In This Wonderful Life

Midweek Randoms

2013-06-19T09:31:00.003-05:00

Happy Wednesday!

Midweek Randoms got a new button! Jessica, of Diamond Doll Design, created it for me :) She also did my blog. She is super awesome and can do lots and lots of things! If you mention "Midweek Randoms" you can get a $10 credit :)

Thank you all for the encouraging words and your stories, too, on my Rough Day Monday post. I had a feeling I wouldn't be the only one who felt that way, but it still helps hearing from others and venting a little. I also appreciate the comments, thoughts, prayers and texts on my last post for yesterday marked Cohen's third year in Heaven.

These cuties were so funny yesterday. Of course I posted about talking and yesterday they really were so verbal and trying to talk a lot.

I'm on such a sushi kick. I love it and I could eat it every single day.

I hate that mosquitoes love me. Early yesterday evening I managed to get about five bites and wasn't even outside too long :(

The ottoman I blogged about a few weeks ago arrived yesterday. It's as pretty as I thought it would be! I love the colors and the pattern. I think once I find a chair for our room, I'll put it in there. It kind of has some of the same colors as our matelasse.

They are building a new gas station a few neighborhoods over and let's just say we are definitely able to tell when they are working on it. It's going full force right now and it sounds like thunder and a bunch of banging : /

I had been wanting to get Brent this Ashley Brooke Designs coffee mug for a bit so last week I decided to order one for Father's Day. There is a good discount when you get it's partner, so I decided I needed another one :)

I still need to get my Erin Condren planner ordered. I'm going to get the same one I got last year because I love having pictures on the cover :) Now, I'm working to pick which pictures.

I went to Pinterest to see if I could find something to cook for dinner tonight. The first thing I saw caught my eye and I have everything for it already. Crockpot recipes are great! It's Mexican Chicken.

I'm having some trouble with my blog on mobile devices. For some, the text isn't showing up and the header is off center. This is a glitch with the mobile set up so I've contacted someone to hopefully get it fixed!

You have a little longer to enter to win a monogrammed beach hat and monogrammed beach towel - two winners!

Those are my random thoughts at the moment!

What's going on in your world today?

Three Years in Heaven

2013-06-18T19:41:00.003-05:00

I debated doing this post early this morning, but I decided after yesterday I didn't want to drown in emotions. So, my post earlier worked out my emotions from yesterday :)

Today, though, is June 18th. Three years ago, on June 18th, 2010, our first baby went to Heaven.

I'm not sure I'll ever get use to typing that.

Today was a good day. I loved on my babies and they let me :) I have babies, Thank you, God. Three years ago, today was a really really bad day. In fact, yesterday doesn't hold even compare. June 18, 2010 was the hardest day of my life.

It was answered prayers although it wasn't my preference.

We wanted Cohen to be healed and pretty much at the time the doctor told us things were getting hard, he went in to cardiac arrest. We weren't in the room when it happened. Also at that time, before I knew, I was praying for him to be healed. I prayed whether it be here or there. It wasn't here and well, there is Heaven.

The doctors were able to keep him stable long enough for our family to get there. I held him as we said goodbye.

This was Cohen's last day with us. The pictures were taken by Brent's mom.

Proverbs 3:3-6 3
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Rough Day Monday

2013-06-18T10:58:00.000-05:00

I remember making a comment or two about a year ago about how I dread Mondays. At least one person made the remark that stay-at-home moms don't really have a reason to dread Mondays. We don't have anything to dread because we are staying home and not leaving to go to a job.

At the time, part of me wanted to revoke my complaint about Mondays because I guess I thought there was some truth to that. Now I know there is not.

I think that comment has made some of my Mondays better, but I'm sorry, I still don't like Mondays.

Of course I'm doing what I want to be doing and what I love. I'm so very thankful for that. That doesn't mean this job won't have rough moments like any other job.

Yesterday was really rough.

When Brent texted to say he would be late because he had some things he was going to finish up, I thought I was going to cry.

They wouldn't eat would I made for dinner, but yet they were banging at the pantry and squeezing their arms through the small amount of room that the child proof lock allowed. Who knew kids could live off granola bars.

They did the same thing at lunch.

They were whining.

You guys, the whining.

I typically don't whine on here or much at all, but I want to whine about the whining.

I know, and I think I really do know. They aren't sure how to express themselves; they can't talk great just yet. I can't understand some of their words as well as I can others. ::insert whine here::

I try to tell them not to whine and just say "more" or to stay "stop" if the other is messing with their toys. If there is something you want, "go show me!" Instead, it's immediate whining, with a pretend cry, until I figure out what they want. Knox is more guilty of this, but again, he's not talking as much as Sloane is. She's saying sentences. She doesn't know how to formulate everything, though, especially as fast as she thinks and wants to say it. I know it will get better and I think it's probably the fact that there are two whining that makes it seem over the top. They will even go a few days without a whine and then bam.

Yesterday, I would try to read books or start activities and they would walk away and want the same toys, which lead to whining over them. They only napped for one hour, which I know, is better than no nap.

Part of me knows I'm a little spoiled so when I feel like I'm having a bad Monday, I do kind of feel bad about it. Brent is very present. He comes home from work, usually by 5:30 everyday. He's home on the weekends; he changes diapers, he will make a meal. He's extremely helpful. I'm not in this alone. Knox & Sloane do Mother's Day Out twice a week for 5 hours.

But Mondays are hard.

