Phone bloggin' say what?!

Yeah this is happening!! It's Christmas eve and apparently Emory Mae Mande knows it, because she is up and ready to go! I'm so excited for today and tomorrow that I can hardly stand it!! It's funny, because had you told 6 year old me that one day I'd grow up to have the greatest job in the world on Christmas (obviously talking about being mommy Clause), I would have told you that you're a liar and that you're going on the naughty list. Well, you literally could have only told aged 1-6 year old me that and gotten that response, because by age seven I discovered the trunk full of presents all addressed to me, from "Santa".... Thanks brother, you were only kind of a cotton headed ninny muggins for sullying my Christmas that year. *rolls eyes*. Anyways! Back to what I was saying, I'm thoroughly looking forward to cookie making for Santa and seeing the anticipation on Lily's face as she waits for him to come!!! Oh innocence. Right? Not to mention its our first Christmas together as a complete family and Emory's first Christmas ever! Gonna take million pictures?! You bet your sweet ass I am : )
Other than major Christmas excitement my freaking AMAZING husband bought us iPhone's and I have no clue what the hell I was doing before I had this wondrous machine! Oh wait, now I remember, I was wasting my life away with my joke of a phone called the sidekick *rolls eyes again* I'm sure once the OMFGZ I HAVEZ A IPHONE AND ITZ ALL MINEZ!!!!! FCEGHGHGAJIKBFYH!!! Wears off I won't be as obsessed, but for now Bryce gets husband of the week. I'd say year/month, but let's face it, my dad has been putting up with my mom for like 16 years now and that shit is no picnic. That lady is bat shit crazy, I love her, but she's nuts haha Kudos to you dad ;p Here's to hoping she hasn't learned to read my blog yet!
Chances are I'll be blogging again shortly after Christmas and new years (one of my best friends of like almost 10 years is coming to see me on the 1st!!!!!) and I'll have 1000000000 pictures for you to look at!! We all know I love pictures!!! Can you say photo dump? Of course you can.

Merry Christmas and in 5 short days Happy New Year!! <3

"What can I get here that has no sugar, no carbs, and is fat free? "

  Today something life altering happened to me. I had a Five Guys burger and let me tell you, McDonalds will never suffice again. I know I know, what a fat kid thing to say right? Wrong. Very very wrong. Anyone that knows me, knows that I have a mild obsession with diner burgers. There's just something about a good ol' never frozen and always delicious burger that hits the spot for me every time. Add pickles, lettuce, bacon and mustard to the equation and I'm in diner burger heaven.
  It just so happens that I have a very elitist friend (Ashley Watts knows what's up) and he told me that the only fast food burger he will put in his body is a Five Guys burger. Me, being the Five Guys illiterate person I was, thought he was just being Chase. Well today after buying Lily's AWESOME Christmas fish and tank, the man meat asked if I wanted some Five Guys for lunch (srsly, how many times can I say Five Guys in one blog? I should get paid for this haha) and obviously I agreed. $20.00 later (holy crap expensive for burgers and fries right!? wrong again. worth every. single. penny.) and a full belly and I'll never be the same again. I immediately texted him after we left the restraunt and apologized for ever doubting his good burger senses. That being said, if you haven't tried Five Guys yet, you really should. Don't let the messy look of it turn you away, you will never want to eat another kind of burger again.
  Well that's it for my fat kid blog. Time to fast for 12 years since I gained at least 10 pounds eating my delicious burger :p

not my actual burger, but makes me want another one. 

p.s. (of course) I wish the Walking Dead were back on already, I N E E D to know what happens next! My zombie killing needs are going unfulfilled and I hates it. I guess to drown my thirst I'll settle for mass amounts of Dead Island, Left 4 Dead 2 and Zombieland.

GET IT!? 

p.s.s  you totally loved my A Cinderella Story reference didn't you!? I knows it. I'm only 6 different kinds of awesome in one lady. NBD bros. No. big. deal.

Oh Christmas Tree

Something about Christmas will always remind me of my mom. I hope that when Lily and Emory are older, they think the same thing as well. That is all : )

heart melting.

my favorite tree of all time. 

She changed her name to Lily Pops.

