Easiest (and Yummiest) Cookies

Hi Remember when I used to blog? (Ahem...April....Ahem) Oops!
Well anyway, I am back :) and I wanted to share the easiest (and super yummy) cookie recipe ever!
I learned it from my friend Lisa Gedker :)

Chocolate Chip PB Cups

Ingredients:
•Refrigerated Choc Chip Cookie Dough
•Bag of Mini Reeses PB Cups (not the new really tiny ones)
•PAM cooking spray (or other brand)
•Mini Muffin tin

A tube of cookie dough works too, but I was making multiple batches and needed more dough so I bought the bucket. :)

Preheat the oven according to the directions on the dough package.
Spray the muffin tin with Pam, so the cookies won't stick.
Scoop cookie dough into each muffin cup so it's almost full.

Bake them according to the dough package directions.

Meanwhile unwrap 24 PB cups and set them aside (so you don't eat them :)

When the cookies come out of the oven immediately press one PB cup into each cookie.

Then place the whole muffin tin in the freezer for a little while so the PB cups don't melt into pools of chocolate goo. When the chocolate sets you can take them out of the freezer.
TaDa! Easiest cookies ever!!

And when I am done baking with the mini muffin tin I make and sell muffin tin advent calendars :)
Check them out:
Check Out my Etsy store

:) Jenni

The R Word

Nope it's not Railroad crossing....the other R word. Running.
It's not a bad word...actually it sounds good. Like "I am going running" or "Let's go running together" Two phrases that I never thought I would say out loud. HOWEVER I have decided to start doing a little running. Not because I aspire to do a marathon or even become a runner, but because I signed up for some races with my husband and friends and don't want to die...
My biggest motivation is the MS Mud Run or Muck Ruckus (or whatever they are calling it) in August. I am very proud to be running this race with one of my best friends Ahndrea, who has MS. I can't think of a better reason to raise money and awareness about MS than my BFF. She is awesome and amazing and it will be an honor to run with her! This one's for you :) LYLAS

                                                     Ahndrea and her husband David.

Rockin Around

I bought Alex a rock polisher for his birthday. (really it was for me, but that's beside the point) We just finished polishing our second batch of prized Agates from the North Shore of Lake Superior. It's so exciting to take dull and rough rocks and see how they turn into sparkling gems in just a month.
This time I actually remembered to do a before & after photo.

So here is the Before:

And the after: Ooooh Aaaaaah so shiny!

It was definitely worth the wait!

Another addiction...

Earlier I posted about my sock addiction. Today I am posting about my thrift store addiction. Yes I love to go to thrift stores and get a great deal! Lately I have been buying some antiques, but mostly picture frames. Then I bring them home and spray paint them and resell them on ebay or etsy.
Even as a kid I was always an entrepreneur. I sold lemonade, pop, and yes...painted rocks. (Thank you nice neighbor Ron K. for buying all those rocks, you earned your place in heaven :)

Check out my work:

These two sets are actually on ebay right now. But I have PLENTY more in my garage. Just ask Ben...we haven't been able to park either vehicle in our garage for about a week. Sorry honey! :)

Success! (or failure??)

I am not sure which way to label what just happened...Success or failure???
Here is how it went down: I am in the garage painting some picture frames and I glance out of the door and see Alex in the backyard hiding behind a tree but he keeps looking in my direction to see if I am watching. I decided to hide so he was thinking that I wasn't looking and then peek out. So I see him with his pants down going toward the house and he says he needs some wipes. I thought maybe he just peed on himself. He comes back out of the house and runs to the garage and tells me "Mom I just pooped outside, and not in my pants!"

So do I consider this a success because he didn't poop in his pants or a pull-up? And he is getting the idea and the feeling of having his pants down and going? I have explained that only dogs go outside and he needs to use the potty chair or the toilet. But I did say that I was proud of him for doing it....

It's working!

