you have two young ones, isn't the easiest.

But this summer, I feel a little bit of freedom. It's been a summer of growth, for sure.

Autumn has become quite the swimmer! She's a self-taught swimmer, like I was, and has started to grow so much. Now, her new thing is go diving for the diving rings. 

I'm actually thinking about looking into what age they start swimming teams. I think Autumn would love that!

and Brooklynn??? My little water baby is swimming all by herself with water rings on!

So now our pool days are much more relaxing and fun (for mama!).

Just a little "proud mama" moment. 

Blueberry Pickin'

Here in Florida, it's really hard to grow much fruit, since it gets so hot. One of the only times I'm really jealous of other states is the fall, when they can go to an actual pumpkin patch, or the apple orchard, or any kind of "farm." And living along the coast, we don't really have the land here, to be able to "farm." Well, up in the "northernest" part of our county (takes like 45 minutes to get there), there's a town called Mims. It's north of Titusville (which was the "hoppin'" town during the 60s when NASA boomed!). Mims has the land to do the farming.

There's this blueberry "farm" and they let the public come and pick their own blueberries! It's really cheap too! Well, unless you count the gas to get there, then it's probably no cheaper than going to the store. haha!

BUT, on the last day of the season, they do blueberries for $1.50 per POUND!

Yes, you read that correctly. Per pound.  

And, if you know my kids, they will eat a pint of blueberries in one day. I literally can NOT keep blueberries in the house. But, who am I to complain. Blueberries are a SUPERfood! 

So in the summer, I will buy them 2 or 3 packs at a time when they're on sale, and I let them eat as much as they want.

and my little family went blueberry pickin'!

A was so proud of her bucket of blueberries! And she had a great view of all the blueberries that were lower to the ground and under the bushes, since everyone else was only really looking along the tops and sides...ha!

See??? Kids are good for something!

And of course B was eating them all...I think she was eating them faster than I was picking them. hehe...my little vacuum, she is.

I think this will become a summer tradition too! I LOVE the summer time!

Tie-Dying Fun!

Looking for something fun to plan with your kids and friends? 

Today we got together with some friends and Tie-Dyed shirts!

Get a tie-dye kit at your local craft store, or maybe even a "super" store

And get to dying! Some of use didn't wear the gloves, so we ended up with "spirit" fingers! So I recommend wearing gloves! ha!

Here is Autumn's and Brooklynn's shirts...

And since it's summertime, why not also play in the water??

Order some pizza, sit beneath a tree, and have a picnic!

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Today, I bring you a new recipe, that I kind of made up as I went along. I had seen the idea a while ago, somewhere...I don't remember what social media it was... and I checked my pins and it wasn't there. So I just made it up in my head.

Ingredients: 

1 egg

3-4 zucchinis

garlic

Parmesan cheese.

a box (2 packs) of shake and bake (your choice of flavor)

Cut the zucchinis in half, then cut the halves into fourths. Beat the egg with water and then put both packs of breading and some cheese (about 1/2 cup). I also minced garlic into the breading, but you can add powdered garlic if you'd prefer.

Make an assembly line, and dip the sticks into the eggs, then the breading, and put on the pan!

Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.

YUM!

Use your favorite dipping sauce with them, but I liked them just as they were too!

I could seriously eat the whole batch probably!

Hope you enjoy!

T25: Day 1

Welp. Today is the day. 

If you know me, you know that I've always worked out. But I've never worked out with "goals" in mind, or worked out to "watch" my progress.  Well, my friend is a Beach Body coach, and she has been doing Challenge Groups on Facebook with her friends and family (and whoever wants to join!). 

Well, I LOVE doing Insanity. I knew T25 was coming out, and I was super intrigued by it because, let's face it. When school starts back up, the amount of time I'll have to workout is almost non-existent! Between family, work, teacher blogging/creating, and having a social life, it's hard to fit in an hour of working out!

So I took the plunge and ordered the Challenge pack (which was actually a great deal for me since I'm an avid Shakeology drinker.)

AND they just came out with the Vanilla, and it's SOOO yum!!

Don't know what Shakeology is?? Here's a FUNNY commercial about it.

Anyway, today was Day 1

I can't believe I'm getting ready to do this, but here's my before picture and stats!

(I feel better knowing that I've had 2 kids 

AND before I got married, I actually used to way 35 pounds more.)

So if you want, you can follow me on my journey during this 90 day challenge. yikes!

3BN

A girlfriend and I went to the beach tonight and to our favorite little pizzeria that's on the beach....while we were there, we were talking about how her husband is always working on Fridays (he's head chef at one of the best restaurants), and if husband's not working, then he's off to the auction for his "2nd job."  Anyway, we decided that since we're always alone on Fridays (with our kids of course), then we would start a new Friday night tradition:

3BN

Beach...

(with my babes)

(and some friends)

Bizzarro's and Beer!!

(Bizzarro's pizza is the best!)

I love 3BN!!

