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Currently...

I stole this from my friend, Stefanie, over at Lexie Loo, Lily Boo, & Dylan Too! Thanks for the idea! :)

I'm watching...House Hunters and House Hunters International. I'm addicted! I love seeing the houses and cost in other areas. Really interesting to see what is important to other people. And, of course, Glee! I'm a major Glee-k!



I'm reading...Fever by Maya Banks. Very 50 Shades-ish. I had planned to read The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (the author of The Mortal Instruments series) but I got sidetracked after re-reading the 50 Shades trilogy. I'll me on to Clockwork in the next day or so though.

 
I'm listening to...Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5 and Of Monsters and Men for the most part. Or what ever is on the Pop/Alternative station.

 
I'm thinking about...what I need to do to get on a better schedule for myself and the boys. I waste a lot of time instead of being productive and it shows at home.


I need to...make a daily schedule, cleaning schedule and get the house in order before we go to Hawaii for my sister's wedding. Summer vacation starts right after and I need the house organized by then!


I'm creating...some cake designs. I have my first client in August and I want it to be perfect. I also have Noah's birthday in June.


I'm cooking...not much. It's very difficult to cook now that I'm back to working in the evenings. And I get so out of practice with cooking that on the two nights that I am home, I don't want to. I have been making more crockpot meals for the sitter's nights so they aren't eating frozen junk all the time.


I'm shopping for...nothing but groceries this week! We had to buy a car this week since Jason's is too expensive to fix at the moment and the car he had been borrowing started having problems too. Pretty soon I need to start buying everything we need for our trip next month.


I'm organizing...not enough!! I NEED to organize the entire house. It's getting out of control. The first place is partially done and that's the loft play room. My pantries are next with extra shelves. (My baking stuff takes a full pantry!!)


I'm proud of...my husband! He's doing so well at the job he started in the Fall! He's moving really quickly in the company!

I'm looking forward to...summer vacation! I'll be so glad to not have to get up so early and get 4 kids ready and out the door by 7:45!


I'm loving...having some extra days off in the next few months at work! I miss my family!!


I'm very grateful for...God's provisions! We've had a tough few years and we're finally getting back on track! It's nice not having to struggle so much!


Our plans for this week...I work this weekend but we'll spend some time outside during the day with the kids. Next week is actually pretty quiet too. Now that Nix doesn't have his Doc-band anymore, we don't have to drive down to Pasadena!! So exciting! :) Just gymnastics on Monday and taking care of my fix-it ticket. :)

Liebster Blog Award AKA Spilling My Guts

 

My lovely friend, Elizabeth, over at Must Love Mommyhood was nominated for a Liebster Blog award and had to answer some questions. I decided I'd answer them too! I love Elizabeth's blog and envy her ease at knowing what to blog about. I'd love to have her following! I'd recommend checking out her blog on homeschooling, RVing, autism, TEXAS (hehe) and her crazy, amazing, Z-pack!

 

Here's my answers. I'd love to know what other questions you all have about me and my family. Feel free to ask and I'll answer!

What are your plans for 10 years down the road?

Oh wow. Elizabeth listed the ages her kiddos will be and it shocked me! So here it goes!

My hubby will be 52. I will be 38. (Insane!). I will have a 17 year old, 15 year old, 12 year old and 10 year old. (Even more insane!) Hopefully there won't be any younger kiddos then that! God willing... I'll be working as an RN in a NICU or possibly even have my Nurse Practitioner license or be a NICU Certified Nursing Specialist. I'm also considering becoming a Certified Midwife instead. I honestly wish I had a homebirth with Nix. I was very close to having one anyway! Performing homebirths would be pretty amazing. I have a big decision to make when I go back to school once Nix is a bit older.

I'm not sure where we'll be living. I'm hoping Jason will become a regional manager and that will guide where we live. I do know that we plan to buy land for our next and hopefully final home and build exactly what we want from the ground up.

