InstaFriday Already!?!

Is it really Friday again and I haven't posted anything since last Friday {scratch head now}?!  Well, I have my excuses and you'll see why I haven't posted in a second...

...but first, let's start off with that cutie pie below!

  Kyan ended his football season on Saturday with a win and a party at the park, where he received his trophy!  He had a great season and we are so proud of his sportsmanship and his talent on the field!  We got the week off, but get ready to start baseball on Monday!

We had beautiful weather last weekend and after the football party, the kids and I headed straight to the pool in the backyard to enjoy it!!!  We spent almost the entire day outside, it was amazing!

Sunday was a sad day and started with taking my parents to the airport after church.  Still missing them and wishing they were here.  In fact, when Lola saw me posting this picture, she wouldn't let me move on to the next picture for like 10 minutes.  She just wanted to keep looking at grandpa and grandma.  After the airport, Lola snuggled up in her favorite blanket (I swear a how-to post is coming soon for that one) to watch a movie while Chad and I made a nice dinner: steak and homemade onion rings!  After dinner, we watched Hillbilly Handfishin' as a family and Lola finally learned to crack her own sunflower seeds!  I remember eating seeds since I was a tiny one too, so this is a big deal to me for whatever reason!?  I know, kinda silly.

Alright, now began my week.  Going in I knew it was going to be crazy, it is every year around this time.  I despise yearbook deadlines.  They make my skin crawl and no matter how much of a plan I have to make it easier for next year, it never fails, the second half of the book always takes forever!  I have worked until almost 6-6:15 every single night (not to mention the work that gets put in when I actually get home) on that bad boy and there is no way I could do it alone.  I have had some big time help from some amazing students this year and they have stayed late with me - they even missed the school dance (even though I was one of the chaperones) on Thursday to help out!  We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel... 

I also recruited these two beauties to help out the other day!  They were my saving grace last year around this time and I can say the same thing once again this year (and they aren't even my students anymore)!  The picture on the right is Alyssa's school binder, I was cool enough to make the cover!  I love them BIG!!!  Both are seriously like daughters.  I am so proud of the young ladies that I see growing up right before my eyes!  Thank you both for coming in and helping.

 Chad has been awesome with the kids and holding down the fort while I work later than usual!  The kids have been busy together playing Skylander on the XBox together, after Kyan cashed in his $$$ from his piggy bank.  He wanted that game so bad and used his gift card from his birthday he has been saving and the money to get it (he never taps into that thing either, that is how we know he wanted it so bad).  We made him count all of his money to make sure that he had enough!  It was very cute to watch his reaction when he realized he did!  He also does a very good job of letting Lola feel like she is playing too, by letting her switch out the characters!  She loves it almost as much as him.

 To help get me through the week a little, I went to my girlfriend (and best neighbor ever) Kelly's birthday party at the wine bar, she turned 8 - a leap year baby.  Did I ever mention I hate wine?  No?!  I do...or I guess I thought I did.  Little did I know about Bex Riesling or Marco Negri Moscato (which is my new favorite, delicious)!?  I think I will pick up a bottle tonight after work!

 Last thing, I ordered that case above from Uncommon the other day.  I can't wait for it to arrive.  Uncommon lets you design your own cases, using premade artwork or by uploading your own art or pictures! How cool is that? 

Promise not to let another week go by without a post or two in between!  Happy weekend y'all!

InstaFriday!!!

It's Friday, Friday.

Gotta get down on Friday.

(Just can't help but get those song lyrics in my head when Friday rolls around)!

Anywho...Friday is now becoming my favorite day of the week, because I get to look back and reflect on the week that we shared together as a family {which is the reason why I blog in the first place} now with my random instagram pictures!!!

 So without further delay...our week!

I entered my first instagram giveaway from Lisa Leonard Designs.  You had to take a picture of your favorite piece that you own of hers and link it up on her hashtag #mylisaleonard.   I didn't win, but my picture was one of her favorites that did get featured on her blog yesterday, when she recapped about her giveaway!  That was exciting for sure and made my day!  There were a lot of cool pictures and really beautiful stories that went along with them!

 

 Daddy was on duty Saturday, while I spent the day with my mother-in-law and my two sister-in-laws, and one of their friends!  Girls days are always needed and this one was quite the treat, we went to see Wicked!  I have forever and ever wanted to see this show and I spent it with some amazing ladies, so it made it that much more special!

