New Additions....

SQUEAL! My little sis in the hospital right now having a baby and I couldn't be more excited! Two weeks early this baby just couldn't wait to meet his new family. I can't wait to meet him. I've been scouring www.etsy.com in search for the coolest baby products and guess what? I found some. Here are two things my new nephew can't live without. After all, it would be a crime NOT to treat this baby like the Rock Star he's going to be. His name is Max and with a name like that you're sure to ROCK this world!
I ordered little Max a pair in grey with white accent here.


White elephant gift or completely awesome? You decide. But you know your baby will be getting more than ooooh's and ahhhh's when he's chillin with these binkies.
Or just in case you want to get your little one in the Christmas mood.....
I know you want one. So here's where you can get it!

So as you can tell, I'm excited about this new little nephew who lives absolutely too far away. So I'm anxiously waiting to be texted or emailed a picture and hear his little voice. In the meantime, I will be chillin' with OUR new addition..... Can you believe it? Over Thanksgiving we took in a stray dog that hasn't been able to find its owner. He seemed like the perfect dog. For 3 days anyway. The honeymoon is over, the excitement is wearing off, and the poop cleaning/sanitizing has sunk in. But what can we do? After 3 minutes with this dog we fell in love and named him Oscar. (if his name is Oscar, does that make me the Grouch?) Not quite the same as a little newborn, but a new addition to the fam just the same, minus 9 months of aches and pains. Plus, it's not a crime if I leave him at home alone to run to the store..... For some reason the police frown on that if it's your child. (wink, wink) Now I'll be searching http://www.etsy.com/ for dog accessories. I'm pathetic. But fun, right?

Bedroom Makeover from Santa?

What the heck? My nine year old is asking Santa for a bedroom makeover! How is Santa going to pull that off? Yes, she still believes, although her 6 yr old little sis is questioning it. Go figure. So what am I gonna do? What 9 yr old wants clothes for her birthday and bedding for Christmas? I remember wanting a bike and care bears. At nine years old, my friend informed me that I had on two different socks, and all I could think is, "how sad that she wastes time finding matching socks rather than playing!" So here I am, with a to-do list a mile long and now planning a bedroom makeover before Christmas. Can it be done? I doubt it. Will I try? Til I sew through a fingernail! Where do I begin? I go to my favorite elaborate decorating blog for inspiration, Design Dazzle. Here are a few bedrooms I saw on Design Dazzle's blog I'm dreaming of.

Can you tell we like color? A girl with flair for sure! So as kids begin writing their letters to Santa with pictures of toys and bikes, my nine year old is sketching like crazy. Designing her room. Things on her list include a pearl beaded dust ruffle, a monogram duvet cover, a hammock or chair- she can't decide, polka dots, and a glitzy chandelier. She has narrowed her colors to hot pink, orange, turquoise, lime green, black & white. This could either be amazing or a disaster. There's no middle ground in our house! I need help.....

New Photo Prop

I'm always on the look-out for interesting photo props. There's a fine line between super cheesy props and WOW props. "Why use props at all?" you ask. Sometimes its hard to get a real smile. I can't tell you how many photos go in digital trash can because they look more like their posing for the dentist x-ray machine than smiling. Say cheese- and now you can count how many teeth are in their entire mouth! So that's why I use props. I get them acting like their diva-selves and I get some pretty great smiles that way. I can especially capture my kids personalities. The shy one, (nix that- NONE of my kids are shy when I pull out a camera) the sweet innocent one, the soon-to-be broadway star. It's all there, just waiting for a prop to show them how to be themselves. Here is my latest attempt at Christmas card photos. Take 3. That's right, 3 different times of dressing up, getting in the car, and bribing with candy. 3rd times a charm right? You be the judge:

Here are some chalk board thought bubbles: soon to be selling in my sisters store found here.
There are so many possibilities. Your child holding a naughty sign with an arrow pointing to big brother. A scrooge sign for the dad who doesn't want to pose for pics. What would mine say? Oh, that's easy. Trophy Wife. My hubs would say, Eye Candy. As you can see, we're a sarcastic family. But you get the drift. You simply write on chalkboard bubble and wipe off with a baby wipe when you've changed your mind. Easy peezy and a hint of funny. Best kind of pictures!

