Choosing Gratitude

For those of you who know me well, I am not one who prefers formal prayer...instead I communicate verbally and nonverbally with God through an open dialogue. If you are a formal prayer type of person, I really recommend you try just "talking" instead. I find this open communication calms me...its like a mediation more than a structured task.
One of things I try to do daily is say "thank you." DO you say "Thank You?" If so how often?
Now there are days I forget and life gets in the way but more than not I am "Choosing Gratitude." I choose to think not what I am thankful for in an itemized list but just say thank you. I have so many blessings... I am grateful for everything I have and am.
To be fair there are moments when I find myself saying thank you more readily, for example... Tuesday I was running along the road and I went to cross the street and a pick up truck nearly took me out...I rolled along the car and ran as fast as I could away...instantly I said, "thank you!" I immediately called Michael because I was so shook up...he helped ease my "jitters" and I continued on my run. While doing so I engaged in my usual open dialogue...it went something like this, "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." When I picked the boys up from school I didn't leave for a second...I hate that it took a moment like that to soak up every inch of their being but it did. I think in a strange way it made me a better parent...This week I have made eye contact with the boys while they are speaking (which is a much harder task than you would think.) I have been present for them. I will remain present for them. I will encourage them to say, "Thank You."
Everyday we make choices...good, bad, indifferent. Everyday we should find time to be thankful. I know this blog post might appear "preachy" but in my experience, if you don't say what you need to say when you need to say it, the moment will pass and regret will set in...
Thank You.

Class Coffee Party

Tomorrow morning I am hosting the twins Pre-K class coffee. It is a little tradition their nursery school has... the homeroom parent hosts all the other moms and/or dads for coffee one morning so the parents can connect and become more familiar with one another. When we first moved to the area I was very excited to meet the other moms...I had to feel them out, if you will...I needed to get a sense of who they were/are...This area has a reputation for being a little "hoity toity" or "uptight" and don't get me wrong I have met some of those types but for the most part I have met some incredible women. My all-time hope is that once everyone cuts through the bull, their cores are good. 

I was the twins homeroom parent last year but I wasn't comfortable hosting, I was afraid someone would judge me or judge my house ---why I cared is so beyond me...but I did care...I was just to nervous to put myself and my home on display. 

Everything worked out for the best my co-homeroom mom and now dear friend hosted and she did a stand up job...Also I love going to her house to see what design element she has recently incorporated...this girl has some goooood taste! 

Regardless, this year here I am again, homeroom parent for the twins class and this year I am up for the challenge! It's funny how we settle into ourselves. I wish I would have settled earlier but I can't go back so here I am....settled. My apologies for the lighting, I had to take these pictures this evening once the boys went to bed...they kept stealing my sweet treats! 

Here is my little coffee/tea bar...I figured it would be best to purchase some paper coffee cups incase the ladies need to take some caffeine on the go...I mean lets be real for one more second---Since this doesn't start until 9:30 I am sure all of these women have already inhaled about a pot of coffee anyway... so I guess the coffee vessel doesn't matter too much! 

I was able to find these little creamers (which I am super excited about!!) I usually drink black coffee so I never really know "good" fixins' but I think I struck gold with the pumpkin spice creamer....

I whipped up a batch of homemade cinnamon biscotti this morning and was able to drizzle with a little white chocolate tonight! Yum and Yum! 

I used this recipe: Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

As for my center pieces I am keeping it all about the food. I moved my flower filled pumpkins to side tables and in moved a rustic white ceramic basket perfect for holding honey crisp apples and bosc pears. I love the look of fruit...so odd I know, but I truly believe the simplicity wins. 

As a thank you to all the parents who attend the gathering I made little chocolate covered pretzel bags. I also made a few extra bags for the teachers! 

I love making these and they could not be easier! I just pour a bag of white chocolate morsels into a glass measuring cup. I put the measuring cup in the microwave and heat on high for about 30-45 seconds...then I mix and repeat as needed. Lastly I dip the pretzel half way in the chocolate and lay flat on parchment paper. During the holidays I like to dip the pretzels in white chocolate and white sprinkles for a snowy look. Clear bags and ribbon seal the deal! 

Falling Into Fall With Fall Decor and Simple Table-scapes

I love this time of year. I love watching the leaves change color and the sound they make as they rustle on the driveway...The breeze seems freeing as if it could take you away with it. I love the pumpkins and Honey Crisp apples everywhere and even though they don't smell the prettiest I sure do love all the Mums.

