Thankful

These pictures pretty much sum up all that I have to be grateful for. I'm so blessed to me a mom, wife, daughter, sister, and auntie to some pretty amazing people. 

Life is pretty good around here. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Andes Mint Cookies

Ok guys. Here is the cookie recipe that should be your go-to for parties this holiday season. Close friends from back home know this recipe well because its my favorite, and the most requested treat in my arsenal. 

If you haven't noticed already, I don't do complicated or time consuming recipes. So it won't be a shock to you when I say that this recipe is easy and only has 4 ingredients. 

Here's what you need:

-1 chocolate cake mix 

(I didn't realize the one I bought had little 

chocolate chips in it...Christmas came early this year!)

-1 pack of Andes Mints or mint Hershey's Kisses if its holiday season.

(I actually prefer to use the Kisses)

-2 eggs

-1/2 cup oil

Here's what you do:

-Mix together eggs, oil, and cake mix

-Unwrap mints (Great job for little helpers) and break in half.

-Take half a mint (Or 1 Hershey's kiss) and completely cover with dough. I break the mints in half because it is easier to cover a square, rather than a rectangle. (And I prefer the kisses because it eliminates that step all together!)

-Place on cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes

Because the cookies are already brown, the best way to tell they are done is when the tops look "cracked." This recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies, depending on how generous you are with the dough.

Beware, these are addicting. I made them last night at my husband's request, and guess how many are left...7. And I only ate one because it broke when I pulled it off the pan! 

Get em while they're hot.  

Linked up to:

iheartnaptime
little inspiration 
Classy Clutter Cookie Exchange 

Thrifty Thursday: DIY Sensory Toys

Lately I've been trying to think of inexpensive toys to make for Marlene to play with. I've been saving lots of plastic containers in hopes of coming up with something she'd like. Last night I came up with a sensory toy for her that engages sight, sound, and touch.

Here's What you Need:

-A plastic container with lid

-Hot glue

-Things that rattle (I used uncooked rice, pasta, and beans)

-Different textures for outside to catch attention

-Different colored items if your container is clear. (Pom poms, beads, buttons, etc)

Here's What you Do:

Fill up container with whatever you have on hand that will rattle.

Then hot glue the lid shut, making sure it is VERY secure. 

Next you get to decorate the outside. 

 Felt is a great way to add a different texture. If you are going to cut out letters, I recommend making a stencil and then trace it backwards to avoid pen marks. 

I learned that the hard way with the M. 

You can also pull out your Keroppi sticker book from 1997 and put sparkly stickers 

on your toy for visual appeal.

That's pretty much it! The best thing about babies is that they are VERY easily amused, so they'll be happy with pretty much anything. 

The best thing about this is that it was 100% free because I made it with stuff I already had. You would be surprised what you can do when you raid your stash of craft supplies!

Check out another sensory toy HERE

10 Month Update

Our sweet baby girl is now 10 months old! I have loved every minute of being a mom, but the stage she is at right now is by far my favorite.

We've settled into a great routine with naps and eating, she loves to play with her toys and can entertain herself, and she's always making us laugh with her silly 
expressions and shenanigans.  

Right now she officially has 5 teeth, with the 6th one about to show up any day now. Her top front two teeth are a lot more visible now and should be visible in pictures soon. 

We're having fun introducing her to new foods, but with that comes some rough tummy troubles. Her doctor said we could give her some plain yogurt, but that didn't go over too well. Also, her poor tummy can NOT handle pears for some reason. 

Here's how other things are going:

Marley Likes

Waking up early 

(Mommy does not.)

Feeding herself

(French fries and cereal)

Looking at books

Talking 

(Da-da is her favorite word.)

Giving puppy dog looks if you eat in front of her

Standing up without holding onto things 

(She's learned to lean against her toy bins.)

  Any time she gets to play with Daddy

Skyping with Grandma, Papa, and Nathan

Being outside

(Even if its the parking garage at Wal-Mart)

Bathtime

Kids

(She always smiles and laughs when kids walk by at church or the store)

Waving, clapping, and giving "high fives"

Making a surprised face

Marley Doesn't Like

Getting put in the car after having fun outside or shopping

When she notices Mommy or Daddy leave the room

Trying new vegetables.

(Still only really likes squash and sweet potatoes)   

Pinching her fingers when she closes a book

Getting her nose wiped

Wearing shoes

So excited to have the holiday season coming up where we get to introduce Marlene to so many new things. She is going to love Christmas! 

10 Things.

I've been having so much fun lately reading all of the statuses people are posting on Facebook with fun facts about themselves. Its always great learning new things about your friends, especially things they don't normally share. 

So I thought I would do a post of 10 things you might not know about me. 