I'll be guiding my girls into college choices and encouraging them to go wherever they feel God is guiding them. And guiding my boys to make good decisions and hopefully not breaking any bones at those ages!

Why did you start blogging?

I had friends who blogged. I've been an Internet nerd since I was about 12 so it was pretty natural for me. I tend to fall off the blog train easily though. Using the Internet on my phone instead of a PC really stopped my blogging too. I'm trying to get back on it though!

Are you planning on changing things up on your blog or have you already?

Very much so. I want to start to blog daily. One of the things I'm planning at home is a daily schedule. I don't manage my time well. I'd like to plan a bit of blog time too.

Do you have any favorite “secret” obsessions?

Oh so many. My reading list isn't PG. Books are my biggest obsession!

What is something you’d like to learn more about or learn to do?

I love learning more about cake baking/decorating. I'd love to branch out and sell my cakes. I also want to get back to cooking more from scratch and even growing and canning some produce.

What is something you’ve learned that empowers you when you’re stuck in a rut?

Honestly, I'm kind of in a rut right now. I haven't really learned how to get past being overwhelmed and stay motivated. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

If you had the chance to meet someone (past or present) and ask them any question, who would it be and what would you ask them?

This is such a great question and I really don't know! I can't think of one specific question I would want to know. I think it'd be lovely to meet Laura Ingalls Wilder because I LOVED her books as a kid (and still do). I would just love to talk to her and see what she was like but nothing specific I would need answer.

I would love to see my Nana again and ask her if she things I'm doing a good job with my kids though.

If money were no concern, what would you do differently in your life? Splurge? Travel? Hire a nanny? Save the world?

First off, I would for sure have a housekeeper. I am AWFUL at housecleaning. I get so overwhelmed and just don't know where to start. An organizer would be great too. I would like to travel but I would also love to have an Equestrian Rehabilitation facility. So I could help Special Needs children and adults learn to ride and give them some joy and freedom. (I still hope to do this some day!)

What’s your favorite thing to shop for?

Stuff for the kids, house stuff and BOOKS! Books are normally the only thing I buy for myself. Very rarely do I buy clothes for myself.

What is your favorite thing about yourself? What thing bothers you most about yourself?

My creativity is my favorite trait. I love doing fun things for the kids. The fun lunches, holiday tables, birthday cakes and Elf on a Shelf tricks are so fun for me and the kids love it. I'm hoping these are the things that they will remember and remind them that they had a fun childhood.

I actually have two things that really bother me about myself: my temper and my laziness. I have always had a bad temper. I was the kid that stomped up the stairs, screamed "I hate you!" and slammed my door shut (which has always been a big joke in my family...). I was able to really work on my anger a few years ago and didn't find myself yelling etc as much. I find myself slipping a lot more now. I hate that I raise my voice with the kids and come off in a bad mood. I don't want the remembering that. I think working full time and taking care of 4 kids and a house on very little sleep is really getting to me.

I've always been lazy. My room was a disaster growing up. Even when I first moved out on my own, my house was awful. I learned and got better at cleaning up but I can't seem to stay motivated lately. I'm not an outdoorsy person either and my kids have suffered because of it. They don't go outside as often as they should. It's something I'm working on.

If you had the chance to be your total opposite for a week, what do you think you’d learn?

If it came to not being lazy and getting this house in shape, I'd love it! I SO wish I was a neat freak sometimes. :) I'm hoping to turn into one. I do know that the house being messy irritates me a lot more then it used to.

Happy Half Birthday!

Today my baby boy is 6 months old! It is definitely a bittersweet feeling watching your last baby grow. Time seems to go by so much faster and it seems so odd sometimes that I will never have a newborn again! Though it's also nice to know that I might actually get some sleep soon. :)

Here's a look back at Phoenix's first 6 months!

