How to make burlap flowers {a guest post & giveaway}

HOWDY readers of My Three Bittles!

If you're an avid reader on here you probably remember me from June when I guest posted here.

If not then let me introduce myself!  I'm a newbie blogger and I'm loving every minute of it! I ran my first half marathon back in April and will run again next year. I love food! I have 2 link ups - Insta-Recap of My Instagram and Weekly TV Roundup.  Amber and I are working on another one - Link Up Your Link Up.

I love geocaching!  I try to be crafty! My new thing is wreaths. Yeah, why? Who knows? Check out this general one and then a 4th of July one.

My husband and I have 2 furkids!  One is adopted, the other is the offspring of my mothers dog. They frequently take over my Instagram! Be aware!

If you wanna know some more stuff about me, check it out here.

This time I'm bringing you a small tutorial and a giveaway.

The giveaway is a burlap wreath, 12 inch wreath to be exact. It might look bigger in the picture, but its a small one. But it's a giveaway! :)

I'm also putting a tutorial with it. I tend to feel I'm crafty, but sometimes I just can't do things. For instance, the burlap flowers on the wreath. I tried like 3 separate ways (and times) to make this thing! And could not figure it out. I almost bought ones that were already made at Hobby Lobby! But I thought, let me try getting on Pinterest and YouTube AGAIN. I have to give kudos to this lady who wrote her tutorial.

So, we will be making this today:

Homemade pizza rolls.

This recipe adapted from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

Kid approved!
Homemade pizza rolls.

You will need

• Pepperoni
• Mozzarella cheese
• Pizza sauce
• Egg roll wraps
• Oil
• Water

(You could really add anything you liked.  I added ham chunks into some of them)

Fill a skillet with oil (about an inch) and heat medium-high.

Cut up your pepperoni.
Cut your egg roll wraps in half.
Top egg roll with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni.
Dip your fingers in water and rub along the edges of the egg roll wrapper (this helps them stick together).
Roll up, fry on each side until browned/crispy (your desired look)

College Courses That Look Good on a Resume

College Courses That Look Good on a Resume

Whether you are starting your college career after high school, or furthering your education in your free time, most of us have a general goal of completing our education and looking good on paper. Because a resume is a shortened explanation of your qualifications and skills, you want your education to stand out to potential future employers and land you the job over the competition.

According to an article published in the Business section of the Huff Post, over half of employers want a graduate that has specific field-related skills and a broad range of knowledge to bring to their establishment. So, what types of courses should you focus on taking when returning back to school? Take a look at some of the most fondly looked upon college courses you can take:

·         Liberal arts courses - Taking a liberal arts course typically shows employers that you take an interest in a certain subject, whether or not your degree is in liberal arts. These can come in the form of a language course, cinema course or even creative writing course, so long as you are exploring a wide array of skills to share with your future employer.

·         English courses - The ability to write is never overrated. Employers want to know that you can convert thoughts into clearly written documents and carry a basic command of English writing.

·         Science courses - Even if you don’t plan on working in a science-related field, many employers look fondly upon courses that have to do with science, including medical courses. If you are studying nursing or another health related profession you can expect courses through South University and the like to have plenty of science involved.

·         Math courses - Whether you are a math whiz or not, a basic math class can go a long way when presented on your resume or school transcript.  If algebra is not your style, consider accounting or financial courses which can give you a math credit and still work those crucial number skills.

·         Degree-specific courses - As expected, any future employer wants to be sure that you have a thorough understanding of the field you are entering into. For that reason it is necessary to make sure you have plenty of degree-specific courses, which shouldn’t be hard for most students.

While you might not have to disclose each and every one of the courses that you take to a future employer, the skills that you learn within the classroom are invaluable in the real world. So, when determining your course schedule for an upcoming term, you want to be sure to take the requirements for your degree, but to also take solid, useful electives as well.

Keep in mind that no matter what age you are when taking your college courses, you still want to make sure your education is vast and that you bring a wide variety of knowledge to the table. Choose courses wisely and it can help to elevate your resume to the top of the applicant pile.

Image Source: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

What we've been up to {in pictures}

Today I thought I'd just share what we've been up to lately but in pictures.

I've been cooking. It's been all amazing.

This is country gravy breakfast casserole found here

David and I bought a lawn mower. Just a push mower, we have no need for a ride on one but we felt very adult like buying it.

Fin is HILARIOUS!

Brica Baby In Sight Magical Firefly Mirror {Review and giveaway}

Hey moms or moms to be--this post is for you!

I was recently given the chance to review the Brica Baby-in Sight Magical Firefly Mirror and I am so excited to share this with you. Owen is 20 months old and loves this thing so much. He spends a good portion of EACH day carrying it around with him turning it off and then getting mad until I turn it back on for him to turn off again. He kisses himself in it, he dances to the music, he laughs at himself and overall he just loves it.

Doing something right.

Having three kids is a challenge. I am constantly running around like a chicken without a head, stressed out and exhausted. It is by far the most rewarding thing ever and I love my kids more than anything but I often just wonder if I'm doing a good job. I know we've all had those moments, just wondering if our kids were well behaved, or kind to their friends, etc etc.
Those moments that someone reassures you that you are doing a good job are worth more than all the gold in the world.
The other day while we were out to eat at Country's BBQ the couple sitting across from us told us after we'd already gotten our food and were in the middle of eating that they didn't even realize that there were kids with us because they'd been so behaved. Then they went on to talk about other kids that they'd seen in the past few days & it made me super thankful for my well behaved children.

Then yesterday while out thrifting with Fin,  I'd bought him a little storage box, some VHS movies and a little guitar that hangs on his wall.  Well, while checking out, he hugged me as tight as he could, looked up at me and said, "Thank you mom for all the things you buyed for me today!" I hugged him back and told him he was welcome but the cashier (who up until this point hadn't given a crap about us) looked at me just stunned and said, "that is the first kid I've heard ALL DAY say 'thank you' and genuinely mean it! That's amazing!".  I replied with, "that's really sad".  She agreed and told me that I needed to come back and teach the other rascals (she paused for a second trying to think of a word and settled on "rascals"- I laughed) some manners.  I was just blown away though and truly thankful for her words. 

It's nice to know that we're doing something right.

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So since it's Friday, it's time for this week's good deeds. (Sorry for the lateness, we did the deeds today.  Today is Fin's last day of his Summer Enrichment Program so I had him color a piece of paper for his teacher and put a Starbucks gift card in it and wrote, "Thanks a latte for being so awesome!"
And then I saved up my June & July Random Act of LUV codes and gave them to the assistants that had helped out in Fin's class.  Turns out that yesterday was their last day but his teacher assured me that she could get them to them, so phew!

Monterey Chicken {Recipe}

Unpoppable bubbles

Snaptea and summer picnics

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.

This past Friday the kids and I went on a picnic!

We picked up Fin from his summer enrichment program (Summer school focusing on science and math) then came home and prepared lunch. 
We made turkey and cheese sandwiches, packed some snacks & cups full of ice so that once we got there we could enjoy our Snapple SnapTea!  (David and the kids love the lemon sweet tea but I prefer the green tea- both are perfect summer drinks though).

We attempted to get some group pictures but well, that just didn't go so well. Haha.  Owen tried to run back and forth to catch up with me as I'd run to click the button.  Fin and Maddie were still trying to eat so they had food in their mouths and were still trying to say cheese thinking it was just the funniest thing (It was!)

I felt soccer mom like in my sort of khakis -they're gray Dollhouse brand and have studs on the back so they're really  NOT soccer mom like but paired with the stripped shirt.... well, soccer mom for the win!

Here's where I attempted some outfit pictures to show you my soccer mom ensemble but the kids thought they'd jump in too.  Again, Owen kept running back and forth.  It was so funny to watch. 

They decided to go have some SnapTea and give me a second to myself.  I attempted to take full advantage. 

Fin still had food with him and in his mouth! He's a goof.

We took a few like this-sitting in the grass.  Fin ran back & forth for me to click the button, he had to quench his thirst after all that running and brought his thermos with him from the table to enjoy some of his tea. 

I'm a lucky momma, I really am.  Just look how cute these ittle bittles are!

You can head over here to view my Google+ album of our shopping experience.

Now though, the rain is back.  I'm glad we got to enjoy a picnic out in the hot sun (and boy was it HOT) before the rain came back to us.

