Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Birthday Boy!

Our little mister is ONE today! I don't know how that happened so quickly, but it did. I told myself for awhile that I was not going to allow him to have a birthday this year...maybe next year. Just to keep him a baby for a little while longer. Unfortunately, that's not how it goes, and here it is. His first birthday!
Here's how were going to celebrate:

Pancakes for breakfast, with a candle of course!
Snuggle time with mommy
Opening a present
Watching a favorite show
Looking at pictures of this past year
Looking through his baby book, and his "box" of things that I've kept.
Eating dinner together
Having dessert. I will even let him have a few bites!

We have to celebrate a little less, because our little mister is sick. But, it's a celebration nonetheless! I'm looking forward to remembering this past year, even though I'm a bit sad too. I'm guessing that this will happen with every birthday to come.

My brand new little guy!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Doubletree Chocolate chip cookies

A few weeks ago, I stayed at the Doubletree hotel with some friends and all of the girls in my family! It was so nice to get away, and to relax and to catch up with some old friends. On top of that, I had, for the first time, one of Doubletrees famous chocolate chip walnut cookies. They were awesome! At the front desk, the attendant pulled them out of a cupboard that kept them nice and warm...and so gooey. So, I had to look up the recipe. Guess what! I found it! I made them up right away, and they were almost exactly like the real thing! This is the recipe that I found. I changed it up, just a TEENY tiny bit.
 

Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup oats (the original recipe says to grind it up, but I didn't do that.)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 sticks of butter, softened. (I was a little bit short on butter, so I cut mine back by a few tablespoons.  It didn't affect the recipe at all)
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice (I didn't measure, just poured. I don't know what in the world this small of an amount of lemon juice would do.)
2 eggs
1 bag of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped

Mix together the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugars, for a few minutes so that it gets light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and lemon juice. mix together. Slowly add in the flour mixture, and beat just until mixed. Add in the chocolate chips and the walnuts. Drop about 1/4 cup of dough onto a cookie sheet (I didn't measure here either). Put the dough about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, just until golden on top.
Please, please, PLEASE eat these warm with a glass of milk. You will not be disappointed! 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Pinterest

Are you guys addicted to pinterest yet? I have been since....about December. There are SO MANY good ideas on there, and I would love to try them all. I wish I had time to try everything, but I doubt that I ever will! Anyway, here is what I've been pinning lately.

drink this daily and watch the pounds come off without fuss.  The recipe is two handfuls of baby spinach, 1 apple, 1 bananas, 1 cup of yogurt, 5 strawberries, 1/2 orange. Blend well and enjoy! I love green smoothies!!! This will give you tons of energy!A green smoothie. Full of fruit, and spinach!                                    

Pumpkin pie oatmeal! Pumpkin pie oatmeal. Yuuuumm!                                                      

chili bar--brilliant for a Fall party A chili bar. This looks so warm and so inviting. I think I will need to have a party, just so that I can do this!

LOVE LOVE LOVE How beautiful is this? Even Mike said that he liked it!

Anyway, there are hundreds of other ideas and pins that I would love to put up. More coming soon!
Follow me on pinterest, here!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A new chapter

I'll be starting a new chapter in my life next month! On top of being a full time mommy and wife, I will now have a part time job! I will be a barista at Starbucks in our grocery store! I'm very excited to learn how to make my favorite drinks (Green tea frappuccino with a shot of coconut, and a peppermint mocha) and all of the different drinks. Of course I'm a little bit nervous...there are so many different things to learn! I'm also a little bit worried that I will wake up late (I have to be there at 5:30 in the morning!!), and I'm wondering how my little mister will do when he realizes that his mommy isn't here when he wakes up. It will be nice though to bring in some extra money every month :)
Wish me luck!

Monday, August 13, 2012

I've been working on something...

Lately, I've been wanting to teach myself how to take good pictures. I always see photos that people have taken that are just beautiful...and I want to be able to do that! I don't want to make a career out of it or anything, but I would love to be able to take professional quality pictures of my family. So, here is a preview:

 Take one
(Yikes!!)
 Take two
(Not much better...)
 Take three
(I really like this one, but next time, I will crop the towel...)
Take four
 (Look how long his legs look! Oops! And, poor little guy couldn't open his eyes because the sun was too bright!)

So...it's a work in progress, but hey, it's my first try! I guess I will have to keep trying. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Thinking back...

Hey Sweet baby,


Remember this day, when we brought you home?

How can you be eleven months old already? How can we be planning and getting ready for your first birthday? As I was washing the dishes today, I was trying to think back, and to remember everything that I could from the previous months. I am so, so sad that I can't remember as much as I would like to. This first year has gone by so fast, and it's almost a blur. Here are the things that I do remember:

-Holding you in my arms for the first time, and not seeing anything going on around me. Only you
-Watching everyone in the hospital holding you, and only wanting you back in my arms.
-Holding you that entire first night, while we both tried to get some sleep. I can only imagine what this new world felt like to you.
-Carefully dressing you in your going home outfit, and placing you in your car seat. You looked so tiny in there.
-Sitting in the back seat with you, and holding your head up for you. 
-Introducing you to Snoop for the first time. My two sweet boys together!
-Showing you off to everyone I knew, and watching everyone "ooh and aah" over you
-Your first bath.
-Changing the sheets in the middle of the night, because you peed ALL over them!
-Waking up at night, and shooting out of bed, just to look at you and to make sure that you were ok. (Remember one of the first nights when you slept for 5 hours in a row? I've never felt fear like that before!)
-Watching you do all of your firsts: eating baby food, rolling over, sitting up, crawling, smiling and laughing.
-Teaching you lots of new things 
-You doing funny things to make mommy laugh
-Dancing with you. You love that.
-Leaving you for the first time, and noticing how I didn't feel whole. I still feel that way every time I leave you,

Baby boy, there are so many things that I am trying to remember. And don't worry if every once in awhile as your birthday is approaching, if you catch mommy watching you, or if you see mommy cry a little. It's just me remembering, and  wondering where in the world the time has gone. I love you so much sweet boy.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

What we've been doing...

Here's what we've been doing so far this week:

- eating blueberries- my little mister can't get ENOUGH!
- making my freezer cooking menu for this month
- cleaning out the freezer...and making room for new things!
- hanging the sheets on the line to dry. There is nothing like the smell of clean, dried outside sheets!
- eating a taco salad- recipe coming next week!
- getting a new job at Starbucks!
- practicing with our camera a little bit...just so that I get a little better!
- Standing up at the window and checking things out

Of course we're doing daily things like picking up toys, and washing the dishes too!