The C & M Press

January in Review

2012-01-31T16:50:00.000-08:00

Starting the new year out in style!

Mr.Chaos aka Daddy has been laid off for the majority of this month, so the kids have been having great fun with him. Here they are watching dry ice and water interact.

Sitting in a bath tub full of dry ice 'smoke'. Mr. Chaos LOVES science stuff.

Our family went to a Mexican themed party and everyone dressed up! Think we played the part well?!

Little John turned 1!

Papa & Nanny celebrating Little John's birthday.

Worked on organizing the toy room and did my first ever guest blog post on Vegas Bloggers.

Did a Winter Feather Wreath tutorial and giveaway, which was a ton of fun!

Goodbye January. It's been real and it's been fun...but bring on February!!

Missy Prissy Bow Boutique Giveaway!!

2012-01-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

Giving away a free bow from Missy Prissy Bow Boutique. Head on over to the FB page for more info!!

Just a sampling of the bows that I have made, plus I do custom orders and made-to-match!

WINNER

2012-01-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

Yay! The winner of the Winter Feather Wreath is...

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 31
Result:
13
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Jersey MamaJan 19, 2012 07:19 AM
Wow that is really really pretty! I never would think to make a feather wreath.
ReplyDelete

Contact me with your address, so I can mail you your new winter Feather Wreath!

Organizing your Toy Room ~ Guest Posting

2012-01-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

Hello world. It's good to be back in the swing of things. I have taken a small self-imposed sabbatical over the last few days. I have been under the weather and then dealing with a bad dose of anxiety on top of everything else life has thrown our way. One of these days I will share the effects of tragedy and how anxiety can ruin even the best occasions.

But back to reality and a chance to share with you my guest post on the Vegas Bloggers blog site. I recently wrote about organizing your toy/play room and the post is up and running. So head on over and check out the post!

Happy Tuesday!

Winter Feather Wreath

2012-01-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

As I promised in yesterdays post, here is the tutorial for making the Winter Feather Wreath, which is like the one I gave as a housewarming gift. Enjoy!!

Supply & Tool List for this project:

* Feather Boa ~ (1) 6 ft one will do the trick (You can purchase these at Jo-Ann's, Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I do STRONGLY recommend you purchasing the heavyweight one and not the cheaper lightweight version.)

* Wire Frame ~ Found this at Jo-Ann's for under $3

* 28 gauge silver wire

* Embellishments of your choice (I used some Snowflake picks that I found on the Christmas clearance aisle at Jo-Ann's. They were only .22 a piece!!)

* Wire Cutters

* Hot Glue Gun & Hot Glue Sticks

To begin, take your feather boa and find a starting point on your wreath. With one hand hold the feathers onto the wire frame and with the other, you will wrap the wire over and through the feathers and secure it to the wreath frame. You will continue with this method until finished. I used 2 different pieces of feather boa and just had to cut any excess feathers that did not fit on frame. You could eliminate this step, by pre-measuring your boa to exactly fit the frame.

Halfway through the wire wrapping process

Here is what the wreath looks like from the back, with the wire wrapping.

Continue winding and wrapping the wire through the feathers and around the metal frame. Secure ends of wire to frame and voila...a feather wreath.

Run a line of hot glue on snowflake stick

Insert snowflake sticks into feathers and wedge into metal rungs.

And finally...a completed Winter Wreath of beautiful feathers! (And this is also the EXACT one that I am giving away!)
In the end it looked a little sad, so I added a silver mesh ribbon and just secured it with wire and a touch of hot glue.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and please let me know if you make one. I would love to see pictures!

Oh, you LOVE the wreath and would love to have one just like it?! Well, you are in for a treat, because I am GIVING this one away for FREE!!! You just need to leave a comment in the comment box below and you will be entered to win.

Want to earn more entries? You can earn one entry for becoming a follower of this blog or for each tweet, blog shout out, pinterest pin, or FB share that you do. Just make sure that you post a comment for each one that you did.

Winner will be drawn on Wednesday January 25th at 12pm pst

Pin It

This post has been linked up to these linky parties:
Today's Creative Blog
WhipperBerry
Homemaker on a Dime

Housewarming Gift

2012-01-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

My Dad and his wife Gwen, just moved into a new house and of course, a new house is a cause to celebrate! The only question was what to get an 'older' couple who have EVERYTHING and need virtually nothing. I mean usually a housewarming is a time to bring the new home owners towels and dishes or some fancy cheese grater, but in this case, these homeowners need to get RID of things! ;-)

Together my sister and I decided to put together a basket (and of course, everyone needs an extra laundry basket) with goodies and treats. Then I had a fabulous idea...

Gwen always comments on my wreaths that I hang on the front door. I have one for winter that looks like a bunch of ice and it is sooo pretty and perfect for the month of January. Only problem is that I have had it for years and I haven't found another one even remotely close to the look of mine. And now for my crafty alter ego to come out...voila...I will make them a winter wreath!

So, our whole family piled in the truck to hand deliver the basket of goodies and their new winter wreath. But I think I will leave out the part about us eating most of their goodies...Shhhh

Mission accomplished. Grandparents are happy with their new wreath and that their sugar levels are not higher than they would have been, had we not helped them enjoy their delicious treats.

Like the wreath? I am posting a tutorial on how I put it together and will even have a giveaway of one winter wreath!! Come back tomorrow and check it out!

Unexpected Deals

2012-01-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days. A national holiday, so no work or school. A day when nobody really wants to get out of bed, but you kind of feel like you need to 'do' something, so you get up out of that comfy bed and makes plans. Our plans went something like this... Mr. Chaos: I think we should go hiking. Me: Um...no. I don't really feel like hiking. Do you want to make breakfast? Mr. Chaos: How about McDonalds? Me: Fine. How about the Apple store to replace my broken screen? Mr. Chaos: Instead of hiking? Me: Yea, I think that sounds about right.

So off we went. First to McDonalds and them to the Forum shops. And lo and behold...Gap was having an additional 40% off of their clearance. Say it isn't so. I must have a sixth sense for sales, because I ended up with 2 shirts, one undergarment (please don't look too close), a pair of socks (on Moriah's feet) and 1 pair of Jelly sandals,
for the grand total of $11.61!!! Behold...the actual receipt and proof that I have some sort of sale beacon.

And to further prove to you that my sale beacon is legit, I got a 10 pound ham from Fresh & Easy for $5...Happy Birthday Mr. Martin Luther King.

Coming Soon...

2012-01-14T20:21:00.001-08:00

Can you take a guess? Stay tuned for a giveaway coming soon...

Out of the Mouths of my Babes

2012-01-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

"Mom, just forgo your diet for dinner tonight". ~ Chandler

Really son? You used the word forgo?

"I am having a yard sale and selling diapers to Lincoln". ~ Moriah

While driving in the car, Chandler asked, "Who loves Chandler?" A little reply came from the back..."Not anybody". ~ Lincoln

Moriah to Daddy: What is in the pancakes?
Daddy: I put some cinnamon & sugar and it's made with love.
Lincoln trying to look into the batter bowl: Papa's in there?

Love my babes...I always want to remember these precious things they say.

What about you? What has your kids said this week that was too cute?

Seriously no TV? What the experts say about screen time and kids

2012-01-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity tonight to speak to my daughter's pre-school about screen time. And you ask...what gives me the authority to speak on this subject? Well, I don't have a fancy degree, nor am I a prominent researcher, but what I am is a product of my environment. You see, I was not raised with a television in my home and we are raising our kids the same way. No TV.

I have been gathering information on this topic for several months and wasn't exactly sure how to approach it. People really don't like being told that they are doing things wrong or that their kids might suffer. And from my experiences in life, I know for a fact that people pick and choose the information that they want. I also find it fascinating to note that people become extremely defensive when you mention that you don't have TV. They immediately start justifying their use of technology and that they don't really watch all that much TV. LOL. I laugh, because I am not being critical, I am simply stating facts. And what I have to offer is information and education. Take what you want from it and use it to better your family...your life will thank you for it.

So, I finally decided to make a list of some fascinating statistics dealing with children and screen time, a few bullets of the effects of TV and then some solutions and alternatives to using a screen (TV, I-Pad, video games, DVDs, I-pods, cell phones).

I hope your family benefits greatly from this info.

Kids & Screen Time
Abigail P - Monday January 9, 2012

o STATS
 Average child in America spends an average of 2.5 hours of listening to music via i-pod; 5 hours of TV; 3 hours of internet/video games and 38 minutes of reading.
 2/3 of Pre-schoolers get more than the maximum 2 hours a day of SCREEN TIME (TV, video games, computers, DVD’s, I-Pad’s, Cell phones) Usually 4 hours daily, with 3.6 hours if they are at home and 5.6 hours if they are in an in-home day care.
 More time in front of a screen than they spend in school, within a year’s time.
 Children ages 2-5 spend 32 hours a week in front of a TV
 43% of children under 2 watch TV, which is against the APA recommendations of no TV under the age of 2 and no more than 1 to 2 hours a day for children up 2-5 years
 Only 1/3 or 33% of parents monitor or set limits on screen time
 Average American child sees 10,000 food commercials a year
 Percentage of households that possess at least one television: 99
 Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
 Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66
 Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes
 40 – 60% of homes have TV on for the majority of the day
 Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
 Number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion
 Percentage of Americans who pay for cable TV: 56
 Number of videos rented daily in the U.S.: 6 million
 Number of public library items checked out daily: 3 million
 Percentage of Americans who say they watch too much TV: 49

o Developments & effects of TV
• During the early years, brain development is critical
• Having too much screen time inhibits their creativity; motor skills & socialization
• Lose out on activities that stimulate the brain
• Babies & Toddlers live in a very literal world and often have a hard time distinguishing real life and TV; thus imitation
• Studies show children can be exhibit more violence, aggressive behavior and desensitized to certain things.
• Children younger than 2 view TV as a confusing array of color, images and noises. And since the scene changes on the average of 5-8 seconds, they do not have time to digest it.
• Children benefit better from real interactions than from watching them on TV
• Cartoons & many shows have changes over the years.
• Media and Screens can be very ADDICTIVE
• Ads and commercials
• Free internet game sites are the new tool of advertising
• Children with TVs in their rooms watch 1.5 more hours of TV than others.
• Children with 5 hours or more of screen time a day are 4x as likely to be obese than those who see less than 2 hours a day.
• Children who are heavy users of screens and media over ½ of them get C’s and below.
• Creates distractions
o Dinner table
o Homework
 Facebook
 Texting
 Twitter

o Not just TV – More than just sitting down in front of TV

• Video Games
• TV/DVD players in vehicles
• DVD players at the airport
• Hand Held Devices (game systems, I-pods, i-touch, etc)
• TV
• Cell Phone (more than just talking; texting)
o At restaurants, on the bus, in the car, at the dinner table
• Lap Tops
• I-Pads
o Solutions/Alternatives = Limiting screen time benefits the whole family
 Set Limits (parents who set limits, consumption of screen time drops by nearly 3 hours a day)
 Log Time
 Set timers
 Screen time = Active Time
 Don’t use it as a consequence or reward
• Library
• Bake
• Etch a Sketch
• Photo Books
• Board Games
• Family Dinner (NO Screens at dinner)
• Sit less; move more
• Screen Free play dates
• Bike
• Paint
 Benefits of playing alone - American Academy of Pediatrics supports unstructured playtime for all ages
 Problem solving
 Think creatively
 Imagination

I gathered my information from a variety of sources and have started a board on pinterest that link to many of the articles that I read.

DIY ~ Under Cabinet Floor Re-Model

2012-01-06T23:04:00.000-08:00

I saw this originally on pinterest and knew that I HAD to try this. My house is going on 17 years old and is in fairly good shape. But as always happens with time, certain items need some tlc or replacing. This included underneath our kitchen sink. I couldn't really tell you how it all happened, but we do keep our kitchen trash can under there, plus almost all of the cleaning supplies. So, it is a well used cabinet. Used and abused, you could say. The quick fix? Peel and stick vinyl tiles. And even better...they were free!

Everyone should have a handy dandy Dad like mine, whom you can just ask if he has any peel and stick vinyl tiles and he hands you an almost full box. And free is good. Not always the best looking or my favorite choice, but I never look a gift horse in the mouth! ;-) Thanks Dad! <3

Supplies:

Peel & Stick Vinyl Tiles
Razor Blade
Rolling Pin

Total Time Involved:
20 minutes

Before:

First, I completely cleaned out the cabinet and scrubbed it down. I know it doesn't look like it. Duh. That is why I am putting in the tiles.

Next, I laid the tiles out under the sink to see how they would fit and where I would need to cut.

Then, I used my razor blade to cut out around the jam.

Finally, I peeled the backing off of the tiles and placed them on the floor of my cabinet. I used a rolling pin to apply heavier pressure to it and firmly secure it.

And last but not least...voila...Finished

Pampered Chef Cooking Show

2012-01-03T23:06:00.000-08:00

Had a great time tonight hosting a Pampered Chef cooking show. A good friend of mine is a consultant and came along to show her mad cooking skills...Pampered Chef style! She made these scrumptious Blue Cheese & Bacon Potato Crisps appetizers and Chewy Chocolate-Coconut Joy Bars for dessert. Thanks Rachel for the terrific food, recipes that I will use again and for putting on a fabulous show!

Here are the recipes for the two items that she made:

The Pampered Chef ®
Blue Cheese & Bacon Potato Crisps
Recipe

4-5 small red potatoes (about 1 1/2-2 in./4-5 cm in diameter)
1/4 tsp (1 mL) coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp (2 mL) olive oil
4 slices cooked turkey bacon
2 oz (60 mL) blue cheese crumbled
6 grape tomatoes
2 tbsp (30 mL) reduced-fat sour cream
2 tbsp (30 mL) snipped fresh chives
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Spray cups of Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan with nonstick cooking spray. Slice potatoes with Ultimate Mandoline fitted with adjustable slicing blade on thin setting. Discard ends of potatoes. Combine potato slices, black pepper and oil in Classic Batter Bowl; toss to coat with Small Mix ‘N Scraper®. Finely chop bacon with Food Chopper.

Press one potato slice into each cup of pan; sprinkle with half of the bacon and cheese. Repeat layer one time with additional potato slices, remaining bacon and remaining cheese. Top with remaining potato slices, gently pressing layers together. Bake 12–14 minutes or until edges are browned and crisp. Remove pan from oven; immediately remove crisps from pan to Stackable Cooling Rack.

Meanwhile, slice tomatoes lengthwise into quarters with Utility Knife. Spoon sour cream into small resealable plastic bag; secure bag and trim corner. Pipe a dollop of sour cream onto each crisp. Top with tomato quarters and sprinkle with chives.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: (2 appetizers): Calories 70, Total Fat 2.5 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 10 mg, Carbohydrate 10 g, Protein 3 g, Sodium 115 mg, Fiber 1 g

© 2009 The Pampered Chef used under license

Chocolate-Coconut Joy Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup (250 mL) sliced almonds
1 bag (14 oz/400 g) sweetened flaked coconut, divided
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (175 mL) packed light brown sugar, divided
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
3/4 cup (175 mL) butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
1 small pkg (9 oz/250 g) devil's food cake mix
1 egg
1/3 cup (75 mL) water
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided
Toasted sliced almonds for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Finely chop almonds using Food Chopper. Combine almonds, 1 cup (250 mL) of the coconut, flour, 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the brown sugar and baking soda in Classic Batter Bowl; mix well. Add butter; mix until crumbly. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of Large Bar Pan. Bake 8–10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove pan from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack.
Meanwhile, in clean batter bowl, combine cake mix, remaining 1/4 cup (50 mL) brown sugar, egg and water; whisk 1 minute or until smooth with Stainless Whisk. Pour batter over hot crust; carefully spread to edges using back of Small Mix ‘N Scraper®. Sprinkle batter evenly with 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the chocolate morsels and remaining coconut. Bake 10–12 minutes or until coconut is toasted.
Place remaining 3/4 cup (175 mL) chocolate morsels in (1-cup/250-mL) Prep Bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 1 minute or until mostly melted, stirring every 20 seconds. Spoon melted chocolate into resealable plastic bag. Twist top of bag; trim corner. Drizzle chocolate over toasted coconut topping. Garnish with toasted sliced almonds, if desired. Cut into 24 bars using Utility Knife; serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 24 bars

Nutrients per serving: (1 bar): Calories 280, Total Fat 17 g, Saturated Fat 11 g, Cholesterol 25 mg, Sodium 240 mg, Carbohydrate 32 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 4 g

Change

2012-01-02T22:37:00.000-08:00

Here we are again. Another new year, another fresh start. A time for new beginnings and new challenges. A time for self-examination.

I decided last year not to make out a whole 'list' of things that I planned to do and instead, just try and DO them. And quite honestly, I think it worked.

I am taking the same approach this year, so no lists of intended resolutions, just grit and determination to reach those higher heights and make those necessary changes.

One of the changes that I am making is to this here blog. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to theme a few days and see how those changes fit. I have already 'officially' changed the name of my blog and purchased the domain name to lovinourchaos.com. I also created a new email just for lovin' our chaos. I'm sure you couldn't guess what that address is?! lovinourchaos@yahoo.com

I think we could all agree that change can be beneficial and inspiring, so I intend to take on these new changes and wear them like a pair of rhinestone-emblazoned Jimmy Choos!

Are you ready for the ride? What are some themed days that you would like to see me do here? DIY tutorials? Easy recipes? Politics?

Welcome 2012!!

2012-01-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from our chaos to yours ! May this be a FABULOUS year!!!

Rewind of 2011 ~ Part 2

2011-12-31T11:41:00.000-08:00

And the final 8 months of 2011 in pictures!

I would say that 2011 was definitely a bittersweet and tumultuous year for our family. I lost both of my paternal grandparents, but know that they have no more pain and are in a much better place. Jeremy was laid off for around 10 weeks, but was fortunate enough to find a job that took him to New York to work for 26 days. Boy, was that interesting. Yet,

in the midst of all of our chaos, we had many happy occasions and are truly blessed to see another year. Bring on 2012!

~ May ~

Field trip to the Clark County Heritage Museum

Chandler turns 10!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day Tea in Moriah's classroom

Had a grand time meeting a BUNCH of moms from our March/April/May 2007 birth board.

Sang the National Anthem & Amazing Grace at a Memorial Day service, where I got to meet Shelly Berkley

~ June ~

Went to Tuacahn and The Little Mermaid

Went to the Farm

Last Day of 4th Grade

Father's Day

Dentist Appointments

Chandler had a summer job

Swim Lessons

~ July ~

We went to Phoenix to my sisters and had a great time with the cousins

Laid my Grandma to rest, just a 5 months after my Grandpa

My sissy turned the BIG 40!

Lincoln got stitches

Love my little Chaos kiddies

All the cousins together for a family picture

Lincoln turns 2

Fun at the Farm

~ August ~

The VERY beginning of the BIGGEST project we took on for the year. Turning ALL of the downstairs flooring into stained concrete.

1st Day of 5th Grade for Chandler

Floors in the middle of the stained concrete process

~ September ~

1st Day of 4's Class for Moriah

Our DIY Concrete Floors

Our DIY painted Furniture project

Birthday party for our Pastor's wife

~ October ~

Friends Day at Church

Working at the school Fresh & Easy Fundraiser

Albertsons blogging event

~ November ~

Daddy got home after working 26 days in New York!

Celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary

Thanksgiving

~ December ~
Met some new Vegas blogging friends!

Field Trip to KA ~ A Cirque show

DARE Graduation

Rewind of 2011 ~ Part One

2011-12-28T13:50:00.001-08:00

~ January 2011 ~

Little John was born

New cousin to love on

Lincoln's first haircut

~ February ~

Grandpa passed away and we laid him to rest

Last hug I ever gave my Grandma and the last time I saw her alive. :-(

Lincoln's 1st Plane Ride

~ March ~

I turned 31

Moriah turns 4!

