Remember Me?!

Holy cow, where has the time gone?! I can't believe I have not posted in over a month it was a month when I started this post, but now its more like 2 months!!!! Bad blogger, bad blogger, BAD BLOGGER!

I do have somewhat of an excuse...life got CRAZY really FAST! I know that's not that great of an excuse, but for the past month here is what's been going on:

3 new precious babies have been born, 1 of which being my nephew

The boys graduated from their last year of preschool...I almost didn't even know how to comprehend that I am going to have 2 kids in Kindergarten in the fall, but like every new stage in their lives I know this one will be just as exciting!

The entire month of May our schedule was as follows:

Monday   Tuesday   Wednesday   Thursday       Friday     Saturday

                Baseball     Soccer        Hockey          Soccer         Baseball     Hockey

I've been getting my crafty on!

The hubby and I started, and stopped, and started, and stopped, and started P90X AGAIN and it became quite the family activity

OH! I almost forgot...I started up a little business in my spare time...I know right?! I figured I just had to go for it after almost 6 years of ideas filling my head! So...here it is...Yellow Brick Road Bake Shop is born!

So there you have it, a lot of milestones hit, a lot of new projects going on, we're enjoying our summer, and I'm trying to get the craziness under control! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I promise to get back into the swing of things!

Cheers,

Spring Makeover

It's kind of Spring around here, right?! At least he calendar said it was Spring! It always seems that once those pretty tulips and daffodills start to sprout, the grass gets greener, and we actually have sunlight, its time for a little sprucing up around the house!

Now, everyone does the ol' Spring cleaning, but I'm more into the Spring makeovers! I love mini home makeovers. No need to bust out any heavy duty tools or break the bank, just a few little fun touches to make a change.

I don't know whether it was the highly anticipated sunlight shining through or the addition of our storage unit items, but the couch needed a little facelift.

Kind of blah! Notice the white puff ball enjoying some sun too!

After a trip to Pier1 and 2 big bags later...VOILA! Instant face couch lift!

I always B-Line it right for the sales to keep things within budget. Lets face it they're pillows and with 3 kids, things happen!

 I love mixing patterns and textures

 That was a fun pillow

 The chocolate brown pillow stayed and is now nicely accented by the extremely soft burnt orange

I didn't even need to make the hubs paint or move anything and I still was able to achieve a fresh change! Happy "Spring"!

Cheers,

Wordless Wednesday

Life Is Sweet

Hi there, remember me?! It has definitely felt that there are just not enough hours in the day, but I think things are finally settling down!

As I mentioned here, I kind of had a mini meltdown and couldn't quite get my head "unfogged". But what can clear a foggy head you might ask...try a cupcake! Well, not just a cupcake...I got my head out of the clouds and got my butt into the kitchen!

Confused?

Here's a little background...
When the boys were babies I started making custom cakes. I had a website, a logo, the whole 9...I got orders, I got customers, and I got burnt out! Being a new mom, with 2 babies, and working full time, cake making took a backseat and was soon left in the dust. Since then I've always been an avid home baker and enjoyed making some pretty yummy treats that not only looked good, but tasted good too.

Rewind a couple weeks ago...
I mentioned how I constantly have a creative itch that needs to be scratched and I love making things pretty and that also make people happy. I kind of felt like I should go back to the beginning when I was doing what I loved. I still don't have all kinds of extra time, but I do have 5 year olds instead of 8 month olds, and have some what got a handle on the whole muli-tasking thing.

So the past couple weeks I've been in the kitchen baking up a storm and perfecting some favorite recipes as well as creating some new ones! I am so excited to start sharing some of these yummy creations! I'm not sure where these will take me, I know where I'd like to go with it, but I'm just happy to be doing something I love!

We hosted Easter brunch so I threw together a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. Ran out of time so it didn't get the detail I wanted, but it was still sweet and went with our yellow and green theme.

Lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting...Mmmmm!

Picked up some organic strawberries today and adapted a new recipe for a strawberry cupcake with strawberry frosting. It just made me happy...I would put that frosting on anything it was so good! My kitchen still smells of strawberry goodness!

Finding out what makes me happy may have taken 5 years and even if it's for my own satisfaction, I'm totally okay with it! I'm found a happy place and it includes frosting!

Cheers,

When Life Gives You...An ORCHARD Of Lemons

Staying positive can be a tough job, especially when life gives you "one of those weeks". It can definitely feel like when it rains it pours floods, and these last few weeks have done just that. I thought maybe if I lay it all out there it will feel better to get it off my mind.

