Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

It was Brody's first Halloween and our first "real" time to go trick or treating. We don't do the door to door thing, and our old church used to always to a big thing on our town square, but they aren't doing that anymore. Thankfully, our mall was doing a trick or treat starting at 5 - which is great when you have little kids. So we dressed up our superheros and met my parents.

Brody - Superman

Brayden - Spiderman ... he took his mask very seriously.

Brayden was so funny - he was completely shocked that he could walk up to people, say trick or treat and they would just give him candy. It was so cute!
We say Brody is "Mr. America" because he totally has this pageant wave going on. I thought this was cute - he and my dad waving at everyone.
Look at that little cape blowing in the wind!
The boys had a great time and then we headed over to my brother's house. He goes all out for Halloween, but I made him take his scary mask off before the kids saw it!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Sewing A Seed Market Tote Winner!

It's Friday night! Which means it's time for the Sewing A Seed market tote winner to be selected!

Annnnd, the random winner is....

Paige Taddiken!

Congratulations Paige! I'll forward your information onto Regan!

Don't forget, you can still take advantage of the 20% discount code "jennasjourney" on Sewing A Seed's etsy shop

!

Bloggy Meet Up & My Brown Hair

Don't forget to enter my market tote giveaway and take advantage of the 20% off discount code - the giveaway ends today! And this is the LAST DAY to enter the 12 Days of Goodies blog feature. Click here for deets!

My blog friend Lauren came into town last night for a visit! She lives in Florida, but we've met once before. I organized a dinner for her at a favorite local restaurant. We had such a fun night!

From left to right: Me, Whitney, Jill, Niki, Katie

Bottom: Leah, Lauren and Lindsay

I've had several lunch dates with Whitney before, so it was nice to go out to dinner this time!
Me and Lauren - She is one of the sweetest girls I've ever met!
Lindsay and I - We met through blogging and attended the same MOPS group!
I should probably mention that I darkened my hair up - A LOT! I've never had it this dark before. Not even close! I'm still trying to decide if I like it. Do you like it brown or blonde better?

We had a really fun night out, eating good food and talking about our favorite tv show - Revenge. Some of you may have seen our twitter conversations about it - we take it seriously, haha!

I'm so glad Lauren was able to come out for a visit!

Happy 11 Months Brody!

Don't forget to enter my market tote giveaway and take advantage of the 20% off discount code! And this is the LAST WEEK to enter the 12 Days of Goodies blog feature. Click here for deets!

Brody, you are 11 months old!!!

Alright, well 3 days ago you turned 11 months, but you were really sick, so we didn't sit you down for a photo shoot that day. But you are feeling much better now, so I did it this morning!

You are an absolute doll. You are so, so cute and our little chunky monkey.

You were almost 22lbs but you lost a little weight over the weekend - over half a pound - since you were sick. But the way you've ate today, you'll be back up to 22 in no time!

You have lots of teeth. I need to count them but you bite me, so I'll have to wait for Chris to help me. I would guess you have 7!

You can say mama, dada and hi, and you say "ba" a lot and we think you are referring to Brayden.

You wave. A lot. It's very cute.

You adore the ceiling fan.

You're favorite toy is a small stuffed bunny with large, floppy ears.

You're a total mama's boy. If I leave your site you freak out.

You wear a size 5 diaper, size 18 month jeans, and depending on the shirt, you wear some that are 12m, some 18m and some 2T!

You love Veggie Tales, Max and Ruby and Bubble Guppies. We watch one show each morning and I would say Bubble Guppies is your favorite.

You still cry a lot, but nothing like the first 5 months of your life. I think you just have more of a temper than Brayden did!

Your reflux has gotten SO much better this month. You will go days without a spit up.

You still adore your big brother and want to do everything that he does.

You love being outside.

You are ALMOST walking! You've taken 3 steps by yourself, but nothing super consistent yet!

You are such a sweet little man and I can't believe you are almost ONE!

