I love doing questionaires, and I "borrowed" this one from Lauren! ENJOY and please feel free to fill it out, too! :)

1. Where were you three hours ago? at home

2. Who are you in love with? Hans

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? Not that I can recall, but I can’t be certain.<---Lauren's answer, but I think I can agree with that!

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Yes, my desktop background, haha!

5. When was the last time you went to the mall? A couple weeks ago, and I actually didn't buy anything!

6. Are you wearing socks right now? No

7. Do you have a car worth over $2000? Yes

8. When was the last time you drove out of town? In July when we went to Fort Myers Beach

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? No

10. Are you hot? Yes, it is 93*F outside! ;)

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? French Vanilla Coffee

12. What are you wearing right now? Jeans and a green/white striped shirt

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? I let Hans wash it :)

14. Last food you ate? A slice of meat lovers pizza from Sam's Club

15. Where were you last week at this time? At home helping my hubby put film on the sun-room windows to make it cooler and more "energy efficient".

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Yes, I bought a 0-3 month girls outfit for a friend who just had a baby <3

17. When was the last time you ran? Hopefully today! Otherwise, it has been several months.

18. What was the last sporting event you watched? Hmmmm... Dolphins/Colts game, last 2 minutes? Does that count?

19. Your favorite animal? Dog.

20. Your dream vacation? Israel, seeing all the sites from the Bible. That would be amazing.

21. Last person’s house you were in? Kim & Brian's

22. Worst injury you ever had? None -- sprained ankle maybe?

23. Have you been in love? Yessssss, in love with my wonderful husband Hans!!

24. Do you miss anyone right now? Not really

25. Last play you saw? Phantom of the Opera!

26. What is your secret weapon to lure the opposite sex? My presence alone is enough. HAHA! Just kidding. I don't know, dressing up nice for the hubbs? Ask him!

27. What are your plans for tonight? Relaxing at home, going for a run, eating dinner, get kids bathed and into bed, watch some TV, bed.

28. Who is the last person to send you a Facebook message or comment? Danielle

29. Next trip you are going to take? Not sure yet.

30. Ever go camping? Goodness no. I'd rather stay home or in a hotel!

31. Were you an honor student in school? Um, no.

32. What do you want to know about the future? Nothing, I am fairly content the way I am!

33. Are you wearing perfume or cologne? Perfume - Britney Spears "Curious" (DON'T LAUGH! I can't help that I like it! LOL)

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor’s visit? Nope

35. Where is your best friend? In Tampa

36. How is your best friend? Awesome, we're very much alike, except she is a lot less crazy and keeps me sane! :)

37. Do you have a tan? Sorta.

38. What are you listening to right now? The news on TV1 in the living room and Toy Story for the 100th time on TV2 in the back room.

39. Do you collect anything? Not that I can think of

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? Notta clue

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? May 2008 - 8 months pregnant on County Line Rd.

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? Yes

43. What does your last text message say? "Gracias! You're the best!" - to my hubby who said he'd watch the boys while I run.

44. Do you like hot sauce? Duh, I am from the South. <--- (I second Lauren's answer!)

45. Last time you took a shower? Today.

46. Do you need to do laundry? Always! It never ends. Ever.

47. What is your heritage? No clue. Scottish, something, Indian, something, Italian, something. I'm an AMERICAN! We'll just go with that.

48. Are you someone’s best friend? Yes

49. Are you rich? Nope, but happy!

50. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Rocking Jake back to sleep after a bad dream.

WooHoo! Premiere Week!

OK -- I regret to say, since Big Brother 11 ended last Tuesday, I have not quite known what to do with myself three evenings a week. I miss it desperately. I actually subscribed to the feeds and while I did not watch them 24/7, it was nice to occasionally pop in and see them scheming behind eachothers back before the episode actually aired.

Yes, my name is Kimberley, and I am a BB addict. *breathe*

ANYWHO, now that this is over, I can get back to my life. Sort of.

Just when I thought I may be OK, this week is FALL TV PREMIERE WEEK! Yesssssss!

Below are three shows that I am so excited are back, and my opinions on each (if you care)! :)

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First up is Big Bang Theory. Hans and I got into this show the end of season one, and after two or three episodes we were hooked! When I was home on maternity leave with Jakey, we watched all of season one that we missed. Online. In two days. It is THAT good. I love the characters and they have great one liners on that show! Sheldon is a riot, Leonard is a dorky sweetheart who's always chasing after Penny, and their friends Koothropali and Wolowitz are just hilarious. Especially Wolowitz. If you haven't caught an episode yet, check it out and just give it 30 minutes. You'll change your mind.

