Bringing back Hank the Elf!

So I've decided to bring Hank our elf back tomorrow to start our school week off with some fun. I look forward to sharing Hanks shennanigans with you all.

 

Yes, my older kids may be too old for Hank... But I don't care. Our elf is super fun and reminds me to do something for my kids each day. Sometimes Hank is mischievous and other times he's a sweetheart. I even use Hank for some good lessons. 

We are 38 days away from Christmas, not counting today! Can you believe it? Hanks first mission is to let the kids know he's back and issue them these naughty warnings I made on my studio app.

Keep a watch out for more Hank posts and Tis the season! 

I've got 99 problems but lack of an elf ain't one.

Pumpkin Muffins

Today I'm sharing my easy peasy go to pot luck recipe for fall. I don't have tons of time for baking or cooking, so these pumpkin muffins are great. And tasty! Literally two ingredient. One box of Spice cake and one 15 oz can of pumpkin purée.

Pour both in a bowl and mix....

The consistency will look like picture above and then you're ready to put it in muffin papers or a greased muffin pan. 

Bake at 350 for 18-22 mins. I do mini muffins, because they are great for the kids. You can add chocolate chips or put cream cheese frosting on them. The possibilities are endless. They are delicious and easy. Hope you Enjoy.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of pumpkin muffins ain't one.

DIY felt rose crown

Here's what you need: felt, scissors, glue gun, round stencil, and elastic. I have found the gerber puffs lid to be perfect size. Otherwise you need a round stencil about 3 inches wide.

Next you cut your circles out of the felt, you want your roses to be.

Then you're going to cut from the outside to the inside following the circle and leave a bit of the circle in the middle. It will look like a snake.

Then start rolling your tail towards the center circle remaining. (I usually cut a tiny bit off the tail.)

See the rose forming? No once you get to the circle end you'll put a glob of hot glue and stick the part you rolled to the top.

Now you have your rose. For the size crown I did (14 inches/ 6-12 months) I used 5 roses. Now you need to cut a rectangular piece of felt the length of your roses. See below.

Now comes the elastic you cut. You're going to attach it to the rectangle felt piece with hot glue.

Now cut some leaves to compliment your roses. I chose gold sparkle, because I thought it looked elegant with the red. The leaves do not need to be perfect or exact. I ended up using 8, but you can add as many as you'd like or none. Now start hot glueing your roses to the top of the rectangle.

Add the leaves in and bam there you have a felt rose crown!

I've got 99 problems, but lack of a rose crown ain't one.

Happy Fall Y'all

Since it's the first day of fall, I thought it was appropriate to post one of my favorite seasonal recipes. I've used this recipe for years. It was my grandmothers. As you can see from the retro cookbook. 

So what is this mystery recipe? Peanut Brittle! I actually made my first batch Saturday and it was absolutely delicious and easy. Plus it's all done in the microwave! This recipe will carry you to the end of the year and is perfect to package up for neighbors or deserving family and friends. Later in the season I will do a post of some fun ways to wrap it up. 

For now here is the recipe you've all been waiting for! Do not double it, just an FYI. Happy Fall Y'all! 

I've got 99 problems, but lack of peanut brittle ain't one.

Garland Anyone?

So I've been pinning away first birthday ideas on Pinterest. I happened to stumble upon some awesome tissue paper garland. So I had to give it a whirl and whip some up to share with you all. 

First you will need tissue paper, string, and scissors. That's it!! I will put a diagram that I made below with the steps to follow. Any questions feel free to comment.

The possibilities for this garland are endless. You can use it for everyday decor, holidays, birthdays, photo backdrops and events. Next I want to make some with the foil tissue in fall colors. It is so simple to make you can include your children. The cuts do not have to be perfect.

Here's a close up! If you end up making some tissue garland, please tag me on Instagram @partyof7please, so I can see. 

I've got 99 problems, but lack of garland ain't one.

Brand Rep / Brand enthusiast / Model on Instagram

I get asked about brand repping, so I wanted to put this out there for anyone with questions. I have been doing this 4 months now and am still very new and do not have it perfected by any means. This is just my opinion and will not guarantee you any opportunities, but may be helpful.

