Baking FAIL

Things started out so promising.

I mean, mixing cookies and candy...you just can't wrong there!
They looked so cute before I put them in the oven.

And they looked pretty good coming out of the oven too.

That is until I tried to take them off the pan!
This was my first {and last} attempt at making Stained Glass cookies!

I did end up with some SUPER cute and oh so yummy Valentine's cookies {without the stained glass center} that I will post about next week:)

6 Degrees of Yum-Even Without Bacon!

6 Layer Mexican Dip

{which can also be 7, 8, or 9 layer dip depending on what you like!} This is a SUPER yummy dip that I make sometimes. It is as easy as layering stuff on a plate.

#1 Spread a whole can of refried beans on a platter.

#2 Add a layer of browned and seasoned hamburger meat

#3 Spread on a layer of sour cream.

#4 Sprinkle on a layer of grated cheese.

#5 Top with lettuce.

#6 And some cut up tomatoes.

Sometimes we add in other layers too like

salsa

guacamole

&

olives.

Whatever you decide to add, serve it will scoops or tortilla chips and you will have a yummy Mexican fiesta in your mouth!

p.s. Bonus points {and maybe even a prize} awarded to anyone who gets my {probably not as clever as I think it is} Bacon reference in the title of this post!

And don't forget to hop over to Mimi'sand enter FREE 4 All Fridays too!

Mom's Little Mess Maker!

Yes, that is a whole box of tissues.
No, I did not freak out.

Yes, my little mess maker is Eli.

Yes, I just let him continue playing with the tissues.
Yes, I stuffed them back in the box.
Yes, I put it back on the shelf for him to play with another time.
No, I didn't tell Jason.

I hope he doesn't need a tissue:)

Wordless Wednesday: LOST Snacks

Island Pizza "The LOST Numbers" Cookies

My Funny Valentine

I looked in the pantry one day last week and saw a whole box of unopened candy canes leftover from Christmas. I'm sure everyone has at least a few candy canes hanging around in their candy bowls...and here is a great way to use them up and make a pretty cute Valentine's Day craft too!

SUPPLIES:

scrapbook paper

colored cardstock

candy canes

hot glue gun

scissors

First, lay your candy canes down on the paper in the shape of a heart. Use that shape to estimate the size that your card will be. Mine ended up being about 6 inches tall by 4 inches wide. Cut both the scrapbook paper and the colored card stock to that size.

Next, run a bead of hot glue down one side of the candy canes and attach them to the scrapbook paper. Trim around the edges of the candy canes so that the only part of the scrapbook paper that you see is inside the candy cane heart.

Then, attach the scrapbook paper/candy cane heart to the colored cardstock.

You can add a message on the front of the card.... ...or on the back of the card.

You could even frame these in cute picture frames with the glass removed.

What kind of Valentine's Day crafts are you working on?

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. ********************************

The virus floating around my house last week {that I thought was going to be a quick 12 hours thing} did NOT end up staying around for almost 5 days! It is NOT finally gone, and we are NOT finally getting back to our normal routine after days of Gatorade, lots of toast, and a million loads of laundry! I am NOT completely giddy over the fact that I {hopefully} won't be cleaning up vomit today...or the rest of this week:)

Because the kiddos were NOT sick all week, I did NOT completely neglect my camera, leaving it in the case almost all week {except to take a few pics of my sick sleeping kids} and forgetting to put on my oh so cute camera strap! I do NOT feel like I missed almost a whole week of my life while we were sitting around the house...and I {really} do NOT have photographic evidence of that missing week!

Oh, and those million loads of laundry that I did NOT mention earlier...they were NOT stacked up in my living room over the weekend waiting to be folded. The huge stack of laundry was NOT sitting on a chair, towering taller than me! I did NOT consider taking a picture, but then decided I was too embarrassed to share because the stack was really that big! My wonderful hubby did NOT fold all of those clothes Sunday after church while I took a nap:)

Nobody Likes To Be Sick!

But our house has been full of it this week.

If you read my tweets you have already heard some of the {gross} details of our week...but I figured being sick is so much fun that I might as well share our misery with everyone who reads my blog too:)

The fun started Tuesday at the park. After walking a few laps around the track, I let Eli play on the climbing structure and slide with Grant for awhile. Eli managed to climb all the way to the top of the slide and then vomit EVERYWHERE!

I was in shock for a minute, trying to figure out if maybe he had eaten a leaf and gagged! Nope, he was sick. I had to take him to the car, strip him down to his diaper, and then climb my big behind to the top of the slide and clean up the mess! It was not fun....luckily I had half a tub of baby wipes in my car:)

So, we come home...and he throws up a few more times on Tuesday but then seems fine on Wednesday. But by Wednesday night, everybody was joining in on the vomiting fun! Henry, Grant, and Eli were each up at different times throughout the night...and poor Jason had to take blankets out in the freezing cold to clean them off.

Now, I have spent all day Thursday...and will spend most of today too...sitting around the house with sick kiddos, hoping that by some miracle I don't get this lovely virus that they seem so eager to share!

