froufroubritches

Getting To Know You Thursday.......I Am A Pajama Girl

2012-01-26T22:21:00.000-06:00

So, the thing is, I am a pajama girl. I love my jammies! When I say I love my pajamas, I don't mean that I love them so much that I wear them out in public. I have seen tons of young girls, and some not so young, that proudly wear their pajamas to Wal-Mart.

Photo Courtesy of www.peopleofwalmart.com

Oh my word! Really? I didn't even like to take my kids to Wal-Mart first thing in the morning in their jammies. I'm sure not going to be guilty of doing it myself. No way, Hosea! Anyway, I am slightly addicted to my flannel jammies.

No, not that kind! More like this:

I also have plaid and polka dots and some with unicorns too. I'm a little pajama obsessed. I know some people who get up early, get ready, get dressed and stay that way until it's time to go to bed. Some people even wear their shoes all day, in the house. I put my shoes on about ten seconds before I leave the house and they come off right when I walk in the door. I am definitely NOT a stay dressed all day kind of girl, at least not when I am at home.

My favorite Friday night thing to do is to get Mexican food (tacos, rice and beans and white cheese dip and salsa), get in my jammies and watch movies with my Hubby on the couch while eating my fabulous Mexican food. What else do I love? Sleepy, rainy days on the couch, in my jammies, with my Hubby, in my jammies and watching movies. It seems like most of my favorite activities involve me in my pajamas.

Even my television BFF, Tori Spelling, loves her pajamas. Yes, she has a fabulous wardrobe, but if you watch her hour long show, you will see her and her Hubby piled up in bed with Tori in her jammies. Tori and I have so much in common. Hee Hee.

So, what about you? Do you come home and immediately change in to your jammies or are you a stay dressed in your clothes until bedtime kind of girl? Yes, I am aware that this is a strange topic, but what can I say? I am a nosy girl. Okay, so maybe I just want to think that I'm not the only pajama obsessed girl in the world.

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

2012-01-23T22:43:00.000-06:00

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By Lockerz

So, the diet is going pretty well. Now, by well I don't mean that I've lost tons of weight. What I mean is that it's been over three weeks and I'm actually sticking to my diet with the exception of an occasional cheat ~~weekend~~ meal. I've been able to stick to it by searching out some pretty decent low calorie meals that my whole family will eat.

One of my favorite meals growing up was spaghetti. My mom made spaghetti ALL THE TIME growing up and I always loved it....until recently. It's one of the few meals that my kids will all eat without fussing so we were eating spaghetti A LOT, like once a week a lot. I got so sick of eating it that I would make it for the kids and I would eat a ham sandwich. But, then I found this recipe and once again, I love me some spaghetti. Funny how just a little tweak makes everything old new again. I know if I had a little tweak, I would feel new again. But that's another post for another day. Back to the spaghetti.

I got this recipe from Recipe Diaries. Jenna has tons of awesome recipes on her sight with calorie counts and Weight Watcher points.  Jenna got this recipe from Plain Chicken, another favorite recipe blog of mine (I know you've seen her Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull Apart Bread/Crack stuff on Pinterest). Check them both out. You will not be disappointed!

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

12 oz. spaghetti (I used wheat spaghetti)
1 (28 oz) jars prepared spaghetti sauce
      1 lb lean ground beef lean ground turkey
      1 tsp Italian seasoning
      1 clove garlic, minced
      8 oz. fat free cream cheese
      1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.
Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet. Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl. Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.
Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan. Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Calories 405 | Fat 13.12g | Carbohydrate 44.07g | Fiber 2.7g | Protein 27.89g
Servings 8
Points Plus 10

Doesn't that look yummy? The best part is that one serving is 1/8th of a 9x13 pan. Isn't that exciting? That means you won't be starving again in 20 minutes. That's quite a big helping of spaghetti. Like I've said before, I could out eat my Hubby any day of the week. I am all about some decent size portions. WOO HOO! I can almost feel my butt shrinking when I eat this. Your welcome.

Mod Peasant

2012-01-19T10:07:00.000-06:00

Now that Christmas is over, E is clothes poor. She had a few things to wear that were Halloween themed, then came the turkey shirt and the Christmas outfits. She was in desperate need of a few things with long sleeves and no holiday theme. So, I got out all of my hoarded fabric and let her pick what she wanted. This is the fabric she picked:

Oh, how I love me some Jennifer Paganelli! The color is fabulous! She wanted a dress and a skirt, but I talked her into just a dress.

I hate that goofy smile where she turns her lip under. ugh!

That's a little better. I just love that dress with those boots. It's kind of mod, isn't it?

Okay, so one outfit down, several to go.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2012-01-17T14:17:00.000-06:00

So, I told y'all I've been trying to count calories and eat better, right? I am back on Livestrong counting my calories so I'm always looking for tasty low fat recipes. I was searching for something quick for breakfasst that I could just grab and eat on the way to school. Well, I have a new favorite! I found this recipe on Pinterest. It's from the Recipe Girl blog, which I love. Here's the recipe:

Banana- Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yield: 12 regular-sized muffins

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Ingredients:

3 medium very-ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup low fat buttermilk or nonfat milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat regular-sized muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, mash bananas with fork. Whisk in egg, milk, and sugars.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Spoon equal amounts of batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips:

*Why is it important to use the miniature chocolate chips? They spread out more... giving more chocolate flavor to more parts of the muffin. I always find that using regular-sized chocolate chips in a muffin is just a little too much.

Nutritional Information per serving:
Serving size: 1 muffin
Calories per serving: 167
Fat per serving: 1.25g
Saturated Fat per serving: .53g
Sugar per serving: 21.15g
Fiber per serving: 1.29g
Protein per serving: 2.76g
Cholesterol per serving: 17.9mg
Carbohydrates per serving: 37.38g

WW POINTS per serving:
Points Plus Program: 5 Old Points Program: 3

Golden Globes 2012

2012-01-16T10:46:00.002-06:00

Can you believe it's award season already? I love award season! My favorite award show is The Golden Globes. Why? Well, because it combines to of my great loves, movies AND television. Love that! Also, it's a more relaxed atmostphere. My one complaint about the Golden Globes is the stands they set up for crazed fans. While I was sitting desperately trying to hear the Red Carpet Correspondents talk to the stars and find out about their dresses, all I could hear were a bunch of loud mouth fans screaming the names of the stars. UGH! They desperately needed to turn up their microphones. Oh well! Let's talk dresses, shall we?

There were so many beautiful dresses this year! Are you ready?

First, we have the gorgeous Claire Danes in J. Mendel. I love the simple design and black and white is always classic. The black beaded meshy stuff on the sleeve that wrap around to the back just MADE this dress. Gorgeous! Second, Evan Rachel Wood in Gucci. this gown is very unusual. The bottom is adorned in real feathers and the top is sequined and beaded, but the design is simple. I adore this dress! Zooey Deschanel in Prada. I love the green and black together. The design is simple, but stunning and the green looks fabulous with her dark hair and fair complexion. Sadly Zooey is on many people's worst dressed list for this dress, but I love it! Also, many people could take lessons from her on color choice, but we'll talk more about that later. Next, we have Viola Davis, whom I adored in The Help. Love her! Her dress is a gretian style Prada number and I love that it's not the usual white. It's a lovely shade with her skin tone and I love her hair and makeup too. Just beautiful!

Jessica Alba in Gucci. The lavender color looks so pretty with her skintone. It's a very flattering but simple cut and I love the beaded lace. Mary J. Blige in Michael Kors. While I don't LOVE the color, I do love the cut of the top. It's very flattering and shows off her pretty arms and shoulders.

Oh my gracious! Stacy Kiebler looked GORGEOUS in this Valentino gown. The cut and color of this gown were perfect for her tall skinny self. So pretty! And, she was with her beau, George Clooney, so I'm not sure which of them would be considered the arm candy.

Ok. Now that we are done with the beautiful gowns, I think it's only fair to cover the ones that were not my favorites.

Let's talk color people. Remember back in the 80's when everyone went to Mary-Kay and BeautiControl parties and got color coded? I was an autumn. I learned that army green is a great color for me, however, fuschia makes me look like I'm a corpse. So, maybe some of the stuff from the 80's is a little outdated (I'm still waiting for the Madonna look from Borderline to come back in), but maybe we should pay attention to which colors are flattering for our skintone and hair, ya know?

Example number one, Tilda Swinton. She is always drawn to very asymmetrical gowns, which I personally don't like, but even worse is her color selection. Or, maybe I should say LACK of color selection. Lesson number one in color, if you are pasty white, don't wear white, especially if your hair is such a light color. I will admit that this is more color than the white number she wore last year so at least it's a step in the right direction. Maybe next year she'll get really bold and wear lavender, but I won't hold my breath. The second example, different dress, same story. I can't tell where she stops and the dress starts. It's almost the same color as she is. Not good! Not even to mention that the cut is not very flattering. It kind of reminds me of an outfite my mamaw (grandmother) wore when I was about ten, but it was double knit polyester. Yikes! But in her defense, it was the fabric of the 70's.

Jessica Biel's dress had a bit too much lace for me. It looked too much like a wedding gown. Hmmmm, I wonder if she's trying out gowns for her rumored wedding to Justin Timberlake? Elle McPherson's dress would be okay, but it looks as if it has little wings coming off of the top of the bodice. What is that all about? Weird! Sarah Michelle Gellar, why? Why would you wear a tie-dye dress to a formal event? She told E! that she let her two year old daughter pick her dress. REALLY? My five year old wore all of her Mardi Gras beads to school with her fleece hoodie and pants the other day. I would NEVER let her pick my dress for an event. I think she could should give Rachel Zoe a call next time.

One more thing...

Jenna Dewan

Jeannie Mai

These dresses are very pretty and I love the color on both. The cut is lovely, but I think I'll close this post with a prayer.

Dear Lord, thank so much for the invention of double stick tape. Now, women are able to wear gowns that barely cover them and are now safe from side boob spillage and wardrobe malfunctions. In Jesus name, Amen.

Happy Monday!

Playing Catch Up and Hoping to Lose It!

2012-01-05T11:15:00.003-06:00

So, it's barely 2012 and I feel as if I am already behind. The kids FINALLY went back to school yesterday (Happy dance!). I spent all day yesterday and today (so far) catching up on the stuff I cannot do when the kids are home. You see, taking four kids to the grocery store is my version of being waterboarded! It is sheer torture. It's bad enough with the two big kids fighting over which side of the cart they are going to be on and the little one whining and throwing stuff in the cart (that kid has the longest arms!), but throw in the 7 year old autistic kid who screams and squeals the entire time we're in the store, and it is just unbearable! When we were in Wal-Mart before Christmas, L's computer lab teacher came up to me and said, "I was on the other side of the store and I heard a familiar squeal and I knew it was L". UGH!

In other FFB news, I am fat. There! I said it. I'm a fatty. How do I know I am a fatty? Well, I've seen myself naked (Yikes! Who is that fat chick living in my bathroom mirror?) and I've seen pictures of myself. I mean seriously people, I knew I was chunky, but when I saw me sitting in our Christmas picture, it looked like someone else was in my jeans WITH me. Gaawlee! So, as if that wasn't enough, see the chart below.

Height Weight Chart for Women

Height Feet/Inches	Small Frame	Medium Frame	Large Frame
4' 10"	102-111	109-121	118-131
4' 11"	103-113	111-123	120-134
5' 0"	104-115	113-126	122-137
5' 1"	106-118	115-129	125-140
5' 2"	108-121	118-132	128-143
5' 3"	111-124	121-135	131-147
5' 4"	114-127	124-138	134-151
5' 5"	117-130	127-141	137-155
5' 6"	120-133	130-144	140-159
5' 7"	123-136	133-147	143-163
5' 8"	126-139	136-150	146-167
5' 9"	129-142	139-153	149-170
5' 10"	132-145	142-156	152-173
5' 11"	135-148	145-159	155-176
6' 0"	138-151	148-162	158-179
Weights are for women at ages 25-59 based on lowest mortality. Weight in pounds according to frame (in indoor clothing weighing 3 lbs.; shoes with 1" heels)

Okay, I hate this chart. I am 5'4" (okay, I am 5'3 and 3/4" if you want to get technical) but then it comes down to frame size. How do you know if you are small, medium or large frame? Well, I am a HAUS (Bonanza reference) so I pretty much figured that I was a large frame. I always heard to go by your wrist size. I can wrap my middle finger and thumb around my sister's wrist and have room. I can't even get my finger and thumb around my wrist. They don't even touch. But, I figured that wasn't technical enough so I found another chart.

Female Wrist Measurements
	Height less than 5' 2" (Less than 155cms)	Height 5' 2" - 5' 5" (155cms - 163cms)	Height more than 5' 5" (More than 163cms)
Small	Less than 5.5" (140mm)	Less than 6.0" (152mm)	Less than 6.25" (159mm)
Medium	5.5" - 5.75" (140 - 146mm)	6" - 6.25" (152 - 159mms)	6.25" - 6.5" (159 - 165mm)
Large	More than 5.75" (146mm)	More than 6.25" (159mm)	More than 6.5" (165mm)

Again, I am 5'4" (almost) and my wrist measurement is 6.75". See! I told you I was a Haus! So, I'm back on Livestrong and so far so good. I'm not having too much trouble sticking to my diet YET. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my gym sold out and was closed for remodeling so I haven't been in MONTHS! So, Hubby and I are going in less than an hour. They reopened in December, but I was working and they don't have a nursery so no kids. This is the first opportunity I have had to go and I am so excited! I'm ready to get back at it. But, I do have one complaint already. They don't have Zumba anymore. I loved my Zumba class. I've thought about buying it for Wii. Has anybody tried it?

So, as usual my ultimate goal is not to look like this

BUT, I'd love to look like this again:

Us, eleven years and three kids ago (and with hair for Hubby).

BUT, as much as I would love to be this thin again, I was still barely in my range according to the chart. I'm much older and less willing to starve myself now. BUT, I don't have to be a fatty. I'm off to the gym y'all! Have a great day!

