It's beginning to finally feel like fall-ish around here in the Phoenix area.

That means that the highs are starting to be in the lower 90s to 80s instead of near the 100s, and our lows in the mornings are in the 60s.

Yep. That's fall here.

So while it's not sweater weather whatsoever, it is a time to start baking the fall goodies. Because if not now, we'd have to wait until about December when it actually feels like FALL here.

These cookies were a cure to feeling SAD about the weather. And I know they'd go perfectly with some apple cider, coffee, or tea-- or beverage of your choice. They basically taste good with everything.

Everything Delicious Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1/2 C butter, softened (one stick)
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 baking powder
- 1 & 1/3 C flour
- 1/3 C chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
- 1/3 C baking Reese's Pieces
- 1/3 C caramel bits

Note: If your dough feels a bit dry, add a splash of oil: canola, olive, coconut (melted) all work! This will help the cookies not be too cake!

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350 and prep a baking sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray. If you have two baking sheets, prep them both. This makes between 18-24 cookies.
- Blend together your butter and sugars. Add your vanilla and egg to the mix.
- Work in your dry ingredients (not the sweets just yet) until everything is well combined and there are no flour streaks or anything like that!
- Fold in your goodies: chocolate chips, reese's pieces, and caramel bits.

Note: You can just do chocolate chips to make the perfect chocolate chip cookies, or basically add anything that you would like! This is a good base cookie recipe, so I've tested & learned.

- Use a medium cookie scoop (about 2 TBSP of dough per cookie). Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on your oven. Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes until the cookies have caved in. Then remove to cooling rack.


Ready? OK. Now devour them.

'Tis the season for pumpkin.

Soooooo much pumpkin.

My husband likes to remind me every fall that he's not on the "pumpkin spice fan train," but I always respond with:

What is wrong with you?

If you're like him, and you're not a HUGE fan of pumpkin but you like curry so you thought you'd check this out-- you've mad a wise decision.

Every year I stick this on our little food planner on the refrigerator at some point, every year my husband groans, and then when he comes home for dinner, he's awe-stricken.

This soup is amazing whether you're a pumpkin fan or not.

Pumpkin Curry Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

- 1-2 T Olive Oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped (I usually use white)
- 3 C Vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1-2 cans of black beans, drained
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 C heavy cream (I have used anything from coconut milk to half & half to the actual cream and all taste good to me!)
- 1 Tbsp curry
- 1.5 tsp cumin (I usually reduce this to 1 tsp of the kiddos are partaking!)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (I usually only add this if I know the kiddos won't be eating it, but 9/10 they do.)
salt to taste
chives for garnish, if desired


Directions:

- Using a large pot, sauté the onions in the olive oil until nearly clear and oil is not visible.
- Add your broth/stock, tomatoes, black beans, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add your cream/milk and spices.
- Bring to a slow boil again before reducing heat to low. Option to serve immediately or sit, with random stirrings, as long as needed.
- Garnish with green onions (so yummy, just not pictured) and enjoy!

On September 7th, Michael turned the BIG FIVE.

I'm still recovering.

The fact that I am now a mother to a five-year-old (and one-year-old) is a little... shocking, to say the least.

I imagine I'll be over it by the time they're six and two. Then that's a completely different hurdle.

But, turn five Michael did and we made quite a day week out of it. From camping the weekend before with dad, and Marmee flying in the evening before his big day, to donuts for breakfast, a zoo trip, chick-fil-a, and wrapping it up with a Zootopia-themed evening, it was marvelous.


Michael's Fifth Birthday Interview


What's your name? Michael Clark Dunn

How old are you? Five!

What date is your birthday? September 7th, Wednesday.

What's your favorite color? Green!

What's your favorite animal? All of them.

What's your favorite book? Dinosaurs! (oooooh)

What's your favorite movie? Zootopia, and also Jimmy Neutron!

What's your favorite song? The Zootopia song. (Try Everything by Shakira)

What's your favorite food? All of it! OR Birthday Cake!

