Crafty Business

I was having crafting withdraws this week so decided to jump back on the band wagon and whip up a few little things. I am obsessed with making anything and everything for my girls , so naturally the few little things I made are for my girls:

                                        
                                                          There is plenty more to come......

Sneak Peak

Isabella had her dress rehearsal for her upcoming ballet/tap dance recital June 4th.  Here is a sneak peak of her costume.... I can't wait until the big day!!!

It's catchhing on!!!!!

I am a complete novice when it comes to the whole couponing phenomenon. I have been clipping and collecting my little coupons here and there and storing them away in my little handy dandy notebook, yes, I am ocd about organization. Well, this week, to my delight, was triple coupons at our local grocery store and after all was said and done I managed to save $127.18 between coupons and in-store deals!!! I was sooooo excited and proud!! The whole couponing thing is starting to make sense to me, those who know me know math is NOT my strong point.  There is a certain adrenaline rush that goes along with couponing and I must admit... I'm hooked. I love the challenge and I love the outcome!!!My "stock pile" is slowly building and my fridge is busting at the seams, I love it! Here's a little glimpse into everything I got for FREE during my first real couponing grocery trip:

"The Boys"

Our very dear friends the Kilcoynes , aka "the boys," have been a staple on our lives since Isabella was about 8 months old. We have shared many, many wonderful times with them, many of which consisted of lots of imagination and even more laughter. "The boys," all three of them, are very dear to this house of girls. We look forward to many, many more moments to share.

                            Patrick, Finnegan and Isabella making the most of their imaginations!

                          Jenna and Sully playing dress-up, poor Sully does not look too amused.

Sausage Egg Casserole

This recipe has been requested by quite a few people as it is my go-to recipe for breakfast/brunch gatherings. So.... here it is:

Sausage Egg Casserole
10 eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 pound bulk pork sausage, cooked and drained (I use turkey sausage)
2 cups cubed white bread
1 1/2 cups( 6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

 In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and mustard. Stir in sausage, bread cubes and cheese.
Pour into greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

This dish is absolutely delicious and equally as easy to make!! Enjoy!!

The Next American Idol?!

So, this morning I was changing Isabella out of her ballet clothes and heard some funny squeals coming from the playroom; I knew it could only be coming from one pint size little munchkin, however I was not prepared to see what was waiting for me on the other side of the squeals.....

Let me just tell you.... this was 100% not staged. I walked into the playroom and discovered Jenna dressed in a 4th of July crown, which she put on her own head, and the microphone in hand at mouth! Seriously. the cutest little American idol ever! I am thankful I caught this on camera!!!!

                                                                 Love, love love!

Mommy's Day

Mother's day this year, much like birthdays in my household, was celebrated over a period of several days. The celebrations began with a trip to Isabella's school for a "mommy and me ice-cream social."  The social began with circle time in which the mommies all got to sit on the floor with their little one's and participate in the circle time events. They sang several songs and then presented us with a card that said" mommy's purse." All of the "purses" had questions in it in which each child had to answer about their mommy. Isabella's read as followed:
"what does mommy carry in her purse?"- she answered sunglasses
"How old is mommy?"- she answered 28
"What does mommy like to do?"- she answered drive to Orlando ( lol)
"what's mommy's favorite thing to eat?"- she answered Burritos
" what color are mommy's hair and eyes?"- she answered brown and brown
"what do you love about mommy?"- she answered because she is so sweet
After circle time we progressed to the tables to enjoy ice cream with all the toppings. Each child also presented the mommies with a hand made lady bug garden stone!! So cute!!

The celebration continued on to Sunday where I held a mother's day brunch for both my mom and my mother in law whom was pleasantly in town visiting us!!! We enjoyed some yummy food and great company!

We all had a fantastic Day! I felt so blessed to have both my mom's here to celebrate!! xxx

The Farmer's Market

I am a HUGE lover of the local Farmers Market. I love trying new recipes, especially when they involve fresh and local ingredients. This past Saturday I took a trip to the Farmer's Market in anticipation of my mother and father in law's arrival.  We picked up some fantastic veggies, fresh 8 -grain bread, flowers, etc. Unfortunately the variety of fruit was not up to par yet which was a little disappointing because Isabella LOVES fresh Blackberries, as does mommy. Nonetheless, It just gives us an excuse to go back, in the very near future!!! ;)

Isabella's 4th Birthday- Part 2

We celebrated Isabella's birthday for days.... as we do with all family birthdays. As I previously posted, this past Sunday was extremely busy and her actual birthday, May 2nd, was filled with just as much fun! We started off the morning going to our favorite breakfast place- Flying Biscuit. Isabella had school that morning so we had to be in and out in a jiff, it was super yummy and our waitress even put a pink candle in Isabella's pancake!!

  After breakfast, we dropped Isabella off at school and daddy went to work and I took jenna home so she could take a mini nap. After her mini nap we headed back to school early with cookie cake to celebrate Isabellas birthday in her classroom!

                                               Isabella posing with her teachers, she adores them!! The rest of the day was spent opening MORE presents, playing and a trip to the playground and cold stone for yummy birthday ice cream! We had a blast celebrating our sweet girls 4th birthday!!!!

Isabella's 4th Birthday- Part 1

Today we celebrated our first baby's 4th birthday!! Her actual birthday is tomorrow, but due to school and work schedules we had to celebrate a day early.... don't worry, we will be doing plenty of celebrating tomorrow too! ;) We had her party at My Gym  which is a little place right by our house that does all sorts of activities such as jumping on trampolines, running games, hide and go seek, wall climbing, obstacles courses and even an indoor zip line!!! Isabella wanted the theme of her party to be "Jesse," from Toy Story  so we tried our best to incorporate it as much we as we could.. hence all the cowgirl/cowboy decor. Overall her party was a huge success! After the party nana, papa, aunt Eileen and cousin Greg came over for dinner , cake and of course presents!!! Isabella was one tired little cowgirl when all was said and done!!

                                    She wanted a picture holding her Jesse Doll and hat!

                                   posing with mommy and daddy before her friends arrived...

                                                            There were too many pics to post!~!!

                                      opening SOME of her presents...

                                         so excited, she got a little make-up case full of lip gloss and nail polish!

nana and papa got her a new Fancy Nancy night gown with fuzzy slippers, a book and Fancy Nancy Doll!

                                          I wonder what she wished for!! I hope her wishes come true now and forever!