Dr. Mommy miss diagnose {plus a SUPER cute party to share}

WARNING: This post contains an image that may or may not gross you out. I can not be held responsible for any loss of Special K this morning.

So for the past week Bean has been clingy, whining, and over all just a little pill. He had a slight fever last Monday and Tuesday {nothing warranting running off to the Dr. office}. He has been eating normally and playing. But at night he turns into a MONSTER. Waking up every hour and wanting to nurse. So as Mommy MD, I diagnosed him as teething. Sounds good right?

When we woke up this morning and noticed this thick green glop coming from his ear, I started second guessing my "professional" diagnoses.

After leaving the REAL Dr. with a script in hand for the ear infection. It broke my heart. I know I should not feel bad, but honestly I have a serious case of Mommy guilt {self diagnosed, and I do not need a second opinion on that!}

Sorry Bean, Mommy LOVES you.

Happy side note:

I received a message this morning that made me SMILE big time. About a month ago I received a request to make a crown for a little girl who was turning 3. Her Mommy had asked if I could make a fire truck crown but GIRLIE. I was not sure what I could come up with. But after she sent over the UBER cute invite, I got really excited!

I just love how a Mommy listened to what her daughter wanted and made it work.

Please go check out the adorable pics and let Laura know what a FAB job she did!

Patience pays off.

I have been eyeing some Pottery Barn Kids sheets for Buggie for some time now.

These are not any sheets but Barbie sheets!

As much as I LOVE my daughter I was not about to spend $69.99 on SHEETS {a twin set mind you}!

So I waited, they went down to $39.99.

Then I spotted them at $29.99.

Hum, still a little too much for me.

So when I walked in to Pottery Barn Kids the other day and saw them sitting on a shelf, I held me breath.

And when I turned them over and saw that they were marked down to $19.99, I am

pretty sure I let out a little squeak.

People I am no math major but that is like a GAZILLON dollars I saved!

Off to wash some new sheets, nothing like climbing into bed with crisp clean sheets.

Do you have the fever?

USA soccer fever, that is.

For all those LONG time soccer fans, who keep commenting about the fair weather soccer fans, let them join in. It can only spread the joy of soccer to the masses here in the States.

My parents are at their home in South Africa for the month. And as you can see they have the fever. They have yet to go to a game, but have been enjoying watching them with fellow Statesmen in the bars.

So will you be watching the make it or brake it match this afternoon?

I will declare it here..

this cake is now in my top 5!

I did not make the three layer cake, only did two. So I was able to make a dozen cupcakes. I dusted them with some pink sugar crystals. OMG!

Mom in the shot Jun 24th {and a pink lemonade cake.}

Ok so here is the deal, its been a ROUGH couple of days. Hubby has been out of town {ALL the praise in the world to single parents out there, *PHEW*}. And my little Bean has been teething. So this picture deserves a little narrative today, to make it easy I numbered it.

1. The sling. My little boy is ALL boy and I guess that means his threshold for pain is low. Because WOW Buggie was never this bad. So my days have been spent with him nuzzled up against me in some form. Wether it be nursing, snuggling, or just on the hip he has been in close contact.

2. The HUGE GINORMO cart. As you can see by number 1, he was not having it in the cart. So of course I was stuck pushing that beast around Target, because "Mommy, we HAVE to have that cart!"

3. Yes I totally asked a random stranger in the soap isle to take our picture. She was super sweet and giggled a little then indulged me. Thank you random lady in the soap isle, I *heart* you!

4. What's in the cart? The ingredients for this cake. I think a pink, fluffy, baked goodie will make make me smile. Plus Hubby comes tonight, something to celebrate.

5. Ok this makes me giggle out loud. Running shorts, come on people really? The only running these see are up my stairs to sneak a binkie back into Bean's mouth before he completely wakes up! I mean I did not even have sneaks on to pretend, flip flops.

6. Lastly no face shot today, it was bad enough I exposed all of Target to my mug today. Enough said.

Peace out peeps, off to go make my cake! Oh and if you are cool you will participate in Emily's weekly challenge.

OH OH OH, I got my phone fixed. I tell you people may not want to switch an iphone but it is SO worth it when you need something fixed. I just made an appointment at the "genius bar" and they ran a test and fixed it in 10 mins, for FREE!

