The Usual Not Me Monday!

The "Not Me!" Monday blog carnival was created by MckMama at My Charming Kids. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing.

As for me...

I did not do nothing all week! I was not keeled over cramping, and whining, and being grumpy! Of course it was not that time of the month! I do have to say that I have the best husband in the world! He is never emasculated or embarrassed to go buy me tampons when needed. Although, I would not ever make him do that...not me...especially not the ginormous multi-pack of like 50 of them! Haha!

Robby also did not get in a fight on Friday, sustaining such injuries as a bruised nose and jaw, a large scratch to the face, and bruised, possibly broken ribs. I know what you are thinking, and no...I am not that brutal when I am on my period! ;o)Really though...I'm not!!! He competed in a tournament on post(My husband is in the Army for those of you who don't already know.)that was basically like UFC fighting...anything goes apparently. He finished 9th out of 78! Not too shabby!

Then came the weekend. I absolutely did not give in to the temptation to have a little shopping therapy! I did not buy about 50 books for less than 20 dollars! That would just make me a bargain shopping goddess! Either that, or my husband knows where the good used book stores are...which he does not! I of course then fought the urge to go shopping for new clothes, and did not...I repeat...did not go to Ross, where they had the cutest little outfits for the girls and an adorable swimsuit for Bella! I promise I will not take pictures of all the cuteness while she is swimming at her Grandma's this week!

Sunday, Robby had CQ(24hr duty). So the kiddos and I were left all by our lonesome. Then it started raining! I am an Oregonian relocated to the desert of Texas, so I love the rain. Rain is a bit different here though! I did not look out my front window to stare at the amazing storm and find a river where my street used to be! I also didn't then go to my back door and find a lake just outside my window that used to be our backyard! Ah well, maybe our grass will turn green now.

The rain isn't the only thing that's different here.The lightening is different too! See the pic above taken from Bella's window. Instead of the bolts reaching towards the ground, they stretch across the sky. Weird!

The storm was also not so horrifically powerful that I honestly thought we were having an earthquake with how hard the thunder shook the house! I literally was picking things up off the floor that had fallen off of my nightstand. Car alarms were going off and everything.

When I text my husband to tell him how crazy the storm was effecting us on our side of town he of course did not respond by saying, "Be afraid...Be very afraid!" That would just be mean! I was not afraid!!!

Baby Boom!!!

So it seems like everyone in the world is getting pregnant or are havin' babies! Its craziness! Even my own Dad is having a baby...Scratch that...My Step-Mom is having the baby, but you know what I mean. So with the world procreating all around us, one might get "Baby Fever." Well since I currently have an infant, I think I'll wait a few years before I try to wrap my head around the idea of baby #3, but hey I can still have a Routan baby...Right?!

I asked Robby to name him and then we started arguing over names like we were actually naming a real baby! Ha! So in an effort to stop the madness, I picked a name, he picked a name, then we plugged them into the Random Renamer, and Voila! Delaware Leviticus Pepperling it is! Hahahaha!

This cracks me up! His eyes creep me out a little though! I think everyone needs a Routan Baby!

Go make a baby(A Routan one people)!!!

Small Talk Six- 6/27/2009

Want to join in on “Small Talk Six!” Go here to see the weekly themes and post your own Saturday Small Talk Six post!

If you had magical sunglasses, name 6 things you would like to see with them?

My Future-I wonder what our life will be like 10 years from now!

Peoples Inner Beauty/Ugliness-How convenient this would make life!

TV/Movies- That would be the bees knees!

X-ray- To see through wooden doors and lots of other things!

Germs/Microscopic Critters-I always wonder if I have truly disinfected things, and where other grody germs and bugs are hiding!

See Anybody...Anywhere...Anytime-How nice it would be to never have to miss anyone!

Giveaway Anyone???

If any of you know me well, you would know that I love my Bare Minerals makeup and mascara! Seriously...two beauty products I can't live without!

Well Becky over at The Branches is having a giveaway for some spendy mascara that she raves about!

Go to her blog and enter for your chance to win some DIOR Show Iconic Mascara!

Hurry the winner will be announced next Friday!!!

ABC's of Melina Marie!

I got this from Holly @ Pink is My Signature Color. I love these!!!I agree with her that its a fun way we can all learn a little something about each other we may not have known! If you do it too, let me know! I'll read yours! Promise!

A-Age: 24

B-Birth date: April 5th, 1985

C-Chore you hate: Dishes or Mopping

D-Dog's name: Rocco

E-Enter or Exit: Huh???

F-Favorite color: Green

G-Gold or silver: Ummm...White Gold Please!

H-Hair color: Chocolate

I-Instrument: I played the clarinet, the mandolin, and the piano when I was like 12.

J-Job Title: Stay at Home Mama & Wifey(Domestic Goddess if you prefer.)

K-Kids: 2...Bella-4 years...Lilly-9 months.

L-Living arrangements: ???In a house w/My Hubs, The Kiddos and a Big Cuddly Bulldog

M-Monkey or Moose: Monkey

N-Nicknames: Mimi, Mel, Melonu, Babysnakes

O-Odd thing about you: Uh?...I am double jointed, and my husband tells me that when i get angry I talk like I'm from Brooklyn, NY...Is that odd??? ;o)

P-Pet Peeve: People that lie/Fake people, Dog hair on my couch, Clothes on the floor, etc.

