Snowed In

Or should I say ICED in. So what better way to pass the time than scrapbooking? I was feeling a little more girly so I turned to my daughter's scrapbook. I'm still documenting my pregnancy with her so this is a picture of the diaper wreath I made for her. Someone made one for my son when he was born and so I thought it only right to make one for her as well. It's actually the same diaper wreath minus the "boy stuff", plus the "girl stuff". However, I did add the plastic pacifiers dangling down in the middle. I hung this wreath on our hospital door as well as our front door to our house to show everyone we were blessed with each new child. (I make it sound like we had a litter.)

Anyhow, the page itself is just the one picture so I printed it 5x7 to use more space on the page. I backed it several times and used some extra large photo corners by heidi swapp (www.heidiswapp.com) which I purchased at Hobby Lobby. Then I just added the flower stickers by Creative Imaginations (www.CreativeImaginations.us), also purchased at Hobby Lobby. Very girly indeed.

If there are any preggos out there interested in a diaper wreath, I'd be happy to make you one. Prices vary depending on how much stuff you want on it but we could work it out. Just contact me!

The Storm Moves In

Simple but Fun

While the President was giving his State of the Union speech, I decided to do a little scrapbooking. The hubs and I watched it in our office so I was able to dig in to all my scrapbooking supplies. While these pages are simple (again, at this stage I'm all about just getting it done) they are colorful and fun. The first is "I'm just a Toddler" and it's inspired by a little embellishment kit about toddlers. I just picked out some colorful paper and took off. Brads were used on the journaling box to spruce it up just a bit.

This next one is very simplistic. I had only one picture so I printed a 5x7 & just backed the picture several times. I also used photo corners on the picture itself. Brads were used on the journaling box to add just a little embellishment. I didn't want to do too much with this page because the paper is so busy and it pretty much speaks for itself - "Boys".

Happy Scrapbooking!

Struggling

I'm struggling. Struggling to find balance in my life. Some would say I've got it made - a stay-at-home mom with two great kids, a fantastic husband, the dog, the house, blah blah blah. What's the problem? It is pretty perfect. But lately, I find myself struggling for balance. I want to find the perfect church again that has me thirsting spiritually for more and more and I want to be involved with that church. I want to be in better physical shape and drop about 20 pounds. I want to scrapbook more. I want to experiment more with my camera. I want a clean house. I want, I want, I want. But then I feel a bit on the guilty side when I'm not down in the floor playing my kids or teaching Keegan how to write and read at this stage in his life. These stages are so important and I don't want to miss anything! Soon, their lives will be all about cell phones, computers and their friends and they won't have time for Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders with Mommy anymore. So I want to enjoy every moment I can with them. But I can't seem to find the time to really do any of those things; or should I say do all of these things and do them well. And the eight hours of recommended sleep? How does one juggle all these balls of life? I feel like I'm dropping them all around me.

I know being involved in a church is not as important to God as just being in His word. So I've dusted off my bible and picked up my devotional book thinking I could at least find five minutes in my day to squeeze that into the routine. Even that five minutes has proven to be difficult to come by.

I tried setting an alarm for 5am to get up and exercise before the kids wake up. I've thought that if I did that first and got it out of the way then I would feel better for it and not have to try squeezing it in somewhere else in the day. But the alarm goes off and the thought of getting out of bed and sacrificing my eight hours of much needed sleep makes me ill. Go to bed earlier, you say. So when do I get to scrapbook, watch my favorite shows or simply spend time with my husband after the kids go to bed?

Get the picture? I'm struggling. Struggling to fit it all in somehow. Struggling for that balance.

So I turn to God. I'm praying to find that balance. I want to be a better wife, a better mother, a better Christian woman. Somehow, He will show me the way. So I pray.

Are you struggling?

A Sinful Treat

Seriously. It's sinful.

Occasionally, I have a chance to catch a few shows on the food network when the kids are occupied with something other than cartoons. I really love to cook and almost wish I had gone to culinary school rather than college. However, I'd have really missed out on all those crazy Alpha Gams! ;) Anyhow, I caught Bobby Flay's Throwdown the other day and this recipe just sounded too delicious to pass up. If you are a blondie fan (think brownie, not music) then you'll want to add this recipe to your recipe box. I made these this weekend and they didn't disappoint. It was delish! It's very easy to make and the ingredients aren't too complicated. I will say that where it specifies a specific brand of brown sugar I used Kroger brand - but I did use both light and dark. Also, I skipped the whole parchment paper part. Unless you're planning on presenting these as a gift or making them for a party I wouldn't bother. They taste the same, just might not look as pretty. Don't over bake! They might come out of the oven looking a bit undercooked but as they cool they will be moist and chewy. Happy eating!

BLONDIES

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, plus butter for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup light brown muscovado sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown muscovado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons toffee chips
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line a 9 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter the lining too.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan; add both sugars and whisk until combined and sugar is melted, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Add the flour and whisk until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips, toffee chips and almonds and transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.

Bake for 24 to 27 minutes or until the top cracks slightly and is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist pieces clinging to it. Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment handles, transfer to a cutting board and cut into 2-inch squares.

