Hairstyles of my little dancer

Whenever my DD6 goes to dance class we do her hair up all pretty and she just loves it. I get a lot off of Cute Girls Hairstyles, then practice practice. We sit and watch t.v. and play with her hair she is such a girly girl and loves to put pearl bobby pins in or anything shiny! Sure wish my older 2 would let me play with thier hair.
With out further audo here are some of our favs.

Starburst Braid

French Fold In

Waterfall Braid headband, Into bun

Finally Spring

It has been a long winter and very cold for april I am so glad that spring has finally sprung, sure hope it sticks around! Now if my garden would just dry out so I can plant. Its like a cranberry bog out there atm!
Who else is excited for spring?!

Busy Summer

It was a long extremely hot and dry summer here in Western, Ky, which made gardening and spending all day in the kitchen that much more miserable. Usually I really enjoy it, but this summer it was a horrible chore, but the benefits were worth it as always. We put out a garden, and because of the drought it had to be watered almost everyday, If I counted on the rain my garden would have been dead in a week.
So here is a photo journal, of what I had and what we canned. This is only my second year gardening and canning, and it was a lot more productive this year than last. My favorite canned item this year, has to be my banana peppers, they are so sweet and yummy. Usually I don't even like banana peppers but these are so perfect, even my 6 year old puts them on her tacos and stuff! So Delish!

 

           

Storage, its overflowing now

Cutting Starwberries

Catherine's First Grape Jelly Batch

Stay Tuned...

I am coming back again and this time for good. I have missed blogging so much, but life has been insane. Lots of great recipes, projects, crafts and reviews to come. Hope to see you back here with me!
xo

Dress and Rings!!!!!

Jamie and I went to pick out my wedding dress the other day, we had such a good time. Even Jamie enjoyed himself, and we wound up with a dress that I just loved and looks like it was made just for me. It's beautiful with old world lace and tool, and a perfect corset back. I just love it! Jamie picked it out, and damn does he have good taste! I can't wait to wear it.
We also bought out wedding bands, and I love mine so much, its perfect!

Next on the wedding planning list is to finally decide on center pieces and to start making them as well as starting to create the invitations. I have a rough idea as to what I want to do for them, just have to mess around in illustrator and see what I come up with.

This is a busy week so I will check in when I can, next post should be another homemade cleaning supply.

Yummy Recipe ~ Soft Pretzels

An update on my 5 year old daughter. She had a sever case of tonsillitis and spent a night in the hospital and a week and a half at home in bed from school. She is doing much better and back to school. Thank you for all your support!
Being a girl from South Jersey orginially I have a thing for soft pretzels!! I have tried so many different recipies trying to find one that I just loved and made me think of those oh so yummy Philly pretzels. Well I finally found one, and it is from non other than Alton Brown. I think that he is amazing and his baking recipies are so percise you can't screw them up, if you do exactly what he tells you, you will have perfection. 

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

• Directions

  Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

  Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

  In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

  Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

  
  

  These are so yummy and I love them with mustard! What do you like on your soft pretzels?

  
  

  Recipe taken from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe/index.html

Tackle It Tuesday ~ Master bedroom

Ok so I have been doing the Flylady, and so far love it. This weeks zone is the Master bedroom, which honestly I have been dreading!!! Its a mess. I am going to be an open mommy blogger here and give you a peek into my master bedroom. Hubby is supposed to be making me a new bed that is going to be awesome, im just waiting for him to get around to it. So excuse the mattress on the floor!

Dosn't look to bad but it def. needs attention

OMG its just a cluster ...

Make that damn bed girl!

We do not need dressers because of the closet set up that we have but I am hoping that hubby will get me these nightstands to go with my new bed he will eventually build!

Added: 1:00pm central

My closet!

So here I go... Wish me luck I will be back to update with pictures of the progress when I am done!

DONE!!
After Shots!

Woot! There is a floor!

Lazy puppy watched me from the bed the whole time

Much better!

Video of cleaned closet!

Wyatt Family Farm Update!

I know I've said it before, but where back. So much has happened, and we have been so busy!
     My HCG diet did not really work for me, allthough I was losing weight in record time it left me sick and dizzy feeling most of the time and Jamie (almost DH) did not like that I was on it at all. So I have decided that it is not the diet for me, which does sadden me, because it was really working. I would have been at my goal weigh in one 45 day cycle! So I am still eating healthy as often as possible, but I do not deny myself nips of what I love. I have also started eating on a smaller plate so that it still looks full, but my portions are a lot smaller. Weight loss should be slow and steady this way and hopfully keep me from feeling like I am going to pass out.
     Jamie and I have finally set a date (Oct 6, 2012) and I have been working on the plans for that as well. It's going to be so much fun, and all done myself. Jamie and I will totally be reflected in the celebration of our love. It's going to be a country wedding in our backyard, my colors are beautiful fall colors of pumpkim (burnt orange) and wasibi, with touches of browns and golds. One of my best friends Catherine is going to be my matrian of honor and my 2 oldest daughters bridesmaids with the youngest being the most adorable fashioista of a flower girl. I'll be blogging about the planning here of the wedding as well...
     My house has gotten away from me, and I have started flying with the flylady and already my house is in a much better state of affair than it has ever been and I still have more time that when I was cleaning all day everyday. With her schedule I spend a total of maybe 1-2 hours a day of housework. Everything is in its place and the hotspots are hardly ever hot anymore. i love it.
     Besides planning a wedding, being a girl scout leader for 2 troops, cooking, keeping my house, we got a new puppy a few days ago and she is just so sweet. Jake our older dog is trying to teach her to be a good dog, but she is finding the learning difficult. She is gonna be trouble I can feel it. We are also in the process of planning our garden for this spring, I am looking forward to it and I hope that  I will be able to get a whole lot more put up that last year. As last year was an experimnent, I am hoping that it gave me the experience that I needed to be able to put up enough things like, salsa, banna peppers, pickles, jams, etc... for the whole year for my family and some gifts as well. Any hints and tips are appreciated.

