Thursday, February 28, 2013

EXHAUSTED

To say I'm exhausted doesn't even describe how my husband and I feel right now.

This week has definitely been testing us! Mike has a big assignment for work these next few weeks that require him to work 12+ days.....pure yuck! 
On top of taking care of Kensi and working for my bro, I've been asked to be a vendor for the Fluff show here in Omaha this coming weekend. It's a great opportunity for me to get my name (Cute.Cravings) out there. So I have to get many items (some brand new!!!) ready for Saturday.

Exhausted doesn't even describe how we feel right now....

Kensi was teething on Monday and Tuesday trying to get her second tooth pushed through....thank goodness it finally did! It made working beyond difficult because all she wanted to do was be held by her mama.

Exhausted doesn't even describe how we feel....

Wednesday, she felt much more like herself! Hallelujah......or so I thought! We decided to go to lunch with my mom. I gave her some of my chicken soup which was the first food she really had in two days. Hours later she was throwing up again and again. Completely worn out, dehydrated and hungry she was a complete mess! Only wanting milk made the night hard because she would make her just sick again. She drank her pedialyte, but hunger was the name of the game. 

Exhausted doesn't even.....

The past two nights with her restlessness has put us both into zombie mode. She wasn't happy in our bed because she is a mover and every time she'd bump into us, she'd get upset. But her crib was a no go as well.....it was too far away from her milk. Which all in all had her waking up every. 45. minutes!!!!!!

Exhausted doesn't....

I am so thankful and blessed that she's feels better today. She's been happy off and on through all this craziness, but right now she sleeps.....and I'm off to work on Cute.Cravings.

Exhausted.....

Hoping everyone has a better Friday Eve :)

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

7 & 8 MONTHS


I forgot to post Kensi's 7 month picture and took her 8 month picture a week late. Life has been busy and unpredictable, especially with a baby on the move all. the. time! I swear it's nearly impossible to get a good picture of her sitting still anymore.

Age: 7 months
Weight: 17 lbs
Height: 28 inches long
Firsts: Christmas, New Years, Pulls herself up
Events: Christmas!
Travel: None
Foods: Oatmeal cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, still doesn't like fruit. Tried beans and quinoa and love it!
Favorite Toys: Sophie, Blocks, anything that's not a toy.
Favorite Thing to Do: Tear apart newpapers and magazines.
Sitting Up: Yes
Rolling Over: Yes
Crawling: YES! We enticed her with Stella's toy Seal and she went crazy trying to get it! 
Walking: Nope
Smiling: Yes and more laughing, giggling.
Talking: She loves to imitate our sounds. Constantly saying 'mmmmm', fake laughing and coughing to get attention.
If talking, what words: No
Sleeping Through the Night: Off and on.
Other: She is getting too big for her swing and loves to roll herself over in it, even with the straps on!


Age: 8 months
Weight: 18 lbs
Height:  28.25 inches long
Firsts: Plays peek-a-boo on her own
Events: Traveling to Arizona
Travel: Phoenix, AZ
Foods: She loves trying new foods (boom! total foodie just like mommy & daddy)....fresh peppers, pineapple, oranges, grapefruit, chicken, beans, peas, green beans....she still loves her sweet potatoes, carrots, mangoes and cereal.
Favorite Toys: Jumperoo she got for Christmas from Grandma & Grandpa, Funkeys & Bug
Favorite Thing to Do: Play peek-a-boo with her clothes and blankets.
Sitting Up: Yes
Rolling Over: Yes
Crawling: YES, and she's quick!
Walking: Nope
Smiling: Yes 
Talking: She doesn't say any distinct words, but she loves having a conversations where she talks with 'hmms'. 
If talking, what words: Not yet, but lots of little sounds.
Sleeping Through the Night: Off and on.
Other: She has discovered her baby dolls, she has two. And she loves to give them kisses! She's also pulling herself up on all the furniture and plays with Stella more and more. When she's really fighting her sleep, we place her in her bouncer and she falls asleep. It's the cutest thing ever and she will gently bounce herself as she sleeps, I swear she prefers sleeping in her Jumperoo than her crib sometimes.

Monday, February 25, 2013

LUCKY CHARMS

St. Patty's day is so much fun to celebrate. Mike went to school in Missouri and down there, they know how to celebrate the Irish holiday very well. It didn't matter if we were on campus in Rolla or visiting St. Louis....it was a party wherever we went. Filled with green, glitter, shamrocks, parades and of course green beer....it was never a disappointment. Since we've been married and switched gears from school/partying to work/sleep....the Hubster and I do the usual corned beef & cabbage with beer. I don't have any fancy recipe, but would love to try a new one. 
However, when I was teaching we spent each day of March leading up to St. Patrick's day as an opportunity to 'trick' our little preschoolers. Each night a sneaky little leprechaun would visit our classroom and made sure we knew he was there. We would find furniture rearranged, our milk colored green, toys mixed up, mini green footprints made from paint on our floor, decorations displayed or a special snack to enjoy later in the day.

Even though Kensi is still very little, I'm excited for her to enjoy some St. Patty's day fun! 
Here are some great activities to do with your kidlit this St. Patrick's day...

1. Shamrock shaped pancakes (using a cookie cutter)
2. Nibbling on green fruits & veggies (sugar snap peas, avocado, kiwi)
3. Make jiggly green & yellow jello for shamrocks and pots of gold
4. Green mashed potatoes or cauliflower
5. Plant clover or another type of greenery and watch it grow
6. Stamp away with washable paint and a shamrock cookie cutter
7. Paint using a potato as your painting tool
8. Read Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss of any other book about St. Patrick's day
9. Point out different items around the house that are green
10. Listen to Irish music and make up an Irish jig
11. Pull out all their green toys 
12. Go for a walk outside and count how many things you see that are green


We will be sporting our green threads as well, here are some of our favs.

