Fooood, Glorious, Foood

Y'all know, I love food. I love sweets, and I love food. I'll thank my family for that ;). It's been a while since I've posted what I've cooked recently. Partially because I hadn't been cooking as much outside quick and/or inventive dishes (loaded baked potatoes, breakfast meals, a poppyseed chicken I froze before HM arrived, etc.)... if at all for a lil while ;) - we were SO blessed after Littlest was born, we received over a month of meals from friends and MOPs! - so it is time. :) None of these are extraordinary dishes but they are yummy and comfort and did I mention yummy? :)

1. Panko and Parmesan Tilapia with Roasted Brussel Sprouts (yummy :), baked with the leftover topping from the tilapia), and leftover Mashed Potatoes.

I used less than a tsp of mayo on each filet but I'm sure it would be good with all of it too. :)

2. Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Brown Rice

I can't find the recipe I used (tweeked) and another one (I tweeked :)) for the sauce... It was really fast and easy though. I think I just boiled the chicken, cooked up some onion and garlic in a lil oil, added the chicken, diced water chestnuts, and sauce -mixed soy sauce, lemon juice, and a little sugar. I'd make a different sauce next time, but it was quick and worked. It was a big hit.

3. Artichoke Chicken (modified) with Rice (I ran out of brown rice) and Roasted Broccoli (tossed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt and a bit of parmesan to compliment the parm in the chicken ;)).

I decreased the mayo to about a 1/2 cup and used the rest light sour cream. Last time I added spinach too and it was yummy. It turned out a little more "browned" this time (had to make sure the chicken was done :) and I even cut the chicken breasts in half because they were so big), but was really good. Another big hit.

4. Chicken Pot Pie with homemade crust. ETA: and a Pumpkin Pie with homemade crust.

SO good! We all gobbled it up so quickly and downed the leftovers. It did not last long. I've made this before and it is so good. And I always add potatoes. Love potatoes. Not my best looking crust, I need to work on how I "finish" it, but it was yummy! :)

5. S'more Pops. So fun! Indoor s'mores :) ETA: I made for small group this week :)

I use semi-sweet chocolate chips. I like to melt them over a double boiler, just boil some water in a pot and set a (heat safe) bowl over it and mix until it melts (you'll need a pot holder, it gets hhhhot). I did it in the microwave last time and didn't like that way the chocolate turned out. You have more control over the double boiler. Crush graham crackers (before you melt the chocolate). And off you go!

Happy cooking! Have you cooked any delicious new or tried and true recipes lately?

A Precious Moment: The Littles

This morning, as I was about to tweet that I keep getting teary eyed because of how sweet the boys are with Littlest, there was a precious moment that needed the camera ;).

They are always sweet to her. Always is a strong word, but it's true. I sometimes have to remind Little to be completely gentle, though he is really doing great and I have had to say, "Little, no rolling cars on HM..." he was being very gentle and was showing her the cars too :).

I understand that she isn't taking their toys yet ;), but one day we went to hospital, brought her home (it was *that* easy, hahah, mama's laughing at that more than anyone ;-), it was an amazing day!), and she was part of our family in a real way. And the boys have been so good with her every since.

This morning was another moment of sweetness.

After I fed HM and she was sitting in my lap, BabyBoy kept saying, in his cute little 3 1/2 yr old voice, "Hiii, HM" and smiling at her to try to get her smile. Little kept saying HM's name, in his sweet little 1 1/2 year old voice, and pointing at her. They do this a lot but this morning BabyBoy asked to hold her (it's been a little while since he's asked). And then, usually being the one to ask, Little wanted to hold her too. :)

Enough words, here is a precious moment with the babies. Melt this mama's heart and pass me a tissue. :)

It is hard not to get teary seeing all the babies loving on each other. It is so special to see them appreciate each other and have such a strong bond together. What a blessing beyond measure! They'll still be this sweet and lovin' on each other and us when they're teenagers right? :-)

It's closing!... What to buy??

Our beloved Borders in the super fab shopping center 5 minutes away from our house is closing. Closing! They have/had the best coupons... maybe one reason they're closing*.

I love to read. Though I have fallen of the reading train recently. And call me a dork but I love to read non-fiction, biographies of interesting folk, based on real life books, or classics (ones that I may or may not have read in high school [I enjoyed school {dork :)}, but I didn't like being forced to read every book. ;) I still did well with cliff notes and such when I didn't read the entire book but I digress]), but this past year I was also referred by nuuumerous blog and twitter friends to get on the chick lit train. So I thought it would be a good idea to go back and forth from a heavier read to a light fun read.

