Ermie and Baby Will

My dear friend/college roommate came for a visit this past weekend since having her baby boy Will. I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed having them in our home for this long overdue time together. The one thing that was so hard for me when I transitioned into married life was not having a best girlfriend around to chat with late into the night, bake cookies and share life with. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my husband and married life but I also adore the bond of friends that are like sisters. This weekend was just what we both needed as her husband is away serving our country and my husband is in the thick of football season we were in need of some fun hang out time to refresh our soul and that it did. It blessed my heart to survey the scene of a messy house, toys scattered about and the juggling of babies as we chatted and made a chocolate cake. Things just aren't the way they used to be and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Little Miss referred to them as Ermie and Baby Weal. She adored them and is already counting on another visit.

Here let me honk your nose.

I love how Little Miss is engaged with Ermie and Will with me.

Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Around these parts of Texas the heat has been unbearable. I know we say this every year towards the end of summer but seriously.... this is the hottest yet.

I had been avoiding taking the kiddos anywhere in the car during the day because I would have to let my car run for 20 minutes before loading up and even then their little backs get soaked with sweat. I also try to make it to the park to run extra early to beat the heat and yet again I have unhappy babies with sweat soaked clothes and red faces. That is until this past week when I was inspired by this idea.

I don't have time to sew right now so I decided to take a short cut and just place freezer gel packs behind their backs in their car seat and stroller. I sometimes wrap it in a kitchen towel to absorb the condensation but if you don't have time to do that it's no biggie.

You can freeze them flat and let them thaw a bit before placing them behind their back or you can just chill it in the icebox. Either way it makes for a happy rider. Now their backsides are nice and cool when we get home from an outdoor adventure rather than in need of immediate naked cool down in front of the fan time.

Now...if only they made one big enough to keep me cool.

Maternity Session {Alli}

Remember my sister-friend Alli that got married in March? Well...I'm beyond trilled to announce that the Lord has blessed them with a baby due in late December. I can't wait to watch my friend fulfill her dreams as a mother to this precious baby.

They came for a visit recently and she was willing to brave the heat to capture this time in their life. I'm pretty sure it was around 105 degrees when we took these. Isn't she just beautiful?!

The red vintage phone that's pictured below was something she actually purchased in Savannah while on their honeymoon. Little did they know it would go in a nursery just 9 months later. Love it!

I love you sweet friend!

{Belly Laughs}

This makes me smile.
I love her constant concern for Bubby's drool.
I love the pure joy he has for his sister.
I love this time in my life.

And of course I could watch this one at the start of each and every day. I love these sweet baby prayers.

Beating the heat with the crock pot

This month I will do just about anything to avoid using my oven and since eating out isn't much of interest or an option I've been trying out some crock pot meals. For some reason when I think of using the crock pot my mind jumps to roast with carrots and potatoes, so I had to find some recipes to get me out of that mindset. I wanted to share some of my recent favorites.

Fauxtisserie Chicken from Our Best Bites was true to description and really does taste like what you would get our your local grocery store. I followed the instructions and then added 1 cup of water to the bottom of my crock pot and it turned out perfect. I paired this with a summer salad and it was delicious!

Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken from the Pioneer Women. I followed the initial steps using the stove-top but when the instructions say to put it in the oven I put it on the crock pot for 2-3 hours and the chicken was fall off the bone delicious!

Pepperoncini Beef Sandwich from Our Best Bites is another great one we have been enjoying all summer long. I use 2lbs of stew meat rather than what their instructions call for and it shreds just right. We serve this on toasted ciabatta bread topped with provolone or mozzarella cheese.

Apricot Glazed Pork from Yonder Way Farm. I have also done this same recipe using stew meat and the results are equally tasty in my opinion. Serve this with Hawaiian rolls and your sure to have people coming back for more.

What have you been serving up in your kitchen lately? I would love it if you linked up some of your favorite crock pot or stove top recipes.

Nursery Surprise

Remember this mom to be?

