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Kisses + Caffeine

Sharing my journey as a mother, wife, homemaker, Jesus girl, entrepreneur and all things in between!

Archives for December 2019

When Life Steals Your Sugar

December 31, 2019      Leave a Comment

Living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, I have always known that I was at a higher risk of developing Gestational Diabetes. I passed the 1-hour glucose test during my pregnancy with Addilyn. And I started my pregnancy with Lilliana at a lower weight than I started my first one, so I truly believed that I was good to go! 

Was I ever wrong! I, apparently, failed my 1-hour test in a pretty big way. So the last day before we traveled for Christmas, mama got to go to the hospital and sit through the oh-so-pleasant 3-hour glucose test. I was SURE that I failed the 1-hour as a fluke and would pass this one with flying colors. Also wrong! I failed this one pretty badly too.

To be completely honest, I cried my entire one hour drive home from the hospital. I felt like such a failure. Like my body and my eating habits were just junk and I took the word FAIL extremely personally. That I had done something wrong and this was somehow all my fault. I was embarrassed and did not really want the world to know. Not to mention I was heading into Christmas vacation with strict orders to dramatically cut my carbs and check my blood sugars 4 times a day. How in the world was I even supposed to enjoy myself?? Why this week?? Not to mention the fact that my side gig is a home baking business and I am around sugar literally constantly…

Over the last two weeks, however, I have come to find some acceptance in it. Yes, your lifestyle can affect the test. But a lot of it is very much out of your control. I found a fantastic support group on Facebook and joined. I began learning all that I possibly could and absorbing so much information. I spent the week with my diabetic mother who was able to give me some tips and tricks, as well as help explain how things work to me. And I will be seeing my doctor this week to discuss my plan moving forward.

I also felt like God was telling me that He would not give me a struggle without giving me a purpose! I am, after all, in full-time ministry working with women who are having pregnancy and loss struggles. I chose to see this as a new layer to how I can help others, sharing what I learn and helping them to accept and overcome as well! If this is you, I encourage you to subscribe to my blog. Email me. Follow me on social media. Let’s connect and do this together! I also created a Gestational Diabetes Pinterest board that you should totally follow! I plan to pin all my faves there!

I am hoping that I will be able to cope in a completely diet-controlled way and not have to go on medication or insulin. I plan to share as I figure this thing out, so stay tuned for tons of recipes and snack ideas, as well as anything that I am able to learn to keep my levels in check! While I was sad about this diagnosis, now I am actually excited to finish this pregnancy much healthier than I started, and to share it with the world! 

My FAV Chicken Salad Recipe!

December 20, 2019      Leave a Comment

I am a serious chicken salad lover! When I first got pregnant with Lilliana, I was craving it so badly that I almost couldn’t stand it. But our tiny town has really no good place to get it, and the store-bought kind wasn’t doing it for me! So I set out to create my own perfect blend, and you guys, it is SO good, and SO easy! 

To make things go even more quickly (yay!) and get the perfect tender, juicy chicken, I took about 1.5 lbs of chicken breasts and cut them in half. Then I cooked them with a little broth on high pressure for 20 mins in my Instant Pot. If you don’t have one, you NEED one! Game changer and a huge time saver! The chicken literally falls apart.

Grape & Walnut Chicken Salad

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Time: 15 mins
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (breast meat)
  •  1 cup mayonnaise (give or take…I’ll explain in the directions!)
  •  1 cup red grapes, quartered
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
Directions:
  1.  If you use rotisserie chicken, you can skip this step! If not, cook your chicken in the Instant Pot (or however you choose to cook it), allow it to cool a bit, and then shred it.
  2. Add grapes, walnuts, salt and pepper and stir well.
  3. Add mayo, a little at a time! I found that it took right at a cup to get the creamy consistency that I like, but you can do more or less depending on preference! Also feel free to add more grapes, nuts, salt or pepper! I love how versatile this recipe is. It provides you a springboard and you can adjust to your taste preferences!
  4. Chill until cool and then serve either on a sandwich, a salad, or just eat it with a spoon! I shamelessly do all three! 🙂
This recipe is a fave around here! It is the perfect blend of sweet and savory!

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Pancake Party Cookies!

December 12, 2019      Leave a Comment

Okay honestly, this set made me crave pancakes for WEEKS (thanks, pregnancy hormones!). I was commissioned for these by a friend of mine for her niece’s birthday party, and given pretty much free reign! All she asked was for the theme, and the colors pink and white. She also requested that we work bows and monograms in!

I didn’t really have time to order a “Pajama” cutter, so I simply used my handy rectangle cutter  and made it look like pants with the royal icing! For the shirt, I used my go-to onesie cutter and just cut off the bottom! Perfect and super easy!

The pancake? SUPER easy! I just used my fav Ann Clark circle cutter and detailed away!

Seriously, how fun?! I love all of the new birthday party theme ideas! I’ll definitely be filing this one away to use with my girls someday. 🙂 

Cutters used in this set:
Pajama Pants HERE
Pajama Top HERE
Pancake HERE
Plaque HERE

Positive Affirmations for Little Girls

December 5, 2019      Leave a Comment

One of my most cherished parts of my day is settling Addilyn down for the night. It is a special time for us, and one that I hope I can protect when Lilliana arrives in March. We still pretty much stick to this bedtime routine, but with a few modifications (we don’t do a bottle anymore, but she does do milk in her cup, she has outgrown her Owlet sadly, etc). 

Sometime around her first birthday though, I added something that is truly special to me. After her daddy kisses her and I say prayers with her, before I turn on her white noise, I love to spend a few minutes intentionally speaking into her with some positive affirmations. I believe that we all would sleep a little better if the last thing that we heard for the day built us up and spoke love into us, and it is something that I really enjoy doing with her! My hope is that as she grows, she will be grounded in who she is and how adored she is, and will become a strong, compassionate young woman. 

