Our 6th Annual Daddy Daughter Dance

So I'm just a little slow in getting this posted!

A few weeks back Ryan and Hannah went to their 6th annual Daddy Daughter Dance.

Even though she has changed over the years, just a little. They both look forward to this night each year. Always involving dinner at Ted's!

This year we didn't go all out on one fancy dress, that she more than likely would only be wearing once. It also involved our purchase of the first clothing item to resemble orange! For bedlam reasons that we all know, orange is not "allowed" within our color world. I reminded daddy it was COARL and a very trendy color right now. He just smiled and didn't say a word. Such a smart man!

Instead we layerd on a few new things she can also wear into spring.

Our color palate started with the shoes! Bold and bright.

It went from there. Somewhat reminding me of the "neon" '80's!

The wrist corsage is a must and well worth the $38.00 price tag! She has kept them all pinned up in her room and can remember which one she wore to each dance.

Fist bumps!

As for me and the little guy, not so little anymore. It was opening night for Star Wars 3D Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

Involving light sabers.

Three D glasses and tubs of popcorn.

Seeing grown men and women all decked out, crazy!

I think this was the first time I had really payed attention to the story line. Has anyone else out there?

It begins with young Aniken Skywalker, born of a virgin, deemed to be the "chosen" one that has come to free his people from slavery! HELLO!! I kept looking around wondering if I had been the only clueless one. Did others see right through this story line? You can read about it for yourself here. I'll be looking into it for sure. Not so sure where George Lucas was going with all this, very curious!

But the movie was fun and Gabe loved it all, right down to holding mommy's hand and opening my door. All while my heart was melting.

Can't wait till next year!

Three Envelope Pot Roast

I'm addicted to a great {new to me} cooking blog www.plainchicken.com . She makes stuff that I know my family will eat. We tried this one last week and it  got a thumbs up from everyone.

Defiantly adding it to my dinner rotation!

Three Envelope Pot Roast

1 3-4 lb pot roast
1 cup water
1 cup salsa {or water if you don't want it spicy} I used green Verde
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1 envelope Au Jus mix {found mine at Homeland}

Whisk togather water, salsa and seasoning packets. Place roast in slow cooker. If you have a fat side make sure to place it going up. This allows for the fat to drip down through your meat adding even more flavor. Pour seasoning mixture over roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.

Here's the best part. I used a 5lb roast so that I could get two meals from it. One being the roast we had that night. Then I shredded the remaining and wrapped it up for my deep freezer. The next week I made Pot Roast sliders with Creamy Chipotle Sauce...Yum!

Creamy Chipotle Sauce

1/4 cup sour cream {I used light}
1 tsp. adobo sauce from chipotle peppers { or 2 Tbsp chili sauce if you don't want the heat}
2 tsp. creamy horseradish sauce {I used Kraft}


Mix it all together and spread on toasted Hawaiian King dinner rolls. Top with your leftover pot roast and Swiss cheese! Would be great on top of Nachos too!


I'll be sharing this new fav of ours over here stop by if you can Tasty Tuesday - Tempt My Tummy - Tuesday at the Table

T-H-I-N-K before you Speak!

As of late  my days, and nights,  have been filled with how best to serve my children. I only get one chance to train them in the way that they should go. And with each passing year a new stuggle awaits.

Lately I've found myself saying "think before you speak." Especially with my 11 1/2 year old. Taking moments to teach them the power of their own words. And even how just changing one of them can make your thought mean something entirely different to those around you.

{clcik on picture to print}

So I was prompted to create this print to post on our frig, their bathroom doors, heck, maybe even tatoo it to the back of their hand! And it sure doesn't hurt me to read it daily as well.

If you'd like to share the Think before you Speak just click on the above picture. It will take you to an 8x10 FREE printable!


Sharing at these great blogs today Somewhat Simple - The Frugal Girls - The 36th Avenue - Perfectly Imperfect

Happy L-O-V-E Day!

Wanted to share what the kiddos would be taking to pass out to all their Valentines today.

This year I created Valentine Bookmarks, we just love them.

Gabe also took his Bouncy balls to share!

And then I made these for the class parties.

Found it on pinterest, shocking I know!

Here's what you need and keep in mind you can change the cake mix to any color you wish. So that makes them perfect for just about any holiday.


1 brownie cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 Canola oil
1/4 cup water
1 Strawberry cake mix
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 Cup water


Preheat oven to 350*. Mix Brownie mix, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/4 cup water in a bowl. Stir until fully incorporated. Using a medium cookie scoop drop one scoop of the brownie mixture into muffin pan with liners. Mic cake mix, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 1/3 cup water, and 3 egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add two scoops of cake mix to the top of your brownie scoop. This should fill each muffin liner about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes until tops spring back from touch. Allow to cool and then ice.

I used Ms. Humble's Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. I think this would be good on just about ANYTHING!

16oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup heavy cream, cold. Higher the fat content, the better!

Beat cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff picks, then add the whipped cream to the cheese mixture and quickly and briefly beat to combine. Do not over beat.


Linking up to these great blogs today Tasty Tuesday - Tempt My Tummy - Tuesday at The Table

My Acne Story...