~ April ~

My mom's 6 year anniversary

Jeremy turns 32!

Happy Birthday Isabella!

2011-12-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

My littlest niece Isabella, turned 3 a few weeks ago. We had a great time celebrating with cake and ice cream!

Beautiful Bella!

Cutie patootie cousins

Opening presents

My brother and his 4 kids!!

Papa, Nanny, and the birthday girl

Three generations of Johns...The I, the II, and the III.

Oh no you didn't...um, yes I did...

2011-12-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

Life is full of ups and downs, the good and not-so-good, funny times and those moments that you laugh about, but might be embarrassed to share. So here is a chance to share the 'other' side of life. That 'other' side that we don't always blog about. Feel free to link up your blog at the end of this post.

I wanted to make no-bake cookies with the kids, but didn't have any wax paper to put them on. But clean granite works just as good, right?! Oh no I didn't...um, YES I did!

Forgot about a load of towels in the washer and remembered them when I opened the washer door and was hit by 'that' smell. I washed them AGAIN.

(Papa & Nanny might not want to read or look any further)

Oh no you didn't...um, yes I did let Jeremy take a picture of Lincoln picking his nose. Gross!

Thought I was totally prepared to work in the classroom on Thursday and bought the snack the night before. Yea, so prepared that I forgot and left it in the refrigerator at home. Um, yes I did have to go to Wal-Greens and buy a new snack for the 12 hungry kiddos.

While making our fabulous Marshmallow Pops, I burned half of the Almond Bark in the microwave and ruined my Pampered Chef micro-cooker. :-( Good thing I brought BOTH of my micro-cookers AND only used half of the bark. Um, yes I had to melt more bark, but they turned out adorable!

Now it's your turn to share!!

Our 'Tradition' ~ Marshmallow Pops

2011-12-15T21:58:00.000-08:00

During the months of November and December at Moriah's school, each and every family share a family tradition. A lot of families share traditions that surround different holidays and since we don't have any of those, (unless you count tracing your hand and turning it into a turkey), I usually have to just come up with something that we like and do in our family.

This year I was a little more prepared for this event and some might even say over-zealous. Our family LOVES our cake balls and so do 99% of our friends and family that attend our parties. I have made red velvet, carrot cake, strawberry, and chocolate cake balls, with red velvet and carrot cake 'taking the cake'. (You know you liked that little play on words...admit it!) :-)

Well it hit me at 6 o'clock last night, that rolling and dipping cake balls with 12 four year olds, might not be such a swell idea. So, Moriah and I immediately decided that Marshmallow Pops were the next best thing to cake balls, so onward to the Marshmallow Pops!

Ingredients Needed:

Jumbo Marshmallows
Almond Bark or Candy Coating (You can find this at Wal-Mart, Jo-Ann's or the party store)
Lollipop Sticks
Sugar Crystals or edible decorations

1. First you melt the Almond Bark (Be advised that the 'Almond bark' has absolutely NO Almonds or nuts in it). I choose to melt mine in my Pampered Chef Micro-cooker, since I don't have a double-boiler and would probably scald the bark anyways.

2. Taking the Almond Bark out of the microwave, you dip the end of a lollipop stick into it and then immediately plunge the coated end, into the flat bottom of the marshmallow. (I dipped all 100 marshmallows and placed them on wax paper)

3. Next, I dipped the end of the marshmallow into the bark and lightly tapped off any excess. While the Almond Bark was still wet, I handed it to one of the kids and they got to dip it into the colored sugars. This is the best part for the kids..well, besides eating them.

4. After dipping them in sugar, you just set them back on the wax paper and they will harden up.

Then they are ready to package up and eat!

Enjoy our 'Family Tradition' and maybe next time we can talk about our DIVINE cake balls!!

Pin It

My Love Affair with Pampered Chef & FREE, FREE, FREE

2011-12-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ah...Pampered Chef. My friend and kitchen companion since 2002. The first time I was invited to a party, I was a little overwhelmed and leery. I mean, who really needs to cook on stoneware?! Well apparently everyone, including me! I fell in love with the quality and versatility of the products.

Then I hosted my own party.

Then I became a consultant.

Quite honestly, I became a consultant to get MORE products. I have never been one for high-pressure sales and so after doing about 6-7 shows and fulfilling my contract, I stopped selling. But I still buy. And buy. And buy. Pampered Chef is always coming out with new products and tweaking some of the oldie but goodies and I have personally found that no other kitchen products compare to the quality of Pampered Chef.

My favorite products include the stoneware, like this round stone that I use for baking cookies, biscuits, pizza, and garlic bread.

I have two of these stackable, nylon, cooling racks. Perfect for cooling cookies!

I LOVE my batter bowls and have both the small and large size. I use them to mix in and also to store leftovers in. These are also oven safe and you can bake a princess cake in one!

I have so many of the Pampered Chef tools, that I have completely filled one of these tool-turnabouts. Love it.

And last but not least, I recently came across some old (new) items that I used to giveaway during my shows. I have 9 Seasons Best recipe books, 4 quick-cut paring knives and 4 bottles of the Rosemary & Lemon liquid soap, with a small gift from Lincoln. ;-) I have plenty of everything, so I want to give them to you!

Just leave a comment with your email address and I will contact you and get your mailing address. FREE. Free. Free! And everyone likes FREE, right?!

And your complimentary gift from Lincoln...straight pins strategically placed inside the bottles. Please don't ask...I have no idea. Consider it like a little glitter...

And if you are interested in purchasing any Pampered Chef products or if you are in the Las Vegas valley, contact my consultant, Rachel G at desertjewls@aol.com.

Well Done, Son..

2011-12-10T23:07:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Chandler! You made straight A's during your first trimester of the fifth grade. Daddy and I are both so proud of your many accomplishments. Keep up the excellent work!

Friday Funny

2011-12-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently our child prodigy hasn't mastered the skill of reading yet...

And that this book cart is better for sitting!

The Reality of a Pinterest Project

2011-12-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

I love Pinterest and am pretty much inspired to create SOMETHING, each and every time I log on. My boards keep growing and I keep planning. But maybe Pinterest will be the demise of some DIY's...that is Do-It-Yourselfers in online lingo. I mean just about everyone has laughed out loud at this pin, right?

Source: Uploaded by user via Sarah on Pinterest

Of course I laughed. I laughed while thinking...oh, you poor craft-challenged baker. How sad. I hope the cupcakes didn't ruin your party, or better yet, I hope you didn't invite one of the followers from your 'Cute Cupcakes to Make' board.

Oh the arrogance of those of us who have that little 'crafty bone' in our body. I mean how hard can a cookie monster cupcake be? Or how about that little craft where you turn your kids prints into works of art. I can paint, I can make things. See Abbie. See Abbie paint. See Abbie make things. See Abbie paint and make things.

So I cracked up laughing when a friend of mine posted her 'own' Pinterest story. Here is her story in pictures, but you can also read her story here.

Here is the project that Laura pinned from Pinterest:

Here is how that project turned out...

Another DIYer plagued by the reality of a Pinterest project!

But me? 'I' am different. I get paid to craft. I make and sell hair bows to other people. I can make a mean candy buffet and have turned pants into adorable skirts. See Abbie craft. See Abbie attempt a Pinterest project.

Enter simple food craft to do with kids for Thanksgiving.

The simple Pilgrim Hat, made with fudge stripes, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and orange icing, pinned with excitement from Pinterest. This cannot be hard.

Source: womansday.com via Abigail on Pinterest

So far, so good. We are off to a great start...PB cups on top of the fudge stripes.

Smiling peeps, just happy to be near the Reese's...

Let the hat decorating begin.

Add us to the list of the Victims to the Reality of a Pinterest Project.

May the DIYer not get discouraged but revel in the fact that a good time was had by all. Thank you Pinterest for making me feel like a no-talent hack, but Mom of the Year to my little pilgrim crafters!

Family Rock Garden

2011-12-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

Just admit it...you have always wanted your own rock garden. A garden that you never have to weed or water. A garden graced with the paintings from little hands that only grow bigger and more precise. Makes you want to cry thinking about one, huh?! Well I can guarantee you that it's about the only type of 'garden' that I don't kill around this house and the one that can survive the heat and cold of the Nevada desert.

The directions are simple.
1. Find enough smooth rocks for each member of your family.
2. Supply everyone with enough paint to make a huge mess...'cause you know it is going to happen with a 2 year old...
3. I supplied my brood with sponge painters, but I'm sure fingers would work just as well.
4. Paint until you have no more rock to paint.
5. Leave rocks to dry overnight.
6. After rocks are completely dried, use a permanent marker to personalize each rock.
7. Have a good cry. Either because you are so touched by the moment or because you took the finger step on #3 literally and now you have paint everywhere.
8. Enjoy!

Random eye candy from Thanksgiving

2011-12-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

We obviously took a LOT of pictures on Thanksgiving weekend and I couldn't fit them all into my last post, so here are a few of my favorite and very telling pictures!

Auntie & little Miss

Little Sneak

Preparing for Black Friday...the ads...

Uncle Robert & Kendall relaxing after the BIG meal

Nothing sweeter than two girls in their nightgows, ready for bed!

My big boy

Nanny & Papa

Two of my boys relaxing after a day of scrumptious food

Uncle Robert reading to the girls

And I am pretty convinced that this is the finale of Thanksgivings around the nation...

Vegas Blogger Meet Up

2011-12-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, I had the fabulous opportunity to meet a few other Las Vegas bloggers, through a blogging event put on by Albertsons. We didn't have any spare time to talk and connect, but we promised to try and get together fo a meet up.

Well, the fine folks over at Fresh & Easy helped to bring us all together for a fun event that was hosted at The Organized Cook's house! Fresh & Easy catered the event with an assortment of yummy salads, pigs in a blanket, miniature beef crouets, veggie and fruit trays, brie & cranberry puff pastries, and their wonderful assortment platter of cheesecake! And to top it off...they had the BEST PUMPKIN SPICE Sparkling Cider! ;-)

We mingled and talked about bloggy stuff (is that even a word) and sometimes I felt like I was completely out of my element. I was in pure amazement of how some of these amazing women have grown their blog into wonderful ventures. As I listened to them talk, it was almost like a foreign language. The sits and tos and blah, blah, blah. I went away with my head spinning, but with a renewed respect for how far technology has brought us.

