Monday, June 23, 2014
GRANOLA MAMA
As I'm typing I'm sitting on my kitchen floor listening to Kensi's show and I'm inhaling the sweet aroma of cinnamon granola. To me nothing is better than cinnamon. It hits that spot in my heart that just screams fall and winter, everything I absolutely love.
My sister Trish shared this delicious granola recipe with me a couple years ago and it's like Christmas morning every time I make it. We love eating by the handful, with milk, yogurt and even on ice cream.
I love this recipe because you can add different spices to change it up a bit; like pumpkin spice, nutmeg or even apple pie spice. Yum!
Trish's Cinnamon Granola
3 Tablespoons Flax Seeds
2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
1 Tablespoon Wheat Germ
4 cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1 cup Nuts {chopped or sliced}
1 cup Unsweetened Coconut
1 cup Powdered Milk
1 cup Honey
1 cup Olive Oil
1 teaspoon each of Salt, Cinnamon & Vanilla Extract
Mix everything together in a large bowl and pour out into a large rimmed cookie sheet in a single layer.
Bake at 300 degrees F for 30- 40 minutes
Let cool and break into chuncks. Store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 22, 2014
WEEKEND PROJECT
I was so estatic when Saturday finally came, it was dining table day. Our friends Kyle and Hillary spent most of the day with us helping build our table with plans from Ana White.
The boys did most of the work as us girls sipped on tea in our beach chairs. You could tell the boys were completely loving every ounce of wood working.
Sunday was my day. After the table was assembled I sanded and stained with a dark walnut. Now we just have to let it dry, seal it and then we can move it into our dining room.
We also need to make the matching benches which will hopefully take place next weekend. I feel very proud how well this turned out for being our first piece of furniture we actually made. Mike really enjoyed the process so you know I will find many more projects for him.
Now it's time to finish theast few details and move it into our dining room. We'll post more pictures soon!
XOXO
Friday, June 20, 2014
A BERRY HAPPY FRIDAY
After our doctors appointment this morning we drove to Lewis Berry Farm in Wilmington before it got too hot. Earlier this spring we planted our own blackberry and blueberry bushes and Kensi has taken the responsibility to pick every single ripe berry each morning. She gobbles them up like no one's business and has a very hard time sharing them. So this morning we brought her to berry heaven. It was love at first bite!
I did mention we were tryin to beat the heat, right? We got to the farm at 9:30 am, it was already 85 degrees and felt like 90. Seriously? We were melting!
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
MATTHEWISMS
My 6 year old nephew Matthew is quick as a whip with his comebacks and he has a killer personality. He's not afraid to say the first thing on his mind.
While we were visiting home last weekend we got a fill of Matthewisms...here are a few.
Me: 'Matthew, I really like your new Spider-Man hair style. '
Matthew: 'I know, it looks so good.'
Matthew's pants were a little big and kep sliding down.
Matthew: 'Whoa! Whoa! Good thing I choose to wear under-shorts!'
Kensi walks into the living room with a roll of stickers.
Matthew: 'My mom MADE me give Kensi those stickers, so you're welcome. '
Me: 'Wow Matthew! It's so nice your mom made you give those stickers to Kensi!'
Matthew: 'I know.'
Matthew and Kensi we're playing and Matthew comes into the kitchen.
Matthew: 'Um, we have a problem. Kensi went upstairs.'
Me: 'Oh, that's okay Matthew. '
Matthew: 'Yeah, but she's looking for you know who.....M-O-M.'
Me: It's okay!'
Matthew: 'Well, if you really say so!'
Matthew decided to show us the trailer for one of his favorite movies about robots.
Matthew: 'Rach, you know this is rated PG-13. That means if you want to watch it, you have to watch it with your parents.'
Me: 'But I don't live with my parents anymore.'
Matthew: 'Then we have a problem!'
Monday, June 16, 2014
17 WEEKS
How Far Along: 17 weeks
Weight Gained: 5 lbs {Although I feel like I've gained 20lbs already}
Nausea: None
How Am I Feeling: Good
Maternity Clothes: I caved and bought shorts. They've never felt so amazing. I can still fit into most of my regular clothes.
Sleep: I've added another pillow to our bed. Mike hates it.
