Chocolate Pretzel Buttons Tutorial

The girls and I made up some Chocolate Pretzel Buttons to include in our sweet boxes going out to family for Valentine's Day this year.. They were having so much fun making them that I thought I would share this toddler friendly recipe! I'm always looking for "projects" that we can do together during the day..and this one was fun because we were counting..and making something to give to someone else.. they loved it. Key part is to melt the chocolates low in the oven. 275 degrees or lower (depending on your oven) I think I put mine in the end on 250 degrees..just to be safe. :)


Hope you try these out! they are perfectly kid sized..yummy..
and a fun activity to do WITH your children..They don't just have to watch!
Some chocolate will be snuck. you've been warned. ;)

We also put in the boxes some of my super-hero lollipop valentines.. and Valentine's Day Treat Bags (all printables in my etsy shop)

a couple Target "dollar bin" dish rags and some valentine's made by the girls!

Sophia drew everyone we sent mail too...

It was pretty funny. here's some examples...

Our Week by iPhone. Get all up in our Business.

IN THE KITCHEN- Made up a batch of

Recipe Girl's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

for a Fundraiser's Dessert Table... It was gobbled up. fast.

My suspicions were confirmed....everyone  loves this combo. ;)

I blogged about these here. If you are looking for a dessert idea just visit her site

and you will find one...two....five yummy ideas.
first hand experience talking here.

GET ORGANIZED- Trying to limit the amount of

time I spend each day searching for keys. Found this at Target..I'm all about limiting the stress of the "get out the door without forgetting anyone/anything" routine.

PLAY TIME- I don't know why I try to clean while they are awake.. ;)
But besides the trail of little messes they leave...they have been playing so much together. and I love it! I love seeing them work together to make something..
or do pretend play..even if poor sienna gets dressed up like the prince. haha.
most of the time they are mommies together. or doctors. and I'm the patient.
I live a very glamorous life of snacking on play food..
getting shots and bandaids all over..and getting "pretty" for the ball.

CUTE IDEA- I received in the mail this week the sweetest package!

My brother's fiance asked me in such a cute way to be a bridesmaid!

And she asked the girls to be flower girls..with these cute flower hair pins.

Of course..the girls were loving the fact that they got mail..AND hair clips! ;)

You could send them a piece of paper and these girls get excited. They love mail.

(we tell them the junk mail is actually for them...is that bad? haha. #they_can't_read)

Thanks Mary for putting such effort into this sweet package! we loved it.

DIY- I helped out with a fundraiser for my husband this past weekend..
I did the decorations for him.. A great bang for your buck is a Streamer Canopy!
Here it is as a work in progress..I love the color combo we picked. I used this same idea for the Confirmation Party at our church. I posted the Tutorial here!

MAMA STYLE- Love Old Navy.. and this striped sweater
(I have one in another color too. hehe.)
Comfy and cute..with only a little baby goo on it.

Family Snuggle Time.
Yesterday ben and I were laying on the floor tickling the girls...
till he turned on me and held me down and told Sophie to lick my face!!! ?!?!?
If I wasn't laughing so hard and trying to get up I would have been mad.
Mutiny.

RANDOMS.
--Designed a new background for my twitter (and facebook) page...
--Made alfredo pasta with spinach.. again. (favorite recipe right now. it's just so easy, fast and yummy. I thought I blogged about the new recipe but I just realized I haven't!! tomorrow.. it's coming.)
--Sophia made breakfast..felt donuts. delish.
--Smoochies in the grocery store. If one gets attention the other one wants some..
this goes for snuggles...food..toys..kisses..piggy back rides..shoes..clothes..drink....
I could go on forever.....
--Love me some Target Clearance items.
--In efforts to get organized we bought an Ikea wardrobe..
building something from ikea is a lot slower with two little "helpers".

Hot date on sunday with the husband...and sienna.
owOW...

Sienna is on me. majority of the day.

My little goldilocks after bath time.
Sienna is definitely the little bear too. ;) fiesty but cuddly...hehe.


Hope you are having a great day..
I just wanted to thank everyone who left sweet words and prayers in my last post.
Every time I receive your comments in my inbox..straight to my phone..
I feel so blessed with support to get through this..
and affirmed in my desire to forgive and that my feelings are normal to struggle with this.
I know it takes time to leave a comment..especially on a 'deep' subject..
But please know I appreciate them so much.
Thanks for stopping by. :)

Praying for her killer by Name

Some days are really hard..I miss Shannon so much.

But I started to pray for her killer by name at night.

before I would just say 'him'.

