Hey, It's Okay

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.

Hey, It's Okay....


....to currently be on vacation! I'm in Ohio visiting family members on my husband's side. You can follow our adventures on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. (I do the stories now!)



....to be grateful that my mom is checking in on our cats while we're gone. They tend to get offended when we leave them.



....to be a terrible packer. Seriously, I've just been shoving things into the suitcase and hoping for the best.



....to have picked up Natalie for summer camp a few days ago. She had so much fun and wants to go again. It was her first sleep away camp.



....to have had a fabulous birthday last week. My husband took me to Buddy V's to eat, and I got this rainbow cake. (You can also get it at Carlo's Bakery.)

Who Is Excited About Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom?

We were sent a package of fun toys from Wild Republic, Thames & Kosmos, and Alex Brands. No other compensation was exchanged. Our opinions are our own.


I cannot wait for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. I have shown my kids all the Jurassic Park movies. (Remember a few years ago when I showed Natalie Jurassic Park and she thought it was a movie about cuddly dinosaurs?)

My daughter has always loved dinosaurs. If you ask her which one is her favorite, it changes on a daily basis. Right now it's a triceratops.


We were sent a package of exciting toys, which is perfect considering it's summer break:

Natalie was all, "It's like Christmas!"


She immediately got started with the Knot-A-Shark from Alex Brands. She's always been a fan of sharks and looks forward to Shark Week every year. (It starts July 22nd!)

She also got busy searching for fossils in her excavation kit from Thames & Kosmos:

These mermaid slap bracelets from Wild Republic amused her. She made them talk to each other. "Hi Glinda, how are you enjoying being a mermaid?" "Oh, Amanda, it's pretty fantastic!"

This T-Rex from Wild Republic is named Rexy. There's actually a #FindRexy contest going on right now. (You can learn about it here.)  You can win your own Rexy, plus an $100 gift card to Amazon!

Her colorful penguin is Rainbow:

We will be seeing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom! (It comes out on June 22nd!) If all goes well, we'll be seeing it on the 4th of July if we can score tickets.

(Be sure to enter the #FindRexy contest here and win an Amazon gift card!)

Are you excited about Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom?

Unboxing The Kawaii Subscription Box Plus A Giveaway!

We were sent a Kawaii Box in exchange for a review. Our opinions are our own.


My daughter Natalie is all about kawaii things. So when I was asked if I wanted to review a Kawaii Box, I didn't hesitate. Natalie was the one who taught me what kawaii even was.



Needless to say, Natalie was excited when the box arrived. "The box is even kawaii!" she told me.

She started to pull out all the goodies.


This is a Kawaii Hamster Soft Bag Charm. "Aw, he reminds me of Pumpkin." Pumpkin was her hamster, who sadly passed away:

You guys know she loves her squishies, so she was excited to find this Salmon Sushi Boy Squishy:

She pulled out and immediately put on the Neko Ears Soft Headband. She's worn it out many times. She also got some Hello Kitty Strawberry Marshmallows. She loves Hello Kitty!

She said they were good and sweet. There's some strawberry filling in the middle:

This next item she thought was a straw, but it's really a Kawaii Drinking Straw Pen!

"What? This is a PEN?"

She pulled out these Precure Grape Gummies:

She said they basically tasted like grape fruit snacks:

"This is so adorable!" Natalie yelled when she pulled out the Bunny Drink Coaster:

"We can make some rice pandas!" Natalie said.  It's a Panda Bento Rice Mold and we'll be trying it out:

Finally, she found a Moomin Memo Pad Set. What a fun name. Apparently these are Moomin trolls, which are loved by many in Japan:

Great news! A lucky reader can win their own Kawaii box. You can enter here:


Airing My Laundry Kawaii Box Giveaway




If you don't want to wait on the contest, you can get your own Kawaii Box here for under $20 a month! You'll get a box filled with all sorts of cute things. Natalie is most excited about the squishies.

What was your favorite thing in the Kawaii Box?

She Got Squishies At Her Fifth Grade Graduation

Elementary school is over for good.


My daughter graduated fifth grade about two weeks ago. Did I cry? Yeah.


I loved that there was a ceremony. My son didn't get one when he finished fifth grade. He just came home from school like normal and was all, "I'm done."

But Natalie's school had a ceremony, and the school recommended showing up early. They weren't kidding. The ceremony started at 9. I got there at 815 and there was already a long line.

Luckily I had a book, so I just sat down at my place in line and read. When it started to move, I lucked out with a front spot because it was only me (my husband had to work). I got the one vacant seat in the row.

Before the graduation, they had slide shows of all the kids.

And then the ceremony began with the kids walking out with partners.

I teared up, because they had the graduation music in the background.

The principal and vice principal spoke, and names were called out for As, A&Bs, and the citizenship award. Then each kid was called up to get their graduation certificate.

I teared up again.

There was closing remarks, and then it was over. Kids were able to go home with their parents. There was cake and time to say goodbye to friends and teachers.


Oh, and I'm proud to say that I brought a proper gift this time.

Remember in the past when I'd forget? At Natalie's violin recital I gave her an old Tic Tac. After her school play I gave her a coupon for a free taco.


