My Family Rules!

I mean literally.

Although, my family is pretty awesome.

I got the idea to create a big beautiful canvas of my family's household rules from the very talented Lindsey.

Then I realized a big beautiful canvas would fit absolutely nowhere in my house.

Unless I would like to decoupage it to the kitchen table.

I was tempted, trust me.

Instead I decided to make an 8"x10" framed set of rules in Photoshop.

I ordered it from Walgreens on photo paper rather than printing it out and hating the quality.

I bought the frame at Dollar Tree.

I used an old scribbled on piece of construction paper to create a mat.

I like it.

It's framed on my kitchen counter where the counter space just doesn't make sense.

I am in the process of reorganizing my kitchen counters, so I will take more photos soon.

The rules read:

Always tell the truth

Obey your parents

Use your manners- yes, please... no, thank you

Encourage your siblings

Have fun, be kind, no fussing, no whining

Say your prayers...thank God for this family

We have many more rules.

These are just my favorites to display for all to see.

"Don't talk with your mouth full", "Toy boats don't go in the potty", and "The litterbox is not to play in" just didn't flow nicely with what I was trying to portray.

:)
I am working hard on my master bedroom...hopefully this will hold you over until I post about it.
Happy Sunday.

Time Out

At our house, the kids have time-outs when they're naughty.

I usually park them anywhere convenient and away from anything they like.

I have been on the lookout for a time-out chair and decided that having a chair with the words "time out" on it isn't my style.

So I decided that time-out will now be in my newly re-done bedroom on a new time-out chair.

I now have nothing in my room that is fun for the kids or that can distract them from "doing time".

My room is on the opposite side of the house and is upstairs away from their rooms and the usual chatter.

So I made a chair that coordinates with my room.

Well, kind of.

Truth is, Hubby isn't a fan of the Paris ideas I told him about, so this is my one Paris-inspired item.

I bought an ugly child's chair at Goodwill.

Hmm...wait.

I bought an ugly child-sized chair at Goodwill.

It didn't belong to an ugly child...
You get the point.
I had a piece if scrapbooking paper with the Eiffel Tower on it.

I also had some Mod Podge and some silver spray paint.

I sanded it down and spray painted away.

(My parents and criminal record should be seriously thankful that I am just now discovering the awesomeness that is spray paint.)

I decoupaged the scrapbooking paper onto the chair seat, sanded the edges for a worn look, and added some walnut ink around the worn edges for an aging effect.

(I am just now noticing that the chair has some Mod Podge on the front that dripped down. I'll fix that.)

Super simple project, and you could really make a fancy looking chair depending on where you're putting it.

This project cost me about $3 since I already had everything except the chair.

Time out on a budget.

Happy Saturday, everyone.

Thank you

For the emails.

Emails from all over the United States.

For sharing your stories.

Stories that make my heart ache for you.

For the text messages.

The tweets.

The FB messages.

The phone calls.

The voicemails.

The cards.

The flowers.

The kind words.
The prayers.

The sympathy.

The empathy.

Thank you for remembering Riley.

Mom, a special thanks to you for having everything scheduled for delivery to be shipped to my house before I ever mentioned the date. I love that you mark your calendar every year and spend a day remembering our angel. My roses are beautiful. And you were right, chocolate helped.

Shannon, a special thanks to you. My flowers are beautiful and the card that accompanied them made me cry. I am so thankful for your friendship. Thank you for driving over at night (in the rain!) just to give me a hug and bring me something to cheer me up. I know Hubby was thankful for your kindness, too.

I needed time to dwell on the past.

People say not to.

What do they know?

I feel better.

And I finally got the strength to tell The Girl about Riley.

I never knew how to.

Last night as I left her room, I listened to her pray.

"Dear God, please make sure Riley gets a birthday cake. Amen."

Bless her little heart.

For those that wrote to me about my courage...

I am not brave.

