Recipes!!

I have finally gotten around to trying out some weight watchers recipes lately. There are a few good ones I want to share. I tried two, a blueberry squares recipe and a pumpkin muffin recipe, that were just okay. If I figure out a way to make them better I will share, but for now these were the best!

First, a chicken chipotle sandwich: 6 points per sandwich

1 pound uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced

1 tsp fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp table salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp reduced-calorie mayonnaise

1 Tbsp canned chipotle pepper(s), finely chopped

1 cup mixed greens

8 slices reduced-calorie wheat bread, toasted

1 medium fresh tomato, sliced

Heat grill pan on high heat. Season chicken with lime juice, salt and pepper. Cook chicken in pan, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

In a small cup, combine mayonnaise and chipotle peppers.

Divide greens among 4 slices of toast. Top each with 1/4 of tomato slices and chicken.

Spread each remaining piece of toast with about 2 teaspoons chipotle mayonnaise; place on sandwiches. Yields 1 sandwich per serving.

I used cubed chipotle peppers. They came in a small box by the cans. This way, I can just unwrap one cube at a time and break it up into the mayonnaise whenever I want. It's a little difficult to chop really spicy things by hand since I usually make our dinner while feeding Brady his :) I used bread that was 40 calories per slice and one point each. I made sweet potato fries (16 fries for 4 points) and the whole meal was 10 points! It was delish and SO FILLING! Go easy on ketchup, it's 1 point for 2 Tbs.

Next Chicken Bruschetta: 7 points per serving (makes 4 servings)

This is Teresa Giudice's recipe from her new book, Fabulicious: Fast & Fit. Love her book!

It has all the nutritional info in the back so it's WW friendly :)

                       There are 3 huge pieces of chicken under there :) 

3 ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 medium celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 11/2 pounds)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450ºF. Lightly oil a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Combine the tomatoes, onion, celery, wine, parsley, oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Set aside while the oven is preheating.

Pound the chicken until it is 1/2-inch thick. Season with the salt and black pepper. (I put the chicken (one breast at a time) in a large plastic bag (zipper left just a tad open) and then smashed them with a small glass baking dish since I didn't have a meat pounder.

Arrange the chicken in the baking pan. Spoon equal amounts of the tomato mixture over each chicken breast half, then pour any left over liquid around the chicken. Bake until the tomato mixture is hot and chicken is cooked through. About 15 – 20 minutes.

I used half the parsley and added 1 Tbs Italian seasoning. I used Sutter Home Chardonnay wine. Next time, I will use a little less onion and possibly measure out some Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top. It was delish and the portions are big!

Lastly, our favorite desert lately..

Chocolate Marshmallow Bark – YUM! And 4 pts per square (makes 12 squares)

8 oz bittersweet chocolate chips

2 tsp butter

3 cups mini marshmallows

Line a 9- X 9-inch pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

In a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly combined; remove from heat and stir in marshmallows.

Scrape chocolate mixture into prepared pan using a silicon spatula; smooth into a somewhat even layer. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, at least 1 hour; keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

Cut into 12 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Use Ghirardelli chocolate and don't mix the marshmallows in too much or they will melt. We are obsessed with this one. So good!

  You can see the difference between the 2 pics - melted marshmallows the first time, but it still tasted great! This piece looks small in the picture, but they are decent size.

I have several more recipes I'm going to try this week. Stuffed mushrooms, Asparagus soup, Skinny spaghetti, and turkey meatballs! I'll share more soon.

Brady's Birth

Brady is almost a year and I don't think I've written the full birth story anywhere so here goes :)

My last doctor's appointment was the morning of June 28. I saw Dr. Doan, who was a partner in the same office as my doctor, Dr. Friedman, who was going on vacation in a few days for the 4th of July. She convinced Dr. Friedman to schedule an induction since I was 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and my due date was that Saturday. Dr. Friedman loved to tell me each visit that “this isn't a small baby”, so I was very happy to get him out! I would go into the hospital the next night to get the induction started, and actually get pitocin the morning of the 30^th.

