Aiden's First Birthday Puppy Party!

I love parties.

Throwing them, attending them, planning them, I. just. love. parties.

A mommy-friend of mine suggested I add them to my blog so that I can pin them,  as that is where we both get most of our party planning inspiration! So, although it was two years ago, I'm going to share my son's first birthday party!

Hopefully it will help someone that might need some inspiration for their own party!


Aiden had a fantastic first birthday party! His theme was "Aiden's First Birthday Puppy Paw-ty!"

 

Of course as a new mom in West Little Rock I thought everything had to be monogrammed, so thanks to grandma and The Toggery we were all smocked up and set. 

To this day I still feel the need to put his name on everything. No chance for resale though, unfortunately. I've started sticking to just adding "A" to his things!

We had a great photographer, Bertiz Haile from Greenbrier, AR. All photo credits go to her!

Okay, so on to the decorations:
Here's a look at our Puppy Paw-ty!

I ordered the basic supplies including the banner from BigDotOfHappiness.Com

 

We loved the cake! Custom made by Mickey's in Little Rock

Super Easy! White Chocolate and Pretzels!

Aiden's guests wrote him a note in the above notebook. Every year I will have his guests write him something special, and give it to him at graduation!

All in all, we had a great first birthday party! For more pictures or inforation, feel free to find me on Facebook where you can see the whole album! I will try and do a better job of keeping up with his birthdays from now on! :)

Review: Olay Professional Pro-X Facial Cleansing Brush and Exfoliating Renewal Cleanser

Olay Professional Pro-X Facial Cleansing Brush and Exfoliating Cleanser: 

Does it work? 

This is the question that any consumer wants to know before buying a product. I'm here to give you the low down on my experience on this product. I'm not going to tell anyone to buy it because I know that different skin types have different experiences with different products. 

My skin is pretty normal. Not too dry, not too oily. You would think that I wouldn't have any problems with acne, but every now and then I do struggle with the occasional outbreak. It's hard for me to find a face wash for normal skin. It sounds silly, but it's the truth! Everything I pick up says either says it's for dry skin, oily skin, etc. 

I decided to try the cleansing brush because a friend said her dermatologist recommended it. The exfoliating cleanser sample came with it. The first time I ever used the brush my face felt softer than it had ever felt. After about two weeks of exfoliating with the brush once a day, I noticed that my face looked significantly better! The red spots from previous acne were faded, and my face looked brighter and felt softer. 

Each week that I used it, my skin felt better and better. I continually get compliments on my complexion!  So yes, this product worked for me, and I have broadened my Olay product use to include the daytime and nighttime moisturizer. It ranges from around twenty-five to thirty dollars at the drug store, but they sell on Amazon for around twenty. 

I know I have been absent for awhile, I have been incredibly busy with school and my little boy. However, I decided to write this post because tonight I was searching online for the best treatment concealer and there really wasn't too many reviews (that I could find).

Any opinons? Have you had any experience with Olay Pro-X? Let me know and give your opinons below! 

Summer Lessons

Summer Lessons

Like a kiddie out of school, I have taken a little summer break of my own. Doing some traveling, spending time with family, and trying to get the house in shape for visitors. This summer has been one of the best! Most likely because it is my first summer with my new little family. I've tried new recipes, used new products, picked up some new hobbies, and even started a new job! Most importantly, although I'm not in school I have learned several things this summer to share. Starting with #1:

1. There are some crafts on Pinterest that really are cheaper to buy than make.
This summer I've made a few trips to hobby lobby, and I've realized that the bill for all of the supplies for so many crafts was actually more than actually buying the put-together items on Etsy or a Decor store. Although this wasn't always the case. It's easy if you already have the materials laying around, but for example, if you don't have extra mason jars, lace, canvas, paint, fabric, etc, you might have to spend $$$$$$. Moral of the story: make sure you calculate the final cost of making versus buying if you see something on Pinterest you like. (Unless you want to do it yourself just for the fun of doing it!!!)

2. Vacations are not vacations with a ten month old.
No relaxing, no long beach days, no loud crab shacks. Nothing but poopy diapers, teething gums, and lots of noise.. basically the same thing you would find at home. We took a vacation to Florida, (Destin) and I can honestly say if I could do it again I would put off the big vacation and save it for a bigger vacation when my child was older. Instead of going to Florida every year and that being our only vacation, I'm opting that we take a small vacation in our backyard (Arkansas), put that money aside, (for about 5-6 years) until our son can really enjoy a BIG vacation, like Disney World!!!! And what's best is that we can enjoy it too!!!

3. I'm not the only one.
Through all of my frustrations with having a new baby, many that have just become apparent this summer, I have dwelt on the idea that I wasn't a great mother. I would constantly feel upset because I would lose my patience, or feel like I needed a break. After all, my best friend has a son the same age as mine and she never seems to have any problems!!! One day I was about to just break down and on top of that I felt so guilty for feeling sad, so I asked some random people that I knew on Facebook had babies if they ever felt the same way. They said YES, and some to the more extremes!! What a relief. This fact makes me feel so much better. I'm not alone... we all get frustrated. Motherhood is HARD.

