hello 25.

hello 25.

I am feeling so good turning a year older this year.

I have such a great sense of self right now..

but yet I know that I will be forever growing and learning (& I think that is the key).

I love that I am learning knew things everyday .. whether it be about myself, something I am passionate about, or something completely random.

Today I learned..

..trusting your instinct as a mother is very very important.

..I will always PMS like a mad woman one day, once a month for probably another twenty years

[yeah I said it]

 ..how bad pop really is for you.. so I am really .. really.. going to try to stop drinking it.... as much.

[while sitting Dr's office with a lot of time to spare so I read some pamphlets]

..the big manly-man downtown really likes my cute boots.

Among lots other things.. those were what stuck out to me today.

I had a rough start to the day..

a very sick baby.

trips to get chest x-rays & finger pricks.

 back to the doctor.

back to the lab for more finger pricks.

back to the doctor.

[I am so thankful no hospital!]

Josie's doctor -- who was my pediatrician growing up-- gave me a 'Happy Birthday' sticker this morning..

I cried.

I came home from doing this all day to the best best best birthday card ever.

A total surprise to me from my beef Jessica who lives way too far away.

It was filled with the sweetest, most genuine words I have ever felt.. 

I cried.

My husband went to get me my favorite sushi for dinner.. yum!

no that won't make me cry.. 

 we went out Friday night for my birthday dinner and to celebrate my headbands.

We always have the best date nights.

I honestly think Facebook made my birthday brighter too.

feeling all that friendly love is awesome.

today was really just another crazy day.

tomorrow hopefully will be a better crazy day.

xo.

total randoms.

Maddie hasn't been feeling well pretty much all week.

She is in good spirits today.. a very happy girl. 

Maybe it was my feel-better-french-toast that she had for dinner last night.

Josie has been healthy & happy as can be.
...

I am patiently waiting for all the flowers outside.. but I always try to keep fresh flowers at home.

I am loving these blue hydrangeas I have in the family room right now.

...
I got a new toy & I just got to play with it today!

I got a wireless remote trigger for my camera.

I love it.

here is a fun one.

I'm looking forward to a date night with my hubby tonight. 

My favorite restaurant with my favorite person.

for my birthday, that's all I really want :)

hopefully seeing some friends tonight too while we have a babysitter! 

Late for us to stay out is like 10pm, oh yeah, we get wild.

I'm sure I'll be popping in this weekend with some goodies :)

xo.

now available.

my headbands are now available at Preen Apothecary in Oakwood.
I am so excited!
{their facebook page here}
I am just going to be selling them exclusively there for now.

...

Like I said, there are two styles.. ones with the fabric 'rosebud' looking kind and then the ones on the stand that have the bigger accents on them.

 ...

 for these headbands I actually make each individual piece. I love the way they look.
 these are just a few of the different colors that are there right now, and next batch may have some new colors added in the mix.

for the headbands on the stand [in collage picture above] I actually buy those sew on soft accents and measure and make a headband to sew them onto and maybe add some beads or extras depending how creative I'm feeling!
 ...
I have had my girls in ones I have made for them all day and they never complain about them being uncomfortable or sliding around on their heads.

...

adorable for girls of any age :)

xo.

follow ups & a little more.

Just a few things today..

first the cake balls..

I have heard of these and seen these before, but my friend Jacquie shared with me how she made them so I just went for it.. and they were delicious!!

I made them for my friend Kristin's engagement party.

I didn't take pictures while I was making it, it was a sticky chocolaty mess.

It was pretty simple, just a little time consuming.

I used red velvet cake mix & chocolate icing for one set of balls, and french vanilla cake mix & buttercream icing for the other set.

Then I used white chocolate and milk chocolate to cover the balls.

Directions:

follow instructions on box to make a cake.

let cake cool for 30 min.

crumble cake & mix in tub of icing.

form into balls.

melt chocolate and dip/pour on the cake balls.

set on wax paper.

sprinkle while the chocolate is still melted.

I popped mine in the fridge until the chocolate was really solid.

I added the lollipop sticks before I put them in the fridge.

They were seriously so good.

I don't think you could go wrong with any combination cake mix & icing! 

I have seen lots of cute ideas of these all over the internet.

second, the headbands..

 I have had a few people ask me through my blog & also email me about these-- so I just want to let everyone know that I will let you know when & where they are as soon as they are out! I want to make sure I have all the headbands in they are up and ready to go first!

there is this style [above]

and

there is also some that are this style [below]

here is a picture of the tags I made for them :)

so I will be back soon about those.

Can you tell we had a play date today?

it's still about half that.. haha.

Everyday when daddy pulls in the driveway & Murphy starts barking the girlies run & "hide".

they are so silly.

I am so lucky they are mine :)

I am so thankful they go to bed early.

It is so quiet.

I will probably step on ten different toys before I actually pick them up.

xo.

Cake Balls.

move over cupcakes.. 

these are my new fave.

I made these cake balls for my friend's engagement party.. had to share this yummy picture.

be back with more later :)

xo.

coming to a store near me..

..& maybe near you depending on where you are :)

I have been working very hard on these headbands and lots more.

They will be for sale soon- at the cutest little place around [my] town.

made by me-for you- really for your little girls :)

Be sure to check back soon for more details! 

xo.

last minute.

I made some last minute Valentines today..

pretty self explanatory.

rice krispie treats.

shape cut out.

melted chocolate.

wooden stick (kabob sticks).

sprinkles & a bow.

viola.

I seriously got the idea from Pam Beasley on The Office.. episode when there are two party planning committees at Christmastime and Pam holds up a star rice krispie treat on the end of a stick with a little bow, it was so cute I knew I could whip something like that up!

no more Valentines posts I promise :)

but I thought this would be adorable in any shape!

xo.

Valentine's Day.

Our home is so full of love everyday, today was no exception.

We just added lots of hearts & candy.

My sister-in-law had brought us home these heart shaped noodles from Italy, so of course I saved them for Valentine's day.

my hubby picked up my camera, just in time to snap an action picture of the girlies & I. 

This is pretty much all day {including my leggings & the stickers all over their legs/feet} :)

Also, I have something exciting in the works.. that has to do with these cuties..

not the little girl cuties-

the head band cuties..

so hopefully next week I can share more with you friends!

I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's day.
listen to this beautiful song, sung by my beautiful sister to wrap up your day today.
{click here}

xo.

arting all day.

One of my good friends came over to hang out with me and the girlies today.

We went to Flower Factory & got some fun things to play around with.. we ended going home with some blank canvas' and some acrylic paint to see what we could do.

Maddie had her little art station set up too so she could color.

This was what mine ended up to look like.. I think it turned out cute!

here is Stephanie's.. adorable!

& this little cheeser..

I made these cute little headbands for the girls too.

I love them!

look who is back on Design Mom blog. 

I have my second session at Dream Dinners tomorrow morning.. It is something that has been very useful for my family. I can go and prepare dinners and pop them in the fridge or freezer and just bake them when needed. The recipes are absolutely delicious too!! I know dinner times can get crazy at our house.. with two hungry little girls, and Bry just getting home from work... so it is so nice not to worry about what to make all day or even the night before!

hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

xo.

Valentines.

Maddie & I made the cutest Valentines for her class party on Friday.

I found these little plastic buckets for $1
{since so many people asked & I didn't realize I didn't add this in: }
**buckets were found at Flower Factory-- they were $1.35- with a discount coupon mine averaged out to $1 a piece**
(the buckets are great for kids-- no glass!)
 , and I had the twine rope, & the cardstock.
We just added some tissue paper & candy inside.
I spray painted the tops with chalkboard paint and wrote little sweet sayings on tops.
There are only 12 kids in her class, so it actually turned out to be super cheap to throw these together!
Maddie drew a little picture on a little heart to put to inside each one too.
She was very proud of her Valentines.

{a few more here }
xo.