Mouth Watering Wednesday: Peanut Butter Balls

Welcome to Mouth Watering Wednesday! Spice up your life and try a new recipe!  This week I am featuring one of my FAVORITE snack recipes, it is something that I have loved ever since I was a little girl kid.  It's from my Grandmother, however I think it is originally from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.  This is something that all ages can enjoy and can easily be modified or added to in order to fit different needs (allergies, etc.) 

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup powdered milk
• 2/3 cup peanut butter (sun butter, etc.)
• 1/2 cup honey 

Note: I usually double or triple the recipe. 

Here's what you'll do: 

• Measure out your ingredients and combine in a bowl. 

• Mix them together until everything is incorporated. 

• Now form into bite sized balls and refrigerate for 2 hours (if you can wait that long!)  Store them in the refrigerator- and if you're like me, hide them in the back so you can keep them to yourself!! Mwhaha!
• You can use chunky peanut butter if you like nuts, or roll them in rice crispy treats, add chocolate chips, etc. 

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I have! 

Thompson Number Two: Week 13

Weight gained to date: Still at -2 lbs under starting weight

Estimated size of baby: Peach (3 inches long)

Foods I am craving: I am taking cues from being my first pregnancy and wanting wings! Specifically Honey BBQ Wings from Buffalo Wild Wings.  Mmmm so good!

Foods I am staying away from: Nothing this week!

How I am feeling: Feeing good! Happy to be out of the first trimester and on to the second trimester.  This is rumored to be the "easiest" of the three trimesters (as if being pregnant is easy.)

Everett and I at BWW

Nifty Thrifty Friday: Memory Jars

Nifty Thrifty Friday features items that I have either found a thrift stores or items I already owned and have given new life or upcycled.  These items may be as small as a shoe box or as large as a sofa! I hope you will join me on some of my thrifting adventures!
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Tyler and I have been lucky to be able to travel to various beaches across the United States and somewhere along the way I started collecting sand from these places.  Tyler thought I was nuts but, I knew one day it would pay off! :) 

Memory jars can contain sand, corks from dates or events, foreign coins, toenails (gross), etc.  and can be displayed on top of kitchen cabinets, on bookshelves, counter tops, and the list goes on!  So gather your supplies!

Here's what you'll need: 

• Mason jars, hurricanes, glass vases, etc. 
• Collectible objects, sand, etc. 
• Shishkabob sticks, dowel rods, or craft sticks
• Decorative paper, scrap paper, cardstock etc.
• Glue and/or tape
• Scissors

Here's what you'll do: 

•  First fill up your jar with your special item(s). 

• Next, we are going to make cute little display signs for the jars.  Using your scissors, cut out the shape you want for your sign. I used three layers of paper.  You don't have to be fancy, one layer works too! Card stock is good because it isn't flimsy- if you don't have card stock you can also back your paper with cardboard. 

• Next, write the name of the items in the jar on your decorative sign and tape the stick or rod to the back.  I used packing tape because it's nice and strong.  I also cut down the length of mine so that it wouldn't be too tall. 

• Now, stick 'er down into your jar and ta-da! You're done! 

I have mine displayed on top of my kitchen cabinets. I am hoping to continue to add to my collection!  I used the hurricanes from Tyler and I's wedding so this project was FREE!  Nifty thrifty, eh?

Month of Thanks: Week One

Thursday, November 1: Today I am thankful for my amazing baby boy.  He is such a wonderful joy to have and has made Tyler and I's life richly blessed. 

Friday, November 2:  I am thankful for my husband. He is always by my side and is such a great father to Everett. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

Saturday, November 3: I am thankful for the gift of eternal life and salvation through Christ.  Every day is a blessing and a gift from God and some days I forget how lucky I am to have a savior in Christ. 

Sunday, November 4: Today was Orphan Sunday at our church we were reminded about the call for Christians to take care of the widows and the orphans (see James 1:27).  This reminded me about how thankful I am for my grandparents who adopted my mom.  They took in not only one child but two children who needed homes.  My grandmother and poppa are great grandparents to me and my siblings and also to Everett.  I am so thankful to have them in my life. 

