A special thank you to Coca-Cola Florida for sponsoring this post and helping make our busy week a little more manageable. For a limited time you can save $2 off ready to serve meals with a Coca-Cola product at Publix, Wal-Mart, and Target stores in Florida. #CokeAmbassador #BackToSchool #Whatsfordinner Our kids started back to school last week. I love everything about summer and the laid back routines; so getting back into a routine is much harder on me than it is for the kids. They thrive off routine and have been ready for school to start again. With school starting back that also means my schedule gets flipped upside down again and the juggling begins. PTA meetings, Open Houses, curriculum nights, Girl Scouts, and homework take up our afternoon and evening hours. I try to be organized and plan meals for the week; but some nights are just too chaotic to try and cook a wholesome meal while juggling all the things! These are the nights that I'm thankful for ready to serve ... [ Read More ]
Creative Last Minute Gift Ideas
...and the countdown to Christmas continues! Did you forget someone on your Christmas list? Still stumped on what to get someone? It's practically too late to order an actual gift from Amazon or any online store (unless you pay through the nose for shipping). This post is in partnership with Florida Prepaid College Plans as part of their Starting is Believing campaign. All opinions are my own and may not reflect those of the company. Creative Last Minute Gift Ideas Homemade Anything: I tend to be on the crafty DIY side and I truly enjoy making gifts for people. I don't have a ton of time to be crafty but I try to make at least a few gifts each year. This year my daughter and I made some homemade bath bombs! My first batch was a total fail, but second time is a charm! Bath bombs! Cross your fingers they stay firm and don’t crumble upon drying! #bathbombs A post shared by Calley Pate (@backtocalley) on Dec 17, 2017 at 10:11am PST Experiences: Let's admit ... [ Read More ]
Step By Step Guide to Painting Rocks
I'm sure by now you've heard about Kindness Rocks and seen some of the fun painted rocks that people are finding around your community. It's a movement that started about a year ago and has spread across the country. People paint rocks, hide them in your local community, and bring a smile to someone's day when they find one hiding. While I'm sure you've seen some amazing and talented artists pictures of painted rocks; painted rocks can be fun for anyone regardless of skill level. If you're wanting to give painted rocks a try here are a few things you'll want to know before you get started. Supplies Needed: Smooth rocks and stones! Any size or shape! I find my rocks at Lowes but you can find them anywhere. Acrylic paint, paint pens, markers, pens, etc. Water based paints work best; just avoid tempera or poster paint. Paint brushes. I like a good nylon bristle brush personally, but you can use whatever you have! Palette or paper plate to mix paints on. Hair ... [ Read More ]
7 Tips to Teach Kids About Savings and Debt
This post is series in a partnership with Florida Prepaid College Plans My kids are both getting older and it's never too early to teach them how to be responsible with money. I can say that my parents did their best, but they struggled a LOT with money when I was a kid. They never really let us know just how much they struggled (no parent wants their kids to worry) but looking back I know just how hard it was for them. If there's one thing my parents did teach me it was that when you work hard you will be rewarded. They encouraged us to save and stay out of debt but that didn't prevent me from digging myself into debt during college to achieve my own goals. I worked most of my college years full-time and took a little longer to get through college. I racked up some pretty hefty debt along the way to pay for college, books, and all those "essentials" you need living on your own. I paid the minimums on my credit cards just to avoid the late fees and was maxed out on most of them. ... [ Read More ]
99 Family-Friendly Things to do in Tampa This Summer
Summer is almost here and the kids will be out of school soon. Parents all know the struggle to keep them entertained without losing your mind. Whether you're visiting the Tampa area on vacation or you live in the Tampa area, this list of things to do includes stuff for the whole family. There are a few items on the list that are a short drive outside of Tampa. Honeymoon Island Beach - this is our favorite local beach located in Dunedin, FL. It's less crowded and easier to get to then going to St. Pete and Clearwater. You can play on the causeway for free, or enter the state park and enjoy the natural beaches of North Pinellas County. Soak up the rays on the beach, take a nature hike, play on the playground, or take your pet for a walk on the dog beach. Great for all ages. Parking is $8/car (up to 8 people). Caladesi Island Ferry & Beach - Rated one of Dr Beaches top beaches in 2008, this beach can only be reach by boat. Take the ferry from Honeymoon Island State Park or ... [ Read More ]