After being a stubborn boy, you decided to make your appearance 3 days after your due date! But Mr. Nix, when you decided it was time, you REALLY decided it was TIME! You arrived on 9/11/13 at 10:00am only 10 short minutes after Mommy got to the hospital. It happened so fast that Daddy missed your birth and Mommy didn't even know if you were a boy or a girl until a few minutes after you were born. You were born in the caul with the amniotic sac completely intact. The nurses said that makes you a lucky baby! You were much smaller than we expected at exactly 8oz and 20.5 inches. Newborn clothes fit you perfectly!

At 1 month old you were sleeping about 3-4 hours at a time before waking up to nurse. You were such a good baby and rarely cried. You didn't react much to noise most likely because your siblings were always so loud! You loved to sleep in your swing. Your big sisters and brother adored you! All they wanted to do was hold you. Noah would get so upset if we took you from him. You had already moved on to 0-3 month clothes! You grew very quickly! You smiled for the first time this month!

At 2 months you were still waking Mommy up at night. :) You started being awake more and watching everything going on around you. You were exclusively breast fed and kept on growing! You moved on to 3-6 months clothes by 2.5 months. At your 2 month well child visit, Mommy pointed out the flat spot on the back left of your head to your doctor. He diagnosed you with Plagiocephaly and order Physical Therapy for neck exercises and positioning. We went for about 4 visits before you got sick. It worked to loosen your muscles.

At 3 months you developed quite the personality. This was a rare smile. You are always so serious! Right before Christmas you got sick. On Christmas Day, Mommy and Daddy were really worried about your breathing and Nana and Mommy took you to the hospital. You ended up having RSV and staying in the hospital for 4 days. Mommy never left your side. Afterwards you were so much better. It was very scary to see the difference and realize how sick you had been. 3 months later and you still have a cough. It looks like you will be following in your big sister's footsteps with asthma.

At your 4 months well child visit, the doctor decided that the PT had resolved the neck tightness but the plagio hadn't resolved itself. So we went to Cranial Tech to be evaluated for a Doc-band. They determined that you had moderate Plagiocephaly (flattening) and moderate-severe Brachiocephaly (widening). You were fitted for a your band at 4.5 months. At this point you could roll over to your side. Your sister, Avery, swears she saw you roll all the way over but Mommy thinks she helped you a bit. You were almost 19lbs at 4 months and had moved on to 6-9 month clothes!

At 5 month you had a lot of changes! You started really teething and didn't sleep as well. You woke up 2-3 times a night to eat (which was hard on Momma!!). You could roll over at this point but even at 6 months you still rarely do. Sometime Momma thinks your band gets in the way. You started wearing your Doc-band just after you turned 5 months old. You wear it 23 hours a day and it's already showing a lot of improvement. You don't seem to mind it too much except when you're really tired. Momma started giving you some first foods (both homemade and store bought) and you do ok. You liked everything except carrots. You got the flu and didn't want to eat anything so you haven't had many kinds yet. Not that you need it! You're a big boy at over 20lbs already! You're wearing a mix of 6-9 month and 12 month clothes.

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Nix! We are so thankful and blessed to have you in our lives. Momma and Daddy love you, Always and Forever. :)

Menu Plan Monday-ish~ 3/5/13

Ok so it's Menu Plan Tuesday...My days kind of run together around here. :) But technically the menu was done on Friday so I'm ahead of the game right?

I decided to revamp our eating this week. I've fallen off the WW wagon, the kids are eating the same things (crappy junk too!) over and over when I'm working and our 2 year old eats nothing but carbs. So I made a list of breakfast, lunches and snacks to go with the dinner plan and am really focusing on getting everyone eating healthier. I also picked some new things for Crockpot meals on the nights our babysitter is here. Go figure the boys are sick today so I'm not working but the Crockpot meal will really help make it easier with sickos!

Most of our grocery trips lately have consisted of a TON of processed, prepackaged junk lately. This week I spent a huge portion on produce. I'm eating salads again, Noah's actually eating some fruit and veggies for once (Not letting him snack on carbs all day makes him hungrier at meals and more willing to try. Who would've thought? Duh.) and I've even been making green smoothies for the kids with spinach in them! Those were a HUGE hit with all 3 big kids. They want them every morning for breakfast with different fruits each time.