Hubby maintains that his ideal bedtime is 8:30pm, haha, but our ideal is to watch some of our shows together after the babies are in bed and then go upstairs and read before we go to sleep. Alas, that hasn't happened as much for a little while. I'm trying to get away from my current night-owl-ness (I go back and forth every now and then) where I'm awake but too tired to concentrate and remember what I'm reading. You know where you read one sentence 15 times and still don't know what it said? Just me? ;)

Here are just a few (or so) of the books I've read recently... ok make that in the past almost year (I've been a lil tired ;))...

{The Little Lady Agency, The Grapes of Wrath, Something Borrowed, Love and Respect (w our small group), The Help, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (currently reading)}

What are some GREAT books that you've read recently or all time faves that I should try to buy from the going 0ut 0f business Borders for 5o+ percent 0ff to read... soon :)??

*There is talk that Barnes and N0ble will be taking it's place which is great but still sad because I could get such great deals at Borders.

Keeping Busy

Hi fam and friends! I've been keeping pretty busy over here, I hope y'all have been doing great! Here are some things we've been up to...

1. The babies and I have been going to MOPs every 1st and 3rd Friday from 9:30-11:30am. I love that BabyBoy and Little get to play in their classes with great workers and other littles. And HM and I get to hang out with other mommies, maybe learn something new, munch on some food, and have some laughs.

Side note that makes me laugh: Every time I go anywhere with all of the babies, especially on the way home, I keep looking in the backseat to make sure that I have everybody! haha. And that they're all buckled in tight. :) I'll have to post about the logistics of how I go out by myself with all of them now; who I get out first, how we all get from the car to our destination, etc.. :) I've gotten in a groove and have even taken all of them, by myself!, to Chick Fil A to eat with a friend and her littles. :) And they all did great :) We had some fruit spillage on the floor, I ate after everybody else was fed, and was sweating for a bit like I ran a marathon, but I would do it again. :)

{Yep, they're all there! My view from the driver's seat :)}

2. We have small group at our house every Monday night. Hubby does a fantastic job leading it. He is always so well prepared, he really puts his heart into it, and I can truly tell. We have a fabulous small group and we've all learned so much so far. We kicked off our 4th new study this past week, so I made a quick cake! :) and coffee ;)

3. I started a playgroup with girls from church and our neighborhood! Every 2nd and 4th Monday :) I have to say, I am proud of myself ;) We've had two playgroups already, the third is coming up on Monday. It's been such a wonderful time to get to know some other fantastic mommies and littles and all get to play together. Everybody has littles around all of the babies' ages and it has been such a blessing so far!

Here are just some of the mommies and littles. Most have stayed to eat lunch together before heading home for naptimes. And all of those boys are so well behaved during lunch, it is so cute and wonderful to see! :)

4. We've gone to a bounce house place (I can't say the name since it's just local :)) several times. A friend invited us and a bunch of other mommies and their littles and once with an old playgroup. They have big blow up slides and obstacle courses, bounce houses and toys for the younger littles to play with too. Hubby has been able to go with us twice since he didn't have morning meetings those days. They always have a great time.

5. And taking care of the house and these three little people every day. :) We're settled in a great routine, which is flexible around activities. It doesn't mean there aren't frustrations or tough days but the routine is wonderful. I'll have to post a schedule of how our days run soon too. :)

I feel terrible that I haven't responded to comments or emails very quickly or at all yet! I'll start to answer or think about it or am not on my computer to retrieve info or something pulls me away and then I get busy or tired and forget. I'm sorry! I'm working on getting it into the routine so I can keep up with y'all and get back to your questions because I appreciate them and you so much! :)

I can get pretty tired sometimes but I am in love x4 (Hubby included)! And SO blessed!

2 Months Old

Our sweet little love is 2 months old :) She really is so sweet! :) Here are a some pics from a few days old until now!

Few Days

1 Week

2 Weeks

3 Weeks

4 Weeks

5 Weeks

6 Weeks

7 Weeks

8 Weeks

Littlest Statistics from birth until 2 months!

