Keeping up with the Pryors

Home Sold and Goodbye

2011-08-30T20:49:00.001-05:00

Wow, can't believe our home sold in 3 days! That was fast! We are so excited to get into our new home soon! Since we are going to be so busy the next fews months, I going to be shutting this blog down. I loved blogging and meeting alot of people on here, but its now time for our family to move on in the real world. I thank all of you who have followed me. Wish you all the best! Goodbye!

UPDATE: We decided to end of staying in our home here but. I'm still shutting this blog down.

For Sale

2011-08-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

My husband and I decided a couple of years ago we wanted to have no more house payments. So we worked and worked hard to finish projects around our home so we could put it up for sale. Well that day is finally here. Our home got put up on the market yesterday and we already have a showing tonight. Wish us luck!

Here's some pics looking back at our home:

We all loved this big backyard and had some many memories!

Going to miss living here but also, I know we are doing what is best for our family too.

We will move on and make even more memories at our new home!

front porch rails

2011-07-29T13:25:00.000-05:00

Our porch rails were looking very sad, so I started chipping the paint off and primed and painted it.

Before:

(the rails were cream and blue)

Now I need flowers but its just too hot to plant anything that will survive this extreme heat. So I'm just going to get some wood chips to put in there for now.

Mailbox

2011-07-16T16:31:00.000-05:00

We got a new mailbox this past week and my husband installed for us. I got some brown spray paint and painted it. He painted the post, and I got some numbers from Walmart and painted them blue to match our home. Here's a before and after shot of the mailbox.

We loved how it turned out! Have a great weekend!

New Roof

2011-07-13T19:37:00.000-05:00

We got back home yesterday and had a good time at the waterpark with the kids. We got burnt though OUCH!!! Not to bad.

Our roofers came out today to put on our new roof. Bright in early to get started ripping our two layered roof off. It turned out great we are very much pleased with the results, it does look much better in person than is this picture.

Before: (it was a grayish blue color)

After:

Here's the roof all cleared off:

Roof Before: (our shed last year)

Our New Roof After:

They still like putting our new gutter on, not sure when that will be cause of the other roofs being replaced around this side of town. But hopefully it will be here soon. Well at least we have time to paint the trim before they come put the gutter on.

I will be posting our new mailbox tommorrow. Also, our siding for the front will be delievered out tommorrow morning so it has been pretty busy this week getting things back to normal. Thank you Lord!!!!!

Road Trip Snacks

2011-07-10T19:05:00.000-05:00

We are getting ready to take a mini road trip to Muskogee Ok. They have a fun little water park that the kids and us really enjoying going to. We are also, planning on moving there soon. We are also going to check out some homes as well. I just wanted to share some snacks ideas that we are taking with us. Pre bag everything will help out so much, just grab and go.

For dinner we plan on getting tv dinners, bag of salad and french bread for our meal. Taking brownies from home for dessert. If you plan ahead you can save alot of money on food instead of eating out, which would cost alot for a family of 5. Hope my tips will help you on your next trip.

chips for sandwiches

pretzel sticks

covered choco pretzels kids love these! But didn't get alot of these cause I didn't want some hyper kids in the backseats.

Granola bars

Cheese/crackers and Cheese/pretzels Wow I guess you can say we like pretzels ha!

Oranges, strawberries, grapes, and carrot sticks

Yogurt tubes and regular yogurt (for me and hubby) and cheese sticks

I made up 20 sandwiches altogether. I made ham and cheese and pbj

Drinks: Water and Capri Sun's, and Oj for the morning.

I made these little bags up for the kids in the back so they can help themselves with a snack or two before we get there.

We don't have a tv for the van but we have mp3 players for the girls and zack has a ds and got coloring books with small bags of crayons, hopefully that will keep them busy til we get there. Its only 2hrs and 30min but kids get bored easy!

After that hail storm blowing a few weeks ago, having to deal with insurance claims and fixing everything back up. We are so ready to leave and get away even though its only two days we are ready to have a break! Gonna show our new roof soon, and mailbox and garage door. Still finishing our living from this post, just got baseboards left. The storm and air conditioner going out, just set us back on everything inside our home. Hope to have it all done soon and get it on the market to sell.

Hope you are staying cool this hot hot summer!
Be back soon!

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup S’mores

2011-07-03T15:17:00.001-05:00

This has become one of my all time favorites now. I had been thinking about making a smores using reeses pb cups, and finally tried it. Ooooooooooh man its the best! Switch up the ole chocolate smores to reeses pb and you'll be hooked.

Have a great fourth tommorrow!

Free Slurpee

2011-06-30T21:05:00.000-05:00

Head over to the 7-Eleven Facebook page and on 7-11-11, their birthday, you’ll be reminded to get your 7.11-oz Slurpee free!

new A/C

2011-06-22T19:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the wonderful world of craigslist. We bought this baby there to help us keep cool.

We had a friend of the family come and hook it up for us. We feel so blessed to have air again. It was tough but we made it through. I feel for anyone that loses their a/c this summer, not a fun!

