Caution! Highly Addictive!

Reindeer Food...a fancy made up name for what I like to call "White Chocolate Peppermint Chex".  When first seeing this recipe I thought it looked easy and festive for the holidays so I thought, why not?  I wish I would have not made it.  The bucket is almost gone (like only a few pieces of chex left).  I recommend you do not make this if you have an addictive personality.  I promise it may be gone in one setting a couple of days.

Also, I am working on my photography skills.  I know they are on the verge of being horrible right now, but stick with me as I learn!  :)

White Chocolate Peppermint Chex
Adapted from Hooiser Homemade

Ingredients:

-5 Cups Corn Chex

-1 bag White Chocolate Chips, 12 oz

- 1/2 cup of crushed candy canes

Measure out the corn chex.  Place in a large bowl.  

Place white chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute, stir and then continue heating for 15 seconds at a time, until all the chips are melted and making sure to stir after each time.

Pour 2/3 of crushed candy canes in the melted chocolate.  Mix well.

Pour chocolate and candy cane mixture over the chex.  Mix well.

Pour chex mix onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper (or on your counter).

Sprinkle remaining crushed candy canes on top.

Let set for about 20 minutes.

Gently break and place in air tight container.

Enjoy! :) 

Happy Eatings! :)

thanksgiving, birthdays, and christmas...oh my!

So the last I left off, I was left to cook an unexpected thanksgiving meal for what I thought would be 4..and turned out to be 7.  What a stressful fun day it was.  I hope it will be a while before I have to do that again.  I don't have many pictures as I was too stressed out to remember to take any.  But I do have one of my turkey.  I am proud of that guy!

After thanksgiving quickly approached my birthday.  I wish I could write an elaborate, detailed blog about what we did and how we celebrated, but it kind of went like this.  Went to church, cooked lunch, went to bed.  :) I guess this is what happens when you turn 26.  But I am excited that Mr J and Baby A got me a day at the spa!  I SO need that!

I know Christmas is not here yet...but I am so excited for Christmas.  I love that it is the time of year that my whole family gets to be together.  I can't wait for Baby A and my sweet niece "M" to get to hang out. Here is a pic of them when they met back in September.  I think they were together a total of 5 minutes, so it will be great to see them together for an extended amount of time.

Also, I don't think I am mentioned on here, but I am seriously addicted to Pinterest.  Basically the only thing I have gotten to make off of there up until this point is recipes.  But I finished my first Pinterest craft project for a Christmas gift.  Actually, I finished two, but cannot disclose what one of them is, just incase one of the recipients reads this.  This is a horrible picture, but we will go with it.

When it is finished, it will have pictures of sweet baby a hung on it.  The clothes pins are too cute too! I mod-podged them with some super cute scrapbook paper.

After Christmas, I will post some more Christmas crafts and their tutorials!  I am super pumped the way one turned out, but you will have to come back to see what it was and how it turned out!

Hope you guys have a great weekend and next week stay tuned for some yummy Christmas recipes! :)

My 1st Thanksgiving

I have decided if I can get a post a week, I am doing good.  Life is busy with a 4 month old!  Who would have thought!  By the way...look at how cute baby a is at 4 months...

I know..She is super cute! :)

So...Wednesday night I will be hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner.  I am not going to lie I am excited, terrified and have no idea what I am doing.  Not only do I not know what I am doing, this was sprung on me at the last minute (last night).  So I will update this weekend on how it all goes.  I decided I would do everything different than everyone is use to...that way no one can compare me to how everyone else does it! This could be a complete disaster or I could be winning! :) Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy all you have to be thankful for!  I know we are blessed beyond words!

Maybe I love soup?