Just as planned, I went into Christus Saint Catherine (a nice small hospital in Katy) on Wednesday, June 29 at 8 pm. I can truly say I wasn't nervous at all, just ready. I spent that day making sure everything was ready and packed while I waited for Eric to get off work. Eric was SO nervous, but incredibly supportive. Everyone made a point to tell me their awful induction stories and the horror stories they'd heard from so-in-so, but I knew my doctors had waited until my body was ready. They had first mention an induction weeks before but waited, and I was only 2 days from my due date of July 2^nd. At the time, I didn't care what I faced as far as pain and long labor, I just wanted my baby born!

The hospital was busy, but got us in a room and checked in that night. As soon as I was hooked up to all the machines, the nurse said, “You're already having contractions.” I was surprised at first, but then it made sense. I had been in pain. Lol! But I had also been preparing myself to be in pain, so I really thought it was nothing. I'm usually a total wimp. So for 9 months, I'd been talking myself into being tougher. I guess it worked! Around 10 pm, I got cervidil inserted overnight to “get my cervix more ready for the induction”. It's basically a flat, rectangle tampon that sits on the cervix. I immediately felt cramps, but nothing too bad. Like a bad menstrual cramp, basically. I was able to get some sleep that night and Eric slept on a big couch. At one point, I rolled to my right side, the nurses came in and made me move, because Brady's heartbeat had slowed down. I was freaked, but glad I was hooked up and they could monitor that. I still had incredible fear of something happening to him right at the end.

The morning of the 30^th, I was just slightly more dilated and more effaced. At 10 am, I got the pitocin. Holy smokes! Induction contractions are unrelenting! Someone text me to ask how far apart my contractions were. I thought.. what? There's no time in between AT ALL!? They got pretty bad and by noon, I asked for the epidural. My nurses (I had 2 at this point and they were phenomenal!) made Eric leave while I got the epidural. I didn't like that one bit. I got cold, and nervous, and was shaking while the anesthesiologist got ready. He didn't announce what he was doing and obviously I couldn't see. The nurse had to tell him to please let me know what was coming. I was beyond annoyed, but he was really the only person I encountered up until then with poor bedside manner, so I just tried to stay calm. Throughout my pregnancy, I said “Oh yeah, I'll get the epidural” like it was no big deal. In the moment, it's a lot different! I had expected that Eric would be by my side, but the nurses were great and I felt immediate relief. Mostly on my right side at first, then all over, then I couldn't even move from the waist down.

For the next few hours, I just relaxed and hung out with Eric. By 3 pm, I started to feel pain again and told my nurse. It was bad and right in the middle of my lower abdomen. She was going to check the epidural, but decided to check me first, and sure enough it was time to push. I didn't feel the 'have to poop' pressure like most women. I said, “Shut up!” when she told me it was time and everything felt very surreal. The moment was really here!? I did have to wait 15 min for Dr. Friedman to get there from his office. It felt like forever! The nurses said I could start pushing before he got there if I 'needed' to, but I didn't like the sound of that and waited for him to get there. The pressure was so bad though. Eric started to say something and I yelled, “Just shut up!” I didn't want to hear anything during the pain. Then he actually complained about me squeezing his hand to hard. Who does that!? Lol.

When the doctor got there, 10 different people came in the room and started setting up. I wasn't really prepared for all the 'witnesses'. Oh well, legs up and let's get this baby out! Lol Dr. Friedman came in and put his ipod behind me on a counter. It was loud and blasting Garth Brooks. Are you kidding me!? My child may be born in Texas but NOT to Friends in Low Places. Okay!? I had my nurse shut that thing off.

We got ready to push and Eric automatically got tears in his eyes. The husbands don't have the same mental and physical preparation as the pregnant wives. I was SO ready and I think he was scared! He stayed strong and held my right hand and leg and one of my nurses held the left. The monitor for contractions had stopped working, so I just had to push when I felt them. 10 seconds never felt so long!! Eric counted with the nurses and I thought it was going in slow motion! Probably didn't help that I was so out of shape and that I couldn't feel how hard I was pushing. Brady crowned very quickly and I think that's the only time Eric 'looked'. He started crying and saying “I can see him! I can see him!” Dr. Friedman said “He's bald like you” to Eric. I had to have an episiotomy and then Brady was suctioned out. I pushed him far, very quickly, but then he was stuck.

