The Floors

I just have to share my floor excitement!!!  A good portion of our house looks exactly the same as it did in 1985.  Seriously, step into our kitchen and (besides the appliances) you may get the feeling that you just stepped out of a DeLorean with Marty McFly!  BUT, we are heading out tomorrow night to pick out some new floors and countertops!!!  I am so excited  I might burst and I thought everyone else should have a visual of why I am so excited about this...

Yes, they are pink and they are flowered...
We also have two other types of pink flowered linoleum in two of our bathrooms.
And, yes, my kids are laying on their backs eating grapes, probably not a wise choice...  

The Hallway

I have been trying to figure out something to do with the hallway going to our garage.  We use this hall every time we come or go anywhere and it was becoming a dumping ground for all of our shoes, bags, coats etc.  I originally had a red bin in the corner where the boys would put all their shoes and coats upon entering the house, however, the wet dirty shoes did not mesh too well with the clean dry coats, I needed a new plan...
I found these shoe storage bins at IKEA a few weeks ago and am in love!!!  Our hallway looks amazing and the boys love having their own bins to keep their hats and shoes in, plus there are enough bins for us each to have two!  Goodbye briefcase on the kitchen counter, purse on the doorknob and shoes on the floor, you now have homes!!!

I completed the hallway with a few new pictures and
a fresh coat of paint!

I added some hooks at the end of the hall
for the boys to hang their coats and backpacks.

Treasure Hunt

My parents recently took the boys for a few days to give us a weekend at home alone (HUGE THANK YOU NONNIE & PAPA)!!  We saw a few movies, went out for a few nice dinners and I did some SERIOUS spring cleaning and even managed to paint a few rooms!  I'll post more pictures of all the projects I completed soon (I had a "To Do" list for the weekend that was seriously eight pages long) but I just came across this one while uploading some other pictures and had to share...

This is what came out from under our couch in
the living room!  I regularly clean where
I can reach but we actually moved them out from
the walls and apparently the boys really enjoy
shoving stuff between the couch and the walls...
It's like a mini toy store/snack shack!

The Daily Battle

Lately I have been feeling like this house will never be clean again! It is like every time I get one corner/closet/floor picked up the little ones have moved on to 15 more, decimating everything in their path on the way!  I am coming to the realization that expecting a clean and organized house with a two year old and a three year old is just not going to happen!  At least we are all having fun in the process of destruction!  Thought these quotes were appropriate...

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.  

~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.  

~Nancie J. Carmody

If the shelves are dusty and the pots don't shine,

it's because I have better things to do with my time.

~Author Unknown

Happy Valentines Day!

This is the picture my mom drew on the front of the Valentines Day card she made for us!  It was immediately put into a frame and will be on the wall shortly!!!  Love it!!!

Thanks Mom!!!

Happy Sweetheart Day!

Forget Valentines Day, in our house we celebrate Sweetheart Day (just kidding, I love Valentines Day)!   However, February 13th is a pretty special day around here.  It was on this day 11 years ago that Ryan proposed with a very special box of Sweethearts!
I thought it would be fun to look up some Sweetheart facts to go along with our theme for the day!

NECCO® manufactures eight billion Sweethearts® Conversation Hearts each year, the majority of which are sold during the six-week period between January 1 and Valentine’s Day; making Sweethearts the #1 selling non-chocolate Valentine’s Day candy.   Since the turn of the 20th century, more than 250 billion Sweethearts have rolled off the NECCO production lines. Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, originally called Motto Hearts, were created in 1866 by Daniel Chase, brother of NECCO founder, Oliver Chase.  Before World War I, Sweethearts Conversation Hearts were made in various shapes such as postcards, watches, baseballs or horseshoes, and the hearts were embossed with curlicues. If you placed the annual production of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts back to back across the United States they would stretch from New York to Los Angeles and back again.  That equals 5,924 miles! Got a special message for your sweetheart?  NECCO can custom imprint Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, if you’re willing to buy a full production run – approximately 3,500 pounds of the six-flavored candies or 1.6 million individual hearts. Each year, JEOPARDY! includes a Sweethearts Conversation Hearts trivia question on its show in celebration of Valentine’s Day. NECCO introduces 10 new Sweethearts Conversation Hearts sayings each year.  In 2005, NECCO introduced sayings inspired by the game of love including “#1 Fan,” “Fit for Love,” and “Dream Team.”  In 2006, the new Sweethearts sayings were inspired by the comforts of home including “Sweet Home,” ”Home Soon,” and “Call Home.”  This year, NECCO will introduce 10 new sayings that pay tribute to pet-loving ways with sayings that include “Cool Cat,” “Puppy Love,” “Love Bird,” and “My Pet.” According to Ryan, there is an average of just one "Marry Me" Sweetheart  per box, which means he went through like 20 boxes and several bags to find enough "Marry Me" hearts to fill an entire box!

Kahlua Brownies

A few people have asked for this recipe since I mentioned it in an earlier post so here it is...  By the way, I have to pretend like I don't know what goes into these... They really are the most amazing brownies I have ever had in my life, my absolute favorite!!!

Brownies - 
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tea vanilla extract
1/2 cup Kahlua
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tea baking powder
1 tea salt

Frosting - 
2 tablespoons Kahlua
1 tea instant coffee
1/2 cup butter, room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tea vanilla extract
2-3 tea milk

Topping -
1 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 baking pan.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter together.  Remove pan from heat and mix in sugar, eggs, vanilla and Kahlua.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
Spread in prepared pan.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until batter starts to pull away from sides of pan.  Cool.

Frosting - 
In a small bowl, mix Kahlua with instant coffee, stirring until coffee is dissolved.  In a medium bowl, cream butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together.  Add coffee mixture and beat until well blended.  Add milk to get desired consistency.  Spread frosting over cooled brownies.

Topping - 
In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter together.  Cool slightly, then drizzle topping over frosting.  Cool until chocolate is set.  Ready to serve!!!