You May Need This...

So, I have noticed that I am slowly becoming brand loyal and wanted to share a few products that I can no longer do without. They make my life easier and make me feel good. So, without further ado...

L'oreal Double Extension Mascara This stuff is AMAZING! It does wonders for me. I need mascara...it seems to do wonders to the way I look. As long as I have it on, I am good to go. But his stuff goes way beyond that. My lashes are fuller, thicker, longer, it doesn't run, and comes off super easy with water. Being a mother of 3 kids, I sadly start most of days without a shower, and this stuff makes that sad reality a little bit better! :) Seriously, it is way cheaper than department store make-up brands and works better than any other mascara I have use hands down! Go get you some today! :)




Hav you heard of these Gorilla products. They make glue (any kind of glue you can think off) and I just found they make duct tape. Gorilla Duct Tape is the mother of all duct tapes! I used this stuff to hang Halloween decorations and will be using it this weekend for birthday decorations. I have used it on the back of frames to stick to the wall so they won't slant, we have used it to fix toys, hold batteries into place (we lose that little peice of plastic that hold batteries in all the time) We use it all the time. Trust me, you need this. You can find it at Lowes. :)




Pledge Multi Surface Cleaner has made my life a million times easier. I just cleaned my house for the first time in a long time and I was able to clean it in half the time. You can use it for everything; glass, wood, tile, electronics. And it really works and does not leave any sort of streaks. AWESOME! Enough said.




An oldy but goody. Libby's Pure Pumpkin is, well, just a necessity during the holidays. And if you recall, there was a shortage last year, and I have read that there is a shortage this year too. I haven't paid enough attention to know whether that is true or not, but now I don't have to because I found plenty at the Dollar Store. And its only $1 :) I have stocked up and you should too.




And since I was able to find plenty of Libby's, I was able to make plenty of pumpkin butter...one of my favorites! Since I didn't have to make my own puree, it was really easy. Here's the recipe:

Take your pumpkin puree or can(s) of Libby's and empty into a large pot. Add your favorite fall spices to taste...I used lots of cinnamon, a litte clove, some ginger, sugar, brown sugar, apple pie spice, and a smidge of salt. Heat on medium until is starts to bubble and then let simmer until thick about 35 minutes.



I realize that picture may not be the most appetizing, but once you can your pumpkin butter and "do dad" it up...it looks pretty and yummy! And your house will smell good too!



Happy Fall Y'all!

Happy Owl-a-Ween

If your like me and often wait to the last minute to do things, I might can help you out.  That is, if you need a last minute something for Halloween.  These little things are pretty cute and they really are easy.  However, they take a little time to assemble and it will require a trip to Cracker Barrel.  Cracker Barrel carries moonpies and as of Thursday, they are the only place in Birmingham that has them.  Again, this one really easy project took me all day because I drove around town looking for moon pies...I just had to have them. :)



Well, luckily I did find them [at Cracker Barrel] and I am glad I did, because these lil' owls turned out super cute.  I had intentions of making them both for Lucy and Landon's class.  But since it took me so long to find the dagum moon pies, I ran out of steam that night.  Come to find out, Landon's class did not even have a Halloween party...say what!?  Since when did schools stop having Halloween party's?!  Anyhow, start with  this...



and then you twist apart the oreos (the hardest part of this project) and assemble like this...



you "glue" everything on with icing or melted chocolate (I used white chocolate chips only because I had them on hand)  then you wrap them up in a cellophane bag and tie with a cute ribbon.  Ta Da....




Happy "Owl-a-Ween"!

Really Really Cute

I have a problem. I have a problem with cute things. I really really like cute things! And really, who doesn't!? But I have the bad habit of thinking "oh, I can do that" or "that would be so easy" and a lot of times I think "I can do it myself and save some money". WRONG, WRONG, and WRONG!  Rarely, can I do a project without a few choice words thrown out in the middle of it, rarely does it actually turn out easy, and never do I save money doing it myself.

And, then I get to thinking, why on earth do I do this to myself! I mean, can't I just think something is cute without having to try and recreate it myself. I mean its not like I take the credit. I am always the first to admit, that I really am not creative, but I am AWESOME at Googling [for ideas]! :) And do any of my children really care if they have a cute cake or cute treat to hand out to their friends. They might have some fleeting thought that "hey, this is kinda cool" before licking all the icing off to eat and cramming the rest of it in their little mouths. Gasp...those were made to be oooh and ahhhed over not eaten!! :) Are ya with me!!??