The whole thing lasted less than 30 min and Brady was born at 3:43 pm. 8 lbs 5.4 oz. And 21 inches long. As soon as I heard his cry, I sobbed. I felt such relief and all my anxiety left me. I didn't realize until that moment just how worried I had been that something awful might happen to him before or during delivery.

Eric stood next to Brady and his nurse, while she cleaned him up and weighed him. She gave him to me and I cried some more! It was truly a magnificent moment. He looked like me, his eyes were open, and we just stared at each other. I fell in love instantly. I held him, kissed him, and told him I loved him for the first time. Brady Dean Weisinger had my heart!

His nurse said she had to take him to make sure he was getting enough oxygen because he was breathing heavily. That scared me, so I loved on him and kissed him for a minute and then handed him right back. I got cleaned up and taken care of while we waited on Brady. The nurse came back to tell us that he was breathing fine (he was born 'in stress' (as if any babies are not!?) and had pooped on his way out), but he did have low blood sugar (go figure since I hadn't eaten anything since noon the day before! Doctors orders). So they were giving him formula and I couldn't breastfeed yet. We didn't get to see him again until almost 8 that night. It took 24 hours to get his blood sugar back up and staying up. I yelled at one nurse in the middle of the night for pricking his foot. I could hear him crying so hard and I said, “How many times are you going to poke him!?” I must have scared her, because she immediately left and Eric said she only poked him once but she was squeezing the sh** out of his heel to get blood. I hated it! But I do feel bad for yelling at her.

I started to feel better, but then got worse. The episiotomy was painful but the hemorrhoids were something evil!! Somehow, the nurse I had that Friday missed it and I didn't know that was why my as* felt on fire until I was home. I knew I was pushing pretty hard!! I couldn't get up or sit up without serious pain! Poor Eric was taking care of me and Brady for the first week. He had blood shot eyes and was SO exhausted. He was the best husband and Daddy we could have.

We took Brady home on Saturday, July 2^nd. My due date!! Eric and I panicked getting him into the car seat. Lol Like new parents would! And I said, “Be careful!” about 100 times while driving home. There were balloons and a sign at our house courtesy of Eric's parents. It was so exciting to have Brady home and in his room! My family came to visit the next week. 

I think I had the best pregnancy and delivery I could have hoped for. (Minus outrageous weight gain and moving at 33 weeks!) But even so, God blessed us with a healthy, handsome, strong baby boy and reliving all of this has me excited for the next baby! Brady will be 1 year old next month. We've come a long way in a year and I am blessed to be his Momma!

Go Cardinals!!!!

I was so happy that they won the game on Sunday. Eric, Brady, and I went to the game with the Fletchers and had a blast. The Astros creamed us Friday and Saturday so I was nervous. I didn't want to hear a bunch of crap wearing a Cards shirt. Well, after 4 home runs, no one said a word! 8-2 :) We saw a guy wearing a shirt that read "Marry a Cards fan, Live happily ever after" Story of Eric's life :) Brady did SO good at the game. He was awake and happy until the 9^th inning. After 3 hours he passed out on Daddy. I think it's safe to say he loves baseball as much as we do! Good thing, because his birthday is allllll baseball. We have gotten the decorations, invitations are going out tomorrow, and the cupcakes are ordered. SO exciting!!! My Mom, Dad, sister, and her husband are ALL able to make it down for the party. I cried when I heard they could all make it. I can't imagine celebrating Brady's birthday without any of my family.

My dad is working on building his toy chest for him. I'm really excited about this since my Dad is a top notch carpenter. It makes me want to redo his room already for a big boy. Lol But we'll wait on that. Brady is doing great with everything. He loves to walk around holding my hands and turning on and off the light switches. He dives for them when we walk by! He's 10 flippin months old. NEXT MONTH he will be 1. Truly unbelievable. Until... I think about where we were a year ago.. staying with my in-laws, looking for a house, and almost 9 months pregnant! Not to mention I was as big as a HOUSE! Yeahhh then it feels like a year! :) We've come a long way. I think we're really getting the hang of recruiting. Eric's new boss is great! His days are a little shorter now. On average 8-8. Sad that that's better, right?? Well it is! I've also lost 10 lbs on Weight Watchers in 5 weeks. My goal is only 12 lbs away. I'm hoping to get there by Brady's birthday! Lol But, that goal is 17 lbs under prepregnancy so I've got no complaints! Even when I think I'm being 'bad' on WW, I still loose weight. It really changes the way you think about what you eat. Thank goodness for Lauren sharing her success with me and now I have 5 friends and family doing it since I started. Very helpful! I got my hair cut pretty short and I love it. Been feeling pretty good lately :) Eric has lost 9 lbs and says that people notice all time. So he's doing great too.

I've been stripping my diapers today. Brady's diapers that is ;) I have only done this once before and didn't do it full out. I took our clean diapers and rinsed them about 6 times in the washer to get rid of buildup (Desitin and detergent). Then added a TINY bit (½ tsp probably) of Dawn Original dish soap and washed them with that. I have an HE washer and dryer so I was VERY nervous to try it and Eric really didn't want me to, buuuut the diapers did have a little funk to them. So I couldn't help myself. My child is still a big pooper! Yesterday, he pooped 4 times before noon. They were all solid. He gets it from Eric LOL :) With all that pooing, I'm surprised I've made it this long without stripping them. It's probably because I still use liners. Anyways, I'm going to dry them in the sun to get rid of any stains and hopefully they will be like new!

Our tenant in NC signed a new 1 yr lease. Talk about a huge relief! It's stressful wondering and waiting to find out. Other than that one mishap of being late in November, she's been a good tenant. Shit happens, so I try to be understanding and move on. I have been feeling very grateful lately. There are so many stresses in life, especially one in the military and on awful recruiting duty. But it's always what we make of it. I'm thankful my husband is home every night and most weekends. Plenty of our friends can't say that right now. My husband is so good to me. I know I'm not always easy to handle, but he does a great job ;) We have a beautiful home, healthy baby, and no BIG worries. God is good!! And I don't want to forget it!

Meet me in St. Louis

Brady and I got back to Houston yesterday. Our trip to St. Louis was SO NICE. We spent most of the time just hanging out with family. I also got a few moments out of the house while Brady stayed with Grandma =) That gave me time to become obsessed with Charming Charlie! Such a great store with the cutest accessories. Brady started really cruisin on the floor while we were there. He looks like he's doing the worm basically. It's so exciting. I have to hold my laughter so he will keep going and progressing without wondering what Momma thinks is so funny. I basically hold my breath! It was great for my Mom, Sarah, and Joe to be there to witness this first. I have been exhausted since we got back. Brady was a handful on the plane. He was in a great mood, but certainly not the 2 month old that just sat there like the last time we flew (without Eric). He grabbed at everything and everyone and it looked like I set off a cheerio bomb in our seats. Whatever keeps the babies happy on the plane!

Somehow I managed to lose 2 lbs while there! Whatt!?? I'm officially UNDER prepregnancy weight. Hal e freakin lujah!!!! :) I lost 55 lbs by 8 months doing my own variety of things, then gained back 2, then started weight watchers. I've since lost 6 more lbs. I'm thrilled and ready to keep it goin. My jeans still don't fit and I think I look at least 2 months pregnant. The scale may say the same numbers, but it sure ain't the same body! I'd love to lose another 15 (that would get me more to where I was when we got married) but at least another 10. So we'll see. I love the points system and obviously it works cuz this lady hasn't gone on 'vacay' and not gained in who knows how long! And Eric is doing it with me, which has helped TONS. He is so supportive and simply the best hubby.

