Life Lately

So I miss blogging. A lot.

I wish I could blog more, but right now life just does not allow it. And you know what? That’s ok! All in due time, right?!

Just wanted to pop in & give you a little peak into my life right now…because I know you are all DYING to know. (Please notice the sarcasm!)

So right now I am currently studying to get my personal training certification, with a ‘specialty’ in women’s fitness. I am thrilled to train people, and especially women that are pregnant, post delivery, and just knowing how to train women better in general is SO EXCITING!! I’m hoping to take my test by the end of the year…hopefully. It’s hard to get studying in between my job (I work from home), being a Mom and just life in general. You know how it is- we are ALL busy in different ways!

As for my bundle of PURE JOY….

(she’s like, look guys, I’m TEN months!)

She’s WALKING (unassisted), which is INSANE to think about. She started walking, on her own, September 2nd. (oh yes, I do know the EXACT date )

And she is a bit of an odd ball, EVERY where we go, all she wants to do is eat leaves.

She’s like, yep Mom, totally know you are watching and I’m STILL going to do this. Little stink. Now I give her spinach leaves as part of her dinner and tell her they are leaves. Seems to be working???!

I CANNOT believe it, but I’m planning her first birthday party!! I picked out the theme and have purchased a few items already. Pinterest & Etsy are my party planning best friends. 😉 And you guys, first birthday outfits?!??! I’m DYING because I don’t know which one to get. We may need a few outfit changes throughout the day. No lie.

As everyone says, it DOES get easier. It really does. Those first few months are HARD. Not that it’s ‘easy’ now, but you really UNDERSTAND each other. You understand your child, and you and your partner KNOW what to expect…usually  

I cannot lie, it was HARD….REALLY hard on our marriage initially with Gabriella. Just because it’s something TOTALLY new in your life. COMPLETELY unpredictable, and it felt as there were new ‘issues’ that would arise EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. But you know what, one day I just told myself, we will get through this! We WILL make it work. Just like anything in life, you have to realize what your priorities are and what you WANT in life and MAKE IT HAPPEN. Yes, of course, there are still rough days here & there, but you know what? I’m SO blessed that I get to spend my ENTIRE life with my BEST friend, my husband. The one who is by my side NO MATTER WHAT. We also have this little lady to share our life with too…

And, God willing, she will have sibling to share US with.  

So other than that, I’m REALLY focused on training these days. Gabriella and I run every morning- well, she rides in the BOB. I try to do at least 10 miles everyday, and vary what kind of training it is- whether speed, endurance, etc.

I have six races in the next four months…and I CANNOT wait!!! One 15K this Saturday, four half marathons and one full marathon in December. Race season is FINALLY here…what I have been training for ALL summer! All of those long, hot, sometimes VERY hard runs, are going to be completely worth it!!!

So for now, the blog is on hold, but I may pop in here and there. I really miss Google reader, so much…I was able to keep up with some of my favorite blogs. Any suggestions for sites like Google reader?

For now I’ll leave you with these pictures of Gabriella playing with her water table and bubbles. Girl is OBSESSED with bubbles. It’s hilarious!

And just one more…because it’s too cute not to share…

‘Flying’ with Daddy.

Learning to Relax

Isn’t it funny when you realize that you just had an ‘ah – ha’ moment?

I had one of those yesterday afternoon.

Craig is always telling me that I let Gabriella affect my mood too much. Sometimes I agree, but then other times I want to tell him to hush it…in the nicest possible way, of course.  

I honestly can tell you that I’m pretty sure I don’t give her enough credit. I am constantly thinking that ‘she’s not ok,’ or ‘she can’t do that, it’s too out of her routine.’ WRONG. Gabriella is SMART. And she is a PERSON, she can adapt. She is no longer an itty bitty baby (and yes, I know, itty bitty babies can definitely adapt too), she can get thrown out of her usual ways and she will BE OK.

(She’s like I’m totally fine, Momma, DUH!)

It’s just hard for ME to remember that. I don’t know if it’s a first time Mom thing, or if it’s just a ME thing but I am constantly worried about making sure her environment is just right for her. Does that even make sense?

Let me explain.

Gabriella and I came up to visit my parents for a few days in Jacksonville, just to spend some time with them and to catch up. Yesterday, while she was napping in the afternoon, the power went out. The second it happened I went into panic mode.

I immediately went straight to her room to make sure that she was still sleeping since her sound machine went off. We keep it on white noise while she sleeps- both for naps and bedtime. Honestly if I could go back, I don’t think I would use a sound machine…BUT, like her pediatrician told me ‘If that’s her only crutch, then you are doing just fine.’ Anyways, she was still sleeping but because I went into the room to try to turn it back on (the power was out just for a bit), I woke her up.

