Sandy you are such a B****

Hope everyone is safe up north! The pictures and videos being shown on the news are just plain scary!

I'm so thankful here in Richmond we got nothing but a 2 day rain storm with a little bit of wind.

Sorry for the short post but just wanted to let everyone know we are okay.

P.S. being stuck inside, the twins have decided they want nothing to do with diapers, and have been using the potty, with not accidents (I'm still in minor shock).

More posts to come, hope everyone is/stays safe!

School Days

Missed me???

We've been getting used to new school routines and settling down for the fall weather that has suddenly swept into our town.

I may or may not have already gotten my halloween deco set up..

just on the inside!!! I'll wait to do my front porch until Oct 1st :)

I had to share our classic "first day" pics with you all, and I haven't forgotten about doing the Twin's Bday post, I have a tease for you at the end...

Annabelle

Gabrielle

They were so excited :)

The Big Girl :)

My three girls, ready for school!

Birthday Tease!!! This was their cake...ahhhhmazing, right??

Sorry for the out of order pic!  Yes, she wants to be a firefighter when she grows up!

Sweetheart!

Happy Monday!

Juliette, Says

I had to do another post on the great/cute little phrases from my 3 year old! 

Are you mad to me? (Are you mad at me)

What does it do's (for, what does it do)?

goof bug (for, goofball)

crunchy cough (this was when she had pneumonia, and had a really mucousy cough, she called it crunchy..which is a pretty smart way for a 3 year old to describe her cough)

Her new cutest phrase is when she asks where her daddy as, I say "he's at work" and she say's "He'll be home in a little bit of a second"

LOVE HER.

We survived North Carolina!

We survived our road trip, and I have to say, the kids did much better than I was anticipating.

It was so much fun to celebrate their cousin's birthday, and they had a blast sleeping the night in a hotel room!

Remember when you were a kid, how much fun hotels were??? Well the girls loved it!

We made it home safe, and thankfully didn't hit traffic, we also survived our poolside cookout yesterday!

Now, PARTY MODE!

The twins turn 2 on Friday and are having their party on Saturday!

I can't wait to post pictures, their theme is bookworms :)

I have to give myself a little shout out on this one, because the twinners are so anit-TV it's not even funny. So, they aren't "in" to any characters that most kids are like mickey or curious george. 

But, they LOVE books! So bookworm theme was born!

We also have open house on Friday to meet their teachers, and I am way excited about that as well :)

Busy week! I'll keep the posts comin!

Convention, Convention, Convention!!

If you're a political nut like me, then you're glued to coverage of the RNC convention! I love this stuff, politics is dirty, and scandalous and most of the time, completely unfair; but I love the political process, so I geek out over things like conventions, debates, elections and supreme court decisions!

I've been battling a nasty head cold lately that couldn't come at a worse time! We are heading down to North Carolina this weekend for my niece's birthday, then next week we have the beginning of dance class, open house at the kids' new school, AND the twins' birthday!!!

I'm trying to get my act together, because I just don't have time to be sick :(

The netti-pot has become my new best friend, and I've bought all the alka-seltzer at our local CVS. I can't say ENOUGH about the advanced strength Bayer, because it is literally the only thing  keeping my pulsating headache from exploding my head!

Please send healthy vibes my way, people!

I need them!

It's been too long...and I'm so sorry for that!

We've gotten knee-deep into summer around here with playdates, playgrounds, pools, and crafts :)

The hubs and I headed out for the west coast a few weeks ago, and of course parent's can't enjoy a kid-free getaway without one kid getting pneumonia and another getting pink-eye!

Oh parenthood.

But we were determined to not feel guilty, we were going to enjoy our vacay!

We took in all San Fran had...we were total tourists, walking the streets with our unfolded maps, taking the ferry to alcatraz, checking the golden gate bridge, sausalito and of course the red woods :)

It was 5 jam-packed days, but it was so much fun! A little awkward finding our groove in the beginning since me and the hubs are so used to it just being us PLUS 3 kids! We found our groove though, and really enjoyed spending time with eachother

We didn't realize how much we actually needed some "us" time until we were there!

Special thanks to my mom for watching the girls during our getaway :)

Now we're gearing up for a family trip to North Carolina to celebrate our nieces birthday and then it's back home to celebrate the twins turning 2! 

2!

crazy! Then the girls will be off to a new morning program we just signed them up for!!!

Lots of fun stuff coming up and  I'm ready! I'm also ready for fall and pumpkins, and baking, and did I mention Christmas???

Yep, I'm ready for Christmas :)

Friday's Five!

My top 5 for the week...

1) Old Navy

have you been there recently?? I've always loved their kid clothes, but they have got some bangin' styles for women as well. LOVE! Lots of cute flowey (apparently this is not a word according to spell check) tops (which when you have 3 kids, is a must in your wardrobe) and adorable colored jeans that are all the rage right now...head on over!

