Hoarders!

Oh Hoarders!! Is there anyone out there that loves this show as much as I do? I LOVE it!!!! If I ever lose motivation to clean my house, I just turn on a DVR'd episode of Hoarders. Then I am slapped in the face with the urgent desire to scrub my house! Seriously, how do people live like this?

Ever since I had Hunter, I've been having more and more OCD tendencies. I LOVE things organized! Everything has a place. Does it mean that my house is always in magnificent order....No! Because I live with these two guys!!!

Messy Sr and Messy Jr!

No matter how much I clean, these two seem to be right behind me messing everything back up. That is why nights like these, when they are both already in bed I spend the "me time" cleaning the house. Just so that in the morning when Andy gets ready for work he'll leave empty wrappers on the counter (instead of putting them in the trash) and if I am lucky he will put his dirty dishes in the sink (instead of leaving them out...not to mention he could just put them in the dishwasher because it is empty....but that would be asking too much!). And how Hunter can destroy the living room in 6.2 seconds flat is a phenomenon!

So why do I waste my time picking up toys, books and misc every night before I go to bed, just so that they are brought back out the next day? There are a few reasons:

#1 - I sleep better

 #2 - You never know when you will have guest (Side note: do you ever think "what if I died tomorrow and people had to go thru my house/stuff?" Guilty...I do!! A little creepy?

 #3 - Because if I didn't my house would probably look like the pictures above!

Anyway, I would love to work on Hoarders and clean those people's houses. Let me rephrase that....I want to clean the houses of the people who are shopping addicts and have stuff piled up....NOT the people who have 90 cats running around and are too lazy to throw out their trash for 3 years!!!! There is a big difference! I want to take a bunch of plastic tubs and my label maker to these people and teach them the wonderful world of organization!!!

Alright, I better go....there is stuff to clean!!

I am Back...From Mexico!!!

Sorry for being absent, but we just returned from a trip to Cozumel, Mexico. It was a great time. We stayed at the El Cozumeleno Resort. I took nearly 600 pictures, and put a few of them on here. I can't figure out how to turn some of them the right way, so don't hurt your neck trying to look at them sideways!

Since our flight was heading out early Thursday morning, we headed to St. Louis Wednesday night and stayed with Andy's Aunt and Uncle. They took us out to eat at a restaurant that use to be an old Dairy Farm.

Early Thursday morning we headed to the Airport and flew out of St. Louis at about 6am. We had a layover in Atlanta. Our flight from Atlanta to Cozumel was AWESOME. We were seated in first class!!!! I am not sure how that happened, but we were spoiled! While the coach passengers were getting a complementary Coke and peanuts...we were served a full lunch!!! I still never figured out what the warm-moist towelet was for???

We landed in Cozumel to 80 degree weather! We took our transportation to the resort and were surprised when Andy's family members that were scheduled to leave Cozumel that day, decided to extent their trip and stay until Monday with us. (History: Andy's Grandma's Brother - has a son-Dan that owns Cozumel Sailing. So Dan lives down in Cozumel. His parents Jerry and Arlene were visiting him while we were down there) - Did that make any since?

Anyway, we checked into our room (which was on the very top floor!) and then walked around the resort. Dan told us to meet him at the pier, because he was going to pick us up on his Tucan Boat and take us out on a Sunset Cruise. It was fantastic! They served appetizers and drinks the whole evening! It was a lot of fun! When we were dropped back off we attended a Mexican Party at the resort that included dinner, dancing and a mariachi band.

On Friday, We all hung out at the beach for most of the day and played some miniature golf. Later that afternoon, we took a taxi down town to the Market to do a little shopping. Afterwards we headed back to the resort for dinner and then we hung out by the pool and played cards.

On Saturday, we started the day off at the beach again until about noon. Then Dan and his parents picked us up to take us around the town. He took us to a more Mexican market to shop instead of the touristy one we went to the day before. We then went to a local Cantina. Then he took us to his house where we all just sat around and visited. We had reservations at the fancy restaurant at our resort so we headed back there for dinner. Then we called it a night!

On Sunday, Dan took us out on his 47ft sailboat! Oh my gosh...that was intense! He had the sails all the way out so we were catching a lot of wind. At times it felt like the boat was going to completely tip over. It was scary and exciting all at the same time! After we safely made it back to land, we road tripped all the way to the other end of the island. This side of the island had no electricity because of a hurricane many years ago. But we found the most amazing restaurant on the beach over there. The food was sooo good! After we ate, we swam in the ocean. This side of the island's water was so much warmer than what was at our resort.

Monday we headed back home! We had such a great trip. Dan was such a great host and gave us VIP service the whole time we were there. We saw so much of the island because of him! It is great to be back at home with Hunter!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone has had a great Valentine's Day! We got Hunter a balloon, a bag of those candy conversation hearts and a Thomas the Train DVD. Hunter had a party at Rata's today as well. We took his Yo Gabba Gabba valentine's to all his friends and came home with a bag full of goodies as well.

Andy and I don't usually do anything big for each other on Valentine's Day. I got him a stash of Reese's Valentine Hearts and made him a steak dinner. Andy on the other hand, went out and bought me a gift..A Paper Shredder. Nothing says, "I Love you" like Identity Theft Protection! You may think that is funny, but I have really been wanting one. I love that man!!!

Weekend Recap!