What's your favorite drink? Purple Flurp! (Grape Soda)

What's your favorite breakfast food? Toast and fruit.

What's your favorite dinner? Chicken.

What's your favorite snack? Goldfish.

What's your favorite thing to wear? Surfing shirt and light brown pants.

What's your favorite game to play? The Disney game (Disney Scene-It).

What's your favorite toy? All my birthday presents!

Who's your best friend? All my best friends are my best friends! (followed by a nudge from Clark and the answer: Dada.)

What's your favorite thing to do? Play!

What's your favorite thing to do outside? Play!

What's your favorite holiday? My BIRTHDAY!

What do you like to sleep with? Wrinkles and Alaska.

What's your favorite place to go? Ice cream! (Baskin Robbins)

Where do you want to go on vacation? Disney WORLD.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A police officer!

And, what's today? MY BIRTHDAY!


For his birthday this year, Michael's big gift was an Amazon Fire from us and his Marmee and Papa.


It has awesome features, including read-aloud books that make putting his brother down for a nap a little more do-able-- plus it works with our homeschooling reading time, too! This is not to say he doesn't use it for shows and games, too, but we're working out a routine.

At his doctor's appointment he weighed in at 48 lbs and measured 46 inches tall. That's three pounds heavier and 4.75 inches taller. (See Michael is 4! for last year's birthday.)

This kid, I tell you. And I'm pretty sure he's growing-- again. Why does he have to do that?

Let me start this by saying I am not a fan of molasses by itself.

But I am a fan of these cookies.

This being said, you don't have to be a lover of molasses to want to bake/eat/finish off these beauties. They are filled with the taste of fall, if you take my meaning, and they should be made as much as possible in the next few months. They are delicious, easy, and did I mention delicious?

Yes? OK. Good. Here you are:

Chewy Molasses Cookies

Please note that the dough needs to be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Ingredients:

- 3/4 C butter (12 TBSP), softened
- 1 C sugar
- 1/4 C molasses
- 1 L egg
- 2 C all-purpose, unbleached flour (I actually used King Arthur White Wheat Flour when I made these)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (ground) cloves
- 1/2 tsp (ground) ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt (I used sea salt)

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 375 and prep your baking sheet with nonstick spray or parchment paper.
- Mix together your butter and sugar until well whipped. Add in your egg and molasses until well combined.
- Stir in your flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Make sure you clear the sides of the bowl so you get all your ingredients nicely mixed!
- Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, until it's cold and easier to handle.
- Roll the dough into small balls (I used a small-medium cookie scooper). Fill a small bowl with sugar and roll each ball until it is completely coated! Place the cookie on the sheet and give them a little room to spread out.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until they begin to slightly crack on top.
- Cook for two minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wired rack to cool.


These are my husband's absolute favorite cookies. If you're a fan of molasses (or not), or ginger, or cinnamon, or all that goodness put together-- give them a try! Make sure to share in the comments if you make them!

I realize that this is very late coming, considering Levi turned one over two months ago. However, in the spirit of giving myself grace, I decided to still share some excellent pictures and facts about Levi that apply to him around June 8, 2016.

Prepare for an overwhelming amount of pictures.



We first celebrated Levi's birthday in a local park with family friends & coworkers of Clark's. It was very fun... except the high was 117 and by the time we rolled out the cake and candle Levi was ready for a nap. But then, what are first birthday parties but to snap some pictures, enjoy some company, and show off your baby... am I right?



We call Levi, "Mouse" as a nickname, so we did If You Give A Mouse A Cookie which was a lot of fun. We had way too much food, most of which melted in the heat, but everyone enjoyed it-- and that's what counts!


On Levi's actual birthday, we woke up early (per usual) and went downstairs. He was a little overwhelmed by all that he saw, but once he realized he got to rip the presents open he had way too much fun doing it. He also had no problem letting his big brother know that they were his.


