Friday!

Yikes! This week kind of felt like it was dragging on, but I’m sure glad it’s finally Friday.  I’m ready for a date night, family time, church, and maybe even a few other fun things packed in there.  Oh and guess who is 10 weeks old today!? Asher!  I am like whoa he is already in double digits for weeks.  To celebrate, he oh so kindly has been sleeping 8 hours in a row the last few nights.  I’m a fan of this new stage.  Plus, he is extra smiley too.  Though, let’s be honest…the flip side is that during the day he has been extra hungry and quite a bit clingy.  There’s always something new to learn and an ever expanding lesson in flexibility.  Other than that, this has been a pretty normal week.  Here’s a little list of the things I’ve been loving!

• KIND Bars
  • Since I’ve been nursing (and that boy can eat!), I have been so snacky and have often found myself needing something fast.  I’ve taken to trying out some fun granola bars.  I’ve been loving the Vanilla Blueberry by KIND this week!  I’m on the lookout for healthy, fast snacks so send them my way if you have any!
• BOB Stroller
  • The more I use the BOB stroller, the more I love it.  I’m a little addicted.  Trip to Target, okay I’ll grab the BOB.  Grocery shopping? Why, of course, I’ll use the BOB and then I won’t need a cart.  Time for a walk or running? Yep, the BOB.  I am so very glad and thankful that we budgeted and made getting a nice jogging stroller a priority when it came to baby things.  Asher loves it and he’s a happy guy in it or well probably mostly sleepy or content, but I will take that!  Plus, the shocks make rocking him just enough if he does get fussy and they help curb the uneven ground on the dirt roads by our house.
• Journaling
  • I’ve been intentional about journaling more lately and really trying to set aside time to write.  I love writing.  I have for a long, long time.  I can remember whipping out a 70 or something page book in middle school and being extra proud.  Though, I also know other times where “art scars” have popped up and caused me to hold back from writing.  I’ve got a whole shelf full of journals and they’re one of my favorite things.  I’m working on putting those gremlins death and to keep on picking up the pen or typing out the words.
• Baths
  • Since having Asher, I’ve learned the wonderfulness of a warm bath and time to sit and read or write or just plain think.  The time alone is golden and I am a big fan in this season.  Plus, we have a nice big bath so I will take advantage while I can!  I’m glad I’m finally learning to enjoy this and this week was no exception!
• Instagram and Feedly
  • I’ve really been enjoying reading other people’s stories lately and seeing beautiful things in the pictures they post.  Lately I’ve been inspired, encouraged, challenged, and refreshed by the updates I have been seeing.  I love when these are what I walk away with rather than bitterness, jealousy, envy…those are my red flags to check my heart and see what is going on inside.  All that to say, I’m loving them right now.

Lastly, here are a few of the pictures I’ve loved from this week!

Boaz cracks me up!

Somebody looks SO big!

I love that we are a family who loves to read! 

I made food! Frittata deliciousness. 

What have you been loving!? 

Weekend Highlights

This past weekend we had such a fun time since we are finally feeling better!  

We started Friday off by going to a birthday party for some awesome people from church.  I’m always curious to see how these things will go now that we’ve got a baby in tow.  He did great though and was pretty content the whole time!  Plus, I’ve realized that I just love seeing other people love him.  Our pastor’s daughter and our worship leader got to hold him quite a bit and he loved it!  I am so incredibly thankful for all these awesome people in his life and for how they bless our family.  I totally need to get more pictures of him with other people though!  Too often I don’t get my camera out.

Saturday was a day that turned out different than the first plan, but it worked!  We had wanted to go to the Farmer’s Market and go to their community breakfast, but then we saw it was raining and we had been slow at getting ready anyway.  So, that plan went out the window and we went instead to eat breakfast in town.  Then we ran some errands and I did some work at church before getting home to my much needed nap!  The longer stretches Asher sleeps at night makes it harder for me to go right back to bed sometimes.  Though, I am NOT complaining about him sleeping longer!  I will take my 6 and a half hours of sleep in a row whenever he will give it to me!  