Thanks friends for the great company and for trying to answer my billions of questions! May we meet up again, but hopefully next time I will have learned the answers to my many questions!

Here I am with Stephanie from Rockstar Mom, Heather's friend (sorry that I forgot her name), Lala from the Deal Fanatic, and Heather from Whipperberry.

Lots of yummy food and a wreath made by Whipperberry!

Upon leaving the event, Fresh & Easy gifted each of us bloggers with a tote bag full of goodies, including the most yummy cranberry and nut clusters dipped in dark chocolate, peppermint bark, chocolate chip pancake mix, yummy syrup to go with the panckaes and peppermint hot cocoa mix. Thanks Fresh & Easy!

Hello Saturday...it's good to see you!

2011-12-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

Finally...we made it. It's Saturday and I couldn't be happier! I love Saturdays and the feeling of not having to be in any particular place. Now, don't get me wrong. We have plenty of Saturdays where we have places to go and people to see, but then there are those days that the calendar is clear or semi-clear and I relish every moment.

Our Saturdays have went like this over the last several months. We get up and still in our pajamas, Mommy or Daddy makes breakfast. Some days I make my mama's biscuits and gravy. Some days Daddy makes eggs and bacon. And some days, I treat the little chaos to a special treat...heart cinnamon rolls.

Love my Saturday traditions...with nothing better to do!

Does this mean we 'like' change?

2011-12-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

I think it is pretty evident that I LOVE crafting and re-vamping things. Over the years I have spray painted things here and there, but after Pinterest, a whole new world of spray paint and ideas has been opened up to me.

Take for instance this table that we purchased off of craigslist. I wanted a drop-leaf table, so it would fit in a certain spot and be compact, yet expand when we need it. Voila, a drop leaf table. So after scouring for a few weeks, I found a black one with 2 nice chairs and 2 pretty junkie ikea chairs. A steal for $75. And although a new paint job of black might have been very enticing for someone, I could have cared less. This table was soon to be oyster or silver or purple or turquoise. I hadn't decided yet, but something other than black!

So here is a picture of the black ikea chair.

Before:

I decided on this pearly oyster/silver color and I am madly in love with it! It looks beautiful with our 'other' new project. Just keep reading. I think Jeremy and I must like change, because we are always finding something to paint or change.
After:

My white wall that extends from the family room and into the kitchen, along with the beautiful french doors.
Before:

My wall is now a custom Ralph Lauren Turqouise/Oyster shimmer color. I am in love with it as well...
After:

Stay tuned for more changes...let's hope it's the garage and I will be able to park my truck in there!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with Dad, Nanny Gwen, my sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, and my brother. Our family was very excited to get to host it at our house this year. We had such a great time and feel very blessed to be able to share this special day with the ones that we love so dear!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

Jeremy lighting my mom's candle

Cooking

My sister and me posing in the work place...the kitchen.

Appetizer & Dessert Table

Appetizers

The adorable place cards that my niece made and the pretty place settings

Kennedy setting the table

The kids lighting the candles

John moving our 23lb Butterball turkey to the dinner table

Just like a traditional Thanksgiving picture...

Papa & Nanny with Kendall, Kennedy, Chandler, Moriah, & Lincoln

The kids at their own Thanksgiving table

Happy Thanksgiving from our family. Dad, Nanny Gwen, my sissy, her husband & 2 kids, my brother, Jeremy, me and our 3 kids!

My Mama's famous Peanut Butter Pie! One of the best parts of Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T21:38:00.000-08:00

Our family's Thanksgiving prayer for all our family and friends...

We hope your stuffing was yummy
And your turkey plump
And our prayer for you,
Is that it don't go to your rump! ;-)

Soup, Soup, and More Soup

2011-11-22T23:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday we held a Soup Potluck at our house for our church family. What? You've never heard of a Soup Potluck? Oh my...it is sooo fun and extra warm and yummy! Everyone brings a pot of homemade soup and a few people bring bread and drinks. We did this once before and it was so much fun, we decided to do it again.

Pasole

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Shrimp Cocktail Soup

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I made Turkey Soup

Some of the ladies having a great time smelling Scentsy and chatting.

Sis Leah & Sis Tina

A few kids (mine included) making a mess of the toy room.

Bro Max & Jeremy

Dad & Bro Rivas

And more soup...

Miss Priss @ her Sharing Soup Day. Sharing Soup is a co-op tradition where everyone contributes something to the pot of soup and all the friends come together and eat it. This year we brought Parmesan Cheese and Moriah seemed to really enjoy her soup!

Moriah and her best friend Maggie

One out of two looking isn't so bad...

Moriah and her friends enjoying their Sharing Soup and bread with butter!

Mmmm, mmmm!

What's Been Happening at Our House

2011-11-20T22:38:00.000-08:00

Playing at school

Donuts for Dads @ Chandler's school with Daddy (behind the camera), Papa, Uncle John, Jaiden, Moriah & Lincoln

One hungry little man!

My brother John, Jaiden, & Papa

Daddy, Papa, and the two littles (Chandler ran off to his class)

Daddy playing 4-square with Chandler

Orders in progress...whew...I am so glad to have these orders out!

A bunch or orders ready to ship

Jeremy helping me with packages

And in other words...we have been busy, busy, busy! ;-)

Drum Roll Please...

2011-11-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Coffee Drinking Hunny!

I am not a coffee drinker and Jeremy is a seldom coffee drinker, so the Keurig one cup maker makes sense for us. It seems like everyone has one these days and so I asked around on my birth board and many of my mom friends gave it great reviews. I didn't even know which model was the right one for our house, so in my searching, one of my mommy friends offered me some of her Keurig points. That was sooo sweet! And with her points, I was able to get the $120 Keurig for $60!! Thanks again Trisha!! And yes, we love wrapping presents in wrapping that is safe for the environment...also known as...good ol' blankets! ;-)

And happy picture taking for me! Yes, my darling husband reads my blog and got me the new camera (Rebel t3i) that I wanted! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! I can't wait to use it and share the pictures!!

13 Years

2011-11-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life...

(Sorry for the quality of pictures. My impatience has not changed in the last 13 years and I couldn't wait for Jeremy to scan my pictures, so I took a picture of them.)

13th Anniversary Dinner

2011-11-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

Last night, Jeremy and I went out to dinner for our 13th wedding anniversary, which is actually on Sunday the 13th. After much discussion, we decided on Brio, an Italian Tuscan Grill in Town Square.

We dropped our 3 munchkins off at out friend's house and headed on our way...all by ourselves!!! The wait for dinner ended up being over an hour, good thing there was lots of shopping... ;-) We had a great time talking and enjoying all our yummy food, so much so, that we were too stuffed for dessert.

So, after dinner and a quick trip to H&M We picked up the kids and headed straight home for a good nights sleep. We decided to wait till our actual anniversary to open our gifts to each other. Stay tuned to see what Jeremy thinks of his gift and to see what he ends up getting me... LOL.

Happy Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thank you to the Veterans who have served our country. My Grandpa served in WWII and my dad served his time in the Air Force. Thank you for serving to preserve our freedoms. Let Freedom Ring...

If you are on an I-Pad or other mobile device, you are probably not going to be able to view this video clip. I was asked to sing the Star Spangled Banner at a Veteran's concert on Wednesday night. Here is the clip...

Confessions from this Mama

2011-11-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

~ I confess I slept for 11.5 hours last night... although not solid sleep.
~ I confess that I fell asleep at 6 pm, after throwing up just about everything I had eaten that day. (I know...TMI)
~ I confess that I am not sure what my family did after I came upstairs around 5:30 and am dreading going down to check things out.
~ I confess that I am up to my ears in Thanksgiving turkey shirts and can't wait to get them all finished and shipped out!
~ I confess that I am super excited about our upcoming soup potluck at our house and then Thanksgiving!
~ I confess that I wish there was a laundry fairy.
~ I confess that I planned ahead and bought Jeremy an anniversary present and hopes he likes it!
~ I confess that I am hoping he gets me the present that I REALLY want.
~ I confess that the thought of eating eggs and turkey bacon is making me sick to my stomach...again. :-x
~ I confess that I was supposed to start the c25k program yesterday and was derailed by my sickness. Blah.
~ I confess that I borrowed the book The Help from a friend and haven't cracked open a page.
~ I confess that I am happy that Chandler has a 4 day weekend...again this weekend!

Interview with the Missy Prissy

2011-11-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Moriah. Today you are over 4.5 years old and are in the 4's class at school. I think some of these interview questions were a little hard to comprehend, but hey, what fun to look back on these answers in a few years.

Your favorite food is: Chicken Noodle Soup

Your favorite sport to play is: Play in my room

The coolest person on earth is: Maggie

Your favorite thing to learn about in school is: About Scissors

The thing you do the most awesomely at is: Ripping paper into pieces

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go: My Nanny & Papas

Your favorite color is: Blue

When you grow up, you am going to be a: Writer

Your current favorite song is: We Glorify You

The book you are loving right now is: Elmo

Three words to describe you are: Happy; Silly; loves babies

When you were little, you used to: Cry

Your favorite season of the year is: Tomorrow

The absolute best thing about school is: Playing Kitchen

The snack you love the best is: Chips

One food that you really dislike is: Lettuce

Your best friend is: Maggie

If you only have one wish, what it would be: I wish I could stay home and play

Your best memory is: Writing on my white board

Daddy is Home & Misc Stuff

2011-11-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been a little quiet here on the blog, but only because Mr. Chaos was in New York working. That meant that I was way busy trying to keep everybody on the straight and narrow! We survived and so did Daddy. But we are so happy that our family is all back under the same roof!

And to celebrate Daddy's return to our humble abode, we painted family rocks. As soon as I can find a permanent marker and write our names on them, we can add them to our rock garden.

