The Freckled Bug

Petunia's first day of school

2010-09-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

My little petunia had her first day at preschool and of course, she loved it. She had a great time there last year and I knew she was ready to go back when she said, "Mom, I want to go see all of my friends!"

They have a summer program where they go for one week in the summer, but it wasn't enough for her!

I guess she is my social butterfly!

Here she is with her new teacher.

She was also excited about taking her new Jesse lunch box. Now if she'd just eat some of the food I pack in it, we'll be doing good!

First Day of School 2010

2010-09-09T08:26:00.001-05:00

It seems as if this year, the first day of school was much more anticipated than last.

Last year, both of my girls went to new schools (for them anyway) and of course, there was a little bit of anxiety. This year, they were excited!

Thank goodness, my big girl got a great teacher (I heard you couldn't go wrong with the second grade teachers at her school. Phew!)

She even has one of her very best friends in her class! Who could ask for more?

Last year, I walked her all the way into her class for two and a half weeks! This year on the third day, she was ready to jump out of the car and go in by herself! I am so proud!

Petunia's first day photos still to come!

Last days of summer

2010-09-07T20:26:00.000-05:00

I've been out of the loop for a while, but I am here to do some catching up! We tried our best to have a lot of fun before the kids went back to school, and I think we succeeded!

The weekend before school started, we decided at the last minute to surprise our girls and drive to Dallas.

Can you see the red store?

That's right! We went to the American Girl store! It was so fun!

My big girl has been saving her money and having no idea we were going somewhere, came to me with the AG catalog and announced she was buying her baby sister a "girl".

I had ants in my pants because I knew about the trip! I wondered though, if she would follow through and spend all of her money on her sister!

Well, she stuck to her word. The hard part was for my little petunia to pick ONE girl.

This is the girl that came home with us. Each new girl she saw, she said, "This is her. She's the one I want. I want this one." It was so cute. She was so excited!

A little bit of "thank you" lovin'.

Of course, we had a fabulous lunch in the bistro!

Then headed home! The girls slept almost the whole way, both clutching their girls.

I think I had almost as much fun as they did!

What a great summer!

First day of school survival kit!

2010-08-19T08:29:00.000-05:00

Monday is the big day around here. Another school year will begin. Yesterday, we were demon dialing the school because they printed the list to let us know what teacher our children will be assigned to.

Tonight, we go for "Meet the teacher".

The other day, I found a cute idea at Some Days You Gotta Dance. Paige works in a school and found an "emergency kit" on her desk while preparing for her school year.

I thought this was such a fabulous idea and decided to go for it!

Here is what I came up with!

I got the little basket in the clearance section at Wal Mart. They came in a set of 3 for $1.50, red, white and blue! I put in some snacks, a note pad, water, hand wash and wipes, lotion and Tylenol! Hopefully, she won't need the Tylenol!

The bow on the outside, I made in school colors. It is actually a belt! I am planning to make some more, so I will post a tutorial for it! Hopefully, tomorrow.

Wish us luck for tonight. I am hoping there will be some friends in my sweet girl's class so that anxiety levels will be low for Monday! I am sure the teacher will be great. I've heard great things about all of the second grade teachers!

Scraps and Scribbles giveaway winner!

2010-08-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

First off, let me say, you have one more day to enter the hair bow giveaway that I am hosting over at Scraps and Scribbles. Go check it out!

Courtney offered up one of her super cute rag bracelets to one of my readers.

The winner is...Lamb Around!

I'm sending you an email!

Thanks to all who entered!

Lots of fun and last day to enter the giveaway!

2010-08-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day to enter the Scraps and Scribbles giveaway!

Also, I am hosting a hair bow giveaway on Scraps and Scribbles that ends tomorrow! If you have a little girl or know one that you may need a gift for, head over and enter! There is only one person entered so far and that is just sad!!!

Onto...Lots of Fun. This is our last week of summer vacation and I have been trying to pack as much fun into it as possible for my sweet little girls!

Over the weekend, we had a blast. We went to a pizza joint that has all of the fun stuff and road go karts and bumper cars, bowled, ice skated and played lots of games! Then we headed out for lunch and then to the movies! We saw Despicable Me. I thought it was very cute. Even cuter was when my little petunia was reaching out at some of the 3-D stuff trying to touch it!

Yesterday, we enjoyed some fun time at a museum. My girls had never been to this butterfly habitat and it was awesome. I can't believe we've never gone to it!!

We saw a couple of butterflies emerge from their chrysalises! It was amazing.

Then you go into this big dome that is kind resembles rain forest, and there are butterflies flying around everywhere! The girls loved it and the butterflies were gorgeous.

Then, of course, we had to have a little fun in the gift shop.

Hilarious, right? I thought so anyway!

Gussy up that hat! (just in case ya missed it!)

2010-08-13T10:51:00.001-05:00

Just in case you missed it...here is the tutorial from my guest post over at Scraps and Scribbles from

the other day! There is a giveaway involved, so hop on over and check it out!

And if you haven't entered the giveaway here for the rag bracelet, what are you waiting for?

Lately, I have been working on sprucing up a plain cadet cap. I've seen these hats everywhere with rhinestone designs on them, but thought they would be so cute with some flowers on them!

There are tutorials all over blogland for making all kinds of fabric flowers. Here is one of my new favorites!

All you need is some fabric, a circle template (you can use a glass), needle and thread, a small piece of felt, and a button.

Start by making six circles and cutting them out.

Fold them in half once and then again.

Then take your needle and thread and run a long stitch across the raw edge.

Now pull it tight so that it gathers in the whole bottom of your petal! Tie a knot in your thread and do the same for the next five circles. I didn't even cut my thread in between petals. That way they are all sewn together at the end.

This is what it will look like with all six petals done and sewn together. Next glue your felt circle onto the back.

Find a cute button big enought to cover all of your raw edges and stitching and sew into place on the opposite side of your felt.

Next add a pin and/or hairclip to the back and you are done! You could even sew this right onto a purse or hat if you didn't want it to be interchangeable.

Now go make some cute flowers!

Guest Post with Scraps and Scribbles Plus A Giveaway!

2010-08-11T06:27:00.002-05:00

Today, I will be swapping blogs and guest posting over at Scraps and Scribbles! Come by and see what I've been up to and check out Courtney's great blog!

Hello Freckled Bug readers! I'm so happy to be visiting Andrea's awesome blog today.

I'm Courtney, author of Scraps and Scribbles. That's me with my goofball brother. I'm wife to my hunka-hunka hubby and a stay-at-home mom to one busy little 20-month-old boy. When I' not chasing after him, I love making beautiful things-be it crafts, food or photographs. I'm a bit of a fashion and make-up junkie-I just can't get enough of either! I started Scraps and Scribbles as the resting place for my projects and thoughts. Here are some of my projects:

Picture frame turned earring organizer

Scrabble tile pendant necklaces (I sell these in my Etsy shop)

Use your old mismatched silverware to make garden markers

This has to be my favorite-my Anthro-inspired Ruffle Tee

Today I'm going to share with you a delicious and easy cupcake recipe. It was one of my favorites as a little girl. Here we go!

Surprise Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar

Filling:

1 egg, unbeaten
1 cup chocolate chips
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all cupcake ingredients together and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, blend filling ingredients together. Line or spray a muffin tray.

Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with cupcake batter,

drop in a large spoonful of filling

and cover with a spoonful of cupcake batter. Bake for 25 minutes. This recipe makes 24 cupcakes. Or you can do them in a mini muffin pan for parties!

And there you have it-a simple, delish desert! Thanks so much for letting me visit today, Andrea!! I hope you all come by Scraps and Scribbles to say hi! I'd love to meet you!

Courtney has graciously offered one of her super cute rag bracelets as a giveaway to one of my readers!

Here's how to enter the giveaway:

1. Go and visit Courtney's Etsy shop and come back and leave a comment to tell me your favorite item.

2. Be a follower of The Freckled Bug.

3. Be a follower of Scraps and Scribbles.

There are three chances for entry. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

The giveaway will remain open until Monday, August 16 and the winner will be announced on Tuesday!
(winner will be chosen randomly!)

Thank you Courtney, for stopping by for a visit! I must go make those cupcakes now!!

My new kitchen!

2010-08-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

Recently, we revamped our kitchen! I've been wanting to share, but had to round up some photos! We really got brave and made some drastic changes, but I love it!

Check it out.

I forgot to take before pictures!!!! I can't believe it. I was so excited and preoccupied with emptying out the entire kitchen, I forgot. Sorry. So look beyond my little chef and see the back splash and stained cabinets.

I am an equal opportunity mother, so here in this background, you can see the walls, cabinets and back splash. I promise, this was not a shameful ploy to show you more pictures of my girls!!

So here is the new kitchen! We are still working on some new decorations and replacing the little lights over the bar area. But it's definitely colorful and fun!

My dining room is the same color red as the island, so it kind of ties it together since you can see through to that room.

Well, I am off to make some breakfast! Have a great day!

Let's get serious for a minute

2010-08-05T09:50:00.000-05:00

Did you hear about the six teenagers who recently drown in the Red River?

Oh my gracious. It's so sad. The newspaper said that this is an area frequented by people who don't know how to swim. Apparently, this is a place to go and barbecue and wade in the river.

This group of people had really just arrived when this happened. They didn't even have the barbecue pit out of the car yet. The adults watched helplessly as the kids drown. None of them could swim.

My older daughter started taking swim lessons when she was 6 months old. She went once a week until she was 5 and is now a great swimmer. When my youngest was around 6 months old, I wasn't sure how I could make it work. The swim school was 45 minutes away and I always had my older daughter with me. If I were in a pool in a Mommy/Baby class, what would I do with her? When the older was 1, they took her into a semi-private class and I was no longer needed in the water. I was hoping they'd do this with my little petunia, but they had changed the rules and said they wouldn't take her in the pool without me until she was around 2 or 3!! Well, folks, we all know that the second child is usually a bit more outgoing the the first and I thought if we waited that long, it would be like playing with fire. I wanted her to learn to swim sooner.

I was then sent an email with a video attached to it. My heart nearly beat out of my chest as I watched.

All I knew, was that I needed this program for my baby.

We found an instructor and signed her up.