Family Photo Blunder

Why is that I can take other peoples family photo's fine but always have to do retakes on my own? This year I had a plan. We were going to get it right the first time! I shopped and shopped for weeks looking to find outfits that coordinated but didn't punch you in the face with cute matchyness (It's a word. look it up.) Can I just tell you how hard it is to find something cool for a 2 year old boy in purple and gray to go with his two older sisters? It's nearly impossible! But I did it! I layed everyones outfits on the floor in my room, including shoes and accessories. Everything was ready to go. Outfits? Check! Perfect weather? Check! Full bellies? Check! (I actually made a real dinner- rare!) Happy children? Odd, but yes! The stars aligned. Everything was beautiful. And then we looked outside and it was dark..... Oh dang that silly daylight savings time change! It was too dark to take pictures. We raced to try to get a few, but every picture is way too grainy because the ISO had to be so high to even see us. Here is our attempt-

It doesn't look bad right? It actually looks like it's the middle of a beautiful sunny day right? Wrong! The ISO was at 3200 here. That's crazy high, but makes the picture look well lit. Any bigger than this 3x5 image you see here and the grainy factor is too major! But I was able to get a glimpse of what could possibly be the best family photos ever. Loving the scenery. Loving the outfits. Even the hubs looks happy. Probably because the shoot lasted 3 minutes total instead of 30! So we came home. I made the girls take off their outfits so they would be perfect in one week when we try this again. And then, the next and fatal disaster hit. The coveted purple shirt that was incredibly difficult to find, became victim to my 2 year old's desire to destroy. He cut up his brand new shirt. In the front! Oh yes, it just keeps getting better. Why do family photos have to be so difficult? It reminded me of 2 years ago. It too was a disaster, and we just went with it. This is the photo that we sent out with the caption: Have A Mostly Merry Christmas!

Yep! That's my life. Someone is always getting hurt and crying about it. And I've learned to accept my crazy life and embrace it. When we try to re-shoot our photos next Sunday, we will probably have someone crying, crazy weather problems, a 2yr old with a black eye and a cut up t-shirt. But that's ok. I never really believe those Christmas cards with the children smiling perfectly and the parents who look fresh and well rested. I like a bit more flair to my pictures!

White Chicken Chili

Yay! It's finally getting chilly in Texas! This is what I live for! The nice 70 degree days and the cold 50 degree nights. Pulling out my favorite sweaters and fuzzy socks. Wrapping up at night in my ultra soft robe. Yes it is finally fall. My favorite season. The other night I made my favorite soup that is loved by ALL my children. Very RARE (that I'm cooking AND my children love it)! Our family got this recipe from (practically our 4th sister) Alyson and we make it all the time. What makes it really fabulous is the tomato garnish- you simply MUST make it! My sis Renee hates tomatoes and guess what? She loves this garnish. It's the next best thing to Zac Efron. Just wait, you'll see!

Sorry this picture does NOT do it justice!

White Bean Chili-

*2-3 cans of white beans/ navy beans *1 large onion, diced finely

*36-48oz of chicken broth *7 oz can of diced green chiles

*2 tsp dried oregano *4 tsp cumin *1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (more or less)

*6 cloves of garlic, minced *1 Cup sour cream (no Reduced fat!)

*3 Cups shredded mont. jack cheese *4 Cups cooked & diced chicken

Directions: Combine beans, onions, garlic and broth and bring to a boil, turn down and simmer covered for about 2 hours. Stir occasionally. Add chicken, chiles and seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes. Take off heat, add sour cream and cheese and stir til melted. Add the tomato garnish for a real kick of flavor!

The most amazing, must have, Tomato Garnish:

*5 tomatoes off the vine or 8 roma tomatoes *cilantro chopped finely

*1/2 Cup sugar *1/4 Cup cider vinegar *juice from 1 lemon *1 tsp salt

*1 tsp paprika *2 tsp celery seed *1/3 Cup vegetable oil

Directions: In saucepan combine sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. In a jar of tupperware comvine lemon juice and seasonings. Add vinegar & oil. Shake to combine. Add just enough to coat the diced tomatoes. You'll probably have extra. Spoon onto your individual bowl of soup. And then invite me over!