 

(these are from a couple of weeks ago, but he’s just so cute and funny when he sleeps!)

Sunday meant getting ready for church and getting there in time for worship practice.  After church we hung around a bit and then Ryan’s aunt came over with a present for Asher.  Visiting time, nap time, and then family walk time all before our fun bedtime routine.  For bedtime, we’ve started giving Asher a bath and sometimes reading a little.  It’s pretty much my favorite. 

(blurry but I just love how he rests his hand on the stroller strap!)

All in all, a perfectly good weekend and now we’re back into the Monday routine with the husband off at work…but at least I got to go out to lunch with Asher, the husband, and my mom today!  And eat the most delicious greek grain salad and tomato bisque soup…mmmm. 

How was your weekend?

25 Things

I snagged this from my favorite Vizsla loving blogger because it looked so fun!

1. I’m happiest when…. 1) I’m hanging out with my favorite people (my boys! the husband, my little man, and Boaz) 2) when I’m outside. 3) eating delicious food

2. …Especially if it… 1) involves mountains, the beach, or some kind of adventure!

3. I’ve always wanted to….move back overseas.

4. My family and I…love going on walks!

5. I was a terrible…er let’s say I have a terrible time noticing things that need to be cleaned.

6. My first job was….babysitting!

7. I could probably eat ice cream and cake every day!

8. I stole…I’ve got nothing on this one…hm.

9. I was born on the same day as….Brad Pitt

10. My all time favorite film is…I do love the Narnia movies and there are a few others too!

11. I do a pretty mean…forehand while playing tennis.

12. I’m still mad…I didn’t take advantage of post-secondary options.

13. I met my husband…at church!

14. I always knew I wanted…enough books to fill a room/library in my house.

15. I’m not afraid to…climb mountains and jump off cliffs!  Well, I may be afraid at times, but I do it anyway!

16. I make the best…desserts!

17. I have almost no…flexibility.  Sit and reach always messed up my physical fitness awards in school.

18. I always cry when…I’m done using anger as a cover up for being hurt.

19. I’m a Minnesotan with who still calls Africa home.

20. I spent 1 year living in South Africa.

21. I wish my folks…the best 🙂

22. As a child, I was deeply in love with…making up stories

23. I believe if everyone had a better sense of their worth and how loved they are the world would be a better place.

24. I can’t stand…the smell of black licorice.

25. Whenever Amazing Race is on I’ll watch it.  Mainly I love seeing all the amazing places they go!

Your turn!  I’d love to hear your answers to any of these 🙂 

Friday Love

We made it to Friday!  A full week with the husband back at work.  I’ve been having fun getting to know our little man more each day and he sure makes us smile and laugh a lot!  Plus, he’s already 3 weeks old today!  That is way close to being a month old and so far I totally get how things are in a “blur” for the first bit of having a newborn.  Mostly, though, I’m loving this stage!  Here are some of the things we’re loving…

Things I’m Loving:

1. Tummy time with the little man.  He’s pretty good at cuddling.

2. Lots of walks.

3. Tacos! Pretty sure I’ve eaten tacos for lunch for the last three days.

4. Reading with the husband.  We have continued our habit of reading a book together before bed and it’s one of my favorite times of connecting.  And let’s just say any time spent with him is pretty much my favorite.

5. Sitz baths and showers.  My midwife and my nurses were big on telling me to soak/take a sitz bath in order to help things heal.  I totally jumped on board and have continued to take time to be alone and enjoy hot water!  I like to think they’ve helped me heal up fast too 🙂

Things Asher is Loving:

1.  Falling asleep during tummy time.  This is one of his favorite places to fall asleep.

2. Eating. eating. and more eating.

3. Being in his car seat for walks or car rides.

4. Kicking his legs like crazy and getting his arms out of his swaddles.

5. Being rocked in his rock n play.

Things Our Family is Loving:

