A Star Is Born. . . . Welcoming Our Third Princess

On October 10, 2016 Skylar a.k.a. "Nugget" made her grand entrance into our world. . . 

Time is really flying, just to think 2 weeks ago Mr. B and I were playing the "waiting game", just can't believe our third princess is already 2 weeks old!!! This is nuggets 2 week old shot that I took of her this morning. I have to give myself a pat on the back because the pictures came out 10x better than I could imagine. Although I have not been to church in a while (Lord forgive me, you know my heart). I wanted to incorporate the Holy Bible that Mr.B's grandma brought for him before her passing that we will pass down to the girls. We are currently trying to coordinate her dedication, I think these pictures are perfect for that.

 "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him" 
                                                                                                                    -Samuel 1:27 




                                       -nina

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5 Nontraditional Ways to Make Money From Home + No Typing Necessary

     This is a bit of a long post so bear with me because it's worth it! Let me start by saying that I never thought I would be making money while sitting at home! Let's start from the beginning back in December of 2015 Mr. B, Sprout, and Cesar were involved in a hit-in-run accident while crossing the street on their way home. I was at work when I got the call telling me that my fiance and daughter had been hit by a drunk driver. I panicked. . . literally I had a panic attack, so many thoughts running through my brain, I just needed to GO! I told my supervisor about the call I just got from my mom and that I needed to leave now and go to the hospital. He looked at me like I was crazy and politely told me I could not leave (mind you I been at this job for almost 3 years), I was shocked and just straight up pissed. Like dude did you not hear me when I said my 1 year old was hit by a freaking car???!!! That was the moment I said "FUCK THIS SHIT". . . okay I didn't literally say that but in my mind that's what I said before I gathered my stuff and walked out. 

    To make a long story short Sprout was 100% okay (kids are resilient), Cesar made his way back home (I swear he is one smart dog), but unfortunately Mr. B suffered the most damage. He suffered a broken ankle, fractured shoulder, and multiple bruises. I lost my job that day but honestly it made me realize that life is way too short to work for a company (excuse my language) that could give two shits about you! From that day on I vowed to put my family first and do what makes me happy. . . so far so good.

    Lets get back to the reason that your here since we are currently expecting princess number 3 and Sprout is still not in daycare we decided it would be best for me to stay home and focus on the girls for now. It may sound nice to be a stay at home mom but I'm not use to relying on one source of income. I got crafty and started thinking of ways I could make money from home.

                                   5 Nontraditional Ways to Make Money From Home:

1.  DogVacay- Potential to make up to $100 a day. I LOVE animals, dogs in particular (don't tell my cat) but some people really dislike dog walking or just they just don't have the time and that's where I come in. I charge about $15-30 for walks, $25 per dog for pet sitting at my house, and $80 for pet sitting at the client house. It's kind of cool because Cesar is such a social dog so it's like he makes a new friend everyday. I know dog walking isn't for everyone but I enjoy it, besides I have to walk Cesar anyway why not get paid while doing it?! You can use my code for discounts on pet services and $10 towards your pet sitting business DogVacay
   
   
   
2.  Airbnb- Endless earning potential. I say endless earning potential because you set your own prices and can make as much as you want. We're still new to Airbnb but so far it has been a great experience. This past month we hosted a couple from Washington, DC that came to our city for the DNC convention. We put the girls bed in the playroom and rented that room out for 5 days, we made a quick and easy $850. All we did was provide our guest with the house rules, clean linens, and the wifi password ( I did tell them to help themselves to whatever is in the fridge but that's not necessary). This is a easy form of income if you have a spare room and live in a bustling tourist area. Use my link to get your hosting business started you can earn a $100 just by hosting your first trip Airbnb
3. Blog- Blogging is not only fun and informational but it can also be your money making baby. The good thing about blogging is you can write about whatever your little heart desires. Blogging is like Youtube videos for readers, and just like Youtube stars get paid for the content they post bloggers get paid the same way. You can make $200 and up for sponsored post and don't forget the additional bucks from affiliate ads such as Google Adsense and Amazon. Blogging is also a great way to test new products and tell the world all at one time if you love it or hate it. You can always get started with a free blog from Google Blogger or Wordpress.
4. Online Shop- This also has endless earning potential based off of what your selling. I haven't been selling for that long but the few items in my blog shop have sold pretty good so far. My kids and just about everyone we have came encounter with absolutely love the light up sneakers. They are a great fashion statement and last forever because they come with a charger. You can setup your free 14-day trial online shop with Shopify.
5. Sell Your Craft- If it wasn't for me being home with my kids all day I probably would've never got in tuned with my inner artist. My craft is reupholstering furniture. I love taking something old and boring and creating something new and beautiful out of it. I typically chair between $60-$80 per chair but it depends on sizes. The point is I enjoy every minute of it and get paid to do it! Whatever your niche is tap into it and capitalize off of it.

  

Your Turn: Have you tried working from working from home? What have you done lately? 

                        

   -nina

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Gender Reveal

Everything that could've possibly went wrong with this gender reveal. . . did go wrong!!! The tripod broke, Sprout was in like the worst mood ever, there was a heat wave that day so EVERYONE was hot, and to top it off my memory card wasn't in the camera so we didn't get to save a lot of pictures. It was just a rough day. Overall I think the pictures could've came out better but hey you work with what you got. 

Please excuse the color smoke, my color blind fiance swears it's purple but it looks freaking blue to me! Anyway I'm done complaining, we're excited and patiently waiting on October to welcome our new baby girl!!!!

-nina

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. . . And than there were 3!!!

