Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party

Two days after my newest squishy cutie pie came into the world, my oldest turned three years old. Kinley and Merit had the same due date (Aug. 17) so I've known for awhile that I wanted to make his 3rd birthday special for him since it was going to be so close to such a big change in our lives. I tried to plan ahead, but the last few weeks of my pregnancy were so dreadful that I didn't get everything done that I had hoped to do. Still, fresh outta the hospital, we partied! I couldn't have done it without all the help from family. We just had a few people over because I was afraid of inviting a bunch of folks in case I went into labor on the day of the party, but it was nice to see everyone and eat some delicious cake. Kinley is very into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse right now so that's the theme I rolled with. 

For the invites, I used this printable and put my enormous scrapbooking paper collection to good use.

I actually hit up Pinterest for A LOT of printables. The ones I used for the "Mouseketools"(forks), "Hot Diggity Dogs" (hot dogs), "Daisy's Garden Veggies" and "Clubhouse Sandwiches" (subs) can be found here.

I used this, too.

See the Mickey Mouse head near the bowl of chips? I just used Styrofoam balls, hot glue, spray paint, and a little glitter. Voila!

I had all these plans for a cute homemade cake and other Mickey themed sweets, but I ended up calling up Bi-Lo for a cake. I'm glad I did--I was stressed enough as it was. They did a great job anyway and it was delicious.

The celebration was short and sweet because I was so tired, but I think he had a good time!

Happy Birthday, Kinley! I love you lots.

Yummy, Family-Approved Recipes

Y'all know I've been busy, but I've added one more thing to my plate (literally) and that is cooking dinner most nights. As you probably already know because I gush about him, my husband is an amazing cook. In the past, he put the food on the table most nights. But I just crave a schedule (and so do the boys!) so I started cooking at the same time every day so that I can have dinner on the table at a specific time. It seems to have helped a lot. Cray K is being slightly more adventurous and is definitely eating more. Baby A? Well, he's just going through a phase- that's what we'll call it.

ANYWAY

I am making my growing family happy with some of the Pinterest meals I've made lately:

1) Chicken (and Bacon) Ranch Pasta

The picture is terrible, I know. Trust me though- YOU WANT THIS IN YOUR LIFE.

2) Creamy Bacon Tomato and Avocado Pasta Salad

This was amazing, too and didn't last long at all. Both of my kids even ate it....it was weird.

3) Chicken Tacos (or Burritos?) *This was easy and delicious. Sadly, the pin didn't lead anywhere, but I was able to figure it out on my own (ha) and created a photo of directions just for YOU.

I suggest you add beans and rice to the other ingredients shown here. mmmm, MMM!

That's all I've got folks.

Stay tuned for the following posts:
- the opening of my new business (hopefully next week)! Details to come.
- baby #3 Bumpdate
- hiking with my crew

Much love,

Leg Day Exercises

Hey, friends! I don't know about you, but I've been slacking this week in my workouts. It's not much of an excuse but I've been so busy and when I've had the opportunity to rest, I've taken it. For the past few days, I felt like my morning sickness was trying to return...

and no. 

I just refuse. 

Anyway, I enjoy coming up with my own exercise routines. It keeps me challenging myself and prevents me from getting comfortable doing the same old thing. Here's one of my recent leg workouts I hope you'll try. I've included some videos below in case you don't know what something is, but if it's not linked just youtube it. 

(Weighted Squats, Mountain Climbers, Hip Bridge + Leg Lift, Donkey Kicks, Squat + Back Kick, Plank, Wall Sit)

Have a great day!

Another installment of...

I decided I wanted to give one of my favorite blogger's pizza directions a whirl because she promised it was easy. I whipped these babies up for lunch one day and they were pretty good. I imagine hers are delicious! Mine needed a little something so I added some hot sauce and my taste buds were happy. I made extra and they were even better the next day after all the ingredients had time to mix together. Yum.

My version wasn't nearly as pretty:

I also saw this little idea on Pinterest and thought the boys' might like some parking lots of their very own.

My version was less involved. I simply took the cardboard sides from an old disposable wipes box (so that it folds up neatly). I numbered the spaces, but did not number the vehicles. Then I wrapped another old box to keep it all organized.

Also, sometimes I like to take quotes I've pinned on Pinterest and meditate on them. Really focus and listen to what I'm being told through the words. I did that this week, too.

Cookie Monster is my kind of people.

Happy Friday, my friends. I hope you enjoy your weekend. It's supposed to be sunny and warm here and J and I have some time away from our little munchkins on the agenda for Saturday night. Woo!

We'll chat soon.

Pinned It, Tried It, Liked It

This first one should probably be Pinned it, Tried it, LOVED it! Oh my yum. Click here or the photo to check out that recipe. Delicious!