Breakfasts: Smoothies, cereal (I'm making this less frequent...), whole wheat bagels with cream cheese, scrambled eggs with turkey sausage, oatmeal, egg white burritos (for me)

Lunches: "Lunchables" (Turkey, Crackers and String Cheese), PB & J, Leftovers, Mini burgers (Smart Ones...I'm ok will Noah having half of once since it's the only meat I've gotten him to eat this week!), Turkey or Tuna Sandwiches, English Muffin Pizzas (All with fruit and veggies.)

Snacks: Crackers/Cheese, Fruit, Carrots/Dip, Raisins, "Squeezie" baby food pouches for Noah (These are so expensive but at least I know he is getting some fruit/veg every day!), rice cakes

Dinners:

Sunday 3/3: Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli (First time making salmon at home. I was at work but Jason made it and the girls LOVED it! I'm going to start picking different kinds of fish for the weekends instead of Tilapia all the time.)

Monday 3/4- Turkey Tacos, Salad

Tuesday 3/5: Sitter Night (Until kids got sick!): Homemade Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs, Salad (This is one of my favorite changes we've made over the past year or so. It is SO easy to use crushed tomatoes/tomato sauce and add all the spices instead of buying Prego. It tastes way better too. I'm hoping to buy a tomato plant and can my own. Scratch made meatballs taste so much better too!)

Wednesday 3/5: Laughing Cow Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice, Green Beans

Thursday 3/6: Sitter Night: Breakfast for Dinner: Egg, Waffles, Turkey Sausage

Friday 3/7: Sitter Night: Crockpot BBQ Chicken, Rice, Corn

I'm looking for more kid-friendly, healthy, Crockpot meals for the nights I work. Feel free to post your faves in the comments!

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 2/4/13 (Giveaway!)

It's February?!?! How did that happen?? The end of the year flew by so fast in a wave of holidays and sick kids (and parents!) I feel like I missed December and January! But everyone is FINALLY healthy and we're starting to get into a routine now that I've been back to work for almost 2 months.

I really miss cooking. Menu planning/grocery shopping actually kind of bums me out because I know I won't be home for 5 out of the 7 dinners (I work the evening shift...). Plus I try to make the 3 meals that my babysitter needs to make pretty simple and something I know the kids will eat. That gets pretty repetitive! But I just can't NOT menu plan. Even though I don't always post it, I can't remember the last time I didn't make a menu for the week.

Through into the mix that I'm back on track with Weight Watchers and it makes for a longer grocery list. I tend to focus on my lunches since I usually take a frozen meal in to work for dinner. I found a pretty tasty option to throw into the mix (hence the giveaway after my menu)!

Sunday 2/3- Turkey Club/BLTs, Chips/Veggies/Dip


Monday 2/4- Chicken Ranch Pasta

Tuesday 2/5- Spaghetti, Garlic Bread

Wednesday 2/6- Country Club Chicken, Rice, Green Beans

Thursday 2/7- Popcorn Chicken, Tater Tots, Corn

Friday 2/8- Hotdogs, Mac and Cheese

Saturday 2/9- Our Valentine's Celebration with the Kiddos! Breakfast: Pancakes

D: Heart Pizza, Heart Breadsticks, Strawberry Milk, Mini Cheese Cakes

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

And onto the giveaway!

I was really excited to try the ProgressOh! Light soups. Soup is quick and pretty mess-free which is super helpful for this mom of 4! Plus my husband has been using this awesome personal size travel Crockpot at work and soups fit perfectly. We received two type to try:

I tried the Chicken Pot Pie and it was actually pretty good and filling. The fact that it said Chicken Pot Pie made me crave the buttery crust though. It's so low in Weight Watchers points that I could definitely have a biscuit or something to feed that craving. :) A lot of cream style soups are watery but this one was pretty thick. I would buy it to have again!

