This Mommy!

My weight loss journey as a mommy of 2!

2012-07-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today I'm writing this post as it marks the exact 3 month mark since I made a major life change! (I had been running a couple weeks before this but it was just frustrating me and not showing results) I'm hoping that maybe I can be an inspiration to all you other moms out there, or even for those of you who don't have kids but need come encouraging to get going on the whole fitness thing!

This is me 3 short months ago:

I have always been the person who struggles with her weight, I think it comes with the territory when you were always called the "fat kid" and were even pushed out of your group of friends in school for being the fat one of the group. But on the positive you get to learn real fast who your real friends are. I did eventually lose weight in highschool and came to terms with who I am. I started liking myself and actually dating. That was all in the past and now I'm a mommy of 2. After my son was born the weight seemed to immediately disappear and I actually ended up being lighter after him then I was when I became pregnant with him, and all without even trying. I expected the same thing to happen after my daughter was born 20 months later, but that was far from what happened. I gained 30 lbs during my pregnancy with my daughter and after she was born only 8 of it disappeared. Ugh! I decided to be happy with where I was and I told myself that it was ok as I had 2 kids, it was my excuse. Things didnt change as my daughter turned 1 and I actually hit my highest weight I'd been..... 165, which at only 5'7" is in the overweight catagory. I also became a size 14-16 pants and an XL shirt. I started becoming very unhappy and hated who I saw in the mirror everyday, I knew something had to change! I used to be confident in my skin at one point and I wanted to be there again!

One night I was awake late and was watching infomercials (I mean come on what else is on at 2am?!?). I kept seeing all these commercials for weight loss programs and all the awesome bodies I wished I had, but none of them seemed worth trying, and then the Insanity infomercial came on. I watched and when they said that it "puts a whole years worth of workouts into 60 days" I was sold. I talked my hubby into trying it with me saying "its only 60 days, if we hate it we dont have to continue it after that". Little did I know I was about to change my entire life!

We started our journey and the first week killed me everyday! I was crying I hurt so bad, but I continued. I continued through a knee injury that I acquired, I continued even if the only time I had that day to do it was at 1 am. Week 1: done! Whew! time to weigh myself! 0 lbs lost! Are you kidding me?!? I worked that hard for 0 lbs?!? Here's me after 1 week:

This is where I made a major eating change as well. I started counting calories, sticking to my calorie goal, and eating healthier foods. Ok, now it will be better! Week 2: done! Again, 0 lbs!!! Ok i'm frustrated! I broke down crying! My husband comforted me (he's lost 10 lbs by now), and did some research. What we found is very important to anyone starting a high intensity workout who has not worked out before: THE FIRST COUPLE WEEKS YOU MAY GAIN WEIGHT! that's right GAIN!!! UGH!! the reason? your body goes into a freak-out mode and holds onto every last drop of water it can to protect your muscles. Makes sense, so in theory it should all be water weight at this point holding on in there. Here's me after 2 weeks:

Ok, I'll continue!

Week 3: done! Now for the dreaded scale........ 5 lbs! yes!!! 5 lbs gone!! Its working, its really working! I was on a mission now. My original goal: get down to 150 lbs (this is in the healthy range for my height and I was going to be happy there). That goal came and went and I needed a new goal...... ok, new goal : reach 145. Again I continued with the Insanity workout.

Finished Insanity just 2 days before we were scheduled to run our very first 5K ever! I figured I would be dying, I didn't run before (other than a couple weeks before starting insanity and I died during those runs) and I had just been doing insanity and not running, so my training was off I felt. When we went to the 5K (the color run - if you want an extremely fun 5K to run - look it up! Oh my gosh, it was amazing and I'm so glad I chose that one!) I was apprehensive but we ran it and we finished it in 32 minutes!!! amazing!! I was so excited! Lets take a break for a minute and look at the pictures from the run!

Here's me at the starting line, all nice and clean!

Above: Here's my face after the race! Not so clean anymore! :)
Below: My after race photo! It was a blast!!

The hubby's after race look! I love that I have such a supportive husband through all this!

Now that the fun was over and so was Insanity (we now have gone through all 60 days), I was left weighing in at 145 lbs (my second goal). But now I was addicted to working out and getting fit! I continued on by running and biking and misc workouts. Almost 3 months into my major life change this is what happened.......

That isn't the end though, I've continued and I've been currently working on the Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30!

Here's me from today: (sorry for the poor picture quality)

I'm currently weighing in at 134 lbs and a size 5 pants!! Keep in mind too that this is the body of a mom who had 2 kids 20 months apart!

So to all you moms out there who think that they can't do it, or that use their kids as an excuse...... I'm living proof that you can do it!!! I have made a change in my entire family's eating habits, and I have so much more energy for my kids! I feel better, I'm happier, and I'm teaching my kids good habits! I couldn't have given myself or my kids a better gift! I'm going to be around a long time for my kids now that I'm healthier! (And just as an FYI, I also did this without giving up my favorite foods....chocolate is still my favorite treat! I've just learned to portion things better and fit in the bad with the good and switch things when I can, for example I have switched to frozen yogurt rather than ice cream, and in my baked goods I've switched from oils and eggs to applesauce and egg whites, these things make a huge difference in calories and fat!). I'll be posting healthier recipes in upcoming posts.... stay tuned! :)

I hope this has helped encourage you all to get going on the healthy lifestyle! In today's world obese is the norm, but you can change that, for yourself, for your family, for your friends.....Its worth it, YOU are worth it! And if anyone needs someone to talk to for encouragement or to vent to about frustrations that come along with the road ahead, then hit me up! I'm more than happy to help!!!

Freezer crockpot cooking!

2012-04-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

This mommy has started a new adventure..... freezer crockpot cooking! This mommy is already loving it! What is freezer crockpot cooking you ask? This mommy will tell you! Freezer cooking is when you prep and cook food for a week/month all at once and put the food in bags and place in freezer so that when you want that meal you pull out a bag and all the work is done and all you have to do is heat it up in the oven. While this is an amazing idea, this mommy doesn't want to actually cook a million pounds of food all at once! This problem is solved with freezer crock pot cooking....... Instead of having to cook everything ahead of time you just prep raw food and throw it in a bag, then when you want that meal you take it out of the freezer, throw it in the crockpot (still frozen!) and let the crockpot do all the work! This is truely amazing, and also saves a lot of money since you can buy the big bulk family packs of meats! Here's the rundown of how you do it......

1.Make a shopping list from the recipes you plan on prepping
2. Shop for your ingredients (including freezer bags!) -make sure you catch all the sales! :)
3. Label gallon size freezer bag with: Date, what meal it is, and cooking directions/time (example: 4/25/12 Teriyaki Chicken *Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to meal and cook on low for 8 hours)
4. Cut up all veggies in the recipe and place in bag
5. Place proper amount of meat in the bag
6. Add all spices and sauces
7. Seal up bag making sure to get all the air out of the bag that you can!
8. Shake bag a bit to mix ingredients a little
9. Place bag in freezer flat.
10. Repeat for all recipes you want to do!

When you are ready to cook:
1. pull out meal about 30 min before putting in crockpot
2. Place in crockpot and follow your directions on bag.
3. Let the crock pot do all the work
4. Enjoy a fantastic meal!

Isn't this the best thing ever?! This mommy thinks so! Shopping sales and buying bulk also saved this mommy a lot of money. The last batch of freezer cooking meals that this mommy made cost $35 for all the supplies and this mommy was able to get a weeks worth of dinners for our family of 4 out of it! That makes each dinner $5!! This mommy is so happy! I mean really, $5 to feed a family of 4 with a nice hearty dinner complete with veggies......AMAZING! AND..... it only took this mommy about an hour to prep that weeks worth of dinners! This mommy is going to start going big and prepping a whole month's worth at once, then this mommy won't have to cook any dinners for an entire month! Oh what will this mommy do with all that time?!? There has to be something to fill that void......this mommy will figure it out..... perhaps a well deserved nap?! Ahhhhh....... this mommy doesn't think that will happen but she can hope! :)

So you want to start freezer crockpot cooking? Don't know where to start on recipes? In reality you can turn any crockpot recipe into a freezer recipe with a few tweeks, but this mommy will give you a couple of recipes she used (found on various places online) to get you started! Lets start off with a super easy one (this mommy promises this is the easiest recipe you will do)......