I am happy to report that my plan for pooping is working for Alex. I have not had to wash underwear since we instated this plan. I feel like that is a HUGE step in the right direction. I even got him to sit on the toilet last night (naked!) after he had gone in his pull-up to see if he had to go anymore. Now the next step is getting him used to sitting and pooping. We'll see how that goes!

In other news about things that are working: Due to my giving up random snacking, keeping a food journal with the app on my phone and joining the YMCA... I am happy to report that I have lost 5.6 pounds since Feb 15th. My goal is to get back down close to my pre-Alex weight. Hopefully by summer! Woo Hoo!

A New Tatic

It has been forever since I posted. Sorry!
For those of you without kids, you may want to stop reading this post now....it's gonna be about poop!



Ok don't say I didn't warn you......Poop.
Alex is still refusing to poop in the potty chair or toilet, only in his underwear. I feel like we have tried everything....rewards, watching how we go, charts, stickers, bribery, punishment, videos, incentives, talking, yelling, ignoring, trying to force him, pleading, begging...and nothing has worked.

I have been reading post from other parents and I am going to try another tactic...
I talked to him last night...here is how the conversation went:

Me: Alex I am really getting tired of cleaning poop out of your underwear everyday. It's gross.

Alex: blank stare

Me: How about this...when you feel like you need to poop, instead of going in your underwear, how about you ask for a pull-up and you can poop in that instead.

Alex: Okay Mommy.

Me: does that sound good?

Alex: yeah

Like so many other conversations, I figured that this went in one ear and out the other. BUT to my surprise he ran to me this morning and said "Mommy I need to poop can you put a pull-up on me?"
 I was in shock! He actually listened!

So here is my master plan for the next month or so....
Step 1: get him to stop pooping in his underwear, instead in a pull-up
Step 2: have him sit on the potty chair while wearing the pull-up and poop
Step 3: have him sit on the potty chair while wearing the pull-up and undo the tabs while he is sitting
Step 4: line the potty chair with the pull-up and have him sit down on it and poop into it
Step 5: Remove the pull up and have him just sit on the potty chair! Ta Da!

So hypothetically that's how it will go. Fingers crossed!!

Creative juices are flowing

Aaaannnnnnnnd I'm back. Had a great trip with my hubby to Miami and Key West. It was great to have a break from real life.
I am back in my craft room again :) Getting things ready to take to Meshed Designs (a store in Buffalo, see previous post) and posting things on my etsy site.
I really need it to warm up outside becasuse I have a bunch of things that need to be spray-painted and I am guessing that the paint won't work when it's only 15 degrees out!
I have been doing a bit of sewing tonight. I made a rainbow zipper bag, a pirate b-day banner, finished a jewelry frame and a chalkboard. whew!
Wow this post is kinda random, but that's how my brain works. As Ben says "Your curls go straight to your brain" Yep they do.
Back to crafting...see ya!

Exciting Opportunity

I am going to be selling some of my crafts in a new Gift store in Buffalo, MN. It is called Meshed Designs and it was started by a group I belong to on Etsy called Minnesota Mommies. The store opens in Feb, but I won't be selling until March. I have a lot of crafting to do before then so I have enough products to bring to the store.
Click here for the store info.

I have been working mostly on my Felt Banners:  Happy Birthday, It's a Boy, It's a girl, Welcome Baby, Just Married, Howdy, etc. But I also am making chalk boards, earring holders and party bowl clips.
Samples of these items can been seen on my Etsy Store. And as always I love custom orders!

I am very excited and hope to actually make some money!

Wet, dirty and hairy...

Our bathtub has taken a beating this evening....
First Alex pooped in his pants (obviously) and needed to be cleaned up in a bath. So I put him in the tub. Before I filled it with water I broke out the hair clippers and much to his dismay I gave him a quick haircut. Then I cleaned the hair out and filled the tub with water and gave him a quick bath.  I cleaned the tub of the hair and whatever.
Fast forward 20 minutes...Bailey is barking at the back door and wants to come in. Of course since it is so warm out today he had been running in mud and dirty snow. So he is wet and muddy up to his doggy armpits (or are they leg-pits?) So I run water in the (clean) tub and proceed to give Bailey a bath too. Of course as soon as he gets wet he wants to shake which splatters dirty water all over the shower/tub area.
Lovely....So now my clean tub is dirty once again. And guess what_ I left it that way for now. Sue me.