She's on a 8 o'clock - 3 hour schedule during the day (so she eats at 8, 11, 2, 5, 8, etc.) and she wakes up once in 12 hours during the night. Three nights she's gone 9 or just over 9 hours and then another 3 or 4 after that. :) Her "bedtime" was 11pm - when I would start letting her go as long as she could. Then I was so tired and she was so sleepy at her 11pm feeding (almost like a dream feeding), so after feeding she'd wake up at the same time if I let her go from 8pm. So I started letting her go from 8pm and she went from a 4 hour first block to a 7 or 9+ hour first block. So instead of backing the bedtime from 11pm back, she's been doing great stretching that first block from 8pm. (and the doc said that was great, they normally stretch the first block anyway)

She started tracking objects during the first week, started smiling a lot at 4 weeks, moving around her crib (in her little swaddled self) at 5 weeks, lots of cooing, responding, and mimicking when we say, "HM can you say awwww... or ohhhhhh," she even did it for me, and smiles, at the dr yesterday and the dr saw and said it was great and recorded it in her file :), started a few cute little laughs around 5 or 6 weeks. She's wearing 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers.

2 Month Well Check (yesterday): 13 lbs 6 oz, 23 inches long :)

I (we) can't get over her!! She is amazing. She is our sweet littlest love! :)

The Ceremony and Finale for Littlest's Naming

If you missed the first two posts click Part 1 - Fam pics and Background or Part 2 - Decorations :)

For the ceremony, my Mom walked Littlest into the room (a sweet honor), the Rabbi (who was recommended to us ETA: and did both of the boys bris, which were wonderful) told a couple stories and how it ties in to the Bible, said some prayers for and over HM and us, gave her name, her Hebrew name and the meanings, Hubby gave a little speech about where they were from and what they meant to us, and then we all dug into the celebratory meal, hung out, and then cut into the cake. I honestly forget everything the Rabbi said, I wanted to record it and with so much else going on, completely forgot. He has such a strong accent and he is such a funny character. Here are some pics from the little ceremony. :)

During the ceremony we had my Mom hand Littlest to each of the grandparents and great grandparents to hold and give a little kiss.

Guests! Friends and fam who were so sweet to come and celebrate this special day with us!!

And we set up the laptop in a good spot and Skyped my Dad and Aunt in from Arizona! It was so special to us that they got to be a part of it too! :)

My Mom (aka Grandma or Mamo, hehe) with the babies :) She is a beyond amazing Mom to Hubby and I, and Grandma to the babies!! We appreciate her so much, she is so special to us!!! (and she's fun and hilarious :) we all have so many ongoing jokes together and always have so much fun) We love you Mom!!

She was a mighty sleepy girl after her big day :)

Happy fam :) Really, both boys have been so sweet to her from day. one. (Little is still working on being gentle all the time :) but they both ask to hold her and they talk to her and are excited when she's up and awake :) now, they have their own toy tiffs but they LOVE being bros and are really become buddies, it is so sweet!!)

{excuse my goofy way happy smile, I am really happy ;), and my double chin (not so happy about that ;-)}

Seriously, we thank God everyday for His abundant blessings!! Though we may not always think things are "perfect" (if there is such a thing besides our Lord and Savior) or we may worry or wish something would change or be different, I am not being cheesy at all, but though everything is not perfect and we are not perfect, our life is "peeerfect!" To God be ALL the glory.

Decorations for Littlest's Naming and Party

I had so much fun decorating for HM's naming ceremony! The theme was pink and white (and bows :)). :) Sweet baby girl.

A couple weeks before the party, I started going a little (or a lot ;)) crazy because I was making all of the decorations and the cake and felt everything wasn't coming together yet. But my sweet dear friends Erin and Nina saved my sanity and gave me so many amazing and beautiful suggestions! Thank you so much girls!! And my Mom helped decorate and do SOOO much that day (and the day before!)! She is more than awesome!

We got to Skype my Dad and Aunt in from Arizona for the ceremony (SOO special!!) but they wanted to see all of the decorations since they only got to see a few!

So here are, lots of pics, little words ;-)

The Family Room

{friends and fam were so sweet and brought gifts, they were so thoughtful}

I got a bunch of pictures printed and decorated with them, one of the girls' many wonderful ideas!

Littlest's banner {the lighting wasn't the best for these pics, oops}

Kitchen Table - Hors d'oeuvres

{I love the tulips! :)}

The Dining Room - The food and some desserts - Fried chicken, turkey meatballs, coleslaw, potato salad, bread, macaroni and cheese

{my serving dishes got moved around and then other pieces were added but I thought it still looked pretty :)}

My Mom made the a-dorable watermelon carriage!! She always does such a great job on those!

{see the bottles strung around with the bow? my Mom's cute idea!}

The Kitchen - Cake and drinks (and hor d'oeuvre table in previous pics :))

{if you look close you can see three little bottles strung with the bow :)}

The Cake

The cake did not come out at all like what I had in my head but I still had fun making it. :)

Most importantly it was such a special day and we all had a wonderful time!