great expectations

- routine -

2012-03-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

I love routine...and I hate routine. It's a conflict I've always had. One part of me loves the stability of routine. I'm pretty insecure about change, and a routine grounds me. But the other part of me can get so completely bored and unsatisfied with a day to day routine. So what gives?

Our weekdays are as routine as they come. We all wake up at the same time every morning, trudge into work, frantically try to get everything done, rush home, rush through cooking dinner, eating dinner, play time and usually bath time. We follow the same bed time routine for Ellie, and then, once she's down, slip into our normal late night routine of vegging in front of the TV or the computer until we can barely keep our eyes open and then we crawl into bed. It's not a terrible routine...and we do have a lot of fun together along the way, but it is still routine..and I have to admit, it can get very monotonous at times.

Our weekends are a different story. We usually mix it up every weekend and never stick to one routine. We go out, try new things, get together with friends and family, and spend lots of quality time together. And I absolutely love our weekends!

Weeknights are hard though. By the time we get home from work, it's hard to mix things up and throw in new and different things when we have a toddler's bath time and bed time to consider. But sometimes I just need a break from the weeknight routine...to liven things up a bit!

(Image credit lacestiletto.tumblr.com)

So, how do you mix things up when you need a break from that dreaded routine?

- don't ya want to follow me -

2012-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hey friends...don't ya want to follow me on Instagram? If you aren't following me, this is what you've been missing in the last couple of weeks...


I promise my cooking isn't that bad kiddo!

My love....

My girly girl!

She's has my heart...


Yes, she's THAT cute!

He loves her SO much!

Playground time!


Self portrait

Hubby had to get in on the Elmo & Cookie Monster action!

Bed head!!

Running fail...Thank you neighborhood dog for scaring the crap out of me causing me to "not so gracefully" eat it!

Follow me here online, or on the Instagram app by searching for kynad.

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

It's Monday again (boy, they just keep coming huh, these Mondays...) We had a great weekend celebrating a good friend's birthday and spending some time with my in-laws. The weather was just amazing and it was good to spend some time outside in the sunshine.

Today's recipe comes to us from Heather, at Made Famous By... Heather is a self proclaimed recipe hoarder and she loves to share the recipes that her and her friends are famous for! On her blog, she celebrates the "every day cook". She truly believes that ordinary people can make extraordinary recipes! Heather has three kids and she feels so lucky to be their mom.

(Image credit Heather)

Heather loves Ellen and Oprah, and dreams of one day taping an episode of Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten! She loves to spend warm days with her family at the beach, which is actually where she was just this past Saturday...discovering sea cucumbers with her son!

In honor of St. Patrick's day, which is quickly approaching, here is Heather's recipe for St. Patty's Day Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.

St. Patty's Day Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
1/2-1 lb chocolate almond bark
15 strawberries
1 jar of St. Patty's day sprinkles (or any green sprinkles will do)
green popsicle sticks

Melt to almond bark per the directions on the package. Put the popsicle stick in the bottom of the strawberries and then dip the strawberries in the melted almond bark. Cover with sprinkles and allow to cool.

(Image credit Heather)

Printable Recipe

Super easy, festive, and so cute, huh? Yeah, I knew you would love them! Now if that's not worth pinning on Pinterest, I don't know what is! Lol! Thank you Heather for sharing such a cute recipe with us. We'll definitely be making these at our house!

- favorite things -

2012-03-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

These Disney Princesses have quickly become Ellie's favorite things. She knows every one of them by name and she loves them all. She plays with them everywhere! They keep her busy at restaurants so that mommy and daddy can enjoy a peaceful meal (hallelujah), and she usually insists on all ten of them being in bed with her at night (not my favorite thing...I'm pretty sure her rolling over them a couple times a night perpetuates the middle of the night wakings, but oh well...gotta pick my battles).

I heard that Disney was no longer making Princess movies, to be more "gender friendly". I understand the reasoning behind their decision, but it is kind of sad knowing that Rapunzel from Tangled was their last princess. Either way, my kiddo is happy...she has ten of them and they truly are her favorite things right now!

I'm linking up with the Finagle a Foto Challenge with the my favorite bloggy gal, the very amazing Melanie from, Happy Jax and The ArtsyGirl Connection.

- so it happened -

2012-02-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Last night I let something happen that I swore I would hold off doing for as long as I could...I let Ellie fall asleep in our bed with me. Let me start off by saying as loud as I can...I do not think co-sleeping is bad in any way! As a matter of fact, although when I was pregnant I never planned on it, when Ellie was born she ended up sleeping not only in our bed, but on top of me, for the first three months of her life. That was the only way she would sleep with her colic and her reflux, and everything else that made her cry so much. And I definitely knew that there would eventually be a day as a toddler when she would start crawling into bed with us. All kids do right? But I was holding off as long as I could...because when Ellie develops a sleeping crutch, she holds onto it for dear life and it is so hard for us to get her to break it. I did not want "sleeping with us" to become her new sleeping crutch, because let's just face it...I have a queen size bed, a toddler who is a super light sleeper, and a hubby who moves around and fidgets a lot at night. All of those things combined do not make for a restful night's sleep for momma!

But last night as she was sitting on our bed, she asked me to cover her up so she could snuggle with me. Ummmm, how could I resist? I let her lay down and I covered her, and we snuggled, and we both fell fast asleep. An hour later, I woke up with the most peaceful sleeping toddler in my arms, and the thought of "oh no, what have I done?" racing through my mind!

Matt came into our room and said he had peeked in on us earlier and it was the sweetest thing ever...us sleeping together. And to be totally honest, I know why you co-sleeping momma's do it! Her little body pressed up to mine...her heavy breathing...it was so comforting. She has never ever been one to fall asleep in our arms once she hit four months old or so, and I was definitely jealous of all those other mom's that have been able to hold their sleeping child. But still... holy cow, what did I do?? My little one is now going to ~~ask~~ demand to sleep in our bed all the time, and she will lose.her.mind when I put my foot down and make her fall asleep in her crib.

I figured once we put her in a toddler bed, we couldn't stop the middle of the night visits that would lead to her crawling into our bed. But I thought for sure I could buy us more time. But as Matt reminded me, I made my own bed (ha ha) by letting her lay down with me, and now there might be trouble!

Wish me luck tonight as I put her down in her own crib and try to explain to her that little girls sleep in their own beds and mommies and daddies sleep in their own beds...sigh.

p.s- In case you are wondering, I did transfer her into her crib. The last thing I wanted was for her to wake up and discover that she was still in our bed. I begged Matt to do it, but he didn't want to be the bad guy, so I picked her up as gently as I could, accidentally made her hit herself in the head with her own floppy arm (mommy fail!) and somehow managed to get her into her crib without too much hassle.

p.p.s- There would be a sweet picture of me and my baby sleeping together for me to post, but my hubby failed to grab the camera when he peeked in on us. I did politely remind him that his job as the husband of a blogger, is to document moments like these so I can blog about it later! Always gotta be thinking of the blog right? lol!

- there are no words -

2012-02-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

There are absolutely no words to describe how much I love this little girl...

Being her mom is the greatest gift I have ever been given. Nothing can beat it. And no words can describe the joy I feel when I see her little face...there are no words.

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-02-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had as good of a weekend as I did! I was healthy!! And my hubby was "mostly" healthy...and the little one was healthy! Hooray! I spent a good portion of the weekend dedicated to photography (editing pictures, a photo shoot with my very favorite photographer, Nina, and various other camera tinkering)...all in all, it was a good weekend.

Today, I am so, so excited to introduce you to one of my newest blogger friends...I am obsessed with her blog because she always has the coolest posts! I'm telling you, you are going to want to go check it out!

Meet Amanda, from Marshalls Abroad. Amanda is a beautiful Marine wife who is currently living abroad with her husband, Cam. She blogs about the amazing adventures they have, and their day to day life, living abroad. You definitely should read their love story...it's so sweet!

(Image credit Amanda)

Amanda is sharing an amazing recipe with us today! How good does this sound? I love homemade pizza! And the salad is the perfect pairing!

Caprese Pizza & Salad
Pizza
Store bought or homemade pizza dough
2-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Cherry tomatoes
Basil
Olive Oil
Salt

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Halve the tomatoes and put them on a cookie sheet, drizzled with olive oil and salt. Roast them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. This will prevent your pizza from getting soggy. Place the rolled out dough on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over it, and cover it with shredded mozzarella & the roasted tomatoes. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Top with basil

Salad
Lettuce
Raspberries
Avocado
Gorgonzola cheese
Grapes
Croutons

Dressing
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
honey
lemon juice

Chop the salad ingredients and mix together. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a jar and mix into the salad.


(Image credit Amanda)


(Image credit Amanda)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much Amanda! Both the pizza and the salad look so good! There's nothing better than homemade pizza! Don't forget to go say hello to Amanda at Marshalls Abroad. Tell her how good her recipe for homemade pizza and salad sounds!

- being nice -

2012-02-24T14:37:00.001-08:00

I'm alive!...or at least I think I am. I think I've survived the worst cold I have ever had! Now that that's over with, I can get on with life! Hooray!

One thing I learned this past week with our entire household being sick, is that sometimes it's very, very important to take the time to be nice to each other, even if you don't feel like it. Let's just say with Matt and I both being sick, and dealing with a sick toddler, we weren't the nicest people to each other. It's easy, isn't it, to forget how to be nice to the people that are the closest to you in your life? Maybe it's because we know they love us unconditionally, and they will always forgive us for our "not so nice" days, but that shouldn't be reason enough. Matt is the person closest to my heart, and yet, he is the first person for me to snap at when I'm not feeling very nice (and vice versa too...this works both ways!). You would think we would treasure those people who are closest to us, but more often than not, those are the people who bear the brunt of our crabby moods.

This past week, Matt and I snapped at each other many times, and we argued...we argued because we were sick...we argued about being sick. It wasn't a fun week at all, and if I could rewind time, I would understand that this week, more than ever, it was important to take the time to be nicer to him, and not to take out my crummy feelings on him. Because when a person is closest to your heart, that's where you want them to stay, for a long, long time.

(Image credit katespadeny.tumblr.com)

- please excuse my absence -

2012-02-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

Ugh! We are all sick. It started with Ellie, and it has moved around the house. I have it pretty bad now...and I'm dragging...

So, please excuse my absence on my blog, and on all of your blogs. I promise I will be back soon to catch up on my reading and to post some more posts (whenever I feel human again...)

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-02-20T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hi there! Sorry for the late post today! Trusty 'ol Blogger didn't automatically post when scheduled...of course! Anyway, I hope everyone had an outstanding weekend! And now it's Monday...back to reality (oh, how I love the weekends!).

Today I'd like you to meet Summer from over at the Crosbie Crew. She is married to the lovely, Mr. Crosbie and is the mama of two future heart breakers, Hudson (I love that name!) and Parker. Her blog is all about their daily lives in the OC...but she does mix it up by throwing in a few crafts and recipes along the way.

(Image credit Summer)

Summer's recipe sounds so yummy for a chilly winter evening! I hope you enjoy it...it looks so good!

Black Bean Soup
4 cans of black beans, drained
1 onion chopped
5 slices of bacon, chopped
1.5 Tbs minced garlic
1.5 cups of veggie broth
1 can of Rotel
2 big squirts of ketchup
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs chili powder
salt and pepper
cilantro

For garnish (optional)
sour cream
green onion
avocado, sliced
fresh lime
fresh jalapeno, chopped, no seeds

In a large pot, cook the bacon for about 5-7 minutes. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Drain the bacon grease. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the broth, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Rotel, and chili powder. Stir in the beans and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Slow simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. Chop cilantro and add to the pot, allowing it to simmer an additional ten minutes. Garnish as desired.

(Image credit Summer)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much Summer!

Be sure to visit Summer over here and say hello!

- my little addictions -

2012-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

I'm addicted to my iPhone
I'm addicted to Diet Coke
I'm addicted to Italian food
I'm addicted to photography
I'm addicted to the weekends
I'm addicted to redecorating my house...often
I'm addicted to Pinterest
I'm addicted to TV (but mostly just for background noise...I very rarely actually watch anything)
I'm addicted to a clean, tidy house
I'm addicted to striving for perfection (a big downfall of mine, unfortunately)
I'm addicted to traveling
I'm addicted to her...

BTW, she doesn't have a chipmunk cheek...it happens to be a mouthful of marshmallows that I used to bribe her with to take some pictures of her! lol!

- be positive -

2012-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

I seriously dislike being around people who are negative all the time. It drives me crazy, and brings me down. I happen to work with one of the most negative people I have ever met. And I can't even begin to tell you how much it affects me on a daily basis. As hard as I try to not let her get to me, I work very closely with her, and I happen to be her supervisor as well, so it's not that easy to just ignore her horrible attitude.

I'm not going to pretend my life is rosey all the time. I'm also not going to pretend that I am always upbeat and positive. But I like to think that most days I am in a cheerful mood and have a smile on my face. It really just makes life so much better when you are smiling and positive!

So today, I just want to remind everyone to smile, and be positive! People will like you more, and you will truly be happier inside!

(Image credit soon2befit.tumblr.com)

- happy love day -

2012-02-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

From my little valentine to you...I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello, and happy Monday to everyone!

Today I thought I would share with you a "go to" recipe of mine...I'm warning you...it's nothing gourmet! But then again, I never professed to be a gourmet chef! While it's not a dish that will ever be served in a fancy restaurant in New York, it is super easy to make and doesn't take longer than thirty minutes from start to finish. That's my kind of weeknight recipe!

Stewed Tomato and Green Bean Chicken

1-1.5 lbs chicken thighs
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1/2 bag of frozen green beans, any style
1/2 cup cooking sherry
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken thighs in a pot and salt and pepper. Pour the undrained can of tomatoes over the chicken. Cook on medium high, covered, for 10 minutes. Pour the cooking sherry into the pot and stir. Cover and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, on medium low. Pour in the green beans and stir again. Cover and cook for a remaining 5 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve over rice or pasta.

Printable Recipe

My sister originally shared this recipe with me and it's now always in my dinner rotation at least once or twice a month, because it just does not get any easier that that!

Enjoy!

- this is how we roll -

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just in case you didn't see this picture on my other blog yesterday, this is how we roll when momma needs to get some shopping done...

Yup, she's in the "unsafe" section of the cart...holding my phone, that currently has absolutely no case protecting it if it were to fall and hit the hard floor, shattering it to pieces.