2) Naptime Missions- my new summer resolution: get something productive done in the house while kids are sleeping, yesterday was re-organizing my pantry...

YIKES! It was a tad bit out of hand, but now...

It's gorgeous, and makes me happy whenever I sneak in there for a snack!

3) Pool time!

When we're not at the neighborhood pool or at my parents house using their pool,  it's nice to have an inflatable hippo pool you can throw in your back yard on these 100+ degree days! This one is from Target, and we have gotten our money's worth :)

4) Instagram!

I'm a little late to the party, I know, but I love this thing! It's so much fun putting different filters on the pictures and making them look perfect....like this one

and this one...

All 3 girls on the 4th of July before we headed out to the neighborhood parade!

Which brings me to #5

5) Independence Day!

I hope yours was filled with fireworks, good food, and good company :)

Feeling Fancy

I just ordered some awesome prints off Etsy, and had to share!

We are about to re-do the Big Girl's Room since she's ready to toss the toddler bed for a twin sized bed..

I fell in love with these prints, I love the colors and I love the perspective they are shot from :)

I ordered the bottom print for MY bedroom!

We have been in our house almost 3 years, and still we have nothing on the walls in our bedroom (gasp)

I feel like this is a good starting point, it's fun, romantic, and vintage which are 3 things that I love!

The top 3 prints are from, here

and the bottom print can be found, here

Enjoy!

Aunty Em, Aunty Em!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posts...we've been dealing with tornado's over here!

In Richmond, VA !?!?!?

The hubs had foot surgery friday so the big girl spent the weekend with the grandparents, and it was just us and the twins.

Friday night around 11 p.m. we had a SEVERE Thunderstorm warning.

Now, I love thunderstorms as much as the next girl, but this storm was CRAZY! Our house is surrounded by trees, so when we were watching the news, and our trusted weather man said to brace for 80+ mph winds, we got a little nervous, and when we looked outside and saw the trees bending over, we got really nervous.

Nervous enough to wake the babies up and huddle in the downstairs bathroom until the storm passed.

As if that wasn't enough excitement, Saturday came and when 7:30 p.m. rolled around, a tornado touched down a few miles from our house.

I have never been so scared.

Again, we were huddled in the downstairs bathroom, as the house shook, and we could hear limbs and debris hit the house.  Luckily no major damage at our house, just some downed limbs, the kids outside play equipment got picked up and tossed all over the yard, but those things can be cleaned up.

Some of our neighbors experienced down trees, and while we didn't lose our power, tons of people in the area did, and they are still out.

I can't even explain the feeling of helplessness, when your sitting huddled in a bathroom clutching your child and praying that mother nature passes your house.

Especially as a mother, feeling out of control when it comes to the safety and well-being of your children is the MOST frightening thing in the world!

Of course, we've been battling sweltering heat down here in the south, 101+ days, which has been contributing to our crazy storm activity.

I hope everyone who has been in the path of these storms is safe and doing well, and hopefully we will find relief from this crazy heat soon!!!!

FLASH SALE

I love fan favorite sales, because YOU get to pick the items you want discounted!!!!

The results are in, and sale prices are good until Thursday, so don't miss out!

Shop at www.stelladot.com/jamie

These are great pieces, and simple ways to add some flare to any summertime outfit :) I wear my labrodorite ring all the time!

Get on it!

Favorites, Friday!

Happy Friday! 

This week has brought a lot to love, but here's just a few snippets....

1) Lulu's Creamery

This isn't a chain, so you can only enjoy if you're a Richmond local (sorry)! Other than my house, this is my favorite place to be! They make they're own ice cream, whip cream, and roast their coffee beans to order! Their ice cream is seriously SO GOOD, I treat myself to at least one root beer float a week, and I'm always in there for their coffee of the day, and a banana split here and there! I can't say enough about how great this place is, you just need to check it out for yourself!

Like them on facebook!

2) Target Bathing Suits

I mean for $12.99 how can you beat this kind of cuteness :)

3) Ballerinas

We had dress rehearsal last night for the BIG RECITAL which is tomorrow! That's my Big girl on the left end! These girls were so much fun to watch...their excitement was contagious, it's safe to say, they will totally steal the show tomorrow :)

4) The weather

The weather has been UHHH-MAZING this week! Think high 60's, low 70's nice and breezy. It's been feeling like a warm fall day, and I like it! We've been outside all day everyday, the breeze is keeping the bugs away, and the cool temps are keeping my kids from overheating.  I love summer, but I dread the scorching heat we get here in the south, so it's nice to have a nice laid back and breezy week!

5) San Francisco!

