Jeans under my DRESS?

So...keeping with the topic we've been discussing lately---hip, modest fashion. What do you guys think of this look?

I wore jeans underneath this sweater dress today. I have always worn this as a dress but it's sorta short and I always feel self-concious about it. Today I stuck the jeans under it and I thought it looked cute....but.....a few times throughout the day I also felt really self-concious and weird like people were thinking I was very strange for wearing jeans under a dress....

I'm so not sure...

What do you say?

I'm SO done with holiday baking already!

So....if I ever say I'm gonna make such-and-such little treats for such-and-such little occasion again--SLAP ME and remind me of this!

I found this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Bites on one of my FAVORITE baking websites: Bakerella. She touted the recipe as "easy" so I printed it out and decided THIS is what I was going to make for Brooklyn's class for Halloween. Since I was making them anyway, might as well make an extra batch for Sunday School on Sunday since it's our day to bring food.

What I learned in a nutshell: EASY does NOT equal QUICK. I honestly took a little nap right on my countertop in the kitchen waiting for the last (of FOUR) batches to bake!

Whew! It took me 3 hours to make about 45 of these little babies and although they ARE delicious and absolutely adorable and they were VERY easy.....they were NOT quick. The "hard" or time consuming part of this was forming all the little tiny pie crusts with my fingers.

About 2 hours in, I decided that since I was doing all this work, I was going to do TRIPLE duty with this little recipe and take a batch of them to the doctor's office I work for also...

At about 11:47 pm when I finally finished last night...I had to enjoy one. Mmmmm....yum!

And by the way...those of you who know me very well know that the title of this post is totally untrue. I will be baking again in no time....probably as soon as the pumpkin pie bites are all eaten. :o)

Peace of Mind-Oct 29 only

I've done this same post before, but I can't resist doing it again today since Origins is running this amazing special again.
TODAY ONLY you get free shipping with ANY order (no matter what amount) AND you get 2 free travel items of your choice!
Now let me tell you WHAT to order!
This little bottle is pure magic! It's called Peace of Mind: On the spot relief and it really is just that.

I remember a couple of years ago when one of my girlfriends was trying to talk me into trying it while I had a bad tension headache. I'm such a non-believer of the whole nature-earthy-essential oils stuff...I was pretty sceptical. So she took me in the store (we were at the mall shopping at the time) and asked to use their tester. She put a tiny dab of this stuff at the base of my neck and watched the magic work. Within minutes I had a cold tingly sensation at that spot and I started feeling the tension melt away.

I also get a really tight "cramp" in my left shoulder sometimes after being on the computer for a long while. I just rub a dot of this into that muscle and WHA-LAH...gone!
I know it sounds ridiculous....but I PROMISE you, it works. You can also rub it on your temples.
Anyway, the best thing is that it only costs $10. It is a small bottle...but guess what? I am STILL using that bottle I bought that day almost 2 years ago! When you press down to get a "dab" only a teensy bit comes out--and that is ALL you need to do the trick.

So to recap, for today only, you can click on this link to go to the Origins website and order anything you want, get free shipping AND get 2 free travel-sized items of your choice. Not a bad deal for not even having to leave your computer chair!

reprimanded....

"Are you done with your work mom?" (says Grant)
"No" (says I)
"Then why are you looking at those pictures on your computer?" (says Grant)
"Ooops! I guess I'll get back to work!" (says I)

Geee...I can't get away with anything these days! :o)

17 again

Friday night Matt and I went to the Aaron Shust/Chris Sligh concert. I had went and gotten my hair (roots) colored earlier in the day and picked the kids up from school and took them to lunch, so I had thrown on something 'decent.' I decided it looked okay enough for the concert so I didn't change...but when I asked Matt if I looked alright, he replied, "yah, you look like you belong in highschool." I was like "really??" and he said, "yah, but that's how you always dress. Isn't that what you want?"
Hmmm.....

Yes, I want to look young and hip...but NO, I do not want to look like a 31 year old woman who is trying to come across as 17.

Then after church on Sunday we went to Khol's to try to find me some "grown up" church clothes. YUK! It was like--I could shop in the Juniors section (where I usually shop) and look like a high-schooler...OR...I could shop in the Women's section (where my mom shops) and look like a GRANDMA. Do people still wear pantyhose? If not, what do you wear with skirts in the winter? Surely not bare, white leg...???
I am having a hard time figuring out where the line is between cute and hip and too young.

