Thankful Thursday: Look what I can do!

Since I knew I was having a baby girl I vowed I would make her pretties. Probably because I am a fan of all things girl. One of Ayla's first words was bow. Ok, not really. But, she sure has worn them alot in her short life. And Leah is right behind her. I always said I knew I would be the Mommy to girls. Jeff's grandma frequently said we'd have 6 girls. She only met Ayla once. That was a day before she went home to Jesus.

Though I never met a bow I didn't like for some reason I never took up making my faves.. the big Southern style bow. I have lots of friends now helping make my girls stay hip. Once Ayla got hair I began making clippies. Lots of clippies. Any color, different shapes, etc. For some reason I stopped? Today after seeing some sweet bows my friend Mandi made Leah, I took out my stash of ribbons.

I made these little beauties. Aren't they cute?

This one is for Meredith. If she ever comes to claim it....

Leah sporting her mini-version. :)

I am very Thankful the Lord has given me little talents that make me and my girls feel special. Making clippies and I can pat my head and rub my tummy- at the same time.

What talents do you have?

Avaca-no

It was a no go for avacados as Leah's first food. Ha. She gagged. Ayla never gagged at anything. But, seriously, do you Mama's know the benefits of avacados? Really. Its a bonafide superfood! Read up.

Though she may not like them now... we'll keep trying.


Tomorrow... green beans?



Since I created this post we have successfully had green beans and tried applesauce today. Green beans were eaten but I can tell they won't be her fave. Apples, though.... she loved.


PS>>>>>> Who out there makes/made their own baby food?

Flippin' Sweet Weekend

Anyone watch Napolean Dynamite? Its flippin' sweet. Really. I love that movie.

Check this girl out? She's a flipping fool. Ayla has been doing somersalts since 18months old. She stopped doing them several months ago and pretended to not know even what the word meant. Saturday she proved me right that she not only knew what it was but had mad skills at it!

Leah was checking it out. So not impressed. Only kidding. Ayla gets that girl pumped up!

And Ayla was gracious to have an audiance.

How about that?

Well, how about that?

Leah got her first tooth today.

I swear that is been a long time coming!

Look at that pride in her eyes?

She just grabbed my finger and stuck in her mouth. Like "check this out Ma".

Today, Sept 26th Leah's first tooth. 5 1/2 months.

Soup-er Friday

This Soup-er Friday edition isn't actually soup. Because fall food isn't all about soups. Another fave is game food. We love Sunday's munching on all kinds of bad food while watching the colts. So I figured why not share a couple of my faves. Some of these can be adapted (and have been at my house) for a budget friendly meal any day of the week.

Hot Cheese Dip

1/2-1 box velveeta
1 can rotel
1/2 lb sausage

Place all ingredients in slow cooker.
Last weekend I made this for a party. I added a splash of milk for consistancy. If you don't like spicy, then I would add a half can of Rotel at a time. Serve with tortilla chips, veggis, whatever.

French Bread Pizza

1 loaf of french bread
1 lb sausage
pepperonis
1 jar pizza sauce
2-3 c moz cheese

Cut open loaf and top with sauce, toppings and cheese. This is how we top ours, simple. Add Italian seasonings to top and Bake 375 til hot and bubbly. If serving for a family cut up and serve with salad for a yummy dinner. Or can be cut as appetizers.

Pizza Roll Up

1 loaf frozen bread dough
1 jar pizza sauce
Pepperonis, veggies

Thaw frozen bread dough in fridge over night. Let sit out for 1/2 hr or so on countertop, then spread out large. Sprinkle with Italian seasonings, and layer Pep and toppings (don't put a whole lot- simpler the better) and cheese. Roll up and Bake 350 for 30 min. Watch it. Cut up and serve with pizza sauce to dip!!

YUM. Im hungry. Good thing my hubby is coming home to take me to Evansville. I'll just pretend its a date and not with my kids :) haha





Remember you must click Mr. Linky to link up OR to see the others who posted up. If you're just browsing click the link and look at the top to see the names. Have a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Another rainy day around here. Sure makes one want to hang out in her sweatpants and not do much. Thankfully, Im cool with that. :) We slept in a bit. Ate left over homemade blueberry pancakes from brinner last night. And enjoying each others company.

