Happily Ever Mock

Shop Share and Giveaway- Memory Joy Co

You know you all have a ton of hand print crafts and Popsicle stick creations stacked up and collecting dust.  You have great intentions to get organized and save the precious prints and finger paintings. However time can be an issue and so they remain collecting dust. Memory Joy has solved that problem for me!

Memory Joy has a wide selection of well made memory boxes adorned with your child’s photo, name and age.  Inside is plenty of room for precious mementos and keepsakes.  I am able to now save all of Hallie’s school artwork, karate certificates, and ballet photos while keeping things organized by age.

Before Memory Joy, I had Hallie’s artwork collecting dust on the desk and refrigerator.  They were becoming more crinkled by the day! I knew one day I would eventually pack them up in a storage tote, and put it away in a closet.  However, this seemed time consuming and I wouldn’t be able to easily look at her adorable creations .

With Memory Joy, all of Hal’s 3 year old mementos are tucked away, yet easily accessible. I love that they are organized and safe, and Hallie loves that she can take them off the shelf and look at them whenever she wants! 

The amazing folks at Memory Joy want to gift one of my readers a Memory Box of their very own! How cool is that? To enter Follow the rafflecopter steps below, and be sure you are following them on Facebook  and Instagram.

The giveaway is open to US residents only and will run until January 18th 2018.  Winner will be notified by January 19th 2018.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Few of My Favorite Things- January

January is all about new beginnings. For me, it’s about setting and achieving goals, that is when I am not hunkered down in my Pjs.  Today I am sharing some of my favorite products for work, for play and for hunkering down in said PJs.

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For Work: Erin Condren makes the BEST customizable planners! I prefer the vertical layout because there is plenty of room to keep track of everyone in the family.  And the dual tip markers are perfection!

For Play: Obsessed with these open front cardis! I have them in a few colors! Bonus, select colors are on sale now. This lipstick color is love for this time of year!

For Rest: I can’t get enough of these super comfy pajama pants! It’s the kind of love where you are incredibly bummed on laundry day to have to take them off to wash. Know what I mean? Also if you don’t have an Ugg Blanket, you are missing out! They are the softest warmest throws to wrap up in on a cold January day.

What are some of your favorite things?

2018 Goals and Resolutions

I feel like this is going to be a BIG year for the Mock family! Now that we are a week (and then some) into January, It’s time to jot down some goals for the year.

  1.  Get organized- I am hoping that by the end of the year we will be in a new house, so I want to make that move an easy one on us. I am planning on boxing up baby clothes and keepsakes and keeping things as simple and clutter free as possible.  Stay tuned because I have a review on a product coming soon that is sure to help with this!
  2. Live Healthier- I need to be more active this year! I also plan to eat a little healthier too! I want to make sure I add more fruits and veggies into my diet.  Coming from someone who doesn’t like fruit unless it’s baked into a pie, this is going to be a tricky one for me.
  3. Grow our businesses- Most of you know that my husband Christopher is opening a new store here in the Dallas area. Between that and the blog I am hoping that if we put in some hard work, by the end of the year we will definitely see immense growth.
  4. Spend more quality family time- Our little family of three could definitely benefit from more quality time.  Especially before we think about growing our family.  What are some ways you spend quality time as a family? We would love some ideas!

What are your goals for the year?

Thank You Notes For All Ages

I am such a stickler for Thank You Notes! After every holiday, birthday or thoughtful gift I make it a point to send a note to the gift giver to let them know I appreciate their thoughtfulness.  This is something I have been working very hard to instill in Hallie. So here’s a quick guide to getting kids involved in sending Thank You Notes at every Age.

Toddlers and Early Preschoolers– When Hallie was this age, I gave her paper and let her fingerpaint large sheets of thick paper.  Then I let them dry, cut them into cards and wrote out the notes for her.  You can also use crayons on cards or card-stock to make the job easier and less messy!

Advanced Preschoolers to Early Elementary– Have the child practice signing their name at the bottom of each thank you note. They can also practice their letters by copying each gift givers name at the top of each note.  Tips- Set a goal for a few each day so they don’t get tired, bored and grumpy. Also I like to use “hotdog folded” cards because they will have more room to write the names across the card. I am quite impressed with how Hallie’s Handwriting has improved since starting preschool in the Fall!

Later Elementary to young adults can obviously write their own thank you notes.  You can help them stay organized by keeping a list of everyone whom they received a gift from.  Setting a goal of a few notes a day can also help the task become less monotonous.

Do you send Thank you notes with your kids? How do you get them involved?

Gingerbread Recipe

Today I am sharing with you one of my very favorite Christmas recipes! My Perfect Gingerbread Cookies! I don’t know about you, but in my eyes, for a Gingerbread cookie to be perfect, it has to be firm, but chewy! And these cookies don’t disappoint!

