Help in the Kitchen!

Patrick is always so willing to help me with almost everything:) One thing that he always helps me with is packaging chicken.

Each time I buy chicken, I like to buy a lot and then freeze it. I don't really do this to save money, although it probably does, but I do it because I absolutely HATE cleaning chicken. I have to have every little piece of grossness off of my chicken(I got this from my mom) and I find that if I do this the day I am going to eat it, I have hard time having the appetite to actually eat it. So, I buy a lot and then freeze it. Lately I have been trying to save time by chopping some of the chicken before I freeze it. I use a lot of chopped chicken in recipes and it really helps the process of cooking dinner. Patrick always holds the baggie open for me to put the chicken in so I don't get it all chickeny:) Then I wrap it in foil and write what it is and how much. He decided to go above and beyond and do the wrapping and writing this time. Wasn't that so nice of him? Here is one of the finished products.

Yep, it says CHOPPED ROOSTER! I found all of the chicken with funny names like this. Another one said, Hacked Bird Meat....I am serious! He just makes me laugh and I had to share.

More Bows and a Good Deal!

My parents came up on Saturday and spent the day with us. We had a lot of fun just hanging around. They of course took us out to lunch/dinner at the Olive Garden....yummy! Then my mom and I went to Sugar and Spice. They were having a 40 percent off sale and I also had a 10 dollar coupon for joining the email list! Here's what we found.

And....guess how much I spent.....$10.68. How cool is that.

So....I have seen so many cute bows going different places, and decided I wanted to learn how to make them. I wasn't sure on a couple of them, but while at Sugar and Spice, they had some, so we decided to take a peak at how they were made. Last night and tonight I thought I would try it out. Here are the finished products. I love these!!!

But am still not too sure about these. I think I will keep trying and see if I can get them a little better.

I have a couple more projects I want to make in the next couple of weeks that I'm really excited about.

And....here are a couple of cute pictures of Ellie.

This is how I found her sleeping during a nap one day! January 15, 2011

Also after a nap one day I came in to see her playing like this. She must really like to use the bumpers as a pillow! January 14, 2011 We got some cool shelves for her room to help organize a little bit. Here she is helping us put it together. This was the first time she pulled herself up to standing. She hasn't done it again, but I can feel it coming. Once she gets going...she is going to be in to everything! January 15, 2011 She loves carrying things in her mouth, especially socks. We were laughing so hard at this....which made her keep doing it, then she would giggle and the sock would fall out. She is just so much fun! January 22, 2011

Another Giveaway!

I know I am going crazy with giveaways, but I really want one of these, and it can't hurt to try to enter. If you would like to enter to Win a free Silhouette Machine Valued at $395. http://tinyurl.com/4kk2xyh @iheartnaptime. Good Luck!

Ribbon Board

I have been wanting to make one of these for a while, but couldn't decide which design I wanted. I saw ones that had ribbon hanging from a cute sign that held the bows, or frames with ribbon in them to attach the bows. This one caught my eye the other day and I knew it was what I wanted. Plus, it was so much easier and a lot cheaper! I got the fabric and ribbon from Hobby Lobby for $6.00 and the board was a scrap piece from Lowe's that they charged me 25 cents for! What a deal. I got the idea from Sister Stuff. I really like how it turned out and it was a lot of fun to make.

Then I decided that I would try my hand at making a bow. Here is the finished product, a little blurry, but you get the idea. I love them!

I am definitely going to have to make more bows and try some new kinds. Anybody have any good websites I can look at for ideas?

Seriously Soooo Good!

I found a recipe for cake for one from a friend Katie's blog. I tried it last night and it was seriously so delicious, I had to post it. I am not a huge fan of cake, but especially when I have an entire cake for just 2, it's way too much and we end up either eating way too much or throwing it away.....or both:) This turned out so good and was super easy.

Cake for One (in under a minute)

• 1 box Angel Food Cake Mix
• 1 box Regular Cake Mix(I used milk chocolate)
• Chocolate Chips (if desired)

That's IT! Just mix the two cake mixes together and store in an airtight container. When you are ready to indulge in some instant happiness, measure out 1/3 cup of mix into a microwave safe cereal bowl. Mix with 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle with chocolate chips for an extra dose of chocolate. Microwave for around 50 seconds(I ended up doing 60 seconds), and ENJOY!

Katie also has a bunch of tips on her blog if you want to check it out. Thanks so much for posting it Katie!

Giveaways!

