Logan Can – Page 65 – A Lifestyle Blog about Marriage, Parenting, Fashion and Fitness

Immeasurably More

November 4, 2015

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20

How powerful is this verse? Back in September, I started BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). Many of you have probably heard of it because this bible study is worldwide. It is so neat to think that women in France or England are studying the exact same thing we are here in Alabama. It unites us, in a way. We have been studying the book of Revelation, and it has made a huge impact on me. I have read through Revelation a few times, but I have never really studied it like this before.

Raglan Top: c/o Mercy Ink // Pants: The LOFT // Necklace: Nordstrom (Sold Out Similar Here // Booties: Target

Through this study, it has opened my eyes to see that here on earth, nothing matters. I’ve always been the type of person who would get my feelings hurt very easily and then want nothing to do with the person who hurt me anymore. It’s a bad habit that I am constantly working to break because I know people are only human and we all make mistakes. These mistakes don’t mean anything when paired with eternity and our souls. When you think about life from this perspective, it just doesn’t matter.

What matters is if you are loving God and loving people. Speak life into people because too many times a day we are speaking hurtful and negative words to people or hearing them spoken to us and it is discouraging. It gets people down. We need to build each other up. We need to be spreading the gospel every day because in the end, the gospel, God, Christ, Eternity, that’s all that matters.

Isn’t it encouraging that God is immeasurably MORE than we can even imagine? That’s saying a lot because in my mind, He is everything. God is bigger than that guy joking on the way your kid talks or the woman criticizing the way you dress. He holds us and cares for us, but above all even through the pain and sadness we must put him through when we behave badly, He loves us through it all, unconditionally.

This top from Mercy Ink is not only super comfortable and adorable, it is a wonderful reminder to me every day I wear it of what really matters and who is holding me. This shop is the coolest because they have beautiful necklaces, prints and more when encouraging words and verses on them. That is exactly what people need today – encouragement. I love the fact that by simply wearing this raglan, I could totally change someone’s day. That is powerful.

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Easy 3 Ingredient Mini Pumpkin Pie Recipe

November 3, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EffortlessPies #CollectiveBias

During the Holidays, I love to make holiday themed snacks and meals for my son. It’s something we both enjoy doing – making messes in the kitchen, getting our hands a little dirty, and eating! My only issue with this time of year is that most recipes are full of unhealthy ingredients. I like to try to find healthier alternatives when I can, especially for my son. When he eats a lot of sugar, he is a different kid. He starts acting crazy and wild and it normally ends in a tantrum. Because of this, I try to avoid giving him sugar as much as possible or at least limiting the amount he eats.

Pumpkin pies are a fall favorite of mine. I thought it would be fun to create mini pumpkin pies using Keebler® Ready Crust® Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crust, Dannon Oikos® Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt, and Reddi Wip® from Walmart as a healthier version for my son as a special holiday themed snack.

Ingredients:

Keebler® Ready Crust® Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crust
Dannon Oikos® Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt
Reddi Wip®
Cinnamon

Directions:

Spoon the Dannon Oikos® Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt into the mini pie crusts. Top the pie with Reddi Wip® and a dash of cinnamon.

This was such a fun activity and way to spend quality time with H and I felt so much better about feeding him this healthier version of a pumpkin pie instead of an actual one. The best part? It was delicious!

Find more effortless pie recipes here! What is your favorite pie?

Diaper Bag Checklist and FREE Printable

November 2, 2015

This post is sponsored by DESITIN but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

When I was switching SR’s diaper bag into a personalized backpack a couple of weeks ago, it dawned on me that I had WAY too much stuff in her bag. As I was cleaning it out and putting the items I really use in her new backpack, I felt so much better. No more fumbling through a bunch of stuff to get to my diaper cream anymore!

Here is a list of the things that I have included in her new diaper bag:

Wipes
Diapers
Bottles
Suction
Burp Cloth
Bib
Extra Outfit
Desitin Diaper Cream
Any Medications
Pacifiers
Toy/Taggie/Lovey
Teething Ring

If you’re a new mom, baby stuff can seem so overwhelming. I remember going to register for my baby shower and how overwhelmed I was. There are so many brands of everything. How do you know which one to buy? Unfortunately, it is really trial and error. Every baby is different and they all prefer different brands. One brand that has been a constant for me and my babies is Desitin diaper cream. I have used it since I had H! It is in both of their backpacks and I keep a tube in SR’s nursery as well. It has been a wonderful product that I haven’t had to go through the process of elimination with like I did with pacifiers and bottles.