I never really wanted to publish everything for the world to see.

But sharing my story has brought me amazing connections.

With amazing people.

I am thankful for that.

Lighter posts to come.

Please stick around.

(Remember, I am coping by staying busy this week...just wait until you see what I've done.)

Happy Friday.

Dolly

On Valentine's Day, we went to brunch before heading to dog beach.

(We are uber romantic.)

The restaurant even had one of those toy claw vending game things.

(Think: Toy Story. "The Claw". Alien toys.)

Classy joint, right?

I loved it.

So the kids begged to play the game.

Because that's what they do when we're in public.

Around lovey-dovey couples on Valentine's Day.

They remind them about family planning.

While looking at the toys that the claw could pick up, I noticed the most absurd looking doll.

Remember Teletubbies?

The Boy is obsessed.

The Girl was, too.

He watches her old VHS tapes.

Awesome.

This doll had a doll head and a Teletubby body.

No joke.

The best part?

It had one eye.

One.

It looked like a freak toy straight out of Sid's room in Toy Story.

(Can you tell we watch that movie often around here?)

The doll was crazy.

I had to have it.

Sadly, I didn't win.

I took pictures, though.

Today, the pictures made me laugh.

Just what I needed.

Happy Thursday.

Riley

...continued...

I woke up in the middle of the night crying.

The same instant that I realized I had a horrific nightmare, was the same instant that I realized my nightmare was real life.

I fell back asleep only to wake up 40 minutes later in the worst pain.

Intense pain.

Labor.

I woke up Hubby and told him I was hurting.

He jumped up and asked how he could help.

He massaged my back.

He held my hand.

He kissed my forehead.

I labored through the night.

Moaning.

Aching.

Crying.

Breathing.

Praying.

Hurting.

I went to use the restroom.

He followed me.

I told him something was wrong.

I laid down in the middle of our hallway outside the bathroom door.

He helped me up.

He went to check on The Girl.

I yelled to him.

"Something bad is happening! Help me!"

He ran in.

And looked terrified.

A few minutes later, he helped me deliver our baby.

In our bathroom.

At 6:00 AM.

A baby.

Small enough to fit in my hands.

Big enough to curse the doctor who said nothing like this was possible.

Tiny fingers.

And toes.

A tongue in a little open mouth.

Unable to determine the gender.

Beautiful.

Hubby called my mom and she came over a few hours later.

After we spent the morning singing to our baby.

Crying.

Holding the baby in a blanket that a close friend made just for them.

Yellow.

Soft.

Currently tucked away in a white box upstairs.

When my mom came over, she spent time looking at the baby.

Crying.

She said she made an appointment to have the baby cremated.

We had no idea what to do at that point.

I am forever thankful that my mom stepped up when my thought process had stopped.

We went to have the baby cremated.

The funeral director had never seen such a thing.
He was so kind and compassionate.

Everything was free of charge.

No death certificate was necessary.

He doubted we would have ashes to save, but promised he would call with any information he had.

We left.

Without our baby.

But thankful for the chance we had.

To hold.

To cuddle.

To sing.

To take photos.

To weep while holding our angel.

We decided on the name Riley as we went to Things Remembered.

Most people would go home and rest.

I refused to step in my home without having something in my hands.

I left my house holding Riley.

I would not go home empty-handed.

I can't imagine a greater pain.

We had a shadowbox made.

To hold ultrasound photos.

To hold photos of my belly.

The plaque reads:

Riley S--------

February 24th, 2006

The second worst day of my life.

Holding my angel baby somehow took away some of the pain from the day before.

I was broken.

Physically.

Emotionally.

Spiritually.

So many people in pain turn to religion.

I turned my back.

We were moving the following month.

From an apartment to a house.

So that our kids could have their own rooms.

And a yard to play in.

My beautiful nursery turned into a home office.

My marriage became strained.

My mothering skills started to slack.

I was bitter.

Mean.

