friday favorites

from the week...

-- these two handsomes in the pic above (ALWAYS at the top of my list)

-- using DealsToMeals to save me some mulah on my grocery shopping trip today

-- getting Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets to make these

-- song-swapping (texting my sister and my old college roomie/best friend and sharing new songs we found)

-- getting inspired to own a little, plastic camera (ie. diana, holga) to get fun photos like these (for now, my hipstamatic app will have to hold me over)

-- putting a mirror on the head rest of the seat where Brooks' carseat is...so I can see his adorable face while i drive

-- YW in Excellence on Wednesday...so proud of my girls

-- looking for the positive in the hubs buying a[nother] ginormous George Foreman grill...the muffin tin attachment will be pretty fun though

-- getting asked by my doctor yesterday, "Is that a hickey on your neck?" "Uh...." ;)

-- singing Christmas songs to Brooks in the car...hey christmas really is right around the corner!

-- Brooks snuggling up on my shoulder (he doesn't do that very often)

-- dipping gingerbread graham crackers in milk while I write this :)

quindi questo è amore...

translation: so this is love...

spaghetti and meatballs

1 plate

2 forks

{please excuse the messy counter tops and open cupboard}

lady & the tramp style

T is for Tooth...and Treadmills

Latest news on our little B-meister...

yea, he's pretty proud :)

*****************

I went to the gym today.

And after dropping Brooks off in the supervised kids' play area, i really started missing my little workout buddy...

{little B right around 2 months}

I don't do much weightlifting, but after a class, or some running on the treadmill or elliptical I do abs and stretches on these mats by the weights.

{B at about 5 1/2 months}

I loved seeing this chubby, smiley face every time I'd come up from a sit-up.

Now he doesn't like to be confined to his carseat...he likes to play and move and build those muscles!

Just like mommy.

(i really don't have muscles, but we can pretend)

Animal cookies & a bad hair day

While I love me some Circus Animal Cookies...the sprinkled pink & white frosting actually makes me a bit nostalgic...well, I put a twist on those today. A big twist.

The theme for our Young Women's activity tomorrow is Wild Safari. We're having chocolate fondue & I know Oreos are extra delish dipped in chocolate [and peanut butter and Jet-Puff]...so I thought about how I could jazz 'em up to be more safari-ish.

And this is what I came up with:

So if you ever have the need for zebra & cheetah Oreos, here's how I did it...

{microwave the chocolate chips in a ziplock...turning over every 10-20 seconds...they're done when you can push on the bag and they're melted. Be careful not to burn it!}

{cut a TINY corner off the bag, and use your doodling skills to pipe on different shapes for the cheetah print, and close stripes for the zebra print}

Ta-DAH!!

You've got some SasSy SaFaRi SwEetS!

Then, AFTER you're done, you can act like a kid [cause you were thinking about the pink & white animal cookies] & draw on your [clean] fingers with the chocolate...of course enjoying every lick!

{A & B = Adam & Brooks}

*************

Oh, and this little dude woke up with a bit of a bad hair day.

...nothing a hat can't fix :)

snow = cocoa...and homemade mallows!

When you have this in the afternoon...

I think this is much needed...

That's right folks! Not much beats

homemade hot cho (that's what my dad calls it)

with homemade marshmallows.

Honestly I don't have the time tonight...but those soft, sweet Mr. Marshmallows and I will be having a date in my kitchen soon, real soon.

Click here for the site that has the how-to :)

beautiful creations...

{2-sided bookmarks I made for my girls...wonderful, inspiring words on both sides...leaves from my front yard...both stuck on with the mod podge I got yesterday}

Today I gave a lesson in Young Womens.

The lesson emphasized that all of God's creations are meant for our benefit...everything has it's unique purpose, but they all have one thing in common:

They were created to bring joy to His children.

Another point of the lesson:

We, as His daughters, play a special part in the act of creation...God has given us the opportunity to partner with Him in creating bodies for his children's spirits.

Such an awe-inspiring thought.

It is still surreal to think about my little Brooks growing inside me...I miss it a lot sometimes. There's nothing in the world like your little one grow and move inside you.

And then we, as parents, get to create a home that has the Spirit. I want to create experiences for Brooks and my other future children that will help them feel the love of their Savior.

I want to teach them, by example, to appreciate and truly enjoy all that God has created for them. The lesson mentioned Helen Keller and how she was blind and deaf, yet she still found joy in nature through touch.

It then asked, if we only had 3 more days to see with our eyes, what would you want to see?

I'd want to see my husband and son & memorize their faces, sunrises & sunsets, a temple, colorful fall leaves, fancy prepared food, mountains, a rainbow, birds outside my house, beautiful architecture, words in good books, a bubble bath, people dancing, people laughing, little animal families, Christmas lights...so much beauty to take in.

So let me ask you, if you had just 3 more days to see with your eyes...what would you absolutely have to see?

PS - This beautiful talk by a leader of my church has a great section about creation...read it, you'll feel inspired :)

A stroll to get some Mod Podge

[i love fall leaves on the sidewalk]

Brooks joined me for a walk to get some Mod Podge.

[I need it for the bookmarks I'm making for my Young Women's lesson tomorrow]

Our wonderful neighborhood Smith's just happens to be about 3 blocks away.

All-too convenient some times...

I thoroughly enjoy taking B to the store with me. People ooh and ah over his cuteness. I return the compliments with, "He gets it from his Daddy." And I love it when it takes him a second to smile at a stranger, cause when he finally does they then get the biggest grin themselves =) hope it makes their day! I think he, along with every other smiley baby, make the world a better place.

[i adore their bagged apples...today I picked me some granny smiths]

But this little guy got tuckered out just before we left...

What a trooper.

Sweet dreams babe.