Summertime CrAzYness!!!!

Summertime is in full swing! With that being said my family and I have been working hard to complete our bucket list.

...and this is how it's looking

Whoo Hoo! Almost finished!!! 

Unfortunately, our time in St Louis went by faster than we wanted it to, so we weren't able to do a couple of things.

...but no worries! 

We'll be going back soon.

Till then, we can work on the second part of our summer bucket list. 

How's your summer going?

I hope your having as much fun as my family and I are. 

Our (not so) MAD, Tea Party!!!

One day my kids came down stairs, all dressed up but had no place to go.

...and since I know, one does not simply get dressed up and sit around all day. I decided to let them have their very own 

tea party. 

Lol, no worries! It looked nothing like this (although I know they probably would of loved splashing and pouring willy nilly!),

I must say our party was a little more reserved but just as awesome. 

Complete with...

Host/Hostesses/Guest:

Mikey with his guest Bear Bear

Izzy with her guest Patty Rabbit

Gabby with her guest Froggie 

and myself (the last minute invite. Lol)

Food and drinks:

Iced Tea

LOTS of Sugar

Pizza Rolls

and Skittles

Music:

Classical

This was the perfect opportunity to sit, chit chat and play with them, without the interruptions of TV, internet or video games. 

...and by doing this, it reminded me that it's ok to unplug and be a kid again!

What a great lesson! 

~Although the tea didn't go over well with anybody but me, we all enjoyed ourselves. I mean, who wouldn't want to dress nice, be fancy and down a bunch of pizza rolls and skittles?!?!? 

 ;D

Red, White, Blue and Delicious!

American Bread!

That's right, move over French bread. American bread is here to stay!!

What's better than the fresh taste of freedom?!

Nothin'!

That's what!!

...and what's more patriotic than bread that screams "USA! USA!"?!? 

Nothin' (again)

(Unless of course, you have a Bald Eagle, wearing a patriotic tie, eating an Apple Pie, while reading the Constitution, at a St Louis Cardinals baseball game! 

...then American bread is a close second!)

LOL

Yeeeaaaaaaah America!!!! GET SOME...

...red white and blue bread, that is! ;)

Ingredients:

3 

c. unbleached all-purpose flour

2 1/2 Tbsp

 sugar

1 

c. milk w/ 1 egg yolk (combined will equal 1 cup)

3/4 Tbsp

 salt

1 1/2 Tbsp

 unsalted butter, softened

Red food coloring (liquid or paste*)

Blue food coloring (liquid or paste*)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Directions:

In a small bowl, microwave milk and egg yolk for about 30 seconds and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar and yeast.

Add butter, salt and milk mixture, stirring on low speed with the dough hook attachment.

Increase speed to medium and knead until dough comes together and pulls away from the sides, about 5-10 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add a tbsp of flour, one at a time until it is smooth and elastic.

Divide dough into three equal pieces

Place one of the pieces in the stand mixer bowl and mix with blue food coloring until desired color is reached.*note: paste food coloring is more vibrant than liquid, you will have to use more liquid food coloring for bolder colors

Remove dough from bowl and place in a lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled.

Clean stand mixer bowl, then place another piece of dough in stand mixer and combine with the red food coloring until color is blended through. 

Remove dough from bowl and place in a separate, lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled.

Place plain piece of dough in a separate, lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled. All pieces should double in about an hour.

Once dough is risen, on a floured surface, roll out blue dough to a half inch thick and set aside. Repeat this process with the red and white dough, placing the red on top of the blue. White on top od the red.

Starting at one end, roll the dough over onto itself, creating a spiral with the colors.  

Place dough in a lightly greased loaf pan, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Once dough is risen, bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on the outside (the inside should register 190 degrees F).

 Allow to cool completely. Slice, serve and enjoy!

God bless America and God bless you!

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Our Family Bucket List

About a week ago, during dinner, I asked my family what we should add to our summer bucket list.

Here's what the list consisted of:

Building a rocket 

Or fighting a mummy

Or climbing up the Eiffel Tower

Discovering something that doesn't exist (Hey!)

Or giving a monkey a shower

Surfing tidal waves

Creating nano bots

Or locating Frankenstein's brain (Over here!)

Finding a Dodo bird

Painting a continent

Or driving your sister insane (Phineas!)