You never imagine how much you'll miss your little ones, once they aren't so little any more. I know that Lily is only 3 and to A LOT of people that's still tiny, but in my mind, tiny is that 7lb 12oz baby that I brought home from the hospital. The other day she was doing something "naughty" (nothing she does is really naughty, it's really just more mischievous than anything and 99% of the time hilarious) and I said, "Lily Addison Sipes!" In my best mommy voice, but let's face it my mom voice isn't the best.... it's more of an ALMOST mom voice. Reminder to self: work on mom voice. She no joke looked at me and said in her best big girl voice, "My name is NOT Lily Addison Sipes any more, I changed it to Lily Pops!" Well let me tell you something Lily Pops, your rude tude is adorable sometimes and it kills me. I just keep looking at my biggest princess and thinking, "Please slow down." She's potty trained, she said her first curse word (thanks sailor mouthed mom) and she can even ride her bike all on her own like it's nobody's business. I feel like a time machine is much needed. I need her to be like 3 foreverrrrrrrr!!!
  So it's time for Christmas crafting and I'd like to say that I've done a lot more crafting than I have, but alas all I've done really is make a cardboard tree (it's bitchin fo shooooo') and Lily and I made salt dough ornaments for her grandparents Christmas presents! AHH!! Talk about a good time haha She LOVED rolling the dough and painting them. It's probably the easiest stuff to make ever. I'd give a straight up tutorial on it, but I got mine from homemade grits. The only thing we did a little differently was paint her hands and I put felt on the back of the ornaments, because I have a serious case of new mommy brain and forgot the grease the pan. GO TEAM FORGET EVERYTHING! haha The finished product just made me so happy too. Having those little hands preserved forever is the best gift I could have given myself. Not to mention its her first handmade Christmas ornament!!!! H O L L E R!

my big girl <3

*tears*

our finished product!! OW OW!

So there's that for you. Currently Lily is at her dad's mom's house (wow that's rough to type haha) and she won't be back for two weeks **WAAAHHH SNOOKIE WHINEEE** With her gone I dunno what to do with myself really, it's entirely too quite. 14 days is just way too stinkin' long if you ask me. Time for me to bid you a due though, it's 3 a.m. and Emory thinks it's PAR-TAY time. Oh to be 4 months old again right? Wrong. haha I will leave you with an incredibly disturbing picture of my husband at the end of Movember. (If you don't know what that is google it) Man am I glad I don't have to see that hideous mustache any more haha. 

Creepy right? yes.

Stop picking on me God! *pouts*

That's what it feels like at least. Need to know more? Here it goes. I by no means can say that I am a religious person, I never have been. Sure I went to Sunday school when I was little and I've read parts of the good book here and there, but that's about the extent of it. However, in shitty times I always find myself turning to "the big man upstairs" and maybe that's my problem. We all need to place blame somewhere and lately it seems like the blunt of my blame, is laying with him.
  On August 9th, 2011 I gave birth to a little girl that for all intents and purposes, is perfect to me. Sadly, this is not 100% true. The same day that she was born the dr.'s told me that my perfect little Emory has a heart murmur, VSD is what they call it and it basically means there's a nasty little hole in her heart. Immediately all I could think was, "SERIOUSLY!? NOW!? YOU'RE GOING TO PICK ON HER ALREADY!? you. great. big. bully" (that was me talking to god) Very Bruce Almighty of me I know, keep reading. I just kept looking at her thinking, how? How is it at all possible that I just cooked her for nine months, did everything I was told to do and then some and she still came out with a defect. Not a huge one, but it's huge to me. Nobody wants to hear that there's something wrong with their brand new baby, let along something wrong with a major organ that she needs to live, it's just not something you can prepare yourself for. Well Dr. Connor (her cardiologist) explained to me more what VSD means exactly and pretty much there is blood just circulating from her heart to her lungs over and over and if it's big enough, then it can cause her to have symptoms of heart failure like: shortness of breath, failure to thrive, trouble breathing while she eats....you get the picture. They also told me that if it's there long enough or isn't fixing itself like they THINK it will, then heart surgery before she's one is a possibility. The dr.'s all told me it was common and that it'd close on it's own so there was no reason to worry. Easier said than done.
  For the next few months after that we had to see the cardiologist regularly and the pediatrician monthly instead of bi monthly. At one point she wasn't gaining weight (failure to thrive) so I had to feed her literally every like 30 minutes, talk about LONG ASS DAYS and NIGHTS BRO! Luckily it picked up and we were back on track. Besides that, it's been just an on going thing. Here we are 4 months later and nothing's changed. It hasn't closed and I can't tell you how much I hate to hear the false hope that everyone feeds me about how common it is and how they're sure it will close. After today's appointment I find that what little faith I do have  is wavering with every, "Well it's still there" or "Looks like we're gonna have to wait and see" that I get. Dr. Connor told me today it could be 5 more months before we even know how this will play out or if she'll need surgery. I just keep telling myself, "Be strong for her." "Be the kind of person you'd want her to be in this situation" "Don't let them see you worry", but how much longer can I really do that for before I just crack? Is this "his" plan for her? If everything happens for a reason, then what is the reason for this? Am I being tested through one of the only things in my life that really gives me faith to begin with? I know reading this some of you are going, "Oh my over dramatic mama, it's just a murmur." But to me it's not JUST a murmur. I made that heart and what if it was something that I did that caused it? It comes back to needing a place to throw my blame. I want to believe that there is some god that will look over her and make sure she's always okay, I really do, but I just don't know that I can. Either way it's probably wrong of me to pick and choose when and where to believe instead of believing in something more all of the time, ya know? I guess when you don't have anything tangible to hold on to, some of us just need to believe that somebody somewhere will make sure it's all going to be alright.
  Please don't feel like i'm questioning your god by writing this. If you believe in a higher power and have faith that is unwavering, then more power to you. I envy you. Maybe send some of it my way, because lord knows I need it most right now.