I would look at pregnant women and burst into tears.

Or hate them.

Honestly, hate them.

How awful of me.

I was so broken that nothing could fix me.

I was 22 and miserable in every aspect.

I filed for divorce.

I avoided my family.
I went out.

I made new friends.

People that didn't look at me with sympathy.

I eventually was talked into counseling by Hubby.

He pleaded.

He begged.

Thank God for him.

I never got the answers I craved.

I eventually healed physically.

I tried to stop hating the world.

I turned to Hubby and let him heal me.

He made so many things better.

He tried to take my mind off of my pain.

We became a happy family of 3 again.

I got a new job as a nanny 8 months later.

That job saved me in so many ways.

Things got better and better.

Nothing got easier.

But things got better.

I became pregnant again.

And miscarried at 6 weeks in early February of 2007.

A month later I was pregnant again.

Nervous and skeptical.

But pregnant.

33 weeks later, The Boy was born.

Healthy.

Happy.

Beautiful.

I have 4 children.

Two of them have wings.

Riley's story is more difficult than our second miscarriage.

But I love all of my children.

Julie has posted words of wisdom like no other.

Words that were told to me by my sweet friend Lori on a day that didn't mark any anniversary.

"I am thinking of you today and remembering your sweet little one."

Julie's words inspired a friend to tell me something so kind and meaningful.

And Julie's story has helped me tell mine.

Please follow her advice:

"Please don't be scared off when you hear about a miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death. Don't feel bad for asking. Don't think that bringing it up will upset the mother. That baby is part of her story. Part of her family. Remember that baby. Because the mother will never forget."

Riley is part of my story.

Part of my family.

Each of my children has a song that I wrote and sing them.

I wish I had Riley to hold while I sing.

"Baby Riley,

If only you could see

How much you were already loved.

We wish you were here

To take away the tears,

But we know that you're up above."

It has been a long road to recovery.

Doctors don't recommend another pregnancy for me.

I have always wanted a large family.

I struggle with the thought of having only 2 children.

Until I see women look at me with that look.

The look I used to give pregnant women.

I have a daughter and a son who I can play with and appreciate everyday...

So I will.

The Worst Day

"The doctor will be in shortly to explain everything to you. I'm so very sorry."

The sentence that I will never forget.

I hear it in the nurse's voice everyday.

There have been nights where I have heard that sentence screaming at me until I wake up.

February 23, 2006.

Four years ago today.

The anniversary of the worst day of my life.

I was pregnant.

The Girl had just turned 2.

I was complaining to Hubby that my maternity pants were too snug.

He laughed and patted my belly.

We were in the exam room.

All 3 of us.

We were going to find out the baby's gender.

We discussed names.

We laughed.

Hard.

We had no idea that was going to be the last time we were going to laugh for months.

During the appointment, the nurse said she couldn't hear a heartbeat.

Crazy doppler wasn't working.

Damn batteries.

We moved into the ultrasound room to use the doppler there.

Hmm...another doppler low in batteries.

I loathed whoever was in charge of changing the batteries.

The beautiful heartbeat I had heard a few weeks before was all I wanted to hear.

The nurse got the doctor and said they would proceed with the ultrasound.

"Afterall, what's better than hearing it, but seeing it, right?!"

Her perky voice didn't calm me.

I was starting to panic.

I didn't realize I was so upset until the doctor handed me a tissue and said, "Don't freak out just yet. Give me a minute."

I looked at the screen and had no idea what she was seeing.

Her face turned up into a ball and all I could see were wrinkles and the look of worry.

"I'm not seeing what I think I should be seeing, so we're just going to make you an emergency ultrasound appointment over at the hospital. No need to worry yet. Let's get you guys to someone over there right away."

I don't know what happened after that, except telling the nurse at the nurse's station, "NO, I DO NOT WANT TO SCHEDULE MY NEXT APPOINTMENT!"