Cravings: Fruit, fruit, fruit! Cheese, cheese, cheese!
Food Adversions: The word pork gives me the heebie geebies.
Movement: Last week I felt the first kick! I forgot how much I love that feeling. The baby is moving a lot and I can start to feel where the baby is curled up.
Belly Button In or Out: Out! It popped immediately around 8 weeks.
Gender: Unknown, we plan on waiting.
Names: We have a few that are at the top of our list, but we'll keep it a surprise.
What I'm Looking Forward To: Over the last weekend we built our dining table. I think it's the quickest we've ever finished a project.
What's Different With This Pregnancy: I definitely look pregnant earlier. I'm also feeling a lot more pressure from the babe and I'm actually sore from it.
What I'm Missing: I've really been missing bleu cheese and others like Gorgonzola. I've avoided it because of the mold running through, but my dr gave me the okay to eat it. Thank goodness!
How Are We Preparing: We will continue working on house projects throughout the year. I am excited we bought our double stroller this week. I'll soon we sharing our favorites and must haves for round 2! I'm also taking lots of naps, especially on the weekends. Lately, if I lay down I feel like I'm out completely for at least 2 hours. I forgot how much work it is to make a baby.
I can't believe we officially have a 2 year old! Did we not just celebrate her 1st birthday? It really feels like we just did. All of us parents out there really need to figure out a way to make a year last longer, who's with me?
We woke up Wednesday morning and said 'Kensi! Today is your birthday!' She responded with 'Ohhhh!!!!' Of course she knew her birthday was special, but she didn't get why.
We asked her how old she was throughout the day....uhhh, she said 9! Heck no! She thought this was the funniest thing on earth to see our reactions.
We celebrated throughout the week since we went back home and it of course through all of our schedules off. With Thirsday being our 5 year wedding anniversary we threw everything together and ordered pizza from our favorite little joint. Saturday we had our friends over to kick off the World Cup and CWS. They were so kind and brought us dessert to celebrate Kensi's birthday and our anniversary. As for our own cake celebration....well that took place yesterday on Father's Day. Seriously, how many different things can our little family celebrate in one week????!??
I love making our own cakes. It's something I've always loved to do; and when I say make, I mean from scratch. No boxes here! We love cornbread and this cake is like cornbread on crack! I baked the cake in my bundt pan thinking 'It will look so cute and simple'. That didn't happen. This was probably one of my first fail cakes and I mean EPIC FAIL! The whole thing stuck everywhere regardless of what I thought was an over-abundance spraying method. I ended up taking it out in chunks, there were no clean pieces. But pretty or not, it's was holy goodness good. We inhaled it and there were no regrets. Not one!
Olive Oil Honey Cake by Jaime Deen
I completely bawled my head off half way through singing 'Happy Birthday'.
I'm just in awe how quickly this year went. I'd be lying if I wasn't excited to get out of the month tracking of her birthday. 18 months, 19 months, etc. She's two and I'm happy to keep one number around for a whole year.
This week Mike and I were reminiscing about everything she's done since last summer. We thought it was only fair to add it into this post, especially since we're both forgetful and we won't remember anything in about a month.
How Old: 2 Years
Weight:
Height:
Favorite Foods: Avocado, bread {she's happy just eating half of a burger bun than anything else for din}, pasta with pesto and of course cookies or skittles.
Clothes: She's mostly wearing 24 months or 2T, but she has a little waist and can still wear 12 month size shorts/pants.
Favorite Toy: Hands down this goes to Baby Fox. She goes with us everywhere...Starbucks, grocery store, Sunday school, to the park. A close second would be some form of Minnie Mouse or a jar of buttons for sorting.
Kensi-isms: Thank You {Thak Me}, I Love You {E Wuv Ew}, Bye {Bye-Byee}, Mommy {Mama}, Daddy {Dada}, Grandpa {Gampa}, Grandma {Gamma}, Bubbles {Bub-bowls}, Banana {Nana}, Blue {A-Bluuue}, Yellow {Welow}, Stella {Ella}, Milk {Moo Moo}, Snack {Ack}, No Thank You {No No}, Yes {Uh Huh}, Bedtime/Sleep/Goodnight {Nigh Nigh}
She also says: Ewww, Bat, Airplane, Baby, Sorry, Down, Up, No, Minnie, Mickey, Teeny/Tiny, Help, Ohh!
