Friday, August 29, 2014

Friday Favorites

Happy Happy Friday! John has been working a lot of overtime this week (and it's only just the beginning) so I am very happy that it is a three day weekend!
Momfessionals

Today I am linking up with Momfessionals, A Little Bit of Everything, and Grace and Love to share my favorites of the week! 

When you are pregnant, the doctors say it is okay to have one cup of caffeinated coffee per day, and I have been loving my Pumpkin Spice K-Cups every morning!  They make waking up at 5:15am a bit easier!
 

2. My Cuisinart Keurig Coffee Maker 
This clearly goes with Friday Favorite #1 because without it we would not be able to make our coffee. And I have a confession, ours broke this week.  I was in a panic. We have had it for over 3 years now, and I went to brew a cup of coffee and the entire water tank brewed all over my kitchen counter.  I took it back to Bed Bath and Beyond, explained what happened (including how old it was), and they let me exchange it for a brand new one!  Seriously, I could have hugged the nice woman who helped me!  We've had to exchange things in the past at that store, and they just have the BEST customer service!
   

3. My Pumpkin Bread 
I am so ready for Fall (in case you couldn't tell from Friday Favorite #1). So this week, I made the very first Fall 2014 batch of my delicious Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread! Not only is this bread amazing, but the recipe makes two loaves which is great because they disappear pretty quickly in our house!  Plus, your house will smell amazing while it bakes in the oven (an awesome bonus)!




I don't know about you, but I get serious pregnancy insomnia!  It is super hard for me to get comfortable pretty much right from the moment I find out I am pregnant.  I got this pillow when I was about 2 or 3 months pregnant with Lacie and now I am using it for a third pregnancy - so I have definitely gotten my money's worth!  This pillow is amazing!  It seriously helps with so many of those oh-so-fun pregnancy aches and pains.  It also helps relieve my killer heartburn that I have had with all three pregnancies!  I love that it has a body pillow on both sides (as opposed to pregnancy pillows that are just one long body pillow).  This allows me to toss and turn without having to move the pillow!  But fair warning, this takes up my entire side of our King Sized Bed!
 

Thursday, August 28, 2014

#hiloskyeveryday2014 Weeks 34 and 35

Things have been busy busy busy in the Hilosky House! So we have two weeks of #hiloskyeveryday2014 to catch up on!

 Day 227 - 21 weeks along!  The bump is getting bigger! 

Day 228 - My beautiful view on our Saturday morning walk!  #daddysgirls

Day 229 - A little Daddy/Daughter softball practice! 

Day 230 - Lacie's last day as a two year old!  Craziness! 

Day 231 - Happy 3rd Birthday to my Sweet Lacie Jane! 

Day 232 - Blakely doing some serious concentrating on lacing beads!  

Day 233 - Having fun holding her sister's hand and dancing at Miss Amy!

Day 234 - These sweet princesses love when they get to wear their matching PJs to bed! 

Day 235 - Matching sister pedicures!  This was Blakely's first time letting me paint her toes and she sat so still! 

Day 236 - 22 weeks!  Only 18 more to go! 

Day 237 - Even Lili gets to eat apple slices at snack time! 

Day 238 - Spending some one on one time with Lacie doing a little shopping after her three year old check-up! 

Day 239 - Even though it's still pretty hot in New Jersey, I am already thinking fall!  Pumpkin Spice coffee and a slice of my Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread for breakfast! 

Day 240 - Lacie Jane took some a-m-a-z-i-n-g three year old pictures today! I can't get over how big my girl is! 

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Cotton Candy Cookie Bars


In addition to Whoopie Pies for her birthday, Lacie also requested something blue.  Even though she will sometimes say her favorite color is pink, I know that deep down it is really blue *sigh*.  She actually used to always say blue was her favorite but now I think she wants to like pink like mommy!  So when I asked her what she wanted to be blue, she answered "COOKIES"!

