Princess Sparkly Ears

My little Princess got her ears pierced today!!! Its something she's been asking to do for about a week now, so today we took her to Piercing Pagoda and done. Pierced ears. I am so super proud of my little princess. I have to admit I was scared that she would get one done and then freak out and not want the other pierced. I was wrong, thank goodness. She took it like a champ. She teared up a little, but didn't move or make a bit of noise. Kudos to the lady that pierced her ears too...she was SUPER FAST and efficient. Woohoo. Success! Oh and of course, I took Before & After shots of her darling little ears.

 

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Menu Maker

So I've been obsessed lately with this blogger Modern Parents Messy Kids. She's Witty and Fun. She's Real. And she has GREAT IDEAS! She's been writing about a Project to Organize your entire life.

and OF COURSE I read it! Who wouldn't want to Organize Their Entire Life?! So, I'm following this Project with insane interest. They're starting with a Weekly Cleaning Schedule which I already have in place and just need a few tweaks here and there. They also mentioned creating a 90-day meal plan. Which is funny because my "sister" Starry and I have been talking about how we KNOW it will help us cut down on our grocery bill if we plan out our meals way ahead of time and stick to the schedule. No, I did not create a 90-day Meal Plan for my family, BUT I DID create a month of meals for my family. Check it out. And stay-tuned for my follow through. Cross your fingers that I can stick to this plan. I'm hoping it will help me when it comes to couponing too. Yet another way to save more moola. and Mama needs a new car-- that will at least hold 6!

MARCH 2012

      SUNDAY                MONDAY             TUESDAY          WEDNESDAY       THURSDAY           FRIDAY               SATURDAY      

				1. Chicken & Broccoli Casserole	2. Date Night <3	3. Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo w/ Asparagus & Texas Toast
4. Roast Pork Loin w/ Apples & Onions. Green Beans on the side	5. Seared Steak w/ Brussels Sprouts & Almonds	6. Kitchen Sink Chicken Stew & Texas Toast	7. Taco Night	8. Oven Roasted Chicken & Veggies w/ Rice	9. Pizza & Salad Night	10. Chicken In A Pot w/ Texas Toast
11. Spaghetti & Meatballs w/ Salad & Texas Toast	12. My Birthday!! [dinner out]	13. Stir Fry Chicken & Veggies w/ Rice	14. Pizza & Salad Night	15. Penne Primavera & Bread Sticks	16. Date Night <3	17. Steamed Shrimp & Veggies w/ Rice
18. Tomato Minestrone Soup w/ Texas Toast	19. Roasted Salmon w/ Zucchinni & Nutty Couscous	20. Taco Night	21. Tuna Noodle Casserole & Salad	22. Roasted Vegetable Lasagna & Salad	23. Pizza & Salad Night	24. Cheesy Mac & Trees w/ Yogurt & Carrot Sticks
25. Spinach Tortellini w/ Tomato Sauce & Garlic Bread sticks	26. Honey Lime Tilapia & Carrots w/ Rice	27. Prosciutto, Peach & Sweet Lettuce Salad w/ a glass of Riesling	28. Pizza & Salad Night	29. Linguine w/ Peppery Shrimp & Salad	30. Date Night <3	31. Sweet & Spicy Citrus Tilapia w/ Rice

note: I included a few nights out so I don't go insane AND Mikey loves Pizza so we have 4 Pizza nights a month. {If not for this meal planner, we'd have MORE!}

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OMGee She's THREE!!!!

This is what a Three Year Old Princess looks like.

 

She has a style all her own. :)

Happy Birthday!!!

Love you K!!!

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Project: Kids Bathroom

Well the kids bathroom has been taped off, the edging on all of the Grey walls done, except the bottom of the main wall. The only problem is that it has been this way for about a week. :( K & L's dresser is still sitting in the hallway to the kids' room and the behind-the-toilet shelf unit is still outside. All of K & L's clothes are in hampers [so that we can paint the dresser]. We've just been so darn busy! We really chose the worst time to update the bathroom. Right around Birthday Week!! The Friday after we started the project was spent making a bunch of delicious desserts & putting together cool favor bags for K's birthday. Saturday morning was spent cleaning, We had K's bday party Saturday Evening and I took J to his dad's on Sunday.Monday was a visit to my grandma & wal-mart. Tuesday I had a doc appointmrnt & so did Lilly [had to reschedule Lilly's AGAIN! Bc of insurance issues]. Yesterday was Mikey's bday and I took him to see Star Wars Phantom Menace in 3D and then we went to pick up my engagement ring [finally back from being resized]. and Today, well, today is Karlee's birthday so we took her to The Science Museum of VA...she had a BLAST! I also had a hair appointment this evening- needed an update. Tomorrow is grocery shopping for Mikey's party and taking K to her dad's. Then Saturday is Mikey's birthday party [woohoo] and Sunday will undoubtedky be spent cleaning cleaning and more cleaning.  Eventually we will get this bathroom done. I know it will happen, but if we don't do it soon it's not gonna get easier-- I go back to work on the 27th
:/

