Mommy's Beauty Queen

Brooklyn had her very first pageant this past weekend. I did them when I was little, so naturally I would want my daughter to follow in my footsteps. I did the same pageant circuit when I was in Jr. High as Brooklyn did this weekend. I was 1st Runner-up 3 years in a row. My daughter, however, took home the crown on her first try!

There was no ramp onto the stage, so my wonderful

husband stepped in and helped Brookie out...

She won "Best Attire" and "Top Model Look"...

She also won "Most Photogenic" and 

Overall Beauty for the Under 1 age division.

By winning this preliminary, she advanced to the state competition in May. We are very proud of our little beauty queen!

Baby Food Recipes #3 & #4

Apples & Chicken

1 Chicken Breast
3 Organic Apples
1/2 cup Water or Apple Juice

Grill chicken until fully cooked. Peel, core, and slice apples and put into a pan with enough water to slightly cover. Cover pan and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until tender, stirring often. Put chicken into blender and blend until you have a powder. Add water or apple juice and apples. Blend to desired consistency. Makes about 4 servings.

(No photo, sorry.)

Chicken with Noodles

1 Chicken Breast

3/4 cup Noodles

1/4 cup Water or Chicken Broth

Grill chicken until fully cooked. Cook noodles thoroughly. Put chicken into blender and blend until you have a powder. Add water or chicken broth and noodles. Blend to desired consistency. Makes about 3 servings.

(No photo, sorry)

March Madness!

Hello! It has been awhile since I have posted about how we are doing. Everything is going well. Carter is as crazy as ever. He is such a little jokester and has no fear! We are signing him up for soccer this week. Brooklyn has 2 teeth now and weighs almost 14 pounds. My kids have so much fun with each other and remind me of how God has blessed my life every day. Steven and I are still hanging in. No work for either of us yet, but I am pretty confident that I am going to be hearing something from our public library very soon. Fingers crossed! I am also still truckin along trying to build my photography business. 

Tomorrow, we are thinking of going to the NCAA Basketball practice at Quicken Loans Arena. It is our 2 favorite teams...Ohio State and Syracuse. I will post pictures...until then, enjoy these ones of my little Buckeyes in their OSU attire!

These ones I am planning on putting on canvases in our living room...

And here are a couple more that I just loved!

And another one of me and my little cheerleader! Love her to bits!!

Baby Food Recipe #2

Pears & Mangoes Steamed in Apple Juice

2 Organic Pears
2 Organic Mangoes
1/4 cup Organic Apple Juice

Peel and slice fruit and add together in a medium saucepan. Pour apple juice over the fruit. Cover pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes or until fruit is soft. Puree in blender with a splash more of apple juice to desired consistency. Makes about 4 servings.

Baby Food Recipe #1 and Wean Cubes Review

Brooklyn is now eating solids daily, which means I am a full-time chef. I decided to post every time I make something new and share my recipes. Hopefully, you will find them helpful.

Apples & Pears with Cinnamon

2 Organic Apples

2 Organic Pears

1/4 Cup Water

Ground Cinnamon

Peel, core, and slice fruit and add together in a medium saucepan. Stir a pinch of ground cinnamon into the water and pour over the fruit. Cover pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes or until you can easily push a fork through the apple slices. Puree in blender to desired consistency. Makes about 4 servings.

Brooklyn says yum!

Last week, I posted about CSNstores.com and how awesome I think the site is. I was able to pick something from the site to review. I chose the Wean Green Glass Baby Food Containers. As easy as it would be to freeze my food in ice cube trays, sometimes I would just like to have it ready to grab, thaw, and feed. These containers are wonderful! They are BPA, PVC, phthalates, and plasticizer free, which makes them safe for baby and the environment. They are leak resistant and made of thick, durable glass with a silicone seal. They are really great for me because the measuring lines are right on them. I can be sure to add exactly 3 ounces of food per serving, which is what Brooklyn eats at a sitting. They are easy to clean and are microwave, dishwasher, and freezer safe. And as you can see in my photos above, they're adorable! I definitely recommend them to any mom who makes their own baby food!