And my PSA for the day...
Need more space to hang dry clothes? You can add one or more shower curtain rods in the bath/shower and you can get double or triple the space!

Happy Birthday to some very special twin angels

2011-11-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

6 years. Hard to believe, but it is the reality. As I say every year, there is really nothing more to say, I am pretty sure I have said it all. It's sad. I can't believe that we lost not one, not two, but three baby boys. All who were born alive. I am positive that I have experienced every emotion possible when thinking about our lot in life, but God has still been good to us.

A few months back, a girl from my birth board posted this poem and I immediately fell in love with it. I know that the mother who wrote this was speaking of being a mother to a child with disabilities, but I fully embraced this beautiful piece and can relate to my own Holland.

Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.” ” Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”
But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around… and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills… and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy…and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things …about Holland.

I too was anticipating Italy, especially after the diversion that our family's plane took, when my mother suddenly passed away. We were just adjusting to our 'life' in this new 'city', when suddenly, our plane heading for Italy, arrived in Holland.

I was devastated. I was mad. I was heart broken.

But over time I began to find the beauty that Holland had to offer. We were soon joined by a new bundle of joy named Moriah. We would not have had her, had our plane not been diverted to Holland. And then a few months later, another blessing named Lincoln arrived. Again, more beauty in Holland.

Although we never intended to settle in Holland, we love it and cannot imagine our lives anywhere else.

Thank you Landon and Carson for helping me see beyond Italy...

Happy 6th Birthday!

Happy November and Countdown until Thanksgiving

2011-11-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Yay! It's the first day of November and we only have 23 days left until Turkey Day. I'm really excited because I get to host Thanksgiving at my house again! So bring on the Thanksgiving decorating ideas. Let's start with a few ideas from my Thanksgiving Pinterest board...

Source: jellybeanjunkyard.wordpress.com via Abigail on Pinterest

Source: atsecondstreet.blogspot.com via Abigail on Pinterest

Source: stylemepretty.com via Abigail on Pinterest

Source: google.de via Abigail on Pinterest

Source: myheartsdesireblog.com via Abigail on Pinterest

And look what sold out in the Missy Prissy Bow Boutique shop! The Funky Turkey shirt & matching hairbow!

Mmmm...can't you just smell the turkey and pumpkin pie now?

Albertsons VIP Bloggers Event & Princess Party

2011-10-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

So Saturday, I had the fabulous opportunity to attend a VIP Las Vegas bloggers event, sponsored by Albertsons. Albertsons you ask? Yes. Good, old Albertsons...the grocery store. But wait...wait for it... Albertsons is MUCH more than just your local grocery store. Albertsons has been doing some amazing changes in their bakery and floral departments and I had the privilege of being one of the first ones to see these new ideas that they are implementing!

As soon as I arrived, (of course I was the last one to arrive), we were ushered upstairs into a meeting room, where they offered us light refreshments and had us sit down to discuss Albertsons desire to reach out to the community. We had a great panel discussion about what moms are looking for in a bakery and how Albertsons can meet those desires.

Next, we were brought into the bakery and deli, where we were given an in-depth look into just what Albertsons offers and is capable of providing for any size event.

If you know me, or have been reading my blog over the last year, than you know how much I love parties! I love going to parties, but I really LOVE throwing parties! I love putting together ideas centered around a theme and voila...a fantastic party! And I tend to have a love affair with cakes. I love me a fancy cake! I love cakes that are themed and tiered. I love cakes that are fun and decorative...but I also love for my cakes to be scrumptious, with butter cream frosting. And now I found out that Albertsons will custom-make a cake, tailored to your function! Who knew that Albertsons has some very talented cake decorators with their own portfolios and they can make your cake EXACTLY like you want it. I can't wait to try Albertsons Bakery for my next party!!

As you can see in the picture above, Albertsons also has an outstanding floral department and has the capability to make your event, whether a wedding or formal dinner, a picture perfect occasion. I was pleased to find out that Albertsons will even deliver your cake and/or flowers to your event and set them up. How fabulous is that? And the price? Better than the corner florist. And remember, there are a lot of Alberstons in Las Vegas, so if one store doesn't have those Stargazer Lilies in stock, most likely another store will!

And as a parting gift, Albertsons gave each blogger a beautiful vase of flowers and our own custom cake, emblazoned with our blog's moniker!

They also provided each of us with a swag bag full of baking goodies!

After the blogging forum, I went and picked my kids up and brought them back for Albertsons Princess Party. It was really adorable and my kids had so much fun, which is always the cherry on top!

A party fit for lots of little princesses and princes...

Candy, candy, everywhere! My little ones were in sugar heaven!!

Lincoln in Cinderella's pumpkin patch

Walking in the cake walk

Having a grand time assembling their crowns

Just a glimpse of what Albertsons floral department can do with flowers. Aren't these princess arrangements fabulous?!

One of Albertsons talented cake decorators, assembling her princess themed cake during the cake decorating contest.

P.S.
Dear Albertsons,
The cake was FABULOUS! Just how I like them.
Yours Truly,
One Chaos Lovin' Mama

Out of the Mouths of my Babes

2011-10-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

~ For the first time, Lincoln put his arms around my neck and said I Love You. Melted my heart!

~ Moriah and Lincoln play extremely well together and Lincoln pretty much does whatever Moriah says. A few weeks ago, they were playing house and Moriah came and asked me if I would be the 'Grandma'. Of course I said yes, who doesn't want to be a Grandma at 31?!
I could hear them playing and Lincoln calling Moriah 'Mommy'. Soon, she brought him into my office and said, 'okay, go to your Grandma.' I wasn't exactly sure if he understood role-playing and the whole pretending thing, so I asked him. 'Who is that', I asked, pointing to Moriah. Lincoln responded with 'Mommy'. One down, one to go. 'And who am I?' 'Grandma'.

So it's official...Grandma at 31 and my 4 year old is a mother to her 2 year old brother. Too funny if you ask me!

Calling all Princesses and Princes

2011-10-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

You are royally invited to a FABULOUS princess party thrown by Albertsons! There will be cake decorating, crown & tiara decorating, a snow white carmel apple dipping station, a Cinderella pumpkin patch and lots of candy stations!!

The party is being held at the Albertsons at Maryland Parkway and Silverado Ranch. The exact address is 9725 South Maryland Parkway and runs from 11 am until 3 pm.

“We welcome all young princesses to come dressed in their most royal finery for a wonderful celebration!”

The following Nevada royalty will be at the Princess Party to sign autographs.
Mrs. Nevada America 2011 (Amanda Kouretas)
Teen Nevada Princess 2011 (Tayler Schatteman)
Pre-Teen Nevada Princess 2011 (Dakota Whitten)
Little Miss Nevada Princess 2011 (Morgan Jelinsky)

Here is a link to your invitation...

What has been happening in the Missy Prissy Bow Boutique shop!

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Middle of the Week Montage

2011-10-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

We started the week out at a local grocery store, which allows our school to do an annual fundraising shopping night. The GATE kids get to bag groceries and help customers out. Oh, and help corral carts! :-)

Photography by Moriah

Apparently, naps are better when spent on the bathroom floor...

...especially after eating a granola bar for snack. Eh...notice that the little Mr. Chaos is wearing big boy boxers?!?

~ An Interview with the Oldest ~

2011-10-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Chandler...Today you are 10 years old and in the 5th Grade.

Your favorite food is: Lentil Soup

Your favorite sport to play is: Soccer

The coolest person on earth is: Innocente

Your favorite thing to learn about in school is: Math

The thing you do the most awesomely at is: Reading

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go: Japan

Your favorite color is: Blue

When you grow up, you am going to be a: I don't know yet...

Your current favorite song is: Oh I want to see Him

The book you are loving right now is: Brsingr

Three words to describe you are: Smart, Polite, Handsome

When you were little, you used to: spread Vaseline on the carpet

Your favorite season of the year is: Winter

The absolute best thing about school is: Playing with my friends

The snack you love the best is: Spicy Buffalo Wing Pretzels

One food that you really dislike is: Tomatoes

Your best friend is: Jacob

If you only have one wish, what it would be: To be wise

Your best memory is: Getting the Holy Ghost

A Day in the Pre-School Life of Moriah

2011-10-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

I worked in Moriah's classroom yesterday and thought that I would share some pictures of her typical day. Right now in her classroom, they are doing a lot of different activities and experiments with pumpkins and apples.

Making and eating apple pie without the crust.

1. Choose an apple and wash it.

2. Put apple on peeler/corer/slicer and start cranking

3. Crank until apple is peeled, cored, and spiral cut. I must say that this contraption is really neat!

3. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on apple slices.

4. Enjoy! This 'pie' is finger-lickin' good!

Painting using a roller and sponges.

Playing in the corn kernal filled sensory table.

Circle time - Which pumpkin is the biggest? smallest? Fattest?

Teacher directed transition - Obstacle course, jumping over hurdles and running around the cone.

We pulled up fresh radishes from the school garden and tried them at snack time.

Small group time - Taking the apple core and digging the seeds out and gluing them on a paper apple.

Oh what fun to be 4 again!

Last Week Wrap

2011-10-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to shop the As They Grow baby/kids consignment sale last Wednesday and left with a bunch of great deals. Most of the outfits that I got for Lincoln, still had the tags attached! One of the dresses and Gymboree shirts that I got Moriah had tags as well. I also got Chandler a few more pairs of jeans and 2 shirts. So happy when I get a deal!

My two little groupies...this is for you Daddy!

My good friend Leah from church. Her and I braved Chilis with our kids to celebrate her birthday. She is so tiny, that I feel like a giant next to her! Happy birthday dear friend...

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

2011-10-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Thinking of all of the Mommy and Daddies who have lost one of their precious little ones.

If you haven't had a chance to read about our 3 boys, you can go here to read their story. You can also light a candle in remembrance on this special day.

