Friday, April 29, 2011

I can't believe this...

My BABY...

Is already...
Walking...
Around!
Ok, so it's just in a walker but ohmyword! This is going by way too fast. Chris suggested that we try out the walker a few nights ago. This little man wore himself out zooming all over. He absolutely LOVED it! This is just ridiculous. He is still supposed to be tiny and wrapped up and sitting here cooing, not eating solids and trying to sit up on his own and walking around in a walker!


Don't forget to enter to win a $100 Spa Finders gift card and read my review for Olay Total Effects Line and Dark Circles Minimizing Brush!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

3 Years of Blogging

I can't believe that it has been 3 whole years since I started this blog!!

It seems like yesterday that I wrote my very first post.

Shortly after I started this blog - about 2 months after - we found out we were pregnant with Brayden, after 2 years of infertility and a miscarriage. I talked about it in this post. We also visited one of my favorite places on earth, Lake Tahoe.
In 2009, we (of course!!) had Brayden. Brayden's story is long and complicated but you can click here to go back to the beginning. Huh, I just noticed that I put "24 hours of labor" on that post. Wrong. It was 25!
Five weeks later, we finally brought Brayden home from Children's. And later that year was Brayden's first Christmas!

In 2010, we celebrated Brayden's first birthday! Almost a year ago to the day I announced that we were expecting baby #2! In November, we had Brody! And a month later we celebrated Christmas with our 2 miracle babies!



It has been a hectic, crazy, wonderful last three years and I'm looking for to what lies ahead! Thank you to everyone who makes our journey a part of your daily reading, and have prayed for us during the difficult times!!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

I was petting his head and this is what happened:

Totally sacked out!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Black Bean and Corn Relish

Black Bean and Corn Relish:

I make this a lot of times to go along with my Crockpot Flank Steak. It's simple, heart healthy and tasty! This particular combination comes after lots of trial and error!

Here's what you'll need:
1 can of low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of corn, rinsed and drained
1 can of Rotel (with juice)
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix everything together, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Enjoy!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Happy Easter!

Don't forget to enter to win a $100 Spa Finders gift card on my giveaway page!


Happy belated Easter!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Egg Dyeing 2011

Last night we finally dyed Easter eggs with the boys. This year, Brayden had a blast! We let him color on the eggs with the wax crayon and then dyed them.

We also got him stickers that he could use on the eggs. He had more fun putting them on us (that's what is on my face and Brody's face) than on the eggs, but whatever makes him happy!

I've been having way too much fun using Picnik. I discovered a feature that I didn't know what there - see the pic of Brayden that is all black and white except the egg? Isn't that neat?

Saturday, April 23, 2011

5 Months Old!

Brody is 5 months old today!

What are you up to?

- You wear 6-12 month clothing

- You weigh 15.6 lbs

- You drink 5-6 oz every 3 hours during the day

- You wear a size 3 diaper

- You generally sleep from 9pm - 7 or 8 am but sometimes you wake up at 4am for a bottle

- You've started eating baby food and you love pears, bananas and sweet potatoes

- You ADORE Brayden. You watch him constantly and smile at him every time he talks to you

- You like to hold things - especially your soft lovies and your baby rings

- The jumperoo is your favorite activity now

- You've lost a patch of your long baby hair on the back of your head - so you have a long
bald stripe

- You still do not take a binkie so I guess you are just going to be binkieless

- You still don't care for your carseat very much

- Your reflux is so much better - I am thanking our chiropractor for that!!

This month has held some big changes. Brody, you are SO much happier and doing so much better! We love you so much!









Be sure to enter the $100 Spa Finders gift card giveaway on my giveaway page and check out my review for Olay Total Effects Line and Dark Circles Minimizing Brush!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The last 2 weeks...

I've been super under the weather for the last two weeks - I've got strep throat which I haven't had since I was a kid. Fun times. We've been kind of laying low since I'm not the only sickie - all four of us have been ill. Everytime we go out and do anything someone else ends up sick, and the kids and I are on our second round of antibiotics! So, we've been staying at home for the most part.

