AMAZING and EASY No Bake Cookie Recipe

This no bake cookie recipe was passed from my grandma to my mom, and then to me! I love adding things, substituting, and just making the recipe fun! But sometimes good ol fashion no bake cookies are the best, so today I'll be sharing that one.

What you will need (tip: have everything ready and measured before you start!):

Wax paper

Sauce pan

*2 cups sugar

*1/2 cup butter

*1/2 cup milk

*4 TBS cocoa

*1 tsp salt

3/4 cup peanut butter

3 cups oatmeal

1 TBS vanilla

First mix all ingredients that have a * in front of them in a saucepan. Bring them to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring the entire time to ensure everything is well mixed.

Once that is boiling add the rest of the ingredients. Allow that to boil together while you stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Then, immediately drop spoonfuls into little balls onto wax paper.

Let sit UNCOVERED for 2+ hours.

I apparently ran out of wax paper.

Syran wrap DOES NOT work just as good. It will work though.

Cookies take longer to harden like this.

Our Family Tortoise

Like most families we have a family dog, and a cat. We love them, they complete our family, make things more interesting! We also have a tortoise, he is just a baby, and his name is Rocky. Because we live in Michigan, Rocky has an indoor enclosure to keep him from the weather. Today the sun is nice warm and shining so we get to bring him outside, which Alexander begs me to do daily! Rocky loves being outside, he gets to explore, eat, and sunbathe. He is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work!

Rocky has to eat a very strict diet, and have the perfect amount of UVA and UVB rays daily. Rocky also needs a calcium supplement to ensure proper bone growth and shell strength. Right now Rocky is very small, about the size of a baseball, so his housing isn't a problem. But in the next couple years Rocky will grow to be pretty large, and we will have to make arrangements for a new house for him.

He will stay with our family, we will just need to invest a lot more money into his future home, and his well being to keep him safe, happy, and healthy.

We love our family tortoise Rocky <3

The imagination of a little boy.

It really is an amazing thing! A fragile, innocent time in this little boys life. Being a part of it as an adult isnt something to take for granted, this time should be cherished, and encouraged! So many children are growing up in houses where creativity isn't expressed, they learn from the TV and video games. Believe it or not, a lot of modern kids don't know how to entertain themselves with their imagination. Now, getting to where I am going with this post...

My sons imagination is incredible! It is non stop, so big! He imagines some of the craziest, funniest, realist, scariest things, and he wants us all to play along! It's fun, to forget that I'm an adult, forget the responsibilities for a moment and fight that 3 headed dragon with him! Rescuing him after the dragon knocks his sword from his hand, and he chops all 3 heads off in one huge swipe of his sword for the victory! Yes, all this imagination, and not yet 3 years old! Sometimes I forget, and I get frustrated with his constant imagination, I'm so caught up being an adult. We all have responsilbilitys, but I bet if we all let the kid out in ourselves more often, the adult stuff will come more easy :)

The latest, my son found these 2 coins, came up to me and said "the pirates gave these to me, they are for fixing their ship"

Walking Depression?

I really don't know where to start with this, because I am not ungrateful, but I feel like that is how I am going to sound. Well, I have to start somewhere.

Since I was a teenager I found it hard to find happiness in anything, never thought much of it. That was just always my personality. I got into drinking In high school, and I had a lot of fun! Did a lot of things that I do in fact regret though! Then I joined the navy, and my depression (still un diagnosed) was at an all time high, and so was my drinking. At that point, people started to really notice, they thought I may be suicidal, and honestly my life was such a blur at that point I could have been and just not remember. I started seeing a therapist, a psychologist, and a few other doctors. It didn't help, I felt like talking about what made me unhappy made it worse. Admitting defeat meant I was a loser.

Fast forward, skipping the depression I had living in Texas.

When my husband and I moved to Michigan I thought that would cure my unhappiness. And it did for a while, but only because I hid it someplace far back in myself. When I decided to write this it hit me, I was depressed in Michigan as a teen, it's not my location, it's ME!

I am a very strong willed person, hard headed, my way or the highway. I don't like to admit defeat, I don't like to talk, I don't want to relate. But I don't want to be alone either. Where is the middle point? Do I need to surrender to my feelings and seek therapy again? I hope I am able to answer these questions in the vary near future.

Thankful that I can finally admit to my own mental health issue.

Happy to be home!

I work at TJMaxx, and I love it! It is a great store to work for, and honestly, it's the closest thing to "me time" that I get. Well, tonight Alexander is staying at my moms house, and Marc had Amelia while I worked, she hates when I go to work, she's such a mommys girl <3

When I get home she gets so excited, smiley and laughs!

Curls her little arms around my neck and holds on for dear life, as if to say "please mommy, don't leave again"

Sept 07 2013

At 3:40 am Amelia Merry was born. Her birth was a little more hazy and quick then Alexander's, so exact details may need edited later :p

She was 19.5 in and 6lb 11oz, the feelings I had when she was born were so mixed. I fell in love instantly, but was sad for Alexander. He wasn't my baby anymore, he was a big boy and Amelia was taking the "baby title".

Laboring with Amelia was so quick, I wanted an epidural but didn't have time. I did most of my laboring at home, woke Marc up about 2am because my contractions were finally to the point I couldn't stand it anymore. We hardly made it to the hospital, got me on the bed and I went from a 7 to 10 within seconds!

Even though I screamed, swore, and cried in pain, I am so happy I was able to do it natural :) the healing process was so much faster, and it made me feel so strong.

July 31st 2012- Moving from Texas to Michigan

Happy doesn't even begin to explain my feelings about this move! Even though we packed everything up into a uhaul in less than 48 hours and it was extremely difficult, I don't remember complaining one time, because I was finally getting out of that dreadful state!

Dont get me wrong, I don't hate Texas, I would just rather live almost ANYWHERE else. And will never go back between the month of march through October. It is way too hot for this northern snow bunny! 

Michigan is my home, will always be my home no matter where I end up. My family lives here, my spirit lives here. I was beyond excited to share my love for this state with my husband, who was very open minded about it all! Was also pretty excited for our move. Until winter.

August 11th 2011

At 11:59pm Alexander Marcos made his grand entry into this world. 19.5 inches long, 6lb 9oz of pure perfection! I wasn't sure if I could do it natural, but was also petrified of an epidural. After laboring for a few hours I ended up with the epidural, and was nearly instant relief. 7 pushes, and he was born <3

I was too scared to open my eyes once he was out, it was all happening too fast. I was scared I would be a bad mom, that I wasn't enough for him. As soon as I opened my eyes and held him for the first time, it changed my life. Without him, I don't know where I would have ended up. This little tiny baby boy completed me, he was all I needed, he made me feel like a person, like I am on this earth for a reason!

I've never felt like that before, so it was a pretty eye opening moment for me.

New BLOG :)

My old blog just up and disappeared..weird!

Here's the start to a new blog, this is like my own little personal diary, and I would like it to start at the beginning. Beginning meaning the day my son Alexander was born nearly 3 years ago. That is the day I began to feel like a person. I have ALOT of catching up to do, but it will happen, no matter how long it takes :p