  

 

 Oh it was special alright...until we got to our seats, which happened to be in the balcony, the furthest at the top you could get.  Did I mention I AM TERRIFIED OF HEIGHTS!!??!!  I seriously was having trouble breathing and sweat was dripping off of my back I was so scared.  It didn't help that they let us get seated in advance either, since my mother-in-law in still recovering from her hip replacement and there was no handicap section where we were at!  So we were there early with no one but us for about 20 minutes and those walls were closing in!  I focused on the stage only, if I looked anywhere else, panic set in instantly.  The show was amazing, just as I thought it was going to be. 

Before heading up the mountain, I made Lola a playlist made up of songs only her "boyfriend" sings {don't let that Sean Kingston song fool you, Justin Bieber is featured on that one}.  We blasted it all the way to Grandpa and Grandma's house, daddy was so thrilled!

 

We spent our entire Sunday up at my parents place.   Hung out with cousin Hannah and her hubby Will and our friend Kyle too.  Even some old friends that I grew up with were in town and joined in on the fun!  Long time...no see...it was nice to play catch up!   We fed the ducks and played at the park before having a nice lunch together.

Lunch was hotdogs and hamburgers by the way!  When my dad told me he was firing up the grill, I made all the fixings for my favorite kind of hot dog - the Califonia Dog?!  HUH?!  Really, I just noticed that I spelled California WRONG as I am looking at this picture I posted {thanks instagram friends, surely someone had to have noticed, yet said nothing?!  Embarrassing}!  I was going to change it, but think it is hilarious for some reason, so I am leaving it, just as I posted it?!

Despite my spelling error, these hotdogs really are the best dogs you will ever eat.  I really believe they changed the way I will eat one for life!  If you are interested to see what is in it, click here!

Monday the kids and I had off of school and you can bet that my mama was over bright and early to help me clean {she woke my butt up actually}!  It was soooooooo nice to have her help and we really got a lot done!  She is a machine and I am so thankful that she helps me like she does, both my parents really!  My dad brought all of the girls at school lunch on Wednesday, just because.  So sweet!  They have taken my kids to school, picked them up, played with them for hours and hours!  It has been nice to come home and loads of laundry are done or my bed is made or the house is just picked up, not exactly how I left it from the morning.  They are amazing!   I am going to miss them when they leave Sunday {I will cry real tears}.  I know that I am lucky they spend as much time as they do down here and I know I see them a lot more than so many kids who have parents that live in the same town as they do, but I can't help but say it, I want them to be here forever.  Until that happens, I will keep dreaming and cherish every second I do get to spend with them!

Lola loves having her hair fixed curly and I made it happen for her earlier this week!  Having it done like this is a special treat and because we leave so early, it happens once in a blue moon!

A bright and early day, headed to school, happy as could be!

To thank my mom for all her help lately, I made one of her favorite meals for her Tuesday evening:  Parmesan Crusted Ranch Chicken!  Much easier to make than those hotdogs from above, here is how:

1 cup crushed Corn Flakes

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 packet Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix

*Mix together*

In a small dish on the side melt 1/2 stick butter.  Take thawed chicken breast, dip both sides in butter, then in mixture on both sides, place in casserole dish. Mixture makes approximately 6-8 chicken breasts. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

Grandma finally paid up on her bet with Kyan, and he got his massage!  They bet on the winner of the Superbowl game and obviously Kyan won!  He enjoyed his little foot rub while eating a brownie sundae dessert!  Rough life I know! Later that night in the bubble bath he said, "It's the life when you are laying in a hot bath and bubbles are popping in your ear!"  Sometimes I wanna be seven again.

My friend Holly happens to trust me for all of her hemming needs!  I am really not sure if I am doing it right or not, but it works for her and looks decent enough for me to give back to her without hanging my head in shame!  Happy to help out a friend!

Lola is very independent in just about every thing she does and getting dressed in the morning is no exception.  She likes it when I lay out her clothes in the order she should put them on right in front of the TV in my room, that way she gets ready and still gets to watch her cartoons!