My husband Ben thought it would be a good step for me..

the first time I said it I wanted to break down..

I felt a gulp in my throat. a knot in my stomach.

but gradually it's gotten easier....and the idea of ACTUALLY forgiving is more real.

It's easier to just go through the motions if you don't say his name.

(I will continue to say 'him' on my public blog though)

I know shannon is praying for his conversion..so how can I not?

A priest the other day told me that by praying for him

and his conversion I am showing that I want him in heaven.

I know that is what God desires..all of us in heaven with Him one day.

How can I disagree with God??

I still struggle with the thought of him leading his life even if it IS in jail..it's a life none the less.

But I have to remind myself that Shannon is living eternal life...

way better than anything we have experienced here.

And even though I cry for the memories we won't be able to make together..

I'm going to remember her and be inspired by her faith during the hard moments she experienced. And hopefully her life and death will make me realize and never forget that life is short..and life can be hard...but life is just our path to something far greater. and that if we view it this way..every little difficulty we have is leading us towards HIM.

I guess in preparing for Easter... I've been reflecting on how at the foot of the cross

Mary held her son.. and even in her pain she forgave those who tortured and crucified her son.

So I look to her as an example of how to love. how to forgive.

Even though I'm solid in my faith..

I'm always a little nervous about putting this out here on my blog..

but...at the same time..this is my blog and I try to keep it as real and personable as possible!

And hopefully those who choose to follow me appreciate raw and candid emotional posts like this and not just giveaways and diy projects...although I do love a good diy project. ;)

Her family recently postd this note on Shannon's memorial Facebook Page...

A note that Shannon kept close to her was found today.   It reads:

"Lord Jesus, I trust in you.  Despite the real struggles and obstacles in my path now, I know that you are leading me towards you.  You are the only one who can fill the depths of my heart.  Somehow, mysteriously, each of these trials is part of making that a reality."

Not sure if you are experiencing any type of grief..or needing to forgive someone..

but I feel that I want my heart to heal. I don't want to be broken. I need to be a whole person for my husband..my girls.. and forgiving is part of helping me heal.

Someone you love being killed in such a violent way will always bring up emotions in me..I will always feel sadness when I think of losing her..how we lost her..But I just don't want to feel anger anymore..I won't want to have hate in my heart.

And I think Some days will be harder than others..but I'm going to try.

In confession the other day (I don't mind sharing this..)

The priest brought up the amazing forgiveness of the mother of St. Maria Goretti.

When Maria Goretti was 11 years old she was stabbed 14 times by a 20 yr old man

who had made advances on her but she refused them all.

As she was dieing..Someone asked if she forgave her murderer, she replied,

"Yes, for the love of Jesus I forgive him...and I want him to be with me in Paradise."

Her forgiveness is incredible..but her mother carried it on...

Her murderer had a conversion and when he got out of jail the first thing he did

was to beg Maria's mother for forgiveness....she invited him to Christmas dinner....!!!

She is the patron saint of Abused Children and Rape Victims.

If you want to read her whole story visit here. I googled it and found this page..

I wanted to share how my journey is going..

Thanks for listening.

Please continue to pray for me and all those affected by Domestic Violence.

It broke my heart these past couple weeks..So many stories on my local news mentioned some sort of domestic violence. The boy who went into his high school and starting shooting fellow students was from a home of domestic violence.. And now all of those families (3 lost a child..others injured..) I don't know the entire story..I chose to not read any further because I wasn't in a position to get emotional and let myself go there..I had my girls at my feet..

But I said a prayer that day for them..Because I know how hard it is to lost someone you love...and shannon wasn't even my own child!

I am just so saddened to see that Domestic Violence has this incredible ripple effect.....so many lives hurt from it. So please..if you see anything...hear anything..don't be afraid to step in. I will post about this till the day I stop blogging...please..speak up.

To read all posts related to Shannon you can click here.

Please share her story..donate if you can.

If you have been touched by her story and would like to 

visit her Memorial Page you can visit here. 

Please Pray for peace in our world 

and for all those affected by Domestic Violence.

VLOG- Reflections on My Cute Wild Things

I remember the days our girls would sit in
the car seat....not move... just coo a little..
we could eat out..we could eat IN and actually eat sitting down...
I could sit and nurse a baby and watch an entire show on tv that was not animated...

some days I wish that was the case again...that things could calm down for a minute..
but mostttt days I'm loving the fun of these wild girls.
They love life... except right after nap time..
besides that..they love life. :)

They teach me patience..and to laugh..and to enjoy silly moments.
Today we were doing ballet in the car..it was hilarious.
mainly because sophia does this "angelic looking to heaven face" when she dances ballet..not sure where she got that but it's SO FUNNY...she had sienna mimicking her.
the people in the traffic next to me probably thought we were odd but it was great..
I was laughing so hard..and so was sophia.