Luckily, I trust my kiddo to stay seated in the cart (I promise, she's really good when it comes to things like that)...and I know that she will hold onto that phone for dear life. Because she totally understands that if that phone breaks, she will not be able to play her games on it anymore! It's the one thing she is so careful with!

Folks, that's just how we roll! Remember all of those "I'll never..." when you were pregnant? Yup, I do ALL those things I said I would never do. Because letting her watch videos and play games while I'm shopping makes momma and kiddo much happier! I just do what I can to keep the peace!

Linking up with...

- a little of this, a little of that -

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend and a wonderful Monday (ugh...that's what I think of Mondays). The hubs went away this past weekend... a guys trip. He had a blast, and I'm so glad he was able to get some good 'ol fashioned dude time in, but we sure did miss him and we're glad he's home! Ellie and I spent some quality time with my mom, and got to spend some time with Lisa and her son, too. Definitely a low key weekend for us, while Matt partied like a rock star!

Turns out, I don't really have one particular thing to write about today, so you're gonna get another one of my mish mash posts...here it goes...

- This winter has been unseasonably warm, and I am loving every minute of it!

- Will I ever, ever, ever stop wishing there were more hours in the day? Hmm, now that I have a kiddo, probably not.

- I have an obsession with thinking about baby names...I could do it all day long! Am I pregnant? Nope...haven't even started for baby #2...but I have names all picked out already! I know, I'm crazy like that.

- I seriously hate drama...so much! And I hate that I manage a team of drama queens at work. Seriously, it gets so old. I really struggle between doing what I should do to be a good manager or just telling them to grow up. And what's worse, my team have all worked for me for over 4 years, so I've literally dealt with the same drama for over 4 years...ugh, it's getting old.

- A little public service announcement...tattoos can be addicting...once you get one, you will probably want more. But they are permanent...yup, permanent (well, let's not get technical and talk about laser removal, etc). So be wise while choosing the design and the size...(I may or may not have gotten another tattoo last week...and I may or may not be freaking out now, because it's definitely bigger than I probably should have gotten it...but, we won't talk about that right now. I love the design and I'm sure I will get used the size!)

- Does anyone else struggle as much as I do to really know who you are? Will I ever be completely confident and comfortable with just being me? (I'm sure I'll post more about this soon, as it has been weighing heavy on my mind lately...)

- I am getting super anxious about two major changes coming soon in our household...potty training, and moving Ellie to a toddler bed. Neither are happening right now, but I know they are coming, and just the thought of either of those two things freak me out. She has been using the potty on and off for over 5 months, but she hasn't shown interest in it lately. I know there will come a day when we just need to take the jump and go for it full time, but...ugh, I don't even know where to start. And the toddler bed?? Double ugh. Ellie hasn't tried to ever climb out of her crib, so we are keeping her in there as long as we can. But I know the toddler bed will eventually have to come, and I can't figure out for the life of me how we will ever get her to stay in the bed. Kiddo doesn't love bed time, and I know it will be a fight to keep her in the bed without that wonderful crib. Any suggestions on either of these two topics? Please, help me calm my anxiety!

- My kiddo has at least 4 pairs of Toms in her closet....momma has none! I think this momma needs a new pair of shoes, huh? A pair of Tom's to be specific! Any of these would do...

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-02-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

I know I've been a little MIA the past week...no good excuses other than a touch of writer's block, plus a super busy week...did ya miss me? Yup, thought so!

Today, I'm sharing a recipe from Laura at Between the Lines.

(Image credit Laura)

Laura is an Army wife and a mother to the sweetest little one-year-old blondie, named Ethan. She has a slew of interests and occupations, including but not limited to, pharmacy technician, psych major, Scentsy consultant, Avon representative, and photographer. Photography is one of her biggest passions, so, there are often a number of her great photos displayed on her blog. Recently, their family sponsored their first child. His name is Jeff, and he's from Kenya. You can read all about their amazing decision to sponsor Jeff here. It's a great story to read, and an amazing cause!

Laura's recipe sounds so good...you have gotta try it!

Pappardelle Pasta and Chicken Sausage
1/2 lb pappardelle pasta
2 cups broccoli florets
1 Tsbp oil
1 lb chicken link sausage
1 red pepper
1 cup fat free, sodium reduced chicken broth
2/3 cup half and half
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Five Italian cheese
2 Tsbp shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in a large pot. Add broccoli florets for the last two minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil up in a skillet on medium heat for five minutes. Add sausage cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add red peppers. Cook until peppers are crisp-tender and sausage is done.

Drain pasta mixture. Add to the skillet, along with the half and half, broth, and oregano. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until sauce is slightly thickened. Top with shredded cheese and continue to cook 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

(Image credit Laura)

Printable Recipe

Thanks Laura! Any recipe that has pasta in it is always a must try for me!

- six healthy choices I try to make on a daily basis -

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong, I am definitely NOT the epitome of health! I should exercise way more than I do (or, maybe I should just exercise period...ha ha), I definitely indulge in glasses of wine, snacks, and sweets, and I don't count calories or check fat content like I should.

However, I do try to make a handful healthy choices on a (mostly) daily basis that are pretty easy for me to stick to:

1. Always choose whole grain carbs - For the past few years, I have only been buying whole grain, wheat bread, pasta, and rice. I actually didn't mind the transition, but I definitely think Matt had a harder time with it. Let's just be honest, most of the time, whole grain carbs do not taste as good and as their "not as healthy" counterparts...the white carbs. But, they are so much better for you!

2. Buy frozen vegetables - I know, I know, frozen vegetables are not as good for you as fresh ones. But, with our busy lifestyle, cutting and prepping fresh vegetables is just one more thing that I would never get around to. I would often just serve a dinner with no vegetables because the thought of chopping was just one extra step in my dinner prep (I loathe chopping vegetables...I don't know why!) And if dinner plans ever changed, and we didn't get around to eating the fresh veggies, they would end up in the trash after sitting in our fridge for too long. Now, I make sure I always have a stock of frozen veggies on hand. I never have an excuse not to add veggies to the meal since they are already cut and prepped for me! Just taking this little step really helps us get more vegetables in at dinner time. (And frozen is better than nothing!)

3. Drink water...A LOT of it - I drink a lot of water every day...at least 72-80 ounces. It cleans out your body, keeps your skin hydrated, and even can help you lose weight by raising your metabolism and keeping you feeling full so that you don't over eat. I really don't mind the taste of water (does water even have a taste??), so drinking a lot of water every day is not hard for me to do. But if you aren't thrilled about plain water, try squeezing a fresh lemon in it. It makes the water taste much better! Or, try putting cucumber slices, limes, or strawberry slices in it..all pretty darn good in water (they all help liven up the plain 'ol water!)

4. Choose white meat (or very lean red meat) - We are big white meat eaters in our house. Ellie thinks every meat is chicken because she sees so much of it on our plates. While a big juicy steak or burger can taste amazing, most red meats are very high in saturated fats pound for pound when compared to white meat. It's not that red meat is horrible for you, but too much of it can definitely raise your cholesterol levels. I remedy that by cooking mostly white meat in our house....chicken, turkey, and of course, fish. Ground beef is never in my freezer, I always use ground turkey instead. I choose turkey burgers whenever possible, and if we do cook red meat, we choose lean cuts such as top sirloin, or sirloin tips (a good rule of thumb...generally cuts that have the word "loin" in them are the leaner cuts... this applies to both beef and pork).

5. No snacking at night - Matt is a huge snacker...I am not. So this is a pretty easy, healthy choice for me to stick with. After dinner (and sometimes dessert if I'm lucky), I'm usually done eating for the night. I generally don't snack while we are watching our nightly television, or if we watch a movie after Ellie goes to bed. While eating after dinner isn't necessarily bad for you, choosing unhealthy snacks can be. And those are usually the snacks that most people turn to in the evening. If you are still hungry after dinner and you have the will power to choose something healthy, like an apple, or some carrot sticks, go for it! But if you find yourself always grabbing potato chips or cookies, then it would just be better to avoid eating once you are finished with dinner!

6. Cooking at home - This isn't always the most fun thing for me to do. I'm really busy during the week, and cooking is definitely a chore for me. I don't love to cook...I don't hate it, but it's definitely not a passion of mine. But cooking at home is so much healthier than getting take out, or eating out. I make myself cook dinner at home at least four days a week...on a good week, five. (For our pocketbooks, and for our health, it should be six or seven days a week, but this momma needs a break once in awhile!) When you cook at home, you can avoid processed foods. You can also make healthier choices. I don't always cook the healthiest meals, but at least I can switch out ingredients to make them better for us...fat free creams, non fat milk, and again, whole grains. There are plenty of easy recipes you can make if you are pressed for time...check out some of the quick recipes of the week that all of my lovely readers and contributors have helped me compile!

(and yes, Matt totally comes home after work and kisses me as I slave over a hot stove, and no, I don't wear a dress, apron, and pearls while cooking dinner!)

So those are the baby steps I take every day to be a healthier me. Do I have a long way to go?? YES! But at least I am aware, and isn't that half the battle?? :-)

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! I'm a year older now, which means I'm a year wiser right? Ha ha, we'll see about that one!

Today I'd like you to meet Jenna from Mommy in Manhattan. Jenna has the most stunning children, and they seriously get to do some of the most awesome family outings ever! One of the benefits of living in a big city, huh?

Jenna, and her husband, Dennis, and three beautiful children, Davis, Gwen, and Chloe (they are seriously stunning!). They live in NYC and absolutely love being spontaneous and fun! Jenna works as an esthetician and enjoys fitness and healthy living. She is even a certified pilates instructor! Her blog is all about their daily life in NYC and all of the fun happenings around them!

(Image credit Jenna)

Steak Salad
cooked lean sirloin steak strips, sliced thin
romaine lettuce
cherry tomatoes
sliced or cubed avocados
slivered almonds
feta cheese crumbles

For the dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinaigrette
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tsp ground mustard
salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing. Once mixed, set aside and combine salad ingredients and drizzle with dressing.


(Image credit Jenna)

Printable Recipe

Wow! How easy does that sound folks? And super healthy! It's a win win all around! Now go visit Jenna over at her blog and give her a great big thank you for this awesomely healthy, easy recipe!

- my birthday weekend -

2012-01-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

First of all, a great big happy birthday to a couple other gals that had a birthday the last couple of days...Courtney and Carlie, I hope you gals both had amazing days! I also celebrated a birthday this weekend, and had a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't pull my camera out too much, so I don't have very many pictures, but trust me, it was a great weekend!

Yesterday, my in laws took Ellie for the day, so that Matt and I could have some adult only time. We started off the perfectly warm day with a delicious breakfast...

Then we headed north for some wine tasting! It was a great way to relax and just enjoy each others company. A couple of our friend's met up with us later in the afternoon, and we were happy they were able to join us!

Today was my actual birthday, and it was a family day...just the three of us, at my request! I couldn't think of any other way I wanted to spend my birthday. We played all day long and had a great time together!

I felt so loved the whole weekend by all of my family and friends! It was definitely a fabulous way to spend my birthday!

- she's growing up -

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

She's growing up so fast...I sometimes wish I could just make time stop, maybe just for a little bit...


(Image credit Nina S.)

(Image credit Nina S.)

Oh baby girl, I love you more than I could ever tell you....but please, please, don't grow up so fast.

- my new project -

2012-01-25T07:00:00.001-08:00

I decided at the beginning of the year, that I want to accomplish two things this year with photography. I want to force myself to take more pictures...to bring out my camera every single day and shoot, even just a few shots. To force myself to practice, and get better.

I also wanted to create some sort of memoir of Ellie, to document the years that go by. Something that I can print out and keep forever.

By tying both of those things in with blogging, I have decided to start a second blog, branching off of the picture a day, Project ~~365~~ 366 idea that so many other people are doing.

My new blog, God bless the moon, can be found here, and will feature a picture (or two) that I shoot each day. Hopefully I will get much more comfortable with my camera and improve my photography skills by taking pictures every single day. And I'm hoping it will also help me get over the need that I always have for the absolute perfect picture with the perfect edit...the way I figure it, with at least one picture a day, I better get a lot more comfortable with the "not so perfect" pictures...otherwise I will be glued behind my camera and my computer...two things that I am aiming NOT to do with this new project!

I am excited to take on this challenge of taking my camera out daily, and documenting Ellie's day to day life. I would love for everyone to go visit me daily and follow me over there as well! Commenting has been turned off over at that blog, because the purpose is to really just share a picture a day with you. But it would definitely make me smile if I got a visit over there by all of you lovely readers, even if you can't leave your sweet thoughts and words.

*and a side note...sweet story...the name of the blog, God Bless the Moon, is named for Ellie, who loves singing this song every time she sees the moon...to hear her sing it in her little toddler voice, it just melts my heart every time...

I see the moon, the moon sees me

The moon sees the one I long to see.

God bless the moon, and God bless me

And God bless the one, I long to see...

(Image credit msbake-it.blogspot.com)

- it was pretty amazing -

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Riviera Maya is pretty amazing. Matt and I have actually traveled there a couple times before, and we thought it would be the perfect place to bring Ellie. And it definitely was! The weather was great...we did get one rainy day, but other than that the temperature was warm and the humidity was low. The water was crystal clear, and the sand was so soft...

Ellie was an absolute angel the entire trip, even on the plane. She is seriously a natural born traveler! We could not have asked for a more well behaved toddler. Not a single fit was thrown, not a single tantrum. The only crying she did the entire week was when she fell and got a "boo boo" (and come on, everyone cries when they get "boo boos" right?). She was so excited the entire vacation and it was so much fun to watch her discover everything.

Every day was spent playing in the water, and soaking up the sun. While we didn't really leave the resort to explore, there was plenty to do at the hotel to keep us busy. Trying to go out on planned excursions was just too tricky by the time she woke up each morning, and with her long afternoon naps (the sun takes it out of a little toddler, let me tell ya!) But no one was complaining...she was super happy with the pool and the beach at the resort.

There was plenty of quality Daddy time in the water. Dads are just so much more fun than moms playing in the water aren't they??

I absolutely LOVE the way she is holding onto her daddy's pinky in this picture...melts my heart.

We had a very nice suite, that had a separate living room for Ellie to sleep in, and a huge patio complete with a huge outdoor bathtub. Ellie got to take a bath outside every evening! The patio area was nice because when Ellie was napping, Matt and I still got to enjoy the fresh air and didn't have to be cooped up in the room waiting for her to wake up (did I mention how LONG she napped every day? Holy cow! 3.5-4 hours every single afternoon!)

