April Fools Day Ideas!

Looking for some April fool's ideas for your kids?! Here are a few ideas I've found. 

Serve ice cream first! It's really mashed potatoes and gravy!

(courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Turn the facet water blue!

(courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Put a fake bug in your kids (or husband's) shoes

(courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Tint the milk or juice a different color

(courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Want to put a fun card that doesn't open, in your child's lunch box!? Click here or here to download some!

Printable name tags and stickers for you or your children to wear! Click Here

to download some. 

Disclaimer: I don't really think they're all appropriate for kids to wear, so i'm not advocating all of them! I like the "I love homework", and "I like broccoli" stickers. 

Other ideas-

 

Wait until your kids fall asleep, then put everyone in a different bed! They'll wake up the next morning in someone else's bed and be confused! 

Set the clocks an hour early, after your kids go to sleep. Once they're dressed and ready for school, tell them its an hour early and take them out to breakfast! 

Serve colorful cupcakes for dinner! (surprise; they're really a muffin tin with meatloaf and mashed potatoes!)

The sink surprise! (I will NOT be doing this one! I dont think Edwin would laugh!) 

Let me know if you decide to try anything tomorrow! I'm not sure if or what I'm going to do, but I'll let you know if I decided to try anything!

Back from Dallas

We're back from Dallas, and had a great weekend! Edwin attended a job fair for Lewisville so hopefully that's one step closer to moving! I didnt get any pictures, but have one quick story! Kade was helping my dad clean the pool, the morning we were leaving. Before I continue, may I add that it was 40 degrees all weekend! He was holding the pool stick (ya know, the one with the net on the end), and slipped off the edge right into the pool! The pool stick hit his "tenders" so he was in pain and freezing! He was a little embarrassed that he fell in, AND had to wear some of my shoes! 

So, my menu plan and recipes are posted over at my food blog; Ya Get What Ya Get, and Ya Don't Throw a Fit. If you're interested, hop on over! Til the next time-

Pictures of the hubby

If your family is like my family, you change into comfy clothes after work and church!  Our kids ask to put on "play clothes" when we get home from church. ha. So this past Sunday, Edwin was in his "comfy clothes", and Kai (our middle) asked him why he wasn't dressed nice. I think it was because Kai was wearing his Easter clothes I had just bought him! I guess Kai wanted Edwin in his Easter clothes too. SOOOO, Edwin disappeared and came out like this:

Keira- "daddy, why do you look like that?!" 

Edwin- "oh...whatever do you mean?!"

Edwin thinking- "yeah, can I put my comfy clothes back on?!"

I hope this helps you feel better today hubby! 

Photos; Spring Decor & Ikea

I've done a little whooshing (the art of redecorating within your own home!) for spring...and small purchases. BUT, before I show those pictures, here are the pictures from our Ikea outing! I know you're dying to see them. HA. We also bought a pub table off craigslist. Here ya have it!

Here is our pub table and chairs we just got off Craigslist. The kids already love playing games on it! The vase and whispy stick thingys, came from Ikea. Edwin really wanted them and put them in the cart. I'm serious. I want to hang that mirror up over the table. 

Here's the bookcase! It's perfect for a playroom. I have to buy some baskets for it still. 

There used to be a bar/sink right here. Edwin demolished it and got rid of the entire thing in like 30 minutes! We need to fix the dry wall where it used to be.

BAM! Our big mirror. 

Here it is on our wall! Every time I walk in the room, it surprises me. That's probably because the old mirror seems so small, compared to this one!

And a little whooshing...Now that its spring and warm, I fold up our comforter at the end of the bed, for a fresh new spring look. 

I bought another little bag of eggs at Michaels (ya know, because the whole hard boiled egg thing doesn't really go over well!)

I bought these flowers at Michaels on sale, and they're now on my dining table. I told you I change my table up all the time. These flowers used to be at the top of our TV armoire. 

This is my bell jar I got for $8 at Michaels, and birds nest for $2.99. The bell jar was on sale and then I used a 50% off coupon!

 

Spring Break is over

Spring Break is over and it's bitter sweet. We had a great week, even though we didnt go on any grand vacation. The kids headed up to Austin though, with their grandparents for 4 days, and had a great time there! I must say, Edwin and I enjoyed our little "mini vacation" at home for those 4 days too! I'll post some pictures later, but we went shopping at Ikea! We bought a HUGE mirror to put in our family room. When I say huge, I mean HUGE! It's the biggest mirror I"ve ever seen, and we got it for $99! It was priced for $149 in the stores, and we went home to measure the space etc. We pulled up the mirror online to double check the measurements, and it was priced $99 online! The funny thing is, you can't order online. What's up with that?! SOOOOO, we went back to the store (added a few more items to our list!), and told someone it was $99 online. long story short, they honored the online price, even though we didnt really have any proof. How great is that?! GREAT. We also got a great bookcase for our playroom. I still have to buy some baskets for it, but it looks so good! Again, i'll post some pictures for you later! Once the kids got back home, we ventured to the zoo one day and took my nephews with us (Seth and Zane). It took us longer to find a parking spot and get to the zoo, then the time we actually spent at the zoo! Okay, not really. But it was insane! Of course the kids had a great time together, and that makes it worth it. The kids also had TWO new cousins born during the break! Quinn and Jackson. We were able to see both babies and mommies, and everyone is doing great. I"m saying great a lot in this post. It certainly makes me want to have a baby even more. I think Edwin was afraid of this happening; haha! 

Well, thats all for now. I posted my Menu Plan and our dinner rules over at my foodie blog. I changed the title (with the help of Edwin!), to "Ya Get What Ya Get, and Ya Don't Throw a Fit". Go here, to see my menu and rules post. 

More pictures of Quinn

We made it to the hospital this afternoon, to visit Quinn and mommy! Both are doing wonderful, and will be heading home Saturday sometime. Kade and Kai were pretty shy and didn't want to get to close to Quinn. How funny is that?! Keira couldn't keep her hands off and just LOVES babies! 

ohhhh; I already love her!

Sweet little thang keeps scratching her face!

Edwin and Keira

There's Kai in the background; keeping his distance. HA

Introducing my niece: Quinn

Baby Quinn was born last night at 10:50, weighing 8 1/2 pounds. She came after 1 1/2 pushes! 

My new cooking blog

I know, I know. Another blog; seriously?! Here's my  justification. I participate in Menu Plan Monday from Orgjunkie

every week, and I desire to post more recipes and tips from the Twitty kitchen! Some of you really want recipes and menu plan ideas, and some of you couldn't care less! Ha. That's why I've started this new blog; Baseballs and Barbies

; straight from the Twitty Kitchen. I'm a new cook and love to try new recipes; if it will put smiles on my families faces!  The Twitty Kitchen blog will be my cooking journey; to cook in a life filled with baseballs and barbies! 

Bobby (my brother in law) is posting updates about baby Quinn and Jessica's delivery process. Check his blog here to stay updated on Jessica's delivery process, and when little miss Quinn will arrive! 

Baby Quinn

My sister in law is FINALLY in labor! Baby Quinn will soon make her debut into the world. I'll let you know when she arrives, and post pictures when we get to the hospital! Pray for Jessica and the delivery! 

Update on baby Quinn

There's no room at the Inn again today, and the hospital doesn't perform inductions during the weekend. SO; Jessica has to wait to hear anything further until Monday! Keep praying for her! 

Ramblings of a mad sister in law

Before I start my rant and ramblings in my dear sister in law's defense, may I introduce you to our fireplace... (I had to blur out my pink undies. Wow, my tush doesn't look so good from this angle) 

Our chimney was fixed yesterday (it was tossed in our backyard from Hurricane Ike), and the chimney dude had to check out our fireplace first. Our fireplace isn't much to look at, so we had our TV armoire in front of it! We rearranged our family room a little bit, to display the awesomeness of our fireplace. Edwin made a quick run to the store and surprised me with a fire! I"m ALWAYS cold and sat in front of the fireplace all night! 