Pity Party Table of One. {free movies}

As I was running out the door last night for a fun Mommies night out I heard an unmistakable thud.

The noise of my precious iphone hitting the floor with a mad fiery.

No worries, this has happened a hundred times.

So out the door I ran.

In the car {I was not driving, Orpah!} I pulled my phone out to check my email.

When I got this screen...

And it stayed that way. So of course when I got home I Googled to see if there was a fix. Before I could finish typing "white scree", google in all its infinite wisdom popped up with "white screen iphone". YEAH they know what I need.

Then after clicking, I saw it.

"WHITE SCREEN OF DEATH."

This can not be good.

I tried the "helpful" fixes online but nothing.

So ↑ that sad face above will be heading to its local AT&T store this morning. If you need me just following the steady flow of tears.

But on a fun side note:

Do you have a local Regal Cinema? If so, did you know that they show FREE movies twice a week during the summer? And not only one movie but TWO! Well this is our second summer enjoying the cool, dark theater. Click here for movie dates and times. {this is a great way to test the movie waters if you have a little one. if you need to leave early you do not feel like you just flushed 50 bucks down the toilet!}

Book Swap Party

Do you find yourself reading the same books every night to your little ones?

I do.

To help solve this literary crisis I hosted a Children's Book Swap this weekend.

Everyone brought 5 gently used books.

Then we drew numbers out of a bowl for our picking order.

After each round we would re-pick numbers.

And at the end we all had a stack of "new" books for our kiddos {and us} to enjoy!

Buggie reading their new books.

This idea can be adapted to any books.

I would think cookbooks would be fun.

Now this does not have to be a permanent exchange, maybe if you do an adult book exchange you can just put book plate in your books for easy returns. Then at the end of the summer you can have a "Return Book Party".

I hope you enjoy this idea!

To my best friend.

You are our comic relief.

You are our provider.

You are our leader.

You are our snuggler.

You are our shoulder to cry on.

You are our world.

Each and everyday I thank God for bringing you into my life.

And for giving me the best father for our children I could have asked for.

Remember that you are loved unconditionally not just today but EVERYDAY.

I love you Hubby more then buttons have holes.

BHH.

Revised cupcake post...

Remember these that I made the other day?

{image via here}

Well I figured it can not hurt to make them even BETTER. So for Father's Day I will be making Banana Cupcakes filled with Nutella & Peanut Butter! Hubby's 2 most FAVORITE desserts are Banana Dream Cake from Too Jay's and banana pudding. So I think the banana cupcake will just put him over the edge!

Bean has nothing to do with this post but he is too cute not to share...

RECALL ALERT

Check those pantries there is a Campbells recall.

Good thing I would never buy the ones with meat, yuck-o.

Mom in the shot Jun 17th {and a winner.}

Buggie was behind the lens today.

{click on button for all the info about this wonderful weekly challenge}

And the winner of the two Frances England CD's is

Comment #3

Congrats Melissa!

If you did not win no worries remember I have two more to giveaway!

And Frances just posted a FUN Father's Day e-card on her site.

Up for a trade?

Do create?

Do you like to receive packages in the mail?

Trading can be such a rewarding experience. I have not only gotten many lovely items but created friendships with some wonderful people. I say trade and do it often!

I HIGHLY suggest checking out {don't have a store, thats ok use this guide for some shopping!}:

Last minute Father's Day gift {DIY}

I made this for Hubby in Dec 08 {wowzers almost 2 years ago!}. But it was his FAVORITE gift that year.

Your Hubby doesn't play golf? Thats ok just substitute it with whatever you want. An hour of tinkering in the garage once a week, night with the guys once a month, whatever he enjoys.

Simple and last ALL year.

Enjoy

Penny Lane Designs Blog Makeover Winner

Yesterday got away from me, so sorry for not posting this then.

But congratulations is in order for Madeline.

Madeline you have 48hrs from now to reach out to me at amyholgersen@hotmail.com

If I do not hear from you I will have to re-pick a winner.

Please do not forget to enter my other giveaway which ends today!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:61Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Nutella & Peanut Butter Cupcakes

After making Julie's Salted Carmel Cupcakes last week I could not stop dreaming about other things to put in a squeeze bottle and pump into the middle of a cupcake! So here is what I dreamt up.

