The 30 Day Blog Challenge

This seems a little crazy but, I've seen it posted on a couple different blogs and it looks like it could be fun.  This is actually day 2 so I'm going to go ahead and try to catch up !

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture and 15 Interesting facts
So 15 interesting facts about me:
1. I met my husband online through a match making service
2. Christmas is my favorite holiday - I decorate every room in my house beginning the first week of November.
3. I have a master's degree in Educational Administration (which means I have a degree to boss people around)
4. I have started creating lots of crafts recently - I never had the time before and now, am making the time
5.  I am a big scrapbooking fanatic.  I'm working towards being completely current so we can enjoy our pictures today instead of 2 years from now
6. I have been married for 9 years and have 2 kids
7. My favorite animal is a cat - all shapes and sizes :-)
8.  If I had the land and the time - I would own a Dog Boarding House because I enjoy dogs!
9. Flylady is my best friend - She helps me keep my house clean :-)
10.  I love Ice Cream - I can eat it anytime so therefore, we don't keep it in the house all the time :-)
11.  I LOVE Frozen Hot Chocolates :-)
12. I play the piano - even though I don't have the time to practice as much as I should right now
13. I greatly enjoy being able to stay home with my boys :-)
14.  If I could drive any vehicle, it would be a Truck (like a Silverado) with a crew cab - but I have to be practical so I only get a Trailblazer.
15. I'm a planner, organizer, and sometimes, a control freak :-)

This was taken at Easter but I realized I don't really have any too recent - guess I need to get out from behind the camera sometimes!

Day 2: Meaning Behind Your Blog Name
Mine comes from a phone conversation - I was setting something up over the phone and was asked what I did and I said I that I didn't work . .as I than stumbled over about 10 things until I settled on "I stay at home" LOL  So it is really meant to make people think because one thing I know, a stay at home mom, works harder than most people realize!

Polka Dot Pumpkins

Today, on this perfectly fine fall day, I decided it was time to make some Polka Dot Pumpkins but first, we needed to really get into the fall spirit so we did this:

Josh and Nate both had a ton of fun playing in the leaves at a local park . . and yes, Nate wanted to eat every single one!

Once we got home and both boys went down for naps I went to work on my polka dot pumpkins

First, you need to get three different colored pumpkins, at least - you could get as many colors as you would like!

Here are my three lovely pumpkins!  I thought it would be easy to find these - it wasn't.  The place we went to, though, had "millions" of odd colors and weird shapes so I plan on getting more next year!

You will also need a very good apple corer.  And maybe a mallet if the pumpkins are really tough!

Use the apple corer to "core" the pumpkins, saving the piece that comes out.

Than use a different color "core" to fill in the hole.

When you are all done, they will look something like this :-)  Aren't they pretty? 

Just a different way to add to your decoration for fall!  Speaking of decorating - I'm working on my last item for my porch for this fall; than I'll give you the "Grand display" (ok maybe not that grand but it does look pretty nice!)

Making your home a Haven - Part 2

I think this is actually a Home - wouldn't that be awesome?  A home like this would always have to be filled with music!



How to Make Your Home Sing

This weeks challenge in Making Your Home a Haven is two fold.  One, play soft music everyday in your home.  Choose some type of peaceful music your family enjoys.  And two, Focus on using peaceful words and maintaining peaceful relationships.  Because my kids are so little, I need to role model gentleness this week to them.  We are currently "helping" Joshua, our almost 2 year old, learn how to be kind and gentle with his little brother.   One of the main things we are focusing on is not to make Nate cry.  See, there are consequences when Nate cries - he makes LOTS of noise and he makes a VERY sad face (Nate is 9 months old).  Josh is learning that ne doesn't like to see that sad face and we actually are seeing him physically stop himself from doing things that he knows makes Nate cry.  It is fun to watch - but I'm reminded that I have to teach my boys this through my actions too. 

Courtney over at Women Living Well, offers up some great ideas for music choices in today's original post.  Playing music is something that we do a lot in our home.  Everyday, I have 5 CD's in the player ready to go.  Three that are my kids, which we listen to for 2 weeks straight as a learning tool and 2 that are "mine" - Twila Paris, Sandi Patty, Steven Curtis Chapman, Jim Brickman . .just to name a few.  I love having music play.  I notice that when it is playing, the house truly is so much more peaceful.  So pick your music and play it today.  As far as playing instruments - Darryl plays his guitar almost daily and the boys love it.  I don't play the piano as much because Josh loves to play as well - so instead we help him play a little and I play (with headphones on) while they nap :-) And we sing ALOT . . we are hearing Josh start to "sing" too as he hears songs he likes.  Courtney also lays out several points on how to have peace in your home through your words.  I liked one in particular - "Yelling at a bud won't make it bloom".  I'm not a yeller - never have been but this is so true!  How easy it is to just say "no", "don't do that", "stop it".  Instead of taking time to use the situation as a learning tool.  When I have to help my child, I try to stop everything I'm doing, get down to their level, make them look me in the eye, and I talk to them in a normal voice.  I can already see this benefiting both of us and we live in peace most days.

So, are you up for the challenge?  I hope so - a peaceful home is a fun place to be!

Remember last weeks challenge?

