Weekly Favs.

I'm always blog hopping. Call me a blog stalker if you will. I find all sorts of entertaining folks out there. But my newest blogging friend takes the cake.

This week's fav is Busy Bee Lauren. By far the funniest thing I've ever read. She loves her family, cooking, and Edward Cullen. She says things like "lamespice" and "sicknast".

Go here. You'll be glad you did.

Mondays with Maylyn.

I thought this was adorable. Maylyn lined up all of her favorite stuffed animals. (and one of her sister's) Then she covered them up with her comforter. So cute! Want to know the names of her animals? (I'm telling you whether you want to or not)

First is her tiger and she calls her Lion. (lol don't ask) The black bear is actually Kaeleigh's which is named: Pink Purple Gold Watermelon Pineapple Sugar Rootbeer Pizza, but for short she just calls him Chocolate. LOL The white bear Maylyn picked out when we were at Sea World and she named it Shiver. The little white thing next to it is a mouse from the San Diego Zoo that she named Ratatouille and finally the giraffe next to her is named Raffie. She stole him from my sister. :)

Lately, Maylyn's been "styling" her own hair. I use the term "styling" loosely. She'll put a bunch of clips in it and ask me how beautiful it is!

Such a cutie!

Gotta love her.

Mandarin Orange Cake

I tried a new recipe last night. Bill's mom used to make a cake like this so I tried to recreate it with a recipe we found online and it was pretty dang close! The cake is so moist and delicious, and the topping is light and fluffy. Perfect spring time dessert!

INGREDIENTS:

1 yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 11oz can mandarin orange segments

1 8oz container Cool Whip

1 20oz can crushed pineapple with juice

1 3.4oz package instant vanilla pudding mix

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and mandarin oranges with juice. Beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. (If you want chunkier pieces of orange in the cake, set aside about 1/3 of the can of mandarin oranges to fold in after you've combined your mixture.)

3. Bake in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

4. To make topping, in a large bowl beat together Cool Whip, pineapple with juice, and dry pudding mix until blended. (The pineapple will make it look kinda lumpy.) Spread on the cake. It goes on thick.

Here's a picture of the finished product! If you want to get super fancy you can always add pieces of fruit to the top of the cake. You'll want to keep it in the fridge, naturally, and I feel that it serves better cold.

Enjoy!!

Trendsetter.

I've been looking into hairstyles for my approaching nuptials and I'm a little baffled by what I'm finding. It seems like most hairdos involve some sort of feather.
Examples:

Flowers in the hair are one thing, but feathers??
Who started this trend?

I blame Sarah Jessica Parker.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Yesterday at my neurology appointment I weighed in at 217! One pound lost, a bazillion more to go, but progress is progress right?

What's better than FREE??

Starting on April 1, you can get a ticket to local museums, the Phoenix Zoo, and other must-do attractions (like Desert Botanical Gardens and The Arizona Science Center, The Arizona Museum for Youth) for FREE. FOR SEVEN DAYS. FOR FOUR PEOPLE.
(Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art)

Here’s how it works - you pick up a Culture Pass at a local library anywhere in the Phoenix area. The pass is good for seven days & for four people. Some of the places it gets you in: Arizona Museum of Natural History, Arizona Science Center, Heard Museum, The Bead Museum, The Phoenix Art Museum and more are all covered by the pass. Times are tough & everyone is looking for free/cheap stuff to do. To see a full listing of FREE attractions, as well as more details, take a look at: http://www.theculturepass.org/Spread the word!

Proud Mary

This should really be a Monday with Maylyn post but I just couldn't wait that long! Maylyn learned two lines of Proud Mary from my dad. I crack up everytime she starts singing it.

Kaeleigh can't have her sister out do her.

Weekly Favs.

This week's fav...

A teeter-totter helicopter!

Totally funny to watch them on it. They don't quite understand the whole teeter totter concept.
Super fun toy. $200 at Costco.

Mondays with Maylyn.

Not everyone has seen this yet. Maylyn likes to make up songs. I feel like she's trying to be Jennifer Hudson in Dream Girls here...

