MIA

We went to Pittsburgh for my nephew's second birthday this past weekend and my mom came back with us so I haven't been online much and probably won't be until she goes home. 

I can't believe my nephew is already two years old.  It seems like he was born just yesterday.  I'm so happy that I have been able to be there for each of his birthdays, including his actual birth.  I felt so honored that my sister wanted me with her when she gave birth to him and I feel so connected to him because of that.  The birthday party was great and it was so good to see everyone, even if it was a quick trip.

I have a bunch of pictures and things to talk about but I feel like I should be hanging with my mom so it will have to be another day. 

One quick note though, Weston will be SIX months old tomorrow!!! How the heck did that happen.  I get a little weepy when I think about it.  I love watching him grow but it is going so fast.  Look for his 6 months pictures soon!

I'm in Love

I downloaded a trial of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 this weekend and I absolutely must have it.  The only problem is that it costs about $249.00!!!  The hubs says no way right now.  I plan to take full advantage of my 30-day trial though and maybe one day I can get it.

I am also trying really. really hard to talk him into letting me sell our two current cameras to get the Nikon D3100.  I have been drooling over SLRs for quite some time and now that I am learning more about how cameras work, I want it even more.  He is hesitant but open to the idea.  Who knows...maybe I'll get a nice birthday present this year! ;)

We had a pretty fun weekend.  We went to a local, free farm that had tons of baby animals to enjoy the gorgeous weather on Saturday.  Weston really seemed to like it until he got tired.

Mike also talked me into going to get dinner even though I am trying really hard to watch what I eat.  

We spent most of the day today cleaning, hanging out, and taking pictures.  Here are some good ones that we got.

Dinner on Saturday:

I'm ashamed to even admit this...we went to Cici's Pizza....Ahem.  Whoopsies, something must have happened there. Oh well. 

Dinner Sunday:

Pasta

Dessert:

No-Bake Cheesecake

Beautiful Day Today

I am beyond excited about the weather lately.  I love that it has been so nice.  It almost reached 80 today!  Needless to say we spent some time hanging outside today.

Weston also had avocado for the first time today!  I'm pretty sure he liked it.  It was slippery so he had a hard time picking them up but he did ok.

Eventually he decided it was easier to smash the avocado in his hands and then suck his thumb:

My kid's special; I know.

Since we had leftover avocado, I decided to go on the hunt for a recipe that used it.  I came across this gem and it was delicious!

Dinner:
Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa (had to sub lemon juice for lime)
Green Beans (I didn't have shallots but this still game out great!)
Corn Bread

Have a good weekend!

I love the color green

This morning we decided to head out early and hit up Jammin Java for their kids show.  My Mom's Meetup group set it up so that we saved a little bit of money on the cover.  I wasn't sure how much Weston would get out of it but he seemed to have a good time.

He was jumping up and down on my lap for most of it until he got tired.  Luckily the show was just about over.  It was really cute though and we'll probably go again.

Today is beautiful outside.  I love that it is getting nicer out.  They are also working on our pool so that really makes me feel like the warmer weather is here to stay!

I didn't post last night so here is dinner from last night:
Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Baked Fennel

I am planning this for dinner tonight:
Pork and Chili Tortillas (a version of it anyway because I don't have all of the ingredients and I'm going to try to make sure it's as healthy as I can make it)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Dancing at Jammin Java

This expression both terrifies me and makes me giggle

Too much dancing and green beer?

I kid, I kid...I would never let my kid dance until he passed out.  :P

Quick Post

I'm tired and just want to go to bed.

I am on day 10 (technically 11 days of running but I had to repeat day 10) of the Couch to 5K program and am starting to feel good about it.  I am also tracking everything that goes into my mouth on SparkPeople which really does help me see what I am eating (it also tells me that no, I cannot have that piece of candy today).

It's probably a fluke but I am actually down 1 lb since yesterday!  I was really starting to get discouraged because my weight had gone up (!?!?!) since I started C25K.  Seeing that lower number this morning was a really good motivator to keep going.

Dinner:
Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Corn
Side Salad

Dessert:
Smart Ones Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sunday

I can hear Weston snoring over the monitor right now so that is my cue to hit the sheets!

Where do the days go?

I'm not sure.  The days go by so fast now though. 

There hasn't been a whole lot going on here other than dealing with a sick baby.  The croup seems to be going away so that's good news.  Weston is also back to working on his crawling skills.

He has also decided that he no longer likes bananas.

I am getting serious about trying to lose weight now. I have started to log food again in SparkPeople.  I can't restrict my calories too much because I am still breastfeeding but hopefully eating healthier and doing the Couch to 5K program will help me get to my goal.

This is my motivation:

Dinner:
Simple Quiche

Recipe: Ingredients

3 Eggs
1 Frozen Deep Dish Pie Crust
1 tbsp White Pepper
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella
1.5 cups Half & Half 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and half-and-half. Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Fold shredded mozzarella into mixture. Pour egg mixture into pie crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes.
Cut into 6 pieces

Side Salad

Dessert:
Smart Ones Key Lime Pie

Ramblings

I feel like I haven't had time to breath lately, let alone blog!