Apricot Chicken

you will need:
2 1-gallon freezer bags
8 Chicken breasts (you can substitute other cuts of chicken too!)
2 cups apricot jam
2 packages of dry onion soup mix
2 cups Catalina or French salad dressing

Directions:
1. Label 2 1-gallon freezer bags
2. In a bowl mix 1 cup apricot jam, 1 cup salad dressing, and 1 package of dry onion soup mix
3. Place 4 chicken breasts in bag
4. pour mixture over chicken in bag.
5. Seal bag and shake
6. Place flat in freezer
7. Repeat for second freezer bag!

Directions for bag: Cook on Low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with a favorite side (this recipe would be great served with rice!)

There, now wasn't that the easiest recipe ever?!? And you now have prepped 2 dinners, how awesome is that?!? And that took you probably about 15 minutes max! :) Lets move on......

Teriyaki Chicken

you will need:
2 1-gallon freezer bags
1 large bag of baby carrots (or whole carrots peeled and chopped which is what this mommy uses!)
1 Red onion
2 20oz cans of pineapple chunks
4 garlic cloves
8 chicken breasts (or other chicken cuts)
1 cup teriyaki sauce

Directions:
1. Label 2 1-gallon freezer bags
2. Split carrots between the 2 bags
3. Chop red onion into large chunks and split between the 2 bags
4. Chop garlic cloves and split between the 2 bags
5. Put one can of pineapple chunks in each bag (undrained)
6. Put 4 chicken breasts in each bag
7. Put 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce in each bag
8. Seal bag and shake
9. Place flat in freezer

Directions for bag: Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce to meal and cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours.

Again, you have now prepped 2 more meals! This mommy bets you aren't even breaking a sweat yet! Ok well let's try one more! We'll steer away from chicken for this one!

Sausage and Peppers

you will need:
2 1-gallon freezer bags
10-12 italian sausages (or chicken sausage)
4 green peppers
2 red peppers
2 red onions
8 garlic cloves
4 cans of diced tomatoes (or cut your own fresh ones!)
olive oil (you will drizzle a little in each bag)
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Directions:
1. Label 2 1-gallon freezer bags
2. slice the green peppers and split between the 2 bags
3. slice the red peppers and split between the 2 bags
4. Chop red onions into chunks and split between the 2 bags
5. Mince the garlic cloves and split between the 2 bags
6. Place 5-6 sausages in each bag
7. pour 2 cans of diced tomatoes in each bag
8. pour a drizzle of olive oil in each bag
9. place 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning in each bag.
10. Seal bag and shake
11. Place flat in freezer.

Directions for bag: Cook on low for 8 hours.

This is another one that is great with rice!

There you have another 2 meals! You have almost made a whole weeks worth of food for a family of 4! Wasn't that easy?!? If there is only 2 of you you can split the recipes into smaller sections and only use 2 pieces of chicken in each bag, or even smaller if there is just 1 of you! This mommy also uses stew recipes, roast recipes, turkey recipes, meatloaf recipes, the list goes on! This saves so much time and energy (not to mention the smaller amount of dishes you dirty!). Give the freezer crockpot cooking a try, this mommy is sure you will fall in love like she did!

Go try it while this mommy takes a break since she has some free time now! :)

25 things I want my daughter to know as she grows!

2012-04-19T15:09:00.002-07:00

This mommy has posted something like this for the boy but now its time to post for the princess! Some of the items will be the same as they apply to both. The princess is only 1 but there are definate things I want her to know as she grows into a woman. These are the things that I want my daughter to know....

1. You are more loved than you can ever imagine!
                - You have shown me that adding another child in your life never splits your love, it increases it everyday! The moment you were born and I saw your beautiful face I smiled and all I could manage to say was "I love you". From that moment on you have been my beautiful princess and I think the world of you! There are no words to describe how much love I have for you my sweet angel! I will love you forever through all the ups and downs of your life and all the mistakes along the way. One day you will have children and I hope then you will realize the depths of the meaning of the 3 words I say to you so often...I love you!

2. You are beautiful....no matter your size!
               - Don't ever let the magazines and tv shows define to you what a woman should look like! You are beautiful the way God made you. Please never feel that you need to be a size 0 to be beautiful. Curves are wonderful and "real" women don't look like a walking skeleton! As long as you are healthy be happy with whatever size you are and love yourself, that will be what makes you the most beautiful!

3. Be creative!
               - Feel free to do whatever art of your choosing! Follow your creative side and it will allow you to go far in life. Just make sure you are being respectful of others and their possessions while doing so! Creativity is never out-dated!

4. Accept others!
               - There are always going to be people that are different than you and that you don't get along with. Just know that the differences are fine and you don't need to like everyone but you do need to accept them for who they are as they are also a creation of God! Different is never wrong! Never judge people no matter how hard that is, even if they are judging you! Knows that only God can judge someone, leave it to Him!

5. You are NEVER second to anyone in a relationship!
              - I can't stress how important this is! There will be boys that come into your life and want you to be "seen and not heard", or just be a trophy on his arm, please please PLEASE never allow this! You are a person and worthy of equality in a relationship, find that guy that holds you up, that helps you follow your dreams, the guy that wants nothing more than for you to be happy! Those guys do exist and you deserve one of them! Hold out for the best, never accept less, and once you find that guy love him with all your heart!

6. Always be YOU!
           -This is a hard one, especially for girls. Never let other people define you, you are an individual, please make sure you act as such. Don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in no matter what others say. The right thing is not always the easy thing but is always the best option. Follow your own dreams, do what YOU love to do, be who YOU are and never let anyone else tell you who to be! Know that no matter what others define you as, you know who you are and being true to yourself will get you further in life then giving in just to be part of the "popular" girls. Whethere you are "popular" or a "dork" or whatever other words people may come up with, being you is the greatest gift of all!

7. Don't be afraid to get dirty!
           -This world is full of great adventures if you allow yourself to find them! Don't be afraid to jump in the mud and make mud pies, or run through the sprinklers, or even help daddy work on the car! Never worry if you end up with dirt under your nails, you are washable and you will miss out on so much if you don't just jump right in!

8. There is nothing you can't do!
             - Yes you are a girl, but that does NOT mean that you can't do things! Girls can do anything boys can do and most of the time they can do it better! Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something just because you are a girl!

9. Be a kid!
              -This is another hard one for girls as society wants them to grow up so fast into women. Take your time growing up and enjoy being a kid! Go run, jump, play, imagine, and just have fun. You are only young for a short amount of time, there is no need to grow up too fast!

10. Please wear your clothing appropriately!
             - In this day girls clothes keep getting smaller and smaller. I hope I have taught you well enough that this is not ok. Wear clothing that covers you! If parts of your body are falling out of the clothes you have chosen please choose again!   You can look "sexy" in clothes that are appropriate! The attention you will get with inappropriate clothes is the attention you don't want! Your underwear is not supposed to be seen through your clothes!

11. There is no such thing as "women's work"
              - There are things that you have to do as a person, but that does not make them women's work. Never let a man tell you he won't help because its "your job" to do it! Remember that any man is capable of doing laundry, dishes, cleaning house, and taking care of kids, make sure that whoever you end up with knows that he should do these things too!

12. Its ok to make mistakes.
            - Everyone makes mistakes, its how we learn. Never be afraid of making them! Just always learn from your mistakes and know that no matter how big your mistake is I will be there for you!

