Adam got a haircut!

Ok, you can't really see the difference in the before and after picture, but trust me, there's a HUGE difference! His hair is just like his daddy, super straight and it grows forward (if that makes sense!). It was starting to grow over his ears and there were just some REALLY long strands of hair that were driving me nuts.
We are pretty lucky that our neighbor is such a good hair dresser because she just comes to our house and makes the whole process a lot easier (except for all that hair that we have to clean up afterwards, but I still think it's better than going to a hair salon.)
Anyways, Adam did really well. I had to feed him a little to keep him still, and taking pictures also helped because he wanted to see what Ashley was doing the whole time.
It's true what they say, that after that first haircut they start to look more like boys and less like babies. I can't believe he is already 10 months!

Dusting it off!

Spring is here and the weather has been really nice for Rexburg at this time of the year, so we are busy playing outside and having fun! I will bring my blog up to date, I promise! Especially now that we are having some raining days.
Hope everyone else is having some fun as well!

Easter

Lot's of love!

Valentine's Day was fun! Bryan happened to have the day off so I made him some heart breakfast and gave Tiff and Adam's Valentines....She got a bunch of candy, and Adam got a toy since he doesn't care about much else right now!

 After breakfast, Tiff and I made some cupcakes (but the day ended and I didn't get around to decorating them :( )

 Bryan gave us flowers and this was Tiff's first time getting flowers, so she didn't know what to think of it at first, but fell in love with them like any girl would!

Isn't he such a heart breaker already? 

  

The night before I finally got around to making Tiffany this outfit. It's just a REALLY simple skirt I found on Pinterest and I used the same fabric to make the heart on that shirt. I was still VERY proud of myself for making it so quickly! 

The owl hat!

Let me just say how proud I am to have done this! You know that project you really want to do but it looks too complicated?  And then you start doing it and find that it's not that hard after all? Well, I had my friend Celia help me find a good (and free) pattern and we started working on it together. I had to finish it at home so I don't know that I did everything right, but I LOVED the result and so did Tiff.

Make your own Valentine's Day Sign.

This year I decided to decorate my house for a lot of the holidays, and one of my favorite is Valentine's Day. I also thought it would be a good way to teach Tiffany about the different things we celebrate, and she loved seeing the house decorated.
I don't have a lot of decorations for Valentine's Day, so I decided to make my own. I went to Porter's and purchased these wood pieces.

 Then I did quite a few layers of red and pink paint to cover the wood well.

 I found this cute paper with stripes that was just right for the colors I was looking for. I glued it on the wood with Mod Podge and right after I applied a layer of it all over the wood.

 I also found in my craft closet this block and these letters, so I went ahead and did the same thing to them and applied Mod Podge over the finished product to give it a glossy look. (it really makes a big difference.)

 

I waited until they were dry and put them up on my shelf. Cute, huh? And it seriously took me less than 1/2 hour to make it.

January is almost over...afff!

Is January really almost gone? Uau! I've been meaning to stop by and post something, but we've been having a lot of family time, which is GREAT and a priority! I guess after all the craziness that was December I've been taking things slow and getting back on track.
I'm SO excited for this year. I have lots of plans and dreams, but mostly I'm just hoping that this year things will fall into place and we will be able to enjoy it!

I have been working on my resolutions and I'm sad to say that for the first time in my life losing weight is on that list! The second baby really takes a toll on us mothers, huh?!  And for various factors I wasn't able to lose the baby fat as easily this time around...But I can't diet...just thinking about it gives me a HUGE appetite, and for caloric things! So my motto this year is "Have Healthy Thoughts!" That way when I'm making food choices I can think of healthier things I can eat that will still satisfy me! I'm also trying to always have juice around the house so I'm not tempted to go with soda. I'm also working out with my new XBOX 360 Kinect that I got for Christmas! It's been SO fun and a real work out! I don't have to go anywhere and I can do it on my own time. The kids have been great about it and Tiffany will even dance with me some times!
So YES, I'm excited for this year!

