Potluck Sunday: White Pizza Dip

This yummy dip is always a fan favorite. This is one of my Potluck staples because who doesn't love pizza?

INGREDIENTS:
 

• 1 envelope Lipton Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
• 1 (16-oz.) container sour cream
• 1 c. ricotta cheese
• 1 c. Mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 c. pepperoni slices chopped or mini pepperoni
• 1 baguette, sliced and lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS:
 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a shallow 1-quart casserole dish, combine soup mix, sour cream, ricotta cheese, 3/4 c. mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. mozzarella. 
3. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until heated through. 
4. Serve warm with toasted bread.

 Enjoy!

Fashion Fail

Gorgeous fall weather that has finally made its way to the South and I’m having some major wardrobe anxiety to go with it. Since giving birth in February, I’ve definitely been battling a few body issues.  Forget the fact that I gained thirty five pounds while pregnant and then thankfully lost it all + 10 more. {I know, I know. Insert eye roll here} But I really worked at it. I cut the crap out of my diet -unless you count my Dove chocolate habit- joined the gym, and chased a toddler around the house all summer.  But between losing the weight and having three babies {two within 20 months of each other} it’s fair to say this body is no wonderland.

Over the spring and summer I stuck to wearing loose fitting t-shirts and running shorts to hide my science experiment belly. And since I was doing nothing but changing poopy diapers and pumping milk all day it didn’t really matter. But now that it’s getting cold out I’ve been forced to confront my sloppy image. And I’m ready. Because lately, no matter what clothes I end up wearing, I still feel like I didn’t quite “get” it.

Take today, for instance. I volunteered at Henry’s preschool and threw on some cuffed capris, a cute black tunic and my ruby red flats. I was feeling pretty good about my choice until I got to his school and looked around.

One mom was wearing an adorable  maxi dress with a denim jacket and wedges. The other was wearing her designer jeans and boutique blouse. So cute. And somehow they managed to chase toddlers around the playground without breaking an ankle. All of a sudden, I felt extremely self-conscious about my outfit.  Did I look too mom-ish? Why didn’t I wear wedges? Oh yeah, because my feet grew a size when I was pregnant.

Maybe I’m being too superficial. I might never be one of those moms who makes adorable look effortless but it’s time for me to get out of this rut and accept my new body. It’s time for me to feel confident again. What I really need, is for Stacy and Clinton to intervene, but I’ll settle for some new clothes. Or at least something that matches my sneakers.

So What! Wednesday

So WHAT...

...if I threw a wreath on the front door and called my fall decorating complete.

...if I rocked a pair of maternity jeans tonight and my baby is 7 months old.

...if I watch Married to Jonas and like it.

...if I have roots that are close to 3 inches long. My hairdresser is booked solid and I've embraced the ponytail. 

...if my husband and I paid the babysitter to keep the kids while we went on a hot date to Wally World. 

...if I know the words to every song on my new Lionel Richie CD.

...if I still buy CD's and listen to Lionel Richie.

Now go Link up with Shannon ...

My Plan to Survive the Teenage Years

You may or may not have noticed that I don't blog a lot about my teenage daughter. That's because 1) she can read, and 2) lately it's been a stretch to find something cute to write about. Taking away her cell phone and grounding her for talking back don't exactly make for warm fuzzy posts.

 

 

 

Now don't get me wrong, B still has her cute moments and redeeming qualities.  Like when she wants to snuggle on the couch after a long day or stay up late to bake cookies and talk about girl stuff with me. Or when she spends hours on end playing tractors with her brother or reading stories to her baby sister. And she's wicked smart. I have no idea where she gets her smartness (is that a word?) from. I have a few ideas where she gets her stubbornness from, and it's not me, I'm not stubborn. Okay maybe just a smidge, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that she is just as stubborn as me, if not more so. When she digs her heels in about something, she digs all the way to China and back. And these two stubborn heads battle it out every single day at my house. Sometimes my husband just watches in disbelief. I think he secretly finds it amusing. My daughter is the kind of girl who knows what she wants, tells you what she wants, and will fight with you about it until you cave in from sheer exhaustion. And don't even get me started on the talking back. I have no idea where she's learned all of the wonderful phrases that come out of her mouth. It couldn't possibly be from me.

 

The thing that scares me the most, is that when ever I complain to people about the teenage drama that goes down at my house on a daily basis, they chuckle and say "Just wait." Well friends, you heard it here first. If what they say is true, I'm moving out. I will pack up my ipad, my stack of unread people magazines, and drive off into the sunset in my new minivan. I'll go and find myself a cute little one bedroom apartment where teenagers {and toddlers, and babies and husbands} are not permitted. I'll buy an absurd amount of chocolate and drink wine and enjoy the peacefulness of not having the door slammed in my face. Yes I think that is my plan, I will move out.

 

Until then, I have a cell phone to take away. Again.

 

Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom

Dear sweet friends,

Let a thousand flowers bloom.

Have you heard this quote before? It means 'to encourage many ideas from many sources'.

The meaning of this quote reminded me of what made it possible for my sweet friend Cassie to get to 1,000 followers at Two In Diapers...

You.

