We are so excited for July!

Rosemary chicken and red potatoes

This is a common dinner at our house. You can find it on one of those McCormick packages at the store. I make it different than what it says on the instructions.

2 T. Oil
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp dried minced garlic (However, I use fresh garlic)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

4-5 red potatoes cubed
1/2 chicken breast cubed

Mix everything together and bake in a 8x8 baking dish. Cover with foil if wanted and bake for about 40 minutes at 425.

8x8 baking dish feeds our family fine with leftovers. The recipe calls for your chicken to be whole, but it's easier for us to cube it and it cooks faster too.

This is a regular in our house. Enjoy!

9 Months Old!

I can't believe it! She has really grown so fast! Here are some of her stats.

15lbs 13oz (13%)
28 inches tall (66%)
17 inches for head (32%)

She's little, but she eats a lot! Brooklyn is now enjoying real person food in the evenings and she loves it. She loves to crawl and chase Abigal around. Her daily activities include playing with Abigal and walking along furniture. She's very active just like Abby.

This visit we discovered that Brooklyn has Labia Adhesion which causes the skin of a Labia to fuse together. Right now she's not on a cream or anything, but we will see if it happens again.

She has had a cold for about a week, but today they discovered the start of an ear infection. Unfortunately she's had too many ear infections that she hasn't had a chance to get over colds on her own yet. :(

Either way, She's a happy baby!

A little update

I need to update! I am so behind!
Lets start with Abby! She is as energetic as ever!! Abby loves to play with her toys and she's a great big sister. She is always willing to help me with Brooklyn and gets so excited when Brooklyn wakes up from her naps. She is starting to really talk a lot and can usually say things pretty well. The other day we were laughing with her because she said excavater like "ex-ca-va-bate-r". Too cute! Abby loves to play dress up and loves sparkly things.

Brooklyn is crawling! She crawls on her feet like a dog. She has also learned how to stand up against furniture and everyday we help her walk with a little child's stroller. She loves smiling and laughing!

Last week Brooklyn learned how to give kisses and she loves to blow raspberries on your face while she's kissing. Yesterday she called Daddy "Mumma" and he said "I'm not mommy, I'm daddy." She looked at him and said "babba" Hahah. Close enough. This little girl is starting to love daddy more and more each day.

Love having these cute girls in my life. They bring such joy!

Summer salad

Oh my goodness! This salad is so yummy. A massive thanks to my brother-in-law, Kyle for sharing! I have literally had this several times the past few weeks.

Salad:
1 bag of Spring Mix
1-2 peaches chopped
1 bunch radishes chopped, without the greens.
1 green onion chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds

For dressing:
1/8 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste

I have also used spinach and it's been amazing!

6 Months!!!

I can't believe that Brooklyn is ALREADY six months old!! Holy cow!! I am loving this age, but I miss my cuddly little girl!  She scoots everywhere now and loves to play on her belly!

She is:
14.7lbs (19%)
27 inches (80%)
Taking after her daddy in being so tall and skinny.

Feeding her baby food now for breakfast, lunch and dinner! She loves it! Still nursing through the night like a champ. Just a little distracted lately and I'm considering a Nursing Necklace!

Beef Enchiladas and FHE Hot Fudge Cake

I LOVE my magazines that I get from Taste of Home every month and I thought I would share a recipe from there today. I found an excellent Hot Fudge cake in there and made it today! First, I would like to share with you all the beef enchiladas I made. I'm sorry, I wasn't fast enough to get a picture of our food because we ate it all!

Garlic Beef Enchiladas

1/2 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped *
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 can (about 7 ounces) Diced tomatoes **

Sauce
1/3 cup butter
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
2 tsp beef bullion
1 can (14 1/2 oz) tomato sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt

10 flour tortillas
2 cups of your favorite cheese (we used Medium Chedder)

Brown meat and onion until beef crumbles. Then add the next six ingredients and stir until incorporated.
Set aside

For the sauce, Melt butter and add garlic and stir until garlic is soft. Then add flour and stir until smooth. Then add water and bullion and stir until boiling. Add the rest of the ingredient and heat through.

Put sauce on the bottom of the pan and then fill each tortilla with some beef and some cheese, fold and stick in pan. Spread remaining sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

* - I always use dried chopped onions. Still gives it the same flavor, but cut small enough that my family doesn't know it's there.
** - I only used half the can of diced tomatoes, but if you like tomatoes you can add the whole can.

