Day 52

Packing can be tough. Traveling with liquids can be near impossible. Thankfully, there's a pin for that! I'm usually one for the ziploc bag packing method. You know how that works...you pack everything that could possibly spill in the ziploc bag and when you finally reach your destination you wince as you open the bag, seeing which bottle didn't survive the trip. Well, no more guessing for this family.
This pin gave me one of those "Why didn't I think of that?!?" moments. Just stretch a little saran wrap over the top of the bottle and twist the cap. That's it. A foolproof way to get to your destination with your liquids safely in their bottles!

Day 51

The time we spend at the dinner table is, by far, my favorite time of day. I love everything about it. From the prayer together before we eat, to listening to Olive sing a part of a new song she just learned, to watching my baby boy, Thomas, grow up a little each dinner, there is just nothing like eating as a family.
The only hiccup with family dinner, is deciding what we are serving! Thank goodness for Pinterest. We have found yet another recipe....Today's pin: Chicken Sorrento. This was another winner- especially for Olive!! She cleaned her plate and asked for seconds! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494840003/

Day 50

Day 50 should be a milestone...a celebration! Unfortunately, Murphy's Law didn't get that memo. I have come down with the "ick"...I'm just a ball of snotty, achy yuckiness. I'm doing all I can to ensure that I'm the only one in this state. The only thing worse than me being sick, would be 2 little ones and an amazing hubby feeling puny, too!
Fortunately, I had planned ahead for this, and found a pin about a month ago for such an occasion. Homemade essential oil shower discs. With just baking soda, water and a few drops of lavender, eucalyptus and rosemary, we were able to whip up a quick batch tonight to aid in decongesting some of the ick.
Not only was it quite soothing, but I think that I might have stumbled upon a nice item to slip into a "Get Well Soon" basket, too! :o) http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494524722/

Day 49

Sundays can be a bit hectic for us. After church, it's a race to the house to eat, put the kids down for their nap and then rush off to work. We were especially rushed today, since Scott and I volunteered in the nursery. Thankfully, Scott planned ahead and looked for a CrockPot recipe that could be easily prepped before church.
After all the running around, it was so nice to walk into the house today and have dinner ready to be served. It was pretty tasty! The only thing that I would change the next time we make this....and we will...would be to use low sodium soup and use a bag of frozen vegetables instead of just corn. Other than that, this was a winner! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494866189/

Day 48

"Waste not, want not." While this family doesn't always live up to this proverb, we sure do try. In the spirit of wasting not, we decided to find a pin that could help us take care of all the Depression Bread that we made yesterday. Since this bread isn't necessarily too good for sandwiches, we settled on a good olive oil dip recipe. This was a recipe that was meant to replicate Carrabba's olive oil dip, but to be honest, it has been years since I have been there, so I didn't know what to expect.
One dip, and I was hooked. This was a great recipe, and what made it better is that we had all the ingredients on hand! This would be a great dip to serve when all the family is in town...I'm sure it will be a hit! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494849438/

Day 47

I'm a carbaholic. I also enjoying saving money. Enter, our Pinterest project. Scott and I have been talking about Depression Bread for a couple of days now, and Scott found a  pin with a recipe. While I was at work, my hubby decided to test his baking skills. For pennies, Scott made enough bread to feed us for a week. WonderBread it isn't, but it is a good bread to serve with olive oil! Our bread seemed pretty dense, much like a bagel, although I'm not sure if that is an "oops!" or if that is the part of the charm of Depression Bread. Either way, it wasn't a complete flop...edible is a win in my dictionary! :o)  http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494842071/ 

Day 46

Today was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. Scott worked some in the yard, while the kids and I enjoyed playing in the sunshine. After a fun-filled day of play, we needed a "sweet" way to end the day.
During church camp, my mom gifted us a Zoku system. While I wasn't familiar with the product, it seemed intriguing. We finally had a moment today to break it out, and try a recipe. Today's popsicle of choice: Strawberry Banana. (and just strawberry for mom!) These were sooooo good! Everyone loved them, and they were a perfect way to end a perfect day. http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494837596/

Day 45

Today while the kids were napping, I got a major craving for something sweet. We do not keep sweets in the house because Christina and I, both, would rather have something salty most of the time. I figured I would look on Pinterest to find something I could make that would take care of this craving. I love peanut butter cookies and found a recipe that only took 4 ingredients and about 15 minutes, so it sounded great! I mixed everything the way it said, and it was kind of sticky per the directions, so I was excited knowing that I was on track. I am not sure where I went wrong, but the cookies went flat and basically made a crispy cookie sheet size cookie. I was OK with that as long as it tasted good- but it did not taste good at all! I guess I was not going to have that craving filled after all. http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494829945/

Day 44

After a long day, it's sometimes nice to pamper yourself. A few years ago, that would have meant going out and getting a mani-pedi, but nowadays, it means a quick coat of nail polish right before I hit the pillow. To be honest, I'm happy as long as the polish hits the nail! :o) Today, however, Scott had a surprise for me!
Waiting for me, in a little container, was homemade hand scrub. So thoughtful (or a nice way to send a message! haha). I feel so very blessed to have a husband as amazing as Scott. He could have easily found a pin for himself, but instead, put me first and made something just for me. Have I mentioned lately how much I love him? ;o)
So, thank you, Scott for thinking of me today. I appreciate all you do for this family, and your undeserving wife!! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494586557/

Day 43

Fall is just around the corner. It's my favorite time of year. There's something about throwing on a sweater and hearing the leaves crunching underfoot that just makes me smile. In preparation for fall, I was looking for some cinnamon-y recipes that would scream "Autumn!". I found a SUPER easy and QUICK recipe for cinnamon apples. All that's needed is cornstarch, cinnamon, Splenda, water, apples and 2 minutes. That's it! It cooks right in the bag. These were great by themselves, but would really be good on ice cream, oatmeal or waffles! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494792615/

Day 42

The saying goes, "Don't cry over spilled milk." I however, take umbrage with that statement. There is a lot to cry over when milk is spilled...particularly when it spills in an enclosed car. A hot car, at that. The smell of curdling milk just doesn't go away. Even after a good cleaning and airing out, the smell has a funny way of still lingering.
When we found this pin, we were both intrigued. With just fabric softener, water and baking soda we were able to make a concoction better than Febreeze. (Scott dubbed it "Faux-Breeze"....haha) It smells great. Not like the imitation clean...but just pure clean. Now time will tell if it truly attacked the lingering putrid smell, but for now- Success! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494809611/

Day 41

I'm not usually one for the healthy alternative recipe. They normally still leave me longing for the "real deal." So, when we stumbled upon this recipe for baked cheese sticks on Pinterest, I was a bit skeptical. We followed the recipe to the letter, minus cutting the cheese sticks in half. :o) After 10 minutes, we were ready to eat....and eat we did!! They were great! We will be breaking this recipe out again.  http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494601813/

Day 40

Privacy is a highly regarded luxury in this household. With two kids under the age of 2, it's nearly impossible to even have privacy in the bathroom. For us, however, it truly was impossible.
Our house was built in the 1950's and, for the most part, was built to last. The master bathroom pocket door is the exception. Since one week after owning this house, the pocket door was rendered useless. Therefore, there is never a private moment in our bathroom. Ever. While Scott was fishing through pins the other day, he came across possibly my favorite Pinterest thus far. A fix for the pocket door.
While I kept an eye on the kiddos, Scott took on the door. About an hour later he came to show me the spoils of his labor: A WORKING BATHROOM DOOR! Now, we still may not get the privacy we were used to "pre-kid"....but at least the option is there in the future! :o)

Day 39

I've heard it said that you wear 10% of your wardrobe 90% of the time. I thought that was a ridiculous statement, until I was standing in the closet (full of clothes, mind you) complaining to my husband for the thousandth time that I had nothing to wear. Although this pin won't help me utilize my clothes more beneficially, it will however, give us a little extra space in our quite-cramped closet. One soda pop top is all it took to complete this pin! I haven't done too many hangers yet....but already a nice improvement!  http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494793069/

Day 38

There's just something about oatmeal that screams "Fall is here!" to me.
I remember my first experience trying oatmeal. My Grandma asked if I would like some "hot cereal." I wasn't too sure what it was, but it sounded intriguing to me! After waiting semi-patiently on the stool, it was time to eat. She loving placed the bowl on the counter, I peered in...and in front of me was oatmeal. Not quite what I was expecting.
Before I knew it, Grandma poured in the milk and asked if I needed some sugar. I think I was able to politely eat about half of the bowl...and that was the first and last time I ate oatmeal as a child. Fast-forward to my adult years, and oatmeal is a meal that I truly love...(minus the milk!) And, every time I eat it, I think of her.
Today's pin makes grabbing a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, a quick and easy task. Just by adding oatmeal and brown sugar in a Ziploc bag, you have an instant meal, without much effort at all!
http://pinterest.com/pin/183521753536448143/

Day 37

What did we do before crock pots and cell phones? Well, crock pots anyway... :o)  Thankfully, my amazing husband also shares in this sentiment, and treated the family to a Pinterest recipe of CrockPot Barbeque Chicken. Two words: YUM-MY! This pin went over well with Olive, our oldest, too! She cleaned her plate and asked for more. The only drawback to this pin- no leftovers. http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494774894/

