Special Father's Day

It's Father's Day!  Today my dad and brother came over so we could celebrate together.  My brother and I ran alot of errands today.  And on top of all of that my dad met us at a local store to get a summer pool for the girls for the back yard.  We were all hot and sweaty from being outside!

For dinner the hubster grilled for all of us (yes, he grilled his own father's day dinner, but I bought him beer, LOL).  I made a dessert I'd been wanting to try out for some time now that I will post about later this week.  It was simple, easy, and good!  That is my kind of food =)

Today was a very special time to me.  It was the very FIRST Father's Day that the hubby has been home since we had our girls.  Being in the National Guard will do that to ya!  So this year felt like a very special blessing.  He is such a wonderful daddy.  And our girls do adore him!

I ADORE this pic of the two of them.  We read a book to her about Berry Sweet Baby Kisses and it's her favorite book.  I think of it every time I look at this picture.  It makes my heart smile. 

What did all of you do for Father's Day?  Do you have something special that you do every year? 

Lil' Cupcakes First Haircut

My Lil' Cupcake got her very FIRST haircut today.  She is SUCH a big girl!  As we walked into the salon she gave my arm the grip of death.  I had been talking with her and her big sister about their salon visit today.  The Lil' Princess was so excited to be getting her hair done.  =)  But, even when we got upstairs the grip of death by the Lil' Cupcake was even TIGHTER!  Oh no!  I wasn't quite sure how it was going to turn out.  Li'l Princess grabbed Ms. Mel's hand and went right to the chair for her trim.  She was a GREAT example for the Lil' Cupcake.  The Lil Princess has a head full of GORGEOUS HAIR.  It's wavy, long, thick...yah, she got that from her daddy.  Anyway, she had to stand up to get it trimmed because it was so long!  In that moment the Lil' Cupcake decided SHE wanted to sit in the big chair.  And here's the rest of the story:

*Trying out the chair*
Disclaimer: Today was carnival day at school so they both had these tattoos on their cheeks when I picked them up.  Ha, ha!

*Being Silly and loving the mirror*

*Can you see my tonsils?  I want my passy back!*

*Check out the face when it started*

*yah, it's a SMOKIN' Mullet!  But it makes ROCKIN' PIGTAILS!*

*She made it, she IS  a BIG GIRL NOW!*

*Thank you Ms. Mel! You are AWESOME as always!*

The Lil' Princess had her first haircut around 12months, but the Lil'Cupcake hasn't needed one until now...she's 18 months!  How old were your babies when they got their first haircuts? 

Which do you like?

Grabbed a pic from last years beach trip and did some editing.  Which do you like? 

a. I'm a sucker for a color burst and black vingette.  You will see this in many pics I edit. 

b. I liked the vintage feel of the one below

   

c. I am not usually a fan of black and white but really liked how this one turned out.  The only thing is I *LOVE* the beautiful colors of the ocean and this hides it. 

d.  This was a compromise between the color burst and vintage feel. 

May your day be filled with Blessings!

No Lazy Days Here!

This summer has been packed full of fun for us!  We have been on the go, go, go.  So what HAVE we been up to?  Well, both girls are in gymnastics.  Here are some pics of the Lil' Princess:

All dressed up for church and flower smelling/picking after the service:

Daddy has done LOTS of grilling:

The girls have eaten Popsicles and enjoyed riding in the new bike trailer:

And we've picked up our new super cute monogrammed stuff:

Wait, let's not forget birthday parties!  Lil Princess has a friend who was born a few months after her.  Here is Mr. B at his party.   

  We may be getting over our fear of this MOUSE...MAYBE:

These two adore each other:

The Lil' Cupcake enjoyed some cake:

WHEW!  And we've been going to the local water park once a week and had some friends come over to play!  No pics of either of those.  But I'd say we've been staying occupied.  And definately enjoying our summer!  How about you?  What have you all done this summer?  Taking it easy or staying busy?
I am enjoying every minute of it and it's making for great nights sleep!  Ha, ha!  I hope you all have a blessed night =)

Long Over Due!