A lot of times when they wake in the morning, Brent is home and goes up and gets them, but sometimes if they sleep late, he's not. So, when I go in on Monday morning, they are in daddy mode because he's been home for two days. They start asking for daddy. We get downstairs, they ask for daddy. Them asking for daddy doesn't make my day bad. In fact, that warms my heart because I know they love their so much daddy. It's just something about Mondays. It's the start of a week for us, like anyone else. It's like we are trying to get back in a grove after being on a solid one for two days.

Before summer started, they were doing Mother's Day Out on Mondays and Fridays, but now they do Tuesdays and Thursdays. So that is also a change.

Last week Brent was gone on business for three days and I was with them all alone. Those days were fun and really not hard. Those days weren't Monday. Sure they had their moments, but they didn't last and we moved right along. They got to FaceTime with Brent before bed and when they did ask for him in the mornings, I told them he was at work.

I do have a job and my Mondays are hard. No, not always, but sometimes.

Last night I made a list for Mondays that I think will help. A friend of mine agreed her Mondays are hard so we think playdates are a great option. Knox and Sloane love playdates. I put walking around the mall on the list. They really like to see all the people at the mall. Of course if it's nice outside, we do that, but our weather here is a mess lately.

I'm writing this because after yesterday, I realized it was the third Monday that has been ~~ashitshow~~ unpleasant . Once they stopped MDO on Monday, things got tricky. I realize this is a stage so instead of wanting to pull my hair out, or pour a glass of wine at 3pm, I'm going to find ways to beat Monday. We are going to have good Mondays. I will go into Monday thinking it will be a good day, and aware of it's nature, instead of being blindsided when it's not.

Yes, some days really are these sweet fairytales and somedays, notsomuch.

photo by: blairschluterphotography.com

What days are hard for you and why??

Daddies

2013-06-17T09:41:00.002-05:00

I hope you all had a nice time celebrating Father's Day yesterday and this weekend.

Brent and I got to see all three of our dads yesterday, which was nice. Thankfully, we are able to see them on a pretty regularly basis, but it's still fun to celebrate them on Father's Day. They've been great daddies and granddaddies.

I'm forever grateful that I have an amazing dad. He's done so so much for our family and given me a wonderful life.

As for Brent, I could not have asked for a better father to my children. Seriously, he goes above and beyond. It's true when they say there is nothing more attractive than a man with his children.

{with Cohen right after he was born}

{with the twins right after they were born}

We had a relaxing day yesterday. The weather was very nice in the morning, and we had lunch with Brent's dad, but by the time the kids woke up from their nap, it was pouring rain. It stormed for an hour or so. We laid around and watched movies until Brent's stepdad and my parents came over for dinner.

I love to sit back and watch them....

:)

Thinking of all of those who have lost their dads as well as for those hoping to become dads.

xoxo

A few things:
- Two lucky people will win this giveaway - one will win a monogrammed hat and the other will win a monogrammed beach towel.
- Enter to win an LG EasyClean double oven here.

Five on Friday

2013-06-14T10:51:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday!

1. I'm in love with our little Mommy & Me pictures we had done. Blair Schluter Photography did them and I think she did an awesome job! I'll post more soon :)

2. My glasses came! Much quicker than I thought. I can't believe trees have leaves and clothing has patterns. It's crazy how clear things are now.

3. If you don't watch Scandal, you are missing out. We just caught up and I'm pretty bummed about it. I liked watching episodes back to back on Netflix & Hulu. It comes on ABC when it's in season. I don't think it starts back up to fall. It just keeps my attention, which is good considering I lose interest in shows easily.

{via}

4. Meet our new friend. He doesn't have a name yet, but he is a razorback. Brent has been traveling this week, in Arkansas, and ~~wearereallyreadyforhimtobehome~~ these caught his eye as he was driving. They were at a flee market so he stopped and texted me pictures of all the options. We liked this one best and decided it would be his Father's Day gift ;) No clue where we will put it...

5. I'm loving this shirt from Shop Sosie. I've seen such fun patriotic stuff lately, but I'm undecided if I would actually wear it!

Have a good day!!

xo

Monogrammed Hat & Beach Towel - Giveaway!

2013-06-13T07:53:00.001-05:00

One of my sponsors, Crystal Faye, set up a June giveaway for you guys! :) Very nice of her!

Knox & Sloane have the towels, which you've seen if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter. I also have a hat on the way, which I'm very excited about :)

Crystal Faye is giving away a monogrammed anchor towel and a monogrammed hat!

TWO winners!

Enter with Rafflecopter, below. Email me if you have any questions! :)

I will post the winner next Friday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Midweek Randoms

2013-06-12T08:42:00.004-05:00

Happy Wednesday :)

Thank you for the nice comments on my previous few posts :)

Please keep Will in your prayers today. He has his bone marrow transplant at 1pm CST and we are hoping to have as many people as possible cover him in prayer. This is the start of his new life and he is such a strong little boy.

Have you seen the preview for the show above, I'm Having Their Baby ? I only saw one episode last season, but I think it's great that some women decided to allow cameras, and this show in particular, to document the journey. I think adoption is a great thing, and although the episode I watched was a bit sad, I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

Yesterday, I went to the eye doctor for the first time in over ten years. I feel like my vision has been increasingly been getting worse over the past several years, but I hadn't taken the time to schedule and go. I will say things have changed quite a bit since the last time I went. They all kinds of fancy machines that were able to take pictures of the back of my eyes and all sorts of things. The doctor said that overall, my eyes looked really healthy and even better for my age, but my astigmatism was causing me quite a bit of trouble and I had dry eyes, therefore I was having to blink to focus and re-focus. As for 20/20, I don't even know if she told me what the numbers were. She did my prescription for lenses and I went and picked glasses. They will be in within the next 10 days. Luckily, I did pass the legal limit to drive, but she said I would mostly use for driving/driving at night, the TV and computer. These are the ones I picked. I think they are pretty cute :)

I think the kids and I are going to try to make something for Brent for Father's Day. I need to search Pinterest for some cute ideas. I suppose I'm a bit behind on that. I blame time. It goes to fast.

