Happy Thanksgiving y'all! :-D

Happy thanksgiving!!!

Today was so nice. I got up early so Andrew could have breakfast and I could pre-make some of the food. Got some stuff made, turned on the Macy's Parade and played with the little man still in his PJs.

I guess his room got super cold last night as he was shivering as I changed him.... so we had some warm oatmeal first off, almost a whole banana and a bottle. He also got to stay in his PJs and got lots of cuddles. Today is his last day with his truck until Christmas so we've had him on it all day haha

After lots of smiles and cuddles he went down for a nap and the cookin got serious. About 1/2 hour before dinner I woke Jesse up (he worked an overnight) and he got Andrew up and dressed while we finished up the food.

Somehow the green bean casserole, cheesy hashbrowns, glazed ham, and stuffing all got done at the exact same time which was awesome. Andrew had a little bit of everything. His favorite, like his daddy, was the stuffing! He gobbled it up like he'd never eat again lol!

After we ate, there was some playtime and skyping with Jesse's family and then naptime/movie time/ baking pumpkin pies (here's the recipe I used-- it's yummy!!) and homemade buns (courtesy of my mama).

Also today I did a good amount of our Christmas shopping! Some clothes for baby 30% off, a wooden bead maze free shipping, and some very cheap electronic stuff from Amazon all from the comfort of my couch :)

Later on, hubby went to work while we had leftovers and lots more playtime with baby. Finished the evening by making plans for grocery shopping on Black Friday, lol, and watching another movie.

I am so thankful for so many things but mostly for the two men in my life:

I could not have asked for a better baby, and I am so thankful that he is happy and healthy.

I also could not have asked for a better hubby. He has given me so much. I know he will always be there for me and our kids. He made me a mother and lets me stay home with Andrew which is such a blessing. Thank you babe, for all you do, I love you so much!

TTFN! <3

Thanksgiving is almost here!!

Wow, can you believe that the Holidays are already upon us?!? It seems like only yesterday that we were still enjoying summer!

We have been listening to Christmas music in the car once in a while for the past two weeks or so but I can't wait until Friday so we can decorate and truly start listening to the Christmas music I love so much he hehe :)

I figured I'd just do a quick post and then share some fun holiday stuff today.

So to start, Andrew is going through a phase where his schedule is beginning to shift and it is throwing me for a loop. There was a point where it seemed like he was going to move to one nap a day, then he reverted to two or three two hour naps, and now we're operating on two two - to - three hour naps. It's proving challenging but I think I'm finally starting to get inthe groove. One thing iI've learned is that though snack time never worked out before,  it needs to work now or the naps are was any too short. So we now get up, eat, play for a few hours, snack and then nap. It's VERY recent but seems to be working great!,

Okay that's about all for now. So here's some holiday fun!

Doesn't this look delicious???? And so simple!

And then ya just gotta have the Black Friday deals , right? I don't plan on going out but it's always nice to know what's out there :)
Oh and p.s. THIS

Wishing y'all a wonderful, stress - free holiday. And safe travels!!

TTFN <3

Our crazy busy and fun weekend

This weekend was a crazy one!

Friday we went to US F'S pre-black Friday sale and scored a new printer, charger, ink, and a Galaxy Note tablet! Merry Christmas to us lol!

Later on we went grocery shopping. We also meant to get a new diaper bag but we decided to wait since we couldn't quite agree on one haha

The one I want

The one hubby wants

Saturday my mom and i got my car fixed, yay! 

No more squealing sounds! It took ages and it inspired me to start a baby emergency kit for the car since while stranded at Tires Plus Andrew wet through his diaper and clothes and had no food. He ate/ woke up at 10 and we were at the car place until about 3. We are blessed with a patient baby!

Sunday we had a special event I can't talk about yet.... 

Results are in on Sunday so I'll be posting then. It was stressful but fun. Glad it's over and can't wait to see what happens!

We had planned to also go to a playgroup and the annual Enchanted Tree Lighting, but all weekend has been trying for our poor little guy so we decided to just take it easy. Maybe next year!

Hope y'all had a great weekend! On to Thanksgiving!! :-D

TTFN <3

Stuff-your-face time!

At least, that's what Andrew must be thinking every meal time. You'd swear we starved that kid with how he shoves food in his mouth, haha!

Here is an example of a fairly routine week:

Monday:

Breakfast- we all had pancakes for breakfast (Syrup for me and hubby, applesauce for baby), and Andrew also got 7ish ounces of formula, some oatmeal and blueberries (I bought a package recently so we're using them almost everyday!)