As you can see there's a whole lot of stuff to do before school starts this fall (Come on Perry!)

So stick with us cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all

So stick with us cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all

(Mom, Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!!!)

Lol oh, you soooo just sang that and did "air guitar" didn't you?!?!? 

 Ok, so, that wasn't our bucket list, but it was fun to sing and rock out to it. 

...alright, back on track...

My family's Summer Bucket List

It's easy enough to add things on later, but my focus was to make a list that was short, sweet, and definitely do able. That way the kids can see all the things on the list get checked off.
Nothing better than a summer that you do EVERYTHING you wanted to do!

Whoo Hoo! Bring it on summer!!! 

What are your summer plans this year? Be sure to comment below. I would love to hear about them! 

Cashew Butter Cups

Got the munchies? 

Well, let's look in your pantry and see what cha got.

Cashew butter?     ...Check!

Chocolate melting candies?      ...Check!

Awesome!!! You're well on your way to making your very own Chocolate Peanut Butter, errrr, Cashew Butter cups!!

Wait, what's that? You ran out of cashew butter and melting candies? No worries! You can substitute the cashew butter for almond butter or the more popular peanut butter. The melting candies can be substituted with chocolate chips. :)

Now, let's get down to business! 

First you'll need a mini muffin pan lined with paper liners.

Fill each liner with your melted chocolate...

then allow to harden in the refrigerator. 

Mix your cashew butter, powdered sugar, unsalted butter and brown sugar in a small pot on medium heat, stirring until well blended. 

 Scoop your butter mix,, shape into patty form and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Add your cashew patties to your liners on top of the hardened chocolate, top with more melted chocolate and refrigerate again.

Before you know it you have yourself your very own Cashew Butter cups!

Willy Wonka, eat your heart out!!!

...that looks like this -->

Kiddos and Cupcakes (Sprinkle Me Pretty)

If you haven't had a chance to stop by my cupcake blog, Sprinkle Me Pretty well let's just say today is your lucky day.

I decided to share my favorite post with you. 

*Background story* 

In 2011 I started my own cupcake business from home. I temperately hung my apron up and turned the oven off to move our family to South Korea to be with my husband. Though I couldn't easily find all my staple supplies (such as sprinkles and edible glitter) I occasionally  whipped up a batch for my family and I. 

           This is a post I did in Korea about making cupcakes with my babies. I hope you enjoy it!

Kiddos and Cupcakes

Whenever I work on a cupcake order I tend to kick my family out of the kitchen while I'm baking.

So to keep my kids from having a love/hate relationship with cupcakes, I try to give them those sweet moments every once in a while.

This time I decided to assist them with their own batch.

As much as it goes against what I do, I bought a simple boxed cake and canned frosting, I pre measured all the ingredients and let my kids do all the "work" from there.

Next to add a little pizzazz to our cakes we added sprinkles. A whole bunch of sprinkles!!! 

Next was my time to shine. I filled the cupcake liners then off into the oven they went!!!

(...but not before they stole some batter from the bowl!)

 After what seemed like a million "Are they done yet???" and "Mommy go check the cupcakes!!!!", we were able to take them out to let them cool.

Before long we were moving on to the best part, DECORATING!!!!!

I gave both of my little ones a Dixie cup full of frosting and a small spoon to do as they pleased.

To no surprise most of the frosting ended up in their tummies instead of on the cupcakes. No worries, MOMMY TO THE RESCUE!!!!!!!

With piping bag and tip in hand, I finished frosting the cakes and decorated them with sprinkles and chocolate chips.

Sweet!!!

What a great day!

Leaving on a jet plane

The school year is coming to an end and the weather is getting warmer. For many families this means
...vacation time!!!!!

Whether you're road tripping or hopping on a flight, keeping your little ones entertained and calm during the trip is just as important as packing sunblock and clean undies! 

Here are some things I did on our flight to Korea that made the multiple flights a little more bearable. 

______________________________________

Before you go, I highly suggest you know what the weather will be at your destination. When we arrived in Korea it was snowy and as cold as ...snowballs. Before we left the states I purchased a snowsuit for both of our little ones. (Pretty obvious, right?) Well, when you're crazy busy making sure bags are packed with everything you need, plus trying to keep your sanity, simple things like this get over looked. 

