Getting back into a routine

I honestly have no idea where November went. I still can't believe that it is December! Here's a brief overview of November:
Organized our annual Mops boutique! Celebrated my 33rd birthday, celebrated the life on Jon's grandma who passed away, went on vacation, and somehow managed to keep my family fed and my kids alive!
It's month we are taking it slow and I am loving it!

We started advent this week... We are doing the Truth in the tinsel again...I love the crafts and the concepts that lie within this study! Plus this year, they have printable ornaments, which helps when we don't have the time to do the craft.

We are also following Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. Using our little people nativity, the kids get up each morning and hunt for them to see how far they traveled. This morning they we in the bathroom checking out Nemo, our goldfish. Baby Jesus will make their appearance on Christmas morning...it is really helping build the anticipation on Jesus' birth and the real meaning of Christmas.

This morning, I made the most delicious and simple doughnuts for the kids...I had to cut Ethan off,or he may have eaten all of them! He even asked if we could make hem for daddy sometime. I have a feeling we will be making them again soon!

Super easy cinnamon sugar doughnuts

Ingredients:
Oil
1 cup sugar
2 tbs cinnamon
1 pkg pills bury biscuits
Small cookie cutter

Directions:
Heat oil so it sizzles when you drop a few sprinkles of water on top. While it is heating, combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl; set aside. Open can of biscuits and flatten each a little' make a hole with a small cookie cutter (we used christmas trees). Drop dough into pan and cook until golden brown on each side. Take out and immediately coat in sugar mixture. Let cool enough that it doesn't burn your hands and serve!

Enjoy!

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 8

Today I am thankful for God's beautiful creation.  I stand in awe of the uniqueness and breathtaking beauty of his mountains, forests, oceans, and rivers.  I am learning to be thankful in every minute of every day. .  . and it's been wonderful looking for the beautiful, breathtaking moments.  I wait in expectation and excitement for the next picture of beauty from God.  It gives me hope to know that his creation is just a glimmer of how beautiful and majestic He is.  

 I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!

    Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.

² 

Your unfailing love will last forever.

    Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

 You rule the oceans.

    You subdue their storm-tossed waves.

¹⁰ 

You crushed the great sea monster.^[b]

    You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

¹¹ 

The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;

    everything in the world is yours—you created it all.

 You created north and south.

    Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.

¹³ 

Powerful is your arm!

    Strong is your hand!

    Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.

¹⁴ 

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.

    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.

 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,

    for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

¹⁶ 

They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.

    They exult in your righteousness.

¹⁷ 

You are their glorious strength.

    It pleases you to make us strong.

 Praise the Lord forever!

    Amen and amen!

21 days of gratitude: day 7

Today, I am so thankful for the ladies who serve alongside me on my mops steering team! Without them there is no way that mops would happen each week! I praise God that He called these ladies and the, in turn, accepted his calling to use their gifts...even if it stretches them or takes them out of their comfort zone.

You are probably waiting for some sort of crafty, food thing for me to share and I will confess there are things for me to share, but I haven't had a Ron of free time. But here's a little something I made for the gals on steering for thanksgiving.

Hershey nuggets wrapped in candy wrappers made from my set from stampin' up. I used su pads garden green, pumpkin, and cranberry...perfect fall colors!

I hope that u r taking time to be thankful as we prepare our hearts for thanksgiving!

21 days of gratitude: day 5 and 6

Yep! It's a mops week and the to-do list is rather long. And yes, it's late and I am blogging from bed (we stayed up late watching the political Super Bowl).

Day 5: I am incredibly thankful that my kids have clothes to wear. It's that time of year where old clothes and summer clothes get boxed away and new clothes get to replace now too small clothes. As I was working through the piles, I was overwhelmed by God's blessings and provision over us. I know he takes care of our needs!

Day 6: the privilege to vote. Today was Election Day and I voted. My husband voted. I watched on tv our 200+ year old system work to elect our president. No matter how we feel about our now re-elected president, we are called to respect and pray for him. I am happy to say I voted! Not everyone gets this privilege!

21 days of gratitude: day 4

I almost forgot to post today. Thank goodness I have the blogger app and can type from my pillow...super tired today! Falling back is no fun as a parent...just saying.

Okay, so today I am thankful for technology. I know it seems strange, but I love that I can blog from my bed. I think we are so blessed with all the things that are available to us and our kids...it's remarkable!