This is my 11 month old baby floating in a pool. You can learn about this program by visiting the Infant Swim Resource site. I am so grateful for the survival skills this course has taught my child. She has been to a refresher class each year and has since learned to swim as well as float. Luckily, she hasn't had to use her survival skills for any accidental falls into the pool. She has however, had a great time playing in the pool, fully supervised by adults, and swimming to her heart's content.

Right now, Infant Swim Resource, is in the running for a grant from Pepsi. This would allow them to teach survival skills to underprivileged children who may not have access to lessons otherwise.

I have a button at the top of my sidebar. You can go and click once a day to vote for this program. You can also vote by texting a number to Pepsi. It is also listed when you click through.

(The video is also on that page for you to watch!)

I am a true believer in giving kids tools in life to keep them safe. I think this is a great program for helping to keep them safe...and alive.

P.S. Please don't tell me I am a bad parent by teaching my kids to swim early in life. I am not using swimming lessons as a way out of being a good parent who supervises my children. I just want them to have EVERY CHANCE TO SURVIVE SHOULD AN ACCIDENT OCCUR.
I just had to say this. Believe it or not, there are people who don't believe in teaching their kids to swim.

A real sweet heart

2010-08-03T08:07:00.000-05:00

Many of you have heard of Locks of Love. An organization that makes hairpieces for children that who have lost their hair due to different medical conditions. About 5 years ago, I donated my hair to Locks of Love. It took me two years to grow it long enought to get the 10 inches needed for a donation! I was inspired to do this because my oldest sister was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2003. Today, she is a healthy SURVIVOR!

This brings me to my real sweetheart. My older daughter decided a while back that she wanted to donate her hair when it got long enough. She wanted to get it cut at the beginning of the summer, but it wasn't long enough yet. Then a couple of weeks ago, I was going to get my hair done and she decided it was time. We got out a ruler and started to measuring. We were still short for Locks of Love. I had heard about a program that Pantene was doing that made wigs for women with cancer. So I checked it out. It is called Beautiful Lengths and you only need 8 inches! So my little girl with a really sweet heart decided to go for it!

Here she is!

Before

After

She looks completely adorable with this haircut and she makes me so proud!

Birthday outfit

2010-08-02T08:17:00.003-05:00

Summer is filled

with birthdays for my family. June and July are pretty heavy.

My great niece Raegan just turned two and I made a little outfit to send her way last week.

I made the Modkidboutique Julia skirt and embellished a little tank.

The pattern has an option to make the skirt "less full". I thought for this little peanut, I would try that.

If you have or sew for little girls, I highly recommend Modkidboutique's patterns. They are so cute and very easy to follow. They even have patterns for matching doll clothes!

I had considered putting two ruffles on the top, but decided to do something a little different and made a bow out of the second piece of fabric. I then covered a button with fabric and finished it off!

I hope she likes it!

Happy Birthday Raegan!

Birthday Chair

2010-07-27T10:46:00.004-05:00

Awhile back I came across a super cute birthday chair at SnowyBliss. I thought it was the cutest thing

and vowed to make one for my kids. So a couple of weeks ago, I went on the hunt for an old chair and a friend of mine came up large for me and got me one for FREE!

I recovered the seat, spray painted it and went to town with some rhinestones, ribbons and flowers for finials.

I know it looks a little over the top, but this is Texas and there are a lot of things around here that are over the top!

The birthday girl sure felt special sitting in it and it's ready to go into the attic until the next birthday.

I hope it will be a fun tradition for my girls to look forward to each year on their special day.

I am linked up for some more party time!

It was a rip-roaring party!

2010-07-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

Well, my big girl is now 7! We can't believe how she has grown.

How does it go so quickly?

We had a pool party on Saturday and had such a great time. I asked her if she had a fun party

and she said, "I had an awesome party." What a sweetie.

I wonder what she wished for...

Here she is with some of her friends and little sister.

She saved the gifts from us for yesterday, which was actually her birthday, to prolong to gift opening.

She loved it all. See the little lounge chair on the table? It's from Build A Bear and her American Girl fits in it perfectly. She louged by the pool in it yesterday while we swam!

After a nap for mom and the little petunia, we headed out for some sushi and fried oreos to celebrate

the birth of our first princess and off to Target to spend a gift card.

It was a great day!

Summer Sale!

2010-07-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! I've been super busy over the past couple of weeks preparing for my big girl's birthday this weekend. My kitchen has been redone and I have been cleaning my tail off! I have a few crafty projects to share with you next week, but in the meantime, it's time to clean out my shop!

I have added some fabrics and discounted some of my dresses. I hope you will go on by and check them out!

Have a great weekend! We'll be partying down with a special 7 year old!

Have you met Skip?

2010-07-15T08:47:00.000-05:00

Skip Bo.

He is the newest addiction around here. We save money on booze these days, because we spend so much time playing Skip Bo, we don't want to do much else.

My mom started it. She has loved this game for years.

She bought a set of the cards for my house and just after school was out, she taught my 6 year old to play.

We sat one day and played so long, we all had to find pillows to sit on because our behinds were sore from the kitchen chairs. (cushions soon to be purchased!)

We even took this game on vacation with us and played on the plane.

It served as a great distraction the week we were all sick.

Hot tea and Skip Bo, a great combo.

please excuse the rice cake crumbs

If you need a new game, this is a fun one, but beware, it's like chocolate. Or crack. Or booze.

Take your pick.

It could even be the new weight loss plan, who knows.

Have fun!

Have you been playing any games this summer?

Look what I got!!

2010-07-12T11:11:00.000-05:00

I am super excited about one of my birthday gifts. My sister and her family gave me a gift card to Amazon for my birthday. At first I thought about ordering some shoes or a purse or something, but then I remembered there were a couple of books I was pining for.

Photos from Amazon.com

So I can't wait to get into these books and start sewing! The book for kids should be interesting. The patterns are European and don't have seam allowances. You have to add them. Hopefully, I am good enough to make that work.

Sweet little sundress

2010-07-01T23:25:00.001-05:00

I have found a great blog that has some great tutorials. I want to try just about all of them! This little "one hour sundress" tutorial came from Christine at From An Igloo. If you haven't visited her before, it is worth a trip!

On Sunday I decided to start with this little dress. I had this piece of fabric with no intentions and sewed it right up! I love how it turned out. I would have loved it more if my little petunia could have modeled it, but she has been sick and has been sporting her p.j.'s!

I only made one change. I made the top halter style because petunia was asleep and I couldn't measure the straps. I also made another for my big girl, but shortened it to a shirt and left off the top ruffle. She wore it 2 days in a row!

A Royal Luncheon

2010-07-01T03:50:00.000-05:00

Check it out! We had lunch with Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Donkey, Alvin and the Chipmunks and a few other special friends!

We all enjoyed some fried pickles. Haven't had them? Oh my, you don't know what you are missing!

We were also joined by my great niece who was in town for a visit.

It was some fun girl time!

Wednesday, Wednesday

2010-06-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

Well, I had great intentions of posting pictures of some things I've sewn lately, but the universe had other plans for me. Apparently, the ozone layer is squishing all of the things my family is allergic to down on top of us and smothering us in snot. My throat has been so sore, I've had a hard time sleeping.

So, I have decided to leave you with a funny photo to make you smile.

Are you smiling? Good.

Grab a cucumber!

2010-06-27T23:07:00.001-05:00

I am so sure you are all waiting for me to stop talking about my vacation. Well, I'm going to do it again. But I promise, I am nearing the end! I've been doing some sewing, so I will have some things to show this week. The forecast is a rainy one this week, so I am sure I will be able to sew some more!

I'll get on with it now! When I had my heavenly spa day, I was reintroduced to a refreshing drink!

Cucumber water!

I've actually made this with fruit and heard of it with the cucumber, but never actually had it before!

Just slice up a cucumber, I like the seedless English type, put it in a pitcher with water and chill. If you have some mint, toss some in, even better!

Mmmm, we are hooked. It's a great way to get your 8 glasses in a day and it tastes good too!

I've made it with strawberries before and the spa also had it with pineapple! Take your pick and be refreshed!

W is for Wonderful Memories

2010-06-24T09:56:00.000-05:00

While on our vacation, we got to visit with my younger brother, Stuart who lives in Florida. He drove down and had some fun times with us. It was awesome. Being a part of a big family is so great.

I truly want my children to experience all of the love they can from my siblings, so any chance we get to meet up, even if just for a meal, I jump at it.

Here are some photos of what I feel will be wonderful memories of my girls' Uncle Stuart, eating sushi, trading silly bandz, and being silly!

I am playing along with Jenny for Alpha B Thursday!

Everyone knows Jimmy Buffett

2010-06-23T08:41:00.002-05:00

Well, here we are back in reality. We've made our way home from the Florida Keys and out from under the pile of laundry. It took me a couple of days, but I think I've pretty much got it together. Except for the fact that now my back is acting up again! It seems as if long periods of sitting does it to me, so I blame it on the car ride to the airport and then the flight home. Lucky for me it didn't happen until we got home!

Our trip was just fabulous! We stayed in Islamorada, which I had no idea existed before last week. It is just past Key Largo. We stayed at the lovely Cheeca Lodge and Spa, which is apparently a favorite spot of George H.W. Bush. It's funny, everything there is described with it's mile marker. Cheeca was mile marker 82. My brother says Key West is mm 0. That's where we'll head next time. That's where Jimmy Buffett has a home. Everyone who had frequented these parts (that we spoke to) had a story about Jimmy. I'm jealous. I've loved Jimmy for years.

Anyway, back to the vacation. We arrived, checked out our digs and headed for the pool. I was so doped on Dramamine that I could hardly keep my eyes open. This was quite obvious when we went to dinner, as I almost fell asleep in my sushi. I guess it's not wise to mix coconut margaritas and Dramamine. Take note.

The next morning was great. My birthday. We had breakfast brought to the room and then I was off to my surprise spa appointment. Ahhhh, wonderful.

Then some more pool time. Then to a great dinner. We had a beautiful table in the corner with a great view of the ocean. These were waiting on the table for me.

My husband is so sweet. He thought of everything. After dinner, a whole key lime pie (what else?) arrived with fresh strawberries and "Happy Birthday Andrea" swirled around the plate in chocolate! Oh my gosh it was so so good.

The lover boy and me.

Me and my big girl.

The little petunia enjoying some chocolate ganache.

I know this is getting boring for some of you, so I will just finish up by showing you the bathtub in the room! We went back after dinner to watch a movie before bedtime and enjoy the cool tub!