Jean skirts?
Boots with the fur?
Skinny leg jeans?
Layered shirts?

What do ya'll think?
I've always thought that as long as my clothes are modest and cover everything...who CARES how young or old they look...but maybe I'm wrong.
I know I've seen older women that should DEFINITELY not be wearing short jean skirts with boots up to their knees and long straight hair. They have wrinkles and saggy skin and just look like they are in denial that they are in their 60's. I don't want to be one of them. I need a clothing consultant to take me shopping and show me how to dress fashionably and hip and not look like an American Eagle Ad.

Quick way to make your house smell FABULOUS

Give your 5-year-old son a bottle of cologne and let him spill it ALL over the carpet. Man it smells like a YUMMY MAN in my house! :o)

Creepy Crawlies

If you haven't discovered the Bakerella website, you have been missing out!! It is an endless wealth of outstanding baked goodies. I can say with 100% honesty that EVERY SINGLE THING I have ever made from this site was exceptionally good and exactly as easy as it sounds! (there are other cooking sites that I've used that make things look easy/sound good--that are really way complicated and not really all that tasty). Anyway, looking for something to take to Grant's class for snack day today, I came across these little spider cookies. I quickly printed out the ingredients and ran off to the store. Turns out I couldn't find the cookie mix she used and the Trix that they are selling at the stores right now are "Swirls" meaning that there aren't any solid orange or green ones. So....I substituted brownies for the cookies and make them in a cupcake pan so they'd be round. Then I used m&m's instead of the Trix. I think mine turned out every bit as cute as hers and it was SUPER DOOPER easy!

I did a batch for Grant's class with 2 spiders per cupcake.

I did a batch for Brooklyn's class with 1 spider per cupcake. Either way, they are adorable! (and yummy!!) Click HERE for the recipe.

The wisdom of a 5 year old!

This morning while I was washing the breakfast dishes, Grant asked me, "Mommy, what would you do if I died?" His question caught me off guard a bit but I answered, "I would cry and cry and cry and then do a whole bunch of praying."
He replied, "You would be sad but one thing you should be happy about--I'll get to be with Jesus!"
Such wisdom in that. While I NEVER want to think of what life would be like with one of my children gone, there are plenty of parents out there who ARE dealing with that. How do they get through it? By knowing Heaven is the Face!

Many of you, if not all, heard the horrendous story of Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter being run over by his own son's car in their driveway last year. (Click here to read story) It broke my heart in so many ways. I even had a time of questioning God...."HOW could this have happened? Especially to a Christian?" Thankfully God is showing me (in his Word) the answer to that and many other questions.
Anyway, yesterday for the first time I heard Steven Curtis Chapman's newest song called "Heaven is the Face" and wow! Wow! THAT is how a person goes on after losing a child. I encourage you to take a minute (grab a tissue) and listen to this song. It's good to have our hearts break for the things that matter...for the things that also break God's heart!
Click HERE to listen!

Can't leave Matt out...

I know, I'm totally a NUT for thinking like this...but I can't help it. I looked back over all the many posts and pictures I put up yesterday and I realized that I didn't put a single picture of Matt on here. So...in honor of my absoultely hunky hubby who I adore more and more every day that I'm married to him, here are some pics of him from the past month!
(ha ha...the only pictures I could find were the ones from when he took Grant hunting (that are already posted) and these from work outs).

Just turn your back on it!

What can I say?---if you're not sportin' guns that look like this, you really should treat yourself to 90 days of P90X and let me coach you!

FLEX

I'm just speechless....I can't believe how much muscle he has put on over the past year! Makes my heart go pitter-patter!

What a lucky girl I am!

Matt during a P90X work out!

Fall Trick or TREATS

I whipped these together this afternoon for the kids to give to their teachers. It took about 5 minutes. So cute, so easy and sooooo yummy! Ingredients: Candy Corn, Peanuts, frosting baggie, ribbon, tag.

Circus Time

Very Cool: The Carson & Barnes Circus came to our little town!

I've lost track of time...but sometime in the past month we went to the circus with some friends. Here are a couple of pics of the kids. We got to sit on the FRONT row! It was VERY cool. The acts were just AMAZING. The kids got to ride an elephant at half-time but the pictures didn't turn out very clear.

