Favorite Things Party

The last Mondays of the month are my very favorite Mondays...because I party with my girl, Andrea!!!  We share our favorite things under $10 and we LOVE when you join us!  These are a few of my very favorite things under $10!!

Pretzel Crisps

Have you guys tried these??  I'm not a huge fan of a normal pretzel, but I got on board with these very quickly!!  I love them with guacamole, hummus, or even all alone.  You should add these to your grocery list!!

Mrs. Meyers Dish Soap

My cousin's wife, Morgan, introduced me to these cleaning supplies at Target.  I really got sucked in to the dish soap because of the smell.  And...I MIGHT have also purchased the hand soap too.  I'm telling you...the "Lemon" (I think it's Lemon Verdana?) is the way to go!

You guys, I got the cutest call from Marla (my mother-in-law) and her sister, Kristi.  Marla is visiting her family in Arkansas and I can guarantee she's having a blast!!  Marla and Kristi can get into some TROUBLE!  haha!  Anyway, they called me yesterday and this is how the conversation went...(They put me on speaker.)

Them:  "Erika, we were looking at your blog, but we don't know how to use Twitter."

Me:  "I don't know how to use Twitter either."

Them:  "Well, we wanted to link-up to our favorite things tomorrow, but we just don't know how to use Twitter."

Me:  Silence....BECAUSE I'M LAUGHING SO HARD!!

I LOVE those ladies, but bless their hearts!!  They were trying their hardest to link up to our Favorite Things Party on Twitter!!  (I'm not even on Twitter, so clearly this wasn't working!)  

I can't blame them Twitter sounds pretty cool to me too.  One day maybe we'll figure it out girls!  :)  Neither of them have blogs, so I decided I'd share their favorite things on my blog.  These must be some pretty great things.  They went to some trouble to share!!

This is Marla's favorite thing.  (Sorry, the pic is blurry!)  It is Cover Girl's lipstick in "Bronzed Peach".  She said, "The color goes with everything".  I'll be giving it a try, Marla!!

And...Kristi's favorite thing is OPI's Cuticle Oil to Go.

I'd never heard of this one, so it REALLY intrigued me.  She said that it's so small it can fit in her purse and it helps get rid of any dryness around your cuticles.  Sounds like something I NEED!!

Thanks so much, Marla and Kristi, for sharing with us today!!

Andrea and I would LOVE for you to join us!!  Link up to your favorite thing too!  Can't wait to read all about them!

A Friday FULL of Randomness

First of all, a sweet reader (and new friend) sent me these earrings in the mail!!!  I was NOT expecting it and SO excited!!  Thank you, Kimm!!

My kiddos are SO lucky to have these guys in their life!

Ebby Lee went to Kensington's house on Monday so it was just me and the boys.  Nixon asked for a snack, a show, and a pallet in the floor.

Our pool is mostly shaded in our backyard which means it's COLD!!!  It'll be fabulous when August rolls around and it's SCORCHING hot, but for now...it's a little chilly!  These two don't seem to mind!  And...what is Nix doing with his face?  hahaha!

Tennis camp these week has been so fun!  

My very favorite thing is when they do conditioning.  Ebby Lee doing walking lunges yesterday was too funny!  (Maybe because she was wearing a dress and crocs?!)  Don't worry...Shay and I vowed to get them "tennis clothes" if they keep up this sport.  :)

When Ebby Lee was 2, I signed her up for dance class.  She went with her friend, Kirby, and absolutely LOVED it!  We decided to only do it a year and then switch to gymnastics.  (Just because I wanted her to experience both and see what she liked more.)  Gymnastics was WAY out of her comfort zone.  But...we started so she did it for a year and half before we decided it was time to try something else.  And...she learned SO much during that year and a half.  

Ebby Lee was READY to go back to dance.  She was SO excited about doing ballet and tap she could hardly stand it.  She's participating in a summer program and looking forward to starting "for real" in the fall.

And...look how darling that little ballerina looks!!

I LOVE my girlfriends!!!  We had a girl's night out on Wednesday and it was a BLAST!!!  

My girlfriend, Lisa, and me :)

Andrea drove us around in the mini (van, that is) AND it was so much fun!!  My abs hurt the next day from laughing so much!!

Yesterday, Kensington came over to play.  The girls decided to swim (in the icy waters).

Then they "laid out" (they actually said that...ha!) and had a snack.

Bowen seriously thinks he is FOUR!  

Super RANDOM!!!  But...I've heard several times that I resemble Molly Mesnick (from the Bachelorette).  Anyway, I saw this picture on IG and (especially) since it's blurry, thought I could really see some similarities.  What do you think???

On Monday, Andrea and I will be hosting another Favorite Things Party!!  It's so simple.  We blog about one (or two or three) of our favorite things that's under $10 and link up!  Hope you can join us!!

Thanks for stopping by to see my randomness!!!  Hope you have a GREAT weekend!!

