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Cute Valentines Breakfast Buffet Ideas

This Valentines we decided to stay in, instead of fighting for a table at restaurants.

I decided to make it special for my family by making a big breakfast v-day buffet, with a Charcuterie Board, Big Red floats and Cupid hot chocolate.

We definitely had a Sugar rush but isn’t that what makes Valentines fun, seeing how much you can gain in one day 🤣.

I know I am a day late, but maybe these will give you inspiration for next Valentines Day or even just a romantic dinner with your special someone.

Heart Eggs

I bought my husband a griddle last year for his birthday and he absolutely loves using it to cook for us. I also found an accessory kit with cute heart shaped egg rings.

So my husband made heart shaped fried eggs, and they were adorable and delicious!

Pink Heart Pancakes with White Chocolate Chips

My husband also made heart shaped pancakes with the same egg tool.

I prepared the pancake batter with just regular buttermilk pancake mix. Then I added some pink food coloring and some white chocolate chips. My husband poured the batter into the heart shaped egg ring, and voila, we had some amazing heart pancakes with strawberry syrup on top, yum!

Heart Cinnamon Rolls

This was my first time trying this with store bought cinnamon rolls. You just unroll the cinnamon rolls and shape them into hearts.

I melted the prepackaged icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls and added some pink food coloring before drizzling the cinnamon rolls with icing.

I honestly, didn’t even get to eat my cinnamon roll before I was full, but I think they were pretty good and pretty looking!

Big Red Floats and Hot Chocolate

So, my son had some friends over yesterday so I decided to make big red floats for the boys. I also had some heart shaped hot cocoa bombs I bought from the Dollar Tree, so, you know I had to use them. So, us girls, had hot chocolate with whip cream and sprinkles.

Valentine Charcuterie Board

Ok, so my mom did think my salami roses were little hats but I thought they were super cute. You can find so many videos online on how to make them. You just need salami and a champagne flute. I added some pepper jack cheese, crackers and of course chocolate covered strawberries.

My family and my son’s friends really enjoyed our Valentines Breakfast Buffet and it was fun making treats with my husband.

I hope you all enjoy these ideas and I hope you all had a VERY wonderful Valentines Day!

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Let Me Introduce Myself

Since I have quite a few new followers, I have decided to reintroduce myself.

I am Jennifer, the mother of two incredible kids and wife to an amazing husband.

My husband and I met as teenagers and have managed to stay together over 20 years now. It has definitely been a long, bumpy road, but we have grown stronger as we have grown older.

My daughter, Ciara, is 22 and has Cerebral Palsy. She cannot walk or talk, but she is the strongest person I know and teaches me each every day how to live life to the fullest and enjoy every minute of life.

I was a “teen mom“, I gave birth to Ciara at 15. I have come a long way as a mother. The beginning of motherhood was a struggle, especially with a special needs child, but I have learned so much and thrive to help and comfort other special needs moms.

My son, Leland, is your typical teenager, full of teenage attitude. He can be the sweetest little mama’s boy and he is constantly making me laugh.

I am a minimalist mom on a budget, and I LOVE the Dollar Tree.

My life is chaos, my house is not “magazine worthy“, and nothing about my life is “perfect“.

I am a down-home country girl that loves Jesus, family, friends and my dogs.

I am a proud plus size woman, and I am obsessed with makeup and clothes.

I love planning events, baking and crafting, while on a budget. I really enjoy finding new ways to repurpose or to recreate things that I typically cannot afford.

And lastly, I love writing! I enjoy sharing with the world my ideas and ADVICE and I appreciate each and every one of my followers.

I hope to inspire, give support and encourage all of my readers.

Thank you for following my Perfectly Imperfect Plus Life!

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Accepting Help

Recently my life has been turned upside down.

Between my mom getting sick, my daughter starting her first job and the million other things going on in my life. I have realized that I need help!

Why is it so hard to ask for help or accept help from others?

I am the worst about not accepting help from others, even help from my own husband.

I try to do it all and start feeling like I am drowning in a sea of my own self pity.

After a very long, busy week and too many breakdowns to admit, I have decided I need help.

