Week #9 {2015}

Sunday we had some ninja assassins come and invade our house.

School was cancelled still on Monday {because of the early morning ice on the roads}, so once the ice melted, we got out of the house to run a bunch of errands that we didn't get to do last week. One of the stops was to the Library. Dylan got a 98 page book on Louis Armstrong for a school project and finished it in 35 minutes. 

And Payton thought it was summertime.

I caught a sweet moment between these two.

That right there is my favorite peeps.

Tuesday morning the kids had late start, and was the first time in ELEVEN days that they had school. They got ready with plenty of time left and got to watch some Netflix before the bus got here.

When Ry and I got to mom2mom we discovered that he was twinsies with his buddy Eli!

Wednesday we received an email from the kids school that there was a small kitchen fire in the cafeteria and they had to evacuate the entire school . . . But everyone was fine and back in their classrooms. Crazy!

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Isn't my sleeping boy so sweet?

Thursday morning I woke up on the couch because little man had a rough night and I couldn't sleep -but getting snuggles from him made it all okay.

That and It was ANOTHER snow day for school!

Monday = snow day

Tuesday = late start

Wednesday = fire evacuation 

Thursday = snow day

I'm sure the kids aren't learning much this week. LOL!

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We made Homemade Biscuits (from scratch).

And by 10:45 am most of the snow had melted.

Dylan decided he wanted to make cookies.

Side note: Snow days are NOT good for my waistline, or my rear. {sigh}

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This cookie dough was FAN.TAS.TIC. We could have eaten that whole bowl.

While the cookies cooled we had a comeback of their Halloween costumes.

{Dylan only put his on halfway.}

Then it was frosting time.

Ta-Da! Swig Sugar Cookies with Sour Cream Frosting.

So very very very very very very very good!

For dinner we had Deluxe BBQ Chicken Pizza. The bacon, pineapple and jalapeños make it deluxe and stinkin' wonderful. Though next time I'm doubling

{or tripling} the jalapeños. The kids picked them off but liked the kick it left behind.

I finished another book! {Who am I? Maybe Dylan is rubbing off on me!}

Friday Dylan had a friend come over and Rylan kept going on about Cullen being his best biend {friend}.

Saturday Chris and Dylan made some yummy brownies. They were so yummy. 

Payton got some snuggles with her daddy,

I got snuggles with Ry,

then it was Dylan's turn to get some snuggles.

It was a perfect Saturday night!

Take Four {book review}

One of the perks of having Snow Days is lots of down time which meant a lot of reading for me.  And since yesterday was ANOTHER snow day, I was able to finish another book. That makes 4 books read this year which is ironic since the book title is Take Four!

{Isn't his hand on my knee just so cute?}

I have been a fan of Karen Kingsbury for years.  I have read a bunch of her books and had not finished the Above the Line Series yet.  I found Take Four at my library and snatched it up.

Just like each of her other books I was drawn into the story.  It's amazing how she weaves the characters together.  And yes, I cried.  But a good cry, know what I mean?

Have you read any Karen Kingsbury books lately?

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Wanna see my reviews on the other books I've read this year?

The Lipstick Gospel

A Little Salty to Cut The Sweet

She's Gonna Blow

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This post contains an affiliate links.

Homemade Biscuits (from scratch) {recipe}

I used to just make biscuits from Bisquick following the directions on the box. Then I tried 7-Up Biscuits {woah - yum!}. But I don't always have Bisquick {or 7-Up} on hand.

So I stumbled upon {this} recipe when I was out of Bisquick . . . and guess what? 

They are better than the basic Bisquick ones {but then again isn't anything better made from scratch?}

I've made these a few times and have perfected the recipe to my liking. Wanna try them out?

Homemade Biscuits (from scratch)

Makes 12 biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter

1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450°.

Pour vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup. Fill the rest of the way with milk to make 1 cup. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar & salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until it is coarse crumbs.

Pour in vinegar/milk mixture and stir until moistened.

Lightly flour your surface and knead dough 8-10 times. Roll to 1/2" thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter (or turned over glass).

Place biscuits on a cookie sheet 2" apart and bake for 10 minutes or until golden on top.

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Linking up at: MadeFromPinterest

Our Pretty Little Girls

The Lipstick Gospel {book review}

So, the great thing about being iced in is you get a lot of time to read. I started and finished this short book, The Lipstick Gospel by Stephanie May Wilson this past week. That makes 3 so far this year!

I loved hearing how someone came to know the Lord through different circumstances than I had. How God meets each of us where we are. Her writing is very entertaining and I couldn't wait to see what was coming next.

I will say that I was surprised to see a swear word in the beginning of the book. I get that it was the reality of the situation, but still surprised none the less.

I also felt like the book ended too soon. I really wanted to hear how her relationship with God grew as she truly surrendered her life to Christ. At first it came across as God was a best friend and that would make everything in better. Which, from my thoughts and study, couldn't be further from the truth. God is our creator. He is holy and just. He is worthy of our honor, respect and reverence. Yes, he is my Abba, Father. And it IS about a relationship with him, but I never want to minimize WHO he is and how great, mighty & majestic he truly is. And God's not a magic genie. Just because you surrender your life to Christ, doesn't mean everything will work out great. Quite the opposite, "I have told you these things, so that in ME you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!" - John 16:33

My favorite paragraph in the book was this one:

I have never been to the Sistine Chapel and have not heard Michelangelo's painting described that way. How beautifully impactful is that? God will always be reaching for you to meet you right where you are.

If you have read this book, let me know your thoughts!

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Reviews on the books I've read this year:

A Little Salty to Cut The Sweet

She's Gonna Blow

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Contains affiliate links.