Anyway- here's a pic of our progress so far:

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Simple Pleasures

K just tasted the pudding with her finger 

- first time EVER eating "licking the spoon" so to speak [simple pleasures]- 

and said "Yum, I'm a good job mom!" 

Yes you are, baby. Yes you are. :)

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Foodie Blogging is Fun

Have any of you ever seen something you liked and thought

"Hey, I can do that."

and then never did?

Have you ever thought to yourself

"one day I'm going to ..."

but that day is yet to come?

Me too!!!

Foodie blogging is something I've always wanted to do

While blog-stalking or pinning I would find a recipe I wanted to try

and I would think, I should definitely cook this,

take pictures and blog about the recipe.

"It would be so much fun" I say to myself.

Then I'd go on to the next blog and never make anything.

Time for a change.

Why shouldn't I cook up a storm? 

I love to eat

Why shouldn't I take pictures of what I cook?

I love to take pictures

Why shouldn't I blog about the recipes?

I love blogging.

But who's gonna read my blog?

Who cares. Just get it out. 

If one person reads it, that's awesome.

If it sits all alone in cyberdom, oh well, I put it out there.

Why would anyone want to read my blog?

For the same reason I blog stalk "Snips, Snails, & Puppy Dog Tails'' ,

"All While Wearing My Tiara", and "My State of Crazy"

I love to read about new ideas and how someone tried something new.

I love to hear what they loved, hated, or would do differently.

Over the past couple weeks,

I've blogged about some recipes that I've come across.

I am newly obsessed with Pinterest

especially since it's full of all kinds of wonderful recipes

and inspiring DIY crafts.

I'm going to continue the foodie blogging tonight with 

Pan Roasted Chicken w/ Lemon Garlic Green Beans

Let me start off by saying that I love knowing that this is what I'm eating:

 

You need:

                                       6 Tbs. Olive Oil                                  4 cloves Garlic, minced

                                       2 Lemons (1 thin sliced/1 juiced)            1 tsp. Salt

                                       1/2 tsp. Pepper                                   3/4 lb. trimmed Green Beans

                                       8 sm. Red Potatoes (quartered)          4 Chicken Breasts

First you preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Coat a large baking dish with 1 Tbs. Olive Oil.

Arrange lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the green beans from the bowl and arrange on the lemon slices in the baking dish. Next, add the potato quarters to the same olive oil mix and again toss to coat. I was so scared that there wasn't enough olive oil mix to coat everything, but I was sooooo wrong! Then use a slotted spoon to arrange the potatoes along the sides of the baking dish.

Place the chicken breasts in the olive oil mixture and toss to coat, then place in baking dish on top of green beans and potatoes.  Pour the remaining olive oil mix over the chicken. Yes there will be a little bit left.

Roast in the oven for 50 minutes. Then remove the chicken from the baking dish and place the green beans and potatoes back in the oven for 10 more minutes.

I had a great time cooking this recipe. I'm really glad I found it on Real Simple.

Thanks Pinterest!

I was even able to have Karlee help me. 

We had a GREAT time prepping the "snaps".

That's green beans for ya'll non-southerners.

My grandma and Aunt Evelyn would be proud.

:)

 

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

These were the hit of the party. Everyone loved them So glad The Sweets Life posted this awesome recipe!!!

before you start you need 

1 lb strawberries

8 oz cream cheese

4 Tbs. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

graham cracker crumbs

Rinse the strawberries.

Remove the tops and hollow the insides with a paring knife

Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy.

[if you're like me and don't own a mixer, you can do this by hand with a whisk]

Put the cream cheese mix into a ziploc baggie & snip off small corner.

fill the strawberries with cream cheese mixture.

