Growing Smalls: July 2018

Thursday

Need an Everyday Sunscreen?

One of our favorite things to do is hit the back roads in the jeep. Hence the name "Back Road Momma". The land here offers more beauty than can be appreciated in a life time and the old dirt roads are just simple, quiet, and very peaceful. It's our time to unwind, take in the fresh air, and just enjoy this amazing world we have been blessed with.

Kolton's getting big enough that we're able to take him now. I purchased a bikini top for the jeep and we just putt around. But while that may protect him from the wind his cute little toes seem to always be in the sun. It's too hot for socks, and he won't keep his feet covered with a blanket either. I can't say I blame him though.

Of course, there's sunscreen for that right? That's my first thought too! On his first jeep ride I didn't think about it until after the fact so there we were pulled over on the side of the road putting sunscreen on his arms legs and feet. (mainly just in case)

I actually received this bottle of Beautycounter Mineral Sunscreen a couple weeks ago and had tossed it in my purse until we needed it. Perfect timing I thought!

Of course first thing I noticed was how the lotion slightly shimmered in the suns reflection but I continued to rub it in and the shimmer was eliminated. That got me thinking... Why.... Why does it shimmer? Is it just because of the minerals? Yea pretty much.... But that's a good thing!

The Beautycounter Mineral Sunscreen actually shields against the suns harmful rays protecting against UVA, UVB, and blue light while sitting on the surface of the skin rather than absorbing into the skin. Beautycounter doesn't use any SPF filters because they are known to cause skin irritation. Instead the Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide sit on the surface of the skin and physically bounce/ reflect the suns rays away from the skin. This is great for people with sensitive skin like sweet Baby Kolton! And yes, of course it's water and sweat resistant and I noticed it doesn't wear off quickly either although the company recommends you reapply every 40 minutes if in direct contact with water. That just makes since anyways.

Formulated with non-nano zinc and antioxidant-rich California Poppy, I really like how it feels. Where I applied the sunscreen on myself my skin is soft and silky smooth. It doesn't feel greasy and it was easy to rubbed in without leaving white residue. I think the Beautycounter mineral sunscreen is great for everyday use because of how easy it's applied, the lack of residue and the simple fact that your skin's not consuming the product by soaking it up but just hosting it for a little while if you will. This is a great everyday sunscreen!

To check out Beautycounter and all their healthy living products find them at the following links;

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We received one or more of the products mentioned above in exchange for an honest and non-biased review. While we have been compensated for our review with the product, our reviews our own opinion based on our personal experience and realize our experiences may be different than our readers. This page may contain affiliate links in which we receive a small compensation for your purchases. This allows us to continue to offer you our services.

Tuesday

Easy 2 Minute Icing

I've been doing a lot more baking lately and a necessity when you make sweets is of course some simple icing.

I've never been much of an icing maker because it never turns out for me. I get frustrated and give up or just go get some store bought. But this morning I found this recipe and it worked the way I needed it to. Just look at these cinnamon rolls I made for breakfast! So, I figured I would share with my adjustments.

I love that I can make this frosting as thick or thin as I would like with the milk. Just be sure to add only a little at a time so you get your desired consistency.

Directions

Mix the confectioners' sugar, softened butter, and vanilla together.
Add half tablespoon of milk at first and stir to make thick glaze. Add remaining milk to get desired consistency, but only adding a few drops at a time.
Spread or pour immediately over cooled cinnamon rolls, pastries, pound cakes, or Danish.
Glaze will form a crust and harden as it cools, but you can spread over warmed cakes and serve that way as well.

Helpful Baking Accessories:

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Monday

Build-A-Bear PAY YOUR AGE For ANY furry friend in the store!

The rumors are true!

🎉 July 12 is the first-ever Pay Your Age Day at Build-A-Bear Workshop! For one day only, you can pay your age for ANY, we repeat, ANY furry friend at the Workshop*!

It’s easy – how old you are is how much your furry friend costs!