13. Be a good sister and friend!
           - No matter what your brother is always going to be your brother and he loves you! He may tease you and give you a hard time, know that this is just his way of making sure you are tough!  Family will be there for you when everyone else has turned their back on you, please never forget that. There are times when your brother may need you, be there to comfort and love him!  Never forget your family! And make sure you love those close to you to the full capacity of your heart!

14. You are a genious.
           -You learn something new everyday, never stop that learning! Keep expanding your mind, you can do anything you want to do!

15. Your body is a precious gift!
            -There will be boys who try to get you to do things you arent comfortable with or aren't ready for, NEVER be afraid to say no! I want to be a grandma one day but please make sure its what you want before you make that happen, and make sure its very planned circumstances! Always remember that if you say no and he's not willing to wait for you then he is NOT worth your time and energy! You are worth so much, please always remember that!

16. Enjoy nature!
           - This is a beautiful world, go enjoy it! Go walk in the park, dig in the dirt, watch clouds go by, whatever makes you happy just make sure you enjoy the beauty of the small things around you! God made this world, enjoy His artwork!

17. Always say thank you.
             -Recognize the people in your life who have helped you along the way and take the time to let them know the impact they had. A simple thank you is worth so much more than you think!

18. Forgive.
               -Sometimes people will do you wrong and it can be very difficult to forgive them, but please do so. Holding on to the hard feelings only holds you back! Forgive them and move on. This will enrich your life greatly!

19. Never be a part of teasing.
             - Girls can be more cruel than anyone, and often feel its ok to tease and make fun of others. Please never partake in this no matter how hard it is to hold your tongue. Teasing can ruin someone's life and I never want you to be a part of that! Everyone has feelings, please respect them!

20. Be careful of what you make public!
              -Its easy in today's world to get mixed up in things. Never put anything out there that you wouldn't want the whole world to see/know for the rest of your life! Once its out there you can't take it back! And please never EVER get involved in "sexting"!

21. Always be honest.
                 - Your daddy and I love you and make rules to protect you, please respect us for that by telling us the truth. We never want to lose our trust in you, know that you are the keeper of that trust and only you can choose what you do with it. Please never feel like you need to lie to us just to get your way! Once trust is broken its hard to repair, plus you wouldn't want people lying to you so please don't do it to others!

22. Be a strong woman of God!
                 - Life is much more clear if you lean on God! Know that you are his miracle and he brought you here for a reason. Live your life for him and he will help you through your journey!

23. Keep moving!
             -There are tough days in this life, its not always going to go smoothly, but the important thing is you keep moving forward! Don't let bad times hold you back from enjoying the good times! No matter how bumpy the road is ahead of you just keep moving forward!

24. You are always going to be my daughter!
               - No matter what you are my daughter and I will be there for you through everything! I will always love you even if you make the wrong choice and go down the wrong path! I'll be there to help you and offer a shoulder to cry on. I believe in you and I always will! I always want the best for you! I promise there will be times that I drive you crazy but know that I hurt anytime you hurt and cry whenever you cry.  Please remember that you always have someone who loves you through it all!

25. No matter where you are in life you can always come home!
              - I will be here, always. I love you!

DIY zebra print rug

2012-03-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

This mommy is in the process of re-doing her living room. We decided that we wanted black and white accents for the room, and what better accent then a great rug?! Black and white of course! The daddy and I looked everywhere for a rug and this mommy fell in love with a zebra print rug, it would be perfect, but looking at the price tag this mommy sadly had to walk away. Looking everywhere for a rug that would be great this mommy couldn't get that zebra rug out of her head! I could just see it fitting perfectly in the room and everytime this mommy walked into that room she pictured it in her head sitting there happily on the floor....... Sigh. This mommy was about to give up when a trip to wal-mart brought this mommy to a plain low pile black rug, pretty boring but the $20 price tag was a perfect price, so this mommy decided to take it home and rework it to make it into that perfect zebra print rug!
Almost frolicking back home this mommy had a plan! The daddy helped lay it out flat for a while so that I had a nice flat work space, and guess what? It was a perfect fit in the floor space we wanted to cover! After this mommy let the rug flatten out from its rolled up state for a couple hours she was ready to get started!
This mommy started with some masking tape and a picture from the internet (gotta love searches!). Taping around the edge of the rug to form a border for the print and then taping a straight line down the center of the rug for guidance this mommy got to work! Looking at the picture this mommy taped off some stripes on the rug, making sure to work both sides to make it somewhat symmetrical (not perfect but all zebra stripes are different so its ok!). After about an hour of taping, this is what this mommy had........

Curving the stripes with masking tape ended up being harder than this mommy had anticipated, but after a while you get the hang of it!

This mommy was tired at this point, an hour of taping and only half way taped! Time for a soda and cookie break!.......
After the much needed break this mommy came back and went back to work! And about another hour later this is what she had......

Ah the finished taped project! Oh if only masking tape were permanent, then this mommy could have been done! But alas, this mommy continued.....

Going to the storage closet this mommy pulled out some leftover white house paint that she had left from another project, poured some in a pan and got her paint roller out and got to work! This mommy is telling you though that those carpet fibers sure soak up the paint! (plus I'm sure that painting white on black was the harder choice than painting black on white but the black rug was cheaper!) This mommy slowly rolled on the paint in each section making sure not to catch and pull up the masking tape. Once the first coat was done this mommy started again with the second coat...... and the third....... it took 4 coats to get it as bright as I wanted it to be but it finally got there (you could stop after a couple coats if you wanted it to look a little more faded and not as bold but that's not the look this mommy was going for). 4 coats of paint done! Now was the hardest part for this mommy, waiting for it to dry! This is what I saw for several hours while I waited........

Oh, the torture!

Finally it was time! The paint was dry! This mommy giggled with anticipation! Excitedly this mommy grabbed at the tape! The daddy helped pull off all the tape, and as we pulled the finished look started appearing and this mommy was so happy that the paint didn't bleed through at all! We kept pulling and pulling and pulling (my couple hours of taping gone in just a few minutes!) This mommy smiled from ear to ear! It was perfect!! We put it in a different room for the night to make sure it was completely set before we had it where we would be walking all the time! And this is the finished look........

Perfect zebra stripes! It was just as pretty as any of the expensive ones in the store! This mommy was so excited!

Well that's how this mommy made her own zebra print rug! Feel free to try it yourself! Its really rewarding when you get to the finished product! This may be the start of an addicting hobby for this mommy...... hmmm..... well here's what it looks like in our half-done living room (complete with the princess playing around on it! Don't mind the mismatched pillows, the power wheels in the back, and the random stuff sitting on the chairs, like I said the room is only half done and those things will be fixed before its all done!)........

Can't complain one bit! :) For $20, some paint and some time you can have a one-of-a-kind rug! This mommy loves it!

25 Things I want my son to know as he grows!

2012-03-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

This mommy has seen many a post about things people want their daughters to know but not so much about what their sons should know, and while this mommy will probably make a post like this for the princess as well there are definate things this mommy would like her son to know. Thinking about life, even though the boy is not even 3 yet, and how I want the boy to grow up and the type of man I hope he becomes makes this mommy write this, you never know what life will throw at you and hopefully I'll always be around to watch as the boy grows, but no matter what these are things I want my son to know!

1. You are more loved than you could ever imagine.

- I never knew what real love was (no matter how much I thought I knew) until you were born. The day I looked at you, my beautiful son, was the day that I felt what true love really was. There are times that you drive me crazy and times when I get mad, and sometimes even disappointed, but through it all no matter what, you are my first true love and I will love you forever! One day when you have children of your own I hope you will realize how much my love is for you.

2. It is ok to cry.

                 - No matter what anyone else tells you, it is not "girly" or "inappropriate" for a boy to cry! Crying shows feelings and everyone has feelings. Even the toughest of men cry! Never, ever, be afraid to show your feelings and cry if you need to!