Hail Storm

2011-06-15T11:45:00.002-05:00

We had a hail storm rip through our town yesterday with a microbust wind. We got some damage to our house and garage door, and very lucky it didn't break our windows. My parents house window got busted out but thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Very Very Scary. The kids were in the tub the whole time while me and my husband were freaking out! Our drainage by our house was more worrying me because it was stopped up and flooding up to our home. I went back to check on the kids and Zack said "Mom lets hold hands and say a pray". We were all relieved when it was over but we were without power for 5hrs.

Here is a quick video of what we went through yesterday:

Here are some pics of our home that got damaged from the hail.

I know this is just minor compared to some of the other homes that lost their roofs, windows, trees, and many more things.

How to make your photos bigger

2011-06-12T15:27:00.000-05:00

If you have always wondering how some blogs have bigger photos than others, and you want to know how to make them bigger, then go over to Blue Orchid Designs and she will show you 5 steps to larger photos on Blogger.

Its so easy to get your photo from this:

to this:

So stop by Blue Orchid Designs and get your photos bigger too!

Happy Sunday!

a/c out

2011-06-08T18:44:00.002-05:00

Friday our A/C decides it was done cooling us all down. It finally kicked the bucket and went out. We had no air for 4 days and finally found one of these on craigslist:

Since this is the only one we got til tommorrow, we have been camping out in the living room. The kids are liking it but, my husband and I are just thankful for we have cool air blowing on us again.

we have all been trying to stay cool in doors and keep ourselves busy

Hope to get everything back to normal soon! Hope everyone is trying to stay cool this summer!

Fishing

2011-05-31T22:01:00.003-05:00

Our summer is finally started and we took the kids down to the fishing hole to fish this morning. They have been asking everyday to go, and like always they have fun. They all caught two each. It was so nice weather to go down there. Just watch how much fun they had fishing and catching them.

Fishing 101 with Daddy:

the kids loved watching the ducks swimming and playing

Zack loves his fish

Kaylah's 1st catch

1st catch of the day

2nd caught of the day

tornados

2011-05-25T23:13:00.001-05:00

We were very lucky again, from this monster tornado started heading our way. We took shelter at my work with a basement, but it was a scary and very close call. We are blessed to even be here! Our hearts and prayers just go out to everyone that got hit by the tornados, and the families that lost family and friends in this time. Very Very Sad day for Oklahoma but we are a strong state and will pull through. Just keep your prayers and thoughts with our state among with all of the other states that have been hit from these monster tornados.

This is the tornado that was heading our way to our town. VERY SCARY!!!

This is what that monster did and lots more damage in other towns

Just keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

Living Room Floor..........in progress

2011-05-16T18:37:00.001-05:00

Say Goodbye to Carpet........

Before:

In Progress......

(Still in Progress........but the floor is down just got to get the baseboards and another t-molding to go between the dining room and living room)

Hello wood flooring..........

Awww so much nicer and cleaner

Its hard to get a good shot, but I will get a better shot when we get the furniture moved back in and the rest of the baseboard up.

Will update when we get it finished, so stay tuned.

Have a great evening!

Lamps

2011-05-13T23:13:00.004-05:00

I have been wanted to makeover my lamps for awhile but just haven't found an inspiring way until I came across this blog

Northwest Hospitality

Pottery Barn

Of course I'm not paying Pottery Barn's pricy lamps, I'm happy with my $8 makeover for 2 cans of .97 spray paint, and 3-pkgs of coffee filters- $1 ea, 3 bags of glue sticks- $1 ea from the $ Tree, I just love the $ Tree.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

I actually didn't use this base, I had another lamp base but did use the shade

After:

What do you think?

Have a great weekend.

I'm linking up with

Water Slide

2011-05-09T20:05:00.001-05:00

After being hot outside, the kids and I rode our bikes up to the Family Dollar to get a waterslide. We ride up there all summer long to get a special treat. The kids were so excited to riding up there and when I told them for what they got even more excited. We got home and set it up. They had a blast and staying cooled while being so hot out there. We are not even playing in the water until school is out, but it was too hot not to get in the water. We can't wait til the summer, we have alot of fun outdoors!

Enjoy your day!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T10:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's to You!

I wanted to send out a greeting to all the wonderful mothers out there. Hope your day is wonderful as you all are.

Happy Birthday

2011-05-05T06:51:00.000-05:00

Today is my Birthday! I'm turning 31. In fact its my MIL's birthday too.

Barbara if you reading this, I hope you have a blessed day! Love ya!

Little Cakes

2011-05-04T21:03:00.000-05:00

If you need a quick and easy appetizer to take to a party or just to have for a family night dessert, then I have a quick one for you. Pick up a box of these

cut them in four squares

and tada cute little cakes!

Enjoy!

Ducks

2011-05-03T21:35:00.001-05:00

The girls and I went out for a bike ride and got back home and saw these ducks across the street and we followed them a little ways down the street and then they flew off, but when we got back in the drive way, they came a flying over our heads and landed on the neighbors house. I told Zack to go get some bread, and the little one came down from the house and start eating. The other one was to scaried and stayed up there for awhile. Here are some cute pics of the kids feeding the ducks. I have never had ducks in our court like this before. The kids loved it, it was like we were at the duck pond without the pond. Ha!

Fun Moment

2011-04-28T21:02:00.001-05:00

Having some down time with the kids. I haven't done a clay face mask in about 10yrs, oh my it felt so good. The girls saw me putting mine on, they were asking me to put one on them. So, I pulled their hair back and got busy. They thought they looked silly, but they had fun putting the green silly mask on. They thought it was magic when they washed their faces. Its so funny what kids will say!

