Make a silly face!

So it started off with me taking a picture with Kirsten.

She said, "I look silly! Let's make a silly face!"

Now let's do grumpy! Don't mess with us...we're hard core ;)

Happy again!

now we're sad  :(

Then we went to sleep.

just kidding!!!!

Say "CHEESE!"

Weaning Woes

I'm finally finished! Kara is completely done with nursing! I started trying to wean her around 9 months because of several reasons but she was not ready to give it up. So I took it slow, cutting back on the nighttime feedings first and then slowly elimintating a feeding at a time during the day. Because I stayed at home with her and didn't have to work during her first 6 months she never took a bottle (pumped milk or formula) so this made weaning very hard. I tried at first to get her to take formula from a bottle, but she was not having it at all! I never had much luck with pumping, I could spend 20 minutes pumping and only get a couple ounces. Plus my supply had really dropped off by 9 months, so I knew pumping wasn't an option.
Then I tried formula in a sippy, nope. Formula from a regular cup with a straw, nope. I tried flavoring it to make it taste better, no dice! So I continued to nurse, even though I knew she was not getting a whole lot, because I didn't want her to go without anything at all.
By 11 months I decided to just start trying whole milk (don't tell the AAP), my body wasn't producing hardly at all anymore, so it was either that or nothing because formula she refused to take formula, she just hated the taste of the stuff. I know all the Dr.'s say to wait till after 12 months, but I had been giving her milk products for a long time and she never had a reaction. Plus both mine and Jack's parents gave us milk (per the Dr.'s recommendations) well before age 1 and we're fine obviously :)
So now she drinks milk out of sippy. (I've been buying the organic stuff with DHA added) She still doesn't drink it super fast, or quite as much as I would like her to, but at least she'll drink it!
I'm super thankful that I was able to nurse both of the girls (Kirsten till 9 months/Kara till about 11 1/2 before she was completely done). It saved our family a ton of money, makes feeding time super easy once they get the hang of it, but man is weaning a completely breastfed baby hard work!

Getting clean!

So my husband and I have been trying for awhile now to be more aware of the types of food we eat. Since we moved to KY we had been eating out more and more bcause there are just so many more options here tempting us. And let's face it, it's fun to eat out! Well, we've realized enough is enough! While all that stuff may taste good, the vast majority of it is high calorie, fat laden, processed junk!
This past week we have really kicked our healthy eating into high gear. (Jack really intiated it and has been doing better than me!) We are avoiding all the fake stuff: enriched pasta,  breads, etc, anything with HFCS, really anything with alot of ingredients that we don't recognize, and loading up on the fruits, veggies, whole grains!
We've started buying our beef from a local farmer who produces grass fed/grass finished beef. It's only a couple bucks more per pound than the walmart stuff, and so much better for you (it tastes better too!) I'm still working on finding a local farmer to buy chicken from, but until then I've been buying the free range stuff from Kroger.

We're trying out a couple new things this week. Here's the plan.

Breakfasts:
WW toast with scrambled eggs
Oatmeal with berries
Greek yogurt

Granola bars

Lunches:

Tuna/ brocolli/ apples

Greek salad

PB and J/carrot sticks/ strawberries

Leftovers from dinners

mandarin chicken salad

Dinners:

Lentil soup

crock pot roast beef/mashed potatoes/ peas

chicken and veggies stirfry with brown rice

grilled salmon/ steamed green beans

quinoa bowls with beans/tomatoes/parm cheese

Hairbows

Guess what! I made my first hairbow for the girls! I just watched a couple videos on youtube and viola!

Done in less than 10 minutes, and super simple! I can't believe I have waited this long to try making them on my own. It's so much cheaper. I want to try making different kinds too, like layered bows and korkers. This may just become a new hobby :)

Yes, Kirsten is sticking out her tongue!

 And check out Kara in the background, digging through sissy's paints. That girl is always into something!



Speaking of bows...Kirsten loves to play "salon" and fix my hair. Here's how she styled my hair on saturday.

Cute, isn't it! I should wear it to work like this someday. 

Meal Plan + an easy dinner recipe!

Monday:

Lunch - Leftover chicken noodle soup

Dinner - Salad and apple slices (Jack's away for bball)

Tuesday:

Lunch - Pastaroni with peas

Dinner - Crockpot mexican chicken (ala pinterest :)

Wednesday:

Lunch - PB and J, sunchips, carrots

Dinner - Baked Spaghetti and steamed green beans

Thursday:

Lunch- Tuna Salad sandwiches, fruit salad, broccoli

Dinner - Country Club Chicken (ala pinterest again)/peas

Friday:

Lunch - Leftovers

Dinner - Salad and a sweet potato (Jack's away again)

Here's a yummy recipe that I started making a few years ago. We call it Hawaian Chicken because it was my attempt at recreating one of our favorite dishes from the chinese buffet where we used to live. Although it's not exactly like theirs (I don't deep fry mine) I think it tastes pretty similar. I hope you try it and love it!

Hawaian Chicken

serves 3-4

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast

1 large can pineapple chunks in pineapple juice

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 clove garlic minced (I buy the preminced kind in the jar)

2 Tbs oil

2 Tbs butter

flour

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Heat oil in skillet over med/high heat. salt and pepper chicken to taste. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and then place into hot oil. Cook until golden brown. Transfer chicken to an 8x8 baking dish.

In the same skillet melt butter then add 2T of flour, stir constantly until flour is incorporated and begins to brown.  Add all the juice from the canned pineapple, brown sugar, and honey. 

Stir frequently until sauce begins to bubble and thicken. Add garlic and allow sauce to simmer until it's a thick syrup-like consistency.

Remove from heat. Add pineapple to chicken in the baking dish and then pour the sauce over the top. 

Bake for 35-40min. Serve over brown rice.

You can also try adding a little soy sauce or red pepper flakes for  slightly different flavor.