Monday, November 17, 2014

Cake batter cookies

How many of you have a box of cake batter sitting around your house but don't want to make cupcakes or a cake right now??

Well... Make these!
Simple cake batter chocolate chip cookies!

1 box of cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup of oil

Bake at 400 for 10-12 min!

Super easy, kid friendly and endless possibilities- strawberry, lemon, vanilla, you can add peanut butter .. Make whatever you like!

This time I used Golden Butter (Pillsbury), next time I plan to use devils food and added chocolate chunks!!

Happy Monday!


Tuesday, November 11, 2014

11.11

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.


Monday, November 10, 2014

DIY Photo Coasters

If you follow me on Instagram (kimmurray36) or are my friend on Facebook chances are you saw this photo of the DIY Photo Coasters I made on Sunday night. 
I've had some people ask how I made them so I thought I would so a quick tutorial!

1. Modge Podge- matte
2. Scotch - self stick felt pads
3. Modge Podge- dimensional magic 
4. Glossy White 4 1/2in x 4 1/2in tile (can be any color you want)

Step One
Cut the photo to the size you want.

Step Two
Cover the back of the photo in a thin layer of Modge Podge. You can use a brush or sponge. I used a sponge because I didn't want pieces of the brush to come off. 

Step Three
Put your photo on the tile where you want it. Using the same brush or sponge cover the tile and photo in Modge Podge in an even layer.

Step Four
Once the Modge Podge has dried apply a thin even layer of the dimensional magic on top. This a very shiny product that I think finishes the coaster off nicely, because of the shine you should make sure you have nice even brush strokes. Let dry for 3+ hours.

Apply the felt pads to each corner on the back and voila! It's finished and you have a perfect personal gift! 
(Finished product is from the first set I made- the one used in this post is still drying :))

Good luck!
If you have a chance to create these beautiful coasters tag me in a pic! I would love to see!

Monday, November 3, 2014

8 months


Weight: 13.7oz (she has lost a little since she started crawling!)

Length: 24 1/4in (updated 9/11/14)

Milestone: we now have a mover! Beth gets around fast now and it will only get faster. She doesn't quite crawl .. It's an army crawl with one knee! She now has 4 teeth and 4 more are coming in! Clapping!! Beth has started to clap when you ask her to, AND she will growl back at you! She sat in a grocery cart for te first time! She was always kept in her car seat ... That's done with unless she's sleeping!!


Sleep: We are in a messy spot with the sleep again thanks to the time change! Night time is a mess because of teeth, she is waking up around 2 or 3 and goes back to sleep after we go back in and turn her sound machine on. Naps are great she will take small 20min cat naps in the car and 1 really good 2-3hr nap!!

Eating: Everything! She even had penne vodka and some of her sisters french fries the other day thanks to Aunt Lala (Beth's godmother Lindsay who has been our saving grace with Beth's feeding issues). We introduced yogurt this weekend and she loves it, just like her big sister. 


Diapers: 2's, this won't be changing for a very long time!
Clothing: 6 months.. 9 months is way to big on her!
Mood: She is a happy baby.. Even with 4 teeth coming in she always smiles!


Loves:

  • Food
  • Crawling
  • Clapping 
  • Going for walks when the weather is nice!
Hates:
  • Teeth!!!!
  • Being hungry!
  • When she can't reach something

The Doc is in...

Last Halloween I was pregnant with Elizabeth and was already thinking about the fun sibling Halloween costumes that would soon be in our future. I thought about Alice in wonderland and the rabbit, or Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter, a chef and a lobster, firefighter and a Dalmatian ... The ideas were endless! I started to get nervous in August that Madison would NOT want any part of it! She was going to fight whatever costume I picked and my sibling costumes would be gone.

To my surprise when I asked her what she wanted be she said Doc McStuffins and Beth should be Lambie! For those of you that don't know who Doc and Lambie are they are a new disney show that came out about 2 years ago, it's about a little girl who's mom is a pediatrician and had given Doc all of her old tools, so Doc uses these tools to fix stuffed animals and toys! They come to life with the help of docs magic stethoscope! There is always a coordinating "people problem" to go with the toys problem!  Lambie is Doc's favorite stuffed animal and sidekick.
My plan for sibling costumes was a success and it was all thanks to Madison's suggestion of Doc and Lambie :). Finding a doc costume was easy, finding Lambie however was not. I was not going to pay $50 for a lamb costume that I didn't even know if Beth would wear, and I was not having one made for her(for the same reason), we actually got super lucky and found a white and pink lamb costume in her size for $10 at Party City!!! All I needed to do was remove the bow from the neck and add a pink tutu which cost us $5.99 at Target!   Here was the final product:


Everyone thought it was the cutest! I am biased BUT I think it was the cutest costume of the year ;)
This Halloween was also Beth's first!!

Xo's

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

love all things pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin latte.. I could eat pumpkin flavored items all year. I am so happy that my love of pumpkin has been passed down to Madison! She was asking me all week to make her favorite fall treat- Pumpkin Cupcakes!

They are a super easy and kid friendly snack that everyone will love! 

Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
That's it! Mix them together bake at 350 for around 8-10min - pay attention because everyone's oven is different.
This recipe only makes about 12 cupcakes.. If you would like more cupcakes and less of a pumpkin taste then follow this recipe ...

1 box yellow cake mix
1 can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup of water 
1/3 cup vegetable oil 
4 eggs

Combine and back at 350 for 8-10min (or as needed depending on your oven)

Now comes the good part- icing!! We make our own cream cheese frosting! 


Ingredients


4 ounces unsalted butter, softened 
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened 
2 cups powdered sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl beat butter and cream cheese together (if you have an electric  mixer - USE IT!). Slowly add the powdered sugar until it's smooth and creamy. Whip in the vanilla extract and voila!


I know I'll be making this again soon for Madison to take to school to share with her friends!

Xo's

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Fitness Friday -- on a Saturday

Oops! I wrote this Thursday night in preparation for Friday and I forgot to post it .. I just noticed I can actually set a post time for it and it will post for me! This blogging thing just got a bit easier!

Anyways.. I am so excited to share with everyone that I am now a Sweat Pink Ambassador!  


Never heard of it? No problem...  I will fill you in! I will write up a post this weekend about why I wanted to become an ambassador and what it means to me! In the mean time ...
Check them out over at www.fitapproach.com

Anyways.. The reason for this post! I was chosen to do a review of a fitness video website called Gigabody (www.gigabody.com)! I will be giving 1 lucky follower a free month membership to Gigabody! Stay tuned over the next few weeks for my thoughts and progress using the site and for details on how to win! 

Happy Halloween :)
Or now... Happy day after Halloween and good luck with all the candy!