It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hey everyone!  How was your Thanksgiving?  Ours went well!  We had it at the same place the girls birthday party was.  It was such a beautiful day outside, so the kiddos played on the playground most of the time while the adults relaxed and ate A LOT of turkey and ham and potatoes, and well.. what wasn't there?? :)  We've always had Thanksgiving at a family members house, but this year with the weather being so nice this late in the season, my grandparents figured why not have it at a public place and let everybody meet there, have fun, eat, relax, chase the kids around, and when we are done, throw everything away and go home.  No messy cleanup, way easier!  I think everyone had a great time :)

I made 20 lbs of mashed potatoes to bring, so of course I had a few dirty pots and pans when we got home.. No problem, throw em in the dishwasher!  Well, my dishwasher apparently didn't like that idea too much and decided to blow up.  Thank God we didn't go anywhere, and where able to smell the smoke before it got out of control.  Luckily, it was the perfect time to look for a new one!  Black Friday was the very next day and I found one for half off.  YAY!! This mama loves a good deal, especially on something that is not so much of a necessity, and more of a luxury, but seriously... to me, it is a necessity!  I was the dishwasher for way too long ;)

I got a beautiful *yes I think it's beautiful!* new dishwasher and the girls got a new fort!! Win-win!

On the subject of home improvements,  I've been asking the hubby for years months, that I wanted the TV above the fire place.  I thought it would look so much better up there, with the surround sound going, and the sectional couch actually in the corner of the room and not taking up the whole CENTER... This was always WAY too much work.. and too many holes in the wall for my liking.. so when I came home one day, I was shocked to see a project going on!

Instead of just moving the TV to above the fireplace... He got a projector.  Sneaky sneaky ;)  With a little trial and error, they figured out that instead of the projector screen paint, they'd have to fabricate one... The picture was just too big for above the fireplace.  A little search on google and BAM we have a blueprint of what we need.  1 hour later, we had a "movie theater" room as the girls like call it.

Is 137" too big?  I must say watching football this year, really feels like we are there in the arena!  lol I guess it turned out pretty good.. I gave the hubbs lots of crap, doubting his "skills" and all ;)  In the end, I got what I wanted, a tv over the fireplace and the living room moved around how I like..  He says I'm spoiled.   Oh well... Like they say, "If momma's not happy, nobody's happy."  ;)

Now we are on to getting ready for Christmas.  As most of you know, I am SUPER excited.  I love everything about this time of the year.  The girls are super excited now too... I love that they are old enough to do a lot of fun things now and get into the season.  Especially at school, they do lots of little crafts that I just adore and I'm going to need another closet just for the things they bring home!  We started last night with our first trip to see Santa!  They told him what they were hoping to see under the Christmas tree soon, and gave him hugs and smiled pretty for the camera.

I must admit, I am obsessed in love with Bass Pro Shops!  I don't hunt or fish or anything of that nature, lol but it's an awesome place just to walk around!  If you haven't been there, you definitely need to go check it out!

Well that's it for now!  Hope you all are well, thanks so much for coming by! <3

Fun Fall time!

I love fall.  From the cooler weather, to the excitement of holidays to come!  I just adore it!  It all starts with Halloween!  Well it used to start with Halloween, now it starts with the girl's birthday (for me anyways) ;)  And than comes the hubby's and my anniversary.  We just celebrated 6 years! Time definitely flies by!  We celebrated by going to Beni-Hana, our tradition since our first anniversary.  I remember the first time we were going to go, I was not happy, I didn't think I'd like it, but now I cannot imagine, not going there! It's so fun, and the food is awesome.

It was nice to go out on a date again, just the two of us.  We rarely do that.  We need to do that more often lol.

This Halloween the girls had so much fun!! Every year it seems to become more fun because the girls get their own ideas in their heads and pick out what they want to look like/be.  Cassie decided to be Strawberry shortcake and Scarlett chose to be Katy Perry.  They were so cute!  Like any girl, they LOVE getting dressed up and it makes it even better if they get to wear wigs.

The only thing I had to make this year was Katy Perry's headband.  I could not find that dang heart headband anywhere!!  And finally when I did, it was online for like $50.  No way jose... So we dropped by Hobby Lobby (I could get in a lot of trouble at that store) lol and made one for $2.  I think it turned out cuter anyways... What do you think?