When my husband asks what he can cook for dinner, I usually scuff at him and say “it’s easier to do it myself“, but I am going to start letting him take the reigns and help me with dinner time.

When other special needs mom’s offer their help with finding new therapists or medical equipment, I usually don’t want to bother them with my problems but I am ready to accept their help.

I am ready to accept that I am human and need help sometimes.

We get so caught up with life and forget that there really is people that want to help.

I know I am guilty of telling people “let me know if you need anything”. And I forget that most people don’t want to have to ask for help, so I try to offer ways that I can help them. But we all should learn to ask for help, sometimes people just don’t know what you need help with but are willing to help you.

Accepting help doesn’t make you any less strong, we all know we can do it all but why not let your sanity have a break.

Stay strong moms!

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Dealing with Grief

My family recently lost two amazing people due to Covid-19.

In August we learned that my husband’s cousin and her husband were being admitted to the hospital because of covid complications.

Not even a month later they both were taken away from us.

The pain was unreal, like we were living a nightmare.

Anger set in and the whys. Why did they have to die? Why did this virus have to take them away from us?

I cried for days, until I learned to deal with my grief.

I sat and thought about how blessed I was to have had them both in my life for 20 years.

I thought about all the special memories I was lucky enough to get to share with them.

Most importantly I thought about all the wonderful things this amazing couple taught me.

I would like to share what I learned having these incredible people in my life.

Susie taught me to let the people I love know how much I love them. Susie was the most loving person I have ever met. She would let everyone know how much she loved them and how special they were to her.

Terry taught me unconditional love for your spouse. He loved Susie so much and stood by her side through thick and thin.

They both taught me to be spontaneous and to live life to the fullest. They always had so much fun, no matter what they were doing.

Susie taught me to help others in need and to be kind to everyone. Susie would help anyone in need and she could have hour long conversations with people she didn’t even know.

They both taught me to be a better person and a better Christian.

I am a better person having known them and I am beyond blessed to get to say they loved and cared about me.

I am grateful for every minute I got to share with them and all the laughter we once shared.

The sadness is still there but I know they are together in Heaven, rejoicing with the Lord.

The pain doesn’t just go away, but celebrating their lives and remembering all they passed on to me and my family, has helped me through the grieving stage.

I would like to honor them by letting you all know that COVID-19 IS REAL! If you don’t believe in getting vaccinated, please don’t judge people who do choose to get vaccinated. Please don’t hinder people’s choice in getting the vaccination.

Think of other’s feelings that have lost loved ones to this senseless virus before you say hurtful things about the vaccine or wearing masks.

Stay safe out there, and pray for the ones fighting this virus and the ones dealing with the grief of losing their loved ones.

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Mom Burnout

Have you ever felt tired of the mom life? Feeling as if the only thing you do in life is take care of everybody else?

Then you have the mom guilt, for feeling these feelings of mom burnout.

You are not alone!

For the past month I have felt the mama blues, and find it hard to just be happy.

I wake up everyday to the same messes in my house. Dirty clothes on the floor, dishes in the sink, laundry to wash and fold. Then I walk past that bathroom mirror with toothpaste splatters across it and think ” why should I even clean it, it will be dirty again tomorrow.” Then I spiral into a World of self pity.

I start to wonder if this is all my life will ever be, cleaning the toothpaste off of the mirror for the rest of my life?

How do you overcome these feelings of emptiness and self pity?

I have thought about this a lot here lately. I don’t want my kids to remember me as the crazy, depressed mom, that at time holds resentment towards them for having to be a mom 24/7.

I want them to remember me as a fun, happy mom!

So, what do I do about this?

I have complied a list of what I am going to try to get my life out of the gutter and stop the Mom Burnout.

Me Time

This is so important! We moms forget to have “me time“. We focus so much energy on doing everything for our families so that they can be happy, we forget about our happiness. Believe me there is no happy home without a happy wife/mom.

Whether you read a good book or you binge a new series on TV. Take the time everyday to do something you want to do.

Exercise

I hear so many good things about that thing called exercise, but I never just take the time to do it. Okay, it may be a little laziness on my part, but I think I am ready to start exercising this frustration away.