Last week I made dinner for 2 friends with new babies. I made Baked Ziti:

Italian salads and garlic bread:
In other news, Brayden apparently has learned how to count! Ha, that sounds funny. He has known how to count to 10 for a long time, but now he is counting objects. He told me the other day that he had "2 socks on Mommy!" and I thought it was a fluke. Later that evening while Chris was working on Brayden's golf swing (haha) he said "There's 4 golf balls on the floor Mommy!" and I looked...and sure enough, there were four.
The problem is that generally, when I ask him to tell me how many of something there is, he won't do it.

During our time at home, Brody has finally decided that he actually likes the jumperoo. It was Brayden's absolute favorite toy on earth when he was this age. He spent hours in it everyday. Brody likes his routine switched up a lot more that Brayden ever did - he likes play time on the floor, tummy time, swing time, superseat time...you get the picture.

Hopefully we will all be better soon and back to our regular routine!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Don't forget to enter to win a $100 Spa Finders gift card over on my giveaway page!




Monday, April 18, 2011

Touch a Truck event

On Saturday Chris and I took the boys to a local event called Touch a Truck. My friend Rebekah had tickets they weren't using and she let us have them. Thanks Rebekah!

It was a sunny day but it was pretty windy and cold so we didn't stay too long, but Brayden had a BLAST! He loves all kinds of big trucks and those are his favorite toys to play with.


They had firetrucks, ambulances, monster trucks, cement trucks and a whole range of big equipment. The kids can climb into everything and honk the horns, work the lights etc.

Brody missed out on most of it because it was so windy - I kept him in his carseat and in the stroller. But we had a really fun time, and I know we will go back again next year!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Friday Night

Last night was FNO at our church again!

We weren't really sure what we were going to do but we headed to church to drop off the kids. I really look forward to FNO's since it's my only real "break." My kids aren't in Mom's Day Out programs, they are with me 24/7!

We ended up going to a restaurant that we hadn't been to before. The food was okay - but this was the dessert!

It's missing a bite because I just couldn't help myself. It's a banana and Nutella crepe! So yummy!

I've been working on a Nutella cookie recipe. It's still not perfect yet, but close. I'll share it once I think it's 100% perfect!

Friday, April 15, 2011

The faces they make...

As Brody gets older he makes so many of the same faces Brayden makes and it just cracks us up!

So while these pics may not generally be ones I would post here, I'm going to anyway because the resemblance is just too funny not to.

And be sure to enter for the $100 Spa Finders gift card on my giveaway page!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

3 Favorite Beauty Products

I've got a brand new giveaway that just launched TODAY! Be sure to check it out and enter to win a $100 gift card!

A couple of weeks ago I shared three things I'm loving in my kitchen, so today I thought I'd share three beauty products I'm loving!

This first product has been a favorite of mine for years. I am quite possibly addicted to it. I don't think there is any better chapstick than Burt's Bees.
Next up is a relatively new favorite. A year or so ago I switched makeup brands because the brand I used to buy was just to hard to get. I am so glad I switched because I love MakeUp Forever! I use their foundation and powder - it's great stuff and it even comes in ultra pale for Casper's like myself.


My skin gets SUPER dry, especially in the winter. I don't think washing bottles and keeping my hands constantly in water helps either. I love Aveeno's Skin Relief lotion. It is so great and best of all NOT greasy!
What are some of your favorite beauty products?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Creamy Mexican Chicken

This is one of my easy, delicious, go to dishes. It's great for a family night in but it's also a great dish that you can take to a friend. Just have everything in the pan ready to go, and finish cooking it there!



Ingredients:

1 T oil
3 chicken breasts, raw, chopped into small cubes
1 small Spanish onion (yellow onion), chopped
1 large or 2 small bell peppers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can of yellow corn, rinsed and drained
1 can of low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup of salsa
1 block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Over medium, saute chicken, onion, peppers, cumin, cayenne and black pepper together, making sure the chicken gets totally cooked. Once chicken is cooked, add garlic, let saute for 1 minute. Next, add salsa, beans and corn. Mix well. Add cream cheese, mix until completely distributed.

Pour into an 8*8 dish (I couldn't find mine so I used a different size). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then top with cheddar cheese and put it back in the oven until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!


