Hey friends!  I’m back from a great time with my sister and sweet new baby nephew this past weekend! And of course, flung full speed ahead back into my own life of chaos and goodness!  Got a couple of things to share, but wanted to share a SUPER exciting thing first!

Midnight tonight (turning the calendar to March 1) is when Allume Social tickets go on sale!  If you sign up early enough you get a special early-bird rate and have the satisfaction of knowing that you got a ticket.  Last year the conference was completely sold out within the first few days, so I want you all, my friends, to get in on this thing and COME!

The conference is in Harrisburg, PA from

Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 4:00 PM – Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 9:00 PM (ET)

I wrote this post sitting in the airport yesterday when my flight delayed on the way to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and my 3 week old nephew. I figured I might as well take advantage of the peace and quiet of the delay and write a post or two that I’d been thinking about for awhile now anyhow.

Like this one that’s been on my mind for ages… “How to be an Awesome Babysitter: The Do’s and Do Not’s of Babysitting Amazingness.”

Via

I babysat a lot when I was young. Starting from when I was about 12 really through college, and even a couple times after that. I remember my mom telling me a few things when I first started that I KNOW made me an awesome babysitter. And while we have some great babysitters that we love and that our kids love, the bar for sitters seems to have fallen WAY lower than it was when I was young and just making $5/hr was a good night.

These days we pay sitters anywhere from $7-10/hr, and in big cities, I know that you all pay even more. So for all of you out there who agree…lemme get an “Amen” in the comments…along with a list of things you love or hate that your sitters do. Mmm K?

Here’s what I want from a babysitter, and I’m guessing you reader friends with kids want the same things too….

• I want my house cleaner when I get home that when I left it. And I sure as heck (at the very least) want it looking the same. If I’m paying you to watch my kids (who happen to go to bed between 7-8pm) then I think between 8-11pm while they’re sleeping and we’re still gone, you have plenty of time to pick up the mess you all made together, clean up the dishes from their dinner (and by that I mean clean them and put them in the dishwasher…not toss them with food particles clinging on them into the sink for me to deal with when I get home), and tidy up a little bit. Back in the day when I babysat (yes…i just pulled out a “back in the day,”) I used to seriously run the dishwasher and unload it, clean the heck out of the den or playroom, and make sure that the kids’ rooms looked better when I left than when I came. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the sitters we have, but for crying out loud…it’s SO stressful to go out for a stress-free night and come home to my house in a terrible wreck while you’re sitting on the sofa watching Greys Anatomy and eating my ice cream. I’d love for you to do those things, and I mean it when I say…eat or drink what you want and watch a fun show or movie, but PLEASE clean up what gets messed up…and if you do more than that…know I’ll tell all my friends of your awesomeness, and you’ll never have to get that $7/hr job at the YMCA daycare that you really only take home about $4.50/hr. Make $9/hr and keep it. Be an awesome babysitter, and you’ll never even have to look for jobs.
• Play with my kids. I want my kids to like you. In fact, I want them to look forward to having you come. It makes my time away much more enjoyable when I know that they’re happy. And one thing kids love is when you play with them. And that’s what I’m paying you for too. I want you to play legos, and fireman, and run around outside when it’s a beautiful day. I want you to pull out the watercolors and make paintings with them, to color, to play games….I want them playing!

  I came home the other day when I had a really dear babysitter (whom I like a lot) watching my littlest guy, and I’m not kidding you…she and my 2 year old had been sitting on my bed, where I left them 3 hours prior, watching TV the whole time. In his life, my 2 year old has NEVER sat and watched TV for 3 hours. I love this gal to pieces, but I was really irritated that on a pretty day outside, they’d been sitting there glued to the TV for the entire morning. THAT is NOT what I pay a babysitter to do. Play with my kids. That is all.

