Why Didn't I Think of This?

Sometimes I just have a "duh" moment. Honestly, over the last few months, they're happening more and more. I know!! I'm just going to blame it on, adjusting to life with 3 precious girls.

Over the weekend, we had lots of time with our family. Which was heaven! My BIL and SIL have the most amazing Ranch. And they hosted our Labor Day events. Fun times people! Our big girls, got to have lots of pony rides. The guys played a game of baseball. And we ate. Boy did we eat!

Another thing that I enjoy, is that my in-laws always invite, all sides of the family. It's not just Mark's HUGE family. They invite my family, and all the other "in-laws." I'm telling you, we're just one HUGE and HAPPY family. It makes life so incredibly nice, and enjoyable. :)

Yes, this family has been a complete blessing. They haven't just taken me in, but my entire family. Then they spoil us all! Let me tell you, my SIL did not need any help with the food. She had a HUGE spread of amazing food. But we all still took some treats. I'm telling you, we're "trained." Family "get-togethers" just mean, bring family, food, and love.

My favorite treat though, were these little cookie bowls that my SIL made. Then she filled them with fresh fruit, and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Perfect to beat the heat!!



Just look at how she made them. Well, that's how my SIL told me she made them. She rolled out some dough, them placed it on a tin. On the "wrong side." And baked until golden. My SIL did say, if you're making chocolate chip, use the mini chips. And place your muffin tin, on a baking sheet.

She also made her fancy "cheesy bowls." I've seen her do this before. Essentially, she uses a small skillet. Melts cheesy in there, then lays it on a small bowl. Again, on the "wrong side." They harden as they cool. Then she usually uses them for salads.

Yes, my SIL is super creative when it comes to food. That's probably because of my nephew. When he was little, he didn't like to eat. So his momma would try and make it fun. It worked! Now he's a champ, at eating his veggies. I think a lot of that has to do with the training he does, for rodeo and baseball. But it definitely started with his momma.

So do you have any fun food tricks? I'm always looking for ways to make our food interesting. I'm always picking my friend and SIL's brains. Hoping to learn something new. A

Not Again!!

Do you ever find an adorable pattern, then when you go back to it, it's gone? It's happened to me a few times. By now, you'd think I'd print my favorite patterns. You know, when I first find them.

But like with most things in life, I just haven't learned yet. Then I spend weeks, sometimes months tracking down the patterns to buy. Which I don't mind. But it's frustrating to say the least! And sometimes, I just NEVER find the patterns again. Those times, make me really sad.

You see, late in the Spring, I found Neanners Shop. It's an adorable blog! With tons of cute, and FREE patterns. I saved the blog to my "favorites." And knew late in the summer, I'd come back to it. You know, to make the girls some adorable winter hats. Except the patterns were no longer there! And just look at how cute this hat is!!



This picture is from the Neanners Shop blog. And I'm not losing hope. There is no email address on the blog. Or contact info. I've found the designer on Ravelry as well. Hopefully, I can find a way to contact the designer. I don't mind buying the patterns. Because they really are adorable!

Now I hope I've learned my lesson. Copy and print patterns immediately!! Don't wait. Because you know, you may never find them again. And that just makes me sad. Because I want to make my girls some really cute things. Like these hats. A

Last Week of Summer

Today marks our last week of summer. Officially. Elena starts school next Monday!! Yes, I'm still not sure about this whole thing. But you know, she's growing up. And we have to let her. You know, she still needs her momma to guide her on her way. And I'm definitely here for that!

But I wanted to do something special to start off our week. And I wasn't quite sure what to do. I called my friend Lola. Funny how that works. She has no kids, but I ALWAYS turn to her!

And what did Lola suggest? Maybe a mini shopping trip. To buy a special little something, to take to school. Something that would remind Elena of home. And of course, a new book! Thanks again Lola! We have on happy girl on our hands!!