I am a 36 year old female, who has NEVER, NEVER had acne a day in my life, not during my pregnancies nor when I was going through puberty as teenager. Occasionally I would get a nodule/cyst on my chin or forehead, usually around the time of my period. It would come up and stay for a week or two then go away. BUT, a few years ago I started having breakouts on a semi regular basis. Then it was becoming regular and then all the time! I had numerous nodules/cyst on my chin and jawline- VERY PAINFUL!

Lord knows I have spent HUNDARDS of dollars on products trying to take care of my skin. I couldn’t tell if it was just getting older and my skin changing, or all the extra cream I was applying to figure out what the heck was going on. I can’t tell you how many times I have changed my foundation, and still no change. I have always had dry skin but the last few years by 1:00 in the afternoon I was an oily mess. As I tried to ignore my vanity calling my frustration was ever growing. My latest was this cheap remedy I had read about on a blog

Then just last week I had more nodule/cysts appear on my chin and I was done! I called my dermatologist and got in. I was so thankful that he had had a cancelation that very day.

Turns out I have disease that creates DEEP nodule cysts that cannot be treated with any type of topical treatment alone. I need to take a drug in order to get it under control. He gave me a few samples, a prescription and some coupons. Coupons, that should have been my first clue!

I was egger and raced to get them filled. Not forgetting my coupons the Doc had given me. My sweet little Target pharmacist smiles as she rings me up and says “that will be $1,013.00, boy that stuffs expensive!” I just about wet my panties right there, cross my heart! Still in a state of shock I asked “is that with my coupons?” …”oh, oh, no I forgot to apply them.”…”it’s just $50.00”…I began breathing again and handed her my debit card.

 

Turns out this stuff is a tad on the expensive side. Thankfully the next three months will be covered with a coupon. In the mean time I will be making some phone calls to my insurance, with fingers crossed, hoping they will cover some portion of the costs. So far I can already tell that my skin is changing, for the better.

 

Ladies, if you have never had acne issues and are struggling with them now I encourage you to not only visit your dermatologist but also your OBGYN. You may have a very common issue called PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which is basically a severe hormonal imbalance. And all these issues can be treated with time and patience.

Don’t waste any more money or time searching for answers. Once you have them answered you will be better informed if the investment is worth it or not. Age brings a lot of things our way…acne does not have to be one of them.

Heart S'mores

Sometimes I think my kiddos could live on chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows alone. Any type of S'more treat puts a smile on their face. I think half the fun is they get to create them all by themselves!

So when I stumbled upon these large heart marshmallows, I thought they would be perfect for a knock-off "pop" on a stick.

Using red striped straws for our sticks we attached our marshmallow. Melted a few squares of almond bark in the microwave.

Dipped the marshmallows just half way in.

Then dipped them into a sleeve of crushed graham crackers.

The perfect little "love" snack!

Linking up over here today Hodgepodge Life - A Little Knick Knack - The Shabby Nest

This mild winter we have been having, here in the South, has pushed little man's allergies over the top, I mean EPIC!

Honest, for the past few weeks it's been a coughing, hacking sneezing, watery eye kinda day/night. This picture is of the little man just plain tuckered out from lack of sleep and allergy meds.

I think we have finally found the right concoction with antihistamines and decongestant that works. God willing we can get some rest tonight!

V.Day Freebie Printables

L-O-V-E Day is almost here and with that comes those fun Valentine's Parties my kiddos so enjoy. This year we will be gifting some homemade brownies to all those special teachers that work relentlessly with my offspring every day.

And I created some really cute tags to go with them.

I didn't just want them to go to waste on us so I'm sharing them with you today for FREE. Just click on the image below to print. If you don't have time to bake brownies just wrap up a brownie mix to gift!

Linking up to these great sites today Show and Tell - Primitive and Proper- DIY by Design

Almond Toffee Bars, Dee-lish!

Just a heads up before you whip these bad boys together. Make sure that you have somewhere to take them, or you will end up sicker than a dog eating most of them all yourself. These tasted so good it was hard for me to walk away.

Here is what you need to make these sinful treats!

1 1/2 Cup Quick Oats
1/2 Cup crushed Graham crackers
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 Cup Health Toffee Bits
1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup sliced almonds
1 can sweetenend condensed milk

Mix oats, graham crackers and salt together. Stir in melted butter mixing well. In 8X8  greased pan, dump mixture and pat into a crust. Don't use wax paper like I did here.

Then sprinkle on your toffee bits, chocolate chips and almonds.

Last, drizzle entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the bars. The milk will soak in as they cook so don't worry about that.

Bake at 350* for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool and then place pan in frig at least 4 hours before cutting and devouring {smile}! Yields about 24 for bars, no need to cut them to big as they are supper rich!

Linking up to these great blogs today Tuesday at The Table - Tasty Tuesday - Tempt My Tummy

V.Day Bounce Printable...FREE!

I know that I saw this idea out there somewhere. I failed to Pin it and when I search for it on pinterest I get nothing. So I had to resort too making my own for little man. Please, someone let me know if they know where this came from so that I may give the credit where credit is due!

I bought some Valentine Bouncey Balls at Target last week. For $2.00 you get 16 bouncey balls, not to shabby. Using some 3x3 clear lip and seal bags that I keep stalked at all times , in all sizes, form here. We, Gabe and me, cut, stuffed and stapled them together in just under 20 minutes.

If you would like to make your own set to pass out just click on the picture below. I left off Gabe's name so that you can add your own childs name without any problem.

Linking up at these great blogs Fingerprints on the Fridge - A Little Knick Knack