Pintererst Find: Crayon Easter Eggs

I'd pinned a few Easter activities for Jack this year.  Ok, so I pin lots of things for Jack to do all the time.  And I rarely actually do any of them.  The best of intentions and all that...

A few weeks ago I saw a pin for using melted crayons to create colorful Easter eggs.  (Find the original blog post linked here.)

I have no idea why this pin became a reality, but I'm pretty glad it did.

Maybe it was the way it looked so dang easy--a real requirement for me and any art project.  But before I really had a chance to talk myself out of it, I was buying eggs and a new set of cheap crayons for Jack to use.

Here's the scoop:

• Hard boil eggs
• Immediately set them on a cardboard egg carton
• Let them cool about a minute or two
• Take crayons and write all over those bad boys
• Be careful--they stay hot for a long time!

Jack absolutely loved it!  He was so excited by how easy it was to color on the eggs and had a blast using as many colors as he could to make each one "beautiful!"

This Pinterest find was a definite score and I can absolutely see us doing it again next year.  Maybe we'll even do it sooner so the eggs can be used for decoration.  Or maybe I'm just getting ahead of myself. I am who I am, after all.  Crafty and timely?  Not so sure.  

Here are some pictures of the boy in action and the finished products.  

-Jess

Jack coloring his eggs. 

With some of the finished eggs.  Proud boy.  

I made one, too. 

Melted crayon eggs.

Friday Faith: On Eggs and Resurrection

This past Sunday was Easter.  I've started loving this holiday over the last few years in a way that I certainly didn't as a child or younger adult.

Sure, it was fun for me as a little girl, waiting for the Bunny to come and leave a basket of goodies.  And even as I got older, and the real meaning of Easter began to sink in, it was still always just another holiday that would come in lower on my list after Christmas and Thanksgiving and any other day that allowed me to be off work.

I've always known who Jesus was and had always been told that Easter was about His Resurrection--Him defeating death in a way that not only proved His title as the true King of Heaven and Earth, but would allow me to defeat it as well, some thousands of years later.

Jesus died.  They put His body in a tomb and walked away thinking it was finished.

Except it wasn't.

Three days after they watched Him die on the cross they made Him carry, He rose.  Alive.  The stone was rolled away, and His body was gone.  Not because someone took it and moved it.  But because He was in it.  Alive.

And He still lives.

Because He lives I know that death will come to me one day, but that's when the beauty of my life with Christ in Heaven will begin.  It takes the fear out of dying.  Honestly, it takes the fear out of a lot of things.

Christ did not come and perform the ultimate act of love to leave me in my everyday life.  He's here with me.  All the time.

So now, when Easter comes around, I feel like we get to really celebrate the One that makes my life as good as it is.  The bringer of Hope and Love and true Happiness.

In our home we still open the door to the Bunny and he is welcome to leave goodies for our boy.  There's nothing quite like an almost four year old on a chocolate high.  But we're sure that between the egg hunts, basket giving and overeating (good grief, the overeating), we tell Jack about the true meaning of the day.

About a Savior that loved him so much, before he was even born, that He came and endured all the bad that our world has to offer; betrayal, humiliation, death.  And yet He still willingly took the brunt of all our sins squarely on the jaw and loved us furiously through it all.

Jack won't get it now.  Not completely.  But someday I hope his relationship with Jesus is so strong that maybe Easter becomes his favorite holiday, too.  Where Christmas celebrates the birth of our Lord on this Earth, Easter celebrates His rebirth.  And the opportunity we all have to be reborn.  Brand new.  In the name of Jesus.

Make no mistake, He loves you whether or not you love Him.  He loved us then and loves us now.  And when you really get that.  When it all finally sinks in and you begin to walk your everyday life with Jesus in mind, Easter becomes a time of year you look forward to.   Not for the Bunny.  But for the Son.

Bring on the Easter activities.  The dying of eggs and brunch with friends and family.  The chocolate bunnies and pastel colored Hershey's kisses. And the praise.  Praise of our reigning Savior for the love He not only talked about, but lived out.  For us.

Hallelujah!

Jess

An Awesome Daily Cleanser

It is no secret that I love Neutrogena products. They have been my “drugstore go-to” ever since I first got my first bottle of Oil-Free Acne Wash in my stocking one year for Christmas (I was like 10 or 11 years old)!