My husband has the Creamy Potato at work today. It's not lunch time yet but I'm pretty sure he'll be happy. How can you not like something with bacon and cheese in it? Personally I would probably add extra cheese because I LOVE cheese. :)

And now for the giveaway! MyBlogSpark and ProgressOh! are providing a gift pack for one of my readers!
Your ProgressOh! Gift pack will contain:
• 2 cans of Progresso® soup

◊ Light Creamy Potato with Bacon & Cheese
◊ Light Chicken Pot Pie Style

• Cosmetic Bag
• Compact Mirror and Brush

The cosmetic bag is actually really cute and I needed a new one! Mine was from when Avery was a baby!

To enter just leave a comment telling me what your favorite, quick, family friendly meal is! (I'm always looking for new ideas!!) The giveaway ends Sunday, 2/24/13 at 11:59pm. Please include an e-mail so I can contact the winner!

"Disclosure: The information, products and ProgressOh! gift packs were provided by Progresso through MyBlogSpark."

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/26/12

We're eating from what we have on hand for the most part this week to save money. Cheap eating this week but still some yummy stuff!

 

Sunday 11/25: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread
Monday 11/26: Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Rice
Tuesday 11/27: Mummy Dogs, Mac & Cheese
Wednesday 11/28: Chicken Taquitos, Beans
Thursday 11/29: Soup and Grilled Cheese
Friday 11/30: Italian Chicken, Rice, Green Beans
Saturday 12/1: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage

Visit Orgjunkie for more menu plans!

Hey Sugar, Sugar!

When the girls had their first few birthdays, it never occurred to me that I could bake their birthday cakes. Any cakes I had made up to that point consisted of boxed mix in a 8x13 pan with frosting and maybe some sprinkle on top. I didn't even take the cake out of the pan until we were serving it. So I bought cupcake cakes from the store for their birthdays. They were cute and always had some type of Princess toy on top. Then Noah's first birthday came along and I couldn't find a cute dinosaur birthday cake for my little guy. Everything at the store was Jurassic Park-style. And then I found this:

I decided to try my hand at making my own cake. I spent a lot of time on the Wilton cake boards and found a ton of great tips. I also found my go-to Buttercream recipe: Bunnywoman's Buttercream
It took me some time but I was really proud of how my first cake turned out!

And I was hooked. I have made every cake for my kids' birthdays and other events since then. It's an awesome creative outlet. Some turn out better then others but I'm getting better. :) I have a crazy amount of cake and other baking ideas on Pinterest and let the girls pick their favorites to base their birthday cakes and school treats on. Some cakes I make from scratch while some I go the quick route and still use boxed. The scratch tastes better but I'm am a working mom with 4 kids. I can only do so much! Here are the other cakes and treats I've made.

Hannah's 7th Birthday: Lorax cake

"Barbie" Cake Pops

 

My sister in law's baby shower cake

The fondant/gumpaste cake topper

Rainbow cupcakes

Avery's 5th Birthday: Candyland

Radiology Tech Week (Radiation Symbol) 2012

Lollipop Cookie Pops

Avery's 4th Birthday: Little Mermaid

Radiology Tech Week (Chest XRay) 2011 

Hannah's 6th Birthday: Hula Barbie

Noah's 2nd Birthday: Thomas the Train

 

 

The more cakes I make, the more tips and tricks I'm learning. I'd love to take a class at some point to learn how to do things for efficiently. I think I have at least one cake to make every month now. Hopefully I can sell some at some point too!

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/19/12

My husband has been really happy with dinners lately. I won't be cooking for the most part starting next month when I go back to work so I'm trying to make up for it now. I am so obsessed with Pinterest. Almost everything we've tried on there has gone over really well! Feel free to follow me on Pinterest if you'd like: stephanil

The next few weeks, I need to come up with a list of easy, make ahead or crockpot meals for the weeknights that I work. Jason can handle dinners on his own on the weekend but 3 nights during the week, we will have a babysitter here for a few hours until Jason gets home. Between my 4 kids and her daughter, she has to manage 5 kids and get dinner on the table. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comments!