We stopped and got gas.

Hubby bought me a bottle of water.

We drove for a half hour in silence.

Until we hit traffic.

He turned to me and said, "Everything will be okay."

Comforting except that he is usually wrong.

He was trying to be brave for me and The Girl.

His mom met us at the hospital and took The Girl home with her.

We waited.

In a waiting room full of pregnant, happy, women.

I started crying.

Everything was a blur and I left the little room to breathe.

What was taking so long?

"Kimberly?"

Finally.

Hubby couldn't come with me.

Because hospitals have a cruel way of tearing apart the only thing that can help you cope in situations like that.

I was on my back in a dark room.

I peeked at the screen.

She moved the monitor.

"Why can't I see?"

"Policy. Just another minute."

I noticed the ultrasound technician was pregnant.

Fabulous.

"Your husband can come in if you'd like to go get him."

"Why? Is the baby okay?"

I motioned him in the room while asking the above question.

He joined me.

"The doctor will be in shortly to explain everything to you. I'm so very sorry."

I started shaking. I'm pretty sure I screamed. I cried like I have never cried in my life.

Hubby cried.

We cried together.

Hard.

The doctor came in. He was wearing a long white coat and had white hair.

He asked routine questions.

Questions that made me hate myself for feeling normal and not knowing a thing.

He told me miscarriages were common.

Not at 22 years old.

Not after a healthy pregnancy and delivery.

Not in your second trimester.

We may never know answers.

He said I could go straight in for a D&C.

Hubby asked if there were other options.

He said I could take medication that would induce labor at home.

"The baby is so small that you wouldn't notice anything but what I already mentioned."

Hubby asked detailed questions.

The doctor assured him that it was safe to do everything at home.

He went into detail.

It sounded horrific.

Hubby said, "If there's a chance we will see the baby by doing it at home, and there is no chance we would see the baby by sending her to surgery, then I want us to get the medication."

Us.

I was supposed to work the next day.

I did home childcare.

Hubby called them and told them the news while I waited in the pharmacy.

He called family members.

I sobbed.

Alone.

In the pharmacy.

Waiting for pills that were said to cause my body pain and trauma.

Pills that I later became ridiculously thankful for.

While getting my prescription the pharmacist said, "Umm, wait. These are usually for miscarriages."

She stared at my belly.

I sobbed.

She didn't say anything else.

We picked up The Girl.

I talked to my mom on my cell phone while Hubby went into his mom's house.

My mom sobbed.

She told me, "The baby is now our little angel in Heaven."

Hubby's mom came outside.

Sobbing.

The amount of tears shed was astounding.

Devastating.

Unfair.

We went home.

The Girl went to bed.

We held her.

I took the pills.

We held each other in bed.

He kissed my belly.

We sobbed.

I prayed.

He eventually fell asleep.

Holding my hand.

The worst day of my life, and only the beginning of the story.

...to be continued...

Time

It turns out that my little weekend projects are not so "little".

In fact, the fun little project I came up with for Hubby ended up being quite a project.

A big enough project that my dad drove down to help.

And then my grandpa drove up to help.

I won't tell you what it is because they are still working on it, and I love before and after photos without a tease.

I will tell you that it is going to change our lives.

Relieve stress.

Add curb appeal.

And make me extremely happy.

My weekend project was so horribly time managed that it will probably be completed next weekend.

I am awesome at creating projects that are extremely difficult to finish.

Because smart people come up with projects that involve all the local adults.

So that the kids can run wild.

Seriously bad planning on my part.

But I need the projects right now.

To focus on something so that I don't fall apart at the seams.

This is the week that I have struggled to live through every year for the past four years.

I will survive.

This year I am surviving through acoustic ceiling removal and paint jobs.

Happy Monday.

My Goodies

This coming May, my husband was going to spend time with his beautiful cousins in Las Vegas.

I said that I couldn't find a babysitter so that I could stay home during that weekend and surprise him with a newly decorated master bedroom.