One more thing...why is it that on the days I am going to the gym, I have really good hair days? Is that ironic or what? My hair hasn't looked this good in months and now I have to put it in a ponytail and go get sweaty and frizzy. Hate that! Oh well!

My Favorite Things of 2011

2011-12-31T08:41:00.001-06:00

I cannot believe it is almost 2012. Wow! This year FLEW by, didn't it? I think the older I get, the faster it goes by. So, I thought I would post a few of my favorite projects and recipes from the last twelve months.

Hoot Hoot Tee

Chips Container

Burlap Hanging Carrots

Ruffled Flour Sack Towel

My Big Ole Stocking

Sew Easy Infinity Scarf

Waitress Apron Tutorial

Best Ever Cinammon Rolls

Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken

PW Crash Hot Potatoes

Diners, Drive Ins and Dives Flappers

Buffalo Chip Cookies

Jimmy Crack Corn

Shrimp Quesadillas with Avacado Tomato Salsa

So, while I don't feel like I got much accomplished this year, at least I have a few projects that I enjoyed. And, I obviously had my share of recipe success considering the five extra pounds I've put on this year. UGH!

It's been a great year. We've lost loved ones and had some hard times, but we've also had more than our share of wonderful things too. My baby girl started school and loves it.

and we had a new addition to the family

Aren't they sweet? That little girl on the right - she's ours. The rest all went to their new homes. That alone is reason for celebration. Woo hoo!

So, tomorrow is a new year and a chance to start fresh, and hopefully take off a few pounds and get a lot done. I'm excited to see what the new year brings.

I hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's Eve!!!

Waitress Apron Tutorial

2011-12-21T11:34:00.001-06:00

So, a few weeks ago, a good friend of Hubby's from high school contacted me and wanted to have some waitress aprons made and wondered if I was interested. She wanted five aprons, one each for the ladies at the cafe who take such good care of her family. Isn't that sweet? Being a former waitress, I was excited to take the job. I sort of made up my own pattern and I thought I would share it with y'all.

You will need:

One piece of fabric cut 30" x 12"
Three pieces cut 7 and 1/2" x 11" (for pockets)
Two strips 42" x 3"

Take one of your two 42"x3" strips, find the middle of the long side and cut in half. Now you have two 22"x3" strips and one 42"x3" strip. We attach these strips together to make the ties for the apron. Start by taking your longest strip and lying it horizontal on a flat surface, like a table or ironing board, right side up. Lay your short strip vertical at the end of this strip, right side down, and make a diagonal mark across them.

Do you see my diagonal mark? Now stitch across that line and cut off the excess.

Now fold it out to the right side and iron flat, pressing seam open. Do the same, attaching the other short strip to the other side of your long strip. You will be left with one long strip of fabric. Now it's time to fold and iron. Fold your strip in half lengthwise, wrongs sides together and press. Open up your strip with the wrong side up. Press one edge of fabric toward the center crease. Now press the other side toward the crease. Fold sides together and press on the first crease. You will be left with a long strip 3/4" in width. If I have totally confused you, see this tutorial.

Now, it's time for the pockets. You ready?

Arrange your three pocket pieces the way you want them to appear on the apron. We are going to attach the pieces together. Take your middle pocket piece and pin it to one of the other pocket pieces, short sides together and wrong sides together. I know that sounds weird, but stay with me.

Okay, now stitch it together using slightly less than 1/4" seam allowance. Now, open up your pieces and iron flat.

Now put your right sides together by folding on the seam. Pin and stitch using 1/4" seam allowance.

Now open it up and iron. You can see that all your raw edges are hidden. Don't ya just love that?

This is a good youtube video on french seams if what I am saying makes ZERO sense.

Now we're going to hem the top of our pocket. Fold down long edge 1/2 and inch and press. Fold down another 1/2 inch, press, pin and stitch it down.

Now it's time to attach your pocket to you main apron piece. Lay your main apron piece out, right side down. Now line up your pocket piece right side down on top of it, long sides together. Pin in place. So, it should be the wrong side of main apron piece to right side of pocket piece.

Now, sew along the long side using just UNDER 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Now, flip the pocket to the right side and iron.

Now it's time to hem the edges. First pin the pockets to the back leaving a little bit of slack so your pockets aren't too tight. Now flip over to the wrong side. Trim your edges of your pocket if they are a little longer than your apron piece. Turn under short edge of apron and pocket 1/2 inch. Press. Turn under another 1/2 inch. Press and pin. Now do the other short side the same way.

Now we are going to hem the sides and stitch all the way around the apron. Sarting at what will be the top of your apron, stitch down hem close to the folded down edge until you get to the bottom of the apron. Lift your presser foot, pivot fabric and stitch across the botto of your apron using just over 1/2" seam allowance (this will enclose your raw edge).

Stitch across the bottom of apron and pocket to the opposite side and agan left presser foot and pivot fabric and stitch the hem on the other side of your apron.

Now we just need to attach our strips we made earlier. Find the center of your apron piece (long way) and mark with a pin. Now do the same with your strip. Line up the cener of both pieces. Open up your strip and line up with the top of your apron piece. Pin in place.

Stitch in place all the way across the apron using a 1/4" seam allowance. Take you pins out and refold the strip. Pin the folded strip around the raw edge of your apron and pin in place.

Open up the end of your strip and fold under 1/2 inch.

Refold strip. Pin and starting at the end of your strip, stitch the short end and all the way down your long strip, attaching your strip to the apron in the process, and finishing at the other short end of the strip.

Almost done. Now, to divide your pocket into three sections, you have to stitch, on the seam, through the pocket and main apron piece.

ALL FINISHED!

May I take your order? Would you like an appetizer? What can I get you to drink?

To tell the truth, I was NOT a good waitress. I'm a little klutzy. But the apron is adorable, isn't it? So much cuter than the plain ole black ones I wore back in the day.

So, if you make your own, I'd love to see it and feature you.

I'm linking to the following parties:

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-07T08:57:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been CRAZY busy around here with work, Christmas, sewing, puppies, etc., but I thought I would share a few pics with y'all.

Don't ya just love Christmas tree lights? I used to just sit on the couch in the dark with my cup of hot chocolate and look at the lights. It was such a peaceful time of quiet reflection. Sigh. Now when I turn off the lights to look at the tree, I hear puppies barking and kids askin, "Mom, why are the lights off? I'm trying to do my homework?" ugh! There is no such thing as "quiet" in this house anymore. Oh well!

Here it is in the light. See that banner? Wanna see a close up?

My SIL printed that out and cut it out for our Christmas pictures we took Saturday (for the Christmas cards). After we used it, she hung it on the tree. Isn't that cute? I love it. She found it on Pinterest (of course). You can get your banner here. Your welcome.

So, one more thing.....it snowed last night in Arkansas.. Yes, you heard me right - and it's not even Janury. So, the sun is now out and I can hear it pouring off the roof as it melts. Sad. It didn't last long.

It was just enough snow to be pretty, but the roads were clear so school wasn't cancelled. Can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!! WOO HOO! Happy dance! I've got tons of sewing to get done today and I don't need four kids in my hair. However, I'm supposed to substitute 4th grade tomorrow so I'd be cool with school being called off then. A girl can dream, right?

Have a great Wednesday!

Christmas Cards

2011-12-05T08:50:00.000-06:00

So, I finally got my Christmas cards done last night. Wanna see?

Aren't they pretty? I just love them! Honestly, they are my favorite Christmas cards EVER! Wanna hear the best part? They were FREE! My friend Tracy @ Welcome To Our World had a Shutterfly giveaway back in October and I won! WOO HOO! Twenty-five free cards. The best part is that I got to personalize the inside and even the back of the cards too. LOOOOVE THEM!

Wanna see what else I won at Tracy's?

They are stickers from uprinting.com. Aren't they cute? I thought they would be great to put on my plain ole paper bags when I am at a craft show or something. I love them!

Thanks so much, Tracy! I love them both!!!

5x7 Folded Card

2011-12-04T21:25:00.001-06:00

With Love Christmas Card

Visit Shutterfly.com for classic photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

My Big Ole Stocking....A Tutorial

2011-11-30T21:24:00.006-06:00

So, do you remember when you were little and you went to Wal-Mart with your mom and while walking down the Christmas aisle looking at all the decorations, etc., you stumble upon one of those big ole stockings about three feet tall and they have toys spilling out of the top of them? Yeah, me too. I always wanted one of those, so I thought I'd make myself a big ole stocking this year. But, I'm not stuffing mine with cheap toys that will break in the first ten minutes you play with them. Nope. Instead, I'm stuffing mine with washcloths. Is that weird? Yeah, I know. Wanna see?

So wanna know how to make your own?

I knew I wanted mine to hang on the door, so I used a heavyweight duck cloth, which I got at Wal-Mart. You can get it almost anywhere. I was semi inspired by the ones from Ballard Designs.

Aren't they cute? BUT, I wasn't crazy about the shape. They kind of look like when you have on sweaty crew socks or something after a workout and you pull them off by the toe and they get that weird pointy stretched out thing going on. I wanted something a bit more whimsical. Not even to mention that mine was not $25.00. It was more like $8.00. That's MUCH more to my liking.

So, like I said, I chose white duck cloth. I washed, dried and ironed it. Then I got a large piece of craft paper and drew out my pattern and cut it out. Then I doubled my fabric, laid my pattern on top

and cut out two stocking pieces at once.

I decided that I wanted a "crown" part for the top so again, I drew out a pattern, making sure the top of the stocking and the crown were the same size. I had just a little bit of the green dot I wanted to use for the crown foldover,

so I opted to use some lightweight cotton for the back and inside of the "crown" part. So, I cut on green piece and three white pieces for my crown.

Obviously, if you have plenty of fabric for the crown, you can cut four pieces of the same fabric. Pin the right sides of your crown fabric together.

Stitch, using 1/4" seam allowance down the sides and up and down the points. See the silly pictures below where I drew in the black stitches. Yes, I'm a dork.

Anyway, clip your seam allowances in the corners of your crown points, being careful not to actually clip the stitches.

Now flip your crown pieces inside out and iron flat. You should have two crown pieces now. Pin together, right sides together and stitch down the sides.

Can you see my stitches? Stitch down the sides were it's pinned. Put your crown aside and pin your stocking pieces together and stitch all around except for the top. Clip carefully around the toe. Turn inside out and iron. So sorry I forgot to take pictures of this step. ***This is the time to add a hanging loop if you want one. I fogot to do this step. DUH! If you do this, take a piece of ribbon and double it. Line up the edges with the top of your stocking, with the loop part down in the stocking and stitch in place so it will be in between the inside of the stocking and the crown piece you are about to sew.

Now, get your crown piece, right side out, points down, and slip inside of your stocking, doing your best to line up the side seams of the crown with the side seams of the stocking.

Pin in place.

Stitch all the way around the opening using 1/4" seam allowance.

Now, flip your crown to the outside of your stocking and iron in place.

So, of course I wanted polka dots. I had planned on ding applique dots, but didn't have the fabric I wanted to do it. Being the impatient person that I am, I decided to go ahead and just paint on my dots. I just used acrylic craft paint. After it was dry, I WAS going to stuff the toe with polyfil so it didn't flop around, but because my daughter used it all on her latest sock monkey project, I opted to use papertowels and washcloths. Weird, right? Like I said before, I am impatient and didn't have time to run to Wal-Mart.

Wow. My rug looks AWFUL. Oh well. I still love my stocking.

I'm linking this project to the following blog parties:

Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths
Strut You Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Chic & Crafty Party @ The Frugal Girls
Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now for Amanda.
The Doors and Porches Party @ At The Picket Fence

Winner and I Won!!

2011-11-29T07:51:00.002-06:00

WINNER! WINNER! WINNER! Wanna see who won the Elf Feet Kitchen Towel?

The winner is...........(that's my drumroll)..........my good friend, Staci from Lizard and Ladybug. Speaking of Staci, she has a really cute Gloveables giveaway going on right now. Stop by and enter. Maybe she'll use her new towel at one of her awesome parties she is so famous for!! YAY Staci!

WOO HOO! Staci, I'll get that out to you ASAP!

I also got the news yesterday, that I won a giveaway. WOO HOO! Wanna see what I won?

Gorgeous, right? I'm sooo excited!! I won it from my friend Debbie @ Love the Decor. I just love Debbie. Y'all should check out her blog and her great Willow House deals. She's a Willow House consultant as well as an awesome decorator and stager, and just a sweet, precious person on top of all the talent. Thanks, Debbie!!! XOXO!

Hope y'all have a great day! Maybe I should strike while the iron is hot and go buy a lottery ticket. HA!

Christmas Towel Giveaway!

2011-11-24T23:06:00.001-06:00

Well, it's almost 11:00 on Thanksgiving night and this is the first time in recent years that I'm not shopping or getting ready to go shopping. I decided to skip all the Black Friday shopping hooplah this year. Although, I might see if I can find a few good deals online. But in honor of all the shopping, I decided I have just a little giveaway to get us all in the Christmas spirit. Sounds okay to you?

I just love this elf feet towel. Y'all know I love me some polka dots so of course the elf socks and shoes HAD to have polka dots. I love the way it turned out. But instead of keeping it for myself, I decided I would share it with one of y'all.

So, wanna know how to enter?

1. Follow Froufroubritches on Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment saying you are a follower (required).

2. Share about this giveaway on Facebook with a link back to my page and leave me a comment to tell me about it.

3. Blog about this giveaway and leave me a comment and a link to your blog entry.

Because of high shipping costs, this giveaway is only available to residents of the United States and Canada. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time on Monday, November, 28th. The winner will be announced November 29th. I know that doesn't leave much time to enter, but Christmas will be here before we know it and the sooner I get it to the winner, the more they will get to use it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:24:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Thanksgiving so I thought I'd share what I am most thankful for. First, I'm thankful to God for everything because everything I have is because of him.