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Can't Believe I'm Talking About This

Yes.  

Ladies, it happened.  Ebby Lee got head lice on our vacation AND I'm talking about it on the blog!!  #thebugsmademegocrazy  #maybe  #thatsmyexcuse

On a serious note, I thought I'd share how we got RID of them.  Hope this helps someone!!

Thursday morning, I saw this bug in her hair and then decided to take a really good look....I FLIPPED out!!  I'd heard of lice.  I remember getting checked by the school nurse, but I'd never experienced them.  

Until Thursday. 

 Luckily everyone else around me stayed really calm.  I called a friend who'd already had a fun lice experience and asked her what to do. SO GLAD I CALLED HER!!!  She told me about this place in the Dallas area that is a lice removal salon.  I instantly called and made E an appointment for the next day.   

If you are local and anyone you know gets lice, send them to The Lice Place!!! 

(We were leaving on Friday anyway...we just ended up leaving a little early.)

Do you see that little nit??  FYI...a nit (an egg) looks like a strawberry seed.

When I made the appointment, I asked Mr. Mark (the guy from The Lice Place) what I should do in the mean time.  He told me get a Nit Terminator Comb from Ulta.  

 (I have NO clue if everyone carries this comb, but I did EXACTLY what he said.  He said, "Ulta", so we headed to Ulta.)  He also encouraged me not to use the nit shampoo.  He said that sometimes the shampoo "coats" the nits and makes it harder to comb them out.

I took E out on the balcony of our hotel (in the sunlight) and combed through her hair SEVERAL times with that comb.  Her hair is SO thin that sometimes the comb wouldn't get all the nits (EEK!  I said it!) out.  I ended up picking lots of them out by hand.  I combed for about thirty minutes.  In order to get them all out, I'd STILL be combing right now. :)

Mr. Mark also assured me that everything at our house would be great!  Lice can only live twenty-four hours unattached to a scalp (ugh!  I know!) so I didn't have to worry about bagging up stuffed animals...all that was good!  

Friday morning, we drove back to Dallas and went straight to the lice removal salon.  In order to insure the guarantee, ALL of us had to be checked.  The cost for each person to be checked was $12.50.  Thankfully, Tab shaves his head, so it was just me and the boys.  :)  We were all cleared and Mr. Mark set to work on Ebby Lee.  He put an enzyme solution in her hair and then combed away with the Terminator comb.  He is a PROFESSIONAL!!!  It took him all of 35 minutes to get EVERY LAST NIT out of her hair!!  

35 minutes, people! Isn't that amazing??  The Lice Place charges $99 an hour and they bill per the quarter hour.  So...it only cost $50 to get EVERY LAST NIT out of E's hair.  

She goes back today for a follow-up!!  Keep your fingers crossed, girls!!!

So, my tip is CALL THE LICE PLACE!!!  If you're not local, google "lice removal".  Hopefully you'll have something similar close to you!!

Now it's your turn...PLEASE share any tips or tricks you used to get rid of those pesky bugs!!!  I'm sure blog land would love any helpful hints.  One day...it might be them!!  :)

What We Wore

Time for another week's worth of "What We Wore"...

Dress:  This is actually a tank, but it's the same colors.  It'd be darling with white pants.

It's kind of a short dress, so I wear these skinny capris too.

Skinnies:  These are cute from Old Navy (20% off today with the code SAVE)

Tank:  Exact Target tank here.

Pink Tank:  Exact tank here.

Shorts:  Exact J.Crew Factory shorts here.

Dress:  Cute option here.

Flip Flops:  Exact Old Navy here.

I love that I'm so official with my children's building church tag in this picture.  ha!

Jacket:  Macy's jacket here.

Dress:  Love this option.

Flip Flops:  Exact Old Navy here.

Baseball Tee:  Exact Gap tee here.

Tank:  Exact tank here.

Shorts:  Exact Gap shorts here.

Camo Hat:  Target here.

I linked up with The Pleated Poppy for WIWW, Get Your Pretty On, and Because Shanna Said So.

Happy Hump Day!!

Top Three

Happy Tuesday!!!  Can you believe July 4th is NEXT WEEK??  I can't believe it's already here.  I've been seeing TONS of cute ideas on Pinterest for an Independence Day party OR a cute little summer bbq.  Either way, here are some super darling ideas for a little July 4th get together.  (I went over a little over my top three..forgive me!)

#1 Rocket Hot Dogs...how adorable are these???  My kiddos would LOVE these!

#2 Patriotic Printables....maybe you're not having a big bash, but you want to add a little decor?  A printable or two would be perfect for you!

These printables are DARLING!!!  I found them on Pinterest and realized they aren't free!!  But...if you're having a party and really want some super cute labels...check these out!

#3 Red, White, & Boom Southern BBQ

This party is adorable!!!  So many cute ideas for decor and food!!  Check it out!

#4 The CUTEST setting EVER!!!

