1.28.2012

Things I'm into right now

Some of my favorite things at the moment are:

- Cocoa almond spread! It's kinda like Nutella but made with almond butter. I'm pretty sure Eloise would eat this for every meal if she could.




- Sometimes a tissue just doesn't do the job. I love these wipes bc they get dried boogies right off baby's nose! They smell nice, too!



- I moved things around so Ellie has a couple kitchen drawers to herself. I love having one for all of her stuff!



- I am loving our plant Herman. We named him Herman the houseplant and he brings us some clean air!




- kale chips are a great snack and so easy to make. I actually think they are better tasting than potato chips!




- the last thing I'm really into right now is Eloise's long afternoon nap. She's been fighting naps in the morning so I've slowly pushed her morning nap later and got rid of her afternoon nap. So now, she naps right after lunch. Big girl takes one nap a day. I liked the two nap thing but we can do so much more now that I only have to plan around a single nap!

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1.26.2012

14 months!!!

Happy 14 month birthday Miss Ellie Girl :)! You are such a toddler now, it's kind of crazy. You definitely know what you like and what you don't like. Tantrums have started but they aren't bad. You're a cutie pie and I can't get enough of you! Here are some things about 14 months.

- you say 'mine' all the time. Apparently, everything is yours.
- you know where your head, nose, belly, toes, mouth, ear, and bum are. You can point them out on yourself and other people.
- you know what 'go downstairs and play' means because you'll walk to the basement door and try to open it up.




- You have really started to like to read books and have them read to you. But, you don't like just any book. Your absolute favorite is 'Is your mama a llama?' and we read that every night before bed.
- everything that resembles a phone becomes one. You put it up to your ear and start talking. It's really funny.
- you know how to bow when asked
- you know a dog says woof woof but you make it sound like just the 'f' sound.



- duke is your best friend but you don't like when he takes your toys.



- you like being silly with daddy! Especially when you both have crazy hair!
- you're still a pretty picky eater. You still love mac and cheese and grilled cheese. But you also eat peas, grapes, bananas, apples, bread with almond butter or cream cheese, mozzarella string cheese, yogurt and smoothies. But, your most favorite are desserts. You love brownies and chocolate chip cookies and ice cream and whipped cream. You are our child for sure.

I love you and can't wait to see what next month brings!!!



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1.24.2012

Happy 29th birthday to ME!

It's my 29th birthday and I have had an amazing day! I woke up this morning to a clean kitchen and a birthday present! Julian got me a new workout outfit and Eloise and Duke got me a card with a #1 mom sticker for me to wear.


Not only that, but one of my best friends went into labor!! And I picked today in the pool. And this baby is my birthday twin. But, I thought Mason was going to be a girl. Silly me.

Tonight we are eating dinner at my parents house and my mom made my favorite- vegetable lasagna and chocolate molten cake! Yummy! I love birthdays!





And my grandmother sent me a gift. Not to brag, but now I have enough Irish soda bread to last a lifetime. Jealous?




Happy birthday to me!
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1.14.2012

Yummy chocolate chip cookies!

Soo did I mention that these cookies don't have white sugar? Andddd they have chic peas in them??? Well, they do. Sounds weird but they won the approval of my picky eater:



I thought they were pretty tasty, too!!!!

Chic Pea Chocolate Chip Cookies

-cooking spray
-1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
-3/4 cup butter (recipe called for margarine, but we don't eat plastic in this house)
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 tsp pure vanilla
-1 15oz can of chic peas
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. The recipe doesnt specify but we use ghirardelli, it's worth it.
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
(feel free to add raisins or nuts. I didn't but I'm sure it would be good)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray
3. Beat sugar and butter on medium speed until smooth.



4. Beat in egg whites and vanilla. Then add chic peas and chocolate chips.
5. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed until a thick dough forms.
6. Drop dough by the tablespoon on baking sheet. Press gently with a fork to flatten.
7. Bake 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Careful not to over bake!



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1.10.2012

....and it's over

Eloise and I have ended our nursing relationship. It was an amazing experience and something I am so thankful for. It was my hope that I could nurse Eloise past a year, and I did. She has no interest anymore and that is fine with me! She's an amazing little girl and I'm so happy I was able to give her 13 months. I thought I would be so much more emotional about it, but I guess when it's the right time, you know!


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1.08.2012

becoming balanced

Gigi always says that if something in your life isn't working quiteway you think it should be, then you are out of balance. I also truly believe that you can live your best life if you are balanced spiritually, physically, and mentally. My life, as far as I 'm concerned, is going wonderfully. But, there is always room for growth and improvement!
So, along with my 'new year's resolutions' I have a goal to become balanced.

*Spiritually* Julian and I are going to start a couple's bible study in the mornings during the week and we have talked about going to church. Since he works on the weekends, it has made for a perfect excuse why we don't go. But, we just found out that our old church has a Saturday night service and we think it will be perfect for us. He will get home from work, we will go out to dinner and go to church. This is the start to balancing me out in that aspect.

*Physically* P90x starts tomorrow! EEK! Now that nursing is almost over, I can't use it as a form of exercise. We have a nutritional plan we want to follow (no junk, dessert only 1x/week, no red meat, etc.) I also want to go to health talks on Tuesday's with the Taynor's to help in balancing myself physically.