So even though some days are exhausting....

every day is full of blessings and memories I never want to forget.
I also realize that the days I thought were "hard".. weren't barely as hard as things could be.
I have happy healthy ACTIVE children...and I should thank God everyday for that.

This is my pep talk for those hard moments. thanks for joining in. ;)

I would have more photos of sophia..
but she is anti photos right now. sienna is the opposite.
If I pull out my phone to check an e-mail she goes "cheeseeee" and poses.. ;)
These videos I took of them below make me laugh out loud. so funny.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Fast Muffin-Tin Deep Dish Pizza

Looking for a quick and yummy meal idea?

One day for lunch I made muffin tin deep dish pizza and it was delicious.

It took 4 minutes to prep. 10 minutes to cook.

I think if we had peppers I would have thrown some of those in too!

I think these would be great for parties..they are so easy to make up a big batch.

you can even have the pans ready to go and pop in when people arrive.

the oregano and garlic on them made the house smell great.

I love making my regular sized pizzas with homemade dough..

but this was a great last minute quick lunch for us.

My girls LOVED these.

1. They could hold the whole thing in their hand.

2. Anything in a cupcake pan looks good to them. haha.

INGREDIENTS:

Pizza Dough(Homemade or store-bought)

Mozzarella Cheese

Pasta Sauce

Oregano

Garlic Powder

Salt/Pepper

Muffin Tin

DIRECTIONS:

-Preheat Oven to 450 degrees

--Grease muffin pan

--Place square of dough to cover bottom and sides of each opening

(or however many you want to make! I think I made 8?)

-- Spoon Pasta sauce in each "pizza" using a brush or back of spoon to spread it around

--Toss some toppings in and then top with cheese

--Sprinkle with seasoning. I used garlic powder, oregano and salt/pepper.

My husband added chili pepper flakes to his for a little kick.

-Bake in Oven for ten minutes or until toasty..golden brown.

ENJOY!

Easy meal.....happy mommy.

Quick meal......happy kids.

Yummy meal....happy everyone! ;)

Nursery Wall- What I Framed

I love wall art..especially framing special

and meaningful things.

In the girls' room I had been wanting to use these 3 opening frames

that my Mom bought me from Kohls on sale.

(I think I was engaged at the time??..We even talked about how cute they would bein a nursery one day!..and here they are! ;)

Thought I would share what I did in the girls' room..

it's a work in progress..(going to cover the S in yarn..one of these days..)
But maybe you can get ideas from it!



Budget-Friendly
Nursery Framing Tips
1. Frame a grouping of special baby photos!
I framed each girls' ultrasound photo..just born photo..and then newborn photo.
I never want to forget how tiny they were! 
If we have more kids(God Willing) I want to do the same thing for them all and years down the
road group all of the 3 opening frame photos together
The girls love looking at them too.. Every time sienna looks up at them she points and says
"babyyyy" all sweet. Their just born photos sum up their personalities too.
sophia..calm-er...and sienna..wild. :)

2. Create your own prints..Use photoshop/or a friend who has a program..
to make up something to frame. There are also lots of great prints on
Etsy that are inexpensive and so cute!
I made these up in photoshop..




3. Make your wall art special by framing sentimental items..
Maybe what you brought your babies home in from the hospital!
I think it would be super sweet to frame sentimental items from your childhood as well..
maybe a piece of fabric from your baby blanket!
I framed photos of those first special moments I held each of my babies..

3. DIY "Mats"- I love to use mats to make my photos seem extra special..

but if I don't have a mat or want to buy one..

I just set up the photo to print smaller on the page!

I used photoshop to put two of daddy, with his girls, in one frame.
These were first moments that I LOVED.

Thanks for having a look! :)
I'll be working up some more projects for the girls' room soon!

Our Week by iPhone- Get all up in our business

I've been following Amy at  A Good Life for a while..
but I decided todayyy to join in on her weekly iPhone post!
I love the idea of linking up with everyone to share and see images from their week!
if you are nosy like me check it out. ;) 


I blogged about  ben and I giving each other iPhones for Valentine's Day..
and I pretty much am hooked on instagram. it's so cool!! I love following people, some of them my favorite bloggers, and seeing this candid look into their day to day adventures!
It's funny because lots of the moms I follow have similar photos..cute baby ones..
what we made for dinner..what we are wearing.. it's fun!
Do you instagram?? Find me @thebusybudgetingmama!!


DRESS UP &
SISTERS BEING SISTERS
Sophia is really into playing wedding day. she has been for the past year..
She loves looking at the photos of ben and I getting married..so do I. :)
She is wearing my veil from my bachelorette party..but she kept tormenting her sister by telling her she was the prince. and sienna, even though she is little, knew that she did not want to be the prince..and kept saying with a pouty face "no. no." haha.



ADVENTURES.
As posted the other day.. I was given tickets to the screening for The Lorax here in Pittsburgh.
My sophia was SO EXCITED..she even napped with her ticket the day before. yeah. crazy excited. She loves going to the movies..but this time ben and I were both taking her (instead of taking turns like usual) We had a sitter for sienna so we could make a fun morning out of it!
The morning of the movie started out kind of crazy...
On our way to the sitters we realized we left the diaper bag at home..turned around.
then on the way back realized one of the wind shield wipers was broken..
and with the snowy mess out we had to switch babies and baby gear into our other car.
sooo...we were running late to the movie..
which was not good because the space was limited and the seats were first come first serve. Sadly the place was PACKED...and they had overbooked the theatre by 50 (glad I didn't pass out all of the free tickets they gave me..who knows if they would have gotten in!) I had about 15 of us able to get in..but some of my people who came out for it weren't able to get through the line...It was very disappointing. I'm going to get in touch with my contact to see if they can do anything..and I'm hoping they will be kind and not fall back on their "get there early" clause. I felt bad for the theatre who was put in a bad place with having them put out so many tickets and overbook the place.. it was chaos.
But BESIDES THAT CRAZINESS...it was a great movie..
and my sophia loved it. YOU ALL SHOULD GO SEE THE LORAX!
really cute.. the 3D effects were amazing. and the script was really funny.
I laughed out loud :) I am grateful for the tickets the promo group gave me..
but next time in my helping to promote a screening I will be
way more vocal in saying get there early. lesson learned. :)
It was fun at the end of the movie passing out all the t-shirt and fluffy tree pencils and coloring pages that they sent me! It's funny how if people see you passing things out in a theatre they try to get in on it. I couldn't say no..I just unloaded all the goodies! It was really fun.



FOOD.
One day for lunch I made muffin tin deep dish pizza.
It took 3 minutes to prep. 10 minutes to cook.
the girls loved them. why??
1. they could hold the whole thing in their hand.
2. anything in a cupcake pan looks good to them. haha.
We worked on leftovers all week from the vegeterian
version of the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup..
and a weekly favorite.. Homemade Pizza with wheat flour this time!
and I will never use white flour again! it was so yummy.
I'll be posting a bunch of new recipes that I've been loving later this week...
with full list of ingredients and directions.
easy, delicious, fast recipes.

PRINTABLES
I made up some Treat Bag Tags for St. Patrick's Day.
They are all over Pinterest now! and the sales are coming in. yay for DIY-ers )

What I wore. What Sophia wore.
My favorite top right now is my polka dot one from H&M.
Sophia's favorite outfit right now..her super girl costume.
I'm pretty sure ben took her out of the house in this the other day. wonderful.

Play time in our house.
floor snuggles. super girl "to the wescueee!" playing mommy. playing baby.
playing with race cars by putting fairy stickers all over them. (this is a GIRL house.)
sophia came up to me and said mommy come here I want to show you something.
first thought..panic. this doesn't always end well..
but I was pleasantly surprised..she just wanted me to put a show on for her kids
aka all her stuffed animals she lined up on the couch.

Wednesday was ash wednesday.

As Catholics, we celebrate Ash Wednesday..and it marks the start of Lent and preparation for Easter.. when we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead! BIG PARTY.

In case you didn't know..the ashes are made from the palm leaves being burned from Palm Sunday the year before.The Priest puts ashes on our forehead and says "thou art dust and to dust you shall return" This act helps to remind us of the mortality of our lives and calls us to repentance. I have been very aware this past year in how short life can be(since losing shannon)..and this is not our home.. and that we should strive each day to reach heaven..our true home!

Sophia was beyond excited to go to church and get ashes.

I told her they will put a cross on her forehead.

She sweetly whispered a request for an angel instead of a cross. haha..

Even if you are not Catholic..or even Christian..

we should all reflect on the shortness of life..how we should take advantage of

each day to love each other as we would want to be loved.