-amanda

My late Thanksgiving post

Hello!! Thanksgiving has come and gone and let me tell you it was another loud one in the Wheeler house. The last two years we've spent our night of giving thanks with my husband's family here in good ol' Wisconsin, the land of cheese and beer. I, being the forgetful new mother that I am, totally forgot my camera and to blog about what I'm most thankful for. Team Forgetful Amanda? You know you love me. So here I am remembering now and stealing a moment of alone time in the bathroom. BATHROOM BLOGS ARE THE BEST BLOGS! I'm sure you know that already though, nothing gets passed you. Here is a list of things that I am most thankful for this year. Though I feel like I need to take more time to be a little more thankful for them through out the year, but hey, at least I'm acknowledging them now right?

Things I'm Thankful For

*My Life. It's an amazing one to say the least. God was having a good day when he dealt me my hand of cards and for that I will be eternally grateful. 

*My family. Friends come and go, but those shit heads are stuck with me for the rest of their lives. 

*My husband. Before Bryce I'd watch movies and swoon over that guy. You know, the Noah kind of guy from the Notebook that is undyingly loyal and looks great with a beard. Well I found that in somebody and I love him with everything that I have. Without that man I have no clue where I'd be, but thankfully I don't have to even imagine that. I DO have him. I have his love, his support and most importantly, in him I have my very best friend. He provides for our family without one complaint every single day. He is amazing. He is my husband and I think that's pretty great. 

*My girls. They are my princesses. Every single day that I get to spend with them makes me feel like the luckiest mommy in the whole wide world. I can't think of two more perfect human beings than the ones that I created. Once again, thanks God for giving me the opportunity to raise those little angels, because without them I'd only be half of who I am today. 

*Coffee. Oh coffee how I love thee. It's a shame we met so late in life, but there are days where you my friend are all that keeps me going and for that, I am thankful for you seeings ass i'm pretty sure my blood type is now coffee. 

*My August 2011 mommas!! There were times in my pregnancy when I thought I must be nuts, until one of you lovely ladies reassured me I wasn't. There were times after Emory was born, that I thought I might break down and just give up, but you ladies reassured me I was super woman. There are times when I do something awesome and I want nothing more than to run back to my computer and tell you ladies a.s.a.p! For the companionship and eternal friendship/bond that we have, I will always be thankful. I have best friends that don't know/ask about Emory as much as you ladies do and that means the world to me. When I got my first stretch mark you were there, when I had my little lady you were there, when I found out about Emory's murmur you were there and for so much more you're going to be there. Thank you. 

*My sister wife Ashley. She forced me into blogging, she listens to me bitch daily and she's the ONLY friend I have that talks to me on a daily basis. I love you bitch, now come marry my husband and raise my kids.