Well.... the baby decided to come a few days early last week. The nursery wasn't quite finished and some of the coaches wives decided to get together and have a craft night to finish some of the details to make the nursery complete for the baby's homecoming.

Before

After

The two different shades of yellow frames is an accident turned treasure. I'm a doof and gave two people the task of painting a few of the frames. It would have been a good idea to check and make sure the colors were the same, because clearly they were not. When we got them together to arrange them on the wall we agreed that it looked really fun with the contrasting shades, that and there was no time to go home and re-paint. lol

The canvas paintings were done by Haylee and are absolutely stunning! I know that baby is going to treasure them.

I know this family was thrilled to come home to this surprise. It was a blessing to see all the women come together to give of their time and effort to make this happen. Thanks yall!

so it begins...

We've been missing our Daddy so much lately as football season has him spending time with sweaty goofy boys rather than at home playing with us. It's been a long hard week so far with babies feeling under the weather and temps of 105+ that we just haven't got out much. We decided to deal with the heat and get out of the house at least once this week to pay a special visit to Daddy during two-a-days. Little Miss was so excited to bring him a snack and see him wearing a hat..... she thinks it's the funniest thing. Bubby...like always was a trooper.

{Four Months}

Where is the time going? Seriously, I feel like I just printed off the July calendar, circled it and took your picture the other day and here we are again. I can't believe how much you have changed in just one month. Here's some of what's going down:

You are smiling all of the time.
Laughing at everything especially at your Daddy and Sissy.
You love to chew on your hands and make a slobbery mess.
You  spray your spit everywhere when you get excited.
You make some of the funniest noises when your getting hungry and tired.
You are starting to enjoy your bouncer more and more.
You seem to cry a *little bit* less while in your car seat.
You still have the loudest cry I've ever heard in my life.
We're working on stretching you out at night.I'm beginning to believe your not all that hungry but just want some one-on-one time with me and while I enjoy our one-on-one time I'd rather it not be at 12:30,2:30, and 5:30 AM.
Your rolling over to your side often and have rolled all the way over a couple of times.
You still like to be swaddled but you're busting out of it once I lay you down so I think that will be the next thing we work on once we get you to sleep longer through the night.

We love you so much Bubby! We see the way you already adore your Sissy and can't wait to watch you two grow closer to each other. I'm so thankful for your tender, affectionate personality and your chunky body that's so darn cuddly. I just can't get enough of you!

 

Delightful Dessert Recipes

It's safe to say that I have an unhealthy "need" for sweets. I know...I know...everybody does but you don't understand.... it's bad. I also have a baking addiction and enjoy spending time in the kitchen with my little girl. A win win, right?
Anyways, I'm dying over here because I'm trying not to use the oven much this month and I keep finding all of these recipes I once again "need" to try. I've even gone as far as to purchase the ingredients for some of these in hopes of bringing on a rainy baking day sooner than the end of September.

Here are just a few of the things I want to make.
You can click on the recipe title and it will take you to the original source.

thousand-dollar-bars-

rolo-dream-bars

cinnamon-sugar-crusted-coffee-cake-muffins

 

homemade-girl-scout-cookies-samoas-bars 

peach-upside-down-cake 

cinnamon-roll-pulls

peanut-butter-pretzel-bites 

the-baked-brownie 

lemon-scented-pull-apart-coffee-cake 

cookie-dough-brownies 

And then there are those that I've already made and wan't to make again.

First off I spent all of nap time making these

 

And then I found this recipe for Cinnamon Roll Pancakes and I'm not sure if I'll ever go back.They were so fast and easy and tasted delicious. Of course they aren't cinnamon rolls but they took 2 hours and 45 minutes less time and didn't require the oven.

Then there's the Coconut Pound Cake that's calling my name for round three.

And my husband wants this  dr-pepper-cake again. We've already made it twice and that didn't seem to fix our chocolate cake needs. Maybe third time around?

What are some recipes on your "to-try" list?