Be sure to head over and follow @snapple to stay up to date on all the great stuff they've got going on!

You can head over to Walmart.com/snapple and get a coupon for $1 off and you can join in the photo fun challenge and try to win a year's supply of snapple!  Coupons will be on Walmart .com from 5/24-9/30/2013

I'm late.

It's Friday.
Usually I have today's post prepared but it's 8 am here and I don't.
I mean I've done my good deed, I just haven't had half of a second to sit down and type it up.
Even now, I should be feeding the kids breakfast & making sure they actually get dressed but I'm sitting down instead.
It's been the busiest of few days & I'm pooped.

Anyway, so I know you've probably seen me talk about my BFF Jenny G's new shop.  If not, then you probably don't follow me on twitter or on facebook (and you should head over and follow them real quick).
I helped name this bag. Maddie. The Madelyn.  Yup.
I own this bag in blue.
And I ordered this bag for my mother in law.  While they were in town, I heard her mention to David's dad that she needed a new bag.
Two birds, one stone- I ordered a bag from Jenny G and had her ship it to David's mom. She mailed it out that same day!  I was sneaky & asked David's mom her favorite because "I" was looking for a new bag.
When she got it, she was surprised.  It made me happy and made her happy to help "me" shop and then to get it herself.

What about you?  Were you kind this week?!

Let's talk about Bo the Dog. {giveaway}

Anniversaries are awesome.

Before you read this, you should know that David and I are an odd couple.
I love the man more than words can say but we speak weirdly to each other.
Okay, continue.

I was recently given the chance to review a card from Cardstore.com and let me just say, they do not disappoint!
I was able to create the PERFECT anniversary card for David.
I was able to pick and chose every picture, every text, every font, every size, etc etc.
I was able to create the whole thing from scratch and I am just so in love with how it turned out.

Our wedding anniversary is July 23rd so hopefully he won't see this post before then. (Don't tell him, K?! Thanks!)

I also plan on ordering him some stupid bike part that he took off his list from our tax return because he'd overspent his share.  He did order Fin's birthday presents from it so I'm not complaining too much & I'm thankful that he took stuff off his list so that I had stuff to get for him.  Otherwise, it'd have been a box or basket of random goodies like this.

What Owen wears

I took these pictures the other day thinking I was all on top of my game getting ready to link up with Chelsea and her Trendy Little link up only to realize that I'd missed it.  I thought it was Thursday and it's not.
So I saved these from last week for this week.
Isn't he just cute?!

 This picture was where he'd run full force at me and the camera and then crack up when I'd put my hand out to stop him.  He'd stumble backwards and sometimes fall down and then laugh harder and get back up and do it again.

This smile was because he'd moved the gate and climbed up the stairs for the fourth time this day.
I freaked out every stinkin' time and each time he thought it was hilarious!
So I took it as a photo opp.
He's a ham.

His first skinned knee. Didn't even phase him at the time but the other night, he looked down at it and pointed to it and yelled, "BOO!!!!! BOOO!!!!" So I scooped him up, set him down, inspected it, kissed it, called Daddy over to inspect it, Daddy kissed it and it was all good.
Basically we made a big dramatic deal out of it for him.
He loved it.

outfit details:
Shirt: Gift from Great Grandma.
Shorts: Ralph Lauren ++thrifted++

Monday is for winners.

I have no idea where that title came from but let's go with it.

Hey, guys!!
How was your weekend?!

Mine was good.  Long like always.
On Thursday night we finally got that long awaited check from the IRS only to have to wait until Friday to deposit it.
We deposited it only to find out that they only actually deposited $500 and have the rest (A LOT LOT LOT) on hold for a few days.  *sigh*.
I mean, it's not the end of the world by any means, just frustrating to wait a little bit longer for OUR money.

But anyway,

David got off early on Friday so we grabbed a late lunch and took the kids back to school clothes shopping.
It was exhausting but fun.
Maddie was THRILLED about it.
We got everything except shoes for Fin and their school supplies because I'd forgotten the list at home. Oops.

We ate at Country's BBQ- the sweet tea was served in BIG mason jars.
See David's beer in the background? It was almost 3 beers in that jar. 
He was pleased! HA.