They got to show off their costumes at school.  Each class walked in the parade and you know they LOVED the applause ;).  We walked around our neighborhood, grandma's neighborhood, and went to Nana's house.  I think they each got about 10 lbs of candy!  By the time we got to the last street they were both so tired, they were begging to go home.  Of course they fell asleep on the drive home.  You better believe we carved some pumpkins before we got dressed up!

The girls got to have a sleep over with their cousin Hayden and had so much fun.  The library down the street transformed into "Hogwarts" for halloween and they got to attend.  The girls were both put into the "Hufflepuff" class and Hayden was put in "Slytherin."  They got to choose magical animals, make post cards, learn the ancient art of runes, make Harry Potter glasses, make a magic wand, and even take a potions class!  At the end they got to enjoy a nice big glass of "butter-beer".  They said it was super yummy.

They had so much fun diggin in those pumpkins.. Well Hayden and Scarlett did, Cassie had to hold in puke everytime she put her hand in there, till eventually she just stopped and let Hayden do the rest.  It must be a texture thing.  Cassie and Hayden did the pumpkin on the left and Scarlett and I did the pumpkin on the right.  They were the "lovebug" pumpkins.  The one on the left was supposed to have another tooth but it fell out, oh well lol.

Now I'm thinking about Christmas.  I know I know, Thanksgiving is coming but, I gotta plan WAY ahead for Christmas.  Plus Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday.  I just love the feeling of the season.  Plus the cold weather.  I'm hoping we can get up north this winter again to see some snow.  The girls still talk about that year we went to the North Pole to see Santa and got to play in the snow.  In the end, I think that's what it comes down to, the memories.  It's the little things you remember from when you were a kid, and I cannot wait to make so many more memories this holiday season with my family and friends!  <3

Thanks for comin by!  Hope you are well!

Xoxo

5 going on 15...

Wow we've been busy these past few weeks!  The girls are doing great in school so far, and thankfully still love it.  (I hope it stays that way)  Now we are starting to decide which elementary school they should go to.  I cannot believe you have to plan ahead so early, we just started school and already we have to plan for next year!

The babes turned 5 this past Wednesday, however, we started celebrating the whole week before that.  Hey, I like to make them feel super special, you're only a kid once right?  My mom always made a big deal out of birthdays/holidays/etc and I always loved it.  Now I'm doing that for my kiddos, but now they think that every Wednesday we will be celebrating their birth, HA, nice try ;).  We had a nice party down at the park and while it was a little warm, I think everybody had a great time!  The girls were mostly excited about the pinatas.  They had busted one at a friends party and insisted on having one two at theirs. They celebrated with a Littlest Pet Shop theme (their new favorite things) which I was so excited about seeing as the day I went to Party City, ALL of the Littlest Pet Shop items were clearanced out to 50 cents!!  I was one happy momma, and they were happy kiddos.

I cannot believe how fast time flies.  It feels like just yesterday I had those girls!  Those first few months were a doozy!  Thank God I had tons of family come help out for the first couple weeks!  Now they do their own things, and have their own little attitudes.  And they are on a cowgirl kick.  They each got a pair of cowgirl boots from Nana & Papa Bristow and LOVE are obssesed with those darn things. 

They've already named their (imaginary) ponies.  I promised them that the second we win the lottery, we'll buy a ranch and get a lot of little ponies. ;)  Than they said that if they can't get a pony, they'll settle for a little brother.. YIKES.. how about we just go play with your cousin ;)  he can even spend the night every now and than! 

Next up is the hubby's and my wedding anniversary!  I got him a new wedding band and a set of chef's knives (so he can cook up some awesome grub).  Thankfully he rarely reads our blog, he won't know what I got him ;)  The girls pretty much let the cat outta the bag on the knives anyways, oh well. 

Well, I'm off for a bit.  Thanks so much for reading our little blog!  Leave a comment to let me know you dropped by! <3

Fun times in Pre K

Hey there!  I figured I'd stop by to share a few things going on in our neck of the woods.  Nothin too exciting, but I couldn't ask for any better.  School has officially begun and the girls are having so much fun!  They even got to pick out their first day outfit. 

 There's Cass with her little pose.  They both are hams. :)  I love that if you look real close they are holding hands... <3  They melt my heart with how much they love each other! They both love their new teachers as well, which is a great thing.  There's nothing worse than having a teacher you don't get a long with.  This is their third and last year at this school.  Next year they'll be in Kindergarten.  I cannot believe it!! We are stuck between to amazing schools right now, so we shall see which one wins out in the end!