 What is brand repping? It usually consists of representing a company and taking pictures in their items/promoting their items on social media. A company sends you free merchandise in exchange for this.

What do companies look for? Generally they look at followers, picture quality, and style that represents their company best.

Should you brand rep? Only if it's something for fun and you will not take not getting picked personal. There are so many times we do not get picked. We rep for two companies and have entered many of searches.

What is an enthusiast? An enthusiast is someone who purchases product at a discounted price and promotes it on social media. It's a win/win. One you get product at a great deal from your favorite store. Then you take fabulous pictures in it and share the awesomeness in hopes of bringing business to said store.

What is a model? Well seems self explanatory... Right? A model models items they receive for free in exchange for high quality photos a company may use on social media and their websites. Generally they are not obligated to share or promote.

Helpful tips: Try not to overgram•Post good quality photos•Do not fill your page with brand rep searches•Buy from and build relationships with companies you're interested in working with•Non private account is ideal, but not required•

Remember to have fun, you may not be everyone's cup of tea. Plus there are millions of cute babies on Instagram to compete with, who are all deserving.

-Linn

I've got 99 problems, but lack of advice ain't one.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the men and women who died while serving in the country's armed forces. 

So many people confuse Veteran's Day with Memorial Day. Which is the appropriate time to thank Veteran's for their service and honor them. Memorial Day is about remembering freedom is not free and some gave all. They gave the ultimate sacrifice and their families never get to wrap their arms around them again.

I have 4 friends widowed and a dear friend lost that come to mind today. Though they should have many more days dedicated to them, than just one.  I hope you all can find the time today to pray for all the families of our fallen men and woman. Today is not "Happy" for them. 

Today I will remember, enjoy my family, and be grateful for all who laid down their life for my freedoms.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Cute craft/grandparent gift.

I wanted to share this super easy cute craft with y'all. I did it for my mother inlaw as a birthday gift and it turned out great. You just need a pot and some paint. Pinterest has a ton of hand and thumb print animals to choose from. I chose an ocean theme. I used the handprints of the babies and thumbprints of the big kids. Here is a picture of the finished product. Adorable! 

I've got 99 problems, but lack of crafts to do ain't one. 

Yo...what's that app?

So today I thought I'd share my 3 favorite photo apps. I know you are all wondering the magic behind my photo creations. Ha! Seriously I get asked a lot and I try not to hoard good things to myself all the time.

Number one super favorite is an app called Studio. It.is.da.bomb. Yes... I just said that. You can decorate your photos, add frames, add copyrights, design quotes, and play with the tint of the photo. It is easy to use but does take se time to figure things out. I rate it five stars. Here is a pic of what the app looks like and sample.

Number two is instacollage. Love it for making collages, adding frames, and text to pictures. Here's what the app looks like.

And last but not least, number three is animal face. This app is hilarious and makes me smile and that's good enough for me. Here is what the app looks like and sample.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of picture apps ain't one.

The show must go on.

Again, I've neglected y'all. Mostly because I feel as if I only have complaints or nothing blog worthy to report. Things around here are busy and we are running everywhere. I've realized when you are a mom of teens their social schedule is far more busier then your own.

I'm pretty much staying afloat at the moment. Living on coke and easy food I can pop in my mouth while walking. Am I sounding ever so glamourous? The babies are not sleeping much at night so that's making my scatter brain even more so scattered. 

Yesterday I did step it up and actually cooked our Sunday tradition breakfast for dinner. I made the pancakes into faces and the big kids actually loved it. They're not so grown up after all. 

I do have something exciting happening tomorrow though. I will blog about it at a later date. Hope the suspense won't be too much for you all. For now, write ya later my dear blog readers.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of teenagers ain't one.

Instagram

So I've taken my crazy to Instagram. I thought my loyal readers should know incase they want to follow. Lots of cute baby spam. You call follow @partyof7please. 

I'm hopeful to be a brand enthusiast. It would be a dream and save my pocket book. Either way I'm having fun with the new account. Check it out!

I've got 99 problems, but lack of an Instagram ain't one.

Vacation

So what has been happening lately? Too much. I've neglected my blog and my wonderful three readers. However I thought I would share, I decided to book a vacation with my husband to get away. This is very exciting, even though we won't have a completely free pass from children. 