So; my ramblings of a mad sister in law... my poor sister in law, Jessica, was supposed to be induced on WEDNESDAY. She had to call the hospital at 7am (and not eat at all), to see if the dr. was able to induce her, and was told to call back every 2 hours. Finally at 1pm, she was hungry and faint and was told to call at 5:30 am the next morning. She awoke early and called the hospital at 5:30am, only to be told to continue calling back (and still without eating). At 2 in the afternoon, she called the hospital and basically said she was about to pass out and needed to know if they were going to take the dagum baby or not! She went ahead and ate, and was told to call this morning at 5:30 am, AGAIN, and that she'd probably be able to go into the hospital by 7. Well, what do you know?! She was told to call back at 10am today! Are you serious?! I"m so mad for her! She's tired, she's having contractions, she's hungry, she's faint, and the dr. told her she'd have the baby on Wednesday! Hop on over to her blog and her husbands, to read their own ramblings and rants about the process so far. Please pray for her and the family today! I'll keep you posted when my dear niece will be born, and we'll all welcome Quinn Abigail Chandler into the world! 

Having trouble commenting?

A number of you have told me, you've had problems leaving a comment. For some reason, the word verification is giving some grief, so I took it off. I"ve been having a hard time on other people's blogs as well! Hopefully, this will at least solve the problem on my own blog! Comment away

Hair cut time; dah nah nah nah ("hammer time")

Hair cut pictures! If your a girl, you either think about changing your hair, or actually do change your hair as much as I do. I've ALWAYS had long hair (look at the wedding pic to the right!), and this past year I thought it was time for a change. Despite looking 16, I felt my hair looked drab and shapeless when I saw myself in pictures. The past few months, i've gone shorter each time I visited the saloon, and I've finally achieved the final look (the only thing left now, is to show Edwin!) This is most definitely the shortest I've ever had it, and I've been terrified to do this. Here ya have it!

I took these pictures with my computer, so the lighting isn't great. 

Kai saw me taking pictures of my hair, and wanted to take a picture of his hair too!

Menu Plan Monday

Anybody else NOT like the time change?! I dislike taking the kids to school while the sun is still coming up! Well, we had another week of not eating out or getting fast food, at all! Both of the boys have baseball practice at 5:30 two-three times a week, and that's why we had cereal one night! Don't judge.  Click here for more menus! 

Monday- Lemon Chicken Piccata served over rice (I'm getting my hair cut today)

Tuesday- Brisket, baked beans, corn on the cob

Wednesday- Chicken and dumplings (did not make this last week. It became cereal night)

Thursday- Homemade mac and cheese

Friday- Kids night. If you can find it; eat it! (I'm going to the Zoo with Kai's kindergarten class!)

AH; there's strange men on my roof!

So I came home to this...

Can you see our new fence in the back!?  I"m so excited that our fence is done and now they're working on our roof, skylights, and chimney! So wonderful; and loud. Oh; Aside from all the shingles that are being thrown off our roof, I saw an energy drink can thrown off the roof too. haha

Let's have a baby; or a kitten for now!

I've always loved cats. I had two brothers growing up; Mario and Luigi. Dont judge me on their names. My brother and I were in elementary and middle school at the time, and I"m pretty sure he persuaded me to name them after his favorite Nintendo game. I'm a little surprised I didn't push for Sprinkles (The Office, anyone?!), Tinkerbell, or Cabbage Patch. Maybe my dad couldn't handle the boy cats having a feminine, fairy tale name.  But nonetheless, I loved Mario and Luigi and I dressed them up in my baby doll clothes, when they were kittens. A few years after we adopted Mario and Luigi, Mario passed away. 

