Vranicar Family: Party of 5

Since leaving my desk job earlier this summer, I've been asked what exactly we do every day or more so, why we do SO much. I'm not much of a sit still kind of gal, in fact you'd be hard pressed to find me sitting through an entire sitcom. (unless of course we are watching Breaking Bad- I cannot stop watching it!) Because I'm often asked this and because I wonder too what stay at home moms/dads do with their time during the day, I thought I'd share a pretty typical day for me and the boys. 4:45am- My alarm goes off and I head to the gym. This is an insane hour to be up, but it is the only guaranteed time I can get it in 6:00am- I'm back home brewing my first of two cups of coffee. Between now and about 7am I get myself ready for the day, catch up on emails and if we are headed out for the day, pack lunches 7:00am - 7:30am- the boys wake up and breakfast is served 8:00am - 9:30am- books, cars or other indoor play as we get dressed, clean up from breakfast...

Recently, I stumbled upon couple really great finds at my ever favorite boutique...Target. While I truly hate to think about it cooler weather is on the way and while I'd rather lay in the sun then the snow, fall does get me excited about breaking out jeans, boots, sweaters and scarves! This over sized bag is so darn cute (and CHEAP)! Plus, you can hold a ton of stuff and find it easily and as a mom, I typically have one, or in some cases two, of everything from our house. It's made of an easy to clean "non-leather" material- aka not an investment piece but one you should use and not worry about what happens to it (PB&J sandwiches and juice boxes inside, half of the beach, muddy footprints from being stomped on while entering my van, you get the picture) Order one for $11.54 and add it to your fall wardrobe. My second great score was the yellow cheerful scarf, also pictured with the bag. I LOVE scarves, I think they make me look as if I've actuall...

I really love chips. In fact, in high school I'd buy a large bag of nacho flavored Doritos and devour the ENTIRE bag on the bus ride home after volleyball games. (I know.... total glutton.) I've been wanting to make kale chips for some time. With the abundance of kale in our house lately, thank you farmer's market, I've had it as part of my lunch and wanted to do something different than eating it raw. What better form than CHIPS?! I looked several places for a recipe that was simple and straight forward. The recipe below is from foodnetwork.com and is one of Melissa d'Arabian. I did not have sea salt so I used plain old "table" salt and to be really honest I didn't measure anything to carefully. Ingredients 1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried 2 tablespoons olive oil Sea salt, for sprinkling Directions Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet an...

I'm not going to say one "negative" thing about the heat we've been experiencing lately. I remember sitting in the house last winter, wind howling, snow up past the mailboxes and two little boys going stir crazy....saying how I couldn't wait to get outside. And really, I don't mind the heat- Kevin and I were married July 22 in heat much like what we have this week. (Plus, men in tuxes and a church and reception hall without A/C.... my dad promised it wouldn't rain and he was right.)  So if it were just me, I'd be slathering on the SPF 50 and laying out with a book or at the pool but since it's me plus two little guys that just won't do. Instead, I've come up with a few sure ways to enjoy this beautiful weather without over heating! (like Cooper did recently at the Park Rapids 4th of July parade......let's just say the candy bag got put to good use and it wasn't holding candy.) 1. Splash pads - we've visiting a handful of p...

I guess I should be used to being "judged" since I competed in pageants for so many years. Or maybe I could "blame" them for ever judging other women and the ways they did things. But now, finding myself in SO many situations that I once never pictured myself in (changing a diaper in a parking lot in the back of a mini van for instance), I am becoming so nonjudgmental and accepting. My husband will tell you that I always was and that I could not change or save everyone from themselves :). I once thought that was a right way to parent (I still think that to some degree there is, but that's mainly parenting with your child's best interest and well being in mind...) and that someday I would be a parent that did things the right way. How could "those" moms let their kids run away from them in the store. How could she let her little boy drive his bike into the street? Why are those parents letting their daughter throw a fit in the grocery store? Oh,...

Long gone are the days of daily showers, flat irons and bronzer. There's little point in showering in the morning when I know I'll soon be covered in sunscreen and sweat.  You won't find me running around in sweatpants and old baggy t-shirts though. My daily uniform may have changed but not my love of clothes. It was a strange feeling taking out all of my office wardrobe and replacing it with t-shirts, but it just doesn't make sense for me to have all of my dress pants hanging up when I will rarely need them now. I have a decorative sign in my bathroom that reads, "Royal Decree: There can never be enough dress up clothes." Choosing a cute outfit for work was something I really enjoyed; heels, pencil skirts, sharp looking jackets! I am trying to find a similar feeling with my new wardrobe, which is still a work in progress. Here are a list of things that are a must in my new wardrobe: 1. Functional: As in, must allow me to run, jump, crawl, etc. at a moment...