The food was pretty good at the hotel. Definitely not the best we have had at a resort like this, but not horrible either. It certainly wasn't the healthiest food, and all three of us went on a vegetable and fruit binge when we got back home to cleanse ourselves! The mojitos however, were absolutely delicious and were definitely a staple during the day!

Ellie's favorite place was the lagoon. The water was so shallow and calm, and she spent hours sitting in the water playing with the sand.

After five glorious days, it was time to go home and the flight home was a rough one. After loading the entire plane, they realized there was a mechanical issue, so we all had to de-plane and wait for over an hour for a new plane. Then, once we were finally in the air, there was some pretty gnarly turbulence and the plane actually got hit by lightning! I guess it's fairly common, but it sure scared the heck out of me! You could actually feel the plane vibrate pretty hard when the lightning hit, and all of the lights flickered on and off. By the time we finally landed at home, it was almost 11:00 p.m. and we had a very tired toddler. But even with all of that, she was still so well behaved the entire flight. We seriously could not ask for a better little girl. She makes doing adventurous things like traveling so easy!

It was an absolutely remarkable trip...definitely one of my favorites because of all the awesome memories we made as a family.

Ahhh Mexico, we hope to see you again real soon!

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! Can you believe January is almost over already? Crazy! I've been so busy this month that it has just flown by. Our vacation post is coming this week, I promise! Turns out when you take over 200 pictures in a five day span, it takes quite awhile to sort through them!

Today, I want to introduce you to Jamie from, Handling With Grace. Jamie is a proud wife to a US sailor and a mother to a super cute little girl. She doesn't pretend to be a Martha Stewart or a Paula Dean. Her tastes are actually pretty simple. While she doesn't eat meat, she eats a lot of cottage cheese, ice cream, pizza, and vegetable soup. She would usually prefer to spend her extra calories on a couple glasses of wine than a delectable treat (especially if it means she has to cook it!) She says she is definitely more of a reluctant chef but has a hungry husband with high expectations!

Her husband is a regular ole meat and potatoes kind of guy who is not big on soup (much to her chagrin). This Zuppa Toscana soup is his only exception!

Zuppa Toscana Soup
2 to 3 large russet potatoes cut in 1/2 inch slices
1 large onion sliced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 package of thickly cut bacon
1 package of Italian sausage
2 cans of chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 to 3 handfuls of kale
4 cups of water
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

Brown the Italian sausage and cook and crumble the bacon. Combine chicken broth, water, garlic, potatoes, and onion in a large stock pot. Cook on medium high. When the potatoes are soft, add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Add the sausage, bacon, cream and the kale and let cook an additional five minutes.

(Image credit Jamie)

Printable Recipe

This soup sounds so wonderful on a cold winter day! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us! Be sure to visit Jamie over at her blog and enjoy the rest of your Monday!

- we're back -

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

And it was WONDERFUL!

We enjoyed every single minute of our trip! Of course, I have tons of pictures to share, but first I have to get through the mound of laundry waiting for me, and catch up on a week's worth of work. But I'm

not complaining...the trip was so worth it!

Here's a little sneak peek of our slice of heaven that we got to enjoy for the past 5 days...

P.S.- hey Instagram lovers, wanna follow me? Click here.

- she's seriously fabulous -

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Melanie is seriously fabulous! I ♥ this girl! We've already made plans to meet someday so that Ellie and her adorable boy, Jax can finally play together! And so that her and I can have some serious girl time! Cause I really adore this girl! It's as simple as that.

***********

This is...

& this is my,

I can't tell you how excited I was when my girl Kyna asked me to guest post for her! Then I thought.... holy moly, what to write about? I could write an entire post on how much I ADORE her alone, or I could talk about how I have been bribing my little Jax w/ pop cycles for potty training.

& then this happened...

Best day as Jaxy's mommy,

yet.

There are those precious moments that we all have w/ are kiddos each day. Either big or small, each one can erase the huge catastrophe that happened minutes before. Kids are just so smart. They really do absorb everything. When you don't think they're listening, it's probably because they're just that smart! They don't want to do what mama's asking! Lol) Jax has been a little behind (Uggg. Hate using that word.), just a little, on his vocabulary. We were really starting to FREAK OUT. We were assured though in knowing just how genius our little man is. He honestly has been a tad slow (Uggg. Hate that word too!) on some of the milestones. But once he picked each one up, he was a pro by the next day. I think he is just super stubborn like his mama, & everything is on Jax time. He has more than tripled he vocab in the last month alone, but was still not putting words in complete sentences. This Precious PRECIOUS moment happened THIS morning.

We woke up / a little monkey pokes mama in the face....

"Hieeee mommm. Please gwet... Up...Up. UP!!"

Mama was UP!

That alone was the most words he'd put together!

THEN later this morning.

I was wearing those black leggings, the ones that I need to throw away.

Ya know those comfy pants you only where around the house, & only open the door half way
so that the cute Fed Ex guy won't see your gnarly choice of duds.

(Never mind my Fed Ex guy isn't cute, but my man is soooo CUTE.
Why do I wear them around him?

Hmmm...?

Sorry, off subject there. haha!)

Back to my fabulous day as a mama, in my horrid black leggings.

Did, I mention they also have a new little hole on em?

Well they do, a huge one, right on the knee.

We had just gotten done w/ breakfast.

Sticky Jaxy face & hands were all wiped down,

from our yummy french toast.

My little one came & sat on mama's lap.

I was TRYING to now get my original post finished on pop cycles for pee-pee Lol).

He always takes whatever is in his way of sitting on mama's lap,

& pushes it aside.

LOVE that!

Anywhooo....

He looks down at my holey knee.

Looks back up at me all sweet & concerned.

"Mommm...?"

That one word along w/ the cutest expression I've ever seen.

"Yes, baby...?"

( he thought mommy had a bad owie.)

"Mommm, i kiss? I kiss!"
(insert a sweet N' slobbery kiss)

I got a big smooch & a Jaxy hug!

XO.

Best moment as a mom yet!

I know it's not world changing, or truly even a full sentence.

BUT.

I am raising the most caring, sweet, smart little boy.

(don't get me wrong, Jax has his naughty moments, but this day evened it all out!)

All those days & nights of re-reading his favorite books, flash cards, & practice really did sink in!

He even makes a day in gnarly holey leggings,

the best day yet!

& that is some good lovin there!

I would LOVE for y'all to come over & say hi at Happy Jax !!

P.S -Thank you so much my sweet friend, Kyna.

I was thinking of buying our bottle(s) of wine, we will one day share...

Then I thought~ Haha... nevermind.
It would never last that long!

**********

Now go show my girl Melanie some love by running over to her blog to say hi!

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-01-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!

Since we're on our little vacay right now, today's recipe is an old archived one, but it's a good one! It probably would have been more timely to share this one with you during the holidays as that's when I made it and it was perfect to have around the house during Christmas when everyone indulges, but alas, anytime can be a good time for a quick and easy sweets recipe right?

Okay, so it's not the most original recipe, but there's gotta be some people out there who still haven't heard of it...if so, this one's for you guys!

Puppy Chow
9 cups Chex cereal
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or baking chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1.5-2 cups powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a pot over the stove, or in the microwave. Add the vanilla to the mixture. Pour Chex cereal into a large mixing bowl and pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex. Mix gently until cereal is fully coated with chocolate. Pour powdered sugar into a large ziploc bag. Spoon the Chex in to the bag and shake until coated with powdered sugar. Cool and enjoy!

(Image credit http://storyofmylifetheblog.blogspot.com)

Printable Recipe

Seriously, this stuff is addicting! I had to send a bunch of it with Matt to work so the guys there could eat it, just so it wasn't in the house. And I'm not even huge on sweets, so that's saying a lot! It's yummy stuff. You gotta make at least one batch...just one, to say you tried it. You'll be in heaven!

- awesome guest post today -

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hi friends...meet Lindsay! She was so gracious to guest post for me today. I featured one of her recipes before on my "quick recipe of the week" series, and I loved her so much that I just KNEW I had to have her back!

Take it away Lindsay...

***********
Hi great expectation friends!
I am Lindsay, the girl behind the blog Lee La La.

I am a Momma.

I am a so called writer.

I am an occasional crafter.

I am a fashion lover.

It’s nice to meet you!

Sarah Driscoll Photography

Pre baby, I had a "perception" of what being a Mommy meant.

Lots of down time

Relaxation

Laughter and Smiles

Let's just say, I was MISLEAD.

Now, don't get me wrong,

I wouldn't trade this job for anything in the world.

I'm just keeping it real and sharing what I've learned,
because let's face it,
momma's are modest and don't always share how challenging this job really is.
Myself included.
So this is for all you Mom's...
Mom's to be.
Future Mom's.
Grandma's.
Aunts.
Caretakers.

Life of a Mom: Imagined vs Reality

Sara Driscoll Photography

Imagined:

Playing dress up in frilly dresses and bows.

Reality:

20 outfit changes a day and a "simple" onesie will likely be your staple.
Bows? They will get pulled right off.

Imagined:

Daily shopping trips to the MALL.

Reality:

Shopping days are far and few between. Time is no longer your own. Your child makes your schedule. Miss L refuses to sit in her fancy stroller that I HAD to have. You find yourself bribing your littles with candy. The back arching temper tantrum is bound to happen 10 mins into any shopping experience.

Imagined:

Play dates will be a daily social gathering for the momma's.

Reality:

Play dates involve broken conversations with a lot of "what was I saying". Playing referee and catching your kids arm mid air as she goes in for attack. At the end of the play date you feel as though you ran a half marathon.

Imagined:

Perfect hair. Perfect outfit. Matching diaper bag and stroller. Baby in tow will be color coordinated as well. I will be THAT Mom that everyone talks about.

Reality:

Stained Shirts, food in my hair, boogers on my face. If we make it out the door without an outfit change on either part, it's a good day.

Imagined:

I will be ORGANIZED and CLEAN.

Reality:

Forget organization. Just when you go to put something somewhere it is removed. My purse is full of rocks and pebbles, my car has pb&j stuck in the crevices, my couch smells like sour milk, and theres a beautiful crayon mural on my dining room table.

Imagined:

Nap time = RELAXATION

Reality:

Nap time involves cleaning house, picking up toys for the 19th time, laundry, preparing dinner,
Lee La La business...you get my drift. With mommy hood comes pure exhaustion. I rely on coffee in these parts.Imagined:
I will cook a gourmet meal every night.
Reality:
I never knew one stove could make so much smoke. Let's just say I have learned I have no future in culinary education. Pre made meals are my specialty.Imagined:
Thinking to yourself "That screaming toddler is OUT OF CONTROL". "They must have TERRIBLE parents".
Reality:
You no longer judge other mom's. Kids are unpredictable and tantrums happen to the best of us.

............

Sara Driscoll Photography

Thanks for hanging with me today.

I love meeting new friends. Stop by my blog and say hello.

***********
Oh, what Lindsay says is so so true! Motherhood is AMAZING but so different than anyone could ever imagine it would be!

Thank you so much Lindsay!

- while I'm away -

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here is my first guest blogger while I am away, enjoying the sunshine and relaxation (yay!)...readers, please meet Kate! She's fabulous!

***********Hey everyone, My name is Kate and i blog over at
In our Sea of Love

I am a 24 year old mother and wife. My husband and i got married on May 14, 2010. Together we created one beautiful little boy named Anthony. I can't imagine my life without either of them! God blessed me with these two boys for a reason and i couldn't be more happy about who he brought into my life. One of my passions in life is photography. Ever since i can remember i've always had a creative eye. So of course my blog posts are usually loaded with tons of photos! My goal is to own my own photography business specializing in maternity, newborn and wedding photography. I also have a new found talent, crocheting. I've been doing it about a year now! I've already grown an incredible amount in that short amount of time. I have my own little shop on etsy, If you'd like to check it out! Eventually, i'd really like to get into teaching crochet on my blog and releasing patterns for those who enjoy it as well! My blog represents happiness, creativity, passion, love, family, motherhood and the
married life.
My blog
My shop

Today i've decided to share a DIY butterfly pattern.
It's simple, fun and it doesn't take long to make!

How to crochet a butterfly
The size of this butterfly will depend on the
size hook you are using.

I used a G hook
If you'd like a smaller butterfly
just use a smaller hook size. The smaller the
hook. The smaller the butterfly.

1. Chain four; sl st into chain one to form a ring.

2. Chain four; 3 tr (triple crochet) into the ring.

3. Chain three; 3 tr (triple crochet) into the ring.

4. Sl st into the ring.
5. 3 dc (double crochet) into the ring.

6. chain three; then turn. Now you'll be doing the other wing.
7. 3 tr (triple crochet) into the second chain from your hook.
8. chain 3; 3 tr (triple crochet) into the same spot.

sl st then fasten off.

To create the body of the butterfly and the antennae
Just cut the yarn according to the size of the butterfly. wrap the piece of
yarn around the middle of the butterfly twice. Tie ends in a knot. Then trim the antennae to your
liking! Ta da! Done. Super easy! It'll only take about 5-10 minutes or less! It only took me 3 mintues tops.
You can put this cute little butterfly on headbands, key chains, clips clothes.
Just about anything you'd like!

***********

Thank you so much for sharing this cute DIY project, Kate. They are adorable!

- t minus two days folks -

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

So the chaos has begun! The chaos of the hubs and I trying to get all of our work wrapped up as well as getting packed and ready to go. That's right ladies and gents, we leave in two days! Only two more days until we get to relax in the sun, and do nothing but lay by the beautiful crystal clear ocean all day long. I.can.not.wait!

I know my hubby was really leaning towards making this a vacation for just the two of us, and while that would have been heavenly, I really am so excited that we are bringing Ellie. It will be her first international trip! I'm bracing myself for a "challenging" plane ride, but who knows, she might just surprise us! But traveling is so so important to me and I can't wait to share it with Ellie. And I can't wait to see that first stamp in her passport! Hopefully there will be many more stamps to come soon.

The mere beginnings of the packing chaos I always seem to create for myself...

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week. My guess is this will be my last post until we get back, because, well...I'm just plain busy! But I do have some fabulous guest posters lined up to keep you company while I am gone, so don't be a stranger! Meet some of my wonderful blogging buddies while I am gone!

Bye everyone! We'll miss you while we are gone!


(Edited by the fabulous Nina S.)

Linking up with...

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-01-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday everyone! Today is my mom's birthday and I want to wish her a very, very Happy Birthday! I have the most amazing mom in the world and we love her very much!