Hot Fudge Cake

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp baking coca, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup 2% milk
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups hot water
Ice cream or whipped cream, optional

In large bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar 2 Tbsp cocoa baking powder and salt). Then in another bowl combine milk, oil and vanilla and add to the dry. Stir until moist. Put in a 9 inch baking dish. Then mix together 4 Tbsp of cocoa and 1 cup brown sugar and sprinkle on top of dough. Then add hot water to the top and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Jaron's birthday

We had a fabulous day yesterday. Jaron's brother got him a helicopter ride for his birthday and I had the privilege of riding along with him! 

I especially loved flying around the temple.

We also got to see the capital as well and that was cool. Everything looked toy-like. It was fun!!!

 

We found out that evening that Jaron's aunt died in a tragic car accident. Our prayers are with her children as our hearts are all breaking. We won't be able to go to the funeral, but that's okay. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the gospel and that I know the savior died for us so that we can live again together forever. There is nothing else than that which gives me the daily comfort I need.

Lemon Poppy Seed muffins with Crumb Topping

I love to bake, especially in the spring. Lately I haven't been able to with a little one. So when Brooklyn sleeps Mommy bakes. The other day I confessed to my sister Alicia that I have a Lemon and Poppy seed obsession. Hey, it's spring, and nothing says spring better than lemon and poppy seed!!! My other sister, Sharlotte, has a lemon tree and I can't wait to get some from her sometime to make this again!

I found this recipe online and decided to add some of a twist to the original. Every time I got to the bakery I used to work, I have to will myself not to buy the crumb muffins because I believe that they are slightly overpriced and I can't eat an entire 12 pack myself either. It's either 12 for $8.99 which isn't bad or one for $1.29 which can be. I gave in last week and got a lemon poppy seed one with the crumb topping. I have never made them, but I decided to try it out.

For the Muffin Batter
2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream 
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

For the Crumb topping:
1/4 Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbs softened butter.


First you mix the sugar with the zest of Lemon until it has flavor. It will look like this:

Then mix in all the dry ingredients next: Flour, Baking powder, Baking soda and salt. Then in another bowl melt butter and add Sour cream, eggs, vanilla and juice of lemon. Mix liquid into your dry ingredients, stir until combined and do not over stir. Add Poppy Seeds last.

For the crumb topping, Mix everything in a bowl with electric mixer until it resembles fine sand.

Top muffins with crumb topping:

Yum!! Enjoy!!!

4 Month Stats.

Took Brooklyn to the doc today and found out all of her growing stats! I was soo excited to see how much she grew!

Weight: 13 lbs 13 oz (41.5%)
Height: 25.5 inches (87.5%)
Head circumference 15.75 inches (30.5%)

She is a little small in everything but her height! She is almost always over 80% in that. It does help having a great grandpa over 6 feet tall!!

She can roll from front to back, just started rolling back to front the other day, reaching for toys, laughing (even though she doesn't share that too often), and she's starting to put her legs under her during tummy time!!! Wahoo!

Goals for this month: We are going to try to introduce rice cereal! Doctor said that we can introduce that around 4-6 months and she seems to get extremely hungry at night and it seems like she is never truly satisfied so we are going to try it!

Conference weekend with Sweet Cornbread

This weekend was a little dreary so what better than to have a chili and Cornbread meal!! I thought it was the best idea ever!!!

I love LDS conference for several reasons. My favorite is the talks about faith. I love hearing about ways to strengthen my faith in our church and in the lord and so that someday it will become a strong conviction. I was impressed by the comment about a happy child is one who sings throughout the day. I love my children. They are such a joy in my life.

My other joy is baking. I am not very good at anything else, but I know that I can bake excellent desserts and other items to satisfy my enormous sweet tooth. I have always loved sweet cornbread and my favorite is the one I get at my local grocery store that they make from scratch  I discovered this one about a month ago and wrote it down after I tried and promptly forgot where I got it from, but it is sooo good!

It is sweet with a cake-like texture! Enjoy!

• 4 eggs, whites and yolks seperated
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 cups flour
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, milk, vanilla, and cooled melted butter and stir.
3. Mix in cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, stirring to incorporate - but do not over mix.
4. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold them into the batter.
5. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure it is cooked through.