     

       My Tackle it Tuesday for this week is also a simple one, but one that has been on my to-do list for a few months now, and thats to blog again. I love blogging; it helps me keep my sanity and get things out that I need to. I hope that you all will start checking back again I miss chatting and interacting with my readers.

I love you guys and can't wait to catch up with you all.

Wyatt Family Farm is back!!

So much has happened, RL smacked us so fast. We finally found a house that we wanted to rent and we moved on it in like a weeks time! The house is great it's a 4 bed 3 bath on 8 acres and the beat part is mama (that's me) gets a craft room and everyone gets there own room! Woot!
I'm taking blogging back to its roots and blogging about my craZy hectic life! Well I'll update ya more later just wanted to say hi and see what's up!!!!

Seems Spring has Sprung

As the snow moves out and the rain moves in it seems that spring is finally around the corner. The grass is already greener and the air is a lot warmer than it was 2 weeks ago. I am excited, Spring Fever has hit and I am ready for camping, fishing, horseback riding, hiking and anything else my lovely family and I can get into!
What is your favorite part of Spring? How do you ring in the warm weather? Share with me and on March 1st a blogger will be chosen to be feature on Wyatt Family Farm. (via random.org)
So share with me in the comments below!

Losing it Weight or Sanity

Ok I have been on a diet for a week and 3 days now! I am doing really well, but I have to tell you, I am dying for something really yummie to eat! McDonald's French Fries are calling my name, oh the sweet nector of Salty Greasy Fries! I have been working out everyday, doing the P90X workouts. That Horton guy is INSANE! I am not so bad at the strength training, but the cardio workouts are killers, I think I am dying before the stretch is even finished! Its NUTS! And yoga, OMG I love yoga mostly, but the P90X yoga is a killer, even with the modifications, I am in agony! I have been living on Special K and chicken breast, my stomach feels like my throat has been cut!
Anyway, back to this P90X insanity, my body has been in pain glorious pain, since day one! I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that I am sweating like a pig and shaking by the end of the warm up. These workouts are 7 days a week, working a new part each day, and they are totally INTENSE!

The Good news is I lost 6 pounds!

The results are driving me forward, and I am hoping that I can look fab for summer! I am so tired of being over weight and out of shape!

New Year's Resoulution and New Year's Day Confessions

I have been very heavy for 4 years, since my youngest was born. I have tried many times to lose the weight and with no effect. My New Years Resolution this year is to lose the weight and get fit and healthy. My fitness level is horrible, I cant even check the mail with out being completely winded by the time I get back to the house. I new it was bad, and I avoid mirrors and scales at all costs. Its sad. I actually covered the mirror in my bedroom and cover the mirror in the bathroom whenever I am in there.
I pains me to tell you all this but I feel that it must be said and gotten out there, and what better people than my mommy blogger friends. I went to Walmart on the 1st and bought a scale, so that I could see where I was starting at. Hubby is on the diet with me, so we both went into the bathroom and stripped down to get our starting weight. Hubby hopped on the scale without any issue, he knows hes fat and he embraces it. He is only on the diet cause of his heath, it does not bother him to be over weight.
Anyway on with my confession, when it came time for me to get on the scale, I had a complete nervous breakdown, I mean I was crying and shaking and freaking out. I could hardly breath! My husband is a very supportive man and was trying to calm me down and tell me it was ok. Eventually he decided that I needed to be alone with the scale and my fears, so he left me alone int he bathroom with the scale. OH my GOD!!! I saw that scale like it was in a horror movie, my bathroom is not very big but what I saw was a long scary hall with the scale at the end of it. I continued to cry and hyperventilate over getting on this scale, but I really wanted to know where I was starting at! It took me about 30 minutes it get on the scale, and when I did it was horrifying! The scale read 213!!! OMG that is the heaviest I have ever been, I wasn't even that heavy when I was 9 months pregnant!!!
I have started with the Special K challenge and am really enjoying the cereals and bars and I like that I can eat my usual meal for dinner, just smaller portions. I have also gotten the P90X workout system and will be starting that tomorrow, as I wanted to give my body a few days to adjust to the food intake change before I thru it into a workout routine like P90X.  I will be posting alot all thru this and hope that you will follow along with me.