Anyhow, you may know where this post is headed but if not, I have been making some really really cute Halloween things the past few days.   Landon's school was having a bake sale and asked every 2nd grade family to make a cake.  I went about trying to find a recipe and stumbled across this really really cute Halloween cake.  Not only was it really really cute but it looked pretty easy.  And as easy as it was, it took took me ALL day long to make. Because once I ran to the grocery for all of these ingredients...




I came home to realize I was a couple of eggs short for the cake batter. So don't forget about these staples either....



and you'll defintely need some of this...



Publix didn't have any licorice. So in hopes of saving some time (ha!) I decided I do everything but the licorice part and would  go find that on the way to church that night. Well, let me tell you, that turned out to be a nightmare. Because none of the stops on the way to church had black licorice. So that ended up requiring a trip to Wal-Mart after church and after the kids went to bed! Whew!  Luckily the cake turned out really really cute even if it was 10 hours after starting it.



So, here is the easy recipe along with some of my notes to make it easier.

INGREDIENTS

Box of cake of your choice (and all the ingredients it will require, usually 3 eggs and vegetable oil)
1 cans of chocolate frosting
1 can of vanilla frosting
red food coloring
4 ziploc bags (whatever size you have on hand will work)
chocolate sprinkles (big tub found at Publix)
black licorice (found at Wal-Mart)

*Bake (2) 9inch cakes according to box directions, let cool.

*Ice the cake with chocolate icing

*Sprinkle top of cake with chocolate sprinkles until covered

*Make 2 circles with vanilla icing for eyes and top with 2 brown m&m's or make 2 circles on top of the white circles with chocolate icing

*Make a smaller circle with red icing for nose

*place 8 peices of licorice (4 on each side) on cake for legs

{Note - You can make these as cupcakes with the skinny strings of black licorice but good luck finding that!! :)}

And there ya have it. A really really cute spider cake!

And don't forget these Lil Piggies....

...they make my heart melt!



I know I am biased, but I think she's the cutest thing in the world!!



And I think she knows it too. She tends to get a little of a 'tude when she's sporting those piggie tales!



Have a great day!!

This Lil' Piggy...

...went to the doctor last Friday for her one month check up...



...and this lil' piggy weighs 11 lbs 11 oz!!



She has gained 3 pounds and grown an inch in just 5 weeks. Her one month (5 weeks) stats are 11 lbs 11 oz and 22 inches. That puts her in the 75% for weight and 50% for height. Lynlee is a healthy growing baby girl and we are loving her more and more each and every day!

Ramblings...Part 1

Warning...this is a long post and all over the place. I always have a million things I intend on blogging about, but never seem to find the time to actually blog about all of them. However, I have devoted all of today's nap time to attempt it.   Hopefully, I won't bore you too much! :)

This past Friday was Ashley's birthday. So, we celebrated with some friends on Thursday. One of the friends shares a birthday with Ash, so it was double the fun!





















We all had a blast, but this was my first night out without kids and with a beverage (or two) in hand in a long time..I think I may have had more fun than anyone else, but I assure you I paid the price later that night! :)

Ash also shared his birthday with Lynlee who turned a month old on Friday. I already feel like time is passing me by...where exactly have the past 4 weeks gone!? She is still sweet as can be and growing way too quick. I haven't taken her in for her 1 month check up (note to self to make an appointment for this week) but she is eating 4 ounces every 3 hours and is slowly getting on a night time schedule, taking her last bottle at 10 ish and making it all the way to 3 am. This is working well for me, because very little sleep was starting to catch up to me. I now know I am getting at least 5 straight hours of sleep, but anything after 3 am is a little up in the air. She gets pretty squirmy and really likes to be held while she sleeps until her next bottle at 6am. That time is bittersweet because while I love snuggling with her and dozing off a bit, I can't help but want to be sleeping laying down in my bed!! But I know this time is precious, so I am trying my best to enjoy every sleepless minute of it. Here is sweet Lynlee at one month...



and just for fun, here is Lucy. I'm pretty sure I can imagine how Lynlee is going to look in year from now!




