Archives for December 2013

I Made Homemade No Flour Oatmeal M&M Cookies…and They Didn’t Suck

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Seriously y’all…this is a huge deal. A HUGE deal. I’ve told you time and time again that I don’t bake. I mean I do, sometimes, but not really. Every single time I break down and bake because the babies want something sweet, I use a box. As in (oh gosh…true confession time) I have 6 kids and cook almost every night of my life, but I’ve never, ever attempted to bake anything from scratch before. It is what it is. 

The babies wanted cookies. I really limit their sweets, and they were good today, so they should have cookies. I had no boxed mix. I Googled sugar cookies and they looked easy enough (even to me) so I promised them cookies. But doh…I had no flour. None. Not even a morsel. I was surely going to break their hearts, but I just couldn’t. They looked so sad. So, so sad. I had oatmeal and an idea and I decided to fade back and punt. I mixed, I experimented, and I said a little prayer. When these goodies came out of the oven, surprisingly (although admittedly not the prettiest cookies on the planet) they smelled amazing. AND the babies loved them. Heck, B thought they were good and he’s a baked goods snob. I DID IT! I made homemade cookies. YAY ME!

And since this recipe was so easy (because that’s how I roll) and apparently delicious, I thought I’d share it with you. Honestly, if you’re going to indulge on sweet treats (which I don’t), this is actually a healthier alternative. So here goes.

What you’ll need:
  • 1/3 cup melted no-salt butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 1/2 cup Milk Chocolate M&M’s Candies
What you’ll do:
  • Whisk the butter, egg, vanilla, and cinnamon together well
  • Mix in the brown sugar…why does that always have to be such a pain?
  • Pour in the oats and M&M’s and mix until you have a “batter”
  • Drop teaspoon sized balls onto an ungreased cookie pan and flatten slightly with a glass (like a glass glass, not a plastic one…don’t ask me how I know this…just trust me)
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, let them cool for a few, and serve!

That’s it. Seriously…THAT’S IT! I feel like I’m so accomplished now. Pitiful, but true. I loved seeing the smiles on the babies’ faces and hearing them ask for “just one more”. For the record, they only got 2 each. I may just start baking on a regular basis now. Who knows? 

What’s your favorite EASY cookie recipe? Go easy on me because I’m a novice!
Filed Under: accomplishments, Recipes Tagged With: ,

Merry Christmas – From Our House to Yours!

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To all of you who have been our friends, family, colleagues, mentors, and our biggest supporters this past year…you have enhanced our lives and we love you for it. Merry Christmas (or if you celebrate something else…HAPPY THAT)! We wish you nothing but the best in the coming year. May all of your wishes and dreams come true this holiday season!
Filed Under: Family, Family Traditions, Holidays

Need Last Minute Christmas Present Ideas and DIY Bows? I Can Help!

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 Just for the record, I  am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. As always, all opinions, ideas, and photos are entirely my own.

So MOST of your Christmas shopping is done. You had all of the best gift ideas on the planet and you pulled everything off flawlessly. But then…wait! You made your list, and you’re checking it twice, and realize that you missed some of the very important people in your life. Now what?


I feel your pain. I was right there with you, but I figured out a plan and I owned it! You see, I have 6 kids. Some are easy to buy for, some not so much. The babies? Easy peasy. They are 5 and 7. They want toys. I’ve got that covered and Walmart has everything I need. The man child, now 16, wants tools. That’s pretty easy too. ‘Hey B, the man child wants tools. Look at this, pick some out’, and POOF, I click a button and all of his holiday wishes come true. 

BUT…then there are the other 3. OY…the other 3. Bry is 24 and has expensive taste. Paetyn is 19 and just had a baby. The Drama Queen is 12 going on 30 and there’s no pleasing her. But what do these hard to buy for girls all have in common? They’re girly-girls. And what do girly-girls like? Shiny things, clothes, and things that smell super pretty. With 6 kids, you live on a budget so I headed to Walmart to see what I could find.
I found the perfume in the cosmetics aisles, but I wanted something more. Luckily, they had gift sets with celebrity flair and amazing scents by the check out that I was sure all of my girls would love. You can check out the full line at www.scentsavings.net. And with this gift set purchase, your recipient also receives a free ringtone (details inside the box) which is awesome because in this case, that’s one less Taylor Swift ringtone mommy has to pay for this year!
I picked out this Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Enchanted gift set and knew it would be perfect for one of the girls (shhh…I can’t tell you which one or it wouldn’t be a surprise). And since this one girl seems a little harder to please than the others (we all have them, right?), I decided to dress up the package with a little homemade, personal flair. That’s right y’all, I made my own bows! And if I can do it, you can do it too. Here’s how:
Buy some wire ribbon, don’t be stupid and get the non-wired kind (don’t ask me how I know that, just trust me). Fold it in equal lengths, in one strip, 5 to 10 times, depending on how big you want your bow to be. 
Fold the ribbon in half and tie the middle with a twist tie. I happened to have fancy red ones at home, but the garden variety trash bag ones will work just as well. 
Start spreading the loops until they make the bow you desire. For me, this takes forever and it never is quite as perfect as I’d hoped!
When you’re through with your ribbon, find something around the house to embellish it with to hide the imperfect center. OK, so yours might not be imperfect but mine always is and a flower or additional ribbon covers that up. I sprinkled mine with glitter because we all know everything looks better with glitter!

Wrap the perfume gift set, place the ribbon on the top, and give it to that hard to gift person, or place it in the mail if you’re like me and won’t see them until after Christmas. They’ll smile and you know that you just saved time, and saved money, with a gift of scent that they’ll enjoy for months to come. 


There’s another one off the list. Now I only have the in-laws left to buy for. Any ideas there because I’m struggling?

To view more gift-giving ideas for the Millennial or hard-to-buy-for person in your life, and to get some amazing wrapping ideas, be sure to check out the Scent Savings Pinterest Board.

And if you are STILL looking for great ideas for holiday gift giving, check out the Live SoFab Holiday Digital Magazine by clicking on the image below. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and that you get everything your heart desires in the coming year!

Filed Under: Crafting, Family, Holidays, Moms Tagged With: