Things I'm Loving...

Helllooooo Summer!!!

Finally, the weather got the memo! It has been beautiful [hot and a bit too humid for my taste] but I'm so glad to see the sun-a shinning!!

Here are a few things I'm loving for the summertime...

1. O.P.I Nail Polish "Pink-ing of You"

2. Lemon Water...read why here.

3. Slouchy Tribal, Striped, or Floral tops

jcrew

forever21

forever21

topshop

4. A Tasty Summery Treat!

Jack loves bananas. I mean he loves them. So when I saw these little devils at TJ's...I couldn't resist.  Before we knew it...they were gone.  So when Jack was asking for his "tasty banana treat" after dinner tonight, I thought, "I'll just make it myself." So I did....

[Just in case you were wondering...I'm still not supposed to be eating dessert!! Total deprivation leads to insanity right? Everything in moderation!] 

Mmm D'licious: Gone Bananas

1/2 bag Chocolate Chips melted

2 bananas 

4 lollipop sticks or skewers

Rainbow sprinkles (or nuts....or nothing)

Melt chocolate 

Cut bananas in half- stick them on a stick 

Try not to laugh (but good luck. Sean was like, "are you seriously going to take pictures of that....they look like AHEM" hahahaha)

Dip bananas in chocolate

Place on Wax Paper

Sprinkle with topping 

Freeze for about an hour....then they are perfect....not frozen solid, but nice and cold!

Enjoy!!!

5. Three things that remind me of what is really important

1. Seans Brand New Bible[his car window was smashed and his Bible was Stolen...true story]: I love my husband. I love that he loves Jesus. I hope the thief finds Jesus- thats the best thing he could have ever stolen.

2. Jack's Whale bank that he painted! All finished. So cute. I love him and our special little outings. 

3. My little Sunshine Girl.  If the sun's up...so is she! Hello 5:30. Nice to meet you.  I love our quiet mornings together before the boys are up. She plays, I read and drink my cup of joe. She is precious.

That's what I'm loving right now. 

A little frivolous, a little fun, and always my family.

Oh and just a little bonus....this pic. 

Who doesn't love vacation????

Can't wait to go back!!!  

3 weeks!!!

Happy Summer-ing!

linking up with Casey here

and with Paisley Jade

Red, White, & Bradford

I grew up in a very musical family. We all sing and play various instruments, and holidays are always celebrated with songs.  As a kid, 4th of July meant Kentucky Fried Chicken and a medley of patriotic songs complete with choreography, performed by myself, my sisters and my cousins.  We would put on little shows for the adults, and we thought it was grand fun! Good memories.

So in keeping with that spirit, I tried to teach a couple patriotic songs to Jack. He thought it was funny and kept asking me to sing the Uncle Sam Doodle song, but he loved the line, 

"I've got a Yankee doodle sweetheart.." 

He would even put his hands together by his face...if only you could see him singing it. Too cute. Just too darn cute.  He didn't really get what we were celebrating...at one point he said, "It's Valentines Day Mommy?" and he also has since confused Uncle Sam [see photo from parade below] with Fireman Sam.  He also was not a fan of the fireworks.  He has always been sensitive to noise, so he didn't like the BOOM of the fireworks. We still had a lot of fun celebrating with family and friends!!

My Mom "Mia" and my Aunt "Nina" with Claire and Gabriel 

Like I mentioned already, we have a 3rd of July party [because that's when there are fireworks in the neighborhood where Nana lives :-) This year we all went to my sister's house for dinner and then headed over to Nana's for an ice cream social! I wanted to get more candid shots, but my camera battery died [doh!]. We had a wonderful time and it was fun to see my newly-wed brother and his cute wife who were in town from L.A!