Monday, April 11, 2011

Super Brayden

One of the few shows that Brayden watches is Max and Ruby on Nick Jr. If you've never seen that show it's about a brother and sister that are rabbits. One of the episodes was about "Super Bunny" and Max was wearing this cape and running around doing fun stuff at the playground. Brayden decided at that moment that he was "Super Brayden."

Chris' mom sent him a Super Man shirt with a detachable cape and so I put that on him and he had a blast. The other night we were outside and I got some cute shots of B running around being Super Brayden:


He had a blast!

And checkout the giveaway page to see who won the platter from Simply Stella!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Brand New Look!

I am LOOOOVING my brand new blog look from Jenn at Munchkin Land Designs! What do you think?! Jenn has done some really amazing designs for a lot of people - check out here gallery here!

I wanted to take the blog look in a whole new direction and there are some really cool features I want to share with you! First, you'll notice that all my pages match - from my giveaway page to the recipe page, which is really neat.

Second, please check out my Recipes page - Jenn created buttons that have organized ALL my recipes, making it a lot easier for you to look through! You can sort by Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish, Dessert, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Mexican, Pasta and Misc. I am so excited about this! It is way more user friendly!

Next, she added an Our Family tab for anyone who wants to read a little bit more about us!

And be sure to grab my new button as well - it's on the right sidebar!

Jenn, thank you SO MUCH for such an awesome design!! I love everything about it!

Be sure to check out Jenn's design blog here and here personal blog here!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Top 5 crazy baby products

The personalized platter giveaway on my giveaway page is about to end! Be sure to enter now!

As a mom, I've run across some really um, interesting, baby products over the last couple of years. I thought I'd share a list of my favorites...

How about Baby Bangs? It's fake hair...for your kid.


The Manual Snot Sucker is next...I mean really, who would want to chance that?!

Here's one that I really don't understand, granted I'm raising two boys. Heels for your baby girl? I don't know about you but I had to wait until I was a teenager before my mom let me wear heels!

Here's one that flat out doesn't make sense. Don't we all love the smell of a new baby? Or maybe the smell of their lotion? Then why would a baby need perfume? Not to mention it's probably not great for them to be breathing in.



This one takes the cake. It's a teddy bear...made out of your placenta. Because, who doesn't want to cuddle with that?!


What are some crazy baby products you've seen out there?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

FNO: Bowling Night

Be sure to enter the personalized platter giveaway on my giveaway page!

Last Friday was Friday Night Out! YAY!

FNO is something our church does - usually 2 Friday's a month. When you go to small group on Wednesday nights you can get an FNO voucher for free childcare at the church on a designated night.

Last Friday a group of our friends decided to go bowling. Here's Chris, Chris, Jason & Matt:

And me, Melissa, Stacey & Sara:
The girls divided into one group and the guys in another but we had lanes right next to one another so we could all see who was winning! I did horrrrrrrible as usual but I had a lot of fun! One neat thing about the bowling alley we went to is that they actually let you eat right there - all of the other ones in our area make you stand behind the lanes to eat. And, this alley has REALLY good food. Sara and I decided to be bad and we ordered three appetizers as our meal! It was great!

My goofy husband insisted on holding a bowling ball in the pic. Oh well, at least it matched my shirt!
And on our way out, Jason and Chris decided to go play Dance, Dance Revolution. This is their warmup:
I love FNO!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Well, that was easier than I thought.

Be sure to enter my personalized platter giveaway on my giveaway page!

Brayden is such an easy kid.

Seriously. I remember telling my parents how hard I thought he was as a baby and they would laugh at me and say "You don't know hard." Well, mom and dad if you are reading this you were right. You may want to print that off.

Anyway, Brayden is so easy. Brody, not so much, but the poor thing has been in pain with reflux for his whole 4 months of life, so I'm holding out hope that as he gets older and the reflux subsides, he will be easy to. Actually, I really do think he has a laid back personality, we just don't get to see it that much yet.

So, imagine my surprise last week when I hear knocking on a door. I go to our front door and no one is there. Now I'm confused. I called Chris to see if he was in the garage or something. Nope, still at work. Now I'm freaking out. Who is knocking on what door?!