My Favorite Things at Target

I didn't get the Tuuur-get Lady on SNL the first time I saw it . . . and then my husband and I kept quoting it afterwards. Now it's hilarious.

So, hands down my favorite thing at Tuuur-get is their free Wi-Fi.  I take my iPad, stick Rylan in the back of the cart and I can stroll through the clothing department whole store peacefully.

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There have been a few things that I have purchased recently that I have loved, like this Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renewal Cream.  My mother-in-law introduced this to me and I'm so happy she did.  It smells great, like oranges, and it isn't greasy at all. I put it on first thing in the morning and it wakes my face up!

elf Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Ruby Slipper is my favorite tinted gloss right now.

I am loving this Massimo jacket I got a couple of months ago. It's warm, cozy and with the hood up, my son thinks I look like I'm on Assassins Creed {which means I look cool to my 10 year old boy}.  And the other thing I love?  With Target Coupons, Mobile Coupons and Cartwheel, I got this $39.99 jacket for about 16 bucks.  Score!

Mossimo Supply Co. Long & Lean Tanks.  To say I have an obsession would be an understatement.  They have some on clearance right now for $4.50!  Eek!  {I do not need anymore.  I do not need anymore.}

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The Wet Brush. The best $9 spent for my daughter.  Doing her hair without the "ouch", the complaining and the crying - oh it's wonderful!  I don't know exactly why this brush works, but I've tried it {and use it}, because it really is much better than a regular brush.  And Dylan has even asked for one in a boy color.

And the last thing is their meat specials.  A couple of days before their "use/freeze by" dates, Target slaps on a happy red sticker with $1 off, $2 off & $3 off.  I have walked out with 15 pounds of 97/3 ground beef for $30 {I also had a Cartwheel discount.}.  I came home, tossed them in the freezer and didn't have to buy meat again for a couple of months!

Yay Target!

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Linking up at: Momfessionals

OurPrettyLittleGirls

Week #8 {2015} - Ice Storm

Sunday morning Ry woke up not feeling well, which meant a lot of snuggles for me. 

I love when he wears his Ninja Turtle shell. {Thanks Auntie J!}

Then they both wanted me to hold them. At the same time.

Afterwards, Payton wanted to hold him all by herself.

Dylan decided to make cookies all on his own, with a little bit of help from his sous chef, Payton. {He even cleaned up afterwards!}

I asked him to take a pic of his cookies and I got these.

Guess he's been watching me take pics of my food very closely!

I love my grandmas's apron.

Monday #IceStorm2015 hit. You can read about it {here}.

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Tuesday the kids school was cancelled. Which was fine because we woke up to this view.

I ventured very slowly down to the mailbox. Remember that is all ice . . . not snow. That's our house.

The ice left some pretty things though.

Dylan loved chipping away at the ice on our patio.

And the kids were stoked that school is cancelled again tomorrow!

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I found a heart shaped mushroom,

which went into a super yummy soup that Chris created out of what we had on hand. It was yummy!

Then they made ants/ladybugs on a log.

Wednesday Ry was feeling better and wanted to have his turn at sledding. "Mama, I'm ready!"

We were finally getting our first snow.

So Chris and I got out there and joined them.

And we headed out front for some driveway sledding.

{He almost crashed into the mailbox!}

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We had enough snow to make snow cream. I have great memories of my mom making this when I was little.

Since we were getting low on food, and they cancelled school for the rest of the week, we ventured out {down our icy driveway} and headed to WalMart. There was plenty of food there with the exception of the bread department.

When we got back home we couldn't get back up our driveway. Chris and Dylan tried to chip away at the ice, but decided to just leave the car there. 

And I may or may not have fallen trying to carry groceries up the hill. Too bad there isn't video. That would have been funny.

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We had a blizzard-thingy swoop through. It wasn't a white-out . . . Maybe a gray-out?

This is tomorrow morning's forecast. Good-golly!

Thursday - I have to say, the kids are doing REALLY well for being home this week. Are they stir crazy? Yes. But besides the small amount of bickering, and the fact that the house is constantly a mess, we are doing good and they still love each other. See?

Since today was the best day weather wise {although it was the coldest day of the week} Chris had to go pick up some documents from a customer and stop by his office so we tagged along. This is the parking lot at his office.

The highways were clear except the black ice under the bridges. I'm glad we were driving at lunchtime rather than early morning or evening. Both times would be extremely icy!

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Friday was day #5 of this ice/winter storm and even though I'm trying to keep the house picked up, our living room looked like this.

And guess what. I'm happy. Yes, it's cold. We can't really go anywhere, do anything. But I'm thankful for a warm house. A husband who can work from home and not risk being out in these horrible driving conditions. Food to feed our bellies. And as of now, we still have running water and power. Plus were making memories. For years to come we will talk about that ice storm where we were stuck home all week.
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Then I caught my favorite moment of the day on camera.  I get to watch it over and over again.

Gigglesnort.  He's okay.
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About 2pm it started to snow again,

and this time the flakes were ginormous!

Ry got ready to go outside to play. Um, yeah buddy . . . I don't think that's going to work.

The temps {finally} rose to above freezing and the snow turned to rain so I made peanut butter cookies and we snuggled in for Family Movie night.

{And yes, I probably gained 15 pounds this week!}

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Since it rained all night we woke up Saturday morning to everything covered in ice. The kids decided to go and shovel the sidewalk for us!

This is the aftermath of my favorite moment yesterday.

And this is the aftermath of the ice, sleet, snow & rain.

This is a pic of the water just running down on top of the ice from our backyard.

And my awesome husband clearing the driveway . . . in the rain.

Week #8 of 2015 will not soon be forgotten.  We made great memories, but hurry up and get here Spring!