 And just in case you thought we were totally un-American by solely celebrating on the 3rd...we went to a small town 4th of July parade [on the 4th] with our friends, Ryan, Nichole, Brett & Haven!! Brett is Jack's best little buddy, and coincidently (wink wink), Brett's mama is one of my best friends! Our boys are 5 months apart (Jack's older) and now our girls are 5 months apart too...(Claire is younger).  It's so fun having good friends to raise our kiddos with! The boys had such a blast in the wagon, and they waited so patiently for the parade to start!

They of course loved the old fashion tractors, cars, fire trucks and even a train {on a flatbed...but still]!

So much fun in one weekend. Whew! We really are blessed to be in this country.  It's not perfect, but the freedoms we have are priceless.

Ok, I think that officially wraps up the Red, White, and the Bradford.

Trendy lil Toddler (& Baby): Star Spangled Edition part 1

Claire: Ciao Bella by Gymboree (top and bloomers)

 Headband by Blossom&Vine 

Jack: Fore!! Axel&Hudson (again) shirt and shorts 

[I can't help it]

:-)

Red, White, & Blue {Cookie Decorating}

 My mom makes the best sugar cookies and homemade frosting in the world. not kidding. As a child I always loved decorating cookies, and now my sisters and I still love to do it with my mom and our kids (and occasionally a wiener dog named Derby too)!

We made these on the 2nd to take to our 3rd of July party, and it was so hard for the little ones to not eat the cookies! We told them they could each have one, and then we had to save the rest for the party.  The temptation was just too much for my Jacky boy.  He grabbed one off the table and announced that he was going outside to eat it. I quickly said, "No Jacky. Come here now." He handed over the stolen cookie and then covered his face with both hands and burst into tears. It was the saddest thing ever. Needless to say we went outside and ate a cookie together! 

Sometimes you just have to let them have another cookie.

xo

Marshmallow Sparkle Pops

Every year my Nana has a 3rd of July party at her house. He neighborhood sponsors an amazing fireworks display, so we celebrate a little early!

I was feeling a little crafty, so I enlisted the help of one very adorable 2 year old to help me with my "project."  We made Marshmallow Sparkle Pops.  I'm listing this under D.I.Y. and not Mmm D'licious, because I'll be honest, they look much better than they taste.  My husband tried them and said, "It's like a sugar ball, dipped in sugar and then dusted in sugar...a little to much sugar!" haha. But they did make a cute decoration, and if I had had more time, I would have wrapped them individually and sent them home with people as a little favor.

Ingredients [for about 30]:

Large Marshmallows
Candy Melts {I used red and blue- 1/2 bag of each}
Sprinkles...lots of sprinkles!
Lollipop sticks

How To: 

Follow directions on the Candy Melts bag :-)
Dip one side of the mellow into the melted candy
Dip/roll in sprinkles
Set (candy coated side DOWN) on cookie sheet that is covered with wax paper
Once the candy hardens a little (you can put them in the refridge to speed up the process) repeat on the other side using the second color.
Stick your lollipop sticks in before the candy hardens. I didn't do that, so I ended up sticking them into the marshmallow part that wasn't frosted.

Super easy, super cute, it was just too much sugar for me! haha. Next time I think I'll attempt Cake balls- same idea, but edible!

Wonder where my lil baby face was while we were doing our project? She was just playing in her exersaucer! Such a good girl! We got it down out of our storage and Daddy and Jack put it together for her! I feel like Jack should still be little enough to be in there! I remember when we put him in it for the first time! ahh. how time flies! She loves it! And Jack loves showing her all the little things on it!

my lil helpers!

On My Heart: My Heart.

Source: weheartit.com via Jana on Pinterest

Ba-boom, Ba-boom, Ba-boom

My heart.

My heart!

boomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboomboom

Something was wrong with my heart.  It was not just speeding, it was going berzerk. 

pounding so hard, so fast, I thought it might just stop. 

STOP. 

It lasted 3-4 minutes, and then all of a sudden...

a jolt.

Ba-boom, Ba-boom, ba-boom....back to normal.