Friday: I left work early because I got Hunter in for a doctor's appointment. I suspected he had an ear infection...and I was right. Good thing I got him in before the weekend or it would have been a long weekend with a cranky little boy. The doctor got him a prescription for Amoxicillin and it is doing the trick. Do you all remember that stuff as a kid? That is the best smelling/tasting medicine EVER. Why can't they make adult medicine to taste like that. No, I haven't taken a swig of it but I do take a big wiff every time I give Hunter some :)

Saturday: Hunter had a play date with his cousin Troy. While Hunter was over there I did a little cleaning at home and had a hair appointment.  After I picked him back up we headed home for Hunter to take a nap and I managed to get more done around the house. That evening we ordered some pizza and went to Andy's aunt and uncles house to hang out. We had a great time! This is the same couple we are going to Mexico with. If Saturday night is any indication on how the Mexico trip is going to be....then we are going to have an AWESOME time!!!

Sunday: Hunter and I went and visited my mom and step-dad for awhile and watched the snow melt - Thank Goodness!!! We chatted around for a couple hours and then headed home for Hunter's nap. When Hunter got up we headed to Donnie and Shanda's for dinner. When we got home, I was motivated to mop the floors. So to keep Hunter off my hardwood floors, Andy and Hunter used the kitchen chairs to make a fort in the living room.

Have a Great Week!

Red Velvet Cookies!

There is something about Cold-Snowy days that make me want to bake. Tonight I made Red Velvet Cookies complements of Bakerella!

All you need is:

1 Box red velvet cake mix

1/2 Cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 Eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix ingredients until combined.

Drop spoonfuls of cookie batter onto baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes

Someone got a hold of the batter!

 Cool Cookies

 To assemble, spoon a small amount of frosting on the flat side of one cookie. Take another cookie and press together until frosting is flush with the edge.

Reba!!!

We got tickets, we got tickets, we got tickets....Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!!!!!

It pays to be a Reba Fan. I was able to pre-buy tickets that are not even on sale to the public until Friday! Sweet!!!!

This is going to be an amazing concert!!!!

Weekend Recap!

Friday Evening: I left work early and went to Jeff City for awhile to do some shopping. I was looking for stuff for our trip to Mexico. I had no luck. I was looking for a new swimsuit. While places did have them out already, the designs were ugly!!! One thing I did find that I have been wanting for awhile is a cookie jar in the shape of a cupcake. I love everything Cupcake!

After shopping I picked up some Pizza Hut for Andy and headed home. We later went over to Kevin and Kelly's for awhile to hang out while the kids played and burned off some energy.

Saturday: I had to work...Again! Afterwards Hunter and I didn't do much that afternoon. But that evening we headed to Holly's where she hosted a It Works Body Wrap Party. To sum it up, there are wraps that you can put on various parts of you body that will shrink you fat cells. I thought, hey it is worth trying once! I had mine done to my stomach, and within an hour I had lost 3 inches. Pretty incredible! The results can last for months. There is also whole other lines of lotions and vitamins that they offer as well. I found it very interesting and will try it again, probably on the thighs!

Sunday: We went to a pancake breakfast hosted by the Argyle Fire Department. Hunter chowed down and ate a lot. Later on we had visitors at the house. Aubrey and Laney came over while Kevin and Kelly went to a funeral. Hunter and Aubrey played fantastic together. (People may have a point when they have their kids close together so they have someone to play with).

Well, while they played me and Laney cuddled. Isn't she so cute?

That evening, we headed to Andy's brother's house for the Super Bowl. They had a large crowd and it was a lot of fun. Usually we are playing cards and not paying too much attention to the game, but for whatever reason we were really into the game this year. I didn't care either way who won. All I know is I ate way to much, good thing we weighed in on Friday :)

Biggest Loser Success!

On Friday, we had our first official weigh in at work for the Biggest Loser. There is $220 in the pot every month. Pretty motivating don't you think? Well after a month, I was down 10.2 pounds (7.02%). Not Bad! Best of all....I won the pot!!! I was the smallest one participating, and I won!!! Of course all the men wined about going by the percentage lost because they would have to lose 20+ pounds to beat me. Well, that is the only way that is fair. Sore Losers! I took my winnings all the way to Jeff City and did a little clothes shopping. Of course when you got free cash burning a hole in your pocket, you can't find anything to buy. Life sure has changed when you spend the winnings on diapers and groceries!

Snow Day = Cookie Day

Being snowed in today, Hunter and I decided to make cookies. I love to make and decorate cookies, but I was never really getting it right. That was until I discovered these two blogs: Bake at 350 and University of Cookie. They have cracked all the secrets that I have always wondered about baking, cutting and decorating sugar cookies. This was our process!

Tip # 1: Roll your cookie dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Less Mess!

Tip # 2: Cut out your shape of choice. Then place in freezer for approx 5 minutes. This will help hold the shape of the cookie when it bakes. 

Bake your Cookies!

Aren't they pretty?

Make your Royal Icing. Here is a fantastic recipe! Click Here!

Put icing in piping bag

Outline all of your cookies! Let them sit for about 30 minutes so your border will be solid/strong.

With left over icing, you need to thin the icing with water and place in squirt bottle.

Flood your cookies with the thinned icing. Use a toothpick to help spread the icing!

Then feed to your eager two-year old!

Wordless Wednesday!