Thursday, June 30, 2016

The Way They Do Football

I think it was Tuesday morning when I looked out the kitchen window to see this...
Frustrated that they might be fighting again, I went outside to get the inside scoop.  Turns out they were playing football, and boy were they dressed the part!
Carter was the captain, and I asked if he knew the rules..."Yeah, yeah yeah - you just wrestle with the person who has the ball until you rip it out of his hands."  Good enough.
 Then they decided they all needed their own ball.


I asked them for their toughest football look, and here's what I got...

Watch out!  These boys are mean football-playing machines!

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Mid-Week Likes & Links

I asked for candle recommendations a few weeks ago, and a friend of mine contacted me saying she made them.  How fun is that?!  So, she sent me some things to try.  I'm very sensitive to smells - I get headaches easily, but I love lightly scented things.  So, I'm really loving her Snuggle Up candle, and the Clean Breeze scent is great, too!  
They are soy wax candles with a cotton wick, so they are clean burning, and I love that!


She sent all of these car air fresheners, and the kids snatched them up as soon as they saw them.
They have them hung on their bedroom doors or directly from their beds, ha!  And, they are very, very proud of them.

 You can find all of Jackie's products here.  And, her candles are just $12.  Check them out!








I don't know why but I've had more fever blisters this Spring/Summer than ever before, so I'm a bit skiddish to even wear my lipstick.  For now, I have this from Burt's Bees, and it looks so much darker than it is.  It's not or I wouldn't love it.  But, I do :)

I'm a big fan of these FruitSource bars, and I've recently tried the blueberry/pomegranate flavor - yum.

I finally got Genevieve one of these rosaries, and it entertains her for a good part of Mass!

For those of you who are a bit on the nerdy side (like me!) when it comes to excitement about a new planner, did you see that Erin Condren released her new ones?

My cousin also told me about these erasable pens/markers for them.  They really work!

I love this bathing suit.  I wish it were in black though.

I'm so tempted to rent this but will I cry my eyes out?

My cousin recommended adding these to my water.  They are just crystalized citrus...and they are amazing - I love adding them to carbonated water.  The lime is my favorite.

I bought this dress on a whim for family photos and have really liked it.


In the next few weeks, I'm doing a print giveaway from a fun shop and an essential oils giveaway. Stay tuned!!




Tuesday, June 28, 2016

A Few New Snacks & Recipes

My sweet friend Beth was trying to help me get ready for some company a few weeks back, and she sent me some of her favorite breakfast recipes.  These cinnamon rolls were one of them.   I used the wrong kind of yeast, so they didn't rise much, but they still tasted good.  This is coming from the girl who has made four batches of cinnamon rolls in her life...these were by far the easiest!

We even had a few that didn't fit in the original pan, so we tasted them early!

This recipe of Beth's is killer.  It's baked oatmeal.  When she first told me about it, I thought it was that stuff you put in the fridge overnight, and I was a little leery.  Is that called overnight oats?  That stuff just seems like it would be so mushy?  Am I wrong?  Share your recipe if I am.  
This is more like a crumbled up buttery oatmeal cookies that you can top with milk straight out of the oven or you can sprinkle on top of yogurt.  My kids looooooove it!  I do, too.

3 C. oats
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 C. melted butter

Stir together.  Spread in a 9x13 pan.  Cook at 350 for 30 minutes, stirring twice.  Voila!

Then, I ran across this recipe for dried strawberries.  I had some that were going bad, so I thought I'd try it.  


I cooked them about 1.5 more hours than the recipe called for.  Some were really tasty.  Some were really sour.  But, I feel like it's a good little snack, especially if you're doing something like Whole30.

Our babysitter found this fun recipe for jello roll-ups for the kids.  They were fun and really easy to make.  They didn't take long to set up, and I think the kids had even more fun eating them!





What recipes are you loving these days?

Monday, June 27, 2016

Where to Even Begin

Life's been a little crazy lately.  I feel silly even saying that, because I know busyness is something that we basically create ourselves, and everyone is busy...blah blah blah.  But, the first thing to go was the ol' blog.  Who knows what things will look like here for awhile, but I'd like to get back into the swing of things.  Here's a little peek at what's been happening.

We finished up branding season.


This little girl turned two.


(my mom made Sophie her very own apron). 
She wanted to put all of her new birthday clothes on at once! 
The boys thought the crowns served themselves better as shark teeth.
t-w-o 
Our oldest turned six (SIX!).






He got clubs. 
I ended up getting pneumonia.  Bizarre.  And that's part of the reason this blog has taken a back seat.

Genevieve is now seven months old.
and a small 16 pounds

Carter, Peter and John Paul all had swimming lessons....from the sweet lady who taught me.





The priest who married us came for a visit.

I did some photo shoots.  Even one of my whole family!




 











I'm helping plan this.


My sister and her sweet family came to visit.
















We acquired three bunnies to go with our thirteen chickens.  Don't even ask what my yard looks like.
Knife (the one with special ears). 
 Fuzzy.
The New Rocky (the old one died).

We've been trying to get this to grow.
Jeremy and Peter have been finalizing the chicken coop. 




 He is such a little worker.

And, we've just been enjoying life.