High Protein Peanut Butter Cups

So, funny story about me and peanut butter... I always hated it, my whole life.  I know it's, like, everyone's favorite thing, but I just never liked it!  I gave my Reese's cups away after trick-or-treating, I chose tuna over pb&j, and I preferred my apple slices on their own.  But when I was pregnant with my first child, I craved peanut butter SO BAD!  We were buying those huge, Costco-sized tubs of it on a regular basis, and I ate it every chance I got.  And ever since then, I've loved peanut butter!  It's like that pregnancy converted me, and y'all know what they say about the fervor of a convert...

I think we all know the BEST way to eat peanut butter is with chocolate, amirite?  No more trading away Reese's cups for me - I'm gonna hoard those beauties all for myself (and maybe even steal the kids', too)!  But, since I'm trying my best to eat healthier & stick to my high protein/low carb regimen, I wondered if I could maybe make a healthier version for myself.  I make peanut butter balls at the holidays, so the process was easily tweaked to make a healthier filling, and these High Protein Peanut Butter Cups were born.  These delicious treats have all the flavor of a Reese's, but with way less sugar and triple the protein!

INGREDIENTS

-2 tbsp whey protein (I used chocolate, but vanilla would work)

-1/4 Cup PB2 powdered peanut butter

-1/4 Cup skim milk

-3 tbsp creamy peanut butter

-1 Cup chocolate chips (I used Hershey's special dark, but you do you, boo)

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine the protein powder, the PB2, and the skim milk, and stir until smooth.  Add the peanut butter and mix to combine into one smooth filling.  Set aside.  Melt the chocolate chips however you like - in the microwave, using a double boiler, in a small pot on the stove, whatever.  Pour a small layer of melted chocolate into each of 8 silicone cupcake molds & freeze until chocolate is solid.  When they're ready, add a spoonful of the filling to each cup and smooth it down, making sure you leave an edge for the chocolate coating to surround it.  Top the cups with the rest of the melted chocolate, then freeze them again til they're completely solid.  You want to store them in the freezer, too :)

Kid-Friendly Laundry Organization

My family just moved into a new house, which is of course stressful & overwhelming, but is also a great excuse to get things organized right from the get-go!  One of the things I wanted to change our routine for is dirty laundry.  In our old house, I threw everything all together in one big laundry basket, just sitting on the floor in our master bedroom.  But I want a system that will sort my loads out for me as I go, so it was time for a little DIY-ing.

Let me just get this out there right now, before anyone feels the need to lecture me later in this post: I.  Do.  Not.  Sort.  Laundry.  By.  Color.  I know, it's what you're supposed to do.  I know, everyone does it that way.  I know, my mother would be appalled.  But it just seems so silly to me - I toss all our shirts, pants, jammies, etc. together.  I DO separate undies & socks into their own load, and wash them in hot water, for germ purposes ;)

So, when I was planning my laundry organization system, I decided I needed 3 baskets: clothes, socks & undies, and towels.  Our new house has a big, wide closet in the bathroom, so I can fit 3 baskets on the floor in there, and everyone's laundry can be put in them without any inconvenience.  I even created the labels with pictures, to help my 4 year old sort his own clothes:

I just printed them on cardstock, cut them apart, and attached them with heavy tape to baskets from the dollar store.  So far, this system is great!  I don't have to spend my time sorting, because everyone in the house is doing it as the days go along.  And come laundry day, I just grab a pre-sorted basket & take it downstairs with me :)

I TRY to Be an Organized Mom

The amount of STUFF I have to cart around for my two boys can often get out of hand, and I sometimes struggle to keep it all organized.  I swear, I have all these good intentions and great plans for how I'm going to keep everyone organized & on schedule... then somehow it turns into me packing lunches while getting dressed in the kitchen, or forgetting to bring diapers when we run errands...

For example, the daycare situation.  My 4 1/2 year old needs a sheet, a blanket, a pillow, and of course, a "sleepy time friend" (that's a stuffed animal, lol) every day.  My 18 month old needs all the same things PLUS diapers, wipes, sippy cup, lunch, and 2 snacks.  They each have a backpack, and I usually stay on top of those daily needs.  But now, for the summer, their school is adding a Water Play Day one day each week, and of course, each boy is on a different day.  Our mornings are quite rushed as it is, and I just knew I needed a system to help me remember all their stuff on those specific days.  So, I decided to make each of them a tote bag, stuffed with all their Water Play Day items, that I can just grab on the way out the door.

