Fun with Olivia & Brody

So on Saturday I decided to be super motivated & have Brody over for a play date...just me and the two babies. It was so much fun, they played so well together! Only a few fights, but nothing to write home about. I took some pretty cute videos/photos of the two I have to share. I love getting them together...they just make my little heart melt they are so precious together.


Brody Smiling for the camera, he squints from the flash, so funny!


Playing on the couch...looks like Olivia is being naughty!


Eating Auntie Cassie's Lasagna, NUMMY!


Drinking Bottles like a baby, so so cute!


*Here is Brody Playing with our Dog Belle...so hilarious!


*The babes being big babies drinking bottles...ya ya we know you should ween them off at 1. But they are teething, LOL.


*Playing in Belle's Kennel just like Cass & I used to at the farm!

So we went to Vegas!

Corey & I took a well needed trip to call our own to Vegas with some good friends of ourS Keith & Danielle. It was so nice, to have my honey back to myself for a few days apart from playing Mommy & Daddy.

When I was preggers I would often cry myself to sleep telling Corey of all my worries that once baby is born we will lose eachother...that we won't have that quite time I so crave and that we will both find that taking care of our child is WAY more important than working on 'us'...well I will tell you what...we do find ourselves often finding our child more important and spending more time paying attention to her and all of the 'look what shes doing now' moments. But what we fail to remember is that without the 'us' there would be no 'her'. So we need to all take a step back, hug your spouse, say I love you & start planning some nights to yourself. Or at least I do. I am working on getting a babysitter lined up for every 2 or 3 weeks, a nice mid-week getaway. Sometimes weekend babysitters end up in us calling every friend we know and heading downtown...which I will say is so much fun...but doesn't cure the quality time I crave!

With that said, we had an awesome time. As days go by I can say I love my husband more today than I did yesterday...and I hope this goes on forever. MUSHY...MUSHY...MUSHY....XOXO

We met Elvis....he is alive!

Eating Sushi

At the Denver airport on our 6 hour pubcrawl I mean layover.

Wear Sunscreen.

Wear Sunscreen.

I have been reckless with my skin over the years. I tan easily. I love to have a suntan & I love to avoid sunscreen. Any chance I have, I love to lay in the sun & bake away my sins. I believe that sun therapy is worth a million dollars. Yet as I grow older I am becoming more & more concerned for my skin. That I need to start using sunscreen to be a good role model for my daughter & to live a long healthy life.

I have had my eyes opened to alternative tanning methods. I love spray tans. I really do. You get a sun kissed glow avoiding any risks of skin cancer. I have also been on a hunt for a ‘do it yourself’ self tanner. Any suggestions?

As summer is around the corner I wanted to post a few suggestions to keeping your family healthy while playing in the sun, especially if you are lake rats like we are, sunscreen is a must!

The American Cancer Society uses the "Slip! Slop! Slap! . . . and Wrap" catch phrase to remind you of the four key ways you can protect yourself from UV light: slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, and wrap on sunglasses to protect the eyes and the skin around them. Be sure to be especially vigilant with protecting children from the sun, since as few as five sunburns can increase their chances of developing skin cancer later in life.

Be safe this summer & enjoy your time outdoors!

Chuck E Cheese Please!

We went to Chuck E Cheese last weekend for Brody's #1 Birthday Party! To my utter surprise Brody, Olivia & all the little babes LOVED all of the characters. I went here anxiety filled of what this night would entail. And SURPRISE! The kids laughed & danced & had so much fun! In fact from that day forward (Last Friday 4/10) Olivia has been walking as her main mode of transportation.


Brod's dancing to the music!


Olivia Clapping to the Music!


Keeping an eye on Chuck E Cheese

Trying to run!

Birthday Thank You's!

I also had some fun making Olivia's Thank You Notes for her Birthday Gifts...ya ya, I know her Birthday was almost a month ago...but we're flooding up here folks...that's a good excuse right?

Fun With Photoshop...

Coming your way soon...

As you all know I love to play with Photoshop...here are "Olivia is 1 Announcement"...so cute!!

Brody's #1!

I want to give a quick shout out to my very favorite Godson Brody!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRODY BABY!

Brody is my cousin Cassie's little boy who is 3 weeks younger than Olivia. For those of you that don't know...Cassie has been my best friend & greatest companion since I was 5 months old and was blessed with her birth, LOL.

Brody & Olivia are best buds. They smile & chat to eachother whenever they see eachother and as soon as they are comforable Brody likes to tackle Olivia, try to tear her clothes off & make her cry. Ah...the sweet sounds of Cousinly Love, haha!

It has been so much fun growing up together, and now sharing motherhood and watching our babies grow up together. We rock!
Love you Brody! XOXO

It all started with two little bumps (well mine is quite a bit bigger! LOL) December 2007



Olivia & Brody February 2008

Olivia & Brody Play Tea Party (Just like Cass & I used to!)

Nice faces naughty kids!

Troubles with teeth...