 

Saturday 11/17: Philly Cheesesteak Rolls, Mac and Cheese
Sunday 11/18: Fish, Rice, Veggies
Monday 11/19:  Chicken Tacos, Beans
Tuesday 11/20: Swedish Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Wednesday 11/21: Ravioli Bake, Garlic Bread
Thursday 11/22: Thanksgiving! Bringing birthday cake for my dad, stuffing and having shrimp cocktail and deviled eggs for snacks during the day.
Friday 11/23: PF Changs Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Rice
Saturday 11/24: Takeout

The Philly Cheesesteak rolls were pretty good. I thought they were going to be a big fail because I couldn't find the frozen sandwich steak anywhere. I was looking for Steak'ums and they didn't have them at 2 stores I went to. So I bought steak that was cut into strips like you would use for fajitas. They were a bit thick for the size of the phyllo squares. They tasted good though. I would prefer the texture of thin steak better. What kind of steak do you use for steak sandwiches?

Head over to Orgjunkie for more menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/12/12

This week is a busy week for me. My oldest is turning 7 on Friday (where did the time go?!?!) and that means a lot of baking. I started baking my kids' cakes (as opposed to getting store bought) for Noah's 1st birthday and got hooked on it! I have fun planning their cakes (and the girls' school treats) and have been getting better each time. I've also made my brother and sister-in-law's baby shower cake (probably my best work so far) and some cakes for work and holidays. I actually find it relaxing and gets out some creative energy. I started a Cake/Baking board on Pinterest and have a crazy amount of ideas pinned on there. I let the girls go through and pick what type of cake/treats they wanted and make it my own from there. Hannah requested The Lorax. I'll post some of my cakes at the end of the week once I have Hannah's to add!

I'll be busy making cupcakes for her to take to school on Thursday (they have a minimum day on Friday) and her cake for at home on her birthday. I tried to make the menu easier this week plus things that can be in one dish or the crockpot. Baking makes enough dirty dishes as it is!

 

Sunday 11/11: Crockpot Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans (My husband loves this meal! I made it with Ground Turkey this time and he liked it better then the beef. That's great because I don't usually buy beef and always have the turkey on hand from Costco trips.)

Monday 11/12: Ham, Stuffing, Broccoli (From last week.)

Tuesday 11/13: Eggs, Pancakes, Bacon (From last week.)

Wednesday 11/14: Chicken Rollups, Corn

Thursday 11/15: Crockpot Chicken Parmesan, Pasta

Friday 11/16: Lemon Butter Tilapia, Rice, Fruit, Mixed Veg, Cake (Hannah's Choice)

Saturday 11/17: Takeout

Head to OrgJunkie for more menus! And check back in a few days to see examples of my cakes!

Wordless Wednesday~ Crazy Kiddos!

July 2011 :)

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/5/12

I made another Pinterest recipe last night and it was a big hit! I love being able to see a picture of a recipe. It's much easier to find new ones to try that way instead of just skimming through the titles of recipes like other recipe websites! Next week will need to be easier dinners because I'll be baking for Hannah's birthday! :) I'll post pictures of her Lorax cake and cupcakes when they're done.

I always type of my menu plan/grocery list. I like being able to go back to old ones and see what we haven't had in a while. And it makes it easier to shop with a neat, easy to read (and organized by section of the store!) list. I recently realized that I could put links to the recipe I'm using in the word document. That makes it so much easier to find the recipe during the week! I just open the file and click. :) Plus I can just copy and paste it for MPM!

 

Sunday 11/4: Stovetop Mac & Cheese, Salad, Rolls (For the recipe, I only used 1 tsp of mustard. I wanted to make sure it wasn't overly strong for the kids. It was perfect! Use more if you like mustard!)

Monday 11/5: Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Rice, Salad

Tuesday 11/6: Eggs, Pancakes, Bacon

Wednesday 11/7: Ham, Stuffing, Broccoli

Thursday 11/8: Crockpot Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Friday 11/9: Out to Dinner!

Head to OrgJunkie for more weekly menus!

Halloween Year By Year...

Lately I've been realizing just how quickly my kids are growing up. We've had our last baby and he's already almost 2 months old. My oldest will be 7 in two weeks. I can't believe how fast time has gone.

Having babies is definitely bittersweet experience. It's so easy to get wrapped up in our busy lives and miss truly enjoying the fleeting moments we have with our children. I've never been great at documenting their childhoods (I think I've only written a handful of things in the older 3's baby books...and haven't even opened Nix's.) and I'm recognizing now that I should really take more pictures and write down things they do. Time goes so quickly and it's so hard to remember the little moments. In fact, I decided to show how our family has changed since our first Halloween with Hannah in 2006...and can't find a picture I can see perfectly in my mind (of Pumpkin Hannah in my mom's kitchen cabinet!) on any of our computers! I will have to update this post with that picture when I can find it!

Here are our Halloweens, year by year:

2007

 Hannah~ 23 months, Avery~1 month

 

2008

Hannah~ Almost 3, Avery~ 1



 

2009

Hannah~ Almost 4, Avery~ 2

 

2010

Hannah~Almost 5, Avery~ 3, Noah~ 4 months

 

2011

Hannah~ Almost 6, Avery~4, Noah~ 1

 

 

2012

Hannah~ Almost 7, Avery~ 5, Noah~ 2, Phoenix~ 1.5 months

 

Love my babies!



Menu Plan Monday~ 10/29/12

I'm trying to cook as much as I can in the next few months. I go back to work mid-December and since I work the evening shift, I only get to make dinner 2 days a week. Menu planning is going to get harder since both Jason and I will be working. We'll have a sitter 2-3 days a week in the afternoons and she will need to make dinner. I have no idea what to plan on those nights! Any ideas or tips would be great!

I'm back on Weight Watchers now but not being very successful. I'm not very focused on it. I need to set up some kind of game plan though! My sister is getting married in Hawaii in May and I want to be able to look as good (or even better) than at my own wedding! Just a bit over 6 months. Eek! This week I didn't even look at what points I'd be using. Next week, I'll try to plan better for me.

Sunday 10/28: Crockpot Potato Chowder, Biscuits

Monday 10/29: Honey Sauced Chicken, Rice, Broccoli

Tuesday 10/30: Million Dollar Spaghetti, Salad

Wednesday 10/31: Takeout Pizza, Halloween Candy!

Thursday 11/1: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, Corn

Friday 11/2: Leftovers!

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 10/22/12

I'll admit it...I'm a Pinterest addict. At the moment, I have over 2500 pins. We've found some great recipes on there lately and many have been keepers for us. My grocery trips have been a bit random lately instead of the same day every week. On occasion (ok like every week lately!) I don't have something planned for dinner and can't get to the store. I have been able to search on Pinterest for recipes with things I have on hand. And I adjust a lot of the recipes to add spices etc. It's so helpful! Here are some of our favorites (some the girls have picked themselves):

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Rice
Shepherd's Pie
Forgotten Chicken
Creamy White Chicken Lasagna
Ritz Cracker Chicken

Feel free to Follow Me on Pinterest to see my obsession. :)

We're eating quick, cheap meals for the beginning of this week. My paycheck is late so we're making due until one of us gets paid this week. Yay for late maternity leave pay...Thank you State of California! :(

Monday 10/22: Mummy Dogs, Mac and Cheese
Tuesday 10/23: Unsloppy Joes (minus the cheese and using my own sauce...not canned), Mini Pizzas (for the kids), Green Beans
Wednesday 10/24: Tilapia, Rice, Broccoli
Thursday 10/25: Baked Potato Bar (Chili, Cheese, Sour Cream, Broccoli etc)
Friday 10/26: Crockpot Potato Chowder, Homemade Sourdough Bread
Saturday 10/27: Movie Night (Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings)! Snowman Pizza, Veggies/Dip, Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn

Visit OrgJunkie for more weekly menus!

