Grocery Store Findings

Good THURSDAY Morning!

I’m so mixed up this week, I keep thinking it’s a day behind than it actually is. I’m sure it’s because we got back from our trip Monday afternoon- so we both only worked a half day. The good thing is that on Friday I’ll actually think it’s Thursday…but it will really be Friday! 🙂

Anyways, today I thought I’d show you some of my favorite new finds at the grocery store. Sometimes I like to take a little extra time to find some new items & these happened to catch my eye. Of course I threw some old favorites in there too.

And because I needed a model to display my purchases, you know who volunteered 😉 (Ok, so maybe she didn’t volunteer…but the pictures are much cuter with G in them!)

1. Fiber One 80 calorie chocolate cereal

This cereal is SO GOOD! I’m usually not a chocolate cereal fan, I typically stick to Special K with red berries, but this just sounded good. I’m glad I tried it! I don’t eat cereal for breakfast, I just use it in ‘yogurt messes’ (yogurt, fruit, & cereal) – which is what I typically eat for lunch everyday. Yesterday I had a yogurt mess with Pear Chobani, a pear, an apple & a cup of this cereal- LOVED it.

2. Popchips- Katy’s Kettle Corn & Barbeque

I’ve had the barbeque before, which I love, but never had the Kettle Corn. I’m not a huge fan of Kettle Corn popcorn, but Craig is, so I thought I’d pick up a bag for him. Well, I probably should of gotten TWO bags because they are just THAT good! Perfect when you need a sweet treat, but you just want something light.

3. SmartFood Cinnamon Brown Sugar Popcorn

I know, a LOT of snacky foods, huh?! They are just easy to grab during the day when I have a child in one hand, I can grab with the other. 🙂 This popcorn has become one of my favorite after dinner snacks. I am a BIG BIG BIG popcorn lover. As in, I would eat it every.single.day if I had my way. Whenever Craig is out of town & I don’t feel like cooking dinner, I usually eat a bag of popcorn…because I like it that much. (& well, it’s super easy 🙂 ) But I like sweet popcorn too, and this is right up my ally.

4. Chobani Greek Yogurt

This is definitely NOT new, but I CANNOT get over the new pear flavor. You guys, it is the BEST! Please try it immediately if you have not yet. It is my absolute FAVORITE of all time, especially with a chopped up pear in it. Pear obsession, anyone?! 😉

I told Gabriella my favorite was pear, but she kept insisting that her favorite was blueberry.

It’s ok, she’ll come around to the pear side. 🙂

5. Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt- Pineapple

Ok, so it may appear that I am ‘cheating’ on Chobani, but I promise I’m not. Chobani is still my favorite Greek yogurt & always will be. But to be honest, I am not a fan of the Pineapple 2% chobani, it tastes like cheese to me. Weird, no?! I do really like pineapple though, and when I saw this I thought I would give it a try. (& I thought this was the Greek yogurt my friend Jenna had on Instagram the other day, but it’s not. Bummer.)

6. Light Chocolate Silk Soy Milk

I had NO idea they made this! I have had the Silk Pure Almond Dark chocolate milk and really liked it, but when I saw this I knew I HAD to have it. This is EVEN BETTER than the dark chocolate milk…and it’s less calories! Win win 😉

Gabriella was giving it a loving look.

She can’t wait to get bigger & try it.

7. Jell-O Pudding Mix Ins

I have a sweet tooth and it always strikes after dinner. I typically eat frozen yogurt then, but because I gave it up for lent, I have been trying to find alternatives. When I saw these new Jell-O pudding snacks I figured I would give them a shot. The different flavors are Birthday Cake, Oreo Dirt Cup, Strawberry Shortcake & Banana Caramel Pie. I got the dirt cup one for Craig because he really loves dirt cake, especially with gummy worms. 🙂 We haven’t tried them yet, but I’m SURE they are tasty, pudding is always a winner in my book.

There ya go, some of the newest products that I picked up while grocery shopping! I always enjoy trying new things.