I am thankful for the best parents a girl could ask for.

Mom and Dad

For my sweet, precious Hubby and that he wasn't hurt in the wreck he had a few weeks ago.

For ALL my kiddos,

but especially that L is talking more and now says "I love you" to me every night.

Sweet baby boy!

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving friends!

Ramblings of a Caffeine Addicted Insomniac

2011-11-21T01:32:00.001-06:00

Well, it's almost 1:00 a.m. and I am awake. Why? I assume it is because I chose to drink Dr. Pepper this evening, which is something I haven't been doing the last few months. As much as I am cursing caffeine right now, I will be singing its praises in about five and half hours when I roll my big behind out of bed. ugh! So, ya know what's bad about caffeine? Not only does it keep me up, but it keeps me up because my brain won't shut up. So, because I'm pretty sure I have Adult ADD, and can only stay on one topic for a very short period of time before my brain switches gears, this post may be very random. Therefore, I apologize.

So, I was thinking about the kids' Christmas list. There is soooo much I want to get them this year. I think because they are getting so much bigger, they want more expensive stuff, ya know? Too bad my cash flow hasn't increased along with the size of their list. So, anyway, I was thinking about Black Friday. You see, I go shopping on Black Friday almost every year. I used to love it. Now, not so much. You see, as I get older, the less I want to fight the crowd just to save $6 on some random toy.

YIKES!

Most of the stuff my kids want, isn't even on sale. Sure, there is a computer game on J's list that is on sale at Wal-Mart for $4 less than the regular price. But let's be honest, is a $4 savings really worth all of that trouble? In my younger days, I would have said yes. Now, I'm not so sure. Maybe I'll sleep instead or stay at home and shop online in my jammies. Hmmmm! I'm sure if I shop, I'll once again be singing the praises of caffeine. HA!

Speaking of jammies, I'm dying for these:

Aren't they cute??? I love my VS flannel pajamas! You know what else I love? I love it when I am on the VS website and my Hubby leans over my shoulder and says something like, "I like that. That's a cute ________" pajamas, bra, outfit, whatever. And I think, "Um, yes, it looks really good on that size 0, big boobed model, doesn't it? I'm afraid it wouldn't look quite the same on my squatty 5'4" big ole pear shaped self." I always have to tell him to pick something that would look good on someone built like ME! Do y'all have that problem?

Just thought I'd share a picture of my babies. Aren't they sweet?

We've already sold two of our puppies and they just turned three weeks old. I mean, they won't go to their new homes for another three or four weeks, but they are sold. They just started walking and are so cute on their wobbly little legs. I'm trying so hard not to get attached. I've named four of them. Hubby told me not to name them, but I can't help it. It's a good thing they poop a lot and woke me up whining this morning. That helps remind me that I don't want them all to stay with me forever and ever. Maybe just one of them.

Okay friends, I've got to go to bed. Hopefull my Melatonin has kicked in and the rain will lull me to sleep. I've got a room full of first graders to look forward to tomorrow.

All Turkeyed Out!

2011-11-18T08:38:00.001-06:00

It's been a busy week here in the Frou Frou Britches household. I've been working a lot this week, both at home and at school. Add in an ear infection for L which brought on a full blown autism fit at school, which resulted in suspension and that pretty much took up my time this week. CRAZY! So, what else have I been up to? Turkeys. It all started with this little turkey shirt:

Then, my turkey multiplied.

Then my turkey changed his colors.

I'm sooo over turkeys! Bring on Rudolph!

and elf feet!

I'm ready for Christmas!

Quick Chicken Spaghetti

2011-11-14T20:31:00.000-06:00

So, you know those days where everything goes wrong and you can't stand the thought of slaving over dinner? I sure do! This is one of those dishes that you can throw together really quickly on a busy night. You ready for the recipe?

Quick Chicken Spaghetti

3 cooked chicken breasts OR 2 cans cooked chicken
12 oz. spaghetti
1/4 of a large Velveeta
1 can of Rotel
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
4 oz. can mushrooms
small jar of pimentos
1 cup shredded Cheddar

Boil water and cook spaghetti. In a saucepan, put both cans of soup and can of Rotel. Add Velveeta - okay I honeslty don't really measure, but about 1/4th of a large Velveeta. Stir until Velveeta melts. Add, pimentos and mushrooms.

Drain spaghetti and add to soup mixture. Add cooked chicken to mixture and stir well. Dump the spaghetti mixture into a 9 x 13 greased pan. Sprinkle with cheddar and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

Soooo easy, right?

As usual, the pictures could be better if only I had an awesome camera. Maybe I'll get one by the time I have grandkids.

Holiday House 2011

2011-11-13T23:05:00.000-06:00

What a great weekend! On Saturday, my mom, sister, my oldest, C, my niece, K, and I went to the big Christmas shopping extravaganza known as Holiday House. It's a large craft show put on by the Junior League of Little Rock. My mom, sister and I LOVE to go, but this is the first time our girls have gone with us...BIG MISTAKE! UGH! They are sooooo staying home next year. Anyway, I just thought I would share a few pictures I took. I know it is probably ~~strictly forbidden~~ frowned upon to take pictures of the booths and I probably should have asked instead of ~~totally sneaking shots~~ snapping photos, but I just couldn't help myself. So sorry. I promise to never to do it again (until next year). Sometimes it's better to apologize afterwards than to ask permission, ya know? Especially if you are pretty sure they're gonna say no. Hee Hee! So, because I was totally sneaking shots with my iphone, some of them are a tad bit out of focus. Again, so sorry.

This is what greeted us when we walked in the door. Isn't it fabulous? Love the flocking with the red and green. So pretty!

Love this tree! Some of my favorite colors - red, green and aqua. LOVE!

Okay. Weird shot because the little green tree is in front of the big tree I wanted to show you. That's what happens when you're trying to be sneaky. Aren't the colors fantastic? Purple and magenta.

But, it wasn't just Christmas decorations, there were also lots of gift items.

This wine bag cracks me up! After all, I do love my Jesus, but I also enjoy beer with my pizza. Hilarious!

Aren't these beaded serving pieces adorable? I love them!!!! I think my SIL knows how to make them. Gotta get with her on that.

This is the sock monkey booth. So many cute things and...

even a Thanksgiving sock monkey. See his pilgrim hat on that one sock monkey? And the lunchbox? So cute!

There were also several booths with wonderful clothes and home decor. I forgot to take pictures of all but one booth though. Wanna see the one I managed to sneak?

I love that mirror in the back! Hello gorgeous! And those pillows! Wanna closer look?

Cute, right?

So, we concluded our shopping day by eating at On The Border. I always vote for Mexican food when we go out. YUM! White cheese dip and tacos (again, with a beer - MMM!) - one of my very favorite meals!!

Thanks mom and sis for an awesome day together!!!

Fall Foliage and Roses

2011-11-10T21:52:00.000-06:00

So, I've been an absentee blogger lately. You see, I used to do the bulk of my blog writing and reading during the day, but I've been working during the day and my Hubby has totally been hijacking the computer every night. UGH!

So, today Hubby and I were off to go to J's field trip. The field trip required a road trip, which gave me a chance to look at some pretty fall foliage.

I love those pretty red maples. This picture was taken at a local mall parking lot, as you can tell. But the tree is pretty. Meanwhile, in my grown up weed infested flower bed, this is what is growing...

Really? Is that normal or do my roses just not know what season it is? Hmmm. Not sure.

The Weekend is Over, Bring on Christmas!

2011-11-06T21:00:00.004-06:00

Well, my weekend was very busy. As I mentioned, I had a craft show booth this weekend. We had lots of traffic, but only two sales. I heard from the other vendors that they had about the same luck so I'm trying not to take it personally. I had a GREAT time and I met some fabulous people so that part was good. My daughter, C, put some of her items in the booth too. She makes collage style journals and sock monkeys. Her art teacher was sweet enough to come by and buy a journal. C was so excited to see her favorite teacher and was so happy when Mrs. S called C her "star student". She smiled from ear to ear the rest of the day.

So, as I said, not many sales, but the good news is that E has four new outfits to wear. Woo hoo! That child has been clothes poor since it cooled off. As for the rest of it, it will be on my etsy site this week, or maybe a giveaway is in order? Hmmmm.

So, now that this craft show is OVAH, all I can think about is....Christmas. I've GOT to get something done for the front door. Maybe I could make a pretty wreath. I love this one:

Of COURSE, I saw it on Pinterest. Love the monogram!!

The kids would love this, especially C.

etsy

I also love this:

Blue Cricket Design

I love the frame and of course I love the red and aqua with the green. It look just like the kids' bathroom colors! But, silly me, I asked Hubby's opinion. WHY do I keep doing that??? His response, "Um.......no". Okay, moving on. Of course, it has to be something frugal because after all, I am not rich. In fact, I am the exact opposite of rich. So, it's got to be free or inexpensive. I've got some ideas. I'm working several days this week but hopefully I'll get some time to work on it.

Also, I am very excited that I was one of the lucky winners from Tracy's blog. I won 25 Christmas cards from Shutterfly. WOO HOO! Now I've just got to take some pictures. I've got the card all picked out. Thanks Tracy!!!

So, what about y'all? Are y'all itching to get your Christmas decor out?

Getting Ready for Christmas Already

2011-11-03T08:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I saw my first Hallmark Christmas commercial this morning. Let the tears begin. Christmas is less than two months away. Time flies! My week has been filled with preparing for our school's annual silent auction. Each class is responsible for making a themed basket. I am room mother, so I was in charge of making our basket. Our theme this year....CHOCOLATE! MMMMM! So, I collected money from parents went shopping and begged for a few donations from local businesses. I even made a small kitchen towel for the basket.

Why zebra in a chocolate basket? Well, I was looking for a big beverage tub to put everything in, but I couldn't find one big enough that wasn't a TON of $$. So, I went to Gordman's where I found a big basket with a zebra liner. So, our theme became "Wild About Chocolate", and therefore the zebra towel. I also found a green giraffe insulated cup. I secretly wanted it for myself. I gotta go back and get me one of those. So cute!

This is what it looked like:

Also this week, I've been preparing for a craft show this weekend. I've been crazy busy trying to get some things sewn up and watching over the new puppies. I'll let ya know how it goes and I'm hoping to have a new tutorial up next week. See ya then! Gotta get back to sewing.

Halloween and Puppies

2011-11-01T08:36:00.000-05:00

Well, Halloween is over and I feel like I almost missed it. It's been so crazy busy around here, I didn't put up any Halloween decorations. It just never happened. I thought I would post the kids in their costumes, but you have to promise me something. You see, because I've been so busy, my house is a wreck. So, please excuse the background of this photo. We recently switched satellite companies too so ignore all the wires and manuals on the mantle as well as the cable boxes on the floor. I'm so embarassed!

J is Luigi (AGAIN!), E is a butterfly pixie, although you can't see her wings very well, C is some sort of skeleton thing with a red cape(all her creation), and L is Charlie Brown.

C's matching skelton sock monkey she made.

So, our other news is that my Emme had puppies on Saturday. She had seven little girls (one fawn, five flashy fawn and one white). They are healthy, doing well, and PRECIOUS!

Emme and the girls

Sweet face!

So, how was your Halloween?

So, It Seems We're Having a Baby

2011-10-27T22:42:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe that title was a wee bit misleading. I am not actually having a baby, but my precious Emme is having puppies ANY DAY NOW. While my Hubby has been breeding boxers off and on for 25 years, I haven't. This is my first experience with my baby having puppies and I am a nervous wreck.

E and Emme (notice how I've nearly killed my mums? - UGH!)

So, y'all say a little prayer that our puppies get here safe, healthy and soon.

Buffalo Chip Cookies

2011-10-25T20:39:00.000-05:00

So, last weekend we went to a family reunion with the "favorite cousins". We traveled to the small town where my mother grew up, where I used to visit my cousins and dig for taters and slam the screen door. There is something wonderful about walking into a room full of family members that you've known your entire life. There is something soothing about the smell of the same recipes you eat year after year - dumplins, Myrtle's homemade yeast rolls, coconut cake, Sock-It-To-Me cake, fried chicken, the list goes on and on. This year was no different. The food was fantastic as always. I always bring some kind of dessert. This year I brought two. One of them is an old favorite, one of them is a new favorite. Today, I'll share the new favorite - Buffalo Chip Cookies.

When I was trying to decide which dessert to bring, Hubby suggested Buffalo Chip Cookies from his family cookbook. He insisted that we had made them before and I, of course, argued that I had NO IDEA what he was talking about and that I had never had them. He found the recipe, which verified to me that I had NEVER had these cookies and that he must be thinking of some other girl who had tried these cookies before. It wasn't me. BUT, he insisted that they were AWESOME and I had to make them. So, reluctantly, I agreed. You ready for the recipe?

Buffalo Chip Cookies

Blend:

2 cups melted butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar

Stir in:

4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Add:

4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Mix well and then add:

2 cups oatmeal (I used quick oats)
2 cups Post Toasties (I used Corn Flakes)
1 large pkg. chocolate chips (24 oz)
1 cups pecans, chopped
1 cup coconut

Using an ice cream scoop, put 6 cookies on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees on lightly greased sheet for 12 to 15 minutes.

Okay, thanks to my Hubby for talking me into making these cookies. They are my new favorite. YUM! In fact, they have Corn Flakes in them so, I'm thinking they make for a healthy breakfast. Right? Okay, so maybe I'm justifying just a little bit, but they are soooo gooood! YUM! Thanks to Hubby's cousin Sandra for the recipe!!!

Now, doesn't that look like a healthy breakfast to you? No? Well, I tried. By the way, in case you didn't get it by the "ice cream scoop", these cookies are HUGE! I have one more cookie left in my tupperware container so I better go eat it before someone else realizes it's there. Wink!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T22:57:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again. That's right. It's time for field trips to the pumpkin patch. This will be a photo heavy post, y'all. L's class went two weeks ago and E's went last week. I decided I'd wait and post it all together. Your welcome. So, because my two youngest go to different schools, we went to two different pumpkin patches.