Okay, so maybe I have found a new love...soup? I have another soup recipe. White Chicken Chili. I first had this at Ruby Tuesday like 4 years ago. I really liked it but didn't think much more about it until about a month ago. I decided to try my hand at it so I scrounged the internet trying to find the perfect recipe. I found many recipes that I liked and combined them together. One I liked called for can beans and one called for "real" beans. I decided I liked the idea of "real" beans. The night I went to cook the soup I had remembered it said it took 30-45 minutes to cook. If you know anything about "real" beans, you know they take a lot longer than 30-45 minutes to cook. After a panic call to my mom and 2-3 hours later, we had our white chicken chili and it was great! The recipe below will be the "canned" version. I made this version this week and it is just as good! (and so much quicker!) Also, this makes a large pot. Great for leftovers. Did I just say that?

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Adapted from many yummy recipes

• 3 large chicken breast, butterflied and then cubed
• 1 medium to large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 32 ounces chicken broth/stock
• 2 cans (7 oz) green chilies
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded, cleaned and diced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, saute the chicken, onion, jalapeno and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. (maybe a little longer. test the beans.)

Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and heavy cream.

enjoy! :)

This is great with mexican cornbread! Also, I promise to start thinking about taking pictures of all these great recipes!

The Best Soup Ever...Seriously

I am not a huge soup fan. I mean, I like it, but a lot of times, I don't love it. And as we have previously established, I do not like leftovers. So leftover soup to me is...well...ick. Until I came across this recipe. This soup has changed my view on soup forever. I made this on Wednesday and we were having it for leftovers on Thursday as well. Wednesday night I went to bed excited that we would have the leftover soup the next day. Thursday morning I woke up thinking about the soup. All day I could not wait for Mr J to get home so we could have the soup. So I thought I needed to share this recipe

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (we love to keep the vampires away!)
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup red wine...must use this! Do not substitute!
• 1 Jar canned tomates (These were from my mother-in-law, but you could totally use chopped or diced canned tomatoes. I would use the larger size can. Also you could use real tomatoes. That is what the orginal recipe called for, but you were to peel, seed and chop. That was too much work! :) )
• 1/2 bag of "match stick" carrots. (You could chop your own, but that is more work!)
• A large dose of Italian Seasoning. (I probably used one to two tablespoons. I didn't measure. Just eye-balled)
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 decent size zucchini, sliced
• 1 bag frozen tortellini pasta
• 
  

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 2 tablespoon of the drippings. (I just reserved all in the pan...oops)
2. Saute onions and garlic in drippings (Seriously, if you do not have the pampered chef garlic press, hit me up and we will get you one ordered. It will forever change your views on fresh garlic!).
3. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, italian seasoning, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
4. Skim fat from the soup. This is kind of difficult, but you need to do it. Stir in zucchini and carrots. Simmer covered for 30 minutes to an hour. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you thought this was as good as we did! This will be around all winter in this house!

Cash Budgeting...Why it works for us

Budget...this word alone makes me cringe.

Mr J and I have recently started a cash budget. I dreaded every moment of it, but actually I have come to love it! We have saved so much money in the last month just by using cash! I thought this would be hard for us as we NEVER had cash on us before. But instead for me it has became a game and I do not impulse buy near as much anymore! (Don't get me wrong, I still buy a few impulse items every now and then) We have a set amount that we can spend on groceries, gas, clothes, entertainment, eating out, etc each week. I came home from grocery shopping today wondering why in the world we spent so much on groceries before. I believe it has to do with impulse buying. Take today for example. This week for my lunch I bought bologna (not because it is cheap...which it isn't anymore, almost $4, but I wanted bologna). I had bologna and bread on my list but did not have chips. But I really wanted chips. So, I add the prices of my groceries up as I go along and I told myself if we were well under budget I could get my chips. And we were, so I did. Before I would have just bought the chips and probably 30 other things that "looked" good but were not on my planned out list. This sounds like you are being deprived, but I promise you will not be. (I also got brownies and a magazine, that were not on my list, but we were so under budget so I could! And still came in under budget!!) Grocery shopping on a cash budget is more work, but it has become such a game and I love it. Not to add that we are saving major money to put towards a bigger house! I invite you to join us in using a cash budget and see the money build up faster in your savings!