The water came down from the ceiling! This little area was open air. It was right beside the patio and had the little curtains that closed it in for privacy. We wanted to wake up and watch the sunrise from here, but we couldn't wake up that early!

I will share some more photos in the days to come!

Goodbye Cheeca, I will miss you!

Over the hill is not so bad...

2010-06-19T07:47:00.000-05:00

My husband has swept me away to a fabulous birthday celebration. I began my fortieth year in a spa!

Waking up to this and being with the three people I love most in the world makes forty oh so great.

See you in a few days with more photos and a recap!

Yes, I guess I am a stage mom

2010-06-13T09:31:00.000-05:00

Well, not exactly! This past week my kids have been working hard to get ready for their big night of dancing for the season. THE dance recital.

At last year's recital, my little petunia was two and a half and fussed the whole second half of the show saying, "Is it my turn now? I want to dance on the big stage!" So over the summer we worked on the potty training and signed her up.

Well, now we know, the stage is her power button. Once she walked on, she came alive! It was so cute!

It seemed as if when she didn't know what came next, she made up her own moves and kept right on going! I loved it.

That was the FIRST number!

posing in the hallway

I am so proud of her! She did so well.

My big girl is a little pro at recitals now. This is her third year. She was fabulous. She practiced all on her own at home and knew all the moves. She decided that next year she doesn't want to do ballet and tap, she's going to try out jazz. I think she will do wonderful! (Umm, as any stage mom would, right?)

These are all during dress rehearsal. That's the only time we can go up to the stage and take pictures.

Each year during the 5-6 year old numbers, they choose one (ballet or tap) to be a "Daddy/Daughter" dance. This year they chose tap and it was an event to remember!

Yes, that is...THE SPRINKLER! The instructors have a great sense of humor!

Auntie Janine was here for the big performance!

Another year under our belts. We are ready to go and frolic on some beaches and have a fun summer! I am sure it won't be without some dressing up and dancing along the way!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

2010-06-09T08:37:00.001-05:00

If you are a mom, I am sure you've heard of the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. My older daughter has never been a real picky eater, but my little one definitely fits the bill. A few years ago, I asked for the cookbook and have found some real favorites inside of it! My husband's all time fav is the pancake recipe. The deception--sweet potatoes! The flavor is not really hidden here, like some of the other recipes, but it really makes them taste great! (if you haven't heard of this cookbook, the idea is that you puree vegetables and some fruit and add them to recipes like chicken nuggets, pasta dishes, soups, etc. and the flavor is hidden, resulting in your family eating more veggies)

Yesterday was my husband's birthday and I asked him what he wanted for dinner. Here I am thinking he will say something like a fish dish. Nope, he asked for sweet potato pancakes! So funny. So I am sharing the recipe with you because even if you only like sweet potatoes just a little, you will enjoy these pancakes!

You will need to puree' sweet potatoes for this recipe. You can bake some sweet potatoes and puree, buy canned sweet potatoes and puree', use baby food (use a little less water if you do this), or buy canned mashed sweet potatoes. Sometimes, I just don't have the time to do fresh which is ideal.

Pancakes from "Deceptively Delicious"

1 cup water
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (optional, but good)
1 cup pancake mix
nonstick cooking spray
1tbsp canola or veg oil
Pure maple syrup

1. In a large bowl, mix the water, sweet potato puree, and cinnamon or pie spice, if using. Add the pancake mix and stir just to combine--the batter should be lumpy.

2. Coat a griddle or nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over med-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil and spoon the batter onto the pan using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.

3. Cook until bubbles form on the top of the pancakes and the batter is set, 2-3 minutes. Then use a spatula to flip the pancakes and cook them until golden brown on the other side, 2-3 minutes.

Serve just as you would any pancake!

This could become a family favorite and a dinner request! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to my hunk of burning love

2010-06-08T05:28:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday my sweet, gorgeous husband!

Oh, how I love that man. Sigh.

Tonight, by request, we will be enjoying sweet potato pancakes for dinner, followed by chess bars.

If you are interested, I will post the recipes!

Cheers!

If the house is a rockin'

2010-06-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we attended a "back porch concert" at a local winery. We were so excited to go because

the band playing was the same one that played at our wedding reception!

The weather wasn't too hot, we brought a picnic dinner and bought some wine to go along with it.

We had a lot of fun!

My little chickens had a ball. They loved the grass, so soft on their little feet.

Towards the end of the night, the horns came down and played out front. It was awesome. I have a special love for horns since my dad was a musician. He played the sax and trumpet. He would have loved this band!

This is the band leader, Ezra Charles. He has a son, 13, who plays the drums and one night a week they go together and play music at one of the hospitals in the Houston Medical Center. (I can't remember if it's MD Anderson or TX Children's, but awesome either way!)

Check out this big tree! The area behind the back porch was full of beautiful pecan trees. It was a great night!

Going really green

2010-05-28T10:33:00.002-05:00

Do you remember a while back when I told you I was trying to get back into shape? Well, since I am pretty much at the top of the hill, getting ready to "go over it", I thought I'd take it one step further.

I have always tried to eat well and feed my family healthy foods. I love to cook and try out new recipes.

I am somewhat of a food snob in that I like to buy organic and only eat certain types of meat.

I once did some research and found some pretty disgusting things out about what some animals eat while they are getting fattened up to be slaughtered. If you want to be grossed out just google "rendering plants".

So on my quest to be fit at forty, I've sworn off the french fries and fried chicken and in turn I am having a whole lot of smoothies.

Looks gross? Oh my gosh, it's really good. My husband is loving these and one of my girls will drink it.

That makes me feel good because of all of the good stuff that's in it!!

I googled green smoothies and found some different recipes. They all had just about the same things in common. Pick some greens, add fruit, water and maybe a little ice, blend them up and drink 'em!
Here's what I've been putting in mine:

2 cups of greens (spinach or kale)

a little fresh parsley

3-4 large strawberries

1 large banana

If I am doing the kale, I like to add some cantaloupe.

Sometimes throw in some red grapes.

Put the greens in the blender first, cover with water, add fruit and ice, blend it up.

The sweetness of the fruit will take away any bitterness. You can add any fruits you like, pears, oranges, etc.

I've been getting some really good sweet strawberries and cantaloupes, so that's what we've been using the most right now.

So if I can keep up my exercising (which is going pretty well) and eating well, maybe I can stand on top of the hill for a bit and show off my biceps. :)

Ruffly Apron

2010-05-24T09:04:00.002-05:00

I have been wanting to make a ruffly apron for quite some time. I don't have a pattern, so I just had to wrap my head around the whole idea and get started. I decided to make one for my mother in law for Mother's day. She loves to cook and is a great baker. I ended up using my pattern for the Nie Nie skirt for my guide.

Here is the finished product! I love how it turned out and she liked it too. I coupled it with a great cookbook with all cupcakes in it from Martha Stewart. I am a sucker for cupcakes!

(the Nie Nie skirts)

Thanksgiving turkey cupcakes.

Easter bunny cupcakes.

Teacher Gifts

2010-05-21T10:58:00.000-05:00

The last day of school is quickly approaching for my big girl, but my little petunia had her last day yesterday.

She was excited for a fun day, but seems to be even more excited to stay with me for the summer!

That sure puts a smile on my face and makes me feel loved. It should be a fun summer, we have lots of ideas for things to fill our days.

I made up little goodie bags for her teachers at school. I have been wanting to make these key fobs for a while and finally did a search on Etsy to find the supplies. I ordered them from here.

There are directions included with the supplies that I ordered. I think they turned out great! I've even sold quite a few, so I will be ordering more supplies soon! If you don't want to make your own, let me know, I can do a listing in my etsy shop.

I also found a tutorial for some homemade sugar scrub for your hands on another blog. I am so sorry, I can't remember where I saw it, so if you are the one who did it, let me know so I can give you credit!!!

Anyway, I got these jars at WalMart, as recommended by said blogger, fill about 3/4 of the way with sugar, add soap, (I like to use Method hand get) and I put a tablespoon of olive oil as well. Stir it up, add some ribbon and a tag and Voila!! A nice teacher gift!!

Chitty Chitty BANG BANG!!

2010-05-19T05:44:00.002-05:00

When we make trips to the local library we end up coming home with no less than about 10 books.

We always check out movies too. A couple of weeks ago, we checked out an oldie, but goodie.

Remember this?

photo Amazon.com

Well, we watched this the first night. I fell asleep on the couch and was awakened to my younger daughter doing the "doll on a music box" number over and over! She wanted to keep on watching it. Then both the girls were up pretending to be the doll.

I returned it to the library on Saturday. I wake up each day with songs from this movie in my head. Toot sweets, Choo-chi face, Chitty chitty bang bang, doll on a box, Truly Scrumptious. When will it end??

I know, you are laughing at me. It's crazy though, how those songs can get stuck in your head!

The little one was upset that we returned it and sweet Daddy told her we'd buy the movie for her.

Oh my gracious, what have we gotten ourselves into??

Pray for me.

Cutie Pie!

2010-05-18T10:42:00.001-05:00

I have been so busy lately, I haven't had time to post all of the cute things I've been whipping up!

I've gotten some new patterns and made a few things from patterns I've had for a while.

This is the Maddie Bee apron top from Brassy Apple. It is adorable and has many variations. I decided to do my first one pretty simply, but I did make it reversible.

I plan to make many more of these cute little tops. The pattern is a great one, pretty easy and the instructions are great!

This is a little dress I made for a friend's little girl. I used two different patterns and mixed a top from one and skirt from the other. They are the Claire and Gracie patterns from Portabellopixie

I love how it turned out! She is going to look adorable in it!

Have a great day!

It's a zoo around here

2010-05-12T09:02:00.000-05:00

I always know when May comes around, it's such a busy time. The end of school, dance recital prep, teacher gifts, the list goes on. I have been so busy! This morning I sat down and thought I'd just post a picture for a wordless Wednesday, but as I was looking for a particular picture, I came across some sweet and some funny pictures from almost two years ago!

After Hurricane Ike hit, we were without power for about 10 days. After about 3 or 4, we decided to hit the road and go on a little vacation. A hurrication. It was a blast. We went to San Antonio and went to Sea World, a wildlife preserve you can drive through, and spent lots of time on the Riverwalk.

Here are some memories of the trip!

