When did this happen and where was I?

Cj turned 16. I can't help thinking his feet are more than firmly planted on the closer side of 20...and I ask myself "When did this happen and where was I"? I used to get the cute" oh, enjoy these little ones, the time goes by so fast" kind of comments in the store and I would nod my head with a weak smile and look at my shopping cart that was more loaded with kids than groceries...fast forward a few years...here I am wishing time would slow to a crawl and let me rewind just a bit...He started driving...now let me just say here is a somewhat short list of things you should have handy when he gets behind the wheel for the first time...
1. Bike helmet( its a matter of time before we get hit)
2. Bull-horn...apparently, my yelling"STOP! USE the BRAKE" is not loud enough..use the bull-horn for your own safety.
3. super strong deoderant...I have never sweat before in my life until now.
4. Thesaurus- try to find substitutions for the truck driver language that you have somehow adopted..
5. tinted windows- No one can know its your child driving this out of control..oh, it helps not to have DALANDS on your license plate!!!really? what was I thinking?
6. "SAVE YOURSELVES!"should be your new family motto...
7. Good insurance on your garage door...not that I would know about that...
Lets just say if I skipped my next weave, my hair would be a snow white...

I really liked this book!!

One of this movies producers lives in our ward and he said the movie is going to be great! yay!!

I feel so much better knowing this.....

I saw this on good'ol Pinterest and thought what a great idea! At least I wouldn't spin my wheels as much as I usually do when it comes to taking care of the house.....I can use all the help I can get!!

Yellow and navy with chunky jewels are DIVINE for Fall...

fall style...yellow and gray...LOVE this combo...

I love a little Navy with gray and a hint of yellow too...

Its about that time of year for a family favorite....Pumpkin cookies...

Ingredients
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)




Directions
1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

to be or not to be...?

My hair is getting a bit long...however when I see this hairstyle...I feel like cutting it off....this is super cute..should I or shouldn't I?hmmm.

COUSINS

Turning ONE is a joy....baby Alice lights up our lives when she comes to visit and we had the priviledge of hosting her big ONE at our home...cousins are wonderful. we are lucky to be close so we can celebrate these precious milestones...

elegant nails

I used to have fake nails for the longest time because my nails just don't grow but I have ditched them and gotten gels...I love this nail color by Essie which is at Target! yay!BTW...those are NOT my nails!

love this for fall!

I love frilly skirts and of course I LOVE my boots...so why not put the two together...okay so I am attemping to make this skirt..IF and WHEN I can get it together, I will share a tutoral but that is a big IF..I am not sure I have the sewing skills for such a skirt but hey I WILL try!In the meantime check out PIPERLIME for the boots and a similar skirt! I cannot live without Piperlime!

more organizing

Yesterday I posted the awesome linen closet that I am aspiring to create in the hallway but today I found this fabulous picture of what an organized pantry should look like...needless to say this one does not look like mine ..I have some work to do!

Organizing

My constant pet peeve with this big family is the linen closet..how great would it be to replace the shelves with drawers?? the kids would be able to help put sheets and towels and blankies away much easier than the darn shelves...hmmm lets ask Peter if he'll go for it.

How to make it...

Brownie surprise is the perfect junk food for your labor day holiday...
spread cookie dough on the bottom of a 9x13" dish.
line Oreo's (or in my case I used Jo-jos from good 'ol trader Joes)over the top of the cookie dough.
spread a brownie mix over the top of those layers and bake for 25 min.
The secret weapon is to UNDERBAKE it a bit. the middle will be gooey and super yummy.
give it a try!

just for fun...

I get really inspired by pictures...I love to take something I see and add my own twist to it..so I thought it would be fun to do a blog post every few days on what inspires me and hopefully inpsire someone else...I love a great recipe or a sewing project or an idea about things to do with your family..whatever...but its always good to get new ideas and so I am doing just that...hope you will join me and even share it with a friend,,it could be fun!

School days..

I remember saying this last year and getting a ton of smack about it( hahaha) but I really don't like the first day of school. It makes me so sad. To me it is another year of the kids getting older and me getting younger and I am already way toooo young. Seriously. I'm super young.I actually enjoyed every minute of summer...I enjoyed my Wonderful Wednesdays, my beach days-minus the beach catastrophe, and the lazy "lets-not-go-anywhere" vibe that was around our house. Now its back to homework, lunches, driving EVERYWHERE, seminary, hair-do's, outfits, drama, tears, clothing dilemas and everything in-between! ugh...How many days until summer?

my baby..

1st and 2nd graders..kind of a big deal around here...

Caeley is the sweetest girl...although highly emotional when it comes to her hair and clothes and make-up. whew..exhausting!love her though! LOL

clairebee

my littles

My first...i love this boy...sniff,sniff.

Chloe is way too excited for school...isn't she going to miss me?

my two littles...holding hands going to school