The Rowselettes First Birthday Party

I initially wasn't going to throw a big first birthday party for my twin boys.  I figured they didn't really care if it was a big party or just family as long as they got to eat cake.  But then I went to my friend Amanda's daughter's first birthday party.  It was gorgeous!  The kind of party with beautiful decorations and fancy touches that I love.  The kind of party I would want for myself.  And that's when I realized, sure, this was a party to celebrate a baby's transition into toddlerhood, but it was also a fabulous way for mom to celebrate surviving her first year of motherhood.  Which trust me is a tough journey.  An amazing, wonderful journey, but a really bumpy ride with the most emotional ups and downs you'll ever experience in your life.  So I figured, screw it!  I'm throwing a big, fun, over the top party to celebrate my surviving an entire year with twin boys. :)

I made almost all of my decorations since I didn't want to spend a fortune, which you can absolutely do on themed party decorations.  I decided to also base the party theme on the colors and fox theme of the boys nursery, since I figured I could then do a little decor update in their room.  I have the most amazing friends and family who helped make the day special by crafting decorations, making food, printing letterpress invitations, baking amazing cakes, and helping me tablescape.  I couldn't have done it without them.  It really does take a village.

  I decorated mainly with homemade puffs and balloons in grey, turquoise, and orange.  They added a big pop of color and flare without having to do too much work.

 My lovely and talented mother helped me do my tablescapes for the food and drink tables.

  I made this pennant banner using scrap book paper and printed letters.

 I happened to have these turquoise frames on hand and used photos from the Rowselettes newborn and 6 month photo shoot in them.

 This is their amazing invite made by my good friend Jenny over at Painted Pony Press.

 She also designed and hand lettered these awesome chalk board signs for me.

 These wonderful cakes were made by my good friend Kelly.  They were incredible!  I keep trying to convince her to make a business with her mad baking skills.

 I made collages using photos from the Rowselettes first year and printed them at Costco as a poster.  I hung their premie sleepers next to their first year collage to show how much they had grown.  It still amazes me how tiny they were when they were born.

 Another amazing tablescape courtesy of my mother.  I made Spicy Cucumber Margaritas and Pink Lemonade Champagne in large drink dispensers, so guests could help themselves to fun drinks.

 I got these awesome marquee letter kits from Michaels.  They're completely customizable, which worked great for my party decor.

 Archer with his daddy.

 Xander with Mama.

 My beautiful, talented friend, Kelly, with her amazing cakes.

 Can you tell the Rowselettes loved thier birthday cake?

It was an amazing day, a wonderful party, and great celebration of all of us making it through our first year together.  Can't wait for all of the years to come. :)

Back In The Saddle

Hello again!  I feel like it was this time last year when I finally had a chance to start blogging again.  Things had reached a level of normalcy around our house with my twin baby boys that allowed me to do the things I like with my free time.  Oh, wait!  That's because it was this time last year when that happened.  And things were great up until walking happened.  Then things got really exciting and really crazy.  But once again, I'm back, and boy do I have so many recipes, crafts, etc. to share with you all.

First off, here are a few of the things that have kept me occupied, besides two rambunctious little boys running around my house:

• The Rowselettes tuned one!  And I had a huge party to celebrate their birthday.  Well, really, it was a party to celebrate me surviving my first year with twins.  And I did survive, had such a blast with my babies, was amazed over and over again at all the things they learned to do in their first year, and most importantly no one died.  I call that a win. :)  Here's a couple photos of the party.  I'll be posting all about my homemade decorations and decor in the next week.

  

• My dear friend, Nora, is having her baby in early September, so my friend Kelly and I decided to fly her back to MT and throw her a baby shower.  I was able to use a lot of the same decorating ideas and left over supplies from my birthday party stuff, which was really nice.  Her nursery theme is frogs with the colors being yellow and green.  I tried to incorporate this into my decorations, so that she could re use them in her baby room. We had a wonderful visit and shower, and I can't wait to meet her new baby boy when he arrives!

