Thursday, June 26, 2014

Sweet Summertime

Summertime is made for...
{eating homemade strawberry popsicles}
{drawing (and kissing) pictures with chalk in the driveway}
{wearing mommy's sunglasses}
{swimming in the kiddie pool}
{celebrating moms}
{and dads}
{and stealing mommy's ice cream sandwich after a romp in the yard with the sprinkle on}

Happy Summer y'all!

Monday, June 23, 2014

New Recipes FTW {Mexican Chicken Soup}

One of the new recipes that I really love is Crock Pot Mexican Chicken Soup from the lovely Against All Grain. I do not require a gluten-free, Paleo, SCD, etc. lifestyle, but it is in the interest of my health to eat recipes like this from time to time. I've tried a few recipes, and all of them have been absolutely delicious! Definitely check her out for some great ideas, especially if you need those types of recipes!

This is a good recipe to toss in the Crock Pot in the morning and it will make your whole house smell amazing. The first time I made it, I immediately put it in the fridge for later use. It tasted just as good reheated as it did straight from the cooker!

I took pictures to help show the steps to making the soup. However, look up the recipe from the original site HERE.

Both times I did some similar alterations to the recipe. I will write those changes in italics when necessary.
{This is how most of my cooking starts; main cooking dish next to my laptop ;)}
{I just happened to make homemade bone broth this week, so I did 2 cups of the chicken broth, and 4 cups of water}
{Whenever I cut jalapenos, I use the bag from the store to help keep the oil off of my hands. It works well for me!}
{I also only used 1/3 of the Poblano pepper to make sure it wasn't too hot for my young daughter}
{I love how colorful this is!}
{Jillian helped by lining up all of the baby oranges...}
{and David took a nap :)}
{I had some fresh tomatoes, so I used my juicer to make homemade tomato juice. It was thinner than store bought, but worked for my family.}
{Mixing the spices together}
{I didn't want to cook the chicken first, so I used a cooked deli chicken from the grocery store}
{I filled my 1-cup measuring cup with chicken I picked off. I saved any remaining meat for lunch later in the week.}
{I felt lazy about cleaning my juicer, so I just squeezed the limes by hand.}
{What it looks like all put together! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!}
{Because of the cooked chicken, I only place the soup on low for about 7-8 hours.}
{It will make your house smell ah-may-zing!!}

{Trust me when I say that it is as delicious as it looks!}
{I didn't try making the cheese chips, but I usually eat this soup too fast to top it with anything.}

If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Happy cooking :)

Saturday, June 21, 2014

KC Trip: {How We Spent Our 6th Wedding Anniversary}

Over Memorial Day Weekend, we had a family wedding in Kansas City. {Due to my large family size, this was actually my cousin's son. Yay for being the last kid in my generation!} They ended up getting married on our actual anniversary, so I thought I'd do a recap of how we spent the day :)
{This is actually at the Dairy Queen in Lamar, MO the day before. I just love this little stud muffin!}

The morning of the wedding, Phil and my dad went to play golf with the groom and other members of the family. While they did that, my mom and I took the kids to my aunt's house, then left the kids with family to get pedicures! After some nice time alone with my mama, we all met back up for lunch. Jillian really wanted to go swimming, so we went back to my parents' hotel to get ready.
{The kids and their Jemma}
{Jillian LOVED the pool, (and her Spiderman floatie), and David didn't hate it! Progress right?}
{Some cuddle time with Jemma}

After we got back to our hotel room, Jillian asked for a snack. She sat next to me on the bed and watched PBS while eating mini rice cakes. The next thing I know, I look down and see this...
{She is actually still holding her rice cake in her right hand. Poor girl was wiped!}

Finally, it was time to get ready for the wedding!
{My hair is so long right now}
{6 Years of Wedded Bliss}
{Both kids were having a hard time staying awake. We finally just changed Jillian's clothes at the venue and let them rest}

The wedding was beautiful, and my dad even performed the ceremony! It was so nice of our family to help us keep Jillian entertained. She just wanted to walk around everywhere. Phil was able to get a little father-daughter time with her.
{Doing the Hokey Pokey!}
{After the song, Jillian kept asking for "The Pokey Puppy Song"}
{Just the sweetest}

David slept for most of the reception, so I got a little mother-son time to just look at his precious face. They had fireworks, and Jillian yelled all the way to the hotel "I make fireworks! Boom! Boom!"

The next day, we had a little time with my folks before we had to head home.
{Wearing hats at Burger King}

Overall, it was a nice anniversary with my crazy/fun extended family :) Jake and Audra are a sweet couple, and we are honored to share our day with them.

{Look at those babies!}
{Bliss in Jamaica circa 2008}

It's strange to think this picture was 6 years, 5 cars, 4 moves, 3 college degrees, 2 children, and 1 house ago. There is no way I could have imagined what was in store for us after that lovely day in 2008, but I am so thankful to have this man by my side.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

What We've Been Up To

**Side Note: June is by far the craziest/busiest month for me this summer. Once July rolls around, I will most likely be a bit more present. Plus, I think hope pray that I figured this whole "no room on hard drive/start up disk for photos" stuff I've been dealing with since February. End Side Note**

First and foremost, I want to send my thoughts and prayers to those in NE. Those twin tornadoes were just awful, and we can definitely relate here in Oklahoma. I hope you can feel God's presence and peace as you rebuild.

In the whirlwind that is my life, I have had some good moments. Here are a few I want to share :)

In mid-May, Phil and I went on our 3rd date for the year. I haven't been documenting them like last year because I haven't felt quite up to it. However, this was a Saturday day-date, and I felt like taking a few photos :)
 {Phil being a better golfer than me (though that's not hard at all)}
 {Luff him :)}

As hard as 2 is, it can also be hilarious!
 {I told her to lay next to that OKC Thunder drawing I made, and this is what she did instead. Goofy girl...}
 {Jillian's newest thing is to make beds and put her toys, and sometimes herself, to bed for a nap}

In an attempt to be more present, I am letting my insecurities go by being in the picture with my kids.
 {And you know what? I love these photos :)}

And for fun today, I made a little side by side of Jill and Davey. They are about 6 weeks apart in age in these pictures, but these were the best photos I could get of a similar expression. Do you think they're siblings? Besides the obvious hair color and eye shape differences, Phil and I think they have the same facial structure! What do you think?
{They are definitely cute!}

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Jillian: {2.5 Years}

Jillian –

You are 2.5 years old today! It's so hard to believe you're such a big girl! You are going to the doctor in 5 days, so I will update later with your official stats. According to our at home measurements, you are 24lbs, 10 oz and 35 inches long. 

You wear 18 Month, and a few 24 Month/2T clothes. You wear size 2T-3T Target brand Pull Ups. You currently wear size 5 shoes.

Eating is pretty easy for you. You would rather snack throughout the day then eat a big meal. Even then you might not eat very much. However, you do like several healthy options, so we can't complain :) I have learned some of your specific eating preferences, and enjoy learning more as your tastes change. For the most part, I can count on my hands the number of foods you will not eat under any circumstances. You also don't like for food to be too hot, (temperature wise or spice wise), and you don't do black pepper at all. You also don't seem to like any sort of dips. Ketchup, ranch, and even jelly is something you avoid at all costs.

You still have 16 teeth! All we’re missing are those two-year molars. We will most likely be scheduling your first dentist appointment for the end of the year. Hopefully it won't be too rough for you.

Sleep is great! Even if you don't fall asleep right away when we put you to bed at night, you'll hang out in your bed quietly and fall asleep within an hour or so. You will have quiet time in your bed for about 2-1/2 hours every day. You sleep most of the time, but every so often you just stay quiet in bed. You are sharing your bedroom with your brother now. The transition was easy, and you both seem to do well with the arrangement. You also took it upon yourself to start sleeping in your big girl bed a little earlier than we were planning. However, you asked to sleep in it in January, and you never looked back! Sleep when traveling is rough, but you do have a blow up bed that works 85% of the time. Otherwise, you'll share a bed with mama.

Reading is still a favorite pastime of yours. However, you are in a phase of memorizing everything you can. You are currently working on memorizing "Goodnight Moon." We had VBS at church last week, and you LOVED singing and dancing with the kids in the sanctuary. In fact, because mama was in charge of the music, we have been listening to the CD in the car constantly! You know most of the words, and you can still do some of the motions to the songs as well. It's amazing what your little mind can absorb!

The Listening for Littles class you started in the fall was so much fun for you! You are doing much better with the routine of the day. We are going to do it again next year, but we've also signed you up for a two-day preschool through our church. I'm not sure I'm ready for you to be in preschool yet! I know you'll just love it though :)

Your girlie-girl side is starting to come out. You like to paint your nails, wear dresses on Sunday, watch Snow White or The Princess and the Frog, wear my big sunglasses, and play with your Disney princess toys. You also like dinosaurs, bugs, Spiderman, playing with dirt, and finding rocks. I just love watching you discover things and having interest in all sorts of things!

Run run run. You love to just run! You climb, hop, jump, spin... it's really hard to keep up with you! You love to run outside, swing on the swing set, kick balls in the yard, bounce on the bed, and just be as active as possible. We're not 100% sure it was the cat, but ever since we gave the cat to a better home, your allergies have been SO much better! You might get a runny nose, but you do not cough at all at night. In fact, I don't believe you've had an allergy medicine since February. I love that we can go outside and play, draw with chalk, etc. This is going to be a great summer :)

We are working on potty training. Overall you're doing well. You tell us if you need to pee in the potty every so often, but not too consistently yet. However, you do pretty well with using the big potty as opposed to a small potty we started with. We are taking a rather lax approach to it, but I'm sure you'll be mostly potty trained by your birthday.

You recently started using the word "no." First of all, thank you for waiting this long to start. Secondly, let's get through this phase quickly. Ok? Please and thank you!

You are a wonderful big sister! You don't always show attention to David, and you have even gotten a little jealous when it comes to your daddy. However, you give hugs and kisses, and you get very concerned if he is crying. I just love it when the two of you giggle back and forth. It's so fun to watch your relationship grow and change!

A few of your favorite things are:
Fresh fruits, peas, milk, balls, swinging, being outside, dancing and singing, reading, Elmo, Youtube videos (that mama approves first), talking, watching Blues Clues/Rugrats/Yo Gabba Gabba/Daniel Tiger/Winnie the Pooh/My Neighbor Totoro/Snow White/The Princess and the Frog, Spiderman, dirt, bugs, rocks, anything that sparkles, Hello Kitty, and being silly.

Things you could live without:
Being scared, apples, pears, getting wet if you're not in the mood, loud sounds, being cold, getting in trouble, being told no, and having any food on your hands.

Jillian, you are our favorite girl in the whole world! You are a delight, and watching you grow is such a pleasure. What an honor it is to be your family. We love you baby girl! :)

Now for some outtakes:
 {Wait mommy! I see a bug AND a penny!}
 {Cheese!}
 {Of course, who can compete when Snow White is on for the 9013850192837508123 time ;)}

And some comparisons:
 {Jillian on all of her 1/2 Birthdays}
{She looks more like a big girl in such a short amount of time *tear*}

But I Know What It Feels Like

This post is going to be awfully vulnerable and hard for me, but I really want to finally say it out loud. I got permission for my daughter ...