Sunday, January 30, 2011

Wide Awake Monday!

Unlike most Mondays, Darren and I are excited to hear our alarms go off tomorrow morning because we have a new toy to play with! We got rid of our Tassimo and bought a Cuisinart Keurig brewing system. It's actually Darren's Valentine's Day present, but he was too impatient and begged me to start using it.

Come join us for fresh, hot cup of any beverage of your choice.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons....

Over the past several weeks, I have been in search for a venue for Kaitlyn's bridal shower. Three weeks ago, Ashely and I loaded up my Sienna with the twins and her two boys (4 kids under the age of 2). We headed to an appointment I had previously made to check out one last venue for Kaitlyn's bridal shower. It should have taken about 15 minutes to get there, but when Ashely and I get together, we are beyond distracted. Our conversations are over flowing. Twenty minutes into the drive, I realized we had to be lost. I turned around, back tracking my route, and then attempted a new route. Ashely and I were babbling so much that I could NOT stay focused on where I needed to go. After 45 minutes in the car, I gave up (NOT LIKE ME). I just couldn't make those poor children suffer through another moment in the van. This unplanned "road trip" turned into a fun play date at Chik-fil-a. We turned our lemons into lemonade. And boy was it delicious!!!!!

If you're curious, I rescheduled my appointment, only this time, I left Ashely at home, ha ha. I have finally chosen a venue for Kaitlyn's bridal shower. Invites are going out VERY soon!












Happy Birthday Cohen!

One of my dearest friends Ashely hosted her son, Cohen's, 2nd birthday party today. She did a fantastic job planning it. The theme was "choo choos". Cohen is known as an adorable, energetic, smart, HE-man. I've never met a 2 year old who is stronger than he is. Actually, I've never met a 5 year old stronger than he is. Ashely and I met at the fellowship hall at 6:30 am this morning to decorate. We finished up about 8:30 am. I thoroughly enjoyed spending those two hours with her, even if it was that early.

The party was a blast. The kids were fully entertained by a bounce house, a bubble machine, basketball hoops, hoola hoops, a coloring table, and a play-doh table. It's always so wonderful getting to spend time with my family in Christ, especially the members of our small group.

Cohen, may God bless you today and always. We look forward to watching you grow up. We pray as you grow, your heart, mind, body and soul is filled with the desires to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to follow Him.

LOVE YOU!



When mommy is away, the kids will play!

Mommy was sick this week, so I let the kids do whatever they wanted!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday!

What Can You Do With 150 Balloons?
























Today, Tyson and I created a balloon wreath for Granee. This Friday it's her birthday and we were not sure what to buy her, so instead of making a purchase, we chose to make her something. It's those handmade gifts that mean so much more than a store bought one. This wreath was really easy to make, not to mention fun, especially to a kid. After all, what child doesn't enjoy playing with balloons (deflated or inflated)?

What you will need:

A Straw Wreath (16" - 18")
150 - 200 Balloons
100+ Greening Pins
Your Creativity and Unique Touch

I highly recommend leaving the plastic on the wreath otherwise it sheds everywhere. This makes an amazing gift, a fun party decoration, or a gorgeous centerpiece on a table. This craft took us approximately 15 minutes to
make. I only had 120 balloons on hand. I hope to run out and buy another bag tonight in hopes of really beefing this wreath up a bit. If I don't have the time, we're certain Granee will still love it!!!!

What does this cost?
The wreath is normally $3.99, but at AC Moore or Michael's you can use a 40% off coupon, making the wreath close to $2.40. The balloons can be purchased at the dollar store, unless you want a special theme related balloon. I bought 8 bags of balloons at the dollar store for a future wreath I plan to make for my own kiddies. The greening pins are .99 cents for a quantity of 50. Technically, with (1) wreath, (8) bags of balloons, and (4) boxes of greening pins, you can have yourself a very unique gift for approximately $15.00. Not bad, huh?










Tuesday, January 25, 2011

What Next?

Saturday, Lilah had diarrhea.

Sunday, Jaxon had diarrhea.

Monday, I woke up to poop & pee all over the house.

Tuesday, I woke up sick as a dog.

Tuesday evening, Tyson threw up from choking.

Wednesday, it's supposed to snow 1 foot.

What Next?

This week has been quite adventurous. Please pray for my sanity.

Two With Two On Tuesday


Uneditible Cupcakes


Today was the day I signed up to make the Maggi's a yummy meal as a congratulatory gift in welcoming their first born son, Daniel, home. I do not have any pictures to share of baby Daniel because I am REALLY sick and I didn't bring the meal to them. I just couldn't chance getting a newborn sick. I will get to meet him soon enough though. Poor Dennis had to come by and pick up the meal. Darren called it "Curbside to Go!"

Darren always loves when I cook for new parents because that means he's coming home to a gourmet meal as well. I didn't capture any pictures of the meal, but I did capture a few photos of some uneditible cupcakes I made. Why are they uneditible cupcakes? They are uneditible cupcakes because each cupcake is made with a pair of baby socks and a baby washcloth. I stuck a candle in each cupcake to give it that extra cupcake look.

Items Needed:

Washcloths
Socks
Cupcake Liners
Cupcake Box or Muffin Tin
Candles
Your Time and Creative Touch

In honor of Daniel turning 1 week old (yesterday), I thought this was a great way to give him "cake" without really giving him cake.

It's (not) all about me


“When God looks at the center of the universe, He doesn’t look at you.”
–Max Lucado

Monday, January 24, 2011

A Case of the Mondays

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Another One Bites The Dust!

