Rosemary Watson & Family

I Haved Moved

2010-01-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

After 3 years on the watsonfam2007 blog, I have moved to a new one with an easier address!

iloverosemarywatson.blogspot.com

It will be filled with all the things and people I love, and I hope you join me as we enter in a new year, and a new decade that is sure to be filled with inspiration and creativity! Bookmark the new blog!

New Years Resolutions- Part 1

2009-12-28T05:39:00.001-08:00

Is it just me, or by December are you pretty much stretched too thin? With me I lose a lot of the happiness and passion of being a mom/wife and it becomes a repetitive and boring job that I have little will to spice up. I'm sad to say that most of December for me was spent on the couch in sweats and my husband t shirts with no bra, no makeup, and my hair pulled up in a giant knot on the top of my head. My kids pretty much watched tv all day and I feel like there was no excitement in our lives until Christmas came. This may all be due to the fact that I am 6 months pregnant with twins, but it made me seriously depressed to feel so blah. So even though my energy and range of motion is significantly limited, I have vowed to get out of my funk and celebrate life again. I'm going to make my family breakfast instead of pulling out the cereal or yogurt (as I type this, Braden is dishing out yogurt for our kids out of habit.) I'm going to turn the dang tv off and read some books to my kids, and I am going to actually get dressed in the morning and maybe even put some makeup on my face every once in a while. Sounds easy, but it's actually a pretty big deal for me.

One big thing is that I want to cook more and try new things. So, I have searched around and found a handful of food blogs that I am going to share with you all so you can start the New Year with a ton of new recipes to try out and impress everyone with. Hooray for cooking!

Smitten Kitchen is an awesome one that has insane recipes from Homemade Crackers to a Make Ahead Brunch Menu to an evil looking Butterscotch Sauce. She has even made a Kitchen Guide so you can start stocking up on all the tools it takes to make your own Smitten Kitchen. I love lists like these, even if it is going to take me months to save up for her chefs knife. I really love her because she cooks seasonally, so you always have the perfect recipe for things that are in season and they are always practical, like a winter fruit salad and pear bread.

Of course, I love the Pioneer Woman's recipes (I have her cookbook signed, by the way!) since they are so down home and delicious. I have made her cinnamon rolls, garlic mashed potatoes, and steak recipes over and over and over, but I really want to venture out and start making some of the staples she has listed in her cookbook. I mean why haven't I made the Chocolate Sheet Cake or the Braised Short Ribs yet? What is the matter with me? I think I have to make a vow to cook at least one thing from her cookbook every week and cook through the entire book by next year. Yes, I will do it.

If baking is your thing, and you haven't checked out Tongue In Cheeky yet, where the hell have you been? Brooke is darling and her recipes are fun, delicious and well, cheeky. Perfect for kids too. Some really fun recipes I want to try are her Breakfast Syrups & Elixers, and her Triple Decker PB & J's. I'm not even going to go into her cakes & cupcakes (but I will remind you that the Nie Nie Chocolate Mascarpone Cake is her creation.)

And if you really want to get crazy, (I know I do) you can check out Steamy Kitchen's recipes for some delicious looking Asian fare. I have never cooked asian food, and I have promised myself to branch out and be brave. She doesn't just do asian food, but her Broccoli Beef Noodle Stir Fry and the Chinese Chicken Salad look like good starter recipes for my Asian Adventure.

Also, I really want to start getting organized with my cooking and being prepared for my week ahead of time. Braden is only going to tolerate running to the grocery store 3 times for a certain recipe I'm making for so long. I want to have a well stocked pantry so I can whip stuff up whenever I feel like it and have things prepared ahead of time so we can all eat well even if I'm tired. So if anyone knows of any other food blogs that will help us all get more efficient in the kitchen, send them my way!

Hello Again

2009-12-26T03:40:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. Ours was crazy busy seeing all our family and lugging around the gazillion toys my kids received, but it was great seeing everyone. Honestly, though, I'm just glad it's all over. I always feel like the year really ends with Christmas, and the rest of December is spent preparing for the coming year. I love a fresh start, so I'm excited to announce that I will be moving to a new blog!

The blog address is a little easier to remember, and it's going to be filled with all the things I love the most! I figured it was time since I spent the last 3 years at this one. Wow, time really flies when you have kids. Anyway, I'll be posting there on New Years Day so remember to switch over your bookmarks so you can keep up with all the fantastic stuff I have planned for next year!

I probably won't post tomorrow, since it's my birthday and everything (I'll be 25, crazy!) but Monday I'll be here getting ready for the big move and for my sister's wedding on New Years Eve!

Christmas Break

2009-12-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be pretty quiet here until Christmas, trying to get my life organized before all the craziness ensues. I'll be back next weekend though, with lots of big announcements so remember to stop by on Christmas!

Until then, I'll leave you with some awesome Christmas craft/decor ideas that can carry through to the New Year and beyond! I've made a few of these, and am in the process of others, so once it's all put together I'll put pictures up so you can see my version of all this stuff! I am so into the vintage book page decor lately, and I have seen so many gorgeous things all over the internet. Enjoy.

I made this wreath from Living with Lindsay and am waiting for my large vinyl frame to come in so I can hang it up in the center.

Braden hates it, but what does he know?

I also hung up some cute paper chains in our kitchen bay window and they look darling. However Braden broke it yesterday when he was trying to swat a fly in our house, so here is what it looked like before the destruction:

photo from Domestic Bliss

I plan on making these modge podged glass ornament with my old book paper. Margie made hers with tissue & vintage text paper, which is cute too. I think I'll add some of Martha's clear glitter to mine as well.

Speaking of Margie, her e-book Vintage Hip Christmas Crafts looks so amazing, I want it so bad. Actually, I'm going to buy it once I'm done with my post, since it's $6. What a steal

Oh, and check out these darling paper mirrors. I saw these at Blissfest and about died. The tutorial is here

And of course, Rhonna has done a TON of cute things with book pages. I love these rosettes she made. I have a bunch made up for a banner I'm finishing. Again, once done, I'll post some pics.

The great thing about this whole vintage book paper thing is that is can carry on to other holidays or even jsut everyday. I know I'm keeping up my stuff for a while, and adding this for Valentine's Day.

I can't remember where I found this picture, but it's a great idea so I have to share. If you've seen any other awesome paper crafts, send them over to me! I'm determined to cover my house in them (even though my husband thinks they're dumb).

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String

2009-12-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

Or with cute Christmas-y labels.

If you need to mail anything out, feel free to use these cute little labels I whipped up using House of 3 Christmas brushes.

Packages to Auntie Mel, Auntie Jen, & Amanda are on their way so make sure you guys all check your mailboxes for some sweet Christmas packages! Love ya!

And, if you really love brown paper packages tied up with string, you should check out Divine Twine's shop. They have THE most fabulous butcher's twine- I want every color. These will last me all through next year for so many different crafts!

***PS: Dear Santa, the price for my lime green VW bus has just been dropped a thousand dollars. Just sayin.

Dear Santa:

2009-12-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

My Christmas List consists of the following. Please feel free to pick any or all and stick them under my tree on Christmas Eve night.

A Silhouette Digital Cutter

A Wacom Bamboo Craft Tablet

A Yudu Personal Screen Printer

This bedding

This Apron

This giant food processor (for pie crusts)

And last but not least, this VW bus to tote around all my babies.

Many Thanks,
Rosemary

Christmas Vacation

2009-12-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Due to the fact that I have a loaded schedule now until January 2nd, I've decided that our Handmade Parade Etsy shop will be going on vacation until Monday, January 4th.

So, we will be having another 50% off sale now until Monday, December 14th for all items that are in stock and ready to ship! Act quickly because you won't be able to order after the 14th!

And don't worry, the shop will re-open with a bang in January with a whole bunch of fabulous new things that you will fall in love with!

Etsy Christmas Gifts: Little Girls

2009-12-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Here's another Etsy roundup of great gifts for girls!

1) Fantastic Toys has a bunch really cute stuffies, like this darling pink fawn!

2) Emmi's cottage has super sweet plushy dolls like Candi. I love love love her strawberry pink hair.

3) If you want to get the little girl in your life an outfit for Christmas, this Rose Blouse & Pants are so cute. Pretty Me has all kinds of to die for clothes that I want for my girls.

4) I think that felt play food is so fun, and it is nice to have in case you have little bitties that like to chew on stuff. Your infants to little girls will have fun with it, and if you can't find your pincushions-use a felt cupcake! These cupcakes from Studio of Whimsy are my favorite.

But I also like this tea party play set too. Olivia would flip out if she got this from Santa

5) Since a girl can't have too many fairy wings, Sweetie Pies Tutus have them at the low price of $9.50 so you can get one in every color to match all your tutus.

6) And, if you are in need of some tutus we have some listed on Handmade Parade's Etsy shop. Toddler & girls sizes are $20, and newborn tutus are $15. Free shipping of course, and you can get any color you wish!

Etsy Christmas Gifts: Little Boys

2009-12-10T09:00:00.001-08:00

If you are not in the crafting spirit this holiday, you can still give the gift of handmade with all the Etsy vendors that are out there! I found a ton of great stuff for my son, and I wanted to share them with you-since boys are a bit harder than girls to shop for.

1) These Discovery Totes from HELICOPTER STUDIOS are great. I love the campfire one for my kids to take outside and pretend they are camping. Check out the marshmallow sticks!

2) I need to get Landen one of these Clip On Dinosaur Tails from The Blue Orange. He would look so awesome at Ashly's wedding with one of these bad boys. I love the Seuss-a-saurus one.

