Straws, straws and more straws!

I just love paper straws! They are colorful and fun. And are so versatile! I love seeing all the creative ideas out there (they're not just for drinks)! Here are a few fun ideas...

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Of course they make a great addition to any party!

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My friend, Melissa of Twigs & Twirls, has a great selection of paper straws and she is offering a 10% discount by using code BEBE10! But hurry! It's only good through Saturday, May 31.

Great for Graduation, Father's Day, 4th of July, Birthdays and summer BBQs! Head over to her shop and snag some straws!

InstaFriday

Is it Friday already?! This week just flew by. Linking up with Jeannett over at Life Rearranged to share photos from this week.

I've been working on a little patio set project and had some cute little helpers helping me remove tape

I took my mom to our local art studio for a Wine & Paint class. We painted daisies :) It's fun to carve out time to be creative. Time to sit and laugh with my mom. It's good for the soul.

Sweet Pea decided she wanted to get bangs

And Little Miss got her very first haircut. She's growing up. 

Recipes for Shredded Chicken

Last week I scored a great deal on boneless, skinless chicken breasts and ended up with almost 6 pounds. While I could've frozen them for another time, I decided to boil them up to make multiple meals for the week.

I've found that boiling chicken gives the best results for shredding. It only takes about 45 minutes and doesn't require any time hovering over the piping hot stove.

So out of my nearly 6 pounds of chicken, I got 8 heaping cups of shredded chicken.

Here are a few of the recipes (or similar meals) that we made or plan to make:

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YUM! via

Chicken Tacos via

Hawaiian Smokey Sweet Pulled Chicken Sandwiches *drool*
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Another yummy lunch via

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What are YOUR favorite chicken recipes?

InstaFriday

Just a small little glimpse of what has been happening over here. Nothing life altering or exciting...just the everyday stuff I don't want to forget. These kids are growing waaaaay too fast!

Mother's day weekend whizzed by! On Saturday, my mom and I went to lunch and looked through some antique shops. Here were my finds:

We've had some beautiful weather this week and random downpours, that resulted in double rainbows!  

And then back to sunny.

Bubble blowing in the backyard. I love the look of pure joy on her face

And of course, brother had to get in on the action too

Six

It has been six years since we brought this girl home. SIX! That just sounds like such a big number to me. She's no longer an infant, toddler or little kid. She is one of the big kids now.

1 day

8 months

1 year

1.5 years photo by EmyLyn Photography

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

She growing up to be such a sweet little lady. Honest, caring, tender-hearted and definitely has her own sense of style. Right now, she loves:

Dancing

Apples with peanut butter

Mary Poppins

Music

Frozen

Ivy & Bean

Sound of Music

Mint tea

and

Otter Pops

She got to celebrate her birthday with her birthday twin, Charlie and all their Kindergarten friends.

Then dinner with the family, followed by brownies and presents.

There was an outfit change between parties, of course!

Such a fun day! I hope she will remember it for years to come. We love you Sweet Pea!

Happy Mother's Day

To all my mommy friends...

Happy Mother's Day!!

Mexican Breakfast Casserole

I'm over at 30 Days today, sharing a new twist on a family classic...Mexican Breakfast Casserole.

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo :) Go get the recipe here

Random Update

WOW! I didn't mean to take a break from blogging for that long. The last few weeks have been jammed-packed...

Baseball, dance, Spring performances, preparing for upcoming birthdays, auctions and teacher appreciation week (and then all the regular stuff, like laundry, dishes, packing lunches and making dinners, etc.) Whew!

This month we will be celebrating this sweet girl

She's growing up so fast!

She has decided to have a joint party with her birthday twin and good friend, Charlie. Here's the invitation we sent our to her class

They are so goofy together. The photos are SO them! I love it. We purchased them from Walgreens. Easy, inexpensive and fast!

In between the busyness, we try to make time for fun too, like a story box

and a dinner date with my favorite girls

Next week is Teacher Appreciation week and there are a lot of great ideas out there! Check out my DIY Gifts Pinterest Board for some of them.

Have a great weekend!