I'm Still Here =)

I can't believe it has been over a month since I posted last! I remember people telling me going from 2 to 3 kids was really not that big of a change, I'd hate to call them liars BUT... I get that it's not as big of an adjustment, I mean I'm already in kid mode and am used to it and I don't panic over every whimper and whine the way I did with my first, but I literally can't go anywhere without another adult! My daughter is going through that lovely stage that most 2 year olds go through, I'd hate to call it "terrible" because she is just doing what 2 year olds do and doing it very well! All I can say is thank the Lord for drive-thru service~I do drive thru dry cleaning, online grocery shopping with drive-thru pick ups, some drive-thru eating (trying to cut down on that one), basically if there's a drive-thru I'm in!

Miss T is as cute as ever! She just turned 3 months yesterday and is finally growing out of being as colic, she definitely still has her acid reflux, but it doesn't seem to bother her as much! She starting rolling over which is very exciting and gives the cheesiest grins I have ever seen. I really don't remember my other two being this cheesy!

This is actually her 2 month picture, I am going to try to get to her 3 month this weekend, hopefully I can get a grin out of her on camera! She is always more interested in staring at my camera than at me!

I have jumped on the resolution band wagon and I am trying to get in shape and eat healthier! I have been going to the gym since the baby was about 7 weeks and have actually grown to love it! I really do have more energy and just feel less stressed~both very good things when you have three little ones! I have been trying to track my calories on this site and have really been shocked how many calories were in some things I was eating!!! I have been getting lots of healthy recipes from pinterest, this one being one of my favorites, it sounds like such a strange mixture of things, but I love it and make it for lunch all of the time! I think they are something like 110 calories for 4 of them!!! I mean I could eat 40 of these things and still be under my calorie goal for the day, not that I want to eat that many, but just sayin. I have also been making my own little mini sandwiches with the wonton wrappers, they are so low in calories and I feel like I'm eating a little taco! I seriously LOVE to eat so I am all for eating something healthy that makes you feel like you are eating something bad for you!


Also this dressing you use for this recipe is A-MAZE-ING! I make salads with it all the time and have also used it to marinade my steak and chicken, it is SO good!!!

I am also drinking only water and coffee thanks to mio! I am obsessed with mio, I take them everywhere! So far I love the fruit punch and sweet tea flavors!!!

I am trying this recipe from one of my favorite blogs tonite so I will let you know how it turns out! Not really sure how healthy it is, but it sounds so yummy!

Hope you all are having a great start to 2012! Hopefully I will get to post more often!!!

Christmas Quiz

I've seen this on lots of blogs and thought I would do my own! Have a Merry Christmas!!!

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot Chocolate with peppermint!!!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He sets them by the tree, which makes it a lot easier on him ;)
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like a mixture of white and red!
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but that would be fun!
5. When do you put your decorations up? Normally right after Thanksgiving, but this year after the new baby this has been a very slow gradual process!
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I love green bean casserole~we have a special recipe I'll have to share in my next post! Its delish!
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I remember the funny toys my grandpa would give to the adults, I feel like he got the same excitement out of Christmas that I do now! We always would go to sleep on Christmas Eve and my sister and I would look for Santa's sleigh outside my window. We would get awakened in the night (as though we had ever gone to sleep), by santa (wink, wink) making lots of noise (bells and the reindeer hooves on the rooftop). My sister and I would get so excited!
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? A little girl down the street told me about the tooth fairy actually being my parents. I went home and asked my mom and she told me the truth. I sat there and slowly started asking her about the others, i.e. Easter Bunny, and finally...Santa! I remember when she told me how crushed I was! I hope I can have mine believe as long as possible!
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, all the gifts from my parents, we save our presents and santas for the morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Right now it is burgundy and gold. I am wanting to add some leopard next year! I love animal print!!! I have also thought about changing it up and doing all white and silver like my mom's, I love her tree.
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Love every second of it! I love how it makes everything look!
12. Can you ice skate? I used to take lessons when I was little, not sure how i would do these days!
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I really loved getting my dollhouse when I was little!
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Jesus, time with family, seeing the kids faces and excitement with santa and I can't forget good food!
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? I love pumpkin pie or bread pudding!
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I love elf on a shelf, we also pick a new piece for our Christmas village every year all together!
17. What tops your tree? an angel
18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Definitely giving, I really love picking out gifts for everyone and then getting to see them open them!
19. Candy canes: yuck or yummy? Yuck unless they are used to stir my coffee or hot cocoa
20. Favorite Christmas show? Oh gosh...for the kids frosty the snowman, for me It's a Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, Elf and my favorite Love Actually
21. Saddest Christmas song? I love Christmas music, it takes me to a happy place so I can't think of a sad one! I could listen to it year round!
22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Baby It's Cold Outside, Silent Night, Santa Baby, All I Want for Christmas Is You

