Browning...

It was our turn to bring mid-game snack for BB's soccer team.  

I chose oranges and apples....

However, I didn't want the apple slices to brown 

before half time...so I decided to try out a tip I found on Pinterest. 

It suggested soaking apple slices in a lemon-lime soda 

for 10 minutes. 

...sooooo, I tried it...

There was still some browning

but not nearly as much as I think there would have been.

I've come across a few other tips 

that use a slightly different method

to prevent browning...

I will give those a try next time!

 

Halloween Lunch

We had a small

Muffin Tin Lunch

with some fun decorations

on Halloween...

 

 Pumpkin shaped PB&J

Mini Cheese Balls

Halloween shaped Fruit Snacks

   

Breakfast Banana Split

You heard right...a banana split for breakfast!
BB was super surprised to have this meal and he ate it up!

Ingredients:
banana
yogurt
crunchy cereal (may leave out next time or use granola)
pineapple chunks
sliced strawberries
optional fun toppings: maraschino cherries, sprinkles
*of course you could also use other berries and fruit that you enjoy as well as a few nuts!

Directions:
Slice banana and place in the bottom of a bowl.
Top banana with yogurt then fruit, sprinkle on cereal, top with a few cherries and sprinkles.
Enjoy!

More Pumpkin...

I am not big on pumpkins...

I like to decorate with them for fall

but that is about it.

I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie

or the ever popular pumpkin spice latte,

But one of the items on my

Fall Wagon List

is to try a pumpkin beer

...just because.

I guess I am trying to embrace

the flavor that is all over the place this time of year!

So, I had a Shocktop Pumpkin Wheat beer recently...

and it was pretty tasty.

Not my favorite flavor, but not bad either.

Maybe I will give some more 

pumpkin flavored food and drinks a try...

any suggestions?

"Punkin Day"

BB has been calling Halloween "Punkin Day"...

He is excited for all the fun that comes with Punkin Day.

We had some punkin fun this weekend,

visiting a little punkin patch, 

coloring on a punkin,

wearing punkin pjs, 

and having a little punkin muffin tin meal,

PB&J

Banana Pumpkin Yogurt with candy face

Goin' Fishin'

We had a quick "Goin'Fishin'"

Muffin Tin Snack the other day...

 

BB dipped the pretzel sticks

into the peanut butter

then "caught" the goldfish.

He was surprised

and excited about

this simple but fun snack!

Cc

The letter of the week for bb's class is C...

So Monday he had food that 
{mostly} started with the letter C 
when he got home from school...

Cottage cheese

Carrots

Cereal

{not pictured and not C: pizza rolls}

What's in your tree?

Our life is crazier than undies in a tree...
...but just as much fun!

This little piggy...

Is it just me...

or are these the cutest little toes?!

Pinteresting Food...

I was able to try a lot of Pinterest recipes out this summer 

{all of them were delicious} 

here are a few of them...

 Baked Penne

{I browned and sliced sausage}

 Antipasto Pasta Salad

{I used mini pepperoni and mozzarella cheese}

 Funfetti Mix

{Made for The Hubs bday}

 Roasted Green beans

{served with Angel Chicken, below}

Angel Chicken

{OH.MY.YUM}

Aaaaaaaaargh!

We (sort of) participated in 

International Talk Like a Pirate Day 

last week....

we only said 1 or 2 "piratey" things, 

but BB had a pirate muffin tin lunch

(he also wore his pirate hat and had his sword)

 Tuna Fish,

Pirate Booty cheddar puffs,

"Buried Treasure" {Reese's Pieces under vanilla pudding with crushed Nilla wafers on top}

and we all had a pirate inspired dinner!

 "Cannonball" subs {meatballs}

ps...YAY for finding a few of our muffin tins!
excited to have more muffin tin meals!

2012 Wagon List

School has started 

and we've had a day or two 

of cooler weather...

that means it is time to think about our 

Fall Wagon List!

Us

Soccer {for BB}

Zoo Visit {with LaLa for BB}

Children's Museum with friends

Treehouse

Apple picking

Corn Maze

Pumpkin Patch

Make S'mores

Florida visit in October!

**HOUSE, HOUSE, HOUSE**

Me

Complete Colossians bible study online

Join a MOPS group

Establish a better schedule/routine for us

Walk/work out 3x/week
Try a Pumpkin Beer {I'm not a big pumpkin person, but it seems like the fall thing to do...}

HAPPY {almost} FALL Yall!

Teacher Hugs

BBJ took these cute little baskets to his teachers

 on the first day of school. 

It was just a little something sweet to get the year started.

I got the idea from Pinterest {of course} but changed it slightly.

I found the ABC basket at the Dollar Spot at Target. 

Since our basket didn't have apples, I changed the note to say: 

"Here's some HUGS

I got just for you

As we start our year

Full of so many fun things to do!"

Back to school, back to school...

Big Brother is heading back to school today...a new school in our new town {nope, still no new house though}!
He is super excited and can't wait to meet new friends. He is totally ready to learn and play!