As a way of celebrating all things fall and friendships Michael and I are having some friends over this weekend. To prepare I decided to jazz up some old plastic pumpkins, disguise the hulk, reuse a Pinata, make a coffee cake, and paint a pumpkin...oh my!

Plastic pumpkins were on sale the other day and I thought "With all this chalk paint I still have, why not?" With these pumpkins I was also conducting an experiment. Which chalk paint is truly supreme? Over the summer I painted our kitchen cabinets with Annie Sloan "old white" chalk paint. The paint was absolutely amazing but expensive. Since then I have picked up two other brands of chalk paint and I thought this would be the perfect project for a paint comparison. To the left is Target's brand "Oats." The middle is Home Depot's brand "Vintage" and the end is Annie Sloan "Duck Egg Blue." 

Hands down the Annie Sloan paint covered in one coat, went on smoother, and instantly stuck to the plastic. The other two brands were fine once I applied a second coat...Now I understand the Annie Sloan price - it costs more but you use less...the other brands cost less but you use more, so you will need to buy more. I love the way the pumpkins turned out. I just put a glass mason jar inside each one for the flowers and I think they make a perfect table scape!

Have you ever felt like you needed more decoration but didn't have time to shop? I always seem to feel this way...until... I started using the boys toys as decorations. My fall decor is very tame nothing scary. The boys wanted a little more Halloween decor in the house so I went out looking...Everything seemed scary and I can not risk them having nightmares soooo here is what I did...

I took a roll of toilet paper and I "mummied" the Incredible Hulk! 

I did the same thing with this Fiesta Piñata I had in the basement from Jack's first birthday! 

Tomorrow our friends are coming over early so I thought I would make a coffee cake... I don't know if it will taste like a "Drakes" but brown sugar and butter never smelled so good! For this I used Ree Drummond's Recipe - The Pioneer Woman I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cake batter for some extra flavoring and I omitted the pecans ... so here's hoping'!

Lastly, I painted this particle board pumpkin cut out from A.C. Moore. They were on sale for a $1 per board so I picked up three! Two I painted "pumpkin patch" on and put then out in the yard surrounded by pumpkins and the third I kept inside. Here I used some acrylic paint and burlap ribbon to finish it off. 

Back Up and Running... Best Hair Clipper Set, Easiest Dinner, Easiest Play Sand Recipe, and Yarn Wrapped Monograms!

First, I would like to just take a moment to say "phew!" Getting all the boys back on track and to school over the past few weeks has been an adjustment to say the least. The twins are in school 5 days a week now and I have to tell you...getting them up and dressed and fed and out the door with all necessities has been ROUGH! But we are now moving faster and all my little Manzi Ducks are falling in line! 

So I figured I would give myself a challenge...Cut their hair... As a back story I have always wanted to be a hairdresser. Ever since I was a little girl, I imagined myself like "Truvy" Dolly Parton's character in "Steel Magnolias"--Big Hair Don't Care if you know what I mean! But alas nothing ever came of it, I was accepted to Gordon Phillips but I was pretty sure everyone was accepted so I never pursued the dream. 

Back to present day, the twins hair grows so fast it is difficult to get them to the barber every 3 weeks for a clean up so I did a little Amazon Review reading and bought these Wahl Clippers. They are truly an amazing deal and very easy to use. I needed to take this seriously, I considered it my big break in at home hair styling, so I did what any mother would do...I watched youtube.com. My search terms : "How to cut a modern fade" My results: This video and this one. 

Well I did it...now I am not saying I am taking over as their permanent barber but I will say these clippers saved me time and money for the "in between cuts"

WALKING TACOS

Did you eat? I have been slacking in the dinner department lately, but I must say my latest slack left us with a new family favorite. In high school our cafeteria would have "Walking Taco Day" meaning it was Taco Tuesday but on the go! 

Here is what you'll need: 

a small bag of Fritos 

Taco meat (cooked and seasoned the way you like)

Now the Fixins: 

Shredded Cheese 

Sour Cream

Shredded Lettuce

Chopped Tomato

Add everything and anything to your bag of Fritos give a little mix and Viola! Walking Tacos! 

EASY MOON SAND RECIPE

This moon sand is so so so easy and I am sure you already have the ingredients! The full recipe is 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil. Mix them very well and let the fun begin. You can also make this same recipe in a smaller amount by dividing the recipe. I made some for Jack in our water table and he LOVED it! 