Photo Card

Ho Ho Cheer Christmas

Quick and easy: Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

SALE SALE SALE

Anyone in the mood for a coupon code???? How about 5!!! This year I've teamed up with 5 other amazing Etsy shops to offer you 15% off in ALL shops tomorrow (11/14) through Monday, Nov 21st!! Use code HOLIDAY15 in any of these amazing shops: www.abcchildren.etsy.com, www.babypaige.etsy.com, www.rosieposiedesigns.etsy.com, www.swishdesigns.etsy.com, www.tiptoplollipop.etsy.com, www.tagalongadventure.etsy.com.

What's Been Keeping Me???

I know I have not posted in a while, but when you see why, I'm sure you will understand! Hope to get back into the routine of things after the holidays!!!

WINNER and a Recipe

We have a...
So excited to announce that Monica is the winner of the personalized phone cover giveaway! So excited for you!!! Just email me at paperliciousgirls@yahoo.com and I can do a design just for you! Keep posted for more giveaways during the holiday season!!! And today and tomorrow are the last days to use the code: PHONE15 at checkout when you purchase a cover in my etsy shop, yay for discounts!

For all the ladies that didn't win the phone cover out there~don't worry I never win anything either, but I do have a really yummy recipe to share!


Doesn't that just look delicious! Another one that EVERYONE loved at my house, and like I've said before, that is not easy to do!

This is a copy cat recipe from Macaroni Grill's Pasta Milano and another pinterest find from this blog! I made some changes, but it turned out great! My family loves sauce, we are the smother your bread and scoop up the sauce kind of people so I always do 1 and a half or double the sauce portions of recipes! You can also always freeze the extra and use for later!

Pasta Milano
inspired by Macaroni Grill, adapted from Recipezaar

3 slices bacon, diced-(I used 5, we like bacon around here)
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces ( I used 4 thin sliced chicken breasts)

4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed (doubled this)

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (My hubby doesn't like sun-dried tomatoes, so I added some sun-dried tomato tapenade instead to get the flavor of them~I just added to taste)
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced (I used an entire container of the pre-sliced mushrooms, I really don't think 1 cup would've been enough)

1 cup chicken broth, divided (doubled)

1 cup heavy cream (or half & half for a lower fat version) (I used half and half and doubled)

salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces dry farfalle (bowtie) pasta (used a 16 oz bag)
water for boiling pasta
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (Just eyeballed this)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (doubled)

In a large skillet over high heat, brown the diced bacon. Season the cut up chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and saute until lightly browned. Once the chicken is cooked, add the sliced mushrooms and saute until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes and chicken broth to the hot skillet. Allow it come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the cream and bring to a boil; stirring.Take off heat and add the bacon, chicken and mushroom to the sauce and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add dry pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, transfer to a bowl.

Pour the chicken and sauce over the hot pasta and toss. Place in a baking dish and top with shredded Parmesan cheese and bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until cheese melts.

Garnish with fresh basil and serve hot.