They Say There is a Reason

They say there is a reason,
They say that time will heal,
But neither time nor reason,
... Will change the way I feel,
For no-one knows the heartache,
That lies behind our smiles,
No-one knows how many times,
We have broken down and cried,
We want to tell you something,
So there won't be any doubt,
You're so wonderful to think of,
But so hard to be without.
~Author Unknown

Blah, blah, blah...

2011-10-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

A whole lot of busyness in out neck of the woods. Missy Prissy Bow Boutique is in full hair bow season and I have been swamped. Add in Chandler's school Fall Festival which is this coming weekend and I am sure you can imagine our chaos!

And thank you for all of the prayers and kind words that have been sent our way. Last Wednesday night, I was having my own little pity party over lack of work on both Jeremy and my parts, when BOOM, we both had job offers that next morning. More on that later...

As for now, I am totally exhausted and headed off to bed. But I did get some fabulous deals at the As They Grow consignment sale today!

Saturday Night Live

2011-10-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here at our house...

We are having daddy's favorite food...grilled cheese. Okay, not really, but they sure were good!

we are having our own consignment sale... ;-)

We are going to bed early...good night, see you tomorrow!

Friday Free 4 All

2011-10-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

An idea of breakfast and lunch at my house 3 days a week...

More artwork by little Mr. Chaos...

We have had lots of rain in our part of the desert. Moriah taking a 'rain-walk' at school...

Playing, it's what she does best!

Not sure what Daddy is going to think about his boy...

Doing a little photo shoot for Missy Prissy...

WooHoo, it's the weekend!

As They Grow...

2011-10-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Do you have any outgrown clothes or shoes at your house? What about toys that are still in great condition, but are not of any interest to your kids anymore. Well instead of donating it or throwing them away, sell them and make some extra dough! Or just come and peruse at the As They Grow Kids Consignment Sale. This fabulous baby and kid consignment sale that is set up just like a department store. I have participated as a seller AND buyer, over the last 4 sales!

And why am I talking about this today? Because the BIG Fall sale is coming up next weekend! Here are the details:

As They Grow Kids Consignment Sale
October 10-16, 2011
located at:7570 S. Dean Martin Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89139

If you are a local Las Vegan, this consignment sale is the BEST one in the whole entire state..promise!

So, come sell and shop, shop, shop!

Friends Day October 2011

2011-10-03T19:39:00.001-07:00

We had a FABULOUS Friends Day at church yesterday. I know that most people think of 'church' as a big, beautiful building with stained glass windows and lots of people. But where did that church start? It certainly didn't start off with the Pastor walking into that big, monstrous building and the next Sunday it was totally packed out, right?! Well, most churches start off small and grow and we call small churches, home mission churches. We are excited that our church is running around 40 people!!
But on Friends Day, we had 70 people!!!Afterwards, we headed to the park and had way too much food and a fabulous time talking and laughing!! I can't wait till the next Friends Day!

Trying to be sly and take a picture when no one is paying attention to me. The picnic at the park. Good food. Great fellowship!

Some of the kids playing soccer...I think.

Lincoln and Ruth playing in the sand.

What's Been Happening at Our House

2011-09-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

We have been busier than a two-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. LOL! That is totally my dad coming out in me. You should meet him. He is hysterical. Or maybe you have and you know just how funny his jokes are and how his laugh is even better.

Anyways, onto the beautiful Chaos family perils. Mr. Chaos is still out of work (he has been since July 19th), but things are looking better. It looks as if he might get on the MGM job and start next week! Say a prayer for him...and me. ;-)

I have taken on watching 3 siblings, 3 days a week. That means that 3 days out of the week I have 5 kids under 4; 4, 3, 2, 18 months, and 6 months. See why I asked for prayer? I need it!
And since I started a 'daycare', we have had a lot more messes and some unfortunate mishaps. :-(

I have applied back to the school district, but only as a sub. I am not completely ready to go back to full time teaching. Still waiting on my file to be completed.

I have been busy working with the PTO on setting up our 3rd annual Fall Festival.

Jeremy has stayed pretty busy renovating and/or painting my dad's rentals. He has also been doing a lot of the dropping off and picking up at the kid's schools.

Today is the second time this week that little Lincoln hasn't taken a nap. I sure hope this isn't a new trend. Boy needs his nap and Mama needs her break! ;-)

My mind has been on a friend of mine and a mom of one of Moriah's classmates. Her husband is 26 and fighting Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma. Suddenly having my husband out of work isn't such a heavy burden.

Our church is super excited about Friends Day this Sunday!!

I have been SUPER busy with custom hair bow orders and the fundraiser for Reese.

Watching Moriah and Lincoln play is the sweetest thing EVER and they really cracked me up this week!

Chandler is loving 5th grade and says that Social Studies and Math are his favorite subjects.

Picture day was today. I hope Chandler's hair stayed nice. I guess we will see when the pictures come. Who really buys pictures without seeing them? Crazy parents.

I am trying to get my kid's outgrown clothes, shoes, and toys ready for this FABULOUS consignment sale. Check it out if you have never been to it. And better yet, get rid of your little one's outgrown stuff and make some extra money! Tell them Abigail P referred you... ;-)

I have mailed tons of packages this week. Okay, not literally tons...but a lot.

My brother got a job, after being unemployed for over a year...yay!

My nephew called me today to ask if I could look up on the computer how far giraffes can see. Um, apparently they can see for miles. One reason Zebras and Antelopes like to hang around them.

And me and Pediped...well, let's just say that I am obviously not a pageant mom. I saw a little boy that had over 5,000 votes!! And unless I find 5,000 new friends or someone to hack into their computers and up my kid's votes...we ain't winning. I am not sure if Pediped and my relationship will ever be the same.

Mr. Chaos has been working on the toy room floor!! Yahoo! I can't wait to show the final results. I have also been pinning toy room ideas on pinterest. And look at Mr. Mini Chaos there in his pj's. And see that big paint stain behind him...uh huh. That is his work of art. He even has the pain on his pj's to prove it. Unfortunately, mini chaos got a little too artsy and painted some stuffed animals. They are now in toy heaven.

Good night everyone. See you sooner, rather than later! ;-)

In Honor of Reese Holland Becker

2011-09-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Meet my friend Shannon. A wife, a mother, a friend and now a mother to a little angel, Reese Holland, whose life was cut short by SIDS. Reese would have turned one on September 20th. And instead of preparing for a pink, girly party, Shannon is instead running in "Reese's Race". Proceeds from this race are going to First Candle that helps aid in SIDS research.

Shannon and I met through our April 2007 baby birth board, when I was pregnant with Moriah and she was pregnant with Josh. I had a chance to have several phone conversations with Shannon after Reese's death and we even met during the Vegas Yuku Moms Trip. Shannon is a remarkable mama and many of us would like to support her and the memory of Reese. But being as she lives in Oregon, most of us cannot participate in her race. I would like to do my part to contribute to First Candle in honor of Reese Holland and SIDS research.

I am offering a hot pink Lily flower for $4, with 50% of it going to honor Reese's first birthday. There are limited quantities, so head on over to Missy Prissy Bow Boutique's FB page and get yours today, in honor of Reese and in support of Shannon. You can also purchase a flower from Missy Prissy Bow Boutique and shipping is only $1.50 ALL SUNDAY long!

You can read more about Shannon on her blog here and on the top 100 moms making a difference.

Every Mama Crow Thinks Her Crow is the Blackest!

2011-09-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Or otherwise titled...Begging and Pleading for your daily votes until October 2nd.

I think you know about my love for Pedipeds, right? The adorable soft-soled leather shoes for babies and toddlers? I found them when Moriah was 6 months old and she has been wearing them ever since. Lucky little Lincoln has had them since he was born.

Well, Pediped is located right here in Henderson, just 25 minutes from where we live. We were thrilled to get invited to Pediped's only brick and mortar store, grand opening a few months back. We even got 3 FREE pairs of Pedipeds.

So, I got an email from Pediped awhile back with a casting call for kids up to 96 months old. And if you are anything like me, I broke out my calculator and divided 96 by 12 and got 8. What a great teacher I am, right?! And since my oldest is 124 months old, I couldn't enter him, but I was able to enter the 54 month old and 26 month old.

Yes folks, I entered Moriah and Lincoln into Pediped's casting call. All for the grand prize of $750 worth of Pedipeds!! Did I mention that we love our Pedipeds?!

And now here is the part where I beg and plead for your daily votes until October 2nd. Please, please, PPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE??!?! I will send you your choice of free Pedipeds?!

Just go here, once a day and type in each name (Moriah, Lincoln from Las Vegas)separately in the Search for Contestant box. Just click Vote and then repeat the following day. You can vote once each day.

Here are the photos that I submitted of them...I did mention I literally did this a few minutes before the deadline last night?

Happy Birthday to our Pastor's Wife

2011-09-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

Only a month late, but she is a BUSY woman! And might I add that yes, she is also my step-mom. I guess I forgot to add that to my 'What you don't know about me' blog post. My dad is the Pastor of our church.

Anyways, back to the party. The ladies from our church all came together to host a beautiful little birthday luncheon for Gwen. Each lady made a small appetizer/dish and made or bought a tea-sized dessert.

Thank you Pinterest for all the FABULOUS ideas that I have been pinning over the last few months. Here is MY version of a ribbon garland I found on there...only we used pink twinkle lights, tulle & ribbon.

We all went together and purchased Gwen a fancy, schmancy coffee maker. The Keurig, to be precise. I am sure her and my dad are having a grand time making all of those fun coffees!

We may be small, but we have a mighty love for each and every one of our sisters and especially our pastor's wife. Happy Birthday again Gwen! <3

DIY ~ Painted Furniture

2011-09-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

A beautiful piece of furniture was given to me a few years ago, when I was pregnant with Chandler. When we originally received this piece of furniture, it was blue, with hand painted flowers. We planned on using it as a changing station in Chandler's room, so Jeremy repainted it with Ralph Lauren Oyster (too bad they no longer sell this) and painted the embellishments blue.