Eric and I have decided on a theme for Brady's birthday party. BASEBALL :) Not Astros, Not Cardinals, just Baseball! We are really excited. Ball park food, baseball cupcakes, peanuts, a cute shirt made for Brady and more. Hopefully my Mom and Sarah will be able to come to Houston for the party. I could really use their help and they are really excited about the celebration. I will definitely keep it pretty low key though. We don't want to get too crazy with the whole thing. Eric and I are going to a bakery here in Katy to discuss the smash cake and cupcakes. And of course get our sampling on ;)

Brady will be 1 in a little over 2 months. I know it's going to fly by. He is so big! He jabbers all the time now. And repeats everything! He said “HI” to Alex when she said hi to him. He says baby, daddy, momma, baba, and bye bye. Some of which he knows the meaning and others I think he just knows Mommy will shriek when he says them ;) He has to have a stuffed animal at bedtime, which he wraps his whole body around :) The duck is his favorite. We get the animals at Kohls. It's Kohls Cares for Kids stuff so they are all $5 each and all the money goes to children's charities. Win, win! While I feed him, he has to have his own spoon to hold. If not, he will just grab at the one I'm using the whole time and make quite a mess! On the plane I had spoons ready to keep him happy. He just loves to hold them. He feeds himself all his snacks and started pushing them away if I try to put a puff or cheerio in his mouth. Then he takes it out of my hand to put in by himself. I won't lie, that development stung a little. He's certainly not a little baby anymore.

Sometimes I get baby fever, but we are still waiting until he's at least 2 to get pregnant again. When I told my Mom we were trying for a baby, it was Mother's Day 2010. She said, “Kelly, are you surrre??” I thought that was a strange response at first. Then I had Brady, and I totally got it. You have to be READY! We were, I just understood her need as my mother to make sure. When I told her we were thinking about getting pregnant again when Brady was 2. She said, “3. Wait until he's 3” Now I think... “Really??.. okay, I'll take that seriously.” The woman has been there and knows a thing or two so I will listen and consider the advice! We aren't in a rush. We will definitely have more, but for now, we are so happy with our little family just as it is :)

Total Sadness

It's been one week without Cowboy. Last Sunday, the 1^st of April, Eric's dad Randy took Cowboy to a no kill shelter for us. It's still hard to believe he's gone and we have little reminders every day that make us cry, miss him, and want him back. But we know we can't handle him right now. About 2 months ago, Cowboy started acting out. If you know Cowboy, that probably sounds like his behavior since birth. He's always been a handful of a dog. I worried a little how he would react to Brady but for the first 6 months he was the same old dog. Then, I started to notice his behavior getting worse gradually. I'm with the dogs and Brady all day every day, so sometimes that makes it harder to see things if they change slowly.

Well, Sugar came inside with a pretty gnarly gash in her neck. I figured Cowboy got too rough, but since I didn't see it happen, I just cleaned her up and it healed pretty quickly. With that on my mind, I realized he was definitely being more aggressive towards Sugar. If I pushed Cowboy off the couch, he would snap at Sugar. As if it was her fault I wouldn't let him be all up in my face while I ate popcorn. I would yell NO at him and spank him. But that has never really worked on Cowboy. Maybe a week later, he snapped at me. I couldn't deny it anymore. Something was going way wrong with my Cowboy. I was nervous to touch him or discipline him wondering 'would he actually bite?'

I talked to Eric about it, then he finally saw for himself. Cowboy snapped at me again. It was so scary. He wasn't biting or even making contact but it was a dominance thing and I didn't like it one bit. The final straw.. I had started putting the dogs outside separately after the gash incident. Cowboy came in muddy, we put Sugar out, and then Eric was wiping his paws clean. Eric grabbed the last back paw to wipe as Cowboy started walking away. I saw the whole thing happen and it might not have felt great but it definitely didn't hurt him. Cowboy just didn't like it. So he turned around, and with all his hair standing up, lunged at Eric. Barking. I was in total shock. Eric and Cowboy have always been so tight. SO incredibly close. If he would do that to Eric, he would do it to anyone.

I told Eric that I knew Cowboy had a lot of good in him. But he needed to be the only pet in a house with no small children. Eric wanted to try exercising him to see if that would get his aggression out. I believe it would and will, but neither Eric nor I have time to exercise Cowboy as much as he needs. And what exactly should I do with Brady and Sugar while I'm busy running Cowboy all day? Not practical. And that doesn't change the fact that he's a bully to Sugar and could really hurt Brady. I agreed to let Eric try. I wanted to try EVERYTHING we could before letting go. Well, it didn't work. Eric ran him a few times in the morning before work. But Eric couldn't keep it up. