Devon

We have added a fur baby to our little family.

Devon Adele is a purebreed German Shepard that we purchased July 3^rd. We were walking in the mall and past the pet store since it was on the way to the kids play area and ther she was. It was love at first sight for her and Aaron.

The girls absolutly love her and she is very sweet to them. They vet said she should get to be around 100lbs! She has already learned to sit and shake with both paws and is now working on lay down. She is 90% housebroken and is being kennel trained. She does great on walks and loves to chase birds.

I have always loved German Shepards and Aaron had one named Chole that he loved so much. I was happy to be able to get him another puppy that he can love again because Chole had to be put down because of Addison’s Diease and hip displysia. We did ask the vet about Devon perhaps getting the same thing and she did say that as long as we are looking for it, the earlier we notice the quicker we can get it fixed.

Devon is now a offical member of our family and will make a great addition for years to come.

Speechless Love!

Its a little fuzzy but its so hard to get all of them to smile at once.

Kim Kim is such a ham

They actually sat still for a picture

This little girl just melts my heart

This is on a trash can outside in the courtyard at my work. I thought it was pretty inventive.

I wear my sunglasses at night!

ME TOO ME TOO!

My helper at the grocery store.

ChaChaCha Changes!!

Well I made a drastic change. Of course if you are a friend on facebook or have seen me at work you already know.

As I had sworn never to do this I did...

I couldn't help myself....

I just couldn't handle it anymore.......

Before.....

After......

Final Product.....

I started using John Frieda's Voluming Shampoo and Conditioner and for some reason the ingredients they use in it made my hair feel like straw and start to break....BAD! I was looking like a had a mullet. So I decided to give my hair a break and cut it all off and color back to my natural color. I feel I look older with ark short hair but it has been very easy to maintain. Now of course I love A LOT of John Freida's products especially their Blonde collection, but I'm sad to say I cant recommend the volume shampoo and conditioner unless you want your hair to break off. So what do you think is it a keeper or should I go back to blonde or just grow my hair out? Comments and thoughts welcome :)

First day of Kindergarden

Addison started her first day of Kindergarten this past Monday and is doing fantastic! She awoke bright and early ready to get the day going. We of course have our first parent/teacher conference September the 9th to see where she is at as far as kindergarten standards go.

Here is Addi sitting in class on the first day.

Shelby started 4th grade and it is absolutely mad

ne

ss that she will be graduating from high school in just 9 years! She is a amazing student and does so well with reading and of course being very smart. Mackenzie started 3rd grade and is enjoying being a year higher in school. She will graduate in 10 years. I feel old.

Here is a picture of them outside their school. They are Smith Stars and the stars of my life.

Little Whispers

I have decided to adventure out into the world of Entrepreneurship and start my own small business on Etsy. I have always be crafty and love creating and giving my creations to the ones I love. I have made personalized name canvases for children for about a year that I have given to family and close friends but I think I'm ready to step out a little further and offer customized orders for sale.

The other part of the store, the part I am really excited about, is making personalized hand stamped metal necklaces Dahlia Cabochon rings. I have always loved them and I believe I can make some that people would actually like to buy. Now I know there are a TON of different ‘stores’ that sell similar things, however, I want to create gorgeous pieces at a affordable price. I know I have looked at many etsy stores for a personalized necklace but the ones I love are so expensive. I'm prepared to be very competitive hehe.

Little Whispers will have canvases for now until I get some jewelry samples done and I am working on my branding, packaging, ‘marketing’ things like that. I am super excited and cant wait to show you my first pieces. I have made a facebook page that I can take orders from and discuss what kind of vision you are wanting for your little one’s nursery.
I know it doesn't come easy but I figured if I get the word out we will see how it goes. So tell all your friends!!

Addison is 5

My gorgeous girl Addison turned 5 on May 2nd. We decided the following Saturday we went to Legacy Park and had pizza and cupcakes. Nana, Anson, and Carson came. Along with her sisters, Daddy Tom and Zeph.

Addison is the ball of energy for our little family. She is a awesome big sister and a great helper for mom and dad.

She has the best sense of humor and can make you fall in love with her with just a smile.

Aaron and I are so lucky to have this little girl in our lives and we are so blessed to raise her.

3 year BLOG BIRTHDAY!!

I have been blogging for three years now. Over the years I have included, two pregnancies, two births, two moves and multiple recipes.

