Cookie and Ornament Exchange for the Holidays

At the church where I attend, the ladies like to get together frequently for fellowship. We enjoy the Christmas holiday because we have our cookie and ornament exchange. We always have it at the home of a lady in our church. She decorates her home beautifully!! Her and her husband like to do various crafts and Christmastime is the best time to see the crafts that they have made. Here are a few pictures from our cookie/ornament exchange and a few pictures of the decorations.

Their tree is beautiful and has a lot of homemade ornaments.

On their front porch . . .

She made this toy soldier out of flower pots!!! Incredible! I asked her if I could add this to Pinterest. Let me know if you ever make one. :o)

I love the Holidays! (and Facebook!)

I am so excited! First off, Christmas is just around the corner and that means we finally get to spend some time together as a family. Hopefully Jeremy won't have to take his work on vacation with him. Secondly, I had NO idea how many giveaways stores and companies did during the Christmas holiday! Almost every company out there has a Facebook page now. I guess that I just never really noticed previous years that they did giveaways on Facebook. This year, I decided to enter in a few (or more). So far I have won a sippy cup from Nuby and a couple of computer wall papers from Burt's Bees (wahoo).

Every day this month, I have been entering the Graco's 12 Day's of Christmas Giveaway on Facebook. On December 1st, they gave away one car seat; December 2nd they gave away 2 infant car seats; December 3rd they gave away 3 digital video monitors; etc. Each day they add an extra winner. Yesterday was the 6 days of Christmas giveaway. They gave away 6 of their Sweet Slumber Sound Machines and I WON! :o) I am so excited! I never win anything! I am really thrilled!

It's space-saving design makes it ideal for traveling.

I am excited about this because it offers 12 high-quality soothing sounds just for baby (including lullabies, nature sounds and white noise).

You can even plug in your MP3 player so that you can play your baby's favorite songs!

It also has a soft glow nightlight!

I really can't wait for it to get here! I love Graco!!!

DIY No-Sew Scarf

I have mentioned my Pinterest kick that I've been on lately. Well, to be honest, with the holidays coming, I haven't really had a whole lot of time to be on the look out for anymore cool things on there. When I first got on it, I found out that you can make your own scarves out of old (or new) t-shirts. Now you can too!

Here's what you need:

Men's Large or Xlarge T-shirt (old or new--if it's new, make sure to wash first!)

Paper or Styrofoam Plate

Sharpie or other pen

Scissors

Fabric Glue

First, take your t-shirt and lay it out flat . . .

Second, cut the shirt along the side seems and lay out flat (You can skip this step if you want and just cut two at a time but I think the circles are harder to cut that way.) . . .

Then take your plate and trace as many circles as you can (I was able to get 6 on each side of an XL shirt) . . .

Next, cut out your circles just inside of the sharpie mark . . .

Then you cut a spiral in the circle shape . . .

Stretch your spiral cuts out until they look like this . . .

Next, take your glue and glue 2 strips together (I didn't have any glue so I tied a knot) . . .

Then you lay the glued strips together. Since I knotted the strips, I took an extra piece of the fabric and sewed it around the knots to keep it all together. That will go at the nape of the neck. If you are gluing the strips, you can get a nice embellishment such as a broach and glue onto it.

Your finished scarf should look similar to this . . .

These will make great Christmas gifts! To check out more ways to make your own no-sew t-shirt scarf (or to see a video of how to make this scarf) click here. Have fun creating!

Our Christmas Card for this year!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

$550 KitchenAid NEW 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Residential Stand Mixer

Oh, my! So I follow a blog called MomSpotted. (If you don't, you NEED to!) She does these awesome giveaways all the time. Well, now she is giving away a Kitchen Aid Mixer! I have been wanting one of those for a very looooooong time. So, I thought, why not?? I mean, look at it!

It really is beautiful, isn't it? *Sigh*

If you want to know more about the giveaway, you can check it out here. Also, Kitchen Aid has a lot of wonderful products out there. You can check more of them out here. And you really should. Even if you can't buy every single item :o), they are pretty fun to look at. Plus, it's a great company.

The Chaos Surrounding our Thanksgiving

Wow. I really had not noticed that it has been so long since I last posted something. This really was supposed to be more regular but we have had other things on our minds lately. To be honest, these things have weighed so heavily on my mind that I forgot Thanksgiving was this week. Horror of horrors! So, I am waaaaaaaaaaay behind on preparations and this means, I will be finding ways to make the Thanksgiving meal much easier.