I finally did it!  I re-covered the chairs for our kitchen table!!!  Yay!  I've had the table for about 10 years now.  I purchased it from a sweet older lady who was moving in with family and selling all of her furniture out of her home.  The table was only about a year old then.  So, that makes it 11 yrs of original fabric!  Wow, definately overdue for this change!  So here is the picture of the original chair:

Boring tan/neutral fabric. I've been meaning to recover these bad boys FOREVA!!!!  I finally found this fabric the other day at hobby lobby:

I purchased 2 yards at $9/yd and used my 40% off coupon.  I figured if I got it home and hated it I'd lost about $12 and I NEEDED this change! 
When we bought our current home my hubby did ALL KINDS of DIY projects.  He stripped wall paper, painted, hung moulding, lights, fans, laid all kinds of flooring...you name it, he did it.  So when I went to recover these chairs and thought of needing his help...I thought twice.  Thought back to the "I never want to do this again"  Ha, ha!  So how did I do it?  I did this as easy as possible.  Here are a list of the supplies I used: 

• staple gun and staples 
• fabric
• drill 

I turned the chair upside down and used an ottoman for a helper.  This enabled me to use the drill to unscrew the cushion from the base without a second set of hands.  Once the cushion/seat form was off I needed to figure out how to cut my fabric.  I laid the cushion face down on the fabric and decided how far out to cut (making sure it would wrap nicely around it).  I cut out one piece and used that as a template to cut the other three.  I'm lazy,anal, efficient like that!  After getting all my fabric cut out it was time to recover the cushions.  I made sure to clean them all before recovering.  ;-)  With two little ones that was a must!  So I grabbed up my staple gun, loaded it with staples and started recovering.  I didn't use any fabric glue or fray check or burn the fabric to keep it from unravelling.  I just folded the edge so that the raw edge was folded under like a hem and THEN stapled it to the cushion/form.  =)  Once they were recovered I used my ottoman again to hold them steady, grabbed the drill, and reattached them to the base of the chair.  Here is the outcome:

The wicker probably needs a coat of paint, but the fabric?   I'm loving it!  I'm thinking of making some curtains (no sew ofcourse) to go with.  I have a sewing machine but I have so little time to use it.  That means that it takes FOREVER to figure it out when I do use it.  ;-)  Anyway, I'm not trying to get to far ahead of myself.  I have to find the time ofcourse!  LOL!
And here's the 'big' picture....what do you think?

Hope you all had a productive weekend!  We stayed busy!  I will be following this post up with one for the grandparents on all our summer fun so far! 
Have a blessed night!

In the mean time

I'm in the process of updating my blog layout. I've created what I see as a messy blog right now. Sorry!

But, in the mean time, feast your eyes upon the latest self taken pic with my fancy smancy motorola cliq phone that has no flash.

Before we saw Prince of Persia.  Date night is a rarity and very cherished!

Alabama Breakfast Cakes

The name of the post today was inspired by my brothers in law!


My first trip up North to meet the hubby's family I cooked some sausage crescent roll breakfast thingy's. They were lovingly dubbed Alabama Breakfast cakes. Since then the name has stuck. And I like it! =) This weekend we had all that I neede to make them (three ingredients). They are super easy and definately delish. I am not one to bake/make pretty food, but I like it to taste good =)

If you want to make some of these I will tell you how I do it!
You will need:

• 1 roll of refrigerated sausage (I prefer Jimmy Dean Mild, but get the sausage you love!)
• 2 cans of pillsbury crescent rolls (I use the low fat and it works great!)
• 1-2 packages of cream cheese (Your choice. I use 1.5 because I like cream cheese. I also use the low fat. I found the fat free does not have the same consistency when baked).

Preheat the oven as directed on the crescent rolls. Brown your sausage and drain, I mean drain all the grease off (otherwise the rolls get soggy and gross). Combine drained sausage and desired amount of cream cheese in frying pan on low or medium heat. Not too hot or the cream cheese will burn. Cook these two together until the cream cheese is mixed in well with the sausage. I use two crescent rolls to make the rectangular shaped breakfast cakes. I've tried rolling them up like a normal crescent roll but I don't like the way the sausage and cream cheese hardens when exposed to the oven temps. So, I just open the crescent rolls, pull off 2 or a rectangle, add the sausage/cream cheese mixture and fold. I spray my pan with PAM to keep it from sticking. Cook as directed on the can of pillsbury crescent rolls. These are great for breakfast. I originally discovered these when I had a surgery and my best friend brought some over for me. Super sweet! I liked them so well I had to know how to make them! I've also substituted the sausage for chicken from a can and added diced onion. Just as easy and tasty but in a different way!
I will be linking this post up with the parties on my side bar that apply later in the week. =)
Hope you all are having a blessed day!