I was frustrated. I was frustrated with my self, but didn’t realize that in the moment. I was actually mad at the city of Jacksonville for making this power situation happen. I mean, really Holly, really?!!? LIFE HAPPENS, get over it! But at the time I didn’t see it that way.

Since I ended up waking her up, she started crying, but I decided to wait it out a bit to see if she would fall back asleep. I went in the other room to see my parents and asked how long the power usually stays out when this happens. They said it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours- no one knows. Of course they could tell something was wrong, and asked if everything was ok. I got all ‘huffy puffy’ and said, ‘well, no, Gabriella is now awake because her sound machine went off.’

First of all, that was only half of it, the real reason that she was up was because I just HAD to rush right into her room to make sure I had the sound machine ready to go in case it came back on. STUPID. She was FINE. I could have just let her be.

(^how hilarious is that?! She is in the sink at my parent’s house )

My parents then said, ‘well we don’t even hear her crying, are you sure she is still up or did she fall back asleep?’ I responded with ‘yes, she’s STILL up, I JUST walked past her room and she was crying.’ (I sound like a real FUN daughter, right!?!?!?! God bless them.) So my Dad went to listen near her door & she didn’t make a peep. Little stink, she knew she was going to prove me wrong. I really had just walked past her room & she WAS crying, but she had stopped at this point.

Guess what? She fell back asleep. She was ABSOLUTELY FINE. And she didn’t NEED the sound to sleep, I just MAKE it seem like she does. SILLY SILLY ME. Sometimes I just want to slap myself across the head and say WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?!?!

There was NO NEED to freak out because of a power outage, or a silenced sound machine. LIFE GOES ON. GABRIELLA SLEEPS ON. CHILL OUT HOLLY, CHILL OUT. I’m capitalizing these things for myself- I swear it’s like a mantra I need to tattoo on my forehead.

The main thing is that I think it’s just a ‘live and you learn kind of thing.’ Babies don’t come with instruction manuals…although I swear that would be MUCH easier. You have to learn each other- you baby has to learn YOU, and YOU have to learn your baby. Nothing about being a parent is easy, but I PROMISE it’s all 100% worth it & I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, other than the fact that I need to learn to relax a bit. But, then again, I am just a work in progress.

(I just LOVE her in her bathing suits! )

Every day is a new day, and every day I feel like I learn something new. It’s actually pretty neat to realize, even if it is a hard pill to swallow.

Big Step In Parenting

Last night I was so exhausted that the thought of writing a post was out of the question. We are all allowed those nights, right?? I really have no idea why I was so tired, (well ok maybe it was the 13 miles I did…I’m insane- I know!) but it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Anyways, back to regular posting today!

So I wanted to talk about HOW MUCH friends mean to me. I know it may sound silly, but I really can’t tell you enough how much my friends have been there for me. It’s been an interesting month- lots of both ups and downs. But what helped get through the not so good moments was the support from friends.

I know when I first had Gabriella my Mother in Law very much encouraged me to try to find some other Moms in the area. Not just so that we could have play dates & talk about our crazy kids but also for the support they offer. Also for the advice and relatable stories that they have- makes you feel like your child really isn’t all that crazy.

I have been loving that Gabriella is getting more socialized. Honestly the past two months she has changed SO MUCH! We have play dates every week, and she is friends with one of the neighbor’s kids as well- who she sees every day. (His Mom & I go walking in the afternoon with the kids) She used to really only let Craig or I hold her, and at one point (sometimes even now) she only lets me hold or play with her.

But since being around other children & babies, she is little miss social butterfly! Even my Mom made a comment while we were in Jacksonville as to how much she has changed. That she was completely fine with playing and I didn’t have to be right next to her all the time. My Mom & Dad were able to play with her and they enjoyed their time together. It was really sweet!

This past weekend was a new step in our world as parents. Craig and I were invited to a cookout at a friend’s house. It started around 4pm, and we were planning to leave around 7/ 7:30pm in order to get Gabriella to bed. Well, while I was getting all of her stuff together (isn’t it AMAZING how such a little person requires SO.MUCH.STUFF?!) I threw in her PJ’s, so that we could get her all ready for bed before getting her in the car.

Well we decided to try something new. Our friends also have kids. So they had everything we needed. A pack n’ play, a sound machine, and a quiet room. Can you say perfect?!! Another reason you have to love friends with kids- they understand what you are going through and tell you NOT to apologize.

