2013 was an amazing year at our house. We became parents, moved across the country, went on several fun trips and feel so blessed when we see the year in review.
My Top 10 Favorite Blog Posts of 2013:
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Onesie Baby Shower
I mentioned back in early May that my room moms and third graders had a baby shower for me.
I wanted to show you just how cute the idea of making baby onesies at a shower really turns out to be. Each of my students were given a white onesie and access to a rainbow of puff paint. They decorated the onesies for Olive in hopes that she could wear them one day. That day arrived and Olive couldn't have looked cuter.
New Curling Iron Look
Santa brought me a curling wand for Christmas last year and I really had a hard time using it. I couldn't get my layers to curl and I never liked the finished product. I finally decided I'd buy a regular curling iron to see if I could achieve the look I was hoping for. I have been really please with my $10 curling iron from Target:
via drugstore
I washed my hair, straightened it and pinned the top half up while I curled the bottom and then did the top layers. I sprayed it with hair spray when I was done and the curl lasted all day. It took about 10 minutes and I was really happy with the way the curling iron worked.
Hooray for a new hair style.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Mostaccioli
My mother in law used to make Mostaccioli (pronounced Masta-chelly) for her family and she was nice enough to share the recipe with me. It's always a crowd pleaser and it's really easy to throw together.
You'll need:
1 box of penne pasta
*I tried veggie pasta and was pretty happy with the results.
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
salt and peper
1 1ld lean ground round
1/2 a yellow onion
Boil the noodles, put in a greased 9x13 pan and salt them.
Brown the ground beef and onion and then mix it into the noodles.
Add the spaghetti sauce and stir around.
Top with cheese
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes and broil for a few more minutes to make the cheese crispy.
Dish up and serve with your favorite veggie. We chose broccoli.
I didn't mind the veggie noodles but the green noodles did throw us off a bit. I felt a little like we were eating green beans in our pasta. The flavor was good though.
Your family will enjoy this easy dinner and so will you!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Mom Myth: Hair Loss
I'd been warned that I was going to lose a lot of hair after I had a baby. I tried to prepare myself. My hair was thicker and longer than it had been in a long time when I had Olive in May. You really don't lose much hair during pregnancy so I'd gotten used to my thicker hair. I think I expected it to literally start falling out right after I had the baby but it did not. A month went by and then another and I still had a full head of hair. Prenatal vitamins did their job and my hair was looking pretty good. I was beginning to think that the whole Mommy Hair Loss with a complete MYTH when month 3 and 4 went by and I was just having normal hair loss.
Then I woke up one morning and started noticing hair everywhere! Olive was 5 months old and my hair was on her, my husband, all over the floor, etc. How could this be?? My baby was five months old and surely this whole hair loss wouldn't start now?? Yep folks, months 5 and 6 postpartum were the worst. I'd brush my hair and lots would fall out. I'd rolly brush my clothes and my car because I seemed to be shedding non stop. I vacuumed so much and I even served my husband dinner with a hair in it. I was mortified and grossed out. My husband was sweet and said he didn't mind but I certainly was not okay with it.
To make matters worse, Olive is extra grabby now and she seems to be pulling out just as much as I am losing! Talk about adding insult to injury. It'll be a miracle if I have any hair left when she turns one. I have noticed that I have lots of new hair coming in all around my hairline. These baby hairs are crazy hard to manage and seem to be popping up all over. I'm not complaining to be growing new hair but it's so weird. I try to brush it into my pony tails or comb it into my hair but I kind of wish I had bangs to help hide these new baby hairs. Then I remember that I have curly hair that doesn't cooperate in humid climates and I quickly nix the plan to cut bangs.
Proof of weird baby hairs/sideburns:
True Story:
I was talking to my husband about my hair situation. I said that I had all of this new hair coming in around my face. He said completely seriously, "Like you're growing a mustache???" No, thank you. I am sprouting baby hairs along my hair line and am not growing facial hair. I did have to double check but I'm happy to report that I'm not sporting a mustache. Boys...
I was talking to my husband about my hair situation. I said that I had all of this new hair coming in around my face. He said completely seriously, "Like you're growing a mustache???" No, thank you. I am sprouting baby hairs along my hair line and am not growing facial hair. I did have to double check but I'm happy to report that I'm not sporting a mustache. Boys...