Have you guys used the app Pic Tap Go? It's good! It brightens well and has good filters. It was bright outside when I took my pic (on the right,) but I couldn't get my phone to focus to pick up the light, so it looked dark. Pic Tap Go improved it 100%!

My friend just had a baby and she's so sweet. It seems like just yesterday when I had two newborns, but to hold a newborn now makes it seem like forever ago. I'm pretty certain I'm not having anymore babies, but thankfully, I have friends who will be :)

Speaking of, I just got a 22 month email from Pampers. Yikes. I can't decide if I want to have their party at our house or someplace else. I really did like having it someplace else last year, but part of me wants to do it here, too. I think it just being so hot in August scares me. I don't want people to be miserable since we would have activities outside, too.

I don't think I ever posted pictures from their first birthday party. I really need to do that. Then, I need to go put the post where it belongs. This was their cake :)

I'm having with iCloud opening on my computer. I meant to call Apple yesterday to get it worked out, but I never got a chance. I know all my info is right, but it says I can't log in at this time and to try again later. Emailing pics to myself is getting old. I have dropbox, but I never think to use it, so I figured iCloud would be easiest to do my photo stream.

Has anyone made any good recipes lately? I wanting something new and different.

What's going on with you this week!?

Playtime Pictures

2013-06-11T14:03:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's close to the middle of June. I know this summer is going to pass quickly, like everything else, so I've been trying to be on top of snapping pictures. I'm still failing at using my "big" camera as much as I'd like to. I am really considering getting one of Canon's new small rebels. Anyways, Knox & Sloane do great playing outside together. It seems like when we are inside, they want me to be at their side, and while I am quite a bit, I know it's good for me not to bed some as well. I thought I'd do a picture dump as I really would like to have most pictures on the blog for the book as a day-to-day update, too :)

xoxo

Celebrating Cohen's Birthday....

2013-06-10T11:43:00.000-05:00

at the zoo :)

On Friday, we celebrated Cohen's birthday by taking Knox & Sloane to the zoo :)

It really does feel like yesterday when Cohen was born. It's also weird to think that six months later I was pregnant with Knox & Sloane. Like last year, during this time, I find myself looking back and my posts with Cohen and my pregnancy and newborn posts with Knox & Sloane. I would probably say they are the definition of bittersweet.

We want to take Cohen's birthday each year to celebrate him, just like we will for Knox & Sloane on their birthday.

Last year, we went to Dallas for Cohen's second birthday, to donate iPods, and for his first birthday, we stayed home and had a family dinner.

We decided the zoo this year because the weather was nice and Knox & Sloane enjoy it. It seems like they are starting to understand all the animals more and more. It's pretty cute, especially now that they know all the noises they make. The morning started out pretty cool, but then started to get warm.

I feel like I kind of have to put a disclaimer in all my posts and IG pics lately. Knox is very into being held while going to the car/house/stroller. No clue why. So, while Sloane will walk slow and look at the flowers and such, he is typically being held when Brent or I take a picture. Therefore, Sloane is in more pics. I'm hoping he grows out of it soon so he can join her ;)

I love their little Cohen shirts that Mary Kate did. You can't see them well in these pictures, but we have a few more pics from this day that I'll post soon.

Seriously, I think God every single day for sending us these two little loves.

We miss Cohen, but are beyond grateful to have Knox & Sloane. We think he would probably look like a combination of them both. I think now I sometimes get more emotional about it all than I use to. It all being 2009-2011, and even now.

I still get thank you emails and comments. People thank me for sharing Cohen with them. I think I should probably thank you all more often for listening. This blog has given me a place to write my feelings for the five years and I otherwise probably wouldn't have. I never thought people would want to listen on here, but it's helped me tremendously.

So, thank you :)

Happy Birthday, Cohen :)

2013-06-07T23:55:00.000-05:00

Today is Cohen's birthday.

Three years ago, I had my first baby.

Though he only lived for l2 days, he was still my first baby and June 7th will always be his birthday. We will always celebrate the blessing he was, and always we be, in our lives :)

These were all taken on the day he was born.

Sometimes it still seems like a dream.

We miss him and though we feel complete, we know a piece of us will always be missing.

You can look back on the day he was born in the slideshow here.

I will post more about his third birthday soon :) Three years.

Thank you all for your thoughts & prayers....calls, texts, etc.

xoxo

No Bake Granola Bars {gluten-free}

2013-06-06T11:33:00.001-05:00

I love granola bars, but most aren't labeled to be gluten free. I just posted about some here, but the next time I went to Target they still didn't have any. I asked and they are no longer carrying them. I've not been able to find them at any other store :(

I saw this recipe a while back on With Style & Grace and thought they looked delicious.

I thought they were really good. I loved the combination of these ingredients. Knox & Sloane liked them, but they did not stay together very well. I think next time maybe more honey so they will stick better. I think these only have 1/3 cup. What do you do in your granola bars to make them stick?