Mark even wanted in on the fun! So he's taking a "half day." And I've got the girls this morning. Just enjoying the good life. In our pjs. We watched some cartoons, snacked on fruit, and now the girls are napping.

And when they wake up, we'll get ready to head out. They know about all this. And our adventure to a local bookstore. We like to shop local when we can. So the little bookstore it is. And hopefully, we can find a cute surprise, while we're out. Before all this...a little summer treat!!

And what is this exactly? An orange coke float. Another idea from Lola. :) I should have remembered these, from when we were younger. Lola would always ask for a coke float, with orange soda. She said it reminded her of Dreamsicles. Yum!



Doesn't that just sound yummy? I think so! And it's a nice way to kick off our week. We're also planning a bigger adventure on Friday. I'm a little nervous, about my baby going to school. So I'm going to enjoy every last second of her, this week! Remembering the days, before she went to school, and was still my baby girl! A

Brilliant!!

I was wondering around Pinterest earlier. Just looking for things, to make our lives a little simpler. I think our older 2 girls, are ready to be a little more independent. And well, I could use any help I can get right now.

This idea, just blew my mind! Maybe because I've got my hands full all the time. And it's summer. The temps are through the roof! And my girls drink water all day. It's not a bad thing. But it makes for a lot of time at the fridge. And in the cabinets. That why this idea is just brilliant.



Magnetic cups. I just bought a bunch of cups at Albertson's. On clearance! Cute and all. For 10 cents a piece. Tomorrow, I'm heading out to buy some magnets. Then, we will all have our own cups. Right on the fridge. Because in this weather, well we can't get enough ice water! A

Peter the Elephant

Have you seen, or heard about, Peter the Elephant? Over the weekend, my BIL was telling us about this elephant. I don't know where he heard the story. But Mark didn't believe him. Until we pulled out our laptop, and watched the video. Since then, we've seen this video everywhere! This elephant is super cute! A

Sweet Owls

I don't belong to Facebook. I don't have any intention, of ever signing up. OK, I had a page, a few years ago. For about a week. Then I deleted it. Years ago, I signed up for MySpace. And rarely, ever used it too. And that was before I had kids! As you can tell, my Twitter page, rarely gets used either. Let's be honest, I can barely handle my blog. :)



But I was reading Ana's blog. And she's hosting a Crochet Along. Now, just for a second, she tempted me with Facebook. Because that's where she's hosting her Crochet Along. Then I thought better. But I'd still like to make these beauties, for Elena and Ofelia. Something sweet to give them, when their little sister arrives. Um, I'm not sure if I can crochet that fast. But maybe, they'd be a nice Spring present. A

Yum!

I'm sure, that you know about my love of Nate Berkus!! He hangs the moon for me. :) I know, that if we were to meet in real life, we'd be immediate BFFs!!

I've never missed a day of his show. Ever!! That's why, this news, saddens my heart!! But we must go on. And I hope Nate, will find a new home, on TV. Very soon!!

But back to his show. I've seen Katie Lee make French Onion Soup. 3 times!! And you know what, I finally buckled to the pressure. It just looks so good. And come on, if they've showed this particular show 3 times, it must be delicious!

I searched high and low for the recipe. And could not find it!! Not anywhere. But the video, is right here. I watched it. Three times, and scribbled out some notes. That's what we had for dinner. Tonight. And my family soaked it up!! There is not a drop left. And I made a HUGE pot. There's only Mark, our 2 daughters, and me. I don't know who ate the most. :)

This is definitely one of our new favorite recipes. I'll be making it, many times in our future!! What an easy, and delicious meal this was. Now, I must confess something. I knew, Mark would want a little something more. So I warmed him up, some leftover pot roast. Again, this meal, was a home run! In our house, that's a great thing!!



Between, I just adore Katie!! She is so cute. And all her recipes are yummy. I picked up her cookbook one day. I found it at Dollar General. And I said, what the heck. The best $5 I've spent!! I've made almost everything in this cookbook. And I haven't been disappointed. A

What to Plant????

