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!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!

My husband is former military. He is always saying how memorial day is to remember the fallen and not just military in general. So today I am remembering those of my husbands unit who did not come home to their families through their deployment. I am praying for their families...fathers, mothers, children, siblings. I can not imagine. I am thankful that they served their country and sad that they had to make the ultimate sacrifice. Even though today is to honor the fallen, I am left thinking...I am thankful to all our military. They all volunteer. They all know that dying is a potential outcome. They all do it anyway. For our country! The very definition of HERO if you ask me.

Sandcastles

Have I mentioned that my girls L-O-V-E to play outside? The first thing the Lil' Cupcake says when she's near the back door is "wing" (swing). They've been frequently known to cry because they can't go out to play! The Lil' Princess loves everything about being outside. They got a swingset last summer from my mom and stepdad and a trampoline from them for Christmas. Hubby and I have been talking about buying a sandbox when we move. Why you ask? The Lil' Princess grabs her shovel and bucket and heads to the yard where daddy has pulled a weed and added sand to allow the sod to grow. She proceeds to play and dig and play, which the sod isn't happy with. Ha, ha! Sunday we are outside playing and the hubby tells me he just got off the phone with my mom. She had just told him they are on their way over with what else? A sandbox! Think they spoil them too much????? Nah, no such thing for grandparents right? Atleast not for ours. But our girls are so happy and so are their parents because play time outside at our house is down right FUN!





Thank you Gigi and Gman for all those fun toys! My girls are making some of the best memories playing outside with them. We all love you very much!

Have a blessed night!

Pig Tails and Summer Fun!

*Disclaimer* I'm posting raw images to save time. House is still on the market and there's no time to edit pics and blog. LOL! Now, on to the post!

The Lil' Cupcake is finally growing some hair. Not alot on the sides yet, but the back and top are now long enough to play with! I recently gave her some 'pig tails' as we call it in the South! (Some more Western Southerner's call them dog ears). Either way, isn't she the cutest lil' thing??? (I'm not partial at all!)


I know the part isn't the straightest, and I am a perfectionist, but she is also still just a baby...a wiggly baby! ;-)
Now, on to the summer fun of it. As if the ice cream shirt doesn't scream summer. Ha, ha! Where we live in the South there is almost no difference in Spring and Summer. It warms up a bit and then boom...it's hot. I mean H-O-T. We are getting some nice in between temps around the 80's and 90's lately! My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE it outside. So that's where we go when we can. They love to play in the water so daddy set up a sprinkler the other day! We bought a pass ot a local water park but it doesn't open until Memorial day. ;-) Here are some shots from a recent morning outing:

I just love the warm weather we are getting now. How about you? Are you getting warm weather where you live? What's your favorite season? I think Spring and Summer are mine!
Have a blessed night!

She's in the Army now...

My Lil Princess has been known to say "when I grow up and I have to be in the Army" when starting a conversation. You see, she only knew of daddy being in the 'Army' once he got deployed. The one weekend a month thing needed no explanation, but once he was gone longer we felt the need to elaborate a little more to her about where daddy actually was. So since daddy has been back she somehow thought when she grew up she'd HAVE to be in the Army. We've discussed with her that daddy did this as a choice and anyone can actually make that choice when they grow up. So I am thinking it's a thing of the past, right? Then she strolls into the living room one morning after a breakfast of strawberries looking like this:

And for a close up of what I saw...
Any of you Army wives ever seen anything like this before? I laughed so hard I almost couldn't take the pictures...almost. ;-) She's reinventing fashion folks! LOL!
And for the grandparents, I hate posting of one baby without the other. So here's a quick snapshot of the Lil' Cupcake on the same day. =) She'd been checking herself out in the mirror as you can see from the fingerprints behind her:

Over the next week as time allows I will be catching up the blog for the grandparents on our day to day activities and pics of the girls I've snapped. I have quite a few, so some posts may be on the same day.
Have a blessed night!

Positively Splendid Giveaway

Here is a quick post about a lovely give away on a blog I follow called Positively Splendid. Amy is having a give away right now for lovely silhouette's she makes. You all should go on over and check out her give away and her blog. If you are crafty, look around. She has some really great ideas that might inspire you!

She's also doing something she is calling reader spotlight. So for all you who craft on a consistent basis...you might want to follow her!