Typical. When you have twins, things usually happen in TWOS. First Lilah, now Jax. Another onsie bites the dust. Only we should be calling it a twosie. It's a good thing we have a ton of them. My poor babies. I think the diarrhea is from teething. They are eating great, in good spirits and there are NO OTHER symptoms.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Saturated Saturday!

We had a great evening tonight, filled with a trip to Sam's, dinner out, and a visit to the mall - where the kids got to play. We headed home and went through the night time routine. PJs, brush teeth, etc... We didn't do baths because they had a shower with daddy earlier in the day. While Darren was brushing Lilah's teeth, he could tell that she had pooped. He went to change her and as he starts the process, he calls out, "Oh my gosh! Kristin, you have to come see this. I have no idea what to do." And neither did I. Immediately, I thought... definite BATH. But how will I get the onsie off of Lilah without getting the diarrhea all over her. And then the light bulb went off. "Darren, go get me some scissors." I used these heavy duty scissors to cut her onsie off of her. The rest is pretty much self explanatory. I will say that her diaper was SATURATED with diarrhea. at least 1 1/2 cups of it.
Remember, she's not wearing a button down shirt here, but rather a onsie. I had to cut it open so that I didn't get diarrhea all over her when taking the onsie off.
One funny note: Jax was witnessing this mess, pun intended, and he ran away. When he returned, he had a FULL box of wipes in his hands, as to say, "Here mommy! Looks like you might needs these."

Friday, January 21, 2011

Plyometrics With Tony Horton, Featuring Tyson Bolling

Tyson has a great role model in his daddy. Lately, he has really been into working out. It seems to be the hottest item on his agenda (maybe he should be grounded from the playstation more often). On Monday, Ty and I worked out together. While I ran on the treadmill, Tyson punched the punching bag over 200 times. I know this because as I ran, I had was forced to hear "101, 102, 103, 104" all the way to "200". He also used the Bowflex and did some very adorable push ups.

Today, when he got off the bus, he wanted to work out immediately. I said, "No, let's do your homework first and make lollipops next, then we will workout." He battled with me for a moment. This kid is strange. He'd rather workout than make lollipops. He lost interest in making the lollipops quickly. It was probably because his crazy mother yelled at him every time one of the sprinkles touched the floor. SORRY, okay! I just had the floors cleaned today. I like them to stay clean for at least ONE day.

The first photo below is where you have to "run around in circles". Do you recall that one? Tony Horton suggests using a towel to run around instead of a dumbbell to eliminate possible injury. Tyson used his sissy's blankie. I had to fight her off of him to capture this photo because she was NOT happy about her baby being used as a workout prop.
Instead, he asked if he could do a workout video, "like daddy does". HILARIOUS! For those of you who know of P90X, that's the dvd I popped in for him. And to make matters worse, I put in the hardest video in the routine...Plyometrics. Ty was a hoot! He had a blast doing it. Lilah even stepped in for a quick stab at it.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Christmas In February!

If you know me well, you know that Valentine's Day is my
FAVORITE holiday. Well, outside of the one where our Savior was born, but hat goes without saying. I think what sucks me into the holiday is the color scheme. It's just so beautiful and "lovely". No pun intended.

Today, when Ty got off of the bus, we completed his homework assignment and then got to work on this fun no bake craft. I think I had way more fun doing it than Tyson did. He was getting sprinkles everywhere and I was getting a little (okay a lot) upset to see my clean floors getting dirty.

Anyway, here are the details.

Valentine's Day Lollipops, What you will need:

(1) box of miniature candy canes
(1) bag of Wilton's Chocolate. Any color of your choice.
Sprinkles
Lollipop Sticks
Lollipop Cellophane Bags
Parchment or Wax Paper















Next, cut open the individually packaged candy canes. Be careful. They are fragile. I broke 4 doing this and I was being overly careful. Set aside. Oh by the way, I bought these candy canes on sale at Michael's on Wednesday for $.39 cents. Normally, $2.99. They had a ton more. I may go back and get some.













Then, lay a sheet of parchment paper on top of your counter or on top of a cookie sheet. Place two miniature candy canes together, replicating the shape of a heart. Continue doing this until you run out of candy canes.



























Afterward, place a lollipop stick in between each heart.















Next up, place two cups of wilton chocolate wafers in a zipbloc bag or frosting bag. Do not seal the bag completely or it will pop in the microwave. Melt the chocolate wafers in 30 second intervals, making sure you do not burn the chocolate. Cut a really small hole in one corner of the bag. Squeeze chocolate into the heart. Filling the heart. Top with sprinkles immediately. Normally, this is when you would put your chocolate item in the refrigerator or freezer, allowing it to solidify, but do not do this with these. Candy canes "sweat". Keep the lollipops out in room temperature. Eventually, the chocolate will solidify.




















Finally, display lollipops in a pretty vase or individually wrap each lollipop. I plan to let Ty bring these to school to pass out to his friends along with his FUN Valentine "cards". I will post those eventually, but I may wait until after Valentine's Day. I wouldn't want anyone stealing my idea :)



















There you have it folks. Wala! The picture above shows the finished product. I have not personally tasted these. I made it to week 3 of my "no sweets" rule. My goal was 3 weeks. I am released from that rule as of tomorrow, but do not plan to eat these simply because, for me, they are not worth the calories/splurge. I think my sweet day will be allotted to Saturdays. I plan to drink a yummy and much anticipated fat-free iced mocha then.