Book Club Mamas

I just finished reading one of the best books I have ever read.  The kind that gets you right in the heart.  I had tears rolling down my face from this beautiful story.  So much so that I immediately bought another one of her books that I'm reading now (I'll let you know if its as good!).  It was recommended by my favorite author, Kristin Hannah.

Pick it up here: Me Before You: A Novel

Before that, I read the new book from Nicholas Sparks:  The Longest Ride I cried on this one too. What a fantastic love story. You know the book is going somewhere with two parallel stories but you don't know where till the end! 

I'm always looking for a good book!  What are your favorites?

Donuts and Pumpkins

We had a good Saturday despite having to miss all the birthday parties because we have a snotty kid.  Here it was our anniversary and we had no plans so we did some searching and decided to head to the pumpkin patch.  We met some animals including a goat, a pig and a baby calf.  Then we ate the most fantastic, wonderful, amazing donut I've ever tasted.  Apple cider donuts hot out of the fryer.

We took a hayride to find our pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. They had stations to make fresh apple cider or shoot an apple slingshot, roast hotdogs in a fire pit and more. What fun!  We all definitely got a little dirty and one of us crashed before we were out of the parking lot!  The weather was perfect.  I can't wait to go back to this place at Christmas to pick out our tree!

Our pumpkin find!

It turned out to be a great memory for our family and a tradition I'm sure we'll continue. It also turned out to be a pretty good anniversary, just the three of us.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to the best husband, father and best friend a person could ever have.  I love you with all my heart and soul.

PS: I promise next year will actually find a babysitter and have a date!

Snots and Giggles

The dreaded fall cold.  My husband got it first, passed it on to baby J and she gave it to me.  On the plus side, she has slept through the night all week!  On the downside with the amount of mucus coming out of that little nose... no birthday parties this weekend.  While she is feeling better, I'm pretty sure the mamas do not want a snot whale around their child.... and I can't blame them.

She decided last nights she felt well enough to chase the poor dog with her bubble popper.  The dog still hadn't come out of the bedroom by the time I left this morning...

On a side note baby J has become OBSESSED with socks and shoes.  She has to have one of them on her feet at all time.  My only explanation is that her daddy put them on her feet last weekend before he left.  Whatever he does... she is obsessed with.  This week he taught her to lift up her shirt and pat her belly.... and his.  And now mine... We'll need to have a little talk about this when he gets home.

Flowergirls and Markers

Don't forget to enter for the DIY Growth Chart here!

This weekend was a bit of a blur.  Our whole family participated in a wedding of a couple that are more than friends.... they're family.  Jessy was the flower girl, I was a bridesmaid and Hubby officiated.  As nervous and stressed as I was of having a 14 month old be a flowergirl, I shouldn't have been.  She did great!  I'm so proud of her.  After the wedding she had fun running around and playing with the other kids there.

Sunday we took the day to recover.  We tested out those markers that say "totally washable" to see if they actually were.  I'm impressed!  (All I can say about this picture is... dad dressed her.)

Next weekend is going to be just as hectic and its our Anniversary. I figure we'll make a nice dinner and have a bottle of wine after the munchkin goes to bed.  Hopefully I'll stay awake past 9pm!

DIY Growth Ruler and Another Giveaway!

So I'm sure a lot of you have seen these giant rulers that you can measure your kids with?  Well I've been wanting one since before Baby J was born.  I finally decided that I wasn't going to spend $100 for one but that I'm pretty sure I'm handy enough to do it myself.

I purchased my vinyl lettering from Etsy Shop Little Acorns by Ro. This is the ruler kit that I purchased (under $10!!) and added on the top details to my order.  She has so many options to make it personalized that you need to go and really check them all out! The vinyl came packaged perfectly with easy to follow instructions.  I had the decal put on in about 10 minutes flat.  I had a board cut at Lowe's Hardware, stained it with my walnut stain I had left over and then finished it with a Lacquer when I was finished putting on the decals. We want to go with dark woods in our next house so this is the direction I went. But there are so many options available!

I am so completely happy with my purchase.  And since we will be moving some time in the future it will easily come with us to our new home.

Ro has generously offered a ruler kit to one of my readers!  What a fantastic birthday, shower or Christmas present to give too!  Enter now and do this little project yourself.  I'm here if you have any questions!

I also want to take this time to say that I have spent 1000s of hours of research on the products and toys that I have in my home.  I do not promote ANYTHING on my site that I haven't tested and love.  I've been offered advertising spots and I refused.  I think its important that I hold myself to a level of integrity for the products that I offer or talk about.  There are a lot of products, DIY or even recipes that I would never share.  If I don't love it, I won't share it with you.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Nut House

This weekend we took Baby J to a Kids Gym for the first time.  She literally ran around like a chicken with its head cut off.  Her favorite was the trampoline and the foam pit.  She just wanted to stay in there all day... well when she wasn't standing on the edge and jumping in.  Yes my 1 year old will stand on a ledge and jump a 4 foot drop into foam.  The other moms stood there and shockingly asked "She has no fear does she?"  Nope.  We're toast.

We've been having dance parties every night.  Apparently the dance parties run into the day time from what our nanny says.  She loves to sing and dance... and she obviously has my vocal abilities. Poor kid.

Her dad and I decided to put on a dance show while she was having her snack Sunday night.  Yeah we're a little nutz.

Peaches and Cream French Toast Recipe

My husband and I did a little cooking in the kitchen this weekend.  We tested out several recipes and this one turned out AMAZING.  Just in time for Fall flavors.

