Happy Halloween

Fall is officially here and today is Halloween.  I love the fall.  Love it!!  Love the colors, the weather, the smells, the food, and the holidays.  I just love the way it makes you feel.  But with this fall I have been super super busy.  I have had the kiddos costumes planned for months and since they were not difficult I have put them off.  Well I put them off till this morning, yeah just a tad bit late.  Well I managed to finish my big guys without any problem and will have 10 minute tute for you later this week but I did not get my littlest man's finished.  In all honestly I could have made it in time but it turned out a bit small so I was going to have to cut a slit up the back and add snaps and well it just wasn't worth it.  But I will tell you all about my busy day later, right now I just wanted to share the cuteness of my kiddos. 





My oldest wanted to be a Builder (Bob the Builder) Here is a pic of him in his tool belt but without his hat. 

And my baby is one of the cutest pumpkins out there.  Well in my opinion at least.

Aren't they sweet together?

Here is the whole crew.  My hubby was not much for dressing up this year but I tried to have some Halloween spirit with my shirt.

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Dreaming of Ham / PreThanksgiving

I am so not ready for the Holidays yet.  Time is flying by way too quickly.  I can not believe this week will be Halloween.  AHHH!!  Five million times ahhh because I have so much/want to do.  With all of that said I am however very very ready for the food that comes with the approaching holidays.  So much so that I have been dreaming about it. 

And the thing I am most dreaming of .... Ham.  Not just any ham not deli ham, *ick* but real ham.  Pink ham!  Well at least that's what I have always called it.  You only get "pink ham" on holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter to be exact.  You know the ham I am talking about that has that wonderfully rosy color is super delicious and oh so bad for you.  :)  I think it is technically called a smoked ham but I grew up calling it pink ham and still do.  (I learned the hard way the 1st year I tried to buy one from the store and the butcher thought I was crazy and had no idea what I was talking about.  Funny story but completely off topic. Maybe I will share at another time.)

Anyway back to the ham.  I have been thinking about that ham for days and I told myself I only had a bit longer to wait and well then I decided why wait.  I wanted ham and I could have it.  Totally fine to have ham on a non holiday, except when I start meal planning I tend to get carried away a bit. 

At first I just wanted a nice meal of ham, potatoes, and cabbage.  Well then it grew into that I had some carrots and those would be good too with the potatoes.  Next I noticed some great looking raspberries at the store and decided I would make some lemon raspberry mousse squares for dessert since I already had the Nilla wafers.  (If you would like the recipe it is here.)

Nice meal but not totally satisfied.  While washing dishes I thought how great some devilled eggs would be.  I mean who doesn't want devilled eggs with pink ham. 

Now I had been cooking and washing dishes most of the day, due to making baby food, so I thought that I should spread the wealth a bit.  It would be Sunday after all and I did not want to be in the kitchen all morning before church.  So now my little dinner has turned into a Pre Thanksgiving meal.  :)

I called my parents and they are bringing some tea and some kale.  My brother is bringing the deviled eggs and I am providing the rest.  Only thing missing is some pumpkin but I am trying to be good.  Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. 
What is one of your favorite meals?

*Update*  Sorry no pictures.  We devoured it. 

I'm in Business

 

photo from Paparazzi Website

 

While I was away for 2 months,  I started my own business.  I am now the proud owner of "Polka Dots and Pincushions."  It started as a little crafting business with my cousin and has grown in the past few months to include jewelry and another cousin. 

I had been crafting and sewing for local friends for about 2 years but with two small children and very limited space the time for sewing became limited.  I then stumbled upon Paparazzi Jewelry and now I am  Independent Consultant  #7657.  (Haven't heard of it or interested in finding out more let me know I would be happy to talk with you.)

I have a Face book page where you can view all of my items and I am hoping to have a web page in the future.  I am having a great time selling cute $5 jewelry and accessories.  I love that I don't have to be pushy or bring a financial burden on anyone.  I always dreaded  getting invites to parties for Thirty One, Scentsy, etc  because I can not afford that stuff.  I think they are great companies with super cute items but being a stay at home mom means well, sometimes,  staying at home.  If I want to be able to afford to be home with my kiddos then I can not afford to spend money on $40 bags and $20 candles.  So when I heard about Paparazzi and found out that it was only $5, I had to find out more. 

Now I am booking parties, selling at events, and selling online.  I love it and I don't have to feel bad because 1- I don't have to be pushy, if you like it great if you don't that is ok too and 2-it is affordable so it is not like I am asking them to spend a fortune.  It is win win! 

I will tell you more about my Paparazzi experience in my another post but for now I wanted to share some pics of a few of the items on my page.  If you have any questions please feel free to ask or email me.  And if you are interested in anything please check out my face book page Polka Dots and Pincushions and order from there. 
Thanks
Andrea
Independent Consultant 7657

 

Here are a few pictures of some of the jewelry.  I also have rings, bracelets, and hair accessories.

 

                                                                                                                   

Here are a few of my hand made items.