I made a FREE printable for you to take with you when you are getting ready to pack (or re-pack) your little one’s diaper bag. Whether it is your first baby and you have no idea what to include, or it is your 5th and you just need to eliminate some things, this is a simple list that will help you keep only the necessities you actually need.

Get your Target Cartwheel 25% off Coupon here!!

FREE Printable HERE!

Would you include anything else in your diaper bag?

Halloween Round-Up

October 30, 2015

Tomorrow is Halloween! It kind of snuck up on me this year. Our family has wild plans to go to my grandmother’s and hang out with family and of course, do a little trick-or-treating! I’m excited to get the kids all dressed up in their costumes to show everyone how cute they are! We participated in our church’s Trunk or Treat Wednesday and had so much fun seeing our friend’s kids all dressed up. I love how some people go all out and really get creative.

Halloween Round-up of recipes, decor and more!

I compiled a few of my Halloween related posts and other blogger’s posts that I have read recently and put them all together for you in a Halloween round-up! I hope you enjoy reading through some of them. I have a lot of fun reading them and I am constantly inspired by these wonderful women.

Mummy Dogs Recipe

Easy Halloween Carnival Games

Halloween Tablescape

Frankenstein Guacamole Recipe

TMNT Halloween Costume and Spooktacular Extravaganza at Party City

Trunk Or Treat Tutorial

Easy Not So Spooky Halloween Party Ideas

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

The Funniest Halloween Books We Have Ever Read

Candy Corn Caft

Halloween Hayride Costume Party

15 Fang-Tastic Healthy Halloween Snacks

DIY Kid Costumes

Candy Corn Punch

Halloween Printable Activity Sheets

Happy Halloween!

What are your Halloween plan this weekend?

Candy Corn Punch Recipe

October 29, 2015

Halloween is in 2 days! T W O! I am so excited! We have ha a lot going on with Trunk or Treat last night and getting ready for this weekend’s festivities! My cousin is coming into town and we are really more like best friends rather than cousins. We talk multiple times a week and keep each other sane in this crazy world. I love her to death and have missed her so much, so I am getting really excited to see her. And, I may have just squealed a little. Now, on to the candy corn. I mean, punch.

This past Sunday, our life group met at our house and because it was the week of Halloween, I wanted to make some yummy punch to mix things up a little and make it a little more festive to get everyone in the pumpkin spirit. Plus, I challenged myself to at least one new recipe a week, and I slacked off last week, so I figured this would sort of make up for it. Right? I looked at some recipes and kind of did a variation of several mixed together just to experiment a little and it turned out to be delicious! In fact, I downed the entire glass after I took these photos! So good.

So, here’s how you make this wonderful candy corn concoction:

Ingredients:

5 Cups of Orange Juice
6 Cups of Ginger Ale
1 Cup of Pineapple Juice (I used organic)
A Handful of Candy Corn

Directions:

Pour 4 cups of ginger ale in a bowl and put the handful of candy corn in it to soak for two hours in the refrigerator. After that, strain the candy corn out of the liquid and pour the candy corn/ginger ale mixture into your punch bowl. Mix in 2 more cups of chilled Ginger Ale, 5 cups or Orange Juice and 1 cup of Pineapple Juice in the punch bowl and mix it very well. Garnish your table with candy corn and fun Halloween straws and you are good to go!

This recipe is so easy and really delicious! Plus, it’s orange, so it is perfect for all of your fall and Halloween themed parties! I hope you enjoy it!

P.S, Are you dressing up for Halloween? What are you going to be?

Finding the Beauty in Imperfection

October 28, 2015

This post is sponsored by Inspired Silver but opinions are my own.

Lately, I have been feeling so much pressure to be perfect. It’s easy for me to start feeling this way if I start paying more attention to my peripherals than looking to my own path and future. I’m constantly questioning myself and if I’m doing the right thing by staying home and blogging instead of working. I feel like my house has to stay perfect. Even when no one is coming, the thought that someone might stop by or want to look at our house in 20 minutes still eats away at me, so I’m constantly worried about that.