It’s a Bonus Club offer, so sign up now to save time in the Workshop! Full Details Here!

When you create an account you will automatically be enrolled in our Build-A-Bear BONUS CLUB™ experience! It’s full of fun benefits like product sneak peeks, member only offers, unique store events, and other great surprises. Your fun adds up to valuable rewards - earn 1 point for every $1 you spend and get a $10 certificate for every 100 points. -

All information from Build-A-Bear.com We just wanted to share :)

3 Ingredient Strawberry Dump Desert

This has become by far one of our favorite deserts to make. It's so cheap, so easy, and super quick! Strawberries were on sale this week for a dollar a pack making this desert costing less than $5!

We've seen different variations of the recipe most of which call for making a bed of whole graham crackers on each layer and then letting it set for at least 4 hours to soften. I'm usually in too big of a hurry or WAY to impatient to wait that long. So we made some adjustments.

First we made homemade graham crackers because they are incredibly easy and when I saw hubby pay over $3 a for one box I about died! I'll post that recipe later on today don't worry. And if I can make it.... Anyone can!

For this Strawberry Dump you need three things, strawberries cut up, whipped cream, and those good ol' graham crackers.

I put a laywer of whipped cream on the bottom so it would help hold everything together when it's time for serving. Then I crumbled up some of those graham crackers as the second layer. I crumbled up my graham crackers for every layer to eliminate the need for it to sit and soak up. This made it way easier to serve as well because we weren't fighting to break up the solid crackers. Trust me, we tried both ways. ;)

Then you guessed it, top off with some strawberries. Then you just keep adding layers of cool-whip, graham crackers, and strawberries until you have your desired about of desert. I told you this one was super easy!!

For my top layer I just sprinkled a real light amount of graham cracker crumbs to make it pretty and topped with an extra layer of strawberries. This makes for a very presentable desert that will be gone in a flash!

I picked this casserole dish because we were going to a neighborhood dinner and I figured it would be big enough to offer the right amount of servings. But you can make this in any dish or bowl. As a matter a fact, when we got home, I made hubby and I a bowl of it in just a couple of minutes. What a sweet little bedtime treat!

Helpful Baking Accessories:

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Friday

A match made from Heaven: Lady & Little Bug w/ Grandpa's Last Quilt

Oh my gawsh.......... Is he just not the cutest ever! Happy Three Months to Baby Kolton! I can't believe how fast the days are going and I know it's not gonna slow down anytime soon. He loves to be in the water, is sleeping through the night and is our precious little chipmunk with those sweet sweet cheeks!

So what did we do for Baby Kolton's three month pictures? It was a hard one that's for sure.

My grandfather passed away just a couple months ago and I remember the last time he stopped by he said he was taking a quilt to the quilt shop in Arkansas so I gave them a call. Sure enough the quilt was still there waiting to be finished, paid for and picked up. Of course I couldn't walk away from it so we scraped up the money and headed south.

The pepper quilt was beautiful! We have no true idea who this quilt was supposed to be for as Grandma and Grandpa were always gifting their creations but the best guess is this was probably one for Grandpa to keep for himself as he loved peppers. I can remember giving him glass jars filled with decorative peppers for Christmas many many times. Yea real original right? Grandpa passed away just a few weeks after Kolton was born so we found it fitting for this quilt to be Kolton's.

With perfect timing, Lady & Little Bug offered to make us an outfit for Kolton and sent us a couple of their newest fabric selections. I saw the peppers and just knew that was the one!

The Chili Pepper Organic Romper is made from 100% American organic cotton and the first thing I noticed was how incredibly soft it is to the touch! You can request three different sleeve styles from Lady & Little Bug and I asked for sleevless as we are in the heart of the mid-west where some nights are still cool but the mornings are sultry and hot! Oh I dislike Missouri humidity for sure!

The bright watercolor chilies are highlighted with gold and orange accents and make for an adorable summer outfit! I am so in love with the design it's almost like a match made in heaven. I guess anything's possible right? It's obvious it was mean to be.