I hope everyone had a stupendous weekend! Today, I'd like to introduce you to Kaley from Rogue Poags. Kaley has an absolutely adorable family made perfect with her hubby and her two cute little boys, Kullen and Rhys. I will let her introduce herself so without further ado, meet Kaley...

Hamburger Casserole
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 small can of pork & beans
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 can biscuits
2 tsp brown sugar
1 cup cheddar cheese

Combine ground beef/turkey with the chopped onions. Mix in the pork & beans, BBQ sauce, and brown sugar. Top with biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with cheddar cheese and bake an additional 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

(Image credit Kaley)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much for sharing Kaley! This looks quick,easy, and good...my favorite kind of recipe during the busy week!

- coming soon -

2012-01-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Super excited about some minor construction happening to my blog soon...plus, something new coming too! Something that will ~~probably~~ definitely be a challenge in my already busy life, but will be fun and will help me get a lot more photography practice in! (it involves a little photo of a day project...holy cow! Something I'll have to work on daily...eek!)

Have a sublime weekend everyone!

- top eleven in 2011 -

2012-01-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

My Top Eleven in 2011...
(there were so many more than just these eleven things that were pretty amazing this year, but these are some of my favorite)

1. Our little miss gained so much more confidence and independence this year.

2. Our first attempt at piggie tails...success! This is hands down one of my favorite pictures I took of Ellie all year!

3. I took a leap and decided to finally start a blog. I have met so many awesome people and have made some great friends since I joined the blogging community!

4. I celebrated 8 wonderful years with my amazing hubby.

5. We had a lot of family fun on the water, and took an awesome summer family trip to the lake with our wonderful friends.

6. Matt started a new job with a great company...this was truly one of the best things that could have happened for us! So many positive changes have happened since then!

7. We took our first camping trip with Ellie.

8. We had such a fun Halloween this year with Ellie.

9. My baby girl turned 2!

(Image credit Nina S.)

10. Ellie's first trip to Disneyland!

11. We had a quiet, but perfect Christmas with just the 3 of us...and I got an awesome gift...a new car! I absolutely love it!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's. Welcome 2012! It's gonna be a great year!

Linking up with...

- quick recipe of the week -

2012-01-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's everyone! I think 2012 will be a great year! I can't wait to see what it has in store for our family!

Today, I am pleased to introduce you to Natalie, from Growing up a NJ Wife. I've been following her blog for quite awhile now, and I love it! Natalie is a wife, and a mom to a beautiful little girl.

(Image credit Natalie)

She is a lover of shoes, wine, bacon, and shiny objects (a girl after my own heart). In her free time, she loves taking pictures, and is quite the talented photographer! You should definitely visit her blog to check out some of the cute pictures she takes of her baby girl! You can also read her awesome posts about everyday life, and very little is off limits! (ha ha, you've been warned, but that's why I love her blog so much!)

Smokey Gouda Burgers

1 lb ground turkey (or beef) meat
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp grilling seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 small palm full of cumin
1/2 palm full of papirika
A few shakes of chili pepper
1 cup Smoked Gouda cheese cubed

Mix all the ingredients together and make 4 patties. Make them thicker on the edges as they will puff up when they are cooked. Grill them to deliciousness and enjoy!

(Image credit Natalie)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much Natalie. These burgers look scrumptious!And I bet they would taste great with a good wine!

Don't forget to stop by Natalie's blog and say hi! She'll be glad you did!

- belated Christmas update -

2011-12-30T14:35:00.000-08:00

So, I've been off of work this whole week (hooray!), but I am totally that type of person that gets nothing done when I have time off! You would think with a week off, my house would be sparkling clean, I would have loads of blog posts scheduled to post, and all the other odds and ends that I have been meaning to get to would be done...WRONG! It's been a week filled with a lot of sitting around, playing in our backyard, and pretty much getting absolutely nothing productive accomplished! Not even the work that I brought home that I really do need to get started on...ugh! Budgets and financials and year end numbers...it makes my head hurt just thinking about it.

So, in spite of my ~~lazy~~ relaxing week, I finally made myself sit down to write a post. I know this is almost a week late, but here is our little Christmas update...

The Friday before Christmas we went over to a friend's house for dinner. Right before we left, Ellie just wasn't looking right. After I asked her if she was okay and I got a quiet, murmured "no", I sort of knew what was coming and attempted to run into the kitchen. But I didn't quite make it. Yup, she threw up all over me, herself, and our friend's floor....A LOT! I, of course, freaked out, but we finally got her cleaned up, and packed her into the car. I don't know how we made it home without another episode, but somehow we did (maybe God figured that me having to clean my leather bag that Ellie covered in throw up was enough...so he spared my car and leather seats!). Once we got home, it was non stop. For the first couple of hours, we kept changing her and putting her back in her crib, but after doing that twice, Matt and I realized that changing her sheets all night was not going to be an option. So I hunkered down in the bathroom with her, and held her all night while she would doze off in my arms, only to wake up 20-30 minutes later and start crying, and moments later would throw up again. It broke my heart so much to watch her getting so sick. There is nothing worse than having to watch your child suffer. Needless to say, it was a long night, and this momma didn't sleep at all. I sat on the bathroom floor with her for almost 8 hours, while she got through it. Her Dr. assured us there was no reason to take her to urgent care since she wasn't showing any signs of dehydration, so we just stuck it out all night long.

After almost 13 hours of throwing up, she finally fell asleep for three straight hours, and when she woke up, her stomach seemed to be feeling better. She, however, was wrecked from the long night, and it took her almost 4 days to get back to her normal happy self. We completely canceled all of our Christmas plans, which was not fun to do. We ALWAYS spend Christmas with Matt's family, and my mom and my sister, but this year we didn't. We knew there was a possibility that Ellie could still be contagious, and I was just holding my breath expecting to get the same bug (considering she threw up on me all night long). There are other young kids on Matt's side of the family, and my sister is pregnant, so we didn't want to risk getting anyone else sick.

So, it was a very, very, very quiet Christmas. Ellie wasn't up for many pictures and I didn't want to force her, so here are just a few that I caught on Christmas morning...(the lighting in my house is horrible, and these pictures are definitely not in focus but I captured my girl opening a few gifts and that's all that matters!)

Overall, while it wasn't exactly what we had planned, it was still a great Christmas with the three of us...

Oh yeah, and this also helped make it a great Christmas...

Yup, my hubby is pretty amazing!!

A-MAZING...and so so good to me! Back off ladies...he's all mine! (I love you babe, so much!)

Ellie is finally back to her normal self and is feeling much better, and I am so relieved!

And of course, once she was feeling better, we had to snap a picture of the gigantic bow on her (since she is really the most amazing gift in our lives!)

I hope everyone else had a wonderful (and healthy) holiday weekend!

- i'm being featured -

2011-12-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

To make up for my the fact that I lacked a recipe on my blog yesterday, come visit me over here at lovely Vivian's blog, where I am featuring a really good crock pot recipe...one of my favorites...

YUMMY!

- taking a Monday off -

2011-12-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

Just letting you all know that I will be taking a week off from my "quick recipe of the week" series...

...because we had a rough Christmas weekend that included one sick little girl! So we are all just laying low and recovering today! I'll post Christmas updates later this week...until then, I sincerely hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

- cans for comments update -

2011-12-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for making Cans for Comments such a success!

Between my new followers, and all of the amazing comments I received, the grand total of cans that I donated was...(drum roll please)...

69!

I was so excited to bring all of those cans to our food bank. I know it will go a long way, so for everyone that helped me out...

The stack was as big as Ellie!

We loaded all the cans in my car and donated them to a great cause. I'm sure a lot of hungry people will appreciate the food and it really made my day being able to do something helpful like this!

- just checking in real quick -

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Oh wow, turns out it's the holidays...which means life is getting super busy! I haven't had much time to blog, so here is just a quickie post!

A little update on my Cans for Comments...coming soon...stay tuned!

And here's something to think about this holiday season...

(Image credit d.ymig.com)

It's hard to complain after you read things like this.

I am so blessed!

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Okay everyone, it's December 19, which means it's the last day for Cans for Comments. At last count, I was at 59 cans, but I know we can do better than that! Keep the comments coming today please. Come on...let's get some more cans added to that total!

Today I am featuring another real life friend of mine! (see, I do have some real life friends! ha ha). For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you already know my dear friend, Lisa. She is everything a friend should be and more! I am so lucky to have her in my life! And it doesn't hurt that she also has an adorable boy, and a sweet hubby as well. Lisa is a wonderful mom, a great wife, and a fabulous friend!

Unfortunately, Lisa doesn't write a blog (come on Lisa, jump on the blogging bandwagon!), so I don't have a new blog to share with you, but I do have a yummy recipe! She made this dish for for us, and it was the PERFECT football Sunday food!

Crock Pot Lasagna

1 lb fully cooked ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
3/4 cup water
1/2 box uncooked lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
Italian seasoning to taste
Fresh baby spinach

Brown your meat and add the marinara sauce and the water. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, and Italian seasoning and mix well.

In the crock pot, lay down uncooked noodles (break if necessary to fit in the crock pot). Then add a layer of the cheese mix, a layer of spinach, and then a layer of the meat sauce. Continue with these layers until you have reached the top of the crock pot. Sprinkle some more mozzarella cheese on top. Cook on low 4-5 hours or until the noodles are soft and cooked thoroughly.


(Image credit Lisa) (This is a picture before it was cooked...it looks MUCH better once it's been cooked! ha ha!)

Printable Recipe

This is seriously the easiest way to make lasagna, and it tastes just as good as oven-made lasagna. You could definitely add different veggies to this recipe as well. I made this the other day and it was delicious! We had a lot of left overs too, which is always a good thing.

Thank you so much Lisa! This is definitely a tasty recipe...(and thanks for being such an awesome person in my life!)

- have you missed her face? -

2011-12-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

So, other than the Santa photos I posted a couple days ago, it has been 17 days since I have posted any pictures of Ellie...have you missed her cute face? Yes? I thought so!
So here's a little photo dump for ya, since I have a touch of writer's block today. Hey, it's Saturday! My brain is not programmed to function on Saturdays...ha ha!

I have definitely resorted to bribing her with treats to get her to stand still for the camera these days. Hey, it works, so I'll just roll with it!

Our little one's passport came in the mail the other day! Exciting stuff! Her first international trip is just around the corner. I.can.not.wait!

- the craziness of the holidays...what does it all mean -

2011-12-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

The hustle and bustle of the holidays is all around us. Everyone is checking their lists, running to the malls, buying gifts like crazy. But what does it all mean? It is so easy to get caught up in all of this craziness. I was just talking to my friend, Melanie, about how every year I get reeled into the commercial aspect of the holidays. I make my list of gifts, run around buying things like crazy, get all caught up in the wrapping, and shipping, and planning. And at the end of it all, we only get a couple days off of work to actually celebrate and relax with family and friends, and then it's back to the grind, only to do it all over again the following year. I really think we lose the true meaning of the holidays with all of the stress that comes along with the fuss and flurry.

I would absolutely love to say no to it all. But so many people in our family expect the normal "routine" of Christmas which includes buying and giving gifts, and it's hard to say no to them.

I would, however, like to force myself to slow down this year, and make a conscious effort to remember what this season is really all about. I also need to remind myself how lucky we are, how blessed we are, and how unnecessary the consumer aspect of Christmas really is.

(Image credit egaretto.wordpress.com/

Take a moment to stop and think about it before your next trip to the mall this season.

Take a moment to think about it next time you stress about all the gifts you have left to buy.

I know for many, (myself included), giving gifts makes me happy. Seeing the smile on others faces when they unwrap a heartfelt gift warms my heart.

So, I'm not saying don't do it...I'm just saying, think about the real meaning of the season as you are rushing around the mall, fighting others for the last parking space, buying things unnecessarily.

Take a moment to enjoy the love, the peace, the joy, the blessings. For that is what the holiday season is truly about.

(Only 4 more days left for Cans for Comments....keep those comments coming!)

- what a difference a year makes -

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to send a great, big Happy Birthday out to my gorgeous friend, Melanie, from Happy Jax. Melanie and I really click, and I love being able to chat with her, (even if it is always through email or our blogs!) She is such a sweetheart and I really love her. I just wanted to wish her a wonderful day today!

Now, onto the infamous Santa pictures! I'm so glad we started this tradition of bringing Ellie to sit on Santa's lap. It's amazing to see the difference in her pictures!

We started when Ellie was only 5 weeks old, in 2009! How adorable was she? You can barely see her in Santa's beard and santa suit...

One year later, 2010...Ellie was in her "separation anxiety" phase. Well, I guess that's actually kind of an understatement. Let's just say, she was scared of everyone and everything she didn't know very well. We knew it was going to be a disaster, but hoped for the best....yeah, well, the exact instant we set her on Santa's lap, she started screaming. It was actually kind of funny, the mall photographer didn't know what to do, and finally Santa asked her (in the sweetest Santa voice ever), "Aren't you going to take the picture?" This is what we got...

And what a difference one more year makes...this year she was excited to see Santa. She understands who Santa is and of course knows that he is involved in bringing her presents! And she has been slowly but surely getting over her "shy" thing. So one year later, we got this gem, and I absolutely love it!

While we didn't get a smile (she needs to see something really funny to get her smiling when there is a camera around...ha ha), I really do love this picture. It is amazing to see how much she has grown up in a year. My little girl is growing up...I love it, and hate it all at the same time....other momma's out there, you understand what I'm saying right??

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-12-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

First of all, if you missed my Cans for Comments post from Friday, please check it out! It's for a really good cause! (consider linking up too...please pretty please).

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! We sure did...date night on Friday night, a very fun Christmas walk on Saturday to look at all the Christmas lights, and then a very successful Santa picture on Sunday (I will definitely post the Santa pictures this week!)

And of course, its Monday...so today I am happy to introduce you to Allie, from Table for More. She is a stay at home mom to two little boys and another boy due in March!


(Image credit Allie)

(Image credit Allie)

Allie is completely surrounded by boys! Even their dog is a boy! What keeps her grounded and feeling more "girl"ish in her house is cooking and baking. This summer they made a major overhaul on the foods they were putting into their bodies. Allie's husband started doing the Primal diet so it changed the way she cooked dinner...pretty much no more carb fillers or processed stuff and all natural organic fruits, vegetables, and meats. Allie loves, loves, loves pizza. But with carbs being out of the picture, she had to figure out a way to make pizza without the crust. She found a recipe for eggplant pizza and then put her own twist on it!