Fast forward 11 years and this piece has been passed down to Moriah and then Lincoln and now it seems we no longer need a changing station, but no, Lincoln is not yet potty trained. ;-)

I have been totally inspired by all of the fabulous painted furniture on Pinterest and really wanted to do one for our house. And since we recently did a mini re-model and I changed my colors in the house slightly, I figured my creative time had come. I was completely psyched to do this project all by myself, but the pro decided that this was the perfect opportunity to show his skills! But I was totally okay with that. He did a perfect job! <3

Original piece of furniture

Pretty carved embellishments

1. Jeremy took a sander and sanded the surfaces of the piece

2. He then sprayed Killz, a paint primer, over everything

3. First coat of spray paint was purple

4. Second coat of paint was turquoise

It was this coat, when I finally decided what I wanted the final look to be

5. Top surface was painted purple, body of piece was painted turquoise and then I took paint thinner and went along and exposed the purple. I then took a silver paint and highlighted those areas. Voila!

6. Final step was new fancy hardware! Crystal knobs that I found at JoAnns for $2.50!! Total cost of project was less than $25!!

The Every Day

2011-09-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my 'happily ever after' looks and feels a little like this...

And now 3 Kodak printers and 1 new computer tower later, I think we finally have our computer and printer issues solved. Thank God. I was on the verge of flying over to India and physically returning the printer to them.

I'm baccckkk....and back to our regularly scheduled blogging and TONS of pictures!

Moriah's 1st Day of School ~ September 6, 2011 ~ 4's Class ~ Mrs. Fitz

Moriah with her 'new' teacher, Mrs. Fitz

My view of the first day of school...I got to work on the first day of school and it warmed my heart to just play with my little princess. She served me food and we played babies. No laundry to do, no phones to answer, just me and Moriah playing.

Moriah's 'new' 4's classroom

The one who brings the snack, gets to ring the clean-up bell.

Snack time

Meet Bonny or Bonnie, I am not sure which spelling she prefers, but she is our new bunny.

Labor Day weekend

Apparently it is against the law to wash your vehicle at your house, here in Las Vegas...so arrest us for saving money and using water that WE pay for. But maybe I will take up a collection if Jeremy goes to jail, since he is still out of work. :-0

And this little guy is absloutely guilty!! Guilty of being adorable...

Bringing our tortoise 'Shelbert' home, after he escaped from our back yard.

Worked on a 'special little project', to be shown at a later date.

We had a birthday dinner for Nanny.

Bacon wrapped asparagus

A briefing of our very productive holiday weekend

2011-09-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite blogs...

2011-09-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Remember when I said I enjoyed reading blogs? Well I am joining up in a blog link and sharing some of my favorite blogs to read. Here we go...

Found this blog through another blog and love to read about other 'regular' families. Jennifer has also hosted 2 giveaways of Missy Prissy Bow Boutique on her blogs!
The Francis Family

I started reading this blog shortly after their first son Gabe was born still. And their second son who was born with a horrible genetic skin disease, EB. I am amazed at their families strength in dealing with little Jonah's skin disease.
Williams Family Blog

Need to save money and find out about ALL the good deals, especially if you are here in Las Vegas.
My Vegas Mommy

I have such compassion and empathy for families that go through the loss of a child and this is one family who went through the loss of their little daughter.
The Rowe Family

One of my funny friends, Laura. I promise that you will laugh at her blog!
Baby Bennington

Another local Vegas mommy blogger and we have even talked about getting together for a craft day!
The Browns

And her twin sister's blog...
The Branches

Another family who has been through so much, including 3 adoptions, failed adoptions and the birth of their youngest at 26 weeks.
Our Journey of Love

Another 'ordinary' family blog and one of my friends...Rachel, the Jersey Mama
The Jersey Mama

A fun crafting/sewing blog
See Kate Sew

A fun soon-to-be-mama who is a hair stylist and her hubby is a newscaster. She won 2 custom bows from Missy Prissy Bow Boutique!
Matt and Julee Turner

There are a ton of great blogs out there and it really is to-each-his-own. I like to read about other families and people, but I love my craft blogs as well. This was just a few of the blogs that I read that post on a regular basis and are public.

And of course...who could forget my OWN blog! But you knew that, right? :-)

Out of the Mouth and Lens of My Babes

2011-09-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Moriah to Daddy: When I get big, I am going to move into Ron's house (next-door neighbor) when he dies. And I am going to have 4 kids and get married.

Jeremy: Really? That's nice that you would live next to Mommy and me.

Moriah: I am going to marry Chandler!

Jeremy: (Laughing) You can't marry Chandler, he's your brother and you can't marry your family.

Moriah: But he's soooo cute!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background: We have a new baby at church and we had been talking about the baby shower.

Moriah: Mom, I think we should have the shower here at our house.

Me: Why?

Moriah: Because we have a big shower and there is no shower at the church.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apparently it is great fun to take random pictures...especially when you are 4.

No wonder my SLR is in need of repair!

And how did I not see this happening?

First of the Lasts

2011-08-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

Monday was the FIRST day of Chandler's LAST year of Elementary School. The Fifth grade is departmentalized at our school, so that means that he has a different teacher for each subject, but the same class. So basically, his class just moves from teacher to teacher. But his home room teacher is Mr. Mueller, the Science 'guy'!

Moriah had her FIRST day in her 4's preschool classroom. And this is going to be her LAST year at the Co-Op.

Moriah and Maggie just jumped right back in where they left off in the 3's classroom. They didn't even skip a beat. Pre-School officially starts for Moriah on Tuesday.

I think spending time playing, wore these two out. Don't you agree?
And before someone goes crazy on me...I was sitting at a stoplight...

A Very Good Explanation...

2011-08-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

You'll know my hate for blogging without pictures and I haven't had a camera over the last few weeks. My SLR is in need of repair and we couldn't find the charger for my little camera, so I had to resort to taking pictures with my i-touch. And I am sure you know how those came out.

And then the house. Oh the house. I think it has been over a month since we started working on it and although the main living areas are finished and clean, we still have the toy/family room to complete, plus a few minor touch ups. More pictures and documentation coming soon...

The great news is that I found my camera charger and can now take 'real' pictures, even if it isn't with my big SLR. And I am back to the wonderful world of blogging.

Re-Model Part 1

2011-08-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have known that my husband has been laid off since July 19th. And you know what that means...honey-do lists. ;-) No really, Jeremy and I love to remodel and do 'projects', but it is hard to find the time when Jeremy is working a lot, in addition to working overtime.

First project up this time off, re-do our downstairs flooring. I'm an eclectic type of girl, especially when it comes to clothes and decorating. Yet, I did not like the 'eclectic', mish-mash of flooring we had downstairs. We had a little wood, a little tile and a little carpet. And I have determined that having carpet with babies, toddlers, and young children should be outlawed. Bad mix.

The tipping point for me was when Lincoln opened a bottle of liquid laundry soap Jeremy had just brought home from Costco and proceeded to dump it out on the formal entry living room floor. Not good. Big, big mess. Mama not happy. My solution: just rip the carpet out and have bare floor. Jeremy's solution: rip out ALL the flooring downstairs and start on our kid-proof flooring. The only problem is when you have the money to do a project, you don't have the time and when you have the time, you don't have the money. Case in point, Jeremy being laid off. More time = Less $.

Long story short, we love to do things the hard way and be the protocol for all you peeps who want to do a similar project. Learn from us...please. If you plan on doing stained concrete flooring, rent an on-site storage unit and move your ENTIRE downstairs into it. If not, you will have a fine concrete dust on EVERYTHING, whether it was in a cabinet, hutch, closet or not.

Tip #2. Go on vacation while your hubby spends hours grinding the floor down or else you and your children will be a prisoner in your bedroom, as you escape the dust and try not to track dust and dirt into other areas of the house.

This was the start of the project.
1. Jeremy ripped up all of the flooring (pulled up carpet; took out tile; removed wood; razor scraped all pre-existing laminate or glue)

2. Ground down all of the concrete floors and left a fairly smooth floor surface.
3. Washed and washed the floor.
4. Filled any and all major concrete imperfections, yet some of the minor ones to add 'character'.

5. Washed floor again and again.
6. Stained concrete with two different coats of stain and co-ordinating colors.
7. Epoxied entire floor, which left a beautiful shiny, uniform, kid-proof sownstairs floor. 1 tired Daddy, 1 happy Mommy!

8. Wash all walls, base, EVERYTHING.
9. 'Move' back into your house.

We are still cleaning and working on getting everything back in our house, so part 2 and the final 'after' pictures are coming soon.

Finally, if your marriage can make it through a do-it-yourself remodel, I am convinced you can make it through anything. :-)

Happy Birthday Nanny!

2011-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

We hope you are having a FABULOUS birthday down in sunny San Diego! <3

What you didn't (or maybe you do) know about me...

2011-08-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

~ I love pink. And Red. And Turquoise...just about any bright color.
~ I am fanatical about cleaning my kid's ears. Can't stand to see children, or adults for that matter, with wax build-up. Ewww, gross.
~ I talk a lot. No really...a lot!
~ I live for the deadline...also known as utterly crazy in chaos...thus the blog name.
~ I love to play Words with Friends.
~ I don't LOVE to cook, but I enjoy making yummy food that is quick and simple to make. But I won 2nd place in a Chili Cook-Off one year.
~ I LOVE planning and hosting parties.
~ I really, really dislike snakes, but we have two Sulcata tortoises in our backyard.
~ I love to re-model and decorate and am learning to do it frugally. Bonus!
~ Sometimes laugh and smile when disciplining our kids. Doesn't everyone do this?
~ I have a pair of contacts, but only wore them one time. They bothered my eyes too much. 20/20 vision is over-rated.
~ Doing my part to conserve water...I LOVE my Diet Pepsi/ Diet Coke!
~ Ate no red meat for almost 5 years and broke the streak on our 1 year anniversary cruise with Filet Mignon.
~ Our water bill is sometimes as much as our power bill because I let our kids shower or bathe multiple times in one day.
~ Another pet peeve of mine...dirty refrigerators.
~ I love ellipses and use them everywhere! ;-)
~ I have been to Hong Kong, China, and the Philippines...when I was 16.
~ I have never cut or trimmed hair.
~ I 'used' to have over 60 pairs of shoes...not anymore. Me love my black patent heels!
~ My favorite type of food is Mexican, but I have hardly had any since starting the Dukan diet on March 25th. But I will again soon... :-)
~ I got started making hairbows for customers when Moriah was 7 months old.
~ I am a night owl. What time is it anyways?
~ I talk to my lovey, my Dad, and my sister multiple times a day...usually. ;-)
~ I am a very 'curious' gal. I love to read blogs, browse online and did I mention Pinterest?