My husband wanted to put this on a Christmas card with some wise remark! We laughed our heads off. Apparently, the zebras don't get much to eat because they were hungry!!

She was not happy about the goats. She was afraid they'd eat her skirt!!

Little no fear Nellie.

We were there for "National Pirate Day". They people were walking around yelling "argh"! They were so funny!

Forrest Gump was there too.

The tallest man. That's just crazy!!

Last one, I promise, but how funny is this?? Put this child in the car and she'll go to sleep. Still. She's almost 7. Maybe I need to adjust her bedtime?

What are your vacation plans for the summer? I've got some big ones!

The cutest things I ever made

2010-05-08T11:32:00.001-05:00

I always have some deep reflection when a day like Mother's Day comes around.

I feel as if motherhood is my calling. I enjoy my children so much. I look at them and so often think, I can't believe you are my child! My children have completed my life. They make me smile, laugh and sometimes cry. I can see why my mom had so many kids. They are a true joy.

So here's to motherhood.

Thanks to my sweet girls for allowing me to celebrate a Mother's Day!

I am so truly blessed with such a great mother. I thank the Lord above that He chose my mom for me. She is so sweet and loving and has taught me countless things in my lifetime. We have become great friends and share interests like sewing and cooking. She is a great example of what a mom should be. My mom gave birth to and raised 10 great kids. I am so proud to call all of my brothers and sisters family. They are great people and my sisters have been great examples of what a mother should be also.

Happy Mother's Day mom!!

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful sisters!

Happy Mother's Day to you too!

A couple of "little" projects

2010-05-05T09:46:00.002-05:00

I am recuperating from last week's fundraiser madness! My house is in shambles, but I am such a junkie, that I have fabric and a pattern waiting for me on the table. Shameless, I know.

I just thought I'd share a few of the projects I worked on last week. I'll split it into a couple of posts!

So here is part one:

Meet Emma. She is my daughter's American Girl. She has was gracious enough to be my model!

This little sundress turned out so cute! (in my humble opinion!)

I measured how long to make it and then measured the largest part of Emma for the width of the fabric and added 3 inches.

Sew the fabric together to make a tube.

Hem the top and bottom.

Use elastic thread and shir about 6 rows at the top.

Cut 4 pieces of ribbon and sew in place for the straps.

Your "little" project is finished and your "little" model looks so cute!

This was the second dress I made for Emma.

This dress was made from scrap fabric. I bought the ruffled trim since I ran out of scraps big enough and the skirt was waaaay to short. I used some tissue and made a little pattern for the top by placing it on the doll and drawing where I wanted the dress to be. I kind of wung it from there. If anyone is interested in a tutorial, let me know, I will get one made up.

These two little dresses along with a small hairbow for each raised $30 for my daughter's school. I thought they were cute and I am sure I will be making more. Emma was sad to see them go.

All spiffy for Spring!

2010-04-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

I have been so excited for Spring this year. I am not exactly sure why, but I am a little giddy about it!

I have been working on lots of new things to put into my etsy shop and today I will be listing a couple of new dresses. My little one loves dresses and she is a great little model!

This little dress is made from a Modkidboutique pattern. It was so fun to make! I like how it turned out and my "model" loved the pocket in the front!

This cute little sundress can be worn in cooler weather with a tshirt under it! It's made from 4 different fabrics and from a Portabellopixie pattern. I love how the straps are held in place by a knot! So cute and it does twirl!!

I am planning to do more of both dresses in some different fabrics. I've also been sewing up some dresses for American girl dolls, so I will post some pictures soon!

Busy Busy Busy! and a giveaway!

2010-04-27T09:54:00.000-05:00

So sorry for the lack of posts and visiting of my friends lately! I have been so busy around here!

I promise to get by and visit some of you folks that I haven't met before very soon! (and also my loyal pals!)I have been busy trying to get some things ready for a fundraiser dinner that is happening this weekend. I will take some pictures and have some fun projects to show you!

But first...I want to let you in on a giveaway!

My niece recently started her own photography business. She does some amazing work and I'd love it if you'd go check her out and show her some love!!

You can visit her at Terresa Shaw Photography. If you are in her area, you could even have some photos done! But check this out! She's having a little giveaway! She's crafty as well as talented with a camera! You could win some handmade snack bags!

The giveaway ends on Saturday so hurry over and tell her I sent ya!

I hope you win!!

It's Spring on the block(s)

2010-04-21T09:01:00.001-05:00

Check it out ya'll!

I won a little giveaway! I just received these cute blocks in the mail!

I can't believe how shiny my table looks!!

I met a new crafty bloggy friend named Meg at A Little Knick Knack through a linky party. (I think)

Anyway, she came to visit me and invited me over to enter her giveaway and lo and behold...I won!

Thank you Meg!

These blocks were made by Adorning Elements. Go check her out, there are some really cute items and the prices are so reasonable!

My kids have been having a great time moving them around and trying to spell different words! Cute and educational! :) I like that.

Crew Cuts inspired tshirts!

2010-04-17T09:38:00.003-05:00

Coming from a family of ten kids, my mom taught me well about being frugal. When I was young, I never really knew any different. I just thought it was all the norm. Now as an adult, I am very frugal. It's hard for me to spend a lot of money on just about anything...especially if I can make it myself!

Remember these?

I went back to Hobby Lobby and got more of that stretchy ruffled ribbon on a roll for $1.50 and dressed up some more tshirts. I am bound and determined to make some cute things my older daughter will wear. She's going into the jeans and tshirt phase and all of my cute handmade clothes I've made her are collecting dust in her closet! GASP!

So here are a couple of tees that I came up with after scouring the Crew Cuts website for some ideas.

All you need is a tshirt, your sewing machine, and this "stretchy ruffled ribbon".

Pin the ribbon onto the tshirt and sew it down!

VOILA!

I'm linking up for these parties! Go check them out!

You know it's Spring when...

2010-04-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

You know it's Spring time in Texas when the Bluebonnets are in bloom. The Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas and they are so pretty! They grow wild all around where I live. Many people spread seeds in the fall so that they can have a beautiful blanket of blue in their yards come Spring time! We keep forgetting to do our seeds and so our yard is just green. That's ok too though! (better than brown)

This time of year, when the Bluebonnets are in bloom, you will see people on the side of the road with their cameras and kids. My husband always thinks this is ridiculous. Plopping kids in the flowers on the roadside to take pictures of crying children seems crazy to him. I must admit, we did it when I was a kid!! Now, as a parent, I worry about crazy drivers, ant hills (we have fire ants that bite!) and even snakes. Last year, my sister was renting a house that had a field of wildflowers in front, so we went there and took pictures. I even brought a stool for the girls to sit on! This year, like the past 3 or so, we went out to Chappell Hill, Texas where they hold the "official" Bluebonnet Festival. There is lots of food and shopping and they have an area for the kids, pony rides, face painting, and a few activities. We love to go, usually the weather is just lovely and we can enjoy a day outdoors together. On the way home, we saw a big field of flowers that was off the highway, away from cars, so we stopped. We took a few pictures, took in the sweet smell of the flowers, and then headed on down the road. Satisfied.

Happy Spring! It's finally here!

My first quilt!

2010-04-09T11:49:00.003-05:00

It's finished!

I made this quilt for a fundraiser at my daughter's preschool. The last two years my mom has made lovely quilts to donate. I helped out a little last year, but this year I wanted to try and do it on my own! I found this great tutorial for how to make a quilt in 6 weeks at a blog called I Have to Say...

It took me less than two, but I needed to get it done so it could be on display!

The instructions are great. So if you think you've been wanting to try a quilt...GO FOR IT!

Here is my finished product!

I made those two little angels in the back too! :)

Easter Recap a little late

2010-04-07T10:20:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has taken me almost a whole week to post anything new. It has been nuts around here! I had to take a nap on Monday to try and get myself caught up! My washing machine and dryer were still going though, I had about 8 loads piled up. I have no idea how that happened!!

Even though the weekend was busy, we had a great time. The girls and I barely got dressed on Friday and had some fun dying eggs and making cupcakes in between cleaning the house to shine like the Hope Diamond.

I got this idea from Family Fun. They were really cute if I do say so myself!

Saturday, we went to my sister's house for some great fajitas and an egg hunt!

When we got home the kids and my husband had a camp out in the yard to wait for the Easter bunny. They never did see him!!

They did however see a possum! (not in the tent thank goodness!)

The Easter bunny did show up though! He came up large too!

Then we headed off to church to celebrate the Risen Lord!

Here are the outfits I made for the girls!

After an egg hunt here at home, we had a great day with family.

(Yes, my little petunia wore her Hello Kitty boots to church with her outfit!)

I am obsessed with these flowers!

2010-04-01T19:49:00.008-05:00

I learned how to make these little flowers from a tutorial from Sandi Henderson. I have put

them on a headband and loved how they turned out.

For Christmas this past year, I got a tshirt as a gift from JCrew. Well, it was from my sister in law, but she got it at JCrew. ha ha.

As soon as I opened it I was in love and knew I had to try and make some more!! I am on the verge of ending up with a closet full of these tshirts.

So here is JCrew's version.

Here is my version!

This is actually for my big girl to wear on Easter. I found this little burnout tee at Old Navy. I think it was on sale for around $7. I bought a yard on chiffon at Hobby Lobby for about $3 and I had the tulle and button on hand already. I am sure I did this for less than JCrew!

I took a look at how mine was made. The flowers are all handsewn to a piece of tulle and then the tulle is sewn to the shirt. I went ahead and did it this way. I made two, one for each of my girls and I took a tip I found in between. I found a post on Tatertots and Jello, where Jen made throw pillows with yoyo's on them. She gave a tip that you should attatch the yoyo's to one another before sewing them to the pillow. I took this advice with the flowers and tried it on the second shirt. I worked out much better!

So now, I have all of these little lovely flowers that will soon be attatched to headbands for Sunday.

I did one with just the chiffon, one with tulle twisted in with it and one with a sparkly brad in the center. One thing I've done that has made the flower making easier, is tying the fabric in a knot at the end and using that as your center starting point.

I will wait until Easter to show you the whole ensemble! I'm excited how the outfits turned out.

Have a Happy Easter!

I am linking up to

It's a Hodgepodge Friday

Tatertots and Jello's Weekend Wrap Up Party

Kojo Designs

....................................................................................................................

Could this be any sweeter?