 I started using this Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser while I was pregnant, since I couldn’t use my usual Oil-Free Acne Wash due to the Salicylic Acid in it and I am currently on my third bottle! So now you are wondering what makes it so great:

·        It is gentle on your skin but really does a great job of washing the day off of your skin!

·        It removes all my makeup- It will even remove eye makeup on lazy days that the extra step of remover is just too much to deal with!

·        It will not irritate your eyes!

·        It is oil-free!

·        It has a light and relaxing scent so it makes it great for washing my face before bed!

 

And the best fact about this awesome cleanser is that it only costs $9 and it will last you a very long time!!!!

 

 

***MAKE SURE YOU GET THE FOAMING FORMULA, THEY HAVE A HYDRATING ONE THAT IS A CREAMY FORMULA (SEE IMAGE BELOW) AND THIS ONE DOSEN’T LATHER UP****

 

 

<3 Rachel

Monday Motivation: Healthier Muffins

Figuring out what to eat for breakfast that is quick, healthy and will not taste terrible is a bit of a challenge.  I need something that won't start my day off on the wrong foot and have me making more poor choices as the day progresses.  I mean, let's be honest, a cinnamon roll is fantastic, but once I eat one all I want all day is more and more sweet stuff.  

I love a muffin.  Yeah, love.  There are some days I'd take a muffin over a cupcake.  True story.  But I've noticed that muffins don't always love me back.  Maybe it's all that sugar and flour and chocolate chips.

What, chocolate chip muffins aren't a staple in your house?  Weird.

Anyway, I found a recipe on Pinterest (shocking, I know) that promised to be a healthier version of the muffins I love.  I was willing to give them a try, but I wasn't sure if either of my boys would be remotely interested.  They love muffins, too.  And generally anything that I make a healthy version of is met with turned up noses and flat out refusals to even test them out.  

So I didn't hold my breath when I tried out two recipes that called for overripe bananas and not one tiny bit of flour.  None.  They both used honey to add sweetness as opposed to sugar and were super easy to make.  

The first is from AverieCooks.com--a food blog that I've come to really enjoy getting recipes from.  Are they all healthy?  Not so much.  But, sometimes, who really cares?

This particular recipe happened to be. Score.  It's for mini flourless peanut butter muffins.  

Basically you combine the following in a blender and cook at 400* for 8-9 minutes.   Done.

1 ripe banana, peeled

1 large egg

1/2 cup creamy penaut butter

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips (added by spoon, after everything else has been well combined)

Notes from when I cooked them:

• I used a regular sized muffin pan, because I don't have a mini muffin pan.  I got 10 muffins out of it and cooked them about 18 minutes.  
• I used milk chocolate chips as opposed to semi-sweet.  Call me crazy, but if I eat a chocolate chip, I want it to be sweet.  Like, all the way. 
• I used an emulsion blender and whirled it all up in a bowl, instead of my big blender.  It was just easier for me.  
• The muffins rose quite a bit while cooking but quickly flattened as soon as they were removed from the oven.  
• My little guy couldn't be persuaded to try them despite his love for bananas, peanut butter and chocolate chips.  He's not a mixer, that kid.  My husband did bite the bullet and gave them a go.  He actually liked them!  In fact, he's eaten them several mornings before work instead of his usual bagel/cream cheese combo.

Inside

Flourless Peanut Butter Muffins
Recipe from AverieCooks.com.

The second kind of muffin I made was an oatmeal banana muffin that I happily added chocolate chips to.  What can I say; I was on a roll.

This one is from the blog Fit and Healthy with Debbie. 

Combine the following and bake at 350* for 18-20 minutes.  

2.5 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup plain, low fat Greek yogurt

2 eggs

1/2 cup honey

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp ground flax seed

2 ripe bananas  

(Link to full recipe here!)

Right out of the oven

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

These were pretty straight forward from the online recipe.  I didn't tweak anything for the most part and they went over well with the husband.  The three year old?  Nope.  Wouldn't touch 'em.  Welcome to our life.

Both these types of muffins freeze really well. I keep large batches in freezer bags and take them out one or two at the time and heat them in the microwave for about a minute.  Add a yogurt and you've got a really good--and filling--breakfast.

Oh, and the peanut butter ones?  Not half bad as a little something sweet for after dinner.  Just sayin'.
Hope you enjoy!