So the birthday girl got her blue cookies, and I made CAKE MIX RECIPE #45!

Rather than use blue food coloring in plain vanilla cookie bars, I decided to try a Blue Raspberry Cake Mix, which gave them a true Cotton Candy Flavor!  These cookie bars are super simple, super sweet, and will make any child who likes the color blue very happy!


Your Shopping List for the Cotton Candy Cookie Bars:

  • 1 box blue raspberry cake mix
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 bag white chocolate chips

Now Let's Make the Cotton Candy Cookie Bars:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish
  2. In a large mixing bowl combine the cake mix, melted butter, and beaten eggs until a soft dough forms
  3. Fold in the white chocolate chips
  4. Spread mixture evenly into prepared baking dish
  5. Bake in oven for 25 minutes (edges should just be starting to brown)
  6. Remove from oven and use a flat spatula to press the surface of the cookie bars flat
  7. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares and serving




Monday, August 25, 2014

Mommy Mondays - Baby #3 Update

It has been a few weeks since I posted a Baby #3 Update so here is the latest!

Here's my 19 Weeks Baby Bump!  This was taken the weekend before we would find out if Baby #3 was a boy or a girl! 

My 19 weeks board! 


Here is my 20 week Baby Bump!  Halfway there!  We had our check-up this week and Baby Hilosky was healthy and right on track for growth....and we found out that Baby Hilosky is a GIRL!!!!!  You can read all about our gender reveal party by clicking HERE!

My 20 weeks board! 


 My 21 weeks Baby Bump!  John and I were getting ready to take a tour of the hospital where I will be delivering Paisley! 

 Week 21 Board


 Last Friday, I hit the 22 week mark (even though I did not get to take a picture until Sunday)!  22 weeks and still feeling good...although I haven't been getting too much sleep!

Wee 22 board!  Paisley is already 1 pound!


So many of my wonderful readers have emailed me (you can contact me at lifeisbetterinpink@yahoo.com ) to say how much they love my chalkboard week by week pregnancy board!  I definitely did not come up with this idea...all of the credit goes to Pinterest.  And as far as the board goes, I just got a very inexpensive picture frame on clearance at a craft store and spray painted it with chalkboard paint!  And trust me this is about the craftiest thing I have ever done!  But chalkboard decor is huge right now so I looked for some other chalkboard inspiration that I thought was fun!  I am especially loving that chalkboard pumpkin since I will be decorating for fall next week!  

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies


Tuesday was Lacie's third birthday, and the only thing my sweet little girl wanted was WHOOPIE PIES!!!  She specifically asked for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies....and what the birthday girl wants, she gets!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies are also CAKE MIX RECIPE #44!!!



Your Shopping List for the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:
  • 1 box red velvet cake mix
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup veggie oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 recipe cream cheese icing (you could always use store bought cream cheese icing in a pinch)
Your Shopping List for the Cream Cheese Icing:
  • 1 stick room temperature butter
  • 1 block room temperature cream cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar

Now Let's Make the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds
  3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed for two minutes
  4. Use a medium cookie scoop to drop batter onto prepared baking sheets
  5. Use a knife or spatula to smooth each drop of batter into a circle
  6. Bake for 10 minutes
  7. Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely 
Now Let's Make the Cream Cheese Icicing:
  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until soft and combined
  2. Beat in the vanilla extract
  3. On the lowest speed, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until combined
  4. Turn up to medium/high speed and beat until icing is light and fluffy
Now Let's assemble the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:
  1. Turn half of the cooled whoopie pies upside down
  2. Generously frost the bottom of those pies
  3. Top with the other half of the pies
  4. If desired, place extra icing in a piping bag and pipe around the outside of each completed whoopie pie
A very happy birthday girl! 


My Essential Tools for making perfect Whoopie Pies are:

1. My Kitchen Aid stand mixer (in pink of course)
2. Parchment Paper

3. Really Good Cookie Sheets (this will help everything bake evenly)

Friday, August 22, 2014

Friday Favorites

I get super excited when Friday rolls around!!!!! Being a mom, that doesn't mean quite the same thing that it used to, but I still find myself counting the days until Friday of each week!

