Mommy Has to Work

Our Trip To Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains

August 23, 2016 By Heather Little

*This post was written by Blog Contributor Heather Little

Don’t get me wrong…as a Florida resident, I love living near the beach, but sometimes you just need a change of scenery. This summer, my kids asked to take a trip to the mountains, so we decided to visit Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains. The great thing about Gatlinburg is that there is something for everyone – from quaint, romantic cabins for couples to fun, family resorts and everything in between. The list of activities is just as wide-ranging. For nature lovers, there are hiking trails of all levels that take you to beautiful sights like waterfalls, mountain overlooks, meandering streams, and wildlife encounters. For the more adventurous, there are mountain coasters, the famous Ober Gatlinburg Alpine Slide and gondola ride, moonshine distilleries, a space needle, and even a few haunted houses! Downtown you will find local art and crafts stores, restaurants, homemade candy, donut, and popcorn shops, as well as other fun attractions like mountain miniature golf and the Ripley’s Aquarium.

Photo Credit: TripAdvisor.com

If you take the main road through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, be sure to stop at the visitor’s centers on both ends. Oconaluftee at the south entrance offers a historic perspective of the area and Sugarlands on the north side is a great place to stop and talk to a park ranger and discover some of the wonderful plant and animal life in the area.

Summer in the mountains is a great time visit. The trees and vegetation are lush and green and on warm days, you can enjoy a dip in one of the creeks that runs through the Smoky Mountain National Park and downtown Gatlinburg. Fall in the Smokies is famous for its beautiful colors as the leaves change, making it one of the more popular times to visit. During winter and the holiday seasons, the streets are lined with holiday lights and the entire town has a festive mood. There’s nothing quite like bundling up with a cup of hot apple cider and a warm donut on a chilly, mountain night. But no matter what time of year you decide to visit, with beautiful scenery and activities for the whole family, it’s sure to be a fun-filled trip!

Have you ever visited Gatlinburg?

Heather Little

My name is Heather Little and my husband and I have two sweet girls and one crazy dog. We moved to Florida 6 years ago and have loved every minute of it! I enjoy crafting, good food, shopping, and of course travel!

Fun With The Kids On A Shoestring Budget

August 23, 2016 By Anne

We all want to make sure we can have as much fun with our kids as possible. After all, these are days we won’t get back. Our kids are only young once, and the memories we make with them are the ones that will last forever. One day they’ll grow up, and they won’t want to do as much with us anymore!

However, I know lots of parents panic because they don’t have a huge budget. Many families just can’t afford to swan off to theme parks and on vacation without scrimping and saving for years in advance first. If this sounds like you, there’s no need to panic! There are so many ways you can have fun with your kids on a shoestring budget.

By simply getting involved in what your kids are doing yourself, you can make the whole experience so much more fun. By sitting and coloring with them, or starting some sort of project, they’ll automatically begin to feel really excited. You could even buy some popcorn from the shop and settle down to have a family movie night. Maybe even make a den out of cushions and blankets to watch the movies in! When you use your imagination, there’s so much you can do. Take a look at the following infographic for more ideas!

Infographic Produced By 7 FREE activities at home for your kids

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Why Buy It When You Can Win It #win #giveaways

August 22, 2016 By Anne

List your giveaways here!

Anne

Style for the Fickle Fashionista

August 22, 2016 By Anne

If you’ve got a daughter, you know all about the struggles of picking outfits and agreeing on what to wear in the morning. Maybe you’ve tried tricks such as selecting an outfit in advance or letting her sleep in her chosen clothes. While these are great ideas, they don’t always work for parents who are dealing with a fickle fashionista. You might not be able to convince her to wear clothes that match, but there are a few other things you can do to make your morning routine easier. Getting ready doesn’t have to be a stressful endeavor. Approaching your morning routine with a better understanding of your daughter’s motivations might help you accommodate her and keep things on schedule in the process. Even the most stubborn of style fanatics is likely to give when presented with a good incentive. Consider these tips and tricks for a new approach to the morning getting ready routine.

Build In Trying on Time
Experts suggest that letting your kids wear what they want is a positive way to encourage independence. That said, handing over full control is likely to result in lot of time spent trying on and changing her mind. That’s ok. Build time into your morning routine to allow for several changes of outfit before she decides on the final selection. This alleviates the pressure of getting ready quickly, and it allows her to feel satisfied with the choice she’s made. Once she knows what she wants to wear, you can grab the kid’s lunch boxes and head out the door.
Create Themes for Each Day
Beginning your morning routine before you actually go to bed is a good idea. One thing you can do the night before is establish a theme for the morning and request that your daughter dress accordingly. This filters the options she has for getting dressed, and it motivates her to prioritize selecting an outfit. To set the theme, you can choose one of several kid’s lunch boxes and challenge her to match her outfit to it. She will have a blast finding something that perfectly accentuates her accessory, and you’ll have an easier time getting her out the door.
Encourage Creative Expression and Exploration
At the end of the day, creativity is a trait you want to see in your kids and nurture. When your daughter is struggling to decide what to wear or fighting for her right to rock a sequined tutu to kindergarten, you’re seeing the early signs that you have a strong-willed person on your hands who cares deeply about how they express themselves. Though it can be difficult when you’re rushing to get ready in the morning, it’s also a positive sign and a characteristic that is worth appreciating. Rather than suppressing it, find ways to accommodate and manage it. Style is important, and with these tips, it doesn’t have to be sacrificed. Even finicky fashionistas will fall for these tricks and make the morning routine easier. Sometimes you have to accept the tutus on a Tuesday, but they don’t have to result in tantrums.