Craig & I wanted to stay for a bit to hang out with everyone, since we really don’t get to do that often and we were having a GREAT time.

ANYWAYS, to make a long story short, Gabriella did WONDERFUL!!! She was able to sleep in the pack n play until we were ready to leave. We actually stayed longer than expected (after midnight…OMG…who are we!?! ), and I ended up just nursing her back to sleep when we got home.

It was SO nice to know that we can actually DO THINGS! We can go to other people’s houses, and enjoy ourselves. I know that sounds SO silly, but it really was a HUGE step. I was nervous to take her out of her element, but she did better than expected. That’s why half of the time I feel like I’m the one that has issues instead of Gabriella I just need to trust in her, girlfriend knows how to impress her Momma!

And one way to win over all of your friends’ hearts, just in case your child is a crazy person is to make them Better than Crack Brownies! You gotta be prepared, people!

I have made these before for my family in Maryland, and they were a hit there. With the ingredients, you CANNOT go wrong!

Better-Than-Crack Brownies

(Copied DIRECTLY from How Sweet Eats)

1 batch brownies (boxed mix or oooey gooey brownies)

1/2 cup salted peanuts (if don’t have salted, add sea salt)

1 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups

1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Remove and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups, and bake for 4-6 minutes more.

While they are finishing baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly pour chocolate mixture over top.

Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

DELICIOUS!!

I know it sounds sad but I feel like it was a big step in our ‘parenting life.’ The fact that we know she can sleep OTHER places, not just her crib, is HUGE.

Happy Hump Day  

Have you tried these brownies??? PLEASE DO!!

Parents: Did you have this same issue? Was it a big deal when you realized you could actually ENJOY yourselves rather than adjusting to your child’s routine?

Day in the Life of an Eight Month Old

While we were in Jacksonville for the 4th of July holiday, something else happened that I haven’t mentioned yet.

Gabriella hit the big 8 month mark! So hard to believe!

Instead of doing my normal ‘I can’t believe she is already 8 months old… and the whole ‘each month keeps getting better’ (which it REALLY does!), I thought I would do a post about the day in the life of an eight month old. I figured it might be a bit more fun, and you can see what my day consists of.

So here you go, a day in the life of Gabriella:

Between 7am & 7:30- She wakes up. (I actually set my alarm & wake up anywhere between 5am & 6am- depending on how much work I need to get done.) We bring her downstairs, and play with her for a bit before feeding her breakfast.

This morning happened to be a little bit of oatmeal, fruit and homemade baby pancakes. (recipe to come!)

I feed her after Craig leaves for work (around 7:45am) and we watch a bit of the Today Show before heading out for my morning run.

Most days I will nurse her around 7:45am/ 8am before I run, to top off her little tank. (& also for some relief- ha! Nothing like running full of milk. )

8am – 10am/ 10:30am : We run, well, I run and Gabriella naps.

She will usually fall asleep about 30 minutes into my run, and then I will run anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours- just depends on if I am doing a long run, speed work, or an easier run day. I typically run at least 8 miles a day, and once I finish my run I will walk until Gabriella wakes up. (& to cool down) Once she is up, we head to the park.

She loves just watching other kids run around, she will just stare & laugh. Once she is done at the park, we walk home while she chugs her water. (it’s hilarious!)

11:15am – 12pm: Pool time!

I’ve been trying to take her at least three times a week. She loves it, and she really tries to swim- I believe it’s a natural instinct that they have. She kicks her little feet like a frog and LOVES to be dunked under water. The very first time we ever did it, she cried for a second, but then was fine. Now, she wants me to do it! Crazy little girl. It’s definitely a good thing though, I don’t want her to be scared of the water. She is a water baby! I almost have to drag her out when it’s time to go home. She’s always a little prune when she gets out.

12pm – 12:45pm: Craig comes home, I make him lunch & he will play with Gabriella for a bit. She will also have a little snack.

She loves Gerber Puffs or plain Cheerios. That day happened to be vanilla puffs, which are also my favorite. Bite for me, bite for G.

Sometime between 1pm & 1:30pm I will feed her (nursing) and then put her in the crib for her nap.

Between 2pm – 3pm (sometimes, if I’m lucky even 3:30pm) She wakes up from her nap. It’s ROUGH when she only gets an hour nap, which was yesterday. Eek! Little time for me to do ANYTHING. I use her nap time for work and to clean the house once my work is done. But Tuesday she had other intensions…and those intentions were NOT to work.