Today I am thankful for alot of things....

Thankful for sleeping babies. Leah's night training has been going ok. Night two was rough. I cried with her and slept with a pillow on my head. Though she only cried for a short time. Night three was good 6 hr then 5 hrs between feedings. Last night she went 6 hrs and 4 hrs. She doesn't cry for long with Jeff. I am VERY Thankful for a husband who is a hands-on daddy. Right now I am loving the cd Faith, Hope, and Lullabyes. Its a must. My fave worship songs done instrumental. :)

Thankful for healthy, happy babies! Ayla is feeling great and going through a growth spurt. She is getting so tall. She's just my baby, you know. I love seeing how big she is getting, but its a wild feeling at the same time.

Leah is growing like weed. And hitting her milestones with ease.

And guess who is....

sitting up...

all by....

herself!!!!

Isn't life grand?

Oh Happy Day

Happy Birthday Wyatt! My lil man, nephew Wyatt is turning 5 today. We had a family birthday bash for him last night. It was a good time. He continues to surprise me with his love for all things boy, his growing personality, and his generosity. Such a sweet boy, but a "tough" guy.

Thinking very hard what he wants to wish for...

Eye-ing the prize!

YUM.
Happy Bow-day Leah! Yep, the other day I was able to get a little bow in Leah's hair. Her hair is growing so fast lately. Its kinda like baby bird hair at the moment, but I think it will be beautiful soon :) This cutie-patootie also started sleep training last night. My plan was to wean her off her first feed of the night and I would keep her schedule after that. Well, daddy went in when her internal alarm went off at the first 3 hr mark. He tried to calm her and let her cry a bit. Thankfully, he turned off the monitor or I would have broke down. But, he said it was fine and she didn't cry for long. I woke up in a tizy at 5 am and she hadn't eaten yet! So, she went 8 hrs without eating!! YAY. I went in to appease myself at 5:30am, and she was restless. So I fed her and we both fell back to sleep til 8. *sigh

Happy Parade Day Ayla! Ayla was the star of the homecoming parade on Friday. Ok. Not really the star, but she thought she was hot stuff. She walked in the parade with my in-laws for the Just Say No club Mamaw Owens runs at North Elementary. When asked if she had fun she replied, "Wanna do it gen."

If you were in my shoes

Today was a new experience. Some may not understand. But, today I walked without my shoes. A sacrifice of small proportion, but with a big message. At church today we talked about the organization Soles for Souls. We were asked to make a sacrifice for someone today. For someone in need of something that is plenty and expendable in our world.

Our shoes.

It was uncomfortable, but in a good way. See, I think it's good for us to get out of our comfort zones. For my momentary pain someone will gain a new look on life, comfort, or a sense of normalsy. I remember a recent conversation with a friend about Bethal Mall. She told me that often she would see a child she outfitted with shoes coming in the next year with the same pair he recieved the year before. Only now with holes and ill fitting. And most likely that child will be back there the next year in the same situation.

I cried as I saw the flurry of people taking off their shoes, leaving them on the alter, bringing their children into service to let them share, and the multitude of bare feet in the congregation. The generousity took my breath away.

I was tipped off by my husband that this may happen as he was running service today. So it was hard to wrap myself around. But, I had my stuff laid out for church and it didn't change. I didn't give away my best pair, though I would have. The feeling of wet gravel under my feet as I walked to the car was a memory that I will never forget.

I pray I will show my children how to sacrifice for others. I pray to look for everyday opportunities to do so...

Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us. What kind of sacrifices will you make in His name?

Plans...

Oh yes plans we do have. I have spent the better part of the day cleaning our home. Which was much neglected through our dark period we just had. Now things are slowly slipping back to norm.

Ayla is 100%- though fighting naps like a champ. She is no match for me though. If it was up to me my children would be napping up until kindergarten. :) Leah is getting better. Much more pleasent through the day & napping better. But, nights are still a bit blurry to me. Jeff and I keep passing it back and forth I guess because both of our heads are still swimming. Not that total lack of sleep would have anything to do with that?

But, like I said we're slowly slipping back into our norm. The house is smelling more fresh. Well, I can only smell with one nostril- but I think its an improvement. Our plans for this weekend were to jump back into our painting (the brick on the exterior of our home).

