We are Jewels!

I am very blessed to have a mother in law that is a minister. When I think back to when I was first married I feel soo bad for her because of the way I was. haha I was not a horrible person but being newly married my husband and I didn't always get along. I got married when I was 18 to my High School Sweetheart and to be real honest it was because we were expecting our first baby. We really did want to get married, I mean who doesn't when your young and in love? Our parents 100% wanted us to get married and within a week of them finding out about the baby we were married! I use to think that being married would be soo amazing I NEVER imagined how hard it would be! We were soo young and I do think that was a part of how hard it was, we surely need to be more mature. I use to always see my mother in law get ready for church on Sundays but we never went. (Pretty pathetic, I know! I mean she was the pastor, geez!) I just had no interest and she Never was pushy about it!!! I am soo grateful for that! I knew that I needed help! I knew that I was not happy and I wanted to be happy! I didn't like the way I felt and I had this beautiful baby and I wanted to be the best person I could for him. So one day I told my husband lets go to church and it changed my life! Now I am not trying to be all religious and stuff! I promise! lol I am not going to say I changed over night and I was magically perfect, because I am not perfect and I am STILL working on myself today! The reason I feel it changed my life was because someone was able to tell me "you don't have to feel this way!" I was sold! I was a broken person and I needed healing! I remember she told me that the reason why marriage was soo hard sometimes was because two broken people come together and with that all their pain, insecurities, addictions so much comes onto the marriage. She really has helped us and I know that without the truth she had given us we would be miserable! Everyday we are challenged! Some days are harder than others but we are still fighting to get free form the things that interfere with allowing us to live the way that we are suppose to, happy!

I love my husband and I want a happy healthy marriage for our children and so we can work together as a team. He is my best friend and I love him dearly. I have learned though that he cant heal me! He cant fix my brokenness and he will NEVER be able to fully love me the way I need him to. He loves me and I love him but we both need to be healed individually and love ourselves first in order to love each other! He and I are only human and we cant expect one another to be our saviors. That would not be fair.

So Friday she hosted a woman's meeting and talked about how each one of us are a JEWEL! Beautiful and Precious!!! Obviously I already have heard this message before but I could heard it a million more times! What was amazing to me though that there were woman there that had never heard that message before! Nobody ever told them they were beautiful, special, they meant something. Some only head negative things there whole life. So it a message I think every woman should hear! YOU ARE A JEWEL!!! It does not matter what you have done, where you have come from, we are all JEWELS. We all have our own special gifts and its not to cater to our husbands like they are some god! So just know that if your hurting there is a way for healing! If you know someone is hurting let them know there is a way out! You don't even have to say anything just let them know you love them and they are special. You wont believe how many people think nobody cares! Sometimes with certain people I don't feel like I am the best person to help them but I will let them know that there is help and when there ready they let me know! Then I take them to my mother in law. :)


I hope this encouraging to someone! Always Remember YOU ARE A JEWEL!!!!!


Hope Everyone has a BLESSED day!!!

My Favorite Thrifted Fashion! & a frugal find at Ann Taylor!!!

So this is a pic from my FAVORITE shorts!!!! These babies were $2.50 at a local thrift store and were originally jeans. I cut them to make shorts and just rolled them up like you see in the picture. They are High Waist and I LOVE that!!! I also love that I had control over the length!! I cut some scissors and cut some slips to give a distressed look. When I showed my 12 year old niece she was inspired and decided to make her own but that little fashionista got creative and crafty and she bleached and dyed hers!!! They came out soo good I could not believe she made them!!! So really the possibilities are endless and they are so fun and easy to make!

They are Levis!!!

My momma and I were at the mall yesterday and I Love to browse the clearance section at all the stores haha and this is why!!!!!
I found this awesome pair of baby blue pants for $10 @ Ann Taylor The Loft!!!!!
I love the way they fit and they are great quality!!!!!