Splish Splash

This weekend I had some time be creative & I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This scrapbook page is of my son playing with the water hose in our backyard when he was about 16 or 17 months old. Yes, I'm that behind - he's now 4 years old. The page is pretty simple because of limited time. I'm all about getting it done. The letters I cut out using the Jasmine font for the Cricut. I LOVE this machine and if you're a scrapbooker, you should definitely look into getting one. Then after backing my pictures and arranging them on the page, I added some splash stickers to play up the "Splish Splash" water theme. To add just a little something extra, I added a simple bow to my journaling box. Very simple, but I think it turned out very cute.

For the Political...

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Brian Fairrington - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

2sweetthings is Truly Sweet!

I know I've already posted about my friend's Etsy shop but I've got to show her some love again. I just received my first custom order from her and it's adorable! Not only does it fit my daughter perfectly but the craftsmanship is top notch. I'm truly impressed!

This is a little Valentine's Day skirt I ordered for Presley & it is simply too cute. The tag gives you instructions on how to wash and dry the skirt as well as when and where it was made.

These are the little lounge pants I also ordered. Presley loves them! I took them out of the package and she immediately wanted to put them on. This pic shows one of the two front pockets complete with a sweet bow.

Here's a view of the back of the pants. I purposely ordered them a little big (lengthwise) so Presley had some room to grow into them over the summer months. But they are pretty cute rolled up.

I tried for a better picture but I had a moving target. Still, you get the idea and you can see a great pic of the pants in Mandy's Etsy shop here. She does immaculate work and is more than willing to do custom orders. Simply contact her through her shop. Also, be sure to check out Mandy's blog where she documents numerous projects she has going on as well as a glimpse into her family life. This is a great Christian family that I'd love to see do really well because sewing is truly something she loves and it shows in her work as well as her blog. There is a link to her blog on the right, or you can simply click here. Even if don't have little ones yourself, keep in mind that some of Mandy's items would make great baby gifts! If you place an order, be sure and let her know you're a friend of mine. I am so looking forward to my next 2sweetthings order as she rolls out her spring projects. Happy shopping!

So True...

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A Little Unique

I can finally post this now that I've given the gift to my friend. I've held on to this for a while because I didn't want to spoil the surprise. Expecting a new baby, I wanted to give her something a little different which also allowed me to be a little creative. Now, I'd like to share it with all of you. I think she really liked it and was touched that I made it especially for her new little man. It's simply a 12x12 scrapbook page that I framed using a scrapbook frame that you can find at Hobby Lobby and probably any other craft stores that sell frames. I enjoyed making it for them. Take some time to be creative today!

Something to Ponder

I have nothing too interesting to post about today. So I'll just post something for y'all to ponder for a bit.

When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.
Helen Keller

Munchin' Monday

Okay, so I'm on a diet and I'm starving! I do give myself a day off on the weekend and my family and I usually enjoy a dinner out and I give in to my SERIOUS sweet tooth. I got this recipe from a family member who made these for my dad's surprise birthday party on New Year's Eve and I've been dreaming about them since. Thinking I might have to make these this weekend for my sweet indulgence. I wanted to pass on the recipe to all of you - they are SO STINKIN' GOOD! Cure the Monday blues with these babies. ENJOY!

Chocolate Revel Bars

1 c butter, softened

2 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 ½ c all purpose flour

3 c quick cooking rolled oats

1 ½ c semisweet chocolate pieces (I use milk chocolate but whatever you prefer)

1 (14 ounces) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla

1) Set aside 2 tbsp of the butter. In a large mixing bowl beat the remaining butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and 2 tsp vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in the rolled oats.

2) For filling, in a medium saucepan combine reserved 2 tbsp butter, chocolate pieces and sweetened condensed milk. Cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tsp of vanilla.

3) Press two-thirds (about 3 1/3 c) of the rolled oats mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan, pour filling over top. Take remaining oat mixture and use your fingers to work the mixture into flat pieces of various sizes; place them on the chocolate filing.

4) Bake in a 350 oven for about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned (chocolate filing will still look moist). Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Variation

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Revel Bars: Prepare as above except substitute ½ c peanut butter for the 2 tbsp butter when making the filling and add ½ c chopped peanuts to the filling after removing from heat

Happy Birthday to the King of Rock N Roll!

I have been somewhat obsessed with Elvis since the tender age of four. I've watched every movie he's been in and still listen to his music. I have several of his tunes on my iPhone. Oh yeah, and my daughter's name is Presley. ;) Now, I live in Memphis which is pretty surreal to me. There's always something going here for the crazed Elvis fan and for that I enjoy living in Memphis. Today, the King would have been 75 years old. Wonder what music would be like today if Elvis were still alive. Interesting to think about. Anyhow, Happy Birthday to Elvis!

For information on visiting Graceland, click here.

Happy New Year!

Now that the holidays are over and our house is back to "normal" I hope to get my blogs back up to date. I have been absent from the web world unless it's accessible via iPhone. I have had a little creativity going, though that I hope to share in the near future. But until then, Happy New Year to you all and I promise to get back into blogging a little every day. Many blessings to you all in this new year!