Lunch- (hubby and I forgot to eat this day lol) bottle, apricot/pear/carrot pouch, tried cottage cheese for the first time (he was not the hugest fan).

Dinner- We all had some creamed peas on toast, and baby also had a bottle, applesauce and more cottage cheese (it is now a hit!)

Tuesday:

Breakfast- Coffee and bananas for the adults (we were running to a class first thing). Bottle, oatmeal and blueberries for the little one.

Lunch- Hubby and I shared an omelet. Bottle, mango banana yogurt smoothie pouch and applesauce.

Later we ate lots of Cheerios with our Cheerios book.

Dinner- We all tried Mushroom Quinoa for the first time....Andrew was the only fan haha. He also had a bottle, some spinach puffs, and 1/2 an avocado cut up and salted.

Wednesday:

Breakfast- Bottle, oatmeal and 1/2 a banana cut up and rolled in cheerio dust (we had toast with Nutella).

Lunch- Salads. The little man had a bottle, 1/2 an avocado, apple/carrot/squash pouch and blueberries.

Dinner- Pulled pork!! Plus Andrew had cottage cheese and soft carrot sticks.

Thursday:

Breakfast- We had our favorite sauteed potatoes and onions alongside scrambled eggs with cheese for Jesse and over easy eggs for me. Bottle, blueberries and egg yolk for baby.

Lunch- Tuna Fish sandwiches, toasted and with cheese. Andrew had some toast, cheese and tuna fish plus banana/raspberry/brown rice pouch, a bottle and blueberries.

Dinner- Leftovers! And a bottle, purple potatoes and Banilla yogurt.

Friday:

Breakfast- Pancakes (we usually don't have pancakes this often BUT we had pre-black friday browsing, a playgroup and grocery shopping to tackle this day. They were needed haha). Blueberries, oatmeal and a bottle.

Lunch- ON-THE-GO, banana/acai/granla pouch, cheerios, bottle, applesauce and we had Peanut Butter and banana sandwiches along.

Dinner- Tuna pasta, bottle and 1/2 an avocado.

Saturday:

Breakfast- Yogurt with granola for mama; bottle, oatmeal and banana for baby.

Lunch- Mango/apple/sweet potato greek yogurt pouch plus a bottle and avocado. Mama will probably have more leftovers (Daddy works all weekend).

Dinner- Chicken Kiev with Mashed Potatoes. Andrew will also have a bottle and ripe mango sticks.

Sunday:

Breakfast- Bottle, oatmeal, toast, egg yolk (Eggs and toast for mama).

Lunch- Leftovers. Bottle, cottage cheese, pears/peas/broccoli pouch.

Dinner- Auntie Annies. We will be at the mall all afternoon.... Andrew will try his first pretzel and also have a bottle, applesauce and some cheerios.

We also fill in gaps with all kinds of puffs, cheese crunchies, rice cakes and wagon wheels for baby. He is absolutely loving feeding himself :)

Gah! Our little man is TEN months old already!

....WHERE has the time gone? It is insane how fast it goes.

"Don't worry if your formerly voracious eater suddenly turns up his nose at lunch. As his growth (finally) starts to slow, his appetite will decrease as well. One thing that definitely won't decrease is his desire for discovery, which can lead to some serious climbing. Keep in mind, though, that babies learn to climb up long before they learn how to get down, so be on the lookout for potential spills or strandings. In other news, chances are your baby is now able to get what he wants by pointing. He may also be able to stand alone (for a second) or even walk unassisted (the chase begins, Mom!). You (and/or your baby) may be ready to wean (or not) so make a plan (though be ready to revise your timetable, perhaps more than once).

Some pretty weird behavior problems may pop up around now, including head banging, rocking, rolling, teeth grinding, and hair pulling. While no one's exactly sure what's behind such (generally nonhazardous) behaviors, they may simply be a way of blowing off steam and are often triggered or increased by stress. What else is baby up to? He may be biting you or Daddy or his big brother — definitely a habit to nip in the bud. He may also become fearful of things he never feared in the past, like the vacuum cleaner or your neighbor's pooch. As for you and Daddy, now's a good time to build a united front when it comes to discipline as your baby's desire to do his own (possibly dangerous or hurtful) things will only grow as he does. You'll no doubt get plenty of opinions on spanking and determine that physical punishment is never an effective way to discipline a child."

