To Blog or Not To Blog?

Once again I have neglected my blog. Are y'all still here? Would you like to hear about all the craziness going on in my life? I keep debating whether or not to continue blogging or just journal for myself. Does anyone really care? Please pipe in if you're reading this - would love to hear your thoughts :)

Loaded Blondies/Loaded Post

Well, the time has come. I had a good run, I guess.

There will be no more baking, or shopping, or trips to the park with my daughter,  or going out with my man.

After a trip to the emergency room this weekend due to constant, painful contractions, the doctor has ordered complete bedrest. I am not surprised. This is about the same time I went into labor with our daughter too.

I think it's a little funny when a doctor puts a woman on bedrest when she has a two year old to take care of. Do they know how active and needy toddlers are?? Not to mention we are in the midst of potty training, which involves running to the bathroom every 20 minutes.

Oh, and did I mention our house is on the market and needs to stay spic and span in case we get a showing.

And we are house hunting.

And I have custom jewelry orders that I cannot fulfill because I can't go out an get the supplies I need.

Oh, and did I mention we have nothing ready for the babies?

Bedrest is stressful.

I can't just put my feet up and watch movies and read books all day like people think. I am only two days in and I already feel stressed out. There's way too much to do and I can't do anything.

Now that I got that off my chest, let me also say this: I am extremely grateful to be pregnant with these babies. It has been a long hard road to get to this point, and we have endured much just to get this far. But I would do it again and again because I know it's worth it. Our sweet Isabella is a result of the same struggles, and she has brought immeasurable joy to us. I know it will be worth it. I know it's the best thing for our boys.

So I will suck it up, and just be thankful to be in this situation. Thankful that I made it to the third trimester. Thankful that our sons are still safe inside. Thank you Jesus!!

Now, I can't bake these days, but I have a few goodies saved up to share with you. How about these Loaded Blondies??

I love bar recipes because they are fast and easy to make, and sooo yummy!

You may think you're not a fan of blondies. You may think they're boring.

These are not boring. Make them. Trust me.

Stephanie's Loaded Blondies

3/4 c butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cps flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup milk chocolate chunks

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

3/4 cup dark chocolate covered cranberries

Bake in a greased 9x13" pan at 350 for 20-25 min. I like mine slightly under baked so they are gooey and delish! You may never go back to brownies again. :)

Cupcakes That Take The Cake

Everyone has a favorite kind of cake, right? What's yours? Mine has always been Chocolate, but recently I have converted to Red Velvet. 

Maybe it's the moist, light, fluffy texture with just a hint of chocolate flavor. Or maybe it's the cream cheese frosting. 

The awesome, makeadoublebatchjusttoeatalone frosting. 

Yeah, I think that's it. I have made cream cheese frosting before, but this variation I came up with takes the cake. :)

It is super creamy, delightfully rich, very cream cheesy, and not too sweet. It's perfection. Just try it, you'll see.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbs red food coloring
• 1 tsp vanilla 

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar 
• 
  
• Directions
• Mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl and set aside. In a mixer gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, and vanilla. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly among 2 lined cupcake tins. Bake in oven at 350 for about 22ish minutes. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick, be sure not to over bake. Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar (use more or less according to your taste - I don't like overly sweet frosting) and mix until light and creamy.

Of course, as delicious as these would be as is, I couldn't stop there! I did say they were Red Velvet with a Twist after all! I made 2 variations, both of which were fantastic! 

Make these for your next party. Or make them because it's the weekend! Red Velvet just might become your new favorite too!

And just in case you're wondering how huge I am at 6 1/2 months pregnant with these 2 boys, here I am!!

Happy weekend all!

****Please take a minute to read this post and consider buying some goodies to help this family raise the overwhelming $30,000 needed to adopt their new child.*****

Shop For A Cause

 Meet Brian and Heather Keehn from The Adventures of Team Keehn 
This is an excerpt from their blog:

Brian and I are extremely excited to share some news with you. As most of you know, the Lord has blessed us with the responsibility of raising two amazing boys. Cale who is almost 3 and Quinn who just turned 1 in April. We love having a family and all the joy that comes with it. Recently we have felt the desire to add to our family once again. But this time in a different way. The Lord is leading us to do so through adoption.

For as long as I can remember I have desired to adopt a child. Brian and I talked about it from time to time early in our marriage and more recently (the past year) very frequently. 
Currently there are millions of children without families to give them the basic needs like a warm home, food, or more importantly unconditional love. We know that we don't have the means to change the world on our own, but we can change the world for at least one child.

We are so unbelievably overwhelmed with joy and excitement, however it is not going to be easy. As many of you know, adoption is not an inexpensive process. It is going to cost about $30,000. The cost can be overwhelming but we know it is what we are called to do.