Those are only a few of the things I learned this summer, I'm sure I could elaborate on all of them but that's just a brief overview. What have you learned this summer? I want to hear !!!! Comment below- I love reading them!!

-J

EASY CROCKPOT ITALIAN CHICKEN AND VEGGIES

Need a quick meal that you can whip up in seconds? This dish is not only easy and quick, but delicious! The whole family is sure to enjoy this and the best thing? It costs around $10 for a meal that will feed 4. 

Ingredients: 

4 Chicken Breasts (If you really want to be cheap you can buy canned chicken, but it doesn't taste near as good!) 

6-8 Red potatoes

1/2 Onion

1 Package of baby carrots

1 bottle of Fat-Free Italian dressing

1 cup of water

Directions: 

1. Put thawed chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot. 

2. Cover with Italian dressing and 1 cup of water

3. Add Onion, potatoes, and carrots

4. Mix together

5. Cook on high for 2-4 hours, low for 4-6 hours. 

Salt to taste and Enjoy! 

Cheesy Chicken Crockpot Spaghetti - The Healthy (er) Version

You've seen that recipe for cheesy chicken spaghetti all over Pinterest. You pinned it. You've debated making it. But you don't. Why? Because this dish is loaded with calories. (Did you know that one box of Velveeta Cheese is over 2,500 calories?! It's also very high in fat and sodium!) And you know what calories means...fat. 

Here is my remix of Cheesy Chicken Crockpot Spaghetti, the Healthy (ish) Version. 

Ingredients: 

16 oz of WHOLE GRAIN dry spaghetti

1 Tomato

1 Onion 

1 cup of Mushrooms

1 lb. of Cheese- Instead of Velveeta like you would normally use, choose a low-fat, natural cheese. (If your really want Velveeta, opt for the Velveeta Light). 

3 Chicken Breasts (Thawed)

1 can of fat-free Cream of Mushroom Soup 

1 can of fat-free Cream of Chicken Soup

3/4 cup of water

Instructions: 

1.  Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions

2.  Chop up the chicken breasts into desired size 

3.  Dice Tomato and Onion. However much you want to add is up to you depending on preference

4. Slice Mushrooms

5. Spray Crockpot with Olive Oil cooking spray 

6. Add all of the ingredients to the crockpot, including cooked spaghetti, chopped chicken, cheese, soup, water, tomato, onion, mushrooms

7. Mix thoroughly

8. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook on High for 2-4 hours, or Low 4-6 hours. 

I recommend that you stir occasionally to avoid the edges browning and tasting funky. 

Make sure that the chicken is done by pulling out a piece and checking the inside and/or the temp. (Minimum 165 degree F)

Serve and ENJOY knowing you are eating a healthier version of cheesy chicken crockpot spaghetti, so you can splurge on cookies or chocolate after your meal!
Also, feel free to comment if you have any additional tips or anything else to say! Anyone can!                     

              

Prometheus: To See or Not to See? 

Warning: There might be a few spoilers, but don't worry, nothing big. I recently watched this movie in theaters, and I thought it would only be convenient to start off this new blog with a review. This isn't some well-worded, crafty, professional review. This is from one crazy person to another, real thoughts, real opinions. 

The whole movie is about two explorers who think they are summoned to find their creators.. or is it? The first thing I have to say about Prometheus is:

1. What the hell is this movie about? 

Is it about these explorers, the creators, or the freakishly human (and good-looking, might I add) robot? I couldn't tell. Just when I thought it was following some characters, it would begin to feel as if the movie wasn't really about them. Hmmm. 

2. Too predictable. 

So anyways, these people go on a mysterious planet into this large dome construction and you know what happens, like any alien movie, people die, blah blah. It was way too predictable, in my opinion. I sat there the whole time and told my husband what was about to happen, or vice versa (and usually I HATE when he does that!) 

3. Alien abortion. 

I'm not sure if I need to elaborate. The most trifling, appalling, down right disturbing operation takes place that seriously made me want to upchuck my way too salty popcorn. Was that supposed to be amusing? Were we supposed to enjoy watching that? 

4. Wrinkly man.  

Then, out of nowhere, the plot takes a wild "spin" and a wrinkly old man comes into the picture and now the movie is about him. Did I mention he just magically appeared on the ship in outer space.. Oh wait, he was "sleeping" the whole time. Which brought up another big question, why did he have to hide the whole time? Why couldn't he just go along on the journey with them? Wouldn't that make more sense? 

5. The ending.

I'm not going to spoil the ending for you, really because the ending is already spoiled. But I guess if you decide to watch this movie, you'll find out for yourself. Let's just say this wasn't one of those movies that you walk out of all chirpy and happy and wanting to go for drinks with your friends. Instead, you leave with a "Screw the earth!" attitude and you only want to go home, turn the lights down low, and mourn for the old man's wrinkles. 

There ya have it. My personal opinion of the movie Prometheus. Which I regretfully wasted $9.50 to go see. Instead of seeing this movie, go buy some wrinkle cream, which is really the only thing you will be thinking about when this movie is over anyways. 

Then again, this review is from the perspective of a crazy person, so maybe you will enjoy it.