More Friend Time

It has occurred to me that I cannot remember the last time I had a Mom night out with friends or even a lunch date with a friend. I get so consumed in life, I forget I have friends. Remember your friends ladies, support each other and have more friend time.

Fun Hobbies

This kind of goes with “me time”, but I am going to find a hobby that I enjoy. I use to enjoy baking, but now I do it so much for my family that I don’t enjoy it as much.

Find a hobby that does not benefit anybody but YOU!

Be Selfish

It is okay for us moms to be selfish sometimes! We give so much of our time to our family, why not do more for yourself. Go shopping just for stuff for you, get your hair done, get that pedicure or massage you have been wanting.

If you don’t think of yourself sometime, you feel resentful to your family and that leads to that mom guilt.

Teach Your Family to Help More

This is a tough one for me. I have been guilty of not making my family do more for their selves . I would rather pick up the laundry myself and not argue about it, but my family DOES need to help out more.

In the end they make not like me as much, but they will show more respect for all the things that I do for them.

Enjoy Family Time

After I take some much needed mommy breaks and think about myself for once, I am hopeful I can get back to enjoying time with my family. We do all this for them anyways, might as well enjoy every minute with them.

I am looking forward to beating the “mom funk” and getting back to the mom and wife I want to be.

I hope some of these mom tips can help you if you feel the mom burnout coming on.

Don’t forget to give yourself a break and don’t feel bad about the mom burnout, it happens to the best of us!

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Yogi Bear Jellystone Park

Over Spring Break my son and I had the opportunity to visit the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in Burleson, Texas.

At first, I thought this park may not be a good idea for a 14 year old boy, but we had so much fun!

There was literally so much to do, we stayed busy everyday.

We only stayed two days but I could have stayed and enjoyed the park for more of an extended stay.

It is a bit pricey, which is why we hadn’t tried it yet, but we found some great coupons for the cabin. We also met friends there and split the cost.

I would like to share our experiences and what we enjoyed at Jellystone.

Golf Cart Rental

Jellystone is huge so renting a golf cart is a must! Plus, it was so much fun zooming around the park. You can also find discount codes for the golf cart rentals, we were lucky to get 50% off our rental.

Paintball

My son absolutely loved playing paintball. He could have played over and over again but our schedule was full.

Crafts

In the bears den they have crafts you can participate in. They had a free craft that you can participate in, which were centered more for the younger kids, but we payed to paint these adorable ceramics.

Mining

How cute is this little mining station?? We purchased the bag of gems in the Gift Shop and then mined them. They have many different options as well, such as fossil bags or shark teeth bags.

Fishing at the Lake

My son enjoyed fishing, I enjoyed watching these adorable ducks! Just driving the golf cart around the lake was so relaxing.

Petting Zoo

The petting zoo is only open in the mornings but we had so much fun watching these cute animals!

Ice Cream!

Omg they have the best ice cream and so many choices in the bear den. They even have a movie night, which we were unable to attend but I can imagine how great it would be eating ice cream and enjoying a flick in the Bear Den.

Photo Opportunities

They have so many cute places to take pictures, including cute little boats!

Characters

Boo Boo! Yogi bear and Boo Boo come out to visit with guests! Even my son had to get a pic with Boo Boo, well after I made him.

Camp Fun

Even though you are at a park with so many fun activities, you can still enjoy camp life at you cabin. We roasted marshmallows and made hot dogs over our fire. They also have RVs you can rent for an even more camping experience.

Archery and Lost Maze

They also have archery you can enjoy, my son didn’t enjoy it as much as paintball but it’s a great activity. We also went through a maze, at night, and could not find our way out which was terrifyingly fun!

The list of things you can do at Jellystone goes on and on.

Be sure to download the Jellystone app upon arrival so you stay up to date with activities going on each day.

They had nightly Karaoke parties and dance parties, but my son thought he was too old to participate.

They also have a water park and two swimming pools, which we did not get to use because it was still cold.

I hope you enjoyed learning about our Jellystone experience and hopefully you will get to experience the fun too!