And if you were wondering about all of these goofy pictures of Gabriella, this is what you do when your daughter is having a fussy day…make her do a photo shoot. She was NOT having a good day yesterday, she wouldn’t nap & was just crying nearly all day, poor girl. 😦 But whenever I had the camera out she seemed to perk up, at least for a minute. Whatever works, ya know?!

I’ll leave you with a photo of her being extra cute.

Oh how I just love that girl…even when she has a bad day. 🙂

Our Weekend in Maryland

Good Morning!

We had such a wonderful weekend! Remember how our trip to Maryland ALMOST didn’t happen?! Well, we worried for no reason. Gabriella did PERFECT on the plane! I could not believe it…well, I should clarify- Craig couldn’t believe it 😉 I had faith in my girl & she totally pulled it off.

She ended up falling asleep almost for the whole plane ride BOTH ways. I kept saying that we need to get a plane engine sound machine in her room. 🙂 She didn’t even wake up when the plane LANDED, hello BUMP! And BOTH flights were pretty turbulent at some points- the drink service was even suspended! But my girl just slept through it all- I would swear she’s a world traveler!

One REALLY nice part of the trip is that we were able to use my nephew, Nathan’s, old car seat & various toys/swing/ bouncer/ etc. My sister in law, Stephanie & brother in law, Mike, brought everything over to Craig’s parents before we got there.

Hope you are ready for picture overload!

She LOVED the nice & cozy car seat.

She’s a Florida girl through & through, so she wasn’t used to the cold weather. But when she got in the car seat with the extra warm fleece insert she fell right to sleep.

Once we got to Craig’s parent’s house, Mike, Steph & Nathan were already there.  The cousins FINALLY got to meet!

We just spent the day with them and Craig’s parents. We just talked a lot & enjoyed seeing the babies together! Craig’s Mom even made us crab cakes for dinner with NO filler ;)…SO darn good! I can never get enough crab while I’m there. I even ate the two leftover crab cakes one day for lunch cold, I didn’t even care, I just love crab so much!

The next day was the big day- Nathan’s FIRST birthday & we were also celebrating Mike & Steph’s 30th birthdays. (Mike’s birthday is February 24th & Steph’s is March 9th) So it was a HUGE day & LOTS to celebrate!!

Of course the best part of first birthday parties is the SMASH cake!

Nathan went from this:

to this:

In a matter of minutes. It was hilarious! & he definitely enjoyed his cake. 🙂

The birthday boy is also a PRO at walking! I was seriously impressed.

How cute is he?! Those big blues steal your heart.

I would say little Nate Dogg had a pretty awesome first birthday!! 🙂

The other cool part was that a lot of Craig’s family got to meet Gabriella for the first time. She showed everyone how much she LOVED being held & how she is not fond of being put down. 😉

Luckily for her she had a TON of people who were more than happy to hold her!

Someone enjoys eating her clothes. We won’t name names. 🙂

On Sunday G got to meet her boyfriend Smith. They are only a DAY apart! G was born November 5th & Smith was November 6th. She’s a little cougar 😉

They even held hands. Oh boy, we’re in trouble!

I know you aren’t supposed to call a boy beautiful, but isn’t he BEAUTIFUL!? And he was just SO sweet!

Once Gabriella said goodbye to Smith, we spent the rest of the day with Mike, Steph & Nathan and we also got a few family pictures.

Cousins ❤

Craig, me & G$

The whole Notarange family! Craig, me, Steph, Mike, Grandma & G, Papanote & Nate

It was such a fun weekend! Times like that when you wish we were all closer together! The good thing is that we will be seeing them soon- Gabriella’s baptism will be in June or July, so they are all headed down for that & I am counting the days! 😀

BOB Strollers

Running Mommas,

I need your help!!

BOB Revolution SE vs BOB Ironman?

I’m leaning more towards the Revolution because of the swivel front wheel, since it also has the locking feature like the Ironman. But I like being able to have BOTH options, instead of the locked front wheel on the Ironman.

I realize the Ironman is a bit lighter & it has a hand break, but honestly the weight of it doesn’t matter to me, and since there are not many hills in Florida I’m not too worried about not having a hand break.

Any suggestions/ advice regarding the BOB strollers?