There were pig races. Can you see them in their gates?

L and his sweet teacher petting a donkey.

L playing on the hay playground.

L with his pumpkin

Hubby on the hayride.

E on the hayride on the way to the actual pumpkin patch.

E with her final pumpkin. She changed her mind A LOT!

E coming out of the hay tunnel.

This baby girl LOVED feeding the goats. She is so much like her daddy! Gosh, they need a farm.

I would like to point out that there are a few more photos of E's field trip because she doesn't automatically look away every time I pickup the camera. L, on the other hand, looks away every time he sees the camera.

My Favorite Houndstooth Dress!

2011-10-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

Okay, we've been over my houndstooth obsession, right? I love me some houndstooth! Anyway, so I mentioned that I bought some houndsooth fabric.

Isn't it pretty? This actually came out several years ago. I had some in fuschia and I wish I had some in the gorgeous apple green that came out, but I don't. BUT, I did snag this wonderful, classic black and white houndstooth. So, wanna see what I made?

Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not bragging because it has nothing to do with my sewing skills, but I am totally in love with this dress. We all know that I love a peasant dress. I thought it would be versatile to wear with different colored leggings or in this case, with black boots. I just love how it turned out. I had to add some color with her favorite fuschia flower.

So, what do you think?

Pasta Milano

2011-10-19T06:34:00.000-05:00

So, y'all know I have a slight addiction to Pinerest. I actually need Pinerest rehab. One day when I was looking at yummy stuff to cook on Pinerest, I came across the blog of Joelen. Her blog is called What's Cookin, Chicago. The picture on Pinterest that caught my eye was a shot of her freezer and freezer-friendly recipes. One of those recipes was for Pasta Milano. Okay, here's the deal, yes I love Mexican food and I am crazy about a good ole American cheeseburger, but my other love is Italian. I love Macaroni Grill. In fact, the day my oldest son, J, was born, my family said they would go get me anything I wanted to eat, so I chose Pasta Milano from Macaroni Grill. MMMM! It just doesn't get any better. So, you ready for the recipe?

Pasta Milano

3 slices bacon, diced
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chicken broth, divided
1 cup heavy cream (or half & half for a lower fat version - um, yeah right!)
salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces dry farfalle (bowtie) pasta
water for boiling pasta
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

In a large skillet over high heat, brown the diced bacon. Season the cut up chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and saute until lightly browned. Once the chicken is cooked, add the sliced mushrooms and saute until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes and chicken broth to the hot skillet. Allow it come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the cream and bring to a boil; stirring.Take off heat and add the bacon, chicken and mushroom to the sauce and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add dry pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, transfer to a bowl.

Pour the chicken and sauce over the hot pasta and toss. Place in a baking dish and top with shredded Parmesan cheese and bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until cheese melts.

Garnish with fresh basil and serve hot.

* To make ahead/freezer meals - Prepare as directed, however cook pasta to barely al dente. There should be a bite to the pasta where it's not completely cooked. Place pasta, chicken and sauce in an ovenproof container and allow to cool. Cover and freezer. When ready to prepare, defrost and bake in preheated oven as directed above.

Okay, so I didn't follow all of Joelen's directions. I actually finished the sauce and poured it over the pasta and ate it right away instead of baking it. It smelled so good that I just couldn't wait for it to bake. People, it was GOOD!

Okay, so I ate about three of these servings, but in my defense I was not doing calories on Livestrong at the time. That makes it okay, right?

I Love Me Some Houndstooth!

2011-10-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

So, remember back in the late 80's, early 90's when blazers were really in? I had one blazer that I was especially fond of. I nearly wore it out. It was from The Limited and was a large black and white houndstooth. It was very similar to this:

Only each check was a little bigger on mine, like an 1 1/2 inches each. And thus began my obsession with houndstooth. I love it! But it hasn't always been "in". But you know what they say, give something enough time and it'll come back in style. I'm so happy to say that houndsooth is back again and I am thrilled!!!!

Just look at some of the cuteness I've been coveting.

Houndstooth curtains!

I'm dying to try houndsooth nails!

Love this rug from Garnet Hill

Oh my gracious! I am in LOOOOVE with this chair from Honey & Fitz blog.

So, I bought some houndsooth print quilting fabric. I'll show you what I made with it later in the week. So, do you have a fabric obsession?

Unless otherwise listed, images are from google.

The Trials of Being A Working Mom

2011-10-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have a whole new respect for working mothers. I was a working mother, when I had just one child. I worked for a few months after I had two, but my babysitter in our small town went back to work and I had nobody to keep my new baby. So, terrified of being broke, but excited to stay home with my new baby, I quit my job. Now, nine years later, I am working again. I am a substitute teacher at my kids' elementary school and I love it. I work 2-3 days a week, normally. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. The problem is, I can't seem to get everything done. I am WAAAAY behind on blogging and visiting blogs. I am behind on laundry.

I am behind on cooking (we've had way to many convenience meals lately). I am behind on working out and boy can I tell it. I've gained two pounds and I get winded walking up stairs. Not good. I miss being strong. I miss being thin, although I can barely remember the last time I was.

What happened to this chick?

It's not as if I have unrealistic expectations. I mean, I know that picture was taken before I had four kids, when I went to the gym for at least an hour a day after work and had nobody to worry about but myself. It's not like I expect to look like this:

But if I'm not careful, I might soon be blogging about the application process on The Biggest Loser. UGH! So, I've decided I'm going back to using Livestrong.com. It worked last time. It's only the first step. I've also GOT to find more time to work out again. I need to learn to take time out in the evenings to work out, but it's so hard. The girls' have dance on Mondays and Tuesdays. Wednesdays are usually free. Some Thursdays are taken up by C's band performances at ball games. Friday is usually free but honestly working out on a Friday night? I'd much rather be snuggled up on the couch with my Hubby watching a movie and having mexican food. That's actually my favorite thing to do on Friday night. Obviously, I have some work to do. Wish me luck.

So, what do y'all do to balance work and well, everything else? Any tips for staying fit and healthy?

Sweet and Sassy

2011-10-12T06:10:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a really busy last few months so maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention to the kids' growth spurts, but durn if E hasn't grown out of almost everything she could wear a few months ago. I decided she needed something a little more fallish. Is that a word? Oh well! As far as clothes for the E, I love to make things that are long wearing. I love pillowcase dresses and peasant dresses because they can be worn as dresses and later as tops. I looked through my stash and found some fabric I really like and whipped it up.

What do you think? I love the toile and the zebra together. I like something sweet and girly with something a little wild. My mom didn't like it and neither did my oldest, C. Hmmmm. E liked it okay. She thought she looked like a princess. Although, the flower in her hair doesn't match AT ALL. Yikes! I need to work on making a bow or something that matches a little better.

I think this dress kind of speaks to E's personality, sweet and sassy. What do y'all think? Do y'all like sweet and spicy together, in clothes I mean?

When I Am Old, I Shall Wear Purple

2011-10-09T11:30:00.001-05:00

I married a Mama’s boy. I mean, all boys love their mother, but I guess I really didn’t realize how much of a mama’s boy my Hubby was until we had been dating for awhile. You see, I was head over heels for him within about two weeks. I’m not one to hide my feelings, so I wrote him this long sappy love letter telling him exactly how I felt about him. A few weeks later, he let it slip that he had read at least part of it to his mother. I was completely humiliated. She lived out of state and I had never met her. I could only imagine what she must be thinking of me. He explained that he and his mother were very close and that she was thrilled that he had found someone that obviously loved him so much. I felt better about it, but still extremely embarrassed.

A few weeks later, I found out that his mother was coming for a visit. I was so nervous about meeting her. I was 29 at the time, recently divorced with a two year old daughter. I was aware that I might not be exactly what she had in mind for her youngest son. I was terrified. When we were introduced, she threw her arms around me like we had known each other for years. She immediately made me feel welcome. She even asked me to spend the night with them while she was in town. We ate pizza in our pajamas while we watched movies. She told me family stories about my future husband. She even brought presents for my daughter and treated us both like we were part of the family already.

My mother-in-law had this ability to make everyone feel important. She had one of the biggest personalities of anyone I ever met. Her father was a Baptist minister so God played an important role in her life. BUT, she was always a little irreverent. She loved jokes, even dirty jokes. She loved practical jokes as well. She preferred sleeping naked and loved ice cream. My Hubby jokes that the truckers that drove by their house at midnight probably got a free show as my mother-in-law’s silhouette was illuminated by the light of the freezer as she ate from the Blue Bell container. She was kind and generous, always the life of the party and she raised two amazing sons.

She was a single mom. She raised her boys to be independent and they are. My Hubby loved her so much, but the one time she and I had a little tiff, my Hubby took my side. I know she was secretly proud of him for standing up to her in my defense. That’s the kind of son she raised.

She was generous with everyone. She always thought of the little things. She brought my youngest daughter a birthday cake to the hospital the day she was born. She had a big caricature of my Hubby and I made for our wedding reception.

She was a wonderful grandmother. She was just a big kid herself really. She was all about capturing the little moments. When my son was little, he took a pencil and drew on her wall. She didn’t want us to clean it up. She wanted to put a frame around it instead. When our youngest son stuck his fingers in her sweet potato pie on Thanksgiving and ate the cranberry chutney with a spoon out of the jar, she took pictures of him doing it instead of making him stop. She was a bit of a rule breaker and saw no problem with them doing the same, as long as no one was getting hurt. She also loved having the big girls over for sleepovers. She even hosted "Camp Cousins" for her great niece and grandgirls. They had their nails done, went horseback riding and had a photo shoot.

I loved my mother-in-law very much. I will always be grateful to her for raising the man who is the love of my life and for accepting me and my little girl into the family. I am so grateful that I didn’t have the complaints some of my friends do about their mothers-in-law. I am so grateful that she was my friend.

My sweet mother-in-law went to be with Jesus on her 62^nd birthday. Her favorite poem was When I Am Old, I Shall Wear Purple. My brother-in-law preached her funeral and we all wore purple in her honor. We are all so blessed to have known her.

This photo was pre-E.

Halloween Is Creeping Up On Us

2011-09-27T18:24:00.000-05:00

Hi bloggy friends! Well, it's only Tuesday, but it's already been a crazy week. I've been busy working at the school and sewing some cute fall things. One of my customers, and a very good friend of mine, wanted something fallish (is that a word?) for her daughter to wear Halloween night. She's too young to take trick or treating, so she's skipping the costume for this year. We discussed fabric choices and she decided on this:

Isn't that damask pumpkin adorable? I love me some damask!!! The best thing is that she can wear it after Halloween, into fall.

Sadly, I haven't had time to work on a new Halloween outfit for E. She's still wearing her witchy feet tee from last year.

I better get busy if I'm going to make her something new for Halloween this year. I've still got some of this cute fabric:

and a teeny bit of this:

Now, if I only had a little bit of time to get something done. After all, October is just a few days away.

Getting To Know You, Celebrity BFF

2011-09-22T06:12:00.000-05:00

So, have you ever found yourself watching your favorite television show or caught an interview with a celebrity and thought, "He/she is so cool. I know we would totally be friends in real life"? Don't worry. I'm not some creepy celebrity stalker or something. I have met a few celebrities in my day. I was fortunate enough to meet Kirstie Alley, Patrick Swayze and a few others (you can read about that here), but I'm talking about someone you could hang out with and be friends with.

I can't believe I'm admitting to this, but one of my favorite reality TV shows is Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

I know those Kardashian girls are a little wild and sometimes have severe cases of potty mouth, but there is just something about them. I love how they are running all over God's green earth and stepdad, Bruce Jenner, is home holding down the fort and trying to keep everyone grounded. Underneath all the crazy, they actually seem like a normal family. Okay, somewhat normal. But would I want to hang out with them? Hmmm. I think I might for a day or so, but I would get tired of picking my jaw up off the floor constantly. They are an outlandish group after all. Not to mention that I can't fathom spending the money they do on a daily basis. I mean, any girl who wears her $75,000 diamond earrings swimming in the ocean is probably not in the same league with the girl who usually forgets to even put on earrings, ya know?

My next favorite reality star would be, Giuiliana Rancic. For those of you who don't know her, she is a reporter for E! News.. She is married to former The Apprentice winner Bill Rancic. Their show is called Giuliana and Bill.

Giuiliana seems to be very down to earth and has a great sense of humor. She's a little sarcastic, which I love and she doesn't take herself to seriously. I enjoy watching Bill and Giuiliana on TV. Their couple antics are very entertaining, but would we ge along in person? Probably. Giuiliana loves to shop. I, too, love to shop. The problem is, I don't have tons of $$ to spend. Shopping isn't nearly as much fun when you have no $$ to spend, ya know?

So, wanna hear my absolute top pick for the star I would want to be friends with? Well, here are a few hints. She was on a hit TV drama in the early 90's. She grew up in a huge mansion in Holmby Hills, California. She and her husband have had three seperate reality shows and I have loved them all. Any guesses?

That's right! I love Tori Spelling! She is so normal and friendly to everyone, and I do mean everyone. She was even friendly to the semi-stalkery guy that showed up at her booksigning. She is accepting and generous to those around her. She is adorable, slightly klutzy (kind of like me) and funny. She spends real time with her kids and is a hands on mom, just like the rest of us. What else do we have in common? Well, Tori is crafty. I saw a show about ten years ago that was about several celebrities that were auctioning off their handmade artwork and or crafts for charity. If I remember correctly, Tori's contribution was a collection of wooden boxes she had handpainted. Love that! Also, did you know Tori has her own craft blog? That's right! Find it here. Also, on her style blog, she did a little Emmy fashion highlight and we even picked the same dresses. Tori is now expecting her third child. She just needs one more to be caught up with me. We have so much in common. So, Tori and I, we're BFF's, in my imagination anyway.

