Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Peppermint Mocha like Starbucks!

I have a confession.

I LOVE Peppermint Mochas!!!!!!!

But they are quite expensive...and the Starbucks is about 20 minutes away...

So, this morning I tried out a knockoff recipe from http://www.food.com/!

Here is the recipe I used:

Peppermint Mocha

3 T Powdered cocoa

1 1/2 T peppermint syrup or Creme de Menthe (I had Creme de menthe in the pantry so that is what I used)

4 oz espresso (I used brewed coffee because we don't have an espresso machine!)

10 oz steamed milk ( I warmed mine up in the microwave)

Whipped cream

Mix the cocoa and syrup.
Add the steamed milk and espresso/coffee.
Add sugar to taste.
Top with whipped cream.

It was pretty good and close to the real thing.

Dustin said it was "Too much" when I made him try it....but he likes his coffee black-yuck!


I have to add...I must make a lot of drink recipes...my kids are currently on the floor playing with kitchen items...making "Martinis!" 
Ha! Mommy does like to make martinis too!

We made our own stamps!

I saved a bunch of milk and juice caps the past few weeks.

Then we stuck foam stickers on them and we had stamps!

This guy loves when we bust out the paints.

We had a fun morning of stamping and painting!

I used washable finger paints for this because Preston tends to paint a bit of everything...

This was a super easy project that we will for sure be doing again!

Colors Book for my Boy!

Take a look at what I made for my little guy!

A COLORS book!

The cover had to have a Tractor of course!

I was sure to include a bit of Cyclone stuff on the Red page!

Preston's favorite color might be green someday with his love of John Deere tractors!

I love this project for SO MANY reasons:

1. I used old T-shirts Dustin was going to throw away for the pages.

(I had to put interfacing onto the backs to give them stability since knits stretch a lot.)

2. The various textures in it are so wonderful for a toddler.

3. Every bit of this came from my scrap box!!!

4. It's a book that Peighton can read to him and she loves to spell things too!

So, she can learn to spell the color words while he learns the colors!



For the binding I made two button holes in each page and tied with ribbons.

This was a SUPER easy project that I know is going to get lots of love!

A bit more of Mickey

I've been kind of crazy in the sweatshop lately getting ready for all these vendor events.

But I did find a little time to add to the "Mickey stash."

Preston needed a Camo Mickey outfit.

And I did a simple tiered skirt in classic Minnie colors for Peighton.

Still needs a shirt but we have plenty of time for that!


Super cute and both very easy!

Sugar cookies!

Peighton and I look forward to baking sugar cookies every year and of course decorating them!

This year we used my friend, Kathie's Sugar cookie recipe.

It's super yummy.

Reminds me very much of the fabulous cookies from the Kalona Bakery.

If you've ever been there you know what I'm talking about!

We also made Kathie's royal icing recipe that dries hard and shiny on top of the cookies....another similarity to Kalona Bakery cookies....

 She needed a bit of purple frosting, of course.

And lots of sprinkles!

He likes to think he's helping...

She likes a lot of sprinkles on her cookies. 

We had a great morning of baking and decorating and making lots of memories!

We're counting down!

We love a good countdown.

It really helps Peighton see how many more days she has to wait!

I'm sure we will be making one as our Disney trip gets closer.

We got a super cute Santa countdown for Christmas this year that Peighton and Preston are both enjoying!

It has little pockets that I am planning to use next year (when Preston will hopefully not take them out every day!)

Each day will have a different activity in it for us to do.

But for now, we are just counting down!

We love matching jammies too!



It's kind of like "Where's Waldo!"

"Red" our ornery little elf...

We are having such fun with "Red," our Elf on the Shelf.

Here's a few of the places we've found him lately...

Popping wheelies while riding the Barbie Squinkie car.

Building a snow fort and having a snowball fight.

Peighton thought maybe he had some friends over for the snowball fight! ;-)



Fishing for Goldfish.

He packed Peighton a lunch!
It included:
Ketchup

Black beans

Prune Juice

And green chilies!

This morning we found him doing a little laundry....guess he thought it was time to earn his keep!

Today, I started preparing for her high school graduation...

I know.

She just turned 5, right?

Graduation seems like a long time from now.

But, these past 5 years have gone by really fast!

So, today, I started getting ready for the day that she graduates.

I saw this idea on Pinterest (of course).

I bought a new copy of one of our favorites

 "Oh the Places You'll Go,"

by Dr Suess.

(Added bonus: It was "Buy 2 get 1 FREE" at Barnes and Noble that day!)

Towards the end of each school year, I will have each teacher write a note to Peighton inside the book and date it.

I think it will turn into something wonderful that my little girl will treasure when she's all grown up.

I remember my most favorite teachers.
 The ones who had such a big impact on my life and who I have become.

I'm not sure how I will do middle school/high school when there are lots of teachers instead of just one....guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

We're Baby Crazy

There are going to be twin cousins in our family soon and of course they need some handmade love from The Posh Petunia!

I don't want to spoil all the surprises so I didn't take many pictures of what I've actually made.

I will say there's a lot of John Deere cuteness going on though!

And of course we need a little Thing One and Thing Two action!



Stay tuned for all the fun stuff that I have made for these sweet babies...we've gone a bit crazy here!