Vinyl Love

There is something I post very little about on my blog and that is my love for crafting. I posted here about my first project with my new silhouette sd. I made teacher's gifts. =) I love love love that thing! Since we have our house on the market I've barely used it. For one I drag all the stuff out of the closet and hate having to get it all put up quickly if the house shows. And two a big no no when selling a house is personalization, and for me, that is what my silhouette sd is ALL about! Hubby has a buddy who is recently back from a deployment and has two girls. PERFECT opportunity for me to try out some crafty personalization using my silhouette sd don't you think?!




This was an easy project. I had everything on hand already and then the brain storm arrived. I was playing around with the software for the silhouette, dreaming up ideas of what I will make for my little girls when we move. Then I thought, hey, I can make this for hubby's friend. I grabbed my wooden board that I'd purchased at hobby lobby for nearly nothing and mixed some paints together and painted away. Once it had dried I applied another coat. Once that had dried I got out the silhouette and two shades of vinyl. Cut those out and applied to the frame. I sprayed it with some clear acrylic gloss coating for that extra finish. Isn't it cute as can be? I can't WAIT to make one for my girls! I grabbed the cutest ribbon today that's white with pink polka dots to use for hanging embelishment. I hope the girls like their new addition to decor! I enjoyed making it!
I decided to link up to some parties that I find inspiring. I will be linking to the following this week:

and


"
Hope you all enjoyed this! I am super excited and can't wait to do more with my silhouette!

Sinus Surgery

I had sinus surgery last week which is why I've been out of pocket for a few days. I go tomorrow to get my 'stints' removed. They cleaned me out, opened my turbinates (spelling?) and straightened my septum. I am hoping that I will not have sinus infections monthly now! Tomorrow, I hope to breathe easy. =) Wish me luck!

Swagger Wagon!

So a friend of mine sent me a link to a you tube video today. I laughed until tears were streaming down my cheeks! Seriously! It's about a Minivan family. Specifically, a Sienna. We have a Honda mini which we purchased a couple of weeks pre-deployment. We decided we needed a car the lil' princess (who was two at the time) could get in on her own so that I could load in the lil' cupcake in and then come buckle her up. And the DVD player is also awesome for kiddos. My hubby is always telling his buds that the minivan is where it's at. They come with so MANY features that just freakin' spoil you! Sunroof, leather HEATED seats, open/close doors from your key chain, open the back from one button touch on the keychain, rides like a dream, etc. Not to mention S-A-F-E! All that my Acura and 4-runner had been for me and then some. I am one of those people that said NEVER would I EVER drive a Minivan. And I call it my MINI for short because I have a hard time saying Minivan! STILL! But from now on...It's my SWAGGER WAGON!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day

I have had a wonderful mother's day! My girls and hubby woke me up this morning with these:

TWO DOZEN pink roses! WOW, I was happily suprised. AND I got a great temperpedic pillow. I've been secretly wanting one forever! And my hubby had no idea. So kuddo's to him for such an awesome gift! Also got the sweetest card from my girls and a singing card from the hubs. It sings "when a man loves a woman" by Percy Sledge...one of my favorite romantic songs (another thing the hubby didn't know). Oh and inside my card was a 'i owe you' for a pedi which he says he is going to buy, ha, ha! I thought he might give me one himself, but no such luck or does that make me lucky?! At any rate, the hubby racked up major points! And as if the morning couldn't get any better...the hubby cooked breakfast for us! Y-U-M-M-Y! So here's a little collage of pics from after church today. I sat up the camera to do some auto shots on the tripod. We are in our backyard while the girls are ignoring us playing outside. Ha, ha!

After a quick lunch we went to visit with my grandmother and wish her a happy Mother's day. She raised 6 kids! My mother was out of town so I had given her gift and card to her before she left. No worries, she is at the beach relaxing and enjoying her mother's day. My MIL(who raised FOUR boys) was treated to dinner by the brother in laws and the hubby sent her flowers. Ofcourse we called my mom and MIL and hubby's nana to wish them all a Happy Mother's Day.

Something for mom's to think about:

Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

My mom taught me so much about God and how to live for him. I SO appreciate all the times she has prayed with me and prayed for me. I hope that I instill the same love of the Lord in my girls hearts.

Hope you all had a blessed mother's day!