Eggplant Pizza
1-2 large eggplants
1 lb pork sausage
1/4 cup olive oil
1 white onion
1/2 cup kalamata olives
4-6 tomatoes, diced
minced garlic
whole milk mozzarella (so that it melts nicely)

Throw your diced tomatoes, diced onion, olive oil and olives in pan to make the sauce. Let it simmer. You can add any spices that you want to taste. Turn your oven to broil. Slice eggplant and brush both sides with olive oil. Place under the broiler until light brown. Flip them over and add the tomato sauce, sausage, and cheese. Place them back under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly.

(Image credit Allie)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much, Allie. This pizza looks amazing! And so much healthier without the crust...plus super easy to make!

Don't forget to stop by Allie's blog to say hello and let her know how good her eggplant pizza looks!

- cans for comments -

2011-12-08T14:51:00.001-08:00

In a follow up to my post about leaving comments on blogs, I'm jumping on a band wagon...but this wagon has a really good cause...Cans for Comments! I originally heard about it from Amber, here. If you haven't heard of Cans for Comments, it's an awesome cause that bloggers can participate in during the holiday season!

Here's how it works...

From December 9 through December 19, for every comment that is left on my blog, I will donate one can of food to our local food bank. For every new follower I get, I will donate two cans of food.
That's it, easy peasy! And it's a win-win...canned food will go to a great cause, and I will get to read some awesome comments!

And how about linking up with me and promoting this Cans for Comments drive on your blog?
You can even grab the link code here to allow your followers to link up from your blog as well!

Come on, let's get some hungry people fed this season!

-Here is a tip to make it easier for people to leave comments on your blog-

Consider disabling the CAPTCHA option...

The CAPTCHA box is the box of jumbled letters that verifies that you are not an automated spammer while leaving a comment. Spam scares a lot of people, and many people think anything to keep it away from their blogs is a good thing. However, depending on the number of readers you have, you may not ever have to worry about spam comments left on your blog. I didn't get any spam comments for quite a long time. Only recently have I received a few but Blogger always catches them and has never posted them. You can always choose to moderate your comments before they are published as well, if you are worried about spam.
Disabling the CAPTCHA's makes it a lot easier, and less time consuming for someone to leave you a comment.
(directions to disable CAPTCHA can be found here )

- a little comment about blog comments -

2011-12-08T09:34:00.001-08:00

To all of my lovely and loyal readers out there...

I know I have been slacking lately on leaving my comments scattered around on your blogs. I have no excuse, other than the fact that I have been so busy lately!

I just want you all to know, that I am still absolutely reading each and every one of your blogs! Sometimes, I may be of couple days behind, but I always catch up by the end of the week. However, if I haven't been commenting on your posts, I apologize. I will get better at it, because I really do have so many things to say about all of your awesome posts!

And for those of you who have still been leaving me comments on all of my posts, even if I have been slacking on my end, thank you, thank you, thank you! Your comments really do make my day!


(Image credit http://smallstudio.typepad.com)

I truly believe leaving friendly comments are a vital part of the blogging community to keep us all connected together, but sometimes it is can be such a daunting task! What are your thoughts on leaving comments on others blogs?

- it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... -

2011-12-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

...well sadly, not so much in our house. Other than the lights hanging outside, and our fabulous, but fake, Christmas tree, our house is SEVERELY lacking in the Christmas decorations department. I'll be honest, I just really haven't taken the time or effort to make, and/or stock up on any substantial decorations. Now that Ellie is getting older, I really want to go all out and decorate like crazy. But, I think it's going to have to wait one more year, as I have absolutely no time to worry about decorations this year...sigh.

I did, however, take the time to at least "pin" some wonderful decorating ideas! Doesn't that count for something? You gotta love Pinterest, right?

Part of the reason we don't have a houseful of Christmas decorations is because I am so darn picky when it comes to stuff like that. Just ask my hubby...he'll vouch for that! I'm not one to love super bright colors when it comes to decorating (...or anything for that matter. You should see my wardrobe!) I have a very simple, vintage style. Some may call it boring and colorless...I call it sophisticated and timeless! ha ha!

Here are just a few things I would love to see around my house right now!

(Image credit brittanymakes.com)

This looks easy enough to make! I also love the amperstand btw! I've been wanting one for such a long time, I just don't really have any place to put it.


(Image credit carlone.com)

(Image credit creativetryals.blogspot)

I'm so in love with this little tree!


(Image credit purlbee.com)

Love, love love these...LOVE them!

What a cute idea to hang wooden letters with your stockings! I think I am going to try this out next year!

(Image credit cottageinstincts.blogspot)

Another idea I definitely want to try...I would totally leave these up all year round! We just need a mantle or some other cool, vintage piece of furniture to put them on...

(Image credit annabooshouse.blogspot)

Okay, drum roll please...last but not least, I absolutely fell in love with this one! I WILL be doing this for our tree next year! If I start now, it ~~might~~ will be done by Christmas 2012! I better hit up a fabric store and get started...

It actually doesn't look that hard...maybe just a little time consuming...

(check out the tutorial here)

(Image credit anwjohnston.blogspot)

P.S - I am making a vow to myself to get going with the Christmas decorations so we WILL have a much more festive house next year! Maybe this year I will have to hit up the stores the day after Christmas to score some awesome 50% off deals!

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-12-05T08:54:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it is already December? (I know, I'm 5 days behind on that one, but holy cow, it's December!) Can you also believe that Target has put out their bathing suits already?? Seriously? Um, it's December! And FREEZING! Who can think about bathing suits right now (...although, I do have a tropical vacation coming up in January...hmmm, maybe Target isn't that crazy after all!)

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating my nephew's 2nd birthday...and, I just found out I am going to be an aunt again! My sister is pregnant with #2!

But now, back to the grind...I have an extremely busy week ahead of me at work, so if I am MIA this week, don't worry, I'll be back soon!

Now, let's get onto our normal Monday routine around here...meet Becky from Mrs. to Mama. I just recently found Becky's blog, and I instantly fell in love with her great blogging content. I knew I just had to contact her right away to ask her to share a recipe with my readers! I have no idea how Becky has time to keep up with such a great blog with a (super cute) toddler running around, and a full time job! I need to learn some time management skills from her..ha ha! I promised myself I would make a valiant effort to spend more time beefing up my blog after checking hers out! It has definitely become a daily read for me! I just know you'll love her, so definitely stop by her blog to say hello.

(Image credit Becky)

Becky is sharing with us one of her family's favorite go-to salmon recipe. They love salmon in their household, and when she stumbled across this recipe on allrecipes.com they were hooked. The best part about it? It's super easy, quick, doesn't require too many ingredients, and a busy momma can whip this up while chasing a busy toddler around the house!

Baked Salmon
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons light olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon

In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish and cover with marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (190 degrees C). Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish and bake 35-45 minutes, until easily flakes with a fork.

(Image credit Becky)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much Becky! We are huge fans of salmon in our house as well, so I will definitely be adding this easy recipe to my repertoire of dinners.

- ellie's 2nd birthday party -

2011-11-30T14:54:00.001-08:00

So, even though it was almost a month ago, I still wanted to share pictures of Ellie's 2nd birthday party. I had so much fun planning it with my mom! We made all of the decorations and desserts by ourselves. It was a labor of love, and I never could have finished it without my mom's help!

The weather turned out gorgeous even though it was thunder storming the day before (which is a good thing because I had no idea how 40+ people were going to fit inside of our house!)

(Image credit Nina S.)

We made everything on these tables, including all the desserts, and even the cupcake stands! Yup, I think I am now obsessed with making DIY cupcake stands! They were so much fun to make!

(Image credit Nina S.)

I absolutely love the cake that my mom and I created. It was a joint effort at around midnight the night before the party. But I think it turned out just fabulous!

(Image credit Nina S.)

Adorable decorations that my mom made out of cupcake liners. They were fairly easy to make and looked so cute. We had them hanging everywhere!
(tutorial on how to make them found here)

(Image credit Nina S.)

One of my favorite parts of the entire party was the photo booth that I designed. It turned out exactly how I pictured it! I bought some fun props on a stick from this etsy shop, and added some additional props, like a few hats, wigs, and bowties from a local party store. Then we hung some fabric for the background. I just let the guests have fun with it! The pictures were great! I definitely want to have a photo booth at every party...(and of course the photo booth shots and all of the other pictures of the party would not have been a possible if it wasn't for my amazing photographer friend, Nina! Thank you Nina! We love you!)


(Image credit Nina S.)


(Image credit Nina S.)

(Image credit Nina S.)

Seriously, my new favorite picture of Ellie! This ~~may~~ will definitely have to be made into a canvas and be hung in our house somewhere!

(Image credit Nina S.)

And of course, what's a party without a jumpy, right?

(Image credit Nina S.)

She had so much fun, and that's probably even an understatement!

(Image credit Nina S.)


(Image credit Nina S.)

We had a very happy, but tired toddler by the time everyone was saying their good byes...

(Image credit Nina S.)

Overall, party #2 was a huge success! I had so much fun planning for it, and enjoying it! I am ALREADY thinking of ideas for party #3!

- the joy of doing nothing -

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, the long Thanksgiving weekend was absolutely fabulous! I did absolutely nothing productive, and it was lovely! (I didn't even take my camera out all weekend, hence all of the "not so stunning" iPhone pictures in this post). Okay, okay, I did do a few things. I finally finished the play table that I was building and painting for Ellie ..her birthday gift slightly belated, oops...and BTW, spray painting, glazing and distressing is NOT as easy as everyone makes it sound...either that or I am really, really paint challenged! The latter is probably more true...sigh.And you may ask (as my darling husband did), why on earth was I bothering to glaze and distress a table that was just going to be used by my daughter as a play table?...okay, okay, I asked myself that too as I was in the middle of the project. But it was my first time painting a big piece of furniture, and I was so inspired by things other people have done, that I HAD to try out the glazing and distressing along with the basic painting!

The paint color looks sooooo much better in person, I promise!

Anyway, back to the rest of the weekend, where I did absolutely nothing...Thanksgiving was grand, as it always is. We ate the usual, and it was so yummy. We went to Matt's cousin's house which is an absolute playground for Ellie! There were a total of 5 kids under the age of four there, all of them boys except for Ellie (as usual...come to think of it, I don't think Ellie has ANY friends that are girls. Boys, boys, boys, everywhere!).

Friday I woke up not feeling so well, so after I forced myself to finish Ellie's play table, I climbed back into bed and did nothing the rest of the day. So, I guess I had an excuse right?? I was sick!

Saturday looked a lot like this...

That's right...I did absolutely nothing...I had a million things that I ~~could have~~ should have done, but I found the hours slipping away with nothing being accomplished. I'm not complaining, it was wonderful! Although in hind sight, I know I am going to be kicking myself for wasting the day away when I have tasks piling up this upcoming week!

I did get off the couch long enough to go exploring outside with Ellie, since it was such a beautiful day! We found this little creature...totally not putting his camouflage skills to good use...survival of the fittest huh? Hey little bug, you were made to look like a leaf, not a window!

Sunday was filled with football watching with friends, and then we came home and pulled out all of the Christmas decorations! It was so much fun watching Ellie get excited about the tree this year. She is definitely more aware of what Christmas is and she is really starting to "get it".

She insisted on being the one to put the star on the top of the tree...unfortunately, we have yet to find a star that will stay up on our skinny little fake tree, so we gave her a bow to put on top, and she was still pretty happy with it!

Putting the decorations on with her was actually quite amusing. She kept putting the ornaments on the tree, and then running back over to take them off, play with them, and then put them back on somewhere totally different. We'll have to see how long our tree actually stays decorated this year!

Overall, we had a really good weekend, even though it was probably the most unproductive four days ever! But everyone needs those unproductive relaxing days every once in awhile right? (Just trying to make myself feel better! ha ha).

- disciplining a toddler -

2011-11-29T00:04:00.000-08:00

Lately, this "beautiful, ugly stage" (a wonderful term coined by the lovely Sonya over at {shutter mama} that Ellie is in has been challenging to say the least. She is an amazing toddler, but she is still a toddler, nonetheless, and the number of hysterical fits she throws is getting higher and higher.

This past weekend, Matt and I had a couple of ~~heated~~ loving, but passionate discussions about discipline and what is the best way to handle Ellie right now. Let's just say, we have some different opinions on this topic. Let me start by saying that Ellie has quite the "dramatic" personality already, so when she decides to throw a fit, she goes absolutely hysterical. I know, I know, don't all toddlers get hysterical when they are throwing fits? But I swear Ellie can take it to a higher level when she wants to!

I have found that the best thing to do when she is that upset is to let her know I am not happy, but then completely ignore her until she gets a hold of herself and calms down. I do not, by any means, let her continue misbehaving, or let her just run off to play, but it's more like a "time out" in a way, so she can calm herself down. Usually, she seems to respond the fastest when I implement this "time out" (so to speak) by talking very sternly to her and then completely ignoring her and her fit (which obviously leads me to believe she is throwing the fit to get attention...sound familiar any fellow momma's of toddlers out there?)

Matt however, has a slightly more "old school" approach to discipline. Nothing at all in the way of spanking, etc, but let's just say he doesn't agree with me that she should be given the space to calm herself down on her own time. To him, that feels like we are letting her get her way by not forcing her to do whatever we are asking her to do at that particular moment.

We've tried it both ways...usually, using my approach, she calms herself down fairly quickly, and we carry on with our day after she tells me she is "all done" with her fit and I tell her what she did wrong. Using Matt's approach, she usually gets even more hysterical until she finally tires herself out (but that can be a long time!) I don't doubt that she really could be learning her lesson using his approach. But it still just doesn't feel right to me. And just the same, my way of disciplining doesn't really feel right to him.

Is there even a right or wrong answer? Probably not. We both agree discipline is obviously very important, and we both agree on the general household boundaries that need to be set. But how we enforce those boundaries, well that's how we differ.

I'm sure this isn't the only time we are going to disagree about parenting. With every stage that Ellie goes through, comes different parenting hurdles that we are going to have to jump over. And to be totally honest, even after a few conversations about this particular hurdle, we didn't fully come to an agreement about how to proceed, because I don't really know if there is a perfect agreement we can both feel good about.

But what I do know is, at least we were smart enough and open enough to talk about it, and to admit to each other, that we really don't know what is 100% right or wrong when it comes to parenting. And that neither one of us will ever have all the answers. But at least we have each other and neither of us are in this alone!

We will get over this hurdle together, even if we slightly disagree over it, and we will face the next hurdle together...