When she started blogging, she had no way of knowing that blogging is much more than some time tapping away on my keyboard. It's a beautiful community of people. I'm sure that a blogger cannot do it alone. She contributes her success to her followers, sponsors, and friends she's met through blogging, and so...

 My fabulous sponsors and I have teamed up to give you the first ever group-sponsored giveaway at Two In Diapers!

You are entering the win the following irresistible gifts:

A Vanilla Cream Diamond Candle
A $25 Old Navy Giftcard
A $25 Starbucks Giftcard
An OPI Nail Polish in "Berlin There Done That"

Before we begin, I would like to give a special thanks to the wonderful ladies who contributed!

Julie from The Naptime Review

Bevin from The Lewis Life

Erin from The View From 510

Jess from Jess and the Boys

Kim from Kimberly's Korner

Lena from Mom2MemphisAndRuby

Amy from Not Your Average Baby Blog

Jennifer from Pushing the Lemons

Joanna from Moda Mama

Ok, friends! Good luck to you! This giveaway is open to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Congratulations again, Cassie! Everyone please be sure you've taken the time to visit Two in Diapers and shown Cassie some love!

Potluck Sunday: Snickers and Apple Salad

This is a perfect way to add some fresh picked fall apples to your menu. It will be the hit at your next potluck! 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (16 ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) box French vanilla instant pudding mix 
• 4 large Granny Smith apples
• 6 Snickers candy bars  

 

DIRECTIONS: 

 

1. Remove skin from apples if desired, and dice into small pieces. (you can leave them on for color)
2. Slice the Snickers into bit sized pieces and set aside.
3. Mix the dry pudding mix with the Cool Whip until well blended.
4. Fold in the diced apples and Snickers.
5. Refrigerate until serving.

 
Enjoy!

 

Does this minivan make me look fat?

I'm not sure when or where my phobia of minivans began, {you can read all about that here} but I think that deep down I always kind of thought if I ever bought a minivan, I might as well buy a bumper sticker to go with it. You know, the one that says, “I gave up.”  Minivans kind of scream mom jeans and scrunchies to me. No thanks I scoffed. I'm too cool to drive one of those. I've still got it dammit!

Then one day last week our beloved but worn out SUV left me stranded in the carpool line at school and I knew that it was time. It was time to say goodbye to the car that we went on our first date in. The car that we drove away on our honeymoon in. The car that we brought our babies home from the hospital in. 

I know I told you all before that we test drove plenty of shiny, slick SUV's. And I fell in love with more than one of them. But for one reason or another, none of them quite fit our lifestyle. We needed a van.  It was time to do a little soul searching.

I mean maybe, just maybe, the fear I have held onto for years is really about my fear of getting older. My responsibilities. The lack of freedom to come and go as I please. You would think that getting married, or buying a house, or giving birth to 3 children would make me feel like a grown up. Nope. It was shopping for a minivan.

And being a grown up means getting past the coolness factor. I know that logically and financially, at this moment in our lives, driving a van makes the most sense for my family. So tonight, as I sit down to type this, there is a shiny new black minivan in my garage. And to be completely honest {a gazillion cup holders aside} it isn't as bad as I made it out to be in my head. So I'm vowing right here and right now to embrace my new minivan lifestyle. I may just wear a scrunchy in my hair for carpool tomorrow.

 

Wordless Wednesday: Awkward Family Photos

This week I've been finally getting around to putting some of Henry's baby photos

into an album when I came came across this gem...

 

 

...so glad we decided to hire a professional. *facepalm*  

 

 

 

* Linking up with

Caroline is 7 months!

 

Weight: 18.4 pounds and quickly growing out of 9 month clothes.

Sleeping: We went through a rough patch last month {after I shamelessly bragged about her sleeping through the night, of course} where she was waking 2-3 times during the night. Last night she only woke up once so I'm hoping things in the sleep department are turning around.

Naps: She has settled in to a two nap a day routine.  One hour long nap mid morning and another 2 hour nap in the afternoon = coffee and blog time for mama.

Eating: Still taking a bottle 3x's a day and baby food for breakfast and dinner. Loves all things orange {carrots, sweet potatoes, squash} and her skin is starting to show it. Eek! 

Teeth: 2 teeth and holding although at her last checkup the doc said she should be cutting her two front teeth any day now! 

Activities: Sitting up like a big girl and pulling brothers hair at every opportunity. She loves to look at herself in the mirror and hates tummy time.

Talking: Lots of new sounds these days. Her babbling has distinct Dada and Mama sounds and I have no doubts that she will be the talker of the group.
 

 

Potluck Sunday: Cookies & Cream Popcorn

With only 3 ingredients, this sweet treat is simple to make . It is also highly addictive. Consider yourself warned...

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag popcorn, popped. {kettle corn or white}
• 1 cup white chocolate chips 
• 1 row of Oreo cookies

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the popped popcorn and Oreos in a large bowl.
2. Heat the white chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 second and stir. Continue to heat in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
3. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the popcorn & Oreo mixture and stir until evenly coated.
4. Spoon the mixture onto a large sheet of wax paper in a single layer.
5. Let the mixture cool and harden. Break into small pieces and serve.

Enjoy!