I got the plain canvas tote bags at AC Moore, along with iron-on letters.  Everything else I already had here at home, so it was a quick & easy project.  I washed & ironed the bags first, so they'd be ready for the letters, which I cut apart from the sheet they came on, trimming close around each one.  They get laid on the bag face-down (make sure they're facing the correct way, like a mirror image kinda challenge), a thin cotton cloth goes on top, then the hot iron is pressed on them for 15 seconds or so.  Once everything is cooled down, you can peel the backing off, and the letters are on the bag!  Easy-peasy :)

Of course, the trickier part is having to actually pack the bags, to be sure everything my boys need is in there.  They each got a towel, their swimsuit, a pair of flip-flops, sunblock, and a grocery bag for the wet stuff to come home.  Leo got swim diapers, too ;)  As long as I make sure to re-pack the bags after I do laundry, they will always be ready for me to grab on our way out the door - Leo's on Tuesday mornings, Aidan's on Thursdays.  Happy Summer, y'all!

Happy Father's Day, Grampa!

Father's day is 3 days away, so I'm working on presents for my husband and my father.  I always find it hard to pick presents for Father's Day.  We're on a tight budget in our house, so I can't really afford the sports tickets, restaurant gift cards, or other gifts that would be sure-fire hits.  That means we typically go the sentimental route, which my father loves, don't get me wrong - but how many hand print t-shirts or sharpie-colored mugs can one grandfather use?  Lol.

I decided I'd go with pictures of Grampa with the boys.  They share so many sweet moments together, so often, I have tons to choose from.  But two in particular really struck me as I browsed: snaps of my dad walking hand-in-hand with each boy.  They were just such lovely moments captured, they make me smile every time:

I paired the pictures with a sweet poem about how special those walks with Grampa are

And framed them all nicely to give to Grampa on Sunday.  I think he'll like it, especially since we're getting ready to move out soon, and he'll be missing his Little Men ;)

DIY Yarn Tote

Have y'all ever seen those awesome yarn bags, with the holes to feed the yarn through, so you can crochet / knit without having to unpack your stuff?  They are super cool & I have always wanted one, but they tend to be on the expensive side for my budget.  A while back, AC Moore had these large, canvas tote bags on sale for, like $5 - definitely more in my budget range.  Pink is my signature color, and I love anything with my initials on it, so I scooped up this awesome bag:

It's sturdy, it's machine washable, and it's huge - it hold 10 large skeins of yarn, standing up, and more if you're just piling them in there.  I've been using it to carry around my current afghan project, and it's working well.  But, I keep wishing I could just pick my work back up without having to essentially unpack each time.  So, I decided to convert my tote to a yarn bag, using a DIY grommet kit.  I got mine at AC Moore for $4.99, but you can grab one online here.  Wherever you pick yours up, it will come with pairs of grommets, a small anvil, and a grommet tool:

If you've never done this before, it can be a little intimidating, but seriously?  The process is so simple & easy, it's kinda amazing.  Once you decide where you want your holes, you trace the inside of one of the grommets, and cut it out using scissors.  You insert the top piece into the hole from the outside of the bag, then put the other half of it on the back side, so that they fit into each other.  Then you place the grommet on the little anvil thingy that came in the kit, insert the tool into the top piece, and gently hammer them together.  The center of the grommet splits, to lock the two pieces together.  And that's all there is to it - hole to grommet in less than 60 seconds ;)

I wanted to have 4 yarn holes, so I did two on each side.  Right now, they're just extras, but if I wanted to do some C2C or tapestry crocheting, they would be incredibly helpful in keeping the yarn from tangling together.  And now, I have a yarn tote I can conveniently bring with me anywhere I go.  Here it is in action:

The yarn feeds smoothly while in use...