 

 

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Homemade Fondant

This weekend is my nephews birthday party and he is having a Lego themed party. I am making some Cupcakes and Cake Pops and I am really excited! The Cupcakes are going to be the Ninja Legos and the Cake Pops are going to be the original Lego heads. I will post pictures of them both but I wanted to share with you a Homemade Fondant Recipe that I found a few years back. When I originally started baking I was very into cakes. I experimented quite a bit with fondant but it was very difficult to cover a cake with. I did a couple of cakes but I didn't love how they came out. I stayed away from fondant and started making my own frosting and fell in love with Cupcakes and then later Cake Pops. The reason I decided to use Fondant again was because I am only making the Ninja's masks out of them. This will be sooo much easier than having to roll out enough Fondant to cover a cake!


So here it is..........





You just need a bag of marshmallows and a 2lb bag of powdered sugar

You will need to melt the marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl until smooth

                (melted marshmallows are shown on the right blue bowl)

I also am going to color my fondant so I am using this AmeriColor gel from Hobby Lobby to color my fondant

Add your melted marshmallows to the powdered sugar and mix well. It will get very tough and just like bread you will want to knead it until it is no longer sticky. I should also add that I added the melted marshmallows to about 3/4 the bag of powdered sugar. I use the rest of the bag for my flat working surface that I am using to knead the "dough like" mixture

I cut my mixture into three parts because I am going to be making three colors. This is optional and you don't have to color the fondant at all. If you choose to color your fondant then what you will do is add the colors to the sections and knead it in. The  earlier you do this the better because the more you knead the tighter the Fondant gets.

Here it is.......My Fondant! You can wrap it in some clear wrap then add it to a freezer safe bag and store it in the freezer.

                                          Have any Questions??? Feel free to ask!!!
                                             Hope You Enjoyed this Post!!!!

 

4th of July Tutu

Here are the pictures of sissy with her birthday outfit......Check out our Facebook page for a link to my YouTube video on how I made this.....

Fast pizza

 

 

So Mommas can always use a fast, easy and healthy meal to whip up......Here is one....

 

 

My family LOVES French/Italian bread and I am going to start making my own but until then I stop at the bakery section of our grocery store and buy a few loaves. We use this bread for all our carb loving needs! Last night the hubby wanted a snack and he sliced us a few pieces with Cracker Barrel Cheese, oh my sooo good! If you have not tried that cheese I would highly recommend it!!! It is a little pricey but I only buy it when there is a buy one get one free special. I freeze it and then take it out when I am going to need it. All I was missing last night was a glass of wine. :)

Back to the recipe lol.........

I used a French Bread instead of dough to make this yummy pizza.

I used the organic diced tomato can I bought from Trader Joes and heated it up on the stove with a lil salt

I then cut the bread into two pieces and covered it with the headed sauce

I washed and cut the broccoli and placed it over the sauce

Then I added the yummy yummy cheese (just add whatever is in your fridge)

After a few min under the broiler and its done!

Let it cool, cut it into sections and Enjoy!

 

 

 

Sunday Mornings

  Sundays for us means church. The hubby has to work today and went in early for overtime. I try to make Sunday mornings as smooth as possible. I have to get prepared to leave the house for several hours. Every Sunday we have dinner at my in laws so I know that after church we go straight over to her house and I don't get home till late. Yesterday evening I put a tri-tip in the crock pot and when it was done I shredded it. This morning I made the hubby a nice big  sandwich on a French bread. I had plenty of left overs to use to my little guys lunch later and some more work lunches! I love my crock pot!!!!!

 

 

Morning breakfast for little man..... Eggs, Corn Tortilla, and organic fruit from our CSA Box

 

Sissy is all smiles this morning watching Yo Gabba Gabba...

Yummy Tri-Tip! Well at least that's what the hubby said I don't eat meat lol

 

 

Happy Sunday!!!!

Citrus Lane....

We recently saw an advertisement on Facebook for 50% off your first Citrus Lane box! I wanted to try it especially for 50% off and we received an awesome box!!!! Below is a picture of sisters sun hat from iplay! She looks soo darn cute!!! The coupon code I used was TAKEHALF. If interested check out our Facebook page to see a full video review from me on this product :) 

 

Happy Saturday!

