Bridal Shoot

Rach posted the photos from my fun, snow bridal shoot yesterday! Click here to see them. She is SERIOUSLY so good!

In case you missed my post yesterday and you are concerned about why I had bridal portraits after being married over 2 years and having a baby...then read here! :)

Rachel wants to know which is your favorite picture from yesterday, so please leave her a comment ON HER BLOG and vote. It will help her in the next few months as she becomes very busy taking pictures of all her summer brides!!

Hope y'all are having a great Tuesday!

Fun Monday!

The snow overnight didn't stop Brody and me from having a fun, busy Monday! I love this kind of snow where it covers everything EXCEPT the roads! Yay! We were able to go and do just like we would any other day. I was very thankful for that!

This morning, I got a text from my friend Rachel. She is a photographer and wanted to take a few shots of a bride in the snow, so I pulled out my wedding dress and headed to meet her for a little shoot. It was so fun to be back in my dress! Rachel is such a great photographer, so I am excited to see some of the pictures from today. She did post one on her blog that you can check it out. I will make sure and post the link once she gets a few more up this week!

It was snowing so I went prepared with my boots under my dress. My feet were nice and warm! I looked so classy dressed like this. :)


I headed back home to change out of my dress and then headed to pick Brody up from MDO. (I didn't think it would be a good idea to get him from church while wearing my wedding dress!)They closed MDO early thinking the roads would be getting bad, but they were still very clear, so we headed to see Josh at work, then made a run to the hospital to see Heather and Jonathan's new baby girl, Hailey. She is just PRECIOUS and looks like her big brother did as a baby! I forgot how little newborns are because I am used to carrying around Brody!

Jill's work is close to the hospital so we stopped by to see her on our way home. Brody made a mess in her store! Sorry Jill!
I love this "did I do that?" face that he is making! Such a stinker! As always, I had to clean-up the mess! I will be glad when he can completely clean-up his own messes. I bet he will not make near as many when that time comes. :)

We are home now and I am getting caught up on a few things. I am meeting 4 girls from church tonight for dinner. We are about to start a Bible study on Monday nights together that I am really excited about. I think it's going to be a great study and some great girl time each week!

Giveaway Winner and Our Weekend

Congratulations to Bonita from The Hansen Family!!!

She is the winner of the Jakester shoes!!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:153
Timestamp: 2010-02-08 06:03:48 UTC

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveway! I wish I could have given every single one of y'all a pair!

I have felt like such a blog slacker this week! Since I didn't have my memory card for my camera, I didn't take any pictures this week. I finally found the card in the most crazy place ever! Brody stuck it into micro drive slot in the computer. I could barely see it, as it was jammed in there. I got some tweezers to try and get it out but ended up sticking it further in there. Josh ended up having to pick-up the computer tower and dump the card out of it. Yes, it was quite the little project. :)

Anyways, we had a very busy Sunday: Church, lunch, Walmart, naps, then 2 Super Bowl Parties!

Brody had a little bedhead after he woke-up from his afternoon nap! Once we tamed that hair, we headed over to Ryan and Sarah's house to party with our small group. We had so much fun! I just love all those sweet couples!

At half-time, we left and headed to the Swain's house. Chris and Melissa are good friends of ours from church. Jill and Brandon were watching the game with them, so we joined them for the second half.

Jill and Brandon made this cute little cake for the game! I thought it turned out great!

Melissa and Caedmon made these fun little football cupcakes as well! We had lots of yummy desserts!

Brody trying to steal a toy. We might need to work on sharing! :)

Melissa and Caedmon

Josh as the third wheel on the couch with Jill and Brandon! Haha!

Brody decided to make himself comfy on a pillow on the floor. He also spit-up cupcake on their coffee table before we left. He leaned over the table and pushed it too hard into his stomach and out came cupcake. He looked at it and said, "Ohhhhh!" The boy makes me so proud.

Here is the little man right before bed when we got home. He was a tired boy!

I promise to be back to regular blogging this week! Thank goodness the camera will be back to work! Hope you have a great Monday!

CSN Stores Giveaway

I'm excited to share with you that CSN Stores will be giving away one pair of Jakester Shoes by Rileyroos to one lucky reader!

This stylish, yet simple multi-paneled shoe will make your little one the envy of the playgroup. It provides leverage as little ones make their natural gravitation from sitting to crawling to walking. The sole of a Rileyroos shoe is flexible and its rubber-padded sole curls above the toes to provide leverage as a child begins crawling. Unlike many heavy or bulky first walking shoes, Rileyroos’ lightweight construction and protective bottoms support a child’s foot as he or she starts walking and provides traction to prevent falls on slippery surfaces. These shoes were created with a focus on style, comfort and ease, which is most important for little growing feet.

The shoe is available in 4 colors: saddle (shown above), mulberry, navy and sky, and range in size from 3 months to 24 months.

Don't you just love these? I know I do!

Here is how you can enter for a chance to win one of these adorable pairs of shoes!

1. Leave a comment telling me which color Jakester by Rileyroos you would like to win. Super easy, right?

2. For one additional entry, leave a separate comment letting me know you have become of follower of our blog or that you are already following our blog.

3. For one additional entry, leave a separate comment letting me know you blogged about the giveaway. Please make sure I can get back to your blog from your profile, or make sure you leave your blog address in the comment so I can find your post or the entry is void.

Giveaway ends Sunday, February 7th at 11:59PM. A winner will be drawn by Random.org and posted at 8:00AM Monday, February 8th. Giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY.