And tucks right back in when it's time to go ;)

Crochet Flip-Flops

Ok, let me just tell you, I NEVER buy a crochet pattern.  It's a matter of principle for me - I either figure it out myself, or I Google til I find a free version.  But, y'all, I just couldn't help myself this time!  These crochet embellished flip-flops were just calling my name, and I really don't think I could've designed anything as good as these.

As soon as I saw these, I wanted to make them the very same day!  So, on my way home from work, I went to the dollar store to buy a basic pair of black flip-flops.  Nothing fancy, just regular rubber sandals - how easy is that?!?  Conveniently, the dollar store and AC Moore share a parking lot, so I swung in there to get the yarn.  The pattern suggested Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn, which makes sense because they'll dry faster than acrylic yarns like my favorite Red Heart Super Saver if the shoes get wet, so I grabbed a skein of black.  Perhaps black yarn wasn't my smartest choice when trying a new technique, but I really wanted black sandals!  Lol.

The best part about making these flip-flops was that they worked up super quickly!  I had to wait til my boys were both in bed, of course, but once I settled in, I had both sandals done in about an hour.  And that included my slow progress at the beginning, as I got used to the awkwardness of crocheting around the straps ;)  Before I went to bed that night, I had a whole new pair of beautiful sandals, ready for the summer.

Crochet Steering Wheel Cover

I have had my eye on this gorgeous Red Heart Super Saver yarn for quite a long time... 

Red Heart Super Saver "lagoon"

Every trip to AC Moore, it would catch my eye.  And every baby blanket, present for my nieces, or other project I started planning, I would think, "could I use that RHSS lagoon for this?"  (spoiler alert: the answer was always NO, because it's kinda loud coloring...)  Last month, AC Moore was running a huge sale on RHSS, which is my favorite yarn, so my husband took me on a mini shopping spree.  As I sat in the aisle, strategically picking yarn for the specific projects I have in mind, I couldn't resist - I snagged a skein of this, just because, and it's been teasing me from my stockpile ever since.

Last week, I finally decided what I would do with it.  I got into my car after work on a hot, 90* day, and my steering wheel was too hot to touch.  I wished I had a steering wheel cover, then thought how cute it would be to crochet one, then got super excited, because it was an awesome excuse to use my favorite yarn!

I measured my steering wheel to see how wide my strip of fabric would need to be, as well as the circumference of the wheel, which would be the needed length of the finished product (sort of).  For me, using this yarn and a size I hook, I needed ten double crochet stitches across.  

If those nice, straight edges don't make 

you happy, we cannot be friends.  Lol

I simply continued with nice, even rows of double crochet, until it was long enough to surround my steering wheel WHEN STRETCHED.  This is important.  Each time I measured my progress, I pulled the fabric as far as it could go, then stopped when that expanded piece hit my 47.5" goal.  This way, the cover would have to stretch tight to go over the wheel, and wouldn't slip off when in use :)

Just one long, straight piece of fabric - easy, peasy

I joined the two ends of my fabric strip by holding the ends together & slip stitching across, picking up only the inside loops of the stitch on each side.  This creates a nice, flat seam, without the added bulk of both loops and/or a single crochet.

Slip stitches in the inside loops only

make a nice, flat seam:

I decided I'd like a little bit cleaner look for my daily use, so I went around the full circle on both sides, and I used a half double crochet, to give the border a little more depth.  I was nervous about the fabric slipping on the wheel when I was making turns or whatever, so I used some of that rug gripper stuff on the wrong side of the fabric, to keep it in place.  After that, all I had to do was stretch it around my steering wheel, and I was ready to ride!

Fat is Not a Dirty Word

I've been overweight my whole life.  No, seriously, I mean from day 1 - I was almost 10 lbs at birth (sorry, Mom!), and I've been heavy since then.  As a child, I thinned out a bit, as must kiddos do, but when puberty hit, the weight came right back!  Part of it is just my body type - no matter how much weight I lose, I would never be a skinny person, I have a large frame.  And a large part of it is that I have PCOS, a disease which causes hormone fluctuations and insulin resistance, both of which lead to weight gain.  So, even though my weight has fluctuated over my lifetime, I'm definitely destined to be a big girl.

