29 on the 29th!

Thursday was my “Golden” Birthday! 29 on the 29th! I remember when my sister turned 29, it was the year that we went to Miami for Spring Break. I thought she was so much older and so much wiser than me (we are 9 years apart). Not only do I  not feel old, but i do not feel as wise and mature as I thought she was. I also do not “look” old! People are always amazed at how old I say I am. My telephone voice is not any better- high pitched like a teen.

On the morning of my birthday, Owen decided to wake me up at 5:15am, just like he had done the previous 4 days (and has continued to do). I have no idea what is up with him. I guess he wanted to tell me happy birthday early? At about 7:15 John came downstairs and asked if I wanted my presents. I said of course! He told me to go upstairs to grab my camera and then come down.

This is what was waiting for me on my camera!

a BEAUTIFUL camera strap! I have been wanting one for a while!

I came downstairs, thanked John, and this was what was waiting for me..

A big ole present, and yummy maple nut goodies (my favorite)

 

The  present was a bread maker- something i have been wanting for a LONG time! And John got me above and beyond the one I have been asking for. I am so excited about all of the possibilities!

I made the most delicious loaf of french bread for dinner. It was perfectly crusty on the outside and so soft on the inside. I think I will be making this often!

 

It went beautifully with the homemade baked ravioli with 4 cheese sauce and asparagus. It was the perfect birthday meal!

My best friend Erin ALSO  got me a beautiful camera strap. I love both of the straps and I can not wait to use them interchangeably!

 

 

  

 

The straps were both purchased from the etsy shop Shoot in style. She is currently closed for vacation, but I will link to her once she reopens!

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday very special!

THANKFUL THURSDAY!

I absolutely love my life right now! I have a wonderful husband who does so much for our family. I have a wonderful boy who helps me to see the world through the eyes of a child. I love having the opportunity to stay at home and serve our family.


However, there are a few…




Things I wish I would have been thankful for before they were gone:

Being able to grab fast food whenever I wanted, without having to share it with anyone, or having to worry about the logistics of dragging a child along!

The days where I got to watch random tv, whenever I want! Somehow it just does not seem like a good idea to let Owen watch The Hills!

Being spontaneous!

Going to the bathroom by myself.

Not having to touch anyone's poop.

Sleeping in past 7. Gosh, when I was pregnant with Owen and not working, I would sleep in until 10:00 many days. It was glorious.

Going to a restaurant. Owen screams at the top of his lungs to get the attention of innocent bystanders. It just is not fun to go out anymore!

But with all of that said, I would not change anything for the world. When I look back on my life before being a mom i realize how much time i wasted, how i really was not doing anything of importance, and how even though i did not know it at the time- something so important was missing in my life.


I am so THANKFUL for my family, and for the fact that they have completed me (as corny as that sounds!)

Owen woke up at 5:15am…

…so I made up a recipe for blueberry scones! YUMMY!

I adapted the recipe from a recipe I have for the cheddar biscuits from Red Lobster- YUMMY!

Ingredients

2.5 cups of Bisquick

1/2 stick of butter- cold

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 T. ground cinnamon

1/4 cup blueberries

1. With a fork or pastry knife, combine the  butter with the bisquick. There should be tiny little balls of butter left in the mix.

2. Add milk, sugar and cinnamon. Mix on low until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

3. Place semi-rounded biscuit sized mounds on an ungreased cookie sheet. Mine were about 1/4 cup in volume i would guess. You will get 12-15 scones, depending on how large you make it.

4. Bake in an oven that is preheated to 400 degrees from approximately 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

I also added a quick glaze- but they would have been great without it too! 

GLAZE Ingredients

1/4 stick butter, softened

2 oz cream cheese

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp lemon extract (optional)

- mix ingredients until a silky icing forms. Drizzle over warm scones.

Try not to eat these all in one day! I sure came close!

Thanks!

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers everyone! Owen is feeling much better! His fever has been a bit up and down, but Tylenol suppositories seem to be finally doing the trick. He still will only eat cheese, so random, but is drinking water really well so I am not worried about him too much!

Yesterday we did have a major drama at our house though… Major. Owen CLIMBED OUT OF HIS CRIB!

OH MY GOSH!

I was not ready for this. So we took our his bumpers, against my better judgment, and took off the wrapping around the top of the crib (used because he turned into a beaver), and put him to bed.

At 1230am we woke up to him SCREAMING terribly, so we ran in, and the poor thing had gotten his foot stuck between the slats, and could not get it out. It even took a little bit for John to get it out!!! For those of you who do not know, Owen has VERY large feet. He currently is in a size 6.5-7 shoe (which normally is the size for a 2.5-3 year old). So he got his big ole feet stuck in the slat. 