So here's how these past 2 weeks went down:

• Almost lost my voice completely and 4 out of 5 Codys have some sort of a cold
• My cold turned into a sinus infection, which led to bronchitis, which led to urgent care, which led to 13 days of sickness
• 2 grandparents ended up in the hospital...both seem to be doing well though!
• Had a mini breakdown regarding the direction of my "career"
• Have seen my husband 2 nights in the last 10
• Realized the boys have a sport 6 nights out of the week during the month of May
• Began realizing I will become a soccer widow in the next month once the hubs starts coaching

So there it is, it's not pretty, but its been my life the last couple weeks! That mixed in with the every day "adventures" of being a part-time working mother of 3 put me over the edge and I had to dig really, really, really deep! How did I dig deep you might ask? Well I had to turn it around and if it meant filling that glass half full myself, well by golly I was going to do it! So here's what I came up with...

• I got healthy and started a new workout program, which is helping to give me some much needed energy!
• The hubs is working out with me so its giving us some "alone" time, even if it means sweating it out. Hey, beggars can't be choosers at this point!
• Sick kiddos meant extra cuddle time and we took advantage of some 1 on 1 time!
• My girlfriend had a new baby and we celebrated a new life and all things pink and frilly!
• I got my overflowing mound of papers organized and put all of the events in my new life planner and it made me confident that I CAN do the day to day even when then hubs is gone!

My biggest struggle these last few weeks has really been the "career" dilemma. I have been really struggling with where I always thought I "should" be at this point in my life and doing what makes me happy. Let me sum up my personality: Type A perfectionist who likes needs to be creative and likes all things pretty! So when that type of a personality is in a numbers, facts, and spreadsheets type of job, I go crazy...correction, I have gone crazy! Since I'm married to a very sensible, realistic, frugal hubby the thought of me NOT working scares the you know what out of him. So there is my dilemma, I feel stuck, I feel uncreative, I feel unsuccessful, I feel like I'm wasting my degree, I feel sad...there, I said it! Now I've said it, it's out there, now I move forward.

I'm determined to find what makes me happy, fulfilled, contribute to my family, be with my kids, and have my cake and eat it too! I really took these past couple weeks to climb inside myself and figure out what I need to do to move forward. I think I have a game plan and now it's just up to me to put it into motion! You will all be the first to see this plan unfold and I want to thank you for bearing with me during my craziness and supporting me during my struggle. I'm beginning to see the light rainbow at the end of the tunnel (hint, hint)!

Cheers,

Erin Condren {Giveaway} Winner!

I've been a little under the weather so sorry to keep you in suspense today!

The winner of the $50 Erin Condren Gift Certificate, populated from Random.org is:

True Random Number Generator
Min: Max:
Result: 7
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Congratulations to comment #7: lrouser06 said...

I posted on FB :) Hope you get good turn out for your giveaway Kel!

March 25, 2011 12:11 AM

Make sure you let us know what goodies you get with your gift certificate!

Thank you to all who participated and I hope to have another giveaway here soon!

Cheers,

Erin Condren {Giveaway}

I was going to wait until Friday for this giveaway, but so many of you seemed to fall in love with Erin Condren's work as much as I did, that I couldn't wait!

So here's what's up for grabs!

Today's giveaway is a $50 gift certificate so you can load up on some AWESOME Erin Condren goodies for yourself!

Entering is super easy...each step below will give you a chance to enter (each step is NOT mandatory, but will give you an extra chance to enter and win)!

1. Become a fan of Picking Lemons on Facebook by clicking here and "liking" us. If you're a new fan, be sure to say HI on my Facebook wall. Then come back here and let us know you did or already are by leaving a comment below.

2. Subscribe to Picking Lemons feeds by clicking here or click the subscribe button by scrolling up. Then come back here and let us know you did or already are by leaving a comment below.

 

3. If you post this giveaway on your Facebook page you may go ahead and post 2 extra entries. (Just copy the address bar and paste it as your status). Then come back and leave your blog or Facebook link in the comment selection below.

 

Each comment will count as an entry so you could have up to 4 chances to win! 

A winner will be randomly selected by Random.org at 11:59pm on March 25th. Your entry is your comment(s) left here. Be sure to leave your e-mail address with your comment so you can be reached if you are selected. Winner will be announced here on Monday March 28th! Good Luck!

