Donut Holes

I can't believe I waited so long to post again! I told myself I would keep up with it because it's an easy way for family and friends who don't have facebook to keep up with everything that's going on in our lives. At the same time, it's also somewhat self soothing to be able to blog.
My cheesecake drops that I discussed in my last post ended up being a big hit at work! Everyone loved them!! Unfortunately, I didn't make enough (go figure).
We will be going out of town this weekend to see my in-laws and I can't wait to go. Paul and I haven't had a chance to spend a whole lot of time with each other since our schedules have changed, so we're both looking forward to getting away for the weekend. Some friends of ours just had their baby a couple months ago and we're excited to get to meet her for the first time! Hayden is also hoping to talk Grampee into getting her some donut holes. Yes...she has been introduced to donut holes already and was actually introduced to them at the young age of 6 months. We were at his parents house and Paul was letting me sleep in. I wake up, walk out into the living room and this is what I see...

Thank you Grampee! This is why she loves him so much. Speaking of donut holes, a co-worker just brought donuts to work!! If you know me, you know I can't turn down food...especially donuts!
My mother-in-law and I will also be making cheesecake drops! If we have time, we're also going to be making cake drops and maybe oreo drops. Don't know if we'll get to all that but it would be fun to have a variety. Decorating them is the fun part! I'm sure with 2 minds we will be able to get pretty creative. I've had a few requests for them but I've been so busy lately that I can't find the time to make them right now. Guess I need to make time so I can start taking orders for them.
Another thing I've started doing on the side is selling Scentsy. Everyone kept telling me that Scentsy sells itself...it really does sell itself. I've had fun so far and hope this is something I can stick with. Scentsy sets you up with your own website for 3 months free which makes it easy for friends and family who aren't in your town to place orders under your name!
www.scentsy.com/karenhardi is my site if you're interested in checking out our products!

Cheesecake Drops!

This week has been unbelievably slow at work and the month even slower. I've been trying to think of different hobbies I could consume my extra time with lately and I think I've found what I want to do...cheesecake balls! Eventually it will lead into making cake balls and oreo balls (I've made both before but have more demands for cheescake balls) but for now I'll stick with cheesecake.
I attempted to make these amazing cheesecake balls when I was pregnant with Hayden. I saw them on a site that a friend showed me and fell in love. I had to make them IMMEDIATELY...and no one was going to stop me. Apparently I "craved" sweets during my pregnancy, I beg to differ but everyone else will say otherwise. Anyway, I made them for the first time and was completely disappointed with the appearance. I couldn't understand why mine didn't look like the picture!! Paul kept telling me that it was my first attempt and that I shouldn't expect it to look perfect. After making them a few times, I was still having a hard time making the chocolate look completely smooth, making the balls close to the same size, making the the perfect size. I have now accomplished that!
I decided to make some cheesecake balls for Paul's co-workers today. We're hosting coffee hour at church this Sunday so I wanted to get a jump start on them and warm up since I hadn't made them in a while. I tried a few things different and I'm FINALLY happy with how they turned out.

:)


I look forward to experimenting with them even more now and might even try it on my next batch for our church.
Paul thinks this is something I should start doing, guess we'll see. He told me I needed to come up with a different name other than Cheesecake Balls because the guys at work were making comments about it...go figure. So I've decided to call them Cheesecake Drops! They're small enough to eat in 2 bites and taste amazing.

I need life to slow down!

This week has flown by unbelievably fast and Paul will finally be starting work on Saturday. I can't believe he will be starting THIS Saturday! He's been working, but this will be the first day he will not be in the office anymore. As if I didn't have enough worries on my plate, I will now be walking around with the biggest smile on my face and the biggest weight on my heart...worry. I know he will do just fine and will come home at the end of every day giving a kiss to his "2 favorite girls".
Along with Paul starting work this weekend, my mind has been going around in circles trying to think of either a creative hobby or "side job" to fill my time with. You'd think I wouldn't want to do anything else on top of being a mommy & already working! With it getting so close to summer, sales will begin to slow down for a little while and I would like to continue putting more and more towards our savings account. We've been doing great and I think I can say I have the biggest obsession with seeing our account number get higher and higher. First we're saving up for our "Emergency Fund", next the "Down Payment on our FUTURE home", and last but definitely not least...putting more towards Hayden's college fund. I told Paul we also needed to get started on a wedding fund because we don't want it to hit us out of no where one day! He doesn't think that's as important as the first 2 but definitely thinks we'll need to start contributing to a wedding fund some day soon.
Back to the hobby or side job...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've thought about making more bows and beginning to sell them. I've also thought about Mary Kay, Arbonne, Scentsy, and PartyLite. I still haven't found THE ONE I want to do though but I'm sure I'll get there one day. Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated!
On a sad note, we've decided to call it quits on house hunting for now. We realized we are both so eager to get into a house that we ended up realizing that we both don't want to end up settling for a house and regretting it later. It started to become so hard NOT to get excited about going to see a house, loving it, then deciding against it but I'm glad we called it quits. It was almost exhausting! I know the right house will come up at the perfect opportunity and we'll be happy we decided against getting a certain house.
On a lighter note, Hayden has been doing so good with eating her whole foods! She is now eating Big Girl breakfasts, Big Girl snacks, and drinks like a big girl from a straw. I still can't believe how big my baby is. I need her to grow a little slower please! She will always be my baby...no matter what.

Where did Hayden's first year go??

This is my first post and I wish I could say it was something that I've been doing prior to Hayden being born. I've had a few friends who have started blogging and I think it is the greatest way to keep up with baby updates! The first time they sleep through the night, the first time they roll over, the first time they try whole foods, the first time they sit up, etc. After Hayden was born and up until we moved to Wichita Falls, I was so focused on writing EVERY single new step Hayden had taken in her life in her baby book right when it happened. Needless to say, the packing & move took us some time along with adjusting to our new lives in Wichita Falls. If I would've started blogging a while back, I wouldn't have an excuse as to why certain things might now be missing in her baby book. I guess I can do the best with what I can remember and what I've written on little pieces of papers that I've shoved in her book.
The past year has gone by so fast it's unbelievable! Hayden was rolling over, sitting up, babbling & eating whole foods before I knew it. The first weekend we moved into our new home Hayden started crawling in her new room, and 2 days before her first birthday she was walking. This past year has been absolutely amazing but it saddens me at the same time to think of how fast these next 18 years will be going by. Sometimes I wish I could freeze frame time to this very moment in her life.