MelissaStuff

Photo courtesy of Instagram user, yaro2191 If you follow my personal Facebook page – not the official Melissa Stuff Blog Facebook page , but my own personal page  . . . which would mean that you're my friend and probably already have an idea of how I tick anyway, you know that a certain topic has weighed heavily on my soul for months now. Post after post, in reflective moments, has centered on love and relationships and honesty. As you can imagine, there's a reason for that. I grew up in a world where there was a lot of truth, or some form of truth, and there was a lot of supposed justice. But many, many times there was a profound lack of love. And I think when you live in a vacuum where real, true love is not the norm, you don't even realize how lacking in love your world is. Let me pause here and say, that while my family was not perfect, this description was actually not true of my family at all. In fact, I think my first exposure to love that stuck no matter what ...

This summer has been a big change for our crew. It's the first time since my boys were born that I haven't been free to take them places, go swimming and plan lots of fun stuff for them. They attended a local summer program where they had a lot of fun and stayed super busy . . . and also dealt with a full-on bully, but that's a story for another time. Since summer is quickly screeching to an end - the boys all start back to school Monday morning - we decided to take last weekend and go to Hurricane Harbor. Just before we loaded up, I quickly searched to see if I could find any information on families and the park. Alas, it was not available. So I thought I would create a post with that kind of information and if you have anything to add, please leave a comment and I'll add it this material. 1. Take advantage of special offers for entrance fees.  We actually had FREE season passes to Hurricane Harbor because of the timeframe we purchased our Six Flags season pa...

This summer has flown by. I can't believe my boys start school a week from this coming Monday . . . and this year, ALL of my boys will be in school for the first time. Be still my little momma heart, my baby is going to be in Kindergarten. I never dreamed we would actually make it here, to this point. People warned me it would fly by but it seemed never ending in the moment. And now here we are and it's happening. I'm so proud of my big boy - all three of my big boys are doing so well and growing so big. As I prepare for all of the boys to go back to school, I am flying through labels . Labels on clothes. Labels on shoes. Labels on school supplies. Labels on sports equipment. Labels on personal items that sneak their way into school - books, sunglasses, hats, electronics, etc. If you use labels like I do, this is a deal for you - 20% off Label Daddy labels. Use code USFAMILY20  at checkout . I can swear by these labels . I have used them for camp, to differentiate b...

My poor boys - because I started a new job just before the beginning of summer and it has consumed an enormous amount of my time, we really didn't have a "normal" summer. I haven't taken them swimming once yet (although we are going to Hurricane Harbor this weekend in 107 degree heat). We didn't go on vacation (but we have one scheduled this fall). We just didn't do the things we have typically done every summer for as long as they can remember. So when I heard about the Coleman Family AdventureFest that is coming to the Irving Convention Center the weekend of August 21 - 23, I knew it was something I wanted to do with my boys. Taking place both inside and outside the convention center, the adventure-themed activities and celebrity visits by Herschel Walker, Philippe Cousteau and more will fascinate my boys. They can try archery, building and launching rockets, play fishing games, test robotics, experience a virtual zip line, climb a rock wall and more....

Did you know there was such a thing as Hot and Spicy Food Day? Around my house, it seems, everyone who cooks, except for me, thinks it should be Hot and Spicy Food Day every day. But the actual "holiday" is August 19th.  In honor of the day, we will be celebrating with a little Tandoor Chef - easy and quick.  Here are five other reasons you should try them out: 1.   Weight Loss:  Studies show that the main compound in chilies, called capsaicin, has a thermogenic effect and may cause the body to burn more calories and boost metabolism.  Heat up!   Lamb Vindaloo . 2.   Heart Health:  Studies show that cultures that eat the spiciest foods have much lower incidence of heart attack and stroke. It could be because chili peppers help to reduce the damaging effects of bad cholesterol while capsaicin helps to fight inflammation. Heat up!   Vegetable Pad Thai . 3.   Cancer Prevention:  Some studies suggest that c...

I have been so busy lately that shopping - let alone consignment sale shopping - has just not been on my radar. But the one sale I am making time for is the Just Between Friends - Ft. Worth sale. It's Texas' largest consignment and maternity sale held in the Will Rogers' Memorial Center  - Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall. This year's sale will be held Thursday, September 3, 2015 through Saturday, September 13, 2015, so there's plenty of time to schedule a shopping trip (or two)! If you are a first-time parent or grandparent, you can sign up and  get a free pass to get in to shop early . Or you can consign or volunteer, both of which will get you in early as well. But here's the deal - not only will I make time shop consignment, I will also make it a priority to make time to sell consignment. Let me tell you why. #1 - It forces you to take the time to clean out closets, toy bins, under beds and the backseat of the car. It's so easy to get busy and put t...