In a funk and lessons learned from a 28 day baby

I am seriously the worst blogger in blogging history! The last month I have been in a "funk". I have had a lot on my mind and a very heavy heart. We have been blessed to get to experience a journey with some precious people and see God work in truly amazing ways over the past month. A sweet sweet girl that I know from childhood, Sara, and her husband Troy have been through the most emotional month. Their sweet baby boy, Justice, was born on September 30th with a heart defect. Little Justice lived for only 28 days before God healed him and called him home, but little Justice did more in those 28 days than I have done in almost 26 years for God. This has really shaken me. It has shown me that my walk has been lacking here lately. I would like to blame it on many things, but really, there are no excuses. God should always be top priority but many times we push him to the back burner.

Any free moment during the day I was checking up on little Justice. Every time there was a new post from Troy or Sara I would be completely amazed by their strength and encouragement for others. They were facing the possibility of losing their child and they were busy spreading God's love and word! Would I be this strong in my faith in their situation? Little Justice fought hard for God. He spent his 28 days on earth poked and prodded on but he also spent those 28 days bringing together over 3300 people to fall on their face and to speak to the creator of the universe. I know that every minute of the day I was thinking about the Perry family and praying that God would miraculously heal little Justice. I spent more time in the word in the last 28 days than I have in the last couple of months. God truly used this little guy to do great things and bring glory and honor to His name. My constant prayer in the last month has been based off of Romans 14:8. Whether I live or die, may it be for the Lord. Also, how comforting to know no matter what, we are His!

"For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." Romans 14:7-8

Thank you Perry Family and Little Justice for allowing us to be along with you on this journey!

Dear Blog...I still love you.

Dear Blog, I still love you even though I have ignored you for over a week. Dear readers, I greatly apologize for the long gap between post and for being late on the recipes for the week. This week has been rough. We believe sweet baby a is going through a growth spurt and that has equaled little sleep and lots of crying and screaming. Let's just say mom has been exhausted this week! But we will get though this! :)

Here is the menu for this week. Again, I apologize for being late and remember we are being budget friendly and I am eating the dreaded left overs! (really...it has not been that bad...just don't tell Mr J I said that)

White Chicken Chili

Adapted from Spark Recipes

Sorry..there was no picture and I was too excited about eating this to take one. I will try to do better. We had jalapeno cornbread with this. It was AMAZING!

Also, I made a few adjustments. I accidentally used real beans instead of can. Let's just say we ate a later that night than we thought we would. Also, I put two cans of green chilis instead of the chili peppers. And for the salsa I used salsa verde. It was so yummy!

Crock Pot Country Style Ribs

Once again no picture. This is something I just made up.

• Rub ribs down with your favorite seasonings. I stuck to garlic, salt and pepper.
• Place ribs in crockpot.
• Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce.
• Add a good handful of brown sugar.
• Cook those little bad boys for 6 hours on low
• Enjoy! :)

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

And for the third time...no picture! (sorry. i will work on this! this is what happens when i use my own recipes!) This is one of our household favorites!

• Chicken, cooked and shredded (I normally use two to three breast)
• 2 cans cream of chicken
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 1/2 sleeves of Ritz Garlic Butter crackers
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 baking dish (or your favorite casserole dish). Stir together soup and sour cream. Add Chicken. Crush crackers in a bowl and add poppy seeds. Pour melted butter in cracker mixture and mix well. Pour chicken mixture in baking dish. Sprinkle cracker mixture over the top. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy! :)

Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Adapted from: Rachel Ray

On this pizza I use a store bought crust. You can use your favorite but I use a thin crust from Walmart. It is in a purple package and there are two crust in a pack. I am sorry I do not know the name of the brand. Also, I do not use blue cheese. I hate that stuff. And make sure to use Frank's Hot Sauce. That is the key!