There area couple of giveaways at Tatertots and Jello that I wanted to let everyone know about. The first one ends tonight and is a giveaway for a couple of really cute rugs from Downeast! The other one is from a place called The Ribbon Retreat and they are giving away $50 to their store. They have lots of cute ribbon and fabric. Head on over and enter.

Sad Day!

I have always been one of those people that didn't like kids, well really little kids-babies, to play with my phone...I didn't want any buttons pushed that could mess it up, or cost more money. Well, since becoming a mom, I have found that I really don't care about a lot of things I thought I would. One of those being that I have been letting Ellie play with my phone. I just open a text and she holds it and ends up pushing buttons. No big deal....right? Well, the other day after she was slobbering all over my phone, I decided that was enough for the day. Shortly after I went to send a text message and the buttons were all messed up. I kept getting a lot of h's every time I pushed different letters. Then when I would try to send, the letter h would be there and send a few times:( I tried calling Patrick and it was extremely fuzzy and not very loud. I didn't panic....I just calmly turned off my phone and dried it out. Still no luck! Patrick took it in the the store and they basically said...."Sorry there is nothing we can do, except of course sell you another one":( Being the cheap, well lets say frugal, person that I am, I decided to wait and see if we could get it working. By the end of the night, the buttons were all working again, and the volume works fine when I'm talking to anybody, but the ringtone doesn't work any more. There is no sound to my phone. After a couple of days, I started to notice that the battery dies halfway through the day and I have to recharge it. I am not glued to my phone all day long, but I am a little saddened by this because I don't want to have to pay more for a phone:( Well, needless to say, I am back to my old ways and don't want babies to play....SLOBBER on my phone anymore!

You Know its Cold Outside When.....

Your husband goes to leave for work and comes right back in holding a broken off car door handle. Yes, the handle just snapped right off when he tried to open the door. It would be so nice to have a garage. Anyways.....$154.00 later, we are the proud new owners of a brand new Toyota Camry....door handle:) Gotta love car repairs!

7 Months....Christmas....Random Pics I have to Post....6 Months....Did I Miss Anything:)

Warning: Super Long Post... With Lots of Pictures!

7 Months

Man, time is just flying by so fast! I can't believe that Ellie is already 7 months old. She is learning so much and looking more and more like a little toddler rather than a tiny baby. While I am sad that she is growing so fast, it is also so, so much fun to watch her grow. I keep saying I love this stage the most and then the next one comes and it is awesome too! I just love having her in our family and can't imagine life without her!

I took this picture today and thought it was so funny(I know I'm mean cause she is crying) But it was so fake and just describes her whineyness on some days.

Some of the things she is doing right now are: Rolling over everywhere. She scoots backwards. Turning while sitting. Reaches to be picked up. Jibber Jabbers all day long. Can sometime get food to her mouth:) Slobbers and drools constantly-still no teeth though. Reaches for everything. Does push ups. She is eating peas, carrots, bananas, gr beans, pears, applesauce, white grape juice, sweet potatoes, peach yogurt melts, banana puffs, peaches. She will eat all of them except still not the pears. It took a few time to get applesauce, green beans and carrots down, so I am sure pears will come. She loves trying to drink from a glass and will always reach for whatever you are using. She stands with support and will shake her little bum(trying to get her balance), which is so cute! Her hair is finally starting to come in more and more on the sides and is very long on the top and back. She has only rubbed a tiny bit off of the back which is awesome! She does really well with things in her hair and I hope that will continue to be the case(As I try to get better with doing girl hair)

Christmas

This is Christmas morning. I love this picture. She was so excited with all the hussle and bussle of everything. It was fun.

And we had to get a picture with all the bows. She enjoyed eating them more than having them in her hair! We had Christmas at Patrick's families this year. Here are all the spoils...for being only 6 months...she sure got a lot:) From Grandma and Grandpa, 3 outfits, Jammies, key's that she loves cause they make cool sounds and light up and a Johnny Jump Up that she loves to bounce all around in. From Aunt Kru bowls, spoons, bath letters and numbers and a cool ball that she can hold really well. From Santa she got 2 tights, a small xylophone that you just push the buttons and they light up, a toy that sticks to her highchair, stuffed elephant and stuffed kitty cat-Marie from Aristocats, peach yogurt melts, books, bubble, sippies, and these cool mesh food holders.

This has been Ellie's favorite thing for some reason....sticking out her tongue. She is so funny about it cause she will look right at you and poke it out. She especially loves to stick it out while eating. This was awesome cause she was showing off for everybody and when we would laugh she would get this huge grin on her face. Love it! She doesn't really do this anymore. It lasted for a couple of weeks. She does still stick out her tongue with the frog song for daddy:) We went to my parents for New Years and I didn't take any pictures:( But here are the spoils from that Christmas:) Ellie got 3 outfits, 2 jammies(one that is a blanket sleeper and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse set that makes her look so old), a sleep sack, a Winnie the Pooh phone toy that she loves, bibs, a really cute skirt, a swimsuit and swim cover up for Summer and a ball that lights up and plays music. My mom got Patrick a frog pod....It hangs in your shower and holds all of the bath toys and soaps...etc...yes it is for Patrick:) He has loved it ever since the first time we saw it and my mom had to get it for him. It is awesome! He also got a couple of shirts and Despicable Me...IT'S SO FLUFFY!!! I got a book I have been wanting for a while and lotion, body wash and spray that is so yummy, Midnight Pomegranate. We had a great weekend with my parents.

1-11-11

This is Ellie's new high chair. I love it! I always seem to fret about little details and then realize they really don't matter. I am really glad we went with this high chair though. I love the little owl pattern on it as well. She really likes it too. She is holding on of the mesh food things. It has a banana in it. You put the food in and she can just chew on it and not have to worry about choking. She goes at it. She loves bananas in it and ate a half of one this morning! We have also tried frozen peas and she seems to like them, but they were a little bit harder to get out.

This is how I found Ellie during her nap today. She had her little bum in the air.1-10-11

Extreme Hair!!! I couldn't believe this. She is a crazy sleeper and wakes up with crazy hair...just like her daddy...She had just had a bath the night before too, she didn't have a pony tail or anything. I thought this was definitely picture worthy:)

This was a nap yesterday. She is always on her tummy, lately she has been turning all over during night and naps. I thought this was great that she had her hood up over her head.

Ellie loves to chew on anything, but especially her binky. Not sucking on it, but chewing. She likes to chew on the little thing that pokes off of the back of it and yesterday she found a way to get both the front and the back into her mouth with the binky all folded up somehow...I think it kind of scared her cause she hurried to get it out and had this look on her face that seemed shocked or worried:) Then she proceeded to do the usual, chew on it. The difference was that she put her thumb into the back and was chewing on that too. When I went to pull out her thumb after a bit, it was suctioned into the binky. She thought it was so funny and kept putting it in and then pulling the binky out with her thumb.

Last night we were playing with her on our bed and she was having a ball. She kept doing push ups and lifting her whole body in the air, then she would fall to the side and roll over. She kept going all over the bed to get toys and each of us. She was just giggling and I thought this face was hilarious.

She still loves her toes, but is now able to really suck on them.

She also loves being held upside down. Patrick has started doing this and she instantly loved it. She likes to be tossed around and flubbered and nibbled on too. She has so much fun with her daddy. One thing he has started doing are piggy back rides. She just gets a huge grin on her face and then pulls his hair...and sucks on his head. It is really funny.

1-6-2011

One day while I was getting ready I left her with all of her toys around her. I came in to find her with everything piled on her. She was just hanging out.

1-3-2011

She loves Patrick and when he comes home he always plays with her for a bit. She just wanted to snuggle this night. I had to take a picture.

12-14-2010

This was the start of playing with the binky instead of sucking on it. She thought it was hilarious to put the back in her mouth and hold it there. So funny!

6 Months

12-13-2010

I completely missed posting about her being 6 months. We had her check-up on December 14th and she is as always....Perfect! We go to Dr. Horkley and really like him. He is so nice and helpful even with my dumbest, being a first time mom, questions. This time he gave her a book. I guess he will be doing that at each appointment from now on. I think that is a really great idea. She had her next set of shots and this time was so sad for me. She actually new more what was happening and just screamed.....but once again as soon as I picked her up, she was fine. It didn't seem to bother her much. I noticed she woke up for the next few days once during the night instead of sleeping all the way through like normal. She wasn't quite as happy either and went through a few days where she only wanted me...which was terrible because my sister came to visit the next day and it took a few days to get warmed up to her. We left one night to go out to a movie and she screamed for an hour:( Well, she is back to normal at least, but very much starting to be way attached to me and Patrick and takes a little more for her to want to go to others. Here are her 6 month stats.

Weight:16lbs 12oz 49th percentile

Length:26 inches 56th percentile

She is average on everything. She has such cute little rolls on her legs and around Christmas I noticed they seem to be thinning out. She is moving so much more and I have a feeling they will slim right down when she starts crawling. Sad....I love those little pudgy legs!

WOW!