There's more that I'm thankful for, but Emory is screaming for a boob. Have a great day and a super weekend. Tonight the ladies are staying the night with our aunt Kathy and momma is gonna par*wait for it*TAY!!!!

-Amanda

No Peektures for youz.

No, but really. Zero pictures this time. It's currently entirely too late in my misplaced mommy world right now. I'm actually in Union Grove, Wisconsin visiting the man child's fam jam for Thanksgiving and let me tell you something, before I had a house of my own going on vacation was no big deal, because I didn't have my own routine yet and now at 22 going on 23, with a house of my own, I apparently am an old ass and I hate vacation. I find myself making a list of things that I should be doing or need to do once we're home at LEAST 3 or 4 times a day. I guess I've never really taken the time to appreciate OUR house and OUR routine as a family. What better day to realize how thankful I am for my house/life than today right? Well played life, lesson learned.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

p.s. do expect another blog later today. : )

Nothing of real importance.

  Oh hai! So I went on a mini hiatus from blogging due to sever laziness and my gurlfrand making it pretty for me (thanks ashley <3) So as I sit here writing this wonderful life update for you, I just got bathed in baby vomit.... HOORAY! Who doesn't love being puked on!? No but really... how did that baby hold that much puke?? This is a mystery that may never be solved.
  Honestly, I haven't been up to much. I was supposed to start school on the 7th, BUT I decided that if i can't give it my 100% attention, then there's no point in doing. So for now, that's another to do on my life list. I am however getting certified to run a FCC in my house. They're in major need of ladies willing to drive themselves bananas for the sake of other parents and I am one of the very few that actually would LOVE to do it. Let me tell you why, are you ready? Of course you are. I am the second oldest of 5 kids. That's right, my momma popped out 5 of us (her poor vagina...4 of us were all natural. Only the last one needed an epidural...and so began my mom's epic battle with my youngest sister. :p) Growing up in a house with a billion kids, not to mention my mom's twin sister had 4 kids of her own, it's a little weird for me to be in a house that is so empty all the time. Growing up I spent A LOT OF FREAKING TIME with my little sisters and at the time I was all, "WAHHH YOU'RE RUINING MY SOCIAL LIFE PARENTS! WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME FOR!!! WAAHHH!!!" Yes, I talk like a toddler when I'm complaining, you wanna throw bows over it!? No but really, I wouldn't trade it for the world now, it has made me a pretty kick ass mommy if I do say so myself, thanks ma. SO BACK TO THE STORY SHEESH! I have this need to be around kids after always spending so much time with my darling but demonic sisters. On top of that it's damn near impossible to get your kid into a good daycare here and I'm looking to provide that for people. Oh and what the hell else am I going to do!? Nothing that's what. If I weren't doing this I'd be sitting in my house probably facebooking to my August mom's group, glued to some crappy but addicting show (*sigh* vampire diaries...) or complaining about being bored. Starting tomorrow I have orientation classes from 9-4 p.m all day er' day, but not really, it's only until Friday. Lame sauce? Yes. Worth it? totes magotes bros.
  Really besides that I have like NOTHING going on, just being super mom and Amanda Stewart (my neighbor has dubbed me this due to my need to craft or I start itching like I have meth bugs crawling under my skin... picture THAT in your head for a minute, now laugh...now...stop) I actually just finished making one of three Christmas trees for my "mantle" a.k.a target shelf, because I'm one of those nut jobs that have already started decorating for Christmas haha Bryce is all kinds of against it sadly, because he believes that by me skipping the most GLUTTONOUS holiday of the year, I'm committing a crime or something, he obviously doesn't know that I'm part elf. Buddy and I go WAY back. I always thought I was adopted, I'm pretty sure we came from the same orphanage, Buddy was just quicker than me and made it to Santa's sack *laughs...sack* first. That bitch. Bryce just hasn't come to terms with it yet, but that's okay, it'll happen.

He's no cotton headed ninny muggins.

