April Recap

Here we are, the last day of April. I remember getting prepped for the Easter Bunny to visit our house...wasn't that just last week?

I am ready for the warmer weather that May will bring us...80 this week...yay!
This May in particular...we have a fun Derby party to attend at cousin Janelle's, a bridal shower to celebrate {at cousin Janelle's}, and of course Memorial Day weekend...
and that also means our beloved Tigers will be in town!

I start a new job...and Miss L's aunties are coming in to town to spend time with us.

May brings us much to be thankful for and to look forward to.

Here is a recap of fun photos from the month of April... 

Helping mom fold towels!

Easter Brunch - spoons are extremely entertaining...apparently!

Happy Easter!

Helping Dadda with his electronics

We love to help with laundry!!

No one told me taking these photos would get progressively more difficult! Aye!

Pretty girl under a pretty tree!

St. Paul Cathedral

In April, while hosting family in town, we decided it would be neat to attend mass at the iconic local landmark, the St. Paul Cathedral.

Miss L was stimulated during mass by the endless beauty on the ceilings and walls...and she loved exploring the architecture with us after mass.

Being here definitely reminds me that "they don't make things like they used to" and fueled my desire to hop across the pond sometime to see the old world beauty throughout Europe.

I digress, here are some photos of our visit...

Miss L loved feeling the various textures while touring with daddy after mass

I love this face!

It was a beautiful 65-degree, sunny, blue skyed day...a very typical March Minnesota day! {LOL}

with Grandma

A Feel Good Song

When you are feeling down, this song is guaranteed to lift your spirits...

Music is very powerful, and is a large part of our home life. Music motivates us, relaxes us and is on nearly anytime the TV is not. This is how my house was growing up and I am thankful for my parents incorporating it in our lives. Also, may be the reason why I love the music of the 60's, 70's and 80's {my parents music}.

This song makes me smile...wanna grab my lil' doll and dance around the living room...do a Zumba routine...or have a cocktail.

Happy Saturday Morning!! Dance around while your cleaning!

TGIF

What a week!

Last week was a flurry of activity with visiting family in Michigan, flying back on a 7am flight Tuesday to make a 1pm job interview, followed by work obligations, catching up on laundry and this doesn't even include the stress of J's job with his RVP in town for meetings and presentations.

Fast forward to this week...and the emotional rollercoaster...

Monday

• Storytime at the Library with Miss C and her mommy...followed by park time in the afternoon
• A get the job offer {yay!}
• I proceed to spend hours crying my eyes out about leaving my lil' doll {full-time}
• And J's week is no better...surprise visit by the auditors

My smiley lil' doll!

We tease that they look like old ladies with their hats!

Tuesday

• Went to the indoor water park/pool with Miss C and her mommy...followed by lunch on the patio
• More tears about parting from Miss L
• J arrives home from working "the most stressful day ever" and proceeds to tell me news about his job that could change whether I should accept aforementioned new job
• I spent Tuesday afternoon/evening feeling ill as can be {fever, chills, head ache, all over body aches, loss of appetite, etc...thought it was food poisoning...but not so sure anymore!}
• 11pm, searching outside for Mr. Cole, as he slipped out of the house on us, while we were on the patio {he trotted across the cul-de-sac after 30 minutes of flashlight tag}

Lunch in the Sun!

Afternoon playtime outside on our lawn

Wednesday 

• Wake up feeling somewhat human again...but there is a silver lining...
• I hop on the scale...& LOVE the numbers on the scale {hello 140's!!}
• 8am - take Miss L to daycare
• 8:15 - Greet property tax accessor at our home {trying to lower our taxes}
• Race to work {45 min commute} for a 10am training I am conducting at work
• Still have no idea what is going on with J's job situation 

Thursday

• Lunch with Daddy...which we all get so much enjoyment from!
• During our daily family walk/jog...decide to continue on as we were 

Her daddy always makes her giggle!

Reading at Panera Bread

Friday

• Proceed forward with life as usual...remembering everything is in God's hands
• Feel at peace with decisions
• Create my lengthy to-do list of things to get done prior to working outside the home full time
• Book a reservation for dinner Saturday at one of our favorite restaurants - Kona Grill...
• TGIF!

Pretty flowers for a pertty girl

 Phew! Just breathe...

Baby Food {Parties}

During my pregnancy, I knew I wanted to make Miss L's baby food...when the time came. Thus, we registered for and received many generous gifts to help make the process easier and more enjoyable. However, I had no idea how much fun I would have getting together with friends to get creative in making baby food recipes, together!

This past Sunday night, we had dinner with friends at their home...followed by fun making two double batches of food for Miss L and her BFF Miss C.

Recipe above: Peaches, Mango and Banana...yum!

Recipe on side: PEAs
{Peas, Edamame, Apples}

1/2 pound frozen peas
1/2 pound frozen edamame
2 apples cored, sliced, peeled
{used my fav. Pampered Chef tool!}
1/2 cup Apple Juice

Puree in your blender, food processor, etc...

 {Note: I purchased a 12 pack of juice boxes since I use apple juice occasionally in baby food recipes, but yet don't need a full large bottle of apple juice going to waste in the fridge}

Oh yes, I had to include a few photos of the girlies playing around...enjoying each other's company.

Happy Earth Day

"Going Green" has become mainstream over the years and doesn't seem to be fading away anytime soon...especially if you live in a urban or suburban area, like we do.

In honor of Earth Day today, I thought I would share our household methods for contributing in a positive way to our environment. Perhaps your house might adopt an idea below...