1. I'm a very picky eater, and I don't like to eat cooked vegetables (other than corn and green bean casserole) or 90% of breakfast foods.

2. I take great pleasure in deleting things from my DVR once I've watched them. I just like to clear it out. Also, when we used to go to my in-laws' to do laundry and they weren't home, I would secretly clean out their DVR. It would say they had only 2 hours of recording time left, and the stuff was over a year old!

3. I cannot stand when people have long toe nails. It's gross. 

4. I put lotion on my hands about 20 times a day. I keep it in my purse, the diaper bag, by my bed, and in the living room. I just can't handle having dry skin.

5. Sushi is my absolute favorite food. Which is surprising because I'm such a picky eater. I don't think I ever would have tried it if I hadn't met Jason. I tried it while we were dating to be polite, and realized it was DELICIOUS!

6. I have 23 cousins on my mom's side of the family (I am #6), and 1 on my dad's. 

And they are all awesome.

7. I am a reality TV junky. I admit I watch all of the "Real Housewives" shows, Keeping Up with the Kardashians and any other reality shows on E! or Bravo. I do draw the line at dumb shows on MTV like Jersey Shore though. 

8. I have Netflix A.D.D. By that I mean that I have started watching like 10 different shows and moved on to something new without finishing. I'm in the middle of Drop Dead Diva, Revenge, Last Man Standing, Grey's Anatomy, Bones, How I met Your Mother, Alias, Hart of Dixie, Parenthood, and much more!

9. I am VERY OCD about having clutter around my house. People who come to visit probably think that I cleaned up just for them, but my house is always that clean. I also pick up all of Marlene's toys every time she goes down for a nap so that I can have a 

break from "baby land."

10. I consider my brother and sisters to be my best friends. I'm so grateful that we all get along and enjoy spending time together. 

There you have it! Did you know any of these already?

Thanksgiving Printables

This is my favorite time of year! Halloween is all fun and dandy, but honestly I'm happy when its over so we can get to the "feel-good" holidays. 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it's all about family, food, and giving thanks. Here are some printables I made to help celebrate this wonderful time of year:

Hope you enjoy this holiday season!

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Well, I finally did it. I was finally brave enough to "invent" my own recipe! By that I mean that I was totally winging it when I made beef stew yesterday.

Since the weather has cooled WAY down and fall has arrived, I've been craving stew. Every time I've made it in the past, it has tasted very bland. Thankfully today, everything turned out delicious and we'll be making this a lot more come winter. 

Here's what you need:

-1 lb stew meat

-6 medium potatoes

-2 cups water

-1 packet ranch dressing mix

-1 packet brown gravy mix

-1 packet  Italian dressing mix

-1 can cream of mushroom + 1 can of water

-assorted vegetables of your choice: baby carrots, corn, peas, etc. (We didn't have any on hand so we went without)

-1/2 cup corn starch

12/14 Update: I made this again but didn't have a brown gravy packet so I used an onion soup mix. Still tasted delicious!

Directions:

-pour corn starch in bowl and coat stew meat, place in crock pot

-Peel and slice potatoes, not too large or they'll take too long to cook, place in crock pot. 

-Add any other vegetables

-In separate bowl, combine all mixes, soup, and water. Mix well and pour into crock pot. 

Cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring about every hour. Be sure to check if the potatoes are done, that's usually what takes the longest. 

This is a great meal for a blustery day, or even a Sunday dinner to cook 

while you're at church.

  

Linked Up To:
Classy Clutter 

Our Halloween

For Marlene's first Halloween, we headed down to Grandma and Grandpa's house! They live in a great neighborhood that does lots of fun activities.

On our way there we took a detour and picked up cousin Evie! After that we made a stop at the bank Auntie Suz works at so we could show off our costumes, and get some candy. 

Then we were off to Cedar Hills where we spent the rest of the night. Once we got there I took Evie down the street to get her face painted. (I didn't take my camera and I wish I had!) Once we were done, Nellie came after getting off work. 

Jason, Heidi (his sister), and Evie carved some pumpkins because Grandma and Grandpa grew 7 in their garden this year! 

Finally after dinner it was time for trick or treating. Evie was chomping at the bit to get going, and Marlene was wondering what the heck we were doing. She's never been outside at night for very long before, but she was her usual happy self. 

We hiked (literally, who's idea was it to build houses on a mountain side?!) around the neighborhood and scored some sweet treats. Popcorn, caramel apples, hot chocolate, 

and of course CANDY! 

And yes, we were totally those parents that took their baby around with a bag even though she's too little to eat any sweets. Only one person called us out on it.

Overall it was a great evening, and Marlene crashed pretty hard once we got home. Next year I'll try and think of a fun family costume.