Playgroup and Girls Night

Don't forget to enter my market tote giveaway and take advantage of the 20% off discount code! And this is the LAST WEEK to enter the 12 Days of Goodies blog feature. Click here for deets!

I'm a little behind - okay, a lot behind - on some things I've been wanting to post. My boys were both sick and this weekend was awful. Brody is apparently immune to amoxicillian, like I am, and so he got worse over the weekend. He's on new medicine now and napping peacefully, so I have a little time to play catch up!

Remember when my good friend Melissa and her family moved?

Well she came into town for a visit last week with her two adorable kiddos! Our friends got together and had a playgroup for her and we also did a girls night out!

Here are about 1/3 of the kids from our playgroup...we have a huge group!

I love this picture because this really shows how it is around here everyday. Brayden is playing with something and Brody is right there with him, trying to figure out how he can play too. So sweet.

I had to post this one of Brayden and Jillian...they are so cute AND they were color coordinated!

Woohoo! Girls night out! Melissa decided to go to a Mexican restaurant since where they moved to in Georgia doesn't have many good Mexican options. It was just a small group of 13, haha! We had a great time catching up with Melissa. She's back home now but I can't wait until her next visit!

**If you don't have a Zulily account, you should sign up today - you can get a $40 Tiny Prints voucher for $20! I'm buying a few to use for my Christmas cards!

Market Tote Giveaway & Discount Code!

This giveaway is now closed!

My friend Regan has a great Etsy shop called Sewing A Seed and she asked me to do a giveaway for her! You are going to love Regan and her products!

Regan and I used to work together several years ago. She has an extensive background in sewing and design - in fact, here's a funny story for you. When we ordered my mom's Mother of the Bride dress for my wedding, the store we purchased it from accidentally sent in my bridal measurements for her. My mom is 5'2" and I am 5'8". Her dress was made of a special kind of lace that cannot be hemmed and when it arrived the store had no one capable of fixing it. Thankfully Regan knew how to fix it since she once worked as a bridal design pattern maker; she had to take the entire dress apart - it was in many, many pieces - and completely remake it. It was a lot of work and I doubt there are many people who could have done what she did!

If you would like to read a little bit more about Regan, her three adorable boys and Sewing a Seed, you should check out her blog by clicking here.

First, I want to show you some of the products in her Etsy Store.

Bibs, t-shirts and adorable lovie blankets:

Tote bags, lunch bags, duffles and backpacks:

And, my personal favorite, the Market Totes:

I have three wonderful market totes - one for each boy and this awesome Razorback one just for me!

They are so versatile and I love that they fold flat if you aren't using them. Right now I have some of my crochet hooks and yarn in mine. Brody's is packed for a visit to Grammy's house, and Brayden has been carrying his around with three of his favorite animals in it - Bo, Bellie and Froggie. Yesterday it had John Deere tractors and the day before he had his collection of "Cars" toys in there. Silly boy.

So would you like a large tote (the size of my Razorback one) of your own?

These are so great - you can use them as wedding and baby shower gifts, to take with you to the Farmers Market, for tailgating...they are so versatile!

Here's how to enter!

For one entry (mandatory) leave me a comment with your name, email address, total number of entries & the colorway you would pick for your market tote!

For an additional entry, "like" Sewing a Seed on Facebook by clicking here.

You can also tweet or blog about this giveaway for an entry!

For one extra entry, I thought I'd do something a little different - you can "Pin" this giveaway on Pinterest!

Want to order from Sewing a Seed now?

Great! You can save 20% by entering the code "jennasjourney" at checkout!!

This contest is open to US Residents only. A winner will be selected on Friday, October 28!

6 Years - Our Covenant Marriage

Welcome! If you're here from Pinterest looking for the Stocking Stuffer post, click here!

If you'd like to submit a recipe for the 12 Days of Goodies, click here!

6 years ago today, Chris and I got married. Awww. =)

I've talked about that before, here and here and here.