3) This Treasure Chest Play Set from palumba is great for those pirate-y days. All wood so you can paint the set if you want, or leave it unfinished for the natural look.

4) Palumba also has these plain old wood blocks for the kids to build with. Sometimes the simpler the toy, the more they love them.

5) Check out these funny upcycled mustache crayons from chasedreams! Perfect for my little gent.

6) I am definitely ordering this today. Buddy loves choo-choos. Handmade wooden train from countrysidegiftsllc.

If you've seen any other cute little boy gifts, send them this way!

Baby Update

2009-12-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy with crafting and the holidays and stuff, I haven't given an update on the twins in a while. You might have seen on the side bar that we picked out names- Evelyn Violet Watson & Georgia Magnolia Watson. Our two other girls have flowers for their middle names (Olivia Rose & Penelope Lily) so we had to carry on the tradition. I've always liked the name Violet (like Violet Beauregarde in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) and the Magnolia is my favorite flower. Very southern belle, don't you think? For the record, I wanted Clementine, but Braden said no way did he want a child named after a fruit, so he came up with Georgia. One of our favorite songs is Georgia On My Mind by Ray Charles, so I knew it was a good pick.

As far as the health of the babies go, I have been transfered to a high risk OB because their growth is still uneven. Evelyn is a bit bigger than Georgia, but the ultrasounds are staying good, so we just have to wait and hope for the best. Their main concern for me is pre-term labor, they want to try and keep the babies in there as long as they can so they can get as big as possible before they have to deliver. Most likely I will have a C-section, and it will be no later that 36 weeks which is on March 1st. They will probably come in January or February so I'll keep everyone updated.

In case anyone is wondering, I'm not feeling all that great at this point. I'm only 23 weeks and I'm measuring at 30 weeks so I'm way bigger than normal. There is a lot of pressure on my pelvis so it's hard to walk and sleep, and now my tailbone is out of alignment or something so it's hard to sit too. Basically it sucks but I have to keep telling myself it's only for a couple more months. So when you see me and I'm waddling like a fool, you know why:)

So that's the scoop on the babies. I've been scoping out some stuff I want to make for them and I'm linking them up here so if you have a baby or niece or grandbaby or whatever you can make some too!

First, check out the slideshow of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane fabric-which will be all over the twins nursery.

And how cute is this Happy Stacker Pattern?

I'm also think about making this quilt for the girls in the Nicey Jane prints. I love the double ruffles on the sides. A lot of work, but sooooo cute. It will be my first quilt I make out of a pattern (not just the patchwork with the squares) so I'm kind of nervous, but excited to try something new.

Letters to Santa

2009-12-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

Remember when you used to write letters to Santa telling him what you want for Christmas? Well, I decided to simplify things and buy some House of 3 digital kits for a modern postcard to Santa for my kids to send out.

Easy, fun, and requires no real postage! You already have a reindeer "stamp" ready to go! Best of all the postcard digital kit can be used all through the year!
Made using these brushes

Nie Nie Story by Jaimee Rose

2009-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

If you want to be moved to tears yet again by Stephanie Neilsen's amazing story of recovery from her near fatal plane crash, read Jaimee Rose's piece in the Arizona Republic that came out to today. It will literally take your breath away. Just make sure you grab some Kleenex

Marshmallow Love & Nicey Jane

2009-12-04T06:43:00.000-08:00

Today is a great day because:

1) I am making a huge batch of marshmallows-vanilla bean, strawberry, peppermint, and I might try out key lime. These make great little gifts to hand out to teachers, neighbors, and anyone else who loves gourmet marshmallows. Here's some tags to bag up your own peppermint & vanilla marshmallows- which were made using these brushes and these brushes

If you want the recipe for my chocolate covered strawberry marshmallows from last year, here you go. Here's the tags too!

2) Heather Bailey's new fabric Nicey Jane is FINALLY available in her shop!

I have been waiting to plan out my nursery until the fabric dropped and now I have to start my nesting phase. She has all kinds of promotions going on in her store so hurry up and get over there and start the new year like me-sewing, sewing, and more sewing. I think we should have a big sewing party at my house on Jan 2.

3) And of course today is the Crafteria! Let's all make a date to go out there tonight and oogle all the handmade goodness.

What to do tomorrow

2009-12-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

If you are in Phoenix you should go to Frances Crafeteria to bask in all the holiday glory. It has been all over Twitter and it sounds like an amazing event. I'm heading over to Smeeks for some fun stuff for my kids (remember this post?) And I've only heard great things about Frances from my friend Jessi so I can't wait to check it all out.

Also, visit Jaimee Rose's blog for more events going on in the morning tomorrow. Better go bust open my piggy bank.

First Day of December

2009-12-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? We only have 24 days til Christmas, and only 30 more days of 2009. My head is spinning with all the stuff I need to get done. Don't you feel like the holidays are always over before you have a chance to appreciate them? Why not Journal your Christmas with an online class? I found Shimelle's online scrapbooking workshop via Rhonna's blog and I think that it would be a great idea to have a scrapbook to remember all the great Christmas memories you are making, while you are actually making them! Check out how it works and sign up asap so you can get a jump start on all the project ideas for the book. I'm going to start mine today in my 8x8 Bazill album, and I embarrassed to say that it is going to be my first real scrapbook and I'm vowing to actually finish it.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Chirstmas

2009-11-30T00:28:00.000-08:00

After checking out all the new holiday goodies out there this weekend, I was really inspired by Knock Knocking's gorgeous wreaths she has for sale, and wanted to recreate my own for my door. So, on Black Friday I went out and bought craft supplies at Joanne's and whipped up my own Glittered Peppermint Yarn wreath. Do you love it?

It took a while to wrap all that freakin yarn, and I did successfully burn the crap out of my finger with my hot glue gun, but SUCCESS! I think it is darling, and now have to whip another one up for my sister in law.

Do you want to make one? You need:
1) Styrofoam wreath
2) Spool (Is that what they call it?) of yarn, any color you choose
3) Various holiday picks (Joanne's has them for 50% off!). I used poinsettias, a bird, leaves-all glittered
4) Various ornaments

As you can see, depending on the supplies you choose your wreath can come out very different than mine, but that's the beauty of it. I like glitter on holidays, but if you don't you can always go the more traditional route.

I liked my wreath skinny, so I just tied my string around the top of the wreath and started winding the yarn around it. I used a bunch of smaller pieces and tied them all together to make them easier to work with. If you want a fatter wreath, you can follow this tutorial. Once the wreath was all covered in the yarn, I got my glue gun out and started putting the picks on there. I cut out a piece of white felt and glittered it to look like some snow, and stuck my bird on there. Then I took some ric rac and hung some small ornaments through the middle, added some ribbon to the top to hang, and it turned out lovely. I fear this yarn wreath thing may become an addiction.

In other news- House of 3 is having another sale for Cyber Monday today!

And Handmade Parade's Cyber Monday Sale also ends tonight so hurry and scoop up the rosette jewelry, pettiskirts, & tutus you've been eyeing quick before they go back to regular price!

Photography & Design Month-The Cantrell Family

2009-11-28T20:37:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's a little late guys, but here are some of the shots from your session yesterday! You guys were great and that Caden is a handsome little man. Check the website for more!

Black Friday Deals

2009-11-27T02:55:00.001-08:00

Yes, I am up at 3:30 am writing this post. I plan to hit Joanne's this morning, but I wanted to share with you some of the great deals you can find on Handmade items for the holidays.

1) House of 3 is having a 50% off sale on EVERYTHING today! Wohoo!

2) Two Peas in A Bucket is having a sale on select items & digital kits.

3) Knock Knocking is offering free shipping on the most amazing yarn wreaths I've ever seen. You MUST check out her site.

4) Finley & Oliver is also offering free shipping on all her darling mod shirts for kids. My kids Thanksgiving shirts were made by her, pictures to come!

5) And of course, Handmade Parade's Thanksgiving & Black Friday Sale- which has just been extended through Cyber Monday! Hooray! Keep checking back, because we are adding new stuff all the time. (Like this Phoenix Suns tutu & flip flops).

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

2009-11-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

Don't forget, Handmade Parade's Thanksgiving & Black Friday Sale lasts until midnight Friday!

Handmade Holidays- Digital Kits & Christmas Cards

2009-11-25T05:28:00.001-08:00

There are all kinds of amazing options out there for you to create your own handmade Christmas Cards. Start now to get them all ready to mail out in time for the holiday! Not only for Christmas cards, you can use digital holiday kits for invitations, tags, and a whole lot more. Two of my favorite scrapbooking websites House of 3 and Two Peas in a Bucket have more whimsical holiday digital kits than you could ever wish for. Here are a few of my top holiday picks:

Swirly Holiday Cards at House of 3

Christmas Countdown Kit at House of 3

Christmas Gift Tag Kit at House of 3

The Junquey Frame Kit at 2 peas

The 12 Days of Christmas Tag Set at 2peas

Ornamental Big Kit at 2 peas

Both sites have a great project section too that showcases all kinds of holiday projects from Countdown Calendars, to Scrapbook Layouts, to Gift Wrap and everything in between. Keep checking the Two Peas Creating Garden and House of 3's Inspiration House for some terrific project ideas

Christmas Cd Gift

Photo Gift Packaging

Spice Mix Gift

You can make your own Christmas Cards in a snap with these digital kits. But, if you don't have the time or the software to create your own, I'm still running a Photography Holiday Special- a family photo session & Christmas card design for $100. Schedule soon, holiday sessions are booking up fast!