Around 3:30pm: Snack time

^a picture that I plan on showing her future boyfriends

This girl LOVES yogurt. I always have a ton of Stonyfield in the refrigerator for her, but I happened to see a new line from Yoplait for baby yogurt, so I tried it.

I think Gabriella was getting mad at me for stealing a bunch of bites. Ooops It was SO good!!!

Depending on her nap, anywhere between 2:30 & 4pm we just play. Lately her favorite thing is seeing how far she can ‘test Mommy.’ We have a ‘baby jail’ around the entertainment center & stairs so that she can’t get to these things.

That would be the whole process above. The whole time while she is crawling over there (OH, and girl can CRAWL full on now, there’s no stopping her), I am saying ‘Gabriella, NO. No Gabriella, come here.’ Repetitively. Hopefully this is not a sign of what’s to come.

Her favorite toys happen to be ANYTHING in the entertainment center…especially DVDs. Thousands of toy & she wants those. Little stink

4pm – 5:30pm: I go on another walk with her, usually I go with my neighbor. (She has a 2 year old son that Gabriella just adores.) Sometimes I will run again, just depends on where I’m at in my training. We walk/ run for an hour & then I’ll bring her to the park again sometimes.

Between 5:30 & 6pm Craig gets home. He will take Gabriella and play with her, while I start dinner- or at least prep dinner.

Between 6pm & 6:30pm: Dinner time for Gabriella!

We decided to try giving her pasta (you just over cook it, so that it’s almost mush), and she liked it!

She wasn’t quite sure what to do with it, she kind of played with it for a while but eventually figured out that it was for her to eat. She also had some sweet potatoes and apples. Girlfriend has quite an appetite. I say she gets it from her Daddy!

Oh, and you may wonder why she is suddenly without clothes…well, we strip her down when it’s feeding time. – Meal and snack time. Just because she is very messy, as all babies are, and sometimes the food will stain her clothes even AFTER using stain removers and letting the clothes soak. (Mom’s out there: have you found a stain remover that really does remove stains entirely?)

Between 7pm & 8pm: Bath time, and then I nurse her to bed.

Since we have been sleep training, and it’s been going pretty well (I say that with caution because every time I’ve mentioned something about her sleeping better, she has a WILD night.) and she is also getting up to eat once- around 3am/ 4am. She may cry or fuss for a bit around midnight, but we just let her cry & it’s REALLY short and she puts herself back to sleep. Thankfully.

And there you go, a day in the life of Gabriella! Needless to say, she keeps me busy!! I LOVE every minute (or almost every minute ) of it- I’m so blessed to be able to work from home so that I don’t miss a moment with her.

I also love that I have the best running buddy – she keeps me motivated. Looking down at those chunky thighs while I run just cracks me up. I’m starting her off right….

…with only the best shoes: Mizunos!!! I really think Gabriella needs some baby Mizunos to match her Momma!

Mom’s out there: If you stay at home with your child, how does your schedule look? Similar to mine? Favorite activity?

Runners: Favorite brand of shoes??

Happy July 4th!

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating our wonderful country! Enjoy the fireworks & BBQ’s! I know we definitely will be doing just that.

Oh & please enjoy my daughter’s nice string of drool!  

Since I obviously take WAY TOO MANY pictures of her, I just had to share the one above of her little tuft of hair. It cracks me up!

Anyways, enjoy the holiday! I’ll be back on Monday- taking some time off to spend with my family. We are heading to Jacksonville this morning. I’m about to go and run, and we’ll be heading out when it’s time for Gabriella’s nap time. Parents out there- you know what it’s like to plan all of your trips around your child’s sleep schedule.  

Happy 4th of July!!

Strawberries N’ Cream Bread + Video of Gabriella

So apart for the sleep training & a few nights of crying, Gabriella is at a REALLY fun age! I feel like I say that every time I talk about her age, but seriously it just keeps getting more fun. Her little personality just comes out more & more.

She also started crawling…which of course was HUGE! I caught it on video (I hope it works- if it doesn’t work & you want to see it, try playing it in ‘full screen’ mode), which you can see below. Please don’t fun of my voice- I was sick (very sick!) & of course I was doing baby talk.

As you can see her funny crawl is more of a frog hop- she looks hilarious!

Monday night we started baby proofing because the first thing that caught her attention are the outlets and she is UNSTOPPABLE. Even though she ‘hops’ along she can MOVE! My Mom was cracking up when she saw her. She was like ‘well, it’s definitely not a ‘normal’ crawl, but she is crawling!’