...BUT, in the meantime, if anyone has the magical answer for dealing with toddler tantrums, we are all ears!!

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-11-28T08:12:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone, and Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. Stay tuned for a post about my lovely weekend!

But for now, let me introduce you to Vivian, from Dance for 5 . Vivian has an absolutely beautiful family! She is a Colombian Mormon living in Utah. She's a housewife, a dancer, loves all things pretty, party planner, decorator, crafter, world traveler, but above all, a mother! I love to read about her family's fun adventures, especially their travels!

Isn't she gorgeous?

(Image credit Vivian)

Vivian is sharing a recipe that she came across with the very best intentions. You see, Vivian absolutely can't stand to see food go to waste, because she has seen and lived among poverty and hungry children who have to go without food for days. With this is mind, she is always trying to use up her food, rather than waste it. After searching for a way to use those over ripe bananas that she always has, she finally found this recipe through her good friend, Mandalina. Now she never has to waste those over ripe bananas again.

Banana Bread
1 3/4 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c sugar
2 Tb milk
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla scent
1/3 cup butter
3-4 ripe bananas

Mix all of the ingredients well. Pour into a loaf pan. For really fluffy banana bread, place the loaf pan in another pan filled about 1/2 inch of water. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

(Image credit Vivian)

(Image credit Vivian)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much Vivian! This sounds like a great recipe for those holiday get togethers!

Don't forget to stop by Vivian's blog to say hi! She has quite a few other recipes that sound absolutely delicious!

- a sappier thankful post -

2011-11-23T21:43:00.001-08:00

My lovely blogging friend, Tori, so kindly asked me to guest post for her! Please visit her blog, keep calm and carry on to read a sappier, but just as sincere post on what I am thankful for! And don't forget to say hi to Tori while you are over there. She's a cutie, she's so beautiful, and she is very talented too. Her adventures are so much fun to follow. You'll really like her, I promise. I did the minute I visited her blog!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

- be thankful -

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful this year for so many things...some big, and some small and petty, but all things that make me smile.

I am thankful for:

- a wonderful family and a very loving hubby -

- a daughter that brings me so much joy and happiness -

- a roof over my head -

- a job that I don't despise...hey, I even kind of like it most days! -

- a very nice car that gets me everywhere I need to go -

- the amazing friends that I have in my life -

- my physical and mental health -

- the wonderful vacations that I have been able to take -

- my camera and the joy that photography brings me -

- my warm, comfortable bed that I get to sleep in every night -

- the beautiful city that I live in -

- my closet-ful of very nice clothes, and shoes, and bags (oh how I love online shopping) -

- the delicious food that is on my table every day -

- my education -

- the trials and tribulations that have shaped me into who I am today (okay, okay, there are some that I could have done without) -

- wine...good wine -
- music and the happiness it brings me -

- laughing and all of the good memories I have made while laughing -

- blogging and the world that has been opened up to me through my blog -

- random acts of kindness that have been sent my way -

- the grace and forgiveness that I have been given in my life -

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~

- just a regular 'ole weekend... -

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

...with Mickey Mouse!

We took Ellie to Disneyland for a 4 day family vacation to celebrate her birthday. We had a blast! A lot of people told us that she was way too young to go, and that she wouldn't remember the trip at all. Maybe she won't, but I am so glad we went. It was so much fun...with one little hiccup...

...we woke up in the hotel room Thursday morning to find a very sick little girl. Ellie NEVER gets sick. She has my immune system...strong. It also helps that she isn't in daycare yet, but she has maybe been sick twice, yes only twice, in two years. Well, we'll make that three times, because she woke up on Day 1 of our Disneyland trip sick, sick, sick. Runny nose, stuffy nose, coughing, and just plain miserable. We took the chance and took her to the park anyway, and she actually did pretty good. She was clingier than usual, and I'm pretty sure I no longer have feeling in my left arm from carrying her around the entire park, but she was a trooper, and she had a lot of fun. We only did a few hours at the park on Day 1, and then brought her back to the hotel to nap and stay quiet and warm the rest of the day. We made sure she got a lot of liquids and good, healthy food, and by Day 2, she was much better. By Day 3, you couldn't tell she was sick at all!

Let me tell you...you never realize how fast and "scary" some rides at Disneyland are until you ride on them with a two year old! We took her on "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" thinking since it was in Fantasyland it would be safe for a toddler...turns out, it goes much faster than I ever remembered, and turned pitch black in some places, and was actually kind of scary! Poor Ellie started crying like crazy...it totally scared her! Parent fail huh? Sorry sweet girl!

She absolutely loved "It's a Small World"!

I will never forget the smiles we got out of her, and the absolute wonder we saw in her eyes! She took it all in, and loved every minute of the entire trip!

We even got to meet up with my sister and my cute nephew for part of the trip. He loves Disneyland too!

I'm not going to lie and tell you it's exactly easy traveling with a toddler. As well behaved as Ellie is, traveling with her still requires planning around her naps, her bedtime, and her meal times. We spent a lot of time in the hotel room waiting for her to wake up, we had to pack tons of stuff for her, and I definitely had to lug around a backpack full of snacks and drinks for her every day...but it was worth every minute. The memories we made were amazing, and even if she doesn't remember her first trip to Disneyland when she gets older, Matt and I always will!

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Another Monday, but it's a short week! Hooray for Thanksgiving week! I know I have A LOT to be thankful for this year!

We had a FABULOUS weekend...absolutely fabulous! Stay tuned to see a fun post about what we did!

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Mandey from Mama and the Dudes...if you haven't ever visited her blog, than you haven't seen possibly the most adorable, adorable twin boys ever. (I'm serious, you will die when you see them, they are so cute). She's here to share with you one of her favorite guilty pleasures, minus the guilt. She shares this recipe with everyone because she feels like everyone should be able to have their favorite foods without feeling bad! (Amen to that Mandey!)

Red Pepper Alfredo

(adapted from Cook This Not That cookbook)
10 oz dried fettuccine
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 flour (whole wheat to make it healthier)
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup half and half
3/4 cup chopped bottle roasted red peppers
2 cloves garlic, halved
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir int he flour and cook for a minute until the two are fully incorporated. Slowly add the milk and the half and half, whisking to help prevent lumps from forming. Add the red peppers and garlic. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and puree until smooth and uniform in color. Return to pan and stir in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the pasta is done. Drain the pasta and add directly into the saucepan. Toss evenly to coat.

- Add cooked shrimp or chicken, or some baby spinach for a little twist.


(Image credit Mandey)

Printable Recipe

Thank you Mandey, from Mama and the Dudes. This looks good, and healthy!

- we're leaving on a jet plane -

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

My amazing hubby surprised me and Ellie, on her birthday, with a 5 night family vacation in January! Woo hoo! I can not tell you how excited I am! We ALL need this vacation, and we will enjoy every single minute of it!

Thank you so much Matt, I love you to pieces!

Yup, it's gonna be pretty fantastic!

- happy 2nd birthday to my sweet girl -

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Ellie,

Two years ago today, the world became a better place because you were born. You have blessed our lives in so many wonderful ways. Your smile, your laugh, the funny things you do to make us laugh....it all brings so much joy into our hearts.

You have grown so much in the past year. It's been simply amazing watching you grow. You are such a bright little girl, with an amazing memory, and an even more amazing vocabulary. The words you know simply amaze us, and you are always so proud of yourself when you learn new things.

You absolutely love dancing and music. You constantly ask us to turn on music so you can twirl. Oh, and the skirts...you insist on wearing your skirts every day so that you can spin around and dance. We just love to watch you dance.

You have such an adorable personality, and the best laugh ever. Your laugh is truly music to our ears. You are so loved by everyone around you. You are a beautiful little girl both inside and out. Your daddy and I are so blessed to have you in our lives.

(Image credit Nina)

Your amazing blue eyes shine when you smile. Your belly laugh is the best sound in the world. You make us so happy Ellie, and I hope we can make you just as happy as you make us. Thank you for bringing so much happiness into our lives.


(Image credit Nina)

You are a perfect girl, Ellie. Absolutely perfect! Happy birthday sweet girl. You will always be momma and daddy's little girl. We love you so much!

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-11-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello, and happy Monday to everyone! I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend. We hunkered down inside on Saturday to stay out of the chilly rain, but Sunday was absolutely beautiful and warm, so we enjoyed the sun and the gorgeous day!

Today I am so excited to introduce you to a real life friend of mine! Meet Jaymee, from e is for eat. I was so excited when Jaymee started her blog! She is an AMAZING cook and decided to start a blog to share all of her recipes. Jaymee and I have known each other for quite a few years, and we have made so many fun memories together...vacations to Mexico, late night wine parties, heated games of cribbage, and many, many dance parties complete with a lot of loud (sometimes slightly off key) singing to all of Journey's greatest hits..."Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world...she took the midnight train going anywhere".

She moved away a couple years ago to pursue an awesome job opportunity, and we sure do miss her! I love this girl! She is insanely awesome, and she is uber talented too! And have I mentioned that this girl can cook? Yup, she is fantastic in the kitchen!

(Jaymee and her sister, Heather, who I also adore...Image credit Jaymee)

Her blog is a super creative cooking blog that you absolutely must check out! She is working her way through the alphabet, posting numerous different yummy recipes for each letter. I am honored to feature her on my blog during her "g" week..."g" for my blog, great expectations!

Pecan Crusted Chicken Fingers
1.5 cup pecan pieces
3/4 cup brad crumbs
1 Tbs plus 2 tsp creole or cajun seasoning (an Italian seasoning blend would work too)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, evenly cut lengthwise into strips

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup light mayo
2 Tbs honey
1/4 cup whole grain or Dijon mustard
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix together the ingredients for the honey mustard dipping sauce.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the pecan pieces, bread crumbs, and 1 Tbs seasoning. Pulse for 1 minute and pour into a shallow dish. In another shallow dish or bowl, beat together the eggs, olive oil, and remaining 2 tsps of seasoning. One at a time, dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then dredge through the pecan mixture, shaking to remove any excess. Transfer to the baking sheet and bake, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through, and the crust is golden (approx 15-20 minutes). Remove chicken from the oven, and serve with the honey mustard dipping sauce.

(Image credit Jaymee)

Printable Recipe

These look great, and super kid friendly! Homemade chicken fingers are so much better than the frozen stuff.

Thank you Jaymee! I miss you friend! It's been waaaay too long! We definitely will be making a trip up your way soon!

And please, lovely readers, run, run, run over to check Jaymee's blog out. You will not regret it. Tell her little 'ole me sent you! She loves meeting new people!

- i am enough -

2011-11-13T14:54:00.001-08:00

Thank you everyone, for all of your thoughtful comments and emails after my last post. My wonderfully, thoughtful husband even left me a sweet comment (in case you were wondering, he was the "anonymous" commenter that said "I love you" at the end of his comment...no, that wasn't just a weird blog stalker..ha ha!)

I know I can be too hard on myself pretty much every day. It's so hard not to sometimes, but I know I need to start trying to recognize the talents I do have. I know I can't be perfect at everything I do, and I need to start accepting that and being happy regardless. It's just gets so hard not to compare myself to others and be my own toughest critic. I'm just in a slump and feel like some things I have been working so hard on are not producing the results that I have expected, and that can be so frustrating. But all of your kind words made me feel so much better!

I had a wonderful weekend with my amazing family and that, along with all the positive thoughts sent my way lifted my spirits and put a smile on my face!

This needs to start being a daily mantra of mine ...

(Image credit wipkits.blogspot.com)

- will I ever be -

2011-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

I try so hard.

I want it so bad.

But no matter what I do, I just can't get there...

The fighter in me says "just keep trying, you have to keep at it"

But that fighter in me is getting weaker...

I'm starting to think I have to just accept mediocracy...

...the mediocracy that I am.

It seems to come so easy to some people.

I'm jealous of those people, because for me, it does not come easy at all.

Am I being to hard on myself? Maybe.

But maybe not...will I ever be like those people I admire?

Will I ever have that talent that I lust after?

Will I ever be?

- photo dump -

2011-11-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

As I am sitting here eating a "way too big for one person" piece of Ellie's leftover birthday cake, I am finding myself a bit un-inspired, with a major case of writer's block, and to be totally honest with you, kind of down on myself for a handful of reasons...so this post is just going to be a photo dump, without many words, as I can't find much to say right now. (Don't worry all of you lovely, caring, super sweet followers out there...it's just a minor case of the blues...nothing serious has happened to get me feeling this way!)

Here are a few more pictures of Halloween...Ellie looked adorable! She picked out the costume herself. She is absolutely OBSESSED with wearing big, fluffy skirts right now! She tried to tell me her jeans hurt her the other day when I tried to put them on her instead of a skirt...silly child! Actually, to be honest, she didn't ask to be a ballerina for Halloween...she asked to be a "ballerina skirt". That's right, if you had asked my child what she was going to be for Halloween, she would have replied "a skirt, a bayarina skirt"...hmmm, have you ever heard of a child being a skirt for Halloween? No? Well, now you have!

And a couple of random pictures...

It's simply amazing how much joy this girl brings into our lives!

I absolutely can not believe my little baby is going to be 2 years old in one week!!

And a little sneak peek of her birthday party this past weekend...

P.S.- Dear Daylight Savings...I detest you and the way you have messed with my child's awesome sleeping schedule...she wakes up WAY too early now! sigh...

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-11-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a great weekend we had! Ellie's birthday party was a raging success! I am really happy with how everything turned out! It was so much fun planning! Ellie had a blast, and I think everyone else did too! Pictures to come soon (our wonderful family photographer and great friend, Nina, took professional pictures for us during the party. I can not wait to see them!)

Without further ado, let me introduce you to the lovely, Alycia from Crowley Party. I was so honored when she said she would contribute a recipe today, because she is such a well known gal in the blogging world...and my blog is kind of "small time" still...(wait, "kind of"...who am I kidding? It's TOTALLY "small time" still!)

(Image credit Alycia)

Alycia's blog started off as a place to document the life of herself and her hubberz, & since then has grown into a creative outlet where she can share the things she loves...food, fashion, crafts & anything else life has to offer her! Alycia and Trevor follow the mantra that life should be a party, hence the blog-title, Crowley Party. She loves the blogging world for so many reasons, but mainly because you get to make connections, & bounce creativity off each other! So please go visit her, join the party, and say HELLO!

Today Alycia decided to share one of her favorite "go to" breakfast meals :) Her husband loves them...I mean who wouldn't? It is all the best things about breakfast in a bite! I think I would definitely get the "wife of the year" award if I whipped these up every weekend for my hubby!