First thing I'd like to chat about is a recipe for Crock pot sweet potatoes. Whaaaaaaat??? Yes, put them in the crock pot!!!! They're fabulous! Here's how:

1. Clean the skins (you may eat them if you desire---I, however, do not).

2. Poke sweet potatoes with a fork or knife (ALL over).

3. Wrap with tin foil and place in crock pot.

4. Turn on low for 3-4 hours (or a little longer if you wish).

5. After done cooking: add toppings of your choice. (Cinnamon butter, brown sugar, marshmallows, etc.)

6. Enjoy!!!

Sorry I did not take an after picture. I was too hungry. :o)

Okay, so there are about a million reasons why I haven't posted in a while. There have been a million things that I have wanted to write about. However, when you are a wife and mother, writing seems to fall by the wayside.

We have had sickness in our house on several occasions. First Jack, then me, now my husband. This time I was so sick I did not feel like doing anything but sleeping. It was pretty crazy for a while. I think we are getting back into the swing of things though.

Lately we (okay, mostly me) have been struggling with God's will for our lives. Where does God want us? How does He want us to serve Him? Is His will for us to be in a small house in Florida forever?? Why does He seem as though He blesses others and not us? Will we be okay with His will?

For a little while we looked into the possibility of buying our own place down here. We thought for sure we could make it work since the housing market is so low right now. We are not looking into a big place. Right now we are at about 400 some square feet and anything bigger will seem like a mansion in comparison! We are really looking for something that can accommodate visiting relatives since Jack has taken over "their space." Also, an extra bathroom wouldn't hurt.

We thought that we had found the perfect place. Let me remind you, just because the pictures show a beautiful place, does not mean that those pictures are recent. I figured it wouldn't work when they didn't even put up pictures of the bathrooms. That should have been a sign. Needless to say, it did not work out. I am heartbroken.

Another thing that has been bothering me . . . dare I even admit? It really bugs me though. Let me start off by saying, I absolutely am in love with being a mother and a wife. I wouldn't change that for the world. My duties as mother have taken over my household duties. Laundry, cleaning, etc. Jeremy says that he doesn't mind. I know that I feel incredibly guilty about it. Jack seems to think that I need to be by his side 24/7 and that is okay. (Some day I will tell him that daddy ALWAYS comes first.) I don't have time for Facebook, Pinterest, or blogging anymore. I don't even have time to read or paint my toenails. I sometimes don't even get to eat. (Which is fine because I am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight!) Also, sometimes, I forget things. So, if you've called, and I haven't called back or you've written and I haven't written back, please don't be offended. It is not my intention to forget about you. I just have Jack and Jeremy to worry about. They are my priority.

This brings me to another thing. It really bothers me when people put their frustration about someone into their status on Facebook. Why do you do this? Talk to the person first. It hurts feelings. Especially, if you're meaning someone totally different. You have just offended or hurt someone's feelings who you're not even talking about. It's just really stupid. I use Facebook for my family and friends from Indiana or that I met college. Why do they care if I am frustrated about stuff?? They mostly just want to know about Jack.

Moving on . . . .

The Holidays are coming up. How many of you see the people who park in the Handicap spots who aren't handicap?? That happens a lot this time of year. It really aggravates me. Sure you have one of those fancy handicap tags. But . . . if you can walk well, DON'T PARK THERE! Chances are some one is coming along who really needs it. I see this a lot. Especially in churches. Save those spots for the elderly or handicap. *Sigh*

There is a lot going on in the news about people hurting or taking advantage of children lately. I was going to write a post about that a week or so ago but never had time to finish. I am so passionate about this. Especially now that I have Jack. It angers me. I just want to remind you, love your children. Watch over them carefully. Pray every day that God protects them. Sometimes you can't be near them. You have to trust that God watches over them. If you see something that puts doubt in your mind, do something about it. Don't just ignore it. When it comes to children, you can't just brush it off.

Oh dear. Well, I wanted to write more but Jack is calling. Now you see a little bit more of the craziness in my life. If you don't hear from me soon, I hope you understand.

Crock-pot Turkey Breast

Since my family is small, we cook a turkey breast instead of a full turkey. We also only have one oven so I found this crock-pot recipe for the turkey. It is SO delicious! It also would be perfect if you wanted to make sure you have extra turkey for those leftover meals. My crock-pot is one of my best friends. It makes cooking for a mom so much easier. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 small to medium turkey breast

1 stick of butter

salt

Preparation:

Wash & pat dry turkey breast. Season lightly with salt. Place in crock-pot with 1 stick of butter. Turn on low for 10 to 12 hours. (Great to do overnight!)

Make sure that you still baste the turkey or it will be slightly dry!

I fell in love with Pinterest!

One of the things that I really enjoy doing is researching stuff on the Internet. I research EVERYTHING! Organizing tips, how to make your own . . . whatever, kid stuff and recipes--lots of recipes. Oh, my word! Have I found THE best solution to keeping all of that at my fingertips.