This happened to me on Wednesday morning. I was just going about my business and it just starting going. This is actually the second time it has happened.  The first time was about 6 months ago, still pregnant with peewee, I called my OB thinking it was pregnancy related. He said not to worry, but if it happened again to go to the E.R.  It didn't happen again- until Wednesday.

Source: Pinterest

I hate going to the doctor for nothing, but since the heart is kind of a big deal- I figured I better get it checked out. So yesterday I went to the Cardiologist. After describing my "episodes" the doctor was fairly certain that I have something called

Supraventricular Tachycardia.

In supraventricular tachycardia, the heart rate is sped up by an abnormal electrical impulse starting in the atria.
The heart beats so fast that the heart muscle cannot relax between contractions. When the chambers don't relax, they cannot contract strongly or fill with enough blood to satisfy the body's needs.

The Dr. explained to me that it is not life threatening, but she of course wanted to do some tests to rule out anything else that may be.  Sooo- I had an EKG, then the nurse hooked me up to a fancy little/not little heart monitor that I have to wear for 24 hrs.  It has 5 chords, all affixed to different spots on my chest, and one very large pager looking thing I that I've had hooked to my pants all day [cerca 1998, 143-637 haha].  

I then went down to the lab to have blood work done.  It was crowded, and I sat waiting for quite a while.

Not life threatening.  

I texted my husband. Somehow just typing those words brought a whole flood of emotions. I could feel the lump in my throat and my eyes fill with tears.  My mind was flooded with fearful thoughts...What if these tests show there is something else wrong with my heart? What if I have a serious condition. My Babies. Life is so fragile. So fleeting. What if I die. 

Randomly, I had grabbed my little journal to take with me.  This was the Lord, because I never take it anywhere.  It is for my morning quiet time to jot down notes, thoughts, prayers, and it is filled with some of my favorite verses.  I just sat and flipped through reading verse after verse.  I was struck by how many of them had the word heart in them.  I felt like I was given a little mini word-study right then and there in the middle of the LabCore waiting room. Others just gave me the peace and reassurance that I needed in that moment. It was a really precious few minutes.

Source: generalvalentine.com via Grace on Pinterest

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Prov. 17:22

"Listen closely to my words, do not let them out of your sight. Keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body."

Prov. 4:20-22

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Eph. 2:10

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them that those who love your name  may rejoice in you. For surely O Lord you bless the righteous, you surround them with your favor, as with a shield"

Ps. 5:11-12 [My mom used to pray those verses to us every morning when we would be leaving for school. It is dear to my heart because of that!]

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Phil. 1:6

"But I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."

Ps. 13:5

It went on and on. Verse after verse reminded me of God's great love for me, his peace that surpasses all understanding, and the joy that comes from rejoicing in Him and His salvation.

Fear and anxiety are from the enemy, peace and joy are from the Lord.  I really believe all these tests will come back fine [I still have to have an ecocardiogram next Friday] but in the meantime, it was a reminder of how fragile and brief our lives can be. We are not promised our health, we are not promised tomorrow, but we are promised salvation and abundant life in Him! 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

Deut. 6:5

liking up with Casey here

Mmm D'Licious: Chicken Marsala

 Since most of my Mmm D'licious posts have been desserts [eek] and we are not making desserts right now...I'm trying to post more entrées! Here is one of my favorites and a staple around here!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

3-4 half chicken breasts
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
Knorr Turkey Gravy packet [or Williams Sonoma Turkey Gravy Base (available during the holidays) + 1/2 milk]
Sprinkle Lawrys Seasoned salt
Sprinkle Garlic powder
3 Tbs Yoshida sauce
1/2 C Sweet Marsala Wine

Cut chicken into pieces, cook in pan with butter and olive oil until white all the way through.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and garlic powder
Cook gravy as directed
Add to cooked chicken
Add Yoshida & Marsala wine
turn on the heat for a couple minutes

*this is also good with sautéed veggies {onion, bell pepper, squash] in it or as a side*

Serve over rice or noodles [I usually do noodles] with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!