Five on Friday - The Eclipse, a Well Visit, and Two Products You Should Try

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Another week of craziness is in the books, and we have a whole weekend of crazy as well as B will be working all weekend and my parents will be out of town.  I’ll be flying solo with the kids the majority of the time, and we will also be taking care of my parents’ dog while they’re out of town.  Should make for an interesting weekend…

Anyhoo, some favorites from the week!

O N E – Fall is Upon Us

I typically deem it appropriate to start decorating for fall on September 1, but I’ve been mulling it over this week, and I think that I’m actually just going to go ahead and decorate this weekend.  Yes, I know it’s still August, and it is also still 90 degrees outside, but hear me out. 

First of all, B is working all weekend so the kids and I will be at home and having a good bit of free time.  This is the perfect opportunity to get it all out since it does take time to put it all up.  Second of all, the first weekend of September coincides with the start of football, so I will be fully absorbed in that all weekend, and will probably not want to make time for decorating.  Third, fall makes me happy and I’m ready to be surrounded by deliciously cozy fall goodness, so that’s all that should matter, right?

On Wednesday, I wrote this post about all of the must-haves for fall, so if you’re not in the spirit yet, you will be after reading it. 

Here's a sneak peek of what you'll find in the post...

Okay, that’s it.  I’ve officially talked myself into it.  I’m decorating Saturday.  ;o)

T W O – Halo Top

If you follow me on the blog or on Instagram then you know how much I love frozen yogurt/ice cream.  Remember when I gave up all sweets during Lent and I almost died without my nightly Publix frozen yogurt?  Yes, it is that bad when I don’t have it. 

Well, I’ve been trying to cut back, but since I’ve been in a bit of a funk in life lately, it’s proving to be harder than I expected.  I had heard of Halo Top and those other “healthy” alternatives to ice cream so I decided to pick up a couple of pints at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and give them a whirl.  My expectations were so low that I’m surprised I ever even decided to crack them open and give them a try.  There was just no way that these were going to taste remotely okay. 

Well, I’m here to tell you that I was wrong and that if these glorious little pints of heaven weren’t so expensive then I would completely replace every single carton of my beloved Publix frozen yogurt with them.  So far I have tried the Cookie Dough and the Mint Chip and I was floored by how good both of them were.  They completely satisfied my ice cream craving and they are not bad for you at all!!  They are super low in calories, super low in fat, fairly low in sugar, and super high in protein.  Take this pint of Mint Chip for instance:  the perfect serving size for me is eating half of the pint, and by eating that I’m only consuming 120 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 10 grams of sugar, and I’m getting 6 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein in return.  Y’all, with numbers like that I could eat this every night and not feel the least bit guilty.  The downside is that it is very pricey, so it’s just not practical for me to eat every night.

As a side note, I did try Arctic Zero as well and I was not impressed.  In my opinion it doesn’t hold a candle to the Halo Top.  However, I have been told that the flavor I tried was not the best one, so I will probably pick up a different one the next time I’m at the store.  I’m always up for giving something a second chance!

And just so you know, this is not sponsored.  It’s just another product that I’m impressed with and I just had to share it with you!

T H R E E – Eclipse Day & a Well Visit

The Eclipse was this past Monday, and our little area was in the 92% coverage zone.  All of our schools dismissed early because they didn’t want the kids outside (or the parents driving) during the event.  Fortunately the extended day program was still open so we didn’t have to find anyone to keep Jacob.  Since the kids were taken care of, I remained at work during the big event and I watched it with my twin, Adrienne. 

My mom had gotten some of the glasses for us, so I had two pairs to pass around amongst my co-workers.  We viewed it around the halfway point and then we viewed it again at the 92% coverage point.  I have to say it was pretty cool.  Weather and space has always fascinated me, so I had been looking forward to it.  I was surprised how light it stayed outside, though.  It looked similar to a really cloudy day, but everything had a bit of a smoky look to it.  The next time we have a total eclipse, I would love to drive to a location to experience “totality.”  I’ve heard that even 99% doesn’t hold a candle to totality.

Anyway, Jacob also happened to have his six year well visit the same day, and it was scheduled for 4:30, so I was able to pick him up just in time to see the final moments of the eclipse (with my glasses, of course).  He was not as impressed with the eclipse as he was with all of the hype leading up to it, though.  The school had given all of the kids mini Moon Pies for a snack and they watched the coverage live on TV so I think he enjoyed that more than actually seeing it.  Haha.

When we arrived at the doc, there was nobody in the waiting room… not a single soul.  Normally the place is packed so I’m thinking that the eclipse had everyone hiding out at home?  Anyway, we were called back within just a couple of minutes and the nurse who took his vitals presented him with yet another Mini Moon Pie, and she gave me a big Moon Pie.  So cool of them to do that! 

His check-up went great!  The doc checked his ears, nose, throat, vision, and hearing, and everything checked out perfectly.  He did say that one of Jacob’s tubes is still in his ear canal, but that it’s not a problem because it doesn’t do any harm since it’s out of the ear drum.  Crazy because we thought those were long gone!

His stats were as follows:

Weight – 38 pounds (7th percentile)

Height – 42.25 inches (5th percentile)

BMI – 15 (AKA his weight and height are perfectly proportionate) 

He’s a tiny little peanut barely even gracing the charts, but he sure is mighty!

F O U R – Our New Way to Organize Olivia’s Hair Accessories

Did you catch my post on Tuesday?  I finally found a cute way to organize Olivia’s hair things!  Hop on over and check it out! 

F I V E – A STEAL on Kid’s Multivitamins

Finally, multivitamins.  Sheesh, they’re expensive. 

Our kids have never taken vitamins and I’ve been wanting to find some so they can start.  I have seen many people raving about the Smarty Pants Complete Gummy Vitamins with Omega-3, Vitamin D3, and B12 so I looked into those, but you guys, they are ridiculously expensive.  At a glance, it doesn’t look that bad… on Amazon they are $17.05 for 120, or $0.14 each.  However, when you look at the directions it says that kids need to chew four gummies daily.  FOUR.  Between my two kids that’s eight gummies and $1.12 per day just for a vitamin.  That ends up being almost $35 a month! 

When I was at the Mother Ship (Target) the other day, I stumbled upon these.  They are a children’s multivitamin that contains the exact same Omega-3, Vitamin D3, and B12 that the others have, but they are way cheaper.  At Target they are regularly $12.99 for 90 gummies, or $0.14 each.  The kicker is that the directions say that kids only chew one per day compared to the four per day that the other brand requires.  So for my family with two kids we’re looking at only $0.28/day and $8.68/month as opposed to $1.12/day and $34.72/month. 

The best part is that Target has them on sale right now for only $9.99 for 90 making them just $0.11 each, AND if you use your Cartwheel app you can get an additional 25% off until Saturday.  That makes each vitamin just $0.08 each!! 

YOU BETTER BELIEVE I BOUGHT FOUR BOTTLES!! 

And I would have bought more but our Target was out of stock after that.  :o(

The kids have been taking them for several days now and they LOVE them… they think they’re getting a treat, so it’s a win-win every way you look at it. 

Again, not sponsored… I just love to share a good deal!!

And that’s a wrap, folks!  Happy Friday!

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday.