My Little Man

 The past few days when SJ has school.
This has been my little errand/shopping buddy.
Normally after we drop her off we do some sort of errand or shopping..

I've been really enjoying my time with him.
In the mornings he's always very chill and good.
Yes the baby who I'd never thought I'd ever go shopping with is learning to like it.
 

 

Yesterday we dropped off SJ and headed to walgreens to pick up some prints I ordered and to get a few toys & stocking stuffers for Christmas.

After that.. I took him to Panera. Yes.

I came prepared with Cheerios and puffs and plenty of juice

 

I even ordered my favorite bagel and cream cheese with their awesome lemonade.

When I was pregnant with Andrew I'd say I probably had an Asiago Cheese Bagel with Cream Cheese at LEAST 4 times a week.. NO JOKE..

Even when I had morning sickness.. I always craved it.

And I guess I still do! ha!

 

We probably sat at the table for about 20 minutes... which was LONG for someone's first dining experience.. 

 I fed him some pears, he ate his puffs, and when it was clear that it was time to go and his voice wasnt so quiet and cute.. we left..

 

In the afternoon.. we were off again.

This time I took him to the grocery store for some meat and fish...

AND then the post office.. All meltdown and tear free!!!

Amazed... I was truly amazed

 

 

Today he's refusing to nap... as I type this post, he's entertaining himself, so whatever..

I know I cant have days like this ALL the time, but yesterday was very nice, and I wanted to remember it.

 

Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

Forever... thats how long I feel its been since I sat down and blogged!

I have a ton of posts half done.. hopefully the kids will allow this one to happen though..

 

We left for Ohio on Wed afternoon before thanksgiving day.

Before we left I downloaded a ton of apps for Samantha on the ipad and on my iphone.

Oh yea.. I made sure I was armed for what could be a very very long ride.

She loved playing all the new games... I bought a few.. like Charlie Brown Christmas and Disney Princess, but I found a Wizard of Oz app.. that was FREE.. she was in heaven...

Mister Mister fell asleep before the NY border.. and slept right through Pennsylvania, and woke up shortly after entering Ohio. It was looking like a pretty good drive..

Until we entered the east suburbs of Cleveland... We were in stand still - crawling - stopped traffic for miles.. and about 45 straight minutes.. Needless to say.. that kind of ruined our "pretty good ride".



We finally got there.. and relaxed and played outside a little.. it was pretty warm.. i'd say around 50

Thanksgiving Day

It was about 60 degrees and sunny.. perfect.

Samantha playing in the front yard..

I was watching through the bedroom window.. because..

 

Sleeping beauty needed his rest.

He was super cranky the whole time we were visiting.. and Baka had the shingles.. so she couldnt even get near him. So he was pretty much glued to my side.. I finally got him to sleep here in the pic, and he was on the bed though.. so I couldnt really leave him in case he woke up. I just watched Samantha play outside, and organized our clothes, and straightened out room, made lists, did a little Pinterest.. it was nice I guess.. If I have to be stuck in a room with a sleepy baby.



 

After naptime was over, we headed to Aunt Meghan and Uncle Mark's

 

Since it was such a nice day.. the girls took the car for a spin..

 

 Andrew was nearing his boiling point just as everyone was about to sit down to dinner..

But the girls played so nice together.

 

And while everyone was gobbling up turkey...

 

He finally passed out...

So Andrew and I took a walk while everyone ate.

 

Im pretty sure he was cutting his 6th tooth that day.. and the days leading up to it, because after that... he was so much happier the whole trip!



 

Samantha and Teta Nina with their "sleep animals"

She had so much fun playing with Teta.. They colored and did legos..

Friday we headed to the mall just to get out and walk around.

I did my black friday shopping online.. and only got a few things

We left the mall with only some sparkly tights, hair clips and new purple sparkly shoes.. 

As if we dont have enough sparkly shoes around here...

 

 

 

Andrew discovered drinking through a straw this weekend too.. it was so much fun to watch him as he figured it out

We had such a nice visit...always too short.

Not sure if we're headed back for Christmas though

The ride home was very .. uhm, awful....

It was nothing like the way there..

And to top it off.. we were greeted home to this!

I guess winter has arrived...

 

Catch Up!

This past weekend I did start thinking about Christmas...

I did a little shopping for it as well.

Im trying to get a jump on things so I dont get overwhelmed.

If I buy a few gifts per week, I hope to get it all done in time.

 

We pulled out Samantha's tree and its all lit up in her room.

She loved decorating it, and she also found our dancing christmas tree and singing Rudolph.

Her and Andrew were having fun with them this week.

 

Andrew finished his ear medicine, but I think he's still in pain.

He's constantly grabbing at his ears, and when he's sleeping (with us) at night.. he is still waking up crying.. Lord will this child ever sleep.. and enjoy it?

I digress...

 

I got to straigten my hair this week.. more than once!

Ahh its the little things.

I've been trying to buy more variety of foods for Andrew.

I really want to start feeding him a lot.

Im feeling like I want to give him the opportunity to wean on his own, Im in no hurry..

But I know once he's 1, I'll be hurrying him along, and eventually cutting him off perhaps like I did with Samantha.. who till I did wean her completely.. didnt sleep to well either.

 

Saturday we had some lovely morning guests!

 

Our dear friend MoMo and Gabrielle from Colorado were in town!

