Photo Crazy DIY

Hi. My name is Nicole, and I'm a Photoholic.

I decorate my house, largely, in photos and frankly I get tired of switching photos in and out of frames to keep them current. So, in an effort to save myself time and finally get photos up that have been impatiently waiting to be displayed I came up with this photo line and I am in LOVE! This sucker will be taking many forms in almost every room of my house! I plan on getting different kinds of drawer pulls and clothespins and coordinating them with the different rooms in the house. This would also be a great way to display children's art work!

I started with the wall in the hallway between the bedrooms as there isn't really any creativity going on in this hallway and it was easy to do something simple here. The whole project cost me probably $5 because I have a bunch of screws, clothespins, and wire left over! You will need:
- drawer knobs
- picture wire, thread, or ribbon (I used picture wire)
- double threaded screws like the ones pictured below (need to make sure it's the same size as the hole in your drawer knob)
- little clothespins
- photos

I first marked where I wanted the knobs to go and then drilled holes for the anchors. I used wall anchors because I was putting them into drywall. If you aren't you can just screw them directly in to the wall. After the anchors were installed I put the flat edge of the double threaded screw into my knob and then screwed the knob into the wall. I tied the picture wire around the knob and wrapped the extra around until it could not be seen. I plan on doing this project in my kid's rooms and using thread instead and leaving a little extra thread hanging down but in this case I didn't want any showing. Then I repeated the step on the opposite side and made sure the wire was pulled tight so the weight of the pictures wouldn't pull it down too much. I clipped on the pictures and voila - fast, cheap, and easy DIY picture line that will help me rotate pictures out in a pinch!

This was one of the easiest and fastest DIY projects I've done and I hope you find it helpful! Now, off to edit some more photos...

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Homemade Granola & Mommy's Dream Parfaits

Good Morning World!

I am in a very good mood this morning because I started this morning off with my first of many, mommy's dream parfait!  Why is it a dream?  Because it's healthy, fast, and incredibly easy!  I made these yesterday with my little helper and when I was looking for the granola and realized we were out I figured I would just make my own!  Well, chalk that up as a double-win for me cause they both turned out AMAZING!  I eat most of my breakfasts in the car on the way to drop M off at school so this is the perfect breakfast for me to just grab and walk out the door with.  Extra bonus - it fits very neatly into my cupholder when I'm finished!!  Yes, I'm a nerd and these little things just make me so happy nowadays.  I wanted to share this recipe with all of you and I hope, Mommy, or not, that it makes your life and your mornings easier and healthier!  I also, just realized, I'm one of those explanation people that drive me crazy...oh goodness!!!!!!

ENJOY!

E "helping" Mommy by eating all of the leftover yogurt that wouldn't fit in to the jar!  YUMMY!

Healthy Homemade Granola

• 2 Cups Regular Rolled Oats
• 1 Cup Coarsley Chopped Nuts of Choice
• ½ Cup Shelled Sunflower Seeds
• ¼ Cup Steel Cut Oats
• ½ Cup Honey
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (Heated Slightly to Liquid Form)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Cup Dried Fruit (optional)

1. Coat a large baking dish (I used a Pyrex 9x12x2).  In a bowl combine oats, nuts, sunflower seeds, steel cut oats, and cinnamon.  In another bowl combine liquid coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract.  Stir liquid mixture into oat mixture and then spread evenly in the prepared pan.  Bake at 300 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until light brown.  Stir mixture after 20 minutes.
2. Remove granola from oven and spread on a large piece of foil to cool.  Add dried fruit if desired.  Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week or store in freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months).

*This recipe is incredibly flexible in terms of ingredients and the nutrition info will vary based on what you choose to use.  The nutrition facts below are based on my choices and note that the sodium values are because I used salted mixed nuts.

Calories 58, Fat 3g, Sodium 19.7mg, Carbs 9.2g, Fiber 1.2g, Sugar 2.2g, Protein 1.5g

Granola right out of the oven before I added raisins and cranberries

To make parfaits you will need:

• Yogurt of choice (I prefer greek for the thickness and extra protein)
• Fruit cut into bite-sized pieces
• Granola
• Clean, Sterilized Pint-Sized Mason Jars

1. Add fruit to bottom of mason jar.
2. Top with yogurt, making sure to leave at least an inch of room at the top.
3. Top with two tablespoons granola.
4. Seal and put in to fridge for a quick, healthy, grab-and-go snack!