We will be taking our two babies along. Our older children will stay with my mom. I priced out many places. First choice was Hawaii, but with 3 months of birthdays coming that was just not going to work. Next I looked at San Fran, Seattle, D.C., Kansas City, and even Boston. Then I decided to go back to my roots and check out Orlando. 

We had just went to Disney World in December, so I thought it may be a hard sell to the husband. It was perfect though. Offered airport transportation, baby friendly entertainment, babysitters, and adult entertainment. And not to mention the price due to generous family member discounts. I talked it over with the husband and he suggested Puerto Rico.... I took about two secs to think about that. No thank you! I'll pass on the little hot tamales in bikinis and babies on the beach for 7 days. Boo!

So it's final, we are headed to Disney for a week in August. Woohoo! I'm so ready for a vacation. I can not wait to share it with you all on the blog with tips included of course.

911

Did somebody call for help? No, not on purpose anyway. Sorry, it's been a while loyal readers. Things have been ever so crazy.

I have been tackling pool and car maintence. Dealing with a baby who has an earache and one that is teething. Can you imagine the mood? Then there's my dryer deciding laundry for so many people is just too much. That saying "when it rains it pours" um ya that.

Recently though is the best day to document. My one yearold called 911 on my teenagers phone. They immediately called back and teenager apologized for the call. Next day, seeing as 911 was last call made teenager butt dials 911. (Knock knock) A child yells mom the police are at the door. Oh it's probably our neighbor who is a police officer. I quickly remove baby from the boob and run to the door. Oh no that is not the neighbor. Needless to say it made for good times. Thankfully there is not a fee for calling 911 for non emergency in this town.

All I can do is laugh. If only you could call 911 to fix dryers, hold babies, and deal with unruly children.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of a cell phone ain't one.

Seafoam and Cowhide

Tonight's post is one of my polyvore designs. Back in January, there was discussion between my husband and I about myself wanting a cowhide rug. And it didn't stop there I wanted a seafoam leather couch. My husband pretty much thought I lost my mind. Others I believe thought I was crazy to want that combination, but they could not see the loveliness in my head. So for your viewing pleasure......

I've got 99 problems, but lack of vision ain't one.

Heelarious

            I NEED this ridiculousness! 

I am constantly shopping for my little princess and browsing online I found these last night. I about died laughing and yes I'm a horrible mother who would put these crazy things on my child for a photo op.

Unfortunately they weren't such a hit and the company is no longer around. Therefore I won't be able to torture my child. Bummer! 

I got 99 problems, but lack of a baby girl ain't one.

Wow

So after yesterday's post, I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed and see this. Apparently someone wants me to get this message.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of oxygen ain't one.

Oh Toby...

I just love Toby! No worries y'all, he ain't my boyfriend. He's an amazing musician, that I enjoy. As I traveled in the car listening to him, I reflected. I've just been too busy juggling children to post about it.

So here goes a part of the song....

Some days, life feels perfect.
Other days it just ain't workin.
The good, the bad, the right, the wrong
And everything in between.

Its crazy, amazing
We can turn a heart with the words we say. Mountains crumble with every syllable. Hope can live or die.

So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun wont shine and you don't know why.

Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,You speak love, you speak speak speak...You speak Life.

The song says it all, speak life. I don't think there's a better feeling than lifting someone up who is broken. Showing someone kindness in the simplest form can bring light to a terrible day. I definitely want to be more mindful of the compassion I show towards others. Even a card in the mail to brighten someone's day. Yes, I am busy...But I'm certain I can take 5 seconds to write an encouraging note. 

And another thing, I will be complimenting strangers more. I always get the craziest things from strangers, so I'm making it a point to point out nice hair, shoes, and smell. Ha! I pray I can be a blessing to someone with my words.

This post even goes along the same lines as my Whoa that's deep, but I feel like it's something that's being pointed out to me lately. So here's to showing kindness better. Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of a heart ain't one.

Life's a breeze, right?

This picture pretty much says it all. I woke up at 4 am this morning. I couldn't sleep well, most likely because I knew the morning was going to be hectic. However I managed to get a shower, brush my teeth, roll my hair, and put a face on. What a miracle! So surely just the few small obstacles of getting six people ready and out the door by 9 and nursing in between was too easy. There was one shirt oops, but it was only water. It dried with no evidence of the earlier event.