We are heading to sunny San Fran in August (sans kids) for my husband's cousin's wedding! I'm so excited, although I'm nervous about leaving the kids, I'm excited to have some grown-up time as well :)

Happy Friday!

Filling the void..

So, I've been on a book kick lately! 

It started with the Hunger Games, continued with 50 shades of Grey, and ended with the Twilight Series and now I have a major void in my life.

I've started reading a biography on Catherine the Great, it's really good (I'm a history buff, so don't roll your eyes, I enjoy reading this kind of stuff)!

Anyways, it's really good, but I want another fiction story/series that really gets me hooked.

A friend of mine told me about this site, What should I read next?

you type in the book you've just finished and then it pulls up recommended books to read!

Genius!

So, when I typed in Hunger Games, I had a few suggestions, but this one caught my eye....

I love the show (don't tell me ANYTHNG, I haven't watched the finale yet) so I think the books will probably be amazing, and it's a nice long story for me to get good and settled in to.

When I typed in 50 shades of Grey, this caught my eye...

I haven't heard of this, but it seems intriguing.

I'm not one to quit a book in the middle, so once I finish reading about good ole' Catherine, I'll be moving on to one of these series!

Which one to start first???

It's not Memorial Weekend without a sale!

So hop on it!

50% off, who doesn't love that!

Head on over to my website, so you can score some jewels at some great prices!

A few of my favorite things...

I'm loving this stuff right now

J.R. WATKINS, I got this all-purpose cleaner from Target, and I'm obsessed! It's natural cleaning and they have a TON of products from home care, to baby care!

  

Hunger Games got me back on track with my reading, and then it was 50 shades of grey, then I started the twilight series ( I know, better late than never though)! I read the whole series in a week, couldn't put it down!

Some shows I'm OBSESSED with right now....

 it's on HBO and is hilarious! 

Duck Dynasty which is pictured at the bottom (oops for out of order pics), this family is hysterical!

Don't you love these mason jar soap dispensers I just ordered off of etsy?!?

and hydrangeas! They are in full bloom in my flower garden! LOVE!

2 recipe winners!!!

 I made this last night! I love a crock pot meal, where I only have to scrammble to get side dishes ready!

This is SUPER easy, and SOOOOO GOOD, everyone ate heap fulls of it last night!

1 roasting chicken

1 chopped onion

2 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp onion powder

1tsp thyme

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

place chopped onions in slow cooker

put chicken on top of onions

combine all of your dry ingredients and mix, then rub it all over the chicken

cook for 4-6 hours

THAT'S IT!

I promised this recipe last week, so here it is,

sour cream chicken

season your chicken breast with salt and pepper

cover the tops with sour cream, bread crumbs ( I used panko), parmesean cheese and italian spices

you basically use as much of it as you want, you can't mess it up

Throw them in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes!

This was delicious!

Both of the recipes I got from pinterest, you can follow my boards, here.

Guess what we did this weekend...

Disclaimer: That's not my tomato plant, I stole it from google images, but I just love how it looks!

We planted a garden!!!!

It's something we've been wanting to do ever since we moved in

2.5 years ago!

We are finally getting around to it!

We planted 2 tomato plants

cucmbers, green peppers, yellow peppers, zucchini, and herbs!

I'm so excited about it!

I don't have any pictures because I forgot to snap some yesterday and it's raining cats and dogs right now, so pictures will come later!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Chalk is fun!

I love my chalk board!!!

It's so much fun to put fun sayings, and quotes up, and it's just plain pretty!

I have tons of old black frames around, so I spray painted this one white,painted the glass with chalkboard paint, and added the ribbon for hanging!

voila!

I love it!

I love the fact that it's covering up my ugly un-used phone jack as well :)

FYI, yesterday's post on the chicken and rice recipe....it didn't really rock my boat.  It was good, but the kids didn't eat it, and I don't think it's something I'll keep on my meal rotation list, however the sour cream chicken I made last week was a TOTAL keeper, stay tuned tomorrow for the recipe!

We've been working hard...

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mother's Day!!!

We had a great day filled with family, outside playing, giggles and lots of love!  The husband outdid himself by making me a CD with the Big Girl singing all of her favorite songs!

I cried, I admit it.

It's so sweet to hear her sweet 3 year old voice coming out over the speakers, her musical montage included

you are my sunshine

row row your boat 

twinkle twinkle little star

look out justin bieber, the new kid sensation is living in MY house!

In other news, for the past month I've been slaving away trying to plan out all of our weekly meals. 

I'm the lady in the grocery store who looks like she has no idea what she is doing, or where she is for that matter.

So, of course that  means, I buy a lot of junk and spend way too much at the grocery store!

My kids, are human garbage disposals and snack constantly, I swear I feel like all the food I buy is JUST for them!

Anyways, soooo I've been meal planning.

