6 Things Sunday: Grateful.

I admit it.   I was eavesdropping.

Not intentionally.  But I wasn't doing much to prevent it either.  Anyway, in the course of eavesdropping (unintentionally) I heard the random person A say to random person B (They were strangers talking  along the road when I checked my mail, calm down!) "Blah Blah Blah... Six Things Sunday."

The blah blah blahs were added by me.  I am misquoting Person A because I wasn't intentionally listening.

I was wrong anyway since Person B (in a much louder voice) said "16 Sundays!  That took forever!"

I wonder what it was...

Either way, 6 Things Sunday has been stuck in my head.  So it's Sunday. I want to try this out!

Let's try 6 things I am grateful for today.

1.  Fresh landscaping.
     I've always loved pretty front lawns.  Unfortunately, as I've said before, I am the plant murderer.  Luckily, Jon isn't and has been diligently working to make our property pretty-ful.  This is just a corner.  I'm seriously going to have to put up before and after photos.  Amazing how different it looks...

2. Sunshine.
     It's been raining.  For days upon days, it seems like. The rain never bothered me.  In fact, I always loved it.  Until I got pregnant with this one.  Now the rain makes me want to sleep. And by sleep, I mean go into a coma.  Today was beautiful.  Which made for quite a pleasant day!

3.  This Blurry Picture.
      This blurry picture of the boys has been an excellent reminder this morning.  A reminder of how fast time goes by.  Seems like just yesterday I could get adorable pictures of my newborn sons without any concern about a blur.  Lol.  Now they're moving, and growing, faster than ever.  This picture is a great reminder to focus on the now rather than tomorrow or yesterday.

4.  Full Panel Maternity Jeans
     I cannot believe I'm sharing this.  But these jeans have been a God sent.  I'm big enough now that my stomach is uncomfortable and I could use some support.  Both physical and emotional! Lol.  And the fact that it conceal my now outtie belly button is a HUGE bonus.

5. My Clothesline
    My dryer broke.  And it left me feeling kind of cranky.  Until I realized I could just be super green and line dry almost everything.  Yes, I made one trip to the laundromat but that was only because of the threat of rain.  But for the most part, I enjoyed hanging clothes to dry in the rare sunshine.

6. Family Days

    With all that needs done nowadays, it's hard to take a moment to enjoy family time.  Nothing makes me happier than watching my family playing in the yard.  In fact, nothing makes me happier than my family.  While I may be grateful for many many things, my family is at the top of the list.  Between my two amazing little boys (2.83 really.  The third is due very very soon!) and my ever supportive and loving husband, I have been immensely blessed.  I cannot imagine life without them.  

So there you have it.  6 Things Sunday. So tell me!  What are you grateful for today?

Until next time, dear reader,  Happy Sunday!

Shaken. Not stirred.

With a title like that, I know you're expecting something crazy and exciting.  Something, I don't know, James Bond like.

Truth be told, there is nothing crazy about this post except how awesome it is.

Because this post is about ice cream.  And lets be honest.  There are few things in this world that compare to the awesome deliciousness of frozen dairy product.

Okay, so the other day I was doing some late night net browsing.  I couldn't sleep (as usual) so I thought I'd stumble around summer like recipes.  And I came across a gem of an idea on Family Fun's website.

Home Made Ice Cream in a Bag.

It's a simple recipe with few ingredients, most already on hand!  AND it's a recipe that even the kids can get in on.

So.  All you need for this recipe is some half and half, sugar, vanilla extract, salt and ice.  Oh, and freezer bags. One gallon and one pint sized.

Combine the half and half, sugar and vanilla in the smaller freezer bag, seal and shake to mix.  Fill the larger freezer bag halfway with ice and add the salt.  

Here's the fun part.

Pu the small bag into the bag of ice. Seal it and shake shake shake.  After about 5 minutes of shaking, rinse the small bag off (quickly!) and see if it's "ice cream consistency."

If it's not, put it back in the ice and keep on shaking it.

If it is... 

Well, then enjoy!