I love blogging and I was doing more when I was staying home but now that I am a full time working mom it is a little more difficult.

I think I will always blog and if the end of the year goes as we hope I will be able to stay home and do it more. My goal for this year and my blog is to post more about things that I do and more pictures.

I use to take a ton of pictures when staying home and now I feel I have been neglecting that. To all that reads my blog thanks I really do enjoy sharing my life and experiances :)

It's Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of my all time favorite things about summer is the return of some of my favorite shows. My number 1 top show is.....

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

AND GUESS WHO IS BACK....

MARY MURPHY...WOOOOHOOO!!!!

I have watched SYTYCD since 2006 and I am a loyal fan. I have even got Aaron hooked to it. It premiers May 26th.








Another of my favorite shows that is actually ending after its 7th season is

RESCUE ME

OOOO I love me some Tommy Gavin! I have my predictions on how it will end so we will just have to wait and see.

A few others are Big Brother and Sons of Anarchy.

To say the lease, my DVR will be full lol

Kimber is 1!!!

April 18, 2010 Aaron and I were blessed with little Kimber Bryce-Bailey coming into this world so tiny but with a great pair of lungs.

Kimber is now 1 years old and offically no longer a infant :( Since Kimber is the last baby for Aaron and I it is bittersweet to see her growing. She has been the most smiley baby and loves her daddy like no other. We had a family get together for her on Sunday and the theme was monkies.

We have always called her a monkey since she was born cause she looked like one lol.


I made monkey cupcakes that were fudge cake with peanut butter frosting and a special little cake for Kimkim that was starwberry cake with cream cheese filling and fudge icing. She of course she loved having her own little cake.

She got a lot of much needed clothes a little walker. She is on the verge of taking steps on her own and this will help with the process.

Thanks to everyone that came and for those who couldn’t we know you were there in spirit 

My 28 favorite things

In celebrating my 28th birthday I decided to do 28 of my favorite things. Of course, I have more but these are my top 28 Favorite things:

1. My four blond hair blue eyed girls and one brunette brown eyed baby
2. Starbuck’s Carmel Macchiato Coffee with extra caramel
3. REALITY SHOWS (enough said)
4. My awesome hp Windows 7 flower computer
5. Aaron, my absolute handsome strong husband (who deals with me on a day to day basis)
6. The smell of fresh cute summer grass in the evening
7. PINK PINK PINK (maybe that’s why I have 5 girls hehe)
8. Blogging
9. Crafts/DIY projects (I wish I could do more)
10. Trying new makeup styles
11. Grey’s Anatomy (I have watched it since the first episode and I named my daughter after Addison)
12. Baking
13. Collecting heirlooms from different family members
14. Getting big hugs from Sydnee
15. Watching Shelby grow into a gorgeous sweet young lady
16. Kenzie being a great big sister to Addison
17. Addi thriving in school and learning things so quickly
18. Kimber knowing she is the baby of the family and knowing how to melt your heart
19. Reading anything by Jodi Picoult
20. Receiving a new catalog in the mail
21. Steel Magnolias (named my oldest after Julia Robert’s character Shelby)
22. Painting
23. Going out for dinner with hubby
24. Nivea chap stick in Touch of Milk and Honey
25. Christmas
26. My pink pokadot coffee cups my Nana gave me
27. My HP windows 7 flower laptop
28. Knowing that all 5 of my girls are happy and healthy

Prayers for Aaron

As many of you may or may not know my husband Aaron was in the Army and deployed to Iraq for a long and drawn out 15 months. Like many soldiers he received injuries due to combat and Aaron has been going to the VA for medical reasons. On Friday, we drove up to Amarillo, Tx which is about 2 hours from our home town to the VA hospital to get a Echo-gram and CT scan. The CT scan was for his TBI (traumatic bran injury) and the Echo-gram was for his hard condition he has had since after a year in service. He has bad chest pains that can bring him to his knees as if someone is stabbing him in the middle of his chest. They were never able to diagnose what it was exactly before he was discharged from the Army and the doctors at the VA are now trying to figure out what it is. During the Echo-gram the tech looked concerned and said they they can now see what is wrong now that he was probing the problem and he also focused on his liver. Well of course, the tech can't tell you any diagnosis because the cardiologist has to make that decision. However, we are a little concern about the findings and wont know what they truly found out for about two weeks. Please pray for Aaron and our family as we wait and place calmness all around Aaron. He is being treated for other things as well which I may post after we have more information. God has us go through everything for a reason and we are truly believing in that and relying on Him to show us His plan.