Today, I am linking up with A Little Bit of Everything, Grace and Love, and Momfessionals to share my Friday Favorites...I picked four favorites which are just a small handful of my favorites from the past week!
Momfessionals


1. Clinique All About Eyes
I recently had to order my very favorite face lotion by Clinique as well as a Mustela Cold Cream Stick for the girls.  So I figured while I did that, I might as well also order a new Eye Cream!  And boy did this stuff not disappoint.  It did what it promised to do...get rid of my puffy eyes (you know from that lack of sleep due to my ever growing baby bump).  And guess what?!?!  It worked the very first time I used it...no waiting 4-6 weeks or something that other creams promise to see results!  I think I may have found a great go-to eye cream for everyday!
 

2. Halloween Pajamas - Skeleton pj set • Children's Place
Yesterday, I did some stress shopping and picked up some adorable matching skeleton PJs for the girls from The Children's Place!  Oh yeah and they are HOT PINK which makes them even better!  These pajamas will be washed and ready for wear beginning September 2nd (the day after Labor Day, which is when fall officially starts in the Hilosky House) and will get lots of use until Halloween!  I can't even handle the cuteness!
3. My New Nordic Ware Anniversary Edition Bundt Pan
This was the perfect birthday gift from my Mother and Father In-Law!  So far I have baked one amazing White Chocolate Funfetti Bundt Cake in this pan, and I am already dreaming about all of the yummy fall cakes I can make (can anyone say PUMPKIN)!!!!
4. Lacie Jane's Third Birthday
And of course this is my absolute favorite thing about this week!  Lacie Jane is still talking about how much fun she had on her birthday, and I still cannot believe that she is three already!  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was anxiously awaiting her arrival into this world!  No matter how old she gets, she will always be my sweet little LacieBug!  You can read all about her special day by clicking here and if you really want to get sentimental, you can take a look back over the last three years by clicking here!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Happy Third Birthday Lacie Jane

Yesterday, my sweet little LacieBug turned three years old!  I still have a hard time believing that I have a 3 year old!  We planned a very special but still simple birthday celebration for her that began as soon as she woke up!

We woke Lacie up right before 8am and got this happy birthday girl face!!!  And yes at 3 years old she is still in her crib!  Lacie loves her crib and I plan to keep her in there forever and ever as long as I can! 

Then there was some gift opening by the birthday girl with an assist from Blakely! 

 Breakfast was the birthday girl's choice...homemade Belgian Waffles!  These are the same waffles that I make on Christmas Morning every year!


After breakfast it was off to Sesame Place super early in order to beat the crowds!  We rode tons of rides!  This was my favorite moment!  Sisters deciding to hold hands on the carousel!  We stayed for about 2 hours before heading home to eat a healthy lunch and take a nice 2 hour nap! 

After nap, we got dressed in our party clothes!  I can't believe how big and grown up my little Lacie is and how fast three years have gone by! 

Then I tried to get a nice picture of the girls sitting together.  If you have ever tried to photograph a 3 and almost 2 year old you know how it went.  This was the best picture I got!  

But then I captured this sweet moment!  These girls are just the best sisters and friends!  I am one blessed Mama! 

After pictures, all 4 Grandparents along with Uncle Matt and Aunt Laura came over to celebrate.  Lacie requested Eggplant Pizza for dinner and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies for dessert.  Of course she wanted Little Mermaid plates! 

She also wanted to wear her Little Mermaid crown! 

So happy! The red velvet whoopie pie recipe along with the blue cookie recipe will be coming soon! 

After dinner and singing and dessert, we got down to the business of opening more birthday gifts!  Lacie was a very lucky girl and got everything she had been asking for!  She super spoiled by everyone who loves her on this special day!  






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