1. Walks with the four of us!

2. Time together in the evenings and mornings.

3. Ice cream! Well…Asher hasn’t tried it yet, but I’m guessing he might like it someday. 🙂

4. Sleep.

5. Reading books.

be delicate: what I learned in march

Now, I know that in terms of days, March technically only has 3 days more than February…though, this year I’ve deemed this the longest month ever.  With lingering snow storms, I’m a little weary of March and hoping that April might hold more promise—I’m not holding my breath, though!  I keep thinking that at least by the time this little baby comes we likely will have grass.  Right?  Grass by June/July seems reasonable.  In other news, I’ve let a whole month slip by without a single blog post but hey I’m here again linking up.  April just might be a good month for all sorts of things (blogging and sunshine!).  Until then…here’s what I learned in March!

1. I may say that I am Boaz’s favorite…but here is some evidence that sometimes this crazy dog prefers the husband over me.  Either way, that dog loves to be close.

2. Trader Jo’s oreo shakes…yes please!  Apparently, I’m rather particular about the thickness of my shakes.  We followed a recipe for these and let me tell you, I was not impressed.  So, I did what only made sense and started adding more ingredients.  After using all of the oreos, some cookie butter, and a whole lot of ice, they finally were closer to what I preferred.  In the end, I determined I just plain prefer ice cream in my shakes.  

3. Community and vulnerability are good for my heart.  I went to a workshop/conference for a few days and even got to get creative and use some markers to share bits of my story (hence the color covered hand).  Life is messy and beautiful.  A few weeks after going, I found myself embracing the little phrase “be delicate.”  My head is still rolling this around and my heart is tugging at the seams when thinking about it. So often, I don’t show my delicate, tender, and soft side.  I don’t know where it will lead, but all that to say, that March has thrown that phrase into my vocabulary (and I rediscovered my love for picmonkey for editing and adding words to pictures).

4. This verse. Such goodness.  This month has exposed some of my “scorched places” and I am so thankful for a God who brings the rain and is with me in the fire.  Isaiah 58:11. 

5. I could put sprinkles on just about everything and be a happy girl.

6. This bump has gotten out of control and we still have 14 weeks to go!  March became the month of the baby bump popping out and me finally gaining some weight.  And let’s just say.  Baby still loves to move a ton.  🙂

6 weeks above and almost 26 weeks below.7. Lastly, I finally  figured out a way to organize and clean up my camera roll!  I deleted all of the photos off my camera roll this morning…first time, I have had an empty camera roll probably since I got this phone!  For some reason, my syncing hasn’t been quite great at deleting them after I imported them to iPhoto.  So, I didn’t know what I had on iPhoto and what I didn’t.  Either way, I made sure I had backed them up and had everything in order before deleting.  But let me tell you.  That thing was full!  I may or may not be a photo hoarder (2000ish photos later).

There you have it.  My random bits from March.  I’m hoping these next few days fly by and then April brings sunshine, showers, and pretty flowers.

What did you learn in March?

 

 

 

 

What I Learned-February

I had so much fun writing last months “What I learned” that I thought I would jump on board again this time!  February really felt like a short month and yet I definitely feel like there were a lot of big learning curves as well as fun things to learn too!

1. The Olympics are my favorite, but I learned that I do have a limit of watching…I eventually hit the: “We need to do something else!” stage!  But all in all, I loved being able to see the athletes and the competition.  Plus, my husband likes them too! Even Boaz loved all the times he got to either “watch” or sleep on us.

Boaz is so high maintenance.

2. There are SO many baby options for everything. I’ve started bookmarking a few things and my Pinterest page is growing!

3. This baby loves to move and I am in love with baby feet.  One of my favorite ultrasound pictures definitely was the one with cute little feet.  Not too surprising because I have always taken feet pictures wherever I travel.

Speaking of, I’m ready to be back in Africa… 🙂

4. I definitely have a bump and people have noticed. Maternity clothes are around the corner.  Not yet, but definitely soon!

