Coming THIS Friday....

Y'all!! My 3 year blogiversary is coming up on the 14th. SO hard to believe I started this little thing 3 years ago.
I'm going to do a giveaway to celebrate! I will share the details and start the giveaway in the next few days(say, Friday?), scheduling it to end ON the 14th, so I can announce a winner the next day.

 I won't give too much of the details away, but I will say it will be a "My Favorite Things" giveaway. OK, I doubt it'll equal the amazingness of Oprah's favorite things, so don't expect a Clarisonic, Coach Bag, diamond necklace or brand new car, mmmk?? 

So, until I announce the items I'm giving away, you can think back on or read old posts to see if you can figure out what might possibly be considered some of my faves. :)

So get ready, y'all.....

Sorry. I just couldn't stop at one.

And now that I've led you to believe that this giveaway is going to be way more epic than it actually is, tell your friends. Share it on social media. Or don't....that's probably a better idea to increase your chances. ;)

See you back here on Friday for My Favorite Things!!!

Gus the Bus.

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, aside from the COLD monsoon we had...oh and are still having. Yuck!!! Luckily, the next several days look to be warm and sunny and I welcome them with open arms!!

We knew that with twins coming and 3 carseats on the horizon, we'd need a bigger car. Or a differently formatted car, I guess I should say. My Explorer is super nice and has a 3rd row(but we keep it down most of the time), but to get back to it involves a little flexibility and acrobatics. And there's no way 3 carseats will fit on the 2nd row, especially since Hudson's is so big. So, we started internet shopping for a Tahoe or Yukon with the pass-through 2nd row bucket seats to easily access the 3rd row. Once we actually went to look at one, we quickly realized it wouldn't work, because with the 3rd row up, there's enough storage space for like 3 bags. That's not gonna cut it. When our party of 5 is heading out of town to see family, or go on vacation, we've got to have enough room for everything but the kitchen sink that we'll take with us, right? ;)

With those out of the question, we moved our search to a Suburban or Yukon XL. Ya know...the ones that are practically buses? (we even thought about just buying a church van with our own personalized logo on it! HA!) Do you have any idea how hard it is to find one of those with the 2nd row bucket seats? And if you do find one, it's gone in a day!

After finding a few we liked, having them sell faster than we could even inquire about them, we finally found a beautiful one. In Georgia. Over 3 hours away. Joy.

So after a long day of driving, we got a GREAT trade in value and said goodbye to our old faithful....the Accord....

She's been mighty good to us over the last 5+ years.

And became the proud owners of "Gus". "Gus the Bus". 

 Ah, that break in the rain was so nice yesterday.

And we are officially "those" people who park as far away from other cars as possible. ;) Mostly because we're still getting used to parking this thing. Our Explorer looks like a baby next to it in the garage.

And can you believe he fits in there?? Fold down the mirrors (which you can do with a button from the driver's seat, thank goodness) and it fits like a glove. A toddler's glove, but a glove nonetheless. 

Aside from the super awesome back-up camera, which is really invaluable in a tank like this, especially with small children you want to keep extra safe, the best feature about this car??

The audio input for my iPhone!! Y'all! I cannot tell you how many FM transmitters I've gone through over the last 4 years. Let's just say...a lot and they all stunk!

Like, I can't explain my love for this invention. And that's kinda sad.

Other than adopting Gus, we really didn't do much this weekend. 

We walked around the mall Sunday and Hudson had the play area all to himself.

 We also found Bry Bry at the toy store. "How much is that Bryant in the window?"

This seriously cracks me up.

Speaking of Bryant, he's an injured little guy. His leg has been bothering him for a little while and we just chalked it up to the possibility that he hurt his foot outside or something. It was hard to tell exactly what part of his leg was hurting. Joseph took him to the vet last week and it turns out he has a tear either in his ACL or the meniscus. They don't think it's a full ACL tear, which is GREAT!! But, it'll still need to be fixed. They may scope it, they may open him up, we're not sure yet. Our vet doesn't do this type of surgery, so she referred us to a couple surgeons who are board certified to do it. We just have to pick one and get this all scheduled. We plan to do it soon...hopefully in the next week or so. We've got to get him back to 100% so he can play with sister Marley and brother Hudson. It breaks my heart to see him injured. Poor thing has been through it. We almost lost him to Lyme Disease when he was about 6 months old. Do you know how rare that is?? He's also had to have a couple cysts removed before, hence the scar on his head. The vet also found a little arthritis in his back and knees, but nothing too major. He'll be 7 in October so we've got to keep him healthy so he can be around for many many more years!!!

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with Mexican take-out last night and pretty much just enjoyed spending the day together...nothing big.

I'm more than ready for some pretty days ahead so we can get out and play. 

How was your weekend???

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Do you know I've NEVER made chicken tortilla soup? I'm not even sure I've ever had it! I know...what rock have I been hiding under?!?!! I'm not sure, but I'm glad I got out from under it. 

I had plans to make my chicken chili but found that I didn't have everything I needed....cream cheese, Ro-tel, corn...bad planning on my part.