Who would your celebrity BFF be? Not a fan of realiy TV? What about a favorite TV character that you see yourself being friends with?

Bring On The Pumpkins!

2011-09-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

So, fall is upon us and I'm so excited. I'm ready for the cooler air. I am ready for haybales, the soup and chili, falling leaves and.....pumpkins. My kids are asking for pumpkins every single time we hit Wal-Mart. My two youngest kiddos both have field trips to the pumpkin patch in October. So, I've been thinking about doing something different than the usual pumpkin carving. Last year I wanted to do a monogram pumpkin, but never got around to it. I'm definitely doing a polka dot pumpkin this year, since dots are my thang, y'all. Here are a few other ideas that I thought were super cute:

Better Homes and Garden

Photo credit

Photo Credit

I love the Silhouette dog, but mine would have to be a boxer. Cute ideas, right? So, how about you? Will you be doing the typical carving? Just decorating with natural pumpkins? Or do you have something just a little different up your sleeve?

Emmy Fashion 2011

2011-09-19T12:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, last night was one of my favorite nights on TV. That's right. It was Emmy night. I loooove Emmy night. I really like all the award show, but the Emmys is always the best because it's so much more relaxed that the Oscars, but not so relaxed that half of the folks have their buzz on, like the Golden Globes. The Emmys ae never dull, but my favorite moment had to be the Best Actress in a Comedy award.

Okay, on to the Emmy fashions. Red proved to be "the" color this year.

I looove Kate Wislet. This is by Elie Saab. There is a short train in the back. Gorgeous!!!!

This is Lea Michele from Glee. Her dress is by Marquesa. I am not crazy about the sleeves, but it's okay. The back, however, is STUNNING!

Isn't that fabulous? I love it! The back is totally worth the boring sleeve.

Nancy O'Dell (not sure of the designer)

and check out her earrings. Aren't the fabulous?

Nina Dobrev in Donna Karan

I hate to tell you that I didn't have many favorites that weren't red. There were a few that were okay. I did have two to share that I did not love.

Gwyneth Paltrow in a two piece Pucci gown. Okay, first of all, I looooove Gwyneth. She is beautiful and has some of the best legs in Hollywood. But, this dress cuts her in half. Maybe if it were sheer black in the middle instead of being two pieces? The other thing is the top part that looks like an upside down heart....well, it's as if she's saying, "Hi. I'm Gwyneth and these are my boobs". Um, no thanks. A little cleavage would've been fine. I can do without the sheer over the boobs. Let's leave a little something to the imagination, shall we?

Orange/red velvet jeans by Jean Paul Gaultier

I don't even have words for Alan Cummings outfit above. I'm at a loss. I'm speechless. UGH!

So, did y'all watch? What were your favorite moments?

Speaking of TV, the fall premiere of the new shows starts tonight. Woo hoo!

Chef's Apron Tutorial

2011-09-12T22:10:00.000-05:00

So, a long time ago, aprons were something you would find in every woman's kitchen. I remember my great grandmother wearing one when she cooked. I have never worn an apron, but boy do I need one. Last week I went to school to pick up the kids and I was covered in flour. I had been making chicken and dumplins. I had white powder covering my black shirt. How embarassing! I really should make myself a cute little apron so I don't walk around like that and embarass my kids.

Anyway, my cousin emailed me about making a Dr. Suess chef's apron for a teacher friend whose classroom has a Dr. Suess theme. So, I did and I thought I'd show you how I did it.

I made a pattern a long time ago so I used that one. I found a great pattern HERE if you need one. Or, you could trace around an existing apron. Whatever works.

Turn down 1/2" all around the perimeter of the apron and iron. Turn down another 1/2" and pin.

To make the strap around the neck, cut a piece of fabric 4 x 25. For the straps that tie, cut two pieces 4 x 21. Take these pieces and iron in half lengthwise.

Now open the piece up and fold one long edge in toward the fold and iron.

Now do the same with the other side.

Now fold these together and iron.

Now open it up again and iron down one end 1/2" and iron.

Close your folds again and iron and pin. Starting at the short end of your strip of fabric, sew the short end, down the long open end of the strip. Be sure to backstitch at both ends. It is not necessary to sew up and hem the other short end of the strip.

Lay out your apron. Put the unsewn short end of your strap at the edge of the apron, right under the "u" that goes under your arm. Unfold the ironed hem and insert the strip piece.

(Yes, I hemmed mine before I realized it wasn't necessary)

Now flip the fold back over and pin. Repeat with the other tie strip.

Sorry it's blurry.

Now for the neck strap. Lay out your apron and tuck under the ends of your neck strap into the top hem, just like you did the tie straps. Pin. Make sure your neck strap is not twisted. It should look like this.

Now hem all the way around your apron. Now for the optional pocket. I cut my fabric 12 x 9 for my pocket. I applied fray check to all of my edges and allowed it to dry. Next I ironed down 1/2 inch on one long side. Then another 1/2 inch. Iron the other edges down 1/2 inch.

To find the center of your apron, fold it in half lengthwise. Do the same with your pocket. Now line up the middle creases. That cuts way down on all the measuring.

Now double stitch all the way around the pocket. ALL DONE! You ready for this?

I love the apron, but I hate the horizontal stripes on me. YIKES! It's especially lovely over my pajamas (yes, I have on pants). Notice I cut off my head and my scary bed head. Your welcome for that.

So, y'all ready to make your own? I'd love to see them.

Dr. Suess

2011-09-09T08:03:00.000-05:00

So, as you may or may not know, I've been working at the kids' elementary school as a substitute teacher. So, the first week of school I was subbing a third grade class and per the lesson plan left for me, I had to read Dr. Suess's Happy Birthday To You. Let me just say that I'm not good at reading Dr. Suess. I tend to say the words too fast and they all run together. One of the boys said it sounded like I was rapping. HA! Yeah. You can just call me Master FrouFrouBritches. So, later when I was in the office talking to two of the "real" third grade teachers, I commented that I was not a big fan of Dr. Suess. The look of shock on their faces was enough to stop me from talking. They spent the next five minutes spilling their love of Dr. Suess all over me. Okay, I get it. His books are entertaining for kids, but I hate reading things that are just full of nonsense words. It makes no sense whatsoever. BUT, that's just my opinion. My kids, however, LOVE Dr. Suess. Our school has a big week long celebration for Dr. Suess's birthday in March, so when the Dr. Suess fabric collection was released a few months ago, I knew I had to order some so E would have an outfit to wear in March.

Cute, right? I do love that it features all of the characters on it. Very sweet. I do love Horton. That's my favorite Dr. Suess book. And it coordinates with this:

Don't ya just love those colorful titles. Only problem is, the blue titles on this fabric faded and ran slightly when I washed it. Not good. But, I did use just a little of it with the other to make E a new dress.

I hate that her white shirt wasn't clean so she could wear it instead of the black shirt underneath, but when you're running late, you do what has to be done. This picture was taken after school so she looks a little rough and grumpy. I had to bribe her with computer time to even get this lovely shot. Yes, I know. It may not be a good idea to bribe the kid, but I had to get a picture, right?

So, how do you feel about Dr. Suess?

Getting To Know You......Kid Advice, Good and Bad

2011-09-08T08:16:00.001-05:00

Do you remember what it's like to be a new mom, or even a soon to be new mom?

This is my cousin's new baby. Isn't he precious?

It's been a long time since I was a new mom, almost fourteen years. Man! Time flies because it seems like just yesterday. Have you ever noticed how when you're pregnant, people always feel free to put there hands on your belly and spout advice, whether you ask for it or not? Your baby could be crying while you're shopping in Wal-Mart and suddenly you are surrounded by women telling you to try everything from stick your finger in his/her mouth to give him/her a drop of honey to make them take a pacifier (and babies aren't even supposed to have honey because of the risk of botulism). Anyway, new moms are surrounded by advice, good and bad.

Seeing my cousin's new bundle of joy got me thinking about all of the advice she must be getting. It got me to thinking about the best piece of advice I got. You see, with my first baby, I was a total freak. I worked in a pediatric clinic for several years. While it was good for me in some ways, like not FREAKING out about holding the kids down for shots, it freaked me out to see 3 day old babies having to have spinal taps. Yikes! So, I was a bit of a germaphobe when my first one was born. Nobody got to touch her until they used Purell on their handsl. I was downright FREAKY about it and carried a bottle with me everywhere I went.

Funny how things change. By that fourth kid, she could play in the mud, drop her pacifier and put it right back in her mouth, basically eat dirt and it didn't phase me much.

Seriously, this kid never met a mud puddle she didn't like.

Anyway, the best advice I got was that God was watching over them and babies had been surviving for hundreds of years before mine got here. It's one thing to be careful and protective. It's another thing to be a complete crazy lunatic germaphobe mom.

Like I said, lots of advice, both good and bad. BUT, what was the one thing NOBODY told you about being a mom? I read tons of books to prepare me for pregnanacy, delivery and rasing a baby. I got tons of advice, but nobody EVER told me how HARD it s to deal with feeding your kids. I'm not talking about breastfeeding/bottle feeding, etc. That's a whole different issue and don't even get me started on the whole lactation specialist chick. Every single lactation nurse I had was weird! Do they got a special class that teaches them to be so hard core that they know how to turn you off of breastfeeding? Yes, all of mine were breastfed (which is why my boobs look like jersey socks instead of half cantelopes, by the way), but I'm not hardcore and all up in somebody elses's business about it. Okay, stepping down off my soapbox. Anyway, nobody ever told me that trying to get a child to eat healthy food was so time consuming - that getting them to eat vegetables and fruits and have a well rounded diet is so HARD! I guess for some it comes easy. It's a little better now that I can bribe them (I know, bad mom) to eat their veggies.

My girls are pretty good eaters. My boys, not so much. It's so frustrating! UGH!

So, I wonder, what your best piece of advice? What did NOBODY tell you about being a mom? If you're not a mom, I want to know what kind of crazy advice you've heard or what you hear moms complains about? Or if you're a teacher, what about kids surprised you?

Fall Is Coming!!!

2011-09-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

After a summer of 100 plus degrees, I was beyond thrilled to wake up to a chilly 51 degrees this morning. I could hardly contain my excitement as I opened the door for Hubby to load up the kids a few minutes ago. It is downright chilly out there folks. It made me want to dance in the streets in my shorty pajamas. I opted not to, for fear of being kicked out of my neighborhood for public indecency.

So, anyway, this cool spell has gotten me all excited about fall. Fall is, after all, my favorite season. Why? Well, I have gained a few pounds over the years and I tend to look a little better with some coverage, ya know? Not even to mention that I love my boots. Plus, I get to wear my flannel pajamas (not with my boots). I love my flannel pajamas! Also, the "real" NFL season starts tomorrow night. WOO HOO! Go Cowboys!

The other thing I love about fall is the decorating. I dream of a stately front door to decorate. BUT, those big gorgeous double wood doors would look a little silly on my little bitty house. Wanna see what is inspring me these days?

photo credit

hgtv

Pottery Barn

google

I have seriously GOT to have those lanterns this year. I've been dying for them for two years now. I'm hoping to find a good deal on them. I love all the fall ideas I've been ~~stalking~~ seeing on Pinterest. UGH! If only I had lots of $$. Guess I better get my frugal crafty hat on and get this fall party started.

So, are you excited about fall???

Getting To Know You Thursday....I Am A Big Ole Crybaby

2011-09-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

So, when was the last time you had a good cry? For me, it was yesterday. You see, I am a very emotional kind of girl. Remember this scene from Sleepless in Seattle?

Yep, that is pretty much me. I'm a big ole crying mess. I watched An Affair to Remember the other day and I cried like a baby. Last night, I watched The Blind Side and boy were my eyes swelled up this morning from all the crying. I literally cried through the entire movie. Seriously, when Michael Oher said he'd never had a bed before, I LOST IT!
Commercials also make me cry. I've mentioned before my love of Hallmark commercials. There are also several "regular" commercials that make me just break down.

I cannot watch this commercial without crying. Maybe it's because mine is at the age to get her learner's permit and I still see her like this little girl.

This commercial makes me cry too. It's just people being kind to eachother. That's it. Something so simple shouldn't necessarily bring tears to my eyes, but it does. It reminds me that there are lots of good people with kind hearts in this word regardless of what the news tell us every single day.

At our school, every morning, all of our kids gather in the gym for "Rise and Shine" where we say the Pledge of Allegiance (including "one nation under God"), do announcements, etc. Last week while I was subbing a third grade class, our principal recognized a 5th grade student for what she called a "good deed". She went on to say that on his way home, he came across a lost Kindergarten student in his neighborhood. He made the choice to sit on the curb with this Kindergarten student until the student's mother came to find him when he didn't show up at home. Well, of course, I'm standing there with all the teachers and students and I'm just bawling and sniffling and carrying on. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to put on makeup.

I, of course, am a proud mama. I can't seem to make it through any of the kids' awards assemblies, band concerts or dance recitals without crying. I cry when I look at old pictures of them and realze how fast they are growing up. I cry when I hear E whisper to her big brother, "J, I love you".

Ummmm, nice lipstick.

I don't really mind being emotional and a big crybaby most of the time. I think it's okay to be in touch with your emotions, but there is one thing I HATE about being a crybaby. I cry when I'm mad. I'm not an argumentative kind of girl. I hate conflict and I avoid it all costs. I'm one of those people who just keeps it all bottled up inside and eventually explodes into a big puddle of tears and sobs. Yep, even when I'm mad, I'm a big ole crybaby. When my boss yelled at me and I didn't deserve it, I cried like a big ole baby, right in front of him. It's so embarassing!

So, what about you? Are you a big ole cry baby like me or are you able to control yourself?

Well, My Husband Loves Me Again!