Nutella & Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

What you will need:

Box of French Vanilla Cake Mix {ingredients for the cake mix}

1 cup of Nutella

1 cup Peanut Butter

1/2 of a box of Nilla Waffers

icing {I would have made the recipe that Julie shared, but since I was out of powder sugar I just used the jarred icing in my pantry. *GASP* I know, jarred icing!}

squeeze bottle

{Ha see me!}

Ok first make your mix and bake.

While they are baking take your cup of Nutella and peanut butter put them in a microwave safe bowl. Nuc it for 1 min. Take it out and mix it up. And add to your squeeze bottle.

{I may or may not be wearing a Sleeping Beauty Silly Band, COOL MOM!}

Once the cupcakes are out of the oven pump those little golden beauties with the squeeze bottle mixture. Then off to the cooling rack. Once they are done cooling, ice them up {ice ice baby just popped into my head, GREAT!}. Then dunk them into smashed up Nilla Waffers.

I would HIGHLY suggest a tall glass of milk with these.

Julie I thank you for introducing me to the squeeze bottle. I almost feel like a floozie with how quickly I have let our relationship go to the next level! HA.

Enjoy....

Local baker takes the cake, well cupcake that is!

While channel flipping last night I stumbled across a new show on Food Network called "Cupcake Wars". And I was excited to see our local cupcake baker/owner from Sweet! By Good Golly Miss Holly on there. And the best part was she WON! Loved watching her in action. It so cool to see the store you go to all the time {about 10 mins from my house} on national TV!

PS my own cupcake post coming later and a winner for Penny Lane Design, so stay tuned!

Mom in the shot Jun 10th {and Julie's cupcakes...}

Buggie wanted to do this SOO bad.

So being a good Mommy I let her.

But she got more wet then I did.

Made Julie's cupcakes tonight. Not sure why I let these into my life. But now that I have had a taste it is all over. YUMMO!

Oh and a picture of Bean because he is too darn cute with his two little teeth.

The witching hour...

Do you know this hour?

The one where without even glancing at the clock you can tell what time it is.

The dog sitting by the cabinet with her food, barking and whining at me.

You keep hearing the same thing OVER AND OVER again.

"Mommy I am hungry."

"Mommy when are we going to eat dinner."

"Mommy is dinner ready."

The baby is sitting on the floor crying with HUGE crocodile tears streaming down his face.

And you keep repeating to him from across the room "Mommy is making it, once second sweetie."

And which point the phone inevitably rings.

And 9 times out of 10 it is your husband.

"I am STARVING. What is for dinner?"

At which point you look over at the sink to realize you forgot to take something out for dinner.

Pizza again?!

Thats my life at 5:00 pm.

Side note: Blogger was acting funny at the beginning of the week.

So if you entered my Penny Lane Design Giveaway and DO NOT see your comments. Please reenter, sorry!

Look at what I can do! {Frances England Giveaway Jun 9- Jun 15}}

See this guy...

Thats right he is staying up on all FOURS!

WOWZERS, I feel its too soon. Buggie did not crawl until 13 mnths. He is only 7!!!!

Growing up TOO fast!

Ok now to a giveaway.

A little bit ago I shared our family pictures with you.

My photographer had them on a slideshow which included a WONDERFUL song.

I have to admit I did not know about the song until some of you had asked who sang it {my computer was on mute!}.

So after a little sleuthing {aka sending an email to my photographer}, I found out it was

You & Me by Frances England.

I immediately jumped on to itunes and bought the WHOLE cd.

If your house is anything like ours then you LOVE music.

Especially music we ALL can enjoy.

Frances has a wonderful mix of catchy, fun, and just plain lovely songs.

Our favorite is Sleepyhead Mommy, so true so true.

I sent Frances an email.

I explained how I came about her music and how I had fallen MADLY in love with it.

I expressed to her that it would be fun if she would consider hosting a giveaway on my blog

for one of her CDs.

She took the time out of her busy schedule {traveling, taking care of her family, and finishing up her third cd!} to not only respond to me but to send me a package!

In it was not just one cd, not just two but FOUR!