Peaches and Cream French Toast
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
2 tbsp reserved juice from canned peaches
1 29 oz can of peaches, drained
1 French baguette, cubed
8 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
12 eggs
1 1/2 c half-n-half
1 tsp vanilla

Heat butter, sugar and peach juice in saucepan until bubbly.  Pour into a 13x9 inch casserole dish.  Scatter peach slices over caramel sauce.  Top with bread cubes then pieces of cream cheese.  Place eggs, half-n-half, and vanilla in blender; blend to combine.  Pour egg mixture over bread and cream cheese.  Cover and refrigerate at least an hour but preferably overnight.  Bake, uncovered, in 350F oven for 50-60 minutes.

NEW Giveaway - Burt's Bee's Organic Hoodie!

Burt's Bee's Organic Hoodie

This 100% organic cotton hoodie is topped with a roomy kangaroo pocket and snug-fitting hems for an oh-so cozy way to bundle Baby. I got one for Baby J for this fall and winter, I can't wait for her to cozy up in it!  Great for a boy or a girl.  Size 2T.  Enter now!

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Italian Calzones

We made Italian Calzones over the weekend.  Real ones you don't put sauce inside of the pastries but dip it later when eating.  I've made these a few times and they are so delicious.

Ingredients
1 pound italian sausage cooked
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
1 cup of mozzarella cheese
1 cup of parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon of chopped parsley
Fresh Basil chopped

Mix it all together in a bowl with a dash of salt and pepper.

Usually I make my dough from scratch but with a toddler running around, ain't nobody got time for that!  So I found this premade dough at Safeway.

I make 4 round circles and divide the mixture between the four of them, fold over the dough to make a crescent shape, wet the edges with a little water and roll into the middle to seal. Poke a few holes in the top for the steam to escape or you'll have a blow-out!

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Dip in marinara sauce.  So delicious and EASY.

Truth Tuesday

This is a hard post to write.  Mostly because I'm embarrassed and ashamed of my behavior.  It's easier to just keep everything inside but I suppose that isn't a good idea.

The love of my life doesn't live in my house anymore.  He's just a visitor on the weekends.  It breaks my heart to my very soul.  It means that when we're together I can't even enjoy the time we have.  Mostly because I'm exhausted emotionally but also because I'm numb and raw from missing him. I don't want to be without him.

I subconsciously just try to start a fight with him because its so much easier to be angry when he's leaving than be heartbroken.  I become cold.  I don't hug him goodbye or kiss him or tell him I love him when its time to go.  I know that if I do my voice will crack and the floodgates will open and my world will fall apart... and I have a baby to take care of.

A baby who misses her dad so much that she is permanently glued to my arms.  She screams the first day of the week that he is gone... non. stop. She points to the garage door and SCREAMS for a good 30 minutes, if we go out to the garage she'll point to the empty space and scream.  I stepped outside with her to check on something and she screamed for another 30 minutes.  You never know what is going to trigger her. As soon as I walk in the door from work she comes running, climbs in my arms and squeezes with all of her might until its time for bed.  When she wakes up she cries and its a scramble to get in my arms and that's where she'll stay.  Let me help you understand.  I can not put her down for a second. Not to go to the bathroom, not to change my clothes, not to do anything or its a freak-out fest. I even get up in the morning, do my hair and makeup for work and then go back to bed until she wakes, knowing I can't put her down later.  

I've never seen her like this.  But I understand her pain.  So I love her, I do the best I can to comfort her, we try to do activities to get our mind off of things. And slowly as the week moves on there are moments that she'll let go and play.  

When I'm around people that ask how things are going, I just don't want to talk about it.  Nothing is going to change, there are no solutions right now, we just have to get through this.

God can allow you to pass through storms and get to your success. But what the devil loves to do is to make you not to realize that the storm is over. 

Update: I did better this time with hubby leaving... I just hope baby J joins me in this change.

Lazy Weekend

Some of us were obviously more lazy than others this weekend.  I got some flowers and coffee delivered to my office... he totally knows the way to my heart.

We visited a winery for a picnic on Saturday.  Watched some movies, started a few projects which I'll show you later. Of course we played non-stop all weekend.

Baby J is starting to mimic everything we do.  So that means when she saw my husband shave his head with a razor... and she grabbed one from a drawer... Yeah. I was standing right there but she still got a chunk of hair before I could react.  Fortunately you can't tell at all. Parents of the year award RIGHT HERE.

Get ready this week for another giveaway!

Smells Like Fall

I've been doing a little Fall Decorating around the house lately.  I picked up this Orange Mercury Glass Pumpkin and Golden Gourds on QVC.  They are on a timed light so they put out a nice soft glow in the evenings.

I also made this digital Fall Chalkboard sign (which I took to Office Depot to print out for under $4 win win).  I put it in my frame that I made this spring. (It took 15 minutes and just a screwdriver).

Added a little fall foliage and here is the finished result!

I can already smell the hot chocolate...  of course as a joke on me, its suppose to be 92 this weekend.  Sigh.... Maybe I'm a little to zealous? 

Black and White

I wanted to do some black and white photos from the weekend.  This is my collage!  I just love getting back to old school pictures.

Weekend at the Lake

We rented a house at Lake Roosevelt for 4 nights.  It was heaven.  Lots of wildlife, in fact we saw frogs (Jessy caught one), chipmunks, lots of deer, birds, bunnies and even vulchers!  I had never seen one in the wild before and TWO hung out on the tree behind the house.

We drove up to Spokane on Friday and went to Pig Out in the Park (and boy did we) where Jessy got to taste strawberry ice cream for the first time!  We Uncle Kevin and Daddy built a lot of sandcastles.... well some of us were obviously more into than others....

Lots of good food, family time and fun.