T is for Toddlers... which is for Tiring! And a Song-Link Up

My daughter is almost 18 months old

and is officially ALL toddler

there is NO baby left in that girl

except that she is MY baby

my sweet, adorable, funny, smart baby girl.

I absolutely adore the age and phase she is currently in..

always watching, soaking in, and learning

AND GOING!

Yesterday I was chasing her around the house

per our usual routine

and I stopped and was like

"WHOA TODDLERS ARE TIRING"

granted I know that part of the major tiring is that I am pregnant

and I would go to bed at 8pm every night if the hubs didn't call me an old woman

but anyways..

Toddlers are tiring...

but they are also sooo rewarding

I am having so much fun watching her grow and learn

and learning right there with her.

I have all kinds of fun posts brewing about my sweet girl

But I thought I'd share a story from our WIC appt this morning

It was our first appt at the WIC here in MD

and I won't lie.. I was dreading it big time!!

I HATED WIC appts in CA.

They always looked at me like I was retarded

but anyways that's besides the point

anywayyyyy

We go to our appt

and we finally get called back

and she takes both our weights and heights

and then she says she has to do an iron test

and I am like...

doesn't that mean she has to prick us???

and I start to sort of panic

see.... I am not a fan of shots, blood, or needles

I am not a freak out melt down girl like I was as a kid

but I like warning to prep pep talk myself

Well she did have to prick us

she asked who we should have go first

and wanted Kay but I said that it'd probably be better if I went first

because if she went first she'd be crying and squirming

and I wouldn't be able to stay still for mine.

So I went first and I was like whoa ow that kind of hurt when she pricked me...

then it was Kaylee's turn and I was gearing up for the melt down

So they clean her fingers and they prick her...

and....

NOTHING.

She said oh ow and then was mesmerized by the bandaid and that was the end of it!

What the heck!

There is no way my 17 month old daughter handled a finger prick

better then I did!!!! haha

It was pretty funny!

Anyways... for this week's song link-up over at Goodnight Moon

I chose

"Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift

it's super cute and I hope that no matter how old she gets

Kaylee always loves to snuggle and give me hugs and dance in the kitchen with me

This is my 100th post!!! And.... An easy, delicious recipe for Bowtie Lasagna!

Hey bloggy friends!
I have to say... 

I am pretty stinkin excited that this is my 100th post!! 

This isn't the most exciting post... BUT...

it is about a delicious recipe that I made last night and you can make for your family too!!

I found it over at The Pioneer Woman's website. 

She has all kinds of delicious recipes and I decided to scope it out for some inspiration

and came across this delicious little recipe... Bowtie Lasagna!

My husband looves anything meaty and pasta filled and so does my brother in law.
Lasagna happens to be one of their fav things..
but it happens to be one of my least fav to cook...
so whenever I come across an easier version I am always game.

I didn't take pictures of the whole process just of the end result in the pot and then on my plate with a simple salad and some biscuits I whipped together.
The biscuits are the instant pack of bisquick cheese and garlic all you have to do is add some water and bake!
I love the ones from Red lobster so I was hoping for some like that
but... they weren't the exact same... pretty delicious though.

Anyways!
The exact recipe calls for the following measurements and ingredients:
1 pound Ground Chuck
5 cups Bow Tie Noodles
3 cups Spaghetti Sauce (or Pizza Sauce, Whatever You Prefer)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or More, Make It To Your Taste)
½ cups Mozzarella Cheese
½ cups Sour Cream

But... just for the record... I never even looked at the exact measurements or recipe until right now.
You can get the exacts of everything at this link, but I just went off of the original link up there
from the pioneer woman

I used a pound of ground turkey instead of ground chuck just because that's what we had on hand

and what I actually prefer

instead of using 5 cups I just used a whole box which was about 6.5 cups but it worked perfectly for this recipe

as far as the marinara sause.. I use a whole jar and then a little of the left overs I had in my fridge

mostly because I like things extra saucy!
The olive oil I just poured some over to coat and went with it
And the mozz cheese I just mixed it in until I thought it was cheesy enough.
As far as the sour cream, I am a sour cream person..
you couldn't even taste it and it made the texture really yummy so def put it in 

even if you aren't a sour cream person!!

My big piece of advice is make sure that you are stirring it regularly
because it burnt to the bottom of my pan

and

was so sucky to clean out!!

hahaha

So here are the pics:

Finished product in the pot

and
on my plate with salad and the biscuits

It was delicious and everyone loved it.
There was so much that the boys each has two very large servings
I had two small servings
Kaylee had a serving
and we STILL had a very full to the brim tupperware of leftovers.
Which my brother-in-law ate for lunch because he liked it so much.

So there you have it..
I def recommend you to try this out
We will be making this again but I think next time I will add
mushrooms and olives
and maybe bell pepper!

Tonight I have crock pot beef stroganoff going and will be boiling up some egg noodles
and serving a salad.
I wish I had something to make garlic bread...
but the boys will survive haha

So check back for that recipe too..
because I think it's a winner!!

Park Playdates.

Last week Kaylee and I dropped all our regular plans, bundled up in warm clothes, packed a picnic and headed out to find a new park I found online.
We ended up not being able to find the park, but we kept driving and stumbled upon the jackpot of parks.
This park had an insane play structure that covered the whole park!!
It was filled with slides, swings, rock walls, bars, planks, play cars, drums, you name it... they had it!
We had a blast just playing at the park for 2 hours and enjoying each others company.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

I have found myself feeling pretty guilty lately that Kaylee doesn't get to do enough for just her.
We are always working on the house, or doing homework, or running errands, or working or whatever and she sometimes gets lost in the hussle and bussle.
My mom told me not to feel guilty because I am 13 weeks pregnant, going to school, and trying to maintain a house that seems to be trying to crumble around me and I can only do so much, but Kaylee is my number one ALWAYS and I want her to get fun stuff too.
So we will be trying to do something like this more often

Be it heading to the park, or to DC, or whatever...
Next up I really want to get her to story time at the library..

Sounds like something she would enjoy!

Anyways,
We are off to pick up the house and bake cookies before daddy gets home from work.
He needs a little extra love in his life with all the stress of the house.

A case of the Monday's... with a little hope

It's definitely Monday... just finished a whole post and went to add pics... blogger malfunctioned and never even saved it... AWESOME.
Here's a recap... simple and to the point... even though my other post was a lot more in depth and learned more.. I have to get my day started and will just do the bullets and post more about stuff later

-- Morning sickness seems to finally be subsiding... win!
-- Ceiling is leaking again.. fail!
Will def be posting more about this later

-- Finally pulled out my sewing machine and made Kaylee this cute dress.. from a pillow case... win!

And lastly, after a very stressful morning (by 8 am hubs was already on the verge of a heart attack) I opened my devotional for some time with God to read this:
"Life-giving Power
"This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life." -Psalm 119:50

Sometimes life is difficult. We face many challenges and disappointments that we may find hard to accept. But fortunately we have a heavenly Father who cares deeply for us in every way. He has given us His Word to guide us and give us the wisdom to withstand any situation that life brings. We only have to open the Book of Life to find comfort that allows us to be all that God wants us to be for our benefit and His glory."

Isn't it amazing that He always knows exactly what we need to read and when it needs to happen. I emailed this to my hubs at work in hopes it would help lighten his day a little. I plan to refer back to this through out the day when I start to get frustrated.

It's Monday... and mine was off to a pretty rocky place but I am thankful for a God who sends comforts when I need them. Life is difficult and I am hoping I can stay light in spirit and positive through my difficult day.

Here's to hoping the same for you and hoping this was what you needed to read today too..

What's YOUR Song Link-Up 35!

I swear I was going to blog everyday this week.... of course that didn't happen though!

Man one of these days I will figure out a schedule for my life that really works..

Maybe in a few weeks when I hit my second trimester

and don't spend the majority of my life laying down or barfing.

Seriously though... I am so sick of being sick

I can see the light though...

I am just over  12 weeks...

and with Kaylee when I hit my second trimester I was a lot better

so cross your fingers friends!!

Along with the whole pregnancy thing...

I have been having the craziest cracked out dreams lately

no doubt it's pregnancy

because I had some crazy ones with Kaylee too

It's getting kind of insane though.

And they are the kind of dreams that like... never stop

where you wake up..

and go back to sleep

and they pick right back up

Last nights I don't entirely remember

except that it was really hard on me

and I woke up very freaked out at one point in the night

but the cool thing was... when I went back to sleep

"Held" by Natalie Grant started playing in my dreams like a CD on repeat

This is the chorus:

"This is what it means to be held

How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved and to know

That the promise was that when everything fell

We'd be held"

So as you can guess.... this is the song I decided to link up for Goodnight Moon's Link-Up.

I had a different song planned out... a lot more fun and upbeat

But this morning when I woke up and thought about this song

I knew I had to post it!

Because He is holding me... always.

In my dreams, in my nightmares, in my everyday life,

in my trials, in my good days, and in my bad

I am held.

And that is so reassuring.

You can listen to my song here

And be sure to head on over to Amber's page at Goodnight Moon to check out the other songs people linked up

You might find some fun new songs

or re-live some fun memories from the songs people share.

Have a Blessed Day

XO

OH PS..... Be on the look out for my post about my first adventure with my sewing machine...

I am off to finish up project one right now!!

Misc Monday!

one

This quarter of classes are finished! I honestly couldn't be happier right now because I NEEDED a break! I have been going literally nonstop since the beginning of Jan with NO breaks... so this week I have a mini break and next week I start back up on my new classes! Craziness will commence then too! 