* To make ahead/freezer meals - Prepare as directed, however cook pasta to barely al dente. There should be a bite to the pasta where it's not completely cooked. Place pasta, chicken and sauce in an ovenproof container and allow to cool. Cover and freezer. When ready to prepare, defrost and bake in preheated oven as directed above.

Midweek Randoms...AKA My Pity Party

This week has just been one of those weeks!!! A when it rains it pours week...so I thought I would make my midweek randoms a little pity party and you're all invited =)

~The main upset of my week has been the loss of my wedding ring. I am extremely absent minded, I literally misplace my keys every single time I go to my parents house...seriously EVERY time, so it is no surprise that on occasion I take my wedding ring off somewhere and can't find it BUT this time is different! On the few times this has happened before I find it in a drawer somewhere I stuck it when I was cooking or giving the kids a bath, but I always find it within an hour or less of looking. This has been days and I have literally torn my house apart, I have looked in drawers, the trash (twice...yuck!), under every piece of furniture I can think of, in the kids toy box and the list goes on and on and on, but still no ring. I know I had it when I got home and I know the next day before I left I went to put it on and couldn't find it so it HAS to be here somewhere. My husband is going to take apart the sinks with hopes if one of my kiddos knocked it in, it will be stuck inside the pipes, but I am at a complete loss! My pregnant brain is failing me...BIG TIME, or my little almost 2 year old princess took off with mommy's ring and there is no telling where she left it! I know it is a material item, but this is something my husband worked so hard to pay for and I absolutely love everything about it and just cannot get over losing it! Please pray that it is found, until then it is cubic zirconia for me!

~Another fun thing this week is my husband's truck finally went kaput! (Secretly I am not a fan of this truck, but it is just another thing we get to pay for, so it would've been nice if it would've stuck around a little longer) Having a new baby on the way, extra expenses are not welcomed, but thats life!

~OK, OK though I am having a pity party I do always TRY to look on the bright side of things! All in all I have amazing family, the man of my dreams, two amazing healthy kiddos, my own little business that I absolutely love, and a healthy baby growing in my belly about to make her debut into this world...so all in all life is good!

~I also had my baby shower this week, which was so much fun! I am truly blessed to have so many great friends and family members, I will have to do a little post from my shower this week, but here is my cute little invite...(I of course whited out all of the info)

Who can be too upset when they get to see this little face everyday LOL, this is what her brother did with her, they always are making me laugh!!!


DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY FOR THE PERSONALIZED PHONE COVER, ENDS THIS FRIDAY 11:59PM

http://paperliciousgirls.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveawaycell-phone-cover.html

GIVEAWAY~CELL PHONE COVER

I have had lots of you ask about doing a phone cover giveaway AND I haven't done my special giveaway for 1,000 FB fans so....yay we are doing a cell phone cover giveaway today!!!!

Here are some ideas, or you can customize one of your own!
GIVEAWAY UNTIL FRIDAY THE 30TH AT 11:59 PM

Here are the details....To Enter:

1 entry- visit my etsy store and comment with your favorite design

1 entry- Become a follower of the Paperlicious Girls blog

1 entry- Become a Paperlicious Girl fan on FB

1 entry- Share about this giveaway via FB, your blog, twitter etc!!!

5 entries- Purchase something from my Rosie Posie Design etsy shop

DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL INFO WITH YOUR ENTRY SO I CAN CONTACT YOU!

DON'T WORRY IF YOU DON'T WIN BECAUSE I AM ALSO OFFERING A SPECIAL PHONE DISCOUNT CODE TO BE USED UNTIL FRIDAYTHE 30TH...Enter PHONE15 for a 15% off discount at my etsy shop!!!

Custom Listing Shout Out!

I love making custom listings at my etsy shop! I love getting creative and making your awesome ideas come to life!!! Here are just a few from this week...man I have creative customers!

What's For Dinner???