I told the girls that every friday we are going to have to do a home spa night just for girls, and make a tradition of it as they get older. Of course Zack heard and he said SPA, I want to get in the water too! Ha! See what I mean! Here are some shots we did, we could hardly more our mouths!

Zack got in the action too.

I hope you have enjoyed our little fun moment!

Fishing

2011-04-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

My husband and his parents went out fishing this morning and had a great day out there. They came home with alot of fish. They all were so excited that they wanted to take the kids and I out there for some good ole fishing too. I didn't have my license so I just watched and took pics of them catching them. The kids had a blast, fishing and finding shells. They can't wait to go back out there to the lake for some more fishing.

This ending our beautiful evening.

bar stools

2011-04-11T20:37:00.001-05:00

I bought these bar stools off craigslist awhile ago. I just love Craigslist! Anyway, I finally got around to painting them to match my kitchen table.

Before:

After:

Do you buy on craigslist?

Have a great week!

Linked up

Spray Paint Party

dresser

2011-04-09T20:04:00.003-05:00

My son's dresser has been need of a new makeover. So, the other day I got busy working on it. I wanted it to look an little antique so, I sprayed it with a flat white for the primer, then with the Heirloom white and then lastly got out my furniture stain and wiped it down. I also sprayed the knobs black. Here's what the dresser looked like before:

After:

I like how it turned out and it looks so good against the light blue wall.

What have you painted lately?

Linked up

Power of Paint Party

Sidewalk Town

2011-03-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

This weekend my kids had fun outdoors since we had some wonderful weather. We ran to the store down the street and bought some sidewalk chalk, and they came home and got busy. I know you have heard of carpet towns/roads.

Well they decided they were going to make a town and get their pony cars and barbie cars and play. That kept them busy for a good couple hours or longer.

Here's the ones they made:

Family Dollar

Walmart

Church

The Town

Stop Sign

in the action

Game Stop

The Candy Store

The Library

Dollar Tree

They enjoyed their day! Hope you are enjoying this wonderful spring weather we are having!

little update in living room

2011-03-10T17:09:00.004-06:00

Over the weekend I did a little update with my curtains, pillows and two new frames on the wall in my living room. I wanted to brighten it up a little so I chose white it always does the trick. So, I ahead to the walmart when I got off work last friday and picked up four white flat sheets for the curtains, well I thought I got four flat sheets, when I was ready to start on them I opened one package and discovered I had picked up a FITTED sheet instead in fact I got two fitted and two flat. I was upset, cause I wanted to finish it up that night. Well I got one side done. Had to go to the store the next day and exchange the sheets. The funny thing is I even checked three times before I went to check out too. I must I had a big time moment that day! Here are the curtains I sewed and hang. I also painted my rods I had already had black. I wanted to buy new ones but I thought it would cost me about $2 for spray paint instead of 30.00 for rods. I love how they turned out too.

before:

after:

before:

after:

I made envelope pillows using this tutorial video

One of the easiest pillows I've ever made.

This pillow was so easy to make. I found this tutorial here

I found these pictures off the net and uploaded them to walmarts 1hr photo and then went and picked them up, along with to matted frames for $5 each.

I had the pictures blowed up to 8x10 and the frames are 11x14. If I were to buy these at walmart it would have cost me around 30.00 or more and it was just half of that making it myself. Planning on making another frame and taking down the frame with a plate by my front door.

Just the smallest changes always makes the biggest difference in a room.

Next week is our springbreak and I need to start planning on things to do to keep the kiddos busy and having fun! Enjoy the rest of your day!

New Chalkboard

2011-03-06T19:03:00.003-06:00

Lately, I have become obsessed with chalkboards. I made some framed ones before and loved them so much, I wanted to go bigger with it. I have been researching alot of chalkboards on the walls lately. These are my inspired photo that I found:

and here is what mine looks like:

Before:

and now here's the new wall magnetic chalkboard:

I'm so loving this it makes my kitchen look so different. The kids were so excited to start drawing and having some chalkboard fun! It was the best project so far that I could have done for the family!

What do you think?

Here's where I moved the chalkboard I had in the kitchen before:

this wall had nothing on it, so it was the perfect spot for it.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Girls Bunkbed and New Curtains

2011-02-26T19:29:00.005-06:00

I got busy last week with things and didn't get to show off the girls bunkbed that I spray painted last weekend. The color was heirloom white by Rust-oleum painter's touch. The girls were so excited to see it when I was done with it. They have been sleeping in one bed together while I was painting the beds, so they had fun doing that. Anyways here is the bed before it was painted:

I also made them some new curtains, these were the flat sheets from their bedding, I was inspired by Katie at Cowboy Phraseology in her boys room.

Thanks Katie.

Have a great rest of the week.