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups gluten-free oats
1 3/4 cup gluten-free rice cereal or rice krispies (used rice krispies)
½ cup shredded coconut
1/8 cup ground flax seed (didn't use this)
1/3-1/2 cup honey (used close to 1/3, probably wasn't enough)
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips – or replace with dried fruit

Directions
- Cut parchment paper to fit a 9×13 or 8″ pan. (used 9x3)
- Combine oats, cereal, coconut and flaxseed in a bowl and mix together.
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, mix honey, brown sugar and salt. Stir until it comes to a slight boil.
- Remove from heat, stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until incorporated.
- Pour the warm mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Let cool for about 20 minutes or so before mixing in the chocolate chips. Add mixture to the prepared pan and with a piece of parchment paper; press down to even out the surface. Place in a safe spot [out of reach from tiny hands or pets] and cover with a paper towel or cloth and let sit for a few hours to let everything set.
- Remove from the pan and cut into bars.

I hope you enjoy these! Let me know if you make them, what you think and if you make any changes!

xo

*Be sure to enter the Erin Condren giveaway! She is giving away TEN planners and a $500 shopping spree!

Midweek Randoms

2013-06-05T13:25:00.003-05:00

Another Wednesday has arrived!

I'm going to start doing my Midweek Randoms post first thing when I wake up on Wednesday because otherwise, by the time I get Knox & Sloane down for their nap, it is afternoon before I get it up.

I woke up about 6am to MAJOR lightening and thunder. I rarely wake up for weather, which is odd considering I wake up if one of the babies so much as sneezes. Today we are hanging inside. It's gloomy and wet out. Knox & Sloane keep saying "outside!" :(

So last week I posted about Brent dislocating his shoulder. Well, yesterday he an MRI done. The orthopedic doctor, on Monday, said he doesn't believe he tore his rotator cuff, but thinks he might have torn something else. He won't have the results until his appointment Monday. We are hoping he doesn't have to have surgery, but of course, we will do whatever is best to make sure it heals all the way.

Cohen's birthday is on Friday. Three years. I can't believe it's been three years. We are just going to spend the day as a family and maybe do lunch, the park, etc.

It also seems crazy that Knox & Sloane will be two in August. I should probably start deciding on their birthday party stuff. I'm so indecisive.

We've been weeding out some toys Knox & Sloane have outgrown. I'm hoping I can get them to kiddos who have lost toys in the tornados. Our family room, by the kitchen, has definitely turned into their play area. There is a gameroom, or a room we will probably make some type of game room, directly above it, but for now, I like them being where I can see them at all times. ~~Although I'll probably post a camera when they move rooms~~. ;) It's definitely not too Pinterest-esq, but it works for us right now.

The only things I recently bought are the 3 Sprouts storage boxes and the ClosetMaid cubby and bins.

I finally downloaded Pandora on my phone. I can't believe I went so long without it. I love that it will play in my car and it's basically radio with no commercials.

Be sure to enter the big Erin Condren giveaway! TEN people will get a new planner and one person will win a $500 shopping spree!

Speaking of pretty, colorful things, I just ordered this ottoman off Joss & Main. I love it.

So, I got my hair cut off, which I posted here. It was definitely short to me. Then, I felt like it grew quickly. So, I decided to get it cut more. I did, but I feel like it, again, is growing quickly. It's crazy how that is because when it was long, I always felt like it grew so slow. Odd. I'm still not sure I'll get use to seeing it short {I know, not short, but short for me:)} It also feels weird not to have used a curling iron in about a month.

Hope you all are having a good week!!

xoxo

What are you up to this week??

Life Planner - Life Organizer

2013-06-04T05:00:00.000-05:00

If you've been apart of the blog and social media world for the past few years, there is a good chance you've heard of a life planner. No, it's not a person. It's a planner that you write in. The first year I got mine, I didn't use it all too much because I was on baby routines and schedules and I really didn't do much else! Last summer, I blogged about my second one. I have LOVED having it this year. It's exactly what I needed!

Well, today the new Erin Condren 2013-2014 Life Planner is available for purchase!

I love that there are daily columns in this planner. When I look at a specific day, I feel like I can see how it plays out. I write in things I have to do in the morning, appointments that I might have during the day and then maybe what I'm planning to cook for dinner in the evening. I do like that the new planner has a little more space for writing extra notes on each day. I had lots of arrows previously :) The planner also has a monthly view where I typically put bigger events and appointments, too.

Last year, I got the picture photo stickers, text stickers, colorful stickers, markers, pen holder and notepads. So basically, I got the works! I plan to do that again this year because I have utilized it all. I did end up switching to the pens I prefer so I'll be curious to check out the new, improved markers this year!

My planner looks pretty much the same as it did the day it arrived in the mail, besides the inside pages, of course. I did lots of life planning this year :) Actually, I really think of it as more life organizing! I just like to be able to open it and see what's going on versus searching through a digital calendar. The tabs and cover look untouched, most likely because they are laminated, even though this thing has been in cars, stores, doctor's office and the list goes on. The coil hasn't bent out of shape whatsoever.

From the videos I've watched and the browsing that I've done, there seem to be some fun new features and improvements that I can't wait to check out!

There are so many new, fun covers this year! I might have a hard time deciding which one I want. These are just a few of them....

There is also a new Erin Condren Life Planner Gold Edition! I love gold so I think this is really pretty!