Samantha had such a good time coloring with Grammy and MoMo.

 

 I made the Pioneer Woman's French Breakfast Puffs.

O M G

These are fantastic.

I swear ... I love everything she makes...

Everything...

 

 Samantha loved Gabrielle.

And if Gabrielle lived here.. I would steal her and make her our full time babysitter.. hands down

So sweet and so wonderful with both kids.. I miss you!! Come back!







 

After a little visiting we decided to drive up with them to Niagara Falls.

Andrew slept the entire way up.. thank goodness.



 

After a short cat nap he was all smiles, and enjoying his first time at Niagara Falls.

Samantha had fun running around.. and she insisted upon wearing her large pink tutu to the falls...

 It was a short visit for MoMo and Gabrielle..

We had so much fun with you both!

Come back soon!!

Such a nice weekend!

 

Monday it was back to school for Samantha Jane..

She's doing so much better. She even left Debbie in the hall in her backpack the last 2 days..

She made us some festive artwork

 My Erin Condren life planner came today.. Yeay...

I know I can probably put everything I need to know in my iphone.. but Im old fashioned in the sense that I really like making lists, colorful pens, sticky notes, stickers.. organizing.. and I love all of EC's stuff & designs.. I bought one last year ... and this year I chose a smaller thinner notebook.. and I really like it.

 This picture I snapped today..

Samantha LOVES being a little mama..

Today she wanted to feed him his squash.. so I gladly let her try.

She did so good.. Talking to him like I do.. Its so funny ...

"Okay are you ready for another bite big dude?"

"Oh good job big dude... wow you really like your squash"..

I was peeing my pants.

Its so amazing the dialogue she has with him.

And one final pic of our very big dude whos is having a very monumental week...

 

He's starting to take steps.

Yes.

Every day he's getting a little better

But soon I'll have a walker in the house..

It wont be long now...

In the kitchen ... {Recipes!}

Over the past few weeks we've had guests, holidays, and its getting cold here..

So I've been trying some new recipes, and these are some of the ones that I have really enjoyed.

 

Mini Meatball Sliders

I taped Giada DeLaurentiis' (Jade's Birthday Party) Episode, and I made these and the pasta below from the episode. The sliders were sooo good and easy! And Samantha loved them, which means, I will make them again soon. Basically they're just ground beef with some added easy ingredients, cooked in the oven (never tried this before)... I served them with Kings Hawaiian Rolls and Catchup..

The second recipe I took from her birthday party menu was the

Pastina with Peas and Carrots

Yummy Mini Farfalle with Mascarpone and Cream Cheese melted with chopped carrots and peas

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce.

I got this one from Pinterest. See link HERE

The batter stuck to the chicken REALLY well.

I've made coconut chicken and fried it in a pan.... I probably wont ever do it that way again after finding this recipe.

Served with Steamed Rice and Broccoli!

Williams-Sonoma Summer Cucumber Avocado Wraps.

I know its November 15th... but these rice wraps have been sitting in the pantry forever, and i happened to have everything else on hand..

 Theres a lot of chopping, and slicing and prep.. but its worth it. Trust me.

The rice wraps are hard.. and you place them in a luke warm bath...

 then onto a kitchen towel.

layer all ingredients.. like you're making sushi, or enchiladas..

Roll as tight as you can without ripping the rice wrap... like I did a few times.

Slice and dip in this amazing sauce that goes with it..

SOOOOO good!!!!

I can eat this anytime.. not just in summer!

 

 

Random iphone Dump

If I dont post these pics ... I'll never get back into the blogging groove.

Lately I've been running crazy around here..

Busy days.. and nights..

Playdates, School. Cooking, Baking, Pre-Christmas Shopping (yes already)

 

So here's a few highlights from the past weekend and few days.

The weekend started off so nice.. 60's and sunny..

Sunday Samantha "helped" Daddy mow the lawn one last time ..

Andrew was just a bystander..

But Im certain in the spring he'll need his own mower and will be following right along

We took a drive out to a little town we love and did a little shopping.

I snapped a few pics of ideas for Samantha..

She has a Hungry Hippo App on my phone..

I thought it would be a good idea to get her the real one..

I snap pics, and then try to find good deals online with Mr Rebates, Coupons, etc.

She loves music and instruments..

We sadly dont have a guitar yet though..

After some browsing, I always need a few cupcakes from the bakery on Main Street.

We got Nilla Birthday cake and Samantha requested the Red Velvet.. She told me, "I want the Ruby Slipper Cupcake!"

 

The kids lately have been good.

Although Samantha is sneaky and she's quite rough and mean sometimes.. I know the whole sibling rivalry thing.. but seriously.. he's 9 months old! We are trying to raise our kids to not fight and to love each other.. and God must have been listening to me, because today .. they got along great..

She even stood here (below) while he played with her hair and gave her the sweetest hugs.

 

He adores her. .

And she's his little mama..

They are so good for each other.

And they play so nice together 90 percent of the time.. ha!

 

Today Samantha had her little friend from school over.

She insisted on her outfit choice.. of course she's very much into large skirts and tights at the moment.. ha!

We headed to Target tonight to stock up on a few groceries, and I couldnt help myself.

 I grabbed a few sprinkles, and small toys for SJ and A.. and I had to grab a few boxes of these..

I know its early.. but it wil be here before we know it..