Right around his birthday Levi officially started walking. Much like his big brother (who took his first true steps on his first birthday), Levi started cruising around (semi) gracefully just five days before his big day. He weight 18lbs exactly on his birthday, and was 27.75 inches long. Lover of cheese, grazing, putting everything in his mouth, and a bit on the small side-- this is why we lovingly call him "Mouse." (It has NOTHING to do with the fact that he's grown into his ears and made squeaky noises as communication when he was itty-bitty...or does it?)


On his birthday Levi:

- had six teeth (molars coming in-- this is still true)

- loves: climbing on the dishwasher, toys that make noise, bubba (Michael), mama and dada, clapping, playing "chase"


- first word: dada
- words he says/said clearly: this, that, ball, mama, dada, cheese, up, juice, nana, out


- favorite songs: if you're happy and you know it & what does the fox say
- favorite foods: tuna, bananas, snap pea crisps, cheese, spaghetti, black beans, Lima beans.
- favorite book: Baby Lit Books' Treasure Island


He's already grown so much since his birthday. I'm not sure my heart can handle it.

Helllllooooooo strangers! I realize that I haven't written on here in, well, months. Truth be told I've been busy keeping up my other blog and starting a new business. All the while, the newfangled housewife duties never ceased-- they just haven't been shared on here!

I won't make promises of changing that on a consistent basis, but I am hoping to get a few posts up over the next few weeks...months...by December, in order to keep this thing still running. I happen to enjoy this space still very much.

I have been rereading Harry Potter (shocker), the first time I've done this since Michael was around 1-2 (if you're keeping tabs-- he turns five in just under a month). It's been so amazing, and part of me wishes that he was old enough to read along with me. But we're not there yet.

Anyway.

Rereading has me dreaming of fall, and since we don't actually have fall in Arizona, anyway, I didn't see what was stopping me from creating and baking and cooking some yummy fall foods to go with the warmth of the pages I am revisiting.

Without further rambling and sharing all that you probably don't care too much about, here's the RECIPE!

Chocolate Salted Caramel Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1/2 C + 2 TBSP Salted Butter, softened
- 2 tsp water
- 3/4 C Sugar
- 1/4 C brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 + 2 TBSP cocoa powder
- 1 C all purpose, unbleached flour
- 1/2 C salted caramel chips
- 1/2 c chocolate chips
- course salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350 and prep your baking sheet (I used parchment paper, but cooking spray works well, too).
- Blend together your butter, water, and sugars. Add your egg and vanilla, blending again until well whipped/combined.
- Add your baking soda, cocoa powder, and flour to your wet ingredients. Beat on a low speed until you can no longer see any flour in the mixture.
- Mix in your caramel chips & chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (1-2 tablespoons) and drop the cookies on your prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle salt on top if desired (I did not in this batch, but I have before and it's sooooo good!)
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are cooked on bottom and edges. Let sit on baking pan for 2-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.


TRY NOT TO EAT THEM ALL IN ONE SITTING!

Thank you for teaching me that it's OK to fail. For being patient every time I said the wrong thing, or made a big mess, or yelled and stomped my feet when I didn't get my way.

Thank you for teaching me to try new foods. For being silly with me when I hid my green beans in a napkin, or didn't swallow the peas until I had milk in my mouth with them.

Thank you for teaching me how to play. To explore with my imagination. For encouraging me to take up the whole house with my Barbie villages and stuffed animals, and not getting mad if I didn't pick them up before bedtime.


Thank you for showing me how to love. You showed me that love is more than just that spark or funny feeling you get with butterflies-- it's commitment. It's work. It's only successful if everyone is willing to put forth the effort, put aside anger, and push through. Every kind of love is hard, but it's more than worth it.

Thank you for making me stick with things. With those dance lessons I wanted to quit, or the piano lessons I thought I wouldn't see through, or the silly poems and stories I started writing when I was five. I would never have risen to the occasion with all of those amazing gifts and hobbies in my life if you hadn't made me stick to them.