First Win for a Blog Giveaway!!!

I am so super excited!!!

The past two weeks I have been following some fellow bloggers who were involved in the 2 week event of Spring Fling started by Wildflowers and Whimsy where some really creative moms participate in giving away something they make. I love craft and DIY blogs so I loved looking at all the neat-o things these mommas can make.

I of course, signed up for all the giveaways and you know what?

I WON!!!!

I won some of the most adorable fabric flower clips from My Mommy Can.

I got them in the mail yesterday and they are the cutest little accessories ever! I got ten different sizes and colors. Thanks Jennifer!

Sickness in the Klein House

Well, unfortunatly all of us in the Klein house has gotten sick with a yucky stomache bug. To spare you the details it started with Sydnee on Saturday and each day each day someone else had it with Aaron and I ending with it yesturday. Boo on stomache flu! Luckily, we are much better.

Mom's wedding was great on Saturday and I will soon have pictures of that. Mom and Anson are so happy and the whole family is happy for them. I also got a new sister, Grace, who is going to be such a lovely lady! They are enjoying a wonderful honeymoom in Hawaii.

ANSON AND GRACE WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!

Here is a picture of Mom and Anson that was on thier sign in table.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

Paula Deen’s Sour Cream Pound Cake


Ive really been in the baking mood lately. I am making some special cake balls for a family get together after Momma’s rehearsal dinner and will post that later. Today I made Paula Deen’s Sour Cream Pound Cake.

Oh my goodness, while it was baking it smelled soo good that I couldn't wait for it to be done and slice into it. I personally don’t like toppings for my pound cake but you can always do a easy glaze, fresh fruit, or powder sugar. The recipe calls to bake for 40-60 minutes. After 40 minutes, mine was still really gooey so a hour made it perfect.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with eggs, beating in each egg 1 at a time. Add vanilla.
Pour the mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

It is so easy to make and taste delicious!

Spring Break and St. Patrick's Day

Its been a very full house in the Klein home this week. Aaron’s mom, Maria, and his brothers, Seth and Caleb, drove from Arizona to come visit us for a week. Of course, the girls loving having G-ma here to play and take them for morning walks. Its was great time with them and we will miss them. Pray for their 13 hour journey back to Arizona today.

With yesterday being St Patrick’s Day,my mother in law made awesome Corn Beef with potatoes and carrots. Very tasty! At work, we did a potluck and there was a ton of yummy food. I took lil smokies in bbq sauce and I wanted to take cake balls. I had this awesome vision of how they would turn out.

Just a word to the wise, FOLLOW THE MELTING DIRECTIONS FOR CHOCOLATE ON THE BAG!!!

Of course, I thought I could be quicker and melt two bags of white chocolate straight in a sauce pan. Um, no. I had it too hot and then it was starting to brown and then I had the GREAT IDEA to try and finish melting it in the microwave.

No Bueno :(

The cake balls themselves came out great but it was the chocolate coating that I had to improvise on that. I ended up pouring just a little chocolate sauce on top with green sprinkles and calling them ‘Ice cream Cake Balls’. They tasted good and everyone at work liked them too. When it comes to baking of course its always TRIAL AND ERROR.

Craftiness

As some of you know I love cooking new recipes, baking, crafts, and DIY projects. I really don’t have a lot of time as I did before I started my full time job but one thing that I do love to do is search through peoples’ craft and DIY blogs. Ok, it’s more of an obsession of mine to find new ideas and save them to my favorites or add to my side bar for favorite blogs.

I have been working really hard since the beginning of the year to motivate myself into doing new projects and not giving up when it didn’t come out as plan. That is my greatest down fall is getting discouraged. In my fantasy world I would make and bake things and sell on an Etsy store lol. Well, with living with energetic little girls and working full time, that’s not in my grasp at the moment.

I have decided to start small. Make a ring here, bake cupcakes there, organize something every weekend and posting on my blog the process. Hopefully, that will motivate me to keep at it.

