Good Ol' Days....

This past week has been so AMAZINGLY nice! It has been so laid back and we have enjoyed sleeping in, watching movies, shopping, and being with family!
On Thursday, I got to see my sweet friend Randi's new baby! He was so presh and I can tell her and her husband are going to be great new parents!! Then I went to see my friend Cece's beautiful baby girl! I am not going to lie, seeing all those babies gave me some baby fever...well slight baby fever..hehe....my Ella is still a baby but Joey is ready for more! After feeling like the stork, Cece and I headed over to Kona Grill at Northpark to meet our friend from Midwestern State, Megan! We had so much fun catching up and talking about our freshman year of college...sweet memories. Then we munched on some delish sushi and took in the beautiful atmosphere. We hope to have a repeat real soon!

But I must fill you in on our darling girl's new love....SHOES! I would say she is just like her mama. I caught her in her closet in one of her shoe bins just having at it....

She has been literally crying to wear these red patent leather shoes that look more for the winter season...so I gave in. It is just adorable and it's so neat to see how girls just gravitate towards those feminine things. Just the other day she was begging for lip gloss when I was putting it on....she is already growing up way too fast.

Then, I have an update on my big boy...my sweet blue eyed boy! He has been lovin' video games lately! He is just too cute when he is focusing and some of the games he plays, we feel helps him with his logic skills. We have been trying to find a happy medium with allowing him to play and also to be outside and doing other things. But it's exciting to see other, more big boy interests starting to come through.

Well, I must say...I am going to really enjoy this last week and 4 weekdays of summer vacation because the day we go back I will totally cry and miss my babies!! :(

Classroom Inspiration

I found this classroom pic today and I just love it. It is so calm and ORGANIZED! I will use this as inspiration for this year....
Tunstall Teaching Tidbits

Homemade Laundry Detergent, Cookies, and The School Year

Do you feel like you're ALWAYS doing laundry? I sure do! With two little ones and a hubby and with my various outfit changes...my laundry room is always full! I was browsing the internet the other day and saw a recipe for homemade laundry detergent...this is for liquid. I made it last night and it was SO easy and seems to work out pretty good. It only cost about 10 bucks to make and I estimate it should last at least 5-6 months. It makes 10 GALLONS!!

This is all you need! (well plus tap water)

So here is the recipe:

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!


Oh and I did not forget....here is the review for the Monster Cookies I made Monday. Grayson and Ella L.O.V.E.D them and ate them like there was no tomorrow....needless to say...now that they are gone we have been just eating lots of fruit! Here are my sweet blue eyed babies enjoying their cookies.

Now to this school year! I didn't blog about it but I had applied for a counseling position that was part time in my district. It was at an alternative school and it was one of those things where its not exactly what I wanted but it was part time and I would get to help kids. The money would not work out but I thought if it works out then we'd figure it out and if it doesn't I am happy teaching, too! Well I did not get the job and I am actually glad about it because Joey said he thinks I was just trying to settle and apply for something to get back into counseling and he does not think I would be happy away from little kids and he is right! I didn't think that when I gave up my counseling job a year ago that it would be hard to get back in. I was offered two positions last summer and wanted to stay in Forney so I had turned them down (in some great districts). Sometimes I wonder, what was I thinking? But this past year was AMAZING in the classroom and I know God will put me where he needs me the most. All I know is that I LOVE kids and I am passionate about helping them emotionally and academically. I truly enjoy counseling but I am 28 and know that there will be many more opportunities down the road! So I will be in my classroom, happily working away, next week and eager to meet my new babies! :)

Yummy Cookies!!

Good morning!!! I hope you are all having a fabulous start to your day! I know I am because I slept in until 9:30 AND....(drumroll, please)......so did BOTH kiddos! It was bliss! Now that we are awake and moving, you can hear Sesame Street in the background along with the popping up of waffles out of the toaster. I usually cook breakfast but instead I will be making some Oh.So. Amazing cookies that I saw on Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour . If you don't already follow her, you MUST!! She is amazing and super cute. I called up my sweet sister in law last night to see if she has made them yet and she did and said that they were (as Lauren would say) OH. So Good.  So here is the recipe and I will be sure to post pictures of the final product, smiles and all.We are heading out to bring some of these bad boys to my Granny and Aunt Cindy's for lunch and hopefully Aunt Meggie's...bringing joy to the world one cookie at a time...haha...y'all enjoy!

MONSTER COOKIES

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 12 oz. jar creamy peanut butter

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup M&M’s

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 tsp. baking soda

4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (not instant)

1/2 cup raisins, optional {I didn’t use these!!}

-In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs & sugars until well combined.

-Add salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter & mix well.

-Stir in the chocolate chips, M&M’s {& raisins if you’re using them}, baking soda, & oats.

-Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and drop the cookie mix by tablespoons 2 inches apart.

-Bake for about 8-10 minutes at 350 and DON’T overcook!! 

-When you remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool for about 3 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.

A whole lot to post!