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Homemade Valentines Gift Ideas

I am a sucker for a homemade gift. Over the years my kids and I have enjoyed giving and recieving homemade gifts.

With valentines coming up, I am already thinking of cute homemade gifts for my family.

I would like to share my favorite homemade gifts for Valentines Day. These are gifts that my family and I made together over the last few years. Please forgive the photography, I didn’t always have a great camera.

Teacher Gift Ideas

How cute are these? I traced my kids hands and taped them to lotion for their teachers with “you deserve a hand ” written on them.
Homemade bath bombs. You can find bath bomb recipes all over pinterest. We bought cute jars from the dollar tree and filled them with the bath bombs and basket stuffing.
“You’re the balm” . Who doesn’t like getting lip balm?? Just add them to a bag, add basket stuffing and maybe even a few candies.
These are super cute! All you have to do is get some cute fuzzy socks and either big cupcake liners or cute disposable party bowls. You just roll the socks to look like frosting and place into the liner. I placed these into clear plastic bags with ribbon as well.
Teachers always need school supplies so why not give them a gift they can use. We just added little heart notes on each supply and put them into a cute heart basket.

Husband Gifts

This was probably the best gift I ever gave my husband, he loved it. I dont know about you, but I have a bad habit of saving valentine boxes. So I used one I had saved and taped little liquor bottles to the bottom of it. Added a little note in the lid and voila, an awesome man gift.
Ok so my husband loves lottery tickets so I made them into a gift for him. I just used a plastic vase, put a styrofoam ball into the vase and hot glued the tickets and treats onto sticks to stick into the styrofoam ball. He loved it!

Valentines for School

Over the years we have made tons of valentine’s for school parties, but this one was actually a favorite in the classroom. We just bought some plastic dinosaurs and taped them to construction paper with “You are dino mite” written on them.
What kid doesn’t love pop rocks? These were a hit in the classroom as well.

Teenage Gifts

Now that I have older kids, they don’t like the cuddly stuff animals or cute valentine gifts, so I make them baskets with what they like. That year my kids both wanted smart watches so I put them in a cute basket and added candy and a card. They really enjoyed this gift.
Last year I decided to get my family gift cards to their favorite places. I hot glued them to their favored drinks with some candy and beef jerky, they all loved this gift.

I hope you enjoyed my homemade Valentine’s gifts from my family.

Happy Valentine’s Day from my family to yours!! ♥️♥️

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10 Truths About Me

Here lately it has occurred to me that most people in my life do not know the real me.

I am not fake or two faced, but I do hide parts of me that I feel people would not like.

After the current year we all faced and the uncertainty of how long we all will be on this Earth, I have decided I want people to know ME.

I have decided that being the real me and having people that accept the real me is more important than trying to be someone I am not so that people like me.

I have decided to lay it all out there and share 10 truths about me.

I smoke cigarettes

Yes, I have a disgusting habit that I cannot seem to kick. I hide it from most people because I don’t want people knowing that I am so weak to have an addiction to nicotine. I don’t plan on smoking for the rest of my life and I actually hate that I am a smoker, but that doesn’t make me a bad person.

I Cuss

Yes, I am guilty of using “bad” words to express myself. I don’t like to make a habit of cussing but I can’t say that they never escape my mouth.

I Envy Others

Nobody ever wants to admit that they are envious of other people, but I am guilty of feeling envy towards other people. I want what others have all the time.

I am the obnoxious drunk

I may not drink often, but when I do I become loud and annoying. People tend to avoid me after a few drinks. I also have been known for trying to start fights after a few beers, that is why I avoid beer and stick with wine.

I have depression and anxiety

This one is not really a secret, I talk about my anxiety and depression frequently. People may not know that some days I find it hard to get out of bed and find myself crying for no apparent reason.

I feel like a failure most of the time

This probably goes with the anxiety and depression but I struggle with feeling like a failure in my life. I feel I let my family down and that at my age I should be more successful.

I want to be a successful writer

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved writing. I use to write short stories in my free time. My dream is to be a successful writer and at least have one published book.

I have a big heart

I may not show my feelings very well, but I care so much for people. My heart breaks when I see people suffering or sad.