*******

I do not know the Keehn's  personally, but a friend of mine posted about them on Facebook and ever since I read that post I have felt the Lord tugging at my heart to do something to help. 
After our struggles to conceive, and the pain of losing so many babies, my husband and I were starting to consider adoption.  I did some research and was overwhelmed by the cost of adoption.  As the Keehn's mentioned, it's going to cost them around $30,000!!  Yikes! 


What do you say we all join in to help them bring their little one home??


From now until July 20, a portion of every purchase you make from Pearls and Petals and Bella Regali will go straight to the Keehn's to help bring their new child home!!! 
So buy some jewelry for yourself  or your friends, and PLEASE spread the word!! This is a very worthy cause, and you even get jewelry out of the deal! 


If you are not into jewelry and don't know anyone who is, (is that possible??) you can make a donation on their blog The Adventures of Team Keehn .


I hope you will join with me in helping this family who is following the Lord's leading. Let's be a blessing to them!!


                                                    

Gender Reveal!!

I really wanted to reveal the genders of these babies in a special way. We have been praying for them for so long and we do not take for granted the great miracle God has done in giving them to us. That being said, you can see how a phone call or text just wouldn't cut it! 

I decided to throw a Gender Reveal party! 

It was so much fun! I loved that both sides of the family could come over for the announcement and help us celebrate this special time.

We found out the genders a week before the party, and everyone was very anxiously awaiting the announcement. I was being stalked on facebook every 30 seconds, and certain people, who will remain nameless, even tried to trick us into spilling the beans early. 

But I am an excellent secret keeper, so it didn't work ;)

I baked up some goodies and everyone took a bite at the same time to find out the sex of one baby, then they had to look around to see what color treat other people had to find out the sex of the second baby.

Great anticipation....

 I got a blue one!

 Blue!

 Yay for a son!!

 My side of the family is so excited to finally have a boy!!

 First great-grandson!!

 Yay a nephew!

 Daddy was explaining that blue means a brother for Bella!

 Aaaannnd ANOTHER BLUE!!

 WHAT?!  2 brothers!?!

 Oh yes, we are going to have so much fun!!!

These are the yummy treats I made for the special occasion:

Boston Cream Cupcakes

Fudge Brownie Cups Filled with Vanilla Cream and Topped with Ganache

Caramel Cream Truffles Dipped in Ganache and Sprinkles

This was such a fun way to share our happy news! We are super excited to be expecting to little boys!!

22 weeks and going strong, thank you Jesus!

The BIG 20 Week Ultrasound

So Monday was the big 20 week ultrasound. Every time we get to see our babies I am on a super high for quite a while. It is so amazing to see what God is knitting together inside me. It's still hard for me to believe I am actually pregnant with these precious twins. Talk about miracles!!

Baby A

Baby B

Everything seemed to be ok, but I got a call this morning from my doctor saying I need to go back for a repeat ultrasound. I didn't get any details except that they need to take another look at baby A's heart. I am just praying that everything is ok. I don't like getting scary calls like that. I also don't like when the ultrasound tech  takes 2 hours to do the ultrasound (not kidding) and has to bring in a few different people to look at my babies.... There is nothing more I can do than pray. I know they are in God's hands and I am trusting Him too keep them safe!

On a happy note, we found out the sexes of the babies! 

I know you all will hate me, but we are not spilling the beans yet!! Not even our families know. You'll find out soon enough ;)

Now we have to start thinking of names, shopping for the nursery, all that fun stuff. So exciting!

Lastly, here is a peek at me at 20 weeks. Fat and happy, lol!

I'm playing a guessing game with my facebook friends called "If you didn't already know, how far along would you think I am?". Risky, I know. I think I look more like 32 weeks...but I am having twins! :)

Things are Changing

First of all I have to say that I have such sweet readers!! I have received several emails and messages from you guys just checking up on me, wondering how I am doing. Aww shucks, you really like me! :)

Those of you who are my Facebook friends get the play by play of what's happening in my life, but for my poor neglected blog friends, I suppose I owe you an update!

Mostly I have been busy growing babies :)

Here is my attempt to pull my head out of the toilet (which is mainly where you can find me these days), and document in pictures this miraculous journey.

Keep in mind I am carrying twins!!

Now for some random factoids you may or may not be interested in reading ;)

* I have been completely smitten with celery over the past few weeks. It's the only thing I ever care to eat. 

* Between 16 and 18 weeks I feel like these babies grew at warp speed and my belly must have doubled in size! (see photos 3 and 4)

* My regular jeans no longer cooperate in the buttoning department.

* I am only 6lbs away from gaining back all the weight I lost during the first trimester, and if these kids keep growing at the speed of light I will get there in no time!

* We get to find out real soon the sex of these little ones. I can't wait!!!

* I am going to try not to go months between posts again. If you just have to know what I'm up to you can find me on facebook!