We took the girls bowling for their first time!! I wasn't too sure how that would work since the bowling balls are still pretty heavy for them to lift, but they had a blast! We went to an amazing bowling alley that is huge, has an arcade, a bar, a cafe, and a couch in each lane for people to relax between sets!  Each lane has its own attendant to bring you food/whatever you could want!  Loved it there.  I haven't bowled in years, I was a bit rusty but in the end had tons of fun and even got a strike or two.  Cassie even got a strike!!

I don't know what it is about your parents room, but I know I always LOVED sleeping in their bed!  Well the girls are no different.  Every night, the question popped up, "PLEASE can we sleep in the big bed with you guys!"  Which always ended up with me on the very tip of the bed, the girls sprawled out, and the hubbs curled up on the floor with a pillow (what a good sport, these girls REALLY REALLY have him wrapped around their fingers).  At least 2+ times a week this was happening!  We finally found a way to stop this... get em a bed they are absolutely mad about!! 

They were so excited to get their new bed, that when it arrived they were all over the poor guys making sure they were putting it together the correct way.  When it was done (which was only about 2pm) the girls were already for bed!! They didn't get out of it the rest of the weekend.  It has been so nice havin the "big bed" all to ourselves again.  Oh the things we do for our kiddos :)

Being the open minded/crazy/artistic mommy I am, I allowed the girls to get a few highlights to start off the new school year.  Thank God I'm a hairstylist, these girls LOVE getting their hair done, they'd cost a fortune in a salon!  Cassie is obsessed with short hair and would have it in a pixie cut if I let her, Scarlly on the other hand will not let me trim more than half an inch, she wants super long hair.  Scar just got a few little blonde highlights in her bangs, so natural, you really couldn't tell unless you looked for em.  Cassie chose a vampire red highlight.  I think it looks super cute, and while we do get some condescending looks when we go out, I really don't care.  First off its my kiddo, second, it's her hair, third the color falls out after a few weeks, what's the big deal?!  As long as she loves it, that's all that matters!  I think it even gave her MORE confidence than she already had... Oh dear... ;)

 That pretty much gets us all caught up for now!  Thanks for stopping by to read my little blog, hope you all are well! Hopefully I'll be on here a little sooner next time!

Until than!!

Xoxo The Stanescu Family oxoX

Summer tiiiiime...and the livin's easy :)

Phew!  This summer is flying by!  I cannot believe that school starts in two weeks.  The girls are super excited this year because they both will have new teachers, and new classmates.  They were the youngest kiddos in the class so while the rest of the class is going to Kindergarten, they have one more year of Pre-K.  They miss the kindergarten age cut off by 3 weeks...  I let them choose their own backpacks this year, Cassie picked a Justin Beiber backpack and Scarlett picked Disney Princess.

Sheesh, speaking of flying by, my babes will be 5 soon... 5!?  They are growing so fast.. And way too smart for their own good :) 



So far its been a relatively quiet summer.  Lots of stayin out of the heat and swimming.  Thank God we have a pool this year! We also had family come hang out for a few weeks!  The girls had so much fun playing with Uncle Adrian.

Adrian came out from Tennessee and was probably glad to get home, the girls ran him ragged.  The night before he left I made a Texas Sheet Cake and he has now requested one for his birthday... However, according to FedEx it would cost about $130 to send one, can you believe that? So I figured I'd put my recipe on here and someone there could make it for him. :)


Ash's Famous Texas Sheet Cake ;)


What you'll need:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
frosting (recipe provided below) 

❦ Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your pan ahead of time, I always forgot and end up  pouring it in if I don't do it at this time, lol (there's a lot going on you might forget ;) ) I use a 13X9 pan but you can do a bit bigger, or I've done cupcakes before and those were a hit as well!! 
❦ Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. 
❦ In a saucepan, melt butter and add cocoa powder, and one cup of water.  Bring to a boil STIRRING CONSTANTLY... Once at a boil, add to dry mix and mix with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. (I like to go between 2-3 to get more air into the batter)  Add buttermilk, and mix.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Be sure to add the buttermilk and mix first or else the eggs will scramble because of the hot mixture that was added. The buttermilk brings the temp down a bit :).  Batter will be pretty thin.  Pour into the pan you've already greased!! (aren't you happy you greased it ahead of time....yeah I know... great idea ;)  ) 
❦ Bake for about 25 minutes, depending on your oven, and which way you decided to make the cake.  For cupcakes obviously it won't take as long. I always stick a butter knife in the middle and when it comes out clean, you're good as gold! The last ten minutes, start making the frosting.  When your cake is done, pour the frosting over your cake and ENJOY! Seriously, there are few desserts that beat a Texas Sheet Cake... unless you dislike chocolate... Which in that case.... I have no words. ;) 


Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting
❦ In a medium saucepan mix 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons) melt it a bit, and add 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of buttermilk.  Bring to a boil.. stirring constantly! Once bubbling, remove from heat and add 2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until smooth and velvety. (mmm I'm drooling already)  I like to add chopped pecans to the icing and than pour on top of the cake.  I also stab a few holes in the cake for the icing to slowly seep inside of the cake.  Those options are purely up to you, although, they make it so much better ;) 


Hope you guys like it!! If you do make it, let me know how it turns out!! <3 

A letter for my girls.

 Anyone who has kids can probably agree, that from the second they are born, you wonder what they will be like, who they will be as a person.  As they get older and form their own personalities, it turns into, what they will like be when their older.   I feel sooo blessed, and I love that I get to stay at home with my girls because I've been able to be there for every important part of their lives, whether it was the first time they nursed without throwing it back up (blech),  crawling, walking, talking, their first bad word said, oops??   I even got to see how their personalities have developed and its just amazing to see these small people form right in front of me!!

Everyone who notices that the girls are twins always end up asking, are they very alike?  NOT AT ALL.  Even though they are twins, they are two totally different people.

Cassie is very dominant.  She has to be in charge, and telling people what to do.  And if it's not done right, (or quick enough) she scrunches up that cute little nose of hers and takes charge.  lol She has things planned out and if things don't go too well, she is not a happy camper.  She does not like chaos. Scarlly on the other hand is pretty easy going and doesn't mind the chaos of life.  She's off in her own little world most of the time. When the girls were first born, she was the more demanding one, but slowly things changed and Cassie became the boss ;)  Scarlly is a very sweet gal who knows how to bat her lashes and get what she wants.  In Scarlly's mind, you get more ants, with honey.. While Cass doesn't care either way, screw spreading honey, she'll go kick that ant hill and MAKE them come to her, whether they like it or not, stupid ants ;) When wondering how I got blessed with two amazing gals, a letter/ conversation with God came to mind...


Dear God,

First....No tattoos until they are old enough to know what they mean. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the ASU logo stain their tender haunches. May they be beautiful but not damaged, for it’s the damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty. When the "Crystal Meth" is offered, may they remember the parents who cut their grapes in half for their safety  and stick with Beer. Guide them, protect them when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing the street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age. Lead them away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where they can make their own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit. May they play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of their Own Hearts with the sinewy strength of their Own Arms, so they need Not Lie With Drummers. Grant them a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let them draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – And adulthood is long... dry-humping in cars can wait.  And when they one day turn on me and call me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank them directly into a our minivan with a "My daughter got student of the month" bumpersticker, in front of ALL their friends, For I will not have that Shit. OH NO...I will not have it. ;) Mama don't take no mess ;)  And should they choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see them, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” they will realize as they clean feces off the baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over them as it does each generation and they will make a Mental Note to call me. And of course will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes. Amen.

Bumps, Bruises, Summertime, & Giada...

School is officially out, and summer vaca has begun!  However the girls feel, the "summertime argue about everything under the sun war" has begun.  Why they feel the need to argue over every little thing, I'll never know.  Seriously, "Those are my shoes!"  Meanwhile they each have the EXACT same pair.  "That's MY pillow."  There are 6 other pillows on the bed, choose another. I don't remember fighting like that with my sister, maybe because she's 5 years younger.  Like any siblings, we fought, but not over silly things like that!!  Also I always got the, "You're older and should know better" lecture.  No fun.  I guess I just have to keep em busy so they stay out of trouble ;)

Speaking of trouble, we had our first encounter with the emergency room this month!  I don't know what it is about bedtime, but it seems that my kids become dehydrated and their bladders shrink to the size of a pea, because they just cannot get enough to drink, or have to pee every 10 minutes!  That was the case with Miss Cassie Marie, when she got up for the umpteenth time for a drink of water to quench that undeniable thirst... "I'm just sooo thirsty mom!!" (said with a scratchy throat... she better go into acting).   So I gave her a quick drink and sent her off to her room.  Instead of just walking in and going to bed, she decided to skip to her room and fumble on her own two feet sending her head first into her METAL bed frame.  The hubs and I both heard the "CLANG" and looked at each other waiting for the moment she would start screaming.  I run in there to see her sitting there with blood all over her face and her sister crying like it had happened to her.  You know how they say twins feel each others pain, I think it's very true!  Before I could even figure out what happened, I had thrown the girls in the car and was on my way to the ER.  Luckily, she hadn't cracked her head open, just a large lump the size of a golf ball had formed, and she needed only a liquid stitch to keep it closed. Now she's back to her usual self, but she still has a lump which the doc said would be there for up to a year!