I'm not an amazing cook, and I like to keep it simple, so I've been making simple stuff, but just by planning out lunches and dinners, and really thinking about what I'm buying, I've cut our weekly grocery bill by half!

Crazy!

I'm trying a new crockpot recipe tonight, chicken and rice!

I'll let you know how it works out :)

Birthday!!!!

So, we have a 3 year old in the house now!

I'm still in minor shock over it all, and it seems my little girl has become a little lady overnight.

Lots of changes have been going on in our house this week!

We partied this last weekend with family to celebrate our big girl, and began our week Monday with dentist appointments for all 3 girls. 

This was our FIRST dentist appointment EVER! 

I was scared I was going to get the evil eye from everyone there because I have a 3 year old that still uses a pacifier! 

I have to say, the Dentist was AWESOME! The babies did amazing, the big girl had a total freak-out session, but we made it through and everyone is cavity free, so yay for that!

The Dentist did say he could see that the big girls pacifier was causing her front teeth to protrude and a narrowing of her palate. He recommended we toss the pacifier, but he admitted it was easier said than done, he was going through the process at home with his 2 year old son, and said it was terrible! hahaha, how's that for honesty???

love him!

Anyway, the hubs and I decided if we were going to do away with it for one, we may as well with all of them!

So Monday was our first night with NO pacifiers for all of our girls.

To say I was terrified is an understatement. 

I was fully expecting to be up all night, but they actually slept great! It takes some effort getting them to sleep but once their down, their down!

The big girl didn't even sweat it at all. 

She simply said "Paci's are for babies, mommy and I'm a big girl"

yes, yes, you are sweet girl :)

Well enough background on my week, let's get to the party stuff,  I know that's what everyone wants to see!!!!!

So here's the set-up!  That's the fab table and chairs I scored off amazon (finally put together). They weren't intended to be a birthday present, the hubs just happened to put it together the night before her birthday :)

Don't you love the doll table and chairs??? It's the cutest thing ever, and super sturdy, the babies actually sit in the chairs! The cute tea pot and tea cups came with the table and chairs set!

Of course there is strawberry shortcake herself!!! She's a Madame Alexander Doll, 18 in, cloth and she smells like strawberries! She is super cute and really soft and snuggly!

Here's the big girl on her birthday! MAY 4th! She's opening the tea set we got her! Word of caution, I wanted to get her a tea set she could actually drink out of.  You really have to read reviews and the fine print on a lot of the tea sets that are out there, because a bunch of them have lead and say they are not intended for actual use! This was an alex toys tea set, and we love it! She can drink out of it (we've only done water so far) and they have a ton of different designs to choose from, we went with the pink and red hearts.\

I love her face in this picture!

This is the Melissa and Doug Birthday cake, I highly recommend this toy! It's a wooden cake with velcro, and you can decorate it, this thing keeps her occupied for the longest time! WINNING!

Friday night, we rang in 6:25 p.m. (which was the time she was delivered) with cupcakes and the Happy Birthday song!

3 years old is kind of a big deal!

Saturday came and it was party day!!!

Strawberry Shortcake themed! Don't you love her dress?!?!

Don't you love her cake?!?!?

Seriously, this thing was so awesome! More importantly, it was DELICIOUS too! I mean, hands down the best cake I have ever had! The woman who made it, does cakes on the side, her full-time job is a NICU Nurse!

The Birthday Girl

Strawberry Shortcake banner from Party City

Strawberry Shortcake bottle cap necklaces as favors!

Tiara's from Party City.

Red Velvet Cake Pops, also made by the awesome woman who did the Big Girl's Cake.

These things were sinfully good :)

Here's a shot of the big girl on her strawberry shortcake scooter!

Yep, strawberry shortcake is totally making a come back! I got this bad boy from Toys R Us.

The Food! We had fruit salad, chicken ceasar and turkey and bacon wraps from Bakers Crust, pink lemonade, cream cheese and strawberry jelly sandwiches for the kids, as well those Ella's kitchen squeezies, the babies love those things!

More pics of the fabulous Cake!

A Happy, Happy Day!!!!!

Here's a breakdown of gifts and party stuff.....

I got all plates, napkins, tiaras and the birthday banner from Party City

The invitations are from here

Strawberry Shortcake bottle cap necklaces came from here

The Big Girl's Strawberry Shortcake inspired party dress from here

The Cake was done by a local woman in Richmond, you can like her facebook page, here

The Birthday Cake toy is Melissa and Doug

The Strawberry Shortcake Doll is Madame Alexander

The Strawberry Shortcake Scooter is from Toys R US

The Doll, table and chairs set is from here

This is the Alex Toys Tea Set we got here

We also got her this cute cupcake necklace!

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures!

It's FRIDAY!!!!! :)