One thing I've never mentioned is that Chris and I have a Covenant Marriage.

Here is a great article on what a Covenant marriage is, how to change your marriage type to Covenant, and more: NWA Healthy Marriages

It's hard to imagine, when you marry someone, that it's possible to love them more than you do the day you walk down the aisle. I know that I didn't think it was possible and that it sounded cliche when people would say that but it is so true for us! Chris is my best friend and I truly want to spend every second of the day with him. I adore it when he comes home early or when he can take a day or two off. He is the best father, the best husband and the best friend I could ever hope for.

Happy Anniversary Chris!

150 Stocking Stuffer Ideas!

If you're new here be sure to check out my 12 Days of Goodies feature! Just click here for more info!

Follow me on Pinterest!

I've been working on our Christmas list for the last couple of weeks and while I was at it, I was thinking about stocking stuffer ideas. My mom used to always fill our stockings with little things and it was always my favorite thing to open!

So while I was supposed to be concentrating on the gifts for our family, I found myself making a list of cute and mostly inexpensive stocking stuffer ideas! Instead of keeping those to myself, I thought I'd share them!

This list will cover everyone, young and old, male and female. Remember to be a smart shopping - shopping through Ebates earns you cash back, and you can also earn gift cards by using Swagbucks as your search engine! I have a tutorial on that here.

A great place to buy most of these items is HERE!

Want more stocking stuffers? 
Click here for 150 MORE Stocking Stuffers!
For 450 Stocking Stuffer ideas, click HERE!

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? Check out my 25 Elf on the Shelf Ideas for TODDLERS!

1. $5 gift cards (Starbucks, McDonalds, Amazon, Borders etc).