-whattoexpect.com

** Random thought.... after much discussion with our pediatrician and each other, we decided to get Andrew a flu shot. He had the first about two weeks ago and the next in another 2 weeks. He had no symptoms or reactions and it made us both a little more relaxed. This article is what helped us decide.

Basically, we had his 9 month appointment and after talking to the Dr, we decided to hold off on the shot. Later that day we decided to get it, made an appointment for less than a week away and then he got sick. He had a super runny nose and a cough for over a week and that combined with the article and Dr.'s thoughts and also that we were starting music classes with Andrew made us know it was definitely the right decision for us. **

What is new with Andrew:

• He is regularly pushing himself up to sit up.
• Exploring boundaries.... mainly doors and the stairway gate.
• He tried for maybe 2 or 3 days to pull himself up to stand without any luck and BOOM this morning there he was standing up in his crib playing with the framed photo of himself. Now he can hardly go 5 minutes without standing :)
• Feeding himself EVERYTHING and loves it!
• Swimming in the bathtub. Sitting is no longer an option.
• TEETH! He has his two bottoms, his top left is coming in well and his top right is soooooooo close to popping out!
• He is becoming social! I am so glad because I am such an introvert. But thanks to these music classes we've been taking him to, he is getting more adventurous. The first class he stayed right in front of me, wanting to crawl into my lap and stay there. The last class was today and I had to drag him back once or twice to participate in the songs cuz he was rolling around on the floor, hanging out with the other tots.
• That being said, he took some of his first LEGIT crawls yesterday!!!! They were tiny but he is getting it! Huzzah!!
• It is so neat to his personality coming out. He definitely is bashful but SUCH a little charmer/ flirt. He is a people watcher and observer to the extreme and is so very patient and focused. I just love every single thing about him and think he's perfect in every way. And of course I am not biased at ALL on that ;-P

We bought him a toy truck that plays music and he loooooves it. We weren't going to get it until Christmas but we have a super secret thing goin' on and we needed it for that, haha. More details on that to come later.

We have all the thanksgiving. Fall decorations up but I am soooo eagerly awaiting the day after Thanksgiving so we can put up Christmas decor!!!! Our new tree is sitting in it's box in the living room as we speak.

How hard is it to find kid's books on Thanksgiving? We ended up searching 5 stores and finally Barnes and Noble had I think TWO that were holiday appropriate. Yikes! But it's cute and has facts in the back so whatevs.

Getting excited for the big holiday! We have ham, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, and pumpkin pie on the menu (and actually we bought turkey specifically to make turkey salad sandwiches for leftovers the next day on homemade buns. The perfect meal after decorating ;) We also are planning on lounging around, going for a walk and watching the big parade! We're loving coming up with new traditions for our family come the holidays :)

Alright well I guess that's all for now. Food post to come within a day or two here, cuz God knows I could talk about food forever lol

TTFN! <3

My week...

... has felt like this.

Have you ever tried so hard to get along with someone yet at every turn you somehow offend them and it ends up worse than if you would just take a stand against them? Yup, that's been me lately.

I have a bad habit of letting people walk all over me. My last hometown it happened a ridiculous amount of times and it is currently happening. It boils my blood when it happens, but ultimately...I let it happen. Oh well, November 25th I am free and never again have to work with people from that area - huzzah!

In other news, we have some super awesome, top-secret goings-on down here! I'll give you two sneak peeks:

Also on November 25th I should have some more details for y'all!

10 month post coming soon!!

Slipping through my fingers all the time...

...I try to capture every minute 

The feeling in it 

Slipping through my fingers all the time 

Do I really see what's in her mind 

Each time I think I'm close to knowing 

She keeps on growing 

Slipping through my fingers all the time 

Yup, my brain is currently playing the Mama Mia soundtrack.

Brace yourselves, this is going to be a random post.

So first off, where is November going??? It's already the 8th! Gah! Too soon it's going to be Thanksgiving!

We have a few music classes for Andrew, an enchanted tree lighting ceremony, early black friday shopping, and I have a dance/photo project happening in Minnesota the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's hectic!

What's on the menu for Thanksgiving? Well we are all about the classics. Every year we have ham, cheesy potatoes (though I tweak these every year), green bean casserole, stuffing and pumpkin pie. This year I am also making Turkey salad sandwiches, purely for day-after Thanksgiving sandwiches on homemade buns. YUM.