92 Reasons to Smile
I'm still grinning from this weekend! A few months ago my mom asked if the kids and I wanted to join her for a trip to Ohio to see my Grandma. As most parents do, I replied with a simple "I'll think about it." It's so hard to plan more than a few weeks in advance with my husband's schedule. If he ever gets a weekend at home we like to spend it together as a family. Fast forward to Friday morning, I knew he was gone for the weekend and we didn't have ANY plans for the kids. No birthday parties, no golf matches, no Girl Scout events, nothing! I asked the kids on the way to school if they wanted to make a trip to Ohio to see their Great Grandma and they were both beyond excited!! It's been about 4 years since we've visited her and well overdue considering she's 92. I made some calls and arranged for a dog sitter, set up a rental car and booked our flights. Since we are an airline family we fly standby and the flights are the "easy" part - as long as seats are available (which isn't ... [ Read More ]
What to do with a dozen cracked eggs
Some days are created to test your patience, today was one of those days. I woke up to a private message letting me know that my work website was down. When an ecommerce site is down, people don't make any money so it was pretty urgent and needed to be addressed immediately. Laying in bed I quickly sent off a few messages and texts to see if anyone could help. Had I been awake I could have called tech support myself, but since my brain wasn't awake yet I called upon others. I tried to wake up and make my way to my desktop so I could help. When I arrived and opened my browser a strange message appeared and warning messages flashed in front of me. I quickly realized this was malware and tried to close everything down. Nothing was working and there appeared to be 2-3 programs running that I never noticed before. I did a quick Google search and realized I needed to clean this up ASAP......as soon as I fixed problem #1 that I logged on to fix. Thankfully the work problem was ... [ Read More ]
Valspar Championship 2016 – Innisbrook Resort – Palm Harbor, Florida
The Valspar Championship returns to Palm Harbor, March 7-13th, 2016 at Innisbrook Resort and Spa. It's almost spring again in Florida and I'm ready for golf to return with the Valspar Championship PGA Tournament. Innisbrook has groomed their golf courses over the last 11 months and the greens are ready for the players to return for another challenging round of golf. Defending champion Jordan Spieth is scheduled to return this year after his amazing 2015 year. 2015 started with a win at the Valspar Championship and ended with a win at the 2015 Masters Tournament. Other golfers scheduled to play at this year's Valspar Championship include Brandt Snedeker, Luke Donald, and Patrick Reed. The tournament kicks off Thursday, March 10th with the opening round play. One day tickets start at only $39+ per person and kids 15 and under are free with a paying adult. If you attend the opening day of the tournament, you'll be able to enjoy the Valspar Live concert with Rascal Flatts for ... [ Read More ]
Ringling Bros & Barnum Bailey Circus “Legends” – Tampa Review
Thank you Ringling Bros & Feld Entertainment for inviting us to view the Legends performance of the Ringling Bros Circus. Tickets are still available for Sunday, Jan 10th at 11am and 3pm. This year we decided to let our daughter pick 2 friends to join her at the circus along with their moms. We left the siblings and dads at home and enjoyed a night out with the girls. We arrived just in time to grab some cotton candy and find out way to our seats. Tampa traffic is always unpredictable and caused us to miss the pre-show. Listening to the "oooohhhh's" and "ahhhhhh's" and giggles from the girls was the highlight of the evening. They loved watching the acrobats, clowns, and the BMX riders. Both of her friends are taking gymnastics so they were mesmerized by the acrobats climbing poles and flipping through hoops. Part of the way through the show a pegasus and unicorn paraded around the ring. The girl's eyes were so wide and they all looked at us to ask if they were "real" or ... [ Read More ]
Hello Seven
Seven years y'all, my baby is seven years old! How did this happen? She's halfway through first grade and her second year as a Daisy Girl Scout. She loves watching YouTube and playing Minecraft. She could probably live off of candy and hot cocoa. She will eventually learn to tie her own shoes and ride a bike, and maybe one day she'll decide to sleep in her own bed. I'm sure one day I'll look back and miss all the innocence and beg for them back. She enjoys school and has all "A's" in first grade. She doesn't love math (I don't blame her), but she is great at reading and spelling. She loves her classmates and her teacher. We asked her where she wanted to go for dinner on her birthday and she chose Chili's so she could have the Molten Lava Cake! Happy Birthday baby girl! I hope that you've had a wonderful week and treasure being seven! ... [ Read More ]