A little recap with a few pictures….

I feel like its been quite a while since Ive honestly written a real blog post because life has just been busy for sure. We have had a few things going on from job change to stuff with Morgan.

:: Chad started a new job on Monday. Lets backtrack to where it all started because I know I haven’t written much about it.
We bought a yogurt shop (yes we still own it) back in December. After a few months, it was clear that the numbers
were very off (like half the amount). Chad began the job search back in March and went to many interviews but they were not the ones that God had called him to do. Many interviews ended in some moments of asking what are your plans for our family God? He kept searching and searching and finally landed the perfect job that God wanted him at. He will be doing the web marketing at a local Presbyterian college. To say this was an answer to prayer would be a major understatement. For an even funnier turn, he never even went into the office for an interview-all phone interviews. He now has his dream job working around Christian people (something he really hasn’t had in the working world). Yes we still own the yogurt shop, but its truly on the side and we have a manager to run it. It works out well for now.

:: Morgan got her paci taken away Sunday. After two years of her having the paci, on a whim we decided to cut her paci (just a very small piece on the edge). Thats all it took for her to hate the paci but whine like no other. The second day was the hardest with the whining and slowly but surely it will get better. She had not take a nap in 4 days and today she took a nap!!

:: Potty Training. Its a big word in this household and honestly we have yet to really tackle it much but plan on doing so the first of July. Im hoping to have some progress news sometime in July. I think she really is ready but mommy is just a little nervous to do it. We will get there and survive it. Wanted to get through the no paci before tackling potty training.

:: Summer is in full gear! I have now been home since May 25 and I must admit that its hard. I enjoy spending time with my little girl but honestly I don’t see how SAHMs do it all year. I’m constantly trying to come up with fun things to do with her. Its one of those tough moments-nice but hard. I have found so many things at least for the summer and I’m hoping to find any other new and fun ideas at local places. I will survive the summer and have lots of fun with her. Teachers return August 1 and kids come back August 8. She always seems to have lots of fun playing with her friends at school.

:: Last week we went to Destin on a true whim. With Chad starting his new job on Monday, we knew he would get no vacation for 90 days so we decided on a last minute deal to take the week and head to Destin (have lots of pictures to share soon!). We got a great deal on a hotel seeing that we booked it on a Thursday and left the next week (so a few days turnaround). Morgan hated the beach and just screamed when we got close. I think its safe to say that our daughter might not like the beach having this year and last year going to the beach and hating it. Of course the one thing she did enjoy was riding the carousel and being tall enough to ride with daddy in the cars.

:: Instagram. I’m not sure how I missed out on Instagram for so long but have recently joined in on Instagram. Its nice to just see the pictures and know whats going on with friends. Since I don’t really have much time to read blogs or Facebook, its a lot easier to catch up on Instagram. Click on the camera to connect.

:: Things are rocky with my mom. Its hard to state it out loud but yep its true. My relationship with my mother has come to an all new low. Some major things have happened and sometimes it really is hard to accept. Maybe one day they will be better but right now we are barely talking.

:: Upcoming Blog Posts (when I get this thing called time)
1. 2 year update
2. Destin trip
3. Fun things for the summer
4. Project 366
5. How a year can change (daycare for 2 years!)

Moments to make you think and laugh

Lately, there have been a few moments that made me wonder (as a teacher), then there are also those moments that made me giggle. Morgan of course didn’t think one of them was very funny.

1. Last night we went out for our 9th anniversary (actual anniversary is Thursday-24th). We enjoyed our nice meal and then at the very end, the waiter asked us will this be together or separate. We haven’t been asked this in a very long time and it made us both laugh just a bit. We just looked at each other and Chad answered her with “well this is our 9th anniversary so together”. The poor girl I think felt pretty bad but she stated that she never knows anymore.

2. We have been going through the beginning of potty training. Morgan has a bad habit of taking off her diaper and she can now do it very quickly. Well I had went to do something and she decided that she needed to take it off. Well what I didn’t realize is that she took off her diaper and put her pants back on {yes with no diaper}. At first glance, you couldn’t tell.

