Growing Up

Is it wrong to be sitting at the computer crying because Mc's teacher just sent me a pic of my baby girl missing her front tooth??  I know I am supposed to be happy but I am going to miss her sweet baby teeth! She will never look the same...

I never seem to embrace the changes in her that leave behind my baby girl and change her into a little girl!  I want her to stay little for just a little longer!! I love her so much and just want her to stay young and innocent for as long as I can keep her this way!!  I know that she cannot comprehend the love I have for her but someday when she has a baby girl of her own, she will know!

So for now, I will put on my HAPPY FACE and greet her with joy and excitement about losing her front tooth BUT inside I know that it is just another "baby" part of her gone!!

I know some are asking if this is her first baby tooth for her to lose...NO but it is the first top, front tooth!  These are the ones that really make a difference in their appearance!!  :(

Sunshine Award

I am soooo excited!!  EEEEKKKK!!!  I have been awarded the Sunshine Award from Jenny over at

The NY Melrose Family 

Jenny has a really cute blog and I love how much her job as a reading coach for inner city kids means to her!  We do not have enough teachers that TRULY care about our kids and I feel that teachers are underpaid for the job that they perform day in and day out!  They spend more time in a day with our kids then we do!!  She also has some FANTABULOUS crafts!

 

As a recipient of this delightful award, I have a few rules to follow:

• Include the award’s logo in a post or on your blog. See above.
• Answer 10 questions about yourself. See below.
• Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers. See my list below.
• Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have been nominated. So happy to share the love!
• Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

Ten Sunshine Award Questions (and answers):

1. Favorite Color...ORANGE!!  Ha...just look at my page and you can tell that!!  It makes me HAPPY!

2. Favorite Animal...CAT!!  We have 2 cats Miley and Smokey!!  LOVE them both!  My husband and I had a cat that we adopted when we were dating and she was 18 when she died in December!  We have our dog Loo Loo and we love her but I am a cat person!

3.  Favorite Number...????

4.  Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink...tea!!  McDonald's tea to be exact!  Unsweet with 4 splenda!!  They even know my voice in the drive thru and have it ready for me!!  ;)

5.  Prefer FB or Twitter...FB hands down! I don't have a clue about Twitter!

6.  My Passion...animals!!  They are innocent creatures that have no voice!  As a parent, you should teach your children kindness and compassion towards animals!

7.  Prefer getting or giving presents...GIVING!!  I love to give things and make someones day!!  Especially my kids and husband!

8.  Favorite Pattern....Polka Dots!

9.  Favorite Day of the Week...FRIDAY!!!

10.  Favorite Flower...Tulips!

Ok...here are my blogs that bring Sunshine into my day!!

1. Chrissy from The Taylor House  She has the MOST amazing recipes and ideas!!  She has a new post where she created a Weekly Blog Planner to help keep herself organized!!  WOW!!!

2.  Kate over at Craft Whatever  Her personality runs a close race with mine and we seem to really "click!"  She has a really cute blog with crafts, recipes and printables!

3.  Ashley at The Latest Finds   This is a new blog that I have found but REALLY like!!  She is "on the hunt to bring you the latest favorites that can be found online! From baking blogs to cupcakes to Etsy to DIY bath scrub tutorials, I'm constantly on the search for the latest and the cutest!"

4.  Beans Monkey Business  This is a blog about a new web show for kids!!  TOO CUTE!

5.  Danni at Silo Hill Farm  This is a cute blog about crafts and recipes with grandchildren thrown into the mix!!

6.  Mackenzie over at Friday Night Date Night

She shows us how to have fun on a date without having to spend a lot of money!

7.  Leanne at Because I think I Can  LOVE Leanne and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her plaques and wall hangings!

8.  Jennifer at Don't Mess With My Tutus  She is a personal friend and GREAT minds think alike!!  ;)

9.  Amanda at School House Scraps  I love her and her blog!  Really cute crafts and ideas!

10.  Lani over at It's My Life  A great blog that is a little about everything!!  ;)

Again...THANK YOU, Jenny!!

