Cake Decorating in Oklahoma City!

Anyone live in OKC? My friend Iisha, who recently relocated there from Florida, has begun teaching cake decorating at the local Michaels Craft Store!

Anyone local please check out her FaceBook Fan Page Iisha's Sweet Expressions for more info and to sign up!

We're headed on our first official family vacation!

I am so excited to be finally taking our first official vacation with the kids. I feel like a grown up! In the past we would have just jumped in the car and set off for the mountains. Often we'd just drive around until dark and then try to find a campground or hotel. Sometimes they were full or too expensive and we'd have to keep looking. We'd always say "next time we're going to plan better."

Well this time, since there is a good likelihood that it will be snowing, camping is out of the question. Luckily since it's sort of the off season, small mountain cabin rentals are pretty much the same as the hotels. So we've lucked out and found a cute little cabin to stay at.

I am thrilled to be able to share the mountains, and hopefully snow, with our kids who have never been out of Florida. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when we stop at some of the most breathtaking scenic overlooks. I know they're just going to love it!

I think I'm obsessed with the Dog Whisperer...

We got a new puppy for Christmas, her name is Lucy and she was 12weeks old when we got her. My husband and I have had dogs before, we treated them like spoiled babies and in exchange they ate our furniture, our shoes, clothes and at the very least nibbled on pretty much anything and everything we owned.


It's sort of like when a family suffers a fire and loses their photos and keepsakes. We suffered through having three dogs and lost a lot of valuable things we would have kept for life.


Since having gone through that we've decided this time we're going to do it right, we're going to crate train her and teach her obedience and routine and hope that this time we end up with the dog of our dreams.


This leads me to the topic of this post, The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. He's got his own show and boy is he awesome. I can't get enough of the show and feel like I've learned and continue to learn so much. It's just unreal how he's so intuitive and connected with the dogs he trains and helps. Everything he does is like an "aha moment!" So simple yet you'd have never thought of it on your own.


Anyhow, Lucy's a great pup so far and we look forward to many years together.


Any other Dog Whisperer fans out there?

Crock Pot Ziti! Yumm-o-la

So I am trying to turn over a new leaf this year. One of my resolutions is to cook more than I do. My husband loves to cook, which is convenient for me since I am not a great cook. It's not that I can't cook but I don't have a whole lot of experience and so my cooking comes out plain and boring.

A friend turned me on to a Blog, A Year of Slowcooking, and it has really inspired me to try a lot of the recipes. I love the convenience of the CrockPot and since 4-5pm is such a busy time for me already it's fabulous that I can start dinner earlier and it will be ready at dinner time.

The Blog is run by the author of the book Make it Fast, Cook it Slow which you can buy on Amazon or at your local bookseller.

Last night I attempted the CrockPot Ziti Recipe found here. After having read her recipe and all the readers comments I decided to tweak her original recipe.

I used

• 1 box Penne/Ziti pasta
• 3 sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts, pre-cooked about half way before use
• 1 cup shredded fresh mozzarella
• 1 large jar garlic tomato sauce
• 1/2 jar alfredo sauce
• 1 cup of water
• diced onions & sliced tomato
• parmesan cheese

Instead of allowing it to cook in layers like she recommended I stirred it every 30-40 minutes to ensure that all the noodles were cooked and none got dried out.
It ended up taking 3 hours on low as opposed to 4 hours. If I had left them to cook any longer the noodles would have been way overdone.

Overall it was very tasty. My husband commented that the slow cooking seemed to give it a unique flavor.

This is a must try recipe if you love pasta and have a crockpot!

Trying to get this show back on the road!

Wow! It has been so long since I spent any time on this, my personal Blog. Since trying to focus more on my business and it's new Blog Diaper Discussions I have spent all my time there. The problem is that after getting into blogging and starting to keep up with all the cool blogs that I follow I have really began to long for a place to blog about personal things, not just cloth diapers.

So I came here, dusted off this old dusty blog, and here I sit. Hopefully with a new name and layout it will feel and look much better. I look forward to getting back on track with both my blogs and connecting with new blogs and followers.

:) Julie

Donate $5.00 or more to Miracle Diapers & receive a $5.00 off coupon to Earth Angels Diaper Co.!

Earth Angels Diaper Co. proudly supports Miracle Diapers and their continuing efforts to provide needy families with cloth diapering and natural parenting items.

Currently, the gals at Miracle Diapers are trying to make the move into a more comfortable office/warehouse environment. They need our help in raising the money they need to fund their move.

Earth Angels Diaper Co. will be providing a $5.00 Coupon Code to anyone who donates $5.00 or more to Miracle Diapers as a THANK YOU for your generosity and support. The coupon code will be automatically sent upon completing the donation through PayPal.

Please donate through one of the links at Earth Angels Diaper Co. to take advantage of this offer.

And, as always, Miracle Diapers is also accepting donations of cloth diapers, accessories, and other natural parenting items.

Thanks for reading!

The Fresh Air Fund's Dollar for Dollar Gift Match Program! Only 10 days left!

There is only a week and a half left in The Fresh Air Fund's dollar-for-dollar gift matching program. Help a child in need by making your donation today!

THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2008, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

Creating a memorable baby shower gift!

I recently hosted a Baby Shower/Blessingway for my friend who is expecting. Our moms group wanted to collaborate on a gift for her. One friend had the idea to each create a quilt square and then she'd collect them and sew them into a cloth baby book for the new baby to play with. It turned out just fabulous and I wanted to share the pics!

It turned out really durable and I am sure it will provide great fun for the new baby since it includes a variety of textures. On the last page, just inside the back cover, we all signed our names and wrote messages to the mom-to-be!

I would highly suggest this idea if you're trying to plan a creative Baby Shower for a friend or family member.

Girls Day Out @ Disney!

Well my daughter completed her "Sleeping Poster" after sleeping in her own bed, alone, for 50+ nights in a row. Her reward was to be the super-mega-ultra-special reward of her choice. So we decided I would take her to Disney for her birthday and hubby would stay home with the boys.

We had a great time and although she's only just turned 6 she was more than willing to ride anything they had, no matter how scary. She also got a kick out of the Haunted House and pointed out how fake everything was throughout the ride! lol It was too cute.

It was nice to get to spend some one on one time with her since I always have my sons with me and it prevents her from getting the quality attention she used to before they were born.

It was definitely a trip we will not soon forget and the videos I got of her riding the roller coasters are priceless!

Totally Awesome New Blog Template!

I was in total need of a new template. A makeover gets me inspired to write more, so I visited http://www.giselejaquenod.com.ar/blog/ who offers some adorable free blogger templates! Hope you like it!

The Fresh Air Fund is in need of host families!

In 2008, The Fresh Air Fund's Volunteer Host Family Program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes for two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.

The Fresh Air Fund is in need of hosts for the Summer of 2009. Click Here for more info!

Making every penny count with SwagBucks!

As if I don't already have enough to do, I have been frequenting the SwagBucks site. If you aren't familiar with it, it is like a search engine that randomly awards you with SwagBucks for searches. There are other ways to earn SwagBucks as well, by referring friends, finding secret SwagCodes, and shopping through their affiliate links.

SwagBucks do build up fast for little to no effort on your part, and can be redeemed for various prizes and gift cards. I redeemed my first 45 bucks for an Amazon giftcard and within 3 days the giftcard code was in my inbox.

Gift it a try! You'll be hooked. Click here to join SwagBucks!

Attempting to earn money by completing surveys...

Usually something like earning money by completing surveys seems like a concept too good to be true. So when someone referred me to CashCrate I was pretty reluctant to give out my info and sign up to another site. So far in less than 2 weeks I've earned almost $20.00 for about 30 minutes of my time spent combined, filling out surveys and clicking my mouse. Their payout is monthly and you only have to earn a minimum of $20.00 to receive a check each month. Many of their offers are actually rebates for trying free products and promotions.

So I think that if $20.00 will fill my gas tank up half way or buy me that blouse I've been wanting then it is worth my time after all.

I suggest you give it a try too! click her to join CashCrate

A Better Birth Way

If you are an expecting mother or know someone who might benefit from the help of a Doula, then you should check out A Better Birth Way in Central Florida. What is a Doula? By definition a Doula is a professional labor and delivery assistant, who provides support, care, and friendship to both the mother and her family. They are also very knowledgeable in areas surrounding childbirth like childbirth education, lactation, nutrition, parenting, physical/emotional/psychological issues, and more.

For more information, Contact Jamie at Jesa2448@aol.com or call her directly at 407-436-2287.

Dr. Seuss Breastfeeding Rhyme!

Author Unknown



Dr. Seuss for Nursing Moms



Would you nurse her in the park?

Would you nurse him in the dark?

Would you nurse him with a Boppy?

And when your boobs are feeling floppy?



I would nurse him in the park,

I would nurse her in the dark.

I'd nurse with or without a Boppy.

Floppy boobs will never stop me.