This is what the boys have been up too:

And this is all they have been drinking:

Hopefully, the sickness will be gone soon. In the meantime, we will

sleep on the couch
watch movies all day

and drink lots of Gatorade!

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

In non-vomit related news, I have been trying to throw together a last minute vacation. The boys are out of school for three days in a few weeks, and I really want to take them to see SNOW! I am leaning towards somewhere in the Smoky Mountains...maybe around Asheville, North Carolina. If anybody has any great places to visit or tips for that area, please share!

I Heart My New Camera Strap

I have been one lucky girl when it comes to giveaways lately.

I have won gift cards, goodies, and now an {oh so cute} camera strap.

I won this SUPER cute strap as part of I ♥ Faces' birthday celebration! The giveaway was sponsored by the generous people at My Funky Camera...you should click on their name and go check out their website! It is full of great stuff for your camera...neckstraps, wriststraps, and even some SUPER cute notebooks!

I recieved my camera strap in the mail a few days ago....only about 4 days after I sent an email to the people at My Funky Camera letting them know which one I had fallen in love with:) It was a really hard decision, because they have so many cute choices...but I really love the mix of blues, pink, and red in the one I chose! I am sersiously thinking about ordering a matching wrist strap because it is just that cute:)

Do you have a cute strap for your camera? If you don't, I would recommend you check out My Funky Camera!

Wordless Wednesday: Healthy Snack

New Toy and New Crafts

I finally convinced myself that I had plenty of thing to make to justify buying a Cricut. So I saved up some Christmas money and a few giftcards that I had won, and I bought it! I've only had it out of the box for about two weeks, and I've only cut out a few things....but I LOVE it!

I can see this being SUPER helpful with all kinds of school projects, birthday parties, and crafts. I can't wait to start using it more...and if anyone has any great ideas or blogs to share let me know.

So far this has been one of my creations:

It is a simple frame from Target.

I used solid color paper for the background and cut out the B on some cute scrapbook paper.

I hot glued the ribbon to the back and tied a bow. Pretty easy to do and SUPER cute!

I also made these:

I am planning on mounting them on a bigger board to hang in my hallway. I also made these so that I can change the pictures up for different times of the year. I am thinking "HOP" for Easter,"USA" for the 4th of July, "BOO for Halloween, and "Joy" for Christmas!

I am having a blast playing around with my new Cricut. Is it sad that I am looking forward to the boys' next school project, so I can use it some more?!?

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. ********************************

I did NOT go shopping at local resale shop this weekend. I did NOT take advantage of their going out of business sale and buy a bunch great stuff{okay some of it might possibly be junk}. I did NOT come home with these:

and this:

I do NOT already have two other school desks upstairs...making my total number of desk 3! I do NOT have big plans to paint and decoupage the desks {now I have one for each kiddo} and put them in the boys' playroom. I have NOT been planning to fix up the other two for at least two years:) Hopefully, third times the charm!


I have NOT been really tired and lazy lately. That does NOT mean that I chose to nap this weekend instead of cleaning house. My kitchen counter top is NOT so cluttered with stuff right now that I would be embarrassed to share a picture of it:) I am NOT planning on spending the rest of the morning cleaning up the huge mess that managed to accumulate over the weekend!

FREE 4 All Fridays!

It's the fourth Friday of the month.

That means it's my turn to host FREE 4 All Fridays!

Because everybody likes free stuff, right!?!

So...what am I giving away?

How about a {SUPER cute} personalized insulated cup to help keep you and your coffee {or cocoa} warm through the rest of the winter!

Here is a pic of mine:

And you can have one too....with your own initial on it:)

To enter:

Leave a comment telling what initial you would want on your cup.

For another entry, follow my blog and leave a comment telling me you do.

For a third entry, post the SUPER cute FREE 4 All Friday button on your blog and leave a comment telling me that you did. Here's the code:

<center><a href="http://dingdingdorn.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="FREE4AllFridays!" src="http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt350/kellibwilson/Free4All.jpg" /></a></center>

I will use random.org to pick a winner on Sunday. Good luck.

{And don't forget to stop by Mimi's place and tell her "HI" too!}

Stuck

I have been in a craft slump lately.

Even with a new crafty toy {which I will post about next week}, I am still feeling SUPER uncrafty lately. I have few things floating around in my head, but no real plan to get them going! I think I just need a little inspiration and a lot of motivation!

I want to sew and paint and make fun crafts...but I just can't gather my craftiness together enough to actually DO anything!

I took this picture a few weeks ago when we were in downtown Mobile.

I really liked the starburst on the side of the building. I love how something so small can make something as big as this building seem special. I wish I could find that thing in my life...the small starburst that sets me apart and makes me special.

I have been looking at this picture the past week or so, trying to be inspired by it. It has helped a little, but I need to find some bigger crafty inspiration out there. Any suggestions?!?

Where do you find inspiration for the things you love to do?