Anne

Nocatee M Shack Restaurant Review @MShackBurgers

August 21, 2016 By Marijean

I always get excited to hear of a new restaurant opening here in Nocatee. More food options is always a good thing. I have heard many friends speak highly of M Shack located at St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville. Everyone raves of their burgers and shakes. I didn’t get a chance to try out the Jacksonville location, however I was happy when I learned of one being built right here in my neighborhood. I had the chance to take my family to the new Nocatee location and review some of the food on their menu.

Location Details:

Address:
641 Crosswater Parkway
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32081

Phone:
(904) 395-3575

Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Welcome to M Shack, a collaboration by the Medure brothers – Matthew & David – fusing the old fashioned burger joint with style and fresh ingredients. M Shack burgers are made with all natural, hormone-free beef ground fresh daily. Juicy, all beef hot dogs, hand-cut fries, mouth-watering milk shakes and more help complete their unique menu.

M Shack currently has 4 restaurants, with the newest one being in Nocatee that opened this summer. The new Nocatee location seats 75 indoors, with additional patio seating for 50. When you walk in you can grab a menu at the counter and decide what you would like to order. Once you decide you order right at the counter, grab a table number, and sit down and wait for your food to be brought to your table. They have a great variety of items on the menu to order. They have a full bar as well with beer on tap and “Adult”spiked milkshakes. Overall the restaurant has a very nice atmosphere.

Food that we reviewed:

Small sized Cookies and Creak Milkshake ($4.00) and Small sized Marshmallow Brûlée ($4.00). My daughter ordered the Cookies and Cream and my son ordered the Marshmallow Brûlée. Both of them raved about how they tasted, and I must agree. I tried both and honestly was hesitant to give them back! They tasted amazing! We even got to see the bartender torch the top of he Marshmallow Brûlée shake just like they do to Creme Brûlée. As you can see in the pictures, 2 thumbs ups for M Shack shakes!!

Build your own burger is priced starting at $4.25 for a single patty which I ordered. Options are a single patty, double patty, turkey, salmon, crab cake, veggie or marinated chicken. They have free toppings such as lettuce, tomato, raw onion, pickles, banana peppers and more. There are also additional toppings you can get for a small charge. I ordered my single patty with lettuce, tomato, raw onion, and Avocado which was an additional charge of 95 cents. Worth every penny since they did pile on the Avocado! I ordered my burger as medium well and it was cooked perfectly. The burger was nice and juice and tasted amazing.

Swamp Burger ($7.50) is a signature beef patty topped with pulled pork, house made BBQ sauce, pickles, swiss cheese and a ranch coleslaw. My husband was craving pulled pork so once he was this burger on the menu he knew it was for him. He ordered his medium and it came out cooked perfectly. He said the BBQ sauce paired with the ranch coleslaw gave it a delicious flavor. He can’t wait to order this burger again.

We ordered a side of Taco Fries ($6.50) to go with our burgers. These are friend with house made queso, sour cream, chili, bacon, scallions, fritos® and house-made pico. We have never had fries like this before, they were so good! Even my kids loved them. The size was perfect for sharing between my husband, myself and 2 kids. The chili was delicious and give you plenty of it!

Off the Tiny Tots menu my daughter ordered the Grilled Cheese ($3.25) which has classic and american cheese on potato bread. She said it was very tasty and gooey with cheese. It was a good size to0.

Off the Tiny Tots menu my son ordered the Hebrew National All-Beef Dog ($3.50) on toasted bun. My son is currently addicted to hot dogs and said this one was one of the best he has had. It was a good size and nice and juicy.

All of the items are A la carte, so they do not come with a side. They do have a variety of sides you can order including tator tots, onion rings, fries and more.

All of the food was delicious that we reviewed, and we definitely will be back. I am very happy that M Shack is here in the neighborhood and look forward to returning with my family to enjoy another meal and seeing some of my neighbors.

Check out their full menu to see what items they have to offer.

http://www.mshackburgers.com

Click here to check out all of the restaurants that are owned by the Medure Brothers.

Connect with M Shack: Facebook Twitter Instagram

*My family and I received a complimentary meal in exchange for this review. I am not affiliated with the company, and all of the opinions in this post are our own*