Pink Glitter Pumpkins

Oct 20

Oct 20 Tater Tot Pie

So many months ago, I saw this delicious looking recipe being made on the Today Show. I used to get a lot of my recipe ideas from the Today Show. These days I don't watch the Today Show quite as frequently. We would watch it a lot at 9 am, but when they replaced Today's Take with Megyn Kelly Today, I stopped watching that hour altogether. I gave it a chance, but I didn't care for the setup. Anyhow, I decided to make this recipe after seeing it, and I really enjoyed it. My only complaint is I didn't care for how the tater tots reheated for leftovers. I think this is a great dish to serve to a larger family or gathering. Brad ate the leftovers without complaint though.

Oct 17

Oct 17 Meal Planning

A few years ago I did a post about how I make our monthly menu and grocery lists. A lot about how I do that has not changed, but I did want to update you on how I actually decide on our meals these days. Being a stay at home mom means cooking in a lot more. Having a baby means not traveling and going out as much in general. So I have had to make a few adjustments to my process. The steps are still the same for the most part. I will refer to each of the steps and note any changes I have made to accommodate our new needs.

Pumpkin Patch 2017

Oct 15

Oct 15 Pumpkin Patch 2017

Randomness, Kids

A few weeks ago we visited Lyons Family Farms to see their Pumpkin Patch. We went last year, so I suppose we have started a yearly tradition. This year the girls were obviously older, so they were able to do a lot more. The other big difference was the temperature. Last year we were super cold, especially that morning. This year we were burning up. I had to go out the day before and get short sleeve dresses for the girls since their long sleeves wouldn't work!

Oct 13

Oct 13 Halloween Food

Parties, Recipes

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I wanted to share some different ideas for food you can have at your Halloween gatherings!

Folding a Fitted Sheet

Oct 10

Oct 10 Folding a Fitted Sheet

Recently I decided I wanted to learn how to fold a fitted sheet. Our sheet drawer was getting super junky, and I was having trouble fitting all of our sheets in them. So I did some googling, and I found out how! See below.

Oct 8

Oct 8 Disney on Ice

Melody's first Disney on Ice experience was last year. We decided to take her again this year but with Emily, Justin, and Lydia. The show was in Birmingham which is only about 1.5 hours away, so we were able to day trip it. Read about our experience below!

Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches

Oct 6

Oct 6 Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches

I wanted a yummy dessert one evening, and I saw in a Parent's Magazine where parents would combine different things to make "sandwiches". I decided to make our own ice cream sandwiches. It was super easy to do, but it does take a bit of time to set in the freezer.

Oct 3

Oct 3 Beach Happy

Vacations, Kids

We recently went to the beach for a wedding. We decided to make Melody a little "happy" for the beach. It was fairly inexpensive (minus the Bitty Baby clothes), and it is super cute.

Oct 1

Oct 1 Beach 2017

Vacations, Kids

In early September, we went to Destin, FL for a family beach trip with my in-laws. Brad's cousin was getting married there, so we decided to make it a full vacation. Melody's first beach trip was August 2016 when she was about 3 months old. She didn't get to spend too much time on the actual beach on that trip though. This would be the first trip where she was mobile and would get to experience the ocean and sand.

Bellpepper Boats

Sep 29

Sep 29 Bellpepper Boats

I have been wanting to make stuffed bell peppers for quite some time. We even have passed by some at Costco that we considered buying, but we always talked ourselves out of it. I found this recipe, and I decided to give it a try. I liked the idea it wasn't whole bellpeppers but little "boats".

Melody's Formal 12 Month Pictures

Sep 26

Sep 26 Melody's Formal 12 Month Pictures

So I am SUPER late posting these pictures! Melody turned one year old on May 25. I posted her "informal" pictures a while back. Those are just pictures I took with her monthly stickers. I actually took a few of these formal pictures myself. The ones with her chalkboard and ice cream banners are ones I took. I was just messing around one day and decided to attempt to take a few. My aunt also took some of her more formal ones. We had to attempt these pictures twice. Melody did not cooperate in the first set of pictures [you'll notice the grumpier face]. The second time around, her pictures were super great [at least the pictures we will be using for her panel]!

Sep 24

Sep 24 Ring Doorbell

Brad and I purchased the Ring doorbell back in August last year. We talked about doing it for awhile, but we wanted to keep looking for that "best" deal. On one of our first dates after having Melody, we decided to make a trip to Costco. I know, I know. You are thinking "Costco for a date?", but hey, we love Costco. AND we were not ready to take Melody to Costco yet. We have obviously taken her since then though!

Sep 22

Sep 22 Baked Ziti

I found this baked ziti recipe while surfing Pinterest. We have made a baked ziti before in the crockpot, but it turned out awful. I was slightly fearful that this may turn out the same, but it was exceptionally good. It is a fairly easy recipe too!

Undercabinet Lighting

Sep 19

Sep 19 Undercabinet Lighting

One thing I have always wanted in our kitchen is under cabinet lighting. One day while visiting Costco, we found a deal on some puck lights. I can't exactly remember how much they cost, but Amazon now sells the exact same ones for $23. They are made by Capstone and come with 6 wireless lights and a remote. We decided to test these out to see if we would really like the lighting. We do love having the lights, and we hope to install something more permanent in the future.

Disney's Baby Care Centers

Sep 17

Sep 17 Disney's Baby Care Centers

Vacations, Kids

So I have been meaning to write about the Baby Care Centers at Walt Disney World for quite a while. I mean we last visited them in February! However, it has been falling on the back burner. With us planning another trip at Christmas, I decided I probably need to look back at the Baby Care Centers for myself for some planning purposes. So why not write about them now?!

Sep 15

Sep 15 Chicken Philly

Brad loves Philly Cheesesteaks. Me, not so much. Mainly because I do not care for beef as much as he does. I was searching for some new recipes to try in August, and I ran across a crockpot Philly Cheesesteak recipe. I knew I didn't want the steak, so I changed the recipe up some and used chicken. My version is below!

Sep 12

Sep 12 Splash Pad Fun

Randomness, Kids

Emily and I decided to take our girls to a splash pad for the first time recently. We waited until school was back in session so that the crowds would be fairly small. Our local outdoor mall has a fun splash pad that is free that we used.

Opryland Resort - August 2017

Sep 10

Sep 10 Opryland Resort - August 2017

Vacations, Kids

Our summer vacation this year was a trip back to the Opryland Resort. Brad and I have been a handful of times, and we even went last year at Christmas with Melody. Our experience this visit was much different than our trip at Christmas for a number of reasons. Melody is older and mobile; she eats more than baby food now; she doesn't have a cold; it was much warmer; the resort was far less crowded; and there was construction going on at the resort. We opted to go mid-August to avoid any of the out-of-school crowds that may also use this as a vacation resort. And to also help with the crowds, we decided to go in the middle of the week (Wednesday-Friday).

Sep 8

Sep 8 Brownies

I must admit; when I found these brownies, I was hoping that they would be warm and fudgy brownies. I am not a huge fan of cakey brownies. Unfortunately, these are very cake-like. Brad loved them for that, but it was definitely not what I wanted from them. You have been warned!

Silhouette Cameo Projects Part One

Sep 5

Sep 5 Silhouette Cameo Projects Part One

Crafts, Household, Randomness

Brad bought me a Silhouette Cameo 3 for Christmas last year. I wanted one for a while, and I was ecstatic when he finally bought me one. I started doing projects almost immediately. As you may have read, a lot of Melody's first birthday was done using my Cameo. Below are some of the projects I have done so far!