Spring Break! Part 2

Day 3 Started at the San Diego Zoo. We didn't spend the whole day there because we were so exhausted from the day before at Sea World.

It stunk up by the sign.

They unplugged their noses long enough for a picture.

Bu-bu-bu-bu-butterfly!

Me pretending heights don't bother me on the Sky Tram.

On the tour bus.
Do-do-do-do-doodlebugs!

Again, Maylyn wanted to take it home.

Sunburned with my honey.

The perfect end to a perfect trip!AHH, Starbucks!

Spring Break!

This will be a long one...feel free to skip ahead.

For our first vacation together, Bill and I took the kids to San Diego. We hit Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. (and a 5 minute beach visit) We took SO MANY PICTURES!! But I'm only going to post a few of my favorites. :)

Probably the best investment ever...Dual Screen Portable DVD Player. Plug in some headphones and the kids were completely entertained and the parents don't have to hear the movie, score! Add a little food for the road and you're all set. (this is two pictures morphed into one, I know I rock)

Our hotel room was a Kid Suite. King size bed for us, separate room with bunk beds for them. Loved it!!

See how excited Kaeleigh is? Can't sit still!

Day 2 @ Sea World

Sitting outside the gates, waiting for Sea World to open.

The most expensive lunch ever! Try $62. Holy Crap!

Here's fearless Maylyn standing next to Jaws.And where's Kaeleigh?? She was scared and wouldn't stand next to it. LOL Poor baby was pouting.
The girls watching the polar bears.
And sitting pretty outside the penguin exhibit. What's this? Kaeleigh's petting a starfish!!
Maylyn wanted to take it home.Thanks random stranger at Sea World for taking our picture! :)

There's a new Sesame Street kids section at Sea World. Here's the view from the sky tower.

There were fun rides and activities for the kids.

My favorite part?? The skinny mirror! I am so getting one of these for my bedroom!

Got Milk?

More mosaic fun.

So excited.

I found my wedding dress!!

Holly (my MOH) went with me to David's Bridal yesterday to help me pick out a dress.

I never realized what an overwhelming process it is! So many styles to choose from. I tried on lots of different things, even styles I never would have thought looked good on me. And after 2 hours I found it! I wanted it in ivory so they have to order it but I can now check that off of my list!

I'm gonna keep my dress on the DL, but here's a preview of the flower girl dresses. I'm going to add a sash to them so they match with the bridesmaids.

Wednesday Weigh-In

My scale is in cahoots against me. Still at 218. And I'm going to try on wedding dresses this weekend...blah.

Tomorrow's another day though, gotta try harder.

Weekly Favs.

This week's fav:

My Pampered Chef Can Strainer!

So handy, this is my new favorite kitchen helper.

I got mine from Kathleen- http://www.pamperedchef.biz/KLiles -and you can too!

Mondays with Maylyn.

Little Maylyn loves to sing.

Here she is singing along with her "Barbie & the Diamond Castle" Barbie.

It's kinda grainy because I was trying to tape her on the sly.

Notice how she's not even fazed when she realizes that I'm taping her. So funny!

Having fun.

I made a mosaic today.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Weight is such a touchy subject for women. So touchy in fact that I refuse to go get a new drivers license for fear of having to update the weight on there. (Mine still has the weight I was in high school-137 lbs)

But I'm on a countdown. In 125 days, I get married. I need to lose some weight before then. I've decided not to give myself a specific numerical goal because I feel like if I say, "I wanna lose 40 lbs before my wedding!" and I don't hit that goal, I'll be super disappointed.

I figure posting my actual weight and my progress each week may help hold me accountable. So here's my plan. Since I'm a Starbucks addict, I'm going to wean myself off of the juice. Bill and I have started taking walks with the kids in the evenings. And I'm going to lower my calorie intake.

So here's my number: 218 lbs

When I look at myself, I don't feel like that's what I weight but there it is. Ugh.

So here we go! Wish me luck!

Weekly Favs.

This week's fav...Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Scrub.

Lately my face has taken on a mind of its own.

Wedding planning stress? Who knows?

So I decided to spend the $5 and try this out.

Well I've only been using it a week and my face is already clearer!

I should totally have my own commercial!

Check it. Love it.