2011-08-30T21:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so he never actually stopped loving me, but let's just say that there was a source of contention in our marriage. Any guesses? Nope, not money. We don't have any of that to fight over. Not the kids, unless we happened to be fussing on whose turn it is to brush their teeth (I hate to brush teeth). Nope, our fight always involved this:

Nice, huh? Okay, so it wasn't really a fight, but more of a minor annoyance. Hubby HATES it when I hang my plastic grocery bags on the pantry door. It drives him NUTS! So, HE decided to put them in the laundry room.

Ummmmmm, nope! That's annoying to ME! I can't even get to my dryer buttons and I have more bags piled on top of my dryer. UGH! Okay, so something HAD to be done. I've been telling Hubby I'd get one of those grocery bag storage hanging thingees (yes, that is the official name), but I kept forgetting to look for one when I went to the store. BUT, I knew I could make one anyway. I just haven't had time to get to it, until today.

I kind of winged it with mine using scrap fabric from my stash, but I did find a great tutorial here if you want to make your own.

So, I didn't really have a problem with hanging the bags on the pantry door, but I must admit that it is much easier to open and close the door now. I'm just glad Hubby is happy. You know what they say, "If Papa is happy, maybe he'll give mama a night off from brushing the kids teeth". That's how the saying goes, right? No? Y'all don't say that? Okay. Maybe it's just me.

Shrimp Quesadillas With Tomato Avocado Salsa

2011-08-25T22:48:00.000-05:00

As I may have mentioned before, I need to lose a few pounds. Yep. I'm a Haus (again, Bonanza reference for you young 'uns). Anyway, I was recently searching for some low-cal recipes that didn't sound like, well, baked cardboard. When I came across this recipe at Skinny Taste, I knew it was right up my alley.

Shrimp Quesadillas with Tomato Avocado Salsa

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings:

• Serving Size:

1 quesadilla •

Old WW Points:

7 pts •

WW Points:

8 pts

Calories: 307.3 • Fat: 16.0 g • Protein: 29.6 g • Carb: 27.3 g • Fiber: 17.8 g

Tomato Avocado Salsa:

1 medium tomato, diced
1 hass avocado, diced
1 lime, juice of
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp red onion, finely minced
16 large shrimp, cleaned and deviened
cumin
garlic powder
salt and fresh pepper
cooking spray
4 scallions, chopped
6 oz Cabot's 75% Light Vermont Cheddar, shredded
8 (6") low carb whole wheat flour tortillas (I used La Tortilla Factory)

In a medium bowl, combine tomatores, avocado, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Season

shrimp with salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder. Lightly spray hot skillet on medium heat with cooking spray. Add shrimp and scallions. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until shrimp is cooked through. Removed from heat and cut shrimp in half lengthwise and set aside.

skillet on medium heat and lightly spray with oil. Heat skillet on medium heat and lightly spray with oil Add tortilla, stop with 1.5 oz. cheese, 8 shrimp halves and tomato avocado salsa.

When the cheese is melted and the bottom of the tortilla is golden brown, place the other tortilla on top. Put a plate on top of the quesadilla to flip in over onto the plate. Then slide the other side onto the skillet. Cook another minute and remove with a spatula. Cute into wedges and serve immediately.

Okay, so this is usually the part of my post where I apologize profusely for how horrible my photos turned out. BUT, the above photo turned out pretty well if I do say so myself and I didn't steal it or anything. Okay, so I won't be a food photographer anytime soon, but it's better than usual, right?

So, I highly recomment this recipe y'all. It was crazy good!!! Check out Skinny Taste for more of Gina's recipes. She always included calories, Weight Watchers Points, etc. Gina rocks!

Barbie and Her Big 'Ole Forehead

2011-08-22T07:28:00.000-05:00

As you know, silhouettes are popping up everywhere lately. I've seen art, pillows, cards and many other fabulous things adorned with silhouettes. Because I needed to add a few things with sleeves to E's school wardrobe, I thought I'd do a t-shirt with a silhouette appliqued on. Then I thought, how about a Barbie silhouette? So, I searched google.com for a Barbie silhouette and found this:

Isn't that cute and vintage looking? I thought she was adorable so I bought a pink t-shirt and went to work. I got it all finished. Wanna see?

Ummmmm, does that look funny to anyone else? It looks like Barbie ran into a door. Look at that forehead! My gracious! She must've been so exausted from her busy day as a veterinarian, nurse and firefighter and moonlighting as an astronaut and dance teacher, that she simply fell over her own feet after changing into her ballgown for a fancy date with Ken, when she turned suddenly after painting on her three eyelashes and ran into the bathroom door. Yep. I'm pretty sure that's what happened. Poor Barbie.

Okay, so maybe what actually happened is that I forgot to cut out her bangs. Oops! Oh well. Barbie is such a perfectionist. I guess I don't really feel that bad about knocking her down a peg or two.

By the way, I did not make E wear the Barbie with a big ole forehead shirt. I made another one. It's a few bucks wasted, but at least she won't look like a dork.

Ah, that's better, right?

First Day of School (Photo heavy)

2011-08-16T09:52:00.001-05:00

It seems like just yesterday I was dropping off my teenager at the Kindergarten building. Yesterday, I dropped off my youngest. To tell the truth, I've had mixed feeling about school starting. I was ready for my oldest three to get back in their school routine, especially L (an autistic kid out of his routine is NOT a good thing), but I wasn't quite ready to let go of my last baby. It seems like just yesterday she looked like this:

Today, she looked like this:

She was pretty excited. This is the dress she WANTED to wear for the first day, but she had PE Monday which meant she had to wear tennis shoes. So, we had to change clothes for the next pictures.

She seems pretty happy, right? I wish that were true for the rest of my little ones.

Getting back in his routine! WOO HOO!

He's sooooo NOT excited about school!

She just did not have time for all this picture nonsense!

I'm happy to report that I did not cry (in front of E). I did cry Sunday night.....a lot. You can probably tell from the above photo. Swollen eyes make for a lovely picture. HA! Also, E had a GREAT day and loves school, which makes it a whole lot easier on me. It also helps that my SIL works at their elementary school and kept me updated all day. E did cry a little this morning when I dropped her off, but was fine before I left the school. AND, Hubby has the morning off. WOO HOO! A few hours of alone time sounds GREAT to me!

Have a great Tuesday!!

First Haircut and I Didn't Cry

2011-08-12T21:11:00.000-05:00

So, as I mentioned, school starts Monday. This was the week to get everything done. I've been meaning to cut E's hair all summer. She's never had a haircut before. She was NOT excited. I was not excited. But considering she's got just enough natural curl to tangle easily combined with the fact that she rolls around on the floor with the dog and the boys, I knew it HAD to be done. If not, I would've had to spend 30 minutes a night combing out this child's hair after a sweaty day on the playground at school. No thanks! It was time.

See? Not happy.

After

It's a little shorter than I had in mind, but we had to do it quickly before she made a run for it. It makes her look so much older. Now that it's over, I want to cry a little. So long pretty little curls. Hello big girl. Next stop, kindergarten. I love C's shorter hair though. Are y'all's girls sporting the feathers too?

Have a great weekend!

CRAZY WEEK!

2011-08-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

Well, it's the week before school, which means it is crazy up in this house. I've been so busy that this is the first time I've had to even pick up the computer in a few days. I've spent some of my time shopping and sorting through this:

This is for the youngest three. My oldest already got most of hers sorted.

Also, our school updated their dress code. I totally forgot that E, who is starting Kindergarten, can't go sleeveless. SO, I'm having to start over in the wardrobe department for her. I bought a few things and I've added appliqued tees to her collection of capris that I had paired with halter tops. UGH!

Last night was open house at school. E, who has been begging for over a year to go to school, got really nervous when we got to the school. She was NOT excited to be there.

So, I'll be spending as much time as possible with my little ones this week. I only have five days left with my babies before school starts. So, I may not be around much. I've got lots of important things to do, like playing games, getting haircuts and painting toenails.

ALSO, I want to wish my mom a very Happy Birthday! I'm so blessed God chose you to be my mom!!! Hope you have a great day!!! Love you Mom!!!

Getting To Know You Thursday.....Free Time!

2011-08-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

So, school starts in eleven days. While I am very excited about things getting back to "normal" around here, I have mixed feelings about my youngest starting school. I'm excited because I love watching her grow up, but it breaks my heart that she's not gonna be home with me every day. The thought of dropping her little sweet/sassy self off at that big ole school is just killing me!

Hope she doesn't try this pouty look on her teacher.

Another problem, what in the world am I gonna do all by myself all day? It's gonna take some getting used to. I will be working a few days a week, but that leaves several days a week all by my lonesome.

One thing I'm hoping to do with my alone time, is to get my house somewhat organized and cleaned up. I'm no June Cleaver. My house isn't spotless at all times (the people who know me in real life are cracking up right now). Let's just be honest, shall we? My house is a PIT right now. It' AWFUL! I have so much STUFF. When you have six people living in 1500 square feet, organization is a must. I didn't get that organization gene from my mom and the thought of organizing it all is a little overwhelming to me at times. I'm an EXCELLENT procrastinator which makes the organization even more necessary. I mean, why go through the mail EVERY day when you can do it once a week and let it pile up on the kitchen counter, right? Okay, I gotta get a handle on that! Once I get oganized, I need to clean. So, I have a date with this guy:

I kind of have a thing for bald guys!

Speaking of dates with bald guys (or balding), I am extremely excited about sharing some of my "alone time" wih Hubby. My Hubby has to work on the weekends at least twice a month, therefore, he sometimes has days off during the week. We can get up and get the kids ready, drop them off at school and have date day. We can go to lunch and hit the early movie or just hang out together all day. Sounds FABULOUS! We'll be able to have an entire conversation without stopping forty-seven times in the middle. WOO HOO! I can't wait!

I haven't had much time to work out lately either. L has been out of summer school and I can't take him to the gym nursery so the only workout I've had was helping my BIL and SIL move the other night. I've GOT to get back to the gym or I'm never gonna look like this:

Okay, I'll never look like Fergie unless there is plastic surgery involved, but you get what I am saying, right?

The other thing I need to do is work on the projects I've got planned around the house. I've got to work on the redoing the girls' room. I've had the fabric for the girls' bedskirts for a month and haven't sewn them up yet. Gotta get on that!

So, what I wonder is, what do you do with your alone time? Do you work and get projects done? Do you hit the spa? Do you stay at home and relax? What do you do?

Sew Easy Infinity Scarf Tutorial

2011-08-01T10:44:00.012-05:00

So, are you into the whole scarf trend? I love a cute scarf. I'm a big fan. Wanna know why? Well, I'm not much of a jewelry girl. I like jewelry, but I'm not good at knowing what goes with what as far as length, etc. Not to mention that I'm kind of a klutz and tend to break stuff a lot, including jewelry. BUT, I really need something to draw the eye up - and away from the excess junk in my trunk. A cute scarf is the perfect solution. I am especially loving the new infinity scarves. So cute!

Express

So, I thought I would try and recreate the look and make my own. My SIL and I made a trip to Joann's the other day. They had knit fabric on for 40% off. So, one and a half yards cost $6.48 plus tax and I got two scarves out of that yard and a half. That's much better than the $29.90 price tag on the scarf pictured above.

My fabric was 52 inches in width. I cute four pieces at 12 inches by 54 inches (the yard and a half length).

Pin the short sides of the fabric together and sew using about 1/2" seam allowance. If your fabric has a right and wrong side, pin right sides together and sew. Press the seams out.

Now fold the long sides together - right sides together and pin.

Stitch using about 1/2 inch seam allowance. Remove pins. This will leave you with a long tube. Turn the tube inside out. This is where it gets a little confusing. It's not hard to do, just hard to explain. Take the ends of your long tube and match up your seams.

Now put some pins in from the seam to about half way around the tube.

Now, begin to sew the sides together on the inside of your tube.

You can tell from the picture that you're kind of flipping the inside out just long enough to sew. It doesn't have to be perfect since it'll be on the inside. Sew almost all the way around, leaving about an inch opening to push the seams inside. You'll be left with this:

Now just blind stitch that opening closed. All finished! You can wrap it several times. The below picture is wrapped three times.

Okay, so I don't look like a fashion model, but you get the idea, right? Now, I just need to get some more knit fabric. I'm pretty sure I need one in every color, except yellow. I look horrible in yellow. ICK!

Wanna closer look?

Have a great day!!!

Linking to Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle, Hooking Up with HOH at House of Hepworths, 'Lil Luna Linky Party and Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now (I apologize that some of the linky buttons are not working)

Lovin' The Photo Wall Mural

2011-07-28T09:56:00.001-05:00

So, when I was young, I think I was a bit of a wallflower. I tended to want to blend into the crowd. I didn't wear much color so I wouldn't stand out. I've noticed that since I've gotten older, that has started to change, not only in my wardrobe but in my design choices. I love color and I love bold choices. The newest bold design choice that I am obsessed with is photo wall murals. Now, I guess my mother was before her time on this because we had a wall mural in our dining room growing up. It was a landscape in a room without a window, but what I am obsessed with is photos of people turned into wall murals.

Apartment Therapy

The next one is my absolute favorite!

eclectic living room design by atlanta interior designer decordemon

(I cannot got this photo to move to the center. Sorry it's whopper-jawed)

I would love to have a big black and white photo of the kids blown up to cover one wall. I'm just not sure what room I would put it in. I've noticed most of the photos I've seen this in are kind of a modern or contemporary design so I wonder if it would work in a more traditional space.

So, what do you think? Would you do this in your home?

God's Plan

2011-07-25T22:49:00.000-05:00

So, I've been REALLY busy and have had a crazy summer so far. As you may know, my BIL, SIL and niece have been staying with us for a few weeks. You see, when they were on their way back to Houston from visiting us on Spring Break, they felt that God was leading them to move to Arkansas (they moved from here to Houston four years ago). We NEVER expected them to come back our direction. They were both born and raised in Texas and love it there. But, when God tells you to move, you move. So, they moved, knowing God had a reason.