Recently, the girls and I went to Family Dollar. They were having a "Baby Sale." And I wanted to pick up some baby washcloths, look for some headbands, and maybe look through the garden section.

Well, we left with quite of big bunch of stuff. And I thought, well, we'd be set for planting. After I picked up 4 packs of baby washcloths, 2 bundles of headbands, and a necklace for me, we headed to the garden stuff.

By the way, the necklace wouldn't ring up. And it was super cute!! A chunky beaded necklace. Usually, they'll sell it for a quarter or so. Sometimes a dollar. Because it's usually "out of season." And they're trying to get rid of the stock. But this time, they threw it in the trash!!! Really, I was just shocked!!! Family Dollar, did you read that??? The lady in front of me, they must of thrown away 10 pieces of jewelry, and 5 pieces of clothing. CRAZINESS!!! And she was not too happy. She left the $100 worth stuff, that they had rung up to that point, and left the store!!!

Back to the garden stuff. Sorry about that mini rant. I just had to get it off my chest. :) I decided to let the girls help out. Since they already knew, they weren't going to get any toys. Ofelia was definitely excited about all the "Garden Animals." Especially the bunnies!! We came home with about 12 different animals. For under $20. We also picked up some metal hanging things. To put in the yard, and then hang flower baskets from.

Elena was definitely into the seeds. I'm a little embarrassed to say this, we left with $15 worth of seeds. I know!! And they're either 4 or 5 packs for $1. Can you just imagine how many packs of seeds we have. :) Maybe I should have been paying better attention to Elena. But she was pretty excited. And this purchase, should be bringing us happiness, for a long time!!

I was going through all these seeds earlier. And what did I notice? Only 5 packs of those seeds, are for food!! The rest are flowers. I guess my girl, wants lots of pretty flowers. We now have seeds for watermelons, pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes, and jalapenos. Can you tell what Elena likes to eat?? :)



Well, this leads to a little dilemma. What should we plant this year? Since we pretty much have to do all our garden shopping still, I need to make a plan. We have garden boxes. :) It makes things a little easier for us. I'm thinking squash, plenty of tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, lots of herbs, pumpkins, watermelons, strawberries, and maybe some eggplant. I wonder how hard, it is to grow sweet potatoes....

Do you have any other ideas, of what I should buy? What we should plant? What are some of your favorite things? It doesn't have to be seeds. We'd be happy to buy plants. We can even talk about flowers, bushes, and trees. Because we want to add some more color to our yard. I'd love to hear your thoughts!! A

Nursery Ideas....

3 months from today, is my due date! Where has the time gone? I swear, this pregnancy is flying by! And we're not really ready. I've managed to get the girls' baby clothes out. And washed. For the most part. I've made a little list of things, that we're going to need. As our babies, have all been born in different seasons.

Mark and I, did manage to buy the carseat today. We are completely OK with using "hand me downs." Just not with the carseats and cribs. I think those need to be repurchased every time. For safety reasons.

But we're stuck on nursery ideas. Lola and Lorenzo are incredibly generous! They've offered to cover the expense, of our baby girl's nursery. Such amazing Godparents! Lola has helped me in the past. She could have been an amazing interior designer. She is just a natural at it! And she helped design Elena and Ofelia's nurseries. And now, their "big girl rooms!"

Ideas? I'm lost on those. For the nursery. And I need some! Soon! As Lola has a very busy schedule. And I'd like to give her some ideas. Before much more time goes by. I've been staying up late, looking through so many nursery websites. Do you have any ideas? For our baby girl's nursery?



Where not much into "matchy, matchy" things. We like that "collected over time" look much better. Mark and I want something that our daughter can grow with. So not too "babyish." No cartoons. Something simple, girly, and inviting. I'd love to hear your ideas! Please! A

Etsy I LOVE You!!