Black-Eyed Pea Dip

The other day, I went to a get together, and someone brought this "dip" that I just could NOT stop eating. It was addicting! I finally asked around and found the maker of this wonderful dip! I asked her for the recipe, and made it at home. And my husband can NOT stop eating it! lol.

The best part??? It's SUPER simple...and I don't know about you, but I'm ALWAYS trying to figure out what to bring to get-togethers (my spell check is telling me that's not a word...oh well, I'm leaving it.) and now I have it!

Here's the recipe.

2 cans of Black-Eyed Peas, drained and rinsed

1 jar of mild salsa

1 can of Shoe-Peg corn (it will actually say Shoe-Peg on the can)

1 can of Rotel

A "bunch" of Green onions

and a SMALL bottle of zesty Italian dressing

(*note...what I have pictured is NOT a small bottle and it's 16 oz....my store just didn't have a smaller one since they were having a BOGO sale on their dressings that week! ha!)

Put all cans of ingredients in a bowl, and chop up the green onions.

Then, pour in the dressing, mix, and serve!!

It's "best" served with corn chips. I say that, not really knowing how it tastes with anything else, because my husband says it tastes so good like this, that he doesn't think we need to try anything else! ha!

Catch and Release...with a Kiss Goodbye

Autumn is one of the most curious kids I know (except for when it comes to dinner time - ugh!)

This girl wants to do EVERYTHING, especially when it's not a normal little girl thing. I have to admit, I'm kind of excited about that...lol. I'm not a girly girl, myself. I like to get cute, but I like to look cute in like beach-attire. When I was growing up, I played on two soccer teams at a time, 9 years of softball, I took P.E./weight lifting in summer school in high school, JUST because I wanted something to keep me going during the summer. lol. I know. I'm weird. 

So when it comes to my little girl wanting to get dirty, I'm all for it....most of the time.

Do you remember the movie Fried Green Tomatoes??

My girls are going to be the little girl who can dress them up all you want, but they'll be jumping in the mud lake by the end of the day! lol

Anyway, one of the new things she's all of a sudden interested in is fishing. We have a lake across the street, and the moment she wakes up, she asks to go across the street to go fishing...

So, sometimes we do. She loves it. I don't think there are any fish in there though. But shhhh....don't tell her that! She just likes going out there and doing it.

Well, my husband got tired of the "lack of gratification" of the fish-less lake, so he took her to "the compound" to go fishing. I, of course, stayed home with Brooklynn because heaven forbid when she sees water that she stays OUT of the water...and it's probably not good for when you want to catch fish...lol

Well, anyway, he sent me a picture of her first catch!!

Then, when he got home, I of course stole his phone so I could see more pictures...

Just look how proud she is!

But THEN, I found this jewel of a video....seriously...watch it. You will bust out laughing at the end. Kids are the dardnest things!!

P.s....the proverbial "fish tale" has already started, from the moment I asked her, 

"How big was the fish you caught?!"

I'm sure you know the answer!

A Splash of "My" Life

Those of you who follow my teaching blog, The Teacher's Cauldron, via blogposts, instagram, or Facebook know that my life is filled with my family (my kids play a big part of my life), crafting, cooking and baking, and it almost ALWAYS has the beach or pool involved. Hence, the name "A Splash of Life."  A little play on words, from A Slice of Life....I love it.

It fits me. 

Let me introduce you to everyone.

This is me.

I am a wife, a mother of two, a daughter, a friend, an educator. You get it. I wear many hats- ha! 

My husband and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary this year, my girls are almost 4 years old and 18 months. I've been a teacher now, going on 11 years - and every year I get more excited about it! I have my Master's Degree in Elementary Reading and I'm also National Board Certified. 

I had started typing everything that I love, but it got to be so much that the word "Love" wasn't even sounding like a word anymore. lol. So, here's my list of what I LOVE.

(Yes, you'll be following along my progress in the T25 Challenge! My friend is a beachbody coach and she's doing a T25 Challenge Group on Facebook...if you're interested, let me know!)

So, that's a little about me...here's the rest of my "brood."

My husband, Ron...

(haha - a picture of eating food, but it's a special picture..we were down in Key West at Sloppy Joe's)

He's a firefighter...

We got married in 2008....in Jamaica...

And together, we have these two BEAUTIFUL girls....

I refer to them as A and B....because their names are Autumn and Brooklynn. ha!

And I've decided that since I take SO many pictures of EVERYTHING I do, I should do something with it, so that I can look back and remember it. I started this blog so that I can document our life, so that I can look back and share these moments with my husband, my girls, and family, and my friends. I would love for you to follow me on this ride I call life. I'll be posting crafting ideas, recipes, family outings, and just everyday glimpses into our lives...and my ramblings.

I will share the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. After all, isn't that what life is all about!?

Before I go, I want to give a big shout out to Tessa from Tales from a Blog Designer for designing my new blog! I'm in LOVE with it!!! It's so ME, and she was SO GREAT to work with on it!

Thank you so much!!