OK...I am off to plan our next meal. Enjoy!

Life-Savers

So, with my extreme lack of updates lately, I am sure you can tell how busy I have been. I wanted to jump on quickly and give a few kudos to some of my new life-savers...

I have been doing a lot of online shopping lately, especially for the kids. I am loving CSNstores.com. Its a one-stop-shop for everything a busy mom may need. There aren't many places you could put a swing set and a cookie sheet in the same shopping cart! I highly recommend!!

Brooklyn is quite the pacifier connoisseur. Lately, she has only taken a specific one...her WubbaNub. She loves it...and that means I love it, too.

Teething has commenced. Tylenol only does so much, and Brooklyn is too young for Motrin. I am not sure how awful things would be without Little Teethers Teething Tablets. I swear by them!!

OK...I will try to update again soon with some pictures. Have a great week!!

Picture Post

Here are some pictures of all of our adventures lately. Carter is as fun as ever...getting the most out of the toys he got for Christmas. Brooklyn is now eating solids and loving it! I also put pictures from Toy Story on Ice. That was a blast. Enjoy!!

Still here...just busy!

We are still here. We are alive and well. We have been on the move non-stop. I am blogging from my phone as we speak. I am loving my HTC Evo. I rarely even touch my computer anymore. There isn't really much need for it. I give it five stars and 2 thumbs up!

Anyway, we have been on the move. Last weekend, I took Carter to see Toy Story on Ice. It was awesome! I wasn't sure if he would get bored. He sat through the whole thing. He got upset when it was over. Mickey & Minnie on Ice is in September, so I'm going to take both kids. Brookie will be a year old...she's so content, I think she'd have done good even now. But I think she'll enjoy it. We will see. I am looking forward to it.

My new nurse started last week. Things seem to working out very well. My former nurse had her third baby about a month ago, so I had to find a replacement for her. It wasn't an easy process, but I am sure I made the right choice. She has a five year old little boy...he and Carter get along very well. That's who we went to see Toy Story on Ice with. It was weird to me because I have never really hung out with any of my nurses outside of work. It was nice to know that we can have a friendship also. And the boys play so well together. She is actually bringing him over on Monday since it is Martin Luther King Day and there is no school. Both of them are into the same movies and toys. They have fun.

Ok...I am getting ready to get the kids in bed so I can clean up the disaster in my kitchen. My father-in-law is visiting for the weekend, so the guys have been pretty crazy, especially since it is playoff time. It was crazy in here after the Steelers win today! Now I'm off to clean it all up. A mommy's work is never done! When I get a chance, I will upload some pics of what we've been up too lately. Enjoy your weekend!

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Christmas Memories.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year's. We spent Christmas morning at home, ate an early dinner, then headed to NY for the weekend. We spent the 1st night with my mother-in-law and the 2nd night with my dad. It was a really nice holiday...lots of great memories were made. Just another reminder of how truly blessed I am.

Christmas Eve 

Brookie

Carter 

Cookies & Milk for Santa. Carrots for Reindeer. 

Daddy reading "The Night Before Christmas". 

Christmas Morning 

Steven and I were able to get out alone on New Year's Eve. It was very fun...although I had fallen asleep (or passed out...call it what you will.) and had to be woken up for the ball drop. 

Yesterday we spent the day at home, cleaning up after such a crazy week. I threw my brand new cell phone in the washer. It got caught up in some jeans when I was throwing a load in and it took me 10 minutes to realize that it wasn't in any of its usual places. I filed an insurance claim around 7pm and it got an email before I woke up that said a replacement had been shipped. It should be here tomorrow. I am dying without it. My beloved HTC Evo...come baaaaaaaaackkkkkkk!

Today we are watching football, finishing up around the house, and hitting the grocery store with both kids because we are insane. I would wait, but we really need to fill up the cupboards. Pray for us, LOL!