Breakfast Cups

6 slices of bread

6 slices of bacon

6 eggs

1/2 cup of shredded cheese

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with butter non-stick spray. Using a cookie cutter cut circles out of bread slices about 3 inches in diameter. Take bread circles and press them into the muffin pan, set aside. Heat a large skillet on medium-high. Cook bacon on the skillet until partially cooked but still pliable, about 3 minutes. Shape bacon strips into the toast cups, fill with 1 Tbs of shredded cheese. Place in the oven for 5 minutes, allowing the bacon to toast just a little more. Remove from oven. Crack your egg and separate out most of the egg white. Drop eggs into the cups, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Place back in the oven and cook until white begins to set, about another 8 – 10 minutes. The yolk should be creamy. Remove from oven when done and pop out using a spoon, serve warm.

(Image credit Alycia)

Printable Recipe

Although I'm not usually huge on breakfast, these look so good and I will definitely be trying them out! (I know, I know...breakfast IS the most important meal of the day...I really need to start eating breakfast regularly...I'll just have to start with these!)

Definitely go check out Alycia's blog. It's pretty awesome, and I promise you will love it!

- just a little reminder -

2011-11-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a great Halloween! Really really awesome! Ellie was all smiles the entire night, and enjoyed herself so much. Stay tuned for pictures and more highlights!

I was reminded of two things last night...both of which I already knew, but last night was just another amazing reminder for me. The first one is that I have the best little girl in the entire world. She brings me more joy than I could have ever imagined. And she melts my heart every time I look at her!

The second thing I was reminded of, was just how sweet of a friend I have. Awhile I ago, I was drooling over this bracelet from Lee La La.

My amazing, thoughtful friend surprised me and bought it for me! She brought it over last night when they came over to trick or treat with us. It's funny...I really, really needed something like that in my life right now...a gesture of kindness to remind me what really is important in life. And it looks just as lovely on as I thought it would! It's such a delightfully perfect bracelet! Thank you Lisa, for being you. You are an amazing person, and I appreciate you!

(Hopefully I'll have some time this week to post the rest of our super cute Halloween pictures!)

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-10-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has their costumes ready! Ellie has picked her own costume out this year, and has been talking about it for over a month now! I'll be sure to post pictures after the festivities tonight!

I am excited to feature Ashley today, because she is sharing an awesome Halloween recipe. Ashley blogs over at a sweet little blog called, Adventures of Newlyweds. Ashley and her sweet hubby get to travel the country for his job, and they have had so many adventures along the way.

Ashley wanted to share a joke with all of you to get you in the Halloween spirit. So hear it is!

Q: What did the ghost say to the bee?
A: Boobee. Get it??! BOOBIE!

Ha ha ha, she's funny right? You should definitely head over to her blog to meet her and thank her for the awesome Halloween joke (oh, and also for this recipe cause it's a good one!) She actually got this recipe from her sister-in-law who is a fabulous baker. They sound like the perfect treat to wind up the day with (if you aren't too full from all the Halloween candy!)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 cups sugar

1 cup oil (or half oil, half applesauce for a healthier alternative)

4 eggs

2 tsps vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsps salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp nutmeg

2/3 cup milk

1 3/4 cup pumpkin (not the pie filling!)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick baking spray. In a mixing bowl, beat together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. In a separate bowl. sift flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gradually add egg mixture to the dry mixture. Blend thoroughly. Fold in half the milk and half o f the pumpkin. Repeat. Spoon the mix evenly into the pan (about 2/3 full). Bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean.


(Image credit Ashley)

Printable Recipe

Ummmm, yes please! They look so good! Much better than Halloween candy. You gotta try these out! And don't forget to head over the Ashley's blog and say hello.

And stay tuned for pictures of Ellie in her ridiculously cute Halloween costume!

- missing in action -

2011-10-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit "mia" lately because I have been busy planning for this:

I edited out my address and my phone number, hence the big ugly blank spots...

I absolutely love planning parties, and it's even more fun and rewarding to do when it's for your own little one!

It's crunch time now...the party is in a week! So if you don't hear from me next week, it's because I am knee deep in party decorations and cupcake baking....even though what I should be doing is getting back into my work out routine, getting my actual work done at the office, and maybe doing some of the laundry that is piling up. But those things just aren't as fun...and Ellie only turns 2 once right? (I think that's going to be my excuse every year...I seriously love planning her parties!)

I leave you with a picture of our recent pumpkin patch trip. It's almost Halloween! Have a great weekend everyone!

- a little public service announcement -

2011-10-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

I know that as a parent, we can't wrap our little ones in bubble wrap and try to protect them from every thing that might hurt them. I know that accidents happen, no matter how cautious you are as a parent. But I also think there are some proactive things that parents can do to prevent some major accidents. Even the accidents that you don't think would EVER happen in your house.

Now that I have a toddler, I have been aware how important it is to strap your furniture to the walls. But up until now, we had not actually done it. You always say you will, and then just never get around to it.

A week ago, I read this post. Please take the time to read it. It's a scary story about a little girl who climbed on a dresser to try to get a toy. Her mom had left her alone for less than 30 seconds...that's right, it happened that fast..the dresser fell on her head, and the poor little girl was pinned under it. She had major head trauma and needed surgery to correct the damage that was done to her head and her brain. It's a scary thought...that something like that can happen that fast.

(Image credit thecreativemama.com)

When I told Matt about the story, he didn't even have to read the story...he just took one look at the pictures of the little girl post-surgery, and told me he would strap everything to the wall immediately. One week later, we have a safer house (and yes, also a lot more holes in the walls, but that's okay! We'll deal with that when we move or when our kids have grown up).

We used these straps, and they seemed easy enough to install. And they are definitely secure!

Ellie isn't even that adventurous of a toddler. She doesn't climb on tons of things, and she can be pretty scared and timid. She's definitely not fearless and doesn't explore many areas of our house without us. But I would never, ever forgive myself if I took my eyes off of her for a minute and something like this happened to her (and let's just be honest, it's totally unrealistic to think you will always have your eye on your child at all times). And imagine if something like this happened to your child and it was completely preventable, with one $5.00 package of safety brackets and a half an hour of your time. Seriously you guys, please do this! Don't assume that something like this won't happen to your child or that your furniture is heavy enough and will never tip over. You never know what could happen in 30 seconds. I know so many people with toddlers that say they are going to get around to doing this, and just never do. And odds are, nothing will happen to their children. But you never know! People use seat belts, and car seats everyday to protect their children...furniture straps are really no different. It's just another strap that ensures your child's safety.

I actually have an extra package of these that we didn't end up needing. I am going to offer them to anyone who is interested in trying them out, as long as you promise that they actually get put to use, and not just thrown in a drawer with the intentions of installing them "some day". Just shoot me an email or leave me a comment and I will mail my extra package out to the first interested reader who wants to make their house just a little safer for their little ones!

And a big thank you to my hubby for making this a priority and getting these installed on our furniture! Our dressers and tables are not even close to budging anymore.

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-10-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello all of you lovely readers! Welcome to the beginning of the week and Happy Monday!

We had a wonderful family weekend, complete with the pumpkin patch, the apple orchard, amazing BBQ, and fresh apple pie! It was great!

Today I am happy to be featuring Marissa, from Momma Rake. Marissa has two beautiful little girls and a wonderful husband. She is also uber talented and sells the cutest things on Etsy. Her blog is filled with posts inspired by her love of faith, family, food, and fashion with fun little tutorials and recipes along the way. Her DIY tutorials look so easy, even for a "non crafty" person like me! You will always find something on her blog that will inspire you and make you smile.

(Image credit Marissa)

Easy Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. ground beef

1 large bag egg noodles

1 tsp. minced onion (or 1/4 cup fresh chopped onion)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)

1 8 oz. package button mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef, mushrooms, minced onion, garlic powder, seasoned salt over medium high heat until meat is cooked. Drain off the fat and return to burner. Add soup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and cook over medium heat until bubbly. Serve over pasta.

(Image credit Marissa)

Printable Recipe

Thank you Marissa! It looks so good!

- my name -

2011-10-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

My name: Kyna

For anyone who has been wondering..it's pronounced {Kee - na}. It's Irish Gaelic. And no, I am not Irish...not a drop of Irish in me...but my parents liked the name, and so it was decided...Kyna it is!

I struggled with it as a kid. I was an extremely shy child. So having a unique name didn't exactly help bring me out of my shell. No one could ever spell it right, or pronounce it right. However, for the record, now that I am older, I ~~really like~~ love my name, and I am so glad it's so unique and different...although, I'm not gonna lie...when we named Ellie, I wanted to make sure we chose a name that was easy to pronounce and spell. Because going through elementary school with an un-prounaceable name is just hard!

- it's time to welcome fall -

2011-10-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall!

I've been so busy mourning the disappearance of summer, that I haven't given fall a proper hello! So, hello fall, and welcome! I think I am now ready to embrace you! We are headed out this weekend for a whole bunch of official fall activities. We're hitting up the pumpkin patch (Ellie's second time this season already, as you can tell from the picture above), apple picking, and maybe some chili and hot apple pie! And then, of course, football! Because what would fall be without our weekend ritual of watching football?

I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful fall weekend!

- words -

2011-10-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

After watching this video about 100 times because it made my heart melt so much, I started thinking about the power of words. How these simple words out of my toddler's mouth can make my heart laugh and sing...and oppositely, how hurt and stung I have felt by angry, mean words that have been directed towards me in the past. This also made me think about how I might have hurt other people in the past with the words that have escaped my lips. Words do so much more than people usually realize.

Please think about the power your words have before saying things in anger or haste. Words are so, so powerful. Loving words can make you so happy...they can absolutely make your day! While hurtful words can simply crush your soul.

The world would be a better place with a lot fewer hurtful words and a lot more simple, loving, caring words like Ellie's!

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-10-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

So, I not only survived the weekend away from my baby, but I really enjoyed the break and had a great time! It was nice to get away with just the hubby and enjoy some toddler free time...although, I'm not going to sugar coat it, I missed her like CRAZY! However, I am now definitely recharged and ready to take on this upcoming crazy week! We had some great food, watched a few awesome live bands, and slept in on both Saturday and Sunday morning! It was definitely a great weekend!

So, now, back to the week ahead of us. The most exciting thing about this week is that it is FINALLY time for me to feature one of the most amazing momma bloggers I know. Meet Melanie from Happy Jax . Melanie might be one of the sweetest, kindest people I have ever met through my blog. This girl is absolutely filled with positivity and always has a smile on her face! Her blog just radiates happiness all the time! Not to mention how gorgeous she is, both inside and out. I don't even remember how we stumbled upon each other's blogs, but we've been great blogger friends ever since! I would love so much to meet this sweetie in person and have a glass of wine with her!


(Image credit Melanie)

And please look how cute her son, Jax, is. He has a million dollar smile that just lights up the room!

(Image credit Melanie)

Melanie is a stay at home momma that loves taking care of her three year old boy. She recently fell in love w/ photography, & even though she doesn't have a fancy camera (yet) she doesn't let that stop her from pretending she's a pro! (her pictures are really great! Super creative composition!) Her family is her everything and she loves capturing their crazy, normal, everyday life with her lil camera!Melanie is truly one of the friendliest people ever and her blog makes me smile every time I go visit it. I guarantee you won't regret getting to know this momma! She's one of those people that make you feel more complete once you get to know her! I truly mean that....I adore this girl!

Homemade Mozzarella Cheesy Sticks
1 package (8 ounces) string cheese
2 & 1/4 cups original Bisquick
2/3 cups milk

1 can of marinara sauce for dipping (heated) OR if your feeling extra saucy ranch is yummy!

1 tablespoon butter (melted)

1/3 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together baking mix & milk until a soft dough forms. Place dough on hard flat surface sprinkled w/ baking mix powder. Gently roll in the baking mix, coating the dough w/ a bit of the powder. Roll formed dough into a large ball shape (Knead for about 10 seconds). Roll out w/ rolling pin (you want it to be about 1/4 inch thick). Cut into 8 rectangle shapes (about 6x2 rectangles). Roll each piece of dough around each piece of string cheese pinching the ends together. Place seam side down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-12 minutes @ 450 or until golden brown. Brush w/ melted butter & garlic powder before removing from baking sheet.

(An excellent add on idea is to also wrap some turkey or ham lunch meat around the string cheese, before rolling in the dough!)

(Image credit Melanie)

Printable Recipe

Yummy yum yum! Those sound delicious! A great side dish to some warm homemade soup, or chili. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us Melanie! And all of you lovely readers, please take a minute to visit Melanie's blog, Happy Jax and get to know her and her charming family!

- a weekend away -

2011-10-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

Big, big weekend for me. I'm excited and really nervous all at the same time...it's my first time away from Ellie this weekend! Yep, in almost 2 years, I have never been away from her for more than 8 hours or so. It's not that I've never wanted to spend a night away from her. It just hasn't really happened until now. Every time we talked about planning a weekend away, something always came up. Matt has been on a few trips since she was born, but I have never spent a night away from her, let alone a whole weekend! So, needless to say, even though I know we are going to have a lot of fun, these 3 days and 2 nights away from my sweet girl might be a little rough for me! She has been so amazing lately, and I just know I am going to miss her so much. Wish me luck my lovely friends! I'll be back Monday morning to report how things went (I know she will do just fine...she's spending the weekend with her amazing Lola, who she loves to death...it's me that I'm worried about!)


(Image credit Nina S)

I'll miss you sweet girl!

(Oh, btw, I FINALLY got around to adding my Facebook and Twitter buttons to my sidebar! Feel free to follow me that way if that's your thing!)

- happy birthday Brayden -

2011-10-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Ellie's best friend's 2nd birthday!

Brayden is an amazing little boy, and I absolutely adore both him and his mom (and of course his dad)... Ellie adores them too, which means they are keepers!

Happy Happy Birthday sweet boy! We LOVE you kiddo!

- crayon mischief -

2011-10-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats coming back into the living room (after leaving for less than a minute), to find that your toddler has colored all over your laptop! Yup, all over! All over the screen, the keyboard, every bit of it was covered in crayon (a lovely shade of blue I might add!) I didn't even think about snapping a picture of her artwork to share with all of you, as I was in the middle of having a ~~minor~~ major heart attack...until I started wiping it off and remembered that she had luckily pulled the bag of washable crayons out of her art cabinet to color with instead of the box of non washable crayons. Her artwork wiped away with ease, and all was quickly back to normal in our household (after a stern but calm talk with the little toddler). I know this won't be the last time that I find her "artwork" where it shouldn't be...which is why that box of non washable crayons magically "disappeared" last night and might not ever return.

