- missing in action -

I've been a bit "mia" lately because I have been busy planning for this:

I edited out my address and my phone number, hence the big ugly blank spots...

 I absolutely love planning parties, and it's even more fun and rewarding to do when it's for your own little one!

It's crunch time now...the party is in a week! So if you don't hear from me next week, it's because I am knee deep in party decorations and cupcake baking....even though what I should be doing is getting back into my work out routine, getting my actual work done at the office, and maybe doing some of the laundry that is piling up. But those things just aren't as fun...and Ellie only turns 2 once right? (I think that's going to be my excuse every year...I seriously love planning her parties!)

I leave you with a picture of our recent pumpkin patch trip. It's almost Halloween! Have a great weekend everyone!

- a little public service announcement -

I know that as a parent, we can't wrap our little ones in bubble wrap and try to protect them from every thing that might hurt them. I know that accidents happen, no matter how cautious you are as a parent. But I also think there are some proactive things that parents can do to prevent some major accidents. Even the accidents that you don't think would EVER happen in your house.

Now that I have a toddler, I have been aware how important it is to strap your furniture to the walls. But up until now, we had not actually done it. You always say you will, and then just never get around to it.

A week ago, I read this post. Please take the time to read it. It's a scary story about a little girl who climbed on a dresser to try to get a toy. Her mom had left her alone for less than 30 seconds...that's right, it happened that fast..the dresser fell on her head, and the poor little girl was pinned under it. She had major head trauma and needed surgery to correct the damage that was done to her head and her brain. It's a scary thought...that something like that can happen that fast.

(Image credit thecreativemama.com)

When I told Matt about the story, he didn't even have to read the story...he just took one look at the pictures of the little girl post-surgery, and told me he would strap everything to the wall immediately. One week later, we have a safer house (and yes, also a lot more holes in the walls, but that's okay! We'll deal with that when we move or when our kids have grown up).

We used these straps, and they seemed easy enough to install. And they are definitely secure! 

Ellie isn't even that adventurous of a toddler. She doesn't climb on tons of things, and she can be pretty scared and timid. She's definitely not fearless and doesn't explore many areas of our house without us. But I would never, ever forgive myself if I took my eyes off of her for a minute and something like this happened to her (and let's just be honest, it's totally unrealistic to think you will always have your eye on your child at all times). And imagine if something like this happened to your child and it was completely preventable, with one $5.00 package of safety brackets and a half an hour of your time. Seriously you guys, please do this! Don't assume that something like this won't happen to your child or that your furniture is heavy enough and will never tip over. You never know what could happen in 30 seconds. I know so many people with toddlers that say they are going to get around to doing this, and just never do. And odds are, nothing will happen to their children. But you never know! People use seat belts, and car seats everyday to protect their children...furniture straps are really no different. It's just another strap that ensures your child's safety.

I actually have an extra package of these that we didn't end up needing. I am going to offer them to anyone who is interested in trying them out, as long as you promise that they actually get put to use, and not just thrown in a drawer with the intentions of installing them "some day".  Just shoot me an email or leave me a comment and I will mail my extra package out to the first interested reader who wants to make their house just a little safer for their little ones!

And a big thank you to my hubby for making this a priority and getting these installed on our furniture! Our dressers and tables are not even close to budging anymore.

- quick recipe of the week -

Hello, hello all of you lovely readers! Welcome to the beginning of the week and Happy Monday!

We had a wonderful family weekend, complete with the pumpkin patch, the apple orchard, amazing BBQ, and fresh apple pie! It was great! 

Today I am happy to be featuring Marissa, from Momma Rake. Marissa has two beautiful little girls and a wonderful husband. She is also uber talented and sells the cutest things on Etsy. Her blog is filled with posts inspired by her love of faith, family, food, and fashion with fun little tutorials and recipes along the way. Her DIY tutorials look so easy, even for a "non crafty" person like me! You will always find something on her blog that will inspire you and make you smile.

(Image credit Marissa)

(Image credit Marissa)

Easy Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. ground beef

1 large bag egg noodles

1 tsp. minced onion (or 1/4 cup fresh chopped onion)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)

1 8 oz. package button mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef, mushrooms, minced onion, garlic powder, seasoned salt over medium high heat until meat is cooked. Drain off the fat and return to burner. Add soup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and cook over medium heat until bubbly. Serve over pasta.

(Image credit Marissa)

Printable Recipe

Thank you Marissa! It looks so good!

- my name -

My name: Kyna

For anyone who has been wondering..it's pronounced {Kee - na}. It's Irish Gaelic. And no, I am not Irish...not a drop of Irish in me...but my parents liked the name, and so it was decided...Kyna it is!