Conquering the Hate for Leftovers

I hope everyone has had a great week! Our week in camelot has been kind of crazy, but it has been a very great week! We had some huge decisions to make this week but I believe God totally revealed His will and we I believe we made the right decisions. But...I am so glad it is the weekend.

With me being an official stay at home mom, I am also finding ways to cut the grocery bill again. I am not a fan of leftovers. Hate may be a better word than the phrase "not a fan". I blame it on my mom and dad. Dad did not like leftovers growing up so mom made something new for dinner each night. Mr. J on the other hand loves leftovers. The 4 years we have been married I still have not been able to scale back my cooking portions for 2. I cook more for like 20. And we always have leftovers. We were being so wasteful and it seriously was convicting me in more ways than one. So...this past week, I have eaten leftovers. The meal plan had 4 recipes with 3 nights of leftovers. It was not that bad. Actually one of the meals was better the next day. With that being said, the weekly menu will be down sizing. I apologize if you dislike leftovers as much as I do, but I promise that if you try you will learn they are not that bad and they also allow you more money in your pocketbook! :)

This is a week I am so glad that I am a week ahead on the menu schedule. We had an epic fail for Pad Thai Ramen Noodles. I love Pad Thai and was so excited that this meal would only cost a total of about $2.00 to make. But it seriously was the worst thing Mr. J and I have ever eaten. We ordered pizza after the first taste. So I apologize. There will only be 3 recipes this week. But here they are! And they are all very yummy!

Chicken and Mushroom Stir-Fry

Source and picture: The All American Chinese Cookbook

CrockPot 5 ingredient Roast

Source and picture: Keeper Worthy Recipes

Chicken Teriyaki

Source and picture: A Sweet Pea Chef

I hope you all have a great weekend! The weather is going to be great here in camelot!

Tough Decisions

As I mentioned in a previous post...Mr J and I had some big decisions that we would be making. Before precious baby a came along I had dreams and aspirations to climb to the top in the corporate world. I had a great job at a bank. I loved what I did, I loved everyone I worked with and I could not imagine doing anything else. But then baby a came along and turned my life upside down. The thought of leaving her at daycare made me sick. The thought of someone else seeing her roll over, speak her first words, take her first steps before I did made me cry. My dreams of climbing the corporate ladder dissolved and my only dreams and aspirations now were to become a stay at home mom. Mr. J and I knew that we could not do it on his income alone. But...God has started revealing his plan for us. He has provided in ways that we could never imagine. And as of today I will be a stay at home mom. I have very mixed emotions at the moment. I am beyond excited to be the one raising my daughter. I am the one who can see her roll over the first time, hear her speak those first words, and see her take her first steps. But at the same time I worked with the greatest people in the world, loved my job and will miss it. But I also know this is the right decision. God has made that very evident in our lives. God is good...no...God is great...no...God is downright Amazing! This week he has taught me that when I truly rely on Him and not myself, He makes himself known. He makes His will known. Why do I try to do things on my own?!?!?! Haven't I learned my lesson!?!?!

Now I need to go love on my sweet baby girl. We had more shots today! :(

Long Over Due

I have neglected my blog for over a week now! I promised myself I would stay on top of this...but life just happened this week. I did finish my first home improvement project of painting the bathroom. I will post pictures later after we finish the final little touches. Also, sweet baby a turned 2 months this past week! I cannot believe that she is 2 months old. I also cannot believe that I will be going back to work in 2 weeks! With being 2 months old also comes 2 month shots. I hated every minute of the day we took her. It hurt me so bad to know she had no idea of what was coming. She took them like a trooper though! I did ask them to space them out so we have to go back this week to get another round :( . I hate the thought of them having to stick her again, but at the same time I feel better knowing that not all of that medicine is going in her little body all at once.

I know I normally post my menus on Thursdays, but as I said, life just happened this week. And I greatly apologize if anyone actually reads/uses the menu. But...here is this week's (well last week's menu)...

