Category: Family

Fa La La Little Bites Fun & a Sweet Holiday Giveaway

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY ONE OF OUR FAVORITE FOODS- LITTLE BITES®

It’s finally here- the Christmas season and aka my favorite time of year.  I haven’t watched a single Hallmark movie fully through yet and I’m hoping I get a weekend to just “Hallmark and chill“.  Between work and being booked solid with photo sessions on the weekends, life is a bit cray cray right now.  In a good way…and it’s a blessing to watch my photography business grow.

I got the tree up this past weekend and now I’m enjoying all the ambiance and twinkle in the house along with all the HOLIDAY FOODS!!!  YUM.  I love my eggnog, gingerbread cookies, and any soup or chili in a bowl right now.  The kids are always eating us out of house and home, especially the tweenager and Heidi bug loves to snack all day too.

We love that Little Bites® Butter Cookie Muffins are back!  Both of my kiddos can’t wait for these and I love them just as much.  Actually I pretty much like anything with cookie butter in the title.   Little Bites Cookie Butter Muffins are made with real butter in perfect pouches for snacking or lunches.  

This girl LOVES these muffins so much she asks for them every day.  As a parent who is always watching what goes into my kid’s food -there’s no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial flavors or colors.  These muffins are also a yummy snack at holiday parties for your little ones and friends to enjoy.

Cheers to the holiday season and we have another fun giveaway for you along with Little Bites too! 
Enter Below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Show Little Bites some love by following on their Website Facebook Instagram & YouTube

Oh look….I even caught Connor sneaking some muffins 😉

Fall is in the Air with L’OR Espresso

This post is sponsored by L’OR all thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you have read this blog anytime during the last 15 years then you know how it all started…The Java Mama and my love for all things caffeinated and coffee!  I love to try out all kinds of coffees and espressos.  That includes visiting different coffee shops and trying all kinds of coffee from all over the world.  I can’t survive a day without coffee and I take my caffeine very seriously folks!  I recently had the joy of trying L’OR espresso and here are my thoughts on these delectable espresso pods.

With fall here and cooler temps, nothing is better than a warm cup of espresso in the morning.  The L’OR coffee was so smooth and rich, and there was no bitterness at all. That is my way of judging whether or not espresso is up to par in my book.  And L’OR was definitely on par! L’OR Espresso’s coffee capsules come in 8 signature flavors: Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Onyx, Or Absolu, Profondo Lungo, Estremo Lungo, Ristretto, and Ristretto Decaffeinato and are Nespresso®* Original compatible.

If you are always in a hurry in the morning like me then a coffee is always a godsend. Just insert the L’OR Espresso pods and within minutes you have a steaming cup of espresso.  I like to froth some flavored half and half on mine.  Right now I’m using THIS pumpkin spice syrup in my coffee. I save time in the morning and enjoy a yummy cup of espresso- without sacrificing quality or flavor! 

There’s nothing better than GOOD. QUALITY. COFFEE.I’ll leave you with one of my favorite coffee recipes, especially with the holidays right around the corner.

EGGNOG LATTE

Ingredients

  • 3 ounces espresso
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup eggnog
  • freshly ground nutmeg

Instructions

  • Prepare L’OR Espresso
  • Heat 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of eggnog for about 1 minute in milk frother
  • Top with nutmeg as desired

Thank you to L’OR for allowing me to try your amazing espresso pods- they are truly devine!  I can’t wait to try them in all of my favorite fall drinks.  They taste soooooo good and are priced so well that I’ll definitely be going back for more.

xo – Becky

Halloween Fun with Little Bites + Enter to WIN!

This post is sponsored by one of our favorite foods- Little Bites®

It’s spooky season and we are ready with one of our favorite snacks Little Bites®!!!  Both of my kids love these and beg for the chocolate chip muffins every time we go to the grocery store.  They have more than just muffins…all kinds of yummy snacks to flavor your fall.  You all know we are big fans of Little Bites and love to spread a little bit of Little Bite love with YOU too!

Here is Heidi’s Halloween costume this year:

Do you think the big bad wolf likes Little Bites?

Information about Little Bites® snacks:

  • Little Bites® snacks are baked soft and moist
  • With a wide variety of options to choose from, Little Bites® snacks feature real ingredients such as chocolate chips, blueberries, and strawberries, and are perfectly portioned and portable
  • Little Bites® snacks contain no high fructose corn syrup and zero grams of trans fat per serving
  • For more information about Little Bites® snacks, please visit www.littlebites.com

Little Bites is doing a really fun Halloween contest right now.  Just head on over to INSTAGRAM and enter to win!  Fans can visit Little Bites® official Instagram page daily to locate an image of Muffin the dog on Instagram Stories and take a screenshot to use as a blank canvas to create your unique Halloween costume by drawing/dressing him with various gifs, emojis and coloring using Instagram drawing tools.

