April Fool's Day Cupcakes

I was recently going through some of the pictures on my computer, and I found these pictures that I took of some cupcakes that I made for my family for April Fool's Day.  

When I made these, I had my youngest son at home with me during the day along with my two daughters (one being only 2 months old).  I miss those days when my kids were young and spent time with me before starting Kindergarten.  The time just passes way too fast!  They loved making these and showing them to my boys who attended school.  They couldn't wait for them to come home!

The cupcakes were rather time consuming, but lots of fun!  We made spaghetti and meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and carrots, and corn.  Sorry about the poor quality of pictures, but you will get the point.  :)

Items needed:

Cupcakes

Frosting

Skittles

Starbursts

Caramel

Ferrero Rocher Chocolates Balls

Strawberry Jam

Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes

I added a little bit a yellow food coloring to the frosting and piped it out to make the noodles.  Place the Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Balls on top of the noodles to make the meatball.  Mix some of the jam with water and pour on top of the meatball.  You could sprinkle white chocolate shavings on top for cheese if you so desire.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Frost cupcakes to look like mashed potatoes.  Place a starburst in the middle of the potatoes for the butter.  Pour caramel on top for the gravy.

Peas and Carrots

Frost cupcake.  Take green skittles for the peas and cut up orange starbursts into quarters for the carrots and place onto the cupcake. 

Corn

Frost cupcake.  Place yellow skittles onto the cupcake.  If desired, you can place a yellow starburst on as well for butter.

Some of my kids were hesitant to eat the cupcakes because they thought they were the real thing!  But once they got brave enough to try them, they said they were really good!

In fact, they still talk about those cupcakes today, and I made them years ago!

Shabby Apple Giveaway!

We all know and love Shabby Apple!  And today we have a real treat from them!  How does a grand prize of $75 sound?  I know I would absolutely love winning $75 from Shabby Apple to choose anything that I want!

I did a little online window shopping and here are a few items that I fell in love with...
 

Dresses from Shabby Apple

I love the vintage look of the dresses and the light spring and summer colors!

So enter quickly!  Good luck!
And right now get 10% off your order, just use the code:

 babblingsandmore10off
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway  

"Spring into Spring" $150 Target Gift Card Giveaway

Welcome to the "Spring Into Spring" giveaway event sponsored by Famous Free Samples, sister site of Tip Hero, featuring some fabulous blogs and a wonderful opportunity to be the winner of a great prize!

To celebrate the coming of spring (finally), we're offering one lucky reader the chance to win a $150 Target gift card to use however they'd like! Whether you'd like to stock up on some spring apparel, decorate your home to match the season, or prepare your outdoor space for warmer temperatures, we're sure this great prize could come in handy!

This giveaway begins on March 21st and will run until April 4th at 11:59pm US Eastern time. Open to residents of the United States and Canada, 18+.

Use the PromoSimple form below to enter this giveaway. Be sure to take advantage of the array of entries you can gain, and also, come back daily for even more chances to win. 

Good luck!

$150 Target Gift Card

Tagged!

We were tagged by Suzanne from the blog Written by Suzanne.  She asked us a few questions and these are our answers.  Hope you enjoy getting to know us a little more.  :)

1. Why did you started blogging?

We started blogging to keep better in touch with each other.  At the time, Brooke and Briana lived in Texas and Brittany and Bridget lived in Arizona.  We didn't get to see each other often, so we decided to post different crafts and recipes that we worked on to keep connected.

2. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

We like blogging because of all the amazing ladies out there.  It is a great way to share ideas and also to get ideas!

3. What kind of posts would you like to do more on your blog?


We would like to do more tutorial posts on our blog.  We like it when other bloggers do tutorial posts, but they are really time consuming and most of the time, we forget to take pictures of every step.  :)

4. What kind of posts do you like reading on blogs?


 Like I mentioned above, we like reading tutorial posts.  But we also love looking at recipe posts.

5. What is your favourite beauty product?


I love lotion.  My skin gets really dry and I like to keep my skin hydrated.  Mascara is my go to makeup item!


6. What is your favourite beauty brand?


I don't have a favorite beauty brand.  I'm always changing things up and trying different brands.

7. What is your favourite colour to wear on your nails during fall and winter? 


During fall and winter, I generally wear darker colors on my nails.  Not very often do I wear any polish on my fingernails because they just get all chipped with everything I do on a daily basis.  My favorite polish is OPI.

8. What is your favourite colour to wear on you nails during spring and summer?


During the Spring and Summer, I wear lighter colors, usually with a little sparkle.  I love it when Brittany paints my nails!  She does some incredible designs with polish!