These last couple weeks have been very trying in our household to say the least. We have been wrestling with a river, tossing sandbags, saving houses, rocking out to Brittany Spears, find time for husband & wife all while coping with... (dun, dun, dun) MOLARS! Poor...poor baby Olivia...these darn molars made their way into our lives during our trip to AZ in FEBRUARY! This poor babe has at least 6 teeth coming in...4 Canines & AT LEAST (I think there are more) 2 molars that have shown their pointed heads...when we are home Olivia has been such a bear. I am not joking, whining, needy and not fun happy Olivia. Last Sunday I even broke out the Baby Bjorn for the day to get a few things done. She loved it...boy is she getting heavy! BUT I am told when she is ANYWHERE ELSE...ANYWHERE ELSE (even at the grocery store with me) she is her happy old self! Daycare, she is perfect. Grandma & Grandpa's she is perfect. Shopping at Hornbacher's perfect. Home = War Zone.

All I can say is, at least my sweet girl comes to play every few minutes so it reminds us she is not a screaming monster...and THANK GOD she is still sleeping through the night & 2 naps a day. I have wondered over the past week if she maybe is growing & just needs more sleep? Or more drugs? I will figure out the combination eventually!

Trying on my new slippers from Ya-Ya


They are HUGE!


Helping Mommy make the grocery list.

I love to make lists...Just like my Dad, don't forget to put boxes in front so we can check everything off!

Hungry Girls Chicken Cordon Blue

I just got this post from my BFF Hungry Girl. She has such great recipe ideas for my low cal lifestyle I try to stick to. No I have not made this, but it is on my list of things to make, especially since I have all the ingredients in my fridge! Go Me!

PS: I'll say it again, if you haven't signed up for her email updates...DO IT. HG Rocks!

Rhapsody in Bleu
Warm chicken wrapped around melted cheese and juicy ham that won't break the calorie bank!? Sign us up...

Ingredients:
One 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese, room temperature
1 oz. (about 3 slices) 97 - 98% fat-free ham slices
salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put chicken in a large sealable plastic bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and seal. Using a meat tenderizer or a can, carefully pound chicken through the bag until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Remove chicken from the bag, and season to taste with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay the chicken flat and spread the cheese wedge over it. Evenly layer the ham slices on top of the cheese. Starting with one of the longer sides (or any side, if it's square), tightly roll up the chicken breast cutlet, and secure with toothpicks. Place chicken roll in a baking dish lined with foil and/or sprayed with nonstick spray, and then cover the baking dish with foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil covering the dish. Continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy!

MAKES 1 SERVING
Serving Size: 1 chicken cordon bleu (entire recipe)
Calories: 222Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 692mg
Carbs: 2g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 40g
POINTS® value 5*

This is how I get dressed...

Bathtime Olivia!


Don't take my clothes off Mom!


OK, now put them back on


I can do it myself


See...Perfect!

Support my Fellow Blogger

Hey all you "Hot Momma's"!

Stop on over and check out my fellow (more dedicated) blogger Shannon!

Quoted from Shan: Awhile back I was hired to write a newsletter questions-and-advice column and a women's wellness blog for the new women's website PriorityMe.com, which launched this morning! Go check it out! The site is all about women putting themselves back on their own list of priorities, amidst the mothering and working and cooking and cleaning and caretaking of all kinds. Who couldn't use a few reminders about that?

I did go check out the site & it looks very informative & interesting. Being a new site I figure they could use a little PR coming their way! I dig it, do you?

These are a few of her favorite things...

So in the midst of the commotion in our ocean I decided to sit down & write about some of the things that Olivia loves. Partially to document them for years to come, partially to share with you how big she is really getting, and partially to focus on the positives of my life!

First I have to mention she is a big girl now & faces forward in her car seat! Yay! At her 1 yr appt she was 21 lbs! Way to 'grow' baby! And did I mention she is walking? Well she is sit, stand walk a few, crawl a few, stand & repeat...so we are getting close, VERY CLOSE.

Here is a list of some of her favorite things:

• Elmo’s World: She would sit & watch Elmo for HOURS!
• Princess Tea Set: She loves to play Tea Party, alone or with anyone that will sit down & entertain the idea.
• Little People Ride On Toy: She got this from The Burmood’s for her birthday and LOVES it.
• Things she love to eat: Black Beans, Gerber Cheetoes, Gerber Puffs, Cheerios, Chicken Strips, Lunch Meat, Go-Gurt, Canned Pears, Beef Stew, Scrambled Eggs & Toast, French Fries, and when she is done eating her food she will entertain eating anything that is on my plate even when her belly is bulging.
• Loves to play tug of war with Belle over any toy Belle is trying to play with.
• Rocking Chairs: She is obsessed w/ rocking chairs, love to sit in them and sings a tune that I sing to her saying “Rock-a-bye” but her version sounds more like “ba-bababa-bye”.
• Dolls: Little Dolls, Big Dolls any Color Dolls, she loves them.
• Hugs: She loves to hug all her toys, all her dolls, her snow suit, sometimes her sippy cup, her clothes in the morning and of course people! Especially if she hasn't seen you for a while, she will snuggle right in!
  

A few pics from a recent car ride! She was squawking so I handed her my water bottle and she LOVED it, what a goof!