Not only did I buy the snowsuits, I also invested in a somewhat cheap double umbrella stroller. It wasn't the prettiest or most high tech, but it was lightweight, easy to fold and got us from point A to point B. 

 Imagine, if you will, being on multiple planes for 20(+) hours, with a 4 month old, a 2 year old, and a 4 year old. Yeah I must be CrAzY, right? 

Well, I am!

But the real question is, how do I keep an infant, toddler and a preschooler that love to always be on the move or doing something, anything, calm for the whole trip? Well, me being the wiz kid I am and by the grace of God, I found a way. 

I can't explain the wonders of God, but I can tell you what I did. 

I made sure our carry on bags were ready for it all. I had a total of three carry-ons. Mikey's (4 years old at the time), Izzy (2 years old at the time) and my own (age not included), which had more stuff for them in it than for myself. 

In the kid's carry on, I packed: 

• 1 Magna Doodle per chid
• 1 coloring book, per child ~Mickey & Minnie (familiar faces are nice when things are chaotic)  
• 1 dry erase activity book (Crayola)
• 2 packs of dry erase crayons (Crayola as well, in Primary and Bright colors) *I put the crayons in a travel baby wipe container, so I didn't have to deal with the boxes or trying to find a place to put them. 
• Stickers and a book for them to put them in
• Sparkly pipe cleaners (to keep those little hands busy)
• Headphones for both kids, way better than using the ones supplies by the airline
• Travel pillows
• Snacks

The snack bag consisted of:

• Graham crackers (or as my kids call them, "Sweet Crackers")
•  Packs of apple sauce and bananas (such as these)
• Chedder & cheese crackers
• Gum 
• Suckers

It doesn't sound like much, but it made a world of difference!

In my bag, I had:

• Travel sized Clorox wipes
• Individually wrapped hand sanitizer wipes
• Baby wipes
• Diaper bags- to put dirty diapers, trash or soiled clothes in
• LOTS and LOTS of diapers for both kids. (Mikey was already potty trained but for the trip and only the trip, he wore pull ups. That way we didn't have to deal with the stress of accidents.)
• Tray liners- like these. (I cleaned the trays off first, then put these bad boys on. They stuck on perfectly and helped keep messes to a minimum. Parents and flight attendants were very impressed by it. *Proud Mommy moment for me!!!* Yay!)
• A book for me
• Nintendo DS with a Sudoku game 
• A journal
• Ear buds
• Colgate Wisp (after those in flight meals)
• A change of clothes for the kids and I (footie pj's for the kids + extra pants and shirt for all of us)
• Cash
• Our family binder, with passports and whatever other important papers we needed

As for the 4 month old (my nephew), his mommy took care of his bag. I don't know much about what she packed but I do know you need: 

• Lots of diapers and baby wipes 
• Bottles with water (buy extra bottled water once you get past security.)
• Formula 

*I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding and I strongly suggest doing it if you can (for so many reasons, to include ease on a flight), but if your baby takes formula, look into buying the individually wrapped packets. You'll be glad you did. 

OK, so in hind sight, I may have over packed, but I was and still am happy with everything I had and how smooth things went. 

I hope this post will help you or someone you know on your future travels. 

Do you have something special you use to entertain your little ones on trips?

Feel free to comment below or ask questions. 

Bon Voage!!

Sloppy Philly

It's time again for another recipe. No it's not low carb, but it is a must try! 

My Sloppy Phill sandwiches or also know as a loose meat Philly Steak sandwich.

This meal is a definite hit in my house. My husband likes it and no complaints from the kids. What more could a mommy ask for?!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of beef (I used 80/20)

1 large onion

1 large green pepper
1 Tbs oil

1/2 c. quick oats 

water

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 1/2 tsp salt 

 pepper (to taste)

hoagie rolls

mayo

provolone cheese 

Directions:

Slice onion and green pepper and saute in oil until onions begin to turn clear. 

Set veggies aside, in a medium bowl (because we have picky eaters we set aside our veggies that have been cut in bigger pieces and minced half of the peppers and onions and added them to the beef. The kids had no idea they were eating they're most hated veggies!!! MWA-HAHAHA!!!)

Brown beef with seasonings and salt.

Once browned add oatmeal. Allow oats to soak up grease and water. 