Guess what! Erin Condren decided to give 10 lucky readers a 2013-2014 Erin Condren Life Planner! You can customize it however you would like and include all the extra goodies, too! There will also be one GRAND PRIZE winner that will receive $500 worth of prizes from ErinCondren.com. This could include the Life Planner, the Functional Family system, an iPhone cover, an acrylic tray, or stationery and return address labels. If I had $500 to shop with on this site, I would have so much fun picking out everything! For now, Ill just be debating which planner I want!

HOW WILL YOU USE YOUR LIFE PLANNER!?

All the Hostesses:
Nina Helleny from According to Nina, Erin from Blue-Eyed Bride, Kelly from Kelly's Korner, Jessica from The Mom Creative, Katie from Marriage Confessions, Akemi from Mommy Guru, Kacia from Coconut Robot, Jennifer from Life in the Green House, Megan from In This Wonderful Life and Sheaffer from Pinterest Told Me To. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oh, Monday....

2013-06-03T10:45:00.001-05:00

Oh, Monday....

If I didn't wake up to these funny little people, I probably wouldn't like you.

We had a fun weekend and I'll post more pics later. I'll also post the paint details and such from the chairs in my post from Friday.

*Be sure to enter to win an LG EasyClean Double Oven Range HERE.
*Enter to win a $100 Sherwin Williams gift card HERE.
*Enter to win $100 Visa gift card HERE.
*Enter to win another $100 Visa gift card HERE.

Five on Friday

2013-05-31T12:57:00.002-05:00

I'm linking up with some lovely ladies to do a Five on Friday post! Yes, more randomness from me, can you imagine? ;) I'm starting to link this whole link-up thing. Now, if I could just remember to do it!

{One}
You guys, I'm so over the weather in Oklahoma. My heart is still broken for all those affected by the tornados. This spring seems considerably worse, weather wise, than I remember. We had several touch down last night in my area, like real close. Thank goodness they missed us. I don't have much time to watch the news in the morning, so I don't know many details, but I do think there is some damage. See also, my anxiety is through the roof.

{Two}
Look at these cute little minis I got today! I swear on the way to MDO Knox asked me to go get the Wow cookies. Justgowithit. He did, though. He kept saying "cookie! cookie!" I think it's because sometimes when they get in the car after MDO I'll give them a few Wow cookies. I told him I didn't have any, but when I asked if he wanted me to get some for when I picked him up, he said "yes! yes!" ha! Anyways, when I went to get the cookies, I spotted these and I love cute and yummy mini things.

{Three}
I finally found some cushions I like for the patio furniture I recently painted. I say patio, but I honestly think I'm going to put it under a big tree we have in our back yard.

{Four}
I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, besides not remembering to make my children wear bibs, but I'm having a hard time getting stains out of their clothes!! Suggestions? In the past, sun has always worked for me, and still does a lot of the time, but lately, stains are sticking around. Part of me has concern that our washing machine isn't doing it's job. It's a Whirlpool Cabrio. Any tricks to it? Any advice on the stains?

{Five}
Craigslist sucked me in.... again. I can go for months and months without looking, but when I do, I immediately find things. They are too good to pass up, but my husband, he of course does not agree. I think he really just thinks it's time for a garage sale and for me to list things on Craigslist, and he's right, but ain't nobody got time for that. ha! No really, I am buying to do the ole "out with the old, in with the new" thing...but better yet, some of it is just "new" to me :) I mean really, this piece is perfect, nice wood, well built and I got it for a steal. How much would you guess I paid? It has GREAT storage underneath. We put it upstairs in the gameroom. The room that has boxes and hasn't been painted or touched since we moved it...but it will be one day ;) At least we will have one piece up there.

Happy Friday!

*Be sure to enter to win a cruise from Norwegian HERE!

Midweek Randoms - Link up!

2013-05-29T12:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Midweek :)

I decided to do a link up for Midweek Randoms :) Basically just a post about random things! I figure most of us do them, and I do them pretty much weekly, so I thought you could join if you wanted! I suppose it doesn't have to be on a Wednesday either; you can link up any day, but that's when I'll aim to post mine.

People typically have little button logos for link-ups, right? I'm really not sure, but I attempted to make one. You can use it if you would like. It's not beautiful because I'm not good at design stuff. If anyone wants to create something cuter, feel free to send it my way ;) I didn't attach an html to it either, sorry!

Well, I got that dreaded "I'm on my way to the ER" phone call this morning. I knew before I picked up the phone, which is weird. Thankfully, it wasn't my fear, which is a car wreck, but it was Crossfit. Brent dislocated his shoulder. Luckily, a doctor was there in his class and took him to the hospital and got him right in. I will say he looks much better in the picture below than he did in the video my brother took while he was knocked out at doctors were fixing it. ICK. So daddy is down for a bit. He has to go to a surgeon in a few days to make sure everything else is okay with it.

My sweet friend, Julie, of juliethefish designs, is doing a fundraiser for Heather. You can read all about it here. I know she appreciates everyone's support!

One of Brent's sisters in graduating high school this week. That's crazy to me. When Brent and I met she was about seven years old. We will have a busy few days, but it will be fun.

The new Erin Condren life planners are coming out and I'm excited to get a new one! I'll also be helping host a BIG giveaway!!! So, stay tuned for that :) Also, here is a video peek at the planners -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcSTGM5-9H8

I keep thinking about these scallops. Is that weird? We went to dinner with my cousin on Sunday night (for you locals, at Bodeans) and they are seriously the best I've had. It probably had a lot to do with everything on the plate, but it was delicious.

I took the funniest video of Sloane dancing this morning. It was a minute long and I guess my phone ate it. It's not where to be found and it bums me out :( Any tricks to finding it hiding somewhere?