Bathroom......still in progress

2011-02-20T08:14:00.000-06:00

My husband has been working on our bathroom for awhile now, but I can say that we have almost completed it. He still likes touch-up work and our open shelves over the toliet which I found a great video to help us build them. I'm so excited to show off my husband's hard work and time he has put in on this bathroom. So here we go........(sorry for the pics we have no window and it has limited lighting)

here he is changing out the hardware that came with the cabinet

from this......

to these..............

much better

here is a view looking in from the hallway, look I need to paint the wall in the hallway since our door is up now.

we got one of those toothpaste holders for the kids, so no more messing sinks

my husband found this one at bed bath and beyond for only 9.99 and it came with a spin brush, and cheaper than the ones you see on tv.

my light I found brand new in the box at the goodwill for only 10.00, I was so excited when I brought it home to show my husband and he was excited about it too

here sits our lonely toliet waiting for some beautiful shelves above it to keep it company! Ha!

the towel bar just waiting to be used and to keep our little babies warm when they get out of the shower\bath

the color on the wall is rainwashed from behr and

I ended up going with the rainwashed instead of the blue opal which I purchased and paint one coat and it ended up being to light for the room and took it back and got the rainwashed and it was much better.

and last but not least our shower caddy is ready to be put up in the corner, but that's where to touch up comes in before this baby can go up.

this is our awesome shower head it has 5 settings on this baby, can't wait to try it out

Well there you have our bathroom still in progress but alot from the last post on did on it.

Our kids saw their new bathroom and they were so excited, they actually told me that daddy and I were not allowed in their new bathroom! Ha, I thought that was so cute I wanted to share!

This weekend since it was such nice weather I painted my girls bunkbed and can't wait to show it off on monday!

New Pendant Light

2011-02-19T21:12:00.000-06:00

When I got off work on Friday I headed to Lowe's to pickup my new pendant light to go over my kitchen sink. I had seen this one in there before and wanted to go back and get it. All I can say it love, love, love it. Here is a shot I had before with the old light:

and after:

What do you think?

I am showing you off the bathroom of what we have done!

100th day of school project

2011-02-13T19:51:00.000-06:00

My son had a 100th day of school project to do for his homework. We searched around the house for things we could use and came up with this:

He really didn't want to take his picture but I made him. It turned out great and with what we had on hand.

What we used was cardboard box cut down, lots of different color paints and foil for the 100 and fruit loops for the rest. I hope his teacher likes it too.

Have a great week ahead!

Finished Painting........kinda

2011-02-12T23:32:00.002-06:00

This past week when we were out of school, I knew were going to be snowed in so, I wanted to stay busy. Grayce and I ran to Lowes to pick me up some paint for my living room closet and pantry. I started working on it as soon as the kids went to bed. I had already primed the walls on a previous day. So away I went painting. Well, I discovered I had a problem.....it was a darker tint then the one I needed, of course the next day I discovered this and was not able to go to the store due to the snow. So anyways, yesterday I was able to get out and exchange the paint and get the right one so now its finally done, and here are some before and after shots. Enjoy!

The Living Room Closet

I keep my weights and mat in this closet to be closer for me when I workout.

The Pantry

It was a very late night I just wanted to go to bed so I put everything in the pantry and went to bed. Did I mention I was even painting my ceilings through the house (hallway, living room and kitchen). So that's why my night was really late. The color on the ceiling was a tan color when we moved in the house I had painted the ceiling as well as the walls. I just haven't gotten to paint in back white until last night. I opened up the rooms so much.

see here is the tan as I was making my way in the living room:

Here's the hallway drying with the tape still up. It opened it up and made it much brighter as well. I have learned not to paint ceilings again leave them white.

Sorry this is so long, but I just have to say My husband is the greatest! Friday morning I was coming back home from dropping the kids off at the bus stop and I came back in the house and he said I had left something on the kitchen counter. I thought what did I leave???? Well I go around the corner I see this:

My early Valentines Day gift. He's the greatest and sweetest. I was reading the card with tears rolling down my eyes. I love you honey your the best.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

I'm so excited to show you our kids bathroom, we my husband got the door in and now all is left is to get a shower head and handle and our vanity mirror and finish our open shelves over the toliet. I'll try to show it off soon!

My New BFF and update on bathroom

2011-02-07T19:41:00.002-06:00

I told you that I wanted to show you my new BFF, and here it is:

My husband and I were so excited to get this. We will be sharing this one until I can get the one I really want.

But for now this is it. Love LOVE it!

Now I can get rid of this one and get my dinning room back. I will still keep it for my kids but I'm going to pack it up for awhile.

Now this is just a mess and I just tired of looking at it.

Well, here we go again, we have another wave of winter storms heading this way so that means no more school for three days. I am so ready for the spring to be here. Well I guess I will take advantage and get my living room closet painted and also my pantry, I do want to update you on the bathroom we were working on, all is left is the door and shower head and handle before we can use it again. We will have to still but the open shelves above the toliet but that won't take long, ~~I hope not!~~ Ha!

What are you using to blog on?

Top 6 Healthy Snacks

2011-02-06T12:18:00.000-06:00

Since I am on my weight lose journey, I was needing some help with good healthy snacks, because I love to snack. I was doing some searching on the net and ran across the top 6 healthy snacks on the go over @ Fitness Magazine. I thought I might share some good healthy snacks with you and also, I can keep myself on track of what I need to be eating.