Dip filled strawberries in Graham Cracker Crumbs.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

these strawberries proved to be a wonderful way to tone down the sugar rush of the other desserts. 

other fruits we incorporated into the dessert table were 

Yogurt Strawberries:

simply strawberries dipped in yogurt and frozen

and

Caramel Apple Bites

again simple: apple wedges predipped into caramel sauce and toothpicked.

No Bake Cake Batter Truffles

This is the dessert from K's party that proved to be the most daunting. I realized after purchasing the groceries to make the Cake Batter Truffles that the recipe called for quite a bit of "beating with a mixer" and I don't own a mixer. Thank goodness for my fiance Mikey & his strong arms. 

The recipe I used came from an awesome blog site called Chef in Training. 

you need:

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened to room temp

1/2 c. white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. yellow cake mix + 4 Tbs. 

[I used the rest of the box in the Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats & I'm gonna put some in w/ pancake mix]

1 1/2 c. flour

1/8 tsp salt

3-4 Tbs milk

sprinkles

16 oz white candy melts

Beat together the butter and sugar until well combined.  [see why I love Mikey so much]

Blend in 1 tsp of vanilla. Add 1 c. of the cake mix, 1 1/2 c. flour, 1/8 tsp salt.

Mix thoroughly.  [this is where Mikey was like "uh babe?"] add in  milk to make a doughy consistency.

Mix in 2 Tbs. sprinkles by hand [ok that I can do...so I took over here] 

Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

---20 minutes later---

Melt white chocolate in microwave in 30 secound intervals until melted. Stir between intervals.

Quickly stir in 4 Tbs yellow cake mix until completely incorporated.

Using a fork, dip truffles in chocolate and shake to remove excess. 

Return to cookie sheet & top with sprinkles.

repeat on all truffles

Refrigerate several til set (2-3 hours).

makes 24-30.

Cake Pops

Since K is a bit over-the-top in all she does, we decided her birthday party should be no different. Normal birthday cake? No way! Too boring. We need something fancier. Cake Pops. Perfect.

In cyberworld, I headed on over to Bakerella for sweet inspiration and fun baking ideas.Then I turned her Red Velvet Cake Balls into my princess' Pink Cake Pops. Here's how:

First, you need a box of chocolate cake mix, 1 can cream cheese frosting, 

1 pkg white chocolate melts, & red food coloring

Bake  the cake according to the pkg directions for a 13x9 cake.

After the cake has cooled completely, crumble it into a large bowl.

mix cake crumbles thoroughly with the cream cheese frosting.

Roll mix into quarter-sized balls and lay on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

This should make 45-50 cake balls.

Chill for several hours.

----several hours later----

Melt the white chocolate in microwave per pkg directions

add 1-2 drops red food coloring to desired shade of pink or red & mix

roll the cake balls in the chocolate to coat 

return to the parchment lined cookie sheet.

Refrigerate to firm, adding lollipop sticks about halfway through.

I actually only make half the cake pops and then I turned the other half of the 13x9 chocolate cake into individual slices of cake. 

Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats

I was scouring the internet (ok, so just Pinterest- but that covers everything right) for recipes to make fancy desserts for K's Princess Party. I already had decided on Cake Pops, No Bake Cake Batter Truffles, Yogurt Strawberries and Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries when I stumbled onto a supercool blog called GimmeSomeOven. Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats!! How perfect! Something simple and easy like Rice Crispy Treats, but the cake batter adds a new element making them special, fancy even. The perfect fit to go with the other party desserts.

These babies turned out to be my favorite at the party. I will definitely be making them again, but I won't wait for a birthday to come around. ;)

and of course, here's the recipe...

To make the cake batter rice crispy treats you will need:

3 Tbs. Butter              10oz pkg mini marshmallows

1/3 c. yellow cake mix              6 c. rice crispy cereal

1 sm container of sprinkles

first, melt 3 Tbs butter in a large saucepan over low heat.

then add in the 10oz bag of mini marshmallows.

Stir until they begin to melt.

then add the yellow cake mix, one spoonful at a time.

stir until well combined

stir in the rice crispy cereal so that it's completely coated with the marshmallow mixture.

sprinkle in 1/2 the sprinkles

mix well

{upon hindsight I would maybe suggest you mix the sprinkles in at the same time as the cereal... 