DIY Birthday Shirt

Sisters Birthday is coming up and I wanted to make her a cute baby shirt. I previously posted that I found this bodysuit for $1 on clearance at Wal-Mart!

 

 

 

These are the materials that you will need for this project......

 

*Felt

*Scissors

*Ruler

*Pen for tracing

*Fabric Glue (I use E6000)

*Bodysuit or T-Shirt

*Puffy Paint (Not Pictured)

As you can see I first traced the one on white felt. I think glued the white one to the blue piece of felt. After I traced and then cut the one out. I made sure to leave a good amount of blue.

 

 

This is the final product. I centered then glued the "1" to the onsie then outlined it red puffy paint. I got a lil puffy paint excited and put some doodles in the "1" and also added "Birthday Girl" to the bottom, but I love it!


Let me know what you guys think!!!

Multi Purpose Green Cleaning

I love multi purpose because that's multi savings! I also love natural and green because I have two young children and I do not want them exposed to harsh chemicals. I use to be a bleach fanatic!!! I used it on EVERYTHING! I even loved they way it smelled. I felt like the more the better. After my daughter we noticed she had very sensitive skin. We had to purchase special lotion and body washes that were natural with no fragrance. When looking for natural soaps and lotions I started to learn about how a lot of moms were going green and keeping things natural and toxin free for their families. I use to think that going "green" and "natural" meant that I would have to fork out the big bucks. I soon realized that a lot of it was very simple! We buy way more things than I think we need. For example: How many different cleaning products are our there??? I mean seriously there is a different cleaning product for every thing in your home.

 

My Multi Purpose Solution:

 

equal parts of vinegar and water with a few drops of essential oils. (I use lavender)

 

*I will do a post soon on benefits of essential oils soon

I buy a spray bottle like the one above at Wal-Mart and I use it for my solution. I use this solution in every room in my home! Kitchen, Bathroom, Living Room! Vinegar is a natural germ killer! I don't have to worry about my children inhaling harsh chemicals and I know that the germs are gone. WINNING!

 

Now I do want to say that just recently I did use bleach. I live in an old place and we were having an issue with mold. I used bleach and it took it away! So I do know that for tough jobs there is a need for bleach but I do feel that for an everyday cleaner its just not necessary! That's my personal opinion.

 

So Vinegar is also used in my laundry, I also use it on my floors, windows, you name it! I love this stuff! On my dishes too!

 

The price of vinegar is AWESOME too!!!

 

Hope you found this post helpful! Feel free to like us on our Facebook page! :)

Western Fence

Here is a video I made for you guys. My mother in law is very creative and I wanted to share with you guys what she did! Hope you enjoy!





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Juicing

I have mentioned before that we juice. We LOVE juicing! We really feel the benefits and the more I learn the more excited I become about it. If you have Netflix I would HIGHLY recommend watching the documentary Fat Sick and Nearly Dead!!!! It was such an inspiration to my husband and I and within a few days after watching it we bought our juicer. Another documentary I would recommend watching is Food Matters, you can also find this on Netflix.

 

I have become passionate about nutrition over the past few months because of the knowledge I gained about food. I also have a lot of my family members that are sick. My mother has been suffering from diabetes and cholesterol for years, my brother and sister have also have diabetes.

My Grandmother also recently passed away from cancer. The list honestly goes on and on. I am sure we are all surrounded my family and friends who are sick. I want to be healthy! I want to feel great and look great! When I say look great I am talking about my skin, nails, hair, teeth! What we put into our bodies affects all these things.

 

 

 

This is a picture from one of our mornings......

 

 

This was all produce from our CSA box. We like to get a balance of greens and fruit in our juice.

 

 

 

I will continue to post more about our juicing and if anyone has any questions feel free to post them and I will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have!