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 Cup Molasses
  • 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/3 Cup Water
  • 1/8 Cup Softened Butter
  • 3 1/4 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour (Plus more for dusting)
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Allspice
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Directions:

  • In a stand mixer or large bowl cream together molasses, brown sugar, water and butter on a low setting until smooth.
  • Slowly combine the remaining dry ingredients into the wet mixture.  Mix well
  • Let the dough chill either overnight or at least 3 hours.
  • Once you are ready to form your cookies preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Dust a cutting board or hard surface with flour and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
  • Use your favorite cookie cutters to form cookie shapes.
  • Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes
  • Let fully cool before icing if desired

This year we used a standard gingerbread man, but flipped him upside down to create little reindeer! Hallie was thrilled!

Now I want to hear your favorite Christmas Recipes!

Stocking Ideas For Mom

It’s that time of year again! The time of year where I am scrambling to wrap all the presents and stuff all the stockings! It’s also the time of year when I put together a handy stocking gift guide for my main squeeze! I try to include practical things I will use throughout the year as well as a few fun additions (i.e the chocolate orange! It’s actually a tradition from when I was younger!)

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Socks and Chap-stick are staples for my stocking! They are things I need new each year! Props if the Chap-stick is candy cane  flavored!

I am definitely a planner, so anything from Erin Condren will leave me swooning! (Especially the 2018 monthly stickers and Water color sticky notes!)

And how good is this Mac Lipstick color?

What’s on your list fellow mommas?

Shop Share- Ashlilium Reindeer Antlers

I know it’s not quite Thanksgiving yet, but that doesn’t change the fact that Christmas is just over a month away! We are busy making lists, decking the halls and singing Christmas carols on repeat! Hallie happily bursts into lively renditions of Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer everywhere we go! I couldn’t pass up the chance to get my reindeer loving girl one of these festive reindeer headband from Ashlilium.

These little headbands will be perfect for your Christmas Card photos or Holiday parties! Or if your little one is anything like Hallie, an average Tuesday!

Ashley is offering 20% off in her shop NOW-BLACK FRIDAY, so head to the shop now, and snag one for your little reindeer!

To check out Ashley’s shop, click here! Also, Follow her on Instagram so you don’t miss out on any sales!

Friendsgiving

Bringing Back one of my favorite posts today!

I know to most of you Friendsgiving has a totally different meaning, but my favorite meaning of the word stems from a tradition my sister and I started several years ago:

So here is your guide to hosting your own Friendsgiving! 


1. Order a ton of food! I suggest Pizza or Chinese


2. Gather Seasons 1 and 3-10 of Friends! (I KNOW! No season 2 episode!) 


3. Enjoy!


Season 1: TOW Underdog Gets away! 
 “I’m very Thankful that all your Thanksgivings sucked”- Chandler 

Season 3: TOW The Football
  “I went really long” -Rachel 

Season 4: (And my personal fave): TOW Chandler in a Box
  “Fine but, Married a lesbian, left a guy at the alter, fell in love with a gay ice dancer, threw a girl’s wooden leg on the fire, live in a box!” – Monica

Season 5: TOW All the Thanksgiving Flashbacks
   ” Sir limps a lot, I came up with that!” -Ross

Season 6: TOW Ross got High
   “What’s not to like? Custard, good! Jam, Good! Meat, Gooood!” -Joey

Season 7: TOW Chandler Doesn’t like Dogs
   “Well I started naming states, but then I got tired of it so I started naming different types of celery. So far I’ve only got one, regular celery” – Phoebe 

Season 8: TOW the Rumor
  “Dear Rachel, you’re a very nice person. Sorry about your teeny weeny!”- Rachel

Season 9: TOW Rachel’s Other Sister
  ” Who has to die for me to get her” – Joey

Season 10: TOW The Late Thanksgiving
  “The Floating heads do make a good point” -Chandler

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?
<3 Kelly

Toddler Cold Weather Style

The days on the November calendar are flying by quickly, before you know it we will be decking the halls.  It’s the time of year in Texas where it’s finally appropriate to start pulling out the winter coats and mittens.  Here are some of our Cold Weather Favorites this year!

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The precious Hanna Anderson coat is perfect for a Texas winter. We love this sweet sweater and it comes in the prettiest white that matches all of our holiday outfits! Hallie wears the tights under all of her long sleeved dresses, and we love them! If you are looking to purchase from June and January for the first time, click here for 15% off your first purchase!

What are your kids wearing during these magical months?

5 years

Today marks 5 years of marriage for Christopher and I, and February will be 13 years together. It is true what they say, time flies when you are having fun! Today as I look back on our time together I am thankful for this man.  Christopher is the best Dad to Hallie and an Amazing husband to me. He gives us 110% all the time and we are so blessed to have him loving and protecting our family.  I love you more everyday honey, and can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.