Party of 6!

September 11th was an amazing day for us this year. We became a family of 6! Our 2nd baby boy was born at 10:00am, about 10 minutes after we arrived to the hospital! I almost got my wish of a home birth. :)

Phoenix Orion

9/11/12 10:00AM

8lbs, 20.5 inches

My 4 Kiddos!

(Hannah~ 6, Avery~ 4, Noah~ 2, Phoenix~ 1 day)

 

 

 

We didn't plan on having a 4th baby just yet but I am SO happy God decided it was time. :) He's our last baby (though I have second thoughts about that sometimes...) so I'm trying to enjoy every second with him! We are very blessed to have 4 healthy, happy kiddos!



 

 

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/20/12

School starts in 2 weeks so I can consider it Fall right? Ok maybe not with our 100 degree days...

I'm 37 weeks pregnant with our 4th baby and thankfully started Maternity Leave last week. After a year and a half of working fulltime on the evening shift, I am super excited to be able to cook dinner for my family and spend evenings with them. It's even better that I'm off during my favorite season (Fall obviously...). I can't wait to try a bunch of new recipes!

Jason started a new job last week and doesn't always get home in time for dinner.I'm trying to make sure whatever I make for dinner has plenty leftover that tastes good warmed up when he gets home.

Pinterest is awesome and I've been letting the girls pick a recipe that looks good for dinner the next week. Hannah's pick this week was: Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna. We substitiuted canned diced tomatoes for the sundried (much cheaper!) and added extra milk since we had no-boil noodles. It was so yummy! Hannah and I aren't fans of tomatoes and the diced were pretty big chunks. I think we'll use crushed next time...and we definately will make it again!

Here's this week's menu (trying to keep it easy in case I go into labor or something...)!

Monday 8/20- Hamburgers, Mac & Cheese, Corn

Tuesday 8/21- Avery's Pinterest Pick: Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bowtie Pasta

Wednesday 8/22- Make Your Own Frenchbread Pizza (pepperoni,sausage, pinapple, olives, ham etc)

Thursday 8/23- Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage or Bacon, Fruit

Friday 8/24- (Girls at Nana's) Takeout

Saturday 8/25- (Girls at Nana's) Steak and Mushroom Fajitas, Salad

Sunday 8/26- Lemon Galic Tilapia, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans

Head on over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Cloth Diapering Momma!

I toyed with the idea of cloth diapering when Noah was born (almost 2 years ago!) but couldn't get Jason on board. As soon as we found out we were pregnant again, I decided we were going for it this time. I feel awful about all of disposables we have tossed in the the landfill (and I'm sure Hannah's are still there!) with 3 kids. Add the fact that we're going to have a tight budget after the baby arrives AND the fact that Noah is still in diapers and Avery wears pull-ups to bed, cloth diapering is a smart financial choice for us.

I've been stalking the Cloth Diapering board on Baby Center and have started a Newborn stash for when the baby arrives. The start up costs are a bit much but over time we'll save money. Plus good condition diapers have a decent resale value. Since this is our last baby, I plan on selling everything once the baby is out of diapers.

I've decided to go with a mix of different types of diapers. Prefolds and covers seem to be the go-to for most mom's CDing a newborn. So I got some of those. I also figured some All In Ones (like a washable disposable...no need for inserts etc) would be easier for Jason get used to and will be better for middle of the night, half asleep changes!

This is what we've bought so far:

(Flip cover, BumGenius AIO, GroVia Newborn AIO, Swaddlebees Simplex Newborn AIO)

(3 Thirsties Duo Covers, Swaddlebee Capri Giraffe Cover)

(3- Blueberry Econappi Pockets)

(Inserts, Green Mountain Diaper Prefolds/Workhorse Fitteds, Cloth Wipes, Fleece Liners)

I'm so excited to see all of these on the little Sweet Pea's tushie! :)