Add water until your mixture reaches your preferred  consistency. 

Cook for 5 minutes, or longer if you need to cook off excess water.

At this point you can toast your hoagie, add mayo, peppers and onions and provolone cheese. 

Add a side salad and a handful of chips and you have yourself a meal!

Enjoy!

...that looks like this-->

Healthy Girl pt2 (Healthy Eats)

(Have you read Healthy girl pt1? If not click here!)

If you follow this blog or have read at least one other post, you can probably tell two things about me right away. I am a list maker and I love to share things I love.

To keep this post from falling short, I present you with a list of healthy foods I love!  

1. Dasani Sparkling Apple water. Yes Yes YES!!!! I absolutely LOVE this water. With Zero carbs and a ton of flavor this is, with no doubt, my go to drink. 

2. Tumaros- Low in Carb Multigrain Wraps. I love pairing these wraps up with my meat of choice, a ton of veggies and some kind of dressing to make a restaurant worthy wrap. Coming in at 4 carbs per wrap, these are a must have in my pantry!

3. Cheese. On the packages of most cheeses we buy the carb count reads, 1<. 

A good source of calcium and protein makes cheese the perfect snack with a bit of fruit. 

4. Veggies (Leafy greens). You can't go wrong with the leafy greens. Salad, cabbage, greens and even brussel sprouts will keep you on the low side of carbs.

Sorry vegetarians, #5 goes to MEAT!!! It's important that I get in plenty of protein. Grill it, bake it, Crock Pot it, whatever. Just make sure you bring the meat!!!

6. Peanuts. Not the lowest in carbs, but it's a good source of protein and fiber. 

7. Quest Bars. High in protein, low in carbs, easy to take on the go, plus ...they're yummy!

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough

Cinnamon Roll

White Chocolate Raspberry

...just to name a few   

There are many more flavors at GNC, if you're interested.

8. Gold Standard Whey Protein. I drink these only after running or lifting weights. There are many debates on the pros and cons of drinking protein shakes.
I say, If it's not for you, don't drink them, but if you're like me and the pros outweigh the cons I suggest finding flavors you like. This brand has Chocolate, Strawberry and my favorite Cookies and Cream. 

9. Skim Milk. Milk is another one of those things that are debated, upon in the fitness world. I only use skim milk to mix my protein shakes because I don't want my body to absorb the fat from 2% or whole milk during my post workout routine. (I'll explain all of that in a future post.)

10. Fiber. Not my favorite to eat because of flavor but to keep my body in check. With all the protein I take in, things begin to slow down. 

It's not only uncomfortable but unhealthy too. 

Unflavored fiber is definitely the way to go. 

...and saving the best for last #11 Twizzlers. Fat free candy is my "BFF" when it comes to candy, for my post workout. I need that sugar to spike my insulin right before I drink my protein shake. Talk about a "sweet" treat at the end of a workout!!!

Don't like Twizzlers? Try

Gummy Bears

Gummy Works 

or even

Jelly beans!

Do you have a go to food or drink that makes your fit journey a little more bearable? Do tell!!! I would love to try it!

~Note, I am not a nutritionist or personal trainer nor was I paid to endorse any of the products I just mentioned in this post. I am simply a mommy on a personal journey to become a "Healthy Girl". 

April is the month of...

Call me crazy, but I can make a "favorites" list for just about anything.

Favorite:

Cupcake- Oreo Truffle

Colors- Tiffany Blue & Pink

Animal- Donkey

Sports team- St Louis Cardinals

Month- April
...and so on...

Even crazier than making a list of favorites is picking my favorite of favorites. (Stick with me, there's a method to my madness!) 

...so of my favorites, my top pick is:

The Month of April

*baseball season

*my birthday

*spring time 

*flowers

and most important

So don't mind me, I am going to share some of my favorite photos of some of my favorite Army babies!

Military kids are, simple put, amazing. They deal with situations most people try to avoid.

-leaving behind family and friends to move to different cities, states or even countries.
-watching a parent on go away for deployments, months at a time.
-switching schools in the middle of a school year and being the dreaded "new kid" yet again.
-being disciplined "military style" (yes ALL of our kids know how to do push ups!!)

So raise your root beer mugs and yell out a big "HOOAH" for the amazingly awesome military child!