Thanks in advance 🙂

We Made It!

We are having a great time in Maryland!! Gabriella did PERFECT on the plane, I could not believe it. Our flight was around 8am and as soon as the plane was getting ready to take off I started to feed her. She ate and didn’t fuss until about 30 minutes in, so I played with her and then put her back on the boppy on the other side and she ended up falling asleep. She napped for about an hour and didn’t wake up until after we landed!

Our flight was not even smooth, they even suspended the drink service! But Gabriella slept right through it, even as the plane landed! I need to get a jet engine sound machine for her room 😉

Thank you all for the laughs and well wishes!

Today is the big day! We have our nephew’s first birthday and my brother and sister in law’s 30th birthdays!!

I’m loving the fact that I have Grandma and Papanote to watch G. I’m able to get in long runs WITHOUT a stroller…it’s so weird. My sister in law, Steph, is going to let me borrow her BOB so I can sego how I like it. I have a feeling I may fall in love! 😉 Mother’s day is coming up. 🙂

Well, I’m off to run. Before I go I have to show you a cute picture of Gabriella ‘trying’ biscotti.

It Almost Didn’t Happen

Today is the day.

Today is the day that ALMOST didn’t happen. I mean it was literally this close to not happening.

You have NO idea how many times this was almost canceled.

Today we, as in all THREE of us, are going to Maryland.

As you read this Craig, Gabriella & I will be on our way to the airport. We booked an early flight- 7:55am, because it’s usually G’s ‘happy time.’

Are we nervous? Yes, very. More so Craig than me…but he has me worrying more now too.

I mean a 3 and 1/2 month old on a plane…that probably says enough in itself 😉

Craig didn’t even take the day off from work until YESTERDAY because he was sure he was going to cancel it. I worked my magic though, and convinced him that we can do it! (& who knows, I may have thrown a little vodka in his orange juice this morning 😉 I’ll never tell.)

I just pray that our little lady will look something like this on the flight…

If you have a minute, please say a little prayer for us. And since I will be reading comments before we take off, please tell me something funny. I might just need a good laugh.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve & I’m hoping they will work. Her doctor told me to just feed her on the way up & on the way down to help with the pressure on her ears. And I have my Ipad loaded with some good little things to entertain her, if needed. – lots of bright colors, animals & shapes.

If worse comes to worse, we will just buy everyone around us a round of drinks! That will hopefully lighten the mood 😉

So we are off for a fun weekend in Maryland. It’s our nephew’s FIRST birthday & my brother in law & sister in law’s 30th birthdays! This is HUGE & I did NOT want to miss it.

On that note, I’ll see ya from Maryland! I’m going to try to do at least one post from up there, but if not, enjoy your weekend!

Just because they are cute, I leave you with a pair of G’s feet.

From My Phone

I’m sure you have all figured out that I ‘m just a little bit obsessed with my daughter…and yes, that may just in fact be the biggest understatement of the year.

I would say I take at least 10 pictures a day of her…just from my phone. Often I break out my big camera too. My girl already knows how to pose for pictures. I love it. Whenever I go to take a picture of her with my phone she almost immediately looks right at it. It’s actually pretty funny, she’s learned her Momma already. 🙂

I thought it would be fun to show you some of the pictures I have of Gabriella from my phone. And these are just a few from the past week. Currently there is over 900 pictures of her on my phone…and please keep in mind she’s only 3.5 months old. My poor phone & it’s lack of storage.

Here’s one of my very favorite pictures that I ever got of her from my phone:

(*Grandma N, you are going to recognize nearly everyone of these pictures 🙂 )

She looks so proud of herself for holding her little head up so well. It’s the background on my phone. 🙂

I also thought it would be fun to show you HOW much my daughter fights sleep. One thing I know for sure is that when she gets older she will be GREAT at whatever she decides to do because she is SO very strong willed! She refuses to give into ANYTHING…especially sleep.

If you notice my workout log, you will probably see that I am doing stuff in the morning & afternoon. I’ll tell you why- the morning run/ weight workout is my normal workout- the one I plan on doing. The afternoon one is typically when Gabriella wakes up from her afternoon nap (she loves being outside) or when she won’t nap, so I take her for a walk & hope she goes to sleep.