Ya say it's your birthday...

Tomorrow is my birthday! I have had a FABULOUS weekend. Hubs took me to dinner at my fav restaurant Friday night. Outback in case you are wondering. =) On the way there I said "I was hoping someone would get me a cheesecake this year" Hint hint...right? Nope, he'd already gotten it. I hadn't looked in the fridge before we left or I would have seen what was waiting for later:

My mother called me today to find a time to bring me what else? A cheesecake! WOW! I got double what I wanted! LOL! I will be meeting up with her tomorrow so that I can take that one to work with me and share it =)
My MIL sent this to me last week:

I know, I told you she was great! Be jealous! =) She knows I typically use the wristlets and I love coach and all things pink. I LOVE it! It is as awesome as it looks!
My mother gave me $$ to get two new pair of shoes that she knew I had wanted:


I love yellowbox shoes! I typically wear them out every year. The bronze pair was an accidental purchase but I am happy with them none the less. (The order got mixed up. I had ordered another pair of brown yellow box shoes but I happened to really like these when they came in!)
And the hubster and girlies got me a new lens for my camera!!!! I borrowed this one from a friend a while back and I loved it. 35mm =) I've used it this weekend and it's as great as I remember.

My brother and my dad got me this:

Now I just need a bike to pull it! I seriously have been saying I want one of these things to pull the girls in so I can get out and get some exercise. I think they will love it too!
This birthday has been awesome. I feel so blessed by my family and friends. Thank you to everyone for all the fabulous gifts!
Have a blessed night!

Blog Award!

Wow! I got a blog award....Yipee!

Thank you T-bird for passing this my way =) If you haven't visited the blog Nestled in Rosenberg you should stop by some time. My fav post to date is the one where T-bird discusses Tag Team Thrifting. She has the greatest way of relaying a message with humor. I loved it! Being a working mom I really need a Tag Team Thrifting friend....any takers???
The award rules are that I have to list seven things about me so here goes:

1. I love summer! I am SO glad that it's here!
2. I work outside the home as a quality engineer and auditor, but WISH I was a SAHM for two of the most wonderful obvious reasons.
3. I have the best husband in the world. Seriously, so blessed!
4. I enjoy any holiday, but my favorite is Christmas.
5. I have an addiction to buying shoes. For me or the girls.
6. I have a serious sweet tooth. Love all sweets. Tbird, my favorite is also cheesecake!
7. Seven is my favorite number. Always has been because I was born on the 7th. ;-)

Now, I will be passing this on to some bloggy friends! As you pass this on don't forget to notify the recipient! =)

Jennifer at The Getts Times

Check her Bon Appetite Link Party out! She has it organized so well! Each link party is a different topic of recipe sharing! YUM!

Jennifer at All Things Pink and Crafty

This girl can get a craft on in a hot minute and parties like a rock star when doing it. Seriously, check out her craftiness and all the parties she links to on her side bar!

Jill at Women Who do it All

She hosts Idea Sharing Wednesday and it is so fun to look in and see what others have been up to!

Anna at The Happy Heflins

I so enjoy seeing Anna's pictures each and every post! She is fabulous at catching the right shot and SUPER on mastering depth of field!

Ashley at SheSheBows

She sells all kinds of awesomeness for little ones! Stop by and check out her blog.

Meghan at The Carrolls

Meghan takes some awesome black and white photos! I enjoy her posts as well!

Hope you all are enjoying your week! It sure is HOT in the South now, but I am loving EVERY STINKIN' MINUTE of it!
Blessings!

Recipe Exchange!

I'm linking up today with a sweet blog friend who has started to host a recipe exchange! This week's topic is DIPS and Spreads!


Check out her blog and all the fun recipes!

How was everyone's holiday weekend? We attended a very nice cookout with friends. Though I will not be sharing pics, I will be sharing a delicious dip that was served! The hostess, one of my dearest friends, was gracious to send it to me so I could share it with everyone. It is super simple and delicious!

Ingredients
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
16 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup bacon bit
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)

Directions
Mix all ingredients and enjoy.
Note: as usual with dips this is better made ahead so the flavors can marry.

Hope you have a blessed Tuesday! I am excited to have a FOUR day week this week! Yipee!