After you’re done customizing the dog post the design to your Instagram Story and tag the brand @LittleBitesSnacks as your official entry, and include #contest

Each Friday, four winners will be chosen based on creativity and originality to win exciting prizes, including a year’s supply of Little Bites® product (52 coupons) and a $250 gift card for Halloween supplies

  • Entry Period 1: October 4 – October 7 (Winners selected: Friday, October 8)
  • Entry Period 2: October 11- October 14 (Winners selected: Friday, October 15)

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeen Everyone!!!

Little Bites has allowed us to do a fun Halloween giveaway with y’all for a $25 virtual gift card and three (3) coupons for up to $5.29 off the purchase of Little Bites® products.

JUST ENTER BELOW:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hey There Pumpkin- Fall Recap

It’s pumpkin season y’all and I’m HERE FOR IT!  October kicks off my favorite time of year with all the trick or treating, pumpkins, pumpkin patch, and fall-ish weather. Let’s light a fall candle and make sparkly pumpkins shall we?

Next comes Thanksgiving and turkey and gathering with family, football, and parades.  THEN- Christmas my FAVORITE!  I’m ready to put my tree up now, but I’m afraid it’s too early according to others in my household. Lol!

Hallmark starts airing their Christmas films at the end of October though and what is a Hallmark Christmas movie without a little twinkle in the background?  Another thing I love is soup.  And soup season is here too!  If you have any good soup recipes to share please do!

I recently had the opportunity to work with Poster Store and they let me pick out some fun pictures for our home.  It was super easy and they have frames in all different colors and more photos and drawings than you could ever imagine.

I chose this pretty fall landscape for our front entry.

I can’t wait to put this one up for Christmas.

This cute little tree house for Heidi’s room.  

And this “Dream” photo for the kids bathroom.

Poster Store was kind enough to give a discount code for my readers: 35java for 35% off posters (not including selection posters).

This is how everyone in Texas is like right now.  I’m sitting here typing in my sweater and sweating…but mentally it’s FALL…so it’s worth it!

All the Halloween candy has me like….

I’m also wearing my cute Brianna Cannon earrings and headband for fall too!  Don’t forget my discount code: BECKY10 and shop all her cute fall goodies HERE.

One of our favorite places to eat is Rise Soufflé.  We went out with Ellen a few weeks ago and had a girls day out.  The soufflés are SO GOOD!

Heidi looking so cute with her pumpkin!  We can’t wait to go to the pumpkin patch soon. We also took the kids to the zoo and they had a great time.  The Fort Worth Zoo is definitely one of the best.  

My curly headed baby boo- She does great at taking photos.  Remember how many photos I used to take of Connor when he was little?  Now he basically runs from me and hides- middles schoolers right?

Heidi also loves to help in the kitchen so we usually let her stir and things like that.  Here is is waiting on her pizza to cook in the oven. My forever Starbucks date.  I love you Connor and your lil hoodie wearing self.  Mama is so proud of you and your kind heart 🙂

School picture 2021- 6th grade.  How is this possible???

Okay, well I hope you enjoyed my little fall recap and I’ll be back Soooooooooooooooooooooooooon!!!! xo Becky

First Day of School 2021 + Enter to WIN with Little Bites®Back-to-School Bash

The coupons for product redemption, information, and gift card have been provided by Little Bites® so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Little Bites®. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Little Bites®.

We are heading back to school today and Mama can’t decide weather to jump in delight or cry that the time is passing so fast!  Connor is officially in middle school and it seems like yesterday I was walking him into Kindergarten.  Praying that all our kiddos have a healthy and happy year.

Today I’ve partnered with Little Bites® for a fun giveaway in celebration of their Back-to-School Bash!

The perfect snack for before school, at school, or after school.  My kids LOVE Little Bites and have for years.  You have probably read about our love for Little Bites before on the blog and that’s because we are HUGE fans and my kids are obsessed with them.

In true back to school Mama mode:  I present to you my kid’s first day of school pictures.

Connor started middle school today.  I can’t believe my boy is already in middle school.  Wasn’t it just yesterday I was writing about his birth on this very blog?  He said he had a great day!  He loved riding the bus, having pizza for lunch, and all his classes went well and he enjoyed them.

It was also a rainy dreary day and my camera and his glasses kept fogging up, but we still got our memory pictures 🙂

A sign for sister too & the 2 year old pre-k class.  Heidi loves her daycare and making new friends.  Her favorite thing to do is saying “Hi” to all the infants in the “baby room”.
Little Bites has more than eight varieties to choose from with real ingredients such as chocolate chips, blueberries, and bananas, and are perfectly portioned and portable.  Last year they had a pumpkin muffin and I hope they come out with it this year too!

I pray these kids have a safe and happy year and that God will bless and keep them all of their days- love Mama.

Enter to win 3 coupons, each valid for up to $5.29 off the purchase of Little Bites® snacks, and a $25 online virtual gift card.  Now through August 30, parents are invited to enter the Little Bites® Back-to-School Bash for a chance to win everything they need to host the ultimate back-to-school party.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Parents can enter by visiting the official Little Bites Facebook and/or Instagram page and completing the following steps:

Log onto Facebook and visit the Little Bites page to locate the timeline post (we will provide the official link to include in your blog post on 8/16). Then, comment a brief description of how you plan to celebrate going back to school to receive one (1) entry.

Log onto Instagram and visit the Little Bites page to locate the timeline post (we will provide the official link to include in your blog post on 8/16). Then, comment a brief description of how you plan to celebrate going back to school to receive one (1) entry.

Each week, five winners will be randomly selected on each platform to win the prize (10 winners total per week).

All comments must be posted by August 30 at 5PM ET to qualify.

For more information on the goodness of Little Bites visit:

Financial Tips & Planning For Your BEST Life

This post is sponsored by Responsival.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  I welcome any and all feedback.

I’ve worked in finance for over 15 years and money is a tricky thing y’all and also a sensitive topic for so many families/relationships.  I try to to be mindful about what I spend and what I need.  But, I also like to spend money on things that some may deem “not necessary”.  I don’t own any crazy expensive shoes or purses- but I do like decorate my home, buy coffee, and dress my kids cute!

Whatever you choose to do for yourself or your family is YOUR decision!

Here are some tips that have helped me to feel financially secure over they years & I wanted to share these tips with YOU!

1. Set LIFE goals-  Setting goals is something that Terence and I have done since we got married.  Whether they were short term goals or long term goals it helps to have an end goal in sight.  It could be paying down debt, student loans, saving for a trip, or building up our emergency fund- the point is setting goals gives you an incentive to work hard and reward yourself when you get there!

(Germany 2018)

 

2. Make a Budget-  From the beginning of our marriage Terence and I have always set a budget.  That budget has fluctuated over the years as we’ve become more financially stable, but having a budget helps keep you responsible and accountable for your actions.  Make it known what you require as a need vs. want.  I know one of my “needs” is coffee. Ha ha!!!  But y’all knew that!

3.  Pay Off Credit Cards- Credit cards tend to have the highest interest rate.  As tempting as it is to put money towards your student loans, house, or car…pay off the debt that is charging you the most in fees/interest FIRST.

4.  Start Investing- The sooner you start investing the more your money will grow and work for you.  Even if it’s just a little bit each month at first, every little bit counts in the long run.  If you are in DFW and looking for a great financial guy, we love ours HERE.  Saving for your kids future is going to cost you a fortune too.  If you think higher education is in your child’s future, consider a 529 savings plan. You make contributions and invest the money with this plan, and funds can be used at any accredited school in the U.S. When the time comes to pay for college-related expenses such as tuition, book, and room and board, you can withdraw this money tax-free.

Two TCU Fans 🙂

5.  Get Insurance- Always make sure you are insured as a parent, whether it’s life insurance or short term disability.  Life is crazy and nothing is certain.  The last thing you want to do is leave your family in a state of sadness and financial despair.  Having life insurance coverage will bring you and your family peace of mind.  It will also provide security for your kids.

One day they are off to summer camp…the next off to college…I’m not going to cry!

(Connor had a great week at Pine Cove camp this year)

Red, White, & Two- Heidi turns TWO!

Our sweet Heidi girl turned TWO and she is so excited about it!  She is our sassy lil tater tot.  She is tiny but MIGHTY!  Heidi loves Baby Shark and Cocomelon.  She is learning her numbers and ABC’s.  Her favorite person is her big brother and she is asking questions about just about everything now.  She loves macaroni and cheese….grilled cheese…fruit…and basically anything with CHEESE!

She is a lot different than her brother and such a girly girl.  Heidi loves her baby dolls and pushing them around in her stroller.  Jumping on the trampoline is also a fave!

We can’t imagine our lives without you Heidi bug you are the sweetest surprise in life and we love you so so so MUCH!

We didn’t have a huge party, just a small dinner at home, but Mama still wanted to decorate for “Red, White, and TWO!”

Her cake turned out so cute and was under $25.00.  I got the topper on Etsy HERE.

Some 4th of July pics out by the pool.  

We finally got our pool fixed from the big storm in February.  Heidi has been loving getting in the water and swimming with Daddy and Mommy 🙂

Playing with her babies

“Baby Shark Doo doo doo doo”

Love you Heidi- can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for you this year and watch you grow big!  Love- Mama