That’s what happened yesterday. She absolutely refused to nap. She was in her swing for about an hour- not crying or anything. But yawning, rubbing her eyes & getting heavy eyelids. So instead of just letting her sit there, I decided to take her on a walk. It was a nice day & I figured she would probably fall right asleep.

I should of known better 😉

Here she is at the start of our walk, bright eyed & bushy tailed.

This is about 10 minutes into it:

And here’s about 20 minutes in:

And FINALLY SUCCESS….only took about 45 minutes …

She even drooled a bit:

Then after 20 minutes, she was awake yet again.

Hey, at least I got 20 minutes out of her. I’ll take it! What a fighter I have, right?!

She also started teething about 2 weeks ago, and she’s become quite fond of her little giraffe, Sophie.

^that one is actually from my big camera, but I had to share it. Craig loves this one because he said it looks like she is imitating the giraffe. Cracks me up!

She loves that thing! Her other favorite thing is when I just sit & rub her gums with my finger. She will just smile at me, it’s the best. 🙂

The little lady also developed a bit of eczema the past week. Totally normal, and Craig had it as a kid too. Not sure if she got it from him, or because of the bath wash we were using. We are no longer using any kind of bubble bath, just Mustela for soap & shampoo. When I called the doctor & explained what the rash looked like, he recommended I get Cetaphil.

I went & bought it yesterday and it ALREADY seems to be helping her skin. I’m so glad! It wasn’t bothering her, but I still felt bad.

You’ve probably had your fill of Gabriella for the day! 😉 Hope you have a good Thursday…you’ve almost made it to Friday!

Italian Style Chicken & Waffles

Most of you probably already know, but I married a Maryland boy.

He loves crabs, Old Bay, Natty Boh, the Orioles…and OF COURSE the Ravens.

Hence our INSANITY over the Ravens…and just wait, the craziness over the Orioles will soon begin.

<—our wedding cake topper

But what you may not know is that Craig went to NC State for college.

(^ he would be the ‘A’ )

While at college in North Carolina he was introduced to a bunch of Southern foods. From grits, biscuits & gravy, collard greens, Bojangles (AKA heaven on earth) to cornbread and chicken fried steak.

But one of his favorite meals while in college, between his nightly cookie dough feasts, was Chicken and Waffles…or should I say Chicken ‘n’ waffles.

(source)

I had heard of them before I met Craig, but really never thought much about it until he ordered it one time while we were out. At first I thought he was insane. But then I tried a bite….and boy it is TASTY! Can’t say that I would order it on my own, but I loved having a few bites of his.

So when I came across a recipe yesterday for a spin on traditional chicken & waffles, I HAD to make it. I’m pretty good about meal planning and try to stick to it, but yesterday it went out the window.

At first I was skeptical, but then I kept reading and knew it had to be a winner: Chicken & Waffles- Italian Style!

Not only did it stand out to me because I know Craig’s love for the dish, but the fact that it was ITALIAN (& we all know his Italian tendencies 😉 ) chicken & waffles….I would have been crazy NOT to make it.

I changed a few things about the recipe in order to make it just for two. But, you can find the original recipe HERE.

There are a few parts to the recipe- I prepped the chicken tenders first, then while they baked I made the waffles.

Gabriella also assisted in making dinner, she didn’t want to be left out.

Recipe for Chicken Tenders
–3/4 lb. chicken tenders
-3/4 cup Bisquick mix, I used Heart Healthy Bisquick
-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
-2 heaping tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
-1 egg beaten
-2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In one shallow dish (I used a pie plate), combine Bisquick, Italian seasoning and cheese.  In a second shallow dish, beat your one egg.  Take each chicken breast and dip it first in the Bisquick mix, coating well, then dip it in the egg mix coating both sides, then dip it one more time back in the Bisquick mix.

Place chicken on cookie sheet sprayed with Pam.  Brush half of your melted butter over the tops of the chicken and bake 8 minutes.  Flip chicken over and brush remaining half of your melted butter on opposite side and finish cooking another 5 minutes.  Your chicken should be brown and kind of crispy with the juices running clear.

