Happy Thanksgiving from Baking Momma of Two

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at home, just the 5 of us. It was super low key and that is exactly how I like celebrating most of the holidays. Yesterday, we decided to put our Christmas tree up. We have an artificial tree and have put it up for the past 3 years. We do not actually decorate our tree. We do put lights on it, but that is it. Little K and Baby K like to take everything off of our shelves, so decorations on a tree will be the same way.   We decided to put pink and blue lights on the tree this year. I LOVE the color combination... especially with the way that the colors look on our walls. We usually have a star on top of the tree, but it was not in the box with the tree. While I was trying to remember how to assemble the tree, Little K found an old set of lights (the green ones in the picture). He plugged the lights in and brought them over the tree. I think the combination is beautiful! What do you think??  

   

A Crafy Post

Alright loveys... I have been slacking pretty bad here lately with my blog. I have been so busy this entire year! We spent (literally) all summer moving. We sold our old house in September, and closed the beginning of October. Even though we have officially been living her since June ... I still have boxes everywhere! I do mean EVERYWHERE!! We were pressed for time since my husband was working more than usual and spent the 4th of July throwing things into boxes in order to move it here and stack them in the garage. I am glad to say that the garage has been gone through, and boxes were put in the appropriate rooms. That being said, I now have MORE boxes in the rest of the house! I have no energy to chase after the boys AND unpack. I have been trying to set a goal of 1 or 2 boxes a day. Some days have been "lazy" days where I solely focus on my babies, and other days, I am able to get a few more boxes emptied (or at least moved to the room that they belong!). It has been really slow going, and honestly, I am okay with that. I hate how cluttered the house is, and I hate having to dig through boxes to find what I am looking for. Little K and Baby K LOVE climbing on the boxes or playing IN the emptied boxes!     At our new house, I will have a space (2 actually) for my craft / photography stuff! I have been looking forward to having a place of my own (well... more or less my own) to store my things! I have a small space in our bedroom, where I keep my sewing machine, Cricut, cartridges and a small personal sized table. Right now, it has some paper stored under the table. I also have a space in the basement where I have my craft desk, and the rest of my craft stuff. Everything is still packed in boxes, but they are down in the general area. :) The basement is separated into 2 rooms - a bedroom area for Big K and then the rest of the basement. My craft area will be along the one wall, and the rest of the basement will be the kids play area / family room. I am really looking forward to turning it into the room I have envisioned for the past few months! Having my craft stuff where I can access it easily has really made me want to start crafting again! I have missed it so much! For those of you that do not know, I am a photographer. I don't have my own photography business / studio like I have always dreamed, but maybe one day! :) I also enjoy knitting, card making, scrapbooking, painting... anything crafty really. I love to create gifts for people! I love when my family and friends open a card (or gift) and see that I have taken the time to think about them and gather the items needed to make whatever it is I am giving them. Handmade cards always better than store bought!   I have not had much time for crafting thanks to unpacking, but we were invited to a birthday party a few weeks ago, and that was the PERFECT excuse to make a card! So, here is the super fun birthday card that I made! It is smaller than I wanted it to be. My idea came together beautifully, until I tried to put a folded up dollar bill in it and THEN I realized it wasn't big enough! Oops! I know for the next time! :)  

There is a brad holding the card together. It gives it a neat hinge instead of a fold.



There are quite a few layers to this card. 

The blue piece on the top is to cover the back of the brad. I accidentally put the brad through it, and then realized my mistake. My boys were trying to take the pieces off of the kitchen table and I was distracted and thought they had the piece I needed. Sadly, they did not. 

  If you have any questions, please, let me know! I am super pleased with this birthday card! I will definitely be making more of these!   Do I have any crafty followers? Would you guys like to see more posts like this one?         

My Thirty-One Enrollment Kit :)

I just wanted to share a few pictures of my enrollment kit. If you are interested in learning more about Thirty-One or becoming a consultant, feel free to check out my consultant page.

 

First, it arrived in this big pink box!! Talk about exciting! Everything I need to get started is here in this box.

 

My Large Utility Tote came embroidered. This is the brand new Teal Mod Dot pattern. 

This is the new Snow Daze pattern that is absolutely perfect for winter time! Seriously, how cute are these little snowmen??