Knox & Sloane are obsessed with their toys outside. They would probably stay in the back yard all day if I would let them. On Memorial Day, they played in their little pool for a while. Leaves blew in it while they were napping and before we could get them out, they wanted in. I have a feeling I'll be crawling in that little pool this summer.

I finally found a delicious gluten free granola bar. Thank you, Nature's Path! Knox loves it, too. I got them at Target. I think they had several flavors, but the next time I went to get some, every single one was sold out. Every item around it was fully stocked but there wasn't a box of these in sight.

How cute are these poufs from Walmart. I feel like I want one, or two, but I don't know which.

I have no idea what I'm going to make for dinner tonight. Short weeks feel weird and mess up my meal planning. Eh, that's probably an excuse, but I need to figure it out!

We made 4th of July plans to go see family in Texas and I'm excited!

Okay, so tell me what random thoughts are popping in your head....

Gluten-Free Quiche

2013-05-28T08:13:00.001-05:00

When determining what I want to cook there are several things that I think about before-hand!

Of course what sounds good to Brent and myself is pretty important. I then try to determine how much time I will have to cook that day. As for time, there is more involved than just how long it takes to cook, right? It's the getting all the ingredients together and then prepping that I also try to incorporate into my time-frame.

Something else that always comes to mind is whether or not I want to do with that much clean-up. How much clean-up will there be? How many dishes will I use? Will it be a messy process? Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks about these things. I don't consider it lazy, but I just consider my time precious :) Silly, maybe, but life is moving fast right now, and though I love to eat and enjoy cooking, it can't be something that I always make a top priority in the time category. Of course it's a priority to feed my family yummy meals, but I want to spend more time eating them than I do cleaning up after them. I can deal with taking some time to cook, if I have the time, but the clean-up can deter me from the cooking.

I've mastered cleaning the dishes: dishwasher. We lived in a house for about five years with a dishwasher that basically didn't work. I washed everything by hand. I still wash the kids' things by hand, but other than pans and a few glasses, our current dishwasher does a pretty good job.

The stove is relatively easy to clean, although ours is quite old so I'm sure it's just aging more so than getting dirty.

The oven seems to cause me more issues in the clean-up area.

I follow recipes, but not always to the T. Sometimes I use a different since dish and sometimes I add a little extra butter. Sometimes I double the recipe because I think something might make good leftovers. I've determined it's pretty inevitable for the oven not to get dirty.

I can't count the number of dishes I've made where something leaked out into the oven. It splatters up and it drips down; it gives the entire house a not-so delicious smell.

I feel like meat does the splattering and pies, quiches and anything in a shallow dish drips. I love quiches, but sometimes it does rise and drip. Pies have fillings that bubble up and drip down. If you don't clean these drips pretty quickly, they stick. How can you clean them quickly, though, because your oven is HOT, right? So, you go on about your way and maybe think about the spills the next time you turn your oven on and smell the reminisce of your previous meal.

So, although every last bite of this gluten free quiche was eaten, it did have clean up that I couldn't do right away.

This quiche recipe is the one I shared HERE. This time, I just used onion instead of parsley and leeks. I LOVE this quiche and I love that there is a delicious gluten free crust.

Although if you use an oven, I'm certain you know what I'm talking about, but to give example I put a piece of foil under my quiche. I didn't want to deal with it dripping to the bottom. Sure, I could use a cookie sheet under it, but if it splattered out the top, that wouldn't really help things.

There are two decent since drips onto the foil and since it's a very hot temperature, they dry quickly.

These would have stayed on the bottom of my oven and probably built up over the week with others. Then, come the weekend I need to take the time to clean my oven out, and it's not often just a quick walk in the park. Woof.

So, when I heard about LG's new EasyClean™ Double Oven Range, I added it to my list. It's definitely on the list of things that can make my life easier by saving me some time. They wanted to hear about my favorite recipe that made a mess in the oven and to tell you the truth, there are many! So their new oven basically makes it simple for one to clean their oven.

According to LG:

All LG double oven ranges provide a quick and convenient way to clean your oven, while still being able to use the conventional self-clean method. EasyClean works in three simple steps. Spray the oven interior with water, press the EasyClean button, then in just 20 minutes, wipe away any residual bits of grime*. No chemicals or high heat needed to keep your oven sparkling clean.
To learn more about LG EasyClean click here.

Everyone needs a little easy cleaning in their life, yes?

Now it’s your turn to tell me - what is YOUR favorite recipe that leaves your oven messy? Let me know in the comments for your chance to win your own LG EasyClean™ Double Oven Range!

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/22/13 - 7/15/13.

Memorial Day

2013-05-27T10:22:00.003-05:00

Our family is very, very thankful for all of the soldiers who have, are and will fight for our freedom.

I cannot imagine. They are so very brave.

Good bless the soldiers and all the friends and family that have had to say goodbye and lay them to rest. If you are one of those people, we are forever grateful for your soldier. They are giving us our freedom.

Good bless our fallen soldiers.

We are wearing our red, white & blue for you today!

OklaHOME

2013-05-24T11:37:00.003-05:00

In my previous post and a few before that, you've probably seen and read what's going on in Oklahoma. Brent and I have donated a box of things and yesterday I went and picked up some toys as the kids' school is getting some together to take to Moore, Oklahoma. We hope to be able to do little things over the next several weeks.

This is my friend, Vivian. She's 17 and will be a senior in high school next year.

Vivian enjoyes drawing and a few days ago, she drew this....