Next on the list is Heroes. We have been watching this one since Season one, 2nd episode. Last night was the premiere of Season Four. This show is more of an Action/Drama if I had to choose a genre to place it in. The title says it all - this show is centered around a cast of people who were ordinary until a solar eclipse occurred four years ago, and then several people in the human race developed super powers. One girl can never die, and when she is injured, even severely, she just heals. One man can fly. One can time-travel. One can read minds and control thoughts. The list goes on. Then of course to have a show there has to be a villan, the main one of which is Sylar. This guy is creepy - but you always end up feeling sorry for him somehow at moments! His power is that he can take other people's power... in his own way. You'd have to watch to know how. Kinda intense - but overall the hubby and I really like the show!

Then last but certainly not least -- there is The Mentalist. I love this show! OMGosh for so many reasons. First, the plot. This show just came on last season, and from the very first episode I was drawn into the storyline and the main character, Patrick Jane. Patrick is a consultant for the "CBI" (California Bureau of Investigation), and each episode centers upon a murder and then figuring out who did it. Some times I get it right and can tell. Others I am blown away! But in each scenario, he comes in and basically "reads between the lines" to help figure out cases that may otherwise go unsolved. Additionally, he has his own personal past that comes into several episodes. His wife & child were murdered many years ago by a serial killer named "Red John", and occasionally clues come forward as to who he/she might be, and then the chase begins for him all over again. (It also doesn't hurt that the main character, Patrick, is super cute and makes for fantastic eye candy for an hour, haha!)

If you don't get the plot I just described -- completely understandable, although I did try my best! :) This is another show that if you had just an hour to kill, give it review and maybe you will like it as much as we do!

Well, that is all for me for now. Thanks for listening to me babble on and on about my favorite shows!

Cute Lil' Cake Pops Recipe

ENJOY!!!

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Cute little Cake Pops

August 25, 2009 at 3:22 pm by Leslie Green

I had to jump on the Bakerella bandwagon and make some Cake Pops! I see them all over the Food Web World. They really are simple to make, but very time consuming. Of course, I made them even more difficult with all the different decorations. I love self induced torture!

And, I must say, they did have a very lengthy photo shoot. Probably about 80 pictures! My husband thinks I’ve lost my mind. But I constantly remind him that I didn’t lose it, my children have sucked every bit of brain from my skull. Just like he constantly reminds me that his gray hair is caused by me! Again, I blame that on the kids too!

Recipe after the break:

Here is what you need:
1 box cake mix
1 can cream cheese frosting
50 lollipop sticks
Melting chocolate of your choice

1. Bake a cake per the box directions (I used a yellow cake mix). Let cool completely. Crumble cake or place in food processor and pulse until completely ground up. Transfer crumbled cake to a large bowl.

2. Put a can of cream cheese frosting into the crumbled cake and mix until completely combined. Roll cake mixture into balls the size of about a quarter and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or other non-stick surface.

3. Melt your chocolate per package directions. Dip one end of your lollipop stick into the melted chocolate (works as a glue) and then place the chocolate end into the cake ball about half way. Place them in the freezer to they get nice and firm.

4. One they are nice and hard you can dip them in the melted chocolate. Push the stick into a block of Styrofoam and decorate them with whatever you have on hand, like sprinkles. Place them in the fridge — covered — or you can keep them at room temp for a couple of days if covered!

MOPS!

No, I am not talking about the squishy thing you clean a floor with. I am talking about the awesome thing that my friend Ashley has been talking about FOREVER that I am just now getting on the bandwagon with! It is Mothers Of PreSchoolers. Yes, I understand I do not have a preschooler, but it is basically for mommies with children ages birth - five years old.

From what I have come to understand, it is a wonderful gathering of strong, Christian mommies and they provide breakfast and childcare. After gathering and well, eating (YUM), you learn parenting lessons with a Christian emphesis, as well as do some crafts and have guest speakers, have Bible study, and other mommy friendly activities each week. Ashley once told me they had a pediatrician come in and the ladies just got to have a free-for-all asking them whatever question they could possibly think of! The group in my area meets on Tuesday mornings from 9:00am - 11:30am, and one of my neighbors attends as well. I am SO SO SO excited, and I haven't even been to a meeting yet! Just hearing about it from friends who have experienced it makes it sound like it is going to be such a blessing to my life. It starts back up again on September 1st, and I seriously cannot wait. Yippee!

