Pinterest Wreath Success

So we all know how on pinterest half the stuff seems impossible to do and that Martha Stewart and her posse secretly craft everything behind closed doors.  I found success this weekend!  I thought this wreath was so darn cute and wanted to make it with CCB.

Directions for it are on The Hybrid Chick and were really easy and clear.  With some assistance from a friend I found some printable paper online from Lettering Delights and printed it double sided on some card stock that I had.  I cut it into strips and used my favorite hot glue gun - Old Blue (yes, he has a name) - and made hearts.

I discovered that in order to make sure that you get a good circle shape, it is important to have a multiple of 4 and lay them out on a flat surface.  I made sure the hearts were opposite of each other and all lined up before I glued.

I think it would have worked well with glue dots as she suggested or with staples.

The wreath landed on CCB's bedroom door and she was thrilled.  

CCB got a new pair of shoes!

I now know what it feels like to be a "normal" mom. We have now purchased our second pair of shoes for CCB in 8 weeks. Yes, those nice Stride Rite shoes I bought her in October are now to small. We are now the proud owners of a new pair of pink sequin sparkly Stride Rite shoes. Hooray for after Christmas sales!

Needless to say, the Nutropin is working and we are so thankful. To go from a kid who wore the same pair of shoes for almost a year to a kid who outgrows them fast is a big change. But, a welcome change.

Want to know more about Growth Hormone Deficiency? Check out the Magic Foundation for some great information and donate to help research for GHD kids like mine.

Whole Foods Freezer Cooking

Last summer, I did a bit of freezer cooking to make out daily lives easier and answer the question "what's for dinner". I stopped after a couple of months because I felt like I was just putting a bunch of preprocessed foods together.

Enter the Once A Month Mom's Get Real 2012. She is encouraging her readers to take baby steps to kick the processed foods to the curb and use healthy, whole foods in their freezer cooking. These menus are fab because they come with instructions on what order to cook everything if you cook everything all on one day. All of the menus come with about 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches and about 7-8 dinners. The menus are done all fancy schmancy in google docs and you can adjust your serving sizes.

This is our haul from the store yesterday and a picture of VAB being helpful. It was not as expensive as I thought it was going to be. But, we do have all of the beef in the freezer from the cow we bought last year. I've also chosen not to cook all of the meals because it is just too much for our family.

I'll be updating my progress as the week goes on. Today's goals - strawberry scones and pizza dough!

Goals, not Resolutions

It is that time of year where everyone starts making resolutions of all of the things they want to change about their life. From this day forward, there will be more exercise, no coke or coffee, a spotless house and clean laundry. And, at about mid March these resolutions have been tossed aside because we have no longer met these resolutions. To me, resolutions demand to much perfection and I am so far from perfect.

I do; however, love a goal. Goals give me grace to mess up and start again. Mary Kay once said, "if you don't meet a goal, don't change the goal, change the deadline.". This year, I will continue to make new goals and revise old goals. And because no goal is good unless you share it with others who will support you and your goals, here they are.

1. Create and maintain an organized house and stay on top of the laundry.
2. Move towards a real, organic, whole foods diet ( found a great resource that I'm very excited about).
3. Create and maintain a clean car!
4. Make more time for blogging.
5. Make time for daily quiet time.

There they are, 5 simple but challenging goals to start 2012 off right!

I have my Mary Kay goals proudly hanging in my office and more on those later!

My positive pink bubble

I often talk about the "pink bubble" of Mary Kay with my friends.  It is this happy, positive environment of a Mary Kay event or meeting.  Everyone is excited, supportive and eager to learn and share ideas with each other.  We know we all have "stuff" in our daily lives we are dealing with, but we leave our stuff at the door and focus on supporting one another.  

Today, I am thankful for my pink bubble.  I am blessed that God placed these women in my life to support and encourage me in my life and in my business.  I am thankful for my consultant friends and directors who are there to cheer me on and challenge me to think a new thought.  

I think we are all guilty of letting the "stuff" get in the way - myself included.  From time management, outside commitments, sick children, CCB's daily hormone injections, doctors appointments, and a  traveling husband, it is easy to get bogged down in the stuff of life.  It is in these moments I need to channel my inner pink bubble and get back to my positive space.  If I get bogged down with all of the negative energy, I can't effectively get anything done.  I may take a 5 minute time out, say my positive affirmation, focus on what I have gotten done or count my blessings to get back on the right track.  It is not always easy  and I am guilty of not always remembering to get myself back on the right track.  But when I do, I am always amazed at the results and my mind shift. 

In the spirit of Mary Kay, I am going to issue a challenge - when the stuff of life gets in the way and bogs you down, take this moment to remember your blessings.

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Halloween Teacher Gift

This may be a day late and a dollar short, but I wanted to share what I did for CCB's teachers for Halloween.  I bake for them for every holiday, and after a year of doing this, I'm getting requests!  One of CCB's teachers was telling me how they were all excited with the holidays coming up because they love all of the treats.  It is so fun to bake for people that love it. 

I found these cute tins at Tarjay a couple of months ago when they first put their Halloween stuff out.  If there is one thing I have learned about Tarjay is to get it if you think it is cute.  For if you think it is cute, chances are that everyone else does as well! 

This year I baked Brother Boniface's Pumpkin Bread from Southern Living 1998.  Instead of the pecans, I substituted chocolate chips because what isn't better with chocolate?!  They were a hit.  I'm not sure if they made it home with any of her teachers.  This year I was smart and made up a cute little recipe card so if they want to try out the recipe, they can! 

So, even though this is a Halloween theme gift, these are fantastic all fall and would be a great Thanksgiving gift.

Brother Boniface's Pumpkin Bread

• 4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 3 cups sugar 
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 large eggs 
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin 
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

• Beat first 14 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in pecans. Spoon evenly into 2 greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loafpans.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Happy Halloween!

Spiderman and my Ballerina Butterfly are now safely tucked in their beds and mama is glad Halloween is behind us for one more year.  On to Thanksgiving!!  The kids had a fantastic day filled with CCB's preschool Halloween party, trick or treating and all sorts of Halloween fun. 

CCB's preschool class

 

 

My cute Spiderman.  Don't think I'm supposed to call Spiderman cute though.

 

The kid candy haul.  We may need to buy stock in toothpaste.

My getting bigger by the minute Butterfly Ballerina.

We  had CCB's 4 month post-medication start date checkup with Dr. Potter at Vanderbilt last week and it was a great appointment!  Dr. Potter was very pleased on how well she was doing on the medication and told us to "keep on keeping on" as my grandfather would say.  She has gained about 3 pounds and 3.5 inches!  Hurrah!  She is still in the first percentile for weight at 30 pounds, but she is now in the 2nd percentile for height at 38.5 inches.  Very proud of how well she is growing and eating.  We are gearing up for the big 0-5 on Friday! 

I'm also gearing up for Mary Kay Fall Retreat the weekend!  I'm looking forward to being back in the pink bubble for a bit and getting some great training and inspiration!