So for this giveaway I am giving away two of those to ONE lucky winner {saving the other two for another giveaway!}

Here is how to enter { make sure to leave ONE comment per entry}:

- Become a follower of my blog {already one that counts}

- Become a FB fan of Frances

- Did you enter my Penny Lane Design giveaway? That counts for one entry here.

Giveaway open until Jun 15th at midnight Eastern time.

Good luck Ladies...

And I leave you with a sampling of France England's work...

Let It Be {my new inner mantra}

Isn't it crazy how you can pass something everyday and not even really notice it? A while back I purchased this print from The Love Shop {along with two other prints I will share later}. It is not that I do not LOVE it, but when you go into a room everyday sometimes things go unnoticed.

While on vacation this week I did A LOT of thinking. Thinking about how I wanted to live my life. And I came to one conclusion, I just need to "Let it be." To stop analyzing EVERYTHING. Just let things happen.

If the house did not get cleaned today, let it be.

If my kids were not exactly happy today, let it be.

If I did not connect with friends because I was busy with projects, let it be.

If life feels out of control, let it be.

This can go on forever so I will stop here, I know you get my drift.

I say let it be because there is always tomorrow. And I need to be THANKFUL I have tomorrow instead of dwelling on what did not happen today.

So this little print is getting out from my powder bathroom under the stairs and will

find a new home on my family photo wall I am working on.

Now I am off to work on not trying to make things happen and just let them be.

I ♥ faces - Week 23 "Play Photo"

I know this image does not show a lot of playing.

But for me it invokes so many memories of my summer days.

The days of Florida heat so intense the only way to get relief is to spend

your day floating it away. All the while staring down at the water scheming up your next

mermaid adventure.

Sometimes Buggie and I so much alike it is scary.

Here is to a summer filled with pruned little hands and feet.

Here it is...

the after vacation post. You know the one filled with other peoples children on vacation. I know *YAWN*. But I just had to, sorry my peeps.

The best part of being at the beach, is just walking down to the shore with a towel and taking a sunset dip.

Hubby worked from our condo for the week. So everyday he would log out at 5 on the dot and we would skip on down...

And not to get all political on you but...

Dear BP Execs.,

You SUCK. I am VERY dishearten by what is happening to our Gulf Coast right now. It is so hard to see the effects to the pristine beaches, wildlife and all those jobs. Clean up your mess!

Signed to many adjectives to describe how I feel.

Sorry about that, but I need to write it down. Enough said.

We took Buggie on a Mommy Daddy Date. Putt Putt and ice cream were on the agenda.

She did get a hole in one, very exciting. Oh and she calls it "golf tournament" think her Daddy watches golf on TV?

Not Putt Putt in Florida without gators...

Then we headed down the beach to get some of the best ice cream in town.

She choose strawberry and chocolate with whip cream and a cherry.

They have the biggest Pez collection. But they also sell all kinds of old toys and candy.

What a fun bathroom, right?

All in all we had a GREAT family vacation.

Much needed.

And if you read all the way through this, NO more vacay pics I promise.

Our new look thanks to Penny Lane Design {Custom Blog Makeover Giveaway Jun 7 - Jun 13}

How do you like our new look?

I am LOVING it.

I really had wanted to change our look at our one year anniversary but I thought coming back after my renewal vacation that a change would be nice.

Once I was committed to the change, I knew exactly who I wanted to give us our new look.

Penny Lane Designs.

Marina does some amazing work and having worked with her before I knew how pleasurable the experience would be. And she did not disappoint.

I was able to send her our new family pictures and give her a couple of ideas towards the direction I was looking for. And she did her magic.

Here is a glimpse at some of her other works...

I have had the honor of hosting a Penny Lane Design giveaway before {check out the winner of the custom blog design Steals, Deals, & Heels.}

And now I get another opportunity to share Penny Lane with one of you!

One lucky follower will get a custom blog makeover {valued at $100!!!}

Here is what is included:

- Blog Makeover

- 6 sidebar titles

- post signature

Are you excited?!

Here is how you can enter {you MUST leave one comment for each entry}:

- Must be a follower of my blog {already following that counts}

- Hop on over and follow Marina {already following that counts}

- Blog, tweet, and/or FB about the giveaway

Giveaway open until Midnight on Jun 13. And the winner will be announced Jun 14. Winner will be chosen via random.org