Happy Friday! I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pull off a Five on Friday post today after a busy week of work travel and other stuff but I surprised myself and made it happen!
1. Mini Flocked Christmas Trees
Earlier this week I posted our mini flocked Christmas tree on Instagram and received some messages asking about it. This sold out super fast last year (and is already showing limited stock) so I wanted to share it for anyone looking to scoop up some trees for your small spaces, kid rooms, office, etc! You can find all our tree details HERE! I cannot wait to pull these out soon for the kids’ rooms!
2. After School Restraint Collapse
Since starting Kindergarten, Caroline has become highly emotional with explosive tears over little things like putting on a jacket, doing her homework (which she loves), learning what’s for dinner, taking a bath, etc. This behavior has been so uncharacteristic for her and Matt and I have been desperate to figure out what our sweet girl is going through. No matter how much sleep she gets she arrives home absolutely exhausted and can crumble on a dime for absolutely no reason. Finally, we had a breakthrough this week when another mama sent me an article on After-School Restraint Collapse. I found myself aggressively nodding my head and shouting YES as I read sentence by sentence. We’ve been experimenting with decompression strategies this week after school and although we haven’t completely worked through all of this, I wanted to share this article in case any of you are going through a similar transition to Kindergarten (or daycare or any other grade)! Also, if you have any after school decompression ideas — please share with me!!!
3. Bracelet Stack
I am loving the color block stack bracelet trend right now! This stack is so fun and is from Coral Sky Crush! Kelly offers a ton of color in her shop and is offering 20% off for Carolina Charm readers through December 31 — use code charm20 at checkout!
4. Delicious & Easy Chicken Salad
On Sunday I prepped some food for the week and was thrilled with how delicious my chicken salad turned out (shout out to Matt for chopping all of the ingredients). We enjoyed this salad all week for lunches — serving as wraps and on top of salads!
Chicken Salad with Cranberries, Pecans & Apple
wrap it up or top it on a salad — it's perfect for lunches
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs chicken breast
- 1/2 cup drіеd, ѕwееtеnеd cranberries
- 1/2 cup сhорреd ресаnѕ
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced apple
- 1/2 cup mауоnnаіѕе
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- salt and pepper
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Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
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Rub olive oil over chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 45-55 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked).
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Remove chicken from oven and let cool before dicing into small pieces.
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In a large bowl, mix together chicken, cranberries, apples, pecans, celery and herbs.
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In a small bowl, mix together the mayo, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
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Add the mayo mixture to the chicken mixture and stir until ingredients are well combined.
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Cover and refrigerate salad for at least an hour.
5. Drybar & Cozy Knit Sweater
Last week Drybar opened a new location in Atherton Mill in Charlotte and invited me to celebrate their grand opening with a Mai-Tai blowout! My hair smelled heavenly for daysssss (thanks to their Triple Sec Finishing Spray)! Also, this new knit sweater is my FAVORITE. It’s a little oversized which feels so cozy and comes in a ton of colors (I’m wearing color Apricot and size small)! 
Earrings // Sweater // Jeans
Crystal M Workman
Friday 15th of November 2019
Yes to the decompression! My kids(8 and 5) do it still, too. I don't force homework right away and give them a snack, tv and play with puppy(or whatever) time first. I used to set a timer for an hour for them to do whatever.. but then I found that was too long, so we went to 30 minutes. I just sit my 2nd graders homework and pencil on the table where she sits and she usually just knocks it out while eating a snack or watching tv.. just try different things and ask her what SHE wants? She may tell you that she wants to rest first or watch an episode or whatever.. Maybe even an early bath? My girls love early baths if we aren't going anywhere that evening.
Angel
Friday 15th of November 2019
Thank you for sharing about your daughter!! I sent the article to my husband. Our 2nd grade son experiences this exactly- he turns into a monster. Recently we have talked to him about decompression time and if I ask something of him too soon he is quick to tell me “mom I’m decompressing”! Often for our son it’s music and army men, or the couch and some goldfish. I use to be strong in not allowing snacks before dinner but we’ve realized some days he just can’t wait the extra 10 minutes.
Amanda
Friday 15th of November 2019
I second the thoughts above. It helps my kids if I have snacks ready & let them lead on when they’re ready to discuss their day. Many days, they need time to chill first. When my son was upset, I’d just sit with him on the floor till he was ready to talk. It also helps sometimes for them to be reminded everyone makes mistakes and if something happens at school, it’s not the end of the world & you still have their back.
Gini
Friday 15th of November 2019
The only other blog I follow is Iowa Girl Eats, https://iowagirleats.com/2019/11/15/fall-shredded-brussels-sprouts-salad/. She mentioned today that her son who is in kindergarten comes home the same way.
Katrina
Friday 15th of November 2019
My mama was an expert at this whole situation (she’s an incredible counselor & social worker.) on the way home she didn’t drill us about our days. We would walk in the door at 3:25 or so each day and (happily) go right up our rooms to decompress. We’d usually read our books in bed or take a mini nap or draw a picture. During this time my mom would make snack we’d then come down at 4 and have snack all together and chat about our days before starting homework/evening activities. Amazing!
I’m 2 years out of school & found that when I started my corporate job I had an AWFUL time right after work. I now use a similar strategy!!