longest two days of my life

m has been going potty on the big boy potty

for two days now! & the ending result is AMAZING!

he's only in a diaper at nap (sometimes) and at bed time

but he's woken up both days DRY & whipped it off

& gone potty first thing in the morning.

I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!

he had been showing interest for a while but I never

took it too serious because I assumed he was trying to be like his

brothers and usually spent his time in the bathroom

overflowing the sink or flushing things down the toilet.

CHEERING echoes off the walls now

EVERY TIME he goes potty, MM are so excited for him!

& I think it makes m feel SUPER SPECIAL too..

to be 100% honest, the last two or three days have really shown me

that having THREE kids is so much work, I mean obviously its tough, 

but for the most part, I never really have any issue with any of the three,

 but lately I just feel like, I cant spend enough time with each of them, 

and now that m is doing the BIG BOY thing, 

I especially feel like this is going to be the summer that puts us to the test.

there is so much going on, I can't really sort it all out.

I want to write EVERYTHING down on strips of paper

& put them in a bowl & just start drawing from it, 

& making a plan of execution for each thing..

I catch myself missing my parents SO MUCH these days,

I wish I was still 3.5 seconds from their house..

so here starts the chapter, 

MOVING ON UP THE GROWING TREE OF LIFE...

enough with the seriousness,

on a FUN NOTE, i made my cake for CAKE POPS!!!

I'm going to get it mixed right now, let it chill over night, 

& then MMm can roll the balls tomorrow!

I even got cute, colored sticks for us to jab them with..

well I am off to bed!

tomorrow will be long and interesting I'm sure...

god bless!

happy birthday to my sister

Today my sister Alison is 13,

for the first REAL time I actually feel old..

I'm a whole 10 years older now, oyvey!

I always feel like we're missing out..

I enjoy living on our own & away from "everything" gives us a feeling

of unity because there's hardly any distraction, but for Family

stuff, I hate being so far (at least an hour away from Ontario)

We used to be involved in every birthday, Sunday bbq after church,

going over for dinner at my parents, but we're far now & sometimes

we just cant do it.

Less then a year & we hope to be
Upland/Rancho/Alta Loma residents again..

I really don't have anything planned for today,
Kevin works from 3-8 so lame,

& all my laundry & cleaning is done for the week..
I'm hoping to get to the grocery store

we're running outta kid snacks & the OH SO HOLY capri sun haha

Kids wanna make Ladybug Pretzels,
so I'll have pictures up once they're done.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday, stop & hug someone!!

t.g.i.f

t.g.i.f

really, once you're a parent, what does that even mean anymore?

before when you were in jr high, high school it meant,

going somewhere with friends, you were allowed to stay out til 11,

sleeping over at a friends, something fun & something that consumed your whole night..

now, as an Adult it means LAST DAY OF THE WORK WEEK!

as a Parent it means... now EVERYONE'S home!

family time

more cleaning

more cooking

as a Mother, your days roll into more days, into more days..

I see people so excited for t.g.i.f & it cracks me up..

MMm made a fort using our dinning room table & blankets,

they've been requesting every meal in their little "tree house"..

Other things going on...

I ordered my guest bathroom stuff from work, it should be here Monday!

Never thought I'd be so excited for rugs, 

a shower curtain, towels and wall decor..

Sunday, is my youngest sisters birthday, trying to shop for a teenager is

hazardous, for someone like me, I'm so indecisive sometimes...

Well, I hope everyone has an amazing weekend, enjoy & stay safe!!!

god bless.

exhausted

So, usually every Monday I "deep clean" our whole entire house..

• wash all bedding & comforters
• any dirty clothes & towels
• bleach the bathrooms aka scrub toilets
• mop
• scour the sinks & tubs
• dust

and whatever else I manage to find dirty, 

well, long story short this past Monday, came & went..

and TODAY I did my Monday routine.. 

the kids think its so funny because they go behind me 

& make a NEW mess & then they get an ear full. 

A few more years before their CUTE little STICKER

(4 easy things that two almost 4 year olds can do) 

Star Chore Chart turns into a more
MANLY, chore LIST...
but can I still give them STICKERS instead of $$ or the CAR? 

Anyways!!!