I want to start doing a weekly recipe post from some meals we are trying at home. I LOVE getting new recipes, and I LOVE cooking. I have been getting SO many awesome recipe ideas from pinterest, so I thought it would be fun to try them out on the Paperlicious Family and then share with you all! This one was a crowd pleaser! The hubby, the kids and I all ate and really liked it, which is not easy to do! I am not sure who is more picky my husband or my son, but to make something they both like was a major success! My husband is not an onion or veggie fan~but I like to sneak these things in every now and then and see if he notices! This recipe has onions and red bell pepper and he did not say a word~shhh don't tell! My son is generally not a chicken fan, but I shredded some up and threw it in and he ate every last bite, go ME!

I toned down the spices a bit because I was feeding to the kids, but I love me some spice so I think it would have been even better with some added heat!

CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA
compliments of pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded {or shredded rotisserie chicken…I used the breasts and boiled them}

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 {4 oz.} can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder (I used 1 tsp. cayenne pepper)

1 tsp. cumin

2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese {I used fiesta blend}

1 cup sour cream (I used the light)

Penne pasta

Optional toppings

Avocado

Green Onions

Black Olives

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Cook chicken, drain, and shred {or shred your rotisserie}. Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies. The most time consuming part of this recipe is the time spent chopping the veggies. Y’all…it took like, 5 minutes ;)

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces. Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through. Now toss in the sour cream, but whatever you do, DO NOT bring to a boil! Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle. Gross. Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

Just wait. It gets better. Drain pasta & return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta and mix well. Serve and garnish with avocado, tomato, green onion, and a dollop of sour cream.

Fabulous Fall!

Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year! I love the weather, the football, the fun things to do, the pretty trees and the colors~ especially for clothes! This year I get to welcome our newest addition during fall so that makes it that much more wonderful! I love fall/halloween decor and have found so many neat ideas on pinterest! Here are a few pretty things I thought I would share!

This pretty burlap wreath would brighten up any door! You can buy here on etsy!

I love this outdoor halloween display! Makes me want to paint my pumpkins instead of carving this year!

Or if I don't paint them, I would love to do twinkle pumpkins like these! Maybe I will do a mixture of both!

If little Miss Tatum doesn't make an early arrival, I would love to do this with Jackson and Sydnie, it sounds like so much fun, here is a link to the printable!

I also love the idea of these treat bags for Jackson's classmates! I think I would add a tag saying "Happy Owloween"

And of course don't forget about a Halloween Plate...gotta have one of these ;)

***DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE GIVEWAY FOR THE FREE SCRAPBOOK SOFTWARE FROM MY MEMORIES HERE!!!

My Memories Giveaway Until Friday at 11:59PM

Most of you would be surprised to know that as much as I love crafting I am TERRIBLE at scrapbooking. I actually bought a pre-made scrapbook for Sydnie and all I have to do is glue the pictures inside and here she is one and a half years old and there it sits...still empty!

I was asked to do a product review and giveaway from My Memories and so I thought maybe if I were to do my scrapbooking digitally I would be better at it! Nothing to keep track of, all my pictures are already on my computer, and I wouldn't have to organize tons of scrapbook paper, stickers, etc. I have been looking over their software for a couple of days and really do love it. It is super easy to work with, the picture I did below took me about 5 to 10 minutes of playing around and I really love how it turned out! You are able to add music straight from itunes, you can also add videos which I thought was really fun! Here is a little something I made from one of our family pictures a couple of years back:

Isn't that so adorable? My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software is a fun and creative way to keep and share memories, whether you have a Mac or PC. The software's design tools will help you to build entire albums effortlessly using one of the many installed templates, or designing your very own pages from scratch. I know I have barely even skimmed everything I will be able to do with this software and I can't wait to see everything I can come up with!

My Memories has been SO gracious in offering one of my lucky blog followers this digital scrapbook software for FREE! It is a $39.97 value~which I already think is a great deal! Think of how much it costs to make one scrapbook on your own, at least triple that price and with their software the amount you can make is limitless!