Q-Quote from a movie: "You shut your mouth when you're talkin' to me!"~Wedding Crashers

R-Right/Left Handed: Left

S-Siblings: One brother, Angelo. One sister coming this September, Sophia.

T-Time you wake up? Whenever I hear the kids get up!

U-Underwear: TMI...TMI!

V-Veggie you dislike: Squash...fo sho!

W-What makes you run late: The little ones!

X-X-Rays: I've had them pretty much everywhere.

Y-Yummy food you make: Enchiladas

Z-Zoo Animal: Elephants

Wordless Wednesday!

Crazy!

Bella: "Daddy, I think you are driving me crazy!"

Yes Mam!

Bella: "Daddy move these books for me please!"

Daddy: "Yes Mam!"

Bella: "Daddy, don't call me Mam! I'm your daughter not a mam!"

Look-alikes

I got really bored this morning and decided to see who our children look more like. Me or Robby? Here are my look-alike Meter results. What do you think??? Is this spiffy face recognition software accurate?

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Pretty Cool!!!

The Father's Day Baseball cake that I made for Robby is now on coolest-birthday-cakes.com

Go here if you want to check it out!

Cake!!!

Mommy: "Bella, How do you like the cake that we made???"

Bella: "Mmmmm. It tastes like baseball! Delicious!"

Happy Father's Day!!!

Husband,

Happy Father's Day!!! Thank you so much for being the best Daddy our girls could have ever asked for! Our babies adore you, and so do I! We are your biggest fans and love you like crazy!

Love,

Your Girls

Today Robby got to go golfing all day with his friends as a Father's Day gift. So Bella and I baked him a cake! Then Bella and Lilly made him a very special present! Here are our creations for our favorite Daddy!

This is Robby and Rocco in matching baseball jerseys! Haha!

This is my favorite! I got the idea over at Tip Junkie.

We had a pretty good day! Happy Father's Day Babe!

(A BIG thank you to Summer over at Summer's Cakes for the marshmallow fondant recipe!)

Here are just a few of the cute memories that we have been able to catch on camera!

Best Pancakes EVER!!!

Here is the recipe for The Best Pancakes EVER as Bella calls them, adapted from McMama's recipe.

What You'll Need:

Pancake mix(like Bisquick)

Water

1/2 cup Sour Cream

3 Eggs

1/3 cup Pancake syrup(I used Mrs. Butterworth)

1/2 cup of fresh fruit(optional)

Make pancake batter using the pancake mix and water as directed on the box.

Then add sour cream, eggs, and syrup.

(you can also add fresh fruit like bananas, strawberries, or blueberries...up to you!)

Mix Well!

Make pancakes on a hot skillet(i used about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake), drizzle some syrup over the top, and enjoy!

Pancakes!!!

Bella: "Mama, I love you! You are a good citizen for making me pancakes! These are the best pancakes EVER!"

"Oh mom? Are my teeth bones???"

Mommy: "Hahaha! Yes Bella!"

Works for Me Wednesday!

Don't you hate it when you have a recipe you really want to make, but are missing ONE ingredient? I do! We currently have only one car, so when my husband is at work, I unfortunately cant go to the store and grab it. This was my situation today! So...I improvised!!!

I wanted to make no-bake cookies, but was missing the key ingredient...the quick-cooking oats! Fortunately I did have a big box of Quakers Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal!

Crisis averted!!!

They turned out perfect, and DELICIOUS!

Here's the recipe!

Maple & Brown Sugar No Bake Cookies

What You Will Need:

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

8 packets(3 cups) of maple & brown sugar instant oatmeal

1 tsp. vanilla extract

wax paper

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Then, stir in the peanut butter,

then the oatmeal and vanilla.
Mix well!

Drop spoonfuls onto your wax paper, and let cool until hardened.

Yum! It doesn't get better than chocolaty, peanut buttery goodness!

Enjoy!

Note: If you wanna make plain old no-bake cookies, omit the packets of oatmeal for 3 cups of quick-cooking oats.

Bella's Birthday Cake & A Blog Bake Off!

They are having a blog bake-off over at Summer's Cakes! Check out her blog! Her cakes are Amazing! I thought about baking another concoction for my entry but this is my favorite creation that I've made so far! So here it is...Bella's birthday cake!

So for some reason I decided that I would make Bella's birthday cake this year. On top of that I decided that since she is having a tea party themed birthday, I would make her cake in the shape of a teapot. I drew out a few different designs and had Bella pick one. Not really sure what I was thinking! HaHa! This was a huge challenge! But for the first birthday cake that I have ever made...I think I did a pretty good job.

The teapot is a yellow ball cake covered in buttercream frosting and then fondant. The teacups are chocolate cupcakes also covered in buttercream and then decorated in fondant. The saucers are sugar cookies in buttercream n fondant.

This isn't a very good picture. I used neon colored fondant. It looks alot brighter in person!

Thank goodness I only have to do this once or twice a year!

Lunch!

Mommy: "Hey Bella, What do you want for lunch today?"

Bella: "Ummm. How about a knuckle sandwich? That would be yummy!"