But to start off, here is something I've been working on for a looooooong time! My picture frame montage wall!! I've always wanted to make one, but I didn't have any frames or the money to just go and buy a bunch of frames. So one day I was at DI (a thrift store) and found this glass frame. I paid one dollar, painted it brown and just had it sitting around FOREVER! Then after we moved back to Rexburg I started collecting frames. Porters (a local craft store) has these frames that are always 50% offand sometimes they even go to 60% off, so I purchased one or two at a time until I felt I had enough. Then I used my AWESOME silhouette machine to cut the H in vinyl to put on my glass frame. THEN I had to wait for my brother to take the pictures, SEND me the pictures, so I could finally develop them! By the time I had it all done it was Christmas e the Christmas tree was right by the wall, but I couldn't wait any longer...I HAD to hang them up! But I waited until I put away the Christmas tree to take a picture and show it to you guys!
I just love how it turned out! And talk about feeling accomplished!

Goodbye 2011!

Ultimo post do ano!!! E que ano! Foi um ano de altos e baixos, mas com muito mais altos do que baixos! Tivemos a bencao de receber o Adam em nosso lar. Nao podia ter pedido por um bebe mais bonzinho e bem humorado! Que alegria que eh ter ele em nossas vidas.

Tambem tivemos a oportunidade de voltar pra Rexburg e refazer algumas metas para o futuro. As coisas deram muito certo pra que isso acontecesse. O Bryan esta com um emprego muito bom e estavel. E por enquanto estou podendo ficar em casa e curtir meus filhotes crescerem.


Mas quando penso em todos esses momentos importantes do ano, nao tenho como nao pensar nos meus pais e sentir uma gratidao enoooorme por eles. Eles fizeram com que tudo isso fosse possivel. Minha mae veio me ajudar por 5 meses (tah, tambem ajudou meu irmao nesse tempo!) Eu estive doente, de repouso, e ela cuidou da minha casa, cuidou da Tiffany para que ela nao se sentisse abondanada, fez de tudo! Meu pai mesmo de longe, tambem foi e tem sido uma graaaande ajuda! Eles estao sempre torcendo por nos e sempre procurando o nosso bem estar. Eh muito bom saber que mesmo de longe eu posso SEMPRE contar com eles!

Christmas 20111

We had a great Christmas this year. We spent most of it by ourselves but we really enjoyed each others company. Our Christmas Eve dinner was Brazilian style, and SO GOOD! Christmas day we got to go to church early in the morning before we even opened gifts and remember the true meaning of it. Tiffany and Adam really enjoyed their gifts and we just had a great time!

 

 

I will finally be able to take better pictures of my kiddos and my projects to post here! YAY!

Caramel Pops

This is my FAVORITE holiday recipe. I ate it for the first time at my in-law's house and was absolutely addicted to it. After a couple of years, my mother-in-law stopped making them so I had to learn how to make it to keep up the tradition! It's pretty easy and makes a lot!
 Ingredients:

1- 8oz bag of Barrel O'Fun Corn Pops (not the cereal) You'll find it in the potato chips section. I actually got the 15 lb and doubled the recipe. (place it in a large roasting pan and preheat oven to 250 degrees.)

Caramel Coating (mix in 2 qt saucepan)

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

While mixing, cook first 3 ingredients for 2 min or until bubbly around the edges, remove from heat. 

Add the 1 tsp of baking soda to cause foaming ( this will allow for proper coating of pops. Pour caramel over corn pops and stir until pops are properly coated.

 Place in oven for approximately 45 min. stirring every 10 min. 

 

Remove from oven and pour onto waxed paper. Break apart before pops can cool to desired size.

 

Para quem quiser tentar essa receita mas mora no Brasil, minha mae usa Cheetos (nao sei qual tipo, vou perguntar) e ela disse que tambem fica muito bom!

Rag Quilt

Here is how I did my first rag quilt. It was my very first big sewing project and I think it turned out pretty good. I can't wait to make another one!