1. McDonald's Fruit Yogurt Parfaits ( hold the granola)

Calories~130

2. Wheat Thins and String Cheese

Calories~240

3. Yogurt Smoothie and a Banana

Calories~170

4. Fresh Apple and Skim Milk

Calories~170

5. Bag of Chocolate Covered Pretzels (which are my favorties)

Calories~130

6. Half a Wheat Bagel with Cream Cheese

Calories~200

We are still pretty much snowed in here, so I'm hoping we all get to return back to school monday, but I'm not sure the way the neighborhood roads are looking. Plus we have two more waves of snow coming our way, so I don't know how or if we will be going back to school, but I'm hoping we get too soon. There is just so much of cleaning, keeping the kids busy, ~~eating,~~ and listening to the dogs barking all of the time I can do. Ha! Can you say I'm having Cabin Fever.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

I will be sharing my new BFF tommorrow!

Family Dollar Lamp

2011-02-05T08:00:00.002-06:00

My Family Dollar find I found the other day going in for TP. I found this cute $6 lamp. Can't beat it, and also found a welcome mat for my front porch in the spring for only $5 and I've seen them at walmart for like $20. The family dollar has alot of cute decorating things right now and for cheap prices.

I switched out my lamps in the laundry room and like this one much better.

I've actually switched it twice to this......

and this........

Now.......

What do you think?

Update on Weight Loss Journey

2011-02-04T16:48:00.001-06:00

I know its been awhile since I last talked about my weight loss journey. I had bought me an elliptical on Craigslist for only 35.00 and this is how I was working out along with hand weights. Currently I'm lifting the 10 lb hand weights and feel like I'm almost ready to move up to a higher weight. Currently as of today I have lost 11 lbs and have came to a stop on losing any weight, not really where I want to be but I'll take it as long as I don't start gaining then I'm in trouble. I have struggled so much on this for years of losing weight from having kids. Since we were stuck in the house all week, we all really wanted to get out. So, we headed to Gamestop down the street from us, and picked up the Just Dance 1 for the girls. While we were there, my husband wanted to get me the wii board, so I could workout on it (since we are in doors for awhile). I have been wanted the new BIGGEST LOSER Wii Challenge Game, and I got it today and worked out and it about killed me. WOW, what a workout! It was great though. I think this will help me out alot and changing up my workouts for awhile.

This game has so many different workouts to do, but I'm working on the belly workout and its an 8 week workout. I like this game it also shows you recipes, weightloss tips, and more.

Now I'm ready to get some more weight off. Wish me luck!

Happy Friday!

Just Dance 2

2011-02-03T07:25:00.004-06:00

One weekend we were at my SIL's and the kids were playing on the Wii and was playing Just Dance 1 and they loved it so much, we came home and bought Just Dance 2 and will be getting Just Dance 1 soon. Anyways I caught the kids on dancing one night and had to get it on video. Check it out for yourself. I recommend this game to anyone who has a Wii, its fun and also you can get a good workout too. Also, if you are stuck inside like we are its good to play and have some inside fun!

Snow Fun

2011-02-02T18:02:00.005-06:00

You seen our snow we got yesterday and the kids and I were getting Cabin Fever and we decided we were going outside to have some fun...and boy did we. The cold outside wasn't as bad as the day before, but still was cold. I finally let them have a little fun and I went in to make them some hot chocolate to warm those little bodies up. They had so much fun as you can see.

sorry our dog Jackson loves to BARK! Drives me crazy somedays! HA

Hannah and Jackson got in on the fun too! They love the snow!

Hannah loved it so much she was eating it! Ha!

our big snow drift coming around to the porch

Hope you enjoyed our fun in the snow! Have a great day!

Winter Weather and Valentine's

2011-02-01T12:59:00.000-06:00

Well it finally arrived here yes I'm talking about the snow, we have not had snow this winter here in Oklahoma, but just a trace. Its so beautiful to look at but not so good to go out in, its a blizzard out there, with 7 degrees very fridgid outside so we are all stuck inside. The kids and I decided we would make their teachers Valentine's card today. I got inspired from Busy Bee Kids Crafts dot com. They have more fun craft ideas for kids for every season and age.

Hannah's looking at the snow at the front door, our door is stuck from the drifting snow, but it found its way in though.

Hope you are all having a great week but it looks like we are stuck inside for the rest of the week and that means more crafts to keep the kids busy.

crockpot chicken n dumplings

2011-01-11T16:06:00.000-06:00

I have always made chicken n dumplings on the stove in a pot and never in a crockpot. This has become one of my favorite comfort foods since I found this recipe over @ Cooking on Clover Lane. This recipe I can throw together before I go to work and a hot and comfort dinner is ready when we all get home. Here is what you need:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves ( i use about 6 pieces of frozen tenderloin chicken)

2 TBS butter

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 onion finely chopped

2 packages of refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Place the chicken, butter, soup and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with just enough water to cover.

Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

Enjoy!

Happy 9th Birthday Zack!

2011-01-09T08:47:00.002-06:00

Today is my son's birthday and he turned 9. I can't believe looking through the pics of how big he is getting. Why can't they stay little forever? (tear tear) Anyways I wanted to share so wonderful momeries of my loving son Zackerie.

Happy Birthday Zackerie Leon! Hope you had a wonderful day. Mommy and Daddy love you very much!