BUT instead we will be entertaining guests. One of my best friends from college and her family are coming in for the car fest. So we'll have 3 kids and 4 adults running wild in our home. That's the majority of the cleaning is all about. We're excited. We haven't had anyone stay with us at this house yet. It will be fun! Hopefully the weather will cooperate for fire, grillin', chattin' and smores. Sunday is my lil nephew Wyatt's 5th birthday party. I should probably pick up his gift, huh? I'll get on that....

Anyways, we've got plans. Hopefully, next week I will be back to our normal programming. Thankful Thursday & Soup-er Friday will be back in full effect! My friend Jen already told me she plans on posting up some awesome recipes so Im ready to see what's cookin! Next Friday Im planning on posting some fave fall snacks. I'll put MrLinky up again so everyone can join in- share your fave fall foods or soups. Until then Have a great weekend!

P.S. My Leah is sitting for short periods on her own!!!!

A sense of humor...

Sleep. Is. Non-existant.


But, hopefully we'll be seeing the horizon soon. I am at my wits. I barely made it to playgroup today. Leah is sick with a double ear infection, which we're trying to ride out. She is showing signs of feeling much better. I am also battling serious sinus infection. So my head feels like its going to explode. I coughed for an hour straight last night while trying to fall asleep while Jeff didn't even flinch next to me.


But, there is a positive side....


Leah pooped today. A big POOP. And I couldn't smell it!

AND

If my ears popped, I would have had to hear how loud Ayla was whining today!


But, really Id like to sleep again. And Id like my content baby back. Though I could do without smelling stinky diapers. Right now Im so tired I would sleep with a stinky diaper! (Ew) Thank you for all your suggestions. Its fair to say that most of you are stronger than I- and use the CIO method. Not to say we hadn't tried it with Ayla. She would turn blue, really. Once Leah is all over her illness, we may try to let her put herself down. But, we'll see.

Im just trying to keep a sense of humor about it all. Things will get better. I know.

They have to, right?

Leah: Life at 5 months

Today marks Leah's 5 month birthday. I can't believe its been almost half a year since her arrival. Life sure is different with her here. And so much better... except from keeping me up at night wanting to eat. But really it could be much worse!

Leah

is wearing size 2 diapers & mainly 3-6 month clothes.

currently has her first (and last) ear infection.

eats cereal once a day and really loves to watch you eat.

currently weighs 14 lbs 7 oz.

squeals loud and sucks on her toes even louder!

practicing sitting up and doing really well.

definitely attached to mommy, but losing her stranger anxiety.

just moved to her own room.

turns in circles on her belly and scoots backwards.

Such a blessing to our family! Ayla continues to crack us up and show us what an amazing big sister she is. Both girls are becoming more independent. Ayla has been saying "I do it myself" alot. Weird for Mommy. Leah plays well on her own, but prefers to watch her big sister do her thang. I can't wait to see what the next 5 months will bring!

Time

Its time.


With Leah hitting the 5 month mark this week I knew it was time to move her to her own room. Friday marked this transition. Up until now she has been sleeping in her bassinet in our room. I knew it was her time to move to her own room, but I wasn't sure if it was my time for her to move. Im still not sure if its time for me to prance across the house to nurse a baby every 4-5 hours in the middle of the night.....


Really.


I was trying to think how we weaned Ayla off of night feedings. She moved to her own room right before the 4 month mark and was only on 1 feeding a night. Id be Loving that right now! I remember getting up with her often to stick her paci back in her mouth. Thus, her love for the thing now. Ha. See neither of our children have been great sleepers. Ayla didn't sleep through the night consistantly until she was close to one. And has gone through many cycles of night waking to sleeping? Im determined to help Leah sleep better. Id love to do sleep training, but won't do CIO method. Its just not for me as a parent. I know I have Many friends who do/done this. I know it has worked for some. It just works on my anxiety, not to mention heartstrings!


I know most of you have been in this situation. What did you do? What should I do? I, of course, can live getting up through the night. BUT I don't think I have to. Be honest.... hit me with it!

Not so soup-er?

Soup-er Friday... was not so soup-er? Im soup-er sad to be exact! ha I had 10 people want to join in and only 3 linked up. What's the deal kids?! Aww... Im just giving you all a hard time. I am actually chompin' at the bit to try Steph's recipe for one of my FAVE soups! Plus, many have raved over Brit's vegi so that will sure be had here too.