Needless to say, we promptly put the bumpers BACK on the bed, and are hoping he does not climb out again. I sort of think he used the wrapping on the top to climb out- but we will see. I plan to cover the floor beside the bed in as many comforters and sleeping bags as I can- incase he DOES climb out again.

I HOPE it was a 1 time fluke- because I do not think he is ready for a toddler bed. Or maybe Mommy just is not ready! 

I want to go back to Alaska

Like, now!

Pictures from our weekend!

We had a pretty low key weekend. Owen is in a weird place with naps right now, as in I have no idea when he wants to nap! For a week or so he was not taking his morning nap, and going down for his afternoon nap at like 11-1130am. Well last week we started swimming lessons, and he just can not make it until class is over at 12 to nap.

Finally this weekend i started putting him down for a morning AND an afternoon nap, and he did much better. Last week was pretty rough because he was overtired and therefore GRUMPY!!!!!!!!!! This weekend he was MUCH better!

Just when I think I have him all figured out, i realize I have no idea what he needs!

Playing with his favorite girl, Maggie!

Mommy is a close second though!

 

Check out my mom’s shades. They look pretty cool on me!



Fist pump!
 
Ok, I don’t want them on anymore…
 
WAIT, WHERE DID MY GLASSES GO!?!?!
 
This picture pretty much sums up Owen lately! He is in that stage where he has so many feelings and emotions, and just does not know how to express himself, so it comes out whiney or fussy. He has been better about showing me what he wants or needs, but he still does the whiney thing, a LOT!

Daddy kisses make it all better! (notice the Wii remote in hand! he loves to walk around with it!)

So does swimming. YAH!!

Hello, toes!
 
Swimming because it was over 100 degrees yesterday and that is just too hot for anyone to enjoy!

My new favorite picture of Owen!

You just have to look past the runny nose!

Poor buddy!

OK guys, I need you to all say a prayer for Owen! He has a really high temp (went all the way up to 103.1), a double ear infection, and a virus (which is causing him to throw up, he has not kept anything down all day!). He spent most of the day in my arms, crying and whimpering.

Pray that he is able to get good rest tonight in order to fight off his sickness!!!!

3 hours and $199 later….

The virus from John’s computer is gone. UGH!!

More Followers Monday- Take 2

Ok so I participated in this last week, and then I went and changed my blog address! Our old one had our last name in it, and that just is not smart when you are a military family! So after 2 years of blogging I finally decided to come up with a new blog name and address!

More Followers Monday was created to help get new followers.  It's a great way to "meet" new great blogs to follow!  It was started by some fun mommy blogs- one of which I read daily.

All you have to do is 1.) follow the hosts {Mama B; Little BCGC; Baby Dickey}, 2.) Grab the button and create a post explaining about it and a little about yourself, 3.) Link up

ABOUT ME!
I am a late twenties SAHM to 17 month old Owen.  We are a military family, a Christian family, and we enjoy meal planning. I love to make posts about new recipes we love to try, my attempts at Once a Month Cooking, pictures of our adventures, and updates for our family and friends to read. This blog started off as a way to keep our family updated with my pregnancy since we lived across the country. It has since evolved into a way to stay connected with family AND friends.

I do not really fall into a certain group of “parenting”. I breastfed, made my own homemade baby food (and i do most of his toddler food as well), occasionally did baby wearing, I am anti co-sleeping, follow the recommended vaccination schedule, I let my son CIO at 9 months, we use disposable diapers, we rear faced our car seat until 16 months, and we just do what feels right for our family.

We would love for  you to join us on our family adventures!

This fly is out to get me!

This has been the craziest day! Owen woke up at 5:20 this morning, absolutely inconsolable! I have no idea what in the world was wrong! He was basically just hysterical and there was nothing I could do to settle him back down!

I tried snuggling with him, rocking him, reading to him, changing his diaper, milk, etc. Nothing worked! So finally we went downstairs to watch some Thomas the Train- which finally made him happy.

Momma on the other hand was NOT happy to be awake at 530 in the morning, watching Thomas.

John stayed in bed until around 8am when I put Owen down for his first nap, and I promptly went to sleep until about 11:30am. YAH! HEAVEN!

Well, Heaven until tonight when now I CAN NOT FALL ASLEEP.

Not to mention I am being stalked by a fly. No, seriously. This fly is messing with me. He keeps landing on me, buzzing by my ear, tormenting me. I really think he is out to get me.