two

This week I have a lot planned for the little miss and I. Today is a long day of errands filled with some grocery shopping, getting my brother in law a state ID, post office, gas, and target. When we get home it's going to be a full fledged cleaning frenzy. I want to clean out the fridge, organize some of the cabinets (including that pesky spice cabinet!), I want to mop the floors, laundry, organizing the living room a little more with some baskets downstairs for toys for kaylee rather then the ugly tub we have now, and clean all the bathrooms.... then it's up the stairs which is the part of the house that really needs attention... Kaylee's room needs a serious clean out.. with full officially upon us on the East Coast I need to get those summer clothes out of her drawers and really organize and see what she needs... which is basically everything! haha.. Poor thing has one pair of jeans! Just like I need to organize her drawers... my drawers and closet are in desperate need of attention... I am going to clean it all out and get it organized and bring out my warmer clothes from the closet in the other room. My vanity not only needs to be organized but it needs a good scrubbing down from all the hair product and make up! And last but not least... the biggest danger zone.... my office/playroom/sewing room/storage space... yeah it's a huge disaster of a multipurpose room... it needs SOME organization. I'm not thinking anything crazy mostly because that's most likely going to be the room Kaylee and our newest peanut share so I don't want to do any super hard or special work in there. Lots of cleaning/organizing to take place this week! Also taking Kaylee for our first play date tomorrow! Excited about that!

  three

I FINALLY get to start sewing tomorrow! So be on the look out for some pics and post all about how that ends up going!! I won't lie... I'm a little nervous but SO freakin exciting! I have so many random projects all planned in my head but first I am making Kaylee and my niece trick or treating bags!! 

four

Had my first baby peanut appointment officially on Friday and because of all the cancels and mix ups they pulled on me.. Hubs ended up being able to be there.. I was so happy! Baby is growing and healthy and has a strong heart beat and hearing that was all the ressurance in the world that I needed. I'd been having nightmares that something was wrong... So it was so nice to know everything was going well. Got to see pictures and will upload a few probably later today or tomorrow. It turns out I am further along than expected and am due May 1st! Woohoo! I have another appt in two weeks.

five

I am really getting into the fall spirit and so ready to start baking some yummy treats so be on the look out for pics of that too! I have been craving chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies so you BET there will be some in the near future. I love this time of year. Getting excited for Halloween got Kaylee the cutest little pirate costume and plan to be a pirate to match her! But you know what I am really excited about.... Christmas! We did some cleaning in the garage last night so I went through some stuff to see what we had... and I got so excited for the Winter Wonderland we are going to create in this house. I love it! That is def my favorite time of year. Nothing like Christmas time!

Well... better get going on my busy day! Join us on the misc monday... I think I am going to make this a regular thing!!

Slump, update, and Song Link Up

Hey bloggy friends,

So...

I've kind of been in a slump lately

not much to say

or worth saying?

I don't know!

But I really want to try to get back into the swing of things

I finally have THREE date changes have my FIRST real dr appt to see our newest peanut tomorrow

I'm pretty excited! I am just ready to see the baby and know he or she is healthy and growing!

But I am pretty sure this baby is growing just fine

because I am already seeing a little belly forming

it just looks like I hate a few too many turkey dinners

but I know what it really is!

We bought a BRAND spankin new car last week

it's a 2012 Honda Civic LX

and it's pretty much GORGEOUS.

I've never actually owned my very own car.

When the hubs and I got married I didn't have a car

and he had a pretty new ford fusion so we have shared it for 3 years

but with our newest move and the commute to get mike too and from work

and then Kaylee being a big girl and me being pregnant with number two

we knew it was finally time to make the leap.

We needed this car badly

Hubs did a lot of research on cars and is very happy with our choice.

I will get a picture up of it asap I haven't even taken one yet... how lame am I?

We also have been doing a ton of painting... well the hubs has

our house is looking amazing.

And when I got to thinking about it...

I realized I never even posted pictures of our house after we moved in..

again... how lame am I?

I will try to get some pictures up soon.

It's finals week around here...

so this post is really just putting off homework and studying

but as soon as I finish this I will be off to get down to business.. I have a lot to do in way too little amount of time!

My song for the link up over at Goodnight Moon is All the Heavens by Third Day. This song has a special place in my heart with my adopted family and all our summer vacations and my relationship with God. Plus... I bought my hubs tickets to the Third Day concert for our anniversary. We get to see them on Nov 5th... can't wait!

Enjoy!

October fun!

The fall is OFFICIALLY upon us the midatlantic and I am LOVING it to say the least! 

This weekend we did some stuff around the house... 

Saturday was an all day long home update/clean out kind of day

I went through the cabinets and purged, tossed, and organized,

we dusted, cleaned, organized a bunch of random stuff...

and I tapped things off for my hubs to update the white paint on a bunch of the window seals and base boards...

It was a busy day of lots of random tasks and chores
Also my love bought me some new flowers for the front porch.. Pics to come on that too!!

And for dinner I made a delicious spaghetti bake! (I will share the recipe later today!)

Then yesterday we decided to take Kaylee out for some fun!
We hit up a local farmers market type thing that has animals and a pumpkin patch.

We also found some fun places we could spot back at in a few days.
We got lots of great pictures and Kaylee had SO much fun!
Then for dinner little baby peanut was making mommy crave some GOOD stuff for once so we had "Wallace sandwiches" (I will be writing a post all about these bad boys they are from my childhood), a big salad, and creamy potato soup with a big glass of water and for dinner we had a pumpkin pie with whipped cream! It was sooo yummy and a perfect fall meal!
After dinner we had some pumpkin carving fun with our little girl.

Enjoy!! <3