I head upstairs to check on the boys - as it was naptime. The knocking is coming from Brayden's door. Oh, great. Yep, he did it. He climbed out of his crib. We had a discussion on why that wasn't okay. He said, "Sorry Mommy." That night he did fine - no break out attempts.

The next day at nap time, he got out again. I met him at the door and he said "Mommy, I not climb out!" Sorry son, you gave yourself away by meeting me at the door!

The next day...I hear him climb out. I might have been listening on the monitor. I run upstairs. Not only did he climb out but he heard me coming and used a toy to help himself BACK INTO THE CRIB!

That was the last straw. I decided to do something that I had NO plans on doing for awhile. That's right. I converted his crib into a toddler bed. Well, okay, I didn't exactly do it. I supervised while Chris did it. In fact, he took a picture of me supervising with my assistant:

And here's Brayden helping out:


I'd been putting this process off because I thought he would be up all the time playing but the whole toddler bed situation did not phase him one single bit. He gets in bed at naptime and bedtime and he goes to sleep. I did hear him playing yesterday but then he got back in his crib and took his nap. Like, seriously, no big deal.

Well, that was easier than I thought.

(And yes, we left his bumper in. He flails around a lot and I was worried he fall out, so I want to give him some time to get used to it. And further proof of how easy he is - this is him, sound asleep at 10:15am this morning. I literally had to wake him up!)


Monday, April 4, 2011

Airplanes!

Saturday we headed to a small local airport to join Matt, Sara, Lilly and Reid and watch the airplanes take off. The kids had a blast! Who knew that it would be so entertaining for them?

There's a little cafe there so we were able to eat as well:

After lunch, Brayden decided to put the moves on Lilly:


Chris took those pics - I was inside and I missed the whole thing but apparently Brayden started hugging on Lilly and poor Lilly was screaming to be let go! Ha!

Don't you love these personalized platters? I know I do! Want to win one for yourself? Hop on over to my giveaway page to enter to win!
Oh, and if you are new to Diapers.com like me (I order our formula through them because no place here sells enough of it) check out my special discount code! Just enter Jenna15off to get 15% off your first order and 30% cash back on diapers!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

New baby!

I am STILL trying to catch up on stuff that happened last week!


So, on Monday we went out to eat with our friends Sara and Matt and their kids at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. We had some freshly made at our table guacamole that was SO good!

After that we all headed over to the hospital to visit our friends Damon and Brooke. They had just had a baby girl named Sloan who we really wanted to meet!

Sweet baby Sloan!

I cannot believe that Brody was this tiny just 4 months ago!
Sara and Sloan. I think Sara has caught the fever!
We're so happy for Damon and Brooke! I can't wait to cuddle this sweet girl in the church nursery!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Winner!

As promised, I've drawn the winner for the Presh Prints giveaway!

The winner is...


I'm sending your email address to Crystal and she will be in contact! Congratulations!

AND, if you didn't win, I have another great giveaway coming your way on Monday!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Taking a Meal...

Be sure to enter to win 25 photo birth announcements or 25 photo birthday invites on my giveaway page!


Wednesday was a very busy day for us. Among other things I was making a meal (specifically, I made Rebekah's Honey Onion Chicken and Green Beans) for a brand new mom, who I'd never met. If you have a moment, can you pray for my new friend? We'll just call her "H." She's a new young mom who just had a baby girl on Friday and she is doing it all on her own. She loves her baby girl and is doing everything she can to raise her in a home filled with love, but as a first time, single mom she needs our prayers.

I wanted to help my friend Becky out by organizing a meal schedule for H, so I used a website that my friend Sara shared with me awhile ago.

If you are part of a small group or playgroup or maybe a MOPS group, and you take meals to new moms or to friends who've maybe had a surgery or an illness, I think you'll like this site. TakeThemAMeal.com is a great way to organize volunteers who are bringing meals to someone.

It's really simple. Just log in, fill out the info of who the meals are for, when they would like them delivered and what take out options there are (that way if someone doesn't have time to cook or doesn't cook, there's an easier option). You can also list any food allergies that they might have. Then you just enter in your friends' email addresses and it sends them a link to the page. They can click on a date and sign up for a meal.

Super simple and so helpful!

And here are a few easy recipes that would be fun to take:




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