Monday, November 5: I am thankful for my mom.  She has always been there for me, guiding me, and helping me through life.  She is one of my best friends and I am so lucky to have her.  I am so thankful that she is able to be in Everett's life. 

Tuesday, November 6:  I am reminded today of the great sacrifice that so many women made years ago in order to give me the right to vote.  Women DIED fighting for equality and for that I will never miss an election.  I am so thankful that we live in a country where we are given a voice and a choice in who runs our country.  (Also, if you have not seen the movie Iron Jawed Angels, you NEED to watch it.  It will help you understand the struggles that these women went through and how hard they worked.)

Wednesday, November 7: I am thankful for my dad and his adventurous spirit, loving heart, and gracious spirit. My dad is such a giving person and has taught me how do the same. He taught me how to take pride not only in my things but also in the life I lead. 

Thompson Number Two: Week 12

Weight gained to date: Surprisingly I am still -2 lbs from my starting weight! I looked back at the "Belly Book" I kept when I was pregnant with Everett, and by November 3rd/12 weeks I had already gained 2 lbs! 

Estimated size of baby:  Peach (3 inches long)

Foods I am craving: I am ashamed to admit that I have been craving Taco Bell something fierce.  I know it's not good for me or the little peach but it is soooooo good! 

Thompson Number Two: 12 Weeks

Foods I am staying away from:  Nothing this week! Yay!

How I am feeling: Feeling good! Trying to find a comfortable position to sleep is getting interesting. Right now I am still able to sleep on my stomach if I pull one of my knees up and kind of create a cave for my ever growing belly. (If this doesn't make sense to you it will one day if you plan on having babies! If you're a guy- well I just assume you don't read these pregnancy posts, so kudos for staying with me this far!)

Notes:  I went to the doctor on Friday for my monthly check up/in with the obstetrician.  While trying to find the heartbeat with the fetal doppler she was unsuccessful which was a bit nerve wrecking but luckily she sent me to have a quick sonogram just to ensure that everything was okay.  Baby is growing and the heartbeat was strong (167 beats per minute!) I also learned that this baby is ahead of schedule and is due May 18th now rather than the 20th! 

Fall Fun for Everyone

Our fall festivities kicked off a few weeks ago when Tyler, Everett, and I went with Aaron, Krystal, and Colt took our annual trip to the Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival. This was our second year going and we always have fun.  They have all types of vendors there (crafts, candles, clothing, etc.) and it is fun to walk through and see all of the neat items that are being sold. One of my favorite vendors, Bolen Mountain Creations sells wonderful smelling candles- check her out on facebook! I love her honeysuckle and daffodil scents! 

Uncle Aaron pulled the boys around in Colt's souped up wagon, it's got big tires and a sweet paint job! The boys loved that- and all the attention that they were getting from all the older ladies and grandmas at the festival! 

The little boys and the big boys!

Momma's and the babies!

Of course we had to buy some apples! We made out with a huge bag of pink lady apples! They are SOOOO good! 

Everett wasn't really excited about having his picture taken with his initial! 

He was excited about taking a picture with the Hay Bear!

I found this on my camera roll... yes folks that is how they act in real life.

I rest my case.

All in all it was a fun time! It wasn't too cold and the boys had fun running around and petting all the dogs that were there.  Stay tuned for a full report on our Halloween activities! :) 

Mouth Watering Wednesday: Quinoa Meatloaf

Welcome to Mouth Watering Wednesday! Spice up your life and try a new recipe!  This week I am sharing a recipe that I got from my friend Vivid over at Things We Create and tweaked a little bit. We just had this last night and it was really good!  It is definitely going to be added to our list of regular meals! 