Recipe for Waffles
-2 cups Bisquick
-1 & 1/3 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
-1 egg
-1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
-1 tbsp dried chives
-1 tsp black pepper, if desired

Preheat waffle iron. Mix together Bisquick, milk, & egg. Once combined add in cheese, chives & pepper. Pour batter into greased waffle iron & bake until cooked through.

Once the waffles & chicken are done, start making the dish! Take 2 waffles, top with 2-3 chicken tenders & then pour on spaghetti sauce.

(I made Craig’s a bit bigger- this is his- 2 waffles & 3 tenders. He went back for another waffle)

I would say dinner was a success by the looks of his plate above. 😉

I loved the concept and the twist on the traditional recipe! What a great idea!!

Hot Topic: Letting Baby Cry

Welcome to another round of Hot Topic Tuesday! Again, he’s my little disclaimer- if you have no interest in babies, please feel free to pass over this post…tomorrow will be back to normal workout/ cooking/ Gabriella posts! 🙂

Now for the most part Gabriella is a very happy baby. I constantly get smiles from her, just even a glance at Mommy & she will smile. It completely melts my heart. EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

I mean she even lets me dress her up in all of these silly outfits.

But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get fussy sometimes…and it definitely doesn’t mean she doesn’t cry. She has her fussy periods every day, and we know they are coming. Usually it’s right before nap time, we always can tell when she is tired. And she ALWAYS gets cranky around 5pm every afternoon. Since she usually goes to bed around 6/ 6:30pm, this is just her pre bedtime fuss.

The thing is that once you have a child, you QUICKLY learn their many cries. There is the ‘I’m hungry cry, the ‘I’m tired cry’, the ‘Leave me alone cry’ <—we NEVER hear that one! haha, the ‘fuss to fuss cry.’ The one we get the most is the ‘fuss to fuss’ cry. It’s when Gabriella doesn’t want to do whatever it is we are doing. A lot of our runs start this way. She doesn’t want to be in the stroller, so she fusses. But then we get going, and about a mile in, she the smiling, happy girl we know.

But before 8 weeks I absolutely refused to let her cry. Any kind of cry. Craig was ok with letting her cry for like 5 minutes, but I wasn’t ok with any of it. I immediately would pick her up & comfort her. I just believe that under 8 weeks is too little to let a baby cry. They may be perfectly fine, fed, changed, and burped…but they may just want some comfort.

I told Craig that after 8 weeks I would try to let her cry a little. And by a little, I mean about 2 minutes. Well, I wasn’t very good at that either. I grabbed her pretty much the second she starting crying. He told me to ask the doctor about the crying situation at her 2 month appointment, so that’s exactly what I did.

I will never forget what he told me at her appointment. “In 20+ years of being a pediatrician, I’ve never heard of a baby expiring from crying.” It was kind of funny, and I definitely understood what he was saying. He said there is NOTHING wrong with letting baby cry a bit, especially since she was now 8 weeks old.

I asked him how he did with his daughter, and he said that he would let her cry. He said he knew nothing was wrong with her, and he had no problem letting her cry. His wife on the other hand was like me. She did not want her daughter crying. But he also said that it’s part of being a Mom, the whole ‘maternal instinct’ part of being a Mom kicks in.

After that appointment and hearing it from a doctor, I figured I could at least try 5 minutes. The only time she really cries is when it’s time for a nap or bed. She doesn’t really cry other times, I mean she will fuss if she wants to move around or do something different than what she is currently doing…but she doesn’t cry much other than when it’s time for sleep.

That night, once I put her to bed, she woke up about 15 minutes later crying. It started out as a little fuss & then it lead to a full on cry. I turned the timer on for 5 minutes. If she didn’t stop within that amount of time, I was going to go get her & rock her back to sleep.

Well, she didn’t stop…and I ended up going to get her. Craig told me that night he was proud of me though, because at least I TRIED & got 5 minutes.