2010 Top Ten Projects

2010-12-31T11:08:00.001-06:00

I thought I would jump in on the 2010 top ten projects party. As you know I was on my weight journey and still am, I'm down only 11 lbs still but the holidays have slowed me down a bit, but I'm getting back on track tommorrow. Hope you all had a wonderful christmas. Okay enough of me now here are some of the projects I worked on while I was taking sometime off and others I've done earlier in the year.

Newest to Older:

Kitchen Counter top redone and wallpaper beaded board:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Close up of the wallpaper beaded board:

I got this idea from The Brewers in Progress.

Thanks so much!

Bean Wreath:

$5 Goodwill Table redone:

~~Before:~~ During:

well this is primed and it was oak brown color before:

After:

Dining Table

Before:

After:

Book Wreath

New Chalkboard

The old one

The new one

Mine other $5 Goodwill Table:

After:

Flower Lamp Shade

Trash to Treasure

#10

Side Table redone

Hope you enjoyed my top 10 projects I completed in 2010 and will have lots more to come in 2011.

I'm linking up with Rhoda's top project party!

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve!

Taking some time off

2010-10-29T07:20:00.001-05:00

I'm still here, just taking some time off. I have been taking sometime for myself and losing weight. I'm already down 7 lbs. My goal is 40lbs. I'll do it, but I just need sometime off of the blogs for awhile. I will be back as soon as I reach my goal of weight. Plus we got some changes in our life coming up here in the next year to come. Just keep me in your thoughts and prayers with my weight loss journey. Thanks for you understanding. Be back soon.

Shine..........NEWSBOYS

2010-10-17T12:16:00.002-05:00

Free Blockbuster Express Movie

2010-10-15T07:02:00.001-05:00

What a great way to start the weekend with a Free movie. Go rent a Free movie tonight at the Blockbuster Express closest to you. Use the promo code: DRGN1

If you got three different cards you can have a free movie all weekend!

Expires 10-17-10 at midnight

Happy Friday!

Decorating with Candy Corn

2010-10-14T07:31:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick and easy way to decorate with candy corn. I bought my bag at the family dollar and filled it up.

Now only if I could keep it filled! LOL!

then I put some around my candles:

This one is not with candy corn but I found a little bag of pumpkins at the dollar tree and put them under this:

Have an awesome day!

PS my husbands got the paneling up and painted! Woohoo

Now were moving on!

Long needed Date and Update

2010-10-09T13:30:00.000-05:00

My husband and I were so needing a break and sometime just for us. My mom bought us a gift card to Olive Garden, and we couldn't pass it up. She was a blessing to us because she gave us the gift card and watched our 3 kids all night. WOOHOO! We had a wonderful night out. Thanks MOM! We love you!

My newphew took this picture so my husband head got cut off. LOL!

The first place we went to was Olive Garden of course and ate the never ending pasta bowl. Oh it was good too.

I had this:

and my husband had this with sausage and he also had another bowl with the four cheese.

and breadsticks and salad.

Our next stop going to Hobby Lobby our favorite store plus my husband works at the disturbution so we get a discount! WOOHOO!

I found these items:

Spiced Candle: $6.00 they were 1/2 off

Finale for my lamp 66% off: .68 cents I'm going to spray it black to match my lamp.

This cute hook 66% off as well and got it for $1.17

I hung it by my kitchen sink

Cute Pumpkin candle 50% off and got it for 5.00

I got this one on my bathroom toliet.

We lefted there and went to Mardels right next to Hobby Lobby

We found alot of things in there we wanted but I only came out with this fun CD from Zoegirl:

Then we lefted there and wanted some ice cream so we headed to Classic 50's kinda like a Sonic, but I think better.

Our last stop was at walmart we never can stay away from this store even if we try! LOL!

I picked up a couple of small pumpkins to go outside with my mums I got a week ago.

I spray painted one white.

Okay Finally the Bathroom Update we had to stop for issues going on around our home, master bathroom had fauet issues, and my husband car breaks down and has to convert to driving his old 71 nova til we can get him another car, when it rains it pours around here. Anyways, things are trying to get better but I wanted to some pics that I took of what my husband has been doing in the bathroom. We got most of the paneling on the wall and going to finish that hopefully night.

Once its all up we are going to paint it a semi-gloss white and texture the walls and get them painted, then we can bring in our toliet and vanity cabinet we've had in the garage while doing the remodel. My husband is taking a week off from work to get somethings done around our home. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband that does everything he can to help us out. Thank you Honey! Love you!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Walk by Faith~ Jeremy Camp

2010-09-26T09:31:00.000-05:00

It has been such a crazy week and we had to stop on the bathroom for awhile. But we are going to be starting back up this week and finally finish it hopefully this week nothing will get in our way of doing that. Have a great Sunday!

JCPenney $10 Off a $10 Purchase Online

2010-09-20T07:04:00.001-05:00

Woo HOO, here is a great deal! You can get $10 off a $10 purchase at JCPenney.com when you use either of the following codes: FO4TEN or LIZ4YOU. JCPenney is still offering FREE shipping on shoes, so, if you are interested in shoes, you can get some spectacular deals. This deal expires September 28, 2010 so hurry before it ends.
Also its not too late to think about christmas.

Read more: JCPenney $10 Off a $10 Purchase Online @
MoneySavingQueen.com

Have a great Monday!

