had to do this review

Because I love this kitchen so much I wrote reviews for the first time on a couple of websites. So I thought I would paste what I wrote here as well. This Kitchen is simply AMAZING!! We got this kitchen for my 2 year old daughter for Christmas. It took about 2 hours to put together but totally worth it! I have seen many play kitchens being at one time in the childcare industry and having a 10 year old daughter. This one far exceeds the quality of any I have ever seen! It is very sturdy! The doors open and close with just enough ease. And it fits very snuggly into the corner of her room. The wood counter top is a beautiful glossy color. The pots and utensils are too cute and my daughter cannot get enough of hanging them on their little hooks. The wood is made of quality thick wood. I put this together in our basement Christmas Eve and then the hubby and I had to carry it up 2 flights of stairs in the end to get it to my daughter's room. Yes we hit the walls a few times but guess what, the walls were the only thing that faced any damage(minor lol). Not a scratch on the kitchen!! I ran into one minor problem. One of the boards was missing some of it's pre-drilled holes. I was able to put it together anyway but one of the shelves had no bottom support because it was not screwed in. I just went online and put in an order for the defected part and within 3 days I got the new part!! I replaced the part easily and now her kitchen is complete. I also bought all of the Kidkraft play kitchen accessories that go along with this kitchen and they have the same awesome quality! My 10 and 5 year old(who is a boy) cannot get enough of this kitchen as well. It is amazing and beautiful. And Diapers.com (where I bought it) is a wonderful company. I have purchased several items from them and their customer service and fast shipping is amazing! Thank you!!

holiday apples

Well, I did what I always do every holiday season. I said I would do something new and spectacular and then end up not doing it at all. This year I was going to make the most fabulous Gingerbread House. Well, I didn't! Buuuuut I did do something a little different. Last year for the Holidays I received a yummy Caramel Apple from 1800flowers.com. It was very gourmet with M&M's and confectioner's sugar drizzled all over it. It was simply to die for!! So when this Holiday season rolled around I decided I would order one myself. To my surprise the apple cost $18!!! And that was for one apple!! So I decided to look up some recipes and try and make this wonderful Gourmet Apple myself. And since I was taking on this new venture I decided not only would I make a candy coated caramel apple but a variety of apples that the kids could help with. And what you see above was the final outcome. They turned out very good and the taste was simply amazing. In the end I was so proud of myself because not only did I save $18 but I was able to get the kids involved as well!

feeling resourceful as usual!

So this year, like most years, there is a product that I have been dying to have and my wonderful husband decides to get it for me for Christmas. So I almost always know what I am getting for Christmas ahead of time. And this year is no different. Being the very resourceful person that I am I decided that I didn't want to waste wrapping paper on a box that is so big and geesh I already know what it is for darn sake. Soooo I decided to use brown packaging paper that has been in the closet for years. Next, and the best part of all, I let the kids color all over the paper to create a beautiful wrapping any mother would love! Isn't it just darling? BTW it's a Keurig Special Edition Coffee Maker Shhhhhh!!!

a gift of love one can cherish forever

Have you ever wanted to do something special for a loved one for the holidays that was different and something they can truly cherish. Well SHUTTERFLY give you a chance to take all of your photo memories and turn them into a beautiful book. I have done this at least 3 times and every book has been received with much praise. Family members who have received a book have even taken them to work and have been asked where can I make one. I thought I would share one of my Photo Book Projects so you can see how precious they are for yourself!!

Click here to view this photo book larger

the holidays are near, time to dust off the tools!

The baking and decorating tools that is. My absolute most favorite time of the year is near and the kids are getting excited too!! Last year we made cookies and we will for sure do that again this year. But I have also decided to make a Gingerbread House. And seeing as it will be our first Gingerbread House I have decided to go BIG!! I saw this Gingerbread House and I thought this is it!! Wish us luck. Will post pictures of the actual house in December!!

christmas is near! go SHUTTERFLY for your holiday cards!!

As a stay at home mommy learning ways to save money on one income becomes second nature. With the Holidays coming saving money becomes even more important!! That’s why I’ll be designing and getting our holiday cards from Shutterfly.com once again this year. I absolutely love getting my family's Holiday Cards through Shutterfly. The cards are beautiful and the quality is better than any local portrait studio. And I can take the picture in the comfort of my own home and then create my very own card on their website. If you want to take your picture professionally that is fine too because you can use that picture to create your card on Shutterfly as well. I love it!! Best of all the prices are amazing. Here are two cards I created last year with Shutterfly:

Shutterfly shoppers can choose from a variety of holiday card styles. Are you a simplistic kind of person? No problem. Choose a classic, simple holiday card design. If you love bright colors and fun type faces, you’ll love Shutterfly’s more charismatic holiday card designs.

Besides a huge selection of holiday cards, Shutterfly offers shoppers a great selection of photo gifts including wall calendars, stationary, mugs, and photobooks. Here are a few Photobooks I created last year and gave as gifts. They were a huge hit!!