* Again, nutrition information will vary based on choice of ingredients.
Calories 190, Fat 3.3g, Sodium 83.4mg, Carbs 31.8g, Fiber 3.8g, Sugars 25.5g, Protein 16.3g

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Servin' Up Some Love

I am in LOVE with pinterest!  It is one of the most positive forms of social media that I have ever seen!  It inspires me all the time and I love when I can try things out that I've seen on there.  My sister very lovingly offered to host a Thirty-One Spring premiere party for me and we joined up with Stella & Dot for an early February brunch complete with Strawberry mimosas and Hot Chocolate.  I thouroughly enjoyed making these sweet treats to complement any hot chocolate buffett!

To make the spoons you need:

Plastic spoons
Sprinkles
Candy Melts in your color of choice

These were the easiest thing in the world to make.  Melt the chocolate in a bowl in 30 second intervals until it's all melted together.  I then just used a clean spoon to scoop the melted candy up and put a little bit in to the plastic spoon.  I then tapped the bottom on a cookie sheet and once it was flattened sprinkled on some candy decorations.  Then I let it harden on the cookie sheet and wrapped it in plastic and a twist tie - easy as PIE!!  These are great little gifts and party favors and can just be eaten or stirred in to hot chocolate - YUM!!

To make the marshmallows you need:

Marshmallows
Lollipop Sticks
Candy Melts
Sprinkles

Again, these are extremely easy, melt the candies as described above and then I used a spoon to drizzle the candy coating on the top of the marshmallow and tapped the side of the stick with my finger until it was flattened on the top and dripping down the sides of the marshmallow - sprinkle on your candy deocrations while it's still warm and stand it up somewhere til it hardens (florest foam would be great for this!)

I am very excited to share these with everyone at the party and am looking forward to my next pinterest inspired craft!

Carrot Apple Protein Muffins

I've been working for some time now on trying to incorporate fruits, vegetables and proteins into foods so that I know my kids are getting the right nutrients.  M won't eat anything but canned green beans and that's even been slowing down recently.  I also love the idea of having ready made snacks that I can just grab as I'm running out the door that will have a lot of nutritional value and a good blend of fat, protein, and carbs.  I've come up with some great adaptations of pancake recipes that have pumpkin and a fruit in them but was looking for something in the muffin category and I think I finally found a winner!!  I adapted this recipe from this website and just changed some of the ingredients because I wanted the muffin to have protein and be a clean recipe (only natural ingredients).

Servings: 12 muffins

Nutritional Info per serving:
Calories 94.2
Total Fat 2.6 g
Sodium 123.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13.6 g
Dietary Fiber 2.2 g
Sugars 3.9 g
Protein 3.9 g

WW Points Plus Value = 2

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 steamed and mashed apples
• 1/2 cup organic apple cider
• 2 heaping Tablespoons of natural, unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tablespoon of agave nectar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 and spray a muffin tin with non-stick baking spray or insert liners in to pan.
• In a bowl, combine oil, carrots, apples, cider, applesauce, agave, and eggs . Mix well. Add flour, protein, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until it forms into batter. It's relatively thin and the muffins don't rise a lot so you can fill the muffin liners or pan a little more than 2/3 full.

Agave nectar is a great substitute for white sugar!  Don't let it intimidate you just make sure you add less than you would if it were white sugar as it's MUCH sweeter!

• Bake 13-15 minutes. A toothpick inserted in to the center will come out clean when they are ready!
• Let cool on a wire rack.  I honestly feel like these muffins are better at room temperature but try them both ways and see what you like!

DELISH!

• Eat, Enjoy, and know you've provided your body and your families with a clean and healthy snack!

Now THIS is a big boy bite!!  SCRUMPTIOUS dessert Mommy!

E LOVES these muffins!!  Shhhhhh - don't tell her they are healthy!

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Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Today was E's birthday and I can't believe a year ago today we were holding our "little" (ha, almost 9lbs) baby girl in our arms and talking about how we couldn't believe we were lucky enough to have gorgeous children twice!!  We are 2 for 2 baby!!!