Ash wanted to head to Paris for his birthday, so Friday morning, we packed up and finally got out the door around 2pm to make our trip up. On the way up there, we had to make a pit stop so we opted to stop at a Dunkin Donuts, where I got the BEST cup of coffee EVER!! I swear it was the best I have had. With the lack of sleep I have had lately, I have become quite the coffee connoisseurs. Not sure if you have ever seen the Dunkin Donuts coffee commercial where people still half asleep are somehow dragged to the store to get their DD coffee fix...do you know the one I'm talking about? Well, anyhow, that will be me, but all on my own! :) I will be making a trip to Costco this afternoon to get my bulk supply of Dunkin Donuts coffee!



I am a little depressed at my post baby body at 4 weeks. I was pretty vigilant about my weight gain with this pregnancy and although I have lost every bit of weight I gained with this pregnancy, I can tell you with certainty, my body is NOT at all even close to what it was before getting pregnant. I must be a at least 2 sizes from what I was...boo!! So begins another diet...hopefully I will stick with it. In the meantime, the only thing I have to wear is workout clothes...no joke. Maybe that in itself will prompt me to actually go work out! :) With the changing of the seasons, that will have to do for the time being. I have a growing list of clothes I want after I get more in shape, but for now, I have to settle on shoes. I am most definitely in lust with these and hoping I can talk Ashley into letting me get a couple pairs...I mean I did just have his baby...right!?!?



Well I heard the baby start crying a earlier and walked in to see this!  Lucy woke up from her nap and crawled in with little sister. 



Not sure if I think its cute or scary! Didn't get to finish all that I wanted to blog about but will finish up on another day! Until then...

A Quick Trip and Feeling Good

I am having a hard time finding time to blog any more and when I do finally find some time, I honestly prefer a nap! :) Thank you to everyone for your prayers and for checking up on us. Lynlee had a nasty little cold but it was nothing too serious and she is finally on the mend. I, on the other hand, unfortunately, confirmed that I indeed have gallstones. The good news is I have not had another attack and there appears to be only 2 of them. The bad news is that they are not going anywhere and the only way to get rid of them would be a surgery to remove my entire gallbladder, something I have no interest in at the time. I have been watching my diet and avoiding fatty foods and perhaps that may be the way to go for the time being. And after a baby, goodness knows I need to be watching what I eat! :) So as long as I have no pain, I am avoiding the procedure for the time being.

Besides, that things are going great around here. So good, that last weekend, we woke up and decided on going for a little impromptu road trip to Atlanta. I was stir crazy to say the least and Ashley thought I was just plain crazy. But we packed up and set off for the city after lunch with all three kiddos. I have to admit that I was beginning to question my own sanity when we were finally making out way out of Birmingham and had a ETA in Atlanta of 3pm! But the minute we got there, all was good.



A big city is good for my soul! Not sure what is is, but I get revived by the energy of a big city. Our first stop was Ikea...



I have had my eye on a Expedit bookshelf for quite sometime. I ended up changing my mind on the style once we were there, but still came home with one and immediatly put it together and accessorized it as best I could. There is just something off about it, but lucky me, my sister is a pro at accessorizing and I am waiting for her to put some finishing touches on it. I am also waiting for her to get up here to meet her newest neice...my feelings are starting to get a little hurt! (hint hint Tiff!) :) Just kidding! This sister has 4 chidren all in school and she was crazy enough and she is PTO president for their elementary school this year! To say she is busy would be a gross understatement. Anyhow, I've digressed.




After Ikea, we went over to the Varsity for dinner.



We were able to find the Alabama game and watched the 3rd quarter of the Alabama/Arkansas game. We had to leave before things got too rowdy. Apparantly, I was the only bama fan in the room!



We had thought about trying to end our day at the Aquarium or the World of Coke, but decided instead to wear the kids out at the Olympic Park.



The weather was perfect and we had a great time doing nothing.



Right before we left, an "artist" stopped us and begged to draw Landon. He had quite a resume drawing all over the world and even 3 presidents and he offered us an out of this world deal for such a well known artist ! Of course, this man was full of bologna, but Landon got a kick out of it.



We headed home around 9 and were all in bed before midnight. I have to say that I am very proud of us for attempting to take all three kids on a roadtrip and for actually making it home in one peice! :) We had a blast and I can't wait to do it again!