Turkey Poop

The kids and I decided to make Mike one of his favorite treats tonight-but we renamed it in honor of the upcoming Turkey Day....

Oh so yummy... "TURKEY POOP"

 (formerly known as No Bake Cookies!)

I made this cute little tag (which I stole from some idea online-shhhhhh!) and attached it to the top of a cellophane bag with 1 cookie inside-and we are going to deliver them to our friends & neighbors before we leave for Salt Lake tomorrow afternoon....

It's gotta put ANYONE in a "Thanksgiving" mood to get some Turkey Poo on their doorstep, don't cha think???
(P.S. Looks like they were grain fed Turkey's! he he he)

Out On A Limb

A couple weeks ago I found this sweet little scrapbooking company located in American Fork, Utah called Out On A Limb Scrapbooking. They sell these pre-made double layout scrapbook kits on the cheap and they are SUPER cute! I really wanted to try it out so I ordered a bunch to get myself caught up quickly on a few pages. Normally, I am the one (between my friends and family) that has to put kits together for everyone else, and finally I got to be on the receiving end instead! Let me tell ya-it is GREAT! The kits are adorable and I put them all together in a matter of minutes! So cool! The kits include all the embellishments, cardstock, cutouts & directions...does it get any easier? Check out what I made...

I also have these ones on order and can't WAIT for them to come in!

Fun huh? Go check out her other kits at www.outonalimbscrapbooking.com!

Funny Kids

There aren't many words but a picture is worth 1000 right?

My munchkin Bryce got a haircut from Dadda today...just look at those big blue eyes and pinch-able cheeks!

There are 2 things wrong with this picture:

1. Emma has stolen a ba-ba...naughty

2. Emma has put her head in a toilet seat....naughty

Oh the joys of being 2 years old!

A Grinchy Scrapbook Saturday!

My kids decided they'd let me get things done today-which was SO nice of them because I have a bunch of scrapbook kits I have to put together for my christmas scrapbooking event tomorrow night! Mike came home during his lunch and made a fire for us and seeing this, Emma ran to her room, grabbed all her blankets and her pillow and made herself a cozy spot to lay by the fire and watch Enchanted....amazing! When I asked her what she was doing she said "I get snuggle warm Mom." Soon afterwards Bryce went down for a nap and I was able to get the kits made and ready for tomorrow. I am really excited!

(thanks to the zoom lens on my camera for bringing to light all the places I get to clean this afternoon! lol!)

I got to use the new Scal program on my cricut to cut the cute GRINCH font for the title.
Each gal is bringing a $5 gift card for a gift exchange and a yummy treat to share. I have been requested to make Caramel Apple Cider and my Spinach Dip so that should keep me busy tonight-pray my kids stay in this "let momma be productive" mood!
Last Saturday I made the Caramel Apple Cider for breakfast. It was a recipe I got on Our Best Bites.com and it was DIVINE so I can't wait to have it again. The best part is the whole cloves set in an orange....that smell is heavenly in itself-let alone in your cider!

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

Recipe by Our Best Bites

8 C quality apple cider 

1/2 C Simply Orange orange juice

1 orange

8 cloves (or more if you want)

2 cinnamon sticks 

1/4 t ground allspice

1/3 C Torani caramel sauce (more to taste if needed)

Combine cider, O.J and spices in a large pot. Poke the cloves into the orange and gently drop the whole orange into the pot. Bring cider to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer on low for 60 minutes and longer if you wish. If you're keeping the pot on the stove for an extended period, keep an eye on the orange. If at any time it splits open, remove it from the pot. If the white pith is exposed it will add a bitter taste to your cider. If you're going to have the pot warming for hours on end, take out the orange. After you've simmered for an hour, add caramel sauce and stir to combine and dissolve. Add more caramel to taste if needed.

When ready to serve, ladle into mugs, top with whipped cream, and give it a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Here's a sneak peak at the project I made for class:

Should be fun-I can't wait!

Seeing Double???

Thought this was pretty funny....Bryce looked IDENTICAL to Mike when he was first born-when we got home from the hospital with him, I pulled out their newborn picts and WOW-it was like seeing double! As time has gone on though-look at the similarities between Bryce & his Grandpa Allison! Emma looked like me as a baby and now has so many Martone "looks"-I guess Bryce did the opposite, he got the Allison ones. But that's just my opinion-look for yourself!