McDonald's Panacakes!

My kids LOVE McDonald's panacakes and will not eat any other kind!  It is kind of crazy considering they are FROZEN!!  So when I ran across the recipe on Food , I had to try them!!  So out I went for bacon and OJ!! 

Here is the VERY simple recipe

²⁄₃ cup Sprite

1 egg

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon oil

1 ½ cups Bisquick

1tsp Vanilla

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth!!  Then let sit for 10 minutes!!  Cook as you normally would!!

The kids LOVED them and I have to admit they are REALLY good!!  Are they exact same...NO but they are close and we will be eating them again!

I am in the middle of 3 projects and not one of them seem to be coming to a finish!!  ;)

I am super excited to be co-hosting a Bloglovin' Blog Hop with Amanda from School House Scraps and Randee from The NY Melrose Family.  What's Bloglovin' you ask?  Well, only the greatest way to keep track of the blogs that you love.  With the discontinuation of Google Friends Connect, I decided that I needed to find another way to keep up with all of my favorite blogs that are not hosted by blogger.  I signed up for Linky Followers and I've had great success with gaining new followers, but I’m finding I don’t get any traffic to my site from Linky.  I also do not enjoy reading my favorite blogs from there.  I stumbled upon Bloglovin' and I am in love!  It is very similar to Google Reader, in that you can see the beginning of the post and the first picture attached to the post.  Plus, Bloglovin' automatically updates your posts, unlike Linky Followers, which you have to manually update each time you write a new post.  I don't know about you, but I just don't have the time to do that every time.  Another added bonus is there is a Bloglovin' application for IPhone and Android devices.  Woohoo!  Like I don't spend enough time reading blogs.  Now it's a simple touch.  Love it!

In order to participate in this hop you need to sign up for Bloglovin’.  Go to Bloglovin'.  

***These are the complete instructions for sign up***
{Please skip if you already have Bloglovin'}



 Hit the green sign up button in the right hand corner.  Next enter an email address and create your password.  You will get a confirmation eamil that you will need to follow a link back to Bloglovin' to continue the process.  Once you click on the link you will be brought to a page where it says to choose blogs to follow.  You don't need to do this.  Click next in the bottom right hand corner.  The next screen let’s you know about the mobile app so just click next again.  This screen will show that you are not following any blogs.  Click on Account in the upper right hand corner and toggle down to widget.  Choose the widget you want displayed on your page.  Put your url into the search query and it should pull up your site.  Click on your site and it will say display this icon.  The next page should bring you to a screen that has you display it into your layout.   Once you hit publish you’re done!  If you view your blog you should see the icon and now your followers can add you to their Bloglovin’ feed.  Seriously, so simple. 

 So let’s get to the blog hop.  This is a party so make sure to have some fun and mingle.  There’s only a couple of rules:

1.       Please follow all three hostesses – The NY Melrose Family, School House Scraps & Randee's Organized Chaos

2.      Add Bloglovin' to your blog.

3.      Post our button for the blog hop on your page to promote the fun.

<center><a href="http://www.thenymelrosefamily.blogspot.com/"><br /> <img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj590/russej10/bloglovin-1-1-1-1.jpg" border="0"/><br /> </a></center> 

Alright, so let's have some fun and mingle!

Sleepy Sunday Linky Party

Hi!!!  I hope that everyone has had an AWESOME weekend!!! Isn't it amazing how fast the time flies by??  I heard a saying the other day that is so true..."The days are long but the years are short!!"  You can not state it any better than that!

Jennifer @ Don't Mess with My Tutus and I would like to thank everyone for stopping by and linky up this week!!!  We LOVE seeing what you guys have been up to every week!!   we had over 40 link ups this past week and I was grinning from ear to ear!!  PLEASE spread the word and let everyone know about out little party!! I also want to take this time to let you know about a very fun getaway that we are putting together!!! 