Here are a few of my favorites, that are simple enough for her at almost two! I would love to hear some more in the comments, though! Especially that would be applicable as she grows!

  • Jesus loves you so much and He wants you to know Him!
  • Mommy and Daddy love you so much!
  • We are so proud of you!
  • You are very kind and caring.
  • You are a good friend!
  • You are so smart!
  • You are very brave!
  • You are very important and you will change the world someday.
  • You are so beautiful. You are wonderfully made and are just right the way that you are!
  • You can do anything you set your mind to!
  • You are going to be the best big sister!
  • You are the best helper, and it makes mommy very happy when you clean up!
  • You are a sweet, gentle girl and I love your spirit.
  • You are very creative and make beautiful artwork!
  • You are a daughter of the King, who is not moved by this world! You don’t have to fear because He goes before you and He is with you. You are His. (this is a quote on some artwork on her wall. I absolutely love it!

Lumberjack Baby Shower Treats!

December 4, 2019      Leave a Comment

I sure do love a good lumberjack party! Buffalo plaid is one of my favorites, and not much says “fall” like a woodsy theme! Two of my sweet friends work together and contacted me about a shower they were throwing for a co-worker. I have been itching to try some plaid cookies, so this was the perfect chance! 

There are literally TONS of ways to do the wood slice look, but I decided that edible hand-painting was the most feasible for me with a bit of a time crunch! (Make sure you grab my royal icing recipe if you are wanting to try your hand at these!)

Acorns and leaves were a great accent to the slices and onesies…and you guys! Acorns are SO easy! Chocolate sprinkles are a life-saver and add a great texture! 

I whipped up a batch of my signature s’mores cupcakes to go along with them and they turned out to be the perfect pair! How cute are these?! (I’ll drop a list of cutters down below!).

Cutters used:

Onesie: HERE

Log Slice: HERE

Leaf and Acorn HERE

Stencils HERE

 (I wound up tracing the plaid using these edible markers rather than airbrushing, for a more clean edge! Time consuming? yes. Worth it? Yes!)

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Chocolate covered strawberry and strawberry cheese Chocolate covered strawberry and strawberry cheesecake hot chocolate bombs just passed the test kitchen over here!!! Give me alllll the strawberry 🍓! Message me if you want some...(you know you do 😜) #hotchocolatebombs #hotchocolate #chocolatecoveredstrawberries
My sweet girl. Every day I’m so proud to be your My sweet girl. Every day I’m so proud to be your mama. 💖💖💖
Snow prep at it’s finest! Anyone local need coco Snow prep at it’s finest! Anyone local need cocoa bombs or cocoa topper snowmen?!
Merry Christmas from the Lee family!! So so thankf Merry Christmas from the Lee family!! So so thankful for my tribe. My best gifts aren’t under the tree 🎄
I could be biased, but this is perfection. 🥰 we I could be biased, but this is perfection. 🥰 we sleep trained this week and baby girl has done so well in her own bed. But mama is soaking up a little snuggle this morning and drinking her in. Babies definitely don’t keep. 💖
Now that the shower is over, I can share! I had so Now that the shower is over, I can share! I had so much fun making these sweet Harry Potter cookies for my cousin Michelle Bailey! We can’t wait to meet baby Bailey!
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#sugarcookies #kissesandcaffeine #cookiedecorating #babymuggle #harrypotter
Sweet Lilliana is 8ish months old! Mama totally mi Sweet Lilliana is 8ish months old! Mama totally missed the boat on the 7 month pics 🤦🏽‍♀️ #secondkidprobs but goodness gracious she is so loved! She lights up our lives and is the happiest, snuggliest baby! We have made some MAJOR leaps in the last month including crawling, pulling up, standing unassisted for 6-8 seconds sometimes, lots of new sounds and literally the morning after I took these pics, two little teeth popped through on the bottom! She loves her sissy and helping her get into everything and is a huge fan of baby food and puffs. Incredibly thankful and blessed to have my little sugar baby!
A fun custom cake that i did today for a sweet lit A fun custom cake that i did today for a sweet little huntress!🦌 
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#huntress #cakedecorating #cakesofinstagram
Hard to believe that 4 years have gone by since we Hard to believe that 4 years have gone by since we lost our sweet baby. This was easily the darkest season of my life and looking back at it still aches. This season easily could have broken my faith. I could have (and if I’m being honest was tempted to) turned my back on God because i just could not see how He could allow me to go through that pain if He truly loved me. 

4 years of perspective has taught me that God allows things in our lives sometimes in order to advance the kingdom. My hurt has allowed others to find healing and even salvation. God took what I perceived as “unloving” and has used it in immense ways that I never could have seen in the moment. My story matters to Him and I am so thankful, not for the loss of my child, but for the opportunity to begin a beautiful ministry that I’ve now been doing for almost 2 years. Not everyone is as open about loss as I have been and that is a very personal decision. But I challenge you if you have been in a hard place and God has brought you through it, invest that hard season. Your story matters too and it very well may be just what your friends or family need to see Jesus.

Sister, if you can relate to that first paragraph at all, please reach out. Trust that He loves you deeply, even if you don’t feel like it in this moment. Your hurt is not unseen. I won’t answer you with “the” phrases that everyone thinks help. I will hold space for you and show you grace as you cope. 💖
Introducing another new flavor!! Mocha coffee hot Introducing another new flavor!! Mocha coffee hot chocolate bombs! The shell is infused with #starbucks via coffee and its sooo good! Want an extra punch?! Use hot coffee in place of your milk for a true mocha! #coffee #hotchocolatebombs

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