I, on the other hand, am slightly more hesitant. I feel confident that we have chosen an excellent preschool for him...however I keep comparing it to our little school from last year. It was just right for him and helped him learn so much. The new school is much bigger and different...but I trust that we will be just fine and will continue to learn and grow!

Summer Lovin'

...and we had a blast!

Once again, we did not get to all the items on our Summer Bucket List, but we sure have had fun!

Here is a recap of our list and a few pictures...

Make Frozen Bananas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch the Olympics! GO USA!
Olympic dinner/events

Visit Fire Station

VBS

 

Farmer’s Market visits

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POOL!

 

 

Water Playdate with Friends

Eat watermelon outside {and not care about the mess}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit a Children's Museum
Pick Berries

If the heat isn’t too insane:

Picnics

Lay on a blanket and watch the clouds

Make s’mores

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make Ice Cream-Cookie Sandwiches

Celebrate the 4th of July

Star gazing

Ice Cream Sundae Buffet

 

Ocean City!

Go to an outdoor concert
Go to a baseball game
Great American Campout {6/23 for hubs and BBJ}

*Find, Buy, Move in to NEW HOME!*

For ME:

Proverbs 31 online study
some Pinterest and other crafty projects
get active {lose baby weight}

For the Hubs and Me:

Dinner out

Movie Night

Watch a sunset together

Before 35

Kelly from Kelly's Korner reminded us recently about an article that lists 30 things a woman should do before age 30. She is passed that age, so she is now working on a list of things to do before she turns 40 in eighteen months. I thought it would be fun to do too...

I am also already 30 and 40 is still pretty far away, so I am working on my "before 35" list. So far I have 5 before 35, but I may think of more in the next 3 years...

1. Lose 20 lbs/get fit/healthy
2. Have a daily morning and nighttime routine
3. Take a trip with The Hubs {Chicago, Boston, NYC?}
4. Tailgate/attend a Gator football game
5. Become an active member at a church here


As I was typing I thought of 2 more, the first is a "duh, of course" {like I want it to happen before I turn 32 in 2 months}...
6. FIND/BUY/MOVE INTO our new HOME!
7. find a flexible part-time job once both boys are in school/preschool.


...and another one!
8. Complete a Mud Run {for fun, not competition!}


...more to come, I am sure!

Baseball Love

Baseball is sunshine,

green grass,

fathers and sons,

our rural past.

-Albert Theodore Powers,

The Business of Baseball

Here is the special gift the boys and I made The Hubs for Father's Day.

It was a bit messy and we are still getting some of the ink

off the baby's hand, but totally worth it!

These boys can already grip a ball

like they have gripped our hearts!

I know it will be so fun to watch

them grow and play together.

BBJ already loves to play baseball

with his daddy, it will be even more

fun when LBJ can play with them too!

I am so glad that The Hubs

can share his love of the game

with our boys!



I hope everyone had a

Happy Father's Day,

especially The Hubs!

*Note: This is sort of a "Pinned It, Did It" post...this idea was sent to me by a friend

before I got started using Pinterest, so I never actually pinned it

{and so, I do not have link back to the original post,

it was sent to me as a picture attachment}.

Love for Teachers...

We are so thankful for the awesome year BBJ had in preschool. We really liked that his class was small and his teachers were fabulous! You can tell that they really love the children and enjoy what they do!
To show our appreciation, we gave them these fun summer bags.

The gift included:

Bag with their initial

Magazine

Sunscreen

Cup with their initial

Lemonade mix

Pool snack

Thank you note

I had the idea around Christmas and even recently started seeing similar ideas pop up on Pinterest!



Due to our crazy life, I was not able to make the bags look as cute, be as clever with the gifts/note or take the best photo, but you get the idea!

Bottom Spray

This product review may be a little TMI...but I want to share this in case anyone out there is preggers, might one day get preggers, or knows someone who is preggers...

Earth Mama Angel Baby's New Mama Bottom Spray is an amazing-must have product for postpartum moms!
The first thing I noticed about it was the pleasant smell. Then when I used it, I found it to be instantly cooling and refreshing. It definitely helped ease my postpartum pain and discomfort. The sprayer has a special design so it will spray upside down, which is very convenient and makes using it easy. I also feel good about using it because it is an all natural product, there are no artificial preservatives, dyes, or fragrances!
A friend of mine is a Doula and she makes sure to always have this product in her bag to take to all deliveries and leave with the new mommies!
I would definitely recommend this product to all moms for postpartum care.
...And to make it even better, it says it can still be used when all your postpartum pain goes away, to relieve puffy eyes, sunburn, razor burn, or even as a facial toner!  


*note: I was given this product by the owner of Little Speckled Frog to use and review. All opinions are my own. Check out Little Speckled Frog for this and more new mama and baby products!

Sweet Dreams

I realized recently that I do not have a specialty. I don't have anything that makes me truly unique...I have friends whose jobs or hobbies make them stand out...almost defining them and setting them apart from others. I do not.
I do have a dream to do more and be more. However, I don't know what or how.
It is now my prayer that when the time is right, God will reveal his plan for me and show me the path that I should take.