• And on the topic of payment…I typically pro-rate paying sitters. I pay more for the time that the kids are awake than I do for the hours they’re asleep. I’d pay the full rate the whole time if I knew that I’d always be coming home to clean awesomeness.
• Be kind to my kids, but don’t let them walk all over you either. If my kids are disobedient or defiant to you ever…you have my permission to put them in time out. If anything ever happens where they’re being downright jerks, you call me. I won’t think you’re a bad sitter for it (unless you do it 3x/night every time…then I probably will stop calling you.) I know my kids, and as much as I love them, I know they can be jerks sometimes. Don’t let them….I don’t either. I want them to like you, but I need them to know that they are expected to respect you. And tell me the truth about how they behaved when I get home…even if it isn’t good news. I want to know. Parenting is training, and I can’t train well when I don’t know.
• Don’t EVER invite someone of the opposite sex to my house while I’m gone. Most of our babysitters are girls, but we’ve had a boy sitter before too. You do NOT have my permission to have your boyfriend or girlfriend over for a make-out session on MY sofa. You probably don’t have your parents permission to have them over for a make-out session on your sofa either. And even if you’re just having him “tutor you in calculus”….you can tutor elsewhere…and not on my dime. (Yes that happened one time…our longest standing sitter, and she KNEW when I walked in and looked at her that it was not ok.)
• Here’s a word of advice…”When in doubt…toss the idea out!” If you’re unsure of if something would be ok or not, just err on the side of wisdom and don’t do something that could be questioned.
• Don’t use ugly language around my kids. Just don’t.
• Please don’t spend time talking on the phone or texting when you’re watching my kids. The texting especially…I want you to play WITH them…not just supervise them.
• As my boys get older…please wear appropriate clothing. If you come to my house looking all hoochified…I might give you some clothes to wear. And if you take my kids to the pool…please wear a bathing suit that you can play with them in…not attract the attention of the lifeguard.
• We’re not scary…even if my husband is 6’6”, and I have a badass tattoo. We are nice, and remember, we think enough of you that we’d leave our most precious things in your care. And on the off chance that you think we’re lame…just pretend otherwise…feed my illusion of hipness. I’ll appreciate it and probably call you more…especially if you do everything else on my list above!

If you babysit for us and don’t do these things…just know this….we still love you. However, we will appreciate you a million times more if you go to a few extra lengths. If you don’t know me, but you’re a babysitter reading this….do this stuff and you’ll make all the money you need. Moms everywhere will LOVE you! And if you’re a mom nodding your head or thinking “I wish she’d written this” or “I love when our babysitter does ____,” then do us all a favor and leave a comment below sharing your thoughts!

Happy dating, excursioning, outing, and babysitting!

I’m pretty good with color.  If I have to pick a paint color for a room, or look at a forgotten named color in one house to match it for another person, I can do that too.  And 98% of the time I’m pretty spot on.  So when I had to do some color matching this morning, I felt pretty confident in my ability to match…matching to a reddish to yellowish color…or to an olivey greenish one.  I felt up for the challenge.

And while I’m sure that my color matching didn’t fail me this time either, I’m not entirely sure that this result can be trusted.  I’ll let you know if it was right in another couple of months.

Today I was matching colors to figure out this test….

Intelligender.com

And while the results say they’re 90% correct…I’m still probably not gonna go out and buy any clothes til I’m a little farther along (since I’m just now 12 weeks along.)

Let’s see how good of a color matcher you are now.  You match the color below the sticker to the side that says boy or girl.

You think you figured it out?  Look at ya’ll with your amazing color matching skills!

That’s a whole lot of testosterone around here for sure, but I am excited!  Will let you know down the road if this thing was worth the $45 that my curiosity cost us!

***Have mercy…I have had a million questions asking where the sticker is.  The liquid at the very bottom of the container changes either green or orange….since the bottom of this container turned greenish…it matches the BOY sticker!  So maybe everyone doesn’t love color matching as much as I do after all! LOL!

So I’m just gonna say it, because you have noticed it undoubtedly…I’ve been a horrible blogger.

I’ve been writing one, maybe 2 posts a week, and I’ve decided that for right now…I’m not gonna make excuses or even say sorry for that.  It’s what I’ve needed to do.  And I think it’ll lift here soon, but not gonna make any promises about that either.  This season of being pregnantly sick has been good for me on a couple of fronts… in that I’ve played with my kids more intentionally, and been sucked in by my blog, or social media, or whatever things I want to do so much less.  And while I’ve felt like hammered dog poo, in some ways, it’s been a good thing for the heart of my family.  I’ve removed the things that aren’t absolutely necessary for our family to function…and I have to say, I’ve found a good amount of joy in that simplicity.

I still love writing, and since I seem to have passed the constant pregnancy puking phase and can finally drink my coffee again (Praise the Lord for that little gift,) I hope to get back to it again soon.  But I anticipate scaling back a bit.  Scaling back so you’ll have time to read more of the posts, but also so I’ll have more fun in the freedom of writing them.  Also I’ll be starting as the devotional writer for the Allume community in March, so I want to make sure I’m not overloading myself by just adding on and never scaling back.  It’s all a balance isn’t it?

And speaking of balance…let me just tell you that my craving for King cake today has been totally unbalanced.  My friend, Camille, mentioned it to me earlier today and now it’s all I can think of…and I’ve never even been to Mardi Gras!