Chili's Anyone?!

2011-08-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

You'll know what a lover of food that I am, so check out this really fabulous event that is going on at one of our local Albertsons!

Good news foodies: The green chili season has arrived and is coming to Las Vegas ALBERTSONS!

ALBERTSONS will be celebrating the occasion with the annual Hatch Chili roasting event. Considered New Mexico’s preeminent chili pepper, Hatch Chilies are favored across the country in restaurants that serve spicy Southwestern cuisine.

Hatch Chili aficionados can pick up a 30 lb. sack for $34.99 and have them roasted free of charge (10 sacks per customer and while supplies last.)

In celebration of the chili roasting, there will be food and wine samples, free samples of favorite Hatch Chili recipes, recipe cards, music, and multiple vendor booths at:

ALBERTSONS – 1650 N. Buffalo Drive in Las Vegas – store phone: 702) 562-6079;

Food connoisseurs wait patiently for these delicacies to add them to their salsas, sauces, casseroles, stir-fries, enchiladas, soufflés, omelets, tacos, rellenos, quesadillas and burritos or just about anything they want to heat up. Chilies are most often eaten green as a vegetable. When picked green, it’s called the long green Hatch Chili. When ripe, it’s known as the long red Hatch Chili. One fresh medium-sized green chili pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges and one teaspoon of dried red chili powder has the daily requirements of Vitamin A.

Look at this great chili recipe I found on Pinterest...

Source: iowagirleats.com via tracy on Pinterest

And this recipe for Green Chile Guacamole...

Green Chile Guacamole

2 - 8 oz. blocks cream cheese
1 large garlic pod
handful of cilantro leaves
1 or more pounds hatch chiles- roasted.
2 table spoons or more to taste fajita seasoning.

Take most of char off chile peppers , remove seeds and stem. put all ingredients in a food processor and process until it looks, or resembles guacamole( couple minutes).

Serve with your best chips or crackers. No one can stop eating this stuff!! make lots!!

Recipe submitted by:
C. Walton
Abilene, Texas

I plan on heading over to Albertsons on Buffalo and Vegas Dr, sometime on Saturday. Can't wait to try all the scrumptious food! Hope to see you there!

And She's Off...

2011-08-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Oh My Pinterest...

2011-08-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been searching the web and come across something really fabulous and you wanted to save it for future use? Maybe it was a great idea for a birthday party, or a recipe that looked divine, or how about when you decided to re-model your kitchen and you looked through hundreds of images of cabinets and tile, only to forget where you saw the ones you really liked.

It has happened to me plenty of times, trust me. Although there were times that I did try to 'save' them. I would sometimes bookmark the page, but then I dreaded going back through my bookmarks to 'find' the right page. And on a certain occasion, I would try and copy and paste the 'great idea' into a word document. That didn't work too swell either.

And then along comes John. Big bad John. No, just teasing, along comes PINTEREST.

What is Pinterest, you ask. Oh, I am so glad you asked. I copied this straight from the Pinterest website.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite.

What Can You Do with Pinterest?

Redecorate your Home!
Joy uses Pinterest to save decorating ideas for her new home in LA. She saves patterns, furniture, and accessories that catch her eye.

Plan a Wedding!
Divya and Ben use Pinterest to plan their wedding. Their Moms can leave comments about the dresses, flowers, and ties they pin up.

Find your Style!
Tim uses Pinterest to share his personal style. He pins clothing, shoes and accessories he finds while browsing stores and fashion blogs.

Save your Inspirations!
Sha uses Pinterest to save design inspirations for his job. He can reference inspiring design work to share with his team at Trulia.

Save Your Recipes!
Jessica uses Pinterest to discover new gluten free recipes. She always has a collection of tasty appetizers and deserts she can cook when she’s hungry and looking for ideas.

Here are a few of my favorite 'pins'...

Brownie Oreo Cookie Bars - Made these and EVERYONE loved them!

Source: kevinandamanda.com via Abigail on Pinterest

I love the look of brightly colored painted furniture! Don't be surprised if you see something like this soon at our house!

Source: weheartit.com via Abigail on Pinterest

I plan on doing this with my kids for Thanksgiving.

Source: heatherannmelzer.typepad.com via Abigail on Pinterest

I really love this saying...

Source: lesapea.tumblr.com via Abigail on Pinterest

I may or may not be saying that you might be seeing a little something like this on my blog soon as well...

Source: kitchenremodelideas.com via Abigail on Pinterest

I really like this little outfit and it reminds me of my little princess.

Source: addyscloset.com via Abigail on Pinterest

For all my Dukan dieters out there...for the love of protein and vegetables + cream cheese!

Source: goodwifeinthekitchen.blogspot.com via Abigail on Pinterest

Sound fun? Oh yes it is!! I don't have tons of pins, like many others, but I choose things I really like. Things that I think are great ideas or things I would like to do.

You can follow my boards, by clicking the Pinterest link on my sidebar or if you want an invite to Pinterest, leave your email in the comment section.

Now...get to pinning!

My Grandma's Memorial Slide Show

2011-08-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

I put together a slide show for my Grandma's funeral, but unfortunately the funeral home and my dvd did not match up and it couldn't be used during the service. They did play it out on the entry hall computer, but it didn't have sound. :-( So here it is for all of my family and friends to see in it's entirety...

The last of Lincoln's birthday pictures...

2011-08-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share the last of my pictures from the family birthday party we had for Lincoln and my niece Jaiden. Hello Kitty themed for her and Fire Truck for Lincoln. Simple and easy...no fuss and Mama was happy. ;-)

Thanks to my friend Lauren for the FABULOUS recipes of Spinach Swiss Dip and a yummy Candied Bacon salad. Everyone loved everything!

Pink marshmallow pops with Hello Kitty...for the girls. :-)

Nanny & Lincoln

We celebrated cousin Jaiden's 9th birthday too!

He may not care, but I think this outfit that we got from Auntie is pretty cute!

More gifts...

Papa and Nanny got Lincoln a rolling backpack filled with candy and toys. He LOVED it!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls in the shape of a heart...more to come on that later. ;-)

Lincoln's Birthday Party ~ 7/20/11

2011-08-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I decided to forgo a big party for Lincoln this year and instead, just had a small family party (when my sister was in town) and cupcakes and pizza after church on the day of his actual birthday. I LOVE to plan big shebangs and parties, but I just didn't have the energy after our very eventful month. Good decision. Who knew that Jeremy would get laid off unexpectedly the day before Lincoln's birthday? Small party = Less money, little stress, and NO clean-up! And Lincoln and all the other kids still had a great time. :-)

The birthday boy is 2!

Singing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy and CAKE!!

Opening presents...

Yearly Birthday Pictures

2011-08-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't gotten around to posting the kids pictures that I had taken when we took the cousins picture. So here they are...

Chandler's 10 year old pictures ~ He is looking so grown up...

Miss Moriah's 4 year pictures ~ My sister made both outfits for her birthday!

Miss Priss for sure!

Lincoln's 2 year pictures ~ Such a little man!

And I know that I have family that would enjoy seeing an updated picture with my brother's kids...so here they are

The C & M Press

January in Review

Missy Prissy Bow Boutique Giveaway!!

**WINNER**

Organizing your Toy Room ~ Guest Posting

Winter Feather Wreath

Housewarming Gift

Unexpected Deals

Coming Soon...

Out of the Mouths of my Babes

Seriously no TV? What the experts say about screen time and kids

DIY ~ Under Cabinet Floor Re-Model

Pampered Chef Cooking Show

Change

Welcome 2012!!

Rewind of 2011 ~ Part 2

Rewind of 2011 ~ Part One

Happy Birthday Isabella!

Oh no you didn't...um, yes I did...

Our 'Tradition' ~ Marshmallow Pops

My Love Affair with Pampered Chef & FREE, FREE, FREE

Well Done, Son..

Friday Funny

The Reality of a Pinterest Project

Family Rock Garden

Random eye candy from Thanksgiving

Vegas Blogger Meet Up

Hello Saturday...it's good to see you!

Does this mean we 'like' change?

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Soup, Soup, and More Soup

What's Been Happening at Our House

Drum Roll Please...

13 Years

13th Anniversary Dinner

Happy Veteran's Day

Confessions from this Mama

Interview with the Missy Prissy

Daddy is Home & Misc Stuff

Happy Birthday to some very special twin angels

Happy November and Countdown until Thanksgiving

Albertsons VIP Bloggers Event & Princess Party

Out of the Mouths of my Babes

Calling all Princesses and Princes

What has been happening in the Missy Prissy Bow Boutique shop!

Middle of the Week Montage

~ An Interview with the Oldest ~

A Day in the Pre-School Life of Moriah

Last Week Wrap

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

Blah, blah, blah...

Saturday Night Live

Friday Free 4 All

As They Grow...

Friends Day October 2011

What's Been Happening at Our House

In Honor of Reese Holland Becker

Every Mama Crow Thinks Her Crow is the Blackest!

Happy Birthday to our Pastor's Wife

DIY ~ Painted Furniture

The Every Day

A briefing of our very productive holiday weekend

Some of my favorite blogs...

Out of the Mouth and Lens of My Babes

First of the Lasts

A Very Good Explanation...

Re-Model Part 1

Happy Birthday Nanny!

What you didn't (or maybe you do) know about me...

Chili's Anyone?!

And She's Off...

Oh My Pinterest...

My Grandma's Memorial Slide Show

The last of Lincoln's birthday pictures...

Lincoln's Birthday Party ~ 7/20/11

Yearly Birthday Pictures

WINNER