Here is how to enter:

1 entry- Visit My Memories and choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout and comment about it below
1 entry- Visit My Memories Facebook and "like" them
1 entry-Visit My Memories Blog and become a follower
1 entry-Follow My Memories via Twitter

My Memories is even more awesome because they have offered all of you a $10 off code to use with your purchases! You can copy this code: STMMMS32084 and enter at checkout to get your $10 off! Feel free to share with family and friends!!!!

Here is a great youtube video where you can watch a scrapbook page being created through My Memories Suite step by step! It really is SO simple!

Enjoy and don't forget to enter by Friday, September 16th at 11:59pm!

Confessions of an (Over)Emotional Mom...

Well since I blogged last my oldest started Pre-K at a big boy elementary school. Let's just say it was an emotional week for mom! I had him enrolled in the preschool where he went to Mother's Day Out. I was fine with this...it was their 4 year old program, so it wasn't the same, but it didn't seem too different to me. And then we got the phone call...

Literally on my way to meet the teacher, the elementary school we had him on a waiting list for called with an opening. This hit me...HARD! I was comfortable with the preschool idea, it wasn't big boy school yet, he's been going there for 3 years so it didn't seem like it was a big change. I could just not wrap my head around the fact that he would actually be going to an elementary school full time. My husband called me with the news (poor thing), he was so excited because it would save us a lot of money every month and we had both been talking about how we had wished we could've gotten him in...he was SO thrown off when I just burst into tears, I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm 31 weeks pregnant! I was an emotional wreck, I never knew I was going to react like this. I cried to Justin (my hubby), to my parents (a few times each) and pretty much anyone else who would listen~if you are laughing at me, please refer to the "31 weeks pregnant" clause in the sentence above =). What's even worse is I used to teach Pre-K, so I knew how much fun he would have, but the emotions just kept coming.

It definitely took me a bit to get used to it, but Jackson absolutely LOVES it. His teacher seems amazing, and he has been having such a great time...so everything happens for a reason and mommy had to let go...a little. Here are some pics from his first day...sniffle, sniffle!

Eating on his "First Day of School Plate"
With our sign! I plan on doing this every year, I think it will be fun to see how he grows.
I hope he thinks this is as fun as I do when he hits 13, hopefully he will humor me!

***Side note~don't you love how Sydnie is too busy admiring her shoes in this picture to pose with her brother. If anyone knows my daughter she is a shoe freak! Especially other peoples shoes. I just took her to a birthday party last week where the kids took their shoes off to bounce in a jupiter jump. This was like Christmas morning for Sydnie, she could care less about bouncing and was so excited to try on everyone's shoes. I think we are in for some trouble!***
Ok back to Jackson...here we are on the car ride to school!
Walking in...he would not let this lunch box out of his sight!
And lining up to go to class!

I was holding back tears the entire time, I didn't want him to see me get upset! I made it all the way down to his classroom and then my husband gave me a sympathetic look and a hug. This is like the kiss of death for me, if you comfort me when I am on the verge of getting upset, it just all comes out~although I love my hubby and it was such a sweet gesture! I had to give Jackson a quick kiss, grab Sydnie and book it to the car. Jackson didn't see one tear being shed, so I think I did a really good job!

Does anyone else have first day of school stories??? I hope I'm not the only overly emotional mommy LOL!

***IPAD cases are here***

‎***IPAD Cases Are Now Available!!!*** Here is a little sneak peek! Adorable ipad sleeve to protect your iPad, netbook, eBook, tablet or other small electronic devices sized up to 10"x8". Extra room to store your cell phone, charger, cord and plugs. Shock-absorbing neoprene material, design on front only! Machine washable! Zip at top!

Free Printable~Teacher Survival Kit

I saw this idea several places online and loved it, I will have to post pics when I get my little buckets all put together. Here is a free printable of the paper I am putting in with my items, I left the signature part blank so you can fill in with your child's name. Let me know if the printable won't work for you to print and I can try to repost or just email it to you! Hope you enjoy!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h297/justash23/jacksonteachersurvivalkit.jpg