Thank you for always being there. It didn't matter if I disappointed you, or made you proud, or if you had a million things to do-- you were there. You always put me (and my sisters) first. You sacrificed so much to be mom, and to chauffeur us, and teach us, and tutor us, and help us, and encourage us-- and we definitely didn't do the same for you.

Thank you for teaching me to use cold water to get difficult stains out. For showing me how to separate the endless loads of laundry, and how to fold properly, and make the bed, and straighten the kitchen, and make house.

My days are now full of endless housekeeping with messy hands and three changes of clothes and crumbs and messes and two baths and places to go and people to call-- and I would never be able to handle any of it if you hadn't shown me how.

You showed me grace.

You showed me love.

And above all else, you showed me faith.

So all I can ever say, and I don't say it enough, is thank you.

Happy Mother's Day.

It's hard to believe we are closer to Levi being ONE than we are to him being a newborn. After passing the halfway mark, or even before, I was amazed with how quickly Levi progressed. Perhaps it's because he has a big brother to watch, but this kid just wants to GO.

He went from crawling/flopping like a seal at five months to quickly getting up on his hands and knees. As soon as he conquered that, he quickly started pulling up, sitting up, and cruising furniture. It's hard to keep track, truly, of everything he CAN do right now.


The biggest change, I think, is he's practicing his balance. I'll watch and he lets go of a toy, or the couch, or a shoulder and tests his two feet before quickly grabbing hold again. It's over in a flash, but when I look at him-- I know he's super excited, proud... and ready.

And I am SO not.

As if moving and testing his balance wasn't enough, Levi very clearly says, "Dada" ... all the time. The only time he spits out, "Mama" is when he's near exhaustion or upset and can't see me (though I, of course, see him). We're also 80% he's calling Michael, "Baba" for brother and associating "nana" with banana. He'll also rub his hands together for "more" and likes to wave his hands in the air to a song he enjoys.

Although Levi is moving and grooving faster than Michael did, he's a little peanut by comparison. Coming in four pounds lighter than Michael at this age, Levi is 15lbs 6oz and 25.75 inches long. His gums are also swollen on the top and the bottom in top... so we'll see which teeth win the race. (Michael's top two came in first.)


When it comes to food, Levi isn't exactly picky. Unless you try to spoon feed him-- then he doesn't trust it. But anything that's on our plates, or seems to be "real" food... he'll eat it.

Peas? Check! Green beans? Check! Apples? Bananas? Sweet Potatoes? Avocado? Check, check, check, check!

Oatmeal? Baby food? WHAT IS THAT STUFF?

So when I had a fleeting moment and grabbed a thing of baby puffs at Target, he was SO excited because they pretty much look like brother's goldfish crackers.

Now that we're trying to make a change (again) with our eating habits, I'm trying to steer away from the baby puffs and make things at home (that goes for the goldfish, too). Luckily, I found THIS recipe and molded it a little to make something that is Levi approved.

HOMEMADE BANANA-SWEET POTATO [BABY] PUFFS


Ingredients:

- 2 medium baked potatoes
- 2 bananas
- 1 C flour
- 3 tbsp oil (I used coconut)
- 3 tbsp water (or formula or breastmilk or another milk if your baby is older)
- Cinnamon to taste (optional)

Directions:

- Bake your sweet potatoes at 350 for 45 minutes or so, and if your bananas aren't SUPER ripe you can bake them for about 20 minutes to soften them and strengthen the flavor.
- After your bananas and sweet potatoes have cooled, put them and all your other ingredients in a food processor or blender.
- Prep a cookie sheet with wax paper or cooking spray. Next you can do one of two things:

1. Use a piping bag or ziplock bag with the tip cut off to make little circular "puffs." I found this to be a little difficult, since the batter is pretty runny.