Reflecting . . .

Did you light a candle everyday and pray for your family?  I must admit, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday I forgot.  It got really warm here so I had all the windows open.  Lighting a candle was the last thing on my mind.  BUT, I noticed that my days were better Mon-Thurs, with that Candle lit.  It did remind me to slow down and focus on the things that really mattered.  I'm anxious for that fall weather to come back - I will have a candle lit every day!

Randomness and Recipes

Sometimes, weekends are busy.  This one kinda was, even though I didn't plan it that way.  Granted, sometimes, I don't plan well :-)  We had a funeral to attend on Saturday for the owner of the company Darryl works for.  In between leaving the funeral and picking the kids up from our friends (who graciously watched them for us during the funeral) Darryl and I had a lunch date at Burger King (yep!) and than stopped at this great roadside pumpkin patch and got some really cool pumpkins and Indian corn for hardly nothing.  (I have an upcoming craft this week - just wait!).  Once we grabbed the kids, we spend the rest of the day running errands - the big one being Babies-r-us to buy Nate a new carseat.  He is tall and therefore has outgrown his infant carrier so we had to get a reversible seat for him.  Plus we did some birthday shopping for Josh too!  Today, with church, Darryl working, and trying to get some things ready for my hired handyman (aka my dad) to come tomorrow to finish up some projects for me today was busy.  I did get the carseats rearranged in the truck and Nate's installed plus Darryl got things ready for my dad so all in all it is all good!

I made a couple of things today.  One, I made some awesome chili.  See, I've always struggled with finding a recipe for GOOD chili.  I'm not a huge fan of the dish so I was looking for something that I liked and I finally found it!  It's called 12 O'clock chili and can be found here.  If you are looking for a new Chili recipe - check it out!  So I picked Chili for today because it is perfect football food plus it is October so it is cool and crisp . . well it is SUPPOSED to be!  Instead it was pushing 80 today so it was a little hot for Chili, but it was still GOOD!! 

Then, I was making our dessert for the week - Chocolate Chip Pound Cake.  As I was mixing the ingredients I realized that it was the exact same recipe I made a few weeks ago - Too Much Chocolate Cake. (Click here for recipe).  oops!  But, it was much better this time because I remembered to put oil in it :-)

Finally, instead of making cookies I made Cake Balls. 

This recipe comes from Kelly's Korner and you can find it here .  These are SUPER sweet - a lot like a Truffle. A couple of things - 1) I used yellow cake with chocolate frosting and vanilla coating.  2) Put this on a tray covered with Saran Wrap so you can get them off once hardened.  3) I ran out of coating before I ran out of cake :-) 

So, I have lots of things to post about this upcoming week!  Crafts, Recipes, Songs, and more.  Lots to look forward to :-)

Oh, and one last thing!  State won the big game!! YIPPEEE!!!!

Pumpkin Waffles

We had these for dinner:

Pumpkin Waffles!!!  They are so yummy :-)  Ok, I did not make the Spiced Whipped Cream that is included in the recipe but for company, that would be fun to make too!  I found this recipe here, at Women Living Well.  Check it out - the full recipe and pictures are all included (Why recreate the wheel, right?!)  I will be making these again!

*Just an FYI - this makes a LOT of waffles.  I made three and probably could have made 5-6 more.  Next time I will cut the recipe in half since there are really only two of us that eat a whole waffle right now :-)

Things I am Loving

I like to post about things I'm loving because I think being Thankful is a good thing!!  Plus, who knows, maybe you'll discover something new to do by seeing what I love!

Frozen Hot Chocolate - you can find the recipe here.  These are SOOO good!

This is our school basket!  Josh has learned that our books, crafts, games, CD's and videos are all in the basket for the week.  He loves to get it down and pull stuff in and out for hours :-)

This smells incredible!  I love it!!!  My whole house smells like this after a shower :-)



I am loving these quilts and so are my kids!  My mom "threw" them together a few weeks ago and I like to keep them in the living room.  I'll lay them out on the floor and the kids will play on them for quite a while.  Josh likes to "count" the buttons and Nate likes to try and find his toys in the midst of the colors.

And last but not least, who couldn't love this weather?

Show us your Life Fridays - Kitchens

This week over at Kelly's Korner, on Show Us Where you Live - it is Kitchen Day!  You check out her post here along with all the link-ups

My kitchen is the one room in my house we haven't updated in anyway but it is my winter project!!!

This is the view into my kitchen from the dining room.  It is also the main entry into our home - through that big, bright slider.  I love all the light that brings in but hope someday to put in some french doors instead. 

This is the view from standing in front of the slider.  I actually like the set-up of my kitchen and I have quite a bit  of storage and counter space I just don't care for how it looks :-)  I am planning on painting the cupboards, putting in a new countertop and laying a new floor (or should I say "my husband is" :-) ).  I do LOVE my fridge - our very old one died this summer and we were able to get this beautiful Stainless Steel beauty.  I love having the fridge on top - so much handier!!

So that's it :-)  I do have a dishwasher - it is in the corner of each picture - it's a portable.  Once that days (hopefully several years from now - not something I'm hoping will happen soon!) we plan to actually install one.  So, lots of plans for this kitchen, yet it is overall a great kitchen :-)