Good night!

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 3

Today I am thankful for family adventures.  It's days like today, that I love that my husband enjoys going on adventures and my children seem to be taking after us in this way.  Taking a day trip (or several days) is something that energizes my soul.  It gives my brain and body a break from the daily tasks of life.  It revives and inspires.  

So, today I am very thankful for family adventures and the uninterrupted, fun  time with my boys.  

 It makes my heart swell joy that God allows me to have fun adventures with them.  

What are you thankful for today?  Do you have anything that makes your heart swell up with joy?  Please comment. . . I'd love to hear. :)

Are you in the mood for something yummy to make?  I made this for breakfast last week and it was amazing!  My husband even took some cold to work to eat for breakfast. . . and he said it was good.  I made it and kept it in the fridge all week and it was tasty to the end.  I highly recommend it!  Plus, it's pumpkin and streusel combined. . . how can you not resist?  Oh, and you probably have everything in your pantry right now. . . because it's November and I am sure you stocked up on pumpkin puree.  

See you tomorrow for Day 4. 

21 Days of Gratitude: Day 2

It's Friday.  We made it!  whew!  I love Fridays because I am blessed by having my incredibly, hard working husband home with us.  An extra day to for the weekend is a true blessing!  Taking time to be thankful is a habit I try do on a daily basis (not just the month of November).  I think when we take the time to think about what we are grateful for, it completely changes our perspective.  So, right now, I need an attitude/perspective change.  It's my blog. . . I am being honest.  (I can do that, right?)  

So today, I am thankful for my boys! 

All 3 of my boys!  I must mention, that I can't believe I got all 3 of them to be looking at the same time!  I am horribly outnumbered in so many ways, being the only girl in this family.  But, I am so very thankful for my husband who works so hard to support our family so that I can stay home full time with the little guys.  It is an amazing gift!  Not only does he work hard, but he is so sweet and thoughtful!  Today, he bought me a Pumpkin Spice Latte on the way to the zoo. . . just because it was the perfect weather (our first foggy day) to drink one.  Ethan and Weston keep my on my toes daily, and I am never board.  They are so creative and energetic that my days would be horribly boring without them.

So yes, I can already feel my attitude changing.  It is probably the best medicine ever!  Now, I am going to go try talking Ethan into emptying the dishwasher so I can make some Pumpkin Pie Granola. . . .  We're going to need some good snack food for our adventure tomorrow. 

21 days of gratitude: day 1

Today I am thankful for the overcast day. The first day of November was marked with the beauty of fall... It made my heart happy!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  I hope that all your little ones are tucked quietly into bed (one of mine is still reading in bed. . . crazy, tired kid!).  I am determined to finish this blog post before the night is over, so I have until this cup of hot apple cider is done to finish this post. . . then it's off to bed, I go.  

I love holidays.  Seriously.  I love Halloween. . . the harvest-y, pumpkin side of it anyways.  We go pumpkin picking and hay riding.  We bake lots of pumpkin themed foods, and get all dressed up and go to our church's Pumpkin Patch event (huge and awesome!).  

This year, however, has got me thinking.  I want to find a way to reach out to my neighbors (whom we never see) and so, I think we might be using Halloween as a way to reach our neighbors on our street next year.  I am not sure what it's going to entail. . . its 1 year away and there are many other things jumbled up in my brain right now, too.  

So, due to some jumbled up thoughts (and the fact that I am almost out of apple cider), here are some fun pictures from the other night's pumpkin carving extravaganza with the kiddos.  

Weston had fun helping me find all the seeds.  He wasn't too sure about the slimy pumpkin meat.  

Ethan couldn't wait until we carved pumpkins!  He sure doesn't like to touch the inside, though!  

Ethan's Jack-o-lantern. . . as drawn with a sharpie by Ethan and cut out by Daddy.  

And finally, a recipe.  Don't worry, I couldn't just post without something for you. . . 

Harvest Muddy Buddies!  Yep. . . super easy.  Find your favorite Muddy Buddy recipe. Mine is the one on the back of the rice chex box.  Make it according to the directions and then add in some Reeces Pieces to give it that harvest flair.  I don't think I have ever meat anyone who didn't like Muddy Buddies. . . so make a batch, bag them up, and give them to a friend.  These will still work even after Halloween because it's Fall!  Yay!  