Though Im not thrilled with the turnout, I loved sharing my recipe with you. Hopefully, everyone tries it and sees how easy and awesome it is! I will keep McLinky up until Monday so everyone can click it to see the recipes or if you want to add a link late go ahead.

Soup-er Friday

Sorry no pictures to accompany this post. I had it on the menu for this week, but we were lucky to be able to go to dinner with our friends tonight. Can't pass up a chance to eat Mi Pueblo! Yum. Thanks guys :)

PS. This post is celebrating my 225th blog post! Yahoo.


This is my fave go to dinner. It is good anytime of the year because it is fairly light. But, I do not mean light on your wasteline. It is defintely not calorie free. But, its worth it! As you're making this dish go on taste and how much you need to feed your family. It is easy to make a small amount or a huge batch. I choose to use bakers potatoes bc they are really starchy which thickens your soup. But, I think any potatoe would work.


Cheese Potatoe Soup


Large can Chicken Broth
Potatoes (4 reg or 2 bakers)
1/4-1/2 pack velvetta, in chunks
green onions 2-3 chopped
pepper to taste
Optional: carrots, broccoli, celery, bacon or ham


Bring chicken broth to a boil with green onions. Add potatoes until soft. (If you'd like to add other vegis I would at this point too) Mash some potatoes for thicker soup. Add velvetta a little at a time. Stirring occassionally. Taste as you go to make according to how cheesey you want it. Add pepper to taste. Bowl up and enjoy!


We love to top ours with ham or bacon. I like to add some extra green onions, too! This batch will feed a small family. Can easily make a larger batch by adding water or more broth at beginning and extra potatoes.


I can't wait to see all the recipes you come up with!!! Remember to link to your post, not your blog. To add or view the recipes just click the Mr. Linky link. Enjoy! We may have to keep this up...

TN trippin': Part 2 The In Between

Oh, the 'in between' was much more fantastic than the on the road adventures. Though GPS is a must to derail arguments. As long as you type it in right... right Jen.

When we first got to the hotel it was all about eating and swimming. Ayla was so looking forward to getting in the pool. Especially with the unseasonably cool weather lately. So that is just what we did. Called us up some Papa Johns and enjoyed the pool by ourselves.

Our hotel was amazingly beautiful and huge. They had an outdoor pool, however a wedding rehersal was taking place. I didn't think they needed to hear us yahoos. We had the indoor pool to ourselves. It looked a bit like a early 70's horror film could have filmed there. Even with CPR posters hung dating 1985. However, a good time was had by all.

The girls look a little blue in the gills here. We were Freezing getting out of the pool! ha. But, worth it bc this is what took place immediately after arriving in the room and a warm bath.

AHH yes. A good long nap was had by all. I think we all loved the thought of being away. No schedules to follow. No worries. Just us. Nappin.

Oh and my Thankful Thursday portion goes to my best friend. He just celebrated his 30th birthday! Jeff, I love you SO much. I hope you had as good of time as I did on your trip. :) Thanks for being YOU.

TN trippin': Part 3 The In Between

Saturday am started with a big breakfast and off to the zoo. The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere was very nice. Lots of shade with trees and bamboo on all side. Windy paths with hidden nooks to view the animals. I, however, am no expert on zoos. I honestly have never been to a zoo. But, I do know I will be returning to one soon.

Ayla was quite the fan.

Leah was along for the ride.

Like I said, I had never been to a zoo. So not knowing what to expect. I carried full intentions of keeping my rules intact. Mom's not so fun sometimes.... I realized (mainly after reflection) that we were at a zoo. It didn't matter if she ran around, didn't want to wear her hat, threw a fit, whatever. Ok. The fits bothered me. The girl was not feeling up to par and I was making her ride in the stroller bad mom when she made very clear she wanted a wagon, Mom! Whatever. All fits aside it was pretty awesome. Most of the time a fit is due to low blood sugar- a girl's gotta eat. So after a quick lunch we ended the trip with our fave animals.

The Zebra. The Elephant. The Giraffe. Though Ay loved the Meercats.