Tonight I'm going to try and give all three kids a quick
HAIRCUT.

They need it.

Since the Husband isn't going to be here for dinner,

I let MMm pick what they wanted for dinner, 

which was WAFFLES 

& I'm debating whether or not I want to make some coffee,

I am a COFFEE-A-HOLIC.

OHH! & I found the new sewing machine I'm going to get,
so excited to start making stuff again

I'm hoping I'll have the time to make MMm's Halloween costumes.

FINGERS CROSSED!

We're off to eat waffles and watch Transformers, AGAIN...

Goodnight Lake Elsinore!

peanut butter cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. creamy peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural)

1/3 c. sugar (plus more for rolling)

1/3 c. light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 & 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour

Hershey's Kisses (7 ounces)

READY-SET-BAKE!!!

Preheat oven to 375.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  

HERE WE GO:

Beat the butter and peanut butter until blended. 

Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy. 

 Add in the egg through vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.  

Add in the flour in 3 additions. 

Scrape the bottom and side of bowl as needed.

Place extra granulated sugar on a plate.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the sugar.

Place coated dough balls on the parchment-lined sheets.'

  

Bake cookies until the are a very light golden color, about 10 minutes. 

(Meanwhile, unwrap the kisses.)

Remove the cookies from the oven and it's go time!

Immediately place a kiss on top of each hot cookie, pressing down slightly.

{Kids LOVE to help with this part!}

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

GOOD LUCK WAITING TIL THEY'RE COOL!!! YUMMO!!!

tuesday is finally here..

Taco Tuesday!

We're actually having
Taco Salad..

Kevin's at work til late (lucky him haha)
the kids seem to sense when I have a headache,

they all of a sudden get LOUDER and need me more than usual.

I am so thankful that the older two have become more independent
(which now involves them using everyone's phone to play ANGRY BIRDS),

& with that comes the baby trying to be like them
because they're cool & older..
 breaks my heart!

m,

has been going potty on his little froggy potty
now for a week or so,

he did it all on his own,
at first I thought he was just messing around in there,
come to find out
(by MM's CHEERING)
he was really going potty like a big boy.

& 

we didn't make Cake Pops today..

I needed bark,
& didn't have a chance to get any before Kevin left for work..

maybe tomorrow or Thursday..

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?

my choice MONDAY!

Today I spent 75% of the day:

mopping, vacuuming, doing dishes, scrubbing toilets & scouring out the sinks and the tubs..

Tomorrow, the kids & I are going to make Cake Pops!

Woohoo!

In the mean time, I thought I'd pass this recipe on, considering is "Summer"

& a lot of us will be serving salads with meals.

*thanks to my Grandma for passing this on to me

Baja Verde Dressing

3/4 C buttermilk

1 1/2 ounces SHELLED Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds)

1-2 Large Garlic sections

2 Large bunches of Green Onion

1-2 C Cilantro

Place the above ingredients in the blender, blend IN ORDER & until everything is liquid.

ADD 15 ounces of Best Foods Mayo

BLEND until MIXED WELL

Mixture will be thin at first, but will thicken as it sets.

*if you want it thicker, you may add more Mayo

*this will keep for about a week

This is amazing on EVERYTHING:

enchiladas

tacos

salad (garnish with some more Pepitas)

pork, chicken, steak (instead of A1)

ENJOY!

welcome to my blog!

Let me start with some fun facts about myself & my family.

My name is Ashtin, I'm married to Kevin

We have three sons, 

MM (twins, born 09/30/07) 

m (born 09/22/09)

We love being outdoors, by the pool, going for walks, playing at the park,

we do the Disneyland thing often, thank goodness for Season Passes.

It seems like we're always Laughing, the kids have some crazy dance moves,

I seriously take THOUSANDS of photos,

We love to bake! well I love to bake, KMMm love to EAT it & during the Summer time,
we try to do a lot of crafts.

Like everyone, Mommy has her good days & one or two bad days,

but I try not to let them get the best of me.

With this blog, I anticipate lots of recipes, craft ideas

& hopefully we can do a TOPIC THURSDAY, so everyone can give some input on a weekly question.

Also, 

feel free to take any recipes or craft ideas, 

I'd love to hear from you after you try them & see what you did..

Have a Blessed Day!