Oh and how cute is this picture with my husband.

5. My limit of handling winter is getting shorter.  I am longing for walks and runs outside.

6. It’s okay to spend money to take care of me (even when I’d rather spend the money elsewhere!) and to do things afraid. I definitely had to be open to making this decision and to God’s promptings.

7. Downton Abbey turned into a perfect thing to watch while on the treadmill with Boaz! And I will say that I was thankful for a “happier” ending than last season.

8. Communication is ever a learning process, but worth the hard work.

9. Even though February is a “short” month, we totally used all of our grocery budget to make good food early in the month.  Next month, I might need to spread things out a bit!

10. This salad dressing is delicious. 

11. The book of Numbers hasn’t been nearly as hard to read as I thought it would be this time around and I am loving reading Romans this month.  (I’ve been using this plan since I think July last year and have been more or less reading a day or two or three at a time.  I love getting to read out of 4 different books each day.)

12. Baby names are hard to pick!  But I am loving all the potential names and options…I may or may not be a name hoarder.

What did you learn this month?

Celebrate

This past weekend was full of fun {mostly}.   Valentine’s day got pushed back a few days to feeling icky and sleeping most of Friday, but when we did celebrate, we certainly had a blast.  Yep, I love my husband and I love that he loves good food just as much as I do.  Not to mention that he’s all about trying new things.

We had these the day after because we were too full…but they were delicious! Blackberry Izze with vanilla bean ice cream…perfect kind of ice cream float!

Our fruit for the fondue! Bananas, strawberries, and blackberries!  The husband didn’t think he’d ever really eaten a blackberry without it being in something…so we definitely added those! Plus, they were on sale and just ripe!

Focaccia bread!!! We went the easy route and bought this instead of making it from scratch since our Sundays are usually a little full with church. 

Oh and who doesn’t love the idea of dipping cheese & garlic tortellini in fondue?! Next time, we want to try toasted tortellini! 

There’s the tasty pesto fondue! We loosely followed this recipe.

Hello white chocolate fondue…my favorite! We didn’t do anything crazy to make this.  We had thought about trying bananas fosters fondue, but didn’t quite have all the ingredients.  This was more than satisfying still. Oh and check out this adorable little fondue pot.  We got it for Christmas from sweet friends and it’s so cute!  It even worked well too!

Oh and who can resist sprinkles! 

and last but not least..a little bump picture.  This is from right after taking some time to walk/run on the treadmill!  There’s no denying there’s a bump.  On the upside we are OVER halfway to meeting this little baby. Ultrasound got pushed back because of a silly blizzard that snowed in our driveway…so that’s coming soon!
In other news…I hear that the weather *might* warm up.  I’m hoping so!

Catch-All

 

Forgive me for the picture overload…but here’s my catch-all post of all the fun things that have been going on lately.  This week has felt like a nice breath of fresh hair and we have our 20 week ultrasound tomorrow!!  So hello getting to see baby again.  We definitely have been a little spoiled in getting to see this baby at 12 weeks and a full detailed ultrasound at 14 weeks too.  I am definitely in denial that we’re halfway there!

Confession.  I don’t think I’ve ever actually made full on homemade lasagna before, but now I can say that I have!  Above is a nice little mixture of ricotta cheese, mozzarella, spinach, and some eggs.  Not sure why they added eggs…maybe to keep it together? I’d definitely try it without for fun if I ever make this again!  Below was the even more fun part of actually putting the lasagna together!  I totally made WAY too many noodles, but oh well.

Hello baby bump.  Whether I want it or not, this little baby is making an appearance on the outside now too.  People who know me are noticing. Ek!  I’m a little in denial about this too. I can’t say I’ve ever been one of those people who have looked forward to having a baby bump.  Maybe it’ll grow on me.  This is at least one of my fave pictures so far.  Plus, I do love feeling the little baby moving and pushing in there!  This little baby seems to love music (well assuming the baby can hear the music! “They” say he/she can on all those crazy baby apps…) or the other alternative is that he/she just doesn’t like when I have my seat warmer on when I’m in the car and is trying to get away from the heat! Ha.