Sometimes when God has a plan and we are asked to do things, we don't always know WHY we are asked. We don't always get to see God's plan unfold before us. In this case, we did. We may not know all of his plan, but we know at least part of it. Let me explain. Last week, we found out my MIL has cancer. She was not showing signs of cancer when they were here in March. She has always had her share of health problems, but nothing immediate. The cancer is rare, inoperable and fast growing. We don't know how much time she has left, but we do know that God has a plan. And in that, we are comforted.

So, for now we are trying to spend as much time as possible with her. As I said, we know God has a plan.

It's All Lauren's Fault!!!

2011-07-14T09:56:00.001-05:00

Webster's dictionary describes obsession as a persistent, disturbing preoccupation with something. Yep, that's pretty much what I've been dealing with. You see, my friend Lauren at Not Yor Average Southern Belle posted the other day about a mirror project and a wingback chair project that she was working on. She said she blamed Pinterest for these projects. "What's Pinterest?" I thought. So, being my nosy self, I had to click the little link button, which took me to Pinterest, aka my latest obsession.

So, Pinterest is a website where people share creative ideas of all kind via photos. Wanna see what I mean? The photo below is inspiration for my dream backyard:

Photo Credit

or if you need some Fashion Inspiration:

Photo Credit

Need some decor inspiration?

Apartment Therapy

How about a fabulous new recipe?

Photo Credit

The inspiration goes on and on. I'm still learning the ins and outs of everything, but I'm loving all the creative ideas. It's like ceative, computer crack. Are you feeling the peer pressure? Come on, go ahead, click the link. Try it, you'll like it. Pinterest.

You can browse all you want, but you have to get an invitation to "pin" (save) your favorites. It took me several days to get an invitation. It may go quicker if you ae invited by a friend, like me. If you want to be "invited" by me, just leave me your email and I'll send it out to you.

Go ahead, click the link: Pinterest. I dare ya!

Love Me Some Flower Power!

2011-07-13T10:19:00.000-05:00

So, y'all know I love a pillowcase dress, right? LOVE them! E has one that I made her three years ago that she can still wear as a top. I love them. So, a few months ago, I got a really good deal on a yard of fabric that I really love.

It's even prettier in person. I love Jennifer Paganelli's Flower Power line. I've made E at LEAST four outfits out of it. I think it's my favorite fabric line of all time.

AND, Old Navy was having a sale on their capri length leggings. The bright pink matches perfectly.

LOVE the bright colors. AND, she'll be able to wear it for several years. Gotta love that!

Jimmy Crack Corn

2011-07-11T08:44:00.001-05:00

So, ya know when your watching Food Network and they do those little 90 second spots during the commercial breaks that feature one of their on-air chefs and just a quick recipe or cooking tip? It was one of those snippets where I discovered one of my new favorite recipes. The snippet featured Claire Robinson from 5 Ingredient Fix. Have y'all seen that show? Well, here's the new recipe. Claire calls it Grandma Moore's Creamed Corn but I renamed it "Jimmy Crack Corn". Why? Well, the first ingredient is corn AND y'all know that all the recipes I love have to have "crack" in the title. Y'all ready for this?

Ingredients

6 slices bacon
8 large cobs fresh corn, preferably white, shucked and cleaned
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Turn off the heat and transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Reserve the drippings in the pan.

On a cutting board, cut the stalk ends of the corn cobs to make a flat surface; stand them up and shave the corn from the cobs with a sharp chef's knife. Return the skillet to medium-low heat, and add the corn kernels.

With the back of the knife, firmly scrape the cobs over a shallow plate to extract as much liquid (milk) as possible (I just scraped it against the bowl).

Add the "milk" to the corn pan.

Season corn lightly with salt and pepper and cook until broken down and creamy, about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often; add water if the pan gets too dry. Crumble bacon in and stir.

Serve warm or at room temperature. It's even good warmed up the next day!

***I would like to point out that the hand featured in the above photos are the hands of Hubby. I promise that I am not that hairy.***

Summertime TV

2011-07-07T10:07:00.001-05:00

So, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my TV. When we were trying to cut costs around the house a few months ago, my Hubby was threatening to cut off my satellite. I went into automatic Mama Bear mode. "No, not my satellite! I'd rather sell my left kidney on the black market." You see, I have always been a TV lover. I remember watching not only Sesame Street as a kid, but also Emergency. There's nothing like a good hospital drama.

Summer used to be a time of reruns, but not anymore. Now, we have many series that come on between May and August to fill those primetime slots. Many are reality shows, including my summertime obsession, Big Brother. It comes on three nights a week during the summer and it starts tonight. Let the obsession begin.

There are also many summertime dramas like my favorite from last year, Rizzoli and Isles on TNT. I love a good cop drama and Angie Harmon is the star of this one. I love Angie Harmon.

Also returning on TNT this summer for the seventh and final season is The Closer. This show stars Kyra Sedgewick as a southern detective with a sweet tooth who moves to LA to head their Major Crimes Unit. Thank goodness for these two shows. I gotta get my cop drama fix during the summer too.

As far as good dramedys (Drama/Comedy) series for the summer, my picks would be Franklin & Bash, on TNT, starring Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar of Saved By the Bell fame. I also love Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime and Royal Pains on USA, which is filmed in the Hamptons. Oh my goodness! If I ever have millions to spend, I would have to rent a house in the Hamptons for the summer.

Nice, right?

So, as I said, I love my TV. I feel like it's my escape from the craziness that is my house in the summer. I can totally zone out and ignore the bickering between E and J. I can block out the loud squeals of L. It's a good thing, as Martha would say.

So, what about you? Are you excited about any summer TV? or is it just me?

I Think I Need A New Swimsuit

2011-07-06T11:59:00.002-05:00

Ok. So, I need a new swimsuit. We spent Saturday with my family at the lake, including the favorite cousins, my sister and brother and my SIL and BIL and my aunts. We ate lunch and then took all the kids down to the dock to swim. The girls and I floated out in the water on our rafts to get some sun. It was a good day.

Couldn't resist adding this picture of my nephew, M. He's so cute.

There was some not so good part though. You see, I have this cousin. She's a 20-something beautiful redhead. She's a newlywed, sweetest girl EVER and all her body parts are exactly as they should be. Do you remember that time in your life? I do! Okay, so I was never a raving beauty, but there was a time when I was cute and I could wear almost anything. Those days are SO OVER! I am about 20 pounds overweight (according to those doctor charts) and sadly, this weekend, I figured out that my boobs can do tricks. Seriously, they will "lie down" on command. Okay, so they actually "lie down" all the time (Durn kids!). They will also "roll over" if I am lying on my side. Okay, so they don't actually "roll over", more like "flop over". But you get the idea, right? This is the thing, I love my kids but they ruined my boobs! So, I either need a boob lift, which I don't have the $$ for, or I need a new swimsuit with some kind of underwire and/or support of some kind.

So, I love this one from Victoria's Secret. The color is fabulous and it has actual cups (although the way she's standing makes her boobs look crooked), but I'm thinking nobody wants to see my muffin top hanging over those bottoms. Not good.

Didn't seem to bother her, though. She has more courage than me. You go girl! (Google image)

There is this one. It's cute on top, but see how far down the legs come? That's so not a good cut when you have heavy thighs like me. I need high cut legs and some color.

Hmmmm. Not bad and it comes in lots of colors and specific cup sizes too. But, the tank part looks awfully, um, slim for me. UGH! So frustrating!

Oh well, I'm off to keep looking for a swimsuit. Who wants to bet I'll be back at the lake with my same old "soft cups for support" swimsuit. They really shouldn't say they're for support, more like light encouragement. "Come on boobs, stay up here where you're supposed to be".

Disclaimer - I am sorry for my probable misuse of the "lie/lay/lying" thing. I couldn't find my english lesson from Richella on the subject. I aplogize to those of you who have excellent grammar.

What I've Been Up To

2011-07-03T20:57:00.001-05:00

I am such a bad blogger, but in my defense, it has been a little NUTS around here lately. The kids are out of school, except for L who is in summer school (so he can get his therapy, keep his routine going and give me a little sanity time). The kids had bible school last week and we were getting ready for the arrival of our houseguests. You see, my BIL, SIL and niece just moved back from Texas and will be staying with us for awhile. So, we've been attemping to purge some junk and move some stuff around to make room. They finally arrived a few days ago so at least all the heavy lifting is done for now. WOO HOO! We are so excited to have them.

I've been working on the girls' room a little. The twin beds and the girls' comforter sets are in, but the rest of the bedding has yet to be made. We're still working on picking out fabrics, etc. The girls' are beyond excited about it.

Here is a picture of their bedding. It was a set for a loft bed so there was no bedskirt included. E says the bedskirt has to be pink. Gotta work on that sometime soon. We've also got to make the headboards and pick out the fabric for that and find some new curtains. The brown has GOT to go. So much to do, so little time.

Unbelievable Deep Dish Cookie Pie

2011-06-23T07:55:00.000-05:00

So, y'all that know me, know that I have a little tug of war going on inside. You see, there is the big fat side of me who is desperately trying to be healthy and lose weight and then there is the other side of me - the one that has a slight obsession with chocolate - the one that has to have chocolate pretty much every day. Well, my two sides have aligned. You see, my sister found this blog, filled with low cal, healthier versions of dessert recipes, most of which include chocolate. WOO HOO! So, when I found this recipe, I was beyond thrilled and couldn't wait to try it. So, what makes this pie "unbelievable"? Read on and find out yourself.

Deep-Dish Cookie Pie

2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed) (500g) - WHAT?!?!?
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 T canola oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a food processor. Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan (I used a 10-inch springform pan, but you can use a smaller pan if you want a really deep-dish pie.) Cook at 350F for around 35 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

As usual, ignore the horrible picture. It doesn't have to be pretty to taste good. Garbanzo beans? Seriously? I ate several servings and I still can't believe it!

I Love Spray Paint and I Hate Dye (A Story of Victory and Defeat)

2011-06-21T07:20:00.001-05:00

Once there was a boring taupe table and boring taupe chairs with boring taupe cushions. They all sat together on a boring gray concrete slab of a back porch. There was no color there so everything was sad and boring. Then the owner of the boring taupe table got an idea. You see, the owner of the table, Mrs. FrouFrou, loved spray paint.

So, she talked her sweet Hubby into taking said boring taupe table and painting it black.

So, the sweet Hubby took the sad table apart. He cleaned it, taped off the top and spray painted it black. Then he put it all back together again.

And for some reason, the sweet Hubby put the dirty pollen covered lazy susan on top of the table without cleaning it. EWWW! But Miss FrouFrou was so happy that the table was now painted black that she forgave the sweet Hubby and didn't even mention the fact that it totally screwed up the after picture.

While the sweet Hubby was painting the table, Mrs. FrouFrou and he talked about sprucing up the cushions as well. Hmmmm, she thought. "What about dye?" So she drove to Hobby Lobby and picked up a few bottles of dye.

She talked the sweet Hubby into soaking all the cushions that would fit into a huge tub full of a water, dye and salt solution, per the directions on the bottle. After 20 minutes, the cushions were still the same boring taupe. So, Miss FrouFrou and the sweet Hubby waited and waited and waited. They kept checking the cushions late into the night, but they were still taupe. The decided to let them soak overnight. The next morning when they checked the cushions, they realized that they had turned a lovely pollen/urine color of greenish/yellow. Hmmm. The boring taupe cushions were no longer boring, just sickly looking.

YIKES! Not exactly the green cushions Miss FrouFrou was going for.

But, Miss FrouFrou and the sweet Husband loved the sickly pollen colored cushions anyway and decided to keep them forever and ever, or at least until an extra $200 falls out of the sky to buy replacement cushions.

So, the moral of the story is this: Read all directions on the bottle. The bottle clearly says in teeny tiny print, that it doesn't work well on Polyester fabrics. OOPS! That's what happens when Miss FrouFrou doesn't bother to put in her contacts so she can read the teeny tiny print.

Father's Day at the Lake

2011-06-20T13:19:00.001-05:00

Did everyone have a great Father's Day Weekend? We did. We spent the weekend with mom and dad for Father's Day. It was nice and warm and beautiful outside

but the water was still a little chilly. L couldn't decide if he was ready to brave the cold water or not.

We spent a lot of time floating around on top of the water and getting a little sun.

Saturday night, Dad made plans to take the kids to the Demolition Derby. I'm not sure about you, but the closest I've ever gotten to a Demolition Derby is watching one on Happy Days.

Remember this? Fonzie's partner and girlfriend Pinky Lee got hurt during the derby.

Anyway, Daddy and Hubby took J and E to the derby and they had a great time.

Grandad, J and E at the derby.

They each picked out their favorite cars. E ended up picking that lovely green one behind them. I'm pretty sure she would've preferred a pink car, but I don't think she complained too much about the lack of girly colored cars.

She would've loved this one.

It was a great weekend with two of the best dad's in the world - my dad and my Hubby. We are so blessed!

Stupid Garage Sale

2011-06-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

It has been crazy busy whirlwind of activity in the FFB household since March. Of course, we've been busy with the end of school activities, field trips, recitals, parties, etc. We're also expecting company in two weeks so we're busy trying to get this house in shape. Our attic, closets and playroom are packed full of ~~crap~~ stuff. So, of course, I decided we should have a garage sale. By the way, I love going to garage sales, but I HATE having garage sales. So, for a week, I dug through toys and cleaned out closets.

I found my overalls, the very same overalls I was wearing the day I met my Hubby. Little did I know that he had a thing for girls in overalls. Hmmm. I kept them just in case I'm ever a size 8 again. A girl can dream, right? Only, I didn't wear mine with heels. I wore mine with these:

only mine were brown.

Needless to say, I ended up doing a lot of reminiscing in my closet. I found some maternity clothes and some of my "fat clothes". You have those too, right? You know, the cute clothes bought in a larger size because your other pants got a little too tight and you needed something cute to wear out of the house. Yeah. I saw them and remembered how ridiculous they looked on me when I lost the weight. So, I got the bright idea that I'd try them on to see how silly they looked now. Let me just say that this was NOT the smartest thing I've ever done. I mean, I know I've gained a little weight, but GOOD GRIEF! The fat clothes didn't look so ridiculous anymore. They almost fit. YIKES! That's so depressing!!! So, what did I do? I donated them. I've got to get rid of them so I have no fat clothes to fall back on. UGH!

