DIY Thanksgiving Tree

Please tell me I'm not the only one that is still STUNNED that Thanksgiving is less than a week away?!

Somehow our calendars jumped from June 1st to November 15th in two seconds flat (well, at least it feels like they did).

Regardless of what speed the calendar seems to be moving, Thanksgiving is next week and so our hearts turn once again to the giver of all of life's great gifts - God Almighty.

This Thanksgiving I wanted to be intentional about spending daily family time reflecting on all of the many good gifts God has given us.

In order to make this as visual as possible (we have a 3 year old, remember?!), we decided to make a Thanksgiving Tree.

I'd seen a number of Thanksgiving Trees on Pinterest and knew it was something I wanted to do one day when my kids were old enough to understand the idea of being thankful for things (big and/or small).

Specifically this year I bought a tree wall decal (Target) and made our leaves with a variety of pieces of fall colored card stock.  Each night after Alan returns home from work, we all sit down and talk about what we're thankful for that day.  The only rule is there are no rules. Our thanksgiving leaves have ranged from the seemly insignificant (iPhone, coffee) to the very significant (family, friends, Jesus).

It's been so much fun for us! And what's been the most fun is that we have been completely FLOORED each day when our sweet Nora takes 10 seconds to ponder what she's thankful for and always seems to come up with something so very heartfelt that it makes your heart melt in the process.  (Nora's leaves to date read: family, friends, neighbors, the park and swings)

I'd totally encourage you to start the family tradition of doing a Thanksgiving Tree this year too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Steph's Pick : Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40

A couple of weeks back I was invited to attend an event, sponsored by Graco and hosted by Kelly L {Everyday Childhood}, where 15 local bloggers were given the opportunity to learn about their newest car seat, the Graco Snu­gRide® Click Con­nect™ 40.  

Now I'll be honest, I totally went into this thinking "What more is there to know about car seats?!"  Well ladies, I was wrong!

Even with having two small children and having read Abbi's post on the New Car Seat Law, I still had a lot to learn! 

As many of you probably know, the Amer­i­can Acad­emy of Pedi­atrics recently made the rec­om­men­da­tion to keep all chil­dren in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. In response to this recommendation, Graco set out to make a new product so par­ents can keep infants rear fac­ing longer while still keep­ing them comfortable.  Their results were the Graco Snu­gRide® Click Con­nect™ 40.

Here's a few things I love the most about the Graco Snu­gRide® Click Con­nect™ 40

• The Simply Safe Adjust harness systems allows parents to adjust their baby's height as their baby grows, all without having to rethread the harness. 
• 8 recline positions to give your child more legroom as they grow.
• Slide up kick plate/foot rest to protect the back of your seat from dirty little feet.

I encourage you to read more about this product and watch the informational videos provided on the gracosafety.com website. And please consider this car seat for your little ones! Avail­able in two fab­ric choices, the seat retails for $219.99 and is avail­able at Babies R Us.

*Dis­clo­sure: 

The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 – the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable. 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.

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{giveaway} :: zpizza gift card

I love me some {good} pizza!  

I wish I could blame my love for pizza on this sweet little girl growing in my tummy but this isn't an "only when I'm pregnant" love.  Sadly, it's been around a lot longer.  

Therefore, you can imagine my excitement when we were given the opportunity to review a pizza at zpizza for all of you, our readers!  Eek... I. Was. STOAKED!

Just last night Alan and I placed a carry out order for a large Thai Chicken Pizza (Ingredients: peanut sauce, mozzarella, antibiotic-free chicken, red onions, cilantro, carrots, fresh bean sprouts and Serrano chiles). And it certainly did not disappoint! Holy Moly was it heavenly!  

But here's where it gets fun! zpizza is giving away a $10 gift card for one lucky The Flies Blend reader!

With zpizza locations in AZ, CA, CO, MN, NC, NY, TX and many more states, surely there are plenty of readers out there who should be registering for their chance to win!  (See locations HERE). 

Here's what you need to do to enter for your chance to win...

WIN IT ::

All you have to do to enter is simply leave a comment. Winner will be randomly drawn and announced next Friday. 

Good luck!

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