Soaking up the love.

Landon doesn't spend too much time on the floor these days because busy bee big sister likes the way her foot feels on his face. But, every now and then I will stay close and let her look (and poke) at him. This day however, she wanted to give him a kiss and my heart grew a little bigger. 

I know there will be a time, years from now, that sitting in the back seat together will be pure torture for these two. But, for now I am soaking up the love and sweet moments they are sharing. 

DIY: Ombre Utensils for Mom.

Hope all you mama's had a super special Sunday.

I sure did! I was surrounded by those I love and my sweet littles. Madelyn had the tail end of a yucky virus so I didn't have high hopes for the day. But, she said happy mother's day by taking a solid nap in the morning which allowed me to put my make up on at home instead of at a red light. It was a great day.

We went out to lunch, played by the pool and celebrated my birthday with family, too. Two celebrations in one day? I'll take it!

I gave a few handmade mother's day gifts out this year. Thought I would share one with you, here. I followed an easy tutorial but tweaked mine a bit, that's the beauty of making your own gifts. Here's the set I made. The steps are very easy to follow and I was very happy with the outcome. My mama was too!

Find the tutorial I used: here

Before:

After:

Really wish I would have made myself a set while I was at it!

Real Beauty.

I often pray for my children and think about their futures. 

I dream about what their personalities will be, their interests and who they will choose to spend forever with. I pray for their friends and positive influences.  Against, peer pressure and bullies. I think about a lot, what parent doesn't? I think about a lot of things that really don't matter right now and won't for a while. 

But, one thing I find myself thinking about often is, how they will view themselves. Especially, Madelyn. I think girls battle self worth more than boys. So many young girls let their peers define them. They allow society to mold them into what "beauty" is. They will alter who they are to fit in with people they want to be. I can say I struggled with those areas growing up. High school is a tough environment, I don't care who you are. It's an awkward stage. 

A few weeks ago, I watched a video that Jodi, a friend/family/fellow blogger shared. She's a great gal and you can read her awesome, real writings, here. I have since seen it many other places. You may have already caught a glimpse of it. If not, here you go. It will bless you.

Really makes you think, right? It's real. And it's reality for most of us. Even as adults. After watching it, I thought about my girl and the journey that is ahead of her. A journey filled with a corrupt view of beauty that our society portrays to us as such. I want more for her. I want confidence. I want purity. I want strength. I don't want the opinion of herself to be written out for her by her peers. I want her to see herself, how God sees her. As a daughter of The King. A treasure. Beautiful. A masterpiece. 

Along side of their peers, daughters watch their mamas. I want to be a Godly example for my girl. How will she view herself as beautiful and walk in confidence if she hears me constantly tear myself down with criticism? Don't get me wrong, every one has things about themselves they wouldn't mind changing. I get that and I'll be the first to admit it. But, I want to help her to focus on the things that are great. Because, there are great things. Why put so much focus on the others?

May.

I love May. It's my favorite month. Lots happen around here in May. It's my birthday month, mother's day and our anniversary. Along with many other exciting things all crammed into 31 days of awesome. See why it's my favorite?

The kids and I have been on a mission to find new parks the last week or so and we definitely succeeded! We found one that is my favorite so far, Madelyn agreed!

With the summer coming and the insane heat, I wanted to find some "splash parks" in the area. They are parks with playgrounds and water areas too. It's a great way for the kids to cool off and for the mamas too. 

Madelyn is a huge fan of the water area. Maybe a little too much. Nothing like trying to drink a little city water. Gross.

This park overlooked a huge lake, it is so pretty. She loved watching the boats.

Hope you are having a great week. It's almost over already! Oh yeah.

Along with looking for new parks we are also looking for other fun summer activities, too. How do you plan to spend your summer? Have any toddler activities you would suggest for a busy little bee like this one? 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I was in a baking kind of mood and Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins were going to hit the spot. I had been talking about making them for weeks. It was time I stop talking and start baking.

I posted a picture of one I made yesterday on Instagram (you can follow me here, @jenstacey) and many of you requested the recipe I used. So I thought I would share it with you here.

The reason I loved this one was because it came with a brown sugar topping that will knock your socks off. It's a very simple recipe. I like simple. You can alter it too, maybe add some nuts? If you do change it up, and like the results, please share. I am always looking for new recipes!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

3 small bananas- mashed
3/4 c. white sugar
1 egg - lightly beaten
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 c. brown sugar - packed
2 tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
 1 tbsp. canola oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375, line muffin pan with cups.
Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
In another bowl beat bananas, white sugar, egg, and canola oil - stir into flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon into cups.
Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and canola oil.
Sprinkle mixture over each muffin.

 Bake 18-20 minutes.
 Number of Servings: 12

Happy Baking!

Survival Mode.

Life with two little ones have had its challenges but triple the rewards. It's been an adjustment for all of us and to be honest, I have no memory of half of January and all of February. With a newborn, there is no separation of day and night. It all rolls into one very long mush of time. If I got a shower and brushed my teeth once in a day, it was a very good day. Some women can balance a newborn, a toddler or two, makeup and hair, fashion and still get to where they are going on time. Ha! The first three months were survival mode for me. If everyone was alive, we were good. Let's just be honest. My first outing with the kids alone, Madelyn wore a backwards shirt. If I didn't have spit up in my hair, food smeared all over my clothes, pee on my shirt and baby poop somewhere on my body then we were doing good. Madelyn went to bed in what she woke up in the morning before... a time or two. And we ate dinner at 8, often. But you know, we survived.

We have recently started venturing out for longer than the time it took for the first kid to cry. I used to high tail it out of wherever I was when one would start. Because, it never ended well. I was out numbered and they both knew that. I have since become more comfortable in mothering two and a little more relaxed. I told a friend the other day that I feel like we are just now getting out of the "survival mode". Madelyn may not have gotten a bath every night of the week but she went to bed knowing how much we loved her. And that's what remained important.

Our Weekend in Pictures.

Ryan was home both days this weekend. 

It was lovely. 

The weather was glorious. 

Children's Museum.

Sprinklers.  

Hope your weekend was a great one!