Brand New Baby Girl

The other Wednesday was a half day at the kids' school, so Katie and I took the chance to scrapbook together.  I love getting the chance to do that with her.  She worked on a couple layouts while I worked on this layout for Maggie's album.  I love this photo of Matt and her the day she was born.  It's one of my favorites.  Here's a closer look:

Bacon Mac & Cheese

Earlier this week I made this mac & cheese for dinner...and it was exquisite!  Hands down the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had.  If you are a pasta lover and enjoy mac and cheese you might want to try this recipe!  In our house this had made the list of famous meals.

Project Life | Beginning

And so it begins!  After months of hoping I had started Project Life at the beginning of the year, I am giving in and getting going.  For those of you who are wondering what Project Life is, you can learn more about it at Becky Higgin's blog here.  I also love getting inspirations from Ali Edwards and Cathy Zielske. 

One of the things I am loving so far about this project is how it really does revolutionize scrapbooking.  Not as basic as a plain photo album but not as complicated as a scrapbook page...just a happy marriage of the two. : )  Will I continue to traditionally scrapbook?  Of course!  However, these days I'm finding it challenging to find the time to pull those together like I'd like to.  So with the Project Life approach I'll be able to capture the moments I want to throughout the week without the pressure of creating a 'finished' scrapbook page.  Not a photo a day, just different moments/memories throughout the week.

Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This weekend I decided to try my hand at making my own buttercream frosting and found this recipe from Savory Sweet Life.  To say that I am loving this site would be an understatement, and I am really looking forward to trying out some of the recipes I found here!  I'm not a huge baker and really don't have any advanced skills in the kitchen, but the end results were delicious (so if I can do this so can you)!  I really didn't need a big bowl of butter and sugar calling my name, but there's just something fun about trying something new, and giving my kiddos a chance to have fun in the kitchen too. 

So we turned this...

...into this:

'Stenciling' with Adobe Photoshop CS5

I decided last minute that I'd send one of the photos I recently got of Maggie along with a holiday card this year for  Easter.  After playing around in Photoshop I found a really neat technique so I figured I'd share it!  It's super easy and leaves the look of stenciled letters onto the photograph in any text you want.

6 Month Photo Shoot | Part Three

So here are the last bunch of edited shots from our photo shoot last week.  These are definitely some of my favorites!!  : ) 

6 Month Photo Shoot | Part Two

Here are some more photos of my Maggie that I got during our photo shoot earlier in the week.  Had fun editing and trying a few different actions on my photos. 

Little One

This week I put together another layout for Maggie's baby album.  I love how these photos capture where she was during the first two weeks at home.  The base for this layout was some plain white cardstock that I'd misted a few months ago using Tim Holtz Adirondak Alcohol Inks.  It's a very subtle technique but so fun!  The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye's Alphabet Soup line.  I used the "Lovely" and "200 cuties" patterns.  The tag is made from Pink Paislee's Sweetness Collection "Pretty Lace" patterned paper.  I bought a few different things from that collection a while ago and am loving using it!

6 Month Photo Shoot | Part One

This week my youngest daughter Maggie reached her 6 month milestone, so yesterday I set up a little photo shoot at home to capture where she's as right now.  Love some of the shots I got so I have to share:

6 Months Old

Today  my baby girl is six months old.  She is such a blessing and there are so many things I want to remember about her right now.

Right now she is such a mama's girl, and I fall for it every time.  After spending the day with her there are times when I would love for her to be content to play with her daddy or bubby or sissy so I can have some 'hands free' time, and more often than not lately (especially in the evening) she is crying for me and craning her neck to see if she can spot me.  She's happiest hanging around on my hip. : )

Right now she is sitting up on her own!  Today was the first, even if she did topple over a few times.  When she can keep her balance she gets so excited.

Right now she has her bottom two teeth.  These came in just within the last month.  We are all happy they finally poked through.

Right now she is venturing into solid foods and loves it.  New tastes and textures at mealtime make her a very happy girl.  Love when she gets a little shiver and the expression on her chubby little face when she eats something tart.

Right now she is curious.  She wants to touch everything.  And taste it if she can.

Right now she is falling into a regular routine with her eat and sleep schedules.  Finally.

Right now she is so happy when she wakes up in the morning.  She lets us know it by talking.  Loudly. 

Right now she is talking.  Lots of "aaaaaah" and "da da da da" and other strings of syllables put together.  "Da da" was her first word, which he loves of course. : )

Right now she's scooting, sitting, bouncing, rolling, grabbing and drooling.

Right now our family would not be the same without her.  Every day I find new reasons to be so incredibly thankful for the wonderful little blessing that God has entrusted me with.  ♥

Amazing Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Warning: This recipe is semi-homemade!  If you are a strictly "scratch" baker stop reading now! : )

I have a secret to share...I rarely bake from scratch!  Actually, I rarely bake at all unless it is around the holidays, but recently something has gotten into me and I want to bake.  The other day I was craving lemon, so I grabbed this in passing while I was at the market.  This recipe starts with a box of Krusteaz Lemon Bars Supreme Mix, with the variation of the recipe right on the back of the box.  Since they are getting rave reviews from my family tonight I figured I would share the recipe here with you. 

More March Family Snapshots

Love getting the chance to grab some photos of my kids.  No fancy setup, just pictures around the house of us in our daily routines.  Then just a few minutes of editing and I end up with family photos I love.

Matt took this one of Maggie and I the other afternoon.  I love how it captures her happy smile.  I can't get enough of that chubby face!  So cute, drool and all.

School Day in the Life of a 2nd Grader

I took these photos of Josiah a few months ago, highlighting a bit of our after school routine during the week.  This year his homework is pretty easy so he tends to whip right through it, but I managed to get a few shots of home practicing his writing and comprehension. 

I loved getting the chance to play with some of the goodies I ordered a while back.  Finally!  Love getting the chance to create, even if it's just here and there.

Love My Lego Guy

This weekend I was lucky enough to get the chance to spend a little time getting creative and playing with some photos that I'd had waiting for me for a while. I ordered some new goodies a while back as well and was happy I finally got the chance to play with them.

This layout highlights a little bit about Josiah's love of Lego's and Star Wars, sporting his fav shirt of the moment that features both. I love how I managed to capture his smile even though he was trying his best not too grin!