9. What is your favourite colour to wear this spring and summer?
 

I personally like wearing green.  But during the spring and summer months, I also like to throw in some pink and purple.

10. What is going to be your must have this spring and summer?


Since I just had a baby 2 weeks ago, my must have this spring and summer is my new diaper bag. I love it!

11. What are your favourite tags?



My favorite tags are recipes and furniture tags.  

Thank you Suzanne for asking all these questions.  They were really fun to answer!  

If any of you want to answer these questions, please let us know and we will tag you!

Smile Brilliant Winner!

We are excited to announce a winner to our Smile Brilliant LED Teeth Whitening Kit!  Drum Roll.... And the winner is...   #164- Kenny   Congratulations Kenny!!!    I have sent you an email.  You will need to respond to the email within 24 hours or we will pick a new winner!  Thank you to everyone who entered!     If you didn't win, we have some really exciting giveaways coming up!    

Practice Makes Perfect

This is what four my boys like to do in their spare time... I have another younger son who likes to accompany them on the piano. We have two on violin, one on viola and one on cello.

Practicing takes a lot of time and effort, on both the child and the parent!  But the results are so rewarding!  I love that my kids are to the point where they find different music and start playing together.  I love to sit back and listen. 

 It's one of those moments in life that I absolutely love!

Frugalista Married- Come check her out!

Have you ever visited Frugalista Married?  If not you definitely need to!  My favorite thing about Frugalista Married is how real Cece is!   It is all Real Life.  

Let's get to know Cece and Frugalistia Married a little better...  We asked Cece to write a little something up about her blog and this is what she said,
"So, you want to find out how to get more hours in a day, loose 10 pounds and keep it off without dieting, and earn money from home in your spare time?  Well so do I!  I'd love to tell you that you can find those answers along with the secret to eternal youth on my blog but that would be false advertising and once you realize that you would leave me a mean anonymous comment and unfollow me so fast my head would spin.  What you will find is a fun and real blogger who loves being a part of the blogging community and interacting with others.  I write about life, love, the pursuit of happiness and anything else that pops into my head.   

I consider myself to be part of the "old school" generation of bloggers.  I've been at it for going on 4 years so I started before link ups, Rafflecopter, giveaways, Passion Fruit and blog sponsorships were even thought of.  In fact, this is my first sponsored post which I was lucky enough to win and I've only done 2 giveaways.  But not to worry, I plan to do more because giving something away was so much fun.  With almost four years under my belt you may wonder why I don't have 2,000 followers.  I mean, isn't my blog cute enough?  Haven't I come up with enough funny things to say?  Getting new readers does make my heart happy but that's not my motivation for blogging.  I do this because I love to write.  I always have and I have a good feeling that I always will.  Come find out if I'll ever finish that novel I've been working on for years, what reality TV shows I refuse to watch and my latest confessions.  You may not discover the the secret to making your hair look like the girls in Pantene commercials but you might find some other things you like and it might be worth the visit anyways."
Head on over to Frugalista Married and get into Cece's world.  You will not be disappointed!  You can also follow Cece on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Graco Backless TurboBooster Seat Review

I (really my son) was privileged to review a Graco Backless TurboBooster Car Seat.  This has been a really fun review mostly because my son was SUPER excited about it!

He got even more excited when he saw the color of his NEW booster seat.  He got a GREEN one with Motorcycles on it.  His favorite color is green so he was thrilled.  In fact. so thrilled that he laid it on the floor and wanted to sleep on it!

This booster seat has been really nice.  It is really light and super easy to transfer from truck to truck (super helpful because my son has been going to work with dad on the farm).  It also has 2 cup holders that hide away into the seat when they are not in use.   My son uses one for some snacks and one for a drink.  My son can also buckle himself in, which is really nice for Momma!

We have really enjoyed this booster seat so far and my son definitely approves of it!!

Smile Brilliant Review & {GIVEAWAY}!

Everyone LOVES whiter teeth!  I don't know about you, but I have tried several Teeth Whitening Systems...  So, I was thrilled when Smile Brilliant contacted us about review their new LED Professional Teeth Whitening Kit! 

This whitening kit includes some teeth trays, the whitening serum, and a LED light.  I really didn't know what to expect when I received this kit, but I have really enjoyed it!    How it works is you apply the serum directly to your teeth, put the trays on and then add the LED light.  NOTE- I had to do the LED light when my children where asleep because they wanted to play with it!   But, you can whiten your teeth without running the light the entire time.

This is a picture of me before I tried the whitening kit.  