Bangles: c/o Inspired Silver // Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren c/o Sunglasses Shop // Booties: Minnetonka // Bag: TJ Maxx // Jeans: Lucky via TJ Maxx // Top: Nordstrom Rack // Necklace: Kate Spade via Nordstrom // Scarf: The LOFT (old) Similar Here

Recently, I have been loving jewelry more than normal. I can’t get enough of it. I came across these beautiful bangles from Inspired Silver and fell in love with them. They are so versatile and can be dressed up or down. They were the perfect accessory to our pumpkin day!

Last weekend when we were at the pumpkin patch, I had Ryan take these photos for me. What you don’t see pictured is SR crying because she was hot in her stroller and Hamp trying to eat the sunflowers and run off the trail. In the middle of these pictures, I just started laughing because, in these situations, what else can you do? Sometimes family is crazy and acting nuts out in public and you have to take advantage of the photo opp. It’s just life.

Once we got to the pumpkin patch, I decided I wanted to hunt for the imperfect pumpkin this year. Everyone hunts for the roundest, prettiest pumpkin, and I feel sad for the others. I found my perfectly imperfect pumpkin and gave it a home. And we both lived happily ever after…

But, seriously. Life is not perfect. We live in an age where people live by social media and what their next photo uploaded will be. It is easy to get mixed up in wanting to be perfect and feeling awful when we fall short. Be good at what you’re good at – whether that’s fashion, cooking, running, crafting, writing, taking care of people – whatever! Do what you do and don’t worry about the rest. No one is good at everything, even when they appear to be. It is easy to make yourself look like you have everything together when you get to choose the pictures you post to social media, but things are very rarely what they seem. The older I get, the more this is revealed to me.

God has been trying to teach me some very hard lessons lately. I prayed to forgive someone I have had a hard time forgiving lately and even had one of my small groups pray for this specifically. Since then, Satan has been testing me big time. This person has tested me, too. It’s been very difficult. Through these less than perfect circumstances, I find encouragement because I know that God gives trials to us that he knows we can endure. He is making me stronger and building my faith more than ever. That is the victory and the beauty in the imperfect life.

What do you think of my imperfect/flatish/lop-sided pumpkin? I think it’s pretty cute!

What area do you fall short in? Do you have something you wish you could be great at, but just aren’t?

Enter to win a $50 Store Credit to Inspired Silver in the Rafflecopter below!

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Halloween Candy Corn Craft

October 27, 2015

Last week, I spent the entire week in zombie land. Ryan was out of town Tuesday – Saturday and the kids being a little under the weather/teething meant that neither of them slept. Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot done, and the time I did have to get stuff done, I just couldn’t seem to think or be able to get anything productive done. Have you ever been so bone tired? I’m so happy that it is a new week.

During nap time one day, I grabbed some gum drops and decided to play around with them a little bit. Again, I wasn’t very productive. I had some candy corn sitting out, so the idea struck me to make candy corns with gum drops and toothpicks! Because I used toothpicks, I definitely do not recommend this craft for kids unless they are older. I stuck myself a couple of times making these. I thought they turned out cute and they would make a fun little Halloween party decoration or activity.

Supplies:

Orange, Yellow and White Gum Drops
Toothpicks

Directions:

Using 6 toothpicks, make a 3D shaped triangle and hold them together with the gum drops.

That’s it! It is so easy, but it was fun. I’m always looking for cheap decor or easy DIYs to make our home festive. Bonus points when you can eat your craft!

Pumpkin Patch

October 26, 2015

Last weekend, we took the kids to Dreamfield Farms Pumpkin Patch for Hamp’s birthday. We had such a good time picking out our pumpkins, but the biggest hit for the birthday boy was by far the inflatable slide. He was a little obsessed. I love capturing SR’s first pumpkin patch experience and seeing our son have so much fun! It was definitely a great weekend.

My only complaint was that we went early and it was STILL blazing hot. Why can’t Alabama feel like fall during the season? I was determined to make it at least look like fall, but don’t let the scarf fool you, it was hot. In fact, I ditched the scarf moments after this photo was taken and the hair went up. Hamp thought that the wind blowing my hair in his face was so funny. I love this boy so much and still can’t believe he is 2! I am one blessed mama.