Although Kolton is just turning 3 months old in these pictures, he weighed 16 pounds so we ordered the 6-9 month romper which fit him really well. This style allowed us to simply slide him into the outfit through the neck opening without fussing with buttons or snaps. I love the roomy design which is great for our new adventure in cloth diapers. Oh yea that's coming up soon too! I'll let you know how it goes!

Lady & Little Bug has some super cute materials in which you can browse through in their catalog and they offer a large selection of clothing products that are great for the little ones! Drop by and check them out at the following links;

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Don't lose flavor to the grill! Check out this BBQ Wire Wing Rack from Cave Tools

Don't that look good? Easy peasy dinner and our Cave Tools BBQ Wire Wing Rack did just the trick!

I love country living. There was no question where we wanted to live when hubby and I got together. I traded my big city home for the country life and never looked back. Sure I miss the 2 minute trip to Walgreens every now and then but I don't miss the traffic, the weird people walking up and down the street, the people selling things knocking on the all hours of the day and night. I don't miss our house getting broken into even though we lived in a very nice neighborhood, or the kids bikes getting stolen. What's wrong with people! Get a job and get it yourself!

I love our little home out in the country where no one bother's us and the kids are safe. Did you hear that, my kids can play outside and I don't have to worry about a creeper picking them up! I love it out here and there's no going back!

But like I just said we have a little home. A cute, in the middle of no where, sweet, charming, little home and that took some adjustments. One thing I've learned to do is cook outside on the grill way more often than I ever imagined. Hubby even grills in the winter! Not just because we have our little home but we really do love the smokey grilled flavor. So it all works out more than I ever imagined. Adjustments are easy when your happy and safe.

We took a interest in Cave Tools recently when we reviewed their Metal Meat Claws. Read that review HERE, and now we get to check out their Barbecue Wing Rack & Drip Pan.

This little gadget is great! I love how the wings are securly held above the grates so they won't stick to the grate or lose any of their seasoning. I got these BBQ Wings pre-seasoned which was great for our busy day. No prep needed!

The wire rack that holds the wings actually braces into place and with a gentle squeeze folds right up and fits back in the drip pan for easy storage.

The drip pan is the best attachment ever to the wing rack because all those flavors from the seasons will drip right on down to the veggies. I can't wait until our garden is ready to start picking so we can use this again and again!

So the "minor details" The Cave Tools Wing Rack fits up to 12 wings, legs, thighs, or drumsticks and can be used on the grill or in the oven!

The wire rack as you can see comes off the drip pan and easily sits right on top. Your choice :)

Made from 100% Dishwasher safe stainless steel which is sure to last

The package came with 25 Professional Barbecue Recipes that are super easy to read and very detailed. And you can access more grilling tutorial videos on a link provided. I can't wait to give some of them a try.

And last but definitely not least; There's a LIFETIME SATISFACTION GUARANTEE! So why not give the BBQ Wing Rack a try? Check it out at the following links;

Grab your Wing Rack 15% Off discount with code: WING15

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We may have received one or more of the products mentioned above in exchange for an honest and non-biased review. While we have been compensated for our review with the product, our reviews our own opinion based on our personal experience and realize our experiences may be different than our readers. This page may contain affiliate links in which we receive a small compensation for you click on. This allows us to continue to offer you our services.

Pet Treater saves the day!

June was just a harsh reminder of how very little time there is in each day... It was like a bad reality check and reminder to not overload myself with so many things to do, especially with Baby Kolton! He LOVESSSSSSSSSSSS his Momma and misses Momma when she's busy doing other things. And frankly I don't blame him because there are certainately moments I feel like I haven't held him enough for the day.

But that's what makes this post even more relevant. I'm just too busy sometimes to worry about swinging by the pet store each month to pick up the girls new toys, treats, and a couple necessities. My Pet Treater box saves the day! I didn't even realize we were out of dog treats until I went to the kitchen and BAM their gone! That's when I remembered I still have review items in the hallway closet to work my way through and my Pet Treater box was one of them.

June's box really did the trick too! Look at these girls, they can't even wait for me to finish going through the box! Tally eventually gave up because she knows it's for her anyways. LOL

There's a toy for both Tally and Moxie even though the box is really only for one pup. Dog Tuff sent a DOGLOG which seems pretty durrable and has a super soft racoon tail attached to it to encourage play. Plus is squeeks of course! Bow wow Pet also sent a crinkle Monkey that's super soft and lenky. I'm sure they will have fun playing with both these toys! Maybe the neighbors dogs will get in on the action too!

Vegalicious sent a Crazy Coconut Flavored Healthy Treat bar and when I opened it up it smelled so good I should have seen if the kids would have tried it LOL Of course I would have stopped them but the package is actually labeled "not for human consumption" meaning someone... somewhere.... had the same idea LOL Of course Tally and Moxi scarfed it right up!

Now if you follow me, you know we just got Moxi not too long ago so she needs a little training every now and then and some positive reinforcement will do just the trick! MyDoggy included a bag of soft-baked training treats in apple honey flavor and both girls loved them! But I think I'll primarily use them for Moxi. Tally's already really stinking smart and is getting up there in age.

Moxi loved the training treats! This could work!

But check this out, The Origional Heavenly Hounds included a peanut butter flavored relaxation square! Gosh I wish I wouldn't have waited to open this box!!! This would have been perfect for when the kids were shooting off fireworks. Pet Treater really thought this out and I know there are so many many families that got to use that one on the 4th. Great job Pet Treater!!! *Dumb move to me...

We spent the day at the creek for the fourth. It was a wonderful day around a lot of good people. The kids fished and swam until dark and it was wonderful seeing them get along! Of course there were lots of puppies and family dogs down there. Tally doesn't travel well in the car but Moxi will. Pet Treater included a Fou-Stick Protect in the June box which is like a chap-stick for dogs to protect them against the hot pavement and dry, cracked, chapped, paws, toes, and noses! How cool I didn't even know there was such a thing! We'll have to throw that in the bag for Moxi next time we take her out and about.

And of course Pet Treater every once in a while comes across a great product they think the adults in the house will like. This month they included a Fuse Plus you 2 port car adapter for charging our gadgets in the car. Thanks! That'll go to the back for the kids and they won't have to fight over the charger. This is great for those long summer road trips!

Pet Treater did it again! We love them and how much they love us!

Check them out at all the following links;

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#pettreater #pettreaterbox #monthlydogbox

I gave in and use the Monet, but it sure is handy!

If you've ever seen my phone, you know that one I'm a little clumsy and two my phone has seen better days. I've dropped that poor phone more times than I can count and yet I just can't convince myself to get a new one. I mean come on... I'm just gonna break the new one too...

I've seen the kids use the pop sockets which are this round button like thing that attaches to the back of your electronic and I just couldn't get myself to do it. They look bulky like they would get snagged going in and out of my pocket. But now I'm so glad I waited out the pop socket trend! I was recently introduced to the Monet, which not only helps me keep a grip on my phone, but it's also a thin wallet and a lot more functional!

The Monet attaches to any phone, tablet, or ipod in a snap. Just make sure you clean them with a little alcohol first to remove any oils or dirt from your devise. I put mine on my extra phone I use on the wifi and Layla uses one on her tablet.

The sleek design with the pocket holds cash, debit/credit cards, and just about anything you can fit in there.

The slide where you stick your fingers in for the extra grip snaps into place. I love how strong the slide is because it acts as a kickstand if you don't want to hold your phone or in Layla's case her tablet. It helps set it upright on the table which eliminates her "having to hold" the tablet. Why is that a good thing? Because now when she's watching her shows the tablet is a couple feet in front of her rather than right in her hands. It's a win win for sure!

Check out the Monet at the following links;

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#selfiebetter #monetallday