How cute is she? She's also very talented!

After Vivian's friends and family saw this, they encouraged her to put it on a shirt as a fundraiser! She thought it was a great idea and now they are selling like hot cakes!

- Tanks are $20 each.

- Email oklahometanks@gmail.com with your name, size, and color.

- If you live in Tulsa there will be two days that you can pick up your tanks and pay. To be announced in your email.

- If you do not live in Tulsa and want a tank they are $25, extra for shipping, and you can mail a check. - Make check to Vivian Saxon

- Mail it to:

Vivian Saxon
PO BOX 52093
Tulsa, OK 74152

Last day to order is May 28th.

ALL proceeds go to help disaster relief in Moore, Oklahoma.

PLEASE share this so Vivian can help raise as much money as possible!!!!

xoxo

The tornado - a video

2013-05-23T23:47:00.003-05:00

This video literally made my heart skip a beat. It also made my eyes fill with tears. I just feel awful for so many people. I've never seen anything like this and hopefully this video is the closest I'll ever come. I say that prayerfully considering I'm only an hour and a half from where this was. I will continue to pray for all of those affected.

I'm surprised anything and anyone is still standing.

Storm chasers? They are brave, very brave, people.

This is just the first 10 minutes. I believe they say it was on the ground for 40+ minutes.

video off of YouTube here.

**I'll be posting a super CUTE fundraiser that one of my friends created in just a bit!**

May Scents

2013-05-23T11:13:00.001-05:00

These are things I'm using, and things that are around my house, that I LOVE right now. Some are new and some I've had for a while. Since herbs can be seasonal, I enjoy having their scents in my kitchen.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

What scents are you liking right now??

I hope you all are having a good day :)

*Here are my deals today.

Kids' Bathroom Makeover - Complete!

2013-05-22T12:54:00.001-05:00

So the kiddos' bathroom is done....for the most part :) The main part is done, but I'm still doing some finishing touches in the bath area and the toilet area.

Like I figured, paint was really what it needed. Of course, all the fun stuff comes naturally, but to take the next step and paint completes it.

The before pictures can be seen HERE.

Painting can seem daunting, but the difference it can make is totally worth the time it takes. The good news is that often times, once you start, it really doesn't take too long! It's also pretty cost efficient.

I initially thought I would pick a wall color that was bright and colorful. However, the more I got to thinking, I thought about how the kids would eventually each have rooms connecting to the bathroom. Then, I figured they would maybe want to pick their room color on down the line, or, perhaps, change it. Therefore, I thought the bathroom might be best at a neutral color. That way, we could always change the way things looked on the inside, but the walls would work with it! In any case, we can always paint the bathroom if it comes to that :)

Since we've already painted quite a bit of the wood trim in our house, we went with the same color, Sherwin-Williams' Panda White. It's also what we have on our kitchen cabinets, along with a stain.

After using the Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap® smartphone app a few times, which I mentioned in my previous post, I went with Wool Skein on the walls. It was nice to have the color palette right there on my phone! I'm so used to carrying around a big deck when trying to decide!

The pictures don't do it justice, in my opinion. I couldn't get any natural light into the bathroom, so a lot of the color feeds off the light bulbs. One or two I took with my phone because I only have my 50mm lens right now. The phone pics might actually show the color better. It's much more subtle that the previous color, which I have no idea what it was. It's softer, and I think colors go with it so much better. And, can we talk about the trim? LOVE it.

As for all the new items, they are much brighter in person :) Hopefully you can envision it. I will post the details for the items at the bottom of the post.

The colors are pretty and soft, right? I wish you could see how pretty the green towels and rugs pop! As for the bronze hardware, a nice and easy update.

I forgot to take a picture of Knox's side. It basically looks the same except his towel and stool are different colors!

Oh, and I'm guessing you notice the mobiles . You may remember them from the nursery in our old house. I LOVE them. However, in this house, the nursery has very tall, slanted ceilings, and we couldn't make them work :( I had been thinking about putting them in the bathroom, and I thought now was the perfect time!

In between the doors, I went with darker frames to tie in with the cabinets. I like them so we left them as is. There are also cabinets in the bath and toilet areas. Nice storage. Anyways, I want to change the hardware to match the bronze, but didn't get a chance. I love the prints!

There is a large vanity area in between the sinks. I thought it would be fun to do some sort of picture there. I came across the states one and thought that would be fun and maybe a good learning tool :) (Left is camera and right is iPhone.)

I think it turned out cute! Gender neutral with neutral wall colors. I love that Sherwin-Williams made it easy for me to pick a color right from my phone! You guys should get the app. Not only does it come in handy for walls, but you can paint just about anything!

For a chance to win a $100 Sherwin-Williams gift card, share in the comments below what room you would like to makeover in your home?

No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/20/2013-6/10/2013.

Be sure to visit the Sherwin-Williams brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

*Mobiles are from BlaBlaKids.
*Rugs & towels are from Target.
*Step stools are from Target. (Knox's green one isn't pictured.)
*States canvas is from Target.
*Lion soap dispenser is from Target.
*The prints in the frames are from The Wheatfield. (Also have a print in nursery.)
*The frames are from Target.
*Tray is from TJ Maxx, probably three years ago.

A few reminders..
*I'm making over the kids' bathroom with Sherwin Williams and you can enter to win a $100 gift card here :)
*You can tell me what you look for in a DREAM vacation to win a cruise voucher for a trip for four here!
*Check out the Fuel Rewards Network Program to enter to win $100 Shell Fuel gift card here :)
*Enter to win a year long subscription to Hulu HERE.