(It's ugly and we have never cared because no one sees it. Ever.)

His birthday is 10 days after the Las Vegas trip, so the timing was perfect for a surprise.

Then one of his cousins said he was going to get everyone hooked up with bottle service at XS.

Umm...hi? Vegas? I'll see you in May.

I {heart} Vegas more than anyone I know.

I am very sure I lived and worked there in a past life.

If I believed in that sort of thing.

So, my surprise master bedroom re-do had to be switched to a different weekend.

Next week is a week I loathe.

Tuesday marks the 4 year anniversary of the worst day of my life.

And Wednesday is Riley's 4th birthday.

You will read about those days next week.

Bottom line: I need a stay-busy project.

So, this is the weekend.

It will be done just in time to curl up in my beautiful new room and bawl my eyes out.

I have been on the hunt for some new master bedroom goodies.

Want to see a small handful of my new treasures?

1. Mug from local thrift store- 95 cents.

2. Bowl from Goodwill- $1.99.

3. Astrology book (1948-funny stuff) from yard sale- 50 cents.

4. Your Home and You book (1947) from yard sale- 50 cents.

5. Bird-shaped planter from yard sale- $1.00.

6. Old Avon perfume bottle from yard sale- 50 cents.

7. Jar of vintage buttons from yard sale- $1.00.

8. Vintage roller skate from swap meet- $4.00.

9. Platter from WalMart- $1.00.

10. Mirror from swap meet- $1.00.

11. Picture frame from local thrift store- $2.92.

12.Picture frame from Goodwill- $2.99.

13. Coat hook from Goodwill- $1.99.

I have also been collecting random free items from Craigslist in hopes to refinish them.

Those goodies sit on my front porch.

Hubby knows about my plans for this weekend.

I have cooked up a stay-busy project for him, too.

You can read all about what we've been up to next week. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 

Panilly

At our house, when you're silly, you're a Silly Panilly.

Hubby and I have said it since The Girl was a baby.

We have an entire vocabulary that we have created since the two of us met.
Chooka Pies...Bubbaloo..Booshka...Panaughty...

We can have conversations in our own love language and no one knows what we are talking about.

Truth.

Awesome.

Yesterday The Boy was being a Panilly.

He was into everything.

All. Day. Long.

I decided to follow him with the camera after the zillionth time he made me laugh out loud.

I had to share with the world what my day was like.

1. He came downstairs in heels. Two different heels. Down stairs.

2. He made breakfast. On the kitchen floor. (But put the egg shells in the trash.)

3. He hid in The Egg. (Another household name you'll want to remember.)

4. He showed me how to bounce on his bouncer. While standing.

5. He drove out the front door. Thank God I was watching him.

6. He was [this] close to stealing all of my money.

Needless to say, I went to bed at 9 PM last night.

For those of you who know me, you know that is the equivalent of 5 PM to regular people.

So there is a glimpse into the silly day I had yesterday.

Right now he is still sleeping.

I'm going to enjoy the silence.

Happy Friday, everyone!

My Signature

Well, my signature dessert, anyway.

Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs.

a.k.a. Heaven on Earth.

Like marshmallows?

You'll love these!

Hate marshmallows?

You'll love these!

My mom has some pretty awesome cook books.

When I visit her, I steal borrow them.

My most recent find and instant favorite is Best Recipes: From the backs of Boxes, Bottles, and Jars by Ceil Dyer (1979).

The last recipe in the book is for a dessert that takes 20 minutes from start to finish, and I have yet to find someone who doesn't like it.

I found the recipe online, but the full recipe in the book is classic, so I'm going to type it out for you. You're welcome. :)

Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs

These sweet puffs have become a favorite of many. They were the best of the twentieth Pillsbury Bake-Off contest in 1968. The recipe for them has been requested over and over again.