So, do you go to MOPS or have you heard of it? If so, share with me your experiences!

I. Love. Shoes.

Yes, it's true. I love shoes - and shopping. Just ask my husband, he'll tell you!

Two days ago, I received a coupon in the mail from my favorite shoe store - Payless. Yes, I know. It's not exactly "Nike" or "Manolo Blahnik" by any stretch of the imagination, but I love being able to get several pairs of shoes if I want and not spending my entire paycheck! Plus, they have all sorts of styles for every occasion, and shoes for each of us in our family.

So anyway, back to my coupon. It was 20% off -- and can be used during their BOGO 1/2 off sale -- CHA CHING!

I took Bradley & Jacob with me, and we spent just about an hour there. There were a lot of shoes to sort through and try on! Jacob needed shoes desperately since he has been walking for about two weeks now, so I got him two pairs after much struggling with him to try them on, and for me to figure out what size he is! For the record, he is a chunky 4W. haha!

Brad was easy-- he found what he liked, I told him to find them in his size, tried them on, done.

Me, I ended up with three pairs! I needed new heels because my fantastic Golden Retriver(s) ate my last pair. Then, I saw these cute casual sneaker slip-ons for $10 on clearance. Then I just had to have the flip-flops for $4, which would be $2 when the discount is applied for the 1/2 off the 2nd pair! :)

We ended up leaving with six pairs total: Three for me, two for Jake, and one for Brad -- and I only spent $42.49. YESSSSS!

Fort Myers Beach Vacation

Hi there everyone - we are back! Here is a recap of our first family vacation...

Day One - Arriving and Relaxing

On Sunday after the morning service at church, the family and I ventured out for the 2.5 hour drive to Fort Myers Beach, FL. The drive was fairly uneventful. We stopped at Sam's Club by our church on the way out and got some hot dogs and drinks for lunch to eat on the way, and a

case of bottled water for the hotel, and we were gone! Jacob was a trooper, he napped most of the way and when he woke I just gave him a bottle and some Cheerios and he was happy. Hans drove and Brad read a book most of the way.

We arrived at the hotel around 3:00pm, and checked in. We got a ground floor room right off the beach. It was beautiful! The room was clean and on the quieter side of the hotel (basically NOT by the loud pool area, thank goodness), and there was a fridge where we could keep drinks, snacks, and most importantly, milk for Jacob!

We went to the beach for a short time, and then drove to Publix on Estero Island which was about 2 miles away to get some goodies and things for Jacob. We went back to the hotel and relaxed, swan in the pool, ate dinner at Pincher's Crab Shack onsite, and then settled down for an easy first night.

Day Two - Beach Day

On Monday, we all woke up at about 9:00am, and we made a decision long before the vacation that we refuse to use an alarm clock. Jacob was gracious enough to let us sleep in - it was fantastic! Unfortunately, we saw that it looked like it was about to begin pouring rain outside. So, we decided to go to the hotel restaurant and get some breakfast, and just see how the weather turns out. We all had a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, french toast, etc... and then we were seeing outside that the rain was coming: black coulds were rolling in. So, we went back to the hotel room to wait it out. It ended up raining most of the day!

We were getting really bored really quickly, and I had seen an ad for an outlet mall nearby, so I convinced Hans (much to his dismay) that we should so see what cool things they may have there. Turns out they didn't have a lot, but there was a Carter's outlet! We got Jacob 4 new outfits for $16 and change. Sweet!

At about 4:00pm it was clearing up so we decided to venture out and see the Pier at Fort Myers Beach on the north end of Estero Island. It was cute! We then grabbed some ice cream (I kind of persisted, I must admit) at a place right off the pier that had homemade ice cream. We got a fresh waffle cone of -- what else? -- "Fort Myers Beach Mud" flavoured ice cream. It was vanilla ice cream with speckles of chocolate and swirls of caramel. Even Jake enjoyed it!