Source

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1+lb of ground beef (turkey/chicken/whatever you like)
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs ketchup
• 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 cup sour cream (or ranch dip)
• 1 small zucchini 
• 1 small onion 
• Italian seasonings (to taste)

Here's what you'll do: 

• First start by prepping your veggies.  I used my food processor and pulsed the onion and the zucchini.
• Now, use a large bowl and combine the veggies and the remaining ingredients.  You really want to make sure that the egg and sour cream get mixed in thoroughly as they are the "binders" in this dish.
• Finally, place mixture into a baking dish and bake at 400 for 45 minutes. 

Enjoy!! 

Thompson Number Two: Week 11

Weight gained to date: When I went to the endocrinologist this past Wednesday I was still -2lbs from my starting weight! 

Estimated size of baby:  Lime (2 inches, .3 ounces)

Photo found here.

Foods I am craving: MMMmmmmm I LOVE Utz Kettle Classics Smokin' Sweet BBQ chips! They are so delicious... I could probably eat a whole bag of them! 

Foods I am staying away from:  No longer do I have to stay away from my beloved peanut butter!  I haven't really had any aversions to food this week. 

How I am feeling:  Still feeling pretty good!  I am mostly tired but that is definitely part of building a baby! 

Nifty Thrifty Friday: Halloween Wreathe

Nifty Thrifty Friday features items that I have either found a thrift stores or items I already owned and have given new life or upcycled.  These items may be as small as a shoe box or as large as a sofa! I hope you will join me on some of my thrifting adventures!
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My friend Vivid posted a great tutorial on her blog, Things We Create on how to make a Halloween wreathe that uses items you probably already have on hand.  This is a cute and oh so thrifty idea and it is perfect for Halloween. 

Check out her tutorial for the play by play!  Here are a few pictures of mine! 

This is all you'll need!

In progress...

I LOVE how it turned out! 

Around the Nest: Family Bedroom: About 95% Complete

Looking for Mouth Watering Wednesday?  Not to worry! I am switching things up a bit and alternating Mouth Watering Wednesdays and Nifty Thrifty Friday/Nap Time Craft Time from week to week! I will be back next week with a delicious recipe for you to try! 

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As promised (a while ago) I am finally getting around to posting about our house updates! I am trying to post about one room at a time and keep y'all updated! :) 

Here is what the family bedroom looked like when the previous owner lived here.  They used it as a master bedroom with a sitting area.  The bathroom is through the doorway on the right side of that white television. 

Here are a few photos of what the room looked like the day that we closed on the house.  It was pretty much a blank canvas.  We did end up taking down the two wall lamps and we replaced the carpet that was in there.  It was definitely getting a little dingy and I think that there may have been a dog or two to "mark their territory" in there! 

Here are a few pictures of the bathroom from closing day.  It is hard to get good pictures of that room! 

 

Here are the photos you've been anticipating! :)  Our newly redone and definitely improved family bedroom! You may notice my little helper in a picture or two!  

This first photo is taken from the same place as the photo from the previous owner.  As you can see we use the space a lot differently than they did. We still have some things that need to be hung on the wall.  We have a large mirror that will go on the back teal wall and we haven't decided what will go above the changing table.  The problem with hanging something over the changing table is that if it is low enough, Everett with most certainly mess with it! 

Now you can see why we call it our family bedroom.  This set up works for our family and that's all we are concerned about! 

One of my favorite parts of our room is that I have a great space to display my cross collection (above the dressers.)  They are not only beautiful but help to remind Tyler and I to keep Christ at the center of our relationship.  And yes, that is a Big Bird book in the middle of the floor! Thanks Everett! 

Here's the bathroom.  Not a lot of changes going on in here, mostly just adding our own stuff.  I still need to hang something on that back wall. 

Eventually the window from our old bathroom will hang on this wall above the toilet. It is going to look great in this bathroom, especially since all the tile is pink! 

So that's it! We still have a few things left to do in this room but we are pretty much done! 

Here's our to do list:

• New carpet
• Take down wall lamps
• Paint
• Move in furnitrue
• Hang crosses
• Hang pictures