We managed to all load into the car before 9 and everyone looked fabulous. This was going to be EPIC! Why yes, yes it was. As I started driving it didn't take long to notice the hurricane like winds and things flying up all around. I thought to myself maybe it's not so bad at the lemon grove, where the photos were taking place. Then visibility became difficult and you could see it wasn't going to be pretty. I immediately started laughing to prevent the tears. I arrived at the location and of course everyone was packing up. Photo shoot was cancelled.

I then became a woman on a mission. Five bottles of peach wine had my name on them. After picking up wine  I topped off my stomach with in n out. So take that crazy wind storm. I've never looked so amazing to buy wine, but there's a first time for everything. 

This evening will be a little sweeter with peach wine. Cheers to a better night!

I've got 99 problems, but lack of a sense of humor ain't one.

Outfits for Photos

So tonight's the night before picture day. I reluctantly scheduled photos for the kids and I. A local photographer who does beautiful photos is having a Mother's Day mini special. After giving birth 5 months ago, I try to avoid the camera as much as possible. After going back and forth I ended up booking, so I can have some sort of documentation for this part of my life.

So with that said these are the outfits for the 6 of us.

I love styling clothing, but I know that's not a gift everyone has. So here are some tips. Choose three colors and work around them. Paint chips are an excellent source to get inspiration for what colors work together. Next play with accessories such as scarfs, belts, sweaters, or vest to tie the outfits together. Pinterest is always an amazing source for ideas. I also love polyvore you can try out so many combinations on there before you make any purchases. Below is a sample of one I put together for my wonderful blog readers. 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. I'm sure my entry tomorrow will be much more exciting. Picture taking at 9:30 am with six people surely won't disappoint in the chaos department. TGIF 

I've got 99 problems, but lack of style ain't one.

Deal Alert/Review for Lollyphile

Do you need a unique Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Birthday gift? This sucker company is the place to find it. They have flavors from beer to breast milk. Intrigued? 

Recently I bought some breast milk lollipops from this company. Do not fret they are vegan and not made with real breast milk. I bought them as a treat for my little guy. Breast milk is his favorite. I had to see what this flavor was all about. Even my oldest daughter gave it a try. It was a unique taste and almost slightly like powdered sugar. Wasn't terrible, but I don't know that I will start drinking breast milk anytime soon or ever for that matter. I honestly didn't finish the sucker, but was probably the closest I'll ever come to trying breast milk.

Anyway this week all their products are 50% off with the code BEERBREAK. They make a unique fun gift and they have made lollipops out of almost every flavor you could imagine.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of breast milk lollipops ain't one.

Whoa that's Deep

I came across this and though I've seen it before it stuck out to me. It is a good reminder that even when things are hard you must think about your actions and reactions. Especially when we are raising children and they will mimic your every move. 

Yesterday was a hard day in motherhood land. Most things that could go wrong did. I was pushed to the limits of my patience. One example, my debit card was mia which I was unaware until I went to pay for two children's haircuts. And I won't go into detail on how the babies were crying during those haircuts or the fact that I had to pick up a child by a certain time after haircuts. Needless to say it was a disaster. The rest of the day did not disappoint in the disaster area either. I should of known by the way my morning went not to leave home, but I apparently enjoy torture.

During  everything I don't think I acted to terrible or lost my temper too bad. However looking at the big picture I definitely did not think of how my children may of been feeling in those moments or my attitude. I'm not beating myself up about it or going to lose sleep, but coming across this little quote definitely made me think I could do better sometimes. There is always room for improvement no matter how old you are.

Though we teach forgiveness and I certainly think it's necessary it doesn't make you forget. Sorry is nice and it's great to acknowledge when you've wronged someone, but it's not an end all to the hurt feelings.

Verse of the day, Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

I pray we all try to do better and this helped anyone else who needed to see it. By the way my debit card was found in walmart parking lot. Someone turned it in. Everyone likes a happy ending, right? Praise God!

I've got 99 problems, but lack of a bible ain't one. 

