Five on Friday!

TGIF~ I hope this week has been a good one for you. Everyone is on the mend here, thank goodness (although the full movie day Wednesday was a nice change of pace, if only it didn't come with sickness).  Chris brought back lattes this morning so it's off to a good start. I'm linking up with the Five on Friday ladies and sharing five things making my life easier right now, and maybe they will make yours easier too (and throwing in a couple pictures from our 1 year old photo shoot because they make me smile).

1. If you have a toddler, this is the best mat ever! I bought it thinking it wouldn't really work, but it works. It's so easy to serve, clean (yay dishwasher), and I even take it to restaurants (all my babies ate off restaurant tables, but I can't help thinking it's gross and this solves my dilemma)! It's called the ez-pz happy mat (we have the mini version). It even comes in a reusable bag for easy travel.

2. Have you used Amazon Prime Now? It's a separate app from Amazon Prime and it's such a lifesaver. This week with the kids sick, I ordered clorox wipes and beer and they arrived within 4 hours. If you spend over $35 delivery is free (unless you need it within 2 hours) - I threw a $20 amazon gift card in my order to reach the $35 (and totally felt like I beat the system). When we traveled to Disney, I used this to get a few staples like milk, diapers, and snacks. The order does include a tip for the driver.

3. Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve has been my new go-to in this cold dry weather. I think it's too late to "preserve" any youth, but it feels so good and really helps my dry skin. I love that it's light enough for  morning wear too.

4. My kids are not great eaters (except Katherine, she'll eat just about anything) and Chris is a vegetarian. This means our meals lack some important nutrients. I've started cooking eggs more often, but I've also added Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix. For some reason my kids eat it up. It has veggies and lentils and alphabet pasta. I always throw in whatever veggies we have for some extra vitamins and freshness. The lentils add lots of protein and the pasta makes it fun. They will yell out whatever they've found (doesn't really help with manners). I always add vegetable broth instead of water (or a mix of the two).

5. A sales associate at Pottery Barn mentioned this wrinkle release spray and it has lived up to the hype. We one of the kids puked allll over our bed, bed skirt and rug, I washed the bed skirt, pulled it out of the dryer and thought, it will never look the same again. But a few sprays and a couple tugs and it looks perfect! So much easier than steaming or ironing!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. My kids are so excited their cousins are coming, I just hope the bad weather doesn't affect their trip! We have a full Saturday of basketball games, a birthday party, and the kids are going to the Hornets game.