For a fellow blogger and friend...

2013-05-21T22:44:00.001-05:00

If you've been reading my blog for a bit, you've probably heard me talk about Embellishology. My fellow twin mama friend, Heather, is super talented and creates great printables and Embellishology is her Etsy shop. Her blog is now "Just Wait til You have Kids" :)

Heather also lives in Oklahoma.

Her twin girls, Tensley & Tille, are two months older than Knox & Sloane and they are precious.

Tensley, Tille & Heather...

In 1999, Heather and her husband lost their home to a tornado. They re-built. Yesterday, they lost their home again. Thank God, Heather, James and the girls are okay, but their home is not and most, if not all, of their stuff is not. They will have to re-build, re-buy and start over.

My heart is SO heavy for them, but I'm just so thankful they are okay. I know James and Heather work very hard for Heather to stay at home with the girls and now they have no home. I imagine Heather has no computer to work from and I'm not sure about the state of their cars yet. I can only imagine the process of starting over can take a while.

Thankfully, the blogging community, it's readers and so many people in this country are stepping into help Oklahoma. We are choosing to help generally as well as to this sweet family. I'm hoping we are able to go when they open the town and help with our church.

A paypal account was set up for Heather and her family. I know it's one of those feelings when you see the news, but not really feeling like you know anyone, but yet thinking how that could be any of us. This family, I know. If you can donate even a tiny bit, I know it will greatly help their situation. If you cannot donate financially, but want to do something else, or have questions, please email me - inthiswonderfullife{at}gmail{dot}com

Please share this.

Devastated

2013-05-21T10:50:00.003-05:00

Thank you all for the emails, texts, etc. We are thanking God the tornado missed us.

The news on the TV and radio started predicting our bad weather last week. I believe I heard things like, it's coming our way; Oklahoma is really in for it. They were basically saying Sunday and Monday were predicted to have awful weather.

After my cousins' house and ranch were destroyed last week in Texas, by a tornado, I've already been pretty freaked out. Sunday came and there were tornados, but they missed us. They were very close to some friends, but thankfully, missed them as well.

Monday, we woke and it wasn't raining and the news said we probably wouldn't have any bad weather until afternoon. I went ahead and took Knox & Sloane to Mother's Day Out. When I got home, I sent the school director an email just letting her know that if we went under any warnings that I would be coming to pick them up. The weather was normal and I picked them up at 2:30. We got home about 3 and my mom started calling to let me know that I needed to turn the news on. It wasn't long after and the news was showing tornados touching down about an hour away.

Thankfully, it missed us again. Unfortunately, it didn't miss many others. It's devastating the lives that have been taken and the damage that has been done. I couldn't stop watching the news last night as the search efforts were live. The kids in the school? No. I can't even handle that. I don't know the circumstances, but I will say that no school that Knox & Sloane go to will ever keep me from them in a weather situation. Period.

I'm not sure one can every truly be prepared, but it feels so much more real now that happened here, now. I've got two small children to protect. I've only lived in Oklahoma for six years and this is the worst thing I know of happening.

I'm truly so heartbroken.

Please pray. Please donate. Please give blood. Fund raise. Please just do whatever you can do.

If you haven't seen the news coverage it's probably hard to know the depths. I know a lot of it is on National News, so I suspect most people have.

I was thankful when I opened Facebook just now that I saw so many people that had Oklahoma graphics up. I know people will feel the thoughts an prayers.

I have no idea who made any of these or I promise I would give credit. If you did, feel free to comment.

If you know of any fundraisers, feel free to share those.

Brent just texted me and a customer of theirs has an IT guy that lost his 4 month old baby, his wife is in critical condition and they can't find his 5 year old son that was at school. I'm heartbroken for his family and so many in his situation. It's so awful.

Paul Hellstern/The Oklahoman/AP

Sue Ogrocki/AP

newson9

Jim Beckel/The Oklahoman/AP.

Hold your loved ones tight.

xoxo

Facial Regimen

2013-05-20T15:05:00.004-05:00

I'm currently pretty happy with my make-up routine, which I'll post more about soon. Right now, I'm working to find a good regimen of products that best fit my face. I've tried several, but I've never really stuck for more than a few months even when I could tell a difference. It usually happens as I run out of something and don't take the time to get more.

My long-time, Rosie Posie sponsor, is now also an Executive Consultant for Rodan and Fields and asked if I would be interested in trying a product! We decided on the under-eye cream. She said she's seen how well it works and that she thinks I would love it. My next step will be to decide if I want to try a regimen, too. Ashley also said that being a Rodan and Field consultant has been a great fit for her since it takes up very little of her time!

If you've been reading for a while, you know I've teamed up with Ashley to give lots of cute Rosie Posie things away and now she wants to give some Rodan and Fields away! She ALSO wants to give a discount and free shipping! Just email her (ashleyyancer{at}gmail{dot}com) and you can get 10% off your order and free shipping!

Now, who wants to win an eye cream!? Enter through Rafflecopter and email me with questions!

The required entry is to review the regimens and let Ashley know which you think would be best for you! You can use the "solutions tool" HERE.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reminders :) ...
*I'm making over the kids' bathroom with Sherwin Williams and you can enter to win a $100 gift card here :)
*You can tell me what you look for in a DREAM vacation to win a cruise voucher for a trip for four here!
*Check out the Fuel Rewards Network Program to enter to win $100 Shell Fuel gift card here :)
*Enter to win a year long subscription to Hulu HERE.