She uses a lot of hand gestures and facial expressions and still uses some sign language.
Favorite Movies: Monsters Inc., Toy Story {1, 2 & 3}, Finding Nemo, Mickey's Christmas Carol, & Frozen
Behavior & Favorites: Kensi is usually happy, but she's started to throw tantrums by sayings 'No' repeatedly and throwing her body onto the floor. She hates timeout and bedtime, but is very sweet with apologies. She loves everything small and tiny. She can spot Starbucks a mile away and her favorite drink is chocolate milk or a decaf iced hazelnut latte. She would eat sweets all day, everyday if she could, but also loves fruit. She gets urges where she just wants to squeeze you. She loves to put on makeup, paint her nails, play with puzzles, play kitchen & food, babies and color.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
15 WEEKS
How Far Along: 15 weeks
Weight Gained:
Nausea: None
How Am I Feeling: Good! Finally making time to get some Barre workouts and walks in.
Maternity Clothes: I'm going to have to cave and buy shorts unless I want to die from heat or live in workout shorts all summer.
Sleep: It's good on the nights I'm not waken up by Kensi's feet in my face when she decides to sneak into our bed.
Cravings: After feeling like a cow, I've cut sweets back as much as I can, but I'm still craving them.
Food Adversions: The word pork gives me the heebie geebies.
Movement: I've begun to feel flutters.
Belly Button In or Out: Out! It popped immediately around 8 weeks.
Gender: Unknown, we plan on waiting.
Names: We continually add to our growing list.
What I'm Looking Forward To: We're starting some of our bigger house projects this weekend like our dining table. I know it will feel more homey and that makes me so excited!
What's Different With This Pregnancy: Not much at this point. So far I've had the same symptoms and cravings.
What I'm Missing: Wine & Beer, but I'm getting creative with Mocktails.
How Are We Preparing: House projects!
Monday, June 9, 2014
FAMILY CELEBRATION
One of the best things about a large family are the celebrations. While we were back visiting we celebrated four birthdays, two graduations, acceptance into nursing school and an acceptance/farewell for joining the United States Marine Corp.
The bottom tier of the cake was for our June birthdays which included a small picture representing them.
We were so excited to catch up with family who we haven't seen in the last six months. We have many nieces and nephews who are our age and that's who we spent most of our time with.
Cousins.
My sweet niece and her boyfriend.
My nephew TJ and his wife Carolyn, also Kensington's godparents.
Kensi had a difficult time warming up to many people this trip mostly because her sleep schedule was so out of whack. I was so excited to see her happily give hugs and kisses to her uncles who are always so goofy that it usually freaks her out.
By the end of the night we sang Happy Birthday and Kensi was able to successfully blow out the candles on the cake with a little help.
A huge congratulations to my best friend Mel and her incredible husband Craig. The two tied the knot this weekend and it was one of the most beautiful weddings. Ever.
I first met Mel when I joined our parish soccer team. She went to school there along with all the other girls. I remember being super nervous as I was switching teams in middle school and I was deathly afraid of middle school girls as they can be mean and very catty. There were two girls named Melissa. After everyone introduced themselves to me, Mel came up to and asked me her name. I said,'it's Melissa!' She replied with, 'Yep! And I'm the nice one.' What a first impression!
We went to high school together, an all girls catholic school. {Marian}. I wouldn't have a changed a single thing about our time there. Most days I wish I could go back and relive it. Many of our friends stay in touch, and we do a pretty good job about it. These girls have always been more than friends, they even been better than family.
Mel has been around what seems like forever. Every heartbreak, every first date, every party and every year I've ever shed. Mike and I began dating in high school and have stayed consistent ever since. Mel would often ask me how I knew he was the right one. I could never find the words to explain how I knew, other than once you know, you just know.
She dated guys throughout high school and college, some were disastrous! Sorry Mel! But there were some interesting moments in there.
The first time I met Craig was just after Kensi was born. She had told me she met this guy going to Creighton Law school, she liked him a lot, but wasn't really sure about anything. She had come over to meet the newest love of my life, little did I know I would be meeting hers. When they sat down and were holding Kensi for the first time it was written all over Mel's face, she found him.