We would LOVE for you guys to come and get to meet everyone!!  It is going to be a blast!!  So even if you don't live in Texas...hop on an airplane and come on and have some fun!!  We have one girl coming all the way from North Carolina!!  So don't let distance stop you!!  ;)

Now on to the linky party!! 

OH MY GOODNESS....the winner is AMANDA from School House Scraps AGAIN!!  She is one talented lady!!!  ;)  Here are her wooden pictures!!

Ok...

Here are a few of my favorites this week!!

I LOVE this necklace over at ovojesivalamojamama

 and OHHHH how I love the ideas that Mackenzie over at  Friday Date Night comes up with for free dates!

but who can resist Chai??  Vanessa over at

Nifty Thrifty Things has given us a delicious recipe!!!  I will be trying this and see if I can stop spending $6 every time I drive through the coffee cup!!  ;)

 We have had a touch of the flu so I am posting this early so we can all take a nap!!  ;) 

So, for this weeks Blog Hop, here are the rules!

1. Only link your original projects or recipes.

Please no giveaways, etsy shops, business or linky promotions, etc.

2. Remember to link directly to your post, rather than to your whole blog.

3. Please do us the kindness of linking back to one or more of us on your blog so others can come and party with us! After all, the more the merrier!

4. Please take a moment during the week to look around on the blog hop

5.  Please follow the hostesses!  Here is my FB page ROC if you would like to follow me there or you can follow me via the tools on the sidebar!

Jennifer's FB page is Sassy Pants Studio!!

Now let the fun begin!!  ;)

I want to share something EXCITING that my friend Jennifer from Don't Mess With My Tutus and I are putting together!! 

It is our 1st ever

Pin-Up Girls Craft Weekend!

This is about an hour from Dallas and would LOVE for you guys to come and join us!!  This is a very GREAT deal!!  If you were going to a scrapbooking retreat, you would pay between

$200-$250!  This retreat includes 5 projects that would cost more than $100 if you bought them retail!!  We are providing EVERYTHING!!!  You just bring yourself!!! 

If you have any questions or feedback....PLEASE let me know!!! 

13 Reasons Why

Have you read the new novel by Jay Asher called

Thirteen Reasons Why

I did....yesterday!  The entire book!  I could not stop reading and seemed to get a little irritated when I had to put it down to go do something!!  This book is so moving and eye opening, that at times it is a little scary!!  It is a story of a high school girl that has 13 "reasons" to commit suicide!  It is eye opening into the thoughts of a teenager and the pain that we all endure at one time or another growing up!  It is also very scary to think that someone you know could be going through the exact same thing and we may not ever even know!!  If you are a parent or have any contact or influence over children, this is a MUST READ!!!  I can not express how much I want everyone to read this book!  It is like I am convicted to tell everyone...."RUN RIGHT NOW AND BUY THIS BOOK!!!!"  If I could, I would buy copies and give them out!! 

 I hope and pray that my children never have to face the things that "Hannah" had to face but if they do I hope that I have the right words and actions to help them!!!

PRAYER for our children is the hope that we have to stand on!!!  

Dollar Store Easter

I know how everyone is finding things in the Dollar stores and making really cute but cheap decor with it so I decided to head to our Dollar Tree and see what I could find!!

I found some clear, glass candle stick holders and some glass jars!  I decided to paint the candle stick holders different Easter colors and the hot glue the jars on top!!  Fill with Easter candies and VOILA!!!!

Pretty cute for less than $10!!!  Oh...and the grass is edible!!!  :o

Tip: I sanded the glass candlestick holders before I painted them!  You can also spray a coat of primer 1st!!  ;)

Here it is friends, our third Sleepy Sunday Blog Hop Linky Party!! And this week I am Your Host! I'm excited!! I have a great giveaway for you this week... but first...

my co-hosts are:

Randee from Randee's Organized Chaos &

Jenn from Don't Mess With My Tutus!!

Last week we had some awesome link ups!