This Is the new Sea Plaid pattern. This is on my brand new Thermal Tote. The pattern paired with it is Hoo's Chilly. It has little owls on it. It is super cute! 

  All of these beautiful new products and patterns are now available! Here is the new catalog.   If you have any questions or would like more information, please let me know! :)  

I am officially a Thirty-One Gifts consultant!

That is right!! I am officially a Thirty-One Gifts Independent Consultant!! My kit arrives TODAY!! I am so excited! I have been so busy with this move and the boys and this will my little bit of "me" time. :)   I stumbled across the company back in April when Big K was first diagnosed with asthma and allergies. I wanted to find a bag/basket/bin that would be large enough to hold all of his medicines that wouldn't be an eye sore on the counter.   I ordered his bag and have been so pleased! I hosted a party in June and it turned out GREAT!! I loved it so much that I decided to join! :) If any of you have any questions, or would like to see their products (most of which you can personalize!), her is my website.  

My amazing starter kit for Fall 2013! (Picture also includes the add-on kit.)    

 

I can't wait! :)

 

If anyone is interested in joining my super secret Facebook group? Click here. :) I will be sharing monthly specials, great deals, and maybe even some giveaways in the future! ;)

 

May / June / July 2013 Update

Good morning, all!   By now, I am sure that you are enjoying the beautiful summer weather that is going by very quickly. I have been MIA here for quite some time now. We have been very, VERY busy moving! That is right.... we bought a new house. :) It has been super hectic and my husband has been working so many hours, that I have been trying to pack and move as much as I can while he is at work and I fight with all 3 kiddos! Needless to say, it has not been going very well.   When we bought our old house, 6 years ago, we thought it was our "forever" house. It fit us as a family of 3, it had some room to grow, it would fit us when the kids grew up and moved away.... Things have changed, and as a family of 5, we needed something that didn't have the kids sharing the upper floor of a cape cod. This entire process has been such a roller coaster of emotions. I am excited to have our new home, but I as auction day nears... I am getting very sad to have to say goodbye to our old house. I never thought we would ever say good-bye.   So, I apologize for not getting any of my Mamatography posts done. We have been packing/moving/cleaning/unpacking AND trying to get back onto a "normal" routine with the kids. Things will start to slow down after September, but we will still have to maintain two houses until closing. That is the toughest part.     As far as my family goes - the boys LOVE having their own rooms! Big K is enrolled at his new school, so we are waiting to find out when we can meet with them to show him around the school and find out who his teacher is. Little K is loving that we now live in an area that we can takes walks when it is nice in the evenings. Baby K just turned 1 the beginning of June and is trying his hardest to keep up with his big brothers! I absolutely love watching the 3 of the play and interact with each other! Little K and Baby K have really enjoyed "helping" sweep up their messes in the kitchen. The two of them sweep probably 10 times a day! It is so cute! Well, I have a million things I need to be doing, so I will come back and update and (hopefully) get caught up on my posts as soon as I can! :)  

Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

Cinnamon Rolls are a favorite in my house. My husband and boys would eat them every day if they could! I mean, what's not to love?? Cinnamon, sugar, butter, cinnamon.... my hubby and Big K like cinnamon so much that they could eat it by the spoonful!

I do not have a good home-made recipe for them yet, so I always just buy the Pillsbury ones. I was very excited when I came across this recipe! They are home-made, but super simple! I was also able to control the amount of sugar and cinnamon.



 

 

 

I was out of crescent rolls, but had some extra filling left, so I put it on top before baking. 

 

YUM!!! 

 

 

 

They were pretty good.... not as good as Cinnabon, but my family definitely devoured them! :)

Life around here.....