E had a wonderful day.  Here is a little of how it went down from her point of view for everyone who wishes they were here with us today!!

I had a very eventful day!  Mommy, Daddy, and Bubba woke me up singing Happy Birthday to me and I didn't know what they were doing but I sure did love to dance to their pretty song!!  I got so excited bouncing and dancing that I hit my mouth on my crib railing...ouch!!  But then Mommy picked me up and all was good!! 

It was day 3 of no bottle and I was still a little cranky about my soothing bottle being taken away and replaced by this mean ole' slow sippy cup.  Mommy gave me breakfast of whole wheat pancakes, bananas, and yogurt.  Then we went to drop Bubba off at school.  I really do love him so - I have the best brother in the world!  After we dropped him off we went to Wal-Mart and did some shopping and Mommy got me some new big girl snacks to help keep me nice and full so I will stop screaming for my bottle all the time and making her feel bad.  When we got home I took a nap and then tried some new foods for lunch which I was not fond of.  Mommy gave me bananas, peaches, lasagna, and green beans, most of which ended up on the floor. Then she gave me vienna sausages to try but I didn't like those very much either.  Mommy doesn't ever worry too much about that though cause my puppy, Jack is really good at cleaning up for me.  He doesn't like bananas though so Mommy said I had to stop throwing those on the floor. 

After lunch we went downstairs where I'm supposed to play so Mommy can get some work done but I wasn't very in to that today - I thought it would be much more fun to play with Mommy.  I grabbed her papers for work and tried to pull them off the couch, I tried to help her work by typing on her computer, and I even tried to help her open up her computer screen all the way so she could see but for some reason Mommy just kept laughing and calling me "trouble" whatever that means!  She finally gave up and got on the floor and let me crawl all over her and scream my high pitched scream which is one of my favorite things to do!  Then we had to go pick my bubba up from school and I took another nap in the car.  After that we picked Daddy up and went to Chick-fil-A for my birthday dinner.  After Mommy saw my disdain for lasagna she decided spaghetti probably wouldn't be the best dinner choice so chicken it was!  I ate four whole chicken nuggets!  Mommy and Daddy couln't belive it because I'm growing so fast now!

When we came home Mommy and Daddy sang to me some more - they sure do like that Happy Birthday song - and we opened up some more presents.  Mommy and Daddy got me a blankie just like the one my bubba has but this one was made for me!  I also got a guitar to work with my Rock'n Elmo that Nana got me - I love to hear him play music and dance and then I can dance too!  I also got my Disney Princess Parade figurine which Mommy and Daddy are collecting for me!  It was a wonderful day and I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends!  Can't wait to share the next year with you all!!

Perfection

Wow!  It sure has been a while since I wrote!  I'm trying to do better but am really struggling lately managing full time work and two kiddies.

Last night will carry me through all of the rough and stressful times.  We were in the kitchen making dinner and I had some Taylor Swift going on my iPod and all of a sudden we started dancing in the kitchen.  I'm not exactly sure, nor do I care, how it started - all I know is before I knew it, M was in my arms, E was in Daddy's arms, and we were dancing in the kitchen.  It was a beautiful moment and my heart was so full of joy!  I live for those moments.  Those are the moments of fantasy I pictured when I was young and would envision what my future family would look like.  I can't imagine ever feeling more blessed than I did in that moment and just wanted to share it.  Those are the moments where I find myself wishing I was on 24/7 camera so I could have them forever!  I am so very grateful for my family!  Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Dear My Handsome Boy - 3 years 8 months old

Dear M –

Have I ever told you how wonderful you are?  I know you get told that you are amazing and perfect at least once everyday but I wanted to take a minute and tell you why.  You are just shy of 3 years and 8 months old and my how time has flown.  I get sad when I think about how quickly you have gone from a baby to a toddler.  This summer you have most definitely taken that a step further and have blossomed into a full-fledged little boy. 

I’ve seen amazing changes in you this summer and can see the person that you are developing into.  It astounds me, makes me laugh, and saddens me all at the same time.  You are really coming into your own and I’m sure that will continue as the years go on.  You have a crazy amount of energy and could just go,go,go all day long.  At the same time you are still craving attention and cuddling from your Mama – a favorite part of my job which I will never object to!