 I used 7x7 squares and did a 6x7 square quilt. I think it's not a traditional size, but I wanted it to just be a snuggle blanket for Tiffany, one that she can just take anywhere.

I chose 4 matching flannels for the front and 1 for the back. For the batting I chose to do just a white flannel cut the same size as the other squares instead of the quilt batting because it was easier to just cut them all the same size but I'll probably try the other kind next time to see if it makes it more soft (I thought it turned out a little stiff.)

 
So I cut enough squares of each of the 4 fabrics to make an even pattern. Then I cut enough squares for the batting and for the back and started putting them together (they call it a sandwich because it's one for the front, one for the middle, and one for the back.)

My next step was to sew an x in the middle of my "sandwiched"squares. After this was done I was able to lay them on the floor and arrange them to my liking. Yes, it took me a while to figure out a pattern I liked. But after that it was easy, I just took one row at a time and sewed the squares wrong side together with a 1/2 in allowance. Then I sewed each row together. Lastly I sewed around the edges with 1/2 allowance as well for the fringes.

The last step was by far the hardest and most tiring. Cutting the fringes. Because it was my first time, I didn't invest in a rag quilt scissor (it became top of the list after this though, because it almost ruined my nice sewing shears and our hands- Bryan's and mine- were sore for a few days after this). Bryan actually did most of it because I would've never been able to finish it, and it took him almost 2 hours! It was hard work!  But after that we put it in the washer and drier to rag the fringes and it was done! ( A couple of notes...I would recommend washing and drying at a laundromat because of the mess, but I was way too anxious to finish it so our next couple of washed ended up full of flannel along with the drier having to be cleaned constantly until it got cleaned out! And second you have to wash it at least a couple of times for the fringes to really look good.

Ho ho ho!

After we got our Christmas tree decorated I realized we didn't quite have enough ornaments on it. So I had to make some changes (add the gold and return the ones I had bought so I could get a bigger set.) Now I'm really happy with it, so here is the final result!

 A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to see Papai Noel (Santa Clause). This was the first year Tiffany didn't freak out but you can tell she was still a little skeptical. She did tell him what she wants for Christmas this year though.

 Adam was totally fine with it. He just sat there like it was no big deal (let's see next year though!). We weren't supposed to take pictures with our own camera, but pay $25? You're kidding, right? I saw lots of other parents doing it so I went ahead and snapped a couple of shots! :P

I have to say this Santa Clause could've had a little less beard, don't you think? You can barely see his face!

Taco Soup

This is one of Bryan's favorite recipes and I have to say it's been very popular among friends and family that have stayed at our house so I would like to share with you what we're having for dinner tonight!

TACO SOUP RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger meat
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1 can half peeled tomatoes
1 bag tortilla chips (it goes well with Doritos too)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour Cream (optional)

Directions:

In a pan, cook hamburger meat until it starts to turn brown. Add the taco seasoning and mix well. Add pinto and kidney beans, corn, and peeled tomatoes. Add water to cover the ingredients. Let it cook for about 10 min on medium heat. Serve it in bowls with cheese and sour cream. Eat it with chips or a spoon.

If you're having a lot of people over, just add more of all the ingredients and it makes for a perfect meal for the whole gang!

It's Christmas time again!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we decided to decorate our tree. This year I couldn't wait to decorate our house for Christmas. I'm just so excited and I think it's because we now have two kids and Tiffany is enjoying it so much more!

 

Fall is here!

We took Tiffany to this cute barn in Idaho Falls where they let you pick your own pumpkin. I thought it was much better than taking her to Broulims...unfortunately we got there late and it was already getting dark, but we had fun!





We thought the pumpkins in the first place were kinda pricy and only bought a couple of small ones for the kids. And today we found a house where this man grows pumpkins in his backyard and sells it. He was a really nice and had Tiffany help him cut the pumpkins we wanted. Now we are all set and ready to carve them!