Introducing Handmade Holidays

2009-11-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Today is the day everyone! We're starting up Handmade Holidays, a long list of crafty, creative things you can make for Christmas gifts & decor for your home! We're starting early so you can take the handmade pledge to give handmade items at Christmastime! Even if you don't want to take the time to create yourself, you can buy all sorts of amazing gifts on Etsy and other online shops for everyone on your list! If you would like to contribute, leave a comment or email me your ideas, tutorials, Etsy faves, anything that will help everyone get in the Handmade Holiday spirit!

As a special treat, I am letting you in on 2 secrets today:
1) I am a guest blogger on the fabulous Jaimee Rose's blog with my very first tutorial!

2) Everything in my new Handmade Parade Etsy shop will be 50% off for Thanksgiving and Black Friday! We're only telling people on our blogs, so make sure you check it out early to pick your favorites!

Final Note: Do you love the Handmade Holidays logo? Check out House of 3 for their gorgeous new Christmas digital kits!

Photography & Design Month-Kelly & Russell's Family

2009-11-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys, I didn't know your last name:) Here's a couple of shots from yesterday, more to come on the website. Just so everyone knows, that baby was born last Wednesday. And Kelly looks amazing. Wednesday.

Photography & Design Month-Amos Family Reunion

2009-11-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

The big day was yesterday, unfortunately I couldn't take a whole bunch of pictures because my kids were running around like lunatics. And I could barely move- these babies are making life much more difficult. Between all the eating & visiting I did get a couple of good shots, and Eryn took some too so enjoy a glimpse of our day.

My dad & all his sisters & brother

The Massey Family & their new little baby boy Briston. He was just too sweet.

My cousin Kindy's baby Briley. Don't you just want to munch on those cheekies.

KaI & Kali, who belong to my cousin Fawn. Kai did NOT want me to take his picture, so I had to stalk him. Kali is a little model, check out those eyes.

And who is this kid? What a wierdo.

All these photos are now on the Amos Family Flickr Group for everyone to share!

Something to be Thankful for

2009-11-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

House of 3 is giving away a free blog background & header for the Thanksgiving Holiday! Hop on over there to get your freebie & check out all the fun Christmas digital kits that they just listed! Tomorrow kicks off Handmade Holidays- come back for more details!

Amos Family Reunion

2009-11-20T07:03:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is our big family reunion so we are all gearing up to head out to McCormick Park in Scottsdale and spend some time with family. There is a Colon Cancer Run in the morning (which unfortunately I cannot participate in. sorry, got this big belly.) in honor of my dad's cousin Chadeen who passed away on Halloween. I was asked to design the shirts for the run/reunion and this is what I came up with.

There will be TONS of pictures taken tomorrow, so I'm reminding everyone in the family to upload them all to the Amos Family Photo Pool on Flickr.

Those of you that can't be there will feel like you were! Also, if you didn't get your t-shirt order in on time, we are taking people's names and sizes so we can order another batch next week and mail them off to people.

Now I have to go get my kids ready to go see my Aunties and drive them nuts for a while.

Feeling Patrotic

2009-11-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

I usually do not post anything on this blog that has to do with my own personal views about things like politics. I know that a blog should be the place to do that, but I don't feel like I have enough information or experience in government matters to support my opinions. So, I basically just keep them to myself. Most of the stuff I put on this blog is happy, pretty, creative and whatnot; but sometimes I get hit really hard with something of a higher importance and I feel like sharing it with everyone.

Braden has been watching a program on the History Channel called WWII in HD. I generally HATE watching war documentaries because I find them deeply depressing, but I found myself getting sucked in this time. We all read about war in school and see it on the news, but it is different when you have people that were actually there telling how it affected their entire lives. Then my sister Ashly, whose husband is in the Navy, sent me this email this morning and I think it fits perfectly with the program I watched last night. I wanted to share it with all of you because even though the citizens in the US do not agree with everything that the government or military does, we should all agree that this is the greatest country in the world and we should be proud of what this country has done when so many others did or could not.

Here's the email:

At a time when our president and other politicians tend to apologize for our country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our country.

1) JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when DeGaule decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded "does that include those who are buried here?

DeGuale did not respond.

You could have heard a pin drop.

2) When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

3) There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you
heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.

4) A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, 'Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

5) Robert Whiting , an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."

You could have heard a pin drop.

Enjoy the rest of your day knowing we are safe because of people like this, and thousands of others that enable us to live the lives we've chosen.

Early Bird Black Friday Sales

2009-11-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am trying to furiously finish a ton of projects that I have been working on this week that I plan to share with you all soon, but I have to keep it short and sweet today so I can get back to work!

If you have been waiting for all those holiday sales to hit, Black Friday has come early for all of you! Wood Creations Furniture is offering 50% off of EVERYTHING in their store until they close at 6:00 pm on Black Friday! Skip all the insane crowds the day after Thanksgiving and visit them now to get your savings!

If you have been wishing and hoping for a new dining room or bedroom set for Christmas this is THE place to go. They have a ton of the same styles you see in Pottery Barn, Ethan Allen, & Crate & Barrel but for a fraction of the cost. Also, all their stuff is unfinished so you can have it painted or stained any color you desire!

Photography & Design Month-Ashlyn's Graduation Pictures

2009-11-17T10:11:00.000-08:00

Hooray for Ashlyn! She is graduating from ASU in December so we went out and did a session on campus and they turned out AMAZING! She is insanely photogenic, so it was a piece of cake on my part. There's more on the website!

Photography & Design Month-The Estrada Family

2009-11-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of shots from the photo session I did with the Estrada Family on Saturday. They were so awesome to work with and their baby Micha was too stinkin cute! Check my website for more shots.

Harvest Dinner Week Finale

2009-11-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

The Watson Harvest Dinner just ended. My kitchen is cleaned, my husband is picking the turkey clean for leftover turkey sandwiches tomorrow, my sisters are folding my kids clothes for me, and I am happily taking a much needed rest. I love family dinners as much for the aftermath as the actual event. I now have a clean house for the rest of the week (or at least however long it lasts, maybe until Tuesday.) We made it through the day with only 2 mishaps:

1) I decided to bake the extra apples soaked in bourbon with the turkey, but I put them in a parchment paper lined pan. Well, the paper caught fire, and literally blew up from the alcohol. It blew our oven door open and shot a fireball out of the oven, but thankfully no one was hurt. Braden just about had to change his pants, but it all ended ok. And the turkey was just fine!
2) Penelope, after eating 3 pumpkin rolls and some pumpkin pie, threw up bright orange puke then slipped in it. I scooped her up and stuck her in the tub, and by the time I came back in the kitchen my dad, Ashly, & Ashlyn had cleaned it all up for me! Gotta love family.

Harvest Dinner Week Part 5

2009-11-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here is the easiest recipe I know to make the crown jewel of Thanksgiving Desserts: Pumpkin Pie. Make an extra so you can have it for breakfast the next morning.

Harvest Dinner Week Part 4

2009-11-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

Today is the shrimp and mushroom risotto. If you like shrimp, mushrooms, and rice-this dish is for you. If you are like my husband, and don't like mushrooms, stay away from this dish. There will always be a couple of crazy people who don't like them at your dinner, but don't be offended if they don't eat any of this. It is VERY mushroom-y. Just the way I like it.

Harvest Dinner Week Part 3

2009-11-11T02:05:00.001-08:00

Today I'm going to include 2 recipes, since they are the quick and easy ones from our menu. The greens beans & pancetta I got from our good friend Kathie & the orange cranberry sauce I got from Jaimee Rose's blog. A lot of you are used to the old school green bean casserole & the canned cranberry sauce, and if that's your tradition and you love it, more power to you. Personally, both those items make me want to barf just thinking about them, so I found new & more gourmet ways to incorporate them into the Thanksgiving meal. Please don't be offended that I hate the old school dishes. I'm pregnant, so I'm both more sensitive to food & I have less appreciation for other people's feelings. Don't worry I'll be back to normal in April. But I'll still never eat the other stuff again. And honestly, you probably won't either if you try these 2 recipes out!

Adorn Update

2009-11-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to update everyone that new styles are available on the Adorn page of the Handmade Parade website! The headbands & necklaces that Eryn & I wore last weekend are on it and I have more styles coming up this week!

Harvest Dinner Week Part 2

2009-11-10T11:00:00.001-08:00

Next thing on the menu is The Pioneer Woman's Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I made these last week, and thought it would be a good idea to inform Ree when I met her, that I had been eating the leftovers for breakfast for almost a week straight. I'm pretty sure she was dazzled by my stimulating conversation, but I was totally nervous meeting her so that was all I could think of to blurt out. Dumb.

Anyway, these mashed potatoes are freaking amazing, and it is the one recipe I have come across that actually taste just as good reheated as they do fresh. I think it must be the cream cheese in them that keep them moist and flavorful. Just remember to add lots and lots of salt, because bland mashed potatoes are just inexcuseable.

Harvest Dinner Week

2009-11-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

One lesson everyone must learn is when you get married, the holidays become a much more hectic time. All my brothers & sisters have to split the holidays between 2 families (we split between 3), and half of them have moved away so we try to make things work the best we can. This year we are having a Harvest Dinner at our house this Sunday with Braden's parents, my family, and Kathie's family to make sure we share the holiday with everyone on a day where we can all be together without running around all day. I love any excuse to make a big fancy meal, so I'm sharing our menu ideas with all of you!

The main course of our Harvest Dinner is of course going to be turkey, and I'm making the same one I tried out last year. The Apple Sage Bacon Bourbon Turkey I found via Jaimee Rose. This was amazing, even though I smelled like an alcoholic for the rest of day when I made it. If you are up for trying something new and fabulous for Thanksgiving, you MUST make this. Save yourself the trouble, and go to AJ's wine specialist and he will find bourbon for you. I searched 3 different stores last before I wised up and went to AJ's. Those of you who are anti-alcohol, keep in mind the alcohol gets cooked off in the roasting process, so all you get is the delicious flavor.