2. A favorite candy (my mom always got us those plastic candy canes filled with M&M's)

3. Decorative cupcake liners (I found some great ones here)

4. A favorite magazine

5. Camera strap cover (like the one I gave away here) - note, that giveaway is closed!)

6. Packets of flower or herb seeds for planting

7. Personalized stationary

8. Slipper socks

9. Silly putty (another thing I always got as a kid)

10. Rubber coated paddle attachement for a mixer like this one

11. Monogrammed iPhone Case (This site features them often)

12. Nail polishes

13. Sharpie Pens

14. Chapstick

15. Hair bands

16. Small crosswords puzzle book

17. Crayons

18. Body wash

19. Piggy Bank with coins

20. Personalized M&M's that say Merry Christmas

21. Clip on book reading lamp

22. Measuring spoons or cups

23. Cute wine stopper

24. Scarf - this is a great site for fashionable accessories

25. Stickers

26. Monogrammed coasters (there's a great how to here)

27. Lottery tickets

28. Deck of playing cards

29. Rubix cube

30. Loofa

31. Hair clips

32. Cuticle set

33. Jewelry

34. Batteries

35. Cooking extracts - vanilla, mint, orange etc.

36. Mittens

37. Scented candles (this site always has things like that & you get a credit for signing up)

38. Bookmarks

39. Fishing lures

40. Knitting or Crochet needles

41. Lotion

42. Play Dough

43. Golf tees or balls

44. Matchbox cars

45. Memory card

46. Cd's

47. Tools

48. Wash/Dish rags

49. Diaper genie refills (you laugh, but I would love those in my stocking!)

50. Specialty olive oils such as this one

51. Eyeshadow

52. Unusual pastas like this red chili linguini

53. From the Kitchen of labels like these

54. Gardening gloves

55. Tickets to the aquarium

56. Address book

57. An orange - to shape out the toe of the stocking!

58. Ice scraper

59. Small digital camera

60. A teasing comb for all the southern girls

61. Cookie cutters

62. A good book

63. Retractable ID or key holder

64. Makeup bag

65. Nice wooden spoons

66. Gift card to go see a movie

67. USB Drive

68. Small photo frames

69. Wallet

70. Personalized water bottle like this one

71. Speciality teas - here is one of my favorites

72. Garden markers (for herbs etc)

73. Scented antibacterial kitchen hand soap

74. Pumice stones

75. Travel sized games (connect four, uno, etc)

76. Gourmet spice mixes

77. Small sketchbook

78. Fridge magnets

79. Stencils for crafting

80. Tickets to go see a musical performance

81. Kid paint set

82. Extra Wii controllers

83. Small calendar for your purse/backpack

84. PJ's

85. Wristlet to hold a small digital camera like this one of mine from one of my 1st blog posts!

86. Wine glass charms

87. Freezable teether's

88. Osis Dust It click here

89. Monogrammed onesie or tee

90. Money clip

91. Set of markers

92. Gourmet hot chocolate like this one

93. Ring holder

94. Wine aerator

95. Cufflinks

96. Pedometer

97. Personalized purse mirror like this one

98. DVD's

99. Cell phone car charger

100. Child sized harmonica

101. Luggage tags

102. Personalized coffee cup

103. Travel alarm clock

104. Baby legs

105. Personalized mom bracelet or necklace with children's birthstones

106. Perfume/Cologne

107. Speciality chocolates such as See's

108. Mini tripod

109. Cute umbrella

110. Earbuds

111. Flower bulbs

112. Monogrammed baby wipes case (this site always has unique kid gifts on sale - you have to sign up for free, but it's a great resource!)

113. Passport holder

114. Raw honey like this

115. Small digital picture frame

116. Webkinz

117. Snow cap

118. Digital luggage scale: here's one

119. Chalk

120. iTunes giftcard

121. Digital measuring tape

122. Bubbles

123. Watch

124. Wine thermometer

125. Tickets to the zoo

126. Speciality coffee such as this one

127. Bath toys

128. Monogrammed burp rags

129. Makeup brush set

130. Binoculars

131. Barbies

132. Child "character" flashlights

133. Jewelry box

134. Recipe cards

135. Swiss Army knife

136. Belt

137. Small lint roller

138. Key chain

139. Baby rings to attach toys to a carseat

140. Coloring book

141. Birthstone earrings

142. Throwback candy - Pez dispensers, pop rocks, nerds, fun dip.

143. Kindle

144. Scrapbooking supplies

145. Personalized fortune cookie (you can have your own message put into them)

146. Universal remote

147. Hand sanitizer

148. Silly Bandz

149. Family Christmas ornament

150. A handwritten note from Santa

I hope you enjoyed these and got inspired to make your Christmas lists!!


Follow me for more great tips!
On Twitter
On Pinterest
On Facebook

Buffalo Chicken Balls

I made these for my guest post on Holy Turf Tailgating Tuesday and wanted to post them here to! If you're looking for a great snack food or appetizer for game day, this is the one for you! My husband loves them!

Buffalo Chicken Balls

From: Jenna at Jenna’s Journey Blog

2 chicken breasts, baked or boiled, and shredded

¼ cup (less or more to taste) Louisiana hot sauce

1 block of reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

½ cup blue cheese crumbles

¼ cup chives, minced OR green onions, minced

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs

2 eggs

2T water

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Nonstick Spray

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine shredded chicken, cream cheese, hot sauce, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, chives, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

In three separate dishes, lay out your dredging materials: flour in one, eggs and water whisked together in the second and Panko in the third.

Roll chicken mixture into 1” balls. Dredge, first in the flour, then the egg/water, and finally in the Panko. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Give them a light spray with your nonstick spray over the tops so that they will brown.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350. To get a nice, brown top, turn your broiler on to 450 after the 25 minutes at 350, and broil them for a few minutes, until desired browness appears. Serve with Buttermilk Ranch and Blue Cheese dressings.

*NOTE: These freeze well. To freeze, prepare the balls, dredge them, put them on parchment lined baking sheet. Flash freeze for 30 minutes, then place in a ziplock bag. When ready to bake, thaw them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and then bake.