Before:

 

Whew, goodbye Holidays

I love the holidays always have and always will, but man are they hectic. The older my kids get the more there seems to do during the holidays.We had a very relaxing Christmas once it got here! Just the hubbs, the kids and I. The girls made out pretty well as they always do, games, toys, dolls, clothes, you name it they got it. I always set out to take tons of pictures Christmas morning but it never seems to happen, keeping track of 3 girls and there stuff is pretty demanding. So I click a few here and there and thats all I can do. I am in the process of editing a few cute self taken family portraits, yes even I got in them this time.
Exciting news: I am a Purex INSIDER! I am so excited about this and will tell you more about it in the days to come. They sent me a product that I am not even a loud to talk about until tomorrow, because it will not be released in stores until then. But I will tell you that I LOVE IT! Things will be getting back to normal around here over the next few days so be on the look out for all kinds of fun stuff! Take care for now!

Attack of the Tweens

My oldest daughter just turned 11 and she wanted to have a sleep over! They had a lot of fun, but I was scared lol! I locked my self in my room and let them go at the living room! They watched scary movies and did makeup! I could hear them hooting and hollering until 3am, when they all passed out right where they were!

Things are a little crazy here, posts will be back to normal after the holidays! But I will post when I can until then!

xoxoxo

Happy Holidays!

Christmas is Coming!!!!

I love Christmas, it is my favorite time of year.We usually put our tree up the day after thanksgiving but that did not happen cause DH was on the road and we had a lot to get done that weekend. So the Christmas fairy will be throwing up all over my house this weekend.

 I am so excited, I love decorating and baking and candy making at Christmas time. I bop around the house and sing Christmas carols all month long!
I would love to know what your Christmas traditions are each year? Tell me about them. I am looking for more traditions to add to ours and would love to know what it is that you hold special every year at this time.

Month long Blog hop to come: Creating badge and post atm!

Thanksgiving Candy Making ~ Peanut-butter Balls

We are not celebrating Thanksgiving Today at the Wyatt Farm because Daddy is out on the road and we do not want to celebrate with out him, so we will be having our dinner on Saturday! Today the girls and I made candies and cookies. So this weeks recipe will be for Daddy's favorite. Recipe will be posted below the sideshow of my daughters at work in the kitchen. Enjoy! & Happy Thanksgiving!

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

18 Oz creamy PB

1/2 lb butter

1.5 lb powdered sugar (10x)

3/4 slab food grade paraffin wax

18oz semi sweet choclate

* if  your walmart is like mine and dosnt have any of the above mentioned wax you can subsitiute that choc. dip that you nuke to melt and dip the strawberries or whatever in for the wax and semi sweet choc. . Works fine but you will need 3-4 tubs of it for the recipe above. 

Directions:

Mix PB, butter, and sugar. Roll into small balls & freeze, overnight if possible. Insert toothpicks (optional, but makes dipping in choc. neater). Use a double boiler and , melt wax and choc. Dip balls & set on wax paper.

I left half in the freezer while dipping to keep them firm otherwise the toothpicks fall off. I also put them back in the freeze after dipped for a few hours - overnight. Then I serve them up on a pretty platter and they don't last long!

This is a great quick recipe that kids can do. My 4 yer old did it all with no worries. I just mixed up the batter showed them how much to use to make a ball then let them go at it! So Yummy!


 

New Camera Fun

I spent a good hour or so this afternoon playing with my new camera. Action shots are my favorite and up until now I have not been able to get any good clear action shots. I am so in love with this camera. Catherine was happy to be my test subject for the day, she had a blast running down the hall and being allowed to jump on the bed.
A whole new world has just opened up for me and I will be clicking away all the time lol. I loved to take pictures before, now I am at a whole new level.

Now if only I could win the giveaway over at One Little Mister I would be all set in the way of photos.

DD10 is Growing Up

My 10 year old daughter is growing up so fast. Tomorrow at 515 am she departs for her very first over night field trip with her class. They are going to Frankfort, the state capital and Mammoth Cave. This is going to be such a great experience for her, though I had to fight daddy tooth and nail to let her go. He did not think that she was old enough, he is like all dad's of little girls and is so afraid to let her grow up. I finally got him to agree and let her go.
She is so excited that she can hardly sleep, it is so cute.

Pumpkin Carving

We went and picked our pumpkins this past weekend and carved them all up on Sunday afternoon! It was a lot of fun, though I have to say that I can not stand the smell of pumpkin guts! Yuck! Neither does my little one apparently, and she refused to touch the insides she said that they were nasty. So here is a slideshow of us carving and then the final result.

Yes we were in our PJ's lol, Sunday is a lazy day and no one felt like changing. We had a great time, this was the first time that we carved the pumpkins, usually we just draw on them and be done with it. We had a great time, and pumpkin carving is a new tradition that is here to stay at the Wyatt Family Farm!

Sweet Napping

I was laying on the couch watching the classic Cleopatra, and my little one was coloring a picture at the kitchen table. She was very quiet for a awhile, look what mu Dh found when he went into the kitchen. She must have been really wiped cause she did not budge when hubby and I cracked up laughing! She looks so sweet!

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