I should tell you something. I spend way too many hours on Etsy. After my girls are fast asleep. I shop the clearance racks, to buy cute things on Etsy. I like buying things for our home, our girls, and to give as gifts.

Mark laughs, when he sees me, pull out my laptop. He knows, I'm going to be doing some shopping at Old Navy, eBay, or Etsy. Once in a while, I'm searching for crochet patterns. Between, don't you think, there are always better sales on Old Navy's website, than in their stores?

Well, I found a new shop. That I'm in love with!! Purdy Things. This shop, has the most amazing pieces!! And I want one of each. :)



Elena would just love this purse, to pieces!! Those are our favorite colors. And her love of birds, just makes this, an obvious choice. Let's not forget, she doesn't leave home, without her purse!!



Ofelia would look like a doll in this!! Perfect for our hot summer weather. I could see her, running through the sprinklers, in this little outfit!!



And I'd love this, for our new daughter. :) How cute would that be? The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is one of my favorite Children's books. This would be perfect, for newborn pictures!!

I restrained. I just added these, and about another 100 things from this shop, to my favorites. :) But I can't stop thinking, about all these beautiful things. I've got just over 2 months, to ponder these buys. I might just cave!! A

We're Getting Old

I'm getting old. So is Mark. Just don't tell him! Why am I saying this? There was a time, when we'd have gone out. For New Year's. Spent the entire night, with family and friends. Dancing away. Celebrating the passing year. And the coming year.

Mark's brothers, with their wives, my siblings with their significant others, and a handful of friends. We'd go out. Find a good, and safe place to celebrate. Have the time of our lives! Dance until the sun came up. Then we'd all go out for breakfast.

If we were lucky, we'd head home for a 2 hour nap. Then to church. And a day full of family fun. Nowadays, we're homebodies. 100% On New Year's Eve, we had a little "dance party" with the girls. We've been doing this, since Elena's 1st New Year's. The girls stayed up later than usual. But we're still in bed, before 11pm.

Mark and I, stayed up to ring in the New Year. Low key. Yummy snacks, a good movie, then the "Ball Drop." I'm pretty sure, we were in bed, before 1am. Happy as can be! Us, and my big 'ol preggers belly. :)

Yesterday morning, was like pulling teeth! We almost didn't make it to church. Because we unexpectedly overslept. So did our daughters. You'd think, we partied all night! Both girls fell asleep in church. That never happens! We'll chalk it up, to all that dancing. :)

Then we went to my in-laws' house. If you haven't realized it by now, we spend a lot of time with them. I personally, love it! Mark's family is so close! And I think it's the perfect environment, for our daughters, to grow up in.

Since we woke up late, I didn't get my cooking done. But we had the groceries at home. Mark lugged them into his parents' house. Where I was going to do a little cooking. When my MIL told me to relax.

My SIL actually whipped up, my mashed potatoes, salad, and dessert. She is a sweetheart! While my BIL entertained the girls. Taking them on horse rides. While Mark, my other BIL, and FIL were working in the barn. I'm still not positive, what they were doing. But it was some "guy thing." That kept them, and all our nephews entertained!

Meanwhile, my MIL, SILs, and I spent the better part of the day, watching the Hallmark Channel. What else would you expect? We're addicted! I'm pretty sure, that I took a 2 hour nap. Sometime during our movie marathon. I just can't shake this exhaustion!



We eventually got it together. Later in the afternoon, many other family and friends came over. And we had the best dinner! My MIL is a genius in the kitchen. No lie! And we watched more Hallmark. As the guys caught up on their games.

Let me tell you, I'll take Hallmark, family, friends, and good food, over going out. Any day! This is the life! Even if, I seem to now, require 10 hours of sleep a day! And cry every 15 minutes, while watching Hallmark. Isn't that where the fun is? That and playing dolls with my girls! How was your New Year's? A

New Inspiration

I've gotten some new inspiration lately. You know, to blog more. Mostly from my SIL and Lola. I've never really been good at this. I was better at twitter. But somehow, I fell off that bandwagon too. Much like FB and MySpace. But I'm trying.