2010-03-30T22:35:00.000-05:00

I am having a super busy week.

I am trying to get my house clean, sew, and get ready for the weekend! Hopefully, I will have some things to share in the next couple of days!

Easter Egg Stuffers, Holy Week

2010-03-27T08:17:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are! It's Holy Week! I can't believe we are almost to Easter. I feel it's been a good Lent. I've learned more about my faith and why we do some of the things we do. I have been blessed by these verses and the devotions I've been reading. I hope these verses have blessed you and your family as well!

Palm Sunday

Hosanna! Blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Mark 11:9-10

Monday

You, Lord, have called me for the victory of justice. You have grasped me by the hand. Isaiah 42:5

Tuesday

The Lord chose me and gave me a name before I was born. Isaiah 49:1

Wednesday

"I didn't turn aside when they insulted me and spit in my face." Isaiah 50:6

Holy Thursday

Lord, help me to understand what you have done for me. John 13:1-15

Good Friday

Father, I put my life in your hands. Psalm 31

Holy Saturday

And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1

Easter Sunday

I rejoice in this day that the Lord has made! Psalm 118

Happy Easter!

Glittered Easter egg wreath

2010-03-25T22:22:00.004-05:00

I have been wanting to make a wreath for my door for ages. We kept our Christmas wreath up almost to Valentine's Day! I was ready for something spring-y! I gave a different wreath a try, but it didn't work out too well, so this is where I ended up. I'm sure it's been done before, but if you haven't seen it, here's the how-to!

You will need some plastic Easter eggs. I got an 18 pack at Dollar Tree. You also need a wreath form, some toothpicks or skewers, mod podge, a paintbrush, glitter, hot glue gun or other glue and some ribbon or fabric. I also used some polyurethane spray to finish it off.

Begin by putting a toothpick or skewer into the egg's little holes on the end. Then paint on the mod podge covering the entire thing.

Next take your glitter and cover the egg. We found it easiest to dump a bunch of glitter into a plastic dish and use a spoon to cover the egg.

(tip: I started to run out of glitter so I mixed a couple of tablespoons of sugar with the glitter and it worked out great! I hope no birds or anything start hanging out on my wreath!)

I had an extra wreath form (also from Dollar Tree) that we stuck the eggs in to dry.

Once we had all of our eggs glittered, we took them outside and sprayed them with the polyurethane to seal in the glitter. (be forewarned, we got glitter everywhere!) While these were drying, I wrapped the wreath form with ribbon. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this step!)

For the last step, I used my hot glue gun to glue the eggs all over the wreath form. I tied some ribbon around the top and hung it on the longhorn!!

I also thought this would make a cute centerpiece on the table. Just leave out the last step and put a candle in the middle of it! Shazam! Sparkly table!

So, Happy Easter Ya'll!

I'm linking up to Gay's party!

And also

And also,

J is for JACKPOT!

2010-03-25T12:53:00.000-05:00

Today is Alpabe-Thursday over at Jenny Matlock's. If you haven't visited her before, you MUST! She is HI-larious! I enjoy reading her posts, they consistently put a smile on my face. Most days though, I am laughing out loud!

So today, the letter is "J".

Yesterday, Big Mama, (that's what I call myself to my kids. I'm not really big, but I think it makes me sound important. ha ha!) is walking on into Target. I've been hearing all of the hype about the Liberty of London line and had to see what the hullabaloo was all about. I had no expectation of being able to find anything good since the line came out almost 2 weeks ago and everyone out in bloggy land said their stores were just about sold out of everything LoL. First I checked out the women's dresses. They had full size runs of just about all of the women's things, except swimsuits. Well, we all know which swimsuit I'll be wearing this summer, God willing. So I tried on a couple of dresses that I thought would be good for Easter Sunday. That was not successful. One made me look like a house, the other I just wasn't crazy about.

So, I moved along to the kid's section. Each Easter I try to put something a little bit useful, but fun, in my girls' Easter baskets. I've put Crocs in them before and last year they got new swimsuits. There is usually PLENTY of candy in the little eggs that they hunt. In November, I got myself a pair of zebra print rainboots. I look forward to rainy days just so that I can wear them. Each time I do, my big girl goes into whine mode. "I wish I had some rain boots, wah wah wah" . To which I reply, "Too bad kid, Big Mama never gets anything new. Get over it." Ok, maybe I'm not quite that short with her, but the kid does have more clothes than I do. So back to Target. I get an idea. Maybe I should put some rain boots in the baskets this year. Hmmm. I go over to check them out and low and behold, I find these.

(insert singing choir of angels here)

Big Mama shoots...she scores!

They only come in big girl sizes, not toddler. So I check out the toddler sizes and find these.

(singing angels, again)

My baby girl has a new affinity for Hello Kitty, so these were another big score. She's been sleeping with this Hello Kitty that she got at Build a Bear on her birthday and that thing is just about as big as she is!!

So, I left Target thinking to myself, "Big Mama, you hit the JACKPOT!"

I could not believe that I found both in their sizes. Amazing. Now I will just have to make my way to the Dollar Tree for candy! They have a great selection for...a dollar! Jackpot, again!

Mutton Bustin'

2010-03-23T23:14:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday we packed up the family and headed into the big city. We had tickets and a parking pass (yeehaw) to go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This event is just huge each year. Western Wear stores probably make their year because of it. The whole shindig lasts close to 3 weeks. It raises a huge amount of money for kids in the form of scholarships. There is of course, the livestock show, the rodeo, a big carnival and after the rodeo performance there is a concert.

I have great memories of going to this very rodeo with my family growing up. My whole family was born in Massachusetts. My dad was one of the proudest Texas transplants you'd ever meet. He had a bumper sticker that read, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could."

My dad loved all things Texas. He wore the cowboy hat, the boots, the bolo tie. He hung the longhorns in the living room over a picture of a cowboy who looked like the Marlboro man. He hung the Texas flag outside in the yard. He took us to visit all kinds of historic places all around the state. (there are a lot of them too.) We went to rodeos. We went to little rodeos, prison rodeos (yes, the Tx Dept of Criminal Justice would put on a rodeo with the inmates as the cowboys, they don't do it anymore) and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We saw all kinds of great musicians at these rodeos. I remember seeing Tanya Tucker and John Connelly. One year we saw Billy Ocean! "get into my car!" (Dad hated that one, we left early)

In my single days, I went to many a rodeo with girlfriends. We saw Reba McEntire, Brooks and Dunn, Garth Brooks and I even saw George Strait! I had never been with my kids though. We've taken them to the livestock show, but all four of us had not made it to a rodeo performance...until last week.

The girls had so much fun watching the rodeo events. They were really into it. Of course, I was able to give play by plays, because, I'm a rodeo expert. (right)

Last year they added a new event to the rodeo. Mutton Bustin'. This is where 5-6 year old kids are outfitted in bullfightin' gear (a caged helmet and protective vest) and perched atop a full grown sheep. They let the sheep out of a shoot and the kid holds on as long as they can. It was HILARIOUS. Those kids loved every minute of it. The kid who won was asked how he got such a high score, he said, "I just held on real tight!"

photo http://www.hlsr.com/

So now I have a new threat when my kids are bad. "I'll sign you up for mutton bustin!" Forget military school. This is free.

The concert was excellent. We got to see the Black Eyed Peas! The little one was a bit freaked out by some of the dancer's costumes, but they loved it. Pumping fists and all. We had a mom with teenage girls dancing her bootie off in front of us and an 80 some year old woman in her prairie dress and concho belt gettin' down to "gotta get that boom boom boom". It was awesome just for that. Today the little one ran around singing, "let's get it started in here!"

I hope that my girls have great memories of times like these. Just like I do.

I hope I can still walk tomorrow

2010-03-23T09:25:00.000-05:00

These are my new tennies. I got them about a week and a half ago. I've been wanting to get back into shape again.

I had every intention of getting started last week over Spring Break, but ~~my kids didn't cooperate~~ I was too lazy. So I am getting started this week! I've pretty much always been one to workout. I used to love walking. You know power walking, going as fast as I could, almost a jog. Then for a couple of years I got into running. My knees can't really handle that and the beating of my feet on the ground had me chanting "why am I doing this, why am I doing this". So, I stopped. Then right after I got married, I took some training and started teaching Pilates on a reformer in a gym. I taught for almost a year and then gave birth to my first daughter. I never went back.

When my baby was about 18 months old, I decided to shape it up and lose a few pounds. I found Fit tv on my cable and discovered Sharon Mann. I enjoyed her so much that I did two of her workouts a day. One cardio and one toning. She wasn't annoying and I saw results. I kept it up until I got pregnant with my second child. It's hard to get motivated to exercise when you are puking all the time. So I fell out of the habit yet again. After having a C section with my little ~~twirp~~ angel, I was chomping at the bit 6 weeks later to get back into shape, and back into my old clothes. I worked my patootie off and about 5 months later I was back at my fighting weight. I was probably in the best shape ever.

Then, that summer, I got a bad cough. My back was bothering me and I just was not up to working out. I stopped working out. Completely. Since then (that was in 2007) I have been able to maintain my weight, give or take about 3 lbs, but I have not been able to stay on the fitness train. I can tell the difference though. I feel flabby! It's been on again, off again for the past 2 1/2 years. I was doing well last fall when I ordered Slim in 6. I stuck to it for about 4 1/2

weeks. Then my back started bothering me again. I think I sometimes have an issue with my hips being out of alignment, but I haven't gone to the Dr for it.

So this morning, I had to get my husband up early for work. (5 am) Once his lunch was made and he was gone, I decided there was no time like the present. So I got my new tennies on and worked out. It really is a good workout. I did see results after 4 weeks last time. A couple of weeks ago I did one day and overdid it a little and could barely walk to next day. So, today I took it easy a little and will get more ambitious each day. I will be 40 in June and I am wanting to rock this bikini I bought 2 years ago and have really not worn.

find it here

So I am hoping that I can keep it up and maybe I will check in from time to time and let you know if I can move around freely. Ha! Sometimes for me, being accountable and having to report in keeps me on track. If anyone wants to join along, maybe we can have a little group to keep us on track!

Easter Egg Stuffers, Week 6

2010-03-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

Here are the verses for week 6 to stuff in your pocket Easter eggs!