Freezer Recipes

I told y'all a couple of weeks ago that I had made a few meals to freeze so that I could have a little cooking break. A few of you wanted the recipes, so here you go! There are not many, but it should get you started. It has made cooking at night so easy. I don't have to stress in the afternoons trying to get something cooked while Brody runs wild around the house!

Sloppy Joe Meat

(Just so you know, I wish I could think of a better name, because I HATE calling them Sloppy Joes. It just sounds so nasty.)

Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions
Set a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add a little olive oil to the pot. Add onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add meat, season well with salt and pepper and brown well all over, breaking it up with a wooden spoon - about 7 to 10 minutes. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar. Store in freezer bags.

Taco Meat

Ingredients for seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.

Ingredients for taco meat

Olive oil

1lb ground beef or ground turkey

one small chopped onion (optional)

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon of flour

Directions

Add a small amount of olive oil to the pan. Add onions and saute 2-3 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add meat and countinue to cooke until meat is browned. Add 2/3 cup water then add 2.5-3 tablespoons of seasoing mixture (you will have seasoning leftover for next time!) , along with 1 tablespoon of flour. Mix all together and let simmer until done. About 10 minutes. Store in freezer bags.

Lasagna

This recipe came from Katie's blog.

Ingredients
1 24oz container of cottage cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese
6.5 cups basic red sauce
9 lasagna noodles, Uncooked
1 lbs. lean ground beef, cooked and drained
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Combine cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese in a bowl. In a 9x13 dish spread 1/2 cups red sauce in the bottom. Then, assemble lasagna in layers in the following order:
Layer one
3 uncooked noodles
2 cups red sauce
1 cups cooked ground beef
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese mixture
1 cup mozzarella

Layer two
3 uncooked noodles
2 cups red sauce
1 cup cooked ground beef or whatever remains
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese mixture or whatever remains
1 cup mozarella

Layer three
3 uncooked noodles
2 cups red sauce or whatever remains
2 cups mozzarella
1/2 cup Parmesan
Wrap each dish entirely in plastic wrap and foil. Freeze.

Serving day directions
Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and foil. Cover with new foil, and bake for one hour.

I also keep potato soup, tomato soup, and beef enchiladas frozen, so you might like those recipes as well.

CSN Stores Giveaway!

This week, I will be hosting a great giveaway from CSN Stores that I know you moms will not want to miss!

CSN is a Boston based company that hosts over 200+ websites/stores making shopping for yourself or others super easy. From mail boxes and cookware to toys and furniture, CSN has you covered.

Make sure and check out some of their great stores and don't forget to check back this week for details on the giveaway!

Hiding Places

Brody has gotten in the habit of just putting his things all over the house. It seems that anytime we open up a drawer or cabinet, something is in there that doesn't belong. Last week, I found his Nike's in his kitchen drawer. I asked him to go put them in his room. I guess he figured this drawer was a good enough place for them.

I also found a car he had "parked" in another kitchen drawer.

One afternoon, I asked Brody to bring a diaper to me in the living room so I could change him, which he did. After I changed him, I asked him to take the dirty diaper and throw it away. He usually will take it and put it in his diaper champ. He walked away and then came back empty handed so I figured he had taken care of it. It wasn't until later that afternoon that I found the diaper in the toilet. I guess it makes sense to throw it in there! Haha!

In the past 2 weeks, Brody snatched both of our SD cards for our camera and hid them. Josh and I spent an hour and a half going through every drawer, basket, cabinet, and trash bag the other night trying to find it. We didn't find it. Every time I ask him where the blue card is, he says,"blue?" and points to the sky. Haha! We are probably going to have to go buy a couple more. Thankfully, I had copied all the pictures off of them onto our computer.

Hope you have a great Friday!

Using the Big Potty

Warning: If you don't like the word "poop" don't read this post. I use the word no less than 10 times. :) Last night, Brody pooped in the big potty! I had to hold him so that he didn't fall through, but other than that he did the rest.

I really feel like this was a fluke and will not happen again for another 6 months, but I am going to bask in my parenting glory while I can. After all, he is 15 months old!

Here's the real story before you decide my child is a potty prodigy and that I am parent of the year..... My childhood friend, Leah, got her little girl, Perri, to use the potty the other night. You can read about it here. I decided to give it a try since Perri is a few weeks younger than Brody.

Brody is a very scheduled pooper. It happens at the same time every day like clockwork. What can I say? He's a guy. They do that kind of thing. Last night, it was "poop time" so I told Josh we should try to set him on the potty and see if he would go. We took off his pajamas and his diaper and sat him on the potty. I was thinking it would be a good 15 minutes and then he would cry and we could consider ourselves failures. Well, we sat him up there and within a minute he pooped. We clapped and screamed and cheered and high-fived each other for our mad parenting skills. The best part was the poop wasn't smeared on his rear and all it took was one swift wipe and we were done! You can tell from the picture that he wasn't as impressed as we were. He doesn't understand the joy it brought to our hearts.

I think we may try the pooping in the potty for a while. He goes 3 times a day...morning, noon and night, so I think I can at least get a couple of times in the potty. I need some sort of reward like candy or something that he only gets when he goes. Maybe before long he will tell me he needs to go.

I'm not even going to think about getting the boy to pee in the toilet. That's a good 6-8 months down the road but at least we are slowly making are way there.....one poop at a time.