Well all the sudden I hear her start screaming but I didn’t see anything that could be wrong with her. A few moments later, I figured it out. She tinkled on herself and I guess it must have scared her to feel the trickling go down her leg. I must admit I got a good little laugh out of it while my sweet girl cried her eyes out. I cant say it has stopped her from taking off her diaper though. She still does it, but just wants to put it back on.

3. Last night my parents kept Morgan while Chad and I enjoyed our anniversary dinner out, then we headed to graduation at the high school I teach at. My dad has been trying to get Morgan to say grandpa but she refuses. Well last night she gave him a new name-Paw Paw. She was going around last night and would say Paw Paw. It was so cute to hear her say it and to see my dad just smile from ear to ear. Of course she threw herself down on the floor, then started screaming for PawPaw to come run and get her. He had no issue it seemed like to do this!

4. Last but not least, as a teacher it always amazes me to hear what seniors future plans are after graduating. Well I had a senior that came in. I asked him-what are your future plans. He said to attend college and get a business degree. Being the teacher I am, I asked him what he was planning on doing with his degree. He kindly responds be a hus.tler. I didn’t realize you had to get a degree to do that. At first I thought he was joking, then I realized he was very serious and had obviously put a lot of thought into his decision because he gave me very specifics about it all. Sometimes as a teacher I wonder about this generation. I could write many books about the stories that I get told as a teacher-some good, some make you stop and wonder. This is just one of those many examples.

Fitness Friday-Week 16-I CAN do this!

This Week’s Loss/Gain: + 2.5 lbs
Total Weight Lost: -2.6 lbs
Weight to Go: –32.4lbs

Food: Its been probably oh about a week or two since Ive consistently tracked everything in MyFitnessPal . It just seems like sweets and eating too much has been on the agenda. Lots of good stuff brought to school and it seems like I have no self control over it. School is out next week and I know this will help a lot in the food area. I can buy only the food I want to eat instead of having so many sweets around.

Fitness: this would be more of a joke-none absolutely none other than chasing a toddler and thats gotta count for something, right?! I just ordered the 30 day shred. Im hoping that maybe something will help me to remember that I can do this and not to get so discouraged.

This Week Goals: get in 3 servings of vegetables and fruit , get in 48 oz of water, track everything in MFP.

Recap of the last few weeks
Week 1 LOSS 2.2 lbs
Week 2 GAIN 1.8 lbs
Week 3 MAINTAIN to the ounce
Week 4 LOSS 2.7 lbs
Week 5 GAIN .3 lbs
Week 6 GAIN 1.7 lbs
Week 7 LOSS 3.1 lbs
Week 8 LOSS .6 lbs
Week 9 GAIN 2.2 lbs
Week 10 LOSS 1.6 lbs
Week 11 LOSS 2.2 lbs
Week 12 GAIN .2 lbs (April 20)
Week 13 LOSS .2 lbs
Week 14 MAINTAIN to the ounce
Week 15 GAIN 1.3 lbs
Week 16 GAIN 2.5 lbs

5 Toddler Apps

This week I decided to post about some toddler apps we have found for the iPad. We ended up getting one of the iPad3 the day it came out because we are a bit impatient and finally decided it was time for us to bite the bullet and get one since we kind of missed it (Chad had one previously with work, but when we went on our own he lost it). So far, Morgan seems to hog the iPad and we havent gotten a ton out of use out of it, but Morgan loves it.

Counting Bear App

I have a serious love-hate relationship with it because its great for educational but I also dont want it to become a babysitter either. So here are a few we have found (only doing 5 at a time, so check back next week for some more)

1. Easy Bake Treats-FREE
This app is so fun because she gets to learn the basic skills of cooking such as mixing, frosting, putting things in the oven, etc. They have lots of fun frostings, sprinkles, letters to put on your cupcake or cookie.

2. Counting Bear-$0.99
I can not say enough wonderful things about this app! Morgan is really learning to count well all with the help of this wonderful app. It’s a tie for best app between this and peekaboo barn.

