Be Wild and Free

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did... even though Christmas was just way too overwhelming for Bentley this year. He's 3, so he is understanding the concept of Santa and gifts but he doesn't truly understand.  The night before Christmas Eve, I was up until 3a trying to get the house cleaned and laundry done since we fell behind (again... story of my life) and trying to get the last stocking stuffers wrapped.  We had my IL Christmas on Christmas Eve, so I wanted stuff done before we headed over there knowing that once we left, we would be back late.  Dinner and gifts at the IL's went very well!  Here are my beautiful kids enjoying Christmas! After Christmas at my IL's, we went home... I had to quickly get breast milk from my house freezer to my deep freezer in the garage since we were hosting dinner the next day and I had a house freezer FULL of milk. So that was a process! (I should hear back in the next week or so ...

Have you been looking for an easy way to type out and print your recipe cards? If you're anything like me, you write out your recipes thinking your handwriting is just beautimous and then a month later you cannot stand the way they are wrote... So you want to change them up, but then make a ton of mistakes and you're just not happy with the way they look.  You're probably not OCD like I am... but anyways, this is a cool website!  I did a quick google search and found Skip to My Lou's Recipe Card Maker!  Super. Simple. When you're done, you can print them out or save the recipe cards as an 'image' to print out later!  Go HERE for the Recipe Card Maker!  Here is one of mine!  Until next time, friends

I found a recipe on Pinterest for some really yummy Christmas Cookies! Head over to Pinch of Yum for the recipe!  I thought they looked kind of complicated, but after reading the recipe I figured I could handle it!  They were actually pretty simple!  They were really pretty simple and Oh! so delicious! We had the entire 40 of them gone that night! (of course, we shared with our friends!)  So, if you're looking for an easy but very festive looking with all the YUM! these are your cookies!  Until next time, friends

Whoa! Lots to catch up on! I've been without internet on my computer for FOUR days and it's been very busy around here. I haven't had the chance to sit down and blog.  Ben bought me an iPhone for my birthday! I’m liking it so far, but it won’t tether internet to my computer like my DroidX could… so, I've had to get an outside internet source and they were FINALLY here Monday to get everything all setup! It was a blessing in disguise though, because now I can talk on the phone and be on the internet at the same time which will help my productivity at work quite a bit! So, to get all caught up…  Friday was an ordinary day. Ben ran his last 5K of the year, helping our cousin complete her New Years Resolution!  (Ben is the one in the orange shorts!) Then we took Bailey with us to help momma and daddy celebrate my 25th birthday and finish Mr Bentley's Christmas shopping! We ate at Don Pablo’s… If you haven’t been there… GO. GO NOW! Total YUM! (Pr...

a Rafflecopter giveaway Until next time, friends

Change.org is trying to get WIC to add Cloth Diapers... This is HUGE for low income families. Many low-income families do not understand or may not even know how affordable cloth diapering can be. Albeit, how EASY cloth diapering can be.  I'm a cloth diapering momma. Have been for nearly 3 years. It has saved us a TON of money. I spent $60 in newborn diapers when Bailey was a newbie. I had cloth diapers but I was just being too lazy to use them between learning what life is like with 2 kids, learning to breastfeed a newbie, etc. I know, excuses. But life is full of them and that was my excuse for not using my cloth in the early days.  Once I realized just how much I had spent on disposable diapers in THREE short WEEKS of my daughter's life... I stopped. I broke out my cloth and haven't looked back.  I don't buy diapers. I don't buy wipes. I have an unopened box of wipes in my office that I've had for almost 2 months now. It SAVES money. So this peti...

So in an attempt to make a Christmas Dessert for my Company Christmas Party on Saturday, I went on a Pinterest search for a creative but easy dessert...  and... I settled on trying these: Mini Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies Head on over to: Pinch of Yum for the recipe! I'm headed to the grocery store today for ingredients! Stay tuned for how it goes!  Until next time, friends

So like usual, I can't STTN because my milk jugs fill up. So after Bailey went back down after a MOTN snack, I needed to pump. But, ultimately, I also needed to pee, BAD! So I stumble down the stairs like a drunken sailor, pee, and sit in the recliner downstairs to get my daily hand exercises in.  Tick Tock... Tick Tock... 20 minutes later. I'm done.  Wander back upstairs and what do I find?! A cute little 3 year old on my side of the bed... So... like any good mother, what did I do? I left him in his peacefulness. He's going through a bit of a late start with jealousy with his new baby sister. He just recently started all this, so I'm taking a step back to look at my words and actions to see if I'm treating him differently.  I've noticed some jealousy that sissy sleeps in momma and daddy's room (we have a 2 bedroom farm house, so her "nursery" is in the corner of our room), so we find him in our bed multiple times a ni...

All because I won't turn on the TV. Cue dramatics... (yes... yes that is an UNdecorated Christmas tree. Who knows when it will be decorated. We got it Sunday and it's now Wednesday and still... no decorations. It's lucky to even have the tree skirt. I only put that on there to hide the hideous tree stand because our house had its first showing this afternoon) And this is what Miss B thinks of her brother's tantrum. So this is how my afternoon went! Oh the joy!  Until next time, friends

As I lay here thinking and reminiscing on my past, I chuckle and smile since I am once again reminded that everything we do has a purpose, has a reason. 'Everything happens for a reason' may sound clique but it is so true. Just think back to your past. What if you had chose a different path? Made a different decision? Would you be where you are today? I often wonder who and where I would be today had I never moved out of my mom's house at 14 years old. A freshman in high school... Would I have ever met my husband? Would I have continued down the path of drugs? Allowing my use of marijuana to get worse? Many don't know... but I was headed down an awful path. I felt neglected by my parents, I had very few 'true' friends, I was depressed. But one decision to move away from all that changed my life. I often wonder if I would even be here if it weren't for that one decision to jump ship at the tender age of 14. Ok... so jump forward. What would have happened h...

So last night it was made official... Our house is now on the market. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it yet. In one aspect I'm ready to move on. In another aspect, I'm sad to think that we may not be living here one day.  Ben and I bought this place in February 2009. It was a huge step forward in our relationship... Our first house. We started remodeling it immediately before we moved in. We actually didn't move in until the first of April, right before our 3 year anniversary. We have done so much to this place.  Here's what our house looked like in the spring of 2009...  We remodeled almost every single room in our house. New flooring. New paint. New windows. I mean, the list goes on and on. Outside, we tore down a barn and rebuilt a new barn and an arena. And now, here in 2013... This is what our house looks like today. So, as you can see. We have made this house a home. We have brought home 2 ...