OK Bakerella, here we go...

Surely you have heard of the Bakerella, but if not, check her out....

Bakerella's Blog

which is exactly where I got the recipe for these little cuties...

Mini Pumpkin Pie Bites

with a little cool whip for the kiddos

And a try at piping jack-o-lantern faces, came out more like smilie faces, but they sure look like happy little pumpkin pies.

So I am obviously no Bakerella, but they came out great! I'm kind of proud of myself.

They were a hit with these little guys,

then off for some quiet time on the couch with their respective cozy quilts watching Little Bear.

No school today for either of the boys

so we spent the afternoon making spookilies for the family room.

Lots of ghosts, bats, pumpkins, witches hanging from the family room ceiling.

We are ready for Halloween!

If only the temperature would drop out of the 90's - seriously it is almost November -

I cannot stand it anymore!

No Girls Allowed?!?

I picked up Big J from preschool today and went through the usual "how was you day, what fun things did you do today, etc...."

My sweet boy tells me that he only likes the nice girls (2 certain little girlies in his class) and that he does not like the other girls.

WHAT?? This is not like him at all ~ he is a little ladies man.

He tells me that one of the girls in his class is having a birthday party and only the girls are invited. So he tells me that for his birthday party, NO GIRLS ALLOWED, except for the 2 certain girlies he approves of, not the other girls.

OHHHHHHHHHH, I get it. His feelings were hurt because he wasn't invitied.

I told him that they are probably doing something girlie like a princess party or a tea party or some other craziness like that. He was not happy about this at all.

So my only question to him was, am I at least inivited to your birthday party?

He said yes.

We'll wait for his birthday June to see if this is still an issue.

In the meantime, I bet he has been making this face at certain little girls at preschool.

Stink Eye, Pink Eye

We brought home a present from Disney World. No, not the $10 dollar balloons (times 2), but pink eye and an upper respiratory infection (times 2). Yep, the Lil J and me are buddies and in this one together. We have been to our respective doctors and are medicined up and just hoping we heel before the big day - Halloween - and hoping Big J doesn't get it.

Not So Scary Halloween - Boo to You!

Our evening with The Mouse has come and gone and the boys are still talking about it. They were sooooo good. I cannot believe these kiddos. We did not take a stroller - yes people, no stroller! And these 2 boys were the best little troopers. I say this because the special party was from 7 pm through midnight. That is LATE for us!

They did great.

Here is Cinderella's castle as we were waiting for the parade.

It changed colors all night as the villians took over the castle. So cute!
Here is me and my Lil J at the parade, he had a good view and was waving at all of the characters go by yelling "Happy Halloween!"

(and yes, I made my Boo shirt :D)

This is my Big J driving the race cars - his absolute favorite ride, until tonight.
His new favorite is Goofy's Barnstormer rollercoaster.

Here he is, the husband himself with our Lil J, lookin' a little green after the roller coaster. He was OK though!

LOVE the decorations!

Big J and the Big Mouse

The Tea Cups

And yes, I am a SUCKER and I bought the kiddos the $10 balloons, hey its Halloween!

We had an awesome time as a family. This was a wonderful present from the Husband who got this for our family to celebrate our first 10 years together as a couple. Yep 10 years ago yesterday the hubs asked me to be his girlfriend - such a dork - but I guess it worked.

Awwww, thanks B!

Breakfast for Dinner

Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?

I made it a little extra fun tonight for my sweet boys. I added some mini M&M's to the waffle mix and they were SO happy ~ this is their favorite candy.

(did I mention that both of my boys were M&M's last year for Halloween?

The husband was SOOOO very happy about these costumes.)

I even got a couple of "mmmmmmmmm's" and "mommy this is better than good" from Big J. Lil J was waitin' on the bacon and even trying to steel some from everyone's plate.

The brotherly love even came out tonight when we told Lil J no more bacon, Big J gave him some of his. Awwww, they do love each other!

(Lil J's 1st Halloween, he was 9 months old here - Big J is 2).

I love it when everyone actually eats dinner and likes it! So many nights I make it and then it goes in the trash or to the puppy (who by the way is now almost 5o lbs at 5 months old!)