I also printed out a really great free printable from less cake {more frosting} to hang on my wall next to my "shantle" See what I did there? I mixed SHELF and MANTLE and made it one word, I'm so full of awesome sometimes. I have about a zillion more crafts to do though (oh hey thanks for stealing my life and all my free time pinterest.com, you awesome soul sucking website you!) and exactly 7 presents to finish making and I haven't even decided what I'm making my mom for Christmas yet. Hello busy holiday season this year. Micheals/Joann's will love me. I should probably just buy one of their stores for myself. Seriously though, I cannot wait to spend our first Christmas in our house together as a complete family. Waking up hella early with Lily and probably with belly aches from eating the cookies and milk that we're leaving out for Santa. We're already almost completely done with the girls Christmas shopping, talk about being on the ball right? ZOMG I'M A GROWN UP NOW!! SAY WHAT!? Yeah that happened and I'm 100% okay with it, because right now I absolutely love my life and our little fam jam that we've got going.

  Alas, it is entirely too late and I'm starting to just topic jump like crazy. Not to mention I have to be up at 6 a.m....wait...what was that? Yup 6 a.m. Having one car BLOWS sometimes, so I will bid you a due and leave you with, yeah you guessed it, a picture of E Money rocking my new winter hat with bear ears on it...YOU TOTALLY WANT ONE NOW RIGHT!? RIGHT!? Yeah you do, go to Walmart, spend $13 bucks and look almost as cute as her, but let's face it, that's a lot of cute to live up to. 

sorry for the crappy cell phone quality. 

p.s. I just now proof read this, thank God I didn't aspire to be an english teacher : /

.two for one.

We make Movember look good. 

i h8 sean t.

Sharing is caring.

Oh man! Talk about getting behind on my blog. It's been a little over ten days since I've last blogged and I've managed to accomplish quite a few things on my bucket list. While looking at my bucket list though, I realized how much I'm probably not going to be able to complete, because of how cold it is already outside, but I'm sure going to try. Sadly I have hardly any pictures of said completions, because having your hands full with babies makes it kind of hard to take pictures if ya know what i mean. This blog will be pretty much made up of the pictures that I have managed to snap though, so enjoy : )

Here is one of my favorite pictures from the pumpkin patch. Lily just adored being able to pick a pumpkin. She'd walk though all of them, find one that she really liked and the proceed to put it in the cart while Bryce and I had our backs turned. Needless to say, we were scattering pumpkins all over the place while she wasn't looking. 

Apparently sitting on pumpkins is all the rage with kids now days. She seemed to really enjoy sitting on all the big pumpkins that she could find. I mean, who wouldn't? I kind of just wanted to buy all of the giant pumpkins that we kept coming across. I'm something of a HUGE ASS PUMPKIN fan myself. 

I believe I mentioned that I wanted to get more family pictures taken this fall on my bucket list and here is my absolute favorite one : ) I saw a picture similar to this one (with a much smaller frame) on pinterest and I just knew we had to try it. Luckily my husband happened to have this awesome frame from his bachelor days just sitting in the garage.  Notice Emory using my boob as a pillow? Nothing new there. Anyways, I've decided these are going to be our Christmas card pictures, because when you grow up and get married you get to send those out. WOOT!

It's almost Halloween now, which of course means parties parties parties! Sadly every time my Lily has put on her costume I always have Emory in my hands or on a boob so I can never manage to catch a good picture of her awesome costume, but here is the upper half of her Strawberry Shortcake costume. I like to call her Strawberry Tudecake in this picture, check out those duck face skillz bro! On Monday before we take her trick-or-treating I will make sure to get a picture of her in all her strawberry glory, because man is she cute!! Anyways, a funny little tid bit about the reason I'm dressed up in this picture. My hubs works with gov't contractors in his office and most of them tend to be a bit older than both of us (hello 22 and 23!) well he got invited to a Halloween party at one of their houses. On the invitation for the party it advertised , "costumes are encouraged if you dare!" Naturally we dressed up, because who wants to be that lame ass not dressed up at the halloween party? Not the Mande's. We spent the better part of the day picking out our costumes and by our I of course mean that I couldn't decided on a costume and all Bryce was offering me was, "Whatever you like baby" (thanks hubs). Eventually we decided on a greek goddess and Bryce got a pretty sick ass mummy morph suit to wear. Well we go home, get awesome and head out to le PARTAY! As we're pulling up to the house we realized no other adults dressed up! WHO DOESNT DRESS UP FOR A HALLOWEEN PARTY!?! *le sigh* Old people, that's who. Luckily, Lily fell asleep in her car seat anyways, so we just drove by the party, went and got beers and turned up our noses at those party pooping old people. I figured there's always next year to wear it right? Right.