This time I got her a bag of squishies:

I mean, yes, I could have done flowers or balloons. But those are only good to a point. My daughter loves squishies so I figured, hey, graduation gift!


She was pleased.

She also said goodbye to friends. Many of them are going to the same middle school, so she'll see them again, but some are moving or headed to a charter school.



She also said goodbye to her teachers:

It took us a bit to finally get out because she had to say goodbye to so many people.

And then of course it was hard, because we'd never be to that school again. I wrote about how it's tough saying goodbye to elementary school.


So that was the fifth grade graduation!


Did you or your child have one? I didn't! You just finished elementary school and moved quietly onto middle school.

EventPrep® $200,000 Franchise Giveaway For Military Spouses

This post is in collaboration with EventPrep®. My opinions are entirely my own. 

Sometimes people ask me what it's like being married to a man in the military. I always tell him that it's a bit of an adventure. You never truly know what's about to happen.

For example, one day my husband came home after work and said, "We're moving to England." I thought he was joking. We had only been living in Nebraska for about a year and a half. I didn't think overseas orders would come so soon.

He wasn't joking. We moved to England a few months later.

He's come home countless times letting me know that he had to deploy. That he had to go away for a work class. Oh, and we're moving again!

See? An adventure.

For many military spouses, it can be tough to keep a job since they're constantly moving. That's where EventPrep® comes in! It is a home based event planning franchise and right now, they are offering a giveaway opportunity where FIVE military spouses can begin a new career in the hospitality industry as a small business owner. EventPrep® will provide professional event planning and management services with no territory limitations.

It is a $200,000 Franchise Giveaway for military spouses! It's open to any spouse of an active duty service member from any U.S military branch. There will be FIVE winners!

Here are the rules:


1. Complete this entry form by July 15th, 2018.


2. Submit an on-line candidate form by July 25th, 2018.


3. The top 25 candidates will be announced on July 31st, 2018.


4. The top 25 candidates will create and submit a 2 minute "why me" video and complete a personality assessment by August 17th, 2018.


5. Videos from the top 10 candidates will be announced and posted online on August 20th, 2018. America will vote from August 20th through September 14th, 2018.


Here's a video that explains the contest:




EventPrep® is a company founded by Veterans, so you know it's run by quality people.



Remember: fill out THIS FORM for your chance to win by July 15th, 2018.


This is such a fabulous opportunity. It can be a crazy life always moving, but EventPrep® can help with making sure you have a job and income.

Do you know a military spouse? If so, be sure to let them know about this $200,000 franchise giveaway.

To learn more about EventPrep®, you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

New Mom Tips From A Military Spouse

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of 1 Natural Way, a TRICARE breast pump provider. All opinions are entirely my own.


I remember when I had my son. I was a new military spouse, and I didn't know what I was doing. Suddenly I was in charge of this new life and the nurses was letting me leave. WHY were they letting me leave with a tiny baby?

I was pretty clueless. I seriously thought babies had to wear a onesie because they couldn't have any other clothes rubbing against their skin. I don't know why I thought that, but there it is.

It got a little better when I had my second child. I began to grow confident and figure out ways to make my life easier.

1. Get a Tricare Breast Pump through 1 Natural Way at NO cost to you. It's impressive how 1 Natural Way has tons of the popular breast pumps like Medela, Spectra, and Kiinde brands. The one I used and loved was from Medela.

I completely get that when you have a new baby that time is limited, which is why I'm proud to say that you can get a TRICARE breast pump in less than FIVE minutes. Yup, you read that correctly. It's so helpful that 1 Natural Way contacts your insurance AND your physician for you. It's such a simple process and they work hard to make it an enjoyable experience to receive your breast pump.

Also, you can get other items to help you with the breastfeeding process (like breast shields and other parts for the breast pump) through 1 Natural Way. They also have accessories, compression socks (to help with the swelling--I got it badly), and postpartum care supplies.



2. Do not panic. I admit, whenever my kids would cry, I thought I was doing something wrong. "They hate me!" I'd wail to my husband. Panicking only sets off the baby.



3. Accept help. I know this is easier said than done. I hate asking for help, but sometimes you need to do it to avoid losing your mind. A happy mother=a happy baby. If you're stressed, the baby might not want to feed and they'll become agitated and look at you like this:

4. Write down a schedule. Babies seem to do better with a schedule. I would write down when my kids would eat, sleep, and when I'd change their diaper so I'd know if they were eating enough.

5. To remember what breast you last fed from, put a hair tie on that arm. I know it sounds silly, but it works. And yes, you WILL forget. I did quite often until I started doing the hair tie trick. It's probably why my right boob droops lower than my left. TMI? Sorry. But don't make my mistake. You're welcome.


6. Look into new parent support programs. Most military bases have them. I know I had someone come out to the home to give advice and see how things were going. I also got some free supplies and information about baby groups so I could meet with other new military parents.




Being a new parent can be a frightening time, but I promise, you CAN do it. Take deep breaths. Eat chocolate. Focus on the good.

Because it will be okay.

To learn more about 1 Natural Way, you can check them out at the following:

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