 

 

 

Weekend laughs

Well this post started out going to be a Friday Family Faves but after our mishaps on Friday it turned into more of a Friday Funny.  I will give you the long and the short of it in a bit.  Just remember it is all about observation.  :)

First I wanted to share my favorite meal this week.  Oh it was so good I telling you.  I really wouldn't mind sitting down and having it again tonight.  We grilled pork chops that my father in law raised (well he raised the pig that became the chop)  We actually named the pigs Bacon and Pork chop (who later came to be fondly called The Devil Hog) and I just kept my distance so I didn't get attached.   Sorry I am rambling and completely off the topic of dinner.  So we had grilled chops, stewed fresh potatoes, squash and onions, cabbage, and peas.  All the veggies came from the local farmers market except the peas, they were courtesy of a can.  And it was delish!  That is exactly how my 3 year old described it.  "This is de-lis-E-us Mommy!"

My big boy loves his brother but he doesn't always want to have a lot to do with him.  He will speak to him and play with him occasionally but he normally is busy doing his own thing.  On Wednesday I was putting away the laundry when I walked in on this.

Isn't that just sweet.  It melted my heart I tell ya.  I know they are gonna be best buds, when they are not fighting.  ;)

Oh and I have to share these cookies.  Yum they are so good.  I love dark chocolate and I rarely go down the cookie aisle but I needed some Nilla Wafer for a recipe and saw theses. 

You should so try them. (I will share the yummy dessert I am making for Father's Day later this week)

Ok now are you ready to laugh at strangers.  Come on sure you are.

Friday afternoon we ran by Babies R Us so I could exchange my little ones flip flops.  I left my hubby and boys in the van since I was just running in for a second.  They didn't have the right size so I was in and out in a matter of minutes.  I was thinking about where we were going next as I grabbed the handle of the van when I saw a huge scratch on the side door.  I let go of the door to examine the scratch and was still looking at it when I opened the door again about to tell my husband about it, when I noticed him waving frantically at me through the widow of the van I was trying to get in.  It was then that I realized he was a van over and there was a strange women staring at me.  I mumbled an apology and shut the door and ran to my van.  I was laughing about the whole thing as my hubby started lecturing me about how unobservant I am.  (now in my defense I was gone like 1 minute and the van was right in front of ours, same color, same make and model)    So we make it back on the road as he is still fussing about me being unobservant and telling me a story our preacher told about him being not being observant.  Then we go stomping on the breaks to keep from running a red light.  Now who was not paying attention.  Haha!  He was not paying attention to the lights as he was telling me a story about being unobservant because of my lack of attention.  Ok it was funny.

Hope you have a great week!  I will be trying out this magic shower cleaner, that is all over pinterest, and I will let you know how it works out.

Friday Faves

I must first say how blown away I am by the blogs I have visited and have the pleasure of following and reading.  There is an enormous about of talent, humor, inspiration, motivation, and just great tips and insights out there.  I could spend hours just reading blogs and finding connections with people and well of course pinning some great crafts and recipes.  I also love and find it so funny how most of the blogs I follow are run by inspirational women who love God and put him 1st.  I did not seek this out just realized it was a common thread with most of the blogs I follow and well it is an amazing connection.  I am trying my best to serve the Lord and make sure he shines in all I do and that my children learn to love him at an early age.  I hope I can start and continue to find wonderful ways to share my faith with those around me.  

That being said I have seen so many blogs have "Friday Faves" and share a bit about themselves and their taste.  I am still so new to blogging and everything is exciting about it and frustrating at the same time, but I want to give you a glimpse into my world.  I hope that will help me connect more with all my readers.  I get giddy each time I get a new comment and I am ecstatic every time I am featured so you can just bet how tickled I am over a follower.  I am telling you it is like Christmas!! :)  So to help us get to know each other better here are my Friday faves.

*Catching sweet moments between my children and their Daddy. 

*Getting together with my family and cooking and laughing.  We played whiffle ball with my parents on Memorial Day after we grilled out.  My momma even hit the ball some!  {If you knew my momma you would be shocked}  It had been years since she had swung a bat.  So wish we had gotten a picture.

*Finding great inspirational websites!  Here are a few of my faves.  Go check them out!

-www.tddm.org -www.proverbs31.org -www.focusonthefamily.com

*Gurgles and laughter.  I so wish you could hear them.

*Watching America's Test Kitchen and the Chew :)  Yum it just makes me hungry and want to cook!

*Singing with my 3 year old.  This week he is in LOVE with "Heavenly Sunshine"  I think we sing the chorus 5 and 6 times in a row as we swing on his swing set.

*Smash on NBC I know it is off for now but I loved it and I am looking forward to its return.

*Fresh fruit!  We went to the Farmer's Market last Saturday and oh my goodness the berries were so good we had then all gone by Sunday.

*Lunch with friends

*The Fresh Market!!  Love being able to get meat that is normal and not pumped full of antibiotics and hormones

*Linky Parties!  Always fun and I always find so many things I want to make!

*Shirts without real sleeves.  ;)  Haha I do not know how to make sleeves yet so I love all these new styles that don't have separate "real" sleeves.  Most you can just curve and there is a sleeve and that is the style now yay!!  It makes sewing my own tops much easier. 

*Homemade cleaner!  I will share more about that soon.  So happy with the turn out!

I really could go on and on but I will save some for next Friday or well when ever I get around to it.  Times get busy around here so I will try my best.  Have a great weekend everyone and please come back again!!