Oh and before I go (because I am tired and I am out of cider). . . I just wanted to announce that I will be participating in 21 Days of Gratitude. . . Come join me and a bunch of other bloggers. 

randomness

Ahh.  Sometimes I need to sit back and breathe.  Sorry it's been awhile. . . I've been to the other side of the country and back and it takes a while to get ready and then to recover. . . especially getting back into a routine with my two very active boys!  

This is my quiet time basket. . . in other words, when Weston is sleeping and Ethan is doing his quiet time activities, I can get my stuff done.  It has been easy to just throw some projects into this awesome basket and work on it whenever I need to.  Unfortunately, there have been so many things going on, that has yet to happen. I am hoping that tomorrow, things will get worked on. . . i am not making any promises. :)  On another note. . . the fabric is going to be a fun scrap potholder.  It's for a friend's housewarming present and it is way long overdue!  

My stomach is also recovering from this amazing grub!  North Carolina had some amazing eats and I will confess that I was a bit stressed out that we weren't going to fit all of them in.  I think we did good.  We ate really good food!  This was from our favorite restaurant, Allen & Son, which was seriously a little old restaurant in the middle of a forest that was only open half the week and only til 8pm.  But when the cook/owner rises at 3 to cook the pig and bake some pies, you don't really blame him!  So, if you are ever in the Chapel Hill/Durham area, I highly reccommend this place!  

While my sweet husband was leaning new things at a conference, I went shopping.  Durham had a really cool, new mall that had all these beautiful statues and fountains.  Fun, right?  They also had a Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn Kids and then I was introduced to West Elm. . . LOVE!  Let's just say, some new kitchen gadgets were welcomed into my stash when we got home. :)

And here, some fall, overcastness for you.  I may even just made up a word, but it works, right?  This is one of the really old chuch steeples on the UNC campus.  Fall is just beginning there and I almost didn't want to leave!

Lastly, I will leave you with this concoction of deliciousness. It may even be proof that I have been somewhat productive since we have been home (for the record, I have been working on MOPS stuff, organizing a Boutique, and chasing boys around).  But, these are amazing.  I made them for Jon's lunches this week instead of cookies (I'm almost out of butter) and they were a big hit! 

I mean, if it says it's better than sex, then it must be good, right?  Also, if it has Reeces Peanut Butter Cups in it, it has to be good, right?  Then, add the drizzles of melted caramel, white chocolate, and semi sweet and sprinkle it with a bit of sea salt and it's like a party in your mouth!  I promise!  

You can find the recipe, here. 

Have a great day everyone!

The four year old

I have a four year old.  It's been a month.   I like having  a four year old. . . it's pretty fun!  He is (and has always been) a joy to me!  This picture was taken a few weeks ago when we were doing a quick shoot in the backyard for his thank you cards. 

Now, this four year old is growing up and it makes me sad . . . and excited. . . it's bittersweet.  I am sad that he's not really my baby anymore. . . but he still loves to cuddle.  I am excited about all the new adventures we will have now that he's a big kid.  

But with this growing up things, we had to say goodbye to naps.  Yep. . . out the door.  Naps have always been kind of sacred to me (probably selfish, I know), but it when I get just a few moments of peace and quiet and I really had a moment where the loss of said naptime gave me a very sad feeling.  I almost cried. . . . really.  

However, I thought to myself, there has got to be some kind of quiet box idea out there that will help with this. . . so I went to my favorite search zone for items such as these and came out with site after site of ideas for quiet boxes!  So, other mom's also thought of similar things!  So here are mine:

Mine are filled with various books, color wonder stuff, tangrams, unifix cubes, file folder games, busy bags, puzzles, and other things I can't think of right now.  Each box is filled with different things and every few weeks, I will change everything out for new things.  

I made the labels using some free backgrounds and my Storybook Creator program.  I taped them on using clear packing tape.  If you are interested in the labels, comment with your email and I will send you the jpg of them.  They aren't perfect, but they work (and I am kind of on a Chevron kick right now).  

The boxes are just Sterelite boxes from Target that were a dollar a piece.  This ended being a super easy and fun way to install "Quiet time" into this new phase of childhood.  

What do you do (or plan on doing) with your child after naps end?

Oreo Cupcakes. . . yum!