The other night was THE night to carve our pumpkins that we picked out at the pumpkin barn. Naturally, Lily got the biggest one and I spent most of my time fake gagging at the smell/feel of the "guts". Lily wouldn't even touch them, so my wonderful husband wound up having to gut all 4 of our pumpkins himself, what a champ that guy is let me tell you. Originally Lily wanted a Wow Wow Wubbzy! pumpkin, but I was a cotton headed ninny muggins and totally forgot to get a pumpkin carving kit. After I realized I forgot it at the store I thought to myself, "Psht. Kids these days. In my day we did it with a kitchen knife and our imaginations." Once I was home and was ready to carve the pattern I printed out for Wubbzy, I realized how incredibly stupid I was to forget the kit and wound up carving this for her instead. I will say I love the circle eyes, they're very Jack Skelington like, am I right? Of course I am. So I spend all of my time carving her pumpkin that I didn't and still haven't started my pumpkin yet, but let me tell you I have some pretty great ideas for that tiny little thing. Bryce on the other hand created this pumpkin zombie masterpiece and he was so pumped with how awesome it came out. However, we live in a community with the most squirrels ever and those little shit heads stole a majority of the seeds and pumpkin "brains" that he worked so hard to arrange. 

brainnnsssss!!!

That's all the pictures I have for now. No worries though, Halloween is Monday so there will be plenty more of both girls this time. Next time I'll try not to go 10 days without blogging, because man is it a lot of typing to get caught up on : ) 

Let me see that pumpkin roll!! *dances*

SO SO SO!! It's been a few days since I've blogged and I've been a busy queen bee. Last time I blogged I made a "Fall Bucket List" for myself and since then I started checking things off. On Saturday the fam and I went to the Pumpkin Barn and it was fan-freaking-tastic! We picked out our pumpkins, we saw absolutely ADORABLE animals and Lily got to play in the beyond awesome play area that they had. There was an 8 week old donkey that followed his owner around like he was a dog or something. In that moment, I decided I needed to own a donkey, it'll happen just you watch. The funniest thing was Lily heading down to pet the bigger animals and covering her nose going, "Mommy, they smell so bad" then proceeding to gag at the smell and turning around without even seeing them because she's such a girly girl. Totally my child, lord help me. I took some pretty awesome peektures for you to see also, but alas, I have to get a USB cord to go with my AWESOME new camera. I promise I will eventually blog them though, so just be patient they're worth the wait...if anyone is even reading this haha. I also baked a pumpkin roll and man oh man let me tell you it's D E L I C I O U S! So I decided to share said pumpkin roll awesomeness with you so you can make it for yourself. Trust me, you won't regret it. 

Ingredients:

-3 eggs

-2/3 cup pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix.

-1 cup sugar

-3/4 cup flour

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all dry ingredients, add eggs and pumpkin (fresh, frozen or canned; if using frozen, drain out excess liquid). Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes or until done. Butter or spray with non-stick spray a jelly roll pan (11x15 inch).  Cut a sheet of wax or parchment paper to fit the bottom of the jelly roll pan. Line pan with wax or parchment paper to edges. Spread pumpkin mixture evenly over paper liner. While the pumpkin roll is baking, spread a large clean cotton dish towel or cloth on a work surface; sprinkle the towel with powdered sugar. When cake is done, remove from oven. Run a butter knife along edges to release cake from sides. While still warm, invert pumpkin roll onto towel. Gently peel off wax or parchment paper. Using the towel to help lift the cake, roll up the towel (cake and all) beginning at the short side of the cake; continue rolling until you have the cake in the shape of a jelly roll. Allow to cool in this position. When the cake has cooled, unroll gently VERY VERY GENTLY (trust me, cracks are a biatch); spread with filling (see below) and re-roll. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Ingredients for filling:
2 teaspoons butter
8 oz. package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup confectioners sugar
Mix it up until it's nice and creamy and you're done : )


I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, it was gone in like three days no joke. I should be getting my camera cord this week/weekend/beginning of next week (thank you amazon for having EVERYTHING!) so I'll have pumpkin barn/fall pictures up soonish *seal claps* and last, but not least a picture of my emotional state lately. Thanks hormones, you're SUPER!

can you say, "adorable!?" 

p.s. I so hope somebody understands the title of this blog.....