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

(These were amazing and I did make the Cilantro Sauce she suggest on the blog as well)

Source and picture: Brandy's Baking

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplins

Source and picture:BubbleCrumb

Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders

(I have had many different versions of these and these may be my favorite. I did use American cheese though)

Source and picture: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Honey Kissed Chicken Sandwich

(Buy good buns/rolls!)

Source and picture: Life's Ambrosia

Coconut Chicken Strips

(I made a really yummy pina colada sauce to go with! It is below)

Source and picture: Our Best Bites

California Cheeseburger pie

(This is a favorite of Mr. J's! But it is not a favorite for the waistline so it seriously is a once a year recipe. Also, I leave out the pickles. Mr. J hates dill pickles.)

Source and picture: Pillsbury

Pina Colada Sauce

4 oz Pina Colada Mix

3 oz Sour Cream

3 oz Crushed Pineapple (drained)

Mix together and chill until ready to serve! :)

Tasty Thursdays

I have a confession to make about next week. I will not be cooking along with you. I will actually be cooking a week ahead. But this will allow for me to review the recipes before I recommend them to you! Mr J and I have had all but two of these recipes and we would highly recommend them. I hope you enjoy! :)

Island Chicken

Source: Annie's Eats

Chicken Gyros

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Toasted Ravioli

Source: What's Cookin, Chicago?

Light Spicy Lemon Chicken

Source: Babble

Baked Pesto Chicken

Source: Kayln's Kitchen

Chinese Honey Chicken

Source:Blogchef

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

Source: Can You Stay For Dinner

Big Decisions

Mr J and I have some major decisions to be making in the next couple of months. One of those being what to do about a new house. I love our little home and it will always be special to me as it is our "first house" (not first home). But with the addition of baby a...we are quickly running out of room! Our once living room has now turned into a play room. We know a larger house is in our near future but the question is...where do we purchase this home? Closer to Mr J's work, closer to my work, or in the middle (or where we find the best house for the best price).

With the thought of selling our house soon, also comes the thought of some diy home projects. We do not have anything major to do, mainly just painting. I love color but understand some buyers cannot see past paint. So with that being said...I will be doing some painting in the weeks to come. I would love to finish it all before I go back to work (am I dreaming?) I thought I would start with our bathroom. I will show you the before pictures and hopefully be posting the after this weekend!

(Please do not judge my photography. I am learning...well plan on learning.)

Happy Tuesday everyone! :)

Next Week's Menu

I hope you guys have been enjoying the amazing weather as much as our household has! It has been filled with lots of running and walking! Here is our menu for next week! I hope you find something that sounds yummy to your family!

Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta

What's Cookin', Chicago

Yummy Honey Chicken Kabobs

Allrecipes.com

Lemon Chicken

Barefoot Contessa

Taco Pasta

The Girl Who Ate Everything

Apple Maple Turkey Burgers

Food Network

Slow Cooker Angel Chicken

Cleverly Inspired

Mongolian Beef

Pink Bites

Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall is here...well...not officially, but it seriously feels like it!

I am so excited it has finally cooled down so we can get sweet baby a outside to play! And the cool weather will make my running much more enjoyable. I strive to become an avid runner, and I will say I do enjoy the way I feel when I finish (well, not at the exact moment...), but I still am not a huge fan. But I strive to be healthy. I want to be able to chase my little munchkin around when she starts moving and not be out of breath. I want to outlast her (if that will every be possible). I want to set a good example for her of what it means to live a healthy, balanced life.

With that being said, I hope everyone had a great weekend! We had a family filled weekend and it was great to be able to relax and hang out. Mr. J and I actually went on a "date" Saturday night. I had so much fun with him, even though he would probably beg to differ as I constantly reminded him I didn't want to stay out late and wanted to be home by 8.

I hope that every has a great week and get out and enjoy this weather!

Life Lately

As I was running yesterday afternoon during the hottest part of the day I was trying to keep my mind off dying and realized I had not updated the blog since Saturday. I am trying really hard to stick with this blog and update on a regular basis. Life lately has been busy.

