HW

  I may be a tad early, but my favorite time of year is quickly approaching and the time to prepare is NOW! Because "by the pricking of my thumbs.... Something WICKED this way comes!" If you know me, you know that I never EVER pass up an opportunity to dress up and you'll also know that Halloween is my all time favorite FAVORITE FAVORITE time of year. As per tradition, we have our annual family costume party, we go all out with our costumes (sometimes making them from scratch) and keep it secret until the big day. We also make chili, breadsticks, caramel apples and endless crafts to further decorate our already haunted houses. My dad does a yearly spook alley in the backyard and it is quite a sight to behold. To hold off bombarding you with all the details, I am going to keep this post short and sweet. This year I would absolutely LOVE to get input from my readers of what what you would like to see on Spreading Happy Thoughts in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Is...

A mermaid party? SHELL YES count me in! Alright you guys. I know this Shell Yes party is old news and you are all probably sick of seeing it on everyone's social media. So after this blog post, I am done, I promise. After all, if it doesn't get blogged, did it really happen? Hmm? SHELL YES IT DID! I've said it a million times, but this party was absolutely the highlight of this summer. (Hendricks was born in the spring so I can say that!)  If you've followed me for awhile you know that I perform as a mermaid for birthday parties and special events. I sing songs, swim and read a book I've written especially about my mermaid character, Sonnet. This kids love it. Heck, the adults do too. The tail is super realistic.   Anyway, I've been living in Iowa for the past four years and have watched from afar as Alison (from The Alison Show ) and her friends all partied without me. (Insert sad, crying face emoji.)  I told myself if we ever moved back, I would definitely go...

My hubby will be the first to tell you that I may not be the best cook, but I can make a MEAN peach pie. No really. If we could only eat one thing for the rest of our lives, I am pretty sure this is what we would choose. I dont even like pie, but this... This is something else entirely. So today I am going to share with you my secret recipe along with some tricks to make it even better. I've included instructions in most of the images and the recipe in its entirety is found at the bottom of this post, but I'll be sharing some tricks with each step as well. So get ready to make the most glorious treat known to mankind, get set... GO! Peach Pie   Step 1: Pre-bake your pie shells. I have never made pie crust from scratch, but if I did, I am sure it'd only make this decadent dessert a million times better. In the meantime, I'll stick to Marie Calendars pie shells in the frozen section of the grocery store. Just follow the directions on the package and allow to cool. Step 2:...

Happy Birthday Rosie Posey! Get ready for a Two-ty Fruity Bash!   Dear Monroe, Two whole years have come and gone since you brightened our lives. Each day has been such a treat seeing you grow and learn and that spunky personality develop. It's hard to describe to people what you are like at this age because you are shy and timid around new people but sassy and stubborn around those you know. It's an absolutely hilarious  combination and I can't get enough. For example, you don't talk a lot mostly because Paisley does most of that for you. So we've been working on saying names together. I would say and name and you would repeat it back to me. The trick is catching you at the right time so that you want to play. There is no convincing you to do anything you don't want to do! Anyway, we would play this game for about two minutes and then you decided you wanted to play by your own rules. I would say a name a few times, "Mommy, mommy." But you would keep...