 

  Also I put a link up to our Facebook page! Like our page for updates!!! You will not be sad you did! :)

 

 

 

DIY Party Cupcakes

I have heard the prices of what custom birthday cakes and cupcakes cost and wowzers! It just so happens that I love to bake and always love making my cakes and frosting from scratch but you don't have to be a pro in the baking department to have bakery style cupcakes at your next party!

Here are a few of the cupcakes I have made for events. Liners can be purchased at craft stores or online. There are soo many options which can help with the personalization. You can also purchase topping such as sprinkles that come in so many designs, or you can go with candy or anything else edible and tasty! For the frosting to get that bakery style look invest in some piping bags and some tips. Again there are soo many options that allow you to get very creative! Most of these things can be purchased at any craft store including icing dye. So don't sell yourself short! Give it a try you will be surprised at how easy is! Also if your short on time buy a boxed cake mix! :)

 

 

 

 

Happy Baking!!!

 

Baby Portraits

When I had my first baby I spend a fortune on baby pictures. My sis in law threw a tutu and hair bow on my daughter, took her outside, and got this.......



                                  

She used a free photo editing site and I think they are great! She did a lot of them so I have a good variety and I am going to use them for her first birthday. When I think about how much I spent on my sons pictures I get a little sick lol

Save your money your baby is soo darn cute they don't need anything but their cute lill personality!

 

 

 

How our Family is Homeschooling

This is our first year of homeschooling and I wanted to share what we are doing. I choose to homeschool because the school that is in our district I don't care for. We have family members that attended the school and I really didn't like the no parents on campus rule. I understand that children safety is #1 but its sad to think that it has had to come to banning parents from campus! My baby is barely going to be 5 and I am that momma that wants to be involved! I don't mind helping. I remember being in school and there was always a mom helping out in class. I also tried to enroll my son in a local charter school however that did not pull through :( So after researching I found online homeschool!

We live in California and enrolled in CAVA. California Virtual Academies

http://www.k12.com/cava/home#.UbtAGyDn_VI


Click on the link about if interested :)


So what I love about it so far is:

1. They are soo kind and helpful! They day after I filled out the application online I was contacted to go over everything and to do an over the phone interview. I am someone who had a lot of questions and they were very supportive!
2. You have support! Your child is assigned to a teacher that your are required to keep in contact with through e mail and phone. You can meet with them in person at anytime!
3. Its free! Everything you need you will be sent through mail!
4. Its a public school through the state of California. I do not have to worry about registering as a private school or worry about getting in trouble for not having my child in school. ( if u live in another state there should be one in your area)

I read a lot of reviews and some people love it and others hate it. I read that a lot of mothers that were involved loved it. They mentioned that its not something that you tell your child to do and then never monitor. I also read that if you are assigned a teacher that you feel does not works well with your family you can request another one.

I will be updating our experiences with this program!!! Also I will be uploading a video of our curriculum we receive :)

Also I should mention the curriculum used is K12.....
 


 Let me know if you have any questions!

Basil red sauce pasta

Most of the food I cook have ingredients that are in season. I save a ton of money that way and since I receive a CSA box every week I always get fresh organic produce. I use the food I receive in my meals and also I juice so I will also use the greens I receive for that. Below is some lunch I made for me and the kids. I don't eat meat so I always try to incorporate veggies. Hope you enjoy this dish it is very fast and easy to make!

 

I Love Trader Joe's! I bought this pasta and organic tomato sauce there...

 

 

 

 

I chopped some a carrot, cucumber, and half a purple onion. All ingredients I received this week in my CSA box. I also used some organic minced garlic for this dish.

 

I added some extra virgin olive oil, carrots, onion and garlic and let it cook for a few min on med. high heat

 

After about 5 min I added the tomato sauce and some salt and pepper.

 

After you add your tomato sauce bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 15 min

I washed and chopped my fresh basil. This smelled soo good!!!

 

We added some cheese because we LOVE cheese. This is optional

 

Add your cooked pasta and mix well and Enjoy!