3. Don't be afraid to stand out and be you!
                 - You are an idividual, not a clone of other people, please act as such. Stand up for what you believe in, follow your own dreams no matter what others try to say, find your own passions, like what YOU like, and most of all don't let others define you! True strong men are ones who lived their own life and never let anyone tell them who to be! Never follow the crowd just to be "one of the guys". Whether you are popular, or the "nerd", or whatever anyone else says about you, you are YOU and that is the greatest gift of all!

4. In a relationship you are only as strong as your other half!
                 - Your partner is your best friend, your equal. You should always treat them as that. Never put them down, never underestimate them, never take them for granted. Hold them up when they are falling, believe in them and their dreams, be their strength, and most of all love them with all your heart! Being compassionate and loving to them makes you a better man!

5. Accept others.
                 - There will always be people different than you. Hopefully throughout life I have taught you that there is nothing wrong with different. No matter who the person is, accept them, know that they too are creations of God and never judge them. This can be hard, but know that you will live life more fully if you accept the differences!

6. Be creative!
                  - As long as you are respecting others and their possessions feel free to create art of your choosing! Following your creativity will lead you to great places in life and will ever expand your mind. You are never too old for creativity!

7. Enjoy nature.
                  - Go outside! You live in a beautiful world, take the time to see it! The small things make the world beautiful, never overlook the small pebbles, or the ripples it makes when you toss it in the water. Sit and watch the clouds go by, or go crazy and rock climb or go rafting! Just do it safely and enjoy the time!

8. Be a kid!
                 - Run, jump, play, get dirty, explore, even dig a hole to try to find China! Have fun and enjoy your youth!

9. Be a good brother, friend, and protector.
                 - There are people who depend on you and who love you. Your sister will always be your sister, and there will be times she needs you, be there for her. Family is the most important thing, they will be there for you when the world has turned its back on you, please never forget about them, and always protect them when you can! You are a superhero to some!

10. Please wear your clothing appropriately.
               - They say clothes make the man, so dress for who you want to be! Please never wear your pants around your knees, and please don't wear vulgar sayings on shirts. Its not attractive, or "cool". Feel free to express yourself but do so appropriately.

11. Take care of the Earth.
               - Its not just a trend to be "green", we should all do our part. This is the only planet we have and you live here, take care of it.

12. You are a genious.
              - Never quit learning, your potential is limitless, and you can do anything you set your mind to.

13. Know that some rules were not made to be broken!
              - There are times when its ok to follow your own rules, but some rules should always be followed! There are rules you may not like but they were put in place to protect you and others, please think carefully before you act.

14. You will always be my son!
              - No matter where you go or who you are with you are my son and I will always be there for you! I will always love you even if you make wrong choices. I'll be there to offer support and advice and to be a shoulder to cry on. I will always believe in you! I will always want the best for you. I will drive you crazy at times, but i hurt when you hurt and cry when you cry, and no matter what you will always have someone who loves you, and I hope our bond grows stronger and stronger!

15. Its ok to make mistakes.
               - Its how we learn. Don't be afraid of mistakes just make sure you learn from them.

16. Be a man of God.
              - You are a miracle, sent to us from God. Always praise him and live your life for him. If you live for Him life becomes more clear.

17. Be careful of what you put out there.
              - In this technology filled age its easy to get in trouble. Be careful of anything you send to people, unless you want the world to see it don't send it. Its easy to be careful if you take the time to think, and please please please never get involved in "sexting".

18. There are no jobs that should be left as "woman's work"
              - Yes you are a boy, but that doesn't mean you don't need to do laundry, dishes, vaccuum, cook, clean, grocery shop, sew, or take care of the kids (when one day you have them). You are capable of doing these for yourself, and its ok to do them. There is nothing un-manly about it, in fact you will be greatly appreciated for it, and I'm sure your future wife thanks me already for teaching you this!

19. Tattoos are ok, but think!
             - Tattoos are permanent, think long and hard about it before you get one! I don't want you waking up one day with a name or picture that haunts you forever.

20. There is no shame in asking for help.
             - We all need a helping hand sometimes, don't be afraid to ask if you need it. This includes asking for directions before you get entirely lost!

21. Your penis is not a toy.
             -Use it responsibly. I do want grandkids one day but please do it under planned circumstances. You are responsible for your actions.

22. Keep moving forward.
            - Sometimes in life you may feel like you are in a rut and are going nowhere, but know it is your choice to keep moving. Keep pushing and you will go far!

23. Travel.
            - You want to take a summer road trip to see the country? by all means, take the car and explore, but do so responsibly! Soar through the world and enjoy it! But just know, I do not want to have to come see you in the hospital!

24. Always say thank you.
            - Others will help and guide you throughout your life. Teachers included. Always say thank you to those who help you! And forgive those who do you wrong.

25. You can always come home, no matter where you are in life.
            - I will be here, always. I love you!

Yogurt Muffins!

2012-02-27T13:15:00.002-08:00

This mommy found a recipe that has made it to the top of favorite lists in this house! Both the boy and the princess are addicted and this mommy doesn't mind, I mean, who can deny the little ones a midday snack of muffins that are made with yogurt and applesauce!? I found the original recipe at JCasa handmade blog which she adapted from The joy of cooking! It was love in just one look! You can check out her blog but I'm also adding the recipe here, and instead of canola oil this mommy uses regular applesauce!

You will need:
1 egg
1 cup yogurt (or 2 individual containers) -you can use any kind you like but this mommy uses the store brand vanilla yogurt
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. applesauce
2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
whatever add-ins you want (fruit, chocolate chips, etc)

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Either line a muffin tin with liners or spray a generous amount of non stick cooking spray into the muffin tins. (this mommy doesn't use liners as the boy is allowed to get a muffin himself and sometimes he forgets to take off the liner!)
In a bowl combine the egg, yogurt, vanilla, and applesauce. Stir until it is all evenly combined. In a seperate bowl combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, make sure you don't overmix the batter as it will result in tough muffins! Pour in your add-ins and stir until evenly distributed in the batter. The boy loves it when I add chocolate chips!
Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full in each cup (this recipe will yeild between 12-18 muffins depending on how big you make them!)
Bake for 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown! 12 minutes works beautifully for this mommy and her oven!
Take your yummy muffins out of the oven and cool!
Enjoy!
But this mommy does warn you they are good! And they are addicting! Be prepared to be making these a lot! We have to have a supply of these on hand at all times, its the all time favorite snack for this mommy's house! The princess has gotten to the point of pulling down the container of muffins and pouting until it is opened and she can have one, that's how much she loves them!
Experiment with different add-ins and different yogurt flavors! There are so many yummy possibilities!

The princess turns 1!!

2012-02-12T20:23:00.000-08:00

This mommy is in disbelief..... the princess turned 1! Where, oh where has the time gone? How could it be that my little baby girl is now an active, energetic 1 year old?! The last year has flown by!

This little baby girl......

Has become this big girl........

Oh how this mommy wishes time would slow down a little! It seems like only yesterday we were about to welcome our little princess into the world!

We celebrated with our friends and family with an owl themed birthday party! A good time was had by all!

Here's a look at our decorations! Tons of balloons, hanging decorations (handmade by this mommy), owl pinata centerpiece (again made by this mommy), and a fingerprint tree for guests to sign. This mommy was pleased by how it all came together!

This was this mommy's first time making a stacked cake, and boy was she nervous! But after much thought and a little luck this mommy was able to pull off making this cute as can be owl cake for the princess! And of course the cake inside was pink as well! :)

Of course just one cake wasn't enough so this mommy made of bunch of these owl cupcakes to match! We also had a matching owl smash cake just for the princess to destroy! :)

We couldn't have asked for a better birthday party! Here's a look at the day......

We started the day in an adorable petti romper and flower hair clip (the clip was made my this mommy). This mommy was excited that the princess finally had enough hair for the clip to stay in!

The flower clip made it through the morning before she was done with it.

