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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