33

Today, I turn 33 years old.

I am thankful to God for the chance to celebrate another birthday!

I'm turning 33 years old and instead of asking for gifts, I'm asking for just $3 (or more) from everyone I know. It's not going to me, though. All of it is going to build freshwater projects for people in developing countries.

If you have read my blog for awhile, you know that I have a passion for water.
Specifically, the organization Charity:Water.

800 million people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water.
In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking for water.
Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely to make them sick.
Time spent walking and resulting diseases keep them from school, work and taking care of their families.

For my 33rd birthday, my birthday wish is that you donate $3 to charity:water.
My goal is to raise $333 for people in 3rd world countries who don't have access to clean water like we do. Water is life. Water changes everything.
{Photo from our Project 320 well funded through Charity Water}

If you donate $3, I will put your name in a drawing and the winner gets a $33 Gift Card to my happy place....TARGET!

Could you spare $3 today & help me reach my birthday wish come true?
Donate HERE!

End of School Year Teacher Gift + a Free Printable!

This week marked the end of preschool for Kate.

I may or may not have been totally crying as I picked her up from her last day & we said Goodbye & Thank you to her teachers.
What an incredible 2 years she has had.
Kate has 8 teachers in her class, so I knew I wanted to give them a gift that was meaningful & useful, but didn't cost a lot of money.
And, I knew I wanted it to be handmade-ish rather than totally store bought.
Here is what I decided to do:

I got 8 mini terra cotta pots at Home Depot for $1.27 each
I got 2 six packs of zinnias for $2.89 each
{I already had the spray paint}
I spray painted the pots & bases with 2 coats of spray paint.

I made printable that said "Thank you for helping Kate bloom"
I printed it on cardstock.

Then I used a 2.5 inch scalloped punch to punch them out and I glued them with a hot glue gun to craft sticks that I already had on hand.

Once the pots were dry (the next day) I planted a zinnia in each one & stuck in the printable.

Didn't they turn out so cute?

Way more fun than just boring terra cotta.
I figure her teachers can use the pot at home or they can keep in in their classroom!

Kate had 4 main teachers & the other 4 were in their room once a week for Bible, PE, Music & Science.
For her 4 main teachers I also gave them a gift card to a local Nursery so they can buy some more flowers for their yards.

It has been so neat to see Kate's transformation over the past 2 years...socially, academically & creatively.
Kate's school has them draw a picture of themselves the first month of school & the last month of school. It is fun to see how Kate's art & writing has improved in 9 months.
This was a fun gift to make & I love how inexpensive it was!
It was meaningful....Kate really has bloomed this year.
Also, Kate LOVES helping me plant flowers & water our flowers, so this gift is perfect!
Because I love you all so much, I made some printables for you to use also!
Kate's said "Thank you for helping Kate bloom"
The ones for you guys say "Thank you for helping me bloom"
So, you can use them for any kid!
I made them with 3 different background colors:
Pink:
Purple:

Aqua:

{Click to download. Right click & then Save.}
Print on cardstock, punch out the labels with a 2.5 inch scalloped punch, glue them to a craft stick and add it to a flower pot! Easy & Cute.
So, if you need an easy End of the Year Teacher Gift idea or Teacher Appreciation Gift, you are all set!
Happy {Almost} Summer!

Linking up here.

Hello, 3rd Trimester!

Today I enter my 3rd (and FINAL!!!) Trimester.

Thank you, Jesus. There is an end in sight!
How Far Along:
28 Weeks

Size of baby:
Baby is the size of an eggplant

Total Weight Gain/Loss:
I have gained 22 lbs
( I gained 50 lbs with Kate & Claire! Yikes!)

Maternity Clothes:
I wear pretty much all maternity
Gender:
Don't know...It's a Surprise!

Movement:
Lots of kicks & rolls. Baby is most active at night (like the girls were)

Sleep:
I'm sleeping pretty good, but I am still SO, SO tired.

What I miss:
Coffee & Wine.

Cravings:
Steak

Symptoms:
Still have all day sickness & nausea. Yes, you read that right. I am still nauseous all day. Shoot me now. With the girls, that ended at 26 weeks, and here I am in my THIRD trimester and I still feel sick. I haven't thrown up in over a month, but I still feel yucky.
And, I am tired...so, so, so, tired which I think makes me feel even more nauseous.

Best Moment this week:
I found out I passed my glucose test! Yay!
Now, I just hope the all day nausea goes away.
With the girls, it went away at about 26-28 weeks.
Why, oh why, do I still feel still feel yucky? *sigh*

Kate wanted a belly shot also with her doll stuffed in her shirt :)
I can't believe that I only have 12 weeks left, but at the same time, I feel like this pregnancy has gone by so slowly! I know once school gets out in a few weeks & summer arrives then time is going to fly by! We are going to start working on the nursery this weekend...it is becoming real that we are going to have another baby!