Weightloss

I have been watching my calorie intake and since I had Kimber 10 months ago (April 18th) I have lost 30lbs. I feel better about myself and getting a little more selfesteem. No this is not a pity party and while yest many say I am pretty us women know that we have our own images of ourselves in our head. I have 10 lbs to go to get to my goal weight and then its all about the toneing.

One thing I will be doing is Zumba for kinects

I like dancing but dont want to do it infront of people lol So will be starting that and then updating my progress. I also need to buy a scale and keep track of that. Im sure the girls will enjoy doing it with me. I cant lose too much weight since I have my dress for my mom's wedding which fits great and I dont want it to look baggy.

I know a lot of working out is self control and disipline and I need to make sure that I show my girls that you if you want something no matter what it is that you have to motivate yourself and work hard.

Tell us what you feed your toddlers/preschoolers

I have been blessed with children that are not very picky with their meals. Yes they do have their favorites but usually they are great. Kelly’s Korner is featuring what you feed you toddler/preschoolers and with me having a preschooler, toddler, AND baby I thought this would be good for me to add my two cents.

Now I will have to be honest, I wish I had the time to spend fixing gourmet lunches and dinners but with working full time I do my best so please don’t judge lol.

So here are a few things we like to eat for meals,

BREAKFAST-
Cereal (we do a rotation so we don’t get tired of one kind. Currently the kids are liking Captain Crunch Berries)
Strawberry instant oatmeal
Chocolate chip pancakes(only on Family Sunday morning breakfast)
Scrambled eggs with cheese and chalua hot sauce (don’t ask me why but my kids like it spicy)

LUNCH-
PB&J or PB&B (peanut butter and banana)
EZ MAC microwaveables
Hot dog and ketchup with apple sauce

DINNER-
Marinade chicken (lowery’s garlic and herb) with mashpotatoes
Spaghetti ( we have this at least once a wekk)
Hamburger Helper (Aaron and the kids fav)
Chicken A La Leslie (recipe in blog archives)

SNACKS-
Fruit snacks
Jello cups
Goldfish
Cheese sticks
Capri suns bag drinks

So there is kind of a rundown of my kiddos favorite things to eat. Of course there are those recipes I try new and no one likes but hey at least I try 

New Routine

My new morning routine

6:45am-wake up

7:00am- get girls up and changed

7:15am- breakfast

8:00am- clean around the house/pick up girls room

8:30am- lay Kimber down for morning nap

9am- get ready for work

10:45am- leave for work

It’s a work in progress (I really hate getting out of bed) and my days off differ but I am trying to get into a steady routine for me and the girls. I think that will make me feel better and not feel lazy and I know it will help Aaron out too with things around the house.

I really want to learn a easy but yummy recipe to make fresh baked bread. If you have one let me know cause I would love the smell of my home be love and fresh baked bread mmmmmm 

Baking with Addison

Since it is the month of love we made some Pillsbury Valentine Sugar cookies with pink frosting. Addi poured the mix in the bowl while I did the butter and egg and then she held the mix all on her own and mixed them. After baking all 3 dozens we iced them and of course ate a few :P

Since it is the month of love we made some Pillsbury Valentine Sugar cookies with pink frosting. Addi poured the mix in the bowl while I did the butter and egg and then she held the mix all on her own and mixed them. After baking all 3 dozens we iced them and of course ate a few :P

I think they came out cute and just the right size for the little girls. I just used a teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop and place on the cookie sheet

It was a nice day of now work, nap, baking, and yummy spaghetti for dinner. Tomorrow is forecasted to be just as cold and windy with wind chill -15! We decided no school tomorrow and to enjoy being at home again all together.

PATIENCE

Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one's character can take before negativity.

I am trying to work on being more patient and understanding that other peoples' actions our out of my control. I know God has a plan and for use to be at peace we must always remember that.

A few things I am trying to be patient about-

Learning to have more communication with my husband and being patient when I may not see his point of view.

Having patience with my girls when they don't listen and to remember that I was placed here on Earth to guide them to be strong Godly women and to make the right choices and show them all the love I have every day.

To have God place a lot of patience on my with my siblings when I don't like their decisions in life and understands we all have to make our own choices and own them. Even if I have experienced them and want to give advice I need to stand back and give them to God so He can guide them.

To let me leave work at work and when I am at work not let the stress get to me and be patient with all I interact with.

To be more patient with myself and learn why I feel certain ways about myself and why I feel certain ways because I know God loves me and will get me through whatever I am going through.