We are patiently waiting on Halloween to arrive, Disney's Not-So-Scary Halloween party is this weekend. Hopefully Big J's Fireman costume arrives in time. Come on UPS man!!!

The Pumpkin Patch

It's here, it's here! The cold front came and Fall is here, we celebrated this weekend by going straigt to the pumpkin patch. I love pumpkins and cold weather

what a wonderful weekend!

Here is my Lil J

And my Big J

Looking for the biggest pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.

Me and my babies.

My sweet Lil J with his pumpkin.

Our silly potato head pumpkin family.

A view from our front door and yes that is sidewalk chalk on my door...

hey, we have little kids, what do you expect?

Now we are just waiting for the big night, Halloween night will be here soon.

We have had another costume change, now both boys are going to be firemen. They are in love with this Fireman Sam show on the PBS on demand. So this is the final costume change and hopefully they will be happy as can be in their costumes.

One sweet lady and a new button!

I tell you I love this blogging world stuff. See my new button over there to the left?

Well I didn't make it, Dani at the

made it.

Just because she is so sweet, no other reason.

How about that! Isn't it so cute!

Thank you so much Dani, I absolutely love my new button.

Go visit the Craft Rookie and see all of the cute stuff she is making.

Hello 20's, where did you go?

The last 3 weeks have been filled with lots of sickness (not me, the kids and husband) and some surgery (not me, the husband) and lots of caretaking (me).

I have been thinking lately - where did my twenties go? I cannot tell you the amounts of stuff (you get the picture of what "stuff" is right?) I have cleaned up this week. But today topped it off. My Lil J has been having "stuff" for 3 weeks and after we went to the pediatrician for the 3rd time in 3 weeks, they have decided to test a sample of his "stuff".

(I was 18 here. AHhhhhh)

So people, I have finally lost my dignity today, I went to do some volunteer work at Big J's preschool and then after that me and the sample of "stuff" drove off to the pediatrician to drop off the "stuff" for testing. Yep me and the poop - crusin' the streets of Orlando.

I eased you into that one right?

(me and my sister - she is still in high school here, I am 18.)

Hello?

I was bouncing around my college campus 10 years ago. Sleeping in, going to class, hanging out with my friends, dating my new guy. Going out at night, and at like 10 or 11, not this going out for the early bird special at 5:00 like we are doing now.

The husband and I are coming up on our 10 year anniversary together, not marriage but we have been dating and together for 10 years.

What 10 years!

Yes, I met him when I was 20 and now look at me, I am a carpooling, volunteering at preschool, minivan driving, 30 year old soccer mom. I love it, I really do. But I do miss those carefree days of my twenties (I should say early twenties).

So where did your twenties go?

Maybe they are hiding with mine somewhere.

Missing This

Well yes, October is here and no I do not live anywhere near these beautiful happenings.

These pictures were taken a year ago when my sister, mom and I went to New Hampshire for a long weekend last October.

I would love to see this each year, but not this year.
I have been told by the husband that maybe we would take a family trip to see snow this year instead.
I am skeptical but hopeful that we will actually go on a vacation this winter.

Look at these trees, they are so pretty!

My sister, mom and me in North Conway, New Hampshire. This is too funny because my family is from the Conway area of Orlando, FL.

A view of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Right outside of the Inn we stayed in. Gorgeous Place!!!!

So if you are lucky enough to live in a place like this I hope you are enjoying this time of year.

I am very jealous of you right now!

Some Authentic JHH Coziness

Here is another cozy quilt for my boys. You see both of their initials are JHH so it is for both of them. I am lovin' it ~ very boyish. It is made from Sweetwater's Authentic line for Moda. I appliqued the JHH out of some of the leftover charms from the charm pack.

I feel like all I have done is simple patchwork quilts, but hey this is just my third quilt so I am just trying to get some practice. The next one I am working on is kickin' my booty, lots of crazy angles and some other fun things that I cannot wait to post.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy this little one. I know I am.

Hmmmm, maybe I will make another entry at The Park City Girl's Blogger's Quilt Festival.

Yes, I think I will, go check it out.

Orlando, FLA - The Pros and Cons

I have lived in Orlando all my life, that's right a native. I have seen so much change here and most times I am ready to get outta here - mainly because of the weather. I am not a fan of the heat and this is not the place to be if you like it a little cold. Oh and if you like to see a season other than the summer you should not move here.