• Dishcloths | To cut down on using sponges {and the germs that reside on sponges}

• Cloth Grocery Bags | Created this habit out of survival while living downtown Chicago and walking 4 blocks home with enough groceries for our entire building

• Homemade Cleaning Products | An effort to use less chemicals on the items Miss L loves to teeth on - counters and table tops...among many other "non-toy-toy" surfaces. Prior to the plethora of homemade cleaning products on Pinterest, I started seeking out ways to clean green! 

Granite Counter Cleaner Recipe

General All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe


Easy Breezy Toilet Bowl Cleaner  - Sprinkle Baking Soda in the toilet bowl, splash white vinegar atop for some cleaning bubbles...let sit 5 minutes, and then brush away!

• Cloth Napkins | I asked for these for Christmas...since I do soo much laundry these days, I thought why not use cloth napkins and cut down on the volume of paper ones
  
• Reusable Water Bottle | Clear and Simple...less plastic {using a BPA-free bottle}

• Recycle | Our trash drawer pulls out and has a trash can and a blue recycle can which we fill frequently
• Bar Soap | This may just be the frugalista in me...but we have drifted away from the bottles of liquid shower/body soap
• Unplugging unused electronics | I hate to admit that this household has 5 TV sets {yes, for 2 adults}...but we do keep 2 of them unplugged 99% of the time, saving on our electricity demands
• Homemade Baby Food | 80% of what Miss L eats is homemade...saving us money and saving on those glass or plastic containers

I hope you can "go green" today, and everyday!

Making Strawberry Lemonade

I know Easter was soo 2 weeks ago...but, April is just flying by and I am having a blogathon to make up for lost time!

I'm wondering if I'm the only one that does this with their annual batch of jelly beans...specifically Starburst Original Jelly beans...

Do you strategically pop certain color combinations in my mouth to "make" concoctions?
For example, I eat the yellow {lemon} and green {lime} together to make my own version of 7-Up!
Yellow {lemon} and pink {strawberry} = strawberry lemonade

Lastly, my favorite grouping is the red {cherry} + orange {orange} + pink {strawberry} = A Perfect Fruity Burst in my Mouth! YummO!

The adorable Easter card is from her Grandpa D...one of the many packages Miss L received Easter week...more to come on that topic.

My New Addiction

I've always been envious of my friends who have an appreciation for coffee. There is a certain level of sophistication and maturity that I percieve as I admire coffee drinks at the local coffee shop. I'm sure this appreciation is not without countless trips to Starbucks to obtain a cup of caffiene that costs more than a tank of gas!

The envy really grows every fall, when Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte becomes ever so popular. Being the aggressive pumpkin lover that I am, I try to acqure a taste for this every.single.fall...and never seem to grow fond of the taste. Instead, I settle for trying to create a pumpkin hot chocolate from home.

Aside from my perception of drinking coffee, I just need a kick of energy some days. My friend, Cori, is always amazed that I operate on virtually zero caffiene (no pop, coffee, etc.)

Well, while visiting friends in Indy last week...I ran into a local coffee shop to grab Cori a coffee and muffin...and the shop had some sort of Snickerdoodle-flavored coffee. The barista gave me a little sample of this dessert-like beverage...and now it is all I can think about! It gave me hope. Maybe I can still acquire a taste for coffee-flavored drinks afterall!

This morning on my way to work, I decided I needed a little "pick-me-up," so I stopped at my local Caribou. I ordered the least-coffee sounding drink on the menu...a Caramel Mocha High Rise, with extra sweet stuff mixed-in.

Within an hour, I noticed just how 180 mg of caffiene would affect my body. Albeit a little jittery at lunch time, I admit I really enjoyed the boost of energy. I can imagine how helpful this jolt of energy would have been after I had Miss L and was being weaned from steroids.  

I am now on a mission to seek out the best-tasting, least-coffee-esque, caffienated beverage. Any suggestions for me?

{New} Meals This Week

While eating a fabulous new recipe for dinner last night, Jeremy said, "I like you trying all of these new recipes." I noted that it is fun to not have the same ol' rotation of meals, and he said, "I can't even recall what our usual rotation used to be!" Ahh...the sweet smell of success AND pizza stuffed chicken!

Monday - Pizza Stuffed Chicken {photo & recipe borrowed from the Dashing Dish blog}



This was super easy...

• I tenderized a couple of chicken breasts, marinated them in Italian dressing for an hour
• Then, mixed together pizza sauce with some Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper
• I added a 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture on the chicken, followed by a few pepperonis and some shredded mozzo cheese
• I rolled up the chicken and secured it together with a toothpick
• I topped the rolled up breast with more sauce and a few more pepperonis

Bake 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees! The smell of this dish is intoxicating and the taste is delicious! This new recipe is a keeper!

{Note: this could easily be a gluten free dish, a low-carb dish and/or a low-fat dish with simple modifications}

On the side, we enjoyed steamed bag of California blend veggies, topped with some EVOO and Mrs. Dash Table Blend; as well as, some slices of leftover French-Sourdough Bread from the weekend {perfect bread for us - I love French, J is a BIG Sourdough fan, thank you Target!}

Tuesday - TGI Friday's Steak Fajitas, we'll add some black beans as a side and enjoy Chips & Salsa

Wednesday  - Bourbon Chicken - a copycat recipe of the usual Chinese take-out staple...I found this on my favorite recipe app - BigOven 



Thursday - Salad Night - Buffalo Chicken & Blue Cheese for J; a little Grilled Chicken and veggie for me!

Friday - Fasting...Good Friday