Chocolate Chip Dip

We had a Girls' Night (really, Mom's Night Out) last night for the ladies in our court.  Our instructions were to bring a dessert and wine.  I brought this super easy chocolate chip dip and a bottle of Moscato.  Apparently there are a lot of Moscato lovers on our street - 5 people brought it!

The picture stinks (the battery for our Canon Rebel was dead) because I took it with my phone, but can I just say for the 12 millionth time that I adore my Fiesta Ware?  Seriously - I hate unloading the dishwasher, but opening it and seeing all my colorful plates makes me so happy!

Ingredients

• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• Graham cracker sticks (I used Teddy Grahams - couldn't find sticks)!
  

Directions

• Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
• Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Serve with graham cracker sticks. 

I can't tell you how yummy this was.  It's seriously (in my opinion) better than chocolate chip cookie dough.  Brian will probably disagree, but he isn't a cream cheese person like I am (I LOVE some cream cheese.), and he is a cookie dough person.

Now that I've shared this delicious, completely unhealthy recipe, I will also share that I'm planning to run a 5K in October with my neighbor.  Seriously.  I'm going to start training now.  And I've informed Brian that he needs to meet with at the finish line with water and a medic :).

A Pinterest Project

So I am pretty obsessed with Pinterest.  I love the website, but it's also my new go-to app.  I feel like I find things that I want to do all the time.  This project was actually something that I intended to do last month, but I ended up finishing last week.  I made this bow holder for Reesie's room.

 Excuse how ugly the flash made it!  It was super easy.  I picked up the wooden "R" at Michael's.  I tried painting it with a brush (I had leftover paint from the sample I got when I was painting her room), but it wasn't good.  I really knew better, but I thought I'd give it a shot since I already had the paint.  I ended up picking up a can of spray paint to get the "R" the way I wanted it.  I hot glued the ribbon at the top (I thought I could hang it there) and the bottom.

I decided against hanging it from a nail and ended up using a Command strip!  I am so happy to finally have a place to hang up her collection of bows.  I bought half of these at a craft show and I got the other half at Pigtails and Crewcuts.  Maybe I'll start making her bows, too?

I am also working on a magnetic make up board (you don't have to put the make up away - it can be art - ha!), but I need to finish gluing the magnets to the back of my make up!  Hoping to finish that up by Wednesday (I'm aiming low - we're going to see The Deathly Hallows tonight, and tomorrow is Brian's day off, and a Girls' Night with our sweet neighbors).  I'm also making a yummy new dessert for the Girls' Night tomorrow - I got the idea for it on Pinterest, so I'll probably share that as well!

Weekly iPurge

I was just able to dump the pictures from my phone! We didn't have swimming lessons this week (we go back on Monday), so we have spent a lot of time this week playing outside (it's been gorgeous the last few days) and doing a few other things.  I have really gotten it into my head to get more organized.  I have been exhausted over the last few months and things have really just gotten out of hand!  There are so many times that I have left things until the end of the day to take care of (like straightening up), and by the end of the day I end up sitting on the couch to tired to get up!

I started last week by organizing my pantry.  Don't let this picture fool you.  Wyatt had nothing to do with it!

 When I was at Target on Sunday I saw these little craft cubbies.  I've been meaning to make some "snack cubbies" for the refrigerator, so I picked them up!  Right now I have two set up - this one has carrot sticks, string cheese and yogurt (the cheese and yogurt are staples of Wyatt's diet), and the other has snack bags with grapes, strawberries and fresh pineapple.  It's been awesome to have everything cut up. The kids can just reach in and grab something, and they're all healthy choices!

 When we went to Busch Gardens on Monday, Hudson was very into the show at FestHaus.  He cracked me up!

 Here is Hudson's new Derek Jeter shirt!

 We got an American Girl catalog in the mail yesterday, and Reese picked it up and started to flip through it!  She loved all the babies - but based on the way she ripped up the paper, I would say she definitely isn't ready for one of these dolls yet!



Pinnable Me: Birthday Party Inspiration

I am linking up with Stefanie's blog to share my latest Pinterest finds for Reese's birthday!  I can not believe that my baby girl is going to be three years old in a little over a month!  We usually wait until September to have her party (we have a lot of friends with busy summers), but I still need to start planning.  When I asked Reese what kind of party she wanted her answer was emphatic: Minnie Mouse party!  I started pinning things immediately, and this is what I have so far...

I love these invitations!

Source: etsy.com via Brittney on Pinterest

This would be the cutest center piece for the food table!

Source: etsy.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I am also in love with this outfit!

Source: etsy.com via Brittney on Pinterest

These cookies look too cute, and deliciously yummy!

Source: kathiecooks.blogspot.com via Brittney on Pinterest

And I just think this soap is too cute for words!

Source: amazon.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I need a much smaller cake than this - but it's adorable!  And I've been thinking about trying out making a cake with fondant...

Source: google.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I'm working on a few fun Pinterest projects right now that I'm hoping to share soon (one is actually drying right now)!  I am having so much fun finding new, fun ideas for my home and new recipes!

A little Hudson!

I feel like I just blogged about this little guy turning 8 months old, but he's just been so busy growing that I have more to share!

• He can crawl when he wants to.  He still prefers rolling all over the place, but he's been moving on all fours more over the last few days!
• We have 2 more teeth popping through up top.  He's been so good about it that I didn't even notice it until he was gnawing on my finger at Busch Gardens.  And one of them had already cut! He's starting to look more like a big boy!
• He's (finally) sleeping in his own room at night (and at nap time too)!  Brian got the crib put together last week and he spent the night in there for the first time on Monday.  He has been doing really well (I know I probably just jinxed myself)!
• The other day he was able to stand up and hold onto the couch for a few minutes.  He's also able to brace himself standing for a few seconds at a time, too.  Wyatt walked for the first time just before he turned 9 months old, so we'll have to see if his little brother can catch up!
• Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of his room one day soon.  I better run now though, Mr. Mischievous is into everything!

Busch Gardens!

Brian finally went back to Mondays off after three weeks of crazy Mondays!  We like to go do fun things when he's off, so we went off to Busch Gardens.  With swimming lessons and Wednesdays off the last few weeks, we just haven't been able to make it.  Sunday mornings or Mondays are the best time to go - a few lessons we've learned from Brian working in the industry!

Brian's parents were able to come with us, so we all had a lot of fun!  Reese talked all morning about wanting to ride the Sesame Street roller coaster  - and I kept telling her that I didn't think she was tall enough because she wasn't when we went in May.  But she was!  She was so excited when she found out that she got to ride the roller coaster with Daddy!

I love this picture of the two of them!  Wyatt ran up to her to ask how she liked the roller coaster and she was so happy!

My little smiley guy!

 I feel like we spent the majority of our day at this ride!  Brian rode with each kid about 3 times and then they also rode with Mimi and Baba.  So we took pictures to pass the time!

 No trip to Busch Gardens is complete without an airplane ride.  We let Reese take her own plane, and she did a pretty good job of keeping it in the air - Wyatt is in the red plane and she is in the white!

 Wyatt noticed this game when he was getting on the plane ride and asked if he could try - he needed to kick two goals into the goal to get a prize.  His first two kicks weren't that powerful - he was nervous and a crowd had gathered to watch - but his third kick went all the way in!

 Brian took these - I'm sorry, I know there are people out there that like bumper cars - but how do you  tolerate that rubber smell in the heat of the summer?  I seriously feel nauseous every time I smell these things!  So Hudson and I waited in the shade while the kids rode.

It was soooo hot that day and we decided to leave after the carousel, which is like, the farthest place from the exit in the park!  Hudson didn't want to ride in the stroller anymore, so I had to carry him in his Baby Bjorn, and the big kids rode in the stroller.  I know Brian was exhausted pushing 70 pounds up and down hills in the stroller, and I thought I was going to die of heat exhaustion carrying my 20 pound guy around attached to me.  I have never been so happy to leave Busch Gardens in my life - or so thankful that we have preferred parking!  It was so nice to get to our car without a tram or another 20 minute walk!

It's nice that we're able to alternate weeks with outings and then time spent at home.  I can't wait until the fall when Brian gets weekends off again (although, sadly, his three days weekends are probably a thing of the past).  It's so nice for us to have a day of fun things, and a day where we can actually get things done around the house!  Fall is quickly becoming my favorite time of year with trips to the pumpkin patch, and the nice weather and of course, Hudson's first birthday!  But I still want to make sure we still find ways to have fun in this sweltering summer heat!

3000

It's no secret that we're Yankees fans through and through.

From Opening Day to the last game of the season, we try not to miss an at bat.

So we definitely didn't want to miss Saturday's game when the Captain got career hit 3000!

 We were very excited when hit 3000 was a home run!

 He's maybe a little in awe of Derek Jeter.  When he plays baseball (all the time) he is Derek Jeter.

His Jeter shirt is a little small- so it's a good thing that Brian ordered him a new Jeter shirt, a Cano shirt and a shirt commemorating his 3000th hit!  Brian actually bought out the website on Saturday night - everyone but Reese got a shirt (including Hudson).  But Reese will fit nicely into this shirt now, so she doesn't need one!

I guess this milestone has prompted Wyatt to practice some more.  He told me that he has a lot of hits, but he needs a lot more to catch up to Derek Jeter (he won't part with his Little League hat - he wears it everywhere.  Apparently he is a Dodger and a Yankee at the same time).  He cracks me up!