Feels like I'm fallin' for fall

Well well well! It's that time of year again and every single year I love it a little more! Fall <3 If I could marry a season, it'd be this one. Why you ask? WHY NOT!? is my answer. I love everything from the smell of it (yes, fall has a smell) to the colors to the holidays. Above all else though, I love all the awesome activities you can partake in during this wonderfully beautiful season! So in the spirit of Autumn, I've compiled a "Fall Bucket List!" filled with a bazillion fun things I'd like to accomplish with the family and alone (who doesn't just need to take in things all by their lonesome some times?!) before the season has come and gone. Who knows, maybe you'll get inspired to do a few of these as well.

Go to a pumpkin patch

embark on a hay ride (embark is such a great word)

jump in a leaf pile

have a leaf pile photo shoot

start a leaf throwing fight during the photo shoot

carve pumpkins with the family

take a picture of emory in a pumpkin

make chili

go apple picking!

make candy apples with the apples we pick

go to a football game

bake an apple pie....

....and pumpkin too.

While I'm baking, make some apple pumpkin butter (i hear it's great!)

go on a walk and take pictures of all things fall colored

Make Halloween crafts with Lily!

Trick-or-treating!!

Create leaf art!

Do some fall inspired crafting for the house.

Buy new fall clothes

Drink warm apple cider <3

Decorate the house for fall

Bake leaf shaped cookies

Get more family pictures taken

Have a fall picnic

make smores for the first time

Make mini ghosts to hang in the tree in the front yard. 

Decorate for halloween.

Start Christmas shopping : )

EMBARK on a trip to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving

Go on a date? (a girl can dream right?)

Let Lily watch, "it's the great pumpkin charlie brown!"

Watch every single movie on 13 days of Halloween on ABC Family

start a leaf collection with Lily 

Take pictures of Winston chasing the leaves.

Drink hot chocolate!! 

Take a picture of all of these things and share them with you!!

Sleep is for the weak...obviously.

Another night in which Emory thought that an hour of sleep was all that mommy really needed. Thanks you gorgeous little girl, I love you too. There is something really great that came out of it though. What might that be you ask? A recipe for a "creamer" version of pumpkin spice flavoring for coffee. If you're anything like me then to you fall means all things PUMPKIN! Don't get me wrong, it's no Pumpkin Spice Latte from your local coffee shop, but it's still way cheaper ( $4.54 for a latte?! bite me over priced coffee chain, i will not bow to you...even though i really want to sometimes) Before I found the deliciousness that is this recipe, I tried the other pumpkin spice latte recipes that required me to use actual pumpkin and to say, "Epic fail." doesn't even cover it haha. This one is simple and still gets the job done. 

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer mix:

1 cup. Confectionate sugar.

1 cup. Coffee Creamer (you can use a flavored one if you'd like)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. Pumpkin spice (I used two... ZOMG PUMPKIN!!)

(Feel free to double or triple or quadruple the recipe so you don't have to make more any time soon.)

All you have to do is combine all of the ingredients in a food processor (you don't have to use one, I'm sure as long as you mix it well it doesn't matter) and mix for a minute until it's powdery and awesome looking. All that's left now is to add it to your coffee and enjoy while thinking of me...of course. 

Now, I'm going to enjoy my next 12 cups of coffee to keep me awake and finish watching ROCKET POWER! *high pitch squeal* Here's a picture of me and my favorite coffee cup that my favorite and only sister-in-law bought me for Christmas. (I know you're probably sick of seeing pictures of me by now :p)

Man I'm super cute after no sleep! I hope you can hear my sarcasm through this caption. 

Football Sunday!!