Anywho...

There are some pros about this place, mainly the Mouse.

You know, Disney World.

You see I have had the opportunity that most kids don't growing up, we could head over there for the afternoon, evening or the whole day whenever we wanted to because we (my sister and I) were lucky enough to have season passes to the parks. My mom would take us there on the "first cold day" or for good grades as kids. I got to go to the opening day of MGM or Hollywood Studios when it opened back in the day.

So, we (my husband and I)are lucky enough to pass these fun things down to our kids. The hubs recently surprised us with The Not so Scary Halloween Party passes. I have really been wanting to go, since this is the best time of the year afterall. And I think for the first time, we are going to stay at a Disney resort as a family. I hope the kiddos enjoy it. I am sure they will, they get to wear their costumes and trick or treat - what's not to love??

So I am looking at the positives about Orlando, FLA on this lovely 95 degree fall day. Yeah people 95 degrees and don't forget your humidity! We get to be the lucky ones who get to go to fun stuff like this and not make a huge family vacation out of it. We will vacation to places where the snow visits and the leaves change. Yeah, I have seen snow once and I was 23, haven't seen it since and I am 30 now.

So maybe we will stay another day or two and wait patiently for fall to arrive.

Have a lovely weekend!

PS - we have had a last minute costume change for the boys. They have decided to go as Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story - now the question is who will be dressed as what character??? Only we know for now!

Bloggers Quilt Festival

I am participating in Park City Girl's Bloggers Quilt Festival. Go check it out.

I sent in a link to the cozy quilt that I made for my lil sis. I miss it but I hope it is keeping her warm and cozy in these last couple weeks of her pregnancy.

My next quilt I will be finishing this weekend, it is for my boys made from Moda's Authentic line made by Sweetwater - I cannot wait for their next line to come out, its called Make Life. Both are boyish. Which by the way, it is not easy to find boyish quilting fabrics.

So I am happy about this.

I have started my next quilt, which is a special one. I am not sure if I will be able to give it away easily. It is a quilt for my Big J's preschool's silent auction. It is filled with 14 adorable faces. I am so excited to see how this onewill turnout but nervous also. You see lots of people will see this quilt and up until now, the only ones to actually see my quilts are my family and they have to be nice, right? Oh and my facebook friends, but those are just pictures of my quilts. This one will be on display and people will (hopefully) bid on it. Oh my goodness , what if no one bids on it! I will post pics of both once they are finished. I really hope someone bids on it.

Oh and a flu update, boys still have some grossness - especially Lil J (won't go into detail but I am sure you can figure it out) - off to the pediatrician in an hour.

A really ICKY weekend

I am glad this weekend is over. Let's recap, shall we?

It started on Wednesday with the email from the husband saying he is at the Dr. and feels really bad. If he went to the Dr. all on his own then you know it is bad.

Officially diagnosed with the flu. GREAT!

Fast forward to Wed. night, Lil J wakes up throwing up in his bed. Then the floor and a couple of other places - many baths later and we are sleeping on the couch.

Thursday is no school for Lil J while husband stays home with him, I am off to Big J's school to be the woodworking mom of the day.

Friday taking it easy for everyone, Lil J throwing up again, off the after hours pediatrics. A popsicle and a shot of some anti-throw-up medicine we are back home.

Saturday, now Big J is now throwing up along with sick Lil J and husband. This is just spectacular.

Saturday and Sunday laying around in our jammies taking it easy, things are looking up.

Sunday night, Lil J cries from his bed and is throwing up again. Delightful. We will see how this night goes along with a new week.

Ahhhh, the flu - what's not to love?

quilt # 2

I entered this quilt into the Blogger's Quilt Festival - go check it out!

I have finished my second quilt made from Moda's Cotton Blossom fabric (click on the link for Camille's blog - she and her mother designed this fabric) with a light flannel backing.

I made it for my preggo sister (bambino # 3 due in November) and wanted her to have a cozy quilt for her and my sweet little nephew to be. Turns out that her baby # 1, and my only niece, loves it more. Yea, it was a hit!!