Right before the party we had an outfit change into a handmade tutu dress (again made by this mommy, seeing a trend? lol) :)

Although leary at first, once she got a taste of the cake she dug right in!

She loved it!!

Opening presents began! (note: the painted fingernails, especially for the party, her first time getting her nails painted!)

The boy of course had to help his little sister open the presents!

She got pink everything, and this castle (found at my local Michael's) was painted and walpapered by this mommy for her princess peg dolls.

She loved being the center of attention all day!

New toys are awesome!

Officially 1!!

The tutu suprisingly made it through the entire party pretty much clean!

The day ended back in her petti romper! A quick picture with mommy! (please ignore how horrible this mommy looks!)

And the day wouldn't be complete without the boy giving the daddy some love too! Oh how I love my boys!

So whether this mommy likes it or not the princess is growing up! Soon she will be walking and this mommy is in for trouble! :) How sweet it is to be the mommy to 2 amazing children!

How I spend my "free" time

2012-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share with you how this mommy spends all her free time..... between work, 2 kids, babysitting, cooking, cleaning, sewing, family outings, craft shows, fixing up the house, and refurbishing old furniture this mommy needs to fill the gaps :) This is what she does...... she runs a photography business known as S&F Designs! This mommy goes out and takes people's portraits (or pet's portraits in some cases), and also enjoys taking photos of all the beautiful nature around her! I thought I would share a small peek into this mommy's "free" time work!

People:

Pets:

Nature:

So there ya go, a very, very small peek into all my works! This mommy would run out of blog space if she posted everything ;) Hope you liked the peek into my art! And now you know what this mommy does in all her free time lol! :)

Easy-Peasy Glazed Donuts!

2012-01-26T14:28:00.000-08:00

This mommy again must admit that she has a pinterest problem! She found this on there from http://www.littlebitfunky.com/ and instantly had a mouth full of drool! Donuts that take about 15 min to complete and are simply amazing! Plus this is super easy and this mommy loves that! Here's what it is......

Donuts made out of canned biscuits! Yes you read that right, canned biscuits! You can check out the littlebitfunky blog and see the whole thing but basically you will take your biscuits (non-flakey kind) and press them a little flatter than they are, then cut a hole in the center of the dough. Put 1/4" vegetable oil in a pan, and put your "donuts" in the oil. Cook on one side til its golden brown, flip and cook til that side is golden brown as well! Take donuts out of oil and place on a paper towel lined plate.

Here is where this mommy did things differently!

On the littlebitfunky blog she then dipped her donuts in butter and then covered them in sugar/cinnamon mixture. This mommy changed it up, they were good with the butter but this mommy found that the butter made the dough a little soggy so instead this mommy glazed them! Here is what you will need for your glaze....

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
-Mix these in a bowl until it is well mixed (be patient and slow as this can take a little work, the powdered sugar doesn't always want to mix well with the milk but it will, just be patient!)

Now take your donuts and you are going to dip each side into the glaze. You can leave it as just a plain glazed donut or you can immediately dip it into powdered sugar, or a cinnamon/sugar mixture...... just make sure you dip in these while the glaze is still wet.
Then set these aside for the glaze to dry.
Once the glaze dries place them in an airtight container to keep for breakfast (or a midnight snack if you are anything like this mommy).
These are oh so good and I think the glaze keeps the donuts from being soggy. Try it both ways and see what you like the best!

Don't forget to use the donut holes as well, they make just as yummy treats as the donuts :) Just cook them the exact same way!

Here's my donuts cooked and ready to glaze!:

They look so yummy already!!

And here's the final product: I did a little bit of plain glazed and some powdered sugar ones:

Yummy!!

And because I ran out of room on one plate...... here's the other plate:

We are going to have such a yummy treat here in this mommy's house at breakfast time!

So there ya go, make some donuts!!! :) They are so good!

Big Dining room makeover reveal!

2012-01-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

This mommy has been working hard with the daddy to do a complete room makeover on the dining room! It needed something, and this mommy must admit the new room is FANTASTIC! This mommy knows that some of you have been anxious to see the new look and I've been making you wait, well the wait is over, this mommy will torture you no more, the big reveal is here! The best part of this whole thing was it was all done for $200!!

To be fair for those of you who hadn't seen our dining room before this mommy will post the before picture so you can see the difference:
Before:

As you can see this room had potential but this mommy and the daddy had other things to fix up in our house before we worked on this room. So it sat this way for 3 years!

And now.............
After:

Much better!! This mommy is in love with her new dining room! The mixture of grey and yellow makes this mommy smile! Even the unsightly dog and cat food bins got a makeover to match the room! This mommy made the curtains, the curtain rod, the lampshades for the chandelier, and painted the food bins!

The details make the room..........

These shelves (which this mommy is planning on adding more to as soon as she figures out what she wants to put up there) originated as part of a flat door we pulled out of our house 3 years ago when we replaced the doors with 6-panel doors! They were a dark wood look, this mommy thinks it looks much better cut up and painted white for shelves! The vases were painted by this mommy to match the room color!

This mommy covered the lightswitch covers with the same fabric the curtains were made out of to bring it all together!

The artwork (which this mommy noticed you couldn't see from the first picture) is on the right side of the room and is a photo taken by this mommy. I made it black and white, then blew it up to a large size, cut it into fourths, mounted it on MDF boards and hung it up on the wall. This mommy's very first sunflower grown in the front yard is now forever hanging on the wall :)

This has got to be one of this mommy's favorite parts of the room (the chairs will soon be replaced with chairs and a bench that match the look better, but for now these will do!). This table was handmade by the daddy and this mommy! (mainly the daddy but hey this mommy did help stain and measure!) :) So this is an original piece of furniture and this mommy loves it!! Very time consuming but it looks fantastic! Ahhhh! I could sit at it all day!

So there you have it! The big reveal! A whole lot of work and planning but an amazing room to spend our family time in! Hopefully you love it as much as this mommy does! And just because I love it sooooo much here's the picture of it again.....

I'm so in love!! I could look at it all day! This mommy is one happy girl!

Sewing tips

2012-01-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

So some of you who read this enjoy my sewing projects and want to start sewing and since this mommy self-taught herself everything she knows about sewing, this mommy decided to share some tips she uses for her projects that maybe could help you if you are beginning out in the sewing adventures.

Tips:

1. Get to know your sewing machine inside and out..... yes, you should know every gear in your machine so if something goes crazy you know somewhat about where to check. And make sure you get a brand you like, some are easier than others.... this mommy is a Singer girl all the way :)

2. Don't be afraid to try something new...... yes new patterns can be scary and often you look at it and think "i can't do that" trust me, this mommy has done that a lot, but this mommy has also found that if you just say "I can try" and take it a step at a time most things are possible!

3. On that note: know that some projects will defeat you, be ok with that and move on to the next trial. Getting frustrated and giving up is never the best option! This mommy has been defeated by more projects than she cares to think about. :)

4. Measure twice, cut once....... this is a tip I used to hear in highschool from my shop teacher..... ironically I never heard it from my home ec. teacher......hmmmm....... who knew that my woodworking teacher knew so much about sewing?!? interesting....... :)

5. Go Bold! Don't be afraid of bold, bright patterns in fabric.

6. If you are nervous about a project and don't want to risk wasting good fabric make it first using scrap fabric (this mommy likes to go to thrift stores and get sheets, these make great trial fabric and you get a lot for only a couple dollars..... and sometimes you'll find a fabric there you actually want to use for a project....... like the princess' skirts that I've made from pillowcases, and sheets, and tablecloths, and........)

7. Just because a pattern says to make something from a certain material doesn't mean you can't make it from another material, you can alter almost anything to use what you have!

8. Never underestimate the power of the iron! Trust me, this mommy hates ironing and used to skip the ironing steps in patterns, and this mommy also got so much more frustrated. Ironing helps so much, and it makes your seams look much more professional.... DO NOT skip ironing! This mommy knows its a pain but it's worth it!