My parents have been several times…and in fact, are there now having a good old time, while I’ve been holed up in my house with sick kids and a sick husband all weekend! (I know, seriously…the sickness has GOT to go around here!)  And because I’m a little jealous of all the fabulously good food they’ve been eating and telling me about and the hilarious dressing up and fun they’ve participated in, I thought I’d COMPLETELY embarrass my mom by showing you a little snippit of the fun they’re having.

And for the record, these pictures are totally NOT used with permission…in fact, it’s probably complete un-permission.  I’m banking on my dad not breaking out copyright law on me though.  Risky business huh?!  HA!

My mom, Ninie the pirate, is on the left, and her french maid friend on the right will remain nameless.

My son saw this picture just now and said “Ninie sure is an interesting looking pirate…and that girl beside her does not look very piratey.”

I said, “well that’s because she’s pretending to be a sort of a cleaning lady.”

He said, “well, cleaning ladies should wear more clothes so that they don’t get chemicals on them…like regular grungy pants and a tshirt.  I do not think that this looks like a cleaning lady at all!”

AHAHAHAHAAHA!

So to all you Mardi Gras people out there…eat some king cake for me…and some pancakes.  My friend Kristin wrote some pretty awesome history of today…Fat Tuesday… right HERE should you be curious why people celebrate it and eat pancakes.  I was thoroughly entertained and enlightened…and find myself strangely in the mood for pancakes now too.

Hardy har har…

My mother is going to kill me.

I have a treat to share with you all today!

My bloggy friend, Rhonda, from Abide at Home is popping by to share some kitcheny valentine fun with us!  Rhonda and I both share passions for cooking, crafting, faith, and family, and I’m thrilled to introduce her to all of you!  She’s sharing one recipe that I’m a total sucker for, and one that’s new to me (but not for long!)

I’m a huge fan of getting messy and creative in the kitchen with my kids, and so is Rhonda!  These treats, however, are much less of a disaster for your kitchen than they are for your waistline! So without further ado…I give you Rhonda and her generously shared and easy-to-make Valentine yummies!

Hello everyone! I’m Rhonda and I blog over at Abide at Home! I’m so excited to get to fill in for Logan today and to get to share some sweet recipes from our family to you!!

Don’t you just think that Valentine’s Day and chocolate were just MADE for one another?!!!

Kind of like Christmas and peppermint….

Autumn and apple cider…..

Strawberries and the 4th of July….

Pizza and Friday night….(Oh, is that just MY family?!)

To me, finding ways to make homemade goodies with the kiddos for Valentine’s Day is a fun way to celebrate the season! What better way to express love between family than to have a goodie-making night?! Sounds like a great idea! Although, admittedly….any excuse to make sweet treats is a great idea in MY book!

Here are a couple of our family favorites! Both are kid-friendly (will need a bit of adult help, but there are still plenty of little jobs for the wee ones!)

__________________________________________

Oreo Balls

If you haven’t heard of Oreo Balls or tasted them yet, let me just warn you……SO DELICIOUS. You may very well hurt yourself. I should probably go ahead and put a disclaimer…..something like, “Eating Oreo Balls has been proven to be highly addictive and may contribute to a five-pound weight gain over the course of one weekend of indulgence.” Or something like that! They’re THAT good. Mmmmm…….

Here’s the jist –

Ingredients:

• One package classic Oreos (or store brand – no difference)

• One package cream cheese (softened)

• One package almond bark, or vanilla candy coating

Yep, that’s it!

Now – how to do it…..using a blender, food processor, or mixer, blend the ENTIRE package of Oreos along with the cream cheese. It will look gross. Not to worry.

Looks are deceiving!!

Roll the black gunk into small (walnut size or slightly larger) balls and lay out on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Stick in the freezer for an hour. Or twenty minutes. That’s up to you! Just until they get chilled enough to have some oomph to them.

Next melt your bark/candy coating. You can do this one of two ways: THE PERFECTIONIST WAY: Use a toothpick to pick up the little oreo balls and dip them in the candy coating, replacing them on the wax paper; or… THE KID-FRIENDLY WAY: Spoon/drizzle the candy coating over the top of the balls and be okay with the fact that they don’t look like they came out of a magazine. They will taste the same in the end!

Chill again for another twenty minutes. Or an hour.

Voila! Yummies are ready!!

And remember, it’s NOT our fault if you eat too many!! You can’t say that you weren’t warned!

__________________________________________

Wonton Kisses

This recipe may be new to your family! It’s fun and easy to do!

Ingredients

• One package wonton wrappers (found in the produce section)
• One package Hershey Kisses
• Oil for frying
• Powdered Sugar

Pour oil into a skillet and turn up to medium to medium-high heat. (I used an electric skillet at 375 degrees)

Allow the kiddos to remove the wrappings from the number of Kisses that you want to use.

To assemble the kisses, take a wonton wrapper, put a Kiss into the middle of it, brush the edges of the wrapper with water and seal, then press the edges downward.

Fry in hot oil for 2.5 minutes or until golden brown – remove and dust immediately with powdered sugar. (Forgive the picture – with hot oil, there was no time to get a better camera – iPhone had to do!)

Beautiful!! See the chocolaty insides! Mmmmm….! This could even be dessert on an Asian-themed dinner night! Now there’s an idea?! Also – you can add a small slice of banana or strawberry in the wrapper too, to change things up a bit!

Regardless of whether you make these recipes or a whole different set, take time to cook with your kids – they love to help and they love the opportunity to participate in meal preparation! What a great way to bond together. And hey, if you get icky Oreo batter on the floor – you can blame it on the baby!

Thanks Rhonda so much for sharing!  I am really excited to make the wonton kisses myself (never done those before!)  Imagine the possibilities too…I’m seeing these also wrapping up mini Reeses cups, Rolo caramel candies, regular caramels….yummers!  And when like me, after one night you’ll need to get these things out of your house to promote greater willpower, you can always grab a cute little asian styled box or gift bag and take some treats to a friend or neighbor for Valentines Day!  Happy cooking!

This past fall, I had the priviledge of attending an amazing christian women’s blogging conference called The Relevant Conference.  It was a sweet time of fellowship, a time of learning ins and outs of the blogging world, and for me, the sweetest part came through the encouragement I felt and the friendships that I made…friendships that will no doubt span years and lifetimes.  If you want to read a little more about my experience in October, you can check out my after-the-conference post HERE.

Since then, some exciting things have happened for me and for the conference.  The Relevant Conference has gotten a name change!  Turns out that “Relevant” was trademarked, and before there would have ever been an issue, the organizers felt that it would be both beneficial for the conference and honoring to the trademark owners to go ahead and change it.  So….

In case you were wondering…it’s pronounced ah-loom (and while some artistic liberties in pronunciation have been taken,) the original word means “light” in french.

The conference will still embrace all of the things that the Relevant Conference was, but with the name change, so comes an opportunity for greater reach and impact.  Allume Social will be what The Relevant Conference was….but now, it’s part of a greater vision as well….the Allume community.

And the part that is exciting for me in particular is that I am working on the Allume team now!  I know…exciting right?!  I couldn’t be more pleased, blessed, ecstatic to have been named the Allume “Hospitality Artist!”  Sound cool doesn’t it?!  And any of you who know me here, know that I have both a passion for and giftings in the area of hospitality.  Seriously…for me, this opportunity is one that I wouldn’t have dared to dream up, but that the Lord really just brought to me.  And…I am SOO excited to be able to use my skills and passions to encourage and impact so many amazing women.

So…already this year, we’ve begun brainstorming and working on ideas to make the conference even better (with a bar that was already set pretty high too!)….and thanks to just the favor of the Lord, I have an opportunity to be a part of that!  I’ll be working on things like menus, decor, and how to create an even more welcoming and hopsitable environment (which lucky for me, the attendees already do really well!)   I’m thrilled to pieces to be a part of what the Lord is doing through Allume and beyond, and I’d sure love to invite you on the journey…and to Allume Social this fall!

If you’re interested in finding out more about Allume, I’d encourage you to check out the full website and blog!  Also, tonight, there’s a Twitter party answering questions, giving out prizes, and having fun!  So pop in and join us!

It’s kind of a dreary day here today.  It’s ok…I’m going on a date with my Hubs tonight.  Thinking indian food.  Something about it sounds really yummy to this baby in my belly!

Spent the morning looking at washers and dryers.  Spent the middle of the day doing more research on them.  And here’s what I’m learning…there’s no perfect set.

Samsung WA5451A

Samsung DV419AEW

So, I think I’ve decided that I’m gonna go straight-up mismatched and get just what I want from a top loading washer and a front loading dryer.

I wasn’t planning on even purchasing these for awhile since our laundry room re-do is going to cost a bit more than we’d planned, but we’re realizing that these decisions need to be made because they affect the cabinet heights and countertop installation.  So alas….looks like we’ll just be a bit more out of pocket than we’d planned.  Isn’t that just the way it goes?  I’ll let you all know what my extensive research has uncovered soon…but not right this minute.

Backless Kelly Tee

For now I wanted to share with you the winner of the Suburban Outlaws giveaway!