When we got back to the hotel room, it had cleared up quite a bit and we decided to spend the rest of the evening on the beachfront off of our hotel room. Hans brought Brad out to the beach while I grabbed some subs to eat for dinner - on the beach. Yes, I did get $5 footlongs, from Subway. Only the best! :oP

While on the beach, we saw many interesting little creatures that were in the water or right off of the sand. We saw dolphins, a baby sting ray, hundreds of sand dollars, and crabs! Too much sea life for me... I stayed just off the shore, where I could see through the water! We all had a wonderful time. We watched the sunset, then we swam in the hotel pool for a bit, went back to the room and called it a night.

Day Three - Water Park Day

Once again, we woke up at about 9:00am - we could get used to this! When planning the vacation Hans found a water park in Cape Coral called "Sun Splash Family Water Park" and we decided it would be a fun activity for us to go do together. On our way there, I made a point that we must stop at a very small family owned restaurant I had read about online called, "The Heavenly Biscuit". They apparently have the best cinnamon rolls you'll ever eat, so I had to try it, also since it was about 4 miles from our hotel. I got a cinnamon roll and coffee, and the boys got a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. Let me just say - this was THE BEST cinnamon roll I have ever had. I consider myself a pretty good cook, but Oh. My. Goodness. This was "heavenly", as the name says! Not to mention it was as big as my two hands. Oh yeah, the regular biscuit sandwiches were good, too. :)

Now, back to the water park. It was sooooo much fun! The place was fairly big, and they had several regular slides, tube slides, scary slides, a tots area, and a general swimming area. We got there at about 11:00am and stayed until 2:30pm. I covered all of us with sun screen, but I guess I failed to read the instructions that you need to leave it on for 20 minutes before getting into the water. Brad tanned, Hans tanned, Jake tanned REALLY well, and well - I sizzled like bacon, like I always do! My shoulders, chest, and face were scorched when we got back to the hotel that night. Booooo! Oh well. Other than that small incident, it was great seeing Brad & Hans go on the tube slides, and of course I had to go on my crazy water slides, too... Hans and I took turns going on rides with Brad while one another watched and played with Jacob.

After we left the water park, we went to another place that Hans found, called "Greenwell's Family Fun Park". There, they had an arcade, go karts, mini golf, and batting cages. We did ALL of them. I hate to say it, but I think my favorite was the batting cages. Of course, I did slow pitch softball, but hey - I felt like an all-star when I hit almost every single one, haha!

We left Greenwell's at about 6:00pm, then went and ate dinner at Pincher's Crab Shack again. We had a 50% off your entire bill coupon, so that night we went all out. Hans had a King Crab dinner, I had 1.5 pounds of shrimp prepared three ways: Buffalo, Scampi, and Blackened. I felt like Bubba from "Forrest Gump" when ordering. Brad had spaghetti. Jake, he had bites of everything we had, of course! Only the best for my one year old - that and we didn't bring any baby food to the restaurant. Oops.

We went back to the hotel room at about 8:30pm, and watched some TV before getting the boys settled and into bed.

Day Four - Venice Beach, FL

Our last day in the hotel, we basically packed up and headed out at 11:00am. Of course, I did make Hans stop at "The Heavenly Biscuit" again so we could pick something up to eat on the way to Venice Beach... yes, another cinnamon roll for me. Hey, I did share, too!

We arrived at Venice Beach at around 1:00pm. Hans really wanted to stop by there because the beach has "the most shark teeth in Florida" or something along those lines. So, I stayed on the shore (since I was still burnt from the day before) with Jacob while Brad and Hans went snorkeling in the Gulf to look for teeth. They were in there about 30 minutes and they found three. Yikes! They dried off, packed up, and we were on our way home. We got home just before 3:30pm.

We had an amazing vacation, as I am sure you have read. We would definitely reccommend Holiday Inn - Fort Myers Beach, as well as all the other places we visited and dined at while down there. We will definitely be visiting there again!

Jacobs First Birthday Party

I realize this is long overdue - but here are some pictures from Jacobs 1st birthday party! It was held at our house on June 28, 2009 at 2:00pm. We did this because we felt it would be better to have him near his crib when he gets tired or cranky, and near the bathtub after the cake smashing! Luckilly he only got a little cranky, but just took a short nap before everyone got here so he was good to go!

He got lots of toys, and we were overjoyed that many of the people invited were able to make it. One thing is for sure, this little boy is very loved. We are so blessed that he is in our lives - that BOTH our boys were blessed to us. We love them both dearly...

Anyway, as promised, here are the pics!

Friends and Family

Jakers opening presents w/ mommy

The toys!

The cake - I loved this cake!

Jacob and his smash cake... YUM!