I am very emotional

I try not to let people know this, but I am a very sensitive person. I get my feelings hurt very easy. I have a hard time with expressing my feelings to others, so most of the time I don’t defend myself (unless I am drinking).

I am not a fancy person

So I love dressing up and pretending to be fancy, but deep down I am just a down home country girl. I grew up in the country with not a lot of money and now I raise my family in the country with still not a lot of money. Fancy places make me uncomfortable and I am more at home at a whole in the wall country cafe. I am married to the biggest redneck in Lorena and wouldn’t have it any other way.

I hope you enjoyed learning the 10 truths about me.

Always remember to be yourself and don’t try to be what you think others want you to be.

I have tried for years to be someone I am not and hide what I didn’t want others to know, but you will find life if so more enjoyable when you accept who you really are and embrace it.

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Cheers to 2021

2020 has proven to go down in history as the worst year ever!

Between covid 19, elections,  riots, and even murder Hornets… that’s enough to drive you to the nut house.

Needless to say, it’s been a rough year, but I am also very thankful for 2020.

2020 has shown me how precious life is. So many people have lost loved ones this year, and I was blessed to still have my family.

My mom was in and out of the hospital more times this year then any other year, but she always recovered and she is still here with me.

So many people lost jobs and businesses and are truly struggling. 2020 taught me to be happy with what I have.

We may not have tons of money but we survived 2020 and are not in debt.

2020 did bring out a lot of hate in people and made people that were once friends, turn to enemies. But also showed us who our true friends are. It’s amazing how bad times will show you who is truly there for you.

This year also brought many changes, one of the biggest being remote learning. It was a difficult time in our house for sure, but it also made my son appreciate school more. He no longer gives me a hard time about going to school, because he now knows what being at home all the time feels like.

Covid definitely made my busy schedule go to non existent for a while and made me feel like I was losing my mind. Now, I appreciate being able to do more and find myself not complaining about busy days.

Lastly, I am thankful for all the great times I spent with my family this year. I think being stuck at home together made us grow closer. And even through all the changes this year, we were still able to make great memories.

Through all the madness, my family and I enjoyed camping together, enjoyed every holiday, celebrated my daughter turning 21 and my son turning 14, and celebrated 20 years with my husband. We enjoyed drive through events and made the best of every obstacle 2020 threw at us!

I am definitely not sad about 2020 coming to an end and I am looking forward to what 2021 brings us, but I am thankful for what 2020 brought me as well.

Happy New Years, I hope 2021 brings so much happiness to you all!!!

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What makes Christmas special

Have you ever thought back to when you were little and remembered what made Christmas truly special for you?

As a kid I didn’t notice all the things that made Christmas so special.

Now, as an adult and parent, I see what made Christmas such a special time. It was all the little things my mother did at Christmas time.

My mom put so much effort into Christmas, to make sure my brothers and I had an amazing holiday. From handmade stockings, stuffed full of goodies to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

One of the very special things my mother always does, that I never appreciated until I was older, is her delicately wrapped Christmas presents. Every year she spends hours wrapping gifts for her family, with ribbons and special keepsakes ornaments.

I, on the other hand, am not that patient. I throw that wrapping paper on or put them in gift bags. But there is something so special about the way my mom puts so much love into her wrapping, you almost feel ashamed to tear it open.

My mom also spends days making homemade candy for all her friends and family. Now I have joined in on that tradition and make sure all my neighbors, friends and family can enjoy the candy recipes my mom started many many years ago.

It’s funny how we rush through Christmas. We rush to wrap presents, we buy things instead of making them and we make it stressful.

I asked my mom what special memory she had from Christmas when she was little. She told me about how my granny would take hours delicately placing icicles on her Christmas tree. To me that is a special memory, her mother was taking the time to make the tree beautiful for her family.

So, I think we all should take more time to really make Christmas special. It’s not always about how much money you spend, but how much thought and time you spend to make it the best.

My mom truly made Christmas special and still does. Hopefully I can make Christmas as special for my kids as she did for me.

Dedicated to my mom Janice Webb, thank you for always making Christmas great!!