Single Mom

Hats off to all of the military moms/dads, single moms/dads out there that handle the day to day without a spouse or partner. Wes was gone for 6 days last week and let's just say we were SOOOO happy to have him back this week.

We don't live near family, and there's always a little anxiety when he has to travel. I prayed for God to give me peace and calm my anxieties, and I think Wes was praying the same thing, because the minute he tells me he has to travel, he knows I get myself pretty worked up about it. I mean, it's nothing major, I handle most of the day to day as it is because he's at work all day, but he's just 5 minutes away if I need him...you know what I mean?? Anyway, I TOTALLY felt God's peace last week, there were so many times that I stopped and thought to myself, everything is good, we're having fun, I can do this, just a few more days. I say all this, because, it was so clear to me that God DOES care about the small stuff. I'm so thankful for that.
Molly is our sleeper, she's always the one to linger in bed in the morning and after naps...I found this the other day when I went to get Ruby from her crib...Molly was SUPER comfortable and snoozing away.

I mentioned a few blogs ago about a dvd called Eebee Baby. It shows babies exploring and playing with all sorts of toys and household items. My girls LOVE it. So, I thought I would throw together one of the "toys" they use in the dvd. It's a large storage bin filled with rice. Kind of an inside sand box. We have all sorts of little pots and pans, bowls, etc that the girls use to pour and fill up...and we love to hide things and dig for them.
It can get a little messy, especially with 3 little ones, but I put down a blanket, and when they're done I just fold it up and pour any rice back in the bin. AND, just in case someone decides to walk off with a pot of rice to "play" with in the other room, it cleans up very easily with a vacuum. BUT, I promise, they have SO much fun with this and it keeps them busy for such a long time that this mom doesn't mind the mess....I know, I know, I don't know what's happening to me...I guess I'm realizing more and more that I want to have a fun, loving, home...rather than a "perfect" home.

Praying for some more Spring weather to head our way. I need some sunshine! I've heard from 3 people in the last two days that the the Farmer's Almanac is calling for another BIG snow storm right around Spring Break. Deeeeeep breath.

Have a fabulous weekend!
Keep the Faith!

I am not ashamed...

I am so completely not ashamed that when I had 30 minutes to spare before picking up the girls from MDO yesterday, that I went to a new cupcake shop in our area and bought these delicious, lovely, cupcakes to share with my Valentines. I am also completely not ashamed that I drove to their school, parked the car, and continued to devour one of these cupcakes in complete solitude while googling the calories in a cupcake on my iphone. So what if my morning workout and cupcake binge were about a wash. That just meant I didn't have to feel completely awful when I had a second one after dinner.


There were MANY choices, but I got vanilla with vanilla buttercream, and chocolate with peanut butter buttercream. Both of them were TO-DIE-FOR!!! The hubby loved them too, and the girls, well, do you have to ask? If you know me well, you know that cake and cupcakes are my absolute weakness. If you ask me, it's the perfect food.

When I traveled for work, one of my favorite things to do was search out and try cupcakes from the local cupcake shops, like Sprinkles Cupcakes in LA, Magnolia Bakery in NYC, Cupcake Cafe NYC, Crave Cupcakes in Houston, just to name a few. Well, I say all of that, so that you will understand that when I say that these cupcakes were D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S, I am not putting it lightly. If you live in the NWA area, you MUST try Kirby's Kupcakes in downtown Rogers. You can also find them on Facebook. This Mother-Daughter team makes their cupcakes and icing fresh daily, yes, homemade...and you can tell. The cake is SUPER moist, and the icing is AWESOME!!! PERFECTION! I promise, you will not be disappointed. AND, due to their popularity on Facebook, they are having DOLLAR CUPCAKE DAY this Saturday, Feb 19th. Treat yourself!

Just wanted to share my moment of happiness in hopes that someone else might find a moment of happiness as well...in a cupcake, none-the-less. Hey, it's really all about the small stuff!

Happy Tuesday, Ya'll!
Keep The Faith,

Happy Valentine's Day!!

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day from the Sweet girls. I made this Valentine's Day card to send to family, and was SOOOO bummed that our mail didn't get picked up until Friday due to the bad weather. SO, it's not going to make it in time....but, I still thought it turned out cute.

Then a few fun photos from the last few days.

Grandma came for a visit last week, to celebrate Ella's birthday again, and she COMPLETELY spoiled us with all sorts of activities and toys for the girls. One of Ella's favorites, is the play-do cake factory. We spent a good hour creating cupcakes and cakes the other day...even Mommy got into it.

We made lemon, blueberry, and vanilla cupcakes. I pulled out some "fake" money and we played bakery. When I asked Ella how much her cupcakes were, she said "that'll be $50 please"...those are some good cupcakes : ).

Loved this, the twins sitting together playing with their farm animals.

Molly giving a big smile.

I had to post this, as I was getting everyone ready for baths yesterday, Ella walked in the bathroom with this clear bucket on her head. She said, "look Mommy, it's my Astronaut hat"...hahahahahaha! This child has an imagination that AMAZES me. Don't turn me into child protective services...this easily comes off of her head, I promise.

AND, Molly "pretending" to go potty...she even said "potty, potty, potty" to me when she was sitting there. Hmmmm, I think Molly and Ruby might be potty trained before Ella girl.

Happy "LOVE" Day!
Keep The Faith,

Snow Week Randomness...

SO, what do you do when there is 2 ft of snow outside??

Make snow angels of course!

Pretty good, I thought

Look cute in our snow gear

Cry in our snow gear

Measure the snow

Have a pet parade

Try on our new rain boots

Hide fruit loops in Mommy's boots...

And, then fish them out to eat them of course! I know it's gross, but Mommy doesn't wear these boots a lot and always wears clean socks when she does, so, don't gasp...a snack is a snack.

Watch Eebee over and over again.

I highly recommend these eebee baby videos if you are looking for something. In fact, there are so many great ideas in these videos for promoting cognitive and motor skills development. Next week, I plan on putting together a few activities seen in this video that I know will keep the girls busy for hours.

A bedroom makeover...

I've never had a "complete" master bedroom. In every home we've lived in, I've always put all of my budget into the other rooms of the house. That means, I've pretty much always hated our master bedroom. I'm not a dark color person, and I've found it hard to find lighter fabrics and such without spending a fortune. My Mom came to visit a few weeks ago, and brought me a lime green/white lattice print comforter that she found on sale for $60. The other side is a pretty ugly floral print, but I do LOVE the lattice print, so I have it folded at the foot of our bed. I have a white quilted comforter already on the bed and we use the larger comforter when we get cold...which is every night. I found the paisley print pillows at TJ Maxx for $14 a piece and I bought the turquoise lamps from Pier 1 Imports - they were the most expensive part of the makeover...lamps are expensive : (...but, I REALLY like these.
I also ordered this handmade pillow from Etsy to put in front of the paisley pillows...with the letter "S" of course. I'm excited, I can't wait to get it!
I also went to a local flea market and bought a few assorted mirrors...each of these was $5 or cheaper. I'm going to spray paint each of the frames white and hang them on the wall above our bed...I was sitting on the floor in our bedroom trying to find an arrangement I like. I'll post a picture when I get it all finished.

That's what we've been up to. I C-A-N-N-O-T wait for next week. It's supposed to be beautiful here with temps in the 50's and 60's!! HALLELUJAH!!!! Seriously, I'm DONE with Winter!!

Happy Friday, Y'all!
Keep The Faith,

CSN Stores - Review

As one might imagine with 3 little ones running crazy (all-the-time), over the past two years I have done a TON of my shopping online. I mean a TON!! One of the sites that I visit often is CSN Stores. I recently bought a new dining room chandelier from one of their stores that I LOVE! CSN Stores is an online retailer that has grown to encompass 200+ online stores where you can find pretty much ANYTHING you might be looking for, from swingsets to fabulous cookware and furniture to shoes, there is a store for you. AND one of the things I LOVE about CSN Stores is that for MOST items, even huge, bulky furniture, SHIPPING IS FREE!! That's a huge savings!