Jaimee got the recipe from her friend, who is a chef; and I have put his recipe in a handy 4 x 6 card that you can print out and stick on your fridge when you decide to grow a pair and make this Holiday Masterpiece.

Fall Fun Weekend Part 2

2009-11-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

Last night Eryn & I went to the Vintage Western Masquerade Party, and if you weren't there, you totally missed out big time. Everyone was dressed in their cowgirl best & we fit right in with our Prairie Pettiskirts Eryn whipped up for us last minute. There were all kinds of amazing vendors, delicious food (kettle corn is my weakness), and lots of inspiring people to check out. We got there right as Stephanie & Christian Neilsen got up in front of the crowd to thank everyone for coming out & their support. It was amazing to see her in person and to see the strength of those two people, and how grateful they were. After composing myself, we went around to all the vendor booths to oogle the goodies like antiques, handmade gypsy belts, Minnie's peasant tunics, headbands, home decor, and rhinestones galore. We're heading back today for the Blissfest festival & bringing the kiddos and hopefully coming home with some treasures. You must walk into Domestic Bliss, it is holiday sensory overload in there. While in the store I accosted Jaimee Rose, who is lovely and whose blog i adore. Last we went across the hall to Allison Tyler Jones photography studio to get our picture taken together. It was a super fun night, and I can't wait to se what they have in store for us today!

Oh, and I almost forgot about the new styles of Adorn Jewels & Baubles that were designed especially for the Vintage Western Masquerade! They're up in the shop available for purchase!

Fall Fun Weekend

2009-11-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

Fall Fun Weekend kicked off today with the Pioneer Woman herself signing her new cookbook at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe. I got there at 7:00 and man, it was crazy! I finally got in line to have my book signed and my picture taken with the lovely Ree Drummond.

It was awesome and I highly recommend you pick up her cookbook, and try not to drool all over the delicious country meals she puts together. I've made about 4 things in the book so far, and now have many high aspirations to try out everything. And try not to be jealous of me that I have my own personally signed copy. I love the Pioneer Woman! Yeehaw!

More Fun This Weekend!

2009-11-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

I just saw on Dolce Vita Mia's Twitter that there is ANOTHER fun event going on this weekend. Sunday is the Hissyfits Hullabaloo in Phoenix and it's another great place to get a jump start to your holiday shopping! I love me some handmade presents!

Oh, and another thing, today is FREE DAY at Joe's Farm Grill. Go between 11-3 & 4-8 for a free soda, free fries, & a free burger!!! I trying to get my kids together so we can get there early. They're expecting 4,000 people!

Ladies Night

2009-11-03T10:44:00.001-08:00

What is everyone doing this Friday night and Saturday morning? Whatever you are doing, you should cancel your plans to come with me to Domestic Bliss' Vintage Western Masquerade & the Blissfest Market! It is going to be sooooooo much fun!

There is going to be so many amazing people & vendors at the Blissfest, and all kinds of fun activities for your kids to do on Saturday!

Check the Fall Blissfest 2009 blog to get a taste of all the goodies that will be in store for you!

It's a $10 donation to get in the door Friday, but if you are dressed up in your vintage western best, it's free! This is what I'm thinking I'll be wearing:

These boots from Target, only $30, custom pettiskirt from Frou Frou Tutu, and a new style of rosette bib necklace from my Adorn collection.

I can't wait to show you guys the finished products!!!!

Decorating for Fall

2009-11-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry my post is coming so late, but I was out showing houses to a buyer in Queen Creek. And in the process of showing houses, I found another buyer that was walking by one of the houses I was showing. Whoohoo!! Now onto the post for today:

How are you decorating your house for Thanksgiving? I know a lot of people who only decorate for Halloween and just wait until Christmas, but I love to use any excuse to add some glitter to my house. Here's some ideas for stuff you can do to make your house a little more festive for this harvest holiday.

1) I found these adorable felted acorns on Etsy. I want some in every color.

2) I've seen these velvet pumpkins all over the place and I need some for my coffee table. My texture obsessed son will love to play with them all day long. You can buy some at Domestic Bliss, make your own kits for Posh Squash from Oive Juice & Co., or Order some from my lovely friend Jessie's new shop Little Pickle Creations.

3) Of course The Queen of Domesticity, Martha has a ton of great Harvest Decorating ideas on her site. I can already see lots of gold spray paint & glitter in my future.

4) I really want to make some throw pillows & some placemats for Thanksgiving. I'm thinking about using this digital kit and this digital kit from Two Peas In A Bucket, and making iron ons to go on simple muslin pillows. You can follow this tutorial to make the pillows.

November is here!

2009-11-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

Halloween was lots of fun, but I forgot my camera, so I have to wait for Kathie to upload all her pictures to show you my little Alice, Crew Chief, & Tinkerbell. They ate waaaaaaay to much candy, no dinner, and now Daddy has candy for a week. For those of you that miss the kiddos, here's some shots of the pumpkin patch.

Photography & Design month is underway, and I have a graduation photo session lined up this evening with my friend Ashlyn, which I will share tomorrow. I'm designing her graduation announcements too, so keep an eye out for those. Remember, if you want a photography session & card design in time for the holidays, email me at watsonfam2007@gmail.com!

Check out House of 3's Gratitude digital kits for all your Thanksgiving needs, like my blog background & header. They have cute printables for place cards for Thanksgiving dinner, and card kits to spread the holiday happiness.

All Hallows Eve

2009-10-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

It's the day before Halloween, so you have just enough time to squeeze in a couple more fun Halloween festivities before we switch over to Thanksgiving celebrations! Here's what we have planned for today:

1) The kids are dressed in their Halloween clothes and the girls nails got painted black & orange for the festivities. The girls skirts we made using this tutorial. Super quick & easy peasy lemon squeezy. You can whip up one for your own little witch in a couple hours
2) We're making sugar cookies! Try this recipe for crisp cookies and glaze frosting
3) I'm glittering & embellishing my big white pumpkin so it's ready to go for next year. I LOOOOOOOVE these ideas
4) We're carving our pumpkins today, which means I'm also toasting pumpkin seeds to snack on. Just sprinkle with some salt, & throw in a 350 oven until they turn brown. Mmmmmm
5) If I can squeeze this darling little project in, I'm going to make some for next year. I think I might just make a couple for Thanksgiving decorations too.

Another exciting thing going on today, I've put some Adorn necklaces on the Handmade Parade website for purchase! You can check out all the styles available right now at the Handmade Parade Blog!

Gettin Ready for the Holidays

2009-10-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Halloween is almost here, then Thanksgiving & Christmas are just around the corner! Aaaahhhh! I feel so unprepared! Get a jump start on the holidays with my Holiday Photo & Card special for November

For the whole month of November you can get a family photo shoot & Christmas card (or Hanukkah or Thanksgiving or New Years, whatever) designed for $100! That means you basically get your Christmas cards designed for free!!! Wohoo! Spaces are already filling up for November (I have three sessions booked already, plus a family reunion to shoot on the 21st) so email me asap and let me know if you want to take advantage of this sweet deal.

Photography & Design Month

2009-10-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

I've declared November National Photography & Design Month. I have all kinds of projects to start, work on, finish up, and get out before all the holidays begin, so I'll share some of those with all of you. I'm also going to share the digital kits and fonts I used, in case you were wondering, or want to use the same stuff in your own designs. For the P & D logo I used the French Ooh La La tag brushes & the Civilian Font from daFont.com

My sister Ashly's wedding is New Years Eve this year, and I'm finishing up all the labels for her invitations to go out next week, and they look a little something like this:

I used the French Ooh La La Brushes again, & the Didot font.

Also, my brother Lance & his wife Amanda's wedding is in February, and I just revised their invitations to look like this:

I used the Birds on a Wire kit, the Wicked Awesome Font, and the Adorn shaped photo masks. I also used the Didot fonts, the Chopin Script fonts, the Carnivale Freakshow, the Baskerville Old Face, and the Campbell font all from daFont.

The RSVP cards look like this:

I basically used the same kits as the above invitation, but I used the Snap Shot Flourishes 2 kit around their photos.

These two weddings are just the tip of the iceberg in my photography design month, so come back tomorrow for a special deal just in time for Christmas!!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2009-10-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

The winner of the rosette necklace giveaway is Chelsea Lake! Hooray! Send me your mailing address so I can send you your fabulous necklace!

One More Pumpkin Recipe

2009-10-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

I ended up with a ton of extra vanilla cupcakes without frosting from yesterday, so I decided to switch it up and make pumpkin frosting to put on top so I don't have to make a whole new batch of cupcakes. I used Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Cupcake recipe and this recipe for the frosting.

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming

2009-10-24T15:51:00.001-07:00

Our first annual Handmade Parade Backyard Boutique just got done and let me tell you, I am EXHAUSTED. But now I can stop neglecting my blogging duties and keep everyone updated daily on life here at the Watson's. Tonight is our Halloween Block Party, tomorrow morning is Boo at the Zoo, and tomorrow night is the Keller Williams Halloween Party, so I still have lots and lots to prepare for so I'll leave you with the recipe for Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins, which I plan to bring to the party tomorrow night. It's a chili and cornbread cookoff and I'm bringing the Pumpkin Turkey Chili, and the Pumpkin cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting to go with the cornbread. I better win the cookoff.
Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa

Craft Crackhead

2009-10-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been doing nothing but getting prepped for the Handmade Parade Boutique this Saturday, so I've been missing on the blog for a while. Sorry guys, I promise it'll be back to the regularly scheduled programming once all this craziness is over. But come to the event, so you can how all my hard work will pay off!

