Famous Footwear for back to school

There's a new Famous Footwear on the scene and Kansas and it's opened in Liberal, Kansas just this past week! This is the 13^th location in the Wichita – Hutchinson market. The 4,000-square-foot store opened on July 23 in the Liberal Plaza at 1531 N. Kansas Ave.

To celebrate the opening in Liberal, Famous Footwear is hosting an all-day grand opening event on August 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Shoppers are invited to experience fun activities including:

·         A local shoe artist customizing shoes for customers from noon to 6 p.m.

·         An appearance from two popular local radio stations, KSMM-FM 101.5 (noon to 2 p.m.) and KSCB-FM 107.5 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), giving shoppers the chance to meet some of their favorite radio personalities.                                                                                               -    A DJ spinning live music.

Famous Footwear is a leading, easy-to-shop footwear destination, featuring brand name merchandise for women, men and children, making it a one-stop-shop for the entire family. Shoppers can access Famous Footwear’s loyalty Rewards program and vast style selection in-store to meet their family’s footwear needs.

Famous Footwear recently launched their new mobile app which gives Rewards members 15 bonus points just for downloading, makes redeeming Rewards points even easier and gives shoppers access to exclusive mobile offers. The Famous Footwear app is available for download today on Google Play and iTunes or simply by texting APP toFAMOUS (326687) to get a mobile link.

Famous Footwear has more than 1,100 stores nationwide as well as an e-commerce site, Famous.com. The chain offers consumers more than 100 nationally recognized brands through its retail stores and website, including Nike, Vans, Converse, Sperry, Skechers, Naturalizer, Steve Madden, madden girl, Franco Sarto, adidas, New Balance, Roxy, Circus by Sam Edelman and Carlos by Carlos Santana. Famous Footwear is also a proud national partner of the March of Dimes.

Famous Footwear is our favorite back-to-school shopping destination, and we love the B.O.G.O. sales and point system to earn coupons for future purchases saving us tons of money on the brands my kids must have for back to school shoe wear.

Visit famous footwear online here.   and follow them on Facebook here. 

Win a $25 Gift card for back to school shopping at the rafflecopter below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ringling Bros. Circus Giveaway!

Ringling Brother's Barnum Bailey Circus is back in town! This year they present "Super Circus Heroes". Showcasing super hero strength and inspiring children of all ages to find their super human strength.
Shows start next week and run: 
Thursday, August 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, August 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 9 at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 10 at 1:00 p.m

I have tickets for 6 to see the Thursday 7pm show or the Saturday 11am show, next weekend! 
Enter at the Rafflecopter below, and share with friends! I'll pick a winner on Sunday, 8/3/2014!
Check out our visit to the circus last year! And stay tuned for my review when we visit next week!

Want tickets now? Use code SUPER for a buy one get one free ticket at the Intrust Bank Arena website here. *Offer not valid on Opening Night, $10 tickets or General $12 tickets.
No Double Discounts.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back-to-School Products for a Smooth Transition

*the following is a post that I received compensation for in free product. I do not receive any additional pay for purchases from my links or clicks. Thanks!

It’s almost that time again.  Enrollment has begun and the first day of school is less than a month away for Wichita area schools. 

Though summer seems to go by faster and faster every year, it is too easy to lose healthy routines and habits.

Here are a few tips and products to get back in the swing of things simply, smartly and stylishly.

1. Practice makes perfect.

Exhaustion the first couple weeks of school is inevitable. Ease the early morning transition by getting back into a regular bedtime routine one month to 2 weeks before the first day. You can do this gradually by moving the time for bed and the time they wake up earlier in 30 minute increments. Keep this going until you get to the time you want them awake for school, and then start “practice” with the morning routine of getting dressed, doing chores, eating breakfast, etc. so kids know what to expect and how long it may take to make it to school on time.

2. Anticipate the nerves.

click past the jump to read about products and how to win them all free! For yourself!

25th Annual Tomato Day, Saturday, July 26, 2014

Craftapalooza and Vintage Market at Century II

SATURDAY ~ July 26^th, 2014

Wichita's 7th

CRAFTAPALOOZA & FABULOUS VINTAGE MARKET

10AM TO 4PM

CENTURY II CENTER

SHOP EARLY FOR THE BEST SELECTIONS !!

Grab your friends for a fun filled day of shopping at the 7th Craftapalooza & Fabulous Vintage Market. July 26th from 10am to 4pm at the Century II Center, Convention Hall, West Entrance! Wichita Kansas

The  7th Craftapalooza & Fabulous Vintage Market is a one day shopping extravaganza featuring 100 fabulous booths showcasing an eclectic blend of handmade one of a kind items, sparkly jewels, antique décor, vintage bliss, bling & glam boutiques, home decor and inspiration, repurposed ~ reloved funky junk along with FABULOUS finds for your creative soul!

Handmade, Vintage, Antiques, Bling & Glam, Boutiques & FABULOUS JUNK!!

Admission is $3.00 under 12 free!

Join them Saturday July 26th for a fun & fabulous Craftapalooza Vintage Market day!

See you there!

For additional information contact

www.montagefestivals.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wichita-Craftapalooza-JUNK-Market/288582677868955

Being A Mom is Tough

I just started an online study on Proverbs 31, Lysa TerkHeurst's book "Am I messing Up My kids".  We are on week 1 so there is still time to jump in and join if you are interested in participating.  Check it out here.
Am I Messing Up My Kids?: ...and Other Questions Every Mom Asks

Look at those sweet little faces!

Being a Mom is tough. I can't say that without letting out a huge sigh and feeling a bit of pity for myself. Being a Mom is what I knew I wanted more than anything since I was a little girl. I was the one girl that played with dolls way past what seemed "normal". Once I became a Mom there was no doubt that having children would be the "joy" of my life. But...no one told me it was going to be this hard!