I am so happy to announce to the world that we are expecting baby number 3!!! Of course we told close family and friends immediately, but unfortunately we suck at keeping secrets. We tried to keep it on the "hush hush" but this isn't a secret one can hold for a long period of time! I decided to do a pregnancy announcement for my Facebook friends and family that we don't see often but would be thrilled about the news. Here's a few photo's of my DIY photoshoot:

Peanut WAS NOT happy when she found out the news but I guess it grew on here lol now she's hoping for a little brother. 

                  It was so diffucult to keep the dog still along with a very fussy 2 year old.

Overall I think the pictures came out kind of awesome! Seriously this was a really unexpected surprise that we have accepted with open arms! So hurry up October 2016!!!! We haven't announced the sex of the baby yet so you can always submit your guess. Which team are you on Team Girl or Team Boy???

FYI: After the doctor visit today the baby heartbeat is currently at 140 and I am 22 weeks

                                       -nina

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Hip Hip Hooray… it’s Graduation Day!!!

Can you believe the school year is over??!!! Man, Time really flies!! 
Peanut loved making new friends, learning more about her Christian faith, and learning to read. She was truly heart-broken that the school year came to an end. 

                                                 Kindergarten Favorites
Movie: The Lego Movie
Song:God Is So Good
Food:The fried chicken that mommy and daddy make
Color: Pink & Blue
Activity: Reading
What do you want to be when you grow up: Heart Surgeon & Rockstar
What are you looking forward to learning in first grade: Math

I snapped a few photos of my sweet girl at her "End Of The Year Ceremony" that I thought I would share..... 

The Graduating Class of 2016!!! 

Her best friend from class 

Peanut and the "Best Kindergarten Teacher Ever"

Sprout, Fav Cousin, and Peanut

                 Peanut is overly obsessed with "curtsy" if you haven't noticed by now lol

Sprout wore a Ralph Lauren Ruffle dress (similar here) and old navy flip flops/// Peanut wore a H&M flower headband (similar here), H&M Tulle Dress , and Old Navy Espadrille (similar here) 

We finished the celebration off at IHOP with a delicious create a face pancake. Still can't believe I officially have a First Grader!!!

                                   -nina

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DIY Bath Bomb

DIY Vanilla Bath Bomb – create your own vanilla heart bath bombs with vanilla essential oil and a pinch of glitter for extra sparkle.

Aloha guys! With Valentine’s Day around the corner (literally tomorrow) I wanted to do something sweet and thoughtful for Mr. B . He was in a car accident a few weeks ago and is experiencing some really bad back and shoulder pain. So I thought instead of my usual V-Day gifts (cakes or cookies) I should give him something he could really benefit from. I’d like to share one of my favorite handmade gift ideas that is super easy and quick to make. Some of my favorite gifts to give for any occasion consist of sugar scrubs and  bath bombs. Let me just point out that you can make these in less than 20 minutes while saving a few bucks instead of buying them in the store. Like most people I'm obsessed with Lush but I get a kick out making them myself. They're really simple to make guys and you can always add your own twist on them. So without further a due I'm going to share my super easy Vanilla Heart Bath Bomb made with vanilla essential oil and a heart shaped mold. 

Mr. B loves the scent of vanilla so I'm hoping these bad boys will be one of his new favs!!! I packed it with epsom salt which is good for pain and muscle cramps, a hint of coconut oil for his dryness so hopefully this will relax him. You can find all your ingredients needed for these bombs at your local grocery store, I got most of mines from my local Wal-Mart. 

Supplies:

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup citric acid

1/2 corn starch

3 tablespoons epsom salt

3/4 teaspoon water

2 teaspoons Coconut Oil

Vanilla Essential Oil

Red food dye (optional)

Heart mold (optional)

Whisk

Step one: In a large bowl combine baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch, and epsom salt.

Step two: In a small bowl combine coconut oil, water, dye and essential oil.

Step three: pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Mix with a whisk until fully combined. Test mixture by pressing a handful together. Once it’s the right consistency press mixture into mold and allow to dry at least 2 hours before removing (I left mine's in overnight). 

Pretty simple right?! Here are some pictures of them fresh out the mold the morning after. I love them, they came out really cute.

Viola!! Now you have the perfect chic and cheap Valentine's Day gift that any one would adore. So what are you crafting today?? Let me know in the comments section below what your thoughts are on this DIY bath bomb

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Mini Apple Rose Pies

I'm absolutely obsessed with all things mini such as mini pigs, teacup puppies, mini cupcakes, and of course mini pies. . . . .  Yes mini pies have been rocking my world lately. I'm sure everyone has seen this delicious recipe floating around Facebook and Pinterest about the ever so adorable mini apple pies. I felt obligated as a bake goods lover to at least attempt to make one. I must admit in the back of my mind I thought this was definitely going to end up as a Pinterest Fail, but shockingly the process was not nearly as difficulty as it seems. 

I'm not going to go into detail about the recipe which I got from here, just wanted to point out the one thing I did differently. I did not use apricot or strawberry preserve as seen in a lot of Facebook recipes but instead I used melted butter, some brown sugar, and lemon juice. Which was delicious!

So first thing first I'm the realest. . . lol

No but seriously first thing first is slicing the apples an half and cutting the core out.

After core cutting, slice your apple into thin slices, sprinkle the lemon juice over your slices and than sprinkle the brown sugar over next. 

Next lie your apple slices in a straight line overlapping each other and begin to just roll it. 

Place those beautiful "apple petals" into your pie crust 

Sprinkle brown sugar on top (I like it sweet)

Bake at 375F for about 20-30 minutes (until your crust is nice and brown)

And Viola! Your ready to enjoy your delicious treat!!! I placed our pies into mini pie pans after they cooled just because we had company and it made it a bit fancier lol

Sprinkle sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Well in our case strawberry ice cream since that's Peanut favorite and your good to go. I must say these make the perfect Fall treat and it's so damn cute. Let me know what you guys think

- XoXo

Nina

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