Sunday
Lord, you are the resurrection and the life. John 11:25

Monday
"Lord, your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life." Psalm 23:6

Tuesday
Lord, help me to have faith in you for who you are. John 8:24

Wednesday
Lord, I pray to know the truth, the truth that will set me free. John 8:31

Thursday
"The Lord is our God, bringing justice everywhere on earth." Psalm 105:7

Friday
"I sing praises to you Lord. You rescue the oppressed from the wicked." Jeremiah 20:13

Saturday
You, O Lord, are our God. We are your people. Ezekiel 37:27

Have a blessed week!

Rolled Rose Headband

2010-03-19T09:43:00.003-05:00

I made this little headband to go with a t shirt for a birthday gift. I thought it turned out pretty cute!

You can get the tutorial for the roses here.

I covered a plastic headband with a scrap strip of the fabric. Before attatching the roses, I cut a circle of fabric and glued it to the back of the roses. Then I glued the roses to the headband. You can make the whole thing from scrap fabric. These are cute to attatch to hair clips, pins and even necklaces too!

I'm linking up with Gay for Hodgepodge Friday! There are some fun ideas over there, so go check them out!

And also,

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-16T23:25:00.001-05:00

Easter Egg Stuffers, Week 5

2010-03-15T21:23:00.001-05:00

Here are the verses for week 5 to stuff in your pocket Easter eggs!
Monday

"I prayed to you, Lord God, and you healed me, saving me from death and the grave.

Psalm 29:2

Tuesday

"The Lord all-powerful is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46:11

Wednesday

Lord, you will never forget me. see Isaiah 49:15

Thursday

"Remember me, Lord, when you show kindness by saving your people!" Psalm 106:4

Friday

Lord, you are there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope. Psalm 34:18

Saturday

"You, God, are my shield, the protector of everyone whose heart is right." Psalm 7:10

So sorry for being so late in posting these verses again. It is Spring Break and we are having some fun and staying busy as usual! I hope you are blessed by these verses and have a great week!

I feel special...

2010-03-13T00:29:00.001-06:00

Oh so special!

Last week I was given a couple of awards! Aww shucks, ya'll!

I am sorry it has taken me so long to thank you properly!

First, Danielle from Humes, Party of Three passed along The Fabulous Sugar Doll blogger Award to me!

Thank you Danielle!

I'm going to throw out the rules and just ask that you check out these sweet bloggy friends of mine that I am passing this award along to!

Erin @ Little Texas Love Nest

Kelly @ Kelly at Home

Paige @ Some Days You Gotta Dance

Maggi @ Just Add Glitter and Stir

And if that wasn't enough, Heidi over at Wonder Woman Wannabe is thoughtful enough to think I am a master of something! Thank you Heidi! I've been trying to think of things I've mastered, and quite frankly, there is only one thing I can think of! Lately, I am a master of avoiding housework!

I am passing this along to:

Alyssa @ Bloggin 2 Noggin

Lyndsay @ Cookin' Lean like Paula Deen

Courtney @ Tales from the Williamson's Trails

Diana @ To Everything A Season

Go say hello and tell them I sent ya!

Have a great weekend!

Am I Crazy?

2010-03-11T22:39:00.002-06:00

Yes, I may be crazy! I took on another project. Actually, I signed up for this a long time ago. My little bit's preschool holds one fundraiser every year. It is a dinner and auction and we've been twice now. My older daughter went to the same school for preK and K. Each year they raffle off a quilt. Two years ago, my mom made it and last year we did it together. This year, I wanted to see if I could do it myself!

Here are the first photos of the top. It's not completely sewn together yet, but by the end of today, it should be!

Sorry for the poor lighting. I tried to fix the photo, but it didn't totally work!

The tutorial for this quilt is at I have to say...

I'm linking up with Gay for Hodgepodge Friday!

Rock your socks off chicken recipe!

2010-03-10T09:17:00.001-06:00

I just had to share this great recipe I tried it for the first time last week. It's so good and so easy, you should try it sometime! I found it on a website called go dairy free. It has lots of good recipes and information not only for those who need to eat dairy free, but also for vegans or those needing to eat gluten free as well.

This recipe originally came from Latina Magazine and I love it!

Adobo-Citrus Grilled Chicken Thighs

(gluten free, nut free, soy free and dairy free!)

makes 4-6 servings

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 (7 oz) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

4 garlic cloves

1 tblsp Mexican oregano (I used regular)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken things

(I used both thighs and legs and they did have skin and bones!)

In blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except chicken and process until well combined. Transfer marinade to ziploc bag or nonreactive dish. Add chicken to marinade and coat completely. Close bag/cover bowl and marinade at least 2 hours. Preheat and prepare outdoor grill or ridged grill pan. Remove chicken from marinade, drain and pat dry ( I didn't). Over med-high heat, grill, turning once, until juices run clear or internal temperature reaches 180 F, about 15 minutes.

I think this would be great served with corn on the cob and some Mexican rice! My whole family loved it, I hope it will rock your socks off!

I'm linking up with A Soft Place to Land for DIY day!

Sorry for my scarceness lately. I've been busy with lots of new projects. I've also been just loving all over my girls. The story of Layla Grace has led me to realize, I have not been loving on my kids as much as I should. So I'll be around to visit when I can! Hug your kids extra long today. It really feels good!

Easter Egg Stuffers, Week 4

2010-03-07T22:59:00.000-06:00

Here are the verses for Week 4. I am sorry to be so late with them!

Sunday

O Lord, we have heard you ourselves, and we are certain that you are the Savior of the world! John 4:42

Monday

"In my heart, I am thirsty for you the living God. When will I see your face?" Psalm 42:2

Tuesday

"Show me your paths and teach me to follow; guide me by your truth and instruct me." Psalm 25:4

Wednesday

Help me oh Lord, to follow your commands, to teach them to my children and to my children's children. Deuteronomy 4:9

Thursday

We worship the Lord with thankful hearts and songs of praise. Psalm 95:2

Friday

Lord, that I may love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Mark 12:30

Saturday

Lord, our prayer is that we may do our best to know you today. Hosea 6:3

Please keep little Layla Grace in your prayers. She and her family sure need all the prayer warriors they can get right now.

Hodgepodge Friday

2010-03-05T10:08:00.002-06:00

I am linking up with Gay today for It's a Hodgepodge Friday! It's her first one, so go visit her and check it out!

I haven't posted much this week, I have been busy sewing! We had a baby gift to get ready, so here are some of the things going into that gift bag.

Some applique'd onesies

Here is the back of one! A little surprise on the bumsie!

A couple of bibs.

My nephew's little league baseball season starts tomorrow. I wanted my sister to be the sassiest one on the bleachers, so she's getting a little "bada bling" for her flip flops.

Get your own here

And now, for the piece de resistance...a Nie Nie skirt. This is made from a Pink Fig pattern. It was worth all of the work because I love it! My model was at school, but I am sure there will be pictures on her soon. I am working on a t shirt to go with it.

I'm also linking up to A Soft Place to Land for DIY day!

Waiting for the warmth

2010-03-03T10:17:00.000-06:00

I was looking over some pictures from last year. I came across these pictures from a trip to the hill country in the fall. We went for a long weekend and had a great time. They make me want the warm weather!

Those were the good ole days

2010-02-28T19:47:00.000-06:00

I think that's what I'll say when I look back on these pictures. I hope my kids will do the same!

We had such a great time jumping around together. Check out our faces! We laughed so hard! A trampoline is a great investment!

(Oh and my hubby's back was hurting, so he became the photographer while we jumped!)

Daily Verses for Easter Eggs, Week 3

2010-02-28T07:52:00.000-06:00

Second Sunday of Lent

"Lord, it is good for us to be here!" Matthew 17:4

Monday

"Our God, you keep us safe. Now help us! Rescue us." Psalm 79:9

Tuesday

O Lord, help me be the servant of others. Matthew 23:11

Wednesday

"You are faithful, and I trust you because you rescued me." Psalm 31:5

Thursday

Lord, you bless those who trust in you. Jeremiah 17:7

Friday

I trust you, O Lord, and I remember your miracles and wonders in my life! Psalm 105:5

Saturday

"With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!" Psalm 103:1

I hope you are blessed by these verses and are having a good Lenten season!

I'm a winner! Really I am!

2010-02-26T21:26:00.000-06:00

I sound pretty full of myself, don't I?

I am so excited! Today I found out that I won a giveaway! yahoodie!

I got an email from Danielle at Humes, Party of Three saying that I won a custom blog header!

She just had a blog makeover done by The Frilly Coconut and it looks great. So I am excited about it!

Well, "Is that all?" you may ask. No my friends, it is not.

Miss Jenn over at South of Sheridan, was sweet enough to send me an award!

How sweet is that? Thank you Jenn!

So you know, there are the usual rules.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Paste it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you.

4. Tell 7 interesting things about yourself.

5. Nominate 7 other bloggers, or less, and link to them.

Here are my nominations:

Danielle at Humes, Party of Three--Thanks for the lovely prize!

"The Girl" over at The Girl Next Door Grows Up--Thanks for helping me remember the good stuff on Fridays!

Lynette at A Work In Progress--Lynette is such an inspirations, you should visit her!

Shell at Things I Can't Say--Go on over and Dance Your Bloggy Off!

Heidi at Wonder Woman Wannabe--Oh how I loved Wonder Woman as a kid! Heidi has awesome ideas about "Re-igniting Date Night".

Now, for some interesting things about me. Hmm, what to say, what to say...ok, I hope you'll be interested!

1. I am number 9 of 10 children. All from the same parents. My mom is an only child. I now have 15 nieces and nephews and 2 great nephews and 3 great nieces.

2. I wanted to have lots of kids, just like my mama, but morning sickness changed my mind!

3. My family gets together every other summer for a family reunion. For years we went to the Outer Banks, but last year we tried something new. We went to Gulf Shores, AL and had a great time. I loooove the beach!

4. I am always afraid I am going to dress too young for my age. I will be 40 this year and I still want to be a hot stylish mom! You know "brick house"! (not sure if that's working)

5. I love fried chicken. Any kind, if it's chicken and it's fried, I love it!

6. I stopped drinking coffee after my first baby. I never want to have to go through caffiene withdrawls again. I'm sure it was worse coupled with the morning sickness. Now I drink hot tea. I love Tazo Chai and at night I like Yogi, Egyptian Licorice.