 I have been getting bored with my hair lately, but because it is short, I don't have a ton of options, so after almost 3 years of trying to grown my bangs out and almost getting there, I cut them again Wednesday night!  Welcome back bangs!  I have a love/hate relationship with you, I am sure that it won't be any different this time around!  For now, I love you.

Thursday was McTeacher night at the local McDonald's.  Always fun, always successful for the school as a fundraiser, always crazy busy!  This was the look I got from the kids after we left the madhouse!  It was fun while it lasted!

 She looks so cute sleeping, if only she would stay in her bed at night.  Girlfriend creeps into our room around 2am a few times a week because she is scared of any and everything.  It drives me crazy, but I really should cherish the fact that she needs me and wants to be close, I know it won't be that way forever.

 

Urban Outfitters {P}inspired - Ruffled Duvet

Alright, so before I go any further - the final home for this duvet is NOT on Lola's bed {although it is pictured on it for now} even though I wish she could keep it!  

 

You see, Celeste {who is NOT my daughter, but might as well be at times, I spend that much time with her} text me and asked if I could help her make this? duvet?!  Her bedroom is getting a makeover and she was having trouble finding the perfect duvet to cover her bed with {she even made her own headboard, crafty little thing}.  After a quick peek at the tutorial, from Kiki Creates, that went with her picture she pinned, I responded that it looked simple enough and that I would try!

Her bed is a full, so we grabbed two queen size white sheets from Walmart for the duvet and one king size sheet to use for the ruffles.  And ruffle our little hearts out we did!  Actually, Celeste did most of the work, I just helped when a part was too tricky.  She wanted to learn how to sew and what better way to learn than to just jump right in?!  

We used the tutorial for the different types of ruffles from the same website where she was first inspired, found here.  At first we weren't sure about the big triple ruffle, but once on the duvet, we ended up loving it, so yes, we used all of them shown!

 We ruffled our little hearts out and seriously, we thought they might never end!

Next we pinned and sewed them onto the duvet after we placed them exactly where we wanted them.

 Ta-Da!!!  So white and ruffly and made for about a quarter of the price as the Urban Outfitters duvet cover!  Kind of embarrassing how dirty and dingy Lola's bed skirt looks compared to our newly created duvet - but I couldn't show it any other way {Celeste still doesn't have her room set up quite yet for pictures, but once it does, I am invading her space to take pictures of the duvet on her bed and hoping to capture it in better lighting}!

I had so much fun late night crafting with Celeste {this project did take us several days}!  I do not feel like I am a pro sewer by any means, but was excited to see that I could do this one!  Learning that the possibilities are endless with my machine and looking forward to more sewing adventures in the future!

Linking up with these party people!

InstaFriday & Two of My Favorite Apps

Ok, so first up, want to start off by stating that there are two iPhone apps that I have been LOVING as of late and they are worth telling you about!  I love collages and have been using them on this blog for a few years, so when I read about Diptic, I knew I needed it!  

It is free, but I paid for the upgrade {although I never use, save your money} so that I could move around the edges and create more of a custom collage if I wanted to {think it was $0.99}.  The pictures that you see on here in collages were all done using it! 

The other is Labelbox! 
It adds the cute little labels to the pictures and it is totally free {not true, you can pay $0.99 for upgraded labels, but I haven't yet, I like the free ones better}!  I actually downloaded it last week, but remembered it yesterday?!  And just like that I am addicted and want to put labels on all of my pictures now!

Now let's get down to our week, it was jammed packed!

Friday seemed to have been all about Kyan!  Headed to school in his favorite Pink Mouse Inc. t-shirt and had an ice skating birthday party later that evening.  We turned it into a little mommy/son date!  It was so much fun {and freezing}!  Kyan turned out to be a much better ice skater than me, I held onto the side almost the entire time!  He was out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow!

 Saturday morning we headed to Kyan's football game, where he had quite the crowd!  Both sets of grandparents came to watch, along with cousin Mason!  Despite our cheering efforts, Kyan's team lost.

 After the game, just the girls headed out for a day together!  It had been planned for quite some time and I am not sure who was more excited to be honest!  It was THE BEST DAY EVER!

