Halloween Updates!

Okay, like I promised.... Here are some of my photos from all my Halloween decorations that I said I would share. I decorated on last Tuesday and it took me a good while, mainly because I had to detail clean the stairwell for the rats to go up!! But I enjoyed it and love how everything turned out!!

I hope your homes are filled with festive decor as well! :)

 I "made" cookies to celebrate!

 I adore mini pumpkins... They're so cute and kind of timeless seeming in a way. :)

 My full potions brew kit!!! I love this piece!

 I did have some store bought ones that I'd had and just added to the home-made ones for some color!

 I love my ghosts! Both bought at Wal-Mart for under $3!!!

 The jar is one of those "pet bat" things... Joc loves it! It's really cute!

 My place settings!

 Full table view for the holidays!

 One of many glitter webs I have!

I really like how my stairs turned out!! :)

-Stephanie

Inspiration in the Midst of "The End"

This is Heather's story... She was given 15 months to live after being diagnosed with Mesothelioma, and she had just given birth to her tiny bundle of joy, Lily! It's been 7 years... SEVEN YEARS since then and she's still here!!! Alive, well, happy, and stronger than ever!

This video is 3 and half minutes long... That's it! It won't even feel that long while you're watching it! Please, please check this video out! (You won't regret it!!!) Listen to her story and understand how amazing it is that she's still here, 7 years later!! This story will leave you feeling inspired, hopeful, and empowered!! Heather is truly a miracle and has a huge heart! Help her spread her story, help her spread awareness for others suffering from this same type of cancer, and help spread the word about Mesothelioma!!
SHARE THIS VIDEO!!! Google it, Facebook it, Tweet it, Youtube it, share it!!!!!

If you don't really understand or known what Mesothelioma is check out this website for some more info on how horrible this cancer really is! http://www.mesothelioma.com/

Thank you, Heather, for being so brave and strong and for giving others hope in the face of the end! Thank you for sharing your story with others!!

- Stephanie

Toddler Sized Chore Ideas

I found this on Pinterest a while back and have slowly incorporating it into my 4-year-old's life style... And it's really working! At this age in the game they're all so eager to help with anything and everything and it's so hard to let them some times because they just don't do it all quite like it should be done. BUT we need to try and find things for them to do to help because soon enough they won't want to help any more and it'll be like pulling teeth to get them to do anything for us!

This website has a list of suggested chores that the little ones can do to help around the house! I love these ideas. Some of them I'd never even thought of to try! Such as wiping down the toilet and sink (We haven't tried that one yet, not so sure we will for a while.) and vacuuming (we haven't tried this one yet, either.)
The list has other simpler things on it as well, such as; folding small laundry items, clearing the dining table, putting away their laundry, and watering the plants! These things can be so simple, but so helpful to a you on a busy day! And they might not do them right the first time! My little girl sure didn't with putting away her cloths! I gave her a small stack of shirts told her which drawer to put them in and she went.... I went after her to watch and correct if I needed to. (I needed to.) She kinda threw them into her drawer and then just smiled. We fixed it pretty easily and now she puts them away without wrinkling them all up again!
She helps with multiple things off of the list, I love it and so does she! She really feels like she's doing something super important for me when she helps around here with her chores! I'm glad she does, too. Maybe it'll carry through to later when she's older.

So, the full list of chores can be found here: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/03/15-chore-ideas-for-4-year-olds.html#_a5y_p=904904

I would recommend picking two of the easier ones for your little ones and have them start out with those for about two weeks. Show them how to do them, help them the first few times... you know the drill! After the first two weeks, add on another one or two for them to start doing and keep going from there with them!
We're to the point now that Jocelyn has a "chore chart" that I made for her and she puts stickers on it when she does a chore on her own. Once she reaches a certain number she gets a small allowance for being so helpful!
 Give these a try! They'll really be helpful and rewarding to your kids to try them!!

- Stephanie

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Just threw these together!! Apple Cinnamon muffins with a cream cheese cinnamon/brown sugar icing on top! They were really pretty good! I thought the flavors were all a little strong for me, but my husband LOVED them!!! I definitely think I'm going to make cupcakes with these flavors next time! They'd be so delicious!

The muffins were from one of those Martha White mixes (I know, I cheated!! I'm bad!), and I added a good amount of cinnamon (enough for it to show in the mix) and then a tiny bit of brown sugar into the icing. I piped it onto the muffins and then sprinkled brown sugar on top of them! Yum!! :)
Hope you enjoy!

-Stephanie

S'more Cake Please

These really remind me of s'mores and who doesn't LOVE a good s'more!!! I have been a Girl Scout my whole life and one of my favorite things at camp was always the Saturday night camp fires with those delectable treats, and songs and games! So many great memories were created on those nights with some of my best friends!! I loved going to camp! I can NOT wait for Jocelyn to be able to join the scouts!! I really hope she likes it! Her dad was a Boy Scout as well, so it's in her blood... Maybe!! :)

These delicious looking cupcakes look like something super unique to do during the fall for a party or celebration of some sort!

I unfortunately wasn't able to find a recipe. Boo. :(

I do know that the cupcake is chocolate, with a marshmallow filling, obviously. I just don't know what kind of icing they used here. I would guess a chocolate butter cream icing, maybe. You could totally make this your own, though!

We attend a small group every Wednesday night where we bring a dish to go with dinner... Being us sweet tooths we have brought a lot of desserts to far... I'm so putting these on my list for in the next few weeks to make and take with us!! I was considering going with the chocolate butter cream and then crushing up graham crackers and sprinkling them on top of the cupcakes! 

Either way, these babies look awesome! I can't wait to try them!

- Stephanie

Kid-Friendly Tunes!

Moms, if you're looking for something different, maybe new, for your little ones to listen to while you're driving all over town I have two artists that are amazing!! (AND the best part for you is that you could enjoy them too!)
They aren't too repetitive, or annoying, and they're both children's Christian artists!! I seriously love these two CDs so much!

 

"We've Come Alive" By GO KIDS

This CD is energetic and will keep your kids going and dancing all day long! (This is my favorite of the two.)

 

"Look Up" by Gateway Next

This CD is so awesome! It has so much going on for it, too! Some fast songs, some slow songs. Your kids will love it!

I first discovered these two different artists over the summer. My husband and I volunteered for Church of the Highland's vacation bible school, Summer Blast!

We had so much fun!! We led a small group together for the week and it was so rewarding for the both of us to get to spend most of our days helping lead and teach these little kindergarteners about our AMAZING God!!! It is something we've decided to made a tradition and lead a group together every summer! 

I highly recommend you doing the same at your church if you don't already! It's so awesome to help little ones learn about God!

(Back to my point..) Every morning during worship at Summer Blast we sang and danced and worshiped to two songs by these two. We listened to "Look Up" by Gateway Next and "Jump" by Go Kids! I fell in love with these songs over the course of three days! And you will too!!! They are so incredible, really!

 The kids LOVED worship every morning and afternoon because they loved these songs!

 

Please give them a try! You're kids will think you're the best mom ever if you get these for the car rides from now on!

 

- Stephanie

Under The Sea

Check out these cute treats from Catch My Party!!

Eeek!! These are too adorable! I love octopuses and these are just too much! These would seriously be perfect for an under the sea party or a pirate party or maybe even mermaids!! And all they are, are marshmallows on sticks! Super easy. I really might just add these to the ever-growing list of projects for Jocelyn's birthday coming up! (I should really stop and just try to make it through Halloween and Christmas first!!)
Check more on these underwater critters and how to make them for your party here: http://catchmyparty.com/photos/671914

- Stephanie