Our plans also include watching the Macy's parade on TV, some moscato and probably some board games.

I'm hoping that by the Sunday after we will have our Christmas tree up! I am itching to decorate! :)

I am practically drooling over the good holiday movies:

Nightmare Before Christmas

Sound of Music

Home Alone (1&2 only)

Miracle on 34th street

The Santa Clause

and I will of course be watching tons of those corny Hallmark holiday movies when Jesse is working haha!

Getting so excited for Christmas shopping and that first Christmas with our little man! I can't believe he is almost a year old. Yikes!

I am so excited for new holiday traditions for our family, I love my boys so much <3 <3 <3

What are family traditions you hold dear?

Well, I guess that's all... just thoughts tumbling out of my head really.

TTFN! <3

P.s. THIS

TWO WEEKS UNTIL CATCHING FIRE OPENS!!! :-D

Shrimp Salad!

This was practically a staple meal when I was growing up... well maybe not entirely but I remember having it a lot and hubby and I have it at least once every two months or so. It's pretty quick, easy and cheap which is great for us haha! :)

P.s. all these pictures are from online. I was too busy making Andrew's dinner before he demanded another course and making the salad before hubby had to leave for work to take pictures....

You will need:

One can tiny shrimp

One box (or half box depending on the size) ring pasta

Mayonnaise

Mustard

and (my favorite) PICKLES! 

So you cook the pasta, it's a fast cook since there isn't much there. We always throw a good amount of salt into the water and add olive oil to the boiling water to keep pasta from sticking to the bottom.

Meanwhile, drain the shrimp into a container of some kind (you'll want the juice in a minute here).

Once pasta is cooked, drain and then drizzle the shrimp juice over the pasta. Shake once or twice then return to pan (not on hot burner). Add around two scoops of mayo and a good squirt of mustard. Then cut up your pickles (should be roughly the same size as the shrimp) - you can use as many as you want - and add to pot. I also add more salt and pepper plus a bit of garlic powder.

It's best while hot but is good cold too! Also, especially when it's cold it's lovely on some warm buttered toast! 

This is about what it will look like :)

Enjoy! :)

Our weekend in pictures 2

What the what?!?!? It's NOVEMBER?!?!? When did this happen?

This weekend was also fairly low-key but it's been so fun!

Friday we did our weekly shopping trip, Target and Whole Foods. We looked at all the cute baby clothes at Target and check this out:

How cute is that??? We were giggling like idiots and snapping pictures. SO many strange looks from others haha!

Saturday we just hung out at home, eating, watching movies, cuddling, bathtime for baby, etc.

Sunday we went to church for the first time in what seems like forever! It really refreshed and recharged me, such a wonderful feeling :) It was a Family-First Sunday (they do these about once a month I believe), so after service we sat on some bleachers in the shade, had bratwurst/pasta salad/ desert and Jesse participated in the Adults vs. Kids soccer game. Adults won 4-1! And currently Jesse is icing his knee lol

Later on we watched a bunch of FRIENDS (we're on the last season already...*sob*) and grilled burgers on the patio!

Well, we've got Andrew's flu shot appointment tomorrow, wish us luck!!

TTFN! <3

Halloween!

Hope y'all had a fantabulous Halloween!!!!

We had a very low-key day. Andrew slept in (I think he's going through another growth spurt, this sleepiness is usually a characteristic of that. Sleepiness and cuddles hehe), we had pumpkin sweet potato and apple oatmeal for breakfast, then Andrew and I played/ decorated pumpkins/ watched Hocus Pocus.

Later on Andrew had apricot/peach/pumpkin puree for lunch, we dressed up in his costume and played and cuddled a bunch...and watched Monster's University hehe, so cute!

Before Jesse had to go to work we did get three trick-or-treaters but that would end up being it. We don't have many children living near us....

That evening there were a lot more cuddles, some dinner, playtime, MASSIVE giggles from granny tossing a throw pillow up and down lol and then bedtime in his Spiderman PJs.

My mom and I wrapped up the evening by watching Grey's Anatomy and Scandal/ falling asleep on the couch/recliner. We are SO exciting.

I ate way too much candy, and my teeth are probably rotting away as we speak. I just couldn't put the dang tootsie rolls away ;-P

Next year I fully intend to make a bigger deal of it all. Trick or treating, goodies, drinking games, etc. But for this year it was fun, low-key and filled with snuggles :)

TTFN! <3