7 months later they were engaged!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
13 WEEKS
How Far Along: 13 weeks
Weight Gained: 2.2 lbs
Nausea: None
How Am I Feeling: Good, I was very tired through the first trimester, but have now gained back energy. I've been more bloated than anything.
Maternity Clothes: Nope
Sleep: I’ve been adding an extra pillow to what seems like a shrinking bed. I can still sleep on my stomach, but I know this won’t last much longer.
Cravings: Anything sweet, carbs & pizza
Food Adversions: The word pork gives me the heebie geebies.
Movement: Not yet
Belly Button In or Out: Out! It popped immediately around 8 weeks.
Gender: Unknown, we plan on waiting.
Names: We continually add to our growing list.
What I'm Looking Forward To: I'm excited to have my bump back!
What's Different With This Pregnancy: Not much at this point. So far I've had the same symptoms and cravings.
What I'm Missing: Wine & Beer
How Are We Preparing: We just shared our news with everyone and we're enjoying just being pregnant again.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
PARTY OF 4!
We are so excited to become a party of 4 at the end of the year!!!!
If you follow me on Instagram you may have caught my post with the following photo several weeks ago....but the truth of the matter is this all started last fall.
Mike and I were getting closer to our 'plan to conceive' timeline. As we got closer, I became scared. My fear of having a second baby and living away from family got the best of me. I was convincing myself that I only wanted one child because I wouldn't be able to handle it. I am so thankful for my WTE June 2012 Moms board; the day I felt most defeated a fellow mom posted a beautiful article from My Child I Love You blog about taking the leap of having more children and leaving the fear behind. Another mom later posted Psalms 127: 3-5 (MSG) which says....
Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.
I knew God was telling me not to stay paralyzed by that fear and that He has great plans for our family. With an uplifted spirit we decided to try and conceive our second baby.
The words from my Instagram post really spoke to me and Mike at the time because we were feeling so defeated trying to conceive. Almost everyone we know said or made it seem that planning for your second was easy as pie. We hadn't heard of any struggles and we thought we would try in November and have our babies just over two years apart. We were planning it and thought it would happen that way because we wanted it to. After November and December went by and still no positive pregnancy test we decided to try ovulation tests which are over 99% accurate. I took two rounds of tests the month of January and never had a positive test. In February I started another set of ovulation a tests. By the middle of this Mike and I realized we were saying we were giving it to God, but we really didn't. We were doing everything we could to try and control the situation and it wasn't working. Where did our faith go? It was gone. After a long chit chat about how to bring Him back into this specific situation we decided to throw out the remaining ovulation tests.
February 28 came and I started my cycle, but this time it was different. I was late, but experienced cramping a couple days leading up to the 28th. Once my cycle started it knocked me off my feet, but I didn't think too much about it.
April first came and I was two days late and decided to take a test. I don't know why I was as surprised as I was, but we had a positive pregnancy test! Kensi and I met Mike for lunch that afternoon and I told him I had to show him this crazy picture. I gave him my phone with a photo of our positive test, he looked up at me and asked 'is this ours? Are you kidding me?!' It wasn't until later that night we both realized it was April Fools too. I assured the Hubster I wasn't kidding, if it's a joke then it's being played on us by God.
We had our first ultrasound around 10 weeks and I can't believe how big our little jelly bean is already!
I forgot how tired the first trimester can make you feel. I felt unmotivated and somewhat pathetic because I was not functioning like I normally do. Hence, why there have been fewer posts and nothing new on Etsy. Kensi has been a trooper and so has Mike. I am beyond grateful to have so much support from them.
It feels surreal to be pregnant again, but we are over the moon excited to add another babe to our family. Kensi understands we have a baby growing in my tummy and every morning she kisses and hugs my belly. She knows the baby is teeny tiny and shows us with her fingers. We know she's going to be an incredible big sister and a great helper.
We can't wait for December, a perfect little festive holiday baby!!!
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When I started our blog I was 4 months pregnant with Kensi and didn't post much about my growing bump. We are excited to share with family and friends on here this time around. We're using our newly painted chalkboard wall to help us document every week or so and by the end we'll use our photos to create a beautiful pregnancy journal for the baby just as we did for Kensington!
We are so excited and what a way to kick off June!
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