Child Safety Tips For The Home

October 23, 2015

This post is sponsored by Smith & Noble but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

H is in full exploration toddler mode 24/7 lately. This makes mama very nervous. He has no fear. He jumps off of things, climbs everything, opens every drawer and cabinet. He is very busy and keeps me on my toes. The other day, he figured out how to get in our cabinet even with a childproof lock on it. He is a smart one. He grabbed one of my spray bottles of cleaning solution and it scared me half to death! I ran over to him and grabbed it and gave him a very serious talk. It got me thinking though, have I read many child safety tips and how safe is our house, really?

After reading a little bit from Smith and Noble, I realized that there are far more dangers in our home than I realized.

Here are a few basic child safety tips for your home:

Cover Your Outlets

Have Child Friendly Window Treatments – Smith and Noble recommends you move all climbable furniture away from windows and use cordless window treatments in homes with small children due to strangulation risks. Special offer – replace unsafe treatments with new ones and save $50 per treatment. Go here and sign up to receive the code.

Use Safety Gates Around Stairs or Unsecure Areas

Use Childproof Locks

Have a Working Smoke Detector in Every Room

Have a Plan for Your Family in Case of an Emergency or Fire

Window treatments are definitely one thing I did not think about when buying our home. You learn a lot after owning your first house. Our next house, I am definitely looking for safe window treatments. In the meantime, I would love to win $1,000 worth of window treatments from Smith and Noble! How awesome would that be? I’m thinking plantation shutters. Enter Here!

Do you have any other child safety tips? Be sure to check out this checklist for child safety and enter the $1,000 Sweepstakes!

How to Throw an Awesome Birthday Party on a Budget

October 22, 2015

Last weekend, we celebrated Ryan’s big 30th birthday! A birthday party was a given because this was a big one. Ryan didn’t want a huge production, he just wanted a few of our closest friends to come over to cookout and watch football. Priorities. We are on a tight budget right now because we are saving money for a new house and trying to pay off our cars. I needed to plan a fun party that everyone would enjoy while also being budget friendly. Here’s how I did it:

What to Think About When Planning Your Party:

Choose a theme – for Ryan’s party, I mixed fall decor with 30th birthday decor. A lot of the decor I found in stores was girly, so I didn’t implement much. Our house was already decorated for fall, so this themed saved us a ton of money and time. I purchased balloons, a cheap banner and confetti and it turned out cute!

Focus on the Guests – You ultimately want to make your guests happy and ensure they have a good time. Invite people who are fun and don’t bring down the mood and make sure to keep the night moving along smoothly. For example, if there is a lull, it may be time to serve food, sing “Happy Birthday,” etc.

Plan Activities for the Kids – If you are panning on having kids over, you definitely need to have some activity for them so they won’t get bored and can be entertained while the parents visit. For us, this was easy. Our house is already set up for kids and the weather was so nice outside, so we let them slide, play golf, play with chalk, bubbles, etc.

Party Budget Tips:

Save Money on Invites – This day in time, there is no reason so waste tons of money on invitations. If this is a laid back party, invite them via email or Facebook! I do not recommend this method for weddings, obviously, but when you are just getting a few friends together, there is no reason to spend all that money on an invitation that will end up in the trash in a couple of days.

DIY Decor – I have a lot of fall decor throughout the house that I made myself to save money, however, I didn’t have time to get too crafty with 30th birthday decor this past week. Instead, I went to Party City and found a very affordable banner, confetti and balloons that I spent less that $50 on. If you have time to make decor yourself, you can probably make it for a little bit cheaper.

Shop at Dollar Tree for Napkins, Plates, Forks, etc.

Make Your Own Cake – I normally make our cakes, but I did not make Ryan’s this year. I wanted it to look good, so I ordered a cake from Publix and it was delicious and so cute! He is a 30-year-old man, so he didn’t want anything too cutesy, but I thought they did a great job incorporating fall and birthday! Best of all? It was only $23! Not bad at all!

Cook the Food Yourself and Scratch the Caterer – Again, there is no need to hire a caterer or purchase prepared food for a party! It can be very expensive. We kept it very simple and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with chips and salsa. It was a hit with the parents and the kids loved it, too!

Use the Ibotta app to earn money back on the groceries you buy. This is something Ryan and I have been doing for about a month now and it has saved us about $10 so far. We haven’t used it every time we have shopped, but it will definitely add up over a year’s time. Don’t forget to also use coupons! Doing both of these together will save you a lot on groceries.

After it was all said and done, we threw a fun little party for around 20 people for under $125! Not bad at all!

Do you have any party planning or saving tips?

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