Can you nurse with your seat belt on?

Can you nurse from dusk till dawn?

Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,

I will nurse her `till she's full!



Can you nurse and make some soup?

Can you nurse and feed the group?

It makes her healthy strong and smart,

Mommy's milk is the best start!



Would you nurse him at the game?

Would you nurse her in the rain?

In front of those who dare complain?

I would nurse him at the game.

I would nurse her in the rain.



As for those who protest lactation,

I have the perfect explanation.

Mommy's milk is tailor made

It's the perfect food, you need no aid.



Some may scoff and some may wriggle,

Avert their eyes or even giggle.

To those who can be cruel and rude,

Remind them breast's the perfect food!



I would never scoff or giggle,

Roll my eyes or even wiggle!

I would not be so crass or crude,

I KNOW that this milk's the perfect food!



We make the amount we need

The perfect temp for every feed.

There's no compare to milk from breast-

The perfect food, above the rest.



Those sweet nursing smiles are oh so sweet,

Mommy's milk is such a treat.

Human milk just can't be beat.



I will nurse, in any case,

On the street or in your face.

I will not let my baby cry,

I'll meet her needs, I'll always try.

It's not about what's good for you,

It's best for babies, through and through.



I will nurse her in my home,

I will nurse her when I roam.

Leave me be lads and ma'am.

I will nurse her, Mom I am.

Get $25.00 Absolutely FREE, until April 15th!

I admit I was a skeptic on the whole RME thing but I finally took the plunge. Here's the link to sign up if you are interested Revolutionary Money Exchange Sign Up

Basically it's a payment processing and online account like Paypal, only since they are pretty new everything is completely FREE, no fees yet for sending or accepting money. Until April 15th they are offering $25.00 FREE when you sign up. I joined and moments later I had $25.00!

*If you sign up, make sure you check your account afterwards and click on the "Accept" button to accept your $25.00.

Happy Shopping!

One of my all time favorite songs

Bittersweet

My husband and I were some of the lucky ones who purchased a house in 2001 when the market was normal, the prices would now have seemed dirt cheap and unbelievable. The problem is that even though we bought at the right time we knew we could never afford to buy a new home because the costs have quadrupled and even if we sold for a profit, we couldn't afford the mortgage on the cost of a new home at the recent prices.

Well recently foreclosure rates in our area have skyrocketed, prices have dropped, and interest rates are low. We saw this as a chance to jump on the opportunity to buy before prices went back up. The depressing thing is that virtually all homes in our area are being sold by banks who have foreclosed on local homeowners. House after house we toured looked abandoned and I could picture the families who had lived there no longer being able to afford their mortgages and 2nd mortgages, upside down in their payments, no longer seeing their home as an investment and deciding to give up. Here we were looking to purchase at a fraction of what they owed. Doesn't really seem fair but I guess it's the way the cookie crumbles.

The Library Lady is after me!

So, after the birth of my twin sons I felt I needed to get motivated, get over my fear of taking three kids out in public alone. I decided to go to the library, hadn't been in ages, in fact wasn't even sure I still had a card.




I arrived and it was awesome! The Childrens section was amazing and I felt so guilty for not having taken my daughter sooner. We played checkers and the librarian in that section explained a program where my daughter would get prizes for reading books, all we had to do was check out as many as we'd like, read them together, bring them back and she'd get to win prizes. So I was feeling all happy and proud that I'd taken the kids out and all, so we checked out at least a dozen books, they are FREE after all I thought to myself.




Weeks passed and we returned the books a few weeks late but my daughter was still able to choose some prizes. I paid no attention at all to the fact that I'd accumulated a late fee. I thought late fees were like .01 per day per book or something...




Well a couple months go by and I get a letter, from a collection agency, stating that I owed the #*!##!* library over $50.00 in late fees! I was speechless. I still am speechless. How can they charge me more per book then the books were worth? Shouldn't I have been told that the price would be the same at this point whether I returned the books or not? I mean, I could have kept them.




So I have been putting off the inevitable, a confrontation at the library. No doubt they'll treat me like a criminal for owing them money. I am just so ticked that I let this happen.

Two Identical Babes with Opposite Personalities

I used to worry about whether or not my little guys would be treated as individuals, as separate and unique people, but now I think I may not have to worry about that. Mason and Spencer have personalities on opposite ends of the spectrum. One is crazy, mischievous, always on the run, even eats standing up in his high chair. The other is mellow, content, and cautious about taking risks. They're only 1, but I am sure that the traits I see developing now are a preview of what the future might hold.