9. When in doubt.... PIN! This mommy also hates pinning and will avoid it if at all possible, and with practice a lot of things can be done without pinning, but if you aren't confident in having everything in the right place then pin! And also make sure you pin the right direction, there's nothing more frustrating than pinning everything and then getting to your machine and the pins are going the wrong way! Ugh, this mommy has done that too many times!

10. Sometimes bigger is better........ bigger projects can sometimes be easier projects..... for example, curtains are not that hard but they are big and you need room to work! Don't be afraid to try a big project!

11. Save your scraps! You never know when you will need them!

12. Just keep sewing! with time and practice you will become a great seamstress and you will be able to take on any project you would like!

Hope this helps some of you out there! Remember, this mommy is always here if you have questions for her!

Tinting glass vases

2012-01-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

Ok so if you are like this mommy you like to have colorful vases to place flower arrangements into. This mommy has the easiest way for you to tint any glass jar/vase. This is what you will need:

Elmer's white school glue
Water
Food coloring of your choice
Sponge paint brush

Here is how you do it, don't worry this mommy promises anyone can do this, you could even have your kids do this......could be a great teacher present......hmmmm..... One day when my kids are in school....... Anyways.....

1. Mix up your color mixture by making a 50/50 water glue mixture and placing desired amount of food coloring into the mixture (this mommy only puts 3-4 drops in as she likes a subtle color instead of super bright but it's up to you. Stir well until color is uniform.

2. Next get your glass vase out..... This mommy knows you probably have plenty of them hidden in a closet somewhere from flowers you have gotten and didn't know what to do with all those vases.....

3. Take your sponge brush and paint the color mixture directly onto the outside of the vase, covering the whole thing in your color mixture.

4. Let dry completely.

5. Enjoy your newly colored vase!!

You can add flowers into vase or just use the vase as a pop of color to accent your room decor! Now wasn't that easy? Now you can go make a rainbow of colors so you can match every room!!

Make your own air fresheners!!

2012-01-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

So this mommy loves air fresheners but constantly buying them gets old. Even the plug in kinds I have to buy often, maybe it would help if I tried more than one for my whole house. Lol. Well now I can! I found this recipe on pinterest a while ago (and this mommy would like to admit I have an addiction to that site!) and I decided to try it. This by far is one of the easiest things this mommy has made! So here is what you need:
2-3 glass jars depending on how big they are(this mommy found some at walmart that were perfect for 97 cents each, can't beat that).
1 oz. Of unflavored gelatin (you can find this at any grocery store.)
30 drops of essential oils (this mommy found that her local dollar store had this!)
Food coloring of your choice.
2cups cold water, divided
1tablespoon salt

So you will first prepare your glass jars:
Put your desired amount of essential oil and food coloring in the bottom of the jars

take 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil in a small saucepan.
Add the gelatin and stir until all gelatin is dissolved.
Add the other cup of water and the tablespoon of salt and stir again until dissolved.
Pour the hot gelatin mixture into your jars and stir until color is consistent.
Let cool to room temperature
Place in desired room!

That is it! See, this mommy told you it was easy. Your new gel air fresheners will last a month give or take some (again depending on how big your jar is,and then reuse the jar to make more!)
Now go enjoy some homemade air fresheners and most of all enjoy how much money you will be saving!

Holiday swirl cookies

2011-12-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

This mommy made the cutest cookies the other day..... these are my holiday swirl cookies, these are pretty easy to make and look super cute sitting on a plate to serve to guests!
So you will start with making a sugar cookie dough..... any recipe you like is fine but here's the one I use:
Cream: 1 cup butter and 2/3 cup sugar
Beat in 1 egg
Add 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 1/2 cups flour
Mix until all ingredients are well blended.
Divide dough into 2 equal halves.
Leave one half as is, and use food coloring to color the other half the color you would like.
Chill dough for a couple hours before rolling out.

Once chilled take the first half of dough and on a floured surface roll dough out into a 9 X 11 rectangle. Take the other half of dough and do the same.
Take a small amount of water and rub the top of one of the rectangles with water to make it slighty sticky. place the other rectangle on top of the wetted side of the first one. (This can be difficult by yourself, the daddy normally helps this mommy do this part, but if you are doing it yourself you can use wax paper to roll the rectangles on instead of just a floured surface so that you can lift it up using the paper)
Lightly press the dough together (not too much or you will lose your swirl!)
Trim the edges to make them even.
Take the dough on the 11" end and start rolling the 2 rectangles together into a log roll.
once they are rolled together you can look at the end and see the swirl :) (this mommy is excited at this point)
You can then lay out sprinkles on a cookie sheet (cover the whole sheet) and roll the dough roll in the sprinkles making a "skin" of sprinkles on the outer layer (you don't have to use sprinkles but they are fun!)
Then you will get your sharpest knife out (be careful! This mommy doesn't want anyone hurting themselves for the sake of cookies!) and begin cutting off the cookies. Cut a 1/4 inch thick and lay the peices on greased baking sheets.
Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. (however every oven will vary, your first batch just watch and learn)
Take them out when they are barely golden brown, if you cook them too long you will lose the high contrast of swirls!
Let them cool, and enjoy!
They are worth it I promise! Take a look.........

Now aren't those cute? They are perfect for a holiday platter!! And you can make them for any occasion and just change up the colors! I'm thinking football party in the colors of the team you cheer for....... yeah that would be awesome! Enjoy! This mommy is going to go eat some of these now!

Catching up

2011-12-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

So this mommy knows its been a while since her last entry and she appologizes greatly! Things here in this mommy's house has been crazy through halloween and thanksgiving. This year was the princess's first halloween and thanksgiving. She's also gone to see Santa for the first time! Crazy how time flies! She's 10 months old and crawling everywhere! Where oh where has my baby girl gone?! Anyway, I thought I'd fill you in on what we've been up to! First off, this mommy made both kids' halloween costumes so that consumed a bit of time, but the results were worth it.........

The boy as Captain America! This mommy loves his fascination with super heroes lately! This mommy made this costume completely from upcycled tshirts and a frisbee! This mommy thinks its pretty cute!

The princess as a cute little lady bug! This mommy made this tutu dress from tulle and a crochet band, with a homemade flower she was adorable!

Both kids had a blast trick-or-treating at the children's museum and our street! Both got many compliments on their costumes which made this mommy very proud!

This mommy hosted Thanksgiving at her house and had about 20 people come! A good time of food, conversation, prayer, and games was had by all! (And this mommy kicked some butt at Wii!) :) The boy was able to make sugar cookies with this mommy and he cut them out all himself! This mommy is sad, the boy is growing up too fast!

Recently we took the kids to see Santa, and while waiting we took the opportunity for a quick photo shoot......

So that is all in a nutshell, but this mommy will try harder to stay updated!

Make your own Febreze!

2011-10-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

So this mommy is a firm believer that you should get rid of the smell rather than just covering it up, but when company is coming over this mommy likes to do a quick spray over just to make sure there are no offensive odors that she missed somehow (hey, it happens, this mommy does have 3 dogs and a cat, plus 2 messy kids!). Now this mommy is NOT a fan of the price of Febreze, especially since its so easy to make! This will cost you next to nothing to make!

Here's what you need:
1 spray bottle (this mommy used an old Febreze bottle, then she didn't have to re-label it and everyone knows whats in it)
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup fabric softener (find one you like the smell of, or make your own...... stay tuned, that will be another post!)
1 Tablespoon baking soda

And here we go......
pour your water into the spray bottle, add the fabric softener and baking soda. Screw the top back on the bottle and shake well. That's it! Honestly, that's it! Super easy, costs next to nothing and you can control the scent you want! This mommy is a fan! Now go spray your offensive smells!

Our potty training adventure : How it took the boy 1 week to be completely potty trained!