TN trippin': On the road

Our long awaited Tenn. trip has come and gone. We had a fantastic time and made lots of great memories!

The drive there was fairly uneventful. No silly stories of poking and screaming like my friend, Jen. Thankfully our new ride is equipped with a built in babysitter or DVD player, tomatoes-tomatos. I found quickly this came with consequences. No nap. We planned the trip down it hit on nap time. Leah, thank you honey. She followed Mama's plans accordingly. But, Aylas allergy eyes were glued to Green Eggs and Ham.


Three and 1/2 hours wasn't too tough and made it through with only ONE potty/coffee break.


The way home was a whole 'nother story.


We spent the large part of the day at the mall. OOOOOOoooooo (Ok. I could have slept at that mall. Good stuff.) Nursed L in the car and strapped Ay in for the long ride home. Knowing it was past nap time, we were SURE she would poop out. 5 minutes into the drive she was out. PTL. But, that didn't last but an hour. All the sudden, fear sounded in her voice from her sleep.... "I PEEEE Mommy." I calmly told her it was ok we would stop for her asap. "I PPPPPEEEE Mommy, I POO." It was serious. I felt so bad for her. She hadn't had an accident since that first week wearing panties. Sigh. Her legs were curled and crossed and tears were streaming down her cheeks. I really think she was embarrassed~ We stopped and *fixed* the problem and back on the road.


Her cold was progressing to its worst at this time. So everytime her heavy eyes fell her cough woke her. Another hour or so gone of Ay sobbing and sleeping one pee break in the grass ok KY and Leah woke up.... We were near Evansville so we stopped for dinner. I thought Ayla would want to get out and walk around. Oh no. It was torture for all of us to see how bad she felt. It was a long stop and she finally fell asleep for most of the way home, but now Leah was ready to be awake! Oh- the joys of road trips.


Needless to say we are home. Working on being healthy again. And catching up on laundry. I have a boatload of pictures to share of our adventures in between being the road. Including lots of Zoo. :)

PS Soup-er Friday is ON! Get your posts ready and I will add a link to my blog late Thur eve if I remember. Everyone add on to it and we all can peruse our new fall soup menu from one place :) Can't wait... I'm getting my sweatpants out.

Soup-er Friday

With fall at our heels I have been getting a hankering (I said it) for some fall food. Right now.. soup. Who doesn't crave a good chili or vegi soup. Yum-O. My friend Brittany and I were discussing recipes the other day and it got me thinking that maybe all of us could share our favorite fall recipes? Who's up for it? If we plan it out then we can post on Fridays for a couple weeks. That way all of us fill up our kitchen's with lovely fall foods.

Leave a comment and let me know if you are interested. If we get enough interested I will put a link up on my page. That way we can see who posted all in one place. This Friday can be soup recipes. I know for sure I'll be sharing my prized Cheese Potatoe Soup.

Bugs

Wow a week went by without me posting. Its almost scarey! Though my leave of absense was due to a couple unforseen disturbances this week. Mostly, bugs...

Bugs.

Last week, I sat down to check my email, read up on things, whatever. I came across a forward from my grandma. I rarely open fwds. I do mean rarely, but the subject line caught my eye. It said 'The next terrorist attack'. I past it twice, then thought, Im curious.

BAM.

Bugs.

Or a virus... trojan. malware. whatever! Darn, bugs chewed up my content. My precious getaway. My computer. It did not harm my computer in any way. It actually was interesting. It is a virus that poses itself as an anti-virus program. So it would pop up warnings constantly, annoying, and frequently. So, frequently that if you didn't think about what you were doing you may click it and think I definitely need to download this antivirus. But, I was smarter than that! I do not have said virus anymore and made sure Not to email or send anything to you all during the time of infection. All clean now.

Bugs.

Wednesday, Ayla was staying with my SIL while Jeff and I handled some car business. I got a phone call saying she was fever-ish. EEK! I have come to learn that Ay spikes fevers and hangs onto illnesses. Poor babe. She is fine. Upper respiratory junk. She hit the worst of her symptoms on the way home from Nashville Sunday. I think the combonation of being overly tired and sick, hit her hard. I found a homeopathic concoction to help with cough/cold symptoms at Wal-Mart. It has helped out.

PS. Our Nashville trip was awesome. Much more to come on that....