2. Spread all of your batter on the cooking sheet so it's not TOO thick but you can't see the cookie sheet through it.

- Bake for 12-15 minutes for #1 and 15-20 minutes for #2. Check to make sure the edges aren't burned/too dark.
- If you go with option #2, next you can use a small cookie cutter to cut the puffs into desire shape. I used stars!

Serve and see your baby's happy face.

Happy March 1st!

We are all about countdowns this year. It keeps Michael focused, busy... and from asking how many days it is until the next holiday. After our Valentine's Day Countdown was such a success, I was assured that it would pretty much work with everything. And while I realize St. Patrick's Day is BEFORE Easter... Easter is so early this year it just had to be the priority.

Plus, we got to work on more counting this way. We did up to 14 with Valentine's Day, and now we made it all the way up to 27. Woooooooooo!

Can you sense my excitement? I hope so!

I scoured the wonderful world of Pinterest for some ideas and printable. After all, we aren't all meant to be amazing at that sort of thing... and I knew that other moms before me would have had it ready at hand.

Laziness? Maybe. Resourcefulness? Absolutely.

Sure enough, I found a countdown that I love. It's called THE JOY JOURNEY (follow the link), and came with some an adorable printable that allowed us 20 days of ideas and service projects for this amazing season.


That did leave a problem though, as you may have noticed. I wanted to countdown from today to Easter, which is 27 days. Not 20.

In order to not create any confusion in Michael with counting down, I looked some more to find some Bible verses to filter in the 20 days of activities so we could have a few days of rest. After all, we aren't guaranteed to accomplish something every.single.day. before Easter.

Even I'm not THAT crazy.

After searching, I found THESE.


Michael colored and cut them all out, and I honestly didn't pay attention to which seven made it into our eggs.

Oh, that's the next part.

After coloring, cutting, and numbering-- we made a game out of this.

Michael matched the numbers he wrote to the numbers I wrote on our Easter eggs.


He had so much fun filtering and arranging and all that jazz. It was a wonderful, educational, time-consuming activity.

And, let's be real, those are the best.

Michael has already called me out on writing the numbers on the eggs wrong, since the eggs are now upside down... but whatever. They still serve their purpose, am I right?


Are you a writer? Check out my OTHER SITE today to read my thoughts on Finding the Time to be a Writer.

I said this at the end of January, and I'll say it again now that it's the end of February:

How is this year going by SO FAST already?

There. I'm done now.

Not really, though. Odds are, I'll say the same thing at the end of every month. Because the faster time goes by, the more and more I realize just how much my boys... and my husband...and I'm growing up.

Can it just stop already?

I want time to stand still. I never understood it. Like everyone, I was in such a hurry to grow up. Now I'm in a hurry for my boys to stay small.

#6

Michael plays flag football with Dada.

Levi conquers the bouncer, with a cold.

#7

Levi explores the water table in the Arizona "winter".

Michael becomes a teenager at age four in Batman pajamas.

#8

Papa, Marmee, Michael, and Levi act silly at the zoo.

I hope my parents don't kill me for that last picture. It's pretty much my favorite all time, since they're making the same face and Michael is looking AT the camera and Levi is just hangin' out enjoying a french fry.

I love my life.

Welcoming March with a good attitude! Bring it on.

Practising Simplicity's 52 project

These blueberry muffins are to die for. They're easy, moist, and perfect when you're just craving something sweet, but not to sweet, in the morning.

Not to mention they went perfectly with our celebration of finishing reading The Wizard of Oz. We've been making a point to make our way through chapter books with Michael, who is eating it up. And when trying to figure out a way to do something special after finishing the book, we decided we'd bake something new.


Because that is our way, isn't it?

As always, I digress.

Here's the recipe you're here for!