Which actually reminds me of that time my "for one semester only" roommate Kari was afraid of me walking down a path in the dark because the deer were out to get her, and they would go through me since I was her roommate. She also dressed up like a vampire (or was it a witch) frequently. And I woke up one morning to like 20 origami things hanging above my bed.

That was a weird semester of my life!

I hope everyone else can sleep!

Weekends are for spending time with Daddy!

Thanks!

Thank you so much for taking the time to move over to this blog! I am sad to see our old blog go, but I am so excited about the new possibilities with this blog. I always felt like I had to be so cautious with it having our last name attached!

I have a ton of fun pictures to upload this weekend. Owen has had a great week with swimming lessons, hanging out with friends, and starting to talk up a storm! Today I got him to say our last name!!!!

Have a great friday, friends!

Things I want to do/or not to do

.. in order to better myself!


1. Stop biting my nails!

PHOTO CREDIT 

This has been a struggle for me since at least kindergarten! I remember the boy I liked way back then (in 1986) made fun of me for biting my nails. Since then it has been such a constant struggle.  

A few times a year I commit to myself to stop biting- and I normally keep it up for a month or so. Then something “stressful” will happen and I fall right back into that same biting routine. I will bite one, then I have to bite them all because heaven forbid they not be even. It just starts a crazy downward spiral that I need to eliminate!

I find that when I paint my nails a dark color, I am less likely to bit them. I currently have them a beautiful shade of wholesome earth that would make my friend Alison proud because it is a dark purpleish color. It has been about a week since i last bit them and I can see whites- YAH!

2. Be better about keeping my house clean.

PHOTO CREDIT

I always have every intention of getting my house really really clean and keeping it that way forever. And then life happens. Right now I have $150 worth of items from the commissary sitting on my kitchen counter because i wanted to watch the bachelorertte after Owen went to bed instead of putting everything away (don’t worry, I got the cold stuff). I did manage to clean up the living room floor, but only because i lost my watch, again.

For a while now I have subscribed to Flylady.net. She sends out daily email suggestions for what to clean, weekly zone plans, and daily things we should do. I even printed out some of her lists and laminated them last year so i could use the dry erase marker on them each week. I HAVE TO GET BETTER ABOUT DOING THIS! I feel like i live in constant messes and it is completely our fault. John, Owen and I all need to be better about cleaning up after ourselves WHEN THE MESS happens instead of letting it pile up.

I recommend subscribing to her daily emails. I chose the option to get just 1 email a day from her- it is a combination of all of the information sent out, but you also can get each email she sends out throughout the day- it would be like 10 a day. I do not like having my inbox clogged up so I passed on that option. Her plan can really change your life though!

3. Drink more water.

PHOTO CREDIT

I was reading tonight that gallbladder issues could be do to not drinking enough water- which i KNOW i definitely do not do. I am lucky to get 1 glass in me a day, i am no where close to the recommended 6-8 glasses! Tomorrow morning I am going to make myself drink drink drink! Hopefully! :)

4. Be present.

PHOTO CREDIT

I am constantly looking forward to the next thing. I have a difficult time just living in the moment. Now that I am a mom i realize how important it is to just be present for Owen. My goal is to be a yes mom, always live in the moment, and not take for granted this time I have with him. He is so sweet and so snuggly. I know how lucky I am and I want to savor every moment of his childhood!

I know there are so many other things. Like being better about couponing, meal planning, spending more time with the dog. But I think the list above is more than enough of a good start!

DISCLAIMER- FlyLady.net has in no way compensated me for this post. I just happen to LOVE the site and all it has to offer.

What this blog has been missing…

Is some photos of the BOY!

Here he is attempting to trim his toe nails!

 

Just sitting in his toy drawer..

 

 

 

Some pictures of Mommy and Owen..

 

 

Still loving his rocking chair!

Sometimes we take pictures that give me a little glimpse into what he will look like as a teenager! I can totally see him in a football (or lacrosse) uniform here!

 

 

John and I painted our bedroom recently.. it went from a khaki to a dark blue (way darker than it appears here). We absolutely love it! You can see the final color in some pictures at the bottom of this post.

I recently made another banner for my friend Leslie’s sons birthday. I absolutely love making these and I think that one day I would like to open up my own etsy shop to sell them! The banner says HAPPY BIRTHDAY- i just did not get many pictures of the birthday part.

 

 

 

Daddy has some big shoes to fill, and this guy sure wants to try!

 

 

 

Check out the dark blue wall behind Owen. We LOVE the color!

Have a great week!