Growing up, I struggled a LOT with my body image, my emotional state regarding my weight, and confidence issues.  Even as an adult, I've hated to look in the mirror, because I don't like what I see.  But, recently, the Body Positivity movement has gained a lot of momentum, and it's really made me think...  I should be PROUD of my body.  It gets me where I need to go, and it allows me to experience the smell of fresh cut grass, the sight of my sons playing together, the feel of my husband's loving embrace.  My body grew, birthed, and fed 2 beautiful children, and that is pretty freaking badass!  And yet... I see myself as "not enough," because my body is bigger than what I'm told it should be.

"Fat," in and of itself, is NOT a dirty word.  Society has attached a negative connotation to it, and, with the help of the diet industry and media outlets, convinced us all that it's basically the worst thing you could be.  But, really?  It's an adjective, people.  Nothing more.  Little kids in kindergarten spout off their opposites: stop/go, up/down, short/tall, big/small, skinny/fat.  At some point as we grow up, our peers teach us that "fat" is an insult.  Think about it - if I said to you, "oh, man, my hair is so brown,"  you would probably reply with some comment about liking brown hair or ask if I was thinking of dying it, or continue the conversation some other way.  But if I said to you, "oh, man, I'm so fat," the instant response would be, "no you're not, you're beautiful" (or something like that, depending on our relationship, lol).  NEWSFLASH - fat & beautiful are NOT mutually exclusive!  Being labeled as fat shouldn't be perceived as an insult, or as something to be assured I'm not.  It should simply be a descriptor, one which accurately tells someone what I look like.

To be fair, I struggle with this topic, too - I'm not saying anyone is a bad person if they do what I described above.  Honestly, it's society's problem, which we need to change through discussion & exposure.  Body Positivity is a concept I am working REALLY hard to learn & accept for myself.  For everyone else?  I'm 100% on board with it.  I see models on the Lane Bryant facebook, or fierce, fabulous fat girls walking around, or blogs & articles on this topic, and I am nothing but enthusiastic.  It's just taking some hard work for me to get there for my own body.  But it's important, and I'm determined to get there - and, more importantly, to teach my children a better way :)

Leave the Gun, Take the Cupcakes

What could possibly be better than a freshly baked, thickly frosted cupcake?  How about a freshly baked, thickly frosted cupcake stuffed with a cannoli cream filling?  That, my friends, is exactly what I enjoyed for my afternoon treat at the office today:)

My entire workplace has only 7 employees on staff, and as the Administrative Assistant, I've become the de facto "Social Chair."  I keep track of everyone's birthdays, and I arrange for the cake/treat to celebrate at our monthly staff meetings.  For April, we had two birthdays to celebrate, so I thought it was the perfect excuse to try this slightly-fancier cupcake recipe I've had on my mind.  

I'm SO far from a professional baker, it's not even funny...  I typically shy away from any recipe that has more than, say, 5 ingredients, and I almost never make anything from scratch.  This recipe was a great find, because it starts with cupcakes made from a box mix, then the filling mixes up in no time.  I baked just 12 cupcakes (and put the rest of the batter in a mini-cake pan for my boys to get a little treat, too), because that's all the filling recipe was for, and I have a small group to feed.  Just a side note, these were the most perfect cupcakes I've ever baked!  All smooth & rounded, not a single overflow... I was so pleased with myself, lol!

The filling is what makes these cannoli flavored, and boy, it does the job well!  So creamy and delicious, with the mini chocolate chips mixed right in, it would make a fantastic dip with sweet pita chips or graham crackers!  But that's a separate dessert... I mixed 15 oz ricotta cheese, 8 oz mascarpone, 1 cup powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla together until well combined.  Then I folded in a cup of mini chocolate chips.  I actually added more powdered sugar at the end, too, because the consistency was too runny for my liking.  It's super important to let the cupcakes cool completely before moving on to the next step, so I stuck the filling in the fridge to let it thicken a bit.

When everything was cooled & ready to use, I got to do the fun part - cut a circle in the center of each cupcake & push it down, creating a hole.  Pipe the filling into the cupcake (I used a gallon ziploc with the corner snipped off) and over the top of the cupcake.  Ideally, you would swirl it around to make a high tower of cream, but for traveling purposes, I stuck with a flat layer.  After all 12 are filled, they go in the freezer for at least an hour, so the filling can firm up enough to be dipped.