Well, I have been laying around in my pj's really busy this past week or so. Okay, so maybe I was relaxing a bit but we did do some things...hehe. This past week, Joey's parents and sister and brother in law were all in Disneyworld and I was so wishing I was there excited for them! While they were gone we helped watch the house and their dogs. Joey enjoyed it because he loves being at his parents! I had some trainings and then we really just hung around. We celebrated my sweet mom and wonderful mother in law's birthdays! They both look younger each year. Joey's mom spent her birthday in Disneyworld and then we got her a cake and gift. We had a little family get together at my parents for my mom and the kids had a lot of fun. My dad had bought some miniature donkeys for the kids. It was quite a sight to see them trying to jump on the donkeys....we felt
C-O-U-N-T-R-Y!! Then today, Grayson went with Joey to Lowes for their little project for kids....as Grayson said....they made Bilonoculors a.k.a binoculars. It was too cute, he thought he was a "grown-up" and even wore his watch. Ella enjoyed watching but was dying to get out and join in. It was a lot of nice, simple fun!
Below are some pictures of this past week that I would like to share. I need to get back to working on what I will be teaching my Sunday school class tomorrow. Sweet Dreams, blogging world! :)

-Blessings, Mel

Aunt Cindy, Vann, and Grayson

My New Best Friend...

Our family had a yucky stomach bug the other day and now that we are feeling better, I would have to say that Clorox bleach wipes are my new best friend. Right after brushing my teeth and washing my face, I pulled out those babies and started sanitizing away....they almost make it fun!

We had a wonderful weekend hanging out and had a little trip to Granbury to visit Joey's sister, Lauren aka "Lala!" We had a blast at the lake and it was nice to just sit back and relax. We ate at a neat little burger shop and then enjoyed shopping the square and I did not buy a thing....I can't believe it, I must say that I am shocked and so is Joey!!

Here are some pictures of the kiddos going crazy enjoying our weekend!

Y'all have a great rest of the week!

Banana Coffee Cake Muffins with Honey

I am a blessed girl. I have a sweet mom who makes delicious Filipino food for me that I just LOVE and I have a wonderful mother in law who makes some GOOD American food. One of the things that my hubby loves that my mother in law makes is her banana bread. It's really nice because it does not have nuts in it and its actually a type of coffee cake recipe. So this morning, I decided to make it for the kiddos but in muffin form because they love muffins with a little bit of honey on top.
Soooo yum!

I will be making a cinnamon sugar bundt cake from my sweet friend Randi's blog and I am super excited to make that!! I will definitely be sharing that recipe once I make it! :)

Stars and Stripes....

Wow, I can't believe the good ol' Fourth has come and gone! Where is summer going? I will keep this post pretty short since I am posting a recipe right after..yum! We had a wonderful fourth of July but it just wasn't the same without my mom here (she has been in Cali visiting family). We went over to my parents' house with the fam and then the next day we headed to Joey's family. The weekend before could not have been patriotic enough, Joey's Uncle Michael retired from the Marines and his family had a party and it was really nice to celebrate the service of a Marine on the holiday weekend. Here are some pics of our Fourth...hope you had a good one, as well! :) At the bottom, you will notice pics from our own little camp out the other night in our living room!

The Acker Family!

My big cousin helping Grayson do his first sparkler!

Cousins!

Ella Grace!

Grayson and Great Grandma playing candyland in a tent...it doesn't get better than that!

My sweet babies who look like my husband!

Camp Out!

S'Mores

First S'More...pure joy!

Count Your Blessings....

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. What a blessing it is to be in a country full of freedom. Today's blog is about the emotional day thatl led me here because I always feel better when I write things down or....nowadays...blog!
Today we went to visit my grandpa (my mom's dad) at the nursing home. He usually lives with my grandmother but due to some pretty rough health problems he is there for awhile. Grayson and Ella enjoyed seeing him and the nursing home he is at seems great. They had little glow sticks (for fireworks) and the elderly were singing along to a guest playing a guitar and they enjoyed hot dogs and root beer floats. Grandpa was overjoyed to see us but unfortunately some dementia is really stepping in which is causing a lot of confusion for him. My granny (my dad's mom) is also really dealing with this, as well. It really breaks my heart to see such important people in your life not too sure about who you are. In my grad school classes for counseling, we studied some mental health diseases in the elderly. Book wise and in my head, I understand it but when it's family members you love and that you have so many memories with, it's difficult. Well, being at the nursing home already had me emotional over my Grandpa and then thinking about my Granny, too, but then as I sat there watching the other residents of the nursing home, I teared up. So many people forget about the older population....about what they have been through, who they were and still are, and what they have lived. Many of them gazed at Grayson and Ella....I think for two reasons. One, they are just too darn cute (haha)...and two, they were probably thinking about when they were my age and had their little ones, probably reminiscing when they had all of their family and their home. Then, it made me realize that I need to count my blessings.....Joey and I are blessed by the Lord with a wonderful time in our lives. We are starting out and raising our precious family and these are times they we can never get back. It also made me realize how important it is to spend time with the elderly and not take grandparents for granted. I am just so thankful to God for putting this on my heart today and really opening my eyes. Please keep my Grandpa and Granny in your prayers and kiss your babies, husband, wife, mom, dad, or whoever is next to you and just be thankful for this time in your life~

Sweet Granny Clark-please keep her in your prayers! :) Isn't she too cute?

Grandpa Fabon-please also pray for his health!