Day 36

Vacations are so great! They recharge your batteries so you can cope with the repercussions of taking a week off! :o) Work started with a bang today, with a quick TV spot on the local news for my company, and then back to the store to face a full inbox and a plethora of phone calls. Overall, however, not too bad for the first Monday back from vacation!
When I arrived home, I was greeted with the best hug of all- the leg hug. There is just something so sweet about a toddler squeezing your leg in pure joy. I wanted to just freeze that moment. My baby boy was also kind enough to bestow upon me his toothless grin with arms lifted high, knowing I would pick him up the instant I saw him. This past week gave me an amazing opportunity to just relish my children, and I have to admit, it was a little difficult to "get back to the grind" after all of that quality time.
So, today's pin was geared towards them. We had a few left over supplies from Pinterests past, and put those to good use. An empty peanut butter jar, a few pipe cleaners cut into small pieces and a magnet meant a great activity for a toddler. Olive loved watching the pipe cleaners move at her command. Another win for Pinterest! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494592186/

Day 35

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Today was one of those days. I got up, showered and started getting ready for church when I noticed it. It's something rarely heard at my house: Silence. And that silence continued for hours. Not a peep was heard from my kiddos until 10AM. That's right. There are no typos. 10AM. I guess they still had some rest to catch up on from camp!
So, there we were again. Another family rest day. There were certainly no complaints from Mama, as I could have used some R&R, too!
Time passed slowly. It was perfect. The kids were on their best behavior. Giggles and hugs were the theme of the day. Once the kids hit the hay, Scott and I started in on the Pinterest. With all the fun that we had, some of the windows had some sweet handprints and nose smears that needed a little elbow grease. Thankfully, there's a pin for that! :o) Scott whipped up a quick batch. It's the classic vinegar and water with a little twist. They suggested that: 1.) the water should be warm and 2.) add 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch. We followed the mix to the letter and were very impressed. You should have seen Scott. He turned into a cleaning machine, with "Honey, you have to see this!" and "Wow!" heard every few minutes. Needless to say, this was a winner- well, mainly I was a winner. We knocked out another Pinterest project and I got my windows clean! http://pinterest.com/pin/80150068338574405/

Day 34

Rest is good for the soul- and babies. Saturday was basically a wash. We all just caught up on some much needed sleep. No laundry was done. Only a couple of the basics were unpacked. We just focused on rest. And rest we did. Once the day was coming to a close, we opened the computer and started searching for our Pinterest.
My husband and I are not coffee drinkers. Don't get me wrong. I used to really enjoy a good cup of joe, but once I decided to be a baby-making machine I quit cold turkey. I didn't want to be drinking all the extra caffeine. And for you decaffeinated drinkers- there IS a taste difference. :o)
That being said, my parents enjoy sipping a nice cup of coffee in the morning. So, we own a coffee pot, even if it is just for company. Whenever you have to store appliances, it seems it the cord that gives you the most trouble. It's always just flopping around, trying to annoy you with it's uncanny ability to fall and hit you square in the nose. No more will I be tormented by those pesky cords. Pinterest offered a simple solution. Velcro. A little piece on the plug and a little piece on the appliance...and just like that, the cord is tamed! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494679179/

Day 33

All good things must come to an end. This was our last day at camp. A last minute decision, in hopes that we would have better results, meant that we would again try traveling overnight with our two little ones in tow. Friday was spent packing and soaking up time with extended family that we will not see until the following year. The time had finally come to hit the road, and we realized that we had not yet completed our pin!
A quick search on Pinterest yielded a great result- St. Julians! St. Julians is a small winery in Michigan. While we do not imbibe, we do enjoy a good sparking grape juice on special occasions! We stopped by the local Meijer (which is just like a Super Target for you Southern folks!), a picked up a few bottles. Pure heaven. It beats out Welch's everyday of the week! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494754893/

Day 32

Rain, rain...go away! Although we were blessed with gorgeous weather most of camp, it's still never fun to contend with a rain-soaked day. So, we just had to make the best of it. Since there could be no trips to the playground, we had to make some fun at the cabin- enter Pinterest. Today's pin was the "Popper". The boys seemed to really like this one. It was fun to watch them shoot pom poms around the cabin...just took a little monitoring to ensure the pom poms were a large enough size not to be consumed by baby Thomas!
The execution only took about 5 minutes. We poked a large hole in the bottom of the Styrofoam cup + a stretched a balloon over the bottom + one pom pom = one "Grade A" popper. We did have to add a little tape to the balloon to ensure we didn't have any popper mishaps, but this pin was another winner!  http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494670785/