I wanted to take a minute and tell you all about your personality so you will have it to look back on when you get older.  You are incredibly curious and ask questions about EVERYTHING.  Then, to top it off, you also remember EVERYTHING!  There is no sneaking anything past you!  You love to jump, play and wrestle as most boys do and I don’t think Daddy or I will ever grow tired of hearing your little giggles.  You are ridiculously smart, sometimes too smart for your own good, and can draw conclusions from what you learn that I feel a 3 year old just shouldn’t be able to do!

I see the people pleaser coming out in you this year.  You are starting to discover humor and that people can be funny.  You desperately want to make people laugh and are constantly trying to tell jokes or say silly things to get a chuckle.  Once you find something that makes someone laugh – you don’t let it go and try to use it every chance you get.  You have this little fake laugh that you do when you are trying to get others to laugh which is sometimes funny (like when you tell a bad joke) and sometimes embarrassing (like when you laughed at the little girl who fell down in the store to try to make her feel better – but it definitely came off as laughing at her and not with her).  You also like to sing and dance and love to be drawing attention from the people around you.  You are my little entertainer and while I love seeing that part of you come out I also worry, as is also another function of my job, because I see the vulnerability in you and don’t want you to get hurt if one day your dancing and singing and horrible joke telling is not met with laughter and applause.

You are incredibly caring and an amazing big brother!  You love making your sister laugh and God knows how much she loves you!  You are starting to learn sign language again like we taught you when you were a baby so you can help her learn and I just think that’s the cutest thing ever.  You love playing with an entertaining her and most of all saving the day if we need you to bring her something or help us with her.

You have so much of me in you which I am glad for and sorry for at the same time.  You often will correct people if they are doing something wrong like not wearing their seatbelt, saying the word “hate”, snatching things, or not using a coaster!  You love cleaning up (I quite enjoy that I have instilled this in you!) but I wish you weren’t so afraid to get dirty.  You are a perfectionist, which I hope you let go of as you grow up because from one perfectionist to another I have to tell you, it kind of sets you up for failure as much as it pushes you to do well.  You want to do everything yourself and get extremely frustrated if you can’t do it the first time.  I don’t like seeing that frustration in you and want nothing more than to go fix it for you but I know that you have to experience that in life to be a well rounded individual.  As much as Mommy doesn’t like to admit it – you just can’t do everything on your own! 

You are RIDICULOUSLY into super heroes and are constantly trying to save the day and give everyone around you secret missions and super hero names.  I have to admit that we use this to our advantage to get you to do things like eat your meat and veggies, two things which you are not fond of, and to clean up your toys quickly.  Whenever someone asks you what you want to be when you grow up, your response is always, Spiderman!  While I know that you will most likely not be Spiderman when you grow up I do hope that you have superhero virtues and are kind and heroic and most of all, my little superstar, entertaining!!  You have an AMAZING imagination and I love to just watch you play when you don’t know that I’m looking.  You are one of the clumsiest little boys I know, again a trait you definitely inherited from your Daddy and I, and could hurt yourself in a padded room.  I really do hope you grow out of this trait all together but I know it’s not likely!

You rarely will sit still with me anymore but I love the cuddles I get when you just wake up from your nap or bedtime.  They keep me going throughout the day when you start to drive me insane with your energy and verboseness (I have no idea where you get that from ;))!  You often say things that melt my heart like when you tell me that I’m your amazing family and when I rave about how wonderful you are, you ask me if I’m going to keep you forever!  I can’t even begin to describe how full you’ve made my heart feel and how appreciative I am that God blessed us with you as our amazing, wonderful little boy.  I would love to keep you forever, Matty Drew, but I know that it will not be possible.  In the meantime, we are cherishing all the wonderful moments with you and are enjoying seeing you grow into this little individual person.  I know that when you are all grown, if you have one iota of the personality that you are developing now, then you will be a success at all that you do.  No matter what though I hope you don’t forget how much you are loved and make sure you always call your mother!!

You will be waking up soon and then the chaos will begin, and to tell you the truth, I can’t wait!

I love you baby boy, always and forever, to the stars and around the moon and back again a million times!

Love always,

Mommy (and stop calling me Mom, it makes me feel like you are already grown!)