3. Talking Tom-FREE
This will provide tons of laughs & giggles. It repeats everything you say, even laughs. Of course I made the mistake of leaving this on while I was correcting Morgan. She thought it was pretty funny & I was trying not to laugh when this cat repeated every word!
4. Peekaboo Barn-1.99 (also have a free version of it)
If you have not downloaded this app-it’s wonderful! You click on a different animal & it tells you what it is in a child’s voice. Morgan can now correctly identify each animal with the help of this app.
5. Virtuoso-FREE
This was one of the first apps we got when chad had his previous iPad. You can play a small piano & it’s lots of fun.

Anyone else have any great apps that I didn’t list?

Week 5-Project 366

Pictures with Camera+ , Instagram and InstaPlus. Collages are done in PicFrame.

linking up with

20 Months {4 days}

Cant believe its already time for another month older and another update-the time is passing by quicker and quicker it seems like. Of course 20 months means that we are only 4 months away from a 2nd birthday and that’s still hard to fathom.

Weight: 27 lbs 2 oz (77th percentile)
Height: 34 1/8 in. (91st percentile)
Clothes: Pants (18 mth), Shirts (2T), Dresses (18 mth), Pajamas (24 mth-onesies, 18 mth-2 piece set). Pants we have a huge issue with because 18 mth fit her perfect in the waist but a little short, then 24mth are too big in the waist. Ahh the dilemmas of having a tall little girl!
Shoes: size 6
Diapers: just finished off the remaining 4 and moving on up to Size 5

Sleep: We have finally moved her into her room and out of our bed (its been a long battle for sure but hopefully we can get her sleeping through the night in her bed). She sleeps about 2-6 hrs in her bed right now. She normally goes to sleep around 8:30-9:30 pm and usually wakes up once during the night and goes right back to sleep. Then wakes up finally around 8 to 8:30 am.
Naps: one nap for 1.5 to 2 hrs (11:30-1:30 )
Teeth: 14 (6 top, 8 bottom)
Traveling: Beaverton, AL to see Chads family
Talking: She has a wonderful vocabulary but her favorite words to say this month is “hey daddy”. It comes out of her mouth constantly. Hey mommy and baby are close behind.
Sick: cold that I don’t think we will ever get rid of.

She loves to carry her baby everywhere with her no matter where she goes. Actually, both babies usually end up going but sometimes we can talk her into just bringing one.It doesn’t matter whether we are going to church, daycare, or just to the store. We must bring the babies and usually she has to have them to go to sleep.

Her new thing recently is giving lots of hugs and kisses without asking for them. Its so sweet! The other night she didn’t want to take a bath so she ran up to me and gave me a big kiss and hug so she could get out of her bath. She already knows how to win over the system. Of course she still had to take a bath but ever since she has been doing it.

Shoes are something she has begun to learn whose are who. Even if one of us is sleeping she will bring us our shoes and sometimes will throw a fit if we don’t put them on. Then there are other times where she likes to help pick out which shoes we need to wear for the day. Sometimes she picks correctly and other times she does not. She is definitely going to be a boot loving little girl. Mommy’s tall boots she loves to put on. Even if she is not tall enough to really wear them.

She is my little helper and loves to help do anything (clothes, picking up toys, doing dishes. I sure hope this little helper attitude stays around. She will get so mad if we don’t allow her to help out in whatever we maybe doing. Its really sweet but sometimes it gets a bit frustrating also.

Kicking is the new point of correction this month since she likes to kick us in the face (when we change her diaper), or try to kick us in the stomach or chest. I’m not sure where she learned this from but its definitely not going to last.Another thing that I’m not sure where she learned it from is pulling her pants off. She just started this about a week ago and as soon as she has her pants on she pulls them straight off.

Just like a normal toddler she loves to make an absolute mess anytime she can. We can leave her alone for a split second and she will have it totally destroyed. I still cant believe someone so small can make such a huge mess. We are working on trying to convert over the other bedroom to a playroom so that maybe this will help with all of the toys (she is one truly blessed little girl but the toys are crazy everywhere!)

Her temper can definitely come out if she gets in trouble or doesn’t get her way. It could be something as small as not getting the cup she wants or if she gets scolded at all for doing something she is not supposed to do. Sometimes shes over her fit in a few seconds and other time it takes a few minutes depending on how tired she is.