We also had to add a baby gate to the front of our TV/ DVD area because she pretty much attacks the DVDs the second we aren’t looking. (which doesn’t happen anymore, this was before we realized HOW mobile she really was)

(Mom: Please note which movie we are watching, Despicable Me, and please notice the part that it is currently on. She’s definitely your grandchild because it is actually the only movie she will sit and watch. Not that I can blame her! )

I also love how much Gabriella loves being in the kitchen. She can be incredibly fussy & then I bring her into the kitchen with me while I cook dinner and she LOVES it. I can already tell she is going to be the BEST kitchen helper! I am VERY much looking forward to making Christmas cookies with her this year!!! It makes my heart melt when I think about it.

The other day our afternoon walk plans were ruined. It was POURING outside & there was NO way that we could do anything outdoors. I could tell Gabriella was getting a little antsy, so I figured we would head to the kitchen & figure out something to bake.

I looked through a few recipes & decided on Strawberries N’ Cream bread. It is the perfect summertime bread, full of fresh strawberries & Greek yogurt for the ‘cream.’

I changed a few things around to make this bread a bit healthier and no one will know the difference between the original recipe & this ‘health-ified’ recipe, I guarantee it

Strawberries N’ ‘Cream’ Bread

(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Truvia baking blend*
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I used 0% Chobani)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

*If you prefer not to use the Truvia baking blend, just use 3/4 cup sugar & omit the 1/4 cup additional sugar.

Directions:

• In a large bowl, cream butter, Truvia and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, then egg white. Add Greek yogurt and vanilla; mix well.
• Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in strawberries and 1/4 cup nuts.
• Pour into a greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining nuts. Bake at 350° for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

Not only did I have a very happy baby (happy baby, happy life ) while we were baking, but I also ended up with a DELICIOUS quick bread that we could all enjoy! Not only did we enjoy it by the slice, but it’s also good crumbled in yogurt, Chobani of course.  

The best part about this recipe is that you probably have all of the ingredients in your house right now! And you may just want to try this bread out for your July 4th holiday breakfast. Perfect way to start the day.

Any fun plans for tomorrow?? Do share!

We are heading to Jacksonville to see my family & to see some of my friends. I can’t wait!! And of course I can’t wait for Gabriella to see fireworks!! I have a feeling she’s going to love them!

Grandma’s Visit & Sleeping traning

We had a special visitor this past weekend. Grandma came to visit us!

Gabriella LOVED her time with Grandma, she was SO good with her and would just sit and watch her. My Mom would move, and Gabriella would just follow her and the second my Mom looked at her she had this HUGE grin on her face. It was so sweet!

I surprised my Mom for Mother’s day with tickets to the ‘CSI Experience,’ because she LOVES the show. (is it bad that I have NEVER seen one episode?!)

It was a lot of fun! They send you along to investigate a crime scene & you have to figure out if you can solve it. We must be geniuses because we got it easily. After solving our crime scene, we went to the Orlando outlets to do some shopping! Oh it had been FOREVER since I had a shopping day without Gabriella, it felt SO odd not having a baby attached to me.  

My Mom had been saying that she wanted to get a bigger Vera Bradley bag (I got her hooked), and it dawned on me that there was a Vera outlet in the newer Outlet mall. I asked if she would want to go & she was all for it! I never turn down a good shopping day.

We were MEANT to be there. Not only did Vera have some great deals, but EVERYTHING was HALF off, just for THAT day. We both stocked up there & then I HAD to hit the Lululemon outlet as well.

Not only am I addicted to their Run: Speed shorts, but now I have a favorite top, the No Limits Tank. Addicted.

She came down from Jacksonville on Friday night & volunteered to babysit for us so that Craig and I could have a date night (we were able to meet up with some friends too- even better!). They are few & far between, so we definitely took her up on her offer! I got Gabriella to bed around 7:30pm & we headed out. I told my Mom that she really didn’t need to do anything since she was asleep, and even if she were to wake up to just let her cry. She RARELY wakes up shortly after being put down for bed, it takes her a few hours. And even after a few hours, I told her to just let her cry if she were to wake up. (Just in case we were out longer than anticipated, which didn’t happen, but I wanted her to be aware what to expect.)

The reason being is that we are sleep training. Yep, the inevitable & oh so fun sleep training. (I hope you caught the sarcasm )

It was time. And I finally got around to being ‘ok’ with it. It took me a WHILE. I was NOT ok with letting her cry…at all. The second I heard a peep I would rush in, but then after MONTHS of hearing those peeps every 2-3 hours it was starting to take a toll on me. I was getting up at 10pm, 1am & 4am EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT without fail. I didn’t mind, my body got so used to the lack of sleep, but it finally hit me- She is doing this out of habit. She KNEW that if she were to cry Mommy would head right in, scoop her up & feed her, which I think was be coming a comfort rather than hunger.