We got a dumb dog as a replacement (mom and I went to the pound and "surprised" my dad with a new, dumb dog). We eventually had to put Buttercup (ahhh; there's the female name I pushed for! Princess Bride anyone?!) to sleep, because she couldn't keep her teeth to herself. She also had a tumor the vet found, so it was multiple strikes against Buttercup. I don't think my dad ever liked Buttercup, so I think Buttercup got sick for my dad. "ASSSSSSS YOOOOOOOUUUUU WIIIIIISSSSHHHH" 

After Buttercup, my mom and I brought home a little kitten from the pet store (are you seeing a theme?), because I swore Luigi was lonely. Simba entered our family when I was in the 7th grade! Simba; yes, he was orange and white and super spunky! He used to run around the house and we would all yell; "Fire in the hole!" Well, Luigi was put to sleep after suffering tremendously from an illness that couldnt be helped. I was living in Waco after college, and was really sad! I think I drove home that weekend; don't judge me. 

I moved to Houston and got married, so it was just down to my mom, my dad, and Simba. Simba always slept with me when I returned home to visit, and although that's nice and sweet and all, he threw up all the time! I think my parents just had it with him, and poor little Simba was shipped to a new home! My mom found an older single lady that has a lot of cats, and Simba became another one of her babies. Although I was sad to see Simba go, it was just best for everyone (tear, tear). 

I like cats. Edwin hates cats. I've been slightly open to a dog, but I'm the one that's going to be home all day, taking care of the dagum dog. I'd much more prefer a kitten! They're so cute and cuddly, and don't require as much attention and maintenance as dogs. Just yesterday, Edwin told me he had a quick flash of "maybe". He figured it would make me REALLY happy (and a baby), the kids would love it, and he would just kick the cat a few times to train it to leave him alone (yes; he pushed away Simba too). As he was telling me his thoughts, I was visibly getting excited for what was about to come! Was he seriously about to tell me to get a kitty!? Alas, he ended his story with a resounding "NAH". 

Dang it! On a positive note, he actually pondered it and thought about it! That was the first chip to fall off. 

Easter decorating

I did a little Easter decorating, from stuff in a storage box in the garage! I purchased one bag of Easter eggs at Michael's, and hope to get more on sale after Easter! I always struggle with table centerpieces, and there's plenty of ideas and pictures that I really like, but I"m just not going to spend the money.  Here's to cheap, free, and easy!

A little chandelier fun 

Our table; Easter bunny taper holders, and some yellow Easter basket filler. It looks kinda silly, if you ask me and I'm sure I'll change it tomorrow. 

Here's my Easter paint can with lots of Easter candy inside! I re did this 3 times, but finally settled on this design. The best part is, it was free. Cheers to already owning scrapbook paper and ribbons!

Do you see how many Peanut Butter Eggs are in there?! Edwin and Kai are obsessed with them

Our side table in our Family room. Here are my Apothecary jars that I just bought! I had three, but well; one died. 

I bought these eggs at Michaels, and I really like them! They were $4.99 a bag.

A little hard boiled eggs and grass from the backyard, completes this look!

Ta Da! Don't ask me what I'm going to fill the Apothecary jars with after Easter. I don't know yet! I'll find something!

Menu Plan Monday

"Hey good lookin; whatch got cookin"?! This is what the Twitty's are eating! Possibly. We always do some rearranging based on our crazy sports schedule, and what we can get done! We didn't do ANY eating out, ordering pizza, or fast food last week; yeah! It's so easy to rely on that when we're so busy, but so good for us not to! Did that make sense?! hum...

Stuck when it comes to dinner? Go to orgjunkie for inspiration. I always do!

Monday- Cheesy Chicken Casserole 

Tuesday- Lasagna 

Wednesday- Chicken and Dumplings 

Thursday- Parmesan Herb chicken, corn, green beens 

Friday- Make your own personal pizzas

Recipe-

Parmesan Herb Chicken

2 c. parmesan cheese

1/4 c. fresh parsley

2 TBL oregano

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

6 chicken breast halves

1 cup butter

In a shallow dish, combine the first 6 ingredients. Dip chicken in butter then coat with parmesan mixture. Place in greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 45 minutes.