 On Saturday my brother came to visit from Texas. Sweet baby A loved her uncle Nate and enjoyed every minute of his visit. Hermano (brother in spanish since he lives in texas, we are part mexican, and he works in Mexico...i thought it was appropriate) Nate had a short visit. Sunday I cooked a big lunch for the family and then we all just hung out. Great Grandma came to visit sweet baby a. It is so funny with my family. A visit to them consist of about 10 minutes. My mom and dad drove an hour one way to get my grandmother and then they stayed a total of 10 minutes. After they left we all ventured out to get diapers for baby a. By the way, I love Pampers Swaddlers. I promise to not use anything else unless I absolutely have to. While we were out Hermano Nate saw that we had a Taco Johns, and that is what he wanted for dinner. Please, explain to me how you can live where there is authentic Mexican food and you beg to eat at Taco Johns? Mr. J and I neither one understand it. Monday, Hermano Nate flew back to Texas to be with his sweet little family again. We cannot wait to see them all at Christmas and see Miss Maddie in September!

{Hermano Nate and Baby A}

{Miss Maddie} 

 Yesterday we had our first shopping trip and lunch outing! Baby a couldn't have been any better! We have been so blessed with such a good/happy baby! We ate lunch with Mr. J and then shopped for some new pjs for baby a. What a good day out!

 This update has been all over the place so I'll leave you with our menu for next week and a picture to make you smile! :)

Saturday Night- Mexican Chicken
Sunday- Pan Fried Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy
Sunday Night- Chicken Pesto Pizza (see recipe below)
Monday- Italian Garlic Sausage Penne
Tuesday- Chicken and Broccoli- Use this Beef and Broccoli recipe only use chicken
Wednesday- Baked Ravioli (see recipe below)
Thursday- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

Chicken Pesto Pizza (It can't get much easier than this!)

• 2 Chicken Breast- Cooked and Diced (great for leftover grilled chicken)
• Pre-made Pesto in a Jar
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Pillsbury Pizza Crust in a Can- Or your favorite crust

1. Spread your pizza crust out on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 3 to 5 minutes on the heat that the can suggest.  Take out of the oven.
2. Spread pesto on crust to your liking.  A little goes along ways!
3. Sprinkle diced chicken and mozzarella cheese on top.  
4. Bake for about 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is slightly browned.
5. Enjoy :)

Baked Ravioli

• 1 Package frozen beef or cheese ravioli
• 1 Bottle of your favorite Marinara Sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Cook Ravioli according to package
3. Drain ravioli
4. Spray a 8x11 baking dish with cooking spray and place about 1/2 cup of your marinara sauce on bottom of dish
5. Place ravioli in dish on top of marinara
6. Top ravioli with marinara until well covered
7. Top with cheese 
8. Bake for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted
9. Enjoy :)

And as promised...a precious face...

Happy Thursday!

A Super Saturday

What a fun Saturday! Our Saturday so far...

Woke up with a happy baby!

Went for a morning jog. My best friend Lauren and I are training for a 5k. I cannot wait to complete this goal. 2 years ago I trained for a half marathon and ended up getting sick 4 days before the half. And when I say sick, I mean on my death bed sick. I do not think that after the c-section I am ready to train for another half, but thought we would start out with a 5k. Lauren and I both share the passion to be passionate about running, but neither one of are. Maybe this will help. And how much more fun is running when you are doing it with someone! Although while jogging this morning I began to wonder how well race day will be running together. Lauren's legs are about twice the length of mine. I am either going to have to really push to pick up my pace or say see you at the finish line :)

Watched a little tv with my favorite little munchkin.


Whipped up a little lunch for Mr. J and me.

Washed the little munchkin.

Wasted a little time on pinterest while baby a was sleeping.

Wiggled baby a into her little strawberry outfit from her Aunt B. (the hat came off right after the picture)


Waiting on my brother to get here from Texas.