This simple recipe was delicious AND an awesome arm workout. Not that it matters, though, because once you start eating this amazingly creamy ice cream, you won't stop.  So the arm workout isn't really a bonus here. 
Want to make it?  The recipe is simple.

Home Made Ice Cream in a Bag

• - 2 tbsp of sugar
• -1 cup of half and half
• -1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• - ice
• -1/2 cup of salt.  

         (The courser the salt, the better.  Rock salt will work best but I used coarse table salt that worked just  fine.  Rumor has it normal table salt works as well!)

• Combine the first three ingredients in the small bag and seal.
• Combine the ice and salt in the large bag.  Make sure to fill the bag halfway full of ice.
• Place the small bag into the large bag and seal.
• Shake, shake, shake!
• After 5 mins, rinse the salt off the small bag and check for firmness.

Eat up!!!
So there you have it! Now go make 800 batches.  And be sure to try mix ins, I'm thinking M&Ms.  If you do, come back and let me know what you added.
Until next time, Happy Friday!

33 days!

We have a date, we have a date!

A birth date, that is!  That's right, we finally FINALLY have a date for my c section.  And that date is just 33 days away.

I'm feeling pretty good about that.  Because for the first time, I am ACTUALLY prepared.  Okay,  as prepared as one can be for a baby.  I guess what they say is true.  Third time is a charm!

With my first, I thought I had more time... So I was lacking in a few areas.  With my second... well, I was so busy taking care of my first that I forgot things!  This time, I started early, made a million lists and had help from the two most awesome, soon to be big brothers of all time.

Seriously.  I think Bean and Monkey are more excited than anyone about this baby.   Bean's been busy readying baby items with me for Belly Baby's arrival and Monkey's been spending a lot of quality time talking to my tummy.

So, anyway, one of the things I always wanted to be able to have done on time was the nursery. Which is pretty stupid considering I'm going to have Belly Baby in the room with me for some time. However, I wanted a completed nursery.  After all, this is my last.  So I decided that THAT was a major priority.

This is what we started with.

Yikes.  Okay so this is the smallest room in the house.  Perfect for a baby.  Except for the fact this it is B.O.R.I.N.G.  White walls, standard carpet... yeah.  Is it any wonder we used this for storage until Belly Baby made his presence known?

Luckily, I had a vision for this room and a husband who happens to be ultra handy. My vision was simple enough.  A room that was calm, yet cheery and would remind the Little One that he was loved.  

This is what was that boring room became.

Seriously.  It's not even the same room anymore.

The closets not done yet and there is some decor missing but all in all... I'm a very happy mama.  Especially considering how much of this room was a DIY project!

My personal favorite piece?  The mobile.

This was the last DIY piece I did in the room and the affect it had was phenomenal.  So much so, that I'll be sharing a tutorial with you here in the next few day.

In fact, I have several tutorials coming your way!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my nursery revamp.  Until next time, Happy Tuesday, folks!

6 weeks.

It's Tuesday.  Where's the Pinterest pick?

Sorry, folks!  I know you were expecting a review of some awesome pinterest pin but I needed some time off.

So, we're now in the official countdown.  6 weeks (max!) left till the newest little Sugar Crumb makes his big debut.  I'm tired, uncomfortable and generally ready to end this chapter.  While pregnancy is an amazing experience, I am very much looking forward to sleeping without my throat burning.  And to being able to eat more than 3 bites before I end up queasy full.

Ah, pregnancy.

However, that being said, there are a lot of things I still want to do before I end this time.  So many things that I sat down and actually listed them out.  Some are stupid (I'm not going to start a new line...) some are necessary (like prep the house for my recovery) and others are just... well, they're just things I want to do.

So over the course of the next few weeks, you'll notice a shift in the blog.  I'll keep posting tutorials, recipes and whatnot but you can be sure there are going to be more rambling blogs.  Blogs about where I am and I can guarantee you that these posts are going to be a lot more relaxed.  Pinterest Picks may not be on Mondays  but they'll still happen.

Stick around!