7. My sister and I have code words for people watching. If we want to point out someone's "interesting" hairdo, we say "Lid, 4 o'clock". If we want to point out some "stylish" footwear, we say, "Flippers, 12 o'clock."

Alright, you can wake up now! I hope you were not bored to tears!

Have a great weekend!

Feel Good Friday

2010-02-25T22:54:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's Friday already! The second half of the week flew by! I'm linking up with The Girl Next Door Grows Up for some feelin' good action!

Here are some things that made me feel good this week!

1. My big girl got sick on Saturday. (no that's not what made me feel good) She was really sick. But a trip to the doc, a stop at the pharmacy and a dose of antibiotics later...she was already feeling better! Yahoodie!

2. For said trip to the doc, my sweet mama took care of the lil bit. She would not have lasted during that long wait. We got there at 3:15 and didn't leave until 5:30. You know the drill.

3. My sister, who is a pedi nurse, was on call the whole time! She even called me to check on us!

4. My lil bit has started calling me "mama". Like a little southern girl. It's so funny it just makes me smile!

5. Today, I am going to do some crafty shopping with my friend Kelly. We are going to Goodwill. I've never been to Goodwill before! We haven't been able to hang out in a while, so it should be fun. Hopefully, there will be lunch involved! I'll let you know how the hunting goes!

It's a lovely day for a skirt!

2010-02-25T11:39:00.000-06:00

Update on the "Skirt Sewing Project"

As you can see the snow is long gone and it is such a lovely day!

Here are some of the skirts I've been making that will be taken to some sweet little girls in Haiti.

I got an email yesterday from my sister asking me if I wanted some free fabric for sewing more of these skirts! One of her clients offered it up for the cause!

I have plenty to keep me busy for now, but I will certainly get that fabric transformed into something sweet.

If you know of someone who may be interested in doing a little sewing for this project, I'd love it if you'd send them in this direction.

I hope it's skirt wearing weather where you are!

Can you believe it?

2010-02-23T22:56:00.001-06:00

Well, I am sure you can. I know a good portion of the country has been buried in snow. But around there here parts, it doesn't happen all too often! Oh yeah, it snowed today!

My girls had no dance lessons. The studio called and cancelled due to the weather! Ha! I am sure all of you Northerners, East Coasters and Midwesterners are laughing right now! It's ok, the dance instructors probably wanted to go home and build some little snowmen themselves.

So here are ours. I know you were dying to see them!

These are my snowbunnies. They helped me with the construction.

I guess those chairs were pretty cold because that was the only place the snow was sticking! It melted as it hit the ground pretty much.

So, after this...we went in for some of this...

Happy Wednesday!

T Shirt refashion

2010-02-23T09:55:00.001-06:00

I just love all of the corsage t shirts! I got a really pretty one from JCrew for Christmas. I have been thinking of how I wanted to make one of my own for a while. Then Jen at Tatertots and Jello refashioned a cardigan! My lightbulb went off. (or on)

I had some of this stretcy, ruffled ribbon that I wanted to do a project with, but never got to it. And then I have all these tired, plain old tshirts, so I decided to give it a whirl.

All I did was pin the ribbon on and sew! On my shirt, I did a zig zag stitch, but on the little one I did a straight stitch. I think the straight was better.

I was wearing mine yesterday, and as I put my little bit to bed, she said, "Mommy, I like your shirt! Make one for me! Now!"

I hope she doesn't get that pushiness from me!

This ribbon sells for $2.99 at Hobby Lobby. Practically every week, they put all of their ribbon on sale for 1/2 off! So I paid $1.50 for it and the tshirts were some we had on hand! What a deal!

I am linking up with A Soft Place to Land for DIY day!

Calling all Sewers!!

2010-02-22T07:28:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but I still find myself worrying and wondering about what's happening in Haiti. I still have all of the images in my head that I watched on CNN in the days following the earthquake. Well, I have been wanting to do something to help out. I saw some different ideas on some other blogs and wanted to try and do something. I've decided I want to make skirts for the little girls in Haiti. Now, girls are my thing. If you would like to join in, you could make a skirt or as many as you'd like. I think anything will help.

I've told a few of you, I would not know what to do with a boy if you gave him to me, so there is an opportunity for some of you who are all about boys. If you would like to, you can make shorts or pants for the boys.

If you'd like to help out and start sewing, make the style or size that you like. If you need some ideas, let me know, I can point you to some online tutorials for pattern free skirts.

I have been in contact with Lila Tueller, who will be helping out with this project as well.
(By the way, she has an amazing giveaway on her blog. You should check it out!)

I think we can make a difference, if we all come together!

More details to follow, but if you'd like to join in, let me know! Any questions, feel free to email me.

thefreckledbug@gmail.com

P.S. If you know of someone who may like to participate, pass it on! And so on and so on and...

Daily Verses for Easter Eggs, Week 2

2010-02-20T15:24:00.000-06:00

Okay, so here are the verses to put into your Easter Eggs for week 2 of Lent.

First Sunday of Lent

We cannot live only on food. We need every word that God has spoken. Matthew 4:4

Monday

Your are the Lord, our God. You are holy, and we must be holy too! Leviticus 19:2

Tuesday

Our Father, in heaven, help us to honor your name. Matthew 6:9

Wednesday

"Wash me clean from all of my sin and guilt." Psalm 51:2

Thursday

Lord, help me to treat others as I want them to treat me. Matthew 7:12

Friday

"With all my heart, I am waiting, Lord, for you! I trust your promises!" Psalm 129:5

Saturday

Help me, Lord, to love my enemies and to pray for those who mistreat me. Matthew 5:44

I think that these are really good verses to pray for the week! Not only for the kids, but I feel I will benefit from them as well. Have a blessed week, I'll post for next week on Friday or Saturday again!

Easter Egg Stuffers

2010-02-17T18:01:00.000-06:00

Today at church I picked up a packet that had all kinds of fun ideas for things to do as a family for Lent.

One section was "Lenten Daily Prayers". I thought the scripture that they chose for each day would be perfect to put in the pocket Easter Eggs!

(just scroll down to the next post for the pocket eggs)

Here are the verses for this week. I'll post next week's either Friday or Saturday and so on for each week!

I hope you enjoy them!

Wednesday

It isn't too late, we can still return to the Lord with all our heart. Joel 2:12

Thursday

If I want to follow you, Lord, I must forget myself and put others first. Luke 9:23

Friday

Create pure thoughts in me and make me faithful again. Psalm 51:10

Saturday

Lord, I hear you say, "Come with me." Luke 5:27

Pocket Easter Eggs DIY

2010-02-16T09:29:00.000-06:00

I am a little sad that Valentines Day is over. I never did get to make a Valentine wreath for my front door. I do plan to make an Easter wreath, though.

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday. Forty days until Easter.

I feel it heavy on my heart to do more with my kids in teaching them about the Lord.

I decided to leave up the "love tree" and now it will become our Easter tree. Today, we made some pocket Easter eggs. They are just felt pieces cut in an egg shape. I used some ric rac to decorate them. (we used all of the rhinestones on the hearts!) Then we added a little "pocket" to the back of them.

In each pocket is a little slip of paper. Each day we will take some time and empty a pocket and follow the instructions.

This is a fun project to do with your kids. My 6 year old did some of the sewing around the edges and felt so big! She's been asking for sewing lessons forever! We plan to make more and cover the tree.

Hopefully, my kids will learn a bit more about the great sacrifice Jesus made for us and not just be concerned with what kind of candy will grace their baskets this year.

Be sure to stop by A Soft Place to Land for lots of other fun DIY ideas!

A Love Story

2010-02-12T15:00:00.000-06:00

Today I am linking up with two other blogs! I am sharing my "love story" for a link up with Wonder Woman Wannabe.

I think it will also count as a Feel Good Friday post at The Girl Next Door Grows Up!

So, here goes...

In 1997, I was a wild and crazy single ~~girl~~ woman. I had dated and dated, but just had not found a guy I really wanted to spend any time with. My friends kept trying to set me up and of course, it never worked out. Finally, I feel like I came to a place where I was happy. I was working and having fun with family (I had a new niece that I was spoiling rotten!) and just hanging out with friends. I decided I was good, didn't need to join the convent, but didn't need to be on the prowl either.

I have a good friend who is a guy, not gay, who I hung out with all the time. We worked together too. One day he says to me, "You should meet my neighbor." I'm thinking, "How have I not met all of your neighbors already??? We are always together!" But I say, "Don't do me any favors. I really don't want to be set up!"

After a while, I gave in. But with conditions. I told him, he could bring him over to my place and we would cook out. There had to be other people there as well because, if I didn't like him I wanted to have other people to talk to! So we set up an evening and my friend put out the invitation. Later, I get a call from the guy saying thanks for the invite, but he can't make it. He has bible study. Yes, I could not believe it! I was beginning to think maybe I DID want to meet this guy! Not only did he have manners, but he was a Christian who attended bible study!! Well, he asks if we can reschedule, so we do.

My friend and I stuck with the original plan and invited others to come for a bbq and everyone shows up. When my blind date comes in, all I can think is, wow, that guy is so cute! Why is he single? What's wrong with him? (Later, he tells me he thought the same about me!)

So, the night goes on, we have a great time. Great conversation, us sitting at the table with our friends outside peeking in the windows at us trying to figure out if we are having fun, and realizing we have a lot in common! We had such a good time together, we made plans to see each other the next night. We made a date to go out to eat with a couple that he was great friends with. I guess he needed approval from them.

Well, I guess he got it, because we saw each other every single day after that. My family fell in love with Greg just as quickly as I did. Just like any girl, I had my wedding all worked up in my head. The only problem was, he took his sweet time asking me to marry him! In 1999, my dad passed away. He was very sick with cancer for a long time. I was heartbroken, but Greg was right there with me the whole way. I was really sad though, that my dad would never be there at my wedding to walk me down the aisle.

The following year, Greg and I were spending Thanksgiving together, alone. My mom had moved out of state and Greg's family lived out of state as well. That day I was in such a funk. I was glad to be with him, but so sad not to be with family. I missed my dad so much. Greg knew I was sad. He was hugging me and drying my tears. All of a sudden he said, "Would you cheer up if I asked you to marry me?"

I was all...WHAT??? I was so surprised! It was the furthest thing from my mind at that moment. Then he reached over and picked up a hat off the counter. Under it was this beautiful red box with my beautiful ring in it. Yes, it cheered me up!