I struggled with it as a kid. I was an extremely shy child. So having a unique name didn't exactly help bring me out of my shell. No one could ever spell it right, or pronounce it right. However, for the record, now that I am older, I really like love my name, and I am so glad it's so unique and different...although, I'm not gonna lie...when we named Ellie, I wanted to make sure we chose a name that was easy to pronounce and spell. Because going through elementary school with an un-prounaceable name is just hard!

- it's time to welcome fall -

Happy Fall!

I've been so busy mourning the disappearance of summer, that I haven't given fall a proper hello! So, hello fall, and welcome! I think I am now ready to embrace you! We are headed out this weekend for a whole bunch of official fall activities. We're hitting up the pumpkin patch (Ellie's second time this season already, as you can tell from the picture above), apple picking, and maybe some chili and hot apple pie! And then, of course, football! Because what would fall be without our weekend ritual of watching football?

I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful fall weekend! 

- words -

 After watching this video about 100 times because it made my heart melt so much, I started thinking about the power of words. How these simple words out of my toddler's mouth can make my heart laugh and sing...and oppositely, how hurt and stung I have felt by angry, mean words that have been directed towards me in the past. This also made me think about how I might have hurt other people in the past with the words that have escaped my lips. Words do so much more than people usually realize.

Please think about the power your words have before saying things in anger or haste. Words are so, so powerful. Loving words can make you so happy...they can absolutely make your day! While hurtful words can simply crush your soul.

The world would be a better place with a lot fewer hurtful words and a lot more simple, loving, caring words like Ellie's!

- quick recipe of the week -

So, I not only survived the weekend away from my baby, but I really enjoyed the break and had a great time! It was nice to get away with just the hubby and enjoy some toddler free time...although, I'm not going to sugar coat it, I missed her like CRAZY! However, I am now definitely recharged and ready to take on this upcoming crazy week! We had some great food, watched a few awesome live bands, and slept in on both Saturday and Sunday morning! It was definitely a great weekend!

So, now, back to the week ahead of us. The most exciting thing about this week is that it is FINALLY time for me to feature one of the most amazing momma bloggers I know. Meet Melanie from Happy Jax . Melanie might be one of the sweetest, kindest people I have ever met through my blog. This girl is absolutely filled with positivity and always has a smile on her face! Her blog just radiates happiness all the time! Not to mention how gorgeous she is, both inside and out. I don't even remember how we stumbled upon each other's blogs, but we've been great blogger friends ever since! I would love so much to meet this sweetie in person and have a glass of wine with her!

(Image credit Melanie)

And please look how cute her son, Jax, is. He has a million dollar smile that just lights up the room!

(Image credit Melanie)

 Melanie is a stay at home momma that loves taking care of her three year old boy. She recently fell in love w/ photography, & even though she doesn't have a fancy camera (yet) she doesn't let that stop her from pretending she's a pro! (her pictures are really great! Super creative composition!) Her family is her everything and she loves capturing their crazy, normal, everyday life with her lil camera! Melanie is truly one of the friendliest people ever and her blog makes me smile every time I go visit it. I guarantee you won't regret getting to know this momma! She's one of those people that make you feel more complete once you get to know her! I truly mean that....I adore this girl!

Homemade Mozzarella Cheesy Sticks
1 package (8 ounces) string cheese
2 & 1/4 cups original Bisquick
2/3 cups milk

1 can of marinara sauce for dipping (heated) OR if your feeling extra saucy ranch is yummy!

1 tablespoon butter (melted)

1/3 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together baking mix & milk until a soft dough forms. Place dough on hard flat surface sprinkled w/ baking mix powder. Gently roll in the baking mix, coating the dough w/ a bit of the powder. Roll formed dough into a large ball shape (Knead for about 10 seconds). Roll out w/ rolling pin (you want it to be about 1/4 inch thick). Cut into 8 rectangle shapes (about 6x2 rectangles). Roll each piece of dough around each piece of string cheese pinching the ends together. Place seam side down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-12 minutes @ 450 or until golden brown. Brush w/ melted butter & garlic powder before removing from baking sheet.

(An excellent add on idea is to also wrap some turkey or ham lunch meat around the string cheese, before rolling in the dough!)

(Image credit Melanie)

Printable Recipe

Yummy yum yum! Those sound delicious! A great side dish to some warm homemade soup, or chili. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us Melanie! And all of  you lovely readers, please take a minute to visit Melanie's blog, Happy Jax and get to know her and her charming family!