Here are a few of my favoritephoto products:

• Holiday cards
• Christmas photo cards
• Wall calendars
• Photo Books

Choose your own card/invitation and URL from Shutterfly’s Cards & Stationery page

Follow Shutterfly on Twitter
Like the Shutterfly Facebook page

Are you a blogger? You can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly.com. Learn how here!

happy halloween!!

the ultimate singstar dance party

I am so excited to have been selected for the ULTIMATE SINGSTAR DANCE PARTY HOUSE PARTY!! This is too exciting and they are really hooking us up! Look what the party package includes:

• SingStar^® Dance reusable dishwasher safe plastic cups (15 per pack)
• SingStar^® Dance Judge Cards (1 pack per pack which includes 6 cards)
• SingStar^® Dance magnets (10 per household)
• Napkins (1 pack per household)
• Coke^® Coupon (1 per pack)
• Subway^® coupons (1 per pack)
• American Express Pass prepaid credit card brochure (15 per pack)
• a set of SingStar^® mics
• SingStar^® Dance game
• 2 PlayStation^®Move controllers
• 1 Eye Motion camera

So now the family is taking our YOUTUBE family dance nights up a notch with this!! We cannot wait for the party!!

facing my fears

So we recently took a train ride during our visit back to Iowa this summer. As long as I lived in Iowa I never wanted to go on this train ride because of the amazingly high bridge it goes across during the tour. But now that I have a son, who totally absolutely loves trains, I decided to face my fears...well almost. The ride was amazing and we even rode in the open car section. But throughout the entire trip in the back of my mind I thought about the bridge. I wanted to show "no fear" for the sake of my children. I didn't want them to grow up having a fear of heights because they saw mommy had it. But when the time came I couldn't stand it. I ran into the closed car section, closed my eyes real tight, and waited for my husband to tell me the coast was clear. After we passed the bridge I was proud to know my children stayed out on the open car and took in the view with amazement. And after seeing the breathtaking pictures my husband was able to take of the view I am so glad they were brave little ones and didn't miss out on seeing nature's beauty. But once again because of my fear I have missed out on a slice of something wonderful.

calgon take me away!!

I saw this picture today and totally got swept away in my imagination! Simply Breathtaking!

i now pronounce you mr. and mrs robin...now go make some bay bays

Well now I know we have to start a wild life preserve because no sooner then the turtle and turkey went away here came the birds. My husband found a robin's nest right outside our front door in a tree. There was already 1 egg in it! They say a Robin lays 1 egg per day until she gets about 3 or 4 then we sit and wait for the babies. Well lets see what happened.

Day 3
Sure enough there was another egg!

Day 4
She has laid yet another egg!! Ok she should be done now. It is pretty rare for a Robin to lay 5 eggs. If she is done we should be seeing little ones in about 14 to 16 days!! Can't wait.

Day 5-Incubation Period
And there she is. I had to take her picture through the glass of my front door but I think she sees me there LOL!

Day 7
We had storms rolling in and out this day and poor Mrs. Robin was taking it like a trooper!

After the storm she appeared to be almost all dried off and comfortable again.

Day 17
I noticed there was extra activity. Both Mr. and Mrs. Robin were standing over the nest today looking in it all day. I couldn't go out and get a pic because one or the other was always in the nest watching over. I knew there had to be something going on in there.

I was right!! As soon as they both left I ran out and took some quick pics inside the nest. Once again sorry about the weird angles. I was just trying to get in there and get out LOL. Oh BTW there are only 3 eggs now not 4. I have no idea what happened to the 4th!

Day 22
Baby is getting bigger! By this day another egg had disappeared and the last egg seems like it will not hatch. It has been too many days.

Day 29
I caught baby robin sitting on the edge of the nest. Just 12 days after hatching.

Mama Robin flew in and sat next to her baby. You can see her tail is curved to the side as if she is protecting her baby from falling out.

Next thing I know baby robin jumped from the nest. I guess it was time for it to leave the nest.

I watched baby Robin hop around our porch for awhile before finally hopping away. Soon Mama Robin will teach him to fly! Now that the nest is empty I kind of miss looking out my front door everyday watching nature in action!

turtle today, turkey tomorrow!!

So yesterday my husband was out mowing the lawn when low and behold there was a turtle in the yard. I grabbed all the kids up and we ran out to the yard to see this cute turtle very nervous because the sound of the lawn mower was so loud. Eventually he gained enough nerves to get up and walk away. We never saw him again.

Fast Forward to today my husband was looking out the window into the backyard(I guess to admire his mowing job from the previous day) and yells, "look there is a wild turkey in our backyard!" Of course, I thought he was joking. After yesterday's excitement I just couldn't believe the chances of some other uncommon backyard animal appearing. I got up to look anyway and sure enough...a darn wild turkey in our backyard!! Well, I guess at this rate it is time for us to open up a wild life refuge.