So a little over a week ago we did it, I should say I did it. Craig has been fine with her crying for a while. I’m the one with the issues. 10pm came & she cried. She cried for close to 30 minutes, if not longer. But I HAD to do it. Eventually she settled down & put herself back to bed until around 2am, and then I went in and fed her. Only one feeding- and she was up for the day at 6:30am.

The first few nights were hard…she cried a lot, but would settle back in & cry again anywhere between 2am & 3am, when I would go in and feed her. But anytime before that we would just let her cry. I had to turn the monitor sound off, so that we would be able to sleep- and then once she stopped I would turn it back on.

Eventually I plan on cutting on night feedings, as she is old enough. But for now we are doing good with cutting it down to just one. I wanted to give her some time to get used to only one, and then I plan on cutting the other one within the month.

I have to say, it was easier than I thought. The main thing was that I waited until MY gut said it was OK. She would have been fine with sleep training a few months ago (I mean with getting enough food- there is no need for night feedings after six months old, of course it all depends on the baby- your baby may NEED additional feedings, but she was getting enough during the day.), but I was the one that had a hard time. I felt guilty. I wasn’t sure if she actually was full because she would nurse both sides every time I went in. But since she was feedings so much, they were not as full & she wasn’t getting much. So now with the one night feeding, my boobs are FULL & she takes both sides and falls back to sleep until 6:30/ 7am! Sometimes she even sleeps until 7:30am, which is lovely- allows me some time for work. We also moved her bedtime back (to between 7:30 & 8pm), which I think is part of the later wake up time in the morning.

We still have some work to do, but this household has been getting MUCH better nights of sleep!

We wake up feeling refreshed, rather than dragging…and relying on way too much coffee to get us through the day.

It’s amazing what a few extra hours of sleep can do for a person!

Do you shop at Lululemon? If you do, what’s your favorite item?

Moms out there: When did you start sleep training, IF you did it at all?

Homemade Clif Z Bars

HAPPY JULY!!! How is 2013 already half over?!?!?

After having a child, I now understand why people try to buy a lot of organic foods. I did some research on the pesticides used on fruits and vegetables and it is kind of scary.

I try my best to buy only organic produce, especially for Gabriella. Sometimes it’s pretty pricy, so if I can’t buy everything organic I at least buy the ‘dirty dozen’ organic.

 

Have you guys ever tasted the difference between organic apples & regular apples? It is UNREAL! The organic ones are SO much sweeter! I found that the regular apples sometimes taste very bland, and then I switched to organic. So much better! And when they are in season the price really isn’t bad at all.

One thing that Craig & I have enjoyed doing is going to the local farmer’s market on Sundays. I get all of our produce for the week, and we enjoy showing Gabriella all of the sites & sounds. She also usually gets to play at the park and with the ducks when we are finished, so it’s a win win for her.

Did you know that getting the ‘USDA’ organic recognition is pretty expensive? So most of the produce sold at farmer’s markets is actually organic (or they use organic controls), they just don’t have the money (or don’t want to spend that much) to get the ‘USDA’ organic label. Just ask the people that have the produce while you are there. I did that this past weekend and was told that most of the items were actually organic, and those that weren’t only had VERY minimal pesticides. (Just pesticides to keep the worms away when they first start growing the produce.)

While I was making her food this week (& smoothies- she LOVES smoothies!) I got to thinking that I can’t wait to make her ‘big girl food’ too. I started looking around for different recipes to ‘pin,’ just for different ideas. Since I volunteered for snacks for Bible study last week I got to find one of the recipes that I had pinned. It happened to come from one of my very favorite Mom bloggers- Mama Pea!

When I saw that she had a recipe for ‘copy cat’ Clif Z bars, I knew I HAD to try it!

Not only does this recipe use all natural & pretty healthy ingredients, I also found it VERY easy to make!

I figured the kids at Bible study would enjoy them, because what kid doesn’t like chocolate?! And they were something that I would want to feed Gabriella in the future. They are healthy, but the kids don’t have to know it! As long as they taste good, that’s all that matters!