Anyway, I was contacted by CSN Stores and given the opportunity to review a product of my choice within a certain price range. I was completely shocked, and super excited! So, I browsed a few of the stores, while at the same time thinking about something that would make my life easier everyday. I think I found it! AND as totally unexciting as it is, if you have ever been in my house, or if you can at least imagine visiting my house, you would see the HUGE amount of little messes created everywhere...like for example, a good portion of EVERY meal ends up on the floor, and sometimes this Mommy allows her 3 precious, adorable, kiddos to walk around with a cup of Cheerios or Fruit Loops. Yes, I do. Needless to say, there are days they could eat dinner off of the carpet. Yes, I know, not an appealing picture, but none-the-less true.

So, I've decided on a cordless hand held vacuum, like the one below. I'm not quite sure what brand yet, or if I want a wet/dry combo, BUT as soon as I decide and receive it, I will put it to the test and give a quick review on my blog.
Hope you are having a fabulous day!
Keep The Faith,

Snow Day...Take 4

Yep, yet another day of being snowed in...however, I did make it to Wal-Mart last night for a few groceries and "activities" for the girls. The roads are pretty bad. I think I spent more on play-dough and coloring books than I did on groceries. You know, we needed necessities like oreos, nilla wafers, and powdered sugar donuts to get us through the weekend : ). Probably not the best choice of foods for 3 little snowed in girls, but this Mom has to create excitement and happiness at some point throughout the day, since we've about exhausted our play-time choices. (No worries, they eat their weight in fruits and veggies everyday).

Here are the twins after their bath last night. For the most part, they all play really well together. Thank you, Jesus.

I will spend most of my day cleaning the "drop zone" that is our house...you know, after a tornado goes away...the place where all the debris is dropped...that is our house. Wes's Mom is coming for a visit tomorrow, and I ALWAYS love her visits, but this one will be especially wonderful as I'm starting to go a teensy weensy bit postal.No, the side ways lamp shade is not for effect, I really do live with 3 little monkeys : ).

Not sure if any other ladies out there experience the same thing, but when the weather gets bad like this, it's like my husband MUST make it to the office, no questions asked. Seriously, it's like he can't make it out the door quick enough in the morning. I KNOW why. Wes says it's because he has to work. Yes, Yes, I know this, but I think the other reason is an unspoken competition between all men on who's the manliest man. Anyone else agree with me?? I asked Wes if the tornado siren was going off would you drive into work, and he said "probably not". So good to know : ). I am apparently married to the manliest man.

In all seriousness, I LOVE my life...couldn't be happier!!! If you know me well, you know that about 95% of what I say is pure sarcasm and kidding. I am SOOOO thankful to have heat, running water, food, health, I could go on and on.

STAY WARM!!!
Keep The Faith,

Twinkle Twinkle...

Ella L-O-V-E-S music. I know, I know, most children love music. But, I like to think all that singing I did when I was pregnant with her made a difference : ). She is fascinated with instruments, pretty much all of them. Right now, she is especially loving violins. My Mom and Dad were visiting a few weeks ago and she was putting on a show. She found two curtain rods and started to play the violin. I couldn't resist posting this video. It's a little shaky at first because I was trying to catch her incognito.

We had LOTS of snow yesterday. Well, lots for our area anyway. I'm without a vehicle again today, and we are experiencing single digit temps so I think we will be indoors again today. I think I may have...no, I know I have a weeeeeee bit of cabin fever as trying to entertain 3 small children is a challenge when you've done every puzzle in the house, read tons of books, had MANY tea parties, play-doughed, colored every piece of furniture and wall in the house, watched Eebee baby video OVER and OVER again...I apparently should have stock piled some toys when I went to the store Sunday to get some food for our Winter BLAST. Note to self : ).

We will be lounging in our jammies again today. No sense in making more laundry for myself.

Princess Ella

Molly enjoying a cinnamon roll

Horsing around...

Happy Snow Day!!!
Keep the Faith,