Now I have to go finish rosette necklaces, make some gourmet marshmallows, finish stringing my pom poms, pick up the vinyls for the custom signs we're making, and put the final coat on my houses for my real estate info table. I'll try to check in tomorrow with some pictures of all our fun stuff that's coming together!

Big News-Times Two!!!

2009-10-15T06:52:00.001-07:00

We went to our ultrasound yesterday, and the verdict is in.

We are super excited (Braden is excited now too, it was just a little bit of a shock at first. 4 girls. Yikes.) Now we can get cracking on re-doing the kids rooms, pulling out clothes from the attic and sewing up new projects or our little twin girls. Please feel free to mail me any cute baby girl stuff you make. Or diapers. Or sleep. We're definitely going to need some sleep.

Pumpkin Overload

2009-10-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

photo & recipe from Serious Eats

I know I've been posting a ton about pumpkins, but I have one more recipe you MUST try. It's Pumpkin Turkey Chili and it is sooooooo good! I made it last night for dinner with some cornbread and loved it. One of my kids loved it, one of my kids thought it was too spicy, and one of my kids took a bite and threw up. Guess which one? Braden & I thought it was awesome though, and you can limit the spiciness by adding less or no cayenne pepper and cutting back on the chili powder. I thought it was perfect just the way it is, especially if you out a buttload of sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese in it. Mmmmmmm. And it doesn't taste pumpkin-y at all, it just adds a lot of thickness to the chili, and makes it rich and filling. AND the whole thing is super duper healthy. Great for flu season.

You can see a picture of mine on Twitter, and follow me through my day :)

Business Bribes

2009-10-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Since I started with Keller Williams Realty, I have gone to a few training classes they offer and one lesson is paramount: You have to go out and meet people.

I've never been a shy person, but going out and getting 10 people's business cards every single day kind of seems like a daunting task. Especially when you are a mom who spends 95% of her time in cut off sweat pants and their husband's cut off t shirts with no bra. But since, this is the path I have chosen, I've decided to make the best of it and do it my way.

And my way is going to involve cupcakes.

I figure anyone is going to remember you if you give them tasty treats, so I'm setting out to make some Autumn-happy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting to take to some potential clients. I found the recipes from Martha , and I give them to you in recipe card form. And Jordy, to answer your previous question, yes, I use Photoshop to create my recipe cards that I post on the blog. And if you are very very nice this year, Santa Rosie might just send you a bunch for Christmas.

Also, check out Rhonna's recipe for pumpkin butter! I'm definitely making some tomorrow. I think I'll need to bake some bread to put it on too. Yum.

Directions on how to put a link to Handmade Parade

2009-10-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn, this is for you (and anyone else who wants to enter into the drawing for a bib necklace!)

1) Right click on the handmade parade logo above and save image to desktop

2) Go into the layout section of your blog (Its 2 tabs over from the Posting tab when you do a new post.)-If you click the word Customize on the upper Right hand corner of your blog you go right to the Layout Section.

3) Click on Add a Gadget on the side bar.

4) Click on the Picture icon

5) Choose the picture you downloaded to your desktop, title it Handmade Parade

6) Copy and paste the blog web address: http://www.shophandmadeparade.blogspot.com into the Link section

7) Click Save and move it where ever you want on the sidebar.

8) Come back to my blog or the Handmade Parade blog, and leave a comment letting me know you have a button or link up on your blog to be entered into the drawing.

Spread the word people, we want a bog turnout! Just wait till you see all the awesome stuff that is going to be debuting there!

Hello World!

2009-10-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

It's finally over. Braden & the kids are all finally feeling better, and I am almost totally back to normal. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes, they were greatly appreciated while I was sick in bed. Now, onto the fun stuff.

Remember the giveaway? Here is the prize:

No, it's not Olivia. It's a rosette bib necklace, and they are quite spectacular, if I do say so myself. They are part of my new accessory line called Adorn, and there are all sorts of goodies for you, your ladies that need Christmas presents, and your little babies. Check out the snazzy stuff Penelope is wearing.

Of course, you can find all these fabulous necklaces and and headbands at Handmade Parade in only 2 weeks! We'll see you there!

Now I know what all the hype was about.

2009-10-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

I feel like I just got hit by Colonel Mustard, in the Conservatory, with the Lead Pipe. I haven't gotten the blood testing done yet, but my doctor says I have all the symptoms of the swine flu. It's bad people, pray to Jesus you don't catch it. I'll be out for a while since my head feels like all the organs inside are on fire, and who knows when I'll be back to normal, so until then everyone should go out and eat some extra bacon just to spite those stupid pigs.

Handmade Parade Giveaway

2009-10-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

All you blog readers listen closely! I need everyone to spread the word about the Backyard Boutique! We want a ton of people to come, so I'm offering an incentive for everyone that helps spread the word. Here's how its going to work: If you put a link on your blog to Handmade Parade's blog, or post the e-flier on your blog, leave me a comment either here, or on the Handmade Parade's blog. The day of the boutique (the 24th) I will randomly chose 1 person from all the commenters to get a surprise from a vendor at Handmade Parade. Right now, there is one prize, but if another vendor wants to donate their own prize then we'll pick more than one person to win! I'll unveil the prize tomorrow or Monday, but right now I want it to be a surprise! so get out there and tell everyone you know!!!

Get ready for me to rock your world.

2009-10-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Make this as soon as humanly possible. It is hands the down the easiest and most delicious meal on the planet. You can thank me later.

I made this since I was feeling crappy today. I was out in the cold last night at the football game, and I think all the allergens in the air made me feel sick. Plus I woke up with this awkward pain in my ribs, which I'm chalking up to the babies. Anyway, this was the quickest thing to do for lunch and it will make anyone with a cold feel much better.

***EDIT**** Sorry guys, I forgot to mention the pasta part. You just boil any pasta (Ilike Bowtie best in this recipe, but use whatever you have on hand) separately until al dente, then serve the chicken & sauce on top of the pasta. My bad.

October is here!

2009-10-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Wohoo! It was chilly this morning! Time to start busting out the hot chocolate! I need to make some homemade marshmallows. I'm thinking about trying some new flavors, like pumpkin or cinnamon, or maybe even butterscotch. If you want to try and make some yourself, follow these directions & add in your flavors

Or you can try some of Heather Bailey's Harry Potter recipes for Butter Beer, or Cockroach Clusters.

Pick a new recipe & try it out this week, because it's October dang it, and that is a cause for celebration in and of itself.

Honey Bee

2009-09-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

I have had the busiest day ever I feel like a busy bee. The Queen Bee of course. I had training all morning, then previewed 10 houses in Gilbert (which gave me serious home envy), then choreographed a dance and met with the teacher to review, then home for cleaning & dinner so Braden could golf. Now I have to catch up on my blogging :) I'll keep it short, since I'm about to pass out any second.
Check out the darling photos Eryn took of the Silva family. Izzy is a model.

Oh, and later this week, more Handmade Parade News!

Photo Weekend Part 2

2009-09-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

Well, photo weekend Part Deux turned out to be a bust. Landen got attacked by ants and now has bites all over his feet. Unfortunately he is allergic to bug bites, so it makes his feet swell up ridiculously. After a bath in baking soda, some rubbing alcohol, some calamine lotion and a 1/4 tsp of childrens Benadryl, he was fine and drowsy. Yesterday, was just a crazy day in general. I had to take Penelope to urgent care at 8:00 in the morning because she fell off our ottoman in our bedroom, and bashed her head on the corner of our dresser. When I picked her up she had an enormous goose egg on her forehead, and I felt like Mother of the Year. Nothing like going to Urgent Care feeling like a child abuser. Anyway, here are more shots from Sunday, and I'll add some of Kathie and Isabel from yesterday that turned out fab.

Photo Weekend Part 1

2009-09-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

Last night we all went out to the Farm at South Mountain to do our Fall Family photo shoot. Those of you that have been in my yellow kitchen/living room know that my black & white photo wall is a little sparse. Plus Penelope looks totally different now, so we needed some updates. Eryn took a ton of good ones, and I got a couple good shots of the kids, and even though Braden was totally miserable, I think it was a success. I'll put more up tomorrow, and some from our 2nd shoot tonight with Kathie's family, but I needed to put some of Landen up, since he didn't have any good ones on Wednesday. My favorite is the one where Peepers boots are in the air.

Wardrobe Wishlist

2009-09-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

None of my own clothes fit me any more and now that I am officially in the 2nd trimester (already?) it's time to stay away from the jeans/pants and wear skirts/dresses exclusively. If I had an extra $500 lying around, and I could spend it on just me, I would buy these.

Dress & Shooties from Anthro, headband from Miss Ruby Sue.

Amos Family Photo Pool

2009-09-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

There is a big reunion coming up in November that is probably going to result in a boatload of pictures, so in order for everyone to have access to all the pictures people have taken I started a Flickr group for all the family to join to share photos! I've loaded all the pictures of Harry & Delt and I'll be adding more of our own family soon. Everyone is welcome to join and upload their own photos of their families so we all can see them in one central place. Feel free to download any photos you want, and print out to keep. If you have any questions, you can email me at watsonfam2007@gmail.com.

Fall Photo Session

2009-09-23T12:50:00.001-07:00

Why is it that when I try to take my own kids out for a shoot, it all goes to hell? I can't get one picture where everyone is looking at the camera and not falling to pieces. We got 2 out of 3 in both shots.