2011-10-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

So the boy is 28 months now and this mommy decided last month that she was done changing his diapers (especially since I also have the princess to change). I know all the statistics that say that "boys are harder to train" and "boys aren't ready as early" and blah blah blah. Just for the record this mommy thinks thats all a bunch of bologna and it just depends on whether you want to spend the time working with them or not. Now this mommy had researched every possible potty training technique, "put pull ups on them" (well arent pull-ups just glorified diapers? How would that work?!?) "watch for signs and then take the diaper off and take them to the potty" (well for my boy by the time he showed signs of going he had already gone! so that was out) "wait until he tells you he's ready to try" (well this mommy wasn't going to change diapers until the boy was 4!). This mommy was getting frustrated..... how was I ever going to potty train this kid? He knows what the toilet is and he knows what its for..... This mommy just knew he was ready! Then this mommy read about a technique called Naked Training.... this one made sense! Basically you take the diaper off and let them go naked (yikes, this is where this mommy was nervous). But reading on, it was based on the theory that if they don't have the diaper they are more aware of what is going on and what they are doing with their bodies (well that makes sense, nobody wants to pee on themselves!) So with a big sigh and a determined mind I decided I'd try it, what did I have to lose?!? So the next day, off went the diaper! I took it off and told him we didnt have any more diapers for him, the only diapers we had now were for the baby and he had to use the potty since he was a big boy. He didn't seem to care at the time and ran around naked perfectly happy. Then came the time he had to go, he quickly asked for a diaper, and when I responded "we don't have any diapers for you, you have to go in the potty" the thing I dreaded happened, he stood there looking at me and pee'd on the floor! Sigh! This mommy cleaned it up and thought "well at least he knew he had to go!" I'm not going to lie to you, that first day of no diapers was a disaster and very frustrating, we cleaned up about a million messes (or so it felt) and this mommy was following him everywhere watching his every move to rush him to the potty at the first sign of pee! At the end of the day this mommy was exhausted, then I thought "what do I do at night?!?" they reccommend not having the diaper on at night either, which would be fine if he slept in his own bed, but we co-sleep with him and this mommy didn't really want to end up waking up in a pool of pee! Then it hit me.....a cloth diaper! He would feel it if it was wet but it wouldn't be the same as his diapers he was used to! So on went the cloth diaper, we called it his "big boy sleeping pants" and off to bed we went! We woke up dry! This mommy was happy, and she rushed the boy to the potty to go, and he did! Off to a good start! This mommy looked like an idiot cheering and jumping but I didn't care! He went in the potty! Then the boy went naked again, with this mommy determined this day would be easier! The day started off horribly! More accidents and this mommy was getting frustrated and thinking this wasn't going to work! Then right after lunch something changed...... the boy went to the potty, sat down and peed! (granted he had bad aim and not much went in the potty but still!) Yay! a breakthrough! We cheered, we danced, we had candy, and we got a new hotwheels car! This was a big deal!! The boy was so excited that the rest of the day we were pretty much going to the potty to pee (sometimes we'd miss, sometimes we would wait too long, but it was progress!). But then..... uh oh, this mommy knew that look, he had to poop! This mommy took him to the potty and sat him down, the boy started screaming saying "no!! need diaper!! need diaper!!!" I again told him we didnt have any and he had to go on the potty....... the screaming and kicking continued for about 20 minutes, then he calmed down and nothing happened for another 10 minutes. This mommy figured she misjudged and let the boy get off the potty. He took about 5 steps and pooped on the floor! Sigh! Well its a work in progress and this is only day 2! Time for bed again so "big boy sleeping pants" go on and off to bed we go! Woke up dry again! yay! Day 3 was a good day! we ended up being around 90% there through the whole day, including pooping!!..... not too bad at all! We didn't dare go out yet. Day 4 & day 5 were even better getting up to about 95% there. Day 6 we put on big boy underwear and worked on taking them off and on and going, still about 95% there even with the extra step, this mommy was very proud! Day 7 we braved going out and about with only underwear on under his pants. We only went out for about 2 hours, and we stayed dry the whole time! As soon as we got home he ran to the potty and went! Yay! Good job boy!! Only had 1 accident but it was my fault, he wanted help and I didn't hear him ask until it was too late. No blame on the boy, and this mommy knew he wasn't going to have any more accidents, and she was right! We then started letting him go to bed with only underwear on and have been dry every night! Its been about 3 weeks since we started this process and I can honestly say I don't ever worry about him going in his pants, I trust him 100% with pottying, he plays and then you'll see him run into the bathroom and take his pants off and go all by himself!, he still wants to cheer and dance when he goes so he'll come get me after to show me he went and we cheer and dance! So this mommy is a happy mommy, I have a completely potty trained 2 year old and less diapers to change! And who ever has said he's too young to potty train doesn't know anything! The proof is here sitting next to me! I'm a very proud mommy!!!

If you have questions about this method feel free to ask, I'd love to help you so you too can have a potty trained little one!!! :)

Fast and easy granola snacks!

2011-09-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

So this mommy likes quick snacks, but quick healthy snacks are definately a must! And these granola snacks are so quick to make you'll make a ton! The best part, you don't even have to cut them into bars! Have a few minutes? Let's go!

Ingredients you'll need:
-2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal
-2 cups quick oatmeal
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup corn syrup (don't have corn syrup on hand? you can use maple syrup instead, this mommy has done both and they are both just as yummy!)
-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-Whatever add ins you'd like (the boy likes chocolate chips and marshmallows the best but he doesn't always get what he wants lol)

Got your ingredients? Good!

Step 1: Measure the rice cereal and oatmeal into a large bowl and set aside.
Step 2: In a medium saucepan, mix your honey, corn syrup (or maple syrup), and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat until just boiling. Remove from heat and quickly add peanut butter and vanilla, then stir until smooth.
Step 3: Pour mixture into the bowl with the cereal and oatmeal and mix until well coated.
Step 4: Add your mix ins, stir lightly until evenly distributed.
Step 5: Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. (this is why you won't have to cut it into bars, you'll already have nice portion sized with no time added for cutting!! this mommy likes that!)
Step 6: Scoop out the mixture and put into the muffin tins. ( You should get about 18 servings- this mommy just fills each spot until almost full) and then press the mixture down firmly in each spot. (you can use wax paper if you don't want to get your fingers sticky)
Step 7: Put your muffin tin into the fridge for about a half hour to cool.
Step 8: Pop out your snacks and enjoy!

Yummy! And a perfect on the go snack! Your little ones (and anyone really) will thank you! This mommy loves making things easy!

Roasted Potato Bites!

2011-09-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

If you are ever like this mommy you stand in the kitchen wondering what kind of side dish to make for that day's evening meal. These are a favorite side dish in this mommy's house and on the plus side, they are super easy! They take no time at all to prepare and are cooked and ready in 30 minutes! So here's what you do....
First and foremost: preheat your oven to 450.

Step 1: Take your potatoes (this mommy likes to use russet but you can use whatever kind you like best) and cut them into chunks, this mommy normally cuts them into eighths sometimes a little smaller depending on the size of the potato.
Step 2: Put your potatoes into a bowl and pour in just enough olive oil to cover the pieces.
Step 3: Put in your seasoning (this mommy likes to use salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and rosemary - you'll want to experiment with how much seasoning you want to put on them, this mommy puts quite a bit because the daddy in this household likes to have all the flavor in every bite).
Step 4: Stir potatoes well to make sure they are evenly covered in seasoning and oil.
Step 5: place potatoes on a baking sheet (spread them out to make sure they are single layer and evenly spread on the sheet)
Step 6: Place them in your preheated oven and bake them for 30 minutes (the potatoes should be golden brown on the edges)
Step 7: Serve them up and enjoy!

That's it! That was easy! Whew! Your side dish for tonight is planned out, now on to things that this mommy doesn't like to do, like cleaning those pesky bathrooms, seriously when will someone invent a self cleaning bathroom? Oh well, maybe someday!