Anybody that knows me, knows how much I L O V E football. No joke, getting me off the couch and away from the t.v. on a Sunday is no easy task. I'm like a man in the aspect of my life and I have my daddy to thank for it. I also have the wonderful man to thank for my eternal love of America's team, the Dallas Cowboys. I'll be the fist to say that I love my husband more than ALMOST anything in this world, but if Miles Austin wanted me to have all 12 of his children, let's just say I wouldn't decline his offer. : ) Aside from Sunday football, my weekend has been what they call "le boring", but "le relaxing". The man child and I decided to throw back a few beers and indulge in the Firefly marathon that was on the Science Channel last night (who knew we had the science channel!?). My daughter was a big girl and kept her panties dry both Thursday AND Friday and we're working on it today. I see a Candyland purchase in my near future (that's her prize for doing so great) and Emory decided to sleep through the night on Friday night, hello much needed sleep!! I did mange to finally get to the grocery store yesterday and thank God for that too, because we were resulting to quick dinner fixes, a.k.a fast food *pukes* But other than that t-rex that I captured in my back yard, putting a steak in Edward Cullen's NOT BEATING heart and curing cancer/stupidity.... my weekend was pretty boring. True story.

Go Cowboys!!

p.s. Has anyone ever questioned how Edward Cullen produced a child? I've said this before, but I'll ask you this, if his heart isn't beating (not pumping blood through his body) how did he get "it" up (no rigamortis doesn't count as a valid answer) and make a baby?! HE DIDN'T! THAT'S HOW! PLOT FAIL!!! Sparkly vampire biatch, my wizard would take you out any day.

 HARRY POTTER FOR PRESIDENT!

you said it best Harry <3

Oh Hi!

  So I s'pose this is my "welcome to me I'm 7 different kinds of crazy" intro blog. I can't really tell you what to expect from me or this blog, because lord knows I have no idea what to even do with this BLOG that my pretend sister wife ashrey has insisted that I start. *kudos to her for finding the sick ass template BEE TEE DUBS!* Enough about her though, she's awesome and all, but this shnit is about me. 

Honestly there's not much to me. 

I guess the best way to really introduce you to my life is to use pictures, because what better way than visual aids right?

oh hai reptar (no but forrealzies this picture was taken in Okinawa, Japan)

That ^^ is possibly the most unflattering picture of myself that I could find, but it's probably the best representation of who I am caught on sim card (I was going to say film...but...WTF IS FILM!?) My name is Amanda Mande (pronounced like Mandy...I know... laugh it up). I'm a mom, a wife and come November 7th, you can add student to that list. I'll warn you now all I have to talk about really is: my princesses, my husband's: nerdy, annoying, obnoxious, hilarious and some times just plain aggravating shenanigans, Winston (our very spoiled Golden Retriever) and my current obsession with all things crafty. I can craft my ass off. . . only not like literally, because if so my ass wouldn't have it's own ZIP code right now and that shlamz does. DAMN YOU BABIES! imz justz jokingz jeez guyz. So basically, I don't have a life outside of my kids and husband right now. I like to pretend like that super sucks, but let's face it, I'm living in a house with my four very best friends and every single one of them depends on me, some more than others, and that kind of makes me feel like super woman. Who doesn't want that?! It's awesome, no doubt.

So, time to meet the fam. They're a buncha characters, be ready y'all.

this is the first picture i took of him. 

This is my mostly normal and incredibly handsome piece of man meat Bryce. Believe it or not we met while we were both in Okinawa, Japan. A little over a year ago we decided living without each other just wasn't an option and got married. Sometimes he annoys the piss out of me, but in all honesty, he's pretty much the only thing that keeps me sane 97.6% of the time. He's a walking version of Prozac for me. Thanks dude. 

this picture just melts my heart. 

This gorgeous little girl is my 3 y/o Lily Addison. She is what they call a princess and doesn't let you forget it for even a minute. It's super cliche' to say, but she saved me. I was 18 when I had Lily and before her I never wanted kids. She made it really easy for me from the minute I laid eyes on her. She's growing up so fast and I hates it. To say she keeps me on my toes is an understatement. 

"oh hey picture lady"

Emory Mae is our newest addition. She's almost 2 months old and she's perfect. With the exception of her thinking that 5 a.m. is an acceptable bed time, I wouldn't change a thing about her. We're still getting to know each other, so I don't have much to say, but I'm sure you're going to see and hear all about her amazing accomplishments along the way.

So that's my little family and this is my blog that will be 99% filled with them. I'm pretty pumped for this, i've needed an outlet for my craziness for a while and now I have one.