All items can be found at Baby Gap and Gap Kids.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

SURPRISE TRIP TO ARIZONA

My closest sister lives in AZ with her family and like I said, we are very close. Their three boys adore Mike and he has been a big part of their lives. We surprise them pretty often in different ways and this trip was no different. We had this trip planned before Thanksgiving when we saw them last. Southwest had a killer deal which allowed us to snatch up a couple tickets.
We planned it out with my sister and brother-in-law that we would 'run into them' at dinner. The boys had just gotten done with school and baseball tryouts and were ready to chow down on some of their favorite pizza. We walked into the restaurant and casually walked up to them and said, "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" All three of them did a triple take and were utterly confused. 
I love surprising them like that, however when normal things are going on....they tend to get very suspicious and often think there's another surprise coming.

We had spent the week chilling out at home and eating good food....like we always do. I love visiting them because there's never an agenda....it's always relaxed. Of course I didn't take nearly enough pictures, I was terrible about it this trip, but I did get a few. 

Some of our favorite places to grab a bite to eat are The Deli and Joe's Farmhouse Grill. The Deli is a small restaurant with incredible food. Kensi munched on their hummus and flatbread, while Mike and I devoured their Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Warm Roast Beef. 
Joe's Farmhouse is one of my all time favorite places to go. It was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives a couple years ago. The atmosphere is laid-back and fun. You can dine inside or outside. My go-to is their Fontina Burger....words can't describe it! 

This was the first time I didn't make my usual trip to the Queen Creek Olive Mill, but Mike did. They have some of the most delicious olives, tapenades and oils. I can NEVER walk out of there empty handed.

Kensi loved hanging out with her cousins as they loved carrying her around like a sack of flour. She had a blast exploring a different house and getting into all sorts of new things. She had a few milestones while we were visiting as well.
For one, she has been teething like crazy for the last month, but I thought it was only appropriate for her to start cutting her first tooth while visiting them. After all, I have witnessed every one of the boys losing their first tooth; and Kensi followed suit. It hasn't popped up yet, but you can definitely feel the little ridges.


Kensi and her cousin Keegan. When she's with her cousins, she gets to play with all the iPads and fun techy stuff, stuff mommy and daddy don't let her do :)
She also learned how to climb the stairs thanks to my sister! She does however get tired halfway up and decides it's time to just sit down, which makes me so nervous!
We also did lots of baking like usual. I had to make two batches of 48 vanilla scones (recipes will come soon, I promise!) The first batch was gone in less than 24 hours. 
 Our two families love cooking together. Colton and Mike made breakfast; One morning was Cole's famous eggs, another was Mike's Frittata. We also made homemade pizza (dough and all), fajitas and donuts.

I can hardly believe the next time we'll see them is October for our nephews wedding. By that time Kensi will nearly be 1 1/2, most likely walking and talking......we may just have to plan another surprise trip....or maybe we could just move there :)

Saturday, February 16, 2013

FABULOUS FINDS: LEGO DUPLO READ & BUILD

Mike is and always has been a Lego freak. I think he may still have his bin of Legos from when he was little, still at his parents house. He loves building with them so much that I have actually gifted them to him for his birthday or Christmas....and I'll admit once we were married I kind of slipped into the Lego frenzy as well....the Harry Potter Legos were just too cool to pass up. 

We always agreed that our children would know what Legos were and would have their own collection to build with and since we had a girl first I told Mike she had to have some girly Legos! Alright, alright I know Legos are small and a HUGE choking hazard! No worried, Kensi hasn't been given any Legos yet....but she did give Mike a set of the Lego Duplo Read & Build Blocks for Christmas, and they are a HUGE hit!
Lego Duplo Read & Build

The Duplo blocks are large and she likes to suck on them, but she can't fit the whole block in her mouth. The smallest piece is about a 1x1 inch in length. These Read & Build sets are very cute because the set includes.....a storybook...duh! But the fun part about the storybook is it shows how to build each little creature. So mommy and daddy can build with Kensi and when she gets older she can look at the pictures and start learning how to follow directions on her own! I LOVE toys that include important skills!

Lego currently has three different sets available: 

They have different Toddler Duplo building sets if you're interested in those as well.

Friday, February 15, 2013

SENDING LOTS OF LOVE



I had every intention of sending out our Christmas cards and sending out care packages to friends out of state....yeah that totally didn't happen this year! Whoops! So instead we sent out our love for Valentine's Day. We made our Valentine cards on Shutterfly (gotta love them!) and we sent out care packages too.
We (really me) made double chocolate brownies, heart sugar cookies and mocha chip meringues. I also made coconut bars that didn't turn out at all and ended up tossing the entire tray.
For Kensi's little boyfriend back in MD, she picked out a cute pair of jams (with dad's help because he loves the boy clothes) and packed them with a picture she created just for him.
For our adult friends, whom we miss dearly, we packed up a few Nebraska goodies. A bottle of one of our favorite local wines and a containter of Poppy Cock which is candied popcorn.
I try to package everything in tissue paper to make it cute and very fun. We have a paper shredder and that makes making shredded paper very easy. All I do is throw in whatever color of construction or copy paper I want (newspaper is also fun) and you're done! You can do multiple colors too.
All goodies are wrapped in cellophane or placed in a Ziplock container lined with parchment paper and everything is tied with a bow. We also like to decorate our boxes with stickers sometimes as well.

Now to our Maryland frinds....if you want....you can always send us a bag of Crab chips.....I'm just saying! :) 
Sprinkles On Top © . Design by FCD.