A BIG congrats to

Holly from Full Circle Creations for her link up with with her Love Sign and receiving the most "likes"!

Some other favorites of mine this week were these Chocolate Sweetheart Cupcakes from The Weekly Sweet Experiment

These very cool Zipper Flowers from Schoolhouse Scraps

And this very Happy Entryway, which I would love to have! What great style! this is from Meeha Meeha.

The Giveaway This Week Will Be:

2 Distressed Inks! 1 in Walnut Stain, and the other in Tea Dye!

This stuff is awesome for distressing wood, furniture, paper... if you google it, you can find tons of examples. Here are some examples of how I've used it:

Cool, right?! Wouldn't you love to win these? :)

So, for this weeks Blog Hop, here are the rules!

1. Only link your original projects or recipes.

Please no giveaways, etsy shops, business or linky promotions, etc.

2. Remember to link directly to your post, rather than to your whole blog.

3. Please do us the kindness of linking back to one or more of us on your blog so others can come and party with us! After all, the more the merrier!

4. Please take a moment during the week to look around on the blog hop

and 'like' something (other than your own project - ha!)

5. You can EARN 'likes' for yourself by becoming a follower of the hostess's blogs, and leaving a comment to say you did so

OR

leaving a comment on our blogs if you are already a follower.

5. You can EARN additional 'likes' by following our facebook pages

AND leaving a comment! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE comments! Don't you?!

You can follow ME, Randee and Leanne here!

The party girl (or guy) with the most 'likes' by midnight on Thursday night will be winner! (** An FYI disclaimer - I may suddenly be out of town at this time, due to the passing of my husband's Grandfather... in this case, I will announce the winner as soon as I come back, I promise! **)

Have fun!!

Here's the party!!...

Thank You Notes

As I sit here writing "Thank You" notes from Nathaniel for his birthday presents (2 weeks ago),  I wonder do most parents even bother to do this??  I have always written "Thank You" notes for everything that we receive!  I even used to go so far as to write them for Christmas presents but this year I decided to stop this practice!  I believe that we exchange presents for Christmas so therefore it is a trade off and I am not expecting a "Thank You" note from everyone that we exchange gifts with!  But on the other hand, I think a "Thank You" note for birthday presents is a nice gesture!  They thought of you or your child on this special day so as a common courtesy, a "Thank You" note is nice!  Now,  I do not judge nor do I even give it any thought if we do not get a "Thank You" note from someone we have given a present to but I was brought up to send "Thank You" notes so we always do!! 

What are your thoughts on this subject??  What is the norm??  Do you send "Thank You" notes??

Lightning Mcqueen Party

Here are pictures of Nathaniel's birthday party where his friends were invited!  We had it at the Monkey House (bouncing house) and the kids had a BLAST!!! 

The cake and cupcake party favors were made by

 MaaMaw B!

I wrapped the boxes that held the cupcakes with ribbon and made tags that said "THANKS from Nathaniel"  We used these for party favors!!  The kids were SUPER DUPER EXCITED!!

 Me, my Mom and my Sister in law!!

Cousin Bailey!

Nana!

Aunt Mary

Sweet angel!!

Love's his Daddy!!

PRICELESS!!

The super cute shirt was made by

Lacey Baby from Etsy!!

Hope that you enjoy the pictures!!  They grow up so fast!!!  Please take time to say a prayer for my sweet Nathaniel..he has bilateral ear infections, sinus infection, bronchitis and pink eye!!!  WHEW....we are worn out!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Very short but SWEET post!!  Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope that everyone has an AWESOME day!!  MC's Daddy started the sweetest thing this year!  When MC got up, there was a card on the counter especially for her!  You can not imagine how happy she was!  You would have thought that an entire circus was in our house!  Her entire face lit up!  There is something to be said for a father/daughter love!  She will always love him and look up to him!  I pray every day that she grows up and marries a man who is as AWESOME as her Daddy!!  What a lucky little girl to grow up knowing that her Daddy loves her unconditionally!!