I think it might combine better that way.}

press into a baking dish 

sprinkle with remaining sprinkles, pressing them in as you do

let sit for at least half an hour before you cut them

Princesses and Mustaches

Karlee's birthday party was fantastic.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to help us celebrate...

even in the snow.

There was some awesome food [toot toot- on my own horn]

She received some pretty cool gifts (lots of barbies and girly things)

But the BEST part was when the favor bags were opened and the kiddos realized there were mustaches in them!!!!

We had fun....

Crazy James kinda looks like my daddy :)

Logan was a hoot with the mustache

The Mustache looked soooo real on Cameron

 

Lucas got creative and turned his mustache into a goatee.

Deep in thought...

Princess Mustachio

Maddie Blaze rockin the 'stache

 

Even Lilly joined in the Mustache Games...thanks to Uncle Josh & then Logan. 

What Little Boys Are Made Of

wisdom

Food For Thought...

Gamers

We're definitely a video gaming family. The XBOX 360 is probably the most used electronic in our house. Mikey's current favorites are Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV, & Godfather. Of course, that will change after his birthday next week! ;) I prefer Bejeweled 3 or Tekken 6. Maddie and James would live on the XBOX if we let them [truth be told, Mikey would too!]. Maddie likes playing Crackdown and is really into completing the missions, while James chooses Red Dead Redemption or Halo 3 so he can "shoot stuff"! Even Karlee is into the video gaming. She like to play Tekken 6 as the panda. Occasionally, we have family Tekken matches. Winner keeps playing, loser passes the controller. Surprisingly, and not without complaint from the big kids, sometimes Karlee wins. She's a good button-masher. Here are some sweet pics from Mikey & Karlee's Tekken battle yesterday:

 

                                      *she's so focused*                                     *thrilled to be playing Tekken*

*she's kicking his butt!!*

that's my girl!!

Blessings

I am so truly and incredibly blessed.
Everything in my life may not be perfect,
But too often I let those imperfections 
Blind me to how blessed my life truly is.
My goal for 2012 is to recognize those blessings.
My blogging goal is to recognize my blessings at least once a week.


Karlee's favorite song [right now] is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She sings it constantly. So much so that just last week I bought her a necklace with a star charm on it at our favorite accessory shop: Forever 21, and she calls it her Twinkle Little Star necklace. Anyway, as I said, she sings the song all the time, however it's her version of the song..."Trinkle Trinkle Little Star abadadnbass you are. Up in the sky you trinkle trinkle little star". Well today, as we were running an errand to Short Pump, Mikey and I were talking in the front seat when we heard this tiny voice from the back seat singing "Trinkle Trinkle Little Star. How. I. wonder. what. you. are." My heart soared. I couldn't believe how incredibly excited and proud I was at hearing her sing the song the "correct" way. Now if we can just replace "Emmasapien our food" with "Let us thank him for our food" at dinner time we'll be alright. ;) [I'm still trying to figure out who Emmasapien is]


Lilly had her first bubble bath in a big bathtub tonight. We decided that since I was in the tub and Lilly was ready for her nightly bath, why not? So in she came. She whined a little at first, like she usually does at bath time anyway. But I splashed some water gently on her tummy and lowered her into the water and she calmed right down. I could literally feel her relax in my arms as she looked around and undoubtedly listened to the bubbles popping in her ears. {Special thanks to Liz Davis for the Babyganics Tub Time Bubble Bath!} She relaxed so much that she was dozing off while I washed her hair.


I have an amazing fiance. Truly. We don't agree on everything. And we have our bickering. But really who doesn't. In the end, I love him. He makes me happy. He completes me. He loves me. I make him happy. I complete him. We're good together. We have common goals, we just don't always agree on how to get there. But hey, there's more than one way to get to China. I'm trying to get there the scenic route, Mikey's trying to dig through the center of the Earth. :o) But on a serious note...I feel so blessed to have him in my life. On my worst day, he looks at me and I can see the love and desire that he has for me. [imagine when I'm feeling confident and pretty, dare say Sexy]. Blessed.


I look forward to sharing more blessings as there are many in my life. 
I'll leave you today with a picture from K's bath that makes me smile. 
I call it Bubble Bath Blowin Kisses

Bubbles of Fun

Bath + Bubbles + Mermaid Barbie = Happy Karlee = PhotoHappy Mama