About 2 weeks later

For my birthday, the big 26!! ;)  We had an awesome little party with family and friends.  I got a beautiful pink/turquoise bike, new pots and pans, and got to meet Giada de Laurentiis!  For those who don't know me all too well, she is my FAVORITE chef!! We got to talk to her and she signed my cookbooks for me! The girls brought little flowers for her because the were super excited to see her too. Now when I get a new cook book, they think we are going to go meet that chef! :)
















Next year is the last year the girls will be in Pre-K.  Unfortunately their birthday falls just after the cutoff for kindergarten so they'll have to wait one more year.  I LOVE the school they are at.  I wish it was an elementary school! However they both will have new teachers and classmates,  most of their friends will be in Kindergarten so they'll have to start all over.  Scarlly made sure I didn't miss any photo ops with her "boyfrans" ;)




Joseph and JR are 2 of her many "frans"  She just bats those lashes and those boys fall all over themselves!! Good lord are we in trouble when she's older!

Cassie is much too bossy for the boys in her class, she knows what she wants, and expects to get it without having to ask twice.  Good for you gal, you keep it that way ;) She instead opted for pictures with her best friend Kylie and her favorite teacher Ms. Kathy.  We will definitely miss them next year!





Well I think that pretty much gets us all caught up... For now ;) With these crazy gals, you never know whats going to happen next and I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Catching up!

I cannot believe how long it's been!  Time really flies these days.  So much has happened since December!  The girls will be five soon and they think they are fifteen.  Way too smart for their own good.  School is out for the year in just a few days, I feel like it just started!  They have learned so much this year, I'm so thankful that they have wonderful teachers.

So far we've had a pretty good year!  January started off rough when my grandma had a stroke on New Years Eve, but luckily she pulled through and is back to normal!  In February my father-in-law came to visit and the girls had so much fun hanging out with their "Moşhu" which is Romanian for Grandpa.  While here he decided that he should move here, so he will be here at the end of this month to look for a place to live!

March was a great month!  We took our first family vacation, and took the girls to Disneyland for a week.  It was so much fun!

The girls could not believe their eyes, that all of their favorite Disney characters where there to meet and dance with them, and we really had an amazing time.  The girls were little dare devils and went on EVERY ride!! They LOVED Space Mountain.  I was so worried taking them on there but they begged to do it again and again.  Their favorite ride was Pirates of the Caribbean. Who doesn't like that ride!?  We were excited that we got to go to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner and have meet and greets with a lot of their favorite characters.

 Thankfully the weather was pretty nice the whole time we were there.  Only one day where it was dreary but hey, we're from Arizona, so a little rain is welcomed! 

Instead of flying we drove which was scary for me.  I HATE driving anywhere, car sickness is no fun.  Luckily with a bit of medicine, I did pretty well.  Poor Cassie had one little time where she got some motion sickness on the way there, but quickly got over it.  It could have just been the excitement of going to Disneyland!! We also caught it at a decent time.  We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for ride.  The girls were still pretty impatient.  They wanted to just do everything all at once.  After about the second day they figured out that you can't just cut in front of everyone.  You have to take turns! :)  Next we are hoping to go to Sea World.  *crosses fingers* ;)

April flew by like nobody's business, but we did happen to stop for a bit and take Easter pictures of the girls. I just can never have too many pictures of these girls!  I swear I'm running out of wall space. :)

I just wanna pinch their cheeks! ;) They have grown leaps and bounds this year! Everyday they develop more and more of their own personalities, and it's so cute.  Even when they are sassy, deep down I think it's cute.  I feel so blessed that I was given this life, to raise these two amazing girls with my best friend by my side. I cannot imagine my life any better.

Well its gettin late so this is it for now, but I shall see you on here a lot sooner next time, I promise ;) Hope all is going well in your neck of the woods!!