Copy Cat Clif Z Bars

(Adapted from Mama Pea’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 cups oat flour (old fashioned oats ground in a food processor)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 & 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 1 & 1/4 cups unsweetened Almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup chocolate chips, divided
• 2 tsp coconut oil

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or spray an 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine oats, oat flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
• In a smaller bowl, combine applesauce, vanilla and milk.
• Add applesauce mixture to oat mixture and stir until just combined. Add brown sugar. Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
• Pour mixture into baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until bar is set and pulling away from edge of pan.
• Allow to cool completely before cutting into kid-sized bars.
• For chocolate drizzle, place 1/4 cup of chocolate chips in a resealable plastic bag and microwave in 30 second increments, kneading bag until chocolate has melted.
• Add coconut oil to melted chocolate and knead again.
• Snip a tiny corner of the bag with a pair of scissors. Pipe chocolate across cooled bars and stick bars in fridge or freezer to allow chocolate to set, if desired.
• Store remaining bars in the fridge.

Easy, peasy!! And you know what?? I thought they tasted EVEN better than the actual Clif Z bars!

They were a hit with the kids and the adults! I kept taking little bites of the extra bars that I made, I couldn’t keep my hands off of them.

From now on I’ll be making my own Clif Z Bars! They are freezer friendly & perfect for a snack on the go!

If you like Z bars, you MUST make these!!

I hope that most of you have a short week this week, or at least a break in the middle of the week! My boss actually gave us a half day on Wednesday & off both Thursday & Friday! We are planning a trip to Jacksonville for the long weekend- we have LOTS of people to visit & things to do. I can’t wait!!

Any fun plans to look forward to for the 4th of July?

Favorite granola bar??

Spicy BBQ Ranch Burgers

I just want to say Thank you! Thank you for the comments, tweets & emails about yesterday’s post. It was just a topic that really hit home for me, and sounded like it did for you too. Isn’t it funny how God can speak to us in the most mysterious ways?!

Another thing I’ve been ‘learning’ lately is to just kind of sit back & ENJOY life. Take it ALL in! You know how teaches me this the most?? Gabriella.

I just love how you can see her soaking up the world! EVERYTHING is new for her, and she really does take the time to stop & smell the roses. She enjoys just sitting outside playing in the grass, she will just sit & pick at the grass piece by piece. Just observing & feeling the textures. It is just so cool to watch.

I’m a very ‘go go go’ type of person. It’s rare that I take the time to sit down & just relax. It’s just so important to relax sometimes, just to enjoy the world around you. She shows me how to do this, and I appreciate that.

She also got into some of her Daddy’s old toys that we brought out of storage while we were packing up her infant stuff, and had a blast playing with them. Her favorite was Slimer.

As I mentioned in a previous post, quick dinners are a Mother’s dream! Nothing like a home cooked meal that you can get to the table in less than an hour, or preferably less than 30 minutes.

While browsing through the grocery store the other day, I saw that Hidden Valley Ranch had a new seasoning mix- Spicy Ranch.

I have used the traditional mix before. I really love putting the mix on diced potatoes & then roasting them in the oven, it is a great side dish to almost any dinner.

But when I saw the spicy version, I had something else in mind. One of my favorite things to make are chicken burgers- there are SO many different variations that you can make! Using a prepackaged seasoning mix makes this meal EVEN easier! I just added a few other things into the meat & they were on the table in under 30 minutes. The best part is that they were husband approved. (He even went back for another one!)

Spicy BBQ Ranch Burgers

Ingredients:

– 1 lb. ground chicken (I used 94% fat free & it worked perfectly)
– 1 package spicy Ranch seasoning mix
– 1 tsp. onion powder
– 2 tsp. minced garlic
– 3 tbsp. of your favorite BBQ sauce
– 4 hamburger buns, sliced in half
– toppings of your choice, I used guacamole, American cheese (for Craig’s) additional BBQ sauce, lettuce & sliced tomatoes (other ideas: Ranch dressing, sliced onions, ketchup, chili sauce)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease or line a baking pan with foil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the first five ingredients.

3. Divide the chicken mixture into four equal parts, and shape in the form of hamburger patties. Place them on your greased baking sheet.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 – 15 minutes, or until the middle of the burger is cooked thoroughly. (Not pink in the middle). Remove from the oven, and add a burger to each hamburger bun. Top with your choice of toppings.

So EASY! & so delicious!

And for dessert?

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, because Gabriella made me do it.

Do you have a favorite burger recipe? (one that I can use ground chicken instead of ground beef)
Italian Ice or Frozen Yogurt?

How to Win Over Anyone

I’ve been holding out on you all.