We were married almost a year later. All of our family was there. My brothers, all 4 of them, gave me away. And Greg wears my sweet father's wedding ring, given to us by my mom. The one he wore for almost 50 years.

My mom said, "I know how much he loved Greg, he would want him to wear it."

I hope that he will wear it for 50 years. Or more.

Happy Valentines Day!

Gifts under the Love Tree!

2010-02-09T10:53:00.000-06:00

We have a few little packages under the "Love Tree"!

They won't be there for long though, the girls have their dance lessons today and we will deliver the goodies to their teachers for Valentines Day. I decided to make up a batch of Angelica's kettle corn and top them off with a little flower from Skip to my Lou.

Pretty quick and easy little gift for teachers...yummy too!

Tribe Talk

2010-02-08T19:45:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday ya'll! I was over visiting my friend Gay at It's a Hodgepodge Life, and she's having a little party! She's having some "Tribe Talk"! She invited me to come over and bring along some of my new found bloggy friends! I have been having so much fun reading all of the comments from everyone. This is such a new thing for me. I started blogging for out of town family. I wanted them to be able to see new photos of my girls all the time and show off some of my crafty stuff to friends without having to haul them around everywhere with me! Last month I joined up with SITS and also The Texas Blogging Gals, and now I have "met" so many cool people. So, if you haven't met them, here are a few that I read regularly, and I hear from them in my comments section as well. So thanks for the bloggy love ladies!

The Mommyologist

Things I Can't Say

Humes, Party of Three

Wonder Woman Wannabe

The Girl Next Door Grows Up

South of Sheridan

and don't forget to visit Gay!

I wouldn't be a good bloggy friend if I didn't let you in on a cool giveaway! Head over to Tatertots and Jello for a $50 gift certificate to Madison Reece Designs!

Tomorrow, I will be back with an idea for teacher's Valentines! Simple ones at that! See you then!

Feel Good Friday

2010-02-05T18:08:00.000-06:00

I am a little late in the day for this post, but I love the idea! So I am linking up with The Girl Next Door Grows Up for Feel Good Friday!

Overall I have had a pretty good week. Monday I started out a little bit in a funk, but I think we all do that when we have a little sickie in the house.

Here are 5 of the things that have made me happy this week:

1. On Monday night, I made a Mahi Mahi with citrus sauce. My husband said it was the best fish he ever ate. That man is so sweet, I could feed him hot dog food and he'd say it was delicious! I got me a real keeper!

2. Thanks to that keeper of mine, I got to go grocery shopping ALL BY MYSELF!

3. My little boo boo is feeling well enough to twirl around in the new skirt I made her.

4. My older daughter decided she wanted to show our dog in a (home based) dog show. I think they won. But I am not so sure the dog will participate again!

5. I am happy that I have two sweet assistants for baking brownies on a Friday afternoon!

Another reason my husband is a HOT TAMALE

2010-02-04T10:21:00.000-06:00

Have you ever heard the old joke where the punch line says something like, a man is really sexy when he's in the kitchen,

with a broom!

Well, yes, I do think that's sexy! How about you? I hate to sweep...or mop for that matter. I don't often find my husband in the kitchen with a broom though. He is a very neat person. Sometimes, it makes me nuts! We don't have any rugs that have the fringe on the end. He'd be straightening the fringe and taking his scissors to it to make sure they were all even. My mom says she feels sorry for him!

Well, I told you he stayed home from work on Monday. When I came back from grocery shopping, I didn't know where he was. The kids were hanging out in the living room and it took me about 3 or 4 times of asking where daddy was to get an answer. "He's in my room with the chalk." my oldest finally tells me.

As I go around the corner in the hallway, I spot a few big trash bags full of trash. Then I walk into the my oldest's bedroom to find this:

(insert angels singing here)

I should have gotten a close up of how neat and clean the chalk tray is!

It all began in the closet here, which was a complete disaster area. And he got on a roll and finished the whole room. The bedroom part really was not bad, but he made it fabulous. I did dig a few things out of the trash, like some Build a Bear clothes, but I am trying not to think about what else was in the bottom of those bags that the trash man took away!

Of course, I have no before photos for comparison, but, trust me, the singing angels are in order!

Isn't he cute?

He's good at Wii bowling too.

Does your guy clean?

Passing along the Sunshine!

2010-02-03T11:25:00.001-06:00

I met a sweet new friend named Gay who sent me this:

Isn't it lovely? I sure think so. Especially since the weather man says it should be raining around here for the next 2 days!

So along with this comes some responsibilities. I am supposed to:

1. Put the logo in my post or within my blog.

2. Pass the award onto 12 fellow bloggers.

3. Link the nominees within my post.

4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blogs.

5. Share the love and link to the person who gave you the award!

Thank you Gay! Go check her out at It's a Hodgepodge Life!

I am just really beginning to kind of form a tribe. Here are some of the blogs that I enjoy reading. Some I can really relate to in many ways and some just really make me smile! Maybe you will too!

(I understand that some may be such blogging superstars that they may not be able to fulfill all of the obligations stated above. If that is the case, just know that I wanted to spread the sunshine and I love to read your blog!)

1. Kelly at Home and Apparel Trends for the Frugal Fashionista

2. Angelica at Tygrlilies

3. Melody at 6 Feet Over

4. Sasha at Lemonade Makin' Mama

5. Stacey at Living by Faith, Hope and Love

6. Mrs. Montoya at One Foot in Front of the Other

7. Crystal at Balanced Moms

8. Freddae' at Coffee, God and Me

9. Chrissie Grace at In His Grace

10. The Mommyologist

Have a sunny day!

Apparently, I accomplished a lot today

2010-02-01T17:49:00.000-06:00

It was hard to get out of bed today. I went to bed last night all gung ho about how productive I was going to be this week. Well, I got up and my husband decided to take the day off. I had a dr's appointment and needed to get my grocery shopping done. Well, my 3 year old woke up with bad cold symptoms and a low grade fever, so the day's plans were changed.

I cancelled my appointment, but not without a scolding from the lady at the dr's office for not giving 24 hours notice. Then I made an appointment for the little one. I was really in a funk, but said some prayers to try and let it all go and remember how blessed I am.

I head out by myself to the grocery store. That is no small blessing in itself! I am strolling along through the store and spot a couple in one of the aisles doing their shopping together. The lady is in her pajamas! Now, I have seen this before, but usually it's a 15 year old, not a lady in her 30's sporting a pair of high top tennis shoes with her jammies!!

So, I bring home the food, get it all put away and feed the kids some lunch. I pack up my little girlie, after having gotten her dressed and washed up, and head off to the pedi's office. As we are leaving, I see a man carrying a baby into the office, followed by his wife and another two kids. Well, guess what? He was wearing his pajamas!

Did I miss the memo? Was it pajama day?

So, then I am driving home and it's like 3:30 in the afternoon. I see a man out checking his mail. Yeah, you guessed it, he was in his pajamas.

You see, if I didn't do anything else today, I figure I accomplished a lot today.

I got dressed.

How do you feel about wearing pj's in public?

My favorite pizza recipe!

2010-01-28T21:22:00.001-06:00

Turkey Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

This is one of my family's favorite meals. I don't like to toot my own horn (HONK!), but anytime I've ever made this for a party, I am handing out the recipe!

You can make many variations, but this is how I usually make it.

You will need:

2-3 Italian turkey sausage links, squeezed out of casing and browned

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

sliced mushrooms ( kind & quantity depends on what you like!)

1-2 tbsp capers

2 garlic cloves, pressed

2 tbls olive oil

1 tsp oregano

Premade pizza crust (I prefer "Mama Mary's", but you can use pizza dough or Boboli bread also)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and put onto your crust. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes depending on how crispy you like your crust.

Sometimes I will make this without the meat and mushrooms and put fresh tomato and basil on it. It's great with sundried tomatoes also! I hope you enjoy it!

Pizza pan chore board-DIY

2010-01-27T18:45:00.000-06:00

My six year old has asked me several times to make her a "chore chart". I've tried, with just some paper on the computer, but we never seem to keep up with them. I have seen the CUTE calendars that people have made using cookie sheets and have wanted to try and make one. Then today, as I thought of merging the two ideas! This is what I came up with!

I started with a pizza pan that I used to use for something other than pizza.

Then, I covered it with some scrapbook paper and added some chipboard letters and flowers.

Notice, I had some of the pan showing on the top and bottom, so I added some ric rac around the outside. Then, I just glued strips of paper with things she needs to do each day onto magnets. I added the two little frames with "to do's" and "done" so that she could move the chore from to do to done herself! She helped out a little bit and thought that was fun. You could do this on a cookie sheet too and put more than one child on it! I just used all stuff I already had around the house, so I didn't have to put out any more money!

Now, I'm gonna put that kid to work.

Does anyone else feel like this?

2010-01-27T08:41:00.000-06:00

I sure do!

It's a love tree!

2010-01-26T09:30:00.001-06:00

Well since we took down our Christmas decorations, the house has looked so bare! I've been seeing all these great Valentine decoration ideas on blogs and thought I would get started with some of my own.

I knew as soon as we took down the tree, I wanted to make some heart ornaments for a "love tree"! I finally got them done this weekend.

So, all I did was cut out some felt hearts with my pinking shears in some different sizes. I tried to glue them together with a little stuffing, but the glue didn't work out. So I sewed them together on my machine. (I'm not much for hand work!)

Then my daughter and husband put the rhinestones on some of them! Daddy was into the whole thing! He even got out some of the lights from Christmas and put them on the mantle!

So, I got this idea from Jen over at Tatertots and Jello. (awesome blog, you should check her out. She even has a giveaway going on right now!) She did X's and O's, but I will have to rob some frames from elsewhere in the house to add to this.

This is just scrapbook paper with some floral gems!

Then I just added a big candle with some scrapbook paper and a bow! I saw this idea on Lemonade Makin' Mama's blog.

So, this is what the table looks like so far! You can see the lights in the background. I plan to add a banner to the mantle and I have some cute blocks on the way that I won in a giveaway! I'll take a pic and let you know where to get your own!

I would have posted sooner, but I have been busy making these...

It's hard to see in the picture, but there are close to 100 little rhinestones on the "h". I still have some more to make, and I just bought a bunch on tshirts, so I'll be putting them in my shop soon. I also just got loads of flip flops, so order away! (I know, I am shameless)

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

And Happy Birthday Alex!