 Fried pickles were our appetizer! You just can't go wrong with fried pickles, well.... you can but these were amazing.

 And then Saturday David & I just scrubbed the house, caught up on some much needed cleaning and called it a day.
Sunday I finished the grocery shopping trip that I'd started Friday morning but had run out of cart (Damn those little Cars carts things).
The kids played video games a bit, Owen cuddled in between them occasionally kicking them while I did some dishes and dinner.
David went riding with a friend so the kids and I had a dance party in the kitchen.  -I tried to upload a video but it just refused to let me.  YouTube also refused so yeah.  Sorry.

How was your weekend?   Anything exciting happen?

Making friends...

Making friends is hard.

In Alaska, I had some great friends. It took me a LOT of not so great ones to get there but I finally found some keepers.  I also had a lot of people that I didn't hang out with daily but I knew I could call if I needed something.  I knew people, good people.  I went through my fair share of drama and terrible people before getting there but it was worth the climb.

Then we moved.  I've touched base on making friends in the Mil Spouse community before (read here) but man, it's not easy.  We've been here almost a year now. September 23rd will make it a year.  I've met some people here and know some people here from Alaska, thankfully. 
But the people I've met here.... -excluding one that I really like-  I wouldn't call them up to go shopping with me, or to go grab coffee and a bite to eat.  I wouldn't invite em over for a play date.   Most of them already have their own friends and lives so I'd feel like I was just interrupting them.  I don't want to force them to befriend me.  And I'm TERRIBLE about making the first move.  I don't text people first, I don't say, "Hey! Let me get your number. Let's get together".  It's just not me.   I've come across some people here that just suck. (David and I were what we call "convenient friends" to them. They only liked us because it was convenient but then they moved on to bigger/better things and just forgot about us-I'm okay with that because I dreaded anything to do with them like 95% of the time). 

Anyway,  at first I didn't mind it,  I even told David that with all the hell I went through in Alaska just trying to make friends that I just didn't even want to bother trying.  I didn't care to try.  I was dead set in my ways for the longest time.  I was fine with it. 
And then it happened.  That damn bike club. I was forced to meet people and mingle.  I didn't hate it but then again, as soon as I let my guard down, I got shit on.  Don't get me wrong, they don't all suck.  I actually really like the some of them.  But still. It stings to let my guard down only to get shit on, even if it was by people that I didn't much care for. 
Being asked to lie to another wife about a sleepover should've been a big clue though that these two were real winners. (I could go on and on with the signs that they sucked but I won't).

Point being, being a military spouse and moving around so much makes it so difficult to meet people, to connect with people.  You have to fast track through the basics of getting to know someone and just hope that a month or so later they don't do a 180 and totally suck.  I've reached the point where I want to make a friend.   I want to be able to text her and say,  "Hey! Dead to the world... meet at starbucks in 20?" or something stupid like that.   I want to be able to say, "Hey babe.... me and so and so are gonna go see this movie, when do you NOT work so you can stay home with the bittles?!". 

I want to be able to have play dates and not find their kid(s) to be total brats.  I want to be able to talk to them without watching my every word.  I want to be able to hang out with them without walking on eggshells.  I want to be able to have a conversation with them without them yelling constantly at their kids.

I thank God for the one couple that David & I have met that we actually enjoy hanging out with.






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ANYWAY:  This week's good deeds. 

• We ordered pizza Wednesday evening and tipped the guy more than we normally would. 
• I stopped the cars behind me when turning into Fin's school to let a car coming the other way over... otherwise he'd have been waiting a long time. 
• I let a guy back out of his driveway instead of continuing to drive and making him wait.  I figured he could've been in a hurry or late for work or something. 
• I made small talk with people at the kids' dentist appointments while I waited for the kids instead of just playing on my phone the whole time. 
• OH!! I made an appointment to get Bo neutered.  After seeing the hole he ate in our living room wall with me literally sitting in the same room, instead of just finding him a new home, I'm giving him a 2nd 100th chance to be less of an asshole dog.  And I told David I'd pay for it out of my half of tax money so that he didn't have to put a bike part back from his very full online cart.
  
  

Sometimes I want to punch my husband.

Yup, you read that right.

Sometimes I just wanna punch him in his stupid handsome face.