Love these cute kids! They both LOVE pasta!!!

Vera Bradley Sale!!! 50-60% off select styles!!!!

This momma LOVES a good deal!!! When I was pregnant with my daughter I was wanting to look for a nice good size diaper bag. My sister in law told me how much she loved her Vera Bradley diaper bag. I looked into it and my favorite part about the bag was it was washable!!! I bought a really cute Hello Kitty diaper bag when I had my son and after a few washes it tore. :(  
(I can't resist, I wash EVERYTHING! Especially when its something for my kids!) So I asked my hubby if I could get one and he agreed. I am NOT into name brands or anything like that!!! I do care about quality especially in things that will last a long time! For my use I need a diaper bag that can handle me! lol So I did find out that if you sign up for e-mail notifications on the Vera Bradley website you will receive a $20 off coupon with a $75 purchase free shipping. I know its still a lot but it will last! If my other bag didn't rip I would still use it! After my son grew I still used it for vacation and much more! The bag that I paid so much for is now 60% off!!! Let me just say I LOVE LOVE LOVE my bag! My baby is only 11 months and I have washed it several times its soft, roomy, and looks beautiful! I will link the website below.

Vera Bradley Sale!
http://www.verabradley.com/category/Color/Watercolor/804/pc/639.uts




Enjoy!

No meat no problem sandwich

When I deceided to stop eating meat I was so surprised at how easy it was to substitute meat! I don't like a actual "meat substitute" but as u can see in my picture I used slice peach instead of deli meat. It's soooo yummy!!!! I have also used apples!

I also love my sandwiches on French bread.....

               From my kitchen to yours :)

DIY Mason Jar Cups

About a month ago I started seeing that wal- mart was selling these cute little cups with straws that resembled Mason Jars. They were soo cute but I didn't feel like the price was. They were I think 5 or 6 bucks and I thought I have plenty of those at home I can make that. 

So here it is......

I love it! The hubby drilled a little hole on top just enough for the straw to go through. The straws we did buy at wal-mart and for a pack of 5 I think they were $2.50. And they came in different colors! We use these Mason Jars for sooo many things! These are going to be perfect though especially for summer!!

She loves it too! 

Bright Pretty Birthday for our sweet Joy

My baby sister just turned 18 and I wanted to post some pictures of her party. I thought the Décor was beautiful!

  This was a backdrop that was made for her and the party guests to take pictures. The pictures turned out great! The yellow board was purchased at Home Depot and painted yellow. The streamers were purchased at Party City and were just hung straight down. The flowers were made by hand with tissue paper! She saw the idea on Pinterest.

 This table was for the party favors. The little jars were purchased at Michaels and then filled with Skittles and Gummy Bears. Ribbon was then added for a cute accessory.

These were the tables. Mason Jars were purchased at Wal-Mart and tags that were purchased at Michaels were tied about the jars with twine. We placed a marker near by so guests could write their name. We also placed the pink and white straws close for those who wanted a straw.

 

  The birthday girl and my baby :) 

Hope you enjoy this post!

 

Baby Smoothie

Today my little guy asked for some watermelon that we received in our CSA box yesterday. So I thought for sissy ill whip her up a little baby smoothie. I left it runny so she could enjoy it a little easier with her sippy cup....

About four cubes of ice, a few pieces of watermelon, and a splash of almond milk ........

Yummy yummy yummy!!!!!

Also I wanted to share a little story about my blender...

I have been wanting a VitaMix for the longest time!!!!! There are soo expensive so I have been waiting....

One nice Saturday morning we went to an estate sale we heard about and after about 5 min of looking around I spotted this beauty.......

A vintage VitaMix!!!!!!! This bad boy was $15!!!!!! We cleaned it up really good and it works like a champ!!! You never know what treasures you will find when thrifting! 

Homemade Laundry Soap

This is my batch of homemade laundry soap. Made with three simple ingredients and very eco friendly. I used castile soap and you just need to grate the soap and blend everything together. I lOVE this stuff!!!