Entry #2 Rebecca Pike who said…

“I totally adore the backless Kelly t…I would wear it all the time”

I actually happen to know Becca in real life, and if you care to take a stroll down memory lane with me, you will remember her too as one of our fabulous contributing stylists from Fashion Week here on Life for Dessert back in the fall.  So there you have it folks….the Suburban Outlaws not only receiving my stamp of approval, but that of a real life, super-awesome, professional stylist as well.

Happy Saturday friends!

The first time I ever met Cydney was when she asked for a tampon on the first day we moved into our boarding school dorm in the 10th grade.  We were both new students and didn’t really know anyone.  And you know the friends who are real with you from the beginning… well, it’s my experience that they are the ones who remain that way forever.  And it’s true of us and our friendship over the past 18 years.

We’re different, me and Cyd , but we’re somehow the same too.  She’s a true free spirit…and I LOVE that about her.  She’s the friend I haven’t seen in a couple of years who almost came with me when I got my tattoo recently.  And we laughed about that…a friendship that remains over years and marriage and children and distances…and can still plan to meet up for honest bonding somewhere as random as a tattoo parlor.  That’s the nature of our relationship…and it’s always been a fun one!

So I couldn’t be prouder and more excited to share with all of you today this perfectly fitting and fabulously awesome new business venture that Cyd and her lifelong friend Jenni have started together.

They tell their story best, so here’s a little bit of what they have to say about it:

Cydney and Jenni

“It’s one of those stories that starts out with two lifelong friends and a shared interest in wild, wonderful experiences and ends with a Federal tax ID #.

Cydney and Jenni have been friends since the eighth grade, born and raised in West Virginia, and have been with each other through most of life’s hardest lessons, as well as those that are infinitely more fun to learn.

As the girls grew, they moved away from each other to follow their passions.  Jenni worked as an artist and designer, Cydney worked as an entrepreneur and master network marketer, but they never lost touch.  They married men and had baby boys, but still talked about dreams left unfulfilled.  One fateful day, while Jenni was crying in a thrift shop about her wasted talent, Cydney called.

“Girl, I just miss the days when we were outlaws!”

Cyd, sitting in the preschool pickup line, turned down Copperhead Road and responded with absolute understanding of the pain in this statement…

“And now were driving Suburbans.”

A heavy pause…

“Screw it. Let’s do somethin’!! You and I. Let’s start somethin’!!”

Oh, and start something they did. An RV trip to Texas later, you couldn’t lasso the inspiration they felt for this company, The Suburban Outlaws.  It grew and bloomed and changed their lives.  Just like Louise said, “You’ve always been crazy, you’ve just never had the chance to express yourself.”  Well, they are expressing alright, these girls are making their own rules now!

Backless Kelly Tee

Vintage Horse Bridal Rosette Necklace

The style of The Suburban Outlaws works seamlessly in a variety of wardrobes.  Constantly seeking, collecting, designing, and dreaming the next talisman for a bolder life, The Suburban Outlaw style reflects the earth that we stand on and the air that we breathe…the water that rushes and crashes around our feet and the fire in our soul.   Our shirts, jewelry and accessories can “cowgirl up” an urban or classic style or nicely ground a floral or vintage style.  These are the items you put on when you want to feel fearless, feisty and bold.”

I’m so proud of my friend, and so excited to share with you the awesomeness they have brought together in their online store!  Seriously….LOVING this stuff!  Super unique, vintagey awesomeness, creative freedom, and really really fun!

Cyd and Jen are offering a 15% discount to Life for Dessert readers when you purchase between now and February 14th (Valentine’s Day!) So get online and pick out a little bit of love for yourself or for someone else!  Use the coupon code LIFEFORDESSERT when you check out to activate your discount.

"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one." - Calamity Jane

And…even more fun, they’re offering a chance to win up to a $50 store credit and FREE Shipping towards your favorite Suburban Outlaws item!

Here’s how to enter to win (this giveaway is open to US residents only and will end at midnight this Friday, February 3rd ):

Mandatory Entry:  Check out The Suburban Outlaws store and leave a comment below with the item you’d most want to win!

Bloom Belt Buckle

For extra entries leave separate comments detailing each action:  You can earn 1 extra entry for any action taken, for a total of SIX extra entries…

• Like The Suburban Outlaws on facebook
• Subscribe to receive The Suburban Outlaws newsletter (at the very bottom of their site)
• Subscribe to receive the Life For Dessert feed (it’s in the sidebar on the top right.)
• Like Life for Dessert on Facebook
• Share this link on your own Facebook wall
• Tweet this link to all of your followers.

Don’t forget that the contest ends at midnight this Friday night, Feb 3rd!

Come on friends….be fearless…be bold….be a Suburban Outlaw!