#5 Mix and Match Mama has some DELISH red, white, and blue recipes!!  This cake.  YUM!

#6 I LOVE this idea!  The little wagon goes right along with the red, white, and blue theme.  So cute!!

Ladies...that was kind of all over the place!!  But I shared my very favorites!  Food, decor, or a printable....I hope you find something you can use this year at your get together OR at your bash...whatever you're having. :)

Thanks for stopping by!!

San Antonio Trip

Day 1

The Slaughter 5 loaded up bright and early on Monday morning and headed to San Antonio.  Gary and Marla carpooled with us so the big kiddos took turns riding with them.  There were some very peaceful moments when Mama read a book!  Delightful!

We stopped for a little break and homegirl climbed a tree!

We arrived and headed straight to the pool!  We were ALL so excited that I forgot to take my phone with me to take some pics!  We stayed at La Cantera Resort in San Antonio.  So nice!  We've stayed there several times and have always had great experiences.

That night Tab's sister and her family had arrived and we all went to dinner.

Bowen wasn't feeling the picture.  I should add the day before (Father's Day) Tab skipped church and took Bowen to the clinic.  He had strep!  Lovely the day before vacation, right?  :)  So at the beginning part of the trip...he was a little zoned out.

Gary and I were matching, so we had to take a picture.

G and M...we love and adore them!

After dinner...my attempt at a kid picture.  hahahaha!!!

Really!!  Those are the two I got??

Day 2

The next morning we had one thing on our mind SEA WORLD!!!

The kiddos had so much fun between rides, shows, and animals.

Bowen did NOT feel good, but bless his heart he was a trooper!!

The boys and I waited while everyone else ode a water ride.  Bowen was too short, Nixon was too nervous about getting wet, and I was responsible.  :)

Ready for the Shamu show!!!  

I might add that right before the show started Ebby Lee had a panic attack that we were going to get soaked.  Seriously she started crying and couldn't gain control.  So...I did what any great mom would do.  When Shamu started splashing I huddled down under the seat in front of us with Ebby Lee.  It worked and we hardly got wet.  Did we look crazy?  I'm about 99% positive that we did.  haha!

Come here cute little dolphin!!

Nixon chickened out, but Bowen was ALL about this ride.

So we watched.  :)

Day 3

 Day 3 started with a little stop at the Alamo.

G and M with the grandkids.

A big part of the crew waiting patiently in line.

Bowen and I hung out beside the photo area while the big kids took a bathroom break.  He kept pointing to the girl in the pink shirt (who is like 15) saying, "Mama, Mama".  hahahaha!!

See...I said, "Bowen, show me where Mama is."  Look who he's pointing to!  haha!

 Everyone needed a picture in front of the well.  :)

He wanted to hold Sister's hand.  So sweet!

Then it was off to the Riverwalk....once again, I had so much fun I forgot to take any pictures!!  We had lunch down there and then left ASAP.  They were setting up for the San Antonio Spurs' Parade and it was getting CRAZY!!

We went straight to the pool!!

We had smores by the pool and then watched a movie on the lawn.  Check out B!  He's not even on our blanket.  He made friends with everyone on the lawn!

Turbo on the big screen??  So much fun!!

Day 4

We had a yummy breakfast to get ready for the day!!

Did I mention kids 5 and under eat and drink free at this resort??  Total SCORE for the Slaughters!!

Hilarious!!  E grabbed the phone and walked back and forth on the balcony "talking" to Kensington!  haha!

Bowen took a little nap on M's bed and he had two big kiddos wanting to cuddle.

Then...this happened!!!!   EEK!!!  Do you see that teeny tiny little NIT in Ebby Lee's hair??  We went to the Mexican Market area.  Ebby Lee tried on a hat (hope no one else tried that on for the rest of the day!) and when she took it off I noticed something in her hair.  So, I took a little look and I LOST it!!  ICK!!!  I regained my composure and spent the next thirty minutes figuring out our game plan.

She was such a trooper!!  She said she felt like a dog with fleas!  haha!

We rode the boat on the Riverwalk.

By Thursday, this kid was feeling WAY better!!

We grabbed some lunch and headed straight to Ulta for a lice comb!!!

This is where we spent our last night...so nice!!!

The kiddie pool...perfect for B!

Ebby Lee and I combed and combed and combed some more to get all those lice out of her hair!!  We were still in shock!!!  hahaha!

We left early Friday morning to return home.  What fun memories were made!!  We had a BLAST!  (Well...until I found the head lice I had a blast...ha!)

I'll be sharing later my tips for removing head lice!  (I can't believe I just wrote that!!  But if one person finds it useful, then it will be worth it!!!)  

And remember...just a few more days to sign up as a PC and receive a free body moisturizer, body sunscreen, or sunless tanner.  You can search HERE or e-mail me @alittlebitofeverything83@yahoo.com if you have any questions!!  Happy Monday!!