Dipping the cupcakes was a bit nerve wrecking.  I was sure they'd fall apart when I tipped them, but the freezing really worked!  I melted 2 cups of dark chocolate chips with 3 tbsp of coconut oil, for a home made "magic shell" that gives the perfect crunch when you bite into the cupcake (use it on ice cream sundaes, fruit, anything...), and carefully dipped each cupcake.  It was late, and I had a migraine, so they didn't come out perfectly, but they did look delicious and charmingly homemade ;)

lost that 12th one in an unfortunate clumsy moment...

RIP, sweet friend

I was a bit disappointed that they didn't look exactly how I envisioned.  But my coworkers were impressed & appreciative, so that's a win in my book!  And how did they taste?  Mmmmmm...

Personalized Pillows

I have FINALLY finished the personalized pillows I've been working on for my boys!  I started the project months ago, in my rotation of WIPs (works in progress), but it got side tracked when I ran out of poly-fill halfway through stuffing the second pillow.  Once I finally got the chance to swing by the craft store & replenish my supply, I completed the project and was quite happy with the results.

I stumbled upon the pattern for these pillows on a crafting blog I follow, called Repeat Crafter Me.  Seriously?  Sarah, the creator of the blog, is a phenom with a crochet hook!  I obsess over her designs.  Luckily, she has a talent for making her beautiful projects novice-friendly, and I'm able to try my hand at most things she shares!  I highly suggest you follow her on social media, so you never miss a post :)

Anyways, these pillows aren't actually one of her own designs, they were published on the Yarnspirations website, here.  But, either way, I found them adorable & incredibly enticing as soon as I saw them!  I just knew A would LOVE them - he's just like me, and loves anything with his name or initials!  And of course L would need one, too, because they both have to have everything the same.  Lol.  So, I got my go-to yarn (Red Heart Super Saver ftw, baby!) in blue and green, and I started my new project asap!

I'm not going to lie, I was intimidated by the patterns at first.  I've never been taught how to read crochet diagrams, so sometimes I struggle with patterns that don't use written instructions.  I decided to start with the L, because it was more straightforward.  It turns out, though, that these diagrams are easy to read, none of the techniques are too fancy, and both letters were easier than I anticipated!  I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly the pieces worked up :)

I forgot to take pictures while I was making the L, but I did capture the step-by-step of the A, so here you go:

Following the patterns I linked to above, I made two of each letter.  Of course, this means that when you put them together, you'll have one with the Right Side facing out and one with the Wrong Side facing out, but because it's all single crochet, it's not really that big of a deal.  Even though the pattern didn't say to, I went around the entire perimeter of each letter with a single crochet border - I found it made the construction phase way easier!

One of two A pieces, ready to use

Next comes the gusset!  For those who may not know, this is the piece that gives height to the pillow, forming, like, the sides of it.  You could, in theory, just stitch the two pieces together, but then you'd have a flatter pillow.  The gusset makes it look more professional and cozier ;)  All you do is make a long piece, 10 stitches wide and as many rows as it takes to go around your pillow.  This is where that border on the letters comes in handy.  I counted those stitches, and crocheted that many rows - easy peasy way to get the size perfect!  Between the green L, the blue A, and my niece's cross pillow, I was crocheting gussets for days, y'all!

Something about the rolled gussets appealed to me...

this one was super long!

The final step is to put it all together.  Using a slip stitch, I connected the gusset to one of the letter pieces, all the way around.  Then I did the same thing with the second letter piece, leaving an opening large enough for my hand/arm to fit, so I could stuff the pillow.  It took Way.  More.  Filling.  than I anticipated, for reals!  Hence the running out halfway through the second letter...  but I wanted a nice, fluffy pillow, so I stuffed it super full :)  Obviously, once it's stuffed, the last thing to do is finish stitching around, to close up that hole.  You'll be left with a fluffy, cozy, awesome pillow.

Gusset attached to one side - you can see how it makes the inside space

Just as I was finishing up the last stitches to close the pillow, my son came in my room & lit up when he saw these!  He grabbed his and snuggled it up, then snatched up L's, yelled "I'll give him his!" and ran into their bedroom to sleep with them that night.  So, overall, I'd say they were a hit!