Anyway, the garage sale was a total bust. Hubby and I roasted in the heat for seven hours before I finally gave up, admitted defeat and donated the ~~crap~~ leftover stuff to a local church. UGH! Any guess how much I made? $60. Seriously? $60? Totally not worth roasting in the heat. AND, I probably would've skipped the trying on of the fat clothes if not for the stupid garage sale. Yes, I said the "s" word. Don't tell me son. He'll call the bad word police on me. Stupid garage sale!

Marriage Proposal by Mural

2011-06-10T10:11:00.000-05:00

I just had to share this video of the coolest marriage proposal I've seen in a long time.

Jeff Gurwin recently proposed to his girlfriend, Caitlin Fitzsimons, by having a mural painted for her in New York City’s East Village; the piece — which references their shared love of Scrabble and her mom’s pug, Parky — will be up on Avenue A and Second Street for the next month or so.

Getting To Know You Thursday...Code Words and Catch Phrases

2011-06-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

So, when I was in middle school, my friend Paula and I spent many hours hanging out together. We would get ready at eachother's houses, borrow eachother's clothes, do eachother's hair and makeup to get ready to go out and chase boys. Okay, so we didn't literally go out and chase boys, but we'd hang out in a big group and flirt and make googly eyes at eachother and stuff.

Sometimes after the movies, we would walk over to Pizza Hut and hang out some more. After sitting in the dark for two hours with our friends, and the bathroom at the movies being full of people, sometimes you had to depend on your best friend to "check you" and make sure that you didn't have a big ole popcorn kernel in your teeth or something gross hanging out of your nose. We had one friend in particular who always asked, "Do I have anything in my nose?" Her name was Monica. Therefore, "Monica" became our code word we used for "Check me and make sure I'm okay" before this group of cute boys comes up to us. You see, boys are still immature at that age and they tend to make fun of girls whether they like them or not. So, if you were caught with spinich in your teeth or something hanging out of your nose, you were doomed for your high school career. Poor Terry wet her pants in 7th grade and was tortured for it until her family moved a year later.

Ummm, Monica?

So, my other question for the day is about catch phrases. What do you think of when you hear "Eh, what's up, doc?" Bugs Bunny, right? Here's a few more:

"Kiss my grits!" Flo from Alice
"I pity da fool" Mr. T, from The A Team
"Shazam" Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffth Show
"ughr?" Tim the Tool Man Taylor from Home Improvement
"Zoiks" Shaggy from Scooby Doo

When you hear these catch phrases you pretty much know who's talking, right? Well, I've noticed when my bloggy friends amaze me with their latest creative projects or post something really funny, I catch myself typing/saying the same thing. "Oh my gracious!" Y'all may have noticed that I use that phrase A LOT! Another thing I say a lot is, "Seriously?" I didn't even realize how much I said it until a friend pointed it out to me. I often tell my Hubby, "I love you and I like you a real lot!" and I'm known for calling my son "Dude" a lot. So, I just wondered if it's just me or do y'all have certain code words or catch phrases you're known for? I'd love to hear them. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Things That Make Me Smile

2011-06-08T08:56:00.000-05:00

My favorite season is fall, but there are certain things I love about every season. As school winds down and our schedules are crazy, I realize that I need time to stop, take a breath and just smile. I need to block out the fussing kids in the car and roll down my window and just take in the beauty of the things around me.

I pass this every day taking the kids to school. There is a small house and a large pasture and field fence that surrounds it all. It's not particularly appealing during fall and winter, but I love that in spring, the fence is overgrown with wild flowers okay, weeds) and honeysuckle. Isn't it pretty?

Another thing that makes me smile is the cottonwood trees. Have you ever seen a cottonwood tree?

This is a cottonwood tree. See the little white fluff blowing up in the air? Those are cottonwood seeds.

This is a close view of a cottonwood tree branch. See those white puffs? Those are the seeds. They blow in the wind like snow in summer. I can walk out my front door and see them falling like snowfall all around me this time of year. It looks just like snow on a 90 degree day. I love that!

So, what about this time of year makes you smile?

Monogram Tank

2011-06-03T07:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a little crazy around here the past few weeks. We've had end of the year parties, field trips, carnivals, cookouts and as if we didn't have enough going on, a sick kid or two and some autism behavioral issues. UGH! But, somewhere during all the craziness, I did manage to find a few minutes to have some crafty time.

What I realized while packing for the lake last week, was that E has a few cutesy outfits that I've made her, but she didn't have anything to wear with just a pair of simple shorts.

This is how y'all usually see E...all dressed up.

This is more realistic for summer around the house. A simple pair of shorts and one of her brother's t-shirts. Yep, she might as well be a boy. So, I decided to take my crafty time to applique something on one of the tank tops I bought last year that she never wore. I picked a matching fabric from my stash, cut out her intials and used fusible web to attach it and stitched around it.

As you can see, it worked perfectly well to play outside and still look like a girl.....even with a dirt moustache. That was a few minutes well spent.

So, I'm Curious About Your Dreams

2011-06-02T08:58:00.000-05:00

As the title says, I'm curious about your dreams. I'm not talking about your goals and aspirations. I'm talking about what goes on in your head when you fall asleep at night.

Do you dream about the things that are going on in your life? When L was diagnosed with autism, I dreamed about it for 3 months straight. Even sleep was no escape from the stress of a new diagnosis and all that comes with it. Do you dream about work? Hubby talks in his sleep sometimes and it's usually something pertaining to work. Do you have nightmares? Maybe you dream somebody is chasing you or you dream you're in a scary situation, or falling from a tree. You know they say if you ever hit the ground you'll have a heart attack. It's not true. I dreamed I fell out of a tree and I hit the ground and broke my arm. No heart attack.

How about the dream where you go to work naked? I've heard people say that on TV, but I've never dreamed that.

YIKES!

It's been said that dreaming is a reflection of your subconscious. I wonder if that's true. You see, it doesn't really matter if I'm having a nightmare about being chased by a tiger or dreaming about a field trip with the kids or a date with hubby or one of my many dreams that make ZERO sense, there is always one common thread. I'm always skinnier in my dreams than in real life. Not only am I skinnier, but I'm also toned and strong and well, kind of HOT!

Yeah, something like that. So, do you think my subconscious is trying to tell me to got off my behind and lose some weight? Hmmmm. Maybe so. So, what do you dream about?

White Chocolate Popcorn

2011-05-31T07:50:00.000-05:00

I mentioned last week that we made a trip to Texas for Hubby's family reunion. My SIL and I always plan our snacks when we go on family trips. I was supposed to make Caramel Brownies, that is until my A/C died and Hubby refused to let me turn on the oven in an already 80 degree house. So, my poor SIL was left to make snacks for all of us. Boy, did she come through. White chocolate popcorn. I've had it before, but forgot how addictive it can be. It's got that wonderful salty-sweet thing going on that I loooove! So, you ready for the recipe?

White Chocolate Popcorn

3 bags microwave popcorn

1/2 bag of toffee bits (Heath bits of brickle)

1 tray/package of Almond Bark

Pop popcorn and empty bags into a large roaster pan, being careful to keep out unpopped kernals. Melt almond bark in microwave, add toffee bits, and stir. Pour over popcorn and stir till coated. Pour out (spreading out) onto wax paper to harden. Break apart into pieces and store in tuperware.

My SIL sent home two large ziploc bags with us. Seems like everytime I turned around after we got hom, this is what I saw.

My baby girl in my chair with my White Chocolate Popcorn! MMMMM!

Can you see the toffee bits? MMMMMMM! Thanks SIL!

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

Well, Hubby had to work Saturday, but we did get to head to mom and dad's Sunday. We ate some yummy grilled burgers and hot dogs and hit the lake.

The kids had a great time playing in the water. Mom and I had a great time floating on the rafts and getting some sun.

Looks very relaxing, doesn't it? Let's just pretend that that is me in the picture.

While Memorial Day is officially the beginning of the summer lake season, it is much more than that. Memorial Day is the day we pay tribute to our fallen soldiers

and the soldiers who serve and protect us every day.

For this, I am eternally grateful. Today we celebrate you. Thank you for your service. May God protect you and bring you home safely to your families.

Ruffled Kitchen Towel Winner

2011-05-29T07:25:00.000-05:00

Drumroll please....................and the winner of the Ruffled Kitchen Towel is.......Madonna from Butterfly Acres. Woo hoo! YAY Madonna!

Madonna, I will email you to get your mailing information. Thanks to everyone that entered. Have a fabulous holiday weekend!

A Day At The Fire Station

2011-05-25T20:38:00.001-05:00

This time of year is always super busy and exciting. The end of the school year always means field trips, end of the year parties, recitals, band concerts, and field days, but Wednesday's events were something new for us.

Our local fire department sponsored a fire safety contest for all the local third graders. The participants were to make a poster of their floor plan which included the location of all the fire detectors, the escape plan for everyone and the meeting place outside of the house. Each elementary school in the area had a winner. J won for his school.

The kids got to tour the fire station.

J got to sit in the fire truck.

I had to take C to school, but J got to stay and eat breakfast with the firefighters.

After breakfast, J got to sit in the firetruck and do the radio test. Then the best part....J got to ride to school in the firetruck. All of the third graders were waiting outside when he arrived. They cheered and clapped for him. He was so excited.

Alright, so he doesn't look very excited. He was a little embarassed. He's not used to people clapping and cheering when he gets to school (although sometimes I clap and cheer when they all go to school). He was excited though. It was definitely a day to remember.

** Only two more days left to enter my giveaway. Click HERE for details.

Fashion Trends For Your Backside

2011-05-24T09:44:00.002-05:00

Throughout the ages, women have dressed to accentuate their curves. If they didn't have curves, they faked them, or exaggerated what they did have.

The hoop skirt was popular from 1860-1865. This was worn by Scarlett O'Hara in 1861.

The bustle dress became popular in 1861. They invented a special backless chairs so that women didn't squish their bustles when they sat.

Marilyn Monroe wore lots of pencil skirts in the 60's. They obviously accentuated her bum.

So, what about fashionable babies? What do they wear to show off their tiny little hineys?

RUFFLES!

Awwww, nothing like ruffles on little girls. So sweet! I wonder if I could interest Kim Kardashian in some ruffles for her famous backside?

Yes? No? It could be a new trend!

Family Reunion Weekend

2011-05-23T21:24:00.000-05:00

Well, this was the weekend of Hubby's annual family reunion in Texas. When my family has a family reunion, we get together at the "favorite cousin's" house and sit around a eat (potluck) and visit and play cards and it's always a ton of fun, but it only lasts a day.

Hubby's reunion is a little different. They rent out a church camp for three days of family fun. There is a big fish fry on Friday night, which Hubby's cousin does for the entire family (I think it was 94 people this year). Saturday's lunch consists of TONS of smoked meat (briscut, smoked sausage, etc.), cooked by another cousin who happens to own a restaurant. The sides are potluck. Saturday night is leftovers from lunch. In addition to the wonderful food, there are annual events that take place. Friday night there is a 42 tournament. Saturday morning is the fishing tournament and the family devotional. There is also an annual volleyball tournament and an annual auction full of items donated by family members. This auction is to raise $$ for the next year's reunion. There is also a kid craft and a big rented blow up water slide for the kids. It's a full weekend of fun.

C and my niece M, in front of our cabin.

All my kiddos loving on their "uncle" (actually cousin) before we left.

I HATE that I didn't take more pictures. WE had a great time visiting with family. Can't wait until next year. Still working on the ten loads of laundry from this weekend though.

Unplugged

2011-05-20T07:43:00.000-05:00

I will be "unplugged" for the weekend. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Remember to enter my giveaway. Click HERE for details.

Ruffled Kitchen Towel Giveaway

2011-05-19T08:12:00.001-05:00

What does cottage charm mean to you? To me, it means a relaxed and comfortable place. It's inviting, a place that rises up to greet you, as Oprah would say. It's never too uptight. It's a mix of old and new. It's a big comfy chair or sofa.

Well, Kim at Twice Remembered Cottage is having a month long giveaway and I thought I would join in. We're supposed to giveaway things we feel have "cottage charm".

Remember this post I did about this ruffled ruffled kitchen towel I made?

No? Well, let me refresh your memory. It's a large flour sack towel with three ruffles.

The ruffles are not hemmed and are meant to fray with each washing. So wanna know how to win it?

1. Follow Froufroubritches on Google Friend Connect and leave me a comment saying you are a follower (required).

2. Leave me a comment stating what you love about cottage style.

3. Blog or Facebook about this giveaway and leave me a comment stating which you did.

Because of high shipping costs, this giveaway is only available to residents of the United States and Canada. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m. on May, 28th. The winner will be announced May 29th.

Be sure and stop by Twice Remembered Cottage and see what everyone else has to giveaway. There's some REALLY fabulous stuff!!!

I Remember It Like It Was Yesterday

2011-05-18T07:21:00.000-05:00

I remember it like it was yesterday. I walked around all day hiking up and down the side of the hill on mom and dad's property just two days shy of my scheduled c-section. After walking around all day, we stopped for a few last minute things at Wal-Mart. That's when I realized I was.....leaking. So, after calling my doctor and my mother-in-law, we headed to the doctor's office to "be checked". About two minutes after stepping foot in the exam room, my water broke and I
mean REALLY broke. So, after some more quick calls to the rest of our family, we were off to the hospital. A few hours later, we met the sweetest little boy ever.

One Year Old.

and now he looks like this...

Where did the time go?

Happy 7th Birthday Baby Boy! I am so blessed to get to be your mommy!

froufroubritches

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Unplugged

Ruffled Kitchen Towel Giveaway

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