The Reason

2010-09-19T08:14:00.002-05:00

Open Shelving

2010-09-17T06:21:00.001-05:00

This Bathroom is not mine but similar (don't remember where I found this picture but had it saved in my pictures). See the shelf above the toliet? Instead of putting a cabinet back up there I'm wanting some open shelves for my towels, pretty things, etc.

Here are some pics of open shelves that I found for a bathroom:

I can't remember where I found these pictures, I have saved them for some ideas for my bathroom so if you know where the pictures are from just let me know so I can give them credit. Thanks

Yeah its finally the weekend now its time to stop dreaming and get busy on our bathroom. We are going to be putting up the paneling this weekend and can't wait.

Happy Friday!

Vanity Cabinet

2010-09-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

Sink Vanity and Fauet we got at The BIG Orange (Home depot). Satin Nickel fauet and white sink/vanity combo. The front doors on the vanity are just plain white and since we are putting up beaded board paneling, I'm going to get some of the beaded board wallpaper and put on the front of the doors. It will dress it up for one and also match with the paneling on the wall.

The weekend is almost here, I had some issues going on this week and had to stop and take care of them. God is GREAT and never lets us down! Have an awesome day!

Texture and Paint

2010-09-15T06:17:00.003-05:00

Homax Spray Texture is what we will be using to texture our sheetrock. Here are some tips on how to spray and texture a wall or sheetrock:

I found this on SW site and was playing around with some of the colors to see what colors I would like for the kids bathroom. I found two colors that I liked but I think I like the grayish blue color better, cause I'm afraid to go darker and close the room up. With the lighter color it will open it up. What do you think?

Sherwin Williams- Umber- #6146

UPDATED:

Thank you Beth for advising on this color, I like it much better.

Behr Blue Opal

Have a great day!

Paneling

2010-09-14T06:54:00.000-05:00

Our next step is to install paneling on the wall before we bring everything back in the bathroom. Here is a lowes how to video of what we are going to install:

Also the shower fauets we are going to need to install as well and here are some that I found in satin nickel with the shower head and fauet to turn on the water. We already have the spout where to water comes out. This is a two package deal for only $46.xx. Can't beat that for satin nickel. Its nothing fancy but it works for what we need it for.

Have a great day!
Will be showing some more ideas tommorrow.

Cheap and Easy Organized Vanity

2010-09-13T06:41:00.000-05:00

This week I want to share some of our bathroom progress and what we are going to do with the bathroom, as well of some of the ideas that we have came up with.
My husband has been working on our kids bathroom for sometime now and we are almost to the end of being done. Anyways I found this awesome way of organizing my vanity when its ready. Christin @ Pregnant...with power tools showed me how to do this quick and easy project for my bathroom vanity. Thanks Christin.

Here's her before:

....and the after:

She built the shelves herself out of scrap wood she already had. She did an awesome job. I can't wait to build mine when its time.

Oh here are some pics I took of my husband's work from the kids bathroom of what

he got done and still in progress.

Our before when he had started putting up the dry wall around the tub:

The After:

We are finally going to get it finished this month.

Here's the list of what he has done:

ripped everything old out (check)

got all of the dry wall up (check)

got the tile on the floor (check)

got the bathtub in (check)

got the tile on the wall around the tub (check)

What we need to finish:

-shower fauets

-paneling

-texture

-paint

-install toliet (which we have in the garage)

-vanity cabinet with sink (also in the garage)

-mirror and light fixture

-cabinet over the toliet

-door

-accessorize the bathroom (which will be the fun part)

and that's all we like to finish and our kids can have their bathroom back. We are both excited to share it with you all when we are done.

Have a great day!

Light up the Sky~ The Afters

2010-09-12T10:14:00.000-05:00

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Fridays Favorites

2010-09-10T08:09:00.000-05:00

Kitchen Cabinet makeover @ Bless Our Nest

Cute and simple bookshelf @ The Bird's Papaya

Old Blanket Pillows @ Buzzings of a Queen Bee

Makeover Washboard @ Infarrantly Creative

Happy Friday!

Coloring Book Fun

2010-09-08T06:44:00.000-05:00

While at home with the kids on Labor Day, they were bored and wanted some different coloring sheets to color. I found this awesome website called Coloring Book Fun. It as lots of different coloring pages from your favorite cartoon character, holidays, bible, etc. The girls are fans of Hannah Montana and so of course we had to print that one out for them.

Some of the pages were out of their own color books and the others are the ones we printed out. They have some much fun coloring they could just color for hours and not get bored as you could tell my son got bored and so he got on the computer.

Pumpkin Plate

2010-09-07T06:58:00.000-05:00

I hope you all are having a great labor day weekend, boy its been a long but good weekend for us. Didn't do to much but a little bit of organizing the garage and trying to get caught up on things around the house. But today I did a little crafting today, I made a pumpkin plate with just a little bit of hot glue, well maybe just more than a little. Anyways I was inspired by this post and thought hey I have everything I need here, I can do that. Thats what I did today!

I didn't have any black and white ribbon so I just used what I had.

Hope you have a great week ahead!

butterfly hook

2010-09-06T08:23:00.000-05:00

Friday while at the goodwill store I found this butterfly hook for only .49 cents. I have been needing something for the girls to hang their bags from school on. I knew this was going to work. I painted it white and put polka dots on it. Here's how I hung it: Simple and quick

Took some tape and punch out the holes.