Never take a second for granted!! 



SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!!

In hopes that we will get some snow with accumulation tonight we will be implementing our

"Let it SNOW rituals!!!"

1. Ice cubes in the commode

2. PJ's worn backwards to bed

3. Put a white crayon on your windowsill
4. Tape a enny to your window
5. Do the snow dance:

Mix it up, mix it up (make giant mixing bowl motion, like you're holding a spoon)Spread it around, Spread it around (make spreading motions)
Maaaaake it snow! Maaaake it snow! (Sway your arms over your head, making sparkly snow motions with your fingers by wiggling them)

6. Say a sweet prayer!!

Since we bought a sled this year we REALLY want it to snow!!!  So we will be performing ALL of these rituals TONIGHT!!!  ;)

Sleepy Sunday Linky Party with Giveaway

Howdy Y'all!

And welcome to the 2nd (!!) Sassy Sunday Linky Party

AND

Sweet Tooth Giveaway!

Once again, my partners in crime are (drum roll please . . . .)

Randee @ Randee's Organized Chaos and

Leanne @ Because I Think I Can!

We had lots and lots of Valentine's ideas linked last week, so I hope y'all took a few minutes to check our some of the SWEET projects by our fellow bloggers while you were linking up your own!

In case you missed them, here are a couple of my favorites!

Valentine's Throw Pillows from Marissa @ Rae Gun Ramblings

I LOVE the look of these throw pillows and the step by step instructions make them something anyone can do! Yay!

Breakfast has become our Valentine's tradition (after all I love those little monsters as much as Speed!!), so this yummy Chocolate Waffle recipe from Jane @ Adventures in Dinner really caught my eye! Can't wait to try it on Tuesday!

So, we did say that once again this was a Linky Party AND Giveaway and this week's prize comes from yours truly!!

Sweet Tooth Pillow

This sweet little tooth is perfect for the little loved ones in your life!! And the Tooth Fairy will thank you!! Sooo, much easier to grab the goods from the door than digging under pillow at midnight (or worse yet, 5:30 AM when she remembers there's a tooth waiting from the night before - ACK!!).

With an optional monogram on the back pocket, in either boy or girl colors, and a coordinating ribbon hanger, this sweet tooth will be something your special little someone (AND their tooth fairy) will enjoy for years!

So, for this weeks Linky Party, here's what we'd like:

1. Only link your original projects or recipes.

Please no giveaways, etsy shops, business or linky promotions, etc.

2. Remember to link directly to your post, rather than to your whole blog.
3. Please do us the kindness of linking back to one or more of us on your blog so others can come and party with us! After all, the more the merrier!

3. Please take a moment during the week to look around on the linky party

and 'like' something (other than your own project - ha!)

4. You can EARN 'likes' for yourself by following the hostesses' blogs

OR

leaving a comment on our blogs if you are already a follower.

5. You can EARN additional 'likes' by following our facebook pages

AND leaving a comment! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE comments! Don't you?!

You can follow ME, Randee and Leanne here!

The party girl with the most 'likes' by midnight on Thursday night will be winner!

And we can talk about names, colors - all that fun stuff then!!

Good Luck and Happy Linking!!

Mary-Catherine's Valentines!

I am so excited about MC's valentines this year!!  Since the child is a MINI ME...they needed to be AWESOME and they ARE!!!  ;)

On the actual morning of her party, I will fill these up with helium!!  I am going to tie one to each child's desk!!  How AWESOME is that going to be??!! 

I bought the conversation bubble from

Sissy Sparrows 

and they are the nicest and easiest people to work with!!  She gave me several tutorials until I figured out how to use my new digital stamps!!!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!  You have to go check them out!!!

I just cut the lid off of a gatorade bottle and slid the candy inside!!

I have attached a toothpick by cutting small slits into the card and when they leave they can BURST the balloon and get their candy!!! 

TOO STINKIN CUTE!!!!  Even if I have to say so myself!!  ;)