Electronics are a big favorite behind the babies of course. If either one of us leaves our phones out or the laptop she is on it instantly. She has learned how to delete apps, open apps, and then of course delete files that were on the desktop. She has even figured out things I didn’t know how to do! If she already knows how to excel with things like this already its going to be crazy to see what she can do later in life when she understands what she is doing.

Favorite Activity: pushing her babies in her stroller
Favorite Books: Sesame Street colors book.
Favorite Foods: She has gotten so much better at eating this month and I’m so thankful! Applesauce, bananas, lima beans, mandarin oranges, chicken nuggets, blueberry waffles, corn, grapes. Vegetables are her favorite and she really has began to think they are candy I think.
Foods disliked: squash
Favorite Songs: Mickey Mouse theme song (she loves to dance to the Hot Dog song)
Dislikes: getting water in her eyes, vacuum (anything that makes lots of noises she is terrified of), not getting her way

Week 4-Project 366

Pictures with Camera+ ,  Instagram and InstaPlus. Collages are done in PicFrame.

22-My mom came over and Morgan decided that she needed to be pushed in her baby carrier (clearly she is a little too big for the baby carrier). She thought it was the best thing ever though and giggled away.
23-When I went to pick her up from daycare she wanted her baby. Baby of course needs to go everywhere with us.
24-Mommy and Morgan were being silly
25-We went to the grocery store to get a few things and these beads kept her entertained for almost the entire trip
26-One of our good friends kept Morgan and she loves the animals at their house. They have two cats and one dog. The dog she is still a little afraid of since hes a big dog but the cat is more her size.

27-She found a new hiding place
28-helping mommy fix the tater tot casserole (Happy 20 months-post coming soon!)

linking up with

Chicken Fajitas

We love fajitas in our household but Ive always used the mix that is by McCormick. One day over on Pinterest I found a recipe that sounded amazing that I knew I had to try but made a few changes to it. My husband tried it and he is a super picky eater and since cooking I’m not sure I have ever received a rating of 10 by him but he gave this recipe a 10 so its a sure winner and will be making its 2nd appearance this week in our house.

1.25 lb Tyson chicken strips (I buy the bag at Sams and usually lasts about 2 times of fajitas)
1 lime squeezed
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 onion
1 bell pepper

I did not marinate the chicken (as it states in original post) in it due to time, I cooked it with the seasonings and it was delicious!

Directions
Add chicken, then add all ingredients. Cook until chicken is done.

Super simple and low in fat.

Source: mommyimhungry.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Feliz navidad {DPP 24}

Merry Christmas eve to everyone!

We have had a good start to the Christmas festivities. Morgan slept in until almost 9 am this morning, then we lounged around, Morgan took a nap (huge thing since she’s been trying to fight her naps lately).

I ended up having to wake her up to go to our church’s Christmas eve service (Morgan survived the entire time!).

Then we went to eat Mexican.

Christmas lights are always lots of fun especially when the music dances to the lights on a radio station!

The lights really made Morgan tired

We got home to some sweet friends that left some treats for us. Morgan loved the Christmas cookies

Then we have been putting together Christmas breakfast (lots of good food!)
Wrapping gifts for everyone, and trying to get one sweet little girl to go to bed.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Peppermints & pajamas {DPP 15}

Tonight was a new show in town hosted by our local library called Peppermints & pajamas. This was a fun time for the kids to wear their pajamas, hear stories, eat cookies, and then craft time.

Morgans favorite part was playing with all the pillows and blankets they put out. Of course it would not be Morgan without a little adventure right?! Well she kept trying to get into a door where she did not need to be.

After several stories, she enjoyed her first ever grape juice box. Morgan rarely ever gets juice so it was definitely a treat. Since the juice was so good she didn’t want any part of the cookie.

Bonus part was we met up with some good friends and Morgan got to see tanner.

The lady that ran all this is just awesome. I wish I had her energy and enthusiasm.
Putting on her red dot to sing Rudolph.

Update on chads grandmother-she had hip surgery today and is recovering now. She will have a permanent pacemaker tomorrow. We will be heading to see her and the rest of the family tomorrow.