It's been awhile...

So yeah, I have fallen off the wagon with my blogging. Things have just gotten a little hectic and I honestly couldn't keep up...here is a month in review through pictures!

Happy Easter! Molly's Easter dress was a wee bit tight, but we made it work!

She LOVES the Babies R' Us mailer that comes once a month.

A couple weekends ago, Brandon took Molly and me to the golf course with him. She was so good! I say that like she's an amazingly well behaved child..I was feeding her puffs the whole time :)

First golf lesson with Dad.

Just headed out for the day. The child thinks keys are the greatest thing EVER.

Molly and I made a last minute trip to visit my Dad in Myrtle Beach. My best friend Megan came from Charleston to see us, that's her holding Molly on the boat ride at the outlet mall.

It seems Molly is going to love the ocean when we go back in a couple weeks. I took her down to the water thinking she may be a little timid. Um, not so much. We were in clothes and I was soaked chasing her into the water. My dad found it really funny when I came back up 10 minutes later soaking wet with a toddler screaming "SIDE", which is outside to her.

Our week in pictures

Molly got to meet her future BFF when my BFF Sarah made a last minute visit. They were so sweet together.

Loving on my buddy, who looks super happy about it.

Had some help issues at the shop so Molly went to work with me for 2 HOURS. Yes that is a metal chain  link rope my child is playing with on a cement floor. Mommy of the year. Oh and that's probably a drill behind her somewhere.

Enjoying the beautiful weather we have been having.

Finishing up the weekend with a little shopping.

Happy Monday everyone!

Just shy of 16 months

Apologies for the quality, but you gotta move quick with this little one! She is just getting such a personality lately, and I have a feeling she may have some of her mother's qualities that maybe aren't the most endearing...

• She isn't the happiest person when she wakes up. Until Molly came around, you pretty much shouldn't talk to me the first 20 minutes or so after waking.
• The girl likes her food. If I could post a picture of me circa 1984ish you would completely understand. She doesn't have quite as much on me in the weight department, but she would eat all the time if we let her. Lately, she will just walk in the kitchen and say "more".
• Talk about mood swings. Although this, I think, can be said for any woman really.
• If she doesn't get what she wants, you better watch out. I like to think I have grown from this, except my husband, dad and brother may have a different point of view.

Ofcourse, this is all said jokingly because she is absolutely perfect and I tell her that everyday :) Let's just hope her father's patient, even tempered and charming personality balances her out...



Five Faves Friday

Been a bit MIA, but I'm back with some friday faves! Molly edition...Molly's favorites and things that I can't live without!

1. The Fresh Beat Band: For those of you who aren't aware of what this is, consider yourself very lucky. This is a no fail method to calm Molly no matter what is causing her breakdown.

Fresh Beats

2. The Park: This is a favorite for both of us, because she loves running around, she gets fresh air, and it wears her out. Her biggest thing is the tunnel.

3. Books: She LOVES books, but won't let you read them to her. By this I mean she gets so excited and is so into them but she won't let you get through a book. We read stories before bedtime and we look through a page or two of each book and then she throws it on the floor and grabs another one. Short attention span I guess.

4. Peek-a-boo: I am working on posting the video, but she goes nuts playing peek-a-boo. Her laugh is so infectious and we have decided it's probably the greatest sound in the world.

5. Wine: This ofcourse is  Mommy's tip and favorite thing for Moms of toddlers or any child for that matter. A nice glass of red wine is a great way to relax and end the long day. Highly recommend trying it.

This Week's Pinterest Find

I promise this isn't turning into an all food blog, but you must try this! This Chocolate Hummus came from Pinterest, duh, and it's surprisingly really good. I would suggest using something cookie like to dip, teddy grahams, vanilla wafers, etc. While at the grocery store with Molly in tow, forgetting only  one item these days is awesome for me, but that meant the chocolate hummus was being eaten with apples. Granny smith apples...wouldn't suggest it. However, I did scrounge up some of the above delicious almond butter bars (a staple in  my pantry) and the dip was SO MUCH yummier. Enjoy!

Photos: Cupcake Project and Cascadian Farms

On the Menu Tonight

Spicy Corn soup

This delicious looking soup comes from a fellow Hokie @ Young Married Chic. I planned to try it last night, but was just too exhausted to cook and clean up the mess, so it's on the menu for tonight.

A side note: The writer of the Young Married Chic blog is also writing a book called A Taste of Virginia Tech. Be sure to check it out!

My new kicks

Kitchen Love

Lately, I have been envying big kitchens in the hopes that sometimes I will have one. Here are some of my faves.

 House of Turquoise

House of Turquoise

I love this farm house sink and open shelving. 

 

So warm and sunny.

Just hanging out

Mother's Day Out

This week was a big week for Little Miss. Brandon and I joined the gym just before the New Year (yes, we are "those" people who start working out at the new year) and we picked this particular gym because it has a daycare. Awesome, I can go workout and Molly can play away in the daycare area...um, not so much. First and Second trips to the gym were a huge Fail. These two attempts happen just days before Molly's first day of Friday morning daycare. I was terrified.

Shockingly, daycare went so much better! I think it has something to do with the fact that I sneak out without her knowing. That isn't possible at the gym because its a all windows. I was sure they director was going to call me and say we should probably come get her because she wouldn't pull it together, but after 45 minutes she called to tell me she was doing great. Thank Goodness! Here are a few pics of her first day in her new sweater courtesy of her future BFF Helen E.

Best we could do because she isn't much for staying still for a picture.