Ingredients:
Note: This is a HALVED recipe. If you want 12-18 muffins, double the recipe.
- 1 egg
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C milk
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 1.5 C unbleached flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 C blueberries

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 and prep your muffin pan as you like (with liners, spray, or both).
- Whisk together your egg and sugar. Next add your milk, olive oil, and vanilla.
- Add your dry ingredients, mixing until completely combined. (Batter is going to be thick. Don't over mix!)
- Gently fold in your blueberries.
- Fill the muffin tin with 1/4 C batter per muffin.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

See what I mean? So easy and you almost always have the ingredients in house. You can also substitute the blueberries with a different berry, or chocolate chips, or anything similar!

Valentine's Day came too quickly for my liking, but it never has to really end. We celebrated by going out and playing some T-Ball with our oldest while our youngest was pretty much the cutest outfielder, ever. Don't believe me? Check it out....



But you're not here to tell me how cute my kids are (a little bit of favoritism there). You're here for this delicious recipe.

Red Velvet Donuts

Ingredients:

- 3 TBSP butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 tsp red food coloring
- 1 C flour
- 3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt

- 1.5 TBSP distilled vinegar
- 1/2 C buttermilk

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350 and spray your donut pan.
- Use a standing or handheld mixer to combine your butter, egg, vanilla, sugar, and food coloring.
- In a separate bowl, mix together your dry ingredients. Alternate adding your dry ingredients, vinegar, and buttermilk to your butter mixture until all is well combined.
- Add the mix to your donut pan, filling each 3/4 of the way full.
Side note: I don't have a piping bag, but using one or filling a large ziplock and cutting off the tip to put the mix into the donut pan helps it disperse evenly and come out "prettier".
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from the oven/pan to a cooling rack.
- Let them sit for around 20 minutes before adding your icing/frosting (and sprinkles if you like)!
Forgive the poor quality of my photos, they're all with my phone!
I cheated and simply stuck some Pillsbury frosting in the microwave before dunking these bad boys in it to frost them, but this recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting was paired with the original recipe.


Pair with coffee or milk for the greatest taste!


I wrote an "attitude" piece over at my new blog. You should check it out!

My husband's mother has been here for nearly two weeks, so I decided to attempt a few pictures of her and the boys. All the "pretty" ones were edited (at least, my version of edited), and this is one that clearly didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. Michael is laughing, Mimi's hand (now cropped) was blurry, Levi was getting cranky-- and you can see his fantastic Star Wars band aid on his pinky (he got his finger stuck in the garbage can pedal).

But I love it to pieces.

Practising Simplicity's 52 project

HAPPY FEBRUARY!

I have rediscovered my bread machine and everyone who comes over is thanking me for it.

That's not cocky, it's just a fact.

There is something about homemade bread. The smell alone can make a person drool, but to be able to eat it on a regular basis...needless to say, I need to step up my exercise game.


I made this bread to go with some yummy lasagna pasta. Because, if you're going to have pasta--you might as well have some bread. This quick bread was super easy to throw in my bread machine and let it do its thing. However, if you aren't in possession of a bread machine, you're in luck! You can bake this bad stuff, too. And I mean that in a good way. You know, like... bad is good.

Annnnnnnnnyway.

Ingredients:
Recipe adapted from Home With Boys
- 1.25 C warm water
- 1.5 C olive oil (or vegetable)
- 3.5 C all purpose unbleached flour (or bread flour)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp dry Parsley
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
- 2 tsp active dry yeast

Directions for Bread Machine:

- Add your liquid ingredients to the bread pan.
- Add your dry ingredients, except the yeast, to the bread pan.
- Use your finger or a spoon to form a little hole in the middle of the dry ingredients for your yeast.
- Select the "French" setting, choose crust color (I did "Light"), and BOOM! Your bread is in the making. See how easy that is?

OR

Directions for Baking:

- Preheat your oven to 350 and spray bread pan.
- Mix together your wet ingredients, followed by your dry ingredients. Knead the yeast into the dough until all are combined.
- Place in bread pan, using spatula to make it as even as possible in the pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes.


Simple, easy, and delicious. My husband described the bread as BANGIN' more than once... and it BARELY lasted 48 hours in the house (this is including the fact that my mother-in-law is visiting, too).