Pillow Lounging Mats

Peighton and I saw THIS on Pinterest and she thought they would be fun.

I agreed.

We made a quick (yeah right) stop at the Hobby Lobby to pick out knit fabric and got started.

Peighton picked leopard and we went with camo for Preston!

She has some great directions on her site and I did it pretty much the same way.

I am thinking about adding velcro to the openings in the back but haven't done it yet.

It was a very quick project that I got done in about an hour.

They are both enjoying their new lounging mats whenever we have movie night!

Sometimes they share the same one...which is kinda cute.

I kind of want one a bit bigger-they always look so comfy watching thier movies!



Sweatshoppin' it.

Dustin calls my sewing room "The Sweatshop."
He thinks it's funny.

Well, lately it has kinda felt a bit "Sweatshop-ish!"

I signed up for quite a few vendor shows and events this season....I thought it was a good idea at the time!

I have one more this coming Sunday and then I am DONE.

In addition to my usual kids clothing, baby blankies, soft toys and handbags I've added some new fun stuff.

Here are some of the fun things I've added to my booth lately:

LOTS of American Girl Stuff!

Dresses, pajama pants with matching pillows, and just today I whipped up a few Sleeping Bags to match!

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

There are even a few matching girl and doll Christmas dresses!



This is "Nora" my resident model. 

 We call her our "friend from the other side of the tracks..."

I do not travel with Nellie as I'm afraid she might get stolen! 

So, Nora does the job!



Come see me this Sunday from 12-4 at the Sleep Inn in North Liberty to see all my goodies!

Yummy Breakfast Bake

I made this yummy breakfast bake for Dustin to take with him to what I call

"Man Camp."

He's actually just going deer hunting for the weekend but I like to call it like it is.

Here's the super easy and quick recipe:

1 package cresent rolls (I use reduced fat)

1 package sausage, could be spicy, mild, whatever you like

8 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 cup cheddar cheese

Cook the sausage and drain.

Press the crescent rolls into the bottom of a greased cake pan sealing the seams.

Whisk together the eggs and milk.

Spread the sausage over the crescent rolls.

Pour egg mixture over the sausage.

Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

I like to check it at 25 but it's usually not done.

Make sure the middle is not still jiggly-then it's done!

We make this quite a bit-it's great for when company stays over.

And it heats up very well!

What's your Elf doing today?

Here's what my kiddos woke up to this morning!

Red seems to like fishing....just like Daddy!



My cake tester came in quite handy...

He's Back!!!!!

We have been waiting ALL YEAR for "Red the Elf" to come back.

For the past month Peighton has been asking WHERE he is and WHEN he is coming!!!!

Finally, he arrived with a very special suprise for my two monkeys.

He brought a Christmas Breakfast!

He brought "Snow covered Donuts" straight from the North Pole.

There were extra yummy.

He also brought new socks since it's getting cold out-what a thoughtful little guy!

And he brought some fun little toys for them that the elves have been working on!

Red even thought to bring us fun Christmas plates and sparkly cups for our morning treat!

Preston was really into the donuts.

And I guess he's now a big boy because he had no trouble with his new cup!!!!

There were lots of laughs and smiles and a lot a donuts eaten that morning!!!

I know we'll be looking forward to his first appearance again next year!



Our kind of Sushi

Peighton takes her lunch to school each day.

And every day its the same old thing...peanut butter and jelly, yogurt and some fruit.

I don't know about her but I was getting bored making that each time!!!!

So, I decided to get a little creative.

We made "sushi."

Here's what we did:

1. Cut off the crust (it makes a prettier sushi roll!)

2. Flatten with a rolling pin.

3. Spread your peanut butter and jelly.

I put the peanut butter on the whole thing and the jelly just on one end so it didn't all squish out.

4. Roll 'em up!

I slice them into smaller chunks for her lunch box.

Pack them up for lunch and you're done!

Faith, Trust and a little bit of Pixie Dust!

 My sweet girl turns 5 on Wednesday.

Five years has gone by really fast!

For her party she chose a Tinkerbell theme.

We had lots of fun with it!

Once the garage was cleaned out we dumped a bunch of corn into the baby pool for the kids.

Peighton and Preston had to try it out first.

Preston spent most of the afternoon in there.

He had some serious farming to do.

Peighton LOVED getting dressed up like Tink.

We even did a funky bun that looks a bit like Tinkerbell.

I made a quick tutu and stuck a green flower on the side-she thought it was fabulous.

I should have done a close-up of the cake but I just didn't think of it!

I used the Wilton doll cake pan and stuck a whole Tinkerbell doll in there.

I was a bit nervous and didn't bother trying to make a practice cake prior to the party but it was pretty easy and turned out great!

I used my Mom's Cricut machine to make a happy birthday sign and we made lots of fun confetti for the tables with all the scraps of paper-Peighton thought that was great!

She appointed Grandpa as her "assistant" for opening presents!

The boys fought over the Barbie toys for a bit.

I think her favorite part though was the Tinkerbell pinata!

They had such a great time!

Preston LOVED hitting it and laughed the whole time!

And once it was empty, the decided to keep hitting it but this time Peighton was in charge of the rope!

That was pretty funny.

She had a great party and is already planning her next one!