 

 Lola had been counting down her sleeps for quite some time until her birthday and the day that she got to get her ears pierced!  Despite me warning her that it was going to hurt, she still did it {if you know Lola, you know she is quite the wuss and can be seen wearing multiple band-aids on a tiny scratch}!  Not Saturday!  She climbed right up on the chair by herself and sat there very cool, calm, and collected...until right at the very end and she heard the noise of the gun piercing her ears {at the same time, otherwise I knew I might have ended up with a one pierce wonder child}!  She grabbed at her ears before the backs of the earrings were on!  Whoops!  That was the only dramatic part, after that, she whimpered a few more times, but has been fine ever since!  She happily lets me clean them and is in LOVE with her sparkly ears!

We got stuck in crazy traffic on the way home and what better to do than have a dance party to Justin Bieber!  I love this picture that I snapped of the two of them shakin' it!  I think we listed to JB over 40 times over the course of the Saturday!  But according to Lola, you can't ever have to much Bieber Fever!

We met up with the boys for dinner, where the kids managed to NOT eat very much for dinner but CRUSHED the Brownie Obsession!

Sunday was Lola's 4th birthday!  We went to church and breakfast, had a mini photo session, and then celebrated with a few close friends and family members at home.  All of the little girls that came over dressed up as princesses!  It was so adorable to see them!  I do have real pictures and plan on doing a real post about her day...sometime soon!  

 Sunday night, Lola took a turn for the worst and I put in a warning call to my parents that I just might need them to watch her so that I could go to work!  I was lucky that they were so willing, because that call went in about 6:30am!  They even came down the mountain to get her!  Life savers!  Before they went back up the hill, grandpa walked Kyan to school!

It was a battle of the medicine Monday too!  While Afrin is my best friend, I took Lola to the doctor, as I figured she probably had a sinus infection because her cough had been happening really since she had croup, two weeks ago!  Mama was right and they gave her gross medicine once again!  I had Walgreen's flavor it and even put food coloring in it to try and entice Lola!  After two meltdowns, I am happy to say that she is happily taking her medicine with out her head spinning all the way around her body three times in a row!

Also, Monday night, after Auntie Rae's birthday party, Kyan helped me put together handmade Valentine's for himself and Lola!  We got them done just in time for bed!

My Sweethearts!

The kids and I snuck cards into Chad's car Monday night, so he could have a nice surprise before he went to work!  I had beautiful roses delivered to work!  Lola made the sweetest cards for us too!  The kids and I went to the Valentine's Day Dance at school, where Lola and I proceeded to boogie, while Kyan ditched us almost immediately to go run around with his friends {big boy on the loose, first time he didn't stick by my side and while I was sad, I love watching this stepping stone in his life}.

We call, or I should say, I call Wednesdays at school Dress Wednesday {not to hard to figure out, it's Wednesday and you should wear a dress}  I told the students that I teach about it and lots of them have been going strong for two weeks!  Doesn't mean you can't wear a dress any other day of the week, but Wednesday's for sure, they are special!  I did this with students a few years ago, kinda forgot about it, but now it is back!  Problem was, this past Wednesday it was cooooold!  But I couldn't not wear a dress, that is breaking the rules, so I put on my leggings under my long dress and made it work!   Despite making dress Wednesday work this week, I felt horrible!  I filled the trash can with tissues and even managed to get a bloody nose during my fifth academic {so embarrassing}!  So when I came home, I kicked up my feet, graded papers, and indulged in my reality TV obsession. 

Oh yeah, and I took silly pictures with Lola before bed! 

 Thursday seemed to be all about food!  One of the students in my homeroom brought me chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate chocolate cake pops!  Oh.Em.Gee!  They were sooooo good and such a nice treat.  Chocolate is always welcome, especially after the morning I had!

Then, while I dropped the kids off with grandpa and grandma {they don't have school tomorrow, so they get a fun day with them}, Chad was busy making Stuffed Bell Peppers for dinner!  More deliciousness.  I pinned the recipe a few months ago and this is the second time that we have made them.  The only thing that we change from it is that we use Hot Sausage Links, instead of Sweet.  So excited there is enough to take for lunch tomorrow too!    

That is it {I say it like I barely had any pictures this week...pssssshhhh}!  What can I say?  I am an Instagram Addict!  

 

PS - Don't wanna wait for another InstaFriday to see what we are up to!?  You can find us on Instagram @ jenni_roseland.