Redonkulous Day

Most of my morning was spent on the phone wasting hours of my time being frusturated over my 5th borns hospital bill. I was determined to have a victory and give the parties involved a piece of my mind. Needless to say it ended with me having a headache and being slightly poorer. Baby L escaped his entrapment to find old video tapes to use as blocks. I was actually relieved he didn't break or spill anything. Baby J screamed most of the call to make it more enjoyable for everyone. I guess she was helping, by giving a piece of her mind.

Next up was early day, time to get the kids. Here is a recap of our ride home...

DS1-Mom I want to go to frys and get ammo for my cap gun.

Me-Your attitude was redonkulous this morning. No way.

DD1-Mom, please don't say that you're not cool.

Me-Cool? Why? Do you or your friends say that?

DD1-Yes, we do.

Me-Why must y'all speak 90's?

DD2-I hate when 14yearolds say the 90's was the best. All they did for the whole year was drool, eat, and poop. They know nothing about the 90's.

DD1- It's because they were born in the 90's. 

Me- Laughter and thinking we are really discussing this....

Tonight my oldest has orientation at the highschool and my mom is taking her. Thank goodness! Something about 5 kids and a highschool tour doesn't sound fun. I plan on watching one of my shows. Which is normally something dvr'd from masterpiece on pbs. Oh the life I lead.

Hope this Monday has been a good one to you.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of entertainment ain't one.

Easter Keester

Happy Easter, He is risen!

This Easter has been about as normal as any other day. I had several mom fails today. For one I didn't get a single picture of the kids doing baskets. Next we didn't dye eggs, oh the horror. Then I didn't cook a ridiculously awesome dinner. My kids ate chocolate bunnies for dinner. How's that for mother of the year?

Despite my fails my kids did make it to church to get a dose of the real meaning of Easter. I sat church out with the babies, mostly because I don't think church enjoys seeing my breasts. And well my baby thinks my breasts should be out at all times.

I did make it to the grocery store to pick up the survive the week foods. Like coke, bread, and chocolate. Oh and we had Chinese for lunch. I was sure to wear my gym clothes so it totally looked like I ran all day on Easter. Let's face it when you walk around the grocery store with five kids you are a WALKING CIRCUS! The babies make it almost like a petting zoo for old people. So I had to be more social than I hoped.

We made it home to do absolutely a whole lot of nothing. Which is why I chose Easter Keester for the title. All I did on Easter was guarantee a little bit bigger keester. Hope y'all enjoyed your Easter.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of chocolate ain't one.

Peachy Goodness

Good evening folks!

It took a bit more effort than I planned to open the bottle. And we had a casualty with the bottle opener. However the end result was um yum! Folks run out and pick up a bottle of  Stella Rosa Peach. It is a win. Cheers.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of wine ain't one. 

Eggstravaganza

Well friends it's rather easy to get lost in the hype of all the Eggstravaganza. I've put together 5 baskets that I spent entirely too much on and I've introduced my children to peeps playdough. In an attempt to be an amazing parent. And like a good little blogger I will share... You can find that recipe here http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/51416/candy-play-dough

Today was spent taking son number one to volunteer for a couple hours, taking son number two to an Easter egg hunt, and daughters one and two to band practice for church. And the day isn't over. We still have a dinner for my Mothers 50th birthday planned for this evening. I'm pretty much asking for punishment taking 5 children into a restaurant.

I am certain I will need cheesecake and peach wine by the end of the night. I totally plan on reviewing the wine, incase you were wondering. So keep your eyes peeled for that post.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend enjoying the small moments and memories being made. Wishing happiness to you all.

Verse of the day. Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

I've got 99 problems, but lack of children ain't 1.

Salutations

Howdy,Hi,Hello,Greetings to you in whichever way strikes your fancy!

My name is Linn. I recently decided to start a blog after encouragement from a friend, to share with the masses about the things that appeal to me.

Home, because I enjoy interior design and decorating. Along with any DIY project I find on Pinterest.

Heart, for encouragement and sharing the love of Jesus that gets me through the chaos.

Herd, well that is what consumes me most. My beautiful five children and all things that appeal to baby fashion, kiddie crafts, and super cool kid products that make life easier.

I hope you'll grab a cup,glass, or can of your favorite beverage and enjoy reading what I have to share.

P.S. Grammar nazis I'm pretty sure you'll loathe me.