So I decided to go a different way and was pretty pleased with how things turned out.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used Purdue individually frozen breasts, my go-to for Crock-Pot meals)

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can black beans(I didn't drain but you can if you'd like. It did make the soup a little more brown than normal)

3-4 cups chicken broth (I used hot water/dissolved bouillon cubes. Better flavor, in my opinion)

1 packet fajita seasoning (you could also use taco, or just some cumin, coriander, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and any other spices to flavor it appropriately)

1 packet Ranch dressing (I know, I know. This isn't taco soup. But the flavors in the ranch packet really brighten up this soup. )

shredded cheddar, monterey jack, or mexican cheese blend, they'd all be super in it

cornmeal

flour tortillas, cut into strips

1. Dump your chicken into a Crock-Pot. Pour beans and tomatoes over them, then sprinkle with fajita and ranch packets, or your seasonings. Next, pour broth over it all. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

2. Shred chicken up after about 4 hours and stir soup well. Cover and let cook for another 1-2 hours. 

3. The soup will be a little thin, but you can mix a little cornmeal and a warm water together to thicken it up slightly. Just mix up then pour in. That simple!

4. Check for seasonings! If it needs more garlic flavor, add it! I added in a little dried cilantro but fresh would be SO SO good in this. I'll squeeze some lime in it next time too.

5. A few minutes before serving, add in tortillas. I used flour, which I had on-hand. You can definitely use corn tortillas if you like. Personally, I'm not really a fan.

For some added crunch on top, I baked up some tortilla strips as well. 

Just drizzle a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and toss around well. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. I turned mine over about halfway through. SO good on their own but amazing in the soup!

I ran out of foil, so I had to work with it. HA!

Other great toppings include your cheese, of course!!!! Everything's better with cheese! Diced onion, pico de gallo, cilantro, sour cream, avocado, etc. 

This was so good and still hearty and filling without being as heavy as the chili with the cream cheese.

I hope you give it a try and enjoy it like we did!!

Happy Friday!

April Birchbox

I also like to call this one "Make it or break it"box. I've been less than thrilled with the last few boxes and this box was going to be the deciding factor in my decision to keep it or cancel it.

Let's look at the box, then I'll tell you what I decided.

I've had it for a while, but just haven't set aside a day to post it.

Here we go...

Caudalie Divine Oil - hydrates dry skin, especially during the Winter months. (are they aware it's well into Spring now? Anyway....) I'm not really a fan of oils. I have oily enough skin already and don't like to put more oil on my skin. I do have dry areas at times, especially during cold weather but I'm still not a fan. Didn't dig the smell, either.

Youngblood Anti-Shine Mattifier - This might be beneficial for me, especially for the reason I just spoke about, and the fact that it's getting warmer around here. It's a tiny sample, even though the package looks big enough. Trust me, there's a teeny tiny little metal disk of stuff in that big box. I will give this a try though, on those hot days when my face is getting shiny. :)

StriVectin-SD Eye Concentrate for Wrinkles - This is another one that could benefit me. I'm getting to the age where I really need to start being proactive about preventing and reducing wrinkles. I know of this brand and know that it's good stuff, so I'll give this baby a try and see what difference it makes. It's supposed to help dark circles too, which would be HUGE for me!

Weleda body lotions - All I have to say about these is....PEEEEEWWWW!!!! All 3 smell awful. End of story.

Nexxus Youth Renewal Rejuvenating Elixir - I'll admit that I haven't been good about using this much...only 2-3 times on my dry ends, but I haven't noticed any change in my hair. Maybe if I use it more regularly and put it on my hair before drying it, it'll be worth it. We'll see.

Well, after almost a year with Birchbox, I feel like my time with them has run its course. It's fun getting these little packages in the mail every month that are just for myself, and at only $10/month it's a really great deal (most of the time). It's a great way to try out new products that you probably otherwise wouldn't but all good things must come to an end, so I'll be canceling my subscription after receiving this box. Maybe I'll find another fun monthly box to check out, and if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them, but for now I'll keep my $10/month for something else. 

The Boy/Girl Nursery Challenge

I've had nursery ideas floating around in my head since I found out we were expecting twins. I knew if it were 2 girls, I wanted to do coral and aqua, with some grays in there of course, b/c I heart gray, if you didn't already know this. For 2 boys, I liked the idea of a simple turquoise/gray theme. Whatever the case, I knew I wanted simple, clean, and modern.

Finding out we're having a boy and a girl, that makes things a little more complicated. But it also gives me a few options. I could go the obvious gender neutral way, with colors that will work for any child....go all out with a mixture of pink and blue, giving each baby their respective colors for bedding, some pink/blue prints on the walls, accessories, etc....or I could go completely neutral, with really no "colors" at all, gray, white, etc. 

I've decided the first (and obvious) option is the way I want to go. It's OK to go with the obvious choice sometimes. :) And I just can't handle having one side of the room blue and one side pink.
I need cohesion, people!

So, here are my ideas.

Let's start with the cribs.

Babyletto Modo 3-in-1 Crib via

I've loved this crib since before Hudson was born and wanted it for him, but we decided on a more masculine, full-size bedroom set that he can grow with for MANY years! His crib converts into a full-size bed, while these just convert into a toddler bed, but we'll still be able to use them for a few years.

Aside from 2 cribs, I just plan on having a dresser/changing table combo and a chair in the room. (probably just moving Hudson's chair in the twins' room) I want minimal furniture so it's nice and open and airy. An extra crib will take up enough space, but thankfully the room has a good long wall for them both to sit along.

I'll probably go with a simple white dresser to use as storage and a changing table....

via

Although part of me wants to be bold and go with something like....

via

I think simple gray and white bedding will be the way I go, and for the accent color...yellow!!

And I adore that light aqua lamp on the dresser!! A few small splashes of that color would be fab, but wouldn't make things too masculine for little miss.

via

via

Most of all, I want it to be a calming space with plenty of room so it's open and airy and you're not walking into furniture everywhere you go.

Between my own imagination and Pinterest, I have so many ideas rattling around in my head and I need to narrow them down eventually. :)

Happy Wednesday!!