Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

My kids are young, but I have been trying to make holiday traditions with my family. One of my favorite memories of the different seasons is baking in the kitchen with my mom and sister when I was younger. I want to make these memories with my kids too. So... what could be better then Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Dee-liscious! They were super tasty and made my house smell great. I got the recipe from my Taste of Home magazine, but you can find the recipe here: http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Desserts/Spiced-Pumpkin-Cupcakes.aspx

I definitely recommend that you try them at your house too!

Autumn Blessings!!

I love Fall. The air is different. The vibrant red & orange colored leaves are amazing to see. I must admit. My Fall decorating started in September this year. I was too excited and couldn't wait. Pumpkins. Scarecrows. Fall mums. I love it all! Thanks to Pinterest, this year my fall decorating is more festive then ever.

I always wanted a mantel above our fireplace to decorate. I found this one on Craigslist for $75. It was just what I wanted. Two coats of paint later plus some new hardware to hang it on the wall - it looks really great and finishes off our living room. I made an Autumn Blessings banner to decoate it. The banner has leaves, apples, acorns plus a blue spider. Yes, a blue spider. My son chose it from the Cricut cartridge. Not my first choice, but if a blue spider makes him happy. It makes me happy. I think it looks nice.

 

I have a wreath obsession. I would like to put them on every door in our house. I love the cream and red colors of the flowers on this one. It contrasts nicely against our newly painted black front door.

Captain America Birthday Party!

My sweet little boy turned 5 years old and we celebrated in Super Hero style with a Captain America Party. I was super excited to be able to deliver a memorable day for him with the help of Pinterest and my new Cricut. Like many mom's, my kids birthdays are some of my favorite days of the year. I love, love, love their excitement and smiles.

What is a Captain America Party without the famous shield on his birthday cake? Believe it or not, this was the very first birthday cake I have ever made for my children. It looked super cute and was pretty tasty. Then again, how can it be bad with red and blue M&M's and colored sugar sprinkles? I found the idea on pinterest here.    

I used the Red, White and Blue color theme from the shield throughout the house. The mini Captain America shields and festive stars added a nice touch for my Superhero! My Cricut made these decorations sooooooo easy.

The favorite gift of the day was the Captain America Costume. Happy Birthday to my little Super Hero!! 

Little sponges...

It is amazing to me how quick and easy our kids are learning computer skills. Both kids have mastered their MobiGo gaming systems they got for Christmas. I guarantee if I gave them my Iphone they would be surfing the internet and writing their own blogs. Who knows... maybe they would even post their own videos to Youtube. I am sure once they both graduate from Kindergarten they will be showing mom and dad some new things as well. Thank goodness for the younger generation!!

Spinning Good Times!

Every day at our home is an adventure. Ordinary things become great entertainment in the winter time. The kids were using our Steelcase Leap chair as a merry go around and taking turns spinning each other around. They would slide off the chair then stagger around and try to steady themselves. It actually made me dizzy to watch them spin and I had to look away. They would have spun themselves sick if we would have let them!

A Sunday Afternoon

It is Sunday afternoon and the kiddos are napping so I grabbed my camera to capture this image. It looks like the toy box exploded all over my living room!
I consider it a rewarding day when the toys are picked up and the lid closes all of the way on the toy box - but when I look at this picture it is a reminder that it may be time for another trip to Goodwill! Is it too early for spring cleaning?

A Butterfly Princess Birthday Party!!

Happy Birthday to my little Princess. My little princess loves butterflies. Her bedroom is decorated in butterflies. She squeals with delight when she sees them fluttering by her. Because of this I thought it made complete sense to have a butterfly princess party for her. Afterall she is my princess.

This cute butterfly cake was so fun. After she blew out her candles she ate every single butterfly that was on this cake. It was completely destroyed, but hey that's what special birthday cakes are all about.

I decorated with lots of butterflies and fun festive girlie colors. I purchased the butterfly decorations from Michael's in the $1 section and made my sign with the help of my sister's Cricut.

This butterfly chandelier is one of my favorite Pinterest projects I have made to date. It turned out super cute and made a great decoration for the party when I hung it over the island in my kitchen. It is very feminine and whimsical. You can find detailed instructions on how to make it here.

A happy birthday girl makes it all worth it.