Did you have a similar experience? Clearly it's not an uncommon event but is there anything I can do to help make it stop??? HELP!!! I'm tempted to cut my hair, thought about getting bangs and then jumped back to reality and realized that was a terrible idea and would like for this whole situation to wrap it up.
Highlights of My Week!
Merry Christmas!!
I had a wonderful week filled with family, friends and good food.
Here are my highlights:
1. I got to make a gingerbread house with my baby. It's her first Christmas so we'd been looking forward to it for weeks. I wasn't sure if she'd like it but she LOVED it!! The candy was so fun to touch and play with that I had to move her away from it. I am really happy with how it all turned out. I posted my recipe here.
2. We also made Salt Dough Ornaments for the first time for both of us.
They turned out really cute - I posted my tutorial here.
They turned out really cute - I posted my tutorial here.
3. Did Santa bring your pets Christmas presents??
My cats always get a little something from Santa regardless if they are naughty or nice. The have their moments of both so Santa brings them their favorite treats, a few new cat nip filled toys and some sparkly/feathery things to hunt. The toys will be destroyed within the week but they sure are fun to hunt for a few days.
5. We traveled to be with our families on the holidays. That means we got
to see tinsel covered trees, sing Christmas carols in the car, we got to over eat at every family gathering, see
tons of friends and family and meet our newest nephew. We're also hoping to squeeze in a little visit to Santa Claus, Indiana while we're in town. There will be
plenty of pictures to come in just a few days.
Thanks for stopping by; I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Easy Breakfast Ideas
As I've gotten older, I appreciate breakfast more and more. I'd eat breakfast for dinner (brinner) weekly but my husband is not really a fan and tends to poo poo the idea. I wanted to share with a you some of my favorite, easy breakfast recipes. They might just be the perfect thing to try out this Christmas break :)
BACON, EGG & CHEESE BAGEL SANDWICHES
I consumed a lot of these in college thanks to having a McDonalds on campus and a sister who was always willing to meet me there. So I got the urge to recreate them at home. You'll need:
Lender's plain refrigerated bagels
2 eggs per sandwhich
a slice of cheese
bacon bits
Fry the egg, flip and add cheese/bacon then top with other egg.
Put eggs on a toasted bagel and enjoy.
CHOCOLATE CHIP MINI PANCAKES
We love the Bisquick pancake recipe so I always use it and add a little flour to make them fluffier.
Add in mini chocolate chips.
Scoop out with your smallest cookie scoop.
Flip before they get too brown.
Top with powered sugar, a little butter and light syrup.
Yum :)
FRENCH TOAST
4 slices of bread - I always use wheat bread with "birdseed" in it or healthyish bread
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 t vanilla
3 t cinnamon
sprinkle of sugar
powdered sugar
light syrup
butter
Mix eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar together until well combined
Dip slices of bread in it
and you may need to add more cinnamon if the first few slices hog most of it.
Put them directly on a warm skillet.
Flip
Top with butter and powdered sugar or leave plain for the plain folks.
Add light syrup & enjoy!
I love this easy breakfast because I always have the ingredients on hand.
Dissertation Success!!
I wanted to say a big
CONGRATULATIONS
to my husband for successfully defending his dissertation last week!!!!!
He's been working on his masters/PhD in Clinical Psychology since 2004 with a lot of teaching, taking classes, doing research, being an intern and studying along the way. He made a quick trip back to Utah to defend his giant research project and it was a great success. His committee of professors passed him with flying colors and went out to lunch afterwards to celebrate.
Way to go, Kev!!
The only remaining items on his to do list are to finish his current internship {on July 11th} and then participate in graduation in the Spring {May 1st}. It's hard to believe that his schooling is wrapping up and the finish line is fast approaching. He's currently working hard to apply for jobs for next year so we should know in the coming months where we'll be living for the next few years. Olive and I are so proud of him and it's exciting to see his hard work paying off.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Meowy Christmas
The boys wanted to wish you a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
Oliver + Topher
Merry Christmas!
I hope you have a wonderful day filled with family, friends and great food.
Merry Christmas to you!!
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