Olympics!!! Boaz is just as into these Olympic games as we are.  Well he’s either watching with full attention or he’s sleeping on us. This is how we’re spending most evenings lately…

These two are my favorite.  And don’t let Boaz fool you…he’s getting ready to try to lick Ryan.  He’s just so kind like that. 

Hello baked chimichangas.  So delicious.  Guacamole is my favorite too.  I’m SO glad I can eat tomatoes again and that the little baby isn’t revolting every time I do.  That was definitely a not so fun part of the first trimester.  I love some good Mexican food. 

Here’s another bump picture.  Don’t mind all the nail polish–adds character 🙂

I’ve spent the last week or two devouring my grandmother’s journal and I’ve loved it!  This little note from her mother/aunt (she lived with her aunt and uncle and called them mother and father) was such a perfect reminder to make moments glorious.  

Oh and another Boaz one where he’s camped out at the end of the couch sleeping with his head on the table.  He’s been extra cuddly and sleepy this week.  I’m loving it.  We sit and read the Bible, read books, journal, write, and generally enjoy our slow mornings.  We’ll see what this looks in like 4 and a half months!  For now, I’m soaking it up!

Yep. He’s cute. 

This little baby is so loved.  Already getting Valentine’s day cards.So there you have my crazy catch-all post with all sorts of randomness.  I recently found my “Love your life” journal that I hadn’t finished from 2012 (the year of celebrate!) and I started writing in there again so in a way this post was just an overflow from there.  I love looking back see all that the Lord has done.  So much faithfulness even in the midst of pain, heartache, hurt, and frustration.  The Lord is good.

All About the Food

The one thing I love about Super Bowl parties is the food.  The football…eh, it’s okay.  The commercials…sometimes funny.  But, the food…yes, please!  I took the semi easy route this year and decided to make two dishes that I was craving/would want to eat if they didn’t get eaten at the party.  I made the second one last year too for the Super Bowl and loved it!  I haven’t made it since then so I figured why not go for it again.

This one was super yummy…I didn’t find ripe and good looking avocados so that layer was missing unfortunately.  Otherwise, I also combined the black beans and salsa into one layer since I like them better mixed together. I went the non-healthy route and kept it as sour cream rather than greek yogurt or anything of the like.  Changed up the lettuce layer to a torn up spinach layer and topped it all with cheddar cheese, mozzarella, and some pepper jack cheese.  Oh and lots of cumin mixed into the salsa.

Next up is the…Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

This is just about as healthy as it sounds (not very!), but even more delicious tasting than it sounds!  Lots of peanut butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, and reese’s peanut butter cups!  Here’s the recipe for you too! Easy and pretty quick, which was a bonus.

Beyond these…I totally got to eat some yummy mac n cheese, puppy chow, cheesecake, kettle corn, and lemonade! My husband gladly indulged in all sorts of meat 🙂

Yep. All about the food.

Do you have any favorite Super Bowl food?

 

Polenta!

I finally got around to trying out Polenta!! I spied it at the grocery store a while ago and was intrigued by it since it was “new.”

Vodka sauce with mozzarella cheese mixed in…yes please!  I also added some yellow and orange peppers that I needed to use up!

 

I had wanted to do a baked polenta but couldn’t find the recipe at the last minute so I ended up going with this recipe since it looked pretty and was quicker than the rest of the recipes I saw!  These were my testers (hence the different sizes and shapes).

Totally fun putting these babies together with even more mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and lots of sauce! And since the first ones were kind of impractical to eat, here was presentation #2.  Both tasted the same 🙂

So my verdict on trying polenta….too grainy of a texture for me but the cheese and sauce were yummy.

My husband’s verdict….he liked it!

I’d be somewhat interested in trying a different recipe, but skeptical that I would like it since I’m pretty sure the grainy texture isn’t going to go away.  Fun to try once though!