It was NOT easy. I was like this close to crying myself, because I HATE hearing her cry. (even though I know it’s the ‘fuss to fuss’/ ‘I don’t want to sleep even though I’m tired’ cry)

One thing that helped me was thinking of what parents with multiple children or single Moms/ Dads do. I mean if you have more than one child, and you know that baby is just crying to cry & the other child needs you, you are going to attend to the other child & let baby cry for a bit. And then single moms & dads…oh how I give you all SO.MUCH.CREDIT. (it’s amazing how MUCH more you appreciate them when you have a child of your own) I mean if you are in a bind & NEED to get something done, like I don’t know..umm…go to the bathroom for example, and baby is crying the fuss cry. Well, you really have no choice, you have to let baby just cry. These are just examples that I would think about when she was doing her fuss cry…and it helped a lot.

^love that picture, because the onesie COMPLETELY describes her ‘small & sassy.’ 😉

Once I got past letting her crying tear me up inside, things got easier. Not just for me, but for G too. She knew when it was time to nap or go to bed that I wasn’t going to go & rush to grab her…and that she better at least try to sleep. She’s sleeping better, and her little routine seems to be working a lot better too.

Sometimes when I am having a hard day, and I hear her cry, I don’t care I will still go & get her the second I hear it. I don’t think that will ever change though. I absolutely LOVE holding her every second of the day, but there is nothing like holding a baby after a rough day. It is just heaven on earth. Just sitting there staring at her. I love it.

I know this is a HUGE hot topic in the parenting world. Some people are COMPLETELY against letting babies/ children cry at any age. And there are others that have no problem letting baby cry from day one. I honestly just think it depends on the person and the family. Whatever works for YOU & YOUR FAMILY is what is right. No sense listening to people that want to tell you what you are doing is the ‘wrong way.’ You know your family, and you know your baby!

If you have children, what is your opinion on crying? How did you approach the situation?

Sunday Dinner + Whipped Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Pie

Boy do I have a treat for you guys today. I promise it will banish those Monday blues.

But before I get to that…let me tell you about our dinner last night.

On occasion Craig’s Italian roots really show. For example, he loves pasta. But not just any pasta, Craig LOVES just plain pasta. I think it’s odd, but I make it for him when I’m not hungry for dinner, or when he’s having a rough day. He likes it that much. I other on the other hand need some kind of sauce with it.

Another thing is that he is obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with Italian movies- Goodfellas & The Godfather. I know most guys are, but he is EXTREME. He will quote both movies (well, all of The Godfather movies) LINE BY LINE. He says he can relate things growing up to the movie…not quite sure what that means, considering all of the blood & guts…but hey, whatever floats his boat. 😉

Recently he decided that he wanted to create a new tradition for our little family of three. Big Sunday dinners. But not just any type of dinner, an Italian dinner. Full of pasta, bread, cheeses, you get the picture.

It works out because we usually eat a big breakfast, skip lunch & then have a large dinner. So then we have plenty of room for a feast!

We started it last Sunday, with the Rigatoni Pasta Pie.

This Sunday was another type of pasta- Crunchy Oven Fried Cheese Ravioli.

I will not be surprised if I immediately get a phone call, email or comment on this post as to WHY on earth I have not made these for her yet. It is one of her FAVORITE foods to order out, and since she was just down her for a girls weekend with me & G, I know she is saying right now WHY didn’t Holly make these for me then?!! Well, Mom it’s because I just found the recipe & I do apologize, I promise to make these for you soon! 🙂

Now the best part of these is that they are NOT at all fried, as the recipe may imply. They are 100% baked! Gotta love a pasta recipe that is somewhat ‘healthified.’

I followed Jessica’s recipe exactly- no changes were made. No need to mess with a good thing!

I served them, as suggested with a side of marinara for dipping.

And because it’s necessary to get our greens with every meal, I made a side Caesar salad (with light dressing). Oh, and don’t laugh at my Valentine’s placemats, they are being replaced with St. Patrick’s Day ones tomorrow. 🙂

Now onto dessert. I mean that’s the part you were really waiting for, right?! Isn’t that WHY we eat dinner, so that we can have dessert?! 😀 I know that’s what I did as a child, my parents said ‘Three more bits & then you can have dessert.’ Oh boy! It was like dangling a carrot in front of a horse. 🙂

This recipe was one that I just came up with on the fly. I saw a big container of Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani in my fridge & decided to run with it.