I have a recipe that I MUST share. It’s too good NOT to share. If you ever need to get on someone’s good side, or need some extra brownie points, just feed them this.

Before leaving for the beach I made a snack that had been on my ‘must make’ list for a while. Sally’s Salted Peanut Nutella Puppy Chow. When I first told Craig what I was making he looked at me like I had three heads. ‘Puppy chow?! You mean the stuff that comes in the can that you feed to dogs?!?!?!’ Yes Craig, that is EXACTLY what I plan on making & serving to humans.

He then tried a handful…verdict? I had to HIDE IT FROM HIM, otherwise we wouldn’t have any left for the beach trip the following day.

You guys…I am NOT lying when I say you CANNOT eat just one bite. There is NO possible way. I PROMISE you. Not only did we polish off nearly the entire batch, Craig has been begging me to make it again nearly everyday since we have been back. It’s just THAT good. I’m being honest here when I tell you this is one of the BEST recipes I have EVER made. Not only is it incredibly easy to throw together, but I can guarantee everyone will be going back for seconds, thirds, fourths & fifths! That is a very bold statement, but I stand behind every word!

I have copied the recipe directly from Sally’s blog below, only because my Mom wanted the recipe & I know her well enough that she won’t click the link above to it. So here ya go Mom  

Sally’s Salted Peanut Nutella Puppy Chow

makes approximately 7.5 cups. This recipe is gluten free.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter (or unsalted)
• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Nutella (or the entire small container of Nutella)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/4 cup salty peanuts (dry roasted, honey-roasted – whichever you prefer) (I used salted, dry roasted)
• 6 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and Nutella.  Stir constantly until smooth.  Add salt. Remove from heat.
2. Pour the peanuts and cereal into a large bowl.  Top with warm Nutella mixture and gently mix it around to coat each piece of cereal.
3. In a large zipped top bag or covered container, add the powdered sugar. Pour the Nutella covered cereal into the large bag or container. Seal the bag or container and shake until all the cereal is coated with the powdered mixture.
4. Discard excess powder and enjoy. Store at room temperature up to 2 weeks. (I kept it in the refrigerator, and it was EVEN better cold )

Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: SALLYSBAKINGADDICTION.COM

This is my new go-to snack recipe. I CANNOT wait to break this puppy chow out during some Ravens games this fall!

And of course because any blog post would not be complete without it, I must give you a Gabriella update.

The only thing I have to say is she is getting WAY TOO BIG WAY TOO QUICK.

^ does she not look like a little girl there, rather than a baby?! GAHH! Slow down G, slow down.

This weekend we put away her ‘baby’ stuff, like her swing & her bouncer. She has just outgrown them. The swing we could of maybe gotten another month out of, but she really doesn’t use it anymore…and because she is about 18lbs. (if not more), the things sounds like it is really straining to even swing an inch left to right!

^teeny tiny baby Gabriella. ❤

When I put her in her bouncer, this is what I would come back to:

Her legs were EVERYWHERE. And she was just not really entertained by it anymore. She preferred to eat the little bird on the top of the light display.

We also decided to lower her crib completely down. There are three settings, a high, middle & low, but since she is trying to pull up on it, I told Craig we should probably just skip the middle & go straight to the low. Otherwise we would probably have to adjust it again in a month, if that.

She also enjoys just sitting in her crib when she doesn’t want to nap. She will just sit there & play with the bumpers.

I know it’s hard to see, but she is just sitting in the little corner staring at the monitor. Girlfriend knows exactly where to look for the camera.

I definitely miss the ‘infant’ days, just watching her lay there & squeak (baby squeaks are the BEST!), but everyday gets more & more fun!! You can just see her soaking up the world ALL the TIME! It’s SO COOL! … I did ask her if she wanted a baby sister or brother & she just looked at me & smiled.  Good sign- guess this just means we’ll have to work on that for her soon

And that was our weekend, spending time as a little family & enjoying every second of it! These are the BEST days. ❤

I hope that you have a wonderful day- I know Monday’s are often hard, but just remember Monday means it’s time for a fresh start!

Last, but not least, I HIGHLY recommend you go out & buy this today.

I promise your Monday will probably be the greatest Monday ever. Oh, and I dare you to just eat one serving. HA! Good luck with that one

Ever had puppy chow? If you have, what’s your favorite kind?

The kind above is my new favorite, I used to really like the ‘limited edition’ kind that came out around Christmas time, but now I don’t have to wait all year for that one!

Best thing about your weekend?

Watching Gabriella find a new favorite toy. She got a new hand puppet & whenever she sees it she just laughs.