Cupcake Carnival: Reese's Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Welcome to the 2012 Cupcake Carnival!

Here is a recipe that I made up & it turned out yummy!
I am all about the peanut butter/chocolate combo this pregnancy, so I thought I would make satisfy my craving with these cupcakes.

Here is what you need for the cupcakes:
Your favorite chocolate cake mix & 24 Reese's miniatures.

Mix cake mix according to package directions.

While you are mixing your cake, have your "helpers" unwrap 24 Reese's PB cups.

Pour your batter into cupcake liners.

Then, take your Reese's PB cups & place them in the middle of the cupcake.

Bake the cupcakes according to your package directions.

***That is what I did when I made these. BUT, while they baked, they fell to the bottom of the cupcake & tasted slightly burnt, so next time I make these, I am going to freeze my PB cups for a few hours before I make the cupcakes & then put in frozen PB cups. I think this will help them not sink!***

While the cupcakes are baking, make your frosting!

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting

1 box of powdered sugar
1 stick of butter (at room temperature)
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup of Peanut Butter (or 1/3 cup if you really like Peanut Butter)
Reeses mini's for a garnish

These were really good! If you really like peanut butter you could also add some Peanut Butter to your cake mix. And, if you don't have Reese's PB mini's you could always chop up the PB cups & use those as a garnish!

Enjoy!

I can't wait to see what cupcakes you love.
Grab a button, link up those recipes, check out other people's links & let them know you stopped by!

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You can add your links anytime now until next Friday, May 25th!

Mother's Day Highlights

I had a nice mellow Mother's Day.
Here are some highlights of the day!
The morning started off with Claire bringing a balloon into my room.
Kevin had taken the girls to get me a balloon, flowers & donuts!

Kate was SO excited about the gift she made me in Preschool. I loved it.

For brunch/lunch, Kevin went out and got me a Bacon, Mushroom, Cheddar Omlette from our favorite breakfast spot & a Decaf Vanilla Latte from Starbucks.

Then, I headed out and got a (much needed) pedicure.

During my pedi, I had some quiet time to read The Help. SO good!!! I finished it this week & can't wait to rent the movie.

We then headed to the park with my family for appetizers & Bocce Ball.
My mom got Rebecca got her 1st Mother's Day present....some baby BOY clothes!

After the park, we headed back to our house for deep dish Chicago style pizza. No one had to cook! Yeah! And, I gave my mom her Mother's Day present...updated photos of the girls. I love how they turned out.

It was a mellow & relaxing Mother's Day and I was able to spend it with my girls & my Mom.
Can't ask for anything better than that!
Don't forget to link up to the Cupcake Carnival tomorrow!

Gender Reveal Party

This weekend was my sister's Gender Reveal party for her baby that is due 6 weeks after me.

My sister had her 20 week appointment on Friday & had the Dr. put the gender in a sealed envelope. They took the sealed envelope along with with a box to a party store store & asked them to fill & seal the box with either blue or pink balloons depending on what the card said.
I brought 2 presents for my sister. First, my friend Wendy's book on Motherhood. If you don't have it, buy it!
And, secondly....Chocolate! Hershey bars that I colored to say He R She.

Lots of Pink & Blue at the party.

Pink Lemonade & Blue Raspberry

I made some cupcakes & cupcake toppers for the party:

For the party (which was mostly family from both sides), we wore either pink or blue depending on what we thought they were having and then we also got to place our vote on the box.
Rebecca was wearing pink & voting for pink.

Jason was wearing blue & voted boy.

We were all SO excited for them to open the box that we made them open it before dinner.
Everyone cast their vote. 7 people voted Boy & 8 people voted Girl.

They couldn't wait to open the box & see what color balloons flew out. I loved that they waited to find out until the party! The suspense was killing everyone!

It's a........

BOY!!!!!!!!!!

As you can see, my whole family (besides my dad & Kevin) wore Pink.
We were wrong! Can't believe they are having a Boy. So fun!
Congratulations, Rebecca & Jason on Baby Boy Baker.
I have already started planning the shower! I have never done a boy party, so this will be fun!

Jason is over the moon excited. Rebecca is excited too, but is not sure what to do with a boy. All we know in this family is Girls!

Now, the big question is....will her baby have a girl cousin or a boy cousin?
I am kinda hoping I have a boy now too so we can learn about raising boys together!
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Don't forget about the Cupcake Carnival Link up this Friday, 5.18.12
Link up your favorite Cupcake recipes!


AND

Leave a comment on THIS post telling me who your favorite teacher was and BlogHer will donate $1 toward The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.