I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this booty. Lord help me if mine ever starts to resemble this one! ha ha

Bad Hair Day

When Grant woke up yesterday, he came running into my bathroom saying "Mom, you have to see me!!" This is what he looked like:

Ha ha! He must've slept hard--that's one crazy hair do! (note to self: take the little guy for a haircut sometime soon!!)

Brooklyn, my artist!

Isn't this is a good picture? Brooklyn drew it outside on the sidewalk at Matt's grandma's house to wish her a happy birthday. She did it ALL by herself. She really does LOVE to draw and she always impresses us with her skillz!

Girl Time

I couldn't pass up posting this picture. It just captures what it means to be an 8-year-old girl, in my opinion. Playing dress up, having a concert for your parents with microphones that aren't even plugged in, not having a care in the world! This is Fallon and Broolyn singing Britt Nicole and Francesca Bastistelli to the rest of us! Cute!

Rach, Kenzi, Chantel & Me

My neice, Chantel (in the middle holding the baby) got married on Sept. 28th in Hawaii. My other neice Rachael (in the orange) and I threw her a quick little wedding shower beforehand. Here we all are at her Hawaiin-themed shower. And of course, I can't NOT mention the cutest one of all---Kenzi (baby). She is my great neice and I just love, love, love her!!!

It doesn't get any cuter than this!

Grant being his usual quiet self. (well, most of the time). This picture really shows his personality I think, which is the "stand back and check it out" kind of approach. He's very intelligent...but often comes off as "shy". When we went to his parent/teacher conference his teacher said "he is sooo quiet. I can hardly get him to say a word." Yah...that's about normal for this early in the school year. By next semester, he'll start to open up (and loosen up) more. God loves a quiet, gentle spirit and so do I!

Not the funnest way to spend $1,800

Oh My....this picture represents a big hurdle in my life. Both in the natural as well as spiritually. Last month the transmission went out in the van and end up costing us $1,800 that we had to put on a credit card--with no means of paying back anytime in the near future. It really stunk because we just paid the van AND our credit card off this year and were just about to start saving up for a new vehicle (to be purchased sometime next year). Now instead, we have the same old van and all the money we would have been saving, has to go to pay back the bill. It was at about this same time that I started hearing some good teaching on prosperity and God's will concerning His children and their finances. I began standing on the Word and the promises God has given us in the Bible. I know that because we are faithful tithers as well as givers, my needs are guaranteed to always be met, over and above what I can think or imagine. YES! I started speaking to this debt and to our finances and began to see my faith develop and mature as I trusted this "headache" entirely to God. I literally casted this care on Him and didn't think another thing about it--other than to give Him praise whenever it came to my mind.

I can't help but admit, when Oct. 15th came and the credit card bill was due, I was a little discouraged that the money hadn't come in like I had been believing for. Thankfully, my parents agreed to lend us the money so we could pay the CC bill off and not have to pay the interest. Instead now we will just start making payments to them. That IS a blessing and I am thankful for it. However, I have not given up on God meeting this need. I have learned a lesson through this that I am very grateful for: GOD is my supply. He is my provider. I realized that even though I thought I trusted Him with my finances before, I had room to grow. Now I know for certain, that not a dime is gained by worrying and stressing. However, by giving these things that we can't handle over to God, we are guaranteed Peace, which is priceless! I am still believing for the money to come in for this...and I'm willing to work for it. However God wants to get the money in my hands, I'm here and ready. I will bless the Lord at all times! His praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth!

The whole crew

Here is one of all 12 of us. This was taken at Zio's after our big meal...before we went to the Secret Keeper Girl Tour. What a blessing to have these wonderful, Godly women and girls as our friends!! My cup runneth over...!

One for FUN

Girls just wanna have fun! Here we mom's are--posing for a fun shot! (Good idea Taylor!)

Rachel, Jen & Rene

Here are the "mama's" posing before our big night out. YAY for Taylor who was our photographer!!

Fallon, Brook & Taylor

The 3 of us who live in C-town rode together...so we had to do a little fashion shoot before we left! Thanks Rene for the pics!

The cutest 6 girls you'll ever meet!

Dinner @ Zio's! YUM!

Zio's has become one of my favorite resturants lately. Here are the girls waiting on their dinner.

My Sassy Girl and me

This is a pic of me and Brooklyn before our Secret Keeper Girl big night out. Isn't she just the cutest thing?? SUCH personality!