Babywise Success Stories Week

Photo Source: Amazon

We all know I'm a Babywise believer. I wrote a blog post for Babywise Success Stories week over at Chronicles of a Babywise Mom. Check it out!

5 on Friday

Today I'm joining the 5 on Friday link-up. Just some random thoughts from the last week. Enjoy!

--ONE--

I have always LOVED McDonald's Monopoly. I'm convinced I am going to win. Maybe not this year, and maybe not next year, but someday it will be me. But this year McDonald's did the unthinkable. They MOVED Monopoly to the summer! Whaaaaa???? I have no desire to eat gluttonous amounts of McDonald's in the middle of the summer. I am most definitely not lovin' it.

--TWO--

My parents gave us a spare king-sized bed a couple months ago. I've been searching the interwebs high and low for the perfect bedding. There were a number of things to consider, but I mostly wanted something that wasn't too trendy and that I wouldn't get sick of in a year. I was thinking some kind of neutral bedspread with lots of bright pillows. I was super excited when I found this one on the Dillard's website. It was described as having navy piping, and I was all for it, thinking I could do navy, green, and yellow in the room. I got the bedspread this week and it's brown piping! Something so small changes so much. This is why I hate shopping on the internet.

--THREE--

Even though I hate internet shopping, I don't have much choice. Have I mentioned there's not much to do in Altus, OK? That means there's not a lot of places to shop either. I've formed an unhealthy addiction to Amazon Prime, Zulilly, and Etsy. Paypal may be the death of me.

--FOUR--

Pretty much every day I wake up and think to myself "how am I going to entertain Scarlett today?" Our house isn't very big and she gets a little bored inside. That's how we ended up at McDonald's for lunch last Saturday (too bad it was before Monopoly began). I decided there was nothing else to do so I might as well treat her to her first Happy Meal. She ate her apples, a couple french fries, and licked a chicken nugget.. Then she was completely bored by the "baby area" of the Playland and tried to chase the big kids.

--FIVE--

Scarlett starts Mom's Day Out in August, and I am feeling excited and anxious all at the same time. It hit me today that it was coming soon when I called to make a dental appointment. I always feel so overwhelmed when I'm scheduling appointments because I'm trying to consider nap times and when I could find somebody to watch Scarlett all at the same time. But this time I had a day and time reserved for such occasions! Yay!

Finding Fun: Lavender Valley Acres

Photo Credit: Lavender Valley Acres

Today's stop on our Finding Fun Tour found us at the Lavender Valley Acres in Apache, OK. If you think you'll just get directions from Google maps while you're on the way, you would be wrong.

Yes, we got a little lost. Neither Android, Apple, nor Garmin could direct us to our destination. However, poorly placed signs hidden by overgrown weeds did eventually get us there. So maybe they weren't so poorly placed after all.

I initially read about this place from following the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department on instagram. They had a cool picture of a peacock so I decided to look it up. It seemed closer than other places I want to go in Oklahoma (read: can be done in a day), so I wanted to go sooner rather than later. Fortunately, I have a friend who was also ready to get out of the house and find an activity for her little boy, so I wasn't alone on the journey.

Basically, this place started out as an experiment to see if lavender can be grown in Oklahoma. The owner was told that the climate and the soil were not compatible with growing lavender. He sought out to prove that he could do it, and he now has about 10 different kinds of lavender that he grows. He has a big lavender festival every June and a couple open houses during the year where he showcases the lavender he has grown in all sorts of products and food. You can also tour the gardens like we did today from March-July.

He has like, 24 peacocks living on the grounds, including 4 babies. I had never considered how cute baby peacocks could be! P.S. Did you know there is such a thing as white peacocks? P.P.S. I had incredible paranoia about a peacock biting my baby.

Scarlett was so ready to be out of the car. She had no interest in learning about lavender and was more than happy to pick at the dirt and throw rocks. She also found a cat who would return her affections more than Clarity will, so there was a lot of grabbing and attempted tail-pulling going on.

Where is Altus Air Force Base?

Photo Credit: kswo.com

Have I mentioned we're stationed at Altus Air Force Base in Altus, OK? Oh, you've never heard of Altus? It's okay, most people haven't.

To be honest, it's not an assignment that most people seek. When people do want to come here, it's so they can be home more and have a more stable family life. We came here for a number of reasons, but first and foremost, it just felt like it was where we were supposed to be.

Most of our Air Force friends will say they hate living in Oklahoma because they equate Altus with the rest of the state. Oklahoma doesn't suck, people!

Now, it's true. There's not much to do in Altus itself. We have a sweet base pool that's open in the summer, some cute downtown shops, and I think there's a story hour at the library. We also have dead grass, dilapidated buildings, and the worst drought I've ever seen in my life.

So I'm on a mission. A mission to find something to do with my day and keep my very busy and super social one-year-old entertained.

I'm getting creative and exploring all the nooks and crannies of the state and featuring our discoveries here. Will they be awesome or a disappointment? Let our Finding Fun Tour commence!