Weston is sick with his first cold, poor guy.  I hate seeing him so miserable.  I also hate the lack of sleep for both of us.  Hopefully this passes quickly and we get through the rest of the season without anymore illnesses.  I don't even know where he got this.  I think it has been two weeks since either Mike or I were sick.

I'm in the middle of some spring cleaning!  It is two steps forward and three steps back though.  I get the living room or kitchen done and then Mike comes home and I have to start all over again.  Ugh.

Hmmm...I feel like I had a lot to say but don't remember what that was.

Without going into too much detail, I have to say that my faith in people has been restored tonight.  A great group of girls that I have gotten to know over the last two years came together tonight to show a wonderful woman some much needed support.  I was left in tears and in awe of what these women are capable of and the sheer love they show one another.  I truly would be lost without these women.

We picked up some sunglasses for Weston.  He would rather chew on them than wear them but that's ok. (Did I already talk about this?)

I also got these adorable shorts for him for the summer!

My poor sick little boy. (notice the pacifier?)

Dinner:
Sausage and peppers (thanks Vino Vixen)
Brown rice

Dessert (have you noticed yet that we have to have dessert?)
Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding (highly recommended)

Rockin' & Rollin'

*Song: "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars

He's getting closer!

More Adventures ~ Picture Heavy

We decided to head down to our Nation's Capital on this fine afternoon to show Weston more of what there is to see around us.

Sitting in the BOB like a big boy for the first time.

We headed straight for the Botanical Gardens which made for some nice photo opportunities.

 Next, we headed over to the Capital for some more pictures and to let Weston look at the people and pigeons!

 Check out those eyes.

I don't particularly like how chubby I look here but it's a pretty cool picture otherwise.

I am embarrassed to admit our dinner tonight but here goes...

Dinner:

Tony's Frozen Pizza

Salad

Dessert:

Leftover Cheesecake

In my defense, we got home really late tonight and just didn't have time.  Also, to make it a little better, the pizza only cost us $0.17 each!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

I have been going a little crazy with entering Weston into contests lately.  I look at the pageant moms (like the ones on Toddlers and Tiaras) like they are crazy but I am beginning to realize I'm not much different.  I do not force my child to perform for people but we do "photo shoots" almost daily.  I then submit said photos to multiple contests and probably annoy the heck out of my Facebook friends and family.

Please stop me if I start talking about pageants though.

I will be posting the various contest that I have entered him in, in the hopes that some of you feel compelled to vote for him. ;)

There is one contest in particular that I am really hoping to win but I doubt that would happen.  Whole Foods is giving away a DSLR!!! I want one soooo bad.  This one is more difficult though because they choose 16 finalists and THEN it is opened up to a public vote.

Whole Foods contest: Not open to public vote yet
ToysRus Featured Fan
Gerber Little Moments

Ok, I'm done with the shameless plug...for now.

Weston got some new shades today!

Happy Friday!

Dinner:
Smothered Pork
Creamy Cauliflower Mac (delicious!)
Side Salad

The Mac deserves a picture ~ 

Dessert:
Cheesecake leftover from last night.

Going Bananas!

Weston had a banana for the first time today.  It was more playing than eating but that is just fine with me.  We did it more for a picture and to get him used to the idea of food rather than to eat it.

The faces he made were incredible.  I couldn't get as many pictures because it was just me but I got a couple.

He mostly licked the banana but made a funny face every time.  He did get a teeny, tiny piece and ended up gagging on it.  That really freaked me out but he was as happy as could be.

Dinner:
Sicilian Rice Ball Casserole (delicious!)

Dessert:
Cheesecake

Tummy Time!

We had our Tummy Time group today.  I love this one because it is so relaxing.  We just sit around and let the babies do what they want.

Weston rarely falls asleep while in noisy situations now because he is too nosy but he must have been really tired because he fell asleep, literally, in the middle of about 7 other babies that were crying, screeching, etc.  It was pretty cute.

After tummy time, we headed to the grocery store for a few things and then went home so we could walk to Burlington Coat Factory.

My Silly Monkey
*hat from Amazon.com

We had a busy day today so dinner was quick and easy.

BOCA Veggie Burgers
Roasted Asparagus
Betty Crocker Potatoes

Not the healthiest but it worked for tonight. Plus I made up for it because I really didn't eat today.

Dinner

I am going to start keeping track of what I make for dinner each night by listing them here (along with the recipe). This way, I can see where we need to make changes, what we are doing right, and also keep track of dinners we like and want to try again!

Dinner:
Lentil Quiche (minus the tomatoes)
Slice of Whole Grain Bread
Baby Carrots and Sabra Hummus 

Dessert:
Oreo Pie

Video

Trying to Crawl