Last but certainly not least, all things yarn... One of Michaels co-workers just had a baby girl and I wanted to make them a little something from the heart so of course it was a monogram. Using a small board about 9x13 I chalk painted and clear waxed, I attached yarn wrapped initials making baby Sophia her very first monogram. 

Updated Living Room with a Traditional Twist

We are about 90% finished with our living room! The final piece just arrived and with a few screws the room will be complete. Until then however I wanted to share our most recent update: Wood trim on the wall. As a reference here is what the living room looked like to date: living room update

Using a guide from wainscoting of America we had our AMAZING contractor Dan from Testa Contracting interpret one of the wainscoting kits. Rather than the wood trim completely covering the wall, we used the wall and layered shadow boxes on shadow boxes. He built out the windowsills and made a wood trim window valance. We sprayed the entire wall with a high gloss white paint to add an extra element. Dan also installed four high hats - two on either side of the new chandelier. In a room where the light was MINIMAL at best, we now can see every detail with absolutely clarity. Rather than me fumbling the description I thought I would just show you how the process went with the art of I-Phone photography!

This is the BEFORE:

No Wood Trim and No chandelier or high hats.

This was one of the first layers of wood trim. You can see the crown molding, flat trim being added to make large and small rectangles, and the trim window valance.

Here are all the layers of trim- high hats installed- and the hand bevelled beadboard above the fireplace.

 This is Dan, his co-worker, and the "Foreman" Doc checking things out after the first coat of paint!

 Here is a glimpse of Dan painting and the BEAUTIFUL chandelier!

This is a close up of the beadboard above the fireplace. I love the way this turned out! He did such an amazing job. The beadboard is so simple yet elegant. 

 The last two photos below were taking with my back to the fireplace. The tall table lamps are from Restoration Hardware.

 Finally I have a fancy room to drink my "fancy" pickle juice martini's! Cheers Friends and a Big Thank You to Testa Contracting!

First Day of Pre-K and Nursery School Teacher Gifts

Well the time has come for me to rejoice. The boys are headed back to school next week! We had a wonderful summer together and I know I will always look back to the dream team 2015 summer with fond memories but as they say,

 'all good things must come to an end' 

and as I say,

 "Mamma needs to regain her sanity."

 In preparation for the boys going back to school I had to take a little time to whip up a 

"Here we come! Look Out! Get Ready!" teacher gift. 

I always loved the sentiment of bringing your teacher an apple on the first day of school but as we all know, teachers do not want apples. 

So I went to the next best thing, Mini MacIntosh Apple Candles.

I love these little candles and here's why:

 #1: They are tiny so they are easy for a child to carry

#2: They are made in the U.S.A.

#3: You CAN NOT beat the price 

#4: They wrap so nicely in clear wrap and ribbon

#5: They may be small in stature but they are mighty in scent 

Attached to each of the candles I tied a hand written quotation on the boys stationary. 

I really love the way they all came together. 

Hopefully the teachers do too! 

How To Un-Spoil Your Children?

So the summer has come to an end ... After you read that what was your immediate feeling? Sadness? Joy? Did you just take a huge sigh of relief? My answer would be: Anxious. I am anxious for the school year to begin and completely stressed out by all of the little things I need finished before I can calmly begin a new season. You see I have one tiny... little... itsy bitsy... big... daunting thing I need to  do... I need to un-spoil my insanely energetic boys! How do I do that? Seriously I am truly asking: How do you make your child less bratty? Well that just sounds mean... less demanding of things? No, that's not right either... how about More appreciative? That's better.
You see over the past three months I have raced through so many emotions I should have been diagnosed with something ... now that summer is over and I am beginning to clear my eyes and mark up my calendar I have taken a good long look at my boys and noticed that I have created MONSTERS! I guess I took the "whatever you want" approach to life this summer a little too far... Remember Wedding Crashers when Gloria is tantruming at her sisters wedding... I am Christopher Walken in that scene just waving my hands saying "whatever you want..."
Last week I tried the whole "if you don't do this, you want get that" type of bargaining. It worked once on each child and then I was turning onto a dead end road. The "Cold Turkey" method usually works well in my life when it comes to my addiction to sweets... Maybe that will work with the boys too? No candy, no jinky junk toys, no baked goods, no more crazy hupla! What do you think? How long will it take to have my nice even tempered children back again? Have you gone through this before? I need some help on this one.