My teeth usually get SUPER sensitive when I have tried OTHER kits.  I did not notice any sort of sensitivity with this product!  You can also use this product with already fitted teeth trays and that is what I did.  I used my clear retainer and it was super convenient!

Here is a picture of me and my daughter after one week.  You cannot tell much of a different from the picture, but I assure you...  There is a HUGE difference!  I definitely recommend it!

Smile Brilliant has offered to giveaway to one of our readers a LED Whitening Kit-  a $39.95 value!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Announcing the Arrival...

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Briana's newest little girl!

Rosie Grace Richardson

Born: 3/3/13

at 9:10 pm

6 pounds 13 ounces

20 inches long

Everything went perfectly and I couldn't be happier!  The labor and delivery was probably the easiest that I have ever had.  In fact, for those that know me, I have never had an epidural.   I even signed the papers to get one this time (it was the first time I had ever done that).  But she came so fast that signing the papers were pointless.  Oh well.

The doctors and nurses were great!  My husband didn't know what to do with himself because he is usually delivering the babies.  Now it was his turn (once again) to be the father.  We had little Rosie at the hospital Ben works for (he is an OB/GYN resident), so everyone knew us and were so excited!

My mom came and stayed with our other kids while I was in the hospital.  They loved having her there and didn't want her to leave! 

She gets a lot of attention everyday and everyone waits in line just to hold her.  When my kids came to visit us in the hospital, my boys brought lotion and rubbed my feet.  Isn't that so sweet!   

I will post more pictures of our family when we get them taken, hopefully next week!

DIY Hanging Flower Ball

 I am throwing a Baby Shower for one of my friends on a Budget. 

I want to stay within $100.00.  

The color scheme was pink and yellow.  I wanted to make the decorations to save money.  

I made this adorable flower hanging ball.  I got this idea from pinterest and thought that it looked easy and cute.

I bought 3 bushels of daisies from Walmart and 6 in styrofoam ball from Hobby Lobby.

First, take the flowers off the stem. 

 Next, poke a hole in the ball where you want the flower to be.  Then, hot glue on the back of the flower and and stick it back in the hole.  Continue doing this around the ball.

To hang it, I pinned and hot glued some ribbon onto the ball.  Then I tied a loop onto the other end so I can hang it on a hook.   I am going to hang it over the table of refreshments with some paper lanterns and paper pom-poms.  

It is super cute and very easy.

St. Patrick's Day Garland

I wanted to make a cute St. Patrick's Day garland for my front entry way. But with Easter falling at the end of March this year, I decided to combine the two holidays into one.   I knew that I wouldn't have time to make one for each with a new baby due any day now!

 I found a cute pattern on the Silhouette Online store and used my machine to cut out the circles.  With a little bit of glue and bakers twine, my garland was done.  And it turned out so cute!  I may keep it up all Spring!

The yellow and green work perfectly with my Lucky Picture Frame and Lucky Blocks, and it completes my decorations for St. Patrick's Day...at least for now.  :)

Mock Thin Mints

I had a craving for Girl Scouts Cookies and came up with a plan to make some with my boys. These were so easy and yummy! Great for a quick fix!
Mock Thin Mints 1 package of Chocolate Graham Crackers 3-4 squares of Melting Chocolate 1-2 drops of Peppermint Oil
Break all the Graham Crackers into the desired size. Melt the Chocolate. (We did it in a glass bowl in the microwave at 1 minute intervals.)  Once melted, add the Peppermint Oil. Stir well. Dip the crackers in the chocolate making sure the cracker is covered with chocolate. Let cool on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Enjoy!

Blessing Dress Holder

My little girls room has a Shabby Chic theme- white furniture with glass knobs, old windows etc... I have been wanting to display the dresses that they were blessed in but i didn't quite know how.

The other day I was at Hobby Lobby and found these Glass Knob hangers and thought they would be perfect! 

 So here they are...

In case you were wondering, I did not make these dresses.  But, I got this next dress from a amazing shop on Etsy called Debra Lee Originals and she is absolutely amazing!  I definitely recommend her dresses!  

St. Patrick's Day Frame

Last year the ladies from Eighteen25 posted the cutest St. Patrick's Day Printable.  I didn't use it last year, but I did this year and I love it!  I used a frame from Cut it Out.  

I spray painted it a light yellow.  I wanted to give it a distressed look, so I used my husband's belt sander.  The only problem was that my son used it right before I did and was sanding a piece of wood that he spray painted green. Yikes!  Needless to say, my frame ended up with green on it.  I sanded the frame by hand, but kept some of the green on it.  

I thought that it looked great!  The green on the frame make the words pop out even more!  It's hard to see the color in the picture, but it looks fabulous!