It is officially October.  Wonderful October.  Pumpkin filled October.  Yet, we are celebrating the beginning of the month with some lovely triple digit weather.  Yep. . . it's very hard to get into it.  I made a lovely pumpkin cake last night hoping to get in the mood. . . it was good, but it didn't help.  I hot.  I am sweaty.  It's not right.  

But enough about that.  Let's move on, shall we?  Let's move on to something that doesn't scream fall, but just screams pure yumminess?

Who doesn't like Oreo Cookies?  Seriously, which ever ones you buy. . . they never fail!  Seriously. . . and soon Trader Joe's will be begging me to buy a box (or two) of Peppermint Joe-Joes.  I am in trouble!  

Anyways, I really wanted to get this recipe posted before I forgot about it (it happens. . . really, it does!).  Not that they are forgettable. . . they aren't.  I am still dreaming about them.  Good dreams.  Very good dreams!  

You can find the recipe over here at Annie's Eat's

Have a wonderful day. . . Hopefully, it is fall like?

Time for Pumpkin. . . part 1

Today I smell Fall.  Really. . . it's coming.  yes, I live in California and we are still dressing in shorts and tank tops for morning soccer games (trust me on this one. . . it happened this very morning!).  But, yesterday I was able to enjoy a Pumpkin Latte and a morning at Starbucks (I will add, also that their were no kids. . . it was just me. . . AWESOME!).  But. . . i smelled it. . . Fall! I promise you it's coming. . . even if I just have to keep telling myself that cardigan weather will be here soon, to get through this wretched triple digit weather!

So, in order to urge Fall to hurry . . . and I know some of you, are already experiencing it . . . I know, I talk to my sister . . . she tells me about Fall goodness, and how I just dream about it, I have posted some of my favorite Fall recipes.  The bad news: I have way more than I can have links for. . . so this is just part one. The good news:  There are more pumpkin recipes to come. . . and some new ones this season!  Stay tuned!  

Side note: you should just able to click on the picture and be directed to the actual post where the recipe can be found.  Good luck!  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Scones {Starbucks Style}

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Poundcake

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ethan turns 4 {cookies & milk party}

We have been so busy the last few weeks having so much fun! I haven't had a whole lot of time to sit down and and blog until now, so first off . . . Ethan turned 4!  I can't believe that my little boy is  no longer a toddler. . . seriously, where has the time gone?  He has such a heart for learning new things and creating new things in fact, he can't wait until he can start school. . . . like his cousin Logan.  He has been keeping us busy with soccer, swim lessons, and zoo trips.  For this year's birthday, he picked out the theme Cookies & Milk.    It was so much fun to put together! 

This was our table.  I went with basic colors. . . red, blue, yellow, orange, and brown.  I loved the simplicty of the balloons behind the table.  They didn't last long, though.  As soon as the party got under way, Ethan was crawling under the table to get balloons for all his friends!

I stuck cookies in apothecary jars and a trifle bowl.  The cookies were Peanut Butter Snickers, Chocolate Chip, Nutter Butters (I bought them at the store), homemade Oreo Cookies, Cookies and Cream Cupcakes, Marshmallow Monster Cookies, Oatmeal M&M cookies, Brownie Pops and Chocolate Sugar Cookies.

They all turned out amazing and I may not make another cookie for awhile. . . we'll see. . . we love cookies at our house!

I printed square labels using pictures created on my Creative Memories Software . . . Super fun! And I found milk in glass jars for less than 3 dollars a piece at Whole Foods!  I just added the syrup to make them chocolate and strawberry.  Super fun! 

The favors were so much fun.  I bought the mini cookies at the store and put them in tiny mason jars attatched some ribbon and a tag that said, Just add Milk.

And with every birthday, Ethan has to have his number 4 shirt. . . I barely finished it (the day of the party).  But, he was so proud to have his shirt.  I was thankful the shirt was really thin, because despite being a beautiful September day, it was triple digit weather!

My 4 year old!

Lastly, I love having something tangible for the kids to do at parties. To go along with Cookies and Milk theme, I baked up some yummy sugar cookies and had frosting (store bought. . . sorry).  I put the frosting in fun decorating bottles from Pampered Chef, and scattered bowls of sprinkles around the table.  I also bought some fun brown treat bags from a store called Sweet.  The kids never used them. . . they never made them home.  They went straight to their bellies.

It was such a fun afternoon celebrating my first born son!  He is such a blessing in my life!  Thanks, Ethan for letting me throw you a fun party!