(He pushed me OUT of this picture)

It's a bunch of giveaways!

Yeah. Just like the title says.

This post is a bunch of giveaways.

Blogging is a funny thing. I feel like I won't be part of giveaways for the longest time and then all at once I'm part of like 20! But lucky for you, here you go:

Meal time

How do you do meals?

I usually just make the bittles' plates and take them to the table. They eat what's in front of them or at least a good chunk of it. But lately I've been trying the "family style" eating where you carry all the food to the table and let them pick and choose.

Weekend recap fun!

GUYS!!!

Happy Monday!
I know it feels so wrong to say that to you guys, because I bet Mondays blow for you!
Mondays don't bother me though.

InstaRecap!

This weekend I decided to link up with my friend, Tawny and her instagram recap! She does it weekly, so you should check it out! :)

This week, Bo got himself a fancy pair of glasses!

Cats and Good Deeds.

Happy Friday!
It's a boring Friday here.  Rainy and cold. And it makes day 3 of our cat missing. 

Roscoe's always been a wanderer but Wednesday while he was outside, it started raining and we haven't seen him since.  Last time he was just out back when it started sprinkling and he quickly booked it to the backdoor.
One time at Fort Knox, he wandered off and was gone all day & overnight.  We thought he was gone for sure (he was barely 2) but the next morning we found him just sitting on the back deck (which was off the ground by 7 or 8 feet).  So I'm really hoping that this is the case again.  That he'll just turn up.  It's never been this long though.  And the weather here has not been pretty.  And Roscoe's pretty old,  he's 7.  He's older than our children. 
I've posted his face on facebook pages and people are on the lookout for him.  I'm going to make flyers this weekend and get them hung up around the neighborhood.  It's just so weird to me because he ALWAYS just comes right back inside. 

Anyway, good deeds good deeds.....  I took the kids to McDonalds and to Walmart the other day for lunch and for a few things.  While there, I was struggling to get our tray and carry Owen.  I was doing fine until the kids asked for ketchup and then realized that they couldn't pump it themselves.  The lady that took my order (who was a bit grumpy at first) nicely offered to help as well as some guy just standing there waiting on his food.  She beat him to it, but she then also carried our tray for us as well as yelled at the guy who was supposed to clean the play room.  (it was gross)-she refused to let us sit down until she got a washcloth and wiped it down for us.  Then last the guy came through and looked at all the tables and walked back out.   I guess it was clean to his standards! I laughed when I saw him. 

As far as my good deeds though, I struck up random conversation with this lady sitting at Fin's school that looked bored to tears. 
I took the kids out for happy meals.  (I think being a good mom counts as being nice  :p )
(that and I haven't really gone anywhere this week to do anything kind).
I actually did something kind this week, I just can't remember for the life of me what it was.  HA.





That's all I've got this week guys.

Simple Cups {Review}

Do you have a Keurig?  I do.  You know what bugs me about it?  The price of K-cups.  I'm cheap when it comes to stuff like that so most of the time I buy regular coffee cans and just use my reusable plastic K-cup and filter.  It drives me crazy.  It's so time consuming. 
When I got the chance to review these Simple Cups, I jumped for joy!! It was perfect timing too because it was right before David's parents got into town and his Dad drinks decaf.  This means that I didn't have to buy decaf K-cups for him or put him through the hassle of sharing ONE reusable filter with me.  It would've resulted in fighting over who gets to use it first.  (Not really, he'd have let me if we both woke up at the same time).

Simple Cups has developed a way to save money without sacrificing quality or convenience in your daily cup. The Simple Cups line includes:

• Disposable Cups, Lids and Filters (compatible with Keurig Brewers)
• Reusable Cup (compatible with Keurig Brewers)
• Coffee Pod Replacements (for use with Pod Makers)

These things truly are amazing!! I just filled up the last of them the other day and once they're empty, I'll no doubt be ordering more!!

Head over and like them on facebook to stay up to date on them.
You can even follow them on Pinterest.

If you have a Keurig, I highly suggest you get yourself some of these bad boys!!
I have no complaints about them!  I tried to think of something negative to add in here so it didn't sound so happy go lucky, but I truly couldn't think of anything. 
They take no time to fill, they're cheap, they're disposable.... no fuss, no mess!




I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.