Outdoor fun and a little relaxing

Molly loves "throwing" the ball for Cameron. It doesnt really get very far, so I am not so sure Cameron loves it.

Playing with her Chase me Kitty she got for Christmas.

This morning after Molly's wild New Years Eve. She wasn't interested in sleeping and played in her crib for over an hour. Shockingly, I made it up to see the New Year, totally wasn't expecting that.

happy 2012!!



Mama needs a new pair of shoes

 And by need I mean want. I'll be looking for some black shoes this weekend..here's my inspiration.

All pictures here

Daytime TV

Growing up I can always remember my mom and Granny watching their "stories" AKA daytime soap operas. It seemed to me that it was some kind of Mom thing to start watching soap operas when you had children and stayed home with them. This week I haven't been able to get into work much for several reasons and so I began watching The Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful which conveniently come on during Molly's one nap.

I am officially hooked on my stories...if you are a stay at home mom, get lots of time off, or have TiVo...start watching. It's terrible but oh so good.

Christmas Recap

Merry Christmas!! Here is our weekend recap in pictures...

 

Here is little miss Christmas morning before we went to my Grandparents. The picture is terrible because she wouldn't stand still.

 Checking out her new Elmo books. I think we have an Elmo lover for sure!

Until Molly is officially walking, which I don't think is too far off, her main form of movement is still crawling. We had to tie up her pretty dress with a hair band, because she kept getting stuck up in it.

My Dad's sister gave Molly this little sleeping bag and as you can see it was a huge hit. Also note that we have completely ditched the sweet dress for a onsie. Much easier to move in.

And finally here is Molly in our living room chair...

 And here is Molly in that same chair one year ago...

 It's so hard to believe these little things can change that much over a year. It really is amazing.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!



Christmas Dinner

This Christmas I am fixing dinner for my dad's side of the family, which is about 15 people. I am all about simple, because it feels like when I try to get to creative everything gets away from me. It's not the most traditional Christmas Dinner food, I am not even close to being able to attempt baking a turkey yet, but hopefully it will fill everyone up!

Pork Tenderloin is pretty much my go to when I have to cook meat. Even when I ate meat I just never did well preparing and cooking it. I have made a similiar pork tenderloin in the crock pot before, so I am going to kinda of mix the two recipes together. Since we will be running around all day, I am not going to brown it first, so instead of using that as the liquid I am going to add chicken broth and a packet of french onion soup. We'll see how it turns out!

When I decided on the  main course and then picked some sides I didn't really include anything healthy so I searched for what goes well with Pork and here we have, Wild Rice. This one is a crock pot recipe, but I am not sure if I have another crock pot to use so we may be improvising AND I forgot the mushrooms it calls for. The forgotten mushrooms may have happened because I chose to go to the grocery store TODAY, Molly was a little wild and I ended up carrying my 20 pound child down about 3 aisles and got a "hurry the hell up" look from a woman while searching for wild rice. If mushrooms is all I forgot, we are good.

I found these little guys on Pinterest and they are my wild card. Since I am going to have to double the recipe and they have to be timed well to serve hot, these could be a flop. I am also switching out the gruyere and using asiago.

All of my aunts are bringing things and we will also have salad, so if there isn't something for everyone to eat then I will be shocked. Happy Holidays everyone!! 

Molly pictures are coming, I promise!

New daily read

I just came across this new blog Fern and Feather and I love it. My favorite post is about her first month with her second son. In the post she really captures how I feel about having a second child and how the dynamic of a mother's relationship with her first born changes. Of course there is always room for more love, but juggling two babes can be all consuming I would imagine. Geez, one is all consuming for me, as I experienced yet again today trying to run last minute holiday errands. Coming soon: day 1 of Molly's holiday outfits

Growing Up

photo: zulily.com

I think it's safe to say that little miss Molly has out grown her Baby Bjorn, so much so that her little legs kick me anytime we walk. I have been wanting to try out a sling like this and they finally had one on sale on Zulily, and I am sure it will arrive in approximately 2 months (I am exaggerating but, the one downside to zulily is that anytime you order something it feels like it takes FOREVER to get to you!) Hopefully this will be better for my back and allow me to have free hands. That child is all over the place now and I feel like I am the woman people look at in the grocery store whose child is backwards in the cart. Problem solved...well at least I think it is.

Just one year ago

Tonight I was searching through photos for some new frames and spent a good chunk of time just looking back at Molly's first year of life. On a side note, I sometimes still look at her and wonder to myself " Just where did you come from?". So I thought I would post a few from this time last year, which was just over a month after she was born (aka the blur, since brandon and I are convinced that's how people decide to have more children).

Exactly one year ago, funny since she was absolutely not having any part of napping today.

Just hanging out with her buddy.

Napping in her crib, which was extremly rare back then.

Long time no write

Things have just gotten away from me the last two months, but I am going to try to be better. Starting tonight with a must try recipe from my favorite recipe finder...Pinterest, duh.

Photo: Smashed Peas and Carrots via Pinterest

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup chocolate chips (it calls for minis, but I had regular white chocolate)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients then place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Take out and make into balls.

Seriously, I made these last night and ended up with about 12 and Im pretty sure half are already gone. So good!

Web Favorites

This recipe looks delicious and I believe I will be trying it soon.
I can't wait to have a breakfast nook/big enough kitchen to have these big chairs at my kitchen table. All these home pictures on Pinterest get me itching to make a move...but the hubs says that won't be happening anytime soon. Sad Face.

I just saw this on one of my favorite blogs...is that not the most precious baby swimsuit EVER. Her post says it's from Gap, but I can't find it through the link...I am now on a mission.