*Mentally* I feel that there are lots of ways that you can become mentally balanced. For me, coming up with how to achieve this goal seemed to be the hardest. But, as of now I feel, reading my book club books, learning about the candidates for the upcoming election, and prepping for going back to work can all fall under 'mentally balanced'. I have to keep learning and growing.


Here's to a balanced 2012!

1.07.2012

Teaching Stuff

I can't believe I have not worked in over a year! My last day of work before I had Ellie was November 19, 2010 (one week before little miss arrived!). I have had the MOST AMAZING stay at home mom experience. But, it's almost time to head back to work and I have to start thinking like a first grade teacher again! I have all these random ideas in my head so I wanted to keep them all in one place, and I figured this would be a great place to keep it all. Anyway, I will be heading back to work March 19th. I wanted to come up with some fun crafts and ideas that would get me through until the end of the year! Please forgive me because this is just a jumble of ideas I have, and I probably won't sort it all out until the beginning of March.

(I obviously watch way too much sprout)

*I thought this was a cute idea to do with the kids for Mother's Day. I usually help them make a bouquet of paper flowers, but this could definitely go with the flowers as a Mother's Day gift.

*This is a great spring activity for whenever we have a nice day!

*Instead for a road trip, I thought this would be good for summertime! I would have them fill out all the things they want to do/see in the summer. They can use it at home!

*If my maternity leave hasn't done a unit on sea creatures, I can do this craft with them during the unit.

*Easy Peasy, we are definitely doing this!

*I love crafts like this, where the kids don't have to be super good at coloring to make it look nice!

*A Weather Chart would be Perfect for spring weather!

*Summer sponge art -- A trip to the dollar store for some sponges!

*Super easy steering wheel for a summer road trip!

*Silly animal headband just for fun!

*Father's Day Pencil Holder

*Who doesn't love Opposite World?

*More ideas for Mother's Day

*I don't know if they would be able to do this mixed up pet picture

*Helping Hands Wreath


That's it for now! I'll keep updating as ideas come to me :)

1.06.2012

Eloise update

Eloise had a re-check at the doctor this past week and she has gained almost 1 pound in a month! I am so happy with her progress. The challenge is finding foods that she will eat and keep eating. As of right now here is what a typical food day looks like

Breakfast:
-Yogurt
-Half of a banana
-Half of piece of bread with cream cheese or almond butter on it

Snack:
-The other half of a banana or a stage 2 baby food

Lunch:
-Grilled Cheese Sandwich (she can eat anywhere from half of one to a whole one without the crust)
-Applesauce or a stage 2 baby food

Snack:
-Earth's Best Snack bar
-Juicey (we call them juicey's but they are those stage 2 baby food pouch thingys that they can drink)

Dinner:
-Macaroni and cheese or Stage 3 baby food
-Piece of bread with cheese or cream cheese or almond butter

Dessert:
-Vanilla ice cream and whipped cream

The doctor said to let her eat ice cream with whipped cream for dessert. She doesn't mind the ice cream but she seems to LOVE whipped cream. I guess that's good! No doctor has ever told me to eat ice cream everyday :) lucky little girl!! I also told the doctor my concern that she won't drink any kind of milk (vanilla milk, chocolate milk, whole milk, rice milk, etc). The doctor said not to stress about it and make sure she's eating dairy products and that'll be fine. It really takes a weight off my shoulders knowing that! Whew

Some other Eloise updates:
-She weighs 18 lbs 7 oz
-She nurses only 1x a day (at night)
-She climbs, walks, and tries to run! HA!
-She is in 12 month clothing (some 9-12 month still fit her)
-She wears size 3 diapers and probably will continue to for a while (size four doesn't start until 26 lbs I think? She might be potty trained by then)
-She has been a 'mommy's girl' for the past 13 months. Recently, she has been becoming a 'daddy's girl'. It is great to see her 'run' towards Julian with her arms in the air wanting to be picked up, or to sit in his lap and lounge on him, with her head on his shoulder. I love watching their relationship grow!

Ok, boring post. I'm done.

1.01.2012

New Years Resolutions


Julian and I decided to pick each others resolutions. For him, I chose that for every negative thing he says, he has to say something positive. For example, we were driving in traffic and he was being really negative about being stuck in NJ with bad drivers and bad traffic. I reminded him of his resolution and he said BUT, at least we don't live in Iraq. It's a start. For me, he chose, to do p90x 2 with him. Typical male. He thinks I'll look like a Victoria Secret model if I work out everyday. Little does he know I will.never.look.like.that. Oh well, I guess if I expect him to be more positive, I can work out more.

But besides his resolution for me, I'm giving myself one. I want to strengthen my relationship with Jesus. I have just found so much with the little I've studied so far that I want to keep learning and growing. I'm not quite sure how I am going to go about this resolution but I think it's fair to say I want to live a more Jesus centered life. It's the least I can do. I want to read more and pray more and just learn more in general about my faith.

2011 was an amazing year! I am excited for what 2012 has in store for me! I have a feeling this is going to be a great year!

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