I had heard a little bit about Pinterest. I wasn't sure what it was all about. I kept seeing my Facebook friends updating about all these recipes that they found or "pinned" on Pinterest. So, of course, I did a little research on it. It's fantastic and I am hooked! Everything that you love right at your fingertips. You can pin things onto your boards that other people of pinned. So, let's say you have a board titled "Recipes." You can pin recipes that others pin or recipes that you find off the Internet. Now I just have to refer to one place for all of those things. Brilliant!

So, if you're interested, follow me on Pinterest. Just click the link in my sidebar. Go ahead and sign up for Pinterest and start pinning. I bet you can't just pin one!

Bright Starts giveaway: Having a Ball Pop and Roll Roadster

I am totally psyched about the idea of possibly winning this for the Jack-ster!!! He would be psyched too if he could figure out what was going on. I can say anything with a happy tone and face and he just laughs it up! It looks so awesome and I am sure that Jack will love playing with it. I will LOVE it if we win this . . . anything is more enjoyable if it's free! Right??

How did I discover this giveaway? I always "Like" certain pages on Facebook and Bright Starts is one of them. I discovered a blog called MomSpotted. It told all about the giveaway, which you can read more about here.

We have many Bright Starts toys and we love them all! Jack really enjoys playing with his Hop Along Carrier Toybar. It is certainly at the top of our list of favorites. We hope to say the same thing if/when we win the Having a Ball Pop and Roll Roadster. LOL! You can see/buy more Bright Starts toys and such here. We know you'll love them as much as we do.

Easy Cranberry Sauce

This is the easiest recipe for cranberry sauce! It's so quick too. This cranberry sauce is also nice to make any time of the year to add with chicken or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!!!

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups cranberries. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until skins pop, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Serve warm or chilled with poultry or pork.

Makes about 2 cups of sauce.

Mocha Marble Fudge

With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I thought I would post some easy recipes that I really enjoy making every year. The first one is a fudge recipe that Jeremy and I really enjoy making. It's so easy. Hope you enjoy it!!!

Ingredients:

Butter for greasing

1 can (14 oz) condensed milk

1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee powder or coffee granules

1 bag (12 oz) white chocolate baking chips (2 cups)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

1. Line bottom and sides of 8- or 9-inch square pan with foil, leaving foil overhanging 2 opposite sides of pan; grease foil with butter.

2. In 2-quart nonstick saucepan, mix 3/4 cup of the milk and the espresso powder. Stir in white baking chips. Heat over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Spread in pan.

3. In same saucepan, mix remaining milk, the chocolate chips and vanilla. Heat over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Drop by spoonfuls over espresso layer. Swirl mixtures with table knife. Gently press with hand to smooth top.

4. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until cooled and firm. Remove from pan, using foil to lift. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Thoughts on Teething

Wow. Where do I begin? Since Jack is my first child, I really don't have that much experience with teething babies. However, I do have one word to describe teething: horrible. It's horrible for me and Jack. I feel so awful for him. I can't seem to find anything that will help comfort him. Thankfully, his pediatrician did say that we could give him Children's Tylenol (grape flavored!) twice a day. I only give it to him when I think he really needs it (which is usually every day right now).

We have tried several different methods of relief for Jack. I have already mentioned the Tylenol. I've tried putting wet wash cloths in the freezer for a few minutes. Jack didn't like that. I've tried teething rings. Jack's mouth is too small. He has chewed on anything and everything that he can get his hands on. He chews on his blankets, his burp cloths, his toys, his stuffed animals and even our fingers.

Today we received our Raz-Berry teething pacifiers from Raz Baby in the mail! I couldn't wait to get them out of the package and cleaned up so that I could give them to Jack. They are a big hit! They are made completely of 100% silicone (BPA free). He chews every inch of them. I strongly recommend them for your baby's teething needs. Let's hope that they will continue to be a teething comfort for Jack.

For more products by Raz Baby, click here.

New Blog!

I can't believe that I've started a new blog!!! Don't worry, we will still continue our family blog for those who want to know the happenings of our family. However, you can refer to this blog for household and parenting related issues. I am So excited to start this blog and have committed to posting as much as I can.

I have titled this blog Welcomed Chaos because that is basically what my life is all about now: chaos. But, it is a welcomed chaos. I wouldn't change my life for anything in the world. I have been married to the best man in the world for a little over five years. Becoming a wife was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to face. I had to learn how to share my stuff with someone else. I never had to share anything before. Not really. I am the youngest of three children and the only girl. My stuff was my stuff. It was hard trying to put someone else before myself. Not to mention, organize an entire household all by myself. But I managed. And now, I am learning it all over again.

The second hardest thing that I have ever had to face is becoming a mother! I thought for sure that we were going to die after those first few weeks of Jack's life. Eventually he started sleeping through the night and our lives returned to some form of normalcy. However, I have to figure out how to reorganize my home once again . . . and put another life before my own. So, I figured, why not learn how to do that and be a blessing and comfort to others who are struggling with the same things. We'll all learn together. I invite you to welcome the chaos!