well, it IS an orange theme!

i MIGHT have bought a little head 'decoration' for L's bday party ; )

orange bday party ideas

ideas so far...

{pom poms for decoration~orange and yellow}

{oranges in glass jars~love the tablecloth too}

{orange nail polish for the gals}

{very rough draft}

{these or paper lanterns like i made for cray cray's 1st bday party}

{earthy!}

here's my question...are polka dots totally feminine? I'd like to do an orange cake with orange and yellow polka dots, but a part of me thinks that is 'not cool' for a 7 year old fella.

fun family project

I check out Frugal Girls frequently and this is a prime example as to why...

Handprint Gallery Art Project

orange 7th bday party!

i typically try to do most of the 'making' of things for Lando's bday parties during Spring Break. Being that that is only a week away (yay!) i'd better get to gettin'! any ideas for an orange-themed bday party, send 'em my way!

new blog

since i've done such a great job (insert sarcasm) keeping up with this blog, i decided to start keeping a school-related blog too. check it out if you are interested:

I've got a foldable for that!

chocolate cake in a mug

i can already tell this is NOT going to be good! and by good, i don't mean not tasty, i mean, it is delicious and it literally takes 30 seconds to make in the microwave after you assemble.

i have gotten turned on to reading "Chocolate Covered Katie", which i found linked on dana's blog. i figure if dana gives her the stamp of approval, then i am safe!

i am anxious to try tons of her recipes, but finally made ONE MINUTE CHOCOLATE CAKE for the first time yesterday...TWICE...see, i told you this isn't going to be good! i DO appreciate that many of her recipes are single serving so you don't have left overs around! I don't do leftovers for normal food, but i will tear dessert leftovers up like it's my J-O-B!

if you get a chance, try out this recipe and head over to CHOCOLATE COVERED KATIE!

ONE MINUTE CHOCOLATE CAKE (slightly modified from the original)

1 T cocoa powder
3 tsp cocoa powder

3 T flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 splenda or stevia packet
1 T extra light olive oil (will try to substitute applesauce whenever i get some)
3 T almond milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients in a coffee mug. Be sure they are very well mixed. Add liquid and stir well. Microwave 30-40 seconds.

I am considering adding some strawberries or raspberries the next time because i LOVE chocolate and berries!

pink and green...

toe-boes! painted cameron's toes for the first time today!

(between my redneck toes and cam's short middle toe, i'm sure you've seen enough of our gnarly feet by now!)

party planning time!

now that Christmas has come and gone it's time to start thinking about Landon's bday party! yes, it's not until the end of May, but I like to start early!

I usually give him 2 options to choose from for themes as he has a very difficult time just initiating a choice (although he is getting much better at this).

his choices:

upside down party

or

an orange party (in honor of his favorite color)

and the winner is...

what i typically do is to ask him every week or so the same question just to be sure (we do this with Halloween costume choices and his Santa list too). He rarely changes his mind.

when asked, "well, Landon, what could we eat at an orange party?" he responded, "weeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllll {he is getting quite the 'voice' in his speech these days}, whaaaattttttt aaabbouuuuuut, orange soda?! and orange Gatorade and orange juice boxes"

"And what about things to eat, Landon?"

"ummmmm, cheetos?! how bout dat? and cheezits?!"

"What color should your cupcakes be at an orange party?"

"ORANGE!"

Orange it is, i guess!

i look forward to coming up with some creative ideas for this one! if you've got any, send 'em my way!

i sure hope you attendees like orange!

one of these days i'll figure out a way to do an elevator party!

snowman garland

i LOVE looking at crafting blogs and "Someday Crafts" is a FABULOUS one.

i love this idea and think i might just have my STING kids make a snowman garland this week for good measure in hopes for a snow day sometime soon! I think we might have to make snowflakes also so we can alternate between snowflakes and snowmen!

(original post from: real life, one day at a time)

heaven balls (ha!)

so, in this sea of sickness, i have been craving something yummy that would make me feel better.

my friend, beth, gave me these ridiculously good truffles one day after school. shaun and i sat in bed and devoured them in about -2 seconds the same night. we've been thinking of them ever since.

beth was nice enough to share the recipe and i whipped them up last night.

everything that beth has made has looked AND tasted gorgeous. needless to say, i definitely missed the mark on looking fabulous here, but they taste pretty good for my first attempt.


so happy to have these added to my dessert file. i can't wait to try some alterations as well. my two favorite chocolate combinations are choc & raspberry and choc & mint, so i was thinking that i could use girl scout thin mints instead of oreos and then for the choc and raspberry, i might just add some raspberries to the original recipe.

so, when tuesday rolls around and i have started my diet again, i sure hope these little lovelies are out of sight because i don't think i'll be able to resist!