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 8-ounce cans Pillsbury Refrigerated Quick Crescent Dinner Rolls

16 large marshmallows

1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted

1/4 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tsps. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 375F. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Separate crescent dough into 16 triangles. Dip a marshmallow in melted margarine; roll in sugar-cinnnamon mixture. Place marshmallow on shortest side of triangle. Fold corners over marshmallow and roll to opposite side of point, completely covering marshmallow and pinching edges of dough to seal. Dip in melted margarine and place margarine side down in deep muffin cup. Repeat with remaining marshmallows. Place pan on foil or cookie sheet during baking to guard against spillage. Bake at 375F for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pans.

Glaze:

Combine Glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm rolls. Sprinkle with nuts. Makes 16 rolls.

Note:

To reheat, wrap in foil; heat at 375F for 5 to 10 minutes.

High Altitude:

No change.

Okay, I would have worded the recipe differently, but I love the vintage feel of this one. And you could easily pop some of these babies into the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up. (I do it all the time.) And I love how crescent rolls have dropped the word "quick" from the title. I guess the way we eat these days, 20 minutes is no longer considered "quick".

Here are the photos of the batch I made before Friday night's MNI.

Regular speed crescent puffs :)

Generic marshmallows

No time for a trip to the store- had to swap sugar for powdered sugar and didn't add cinnamon.

It's okay if your muffin pan is prettier than mine.

 

They should be golden when you remove them from the oven.

If you are serving them immediately at home, the glaze topping is uber yummy. If you are bringing these somewhere or giving these as a gift, sprinkle them with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Be sure to enjoy one yourself.

Happy Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday

Free Memories

Do you ever visit the links over on the right?

You can click on any of the spectacular links under "I like to visit" or click on a pretty button below that section.

Each of those links will direct you to eye candy of some sort.

Right now my dear friends at Twice As Nice Photography are giving away a free photo session.

One awesome location, one CD with 10 images, one afternoon of fun.

Memories captured by amazing photographers.

FREE.

Step 1. Click on their company name above (it will direct you to the exact post you will need to read).

Step 2. Follow the directions on that post and leave them a comment.

Step 3. Follow them. (I can guarantee this won't be the last giveaway!)

Good luck!

Happy Tuesday.

Bag Lady

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day! I had a fabulous weekend myself.

Friday night I joined the group of friends that I made at The Girl's old preschool for a MNO. Technically, it was a MNI since we all ventured over to my dear friend Becca's house, but since I was out of my own home, it was a night out.

Funny how my view of a "night out" has changed since having kids. Seven years ago, I remember planning a night out with my friends. This would involve scheduling a nail appiontment, planning a day of shopping for the perfect outfit for the night planned, and having my car washed (which was washed every week by the boy next door- he was 2 years younger than me and uber helpful). To be honest, my "new" friends are lucky if they see me showered (and my once always-clean car has turned into Dora; car-seat filled, sand-covered, complete with fossilized french fries in the back seat).

For this evening, I threw on some clean clothes, tossed my unwashed hair up and out of my face, and hoped for the best.

We ended up having a blast, even if Jen ducked behind me in every photo.

And even having graduated with a 4.2 GPA, it took me 10 minutes to figure out where to set my camera for the self-timer.
Good times.
We got together to celebrate Becca's new home.

A housewarming.

Minus anything "warming" because Jen's lungs can't survive near candles.

I brought Becca her birthday present since I am lame and never give people gifts during the appropriate time.
So, she got a housewarming purse.

Fancy.
I started with a canvas tote bag and fabric that screamed her name.
I cut out the letter "B" for obvious reasons.

I left it frayed since I knew that making it look perfect was pointless since this was my first attempt and I wasn't following a tutorial of any kind.

Sometimes imperfect is cuter, anyway.

I then ironed on 3/8" Heat N Bond strips randomly on the wrong side of the "B".

Most of this project was done at my typical craft hour- midnight- so please forgive the ugly photos (this apology will be repeated in the future).