And I really want to be better at this. I think it's a good tool to keep in touch with friends and family. And a great way to record memories! That part, I really enjoy. :)

So I'm going to work on a little "blog" schedule. I'm going to try to post more often. Oh, and share my new love of crochet with the world! Thanks for teaching me Lola! I'm having so much fun! And my girls are really loving all their new toys. A

Learning to Crochet

Lola has been in town. Since her dad got sick. I'm not exactly sure, just how long she's going to be here. But we're all enjoying her company! Very much! There have been many lunches. Lots of trips to the library. And a few runs to the store.

One thing that I've always wanted to learn, is how to crochet. And anyone that knows Lola, knows that she is skilled! So is her mom. :) I watched as Lola, mindlessly crocheted in the hospital. And it just intrigued me.

A few days ago, I asked Lola to show me the basics. We went to Hobby Lobby, and stocked up, on supplies. And one night, we had her over for dinner. Mark agreed to clean up the kitchen after dinner. So that we could get started. :)



I was hooked from the very beginning! Every time we go visit her dad, I bring along my crochet. Just so I could ask a question or 2. From Lola, or her mom. Right now, I'm working on this blanket. In these colors. For Elena. Lola insisted, that it's a very basic pattern. And it really is easy. Even for this beginner. I'm slowly coming along!

When I finish it, I want to start a pink and turquoise one for Ofelia. This might take a while, but I'm OK with that. I never realized, just how calming crocheting is. Thank you Lola! You've taught me something, that I've wanted to do for years. And I love it! A

Home

It feels good to be home. And to be with our girls. Yes, we all need a vacation from time to time. And some time as just "man and wife." But I still miss being "mommy and daddy" when we're away.

This was a big deal for us. The first time we've left Ofelia since she was born. I knew my in-laws would be amazing. As always! But it was tough. I had to really plan ahead. And do a lot of pumping. So my baby girl would have milk. And I still had to pump and store on the trip. It was pretty hilarious! But we managed. :)

Honestly, I'm so happy to be home. I'm glad that we went on this trip. But there is no place like home. Especially when you have a husband to love you, and 2 little girls to love!

Before I forget, Happy 30th Birthday Enzo! A

I'm Gonna Get My Craft On!!!

Last night, I got a little lost. In the world of YouTube!! Isn't that the way it works? YouTube just sorta sucks you up. And you lose hours of your time. I feel like it works like this. Anyway, I was catching up on all my favorite YouTubers. And I was so excited when I came to Jen's page!!



This is such a good tutorial. Honestly, I almost bought a wipe case, some burp clothes, and a little blanket on Etsy. It's still in my "favorites." I'm not going to tell you the seller. Because now that I think about it, $100 for this set....is just nuts!! The blanket is just a receiving blanket. With a little fabric letter sewn on it.

But I'm so excited about this discovery!! I'm not crafty. At all! But even I, can figure out how to glue some fabric, on a wipe case. Especially, since Jen does it all on camera!! Now I need to go buy a glue gun and some fabric. This is so exciting for me! I'm going to be making one of these for our baby girl!! :) A

Starting to Blog

Today my mom-in-law came over. When she got here, she caught me reading all my blogs. I have a list that I read. More so now than ever! All of my friends are starting to blog. The 2 of us talked about it. And she encouraged me to start my own. I just don't think I will be posting any pictures of Elena or the new baby. Because of that story about the little boy. The one were someone took his picture and used it to place an adoption add. Really creepy.

I think I will just use my blog to sorta document our life. Maybe use as a place to communicate my thoughts. I really don't have a plan. I guess I am just going to have to play it by ear. But I think this will be a fun new hobby! I hope you enjoy it too! A