Family Photos are Here!!!

After much stressing about the matter, Hailey Gress did a wonderful job on our pictures. They turned out pretty stinkin' cute. Talk about the little details too....she dropped off the pictures today in a cute little done up "country type" bag with my CD (which she made a cute label for) enclosed in a personalized DVD case, with a copy of her release and suggestions for printing! I must say, I was pretty impressed.

So I checked out the pictures immediately and realized a few things...not only do I now have new photos,  I also have a new affirmation that I need to use my gym membership more! Oh well-such is life. :) Nevertheless, my family is beautiful and my greatest blessings. Enjoy!

This last one is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! It really shows how much this Dadda loves his babies. I am so lucky my husband is such a great dad-I can't say it enough!

Welcome Home!

Well after over 3 months-my blessed Nikon D60 is back from the repair shop. I dropped it off for a common repair (battery cap door) at Kits Camera in Issaquah...back in August and after about 27 phone calls to their manager-my camera finally arrived on a FedEx truck this evening! Oh how I have missed her. I immediately sat down and put all the accessories back on it, memory card back in and started her back up again! To my surprise there were photos on the card that I didn't take and therefore-didn't know about! How exciting....
Mike had been watching the kids one afternoon (back in the summer) while I was off planning for school. Being the good dad that he is-he took pictures of his afternoon with the kids. He had them painting with shaving cream-and by the looks of it, they were having a marvelous time too! Way to go Dadda! Pictures AND a kid friendly activity-all without me around to give such suggestions.....someone raised him right huh? :)

Poobee-you really are a #1 dad! What a wonderful added bonus to getting my camera back!

The Thrifty Mommy

I came across this website a little while ago and I LOVE it! This smart Momma has put all kinds of online & in store deals from various stores across the nation, on her blog...there are printable coupons, online coupon codes, daily deals at different stores, freebies she's found and lots more! It is incredible. This type of thing is SO up my alley. It knocks my socks off to find a deal on things and I RARELY buy anything online or in the store without a coupon or code of some sort! If I can get more "bang for my buck" it is like my ultimate dream! My mom always says that I know how to stretch a dollar better than anyone she knows and I even enjoy all the leg work in the process! What makes my day is that "Thrifty Mommy" has now done all the research for me! All I have to do is click on the link to her blog and poof....my deal awaits me! So very cool...
For example on Monday there was a one day only sale ad at Toys R Us for 40% off the Radio Flyer Trikes that we are getting the kids for xmas-and I would have never known about it-except for....THRIFTY MOMMY told me! And the Leapfrog Tag Jr. that is in stores for $40ish was temporarily on sale at Amazon.com for $20 with an additional 20% coupon code AND that if you registered with Leapfrog.com afterwards-they'll send you one of the books for the system (a $10 value) FREE! :)
Don't forget about the "Melissa & Doug Grocery/Lemonade Stand" that I found for 60% off and free shipping! (Which my kids will FREAK about-they adore playing grocery store together...)
How sweet is all that! See what I mean? This is EXACTLY how I do all my shopping and why it is so much fun for me!

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town!

Santa & Mrs. Claus have almost finished their Christmas shopping....these are the goodies the kids will get if they aren't on the "naughty list" by then! This year they are getting things they can share!!! The hope is to keep them busy for HOURS! I've just finished clearing out a bunch of their old toys on Craigslist, Ebay & Goodwill-I heart "recycling" money! :) 

Now my dilemma...what to get "Santa...a.k.a-Mike" ???? Hmmmmm-will have to think on it. I like giving creative gifts so it's no easy feat...ideas?

Family Photo Shoot "Sneak Peak"

Well-this is all we have to go on at the moment....I'm a little nervous because this isn't my favorite picture of us, but it is the only one the photographer chose to put on the website at this point....hmmmmm???? Keep your fingers crossed for us :)

Emee & Momma's Girls Night

Emma LOVES to bake especially if it involves using my Kitchen Aid mixer! Since Dadda was home & able to spend some 1-on-1 time with brother...that's what we did! We told the boys it was girls night and that they were NOT aloud in the kitchen then she set to work making Starbucks Toffee Almond Bars....

So many opportunities for counting fun things, chit chattin and taste testing...what's not to love about that when you are 2???