I also tried these two ab routines and I like them a lot:

and

Oh, oh! And this was a nifty little trick that worked for the beach:

It kept the sand and oils away from my precious smart phone which turns out to be pretty dumb if you ask me. I have the dumbest Siri alive* The only bummer is that you still have to take the thing out of the bag if you rely on your phone for picture taking...unless you don't mind crappy pictures, of course. I digress.
That's all I've got for you today. I really haven't been very creative lately. Anyway, I've got some exciting things to talk about this week and I can't wait to tell all of you what is going on in our world. More to come soon. I hope each of you have a fabulous week.

*I know Siri isn't actually alive

Pinned It, Tried It, Liked It

Shield your eyes, my friends. If you're a chocolate addict like I am, you're not going to want to see this....or you're really really going to want to see this. It's one or the other. I stumbled across this easy homemade brownie recipe and I had all the ingredients here at the house. Not good for my figure, but man! Good for the soul.

Source: fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Perchance this will balance it all out?

Source: womenshealthmag.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

I love Jill...and this ab routine is different than the run of the mill ones you see all over pinterest. I like it.

Here's another terrible for you recipe that I found on Pinterest. These are so tasty. In the post she says they come out thin like the square break-away cookies you find at the grocery store, but that wasn't at all true for my batch. It probably has a lot to do with me not having a fancy schmancy mixer and having to do it by hand. That's probably why I never bake. Anyway, this was my first successful made-from-scratch cookie.

Here's the pin:

Source: crazyforcrust.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

That's all I've got for you today. Have you tried any good pins lately? Do tell.

Currently

Currently Feeling: Uninspired here. I haven't written much lately because I've been busy with school and looking after my sweet boys. I've just been trying to soak them up while simultaneously not losing my ever-lovin' mind. Honestly, I felt if I wrote here that negativity would spill out and I don't want that (see Matthew 12:36; Ephesians 4:29). I've just been angry following the news stories lately. This world is a scary place and I often question why I brought these two precious, innocent boys into it. If only I could protect them forever. Still, I'm trying to unplug a little more and focus on the good in my life. I need only to look around and see God's many blessings.

Currently Proud of: Getting promoted with Scentsy! Want to help me celebrate? Shop here. Speaking of Scentsy, this is how K greets me every morning- hugging his little Scentsy buddy...making monkey sounds. Cute as can be.

Currently Excited About: I hit the half way mark in this graduate class! I hope I can finish strong. My grades are great right now and I'm trying to manage my time appropriately.

Currently Reading: Don't you judge me.

Current Exercise Goals:

*I have been participating in #WallSitMonth over at MindOverMunch and I'm happy with my progress so far. My goal is to finish up this month strong by working up to a five minute wall sit!

*I can also report that I'm getting faster in my runs. I met a new friend (hooray!) who used to do marathons, but due to some health issues she had to stop training. She is just now getting back into running and was looking for a partner. I'm supposed to go running with her today! I hope I can keep up and I know she'll push me to go faster and longer. My goal is to keep logging some miles. I feel those endorphins and I love it!

Currently Pinning:

These are some of my favorite recent pins.

Source: makeabrandnewstartofit.tumblr.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: backonpointe.tumblr.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: sheinside.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

I'm all about this color of green these days.

Current Mood:

Happy as a clam!

xoxo,

Toddler Activity Board

I told Captain J I'd like to make an activity board for Cray K. My little man is quite the engineer (like his Pop!) and he seems to enjoy focusing on how things work and move. From an early age, he played with his toys in such a way that made me think that there was a lot more going on in that brain of his than I gave him credit for. Perhaps I'm just one of those moms who thinks their child is completely brilliant. That's okay, too.

Pinned:

Source: designdazzle.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Captain J largely took this project in on his own. We went to Lowe's and got some materials and the project was finished in no time.

Our version:

The only drawback to this project is if you don't have a lot of these items around the house then it can get pricey to buy. K loves his board and I'm glad we made it for him, but it ended up costing around 60 bucks because we bought everything new.

Have you tried out any toddler crafts or projects I should know about?

Pinned It, Tried It, Liked It!

Pinspiration:

Source: estyleme.net via Mrs. on Pinterest

Mine: 

The small stripe is cute and all, but "Ain't nobody got time for dat." I'm lucky to get to paint my nails with two babes around. J was out of town when I did this, too. I'm just glad they dried. Anyway, I'm a fan of the sparkles with a pop of color. It looks even better in person. Photographer, I am not.

I also tried this:

Source: theyummylife.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Mine had walnuts instead of candied pecans. It was absolutely delicious. I wish I had some right now!

I also gave this recipe a whirl:

Source: jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

I liked it, but wouldn't want to eat a lot of them. Tailgate snack maybe? You can't really go wrong with cream cheese and croissants anyway. I made them so that I could sneak some chicken into my toddler's mouth. Worked like a charm!

Lastly, I did this workout and man, oh man. Good stuff.

Source: dennisselisseth.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Sorry about the butt in your face. At least it's not mine.

Have you tried out any of your pins lately?

Linking up here-