New Beginnings

This past year has been a hectic, but exciting ride. I've taken many pictures. Yet, I've failed to do much with them. My goal for the new year is to work on many scrapbooks from years past, including the kid's baby books. I have tons of pictures of them on Photobucket. Yet there they sit. Untouched. Not printed. Not in books. Not being showcased. I love my children. I regret the fact that I have yet to do their baby books. So my goal is to work on their baby books throughout the year and hopefully have them ready to print at the end of the year. I am also taking the plunge into P365. I know it is a lot for me to take on, but I think I can manage it if I stay focused and on task. I want to do this for my children. I want them to be able to look at them years down the road. I want them to cherish these as they are meant to be cherished. So, as the new year begins, I am also starting new. Focus. Attention to details. More time. Time with my family. Time with my hobby. Here is to new beginnings.

Until next time. . .

Recent scrappy-ness

Two posts in one day. . . who woulda thunk it?! Since my life is currently in go go mode I thought it would be nice to see some of the lovelies I have been able to create in my "me" time. Enjoy!

First up is the most recent layout. It's of our newest addition to the family who is now going on 9 months old! So hard to believe!! Isn't she a doll?!

Created using ~

Isn't She Lovely by Zoe Pearn

Summer Rain 1 Templates by Rainy Dayz Designs

Another one of our newest addition. I love how she is splashing the water. Bath time is so much fun!

Created using ~

Grins and Giggles by Bella Gypsy

Summer Rain 4 Templates by Rainy Dayz Designs

This one is of our youngest over the last 8 months. I can't believe how much they change.

Created using ~

It's All Good by Bella Gypsy

Rainy Day Guides for Everyday 4 by Rainy Dayz Designs

Tag (Baby Milestones) by SuzyQ Scraps

Green Alpha (Life Expressed Mega Alpha Stash) by SuzyQ Scraps

Until next time my dears. . . 

Back to regularly scheduled programming

Wowza! Life has been hectic to say the least! Three kids, college full-time, and normal, everyday duties. Who has time to blog? This is the busiest time of the year for me. We are in the midst of Birthday/Holiday Season around here and I decided that it is time to make some sort of downtime for me. Scrapping is my life, outside of my family. It allows me the creative outlet that I otherwise would not get. I am grateful for the chance to preserve my families memories. So I am taking time for myself. Who doesn't need time for themselves? You will randomly get to see some of my scrappy-ness, some of what our life is like on a daily basis, and just some random vents by me. Sit back and enjoy. Don't forget your snacks!

Totally Groovy

So we embarked on another adventure in creativity today. Today we decided to make our own "lava lamps". The kids were mesmerized by these. Of course they needed some help with adding the food coloring, oil, and water, but overall they had a blast. . . especially when they added the alka seltzer pieces. They don't light up, but I can definitely see my kids going back to add more alka seltzer often. You can find the original steps here, but after our first time making it we made a minor change on our second batch since my son wanted an Aqua color.

Here is what you need:

I seriously recommend bigger bottles than what I have, but I didn't have anything else on hand. 

We filled our bottles about 1/4 way with water and then added the food coloring. Shook the bottles to insure the colors were mixed well and then added the oil. :D

These are our final lava lamps. The girl decided she wanted a simple blue. Easy peasy.

The boy wanted a cool aqua color. 

I wonder what is on our agenda for tomorrow's craft time. . . 

Until next time. . . 

Finger Paint Fun

The boy is out of school for the summer, which means I have three kids home all day; luckily for me the baby  is still sleeping most of the time. This kids complain more often than not that they have nothing to do, so yesterday we decided to get a little crafty. It took like no time at all and the kids were at the table painting. Tons of fun and we didn't have any stains; probably only because I added the food coloring. LOL We got lucky and had everything on hand, but barely. :D

Here is what you will need:

1/2 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
food coloring

Here is what you need to do:

In a medium pan, mix all the ingredients together to make the finger paint. Cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring the finger paint mixture until it is smooth and thick. After the finger paint has thickened take the pan off the stove and let the mixture cool.

After cooling, divide the finger paint into storage containers depending on how many colors you would like. Add a few drops of food coloring to each container. Stir the coloring in to the paint to determine the shade of color. You're ready to finger paint! Cover tightly when storing.

The kids had tons of fun making these. They are now sitting in our hall closet until they want to paint some more, which will probably be today, but at least they'll be occupied. 

During their creative process...

The boy's masterpiece. . . 

The girl's masterpiece. . . 

You can find the recipe we used plus a couple of additional recipes right here. 

Until next time. . . 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I don't know about everyone else, but I seriously get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. So the other day I was goofing off online at Pinterest, love this site, and stumbled across a recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. It sounded uber yummy, so I decided to make it for supper that evening. . . considering I had everything on hand. :D What can I say?! It was a huge success. Even my pickiest eater, my husband, loved it and went back for seconds. I never would have thought my non-Chicken eater would like a Chicken recipe that much. This is one recipe that is definitely going into our rotation. I would definitely recommend that you try this one today!

Only Human

This is my first post since deciding to take the focus off of my scrapbooking and focus on what I started this blog for in the first place; a place to share my inner thoughts, recipes, and the ins and outs of our daily lives. Trust me when I say I am pretty sure most of you who read this will agree with me.

I tend to get a little testy and defensive when I feel like I am constantly striving to live up to someone else's standards of what I should be. I never once said that I was perfect or am always chipper. In fact, the complete opposite is true. I am not the perfect Mom, or Wife, for that matter, but I strive to be the best I can. Life with 3 kids is HARD! Harder than I expected it would be. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and I wouldn't change it, even if I could. My son occasionally misses school for no reason, except he doesn't want to go. No big deal! So my kid doesn't have perfect attendance. So none of them behave perfectly when I think they should, especially in public. My kids are not in extracurricular activities. Not because I don't want them to be active and make friends outside of our neighborhood, or school, but because they've never asked. I don't want to force something upon them that they have never shown and interest in. I'm hard on my kids because I want the best for them and from them. What parent doesn't? I don't have the privilege of letting certain things slide because I don't have just one kid. I have 3! If I would let things go all the time I would be living in a nightmare.

So, my kids do not have perfect attendance. They misbehave. They are not perfect. I am not perfect. Why should I hold my children to higher expectations than I hold myself? I shouldn't. I don't.

I suppose all of my venting simple boils down to this. Don't pass judgement on someone if you know nothing about their lifestyle. Having one child is completely different than having two or more. Try to be a little more understanding about the stress someone else maybe feeling without adding the extra stress of making them feel guilty because they may not be looking forward to summer vacation, or Christmas break. It doesn't have anything to do with not loving your children. It has everything to do with listening to fighting and arguing more times than not.

Until next time. . .

Changing things up!

I know it's been forever since I have posted on here and for that I am truly sorry. Most of my posts relate to scrapbooking, but since I have recently given birth to our precious third child, and am limited in the amount of time I have to scrap I have decided to take my blog on a different route. I am going to focus more on our every day lives. I am also going to start posting recipes that we try and really like this way you all can enjoy them too. If you have a recipe that you and your family just love feel free to share it with me. My family and I will try just about anything, except seafood. :D I am looking forward to the upcoming changes and taking you all with me. :D