Landen is straight IMPOSSIBLE to photograph. I couldn't get ANY good shots of him. La La is pretty hard too, but Peeps always aims to please.

We got a lot more photos to take this week and all next month, so keep checking the website for some updates.

Happy First Day of Fall!

2009-09-22T08:35:00.001-07:00

I just couldn't contain myself any longer. The Halloween decorations are going up this week people, so of course the blog had a makeover. And, hey you can make this tasty carmel corn with your kiddos to celebrate!

If you don't feel like making this yourself, the debut of Confection Sweets at Handmade Parade's Backyard Boutique is going to have plenty of this stuff bagged up and ready to take home with you.

A Nice September Saturday

2009-09-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

Out of nowhere yesterday, Braden switched off the Tennessee/Florida game, turned to me and said. "Let's go have a picnic."
I thought I had fell asleep for a minute and was dreaming this conversation. "Um, ok" I said, and we got up to get the kids changed and packed up. All the suggestions for KFC and pizza didn't sound so great to me, so a brilliant idea popped into my head, and we drove to Agritopia.

Have you been to Joe's Farm Grill. It is awesome because there are a ton of picnic benches outside in the yard both in front and in back of the restaurant, plus a lot of pretty garden areas for your kids to run through. Our kids ran around outside for a while, and drank orange soda (they NEVER get soda, so it was a real treat for them). Then once we got our food, we went inside to their midcentury modern style eating area and our kids actually behaved. For the second time that night, I thought I was dreaming. I got the barbecue blue cheese burger (which was awesome) and my kids got a grilled cheese. They stuffed their face full of fries and we left content and in good moods. We drove to the park by our house, and played for 2 hours. While we were there Braden ran into an acquaintance of his, and we talked to his wife and his friend's wife the whole time. Turns out it's a small world after all. They had 3 little girls (two were Lala & Peepers age), and their friend had 5 kids, the last one twins. All 11 kids played like they were longtime friends and our kids got put to bed all bathed and really tired out.

I have a feeling that this is going to be the best autumn we've ever had. I think I'll go watch "You've Got Mail" and buy some more pumpkins today . . .

Calling all Vendors

2009-09-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

It's getting closer and closer to the one month mark until Handmade Parade's first ever Backyard Boutique. I've been sending out our vendor fliers to some new talented people I found via Etsy, and the word is starting to spread like wildfire. If you are interested in joining the party, please email me! I now have my sweet new iphone so you can send it to whatever email you have for me (if you're new, you can use rosemaryw@me.com). If you have already talked to me about joining, please leave me your email address, so I can send you all the information that vendors need. Thanks for everyone's support, get excited and start creating! Time is getting short!

P.s.- if you need any help with anything, ie marketing, business cards, photos of product, whatever, just let me know!

2009-09-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

So many things are happening at once in my life, that I feel like I'm living in that house Dorothy traveled in to Oz. I closed my eyes and woke up in September. How did that happen? A lot of my life is lived like this, all the important things happening so fast that I barely have time to appreciate them before something else comes along that needs my attention. All the babies, and marriages, and graduations keep coming and coming to the point where I forget just how many kids and brothers and sisters and cousins I have now. Sometimes I wish things would just slow down so I can at least give everyone a big kiss.

Last night however, I was given a golden opportunity to do just that. My dad has an Aunt & Uncle who live here in Mesa who he was going to go visit, and he invited me to come along. My cousin Mindy, who is their granddaughter, had emailed me a while back and had asked if I ever had time, if I could go and take some pictures of her grandparents. I said, "Of course, I'd love to go" and got in the car with my dad to visit his beloved Uncle Harry & Aunt Delt.

I had only met these two a handful of times, but I do remember being a little girl and going to their house up in the white mountains to visit. I must have been under 10 years old, but I do remember Aunt Delt's smile, and Uncle Harry's laugh. I also remember my dad's stories of how Uncle Harry had gotten struck by lighting 10 times or so, and other funny things about him.
When we got to the house, we were greeted by their sweet nurse Marsha, who presented us to Delta & Harry. They looked just like I remember them. Aunt Delt with her chestnut hair and beautiful smile, and Uncle Harry with his laugh and fiery disposition. All my memories came flooding back, and we spent the rest of the afternoon reminiscing and looking at a big photo album one of their granddaughters had made. There were so many pictures of them in there, just about my age. Aunt Delt was gorgeous. Like really really gorgeous and young chasing 2 little girls around. And there were pictures of handsome Uncle Harry and my dad's grandfather Poppa, his dad Paul Jr., and my Uncle Paul III. There was pictures of his cousin Joanne, who looked just like her grandson Kai. There was even pictures of my dad and his mother Rosemary. It almost took my breath away how much it reminded me of me & my own little boy, who is the spitting image of my father. The time finally came however, to go home, so with a hug and a kiss, we told Uncle Harry & Aunt Delt goodbye, with tears in both our eyes.

The weight of the evening didn't really hit me until we were driving home. My dad played his music, as I tried to choke back a flood of tears. As we drove west on the freeway, I looked at the sunset barley glaring in the sky, almost letting the twilight take it over. It seemed a perfect metaphor for life. Every now & then, we need to stop and take a look around us and appreciate the moments we are given on this earth; for they are, like the day, over so quickly. Don't get so caught up in the day, that you forget to appreciate the sunset.

Aren't they just lovely?

It's Official

2009-09-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

Rosemary Watson is now a Real Estate Agent. Woot Woot! Yay me! I'm excited to announce that I have joined Keller Williams Legacy One and I can't wait to start selling some homes! I have been going to meetings, classes, and seminars that my company has been offering, and it's getting me revved up to start my business. I'm working on all my marketing stuff, so soon you'll be able to check out my own personal real estate website. I'll be sending out all kinds of fun stuff so stay on the lookout! If anyone has any questions for me, or know anyone else that is interested in selling their home or buying a new one, now you guys know who to call!

2009-09-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

photo from Sunset

At Safeway today I bought 3 mini pumpkins for $0.79 each. I felt so happy about fall, that I picked up my favorite soup (the Tuscan Tomato & Red Pepper Bisque) and some sourdough for lunch. It was a delicious welcome to autumn, while I watched Pride & Prejudice on tv. You should go today and try the soup. Let the fall recipes begin!

I have so many projects coming up this month, my head seems to be spinning out of control. I have a couple things to unveil this week, our first JV game on Wednesday, more Handmade Parade preparation, Ashly's wedding & bridal shower stuff to finish up, and some photo sessions coming up! Whew. I'm also going to be working on some home decor projects for my yellow kitchen & living room, so stay tuned for that this week too.

Dear Cousin Jordy

2009-09-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Dude, I'm an idiot and deleted your email. I read it first though, and tried to go to your blog to send you a message, but for some reason its not working. WTH? Anyway, let me address your questions here publicly.

A) Of course you can copy my piano. Why would I care? That's why I put up my stuff on the blog anyway, to spread good (actually great) ideas. We used a custom celery green color from Sherwin Williams, but if you go through some Pottery Barn magazines from the last year, the green they use on their furniture is the same color. They use Benjamin Moore paint (which is more expensive) so if you can find a place that carries Benjamin Moore you can get the Pottery Barn color samples there, or look for the names online at Potterybarn.com

B) Braden painted it black first, so when he went through and distressed it and sanded the edges, the black as well as the wood tone shines through. The whole process goes like this:
1. Sand down all the wood parts to get rid of all the grime from the last century and give you a more even canvas to work with.
2. Wipe down, then paint all black. If you can rent a sprayer or know someone who has one, it will make your life so much easier. Old pianos tend to have a lot of intricate carving and detail & it is a bitch to try and hand paint all that.
3. After the black, spray the green. I think Braden did maybe 2 thick coats to get that rich green color & cover all the black.
4. Seal with 1 coat of satin topcoat or glossy lacquer . We used satin polyurethane.
5. Go though & pound the thing with screwdrivers, hammers, chains, ninja stars, whatever you have. Although, depending on where you got your piano, you may be able to skip this step. If its from a church, you probably need to distress. If it's from a saloon, you're good.
6. Once we finished all that, Braden sanded the edges down to get a burnished look, glazed the whole thing with some Sienna brown stain, and then did 3 or 4 topcoats to protect it from my sweet baby angels' constant state of destruction. But really, the more it gets banged up, the cooler it looks.

C) Other color ideas for furniture: I like to look on Country Living a lot for ideas. I also love the standby Pottery Barn of course, but really Pottery Barn Kids has more painted furniture. I have a lot of kids though, so their stuff is practical for me. Decor 8 always has great ideas, and the Farm Chicks vibe is lovely. Basically I just blog hop until I find a person I really like, then try to figure out what her house looks like.

D) Bridal Shower dessert: This one is a little tricky, since I don't know the theme of the shower. If you are trying to get an autumn feel at the party, try the peachy keen tart. It is soooooooooo easy and quick and people will die, it's so good. Late summer fruit is perfect for this time of year. Make a bunch, and pull out the vanilla ice cream. Cupcakes are also a great option for showers, but a little more work. Berries are on sale this time of year, so you can substitute the strawberries and make raspberry cupcakes. Also, Magnolia's vanilla cupcakes are also a big hit. But I always say, if you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly so if you feel up to a challenge, make Nie's chocolate cake. People will ask you to divorce Cart to marry them to make them cake. Hell, just make it for Cart, and you'll get whatever it is you've been begging for. How do you think I got these last babies?

Love you & Miss you guys & can't wait to see you again. Are you coming to the reunion?