Cheers,

A Girl and Her Planner

Oh my gosh...I was like like a little kid on Christmas morning when my order from Erin Condren arrived in the mail! Like I've said before, I love, love, love lists! I basically love anything that keeps me organized, in order, and sane! I was like a kid in a candy store when I came across Erin Condren's website and wanted to buy EVERYTHING! Her personalized and unique designs are a great way to stay organized and be unique all at the same time. You know we love pulling double duty around here!
I could hardly wait long enough to grab my camera before I broke into the box.

I seriously felt like I was opening a present!!  Soooo excited!

 I felt so special when I opened it up!

 YAY!!! How cute did my 2011 Life Planner & matching Personalized Note Pads turn out?!

This is the first page of the planner...so motivational!

 Love these!

These are included with the Life Planner...this is my new go-to gift wrapping solution!

 Here is one of the notepads on the back page...they have a sticky backing so they stick right on and come right off once finished (this is where my grocery lists go)!

 Love, love, love surprises!

Soooo cute and they have my name on it!!!!

I feel so organized and I love sitting down on Sunday afternoons to plan the upcoming week! There is a spot for everything! This has now eliminated my many, many, many different calendars I used to have! Even better news, Erin is offering 35% off all her 2011 Life Planners! Go here and take advantage and get organized! As an extra bonus, Erin has included 10% off your entire order by using offer code: 2011OFF...this code is good forever and is a one time use per customer! You know I love a good a deal...this is a GREAT deal...and it's so pretty!

Cheers,

Double Duty Celebration

Who doesn't love a party?! I love any opportunity to throw a party, get together, dinner, or anything to fill up a room with friends and family! This past weekend I had 2 reasons to pull together a little party; the hubs turning 29 and my brother's playoff hockey game! Since we couldn't travel to Massachusetts for the game we had a dual party for the hubs and watched little bro's hockey game.  So yes, we even had a party for some one that wasn't there...I told ya...ANY reason!

I decided to keep it simple and I ordered take out from our favorite BBQ joint, cake, balloons, drinks, and hockey! And with that, this is what you get:

They spelled Philip's name wrong, but it still tasted good!

 Ready to cheer on his uncle!

 Balloons just make everything fun!

 Happy Birthday to you...

 She gets so embarrassed when it comes time to sing

 Gotta love the blue frosting!

 Hockey balloons on one side, party balloons on the other, whole lotta good times in between!

I try to look at each party or get together as one way to make memories, and make something as simple as watching a game something to remember! What a fun way to celebrate and support the family you love!

Cheers,

What's For Dinner?

Wow! What a week it has been! Even though the week seemed to fly by without taking into consideration if I was OK with that, I still managed to to try out some new recipes from here, zoo field trip, pilates, played some fun tricks for St. Patty's, had some adult time for St. Patty's, celebrated my brother's birthday, found out I can't hang like I used to, took in a movie (On Demand counts), and many other things that some how managed to get accomplished in a busy week!

In preparation for what I'm sure will be JUST as busy of a week I've put together a week's worth of great meal ideas to help function through the chaos! This week I tried to find some recipes that reused a lot of the same ingredients to keep the grocery list to a minimum. I try to do chicken 1-2/week, a pasta, a beef, and definitely a slow cooker on our busiest night! I also try and make the meals that require a little bit more time when I have a little bit more time, and the quicker ones on our busier days. I'm still loving Real Simple's website and finding so many great recipes without feeling like we're repeating the same meal. Hope you and your family enjoys them as much as ours is!

Monday: Chicken Cutlets with Smashed Potatoes and Peas

Tuesday: Smoked Sausage with Green Bean Pasta Salad
I picked up a few packs of smoked sausage when it was on sale and ended up paying .55 for each pack! This is a great, easy go to dinner when time is short!

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken with Biscuits

Thursday: Grilled Steak Salad
Now my family won't eat half of the ingredients in this recipe, but no sweat, just switch out what veggies your fam will enjoy, toss with your fav vinaigrette, and VOILA dinner is served!

Friday: Multigrain Mac & Cheese
It's supposed to be back down in the 30s this week, so comfort food it is! It's OK, I sub out the whole milk with 2%, add a touch more flour, and no one is the wiser!

I foresee quite a few of these making it to my permanent go-to meal list! I love it when shopping, preparation, and preparing dinner is simple and easy. It makes getting the family to the table the priority so you'll actually have the time and energy to spend on what's really important!

Cheers,