© 2014 sarahfortune.

HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.
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Travel

Take me Back to New Orleans

I’ve been laying pretty low lately in the online world, mostly because I’ve been trying to stay on top of things in the real-life world. I spent this past week in New Orleans for my organization’s big annual meeting. It’s always a lot of preparation leading up to the event and then non-stop action once it begins. After it’s over, it still takes a little while for things to slow down, but I’m looking ahead and am so ready for spring, which I can see hints of in the weather this week.

I hadn’t been to New Orleans since before Katrina, but back when I lived in Memphis I would go fairly often. Just a straight drive south, and you could have a beignet in hand in under six hours. Now living in the northwest corner of Arkansas, it’s a bit of a trek. While my time was devoted to meetings all day, I was able to get out and do one thing at night – eat. I forgot how amazing the food is in New Orleans! There seemed to be an adorable, historic spot on every corner and every meal I had was incredible. I didn’t have much time to venture far from my hotel, so everywhere I went was in walking distance of The International House Hotel. My dinner tour included: The Carousel Bar, Mr. B’s Bistro, Palace Cafe, The Original Pierre Maspero’s, and of course, Cafe du Monde.

So while it was a busy trip, it at least was a delicious trip. I’ve been wanting to go to New Orleans with Todd and Iris, and now my interest is sparked even more. My favorite kind of vacation is being able to lazily walk around exploring, eating, and drinking and I’m not sure if there would be a better place to do that than New Orleans.

Life

Nerf Gun to Pull a Tooth?!

Well, it’s hard to believe the day has come – Iris is officially missing her top, front teeth! They were wiggly for quite a while and after the first one fell out, the second was barely hanging on. We heard about this crazy Nerf gun tooth extraction trick from a friend, where you attach a string to the tooth and to the foam bullet. Surprisingly, Iris actually decided she wanted to give it a try. Since the tooth was more than ready to come out, we gave in and bought a Nerf gun while we were visiting some friends in Kansas City. After a couple of tries with the string slipping off, here was our final attempt. Enjoy!

Life

100 Days of School!

Well, it’s true what they say. Blink and you’ll miss it. Somehow our brand new kindergartener just had her 100th day of school! We never celebrated (or even acknowledged) milestones like this when I was growing up, but we celebrate everything now so why not this? Iris looked forward to the 100th day for weeks. Each student was tasked with choosing one thing to bring 100 of to school and Iris chose seashells from our past beach trips.

I thought that her third tooth might come out of the 100th day of school, but it’s still hanging on for dear life. Her top front teeth are very wiggly, so it will be any day now! I have been so sad to see think about these teeth falling out, but now I can tell it’s time. She used to have an adorable big gap in-between them, but now she has grown so much that they look like little Chiclets and the gap has stretched to the other sides. Speaking of growing, today we’re off in search of some pants that will fit our girl. She’s grown two inches, seemingly overnight, and all of her pants suddenly look like high-waters! Wish us luck.

Food, Life, Sponsored

Back to School with General Mills #NewYearNewCereal

General Mills sponsored this post, but all opinions are my own.

After what seemed like forever and a half, Iris finally went back to school from winter break. Since she’s only in kindergarten, this is our first experience with being out of school for nearly three weeks. At least when she was in daycare, there were a few days scattered between Christmas and New Years to keep us all sane and on some sort of normal schedule. I remember though how much I loved those breaks as a kid. How needed they were. I also remember how hard it was to go back after so much time off. Trying to get back into the swing of things, a little morning motivation to get out of bed is never a bad thing.

So partnering with General Mills couldn’t have come at a better time. Have you guys heard about their new cereals at Walmart? They released mash-ups of some of the best cereals and flavors ever. I’m talking Banana Nut Cheerios, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Shreds, Peanut Butter Chocolate Shreds and – our personal fave – Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes. We picked up a box on Sunday at our local Walmart and Iris couldn’t wait to jump up to try them on Monday morning. As a busy mom trying to get off to work, I’ll take all the help I can get. Especially if that means a happy kindergartner. 🙂

Find the new General Mills cereals at Walmart and, even better, use this back to school offer. Buy 5 items, scan your receipt with the Box Tops Bonus App and earn 50 Bonus Box Tops! Help earn cash for your kid’s school!

Life

Girl Scout Cookies for Sale!

So it’s official – Iris is a DAISY in the Girl Scouts! She joined last fall and has been counting down the days until cookie time – and today is the day! We spent the morning at Cookie Palooza, where the Girl Scout cookie season was officially kicked off. She’s going to try to sell to our friends and family, but if anyone out there wants a Thin Mint or two, you can actually place an order online and it will go towards her goal! If you’re in Fayetteville though, send me a message or select that option online, as I’ll be helping her do some local deliveries as well. She is super stoked, so any orders will be SO appreciated. Click here to support her goal of 31 boxes (she decided that goal on her own)!