21 Day challenge

2009-09-08T11:33:00.001-07:00

If you go to Rhonna's blog, you can join in on the 21 day challenge she is putting on. All the details are on her blog as well as the daily artwork to go with the challenge. It is the perfect thing to kick start your inspiration and achieve some goals. Check out her Spark partner Liz Kartchner's Challenge project to get more ideas. Put your button up to show your participation!

Handmade Parade Update: New Backyard Boutique Date

2009-09-07T09:29:00.001-07:00

Due to requests that we have a boutique that includes fabulous Halloween stuff, we have decided to move up the date of our backyard boutique to Saturday, October 24th, a week before Halloween. Now you can purchase some candy corn pettiskirts, glittered pumpkins for your house, spooky banners, carmel apples, and all kinds of other Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas goodies all wrapped up in one great day of handmade shopping. Visit the website for more details.

Raspberry Cream cheese filled Crepes

2009-09-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

I couldn't think of a clever title for today. So I'll just get down to business. I made these this morning with the leftover raspberries from Raspberry Lemonade, and man they were good. I'll spare you the picture of my crepes, since they ended up looking like a map of Italy instead of a nice circle, but they tasted like buttery perfection & my kids gobbled those things up like they were going out of style. Penelope probably ate a pint of raspberries on her own, and promptly rubbed her berry stained face all over my white couch, so I'll be bleaching that today. (Note: I HIGHLY recommend white couches with slipcovers. You just pull off the cover, and bleach the crap out of it, and it looks brand new.) Make these tomorrow and you'll feel like a gourmet chef.

Do you live in Utah?

2009-09-05T13:45:00.001-07:00

Then you should attend Spark. It sounds sooooooooo cool and I am thoroughly jealous of those who get to attend. I want one in AZ. please.

Come One, Come All

2009-09-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

Get your little girls together and come to Little Bunnies tomorrow morning, Saturday, September 5th, at 9:00 am. They will learn a dance, some cheers and get to perform at the Varsity Football game on Friday, September 11th. Registration begins at 8:30 am in the small gym at Mesa High School, and ends at 11:30. We will also be taking orders for purple and gold hair bows to match the cheerleaders bows, and all the proceeds go to the cheer team. Eryn & my mom make the cutest bows!

Babies Update, Presents, and more fall

2009-09-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

We went to another ultrasound yesterday, and lo and behold, everything is fine! There are 2 distinct sacs, one placenta, and 2 healthy, strong little babies hanging out in my belly. They are about an inch each, which leaves me wondering why my belly looks like it is housing two 5 pound babies already. Doesn't make any sense to me. And unfortunately, I have only gained one of my 40 pounds I am supposed to be gaining, so I'm not too sure about the belly situation. I think my body is shifting, so I walk with my hips forward already and I don't hold my stomach in all day, so it's kind of deceiving. I think I need a peanut butter milkshake. Oh, and the picture below is at 36 weeks. I am sorry, but that just does not look right. It kind of freaks me out.

Anyway, on to my present. Christmas came early for Rosemary & Braden, and we are IN LOVE with our iphones. I mean in love. I mean like we are texting each other nonsense all day just to use our iphones. It's seriously changing our lives. We have an ongoing scrabble game, that I am losing miserably, but it is so so fun.

And guess what! The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. I got mine decaf & iced today, since it's 102 degrees, but hey, it's September. I have my pumpkin pie candle lit in my house, and I'm starting my pillows today. I'll share once I'm done.

Message to Lyndsey South

2009-09-03T02:18:00.000-07:00

Hey Lynds, I couldn't get to your blog since it is private. You can email me your phone number or email and I'll give you the info for the pettiskirts! It's watsonfam2007@blogspot.com. Thanks!

September is here!!!!!

2009-09-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

Wohoo! Praise jesus, I'm so glad "fall" is only 21 days away! It's still scorching hot, but at least the cool weather is inching its way in. Last night there was a wicked thunderstorm to ring in the new season. Olivia started dance class today, and has little bunnies Saturday. Come by the Mesa High Football game on Friday the 11th to see her & Isabel shaking their booties with the cheerleaders.

College football starts this week and the NFL season starts next week, so I can be expecting nothing from my husband. It's been a long hard 7 months for him without football. So, in honor of being ignored, I'm going to start up my Halloween projects extra early this year!! There are so many Halloween goodies coming out, I don't know what to do.

House of 3 had the most awesome Halloween digital kits to spook up your house. Visit their blog to see some cool Halloween wall art & other fun projects. I already bought the haunted tree kit, and I can't wait to make some pillows for my couch!

Two Peas in a Bucket has some fab kits too, like these rhonna farrer kits from last halloween.

And check out these gorgeous velvet pumpkins that a local artist makes with real preserved pumpkin stems! You can buy some at Domestic Bliss in Mesa, but I think I'm going to try and make some of my own this year! Now I need to go scout out JoAnne's for some pretty velvet. I think I need black for my yellow room.

Handmade Parade: Frou Frou Tutu

2009-08-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

Frou Frou Tutu is my sister Eryn's sweet new pettiskirt & tutu shop. She makes the cutest pettiskirts I've ever seen! She just started her blog too, so go check it out! She will be selling her fab frocks at the Handmade Parade Outdoor Boutique in November. Check out the adorable matching accessories, like these flip flops and headbands. Love them.

These candy corn pettiskirts were specially made for Halloween, which unfortunately is before the Outdoor Boutique, so they will not be available.

Lucky for you guys, they will be sold on the Handmade Parade website in the the Frou Frou Tutu shop, along with some other select items before the Outdoor Boutique. These pettiskirts are in limited supply so don't wait if you want some saasy skirts for your own girly girls. The shop will be going live next week, so save your pennies for these treasures.

Got my Mojo back

2009-08-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

After a hard earned win in Scrabble last night, I finally got over my bummed out phase and am back in the saddle. I redid my blog, as you can see, with these awesome brushes from House of 3. Wow, that was a little Dr. Suess-ish. Now on to a day of playing dress up at Kathie's and Thai food (I'm a little nervous) tonight. Tomorrow I'll share some design projects I've been working on, and some updates about Handmade Parade! Woot woot!

PS- Is everybody pretty much over summer? I CAN"T WAIT to decorate for Halloween!!! I have so many Halloween projects to share!!!! Everyone needs to stop what they are doing and sign up for Martha's Halloween workshop immediately. Look at this!

Ask and ye shall receive

2009-08-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Remember how yesterday I was feeling all mopey and blah and had no inspiration coming to me. Well, I forgot, I hadn't checked out what Nie was up to lately. Have you read her blog, and her post on a year anniversary of her plane crash, and her unveiling of herself? Honestly, that is one strong woman. She literally takes my breath away. There are a lot of people I look up to (you know, my mom, my grandma, my father, etc) but if I could end up with a fraction of the heart that Stephanie Neilson has, I'll be satisfied. Please, if you haven't read in a while, and you have some time and tears to spare, go read her blog. She really has a knack for putting your life into perspective.

Much love for Nie and her darling family.

Ready for Fall

2009-08-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

I have literally read 3 different blogs today that state everyone has lost their mojo, and man I'm I there. I feel like I've been a zombie this whole week. I did pass my last Real Estate test so Wohoo! on that. These babies are seriously kicking my booty though. I am pretty exhausted most of the time (especially today since Peeps decided to wake up at 1:00 am and not go back to bed) and having to eat ALL DAY makes me be in a constant food coma. Plus I can't exercise at all so I feel super gross. Not that I really did that much before, but knowing I can't makes it worse. I am working on a couple of projects that should be done soon, but I am a chronic procrastinator. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and have something worth talking about.

Congrats to Mean Talking Ash & my new brother in law Dustin

2009-08-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

Holy crap there's so much marriage going around it's making my head spin. Wedding coming New Years Eve 2009.

A little bit British

2009-08-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while y'all, I've been busy trying to gain the 40 lbs I'm supposed to, cleaning my house, preparing for my last Real Estate Exam, & designing a party package for Tori (hey! if you're reading). Anyway, there's some things I want to share that I have been loving lately, all with a British flair.

1) Happy loves Rosie is the most darling little blog I've ever seen. This lady is straight from England, I don't even understand what she's talking about half the time. Her house is exactly what my house would look like if I didn't live with the most opinionated man on the planet. He draws the line at yellow walls. But her house is oh so cute and check out her TO DIE FOR camper. The minute I find one on Craigslist I'm totally copying. It's so amazing, I want to throw up with jealousy.

Photo by Happy loves Rosie

2) To keep with the British theme, I made these strawberry scones this morning. There are really tasty & pretty on the plate with the vanilla glaze you drizzle over them. Mmmm. Perfect for gaining a buttload of weight. I've already had 3.

photo by Olive Juice & Co.

3) I've had a crush on this print since the beginning of the Keep Calm Phase, so I think it's time to order one in black for my kitchen. But then I spotted this one, and now I can't decide. Go classic or with a cheeky twist? Dah!

photo by Jenny's Bake Shop

Baby Update

2009-08-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

We went for our 2nd & 3rd ultrasounds yesterday & today and they all came back with pretty much the same answers: It's too early to tell anything for sure.

As of right now we still definitely have 2 babies, and they are sharing the same placenta (identical twins) but the ultrasound tech and doctor we saw today are pretty confident we'll be able to see the separation of the 2 sacs in two weeks. So we'll go back then, and hopefully have more answers. But everything was pretty positive today, so I'm confident they'll be fine.

They currently look like this:

Gross hunh? They look like little pollywogs. And yes, that is what my butt looks like. Thanks for asking. More updates to come in 2 weeks.

Congrats to Lancer Bug & my new sister in law.

2009-08-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hooray! You're married! Wedding coming April 2010.

Kitchen Flair

2009-08-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Remember this magnet board kit from House of 3 I showed you?