    I am so sorry that I have not made a single post for Mamatography 2013 yet. Please don't give up on me just yet! Life has been so crazy and hectic here, that I have not had a whole lot of time to do ... well... anything! My husband has been working 65 + hours a week (most weeks it's closer to 70-75!), and Big K has had a few health issues here lately. It started as Bronchitis, then moved to Asthmatic Bronchitis, and then turned into a trip to the ER. Spending 6 + hours in the ER with all 3 kids was not my idea of fun! My boys are super well behaved, BUT I thought I was just taking Big K to the family doctor and then to school, so I didn't have anything with me for the little two! I only had a few snacks, but I had NO diapers! I mean, who has kids in diapers and forgets to bring them?? This girl!   Big K had to see an allergy and asthma specialist. As it turns out, he has asthma. Not the typical kind of asthma where he wheezes and what-not, but the kind where he coughs... and coughs... and coughs.  We are pretty sure that he has been dealing with this for most of his life. We have finally figured out why he always seemed to be "sick" without actually being sick. We are not the type to give the kids medicine unless they absolutely need it. Breathing problems is one health issue I don't play around with! He is on a small handful of medications that all seem to be helping. The ER doctor had given him an inhaler to use as needed until we saw the specialist. Our family doctor told him to take it 4 times a day to help keep his airways open until we saw the specialist. That was a big help! Then, the specialist, gave him a second inhaler to take only at night time, along with some OTC allergy medicine and the combination has helped to not only clear out the remaining cough that he was dealing with at night time, but to also keep it away! I have only heard him a handful of times in the past week and a half! The specialist said that what most people don't know is that a lot of the time, it is an allergen causing the asthma. Big K tested positive to a few fall allergens... which makes sense since he gets sick every end of summer/fall/winter. He did not really enjoy the test, but he so happy to finally have some answers!   Little K has been fighting nap time. That has been super difficult on me. It seems Little K and Baby K want to sleep in shifts for nap time. There are days that Baby K will take a morning nap and then an afternoon nap. Those are very nice days for Momma! Little K is usually alright to stay up a little later and go down for his nap right before Baby K goes down for his afternoon nap. They may not nap very long, but it is definitely nice to have a little down time where I am not constantly chasing after someone!   Baby K is in the "cruising"stage now. He will use whatever he can get his cute little hands on to pull himself up! He tries very, very hard to keep up with his big brothers! If they go running into the kitchen, he is crawling as fast as he can after them! Big K and Little K will even turn around and crawl after Baby K so that he "wins" going the other direction! I just love how sweet they are with each other!   I have tried to get pictures uploaded and posts typed, but it seems as soon as I sit down to start, one of kiddos needs something. I have tried staying up late and / or getting up early,  but the times I do that, the little two don't want to sleep. It is very hard to find a good balance of time for everything. My family always has been and always will be my top priority. I don't do my blog for anything, other than for my own enjoyment. I started it to help keep me sane shortly after Little K was born, and I was no longer in a world with constant adult interaction. Sometimes, it has to take a back seat to life. :)   For my fellow Mamatographers - I have not even had a chance to check out any of your posts this year! I don't have much time at the computer.... as it is, I started this post like 3 hours ago and have had to take like a hundred breaks thanks to my babies! Hope everyone is have a fantastic year so far! I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone's posts!! :)   Here is a picture from this morning!! It's snowing like crazy here! Big K was waiting for the bus...  

 

   

 

 

Update for February 2013

          So, life has been crazy around here with 3 boys! I haven't had much of a chance to sit down and type or get pictures loaded! We are still working on syncing up nap schedules for Little K and Baby K. Some days it all works out great, and others... well... other days I beg for a 5 minute break so use the little girls room!     Big K is off at school all day, and the little 2 really miss having him home to play with. He is busy with homework and spends his time drawing when he is home.     Little K is definitely in the "terrible two" phase! He thinks everything he does is absolutely hi-lar-i-ous! He has learned to use his step stool to turn the lights on and off in the house. He knows how to use it to reach things he isn't supposed to have, too! He definitely keeps me busy!     Baby K is getting into everything at ground level! He isn't quite crawling yet.... very, very close, though! He "Army crawls" everywhere! He can get from one side of the room to the other in a matter of seconds! He has 6 teeth as of right now.     Today (Valentine's Day) my hubby and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary! It seems like just yesterday we were getting married in a snow storm! There have been good times... and bad times... but I am so very lucky to have him help me get through everything! He is definitely my better half!   Since our anniversary / Valentine's Day is on a Thursday, and my hubby has to work, I made him a special dessert for after dinner. Nothing too fancy.... I found a recipe for Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies that I found online - I think on Pinterest. I am working on a post sharing my pictures and I will share what we think of them. They smelled delicious while they were baking!