Mommy Musings

People seem to have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest these days.  A lot of people seem to think it gives us all unrealistic expectations to live up to. I totally respect those people's feelings, but I for one love Pinterest.  Seriously, I need an intervention.  I cannot tell you how many times I have been up till 1 or 2 am scrolling and scrolling through the latest pins.  I may need an intervention . Here are some of the my favorite pins recently.  {also, make sure you are following along with my boards!} Source Source Source Source Source Source Source Source What about you?  Are you a Pinterest lover or hater?  What are your favorite kind of pins?  Don't forget to follow me!

I just wanted to pop in this weekend and say hi! I also wanted to make sure that you are all following me wherever you can! Besides this blog you can also find me: On Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bloglovin' Instagram: mommy_mandy Leave a comment where I can find you so I can follow along as well!!

There are some things going on right now...heavy things...things that will change us all.  So I'm not sure how much I'll be writing in the coming weeks {though I do have a few reviews I'll be scheduling!}  I might not be here at all or I might be writing silly nonsense every day to get my mind off things.  I just don't know.  I would love your prayers for my family during this time.  For today I leave you with a few of my favorite quotes.... Source: weheartit.com via Mommy on Pinterest   Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Mommy on Pinterest Source: fabulousfashions4sensiblestyle.blogspot.hu via Mommy on Pinterest Source: iheart-stolenimages.blogspot.com via Mommy on Pinterest Source: cromalens.com via Mommy on Pinterest Source: someecards.com via Mommy on Pinterest Source: faithinspiration.tumblr.com via Mommy on Pinterest

Today is the most depressing day of the year.  No really .  It's only the beginning of February, so we still have plenty of winter chill left, and since last night was the Superbowl, there is no more football.  None, zero, nada.  Thankfully I still have the 2012 Superbowl on DVR, so I can just watch that whenever I feel the need. Anywho, we obviously hosted a Superbowl party last night.  I swear it's more of a holiday around here than most!  I spent the whole day cooking and cleaning!  It wasn't as big as our party last year , but it still deserved our proper attention.  Now I have found that the easiest way to menu plan for a party these days is to head over to my Pinterest account and start searching.  Most of the food I made last night I found on Pinterest.  What did we do without it?!?! Here are the foods I came up with Tortilla roll-ups found here Pizza Dip found here Chili...not found from Pinterest though:) Buffalo Chicken Bites...

I'm excited to be linking up with some of these fabulous ladies for their Dog Days of Winter today! Today's challenge is Make It!  So this week I decided to make some recipes I found on Pinterest.  I've been trying to expand my recipes lately and Pinterest is a great place to do it. The other night I decided to tackle these two recipes, Olive Garden Alfredo sauce and Mini garlic monkey bread. Source: momscrazycooking.blogspot.com via Mommy on Pinterest Source: eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com via Mommy on Pinterest I changed the recipe up a little, and this is what I did. Alfredo Sauce 1 pkg Pasta {I used gluten free penne because that's what I had on hand} 1 stick of butter 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic 1 pint of heavy cream 1 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp cream cheese 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper Cook pasta according to directions.  Melt butter over high heat.  Add in garlic and cook for two minutes or so....

Today I'm linking up with these lovely ladies for their Dog Days of Winter. Today's topic is All About Organization, and I have a super simple project for you.  Like most little girls, Emmy loves to color, paint, and create beautiful pictures.  But with a hobby like that, little bits and pieces of paper quickly accumulate everywhere .  Add in the hundreds of pictures and projects she's bringing home from school now, and some days I feel like we'll all get lost under a pile of crayon and construction paper. I wanted to display her {and Charlie's!} lovely creations, and most importantly to keep them from just being shoved in drawers and saver boxes.  I had a big blank space of wall above the chalkboard in the girls playroom that I knew would be perfect.   I purchased 12 black document frames from the Dollar Tree.  I made sure they were document frames, as they are slightly larger that 8x10's and I wouldn't have to cut any paper.  I went through...

There have been a lot of home projects and things going on in my house, but none of them Pinterest inspired. So this week I'm sticking with another recipe! {and really, who doesn't need another recipe this time of year....it's all about the baking!!} Saturday night my stomach wasn't feeling too bad, so I decided to chance it with some chocolate.  But since I've been avoiding it at all costs recently, not just any chocolate would do.  I wanted it to be something different, something special .  After obviously turning to Pinterest, I came across this: Source: tastykitchen.com via Mommy on Pinterest PERFECT in my opinion. So Emmy and I strapped on our aprons and got to work.  Here is the recipe I followed: 1 Cup Softened Margarine {I used margarine, I would use butter next time..dough was too soft} 1/3 Cup Sugar 1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar (packed) 1 Teaspoon Vanilla 2 Cups Flour 1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips {I only had regular ones on hand...trust me, use t...

I'm back for another week of 'Hey that's Pin-tastic!' I had to make a baked good the other day to drop off at an event at Emmy's school.  I wanted something nut and peanut free, and super cute to boot.  So obviously I headed to Pinterest, my go-to for recipes these days, and came across these bad boys. Source: fantasticfamilyfavorites.blogspot.com via Mommy on Pinterest Don't they look amazing!  I've made M&M cookie bars in the past, but these never came out looking as good as this, so I gave them a try.  I changed the recipe slightly...here's the one I used: 2 1/8 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 12 TBSPs butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 2 tsps vanilla extract 1 12oz bag M&M's, divided Preheat oven to 325*.  Line a 9x13" pan with tin foil, and then spray the tin foil with cooking spray.  Set aside. Mix together the butter and sugar.  Mix...

Thank you all so much for the birthay wishes last week. You all sure know how to make a girl feel loved:)  I promise to be back tomorrow with a full recap of the big 3-0 celebrations, but today I have to link up with my girl AP for her Hey that's Pin-Tastic Link-Up!  This week I'm doing something a little different...a little creation I didn't actually have to do any work for! Months ago I found this pin on Pinterest.... Source: goo.gl via Alfreda on Pinterest ...and I just loved it.  I had wanted to get another tattoo, this one for my girls, and I knew this was the perfect spot for it. I hemmed and hawwed a bit over what wording I wanted, and finally decided on "I love you most" with the girls initials.  I chose this since every day Emmy and I have the following conversation. Me: I love you Emmy. Emmy: I love you too Mommy. Me: I love you more. Emmy: I love you most. So I thought it would be the perfect reminder of my sweet girls. Then this past weekend, Skip s...