What do I do all day? and journal prompt challenge!

I often get asked by friends, family and Scott how I entertain myself during the day. First off, let me just say this: Being a stay-at-home mom is a FULL-TIME JOB, and anybody who thinks differently can go jump off a cliff (maybe too harsh? but seriously, it's tough stuff). Those little ones really know how to keep you busy! Baby Sophie really loves to play in the toilet, pull all of mommy's under-shirts out of her night stand, rip pages out of daddy's books, eat whatever is laying on the floor that hasn't been vacuumed up, destroying mommy's pretty decorations, climb in the dishwasher, and completely empty-out the wipes container. So, there's that. My job in all of this is to simply, prevent all of it from occurring. Normally, I'm awesome! But then there are those times where she just slips away oh-so quietly, and I find her doing one of these previously mentioned activities. However, my saving grace times take place at 9:30 and 1:30. NAP TIME!!! Bless nap time, it truly is something I look forward to every.single.day. And not because I don't love my baby, but because that means that I get me-time, just me, to do whatever I feel like doing for 3 and 1/2 hours each day. Most nap times are spent watching "How I Met Your Mother" (which I'm almost done with :( Any good recommendations for a new tv series on netflix?), or viciously cleaning the house because, in case you don't know me, one of my favorite thrills and relaxers in the whole world is cleaning. I don't know why, and yes, you can call me psycho. But sometimes, I like to do fun things! Here are a few things that I have done recently:

1. I got in touch with my creative side and decided to decorate the house for fall! I know, we're just barely coming into September, but fall is my most favorite season of all, so I'm kind of jumping the gun hoping that my decorating efforts will bring the season on quicker. Plus the craft store was having a reeeeally awesome sale, so I had to. 

This was all SUPER easy to do, and was pretty cheap as well. 

1. the leaves all came from joann's, and were on sale for $5.99 and $2.99.

2. The glass jars and vases (which are actually ice cream dishes we got as a wedding present haha) I already had, so I just went to the store and picked up some Reese's Pieces and popcorn kernels (since they are fall colors, you could also do candy corns) and filled them with those, and then placed little candles on the top, which you can also pick up at any grocery store, craft store or dollar store.

3. The pumpkins, which were my favorite to make, are just rolls of toilet paper wrapped in orange tissue paper and then tied at the top with green ribbon, and then you draw a cute little face :).

4. The bottles that are sitting on the white plate are what I used to decorate the coffee table, and I just used an old coke bottle and soy sauce bottle, then I bought orange, white and yellow spray paint from joann's, spray painted them to look like candy corns, and then tied an orange ribbon around the top and filled them with floral strands :). It was all very easy, and most of the ideas came from pinterest. (If you don't have a pinterest, I highly suggest you get on that bandwagon asap).

I also have become quite the baker! (I love it but Scott is claiming that I'm trying to "make him fat". A year's worth of McDonald's food couldn't make that kid fat. Lucky punk). These are my new favorite thing to make, Kit-Kat cookies! My favorite candy in a cookie?? Yes please! Here's how to make them- You'll need:

1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/3 cup of sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 kit kats, broken up into thirds (I think I used 3 candy bars total, but you can do less or more depending on what you like)

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (I use just regular chocolate chips).

1. Cream butter and sugars together until combined

2. Mix flour, baking soda and salt together in a seperate bowl, set aside.

3. In the wet ingredients, mix in egg and vanilla.

4. Combine the flour mixture in with the wet ingredients; mix together.

5. Mix in kit-kats and choc. chips.

6. Make spoonful-sized balls and place on metal cookie sheet.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy! (recipe from crazyforcrust.com).

simple as that!

Another thing I have taken up is reading. I've always loved to read, and Scott recently suggested that I get a library card, so that's just what I did! today I went and picked up a book I had on hold called "Heaven is Here", by Stephanie Nielson. Lots of people have heard her story, and I have heard that the book is just incredible. In 2008, Stephanie and her husband, Christian, were in a horrible plane crash that left Christian with burns over 30% of his body, but left Stephanie with burns covering over 80% of her body and in a coma. Her book is about how she recovered, coped with her injuries, and having faith. She also is a wonderful blogger (nie nie dialogues). I'm sure it's going to be a great book!

And just yesterday, while scouring pinterest for craft ideas, I came upon a post titled "130 journal prompts" that is exactly that, 130 journal prompts to get you started on keeping a personal journal. I have always wanted to start a journal, but just couldn't figure out what to write about. Ta-da! solution!I Think it would be fun to post them in case anyone else wants to do it too! ill post 6 today, and then 6 more each week. So, here we go:

1.Name something you lost or gave away that can never be replaced.

2.What 5 websites to you visit often, and why?

3.Name a totally useless possession and how you came to acquire it.

4. What music album would be used for a movie based on your life?

5.List bad habits and/or addictions you have and what you have tried to stop them.

6. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Let me know if you guys try it! I think it's kinda fun, but that's just me :).

Well, in a nutshell, that's how I fill my time! Now if you'll excuse me, my baby monitor seems to be crying :). 

Amanda