Only one more week and Ben and I are headed to Miami and the FL Keys! Whew! I need a break!
Thanks to Ben's mom & Step-Dad and  My parents for tag teaming Alex & Bailey care while we are gone!

Guess that means I should take a bath and give myself a pedicure....oh wait, the tub is still dirty...nevermind

My Purple Boy

Alex loves Purple. He wants everything in his life to be purple. I try my best to get him purple things when it is an option. But when it comes to boys clothes there are very few options in purple. So for his 4th birthday, Ben and I gave him a bottle of Purple Rit Dye and a package of white underwear. I followed the directions of the bottle and poured the purple dye in my washing machine along with the  six pairs of underwear, two white tee shirts and two pairs of white socks. After the about 30 minutes we had purple clothes and a happy Alex! (Also follow the directions for cleaning the dye out of your washer. Don't worry it comes clean!)

Yes I have an addiction...

Hi My name is Jenni and I am addicted to socks.
As you can see by my sock drawer, it won't close.

I love warm fuzzy socks. Especially Smart Wool and stripey ones. As I am shopping I see some cute socks and I gravitate toward them and usually end up buying them. Then I get home and they won't fit in my drawer. (I also got 5 pairs of smart wool sock for Christmas this year)
I do rotate my sock drawer winter/summer, but winter socks take up so much room!
The first step is to admit you have a problem...and I did. But I don't really plan to do anything about it. So there.

Look back and laugh

As Ben and I were discussing the frustrations of getting Alex to stop pooping in his pants, I said "Remember how frustrated we were while we were potting training him, that lasted a week. Now we can look back on that and laugh. Let's do that right now." So I made us both actually laugh out loud. It was kind of fun and it made me realize that, yes while we were in the midst of it, it sucked. But we survived and were successful! I know some day (soon?) we can look back and laugh about Alex and Poop. (((right???)))
So I came up with the idea of actually planning a day to look back and laugh. Seriously, look ahead a week, a month, a year...whatever and write "laugh about {whatever}" on your calendar. Then on that day you have to actually laugh out loud about how glad you are to be past that frustration or to have accomplished that goal.  Set aside some time in your life to LOL, and actually DO. IT. not just type it :)

Feeling Crafty!

I got inspired today. I can't remember what it was exactly, but something made we want to do some crafting. So here I sit in my craft room, {I like to call it organized chaos} surrounded by stamps, paper, fabric, thread, felt, buttons and other really fun stuff. I have made two new felt banners for Valentine's Day and will be posting them to my etsy site soon.
I also hit up the thrift store and bought some jeans and shirts to cut apart and upcycle {fun trendy crafty word meaning upscale recycle} into some really cool things. So stay tuned! :)

The first rule about fight club....

So most of you have seen my lovely cut and stitches that I got from my energetic four year old. Well today it's even prettier. Not a full blown black eye, but pretty raspberry eyeshadow. It was totally an accident and I know Alex feels really bad. But I am beginning to agree with Ben, Rousey and Amy..that I need to wear a helmet with a face shield.

Yes Alex is full of energy and a high spirited kid, but I wouldn't change a thing about him (well maybe the fact that he won't poop in the toilet..)

It all comes down to this: Being Alex's Mom is a full contact sport and I'm in it to win it!

Blogging?

I am brand new to this whole blogging thing but I was inspired by my friend Christine. Now what to blog about...Alex, crafting, mommyhood, life....A mix of everything I think.
I wanted a place to share my thoughts, my stories, my projects, my ideas and my life.
So here it goes.... Wish me luck! :)