Well, I was on Heidi Swapp's blog the other day, and I saw that Scrapbook.com was having an awesome sale on the Ho3 wall vinyls that they used on the magnet board project. So, of course I had to order them, and they came in Saturday. I decided that the space above my cabinets needed a little oomph, so I put a couple chandeliers up there to coordinate with my curtains.

It adds a little something up there, without being clutterey. I also got the frames vinyls, so I think I need to start making up a magnet board for my living room. I'm also going to get a custom saying in vinyl to replace my old sign I had above the cabinets.

Happy Weekend!

2009-08-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

My kids, Braden, & I are heading out to the Desert Ridge Resort & Spa with my family & Kathie's family for a fun weekend away. We're going to be swimming, eating, and Braden will be golfing. I'm so excited to have a mini vacation to finish off the summer. School started this week, so I'll be having cheer in the mornings preparing for football season in September. I'm ready for fall and cooler weather to get here so I can kick my kids outside to play when they drive me bananas. I'll be back on Monday to our regularly scheduled programing. I'll leave you with these breakfast in bed recipes to try from Paula Deen: spinach gruyere puff pastry, spicy cinnamon cake, and oven baked dutch apple pancakes

Big News

2009-08-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so after calling everyone on the planet yesterday, I figured I needed to post this on the blog so everyone stays updated.

I went in for my 1st doctor's appointment Monday. He said I am due April 2nd and I have to get bloodwork done this week and get an ultrasound Tuesday.

I went in for my ultrasound Tuesday, and got one of those terrific wand ultrasounds instead of the rollerball ones that go over your belly. During the ultrasound (which happens to feel like someone is playing supermario brothers and the joystick is stuck in your body) my technician says, "Ok, what I think I'm seeing here. . . ."

I'm thinking to myself, "Oh crap."

"I think I'm seeing TWO babies and one sac."

Silence.

"Ro?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Are you ok Ro?" (Everyone at the office is super nice and we're all old friends since I'm 3 kids deep, so I'm on a nickname basis.)

"Yeah."

She proceeds to point to the blobs on the screen showing me Baby A and then Baby B. 2 heartbeats. 2 bodies. 1 sac.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"Well, it's not ideal. When there's twins, we like them to have their own amniotic sacs so they can't hurt eachother, but I've seen it turn out totally fine too. I'm going to get Dr. T and have him confirm what I'm seeing."

This woman has been reading ultrasounds longer than I've been alive, so I'm pretty sure she knows what she's talking about. So my doctor walks in and is cracking up because of course I would be having twins the last time I want to have a baby.

"Oh my gosh, Braden is going to DIE" he says. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I think I just had a panic attack, when I was alone in here, but I'm cool now." My doctor is awesome.

Basically I'm only at 7 weeks so we aren't 100% sure if there are 2 sacs or just one, but there are definitely 2 babies in there. I'm going in for another ultrasound next week, so the membrane of the sac might show up better next week. If there ends up being one sac, then I would be put at an extremely high risk pregnancy, which isn't great, but you get what you get when it comes with babies. The whole thing is called monoamniotic twins, (which would also mean they are identical- so 2 boys or 2 girls) and it's dangerous, but there is a lot of new technology out there, so it could turn out fine. We'll see how it goes, prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and hopefully welcome 2 new little peanuts into this Watson Family. 5 kids under 4 years old wasn't exactly what I thought would ever happen to me, but my motto is "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." That motto also works on the color juice cup you are given.

Dear Braden, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

2009-08-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

1) Thanks for painting my kitchen Lemon Sorbet. Even though you hate it, and you say that you feel like you live on the sun, I really love it and I think you'll like it once my vision is complete.

2) Thanks for letting me spend money pretty much freely this weekend in preparation of our family celebration dinner we had last night for Baby #4. I think everyone had a good time, and most people like the yellow walls and my new curtains. Those who didn't kept their mouths shut.

3) Thanks for being excited about this new baby, even though I know you really wanted to stick with 3.

4) Thanks for getting into remodeling mode and working on furniture for the kitchen (even though I know you are just hoping it will all tone down the lemon-ness of the room). And I think its funny now that its painted you want to buy new cabinets, get granite counter tops, install crown moulding at the ceiling, put in wood floors, and take out the peninsula in the kitchen to add extra space to the room.

5) And thanks for watching the kids this morning during my OB appointment so I didn't have to wrestle 3 screaming children during my pelvic exam.

200th Post

2009-08-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, does that mean I spend WAY to much time blogging? Maybe so, but it gives me the creative outlet I need along with the recognition that I want, so it can't be all bad. :)

Anyway, on this momentus occasion, I have a doozy for you. Guess what? Braden FINALLY decided to paint my kitchen. I picked Lemon Sorbet which is the perfect golden yellow in the daytime sunlight, but is a neon lemon at night with our Energy Efficient Blinding White bulbs. Braden hates it, but I love love love it so he just keeps it to himself. I'll have to post some pictures once it's all done. Today I went out and bought some picture frames for the black & white family photos we're going to hang above the couch, searched all day for a big huge mantle shelf to hang above our tv (no luck yet.), and finally bought this curtain, cut it up, and made cafe curtains for all the windows in my kitchen. Seriously $20 for 4 window treatments? You can't beat that. And I absolutely LOVE the fabric, so bonus. Like I said, photos to come once Braden is done cursing my name and finishes painting.

Flash from my future

2009-08-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

I got an email from Jcrew today in my inbox, promoting their crewcut kids line of jewelry. The stuff is totally cute (and cheap), and I would definitely wear it myself, but the thing that really sparked my attention was the photo.

I swear, this is Isabel and Olivia 3-4 years from now. Olivia's the blonde one being a brat, and the brunette is Izzy, being pissed at LaLa. Oh, best friends.

Hip Hip Hooray!

2009-08-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

Yay Me! I took my first real estate test, and I PASSED! Wohoo! Now all I have left is the state exam and I'm good to go! I don't know what I'm going to do with all this useless information in my brain, like the acreage of townships. Or Pam's favorite flavor of yogurt. Which is Mixed Berry.

Really though I'm so glad I got through that, and now I can focus on all my creative endeavors coming up.

Handmade Goodness Coming Your Way

2009-08-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know, we have a lot of crafty ladies in our family. We also have a ton of friends that specialize in the handmade arts, so after much deliberation, we have decided to do a backyard boutique the first Saturday in November! I am starting a website to sell all the handmade goodies from (we'll also be putting stuff on the much loved Etsy) so check the website for some sneak previews of what's coming to the Handmade Parade Backyard Boutique! You can also special order the goodies from the website or linked to the vendors blogs. I'll be showcasing the talented ladies here up until the festivities so keep an eye out for some tasty morsels.

Deliciously Disgusting

2009-08-03T18:58:00.001-07:00

Since it's inevitable that I'm going to be gaining 20 lbs, I decided to celebrate today by trying out a new recipe that I have been waiting to make. I generally steer clear of all things fried, but I've had fried onion straws at Lucille's and they were delicious. Of course, The Pioneer Woman has this recipe in her files, so I decided today was that day. And they were amazing.

photo by The Pioneer Woman

However, they make a TON and I just couldn't stop eating them. And I also made her Ribeye steak, so right now I have a 1/2 a cow in my belly along with a pile of grease, batter, and onions. My stomach hurts. It's cramping up telling me to NEVER do this again, or I'll be sorry. And I won't. I plan on being really healthy this go around, because I've found the less weight you put on during your pregnancy, the faster you get back to normal (Rocket Science, I know.)

But hot damn those onion straws were good. If you want to feel like the happiest fattest cow on the planet too, make some of these tomorrow. And then go to the gym.

More fun stuff in store

2009-08-03T03:40:00.001-07:00

Whew! I'm so glad to get that off my chest. I HATE keeping secrets. Bleh. I had to keep it for 2 whole days and it was the WORST. Braden took the news pretty well, I'm happy to say, so now we have to prepare ourselves for this 4th baby. It is definitely going to be my last pregnancy, so I'm going to try and appreciate everything this go around. And of course, lo and behold House of 3 came out with this adorable Baby Book Kit as if on cue. I need to get it and make a big book for all my kids, since they were all so close together.

We decided to throw a little announcement party for our family to celebrate the big news (I'll use any excuse to throw a party) so I made up little invitations

(front)

(back)

I also have more news tomorrow that I will share that everyone should get excited for. It's gonna be awsome.

Ok, I can't take it any longer

2009-07-31T15:30:00.001-07:00

Surprises in Store

2009-07-30T03:26:00.001-07:00

Oh, good gravy, do I have some surprises for you coming up! I have to work out all the kinks, but I think I'll be able to share them next week. Until then, I'm going to try and study my head off so I can hopefully pass my real estate exam next week. I will share the link though, to the Ratatouille from the movie Ratatouille that I made for dinner. To be honest, I had low expectations for this dish, since there is literally no meat in the dish. I especially thought Braden would hate it. Oh, contraire mon frere, it was one of the tastiest things I have ever made up. You HAVE to try it, it is totally 100% healthy for you. I served mine with couscous like Smitten Kitchen did, but instead of the goat cheese (weird) I grated a whole bunch of parmesan on top and it was delicious. Watch the movie with your kids, and then let them layer all the veggies in the pan, so they get to be little chefs for the day.

photo from Smitten Kitchen

This Week's Menu

2009-07-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

Dinner tonight is stuffed buffalo chicken breast. This is a good, healthier alternative to the super fattening wings I love to eat at Native New Yorker. I found it on Food Network, so it must be good. If you don't like blue cheese, you could always stuff it with mozzarella, but I love it so I'm sticking with the blue.