A Tribute to "Jules"- President's Day 2013

I now understand the excitment of a fabric sale... President's day meant a huge fabric sale at the local fabric store. Things somewhere between 30-50% AND the best part is they take coupons from OTHER places too. I had an extra 15%. Sooooo, that means that my $60 worth of fabric was only $25!!!! LOVE!

These are my Spoils!

Now, Ya'll are probably wondering "Who's Jules?" Well, Jules entered my life in my first year of college. She's been with me ever since and I dusted her off just for this occasion.

Meet Jules:

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL? It's been a while since we have worked on a project together. The past two years of my life I have been hard at work being a dedicated Mom. I have realized that the one to suffer has been my cute little 3 year old Abigal. I decided to be a stay at home Mom and dedicate my time to helping her be the best person she can be. (Sorry, Random side note)

Now! On to the PROJECTS! First, I found this on pinterest. It's a blanket that sits in the carseat and you can swaddle your new born. Here are some shots:

Outside:

Inside: (Minkey Fabric)


Poor Jules worked hard tonight. I will be honest. I'm not perfect in my sewing talent yet, but I am getting there. Jules has seen me through the thick and the thin. She's been there through the most terrible projects and the best. Hopefully there will be more of her to come. Now, the box behind her is filled with mending that my beautiful family has decided they needed done........ I now will be mending until my next project which is going to be an ADORABLE tunic for my little Brooklyn..... (And maybe something similar for Abby later!) Will post again soon!

Tempers-A mother's worst nightmare

Okay, maybe not worst nightmare, but it can be if you aren't sure how to deal with that crazy look in your child's eyes and their loud screaming for attention.

I thought about taking a video of my child during this time to show just how dramatic life can seem to a 3 year old.  Then I am reminded of a video a few months back about s child who refused to put her dishes in the sink without a fit. The parents were judged about how they didn't raise their child right, blah, blah, blah. You mothers our there know she's loved and the poor thing was just tired and didn't understand or it's just her age and she was trying to show her "authority."

This is the case of my young and beautiful three year old. She throws her biggest fits to get what she wants and to try to figure out her boundaries. Somedays I feel like all I have listened to is screaming and there have been days I've lovingly locked myself in another room so I can think properly. Does that make me a bad parent? Does my 3 year old throwing fits make me a terrible mother?

In the past, I probably wouldn't have given myself a break when I have asked those hard questions. I have come to realize something very important in child's life. Abigal was a nicu baby and had a very independent personality from the very beginning. Refused to breastfeed and at just eight weeks I worked again. For whatever reason as a newborn she didn't want to be cuddled by me, she loves her daddy. For some reason, her and I never grew a strong bond until years later. Basically, she is very independent and her fits used to be because she couldn't figure out how to do something. Since Brooklyn entered this world Abigal's fits are more geared to mommy and daddy not doing everything for her like they do for Brooklyn.  Typical behavior.

Most of the time I just let her scream and throw her fits and I just ignore her behavior until she stops. There are some where this tactic doesn't work. I just try to communicate with her to try to stop the unreasonable behavior. Then there are the occasional ones where the only course of action is time alone in her bedroom until she can calm down.

Am I bad mother? Heavens no!! Do I feel like I am sometimes?  Especially during her tempers, yes. Even during those I am still not a bad mother. I just have a really passionate and independent girl. Those are also her best qualities and I hope that through those years of listening to the loudest screaming you can imagine that I can instill confidence in her life. That she will know without a doubt that her parents love her and that she is a beautiful girl with wonderful qualities.

From an extremely colicy newborn to terrible threes we can make it through. Even if we need to shut ourselves in a different room for just thirty seconds of peace and quiet.

Happy birthday Mom

Okay. Her birthday isn't for about a month, but I need to be ahead now that I have two people to care of. I made this for my mommy.
I got the idea from pinterest. I think it turned out great!

Check-up

Brooklyn weighs 12lbs 6oz 80%, 23 1/2  inches long 90%. Head circumference is 15 inches 40%. she's so tall! Currently wearing 0-3 months size and they are pretty tight. Nurses every three and a half hours now and she will sleep six hours straight at night. Still sleeps next to Mom. They grow up fast!

Two months!

They go by so fast!
Brooklyn is looking great and very chunky. She's found her voice and wouldn't take a bottle. I was forced to stay home with her and Abigal, but I don't mind. Here is Abby, such a proud sister

 Brooklyn is getting big and beautiful too!

So happy to be a stay at home mommy now!