I ironed the "B" to the canvas bag, following the directions on the Heat N Bond package.

I always read the directions.

This time, I read them and followed them.

Trying new things can be fun.

Now that it was secured to the bag nicely, I could do the next step much more easily.
I then found some awesome pink embroidery floss to stitch around the edge of the entire letter.
If my sewing machine wasn't so crazy, this step wouldn't have taken me 2 hours.
Seriously, my sewing machine has two settings:
1. Wonky
2. Completely useless.
So, a needle and thread was my option.

After 268 stitches by hand, my bag was coming along nicely.

Remember, imperfect was the theme.

Back in the day, I would have left it as is and given it to her.

Being a mom, I now know that details are important.

I would hate for her to snag her wedding ring on the inside thread.

Or have the arm of Spiderman figurine get caught in the pink web I made.

So I covered this (the next morning):

With some extra fabric and Heat N Bond:

The inside is now safe for Spiderman.

That's what the purse looks like on the inside.

And this is what it looks like completed:

It is in no way perfect.

But for my first attempt at a bag, it made me happy.

I have many ideas for other bags.

Once I get over the fear of doing another bag stitched by hand, I will make another one.

She's too sweet to say if she really likes it or not, but even if she doesn't use it, she knows it was made with love.

Which is really the point of every handmade gift.

Enjoy your housewarming purse, Becca!

:)

Happy Monday, everyone.

One Pretty Thing

I am addicted to this site!

Addicted.

I will probably be committed for the amount of time I spend on this website.

It makes my heart race.

It makes my brain hurt.

The beauty of each craft and the ideas...

Oh, the ideas!

I could go on and on.

If you haven't already made a Valentine's Day craft, you could make one of these.

If you have already made a craft and have time to make something else, you could always make one of these.

Not seeing anything you like yet?

How about this?

No?

Perhaps something like this will tickle your fancy.

You get the idea.

Spend some time at my new favorite website and be sure to post a comment (or send me some email love) to let me know what you created.

You could always get a head-start on next year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Time for a Quickie

Need a quick Valentine's Day gift?

Have one of these?

Step 1. Empty contents of legal drug container.

Step 2. Remove label.

Step 3. Add a lollipop. (Or 10.)

Step 4. Add a ridiculously cheesy love note that you will only be able to get away with on Valentine's Day.

Use cardstock to write a note.

Don't have cardstock?

Find an old greeting card.

I know you have them saved somewhere.

Cut the card where there isn't anything written.

Save the remainder of the card that makes you smile.

Put card back in secret hiding place.

Write your note.

Have more time?

Use fancy fonts and print out a note from the computer.

Glue it to the cardstock.

Tape the cardstock to the coffee container.

Add stickers, photos, candy hearts...you get the idea.

I am only here for inspiration.

:)

Happy Saturday.

Hello, Cupcake

Hubby has called me Cupcake Queen long before I realized that ziploc bags could be used to decorate cupcakes with icing.

Before I had ever touched fondant.

Before I got over my fear of using food coloring.

I might be known to enjoy a cupcake or two.

(The above photo was taken of me celebrating the 1st anniversary of my 25th birthday in November.)

Cupcakes can make almost anything better.

Trust me.

One of my very best friends is pregnant.

The new kind of pregnant.

The kind of pregnant where the mere thought of eating a cupcake makes you want to throw up and burst into tears.

She just celebrated her birthday on February 1st, and I couldn't let her go without a cupcake. Or two.

Or twenty.

She didn't think she would want a cupcake.

She was wrong.

Afterall, how can you turn this down?

Happy birthday, Miss Jamie.

You are worth every ounce of time and energy it took to bake these little fluffy delights.

You will be an incredible mother.

You already are.

And don't worry...

I will happily teach you how to bake cupcakes before Baby's 1st birthday.

:)

Happy Friday, everyone.