Healthy Girl pt1

Just like almost everybody in America, I made a New Year's resolution to eat "right" and get "bikini ready".

Just like almost everybody in America, I quickly lost my motivation.

Lucky for me, I have a husband who is super supportive of my crazy antics and wild ideas. So when I come up with something that isn't so far fetched, such as getting fit and healthy, he's even more in my corner. 

(It's not that I need to shed a lot of pounds nor does my husband want to see me bench press 6x my weight, we are just about living a healthier lifestyle.) 

To start things off we decided to change our diet and to exercise regularly.

• Cutting out the fast food was one of the first things we did. "Ok, this isn't so bad. I kinda like homemade cheeseburgers better anyway!"

• Next was ditching the sodas. "WHOA NELLY!!!!!! I did NOT sign up for this!!!!!" At the time, giving up my sodas felt harder for me, than signing the dotted lines to join the Army. 

• About the same time as I gave up my bubbly beverages, we began taking morning walks everyday. 1 mile then 2. (As of now we are striding at about 3 miles an hour!)

Once April came around our diet plan got even harder. 

• Low carbs and high protein. Nope no Olive Garden for this girl. (sad face) 

• No sugar, yup you read that right NO SUGAR!!!!! **I was not a happy girl on my birthday when I wasn't able to eat my beloved cupcakes.

• LOTS OF WATER!!!!!  ...and I mean LOTS OF WATER!!!!! I keep a water bottle next to me all day long, no matter were I go. Although my hubby has to remind me to drink, I still have easy access to it.

(Keep an eye out for "Healthy Girl pt2" for my "Low Carb Favs" list where I will feature some of my favorite recipes, water, and foods.)

• Mo veggies Mo veggies Mo veggies!! Fruit, not so much, they are higher in carbs than I would of ever thought. 

Now that our diet is (for the most part) in order, we have added weight lifting to our routine. Despite sore muscles this has to be my favorite part of being a fit and healthy girl!

Throughout the last two months I have craved food, soda and candy, lost motivation at times and have almost given up. 

ALMOST! 

On the other hand, I have been less tired, I have more time to talk to my husband during our walks (kinda like a mini date!), seen numbers go down on the scale (muscle weighs more than fat so those numbers might climb again) and more important than the numbers, I've seen changes in my body! 

I am excited about my "Healthy Girl" journey and I hope you will join and follow along every step of the way!

Best of Luck to you on your journey!

What are you doing to be more healthy? Please feel free to share, I can't wait to hear from you!!!

Curse of the mommy blogger?!?!?

So as I sit here bundled up in my blanket on this 40 degree spring day, I find myself browsing different blogs. You know just to see how the "pros" do it, when I run into a couple of blogs actually dissing "mommy bloggers"!!!!

WHAAAA???

They say mommy bloggers post over the top things such as, "How teach your child to do things they would obviously learn on their own", "to homeschool or not to homeschool", they even attack the adorable Bento box lunches. (Pictured on the left)

Now wait a minute, somebody please tell me, what is wrong with making a lunch for your child or loved one, making it as pleasing to the eye as it is on their tummy and sharing what you did online? I can do the same designs on cupcakes (and post them on my cupcake blog) and it be all the rage, but if I do it on this blog for my kids, its annoying and over the top! 

Hmmm, interesting!

They say, reading mommy blogs make them feel like their family could never be as good as the blogger's.

Wow, there's the problem right there, and no the problem isn't with the mommy blogger! 

Whether you are looking at a mommy blog, on Facebook or any other  social media outlet, you shouldn't compare yourself or your family to any body else's! I know God blessed me with my husband when he walked into my life. Granted me the chance to have BONUS babies and He knew exactly what He was doing when He entrusted me to love, care and raise my Belly babies. I couldn't be happier with my family, (even though we are FAR from perfect),

 and there is no blog out there that will make me feel otherwise!

I didn't start this blog to try to make my family look perfect or to make anybody else's feel less than mine or to convince anybody that homeschooling is better than any other option and "how to's" are fun crafts that I want to share with you ...just because! 

"Hello, my name is Mommy" is strictly about fun things I do with my family, recipes and pretty much whatever else. 

With that being said, I hope you enjoy my blog!! I have so much more I want to share with you. 

...Oh & don't forget to comment and share!