Tag: IFTTT

$700?!?! Our first Costco Haul!!

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

Y’all – we’ve joined the rest of the world and got ourselves a Costco membership. This was not an impulse decision. We went through the website with a fine tooth comb. We asked friends and family who have memberships all kinds of questions. We toured the local store and left completely empty-handed. We hemmed and hawed for a week before we decided to pull the trigger.

When we went to the store to actually buy stuff for the first time, I made sure to have a pretty thorough list because I knew it would be so easy to go overboard. We did too much research to blow it on the first trip so I wanted to have a plan.

Well, I don’t think we blew it but the total that rang up sure did catch me by surprise. Check out the video below of our first Costco haul and see how we spent $700!! Yikes!!

Prepare for the Week Ahead | Working Mom Week Prep

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

repare for the Week Ahead Tired Mommy Tales blog resize I have this problem where even when I know that doing something is in my best interest, I resist it. I dig my heels in real deep and stomp my feet and have the most epic (figurative) adult temper tantrum.

Then time passes and I’m cursing my past self for not doing the thing that would make life so much easier for my current self. It happens in the morning when I’m mad at myself for not closing Instagram and going to sleep earlier (sometimes Insta-stories are better than TV, y’all!), when I don’t take my contacts out before bed, and on and on.

Clearly, adulting isn’t my strong suit.

The past few weeks, maybe months, I’ve kinda slacked over the weekend. We’ve had plenty of activities keeping up busy but when at home, I spent a little too much time doing lots of nothing. Doing a little bit of nothing is no big deal but I was doing too much nothing.

At first, I was blaming on football season and all the solo parenting that happens this time of year. But the truth is I was just being stubborn.

Then Monday would come and I’d be overwhelmed and stressed when doing a few things to prepare for the week could have alleviated so much of my strife.

So this past Sunday, I put my big girl pants on and made an effort to get ahead before the week started. In the below video you’ll see me do a brain dump to get all my to-dos out of my head and onto paper, get my meal plan set for the week, tackle one thing at a time and lots of meal prep. Lots and lots of meal prep!

What kind of things do you like to accomplish over the weekend so that you can start the week on a good foot?

We Rode Dropline! | Dollywood Vlog

Posted on by Sarah Marshall

Brooke’s girl scout troop sold enough cookies per girl to qualify for the VIP Experience. This year the VIP Experience was held at Dollywood! You know it was a no brainer that we would be there!!

Girl Scout VIP Sign

The weather was a little iffy so we went with open minds, acknowledging that we could very well turn around and head home after only a little time in the park.

Brooke in Showers

Luckily, besides one decent rain shower, the weather held out and we were able to spend the whole day there. The very first ride we headed to was Drop Line. This is a brand new ride to Dollywood this season and I’m not typically a huge fan of the drop-type rides. Brooke likes them though so I will suck it up and go with her.

Brooke Sarah Drop Line

To find out what we thought about the ride, you can watch our Dollywood Vlog below.

While Brooke and I rode a couple coasters with a Girl Scout friend, Keith took Leah on the new “kiddie coaster” at Dollywood this summer, Whistle Punk Chaser. It wasn’t terribly scary but Leah had absolutely no interest in doing another ride all day, except the Carousel. Typically she would spend all day in the Country Fair section of the park where the Busy Bees is her favorite ride.

Not this past trip, Miss Leah was all about shops & shows. So after I’d rode a couple rides with Brooke, Keith and I swapped kids and I spent the majority of the afternoon with Leah.

The first place she wanted to check out was the Hillside General Store. It has everything from candy to toys to salsas to soup to dishes and kitchenware. It was nice and air conditioned so I did not mind spending a good chunk of time there.

Hillside General Store Dollywood

Dolly Parton Dolls

General Store Dishes

Soon enough, Keith and Brooke caught up with us again. Brooke had gotten soaked on Daredevil Falls so she needed a quick break to go change into dry clothes. (So very glad we all brought extras!)

The girls played a quick game of checkers on the porch of the General Store before we walked down to the next destination.

Checker Outside General Store

I’d heard about the Cinnamon Bread at the Grist Mill the past couple times we’d been to Dollywood but had yet to go in and check it out. This was my only goal for the day. It did not disappoint. The girls each got one of the biggest cookies I’ve ever seen and we finally tried the famed cinnamon bread. It.was.AMAZING!!! I’m really bummed I forgot to get “real” picture of it and only grabbed a quick shot for my Insta-story.

Grist Mill Cinnamon Bread Dollywood

Leah and I were enjoying shopping and still wanted to catch a show so we waved to Keith and Brooke as they went off for more rides and headed to the back part of the park. We got to the Village just as the Dollywood Express was coming back to the station so we waved to all the passengers. Leah wanted to do more browsing through stores so we stopped at Temple’s Warehouse and Old Fashioned Candy Store.

Leah felt up to doing a ride after that so we went over to the Carousel. I never really realized how long you have to wait for that ride to get going and consequently how short it is. But Leah enjoyed it and that’s all that counts!

Leah on Village Carousel

After the Carousel, we were lured into a magic show which led to browsing through the Magic Shop. We caught up with Keith & Brooke to watch the Heartsong movie and then some hot dogs & amazing fries for dinner. We separated again so Leah could keep shopping & the big ones could do another ride or two. One shop later, we decided to catch one last show, “Country Crossroads”. Miss Leah had a blast clapping and swaying to the music.

All day long, Leah was very persistent in letting us know she wanted cotton candy. I’m not sure why – we don’t typically get it while at Dollywood but she’s 4 – nothing makes sense!! So after the show, we finally made the stop to get the cotton candy she’d been longing for all day. I think she was happy about it.

Leah Cotton Candy

One last stop at one of our favorites, the Smoky Mountain Christmas Cottage, to browse through the beautifully decorated Christmas trees, gorgeous ornaments and of course, get a picture with the wooden soldiers!!

Leah Christmas Cottage

Before we knew it, it was time for the day to end so everyone met at the Emporium so we could get on the trolley back to our car.

Goodbye Dollywood Sunset

That’s it for our Dollywood trip! Have you ever been?? What’s your favorite thing to do or eat?? Check our more from our day in the video below!!!