Took the tape off and put it on the wall in place where I wanted it.

Drilled my holes and added anchors in the wall

Added my screws

Hung the hook up and thats it.

The girls wanted me to add a face to the butterfly! They look it.

I hung it in their closet so it would be out of the way in their room.

Have a great Labor Day!

Testify to Love.........Avalon

2010-09-05T10:09:00.000-05:00

Taco Pizza

2010-09-04T20:40:00.000-05:00

Friday Night we had Taco Pizza and it was simple to make. Just go to the store and buy:

~ cheese pizza (I bought the pizza with the breadsticks)

~shredded lettuce

~salsa

~shredded cheese

Cook the pizza add lettuce, salsa, and top with shredded cheese. Thats it, you've got a quick taco pizza in no time.

Hope you all are having a great holiday week!

Fridays Favorites

2010-09-03T10:28:00.000-05:00

Painted Pillows from Tatertots and Jello as a guest on Eighteen25.

Subway Art @ Tatertots and Jello

Toliet Paper Pumpking Tutorial @ The Sweet Life

Chalkboard rocks @ AmericKims Home

An easy $5 Fall Wreath @ Nesting Place

Happy Friday!

New Clock

2010-09-02T06:51:00.001-05:00

I have been looking for another clock to go above my new chalkboard, and while I was a the Family Dollar the other night I found this cute clock there for only $3 and I grabbed the last black one they had. I was excited when I got home, I hung it up right away. It looks much better now and I have a clock to look at again. I like going to the family dollar lately cause they have some cute decor things at a really cheap prices.

Hope you are having a great week!

My Little Cloche

2010-09-01T06:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I showed you my little cloche here. Well this is all I did, really super easy.

Just find a jar around your home that will fit on a candle holder:

Turn it over and hot glue your knob to the bottom of the jar.

Get your candle holder and place the jar on top and your done! Thats it how easy was that!

Now all you do is start putting fillers in it, I'm going to add something fallish in it. Quick and easy way to make a cloche. I was inspired from this post here.

Little touches of Fall

2010-08-31T05:54:00.000-05:00

I started added some fall decorations with some of the stuff I got from the goodwill yesterday and some of the stuff I already had.

Here is a lamp shade I got for only 1.99

The little flower arrangment (.50) and the red candle (.50)

Another Flower arrangement (.99)

The little jar I had and turned it over onto this candle holder and added a knob from a dresser I had and I'm going to add a pumpkin or something fall in there soon. I got the idea over @ The Little Brown House

I got these last year a Kirklands I love that store especially when they have their good sales.

My wreath I made last year.

My burlap Fall banner I made last year as well.

Cute little pumpkin I have on my shelf near my chalkboard in my kitchen.

My towel and rug got on clearance last year at Target. Hope you enjoyed my little tour on begining fall decorating at my home. Have a great day!

Thirfty Finds

2010-08-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

I stopped off at the Goodwill today to find some of these great things.

All of the books I got I plan on using them as a christmas advent and wrap all of the books as present and open up one a night and read it to my kids. They are going to love it.

I started decorating with some of the stuff I got today and I'll be showing it tommorrow.
Hope you all are having a great week, we have a short week due to Labor Day. I'm hoping to get some stuff done while I'm off. See ya tommorrow.

Letters to God

2010-08-29T09:19:00.000-05:00

Friday night I picked up a movie for the family to watch and I got Letters to God. If you haven't seen this movie you need to go rent it. It was a good and sad movie.

Friday's Favorites

2010-08-27T07:33:00.000-05:00

One Awesome Patio @ Benneth My Heart

Organizing a bathroom and small changes @ Maillardville Manor

Cheap Way to Redo Countertops @ The Brewers in Progress

Candy Bar Oven Smores YUMMY! @ Our Best Bites

I'm so glad its Friday what a busy week we had. I'm ready to relax and take it easy this weekend but I know that never happens, oh well it sounds good just saying it. Hope you all have a great weekend!

recap of birthday!

2010-08-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

The girls had a wonderful birthday! They first started out with some yummy chocolate sprinkle donuts for breakfast!

They had cupcakes at school with their friends!

I had to work so my mom and dad were able to take them up there and see their friends and teachers, the girls were so surprised because they kept asking me we need a snack for class for our birthday and I told them not this time, boy were they surprised. I wish I could have been there. The girls got the hello kitty ones and the boys toy story 3 ones. These are the leftover ones that we had.

When they got home from the bus I took them to get their nails painted at a Nail salon in Walmart. They loved it! They both picked out hot pink but Kaylah's was darker than Grayce's and both got flowers on the tips of two nails.

I have signed my kids up for the birthday club and they get a FREE wacky pack at Sonic each year on there birthday! So we kinda changed our plans on eating in so they got their free meals and were happy!

We headed off to Mardels store they were wanting some cross necklaces, and they got a new bible, a shirt, and a necklace. We were going to head to Toyrus but we needed to get home cause we had their Nanny, Papa, and Great Grandmother coming to see us. They ate cake and drink pop with us while the girls opened their gifts. We all had fun!

Thank you moms and dads and grandmother for making the girls day today! We love you all! Hope you are all having a great week.