Jesse Coulter

I have friends who raved about T BAR M Camps in New Braunfels, TX over the years and I finally was able to experience it first hand with my own little ones. It lived up to the hype and today I'm sharing all about our camp experience and what you need to know if you are interested in signing up including a $100 discount code! 

Our experience was hosted but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I grew up just 30 minutes south of San Antonio, and it was the place we would go for a nice dinner or to go back to school shopping. However in my adulthood I hadn't visited very often especially with my kids. Before we dropped Turner off at camp we decided to spend 24 hours in San Antonio. We had a blast and here's our itinerary + some additional activity ideas if you plan on staying a few more days! 

I was so excited to visit South Padre Island for the very first time, and it was also Walt and Whitney's very first trip to the beach! If you aren't familiar with the area, South Padre is about 6 hours south of Austin and only 30 minutes from the border of Mexico. Come along as I share where we stayed, what activities we enjoyed, and where we ate!

There's only one month left of summer break for my kiddos before school begins. Today I'm sharing what we've crossed off our summer bucket list and what I'd still love to do with them before it ends!

Thank you Signature Care Diapers for sponsoring this post!

When Alex and I found out we were having twins our world was rocked! I instantly thought about how I would breastfeed two babies, and Alex immediately thought about the financial impact. I lasted 4 days breastfeeding, but not surprisingly the financial impact is still something we deal with. I've partnered with Signature Care Diapers to share a few money saving tips that have helped us the past few years.

7 years ago Alex and I bought our first mattress when we got married. We haven't bought a new one since, so we are very excited to partner with Wayfair to review their new NORA mattress!

Ever since I became a mom of three I don't think I've stopped saying "MY LIFE IS CRAZY!" Sometimes I am extremely tired, frustrated and stressed, and moments later I can be extremely happy. I am grateful for this life and the family I have, and I pray I never take it for granted. Here's a look in to a typical week day for my family of five!

Every time I visit the Texas Hill Country I'm in awe of it's beauty. Alex and I took the kids for a quick 24 hour trip to Leakey, TX on July 4th and I'm recapping where we stayed and what we did.

Last Winter Turner asked if he could go swimming to which I replied, "Sorry, we have to wait till it's Summer." He asked me over 50 times since that day if it was Summer yet. After months of waiting we've finally hit the pool full force with swim lessons at Ready Go Swim!

As a parent of three young kiddos that can't swim, drowning is a VERY big fear of mine.

Alex and I are celebrating seven years of marriage today! The morning after we were married in Abilene, TX we headed to Playa Del Carmen. We stayed at The Royal Playa Del Carmen Resort (all inclusive). For some reason I can't find any of the pics we took, but we had a blast. It was both of our first times in Mexico  In 3 days we'll be flying back for the first time since our honeymoon. To say I'm excited to spend 5 days and 4 nights hanging out with Alex sans kids is an understatement. We'll be staying at the Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya all inclusive/adult only resort. Hoping our flights and travel go smoothly!

Alex and I waited about 2 years before we made the decision to start trying to have a baby. Alex might have mumbled "OK", and I ran with it ; ). We found out 3 months later I was pregnant with Turner, and so went the roller coaster of becoming a parent. I wasn't sure what type of Mom I would be, but over the years I've learned I'm pretty laid back. I didn't read any parenting or pregnancy books, I've never used a baby monitor, and I will pretty much let anyone hold my child ; ). I've always winged it, but then again what Mom doesn't.

If you're first thought when you read the title of this post was "hire a cleaning lady", know I'm not that fortunate ; ). A clean home is very important to me, and it's important to create a comfortable environment for my family and friends. A clean home makes me feel less stressed when everything around me is out of control...hello 15 month old twins and a 4 year old. As a working mom it can be hard to get everything done during the work week, unless you put it off and want to spend ALL weekend cleaning which I definitely don't want to do.

I've partnered with Lemi Shine today to share my tips on how I consistently keep my home clean during the week as a working mom! Even though this is sponsored, I can honestly say that I truly LOVE all of their products, which are 100% natural and use citrus extracts so they smell wonderful.

I grew up in a home that taught respect, love and care for each other. We were taught to trust our intuition, stand up for ourselves, and never give up.

At my father's memorial we knew the preacher would share memories of our father, but we didn't know the details of the service. He shared scripture from 1 Thessalonians 4, and focused on the following verses, "⁹ Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. ¹⁰ And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, ¹¹ and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

This year started out wonderful with the birth of Walt and Whitney and ended horribly with the passing of my Dad. Sorry to be a downer, but it's the truth. 2017 will be a tough year as my family and I experience a year of firsts without my Dad but we're strong and will get through it together. I pray 2017 is a year of spiritual growth, memorable experiences, and lots of love.

Here's a positive recap of 2016:

One more month and my last babies will be one year old! As I see them grow in to toddlers, I am making more of an effort to be present and aware of the baby stage. Smell their baby skin, kiss their soft cheeks and bald heads and soak up their baby giggles.

LIFE LATELY:

- I am dragging my feet in planning their birthday party for a couple of reasons. 1.) My life is INSANELY busy right now. 2.) Every time I start to plan in my head I get completely overwhelmed with all the things I want to do and shut down. Planning a birthday during Christmas is not fun. There are days when I think about going ALL out, and then other days when I think they'll be lucky if they get a cake.

- Last week Whitney and I took a quick overnight trip down south to visit my parents. When we got home Alex said "Do you want to see what the boys and I did this weekend?" He proceeded to show me pics of them at Catch Air (an indoor play park), which he took them to on Saturday night. Then Sunday he took them to breakfast, grocery shopping at HEB, and then to a kid's birthday at Mt. Playmore (another indoor play place). I couldn't believe it. Alex said they all had a great time, but he was definitely tired.

- I totaled my van (which I had bought a year 1/2 ago after totaling my last car, and replaced the transmission 6 months ago for $5,000 because we thought we would drive it forever...UGH!!!). All three kids were with me which was very scary, but thankfully everyone was OK. We bit the bullet and bought a new Toyota Sienna and I'm in LOVE!

Last Christmas I had an advent calendar for Turner, decorated my entire house, did tons of holiday themed activities, and hosted a Favorite Things Christmas Party for my closest friends. This year I was lucky enough to get a tree up and decorated. I'm taking it easy this year, and that's OK.

Over the past 4 years of being a Mother I've always felt I was a bit different than most moms. I'm over the phrase mom guilt, and often don't feel guilty for the decisions I make. However, I do want to discuss this topic that has often crossed my mind.

This past weekend Turner and I went to our first yoga class together at The Little Yoga House's newest location in North Austin.  We participated in the Family Yoga class, and I loved it! The focus was "kids first, grown-ups second", and our instructor emphasized the class was all about connecting and having fun with your child.  We did partner poses, group poses, silly flowing sequences and yoga games!

It happened...we finally made it to church! It only took 8 months! I've missed it so much, but nap time always seemed to coincide with it and I was too anxious about getting us all there. Any mamas experience this?!