What a great Saturday so far! Hope you all are enjoying your weekend! :)

Here is our menu for next week. Enjoy! :)

Saturday Night- Baked Teriyaki Chicken
Sunday Afternoon- Kay's Orange Chicken
Sunday Night- Healthier General Tso's Chicken
Monday- Beef and Broccoli
Tuesday- Crispy Buffalo Chicken Roll-Ups
Wednesday- Glazed Pork Chops
Thursday- Cajun Chicken Pasta

Motherhood

My goal is to always be real. I would love for everyone to think that we have the perfect life. That I have everything under control and am "super wife, mom, person". But the truth is...I'm not. I know you are all shocked by this. :) I contemplated writing this post, but I have a lot of friends who are new moms or about to be moms. I know that experienced moms can relate and new moms can see there is hope in the days that seem endless. I hope that I am always real and never put on a front in real life or in this blog.

I love motherhood! Baby a has brought so much joy and happiness into our home. With that being said, not every day is all smiles and giggles. It is days like today that I want to sit in the floor and cry with her, to scream when she screams, and to basically just take a day off. After nights of no sleep, mornings of going through almost every onesie we have in the closet and a day filled with screams, I wonder if I will ever slightly figure out what to do in these situations. Even though it is very trying and some times difficult and even though I had a major break down in the bathroom because all I wanted to do was brush my teeth, I looked over and caught a glimpse of her smile and once again was reminded that the cries, screams, constant dirty clothes, piled up laundry and dirty bottles are all worth it. It also reminded me of how much she needs me at this time. And then I was quickly reminded of how much I need my heavenly father! I love how God constantly reminds us that He is there for us and all we have to do is turn to Him. Just like I am here for baby a, all she has to do is let me take care of her. What a great reminder of something so simple that I needed to see today.

As of right now, baby a is finally down for a nap :) Mom can finally get some of the dirty clothes cleaned, bottles washed and get ready for her sweet baby to wake up!

By the way...how can you not just love this face...

Menu for the week

About a year ago I tried to figure out ways that we could save money without me joining the coupon craze. I do not have the patience to cut coupons and try to plan a meal around what is on sale that week (I do admire anyone who does this!). My answer was to start by planning our meals each week. Before I would call Mr J before I left work, we had the 5 minute "what do you want for dinner" conversation and it ended up with a daily grocery bill of about $50. That adds up really quickly. Even though I do not cut coupons, I do check the cabinets for items that I already have to help save. This has worked out great for our family and I thought I would share my weekly menus with you to help give you some inspiration for your weekly meals (if you need it). Menus are planned from Saturday to Thursday. Fridays are our "free nights". :) Many of these recipes are new to us so I can not guarantee the taste. :)

This Week's Menu
Saturday Night- Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
Sunday Lunch- Chicken Stir Fry Wraps
Sunday Night- Chicken Coconut Curry
Monday Night- Steak Fajitas- Have fun with this. We just marinade flank steak in different seasonings each time, a little mixed veggies and some tortillas.
Tuesday Night- Honey Chicken
Wednesday Night- Citrus-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
Thursday Night- Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I really hope this helps someone out there! I plan on trying to post the weekly menu for the upcoming week at least by Thursdays. So if you are needing some dinner ideas, come back on Thursdays :).

Happy Weekend everyone!
-McKinzey

Happy One Month Sweet Baby A!

Yesterday our sweet baby a was a month old. A month ago from yesterday was one of the most stressful and scariest days, but yet one of the greatest days of my life! Baby A had a mind of her own on how she would enter the world and scared her mom and dad to death on the way, but she arrived safely and healthy and that is all that matters. Mr. J and I could not imagine our lives without our sweet baby a! We are so excited to see her grow and are so honored that God has allowed and trusted us to be her parents. We love you sweet baby!

finally!

it is official. i have finally decided to join the blogging world. this is just a way to journal our family's life journey. i have no idea of anyone that will even read this, but it will be a good way to document our life. :)