• During this same time, we decided to start phase three of our backyard remodel.  With the help of my talented brother and my awesome friends, we put in two patios over the Memorial Day weekend.  Then all of June was spent adding beds for planting, finishing two flagstone walkways at each of our backyard gates, and designing and planning our pergola.  During the last weekend of June, again with the help of our amazing friends, we built and completed our pergola.  We still have a little bit of detail work and one more major step before the backyard is complete, but it feels pretty amazing right now!  I've definitely been thoroughly enjoying my backyard oasis this summer. :) 

As you can see, I've had a lot on my plate.  But I'm glad I'll be able to carve out some time for blogging from here on out.  I'm excited to be back in the blogging saddle, and can't wait to share lots of great stuff with you!

Chicken Black Bean Burritos

Wow this recipe is good!  Like ooey-gooey, comfort food good.  And double bonus, it's a Crock Pot meal, so very little effort is needed to make these delicious burritos.  Can you tell I really love using my Crock Pot?  I always did in the past, but with two wee ones crawling all over the place, I've found a new found appreciation for hot, delicious meals that cook themselves.

Chicken Black Bean Burritos

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can corn or 2 c. frozen
• 1 can black beans or 2 c. homemade beans
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 c. salsa (I used Pace Picante Sauce)
• 1 can chicken broken up with fork (I used the Kirkland brand from Costco)
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning 
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt

1. Place veggies, chicken, and taco seasoning in Crock Pot.  Stir to combine.
2. If using frozen homemade beans, place on top of mixture still frozen.  If using canned beans, combine with all ingredients from the first step.
3. Stir together salsa and cream of chicken soup.  Pour over top of all ingredients.
4. Cook on High 2-3 hrs. or Low 4-6 hrs.
5. Stir contents half way through cooking time.
6. Stir in yogurt after the mixture is done cooking.

This gooey mixture is awesome served in tortillas as a burrito, but would be equally delicious served over rice, or as an amazing dip with taco chips.  And if you want to make it vegetarian, just leave out the chicken and add 2 cups of cooked rice in its place.

Freezer Crock Pot Meals

Hello again!  I've been on hiatus since Thanksgiving due to the craziness of the holidays and accomplishing a few tasks that have been on my plate since before the Rowselettes were born.  We had a wonderful first Christmas with our babies, both of whom were crawling for the big event.  It's crazy how fast time flies while going incredibly slow at the same time when you have little ones.  A friend of mine said it best that with babies, the days are long, but the years are short.  It seems like forever since they came into our lives, but I can hardly believe they're 10 months old and only two months from their first birthday!  Xander is now pulling up, cruising around furniture, and able to sit up on his own.  Archer is about a month behind him, but has just started pulling up on his own in the last couple of days.  I know they'll probably be walking by their first birthday.  I can't wait!

And now on to the Crock Pot recipe round up!  I saw a post about making crock pot meals in advance and freezing them last year around this time.  Mind blown!  Why had I never thought of this before?  I made a round of recipes before the babies were born, and it was so wonderful to have meals that you literally just had to dump in the Crock Pot, and voila!  Home cooked meal with no effort on my part.  I loved it so much, that I decided to do another round for this winter.  Here are the recipes I decided to use this time around:

• Mongolian Beef
• Pineapple Chipotle Beef
• Mushroom Artichoke Chicken
• Peach BBQ Smothered Pork Chops
• Corn & Red Pepper Chowder
• Creamy Chicken & Broccoli
• Ranch House Pork Chops
• Mississippi Roast
• Curried Chicken with Ginger & Yogurt
• Cuban Braised Beef & Peppers
• Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato & Chickpea Curry
• Shredded Pork
• 1 can Coke 
• 1 packet onion soup mix 
• Buffalo Ranch Chicken
• 1 bottle Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix

I'm down to only five of these meals left.  So far they've all been really good.  In fact, my husband says that the Mississippi Roast is the best roast I've ever made.  I especially liked the Cuban Braised Beef & Peppers.  So tasty topped with fresh cilantro and avocado slices.  So go on, give it a try.  I promise you won't regret having a stash of Crock Pot meals in your freezer.