--Jess

  

Better Than Sex... The Mascara

 

 

Ok, now that I have your attention I guess I have some explaining to do! This mascara is named Better Than Sex and it is  pretty fabulous if you are into BIG lashes!!!!! Its hourglass brush takes me from thin and pale lashes to long and voluminous without a lot of effort which is great because as we all know mornings can be too rushed to worry about having to apply 10 coats of mascara!

At first I was worried I wouldn’t like the big brush as usually I am not a fan of them (I tend to end up with more on my eye lid than my lashes)  but I found this mascara was easy to apply. I have even applied it while in the car on numerous occasions with no mishaps (only while safely stopped at lights or parked in the parking deck)! It lasts all day and comes off pretty easy as well with my eye makeup remover!<<< Always a perk!

Product Highlights:

  1,944% more volume*

  100% saw longer lashes**

  100% saw dramatic volume**

  93% saw base-to-tip curl**

  8 out of 10 say it's the best mascara they've ever used**

*results observed in a clinical study.
**results observed in a consumer study.

 

You can pick one up for $23 at Ulta ,Sephora or directly from the Too Faced website! It costs more than my trusty L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara but I think it works better for instant attention grabbing lashes! So I guess you are wondering if it lives up to it's name.... all I will say is that I am going to be a repeat customer for sure!!!!;)

<3 Rachel

 

source: Ulta, Sephora

 

Monday Motivation: 10 Minute Tabata Workouts

If you haven't already heard, let me be the one to break the bad news to you.  It's Monday.  Yeah, again.  Funny thing about Mondays--they just keep on coming back.  Sometimes I swear we go to bed on Friday and wake up on Monday morning.  Really, where do the weekends go?

Mondays have become a pretty big deal to me since I've been trying to get healthier and lose weight.  They signal the beginning of a new week, a fresh start and they're a pace setter for all my upcoming days.  I do everything I can to make sure that I don't skip them when it comes to working out.

I can't lie and say I always pop out of bed, singing the praises of yet another Monday. But I do whatever I can to drag my rear (only mildly kicking and screaming) from my perfectly comfortable and warm bed and get dressed for whatever workout I'd planned for the day.

Whining may or may not happen.  Grumbling most definitely happens.

But so do workouts.

Generally I want something that is going to give me a lot of workout for the least amount of time.  Especially on Mondays.  Enter the 10-minute Tabata workouts on POPSUGAR.com.

My friend Heather has been doing Tabata workouts at her gym the past month or so and she is the one that first introduced me to the new trend you seem to be able to find everywhere:  your local gym, Pinterest, and just about every YouTube fitness channel in existence.

Tabata is essentially performing a particular exercise or exercises at high intensity for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest.  You repeat this eight times, taking four minutes.  Put routines back to back to create the desired workout length for you.

I like 10 minute workouts.  Because 10 minutes is short.  And I can even put two together, really work hard, and feel like I've truly accomplished something.

Below are two Tabata workouts that I have completed recently that are assured to get your heart pumping and your body moving.  Do them back to back for a fantastic 20 minute workout to help get your Monday off on the right foot.  Or do it after work to help get rid of any stress from the day.  Either way, you'll be really glad you did it.

Happy Monday!

Jessica

10 Minute Tabata Workout / POPSUGAR Fitness 1

Tabata Workout to Tone Everything / POPSUGAR Fitness

Thought We'd Left, Didn't You?

Well, hello, there!

I guess you could say we took some time off here at the blog.  That can happen with these things when "these things" are not the main things in your life.  Husbands, growing little boys, regular daily jobs and a bunch of other this and that came together to sort of, well, get in the way.  

But here we are, back at our keyboards and hopefully back on your computer and phone screens. Please excuse the lack of writing and forgive us for not giving you a heads up.  The truth is we really didn't mean to leave you for so long.  Friends, again?

Since we've been away we've talked a bit about some changes we'd like to make around here.  You'll notice a little more day-specific content.  Get prepared for Motivational Mondays with updates on any ongoing fitness challenges, new workouts that are currently kicking our rears or help with eating healthy by way of newly tried Pinterest recipes.  

We'll also cap off your work week with a little faith on Friday to take you into the weekend on a good note.  And in between you can look forward to new product tests and reviews from Rachel on Tuesdays, as well as more fun (and cheap) DIY projects from your Two Broke Bloggers, along with the usual random thoughts on being a mommy, wife and friend.  

Maybe we were just waiting for Spring.  Well, here it is.  And here we are.  

Hey, Y'all; we're back!  

Jessica & Rachel