I mean, who needs non washable crayons anyway?

And who can stay mad at this little one?
(well, it helps that her artwork washed away so easily! I might be singing a different tune if I was typing on a Crayola stained laptop right now!)

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-10-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello, and Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fabulously delightful weekend! We celebrated Ellie's best friend, Brayden's, birthday. It was so much fun! I can't believe he is two! That means Ellie is not far behind!

Today I would like to introduce you to the super sweet, totally cute Genevieve, from Life on the Terrace. Genevieve has a 14 month old son named Parker, and a husband named Lucas. She is a stay at home mom and she started her blog when she was first pregnant with Parker. Now she updates it with a lot of photos of what is going on in their life and her experiences as a new mom. She is quite a talented photographer and I always love seeing the new pictures she posts! Genevieve's blog is definitely a daily read for me!

(Image credit Genevieve)

Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup
-Adapted from A Dash of Sass Blog & Cooking Light-
12 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage (or you can use sweet for a more mild flavor)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed or stewed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian blend spices
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large saucepan or high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Add green peppers and onion. Saute until soft. Add minced garlic and quickly saute. Be careful to continue stirring to avoid burning the garlic. Remove sausage casing and tear sausage into small pieces. Add sausage to pepper and onion mixture. Cook until browned and crumbled, approximately 5 to 8 minutes. Add beans and tomatoes. Add spices. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly warmed and thickened.


(Image credit Genevieve)

Printable Recipe

I am LOVING all of the yummy fall recipes lately. Perfect football food. Thanks Genevieve! I hope everyone takes a trip over to her blog to say hi to her and meet her darling family!

- dreaming of a vacation -

2011-10-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'm dreaming of spending a week here...

Matt and I used to travel all the time...all over the world. We absolutely love traveling, and we always swore we would continue traveling even after having kids. I would love to book a vacation for the three of us very soon. (God knows we need a vacation!) And I know financially we definitely could swing it. But then, I second guess myself...are we being stupid spending that much money on a week long vacation? Should that money go into savings instead? It was much easier to say "let's go for it" when we were younger and didn't have as many responsibilities.

But now, I'm torn...

A part of me says "Just do it!" Life is about experiencing things, and enjoying things. We have the money, so why not? Ellie would love the trip, and she really is a good toddler to travel with. It definitely would not be a nightmare to bring her along. But then a part of me says we should be smart...save our money...sock it away for the future.

What to do, what to do?? Oh, it's so tempting!

- random thoughts of the evening -

2011-10-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Some of you may love these random posts...nothing but rambling thoughts, no rhyme or reason. Some of you may hate them...nothing but rambling thoughts, no rhyme or reason. But whichever the case is for you, this is all I got for you tonight. I don't have any deep, poignant thoughts. No heart warming moments to share...just rambling thoughts, no rhyme or reason...

- I am seriously loving Courtney over at The Mommy Matters. I have loved her blog since the first day I found it, but lately I have really been inspired by her raw, honest blogging style.

- Speaking of blogs that I love, I am going to start a "blogging spotlight" over on my sidebar (an idea that I am borrowing from the lovely {shutter}mama)...featuring one of my favorite bloggers every two weeks. Keep a look out for that coming soon!

- I am intensely craving pizza right now. I don't know why...I'm not actually that hungry. I cooked a very healthy, filling meal for dinner, but for some reason, I am seriously craving some pizza. Like a big slice of NY style pizza...yum!

- Can someone please tell me why my child is growing like a weed right now? The funny thing is, she is still a tiny kid for her age, but I feel like she is outgrowing so many of her clothes right now! She was in a size 4 shoe for two weeks...yes, that's right, only two weeks! Some of the size 4 shoes I had for her she didn't even wear! I feel like she has been so small since she was born and now she is trying to catch up to the other kids her age! Total growth spurt means more shopping for clothes for her (fun), which means spending more money (not fun).

- Did anyone else watch the long drawn out Apple iPhone announcement today? Yes, I am a nerd for watching it. But I work in a major Mac office, and things like that excite my co-workers, so we had it streaming into our office. The new "personal assistant" coming out on the iPhone 4S looks promising! Everything else was just kind of "ho-hum" in my opinion.

- Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays...it's almost Ellie's birthday and the party planning is in full swing. But before Ellie's birthday, we have 2 other birthdays to celebrate, and we have already celebrated 3 birthdays since Sept 1....and, after Ellie's birthday, 2 more to celebrate, all friends and family! Holy cow, fall is the season for birthdays around here.

- I need to start staying up later (I say this at 11:22 p.m. as I am still up, writing this post). Seriously though, I have so many things I want to get done, and I don't seem to have any time to do it all! But seriously how do you night owls stay up until the wee hours of the morning? I know a lot of people say that's when the get the most done...when the house is quiet and everyone has gone to bed, but geez, I'm dead tired and it's not even midnight! And yet, I could think of at least 5 things I could accomplish if I just stayed up a couple hours later tonight...yeah, that's not gonna happen...not tonight.

And because posts are just boring without pictures, here are a couple of none other than my darling little girl (who doesn't seem fit into any of her clothes that are hanging in her closet right now!)

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-10-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday friends! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Can you believe that it is October already?? CRAZY!

I have the cutest blogger here today to share another yummy recipe with you! Meet Lindsay, the girl behind the blog, Lee La La .

(Image credit Lindsay)

Lindsay has the cutest daughter with the most adorable name. Meet Landyn.

(Image credit Lindsay)

Lindsay is also a very talented crafter. She has her own Etsy shop that you should really check out. I would absolutely die for this wrap bracelet and could totally see it being a daily wear for me!

Lindsay was over the moon excited to be contributing a recipe for me today because as a momma, she knows how important it is to have QUICK and EASY recipes on hand at all times! (Amen to that!) She also knows how easy it is to get into a cooking slump where you end up cooking the same recipes over and over. That's why sharing recipes is so great! Today, Lindsay is sharing a quick and easy recipe that is always a hit with her family. Have you ever tried Paula Deen's Taco Soup? A friend of Lindsay's recently introduced her to it, and she's been hooked ever since! She could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (This must be a really good recipe! )

Taco Soup

2 lbs ground turkey

2 cups diced onions

2 cans pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can kernel corn, drained

1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomatoes with chile's

2 (4 1/2 oz) cans of diced green chile's

1 can black olives, drained and diced

1/2 cup green olives, drained and diced

1 package of taco seasoning mix

1 package ranch salad dressing mix

Brown the ground turkey and onions in a skillet.Transfer the browned turkey to a crock pot. Add the rest of your ingredients (above) into crock pot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Garnish with Frito's, sour cream, and grated cheese.

(Image credit Lindsay)

Printable Recipe

Thank you so much Lindsay. It sounds like the perfect fall recipe!

Lindsay LOVES meeting new friends, so stop on by her blog and say hello!

- happy friday -

2011-09-30T15:52:00.000-07:00


(Image credit frenchybydesign.blogspot.com)

Enough said!

Have a stupendous weekend!

- in the blink of an eye -

2011-09-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

They grow up in the blink of an eye. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing Ellie home from the hospital. And now, in a month and a half, she will be turning two! Recently I have started to realize just how fast she is growing. Before we know it, she will be heading to kindergarten, and then grade school. She will learn to ride her first bike and get her first report card. Soon enough, she will be a teenager. She will get her first kiss, find her first boyfriend, and probably experience her first heartbreak. She will grow, she will change, and she will need us less and less. She will leave home, and head to college. Her future will be wide open, and anything will be possible for her. This will all happen so fast...in the blink of an eye. But for now, I will enjoy her. I will relish in the fact that she needs me so much still. When she asks me to sit down and play with her, I will put down whatever I am doing to spend a few minutes, if not more, with her. Because there will come a time when she doesn't ask for me anymore. There will come a time when she will be older and have so many other people to spend her time with, that she won't want to hang out on our living room floor with me, playing with her toys or reading a book...I'm trying hard not to blink.

- the web of blogs -

2011-09-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

So I sat down to write a post last night, and realized I had no inspiration and no post ideas. Since I hadn't had any time to catch up on reading some of my favorite blogs since Thursday evening, I decided to go through my reading list, thinking I might get some inspiration from my fellow bloggers...

Three hours later, I looked up and realized what time it was! I once again had become tangled up in the crazy web of blogs out there.

I mean, do you know how many blogs there are floating around, just waiting to be found? I am usually very good at limiting the number of blogs I will sit down and read at one time, but sometimes there are those times when I find myself clicking on link after link, sponsor after sponsor, and I quickly become lost in a web of blogs. I have found some of my best blogger friends this way and so many awesome people have found me this way too. But at the same time, I eventually have to stop falling in love with all the new blogs that I discover. Because my life could quickly be consumed by following more and more blogs!

I mean, how crazy is that stat?

- quick recipe of the week -

2011-09-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Big drum roll this morning...I am featuring one of my favorite, favorite ladies! I'm not kidding, I love this girl! This amazing blogger is one of the sweetest people I have ever met (even though I guess technically we haven't officially met in person yet). I fell in love with her blog the minute I saw it! She is one talented girl, and when I reached out to her for a little bit of photography help, she showered me with so many random acts of kindness! She seriously touched my heart with her instant friendship. Needless to say, like I said, I absolutely love this girl! And her family is simply adorable! Oh, and she lives in Costa Rica...one of the "must visit" places on our list of vacation spots! It's such a beautiful country!

Without further ado, please meet Sonya, from {shutter}mama. Sonya is a beautiful mom to one of the cutest little girls ever! Sonya, her daughter, Maia and Maia's wonderful father, Jose currently live in the small country of Costa Rica. Can you please look how funny and cute their little Maia is!

(Image credit Sonya)

Jose is in his last year of college for Graphic/Advertising Design and Sonya is on her way to becoming a Neonatologist. Their plan is to make a move to the US within the next year. Sonya told me that making food in Costa Rica is a bit different than the US because there are NO time limits...they often find themselves starting a meal at 6:00 p.m. and not really eating until about 8 pm or later! And she promises it's not because the meals (including this one) are difficult to make, but instead meal time in Costa Rica is about spending time with the family. So while making the meal, everyone gathers and talks and jokes about their day. The kitchen becomes cramped quarters where everyone is more than happy to stand and visit with one another causing the cooking process to slow down a bit! I don't know how well that would work in my itty bitty kitchen, but what great family time that would be!

Chicken Chimichangas with Guacamole
6 (12 inch) flour tortillas
4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 pound Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
4 cups refried beansButter or Oil (To Cook)
Sour Cream (optional)
1 cup Tomato

Avocado topping-
2 avocados
1 pkg. McCormick Guacamole Mix
1/2 of a lemon

Start by making your avocado topping (It's going to need to refrigerate for about 30 minutes). To make the guacamole- in a medium bowl mash together avocados and lemon juice. Stir in McCormick Mix.Now, to make the chimichangas, boil chicken at a steady boil for 30 minutes. Once done, drain and shred with fork. Heat refried beans in a saucepan over low heat until they stir easily. Heat tortillas in a large skillet or in the microwave so that they fold easily. Butter one side of the tortilla. If you choose not to use butter you can cook these in oil. Flip tortillas, butter side down on plate and spoon equal amounts of refried beans onto each tortillas followed by equal amounts of chicken, tomato, and Monterey jack cheese. Roll up the tortillas¸while tucking in the sides. Heat skillet and put in folded tortillas, turning once, until browned on both sides. Put on Medium-Low heat and cover with lid to get the cheese to melt - the longer they're in there at a lower heat the gooey-er the cheese). Place on a plate and top with guacamole mix! Serve with a side of sour cream.


(Image credit Sonya)

(Image credit Sonya)

Printable Recipe

How good does that chimichanga look? YUMMY!

Please go visit Sonya at {shutter}mama and get to know this talented, beautiful mom. You won't regret it! Everyone that reads Sonya's blog loves her and her writing, and I promise you will too! Someday, I will get to meet this sweetheart in person and I will be so happy that I did!

- the conversation that melted my heart -

2011-09-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we spent the afternoon with some friends who have a little boy, James. He is one year older than Ellie, and Ellie loves going over to his house and playing with all of his "big boy" toys. Her current obsession with Thomas the Train is courtesy of James and all of his train sets! She gets so excited when we go over to their house.

So this past Sunday, after a long afternoon of happily playing at their house, we finally came home and put her to bed. She asked me to stay in her room with her, and although I don't want to get into the habit of having to lay down with her while she falls asleep, I obliged this time because she looked incredibly sad that I was going to leave her all alone in her room for the night. (I know there are tons of parents out there that lay down with their kids at bedtime, and there is nothing wrong with that. I just don't want Ellie to get into the habit of needing us to do that because she is so good at putting herself to sleep without any sort of crutch...oh wait, what did you say? Her pacifier is a crutch? I'm covering my ears and pretending I didn't hear that!)...I digress...back to the story.

She asked me to lay down in her tent which is right next to her crib. So I turned down the light, and crawled halfway into the tent on the floor (because that's as far as I could fit!) I heard her rustling around to get comfortable and then the room got quiet.

All of a sudden, I heard her tiny toddler voice...

Ellie: Momma?

me: Yes honey?

Ellie: I had fun.

me: You had fun baby? (pause while I was trying hard to think about what she was referring to)...You had fun doing what baby?

Ellie: (giggle, giggle), I had fun today. I went to see James, and played with his trains. I love choo choo trains Momma.

me: That's right, you played with James today. I'm so glad you had fun baby. I love you.

Ellie: Momma? You sleeping in my tent and Daddy's sleeping in his bed. (giggle) I love choo choo trains and I had lots of fun today. Nyt nyt Momma.

My heart started melting and my eyes were tearing up as I realized my little one is growing up. She's so cognitive and aware. She's having full conversations with me and acts so grown up at times...she's not a little baby anymore! But oh how I love this growing girl! Just when I think I can't love my kiddo anymore than I already do, a heart melting conversation like that one makes me love her even more.

Needless to say, it was a wonderfully sweet conversation to have with my little love in the darkness of her room. Not more than five minutes later I heard her breathing get heavy and slow and my tired, innocent ~~baby~~ toddler fell fast asleep.

(and for the record, I fell asleep on her floor laying halfway in her tent and had to creep out of her room an hour later when I woke up and realized I was not in my ridiculously comfortable bed!)