Day 31

Goodbyes are tough. Especially when they involve the last day of camp for a 9 year old. Liam, my nephew, was scheduled to leave camp a little early, so we wanted to make the most of the time we had left. We decided to to go to Pinterest to help us make it memorable. Nothing says "We'll miss seeing you" like a night of Glow in the Dark bowling. :o)
All the kids loved running around in the dark, waving their glowsticks! The actual game of bowling was short-lived, but the kiddos had fun just the same. We both agreed that placing two glowsticks per bottle next time would help the visibility, but overall a nice pin. 
http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494664184/

Day 30

Toddlers can be tricky. They love new toys, but can be easily distracted....very easily. :o) At night during camp, the family gathers on the porch and enjoys good conversation. The little ones, however, don't seem as engaged in the tales being told. We chose this pin in hopes that Olive, in particular, would be able to stayed occupied, and also enjoy the slow-paced camp evenings.
For this pin, the supplies consisted of a colander, pipe cleaners and an eager toddler. Olive loved poking the pipe cleaners through the colander and making different designs. Many "Mommy, Look!"' moments and laughter were pouring from her...the perfect solution!
http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494670552/

Day 29

Monday was a full day. Monday was the first day of camp that the older kids were able to attend the afternoon service...their choice- crafts. Those are my kind of kids! :o) Because we weren't expecting the day to get away from us so quickly, we chose a quick pin. Literally.
Nothing is more fun for boys to watch than explosions. Well, since we are limited with what we can "explode" at camp, we had to resort to the safer Mentos and Coke option. In the pin, it suggested that we use Diet Coke, as the reaction tends to be a little more intense. So, that's just what we did. A mere nano-second after adding the Mentos, the Coke was up in the air. A perfect pin...quick and fun!
http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494771500/

Day 28

Sunday at camp is always so special. My mom makes her traditional dinner, which attracts family like bugs to a lightbulb. It's just a wonderful time of fellowship and good food. This Pinterest project was just meant to highlight the hard work that my mom puts into this day.
For this pin, all you need is a few balloons, cups and a few flower buds. After stretching a balloon over a cup, just snip the end, add water and insert your favorite flower. This just made the tables look as beautiful as the company we enjoyed. I think this would be a fabulous idea for a church luncheon or any get together where you need a quick centerpiece. Just change out the color of balloons to suite your taste! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494664148/

Day 27

Beautiful days just push me outdoors. I just want to drink in the sunshine. This day was gorgeous. A perfect day to get the kids outdoors. We wanted an activity that would include all ages of the kids at the cabin. We had children from 10 months to 9 years. To find something that fits all ages can be a bit challenging. This pin, however, was perfect!
Finger painting is always a winner, but being a parent, the mess is a little daunting. This pin was the best of both worlds. Not only was it a kid-favorite (finger painting), but it was a Mom approved mess free project. This was simple execution. Place a dollop of finger paint (we did 4 colors) in a ziploc bag....we reinforced with duct tape, just to be sure...and seal. It's that easy. The kids can mix colors and draw (and erase) as many pictures as they please. This was a hit. All kids enjoyed this pin...even my youngest! :o) http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494670840/

Day 26

We have a lot of catching up to do! We have been at our annual family church camp for the past ten days, and while we DID complete a pin everyday, we were not able to update our blog due to lack of proper (or any) 3G coverage! :o) So, forgive the tardiness, but here we go!
Our first day at camp was trying to say the least. Although we decided to travel overnight for the 10 hour trip to allow the kiddos to sleep, they had another plan. After 40 SLEEPLESS hours, we finally were able to put the kids to bed and complete our Pinterest.
This one was just for me. I am known as the family's mosquito repellent. They all flock to me. Great for the kids and the hubby....miserable for me. So, my thoughtful husband found a pin that would be right up my alley. A homemade mosquito trap.
While it sounded great on paper, in execution, a little was lost. The yeast reacted a little too violently, which seemed to affect it's effectiveness. But by the week's end, we did see 6 trapped blood-suckers. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this particular trap, but something was better than nothing!
http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494520049/

Day 25

Today we leave for Camp in Brown City Michigan. That means 10 hours in a car with 2 kids under 2 (yes we ARE crazy). During all the packing and loading of the car, I had forgotten about the Pinterest I was going to do, and now it was too late to make breakfast rolls. I took a short break, and headed online to see if there was a new pin I could use for the trip to make it a little less stressful, and found one that will be great for Olive. I did not use a shoe holder, but one of our toiletry bags that came with a pocketed insert that we always take out and have never used, so I re purposed it as a seat caddy for Olive. I put in some snacks and some things to keep her busy. I hope it works! http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494694784/

Day 24

This pin was far too easy. Today was "Support Chick-fil-a Day," so that's just what this family did. Period. http://pinterest.com/pin/141722719494690836/