Homemade Pop-tarts!

2011-09-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

So in this mommy's house we love pop tarts! All kinds of pop tarts, we just love them! And this mommy likes the fact that its a fast breakfast, however this mommy doesn't like the fact that she can't control all the ingredients that go into them...... until now! I found this recipe quite a while back and its become an instant favorite in this mommy's household! The boy loves when I make him chocolate ones and brown sugar ones. I love how flaky the outside comes out, and the filling possibilities are endless! Smitten Kitchen is amazing for coming up with this recipe......... I'm copying the recipe here but definately check out their site! They are also on facebook (bonus!)

Homemade Pop Tarts
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk
1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)
Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling
Jam Filling
3/4 cup (8 ounces) jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
Alternate fillings: 9 tablespoons chocolate chips, 9 tablespoons Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut paste or 9 tablespoons of a delight of your choice, such as salted caramel or a nut paste
To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.
To make jam filling: Mix the jam with the cornstarch/water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Use to fill the pastry tarts.
Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.
Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately (see Warm Kitchen note below) or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.
Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.
Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.
Charming tip from King Arthur: Sprinkle the dough trimmings with cinnamon-sugar; these have nothing to do with your toaster pastries, but it’s a shame to discard them, and they make a wonderful snack. While the tarts are chilling, bake these trimmings for 13 to 15 minutes, till they’re golden brown.
Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.
Whole Wheat Variation: I was itching to swap out 1/2 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour. I am sure it would make it more deliciously breakfast.
Pop Tart Minis: The biggest struggle I had with these was the size. I actually like my baked goods on the tiny size, thus I think this could make an adorable batch of 16 2 1/4″ x 3″ rectangles.
Savory Pop Tarts: Nix the sugar in the dough and halve the salt. Fill with pesto, cheese, ground nuts or olives, or any combination thereof. Brush the tops with additional egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds. Please invite me over.
Do ahead: The sweet versions should keep at room temperature in an airtight container for a week. If you’d like to make them further in advance, I vote for freezing them unbaked between layers of waxed paper, and baking them as you need

There you go! Try these today! They make this mommy very happy at breakfast time! And if you want to be just like this mommy, crank up the radio and dance around like an idiot in the kitchen while making these - this mommy tells you it makes it even better! :)

Flower pillows

2011-09-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

This mommy found something she thought was way too cute to pass up during one of her many internet explorations. Flower pillows! Of course the princess needs one (or fifty) for her room! :) This mommy found them at Come Together Kids and ran right out and bought some fleece! The only thing this mommy did differently was she sewed all the petals on rather than hot glue making it washable (which is a definate must have for this mommy since the boy and the princess are messy beings!) And this mommy did the center a little differently as well. Took a bit longer but well worth it! I mean how cute did these turn out?!?!...........

This mommy wants to make one in every color now! Now go forth and make pillows, this mommy commands you! :)

Make your own liquid Laundry detergent!

2011-09-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

This mommy has found all sorts of recipes for this all over the internet but finally found one she likes! I took out things I didn't like and changed them to things I liked and viola my perfect recipe! Works great! We use it for everything we wash. You can choose what scent you like and what soap you use will determine what color your finished product is! The best part? The final cost is around 1.5 CENTS per load! Yes you read that right it says just over 1 CENT! This is awesome! And here we go!

Supplies:
1 Bar of soap (choose whatever you like the smell of -this is where the extra bar of soap from my previous post on making your own body wash comes in)
1/2 Cup Washing soda (this you can find in the laundry isle of your local grocery store) Walmart sells this for around $3 (but you can get several batches out of that $3 -we've made 5 batches out of this box so far and still have plenty more left)
1/2 cup Borax (normally right next to the washing soda in the laundry isle, again walmart sells this for around $3 and you can get several batches out of it!)
1- 5 gallon bucket to store detergent in (you only need to buy this once so your first batch won't be 1.5 cents per load if you count this cost in, sorry, but after that you're back to the 1.5 cents, this mommy promises!)

Steps:
Step 1: Get your cheese grater out again....... grate your bar of soap into a pot
Step 2: Add 6 cups of water to soap
Step 3: Heat on medium heat and stir until soap all melts
Step 4: Add both the washing soda and borax (note: please pour this in slowly and stir while doing so, this mommy has made the mistake of dumping it in and ended with a mess -think school volcano project- however on the good side this mommy ended up with a VERY clean stove afterwards lol)
Step 5: Once all borax and washing soda is dissolved remove from heat
Step 6: Pour 4 cups of HOT water into the bucket
Step 7: Pour your soap mixture into the bucket and stir
Step 8: Pour in 1 gallon PLUS 6 cups of hot water and stir again
Step 9: put lid on bucket and put in laundry room and let sit for 24 hours

You will use 1 cup for each load. Note: The mixture will gel a little, some batches gel more than others and it all depends on what soap you use and the temperature of your laundry room, no matter how much it gels or doesnt gel it still all works just as well. I like to say it looks more like egg soup consistancy, you'll have parts that are gloopy and parts that are smooth, that's OK! This mommy just makes sure she gets a little of both the smooth and the gloopy (yes that is a real word in my own dictionary lol) parts for each load. This mommy normally doubles the batch and makes 2 at once, they both fit in the 5 gallon bucket and this mommy likes not having to make it as often (however I don't have to make it very often anyway and we have 2 messy kids!) That's all there is to making your own laundry detergent! Have fun making your own! Feel free to let me know how yours turns out!

Make your own body wash!

2011-09-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe originally found on mommyminded.blogspot.com but this mommy loved it so much I'm sending it on to you (with some changes made by me)
Supplies needed:
-2 bars of soap you like the smell of (to be really frugal this mommy likes to get the 3 packs of soap from the local dollar store- I use the 3rd bar for making laundry detergent, stay tuned as this mommy will be adding that on another post!)
-Water (we all have that!)
-Cheese grater
-Large pot
-Stove
-A plastic or glass bottle to put your body wash in

Steps:
Step 1: Grate 2 bars of soap into pot
Step 2: Add 2 cups water
Step 3: Place on medium heat and stir until soap is all melted
Step 4: Take off heat and let cool down a bit
Step 5: Once cooled off a bit, pour into bottle
Step 6: Use your body wash! (a dime size amount on your puff will do plenty! Make sure you shake it well before each use as it seperates a bit)

That's it! Now that wasn't so hard was it? This mommy knew you could do it! And guess what? You are avoiding all those extra chemicals in store bought body wash and saving money while you are at it! If you really wanted to you could even make your own soap to do the same with! There's an idea for a later day! This mommy may have to try that..... but for now this will do! Saving money is an awesome feeling isn't it?!?

Sharpening Disposable Razors!

2011-09-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

This mommy must admit when I first saw this I was so skeptical. Nothing is this easy right?!? But this mommy decided to try it anyway! Based originally on the methods to sharpen the old straight knives used for shaving on a leather strip. So here are the steps :
Step 1: Obtain your razor that is dull and ready to be thrown out (this works for both the fully disposable kinds and the kinds that you have disposable cartridges)
Step 2: Take your razor and run it backwards on the inside of your arm (your arm is after all a leathery substance) blades down but facing the opposite way of the direction you normally would shave. (Think of it as backwards shaving however this won't remove hair this way) :) Apply moderate pressure.
Step 3: Repeat step 2 approximately 10 times (This mommy did it a little more than that cause as I said I was skeptical)
Step 4: Shave with your new sharpened razor!

Yep, that's it! Comments I've seen on this method have people saying they have used the same razor for 2 years without replacing it! I haven't gotten that far, but this mommy can tell you after she did this with her razor she then went on to shave both legs and was completely knick free! I love it. I can get a 10 pack of razors at the dollar store and if its true that I can use the same one for 2 years, I'm set for 20 years on $1!! Gotta love it! Can't get more frugal than that! This tried and true method makes this mommy very happy!!