Giveaway!

Be sure to check out the giveaway I'm hosting on my other blog. You could win this stunning set of earrings with a matching necklace!

Click HERE to enter!

up to my eyeballs in cupcakes

My baby sister got married this past week. I don't have any pictures (hopefully I'll get some soon) but she looked beautiful.
What I do have pictures of are the 110 cupcakes that I made for the big event. Have I ever mentioned my love of baking? I really do love it. And I'm not just talking about how much I love to eat my creations. Cause I do. I have a major sweet tooth.

 My sister doesn't actually like cake, but she loves pumpkin pie. The top tier of her cake is actually a pumpkin pie baked inside a white almond cake. She says it was amazing.

Getting all the cupcakes done was kind of stressful, mostly because I knew how important they were, but I really did have fun making them. Once she gets her pictures back I'll post some of the day. All my boys got to wear pink!

anniversary trip

On Friday Dan and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. It's so hard to believe it's been 5 years already! We had been saving up for the last year to take a trip, just the 2 of us to celebrate. It was really hard to leave my adorable boys, but we had a ton of fun!
Our first stop was the Argosy Casino, Hotel and Spa.

The hotel was amazing!
Here is the view of our room as you enter.

 The entryway.

 The bathroom. Look at that huge shower!

 Bathroom sink.

 My husband checking out what the hotel offers while lounging on the huge, comfy bed.

 Light in the bathroom.

The first thing we did at the hotel was to check out the spa. Dan got a 30 minute massage, while I got a facial. So wonderful!
After the spa we got ready to meet my high school girlfriends for dinner. I hadn't seen them in years! The last time I saw my friend Sarah was actually at our wedding. We can't let it go that long again girls!

Aren't they beautiful? I wish I lived closer to them. Especially since Kristin (far right) is going to be having a baby soon!)

 Here's my handsom hubby and I all dressed up for dinner and the casino.

With our hotel package we got a champagne and cheese tray.

the cheese wasn't the best but it was aslo midnight before we got it.

he's a great bar tender.

We did some shopping browsing in some classy areas that we couldn't afford on Friday, and then headed to an outlet mall that had TONS of stores. We spent most of the day walking around, shopping and just enjoying being together. We bought a few things for ourselves, some gifts for the boys and then headed to check in at our hotel for the 2nd night. We went to the dinner, and then came back and relaxed in the hot tub until all of the unsupervised children bombarded us.

Seriously people watch your children! Taking a family vacation means spending time with your family. Not leaving your minors to annoy other adults!

The next morning we were so tuckerd out that we ate breakfast and then ordered a movie in our room. Around noon we packed up and headed home.

We had a lot of fun, but it is so nice to be home and have my babies in my arms again. I'm a nervous wreck without them!

5 years

Five years ago today I married my best friend, and life has been more amazing every day since.

My dearest husband,

Thank you for always being my rock. The one I know I can depend on, and the one who believes in me. You are my best friend and the most amazing father. Thank you for loving me for who I am, even when it's me being a little crazy.

There are so many things that I love about you.

These are just a few.

Happy anniversay, love. Thank you for the past 5 years. I can't wait to spend the next 75 with you.

it's new to us

We got a "new" table and chairs the other day.

I say "new" becuase it actually came from a garage sale. My parents are the ones who found it and picked it up. (We're paying them back of course)

It's bigger, and shinier and so much more convenient than our old table.

We can all fit around it with some room to spare.

The only downfall, which is also a plus, is that it's real wood. Having little ones this means we have to be careful not to let water sit on it or it will ruin the table.

So I made some pretty little fabric coasters for us to put our glasses on. They are washable so when my children undoubtedly spill stuff all over them, I can just throw them in the wash.

Notice the adorable little teacup in the middle?

I bought it to hide the boys' wash rags that we use when cleaning up after meals. I hate using paper towels because it's so wasteful so each child gets a washrag that we generally use for the day (unless it's just discusting afte a meal). I rinse it and put it back on their chair to use for the next meal/snack that day. However, since our chairs are wooden now I can't drape the rags over the back anymore. So this cute little thing hides the rags and keeps the table and chairs from getting water rings. Clever? I thought so.