And then I got to thinking…which lead to pulling random ingredients out of the pantry and refrigerator. I swear I was just grabbing whatever sounded good.

Favorite part about this pie? How EASY it is to make. It’s literally dump everything in, mix it up & freeze.

Whipped Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

For the crust:
-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-2 tbsp. vanilla chocolate chunk Chobani (or just plain vanilla Chobani)
-2 tbsp. brown sugar
-1 tbsp. smooth peanut butter, melted
-1 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

For the pie:
-16oz. (one large container) 2% Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani
-8oz. Cool Whip
-3/4 cup chunky peanut butter (can also use smooth)
-1/4 cup light chocolate Silk Soymilk
-1/4 cup powdered sugar
-1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
-Reese’s peanut butter cup, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Make the crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” pie pan. Take all of the ingredients for the pie & mix together well. I used a potato masher to really mix it up well. It will NOT be smooth, be course, but that’s how it is supposed to be. Bake for 5 minutes.

2. While the crust is baking, take all of the ingredients for the pie EXCEPT the Reese’s peanut butter cup & mini chocolate chips. mix well in a stand mixer. I mixed everything for about 3-4 minutes on medium low. It was a nice smooth texture. I then poured in the mini chocolate chips & mixed it by hand, until combined.

3. Pour the pie mixture into the baked pie crust. Top with chopped Reese’s’ if desired. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

I drizzled melted peanut butter & chocolate syrup over the top….makes for a prettier picture 🙂

**Notes about the pie: ”
-The is PLENTY of filling, it will almost look like too much, but it should JUST fit in the 9” pie pan. It may look like it is about to overflow, but it end up all fitting in the crust.
-I recommend that you like Greek yogurt if you decide to make this pie. Since it is a main ingredient, it definitely does taste like Greek yogurt. Just a heads up!

Now I do NOT normally make dessert for dinner when it is just Craig & I. But yesterday I just felt like baking, and I thought Craig deserved a treat. I mean he does have to live in a household with two crazy girls. 😉

Poor little Gabriella is teething & she has been pretty fussy for the past couple of days. She is too little to use Oragel, so we are just giving her lots of things to chew on. Her favorite is my finger though, and she LOVES when I rub her little gums. She just smiles at me. Craig has been awesome with her, and I really appreciate it. I had to run a few errands yesterday, and although I normally do them with her, it’s MUCH quicker if I can run them without her. Nothing like a little chocolate &peanut butter to show him my appreciation. …the way to a man’s heart…;)

I hope that you have a great Monday, if you are working! For those that have off for President’s Day, ENJOY every moment!!

She ROLLED!

It was a VERY big morning in our household today. Guess what the little lady did??? (I’m sure you can guess by the title 😉 )

At almost 3 & 1/2 months…She ROLLED OVER all by herself!! She started out like the picture above. and then after a little effort (kicking her little legs), she was over on her back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn’t believe it! I was able to get her to do it again so that I could get it on video. Craig was still sleeping, so he hasn’t seen her do it yet, I’m hoping she will do it again later this morning after her nap. It’s a monumental step in G’s little life. 🙂

Yep, that’s all I had to say. I just wanted to brag a little…hope you don’t mind. 😉

Oh, and look what I made Craig for dinner last night.

Iowa Girl Eats’ Baked French Toast sticks!

It was a late Valentine’s Day dinner (since we can’t eat meat on Fridays). He’s a big French toast fan (I am not, so I ate something else), and he gave these rave reviews! He actually had two of the plate seen above! Highly recommended by him, and they are SO easy to make. I actually used thick cut cinnamon streusel bread to make it even more of a treat.

I’m about to go for a long run, and then get my hair done this afternoon. We’re off to a great weekend so far, hope you are too!

And I have to leave you with another Gabriella picture…just because she makes me smile, so I hope she makes you smile too. 🙂