I think it starts the minute you know you are pregnant. The worry that you will do it right (pregnancy), and worrying that baby will not come early, and be totally healthy, then preceded by those first few days of anxiety over every cough, sneeze, grunt and squeak.

Being the self-help junkie I am, I constantly seek books, and advice to make sure I am doing it "right", so I read all the books I can find on parenting toddlers, parenting boys, parenting girls, and now, I am entering the parenting teens section.

Most of the Mom's I know rely on most of what they know from their childhood as a guideline of what to do and mostly what NOT to do. How many of us, especially after having kids, look back on our childhood and see what mistakes (we think) our parents made and vow to never do that to our children?! After being a parent for 13 years, there are many things that I did in the early years, that I have vowed to never do again to my other children. You learn by experience.

I have four kids total.  A 13 year old girl, 10 year old boy, 6 year old boy and 2 year old girl. I also have a divorce 8 years ago, the oldest two are from my first marriage. Being a Mom is tough enough, but add the failure of a marriage into the mix and you have major emotional disaster.  Add a new marriage and new siblings, and things get even tougher.

I worry frequently that I am "messing up my kids" when I have one of those days where nothing goes right and I loose my cool and react instead of respond to my circumstances.  When I hastily make a bad judgement call on a discipline or lack of. Which is usually due to my lack of sleep, lack of patience or just being plain worn.

Loving our kids means we love them no matter what. Part of the tough part of being a Mom is gritting our teeth and loving them tough enough. Doing the right thing is not always the comfortable, easy thing to do for us as parents, but ultimately is the best for our children. I have to frequently remind myself that any consequence I put on my child for their mistakes now,  is easier on them today, than if they make them years later as a young adult. Parenting should be guiding your children to the best choices now, so they can make the best choices later. And that is, for me, some of the tougher parts of parenting. I seek to nurture, love, inspire them, empower them, and build them into the strong humans that will fulfill the plans that God has for them. Though I ache when they ache, God reminds me that He loves them even more than I do. Sometimes I just have to step back and pray that God will continue His good work in them, trusting that His power is greater than any influence of the world in their hearts.

It's not too late to start this new Lysa TerkHeurst study over at the Proverbs 31 website.  Sign up online here. And then make sure you get a copy of the new book, "Am I Messing Up My Kids" over at Amazon on Kindle or paperback.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the study!

Local bargain on clothing for back to school

I love a good bargain, and I really love a bargain on top of a bargain.
Get a head start on your back to school clothing shopping and snag a little something for yourself at local consignment boutique Hannah Banana.
Hannah Banana turns 10 (!) this year, and to celebrate they are having storewide sales that change daily and a fabulous fill a bag sale in the tent outside of the store.
Here's a little example of what I got for me for $10!!
Are you ready?

Top by Express design studio: consignment price $24
Top by Odille: Cosignment price $30
Top by BCBG girls: Consignment price $30
Dress by Michael Kors: Consignment price $40
Pants by JCrew: Consignment price $22
plus, (not pictured) two Gap tees for my little one, a Gap pair of rauched leggings. And a tee by Holister. 

ALL for $10. (That was all I could get in the bag!)
If I had bought all of these items brand new I would have spent hundreds of dollars to get these top brands. All the items are like new and super cute!

We also got some great items for my boys and Teen daughter, they LOVE to shop here, and I could have spent more than I did, but I'm pretty satisfied with my total, and can't wait for the next sale.

Visit Hannah Banana on their facebook page for more info about the store, store hours, location and consignment details. Sale is good through the weekend! Tell them Wichita City Mom sent you!

Summer Boredom Buster: DIY Finger - Puppet House

So, summer boredom is in full swing.  We are always looking for something to do that is NOT the iPad, the internet or the XBox. A challenge, I know.

Here's a little quick craft I made for my 2 year old, and it has provided hours of fun. It uses all materials you probably already have on hand.

You will need:

1. 1- shoe box. Preferably the kind without the lid attached. (This was harder to find than I thought, but we had one.) Try to pick one that is the larger rectangle or a square shape, not the narrower type.

2. A Sharpie marker or permanent marker.

3. X-acto knife or razor blade (adults only please)

4. and some finger puppets.  (There are some great links on Pinterest here, for handmade finger puppets, both if you are talented with a sewing machine, or even some no sew options with pipe cleaners.)  We had some already by Melissa and Doug, and they are great!
Similiar to these on *Amazon.


Draw your windows and door, cut them out and you're done!  Hours (or many minutes) of happy play so Mom can get work done!
We even colored in the curtains and put some flowers, a mailbox and a butterfly.

So fun to go in and out the door with our puppets!

 The inside is great for decorating too. Miss Hope had fun coloring and adding her own drawings as well.

What creative play ideas have you come up with for your kids? Comment with yours or share a link for what you have found. And please, share this post.

*this post contains an affiliate link. Your purchase supports my page. Thanks!

Adventures in Camping: Camping with Littles

My husband and I decided to take our smallest two children camping recently. It was our first time out in a long time, and first time for them. AND we were going "primitive". Oh yeah.

So of course I went straight to Pinterest as soon as we had picked our date to go and found our place. Surely there is wisdom to be found when it comes to tent camping with two under 7.  Check out my pins over at the link. 

Follow Chandra's board camping on Pinterest.

 Here's the top lessons I learned from camping with little ones:

 1. Don't be afraid to let them try something new!

 2. When more logical solutions are not working, don't be afraid to improvise.















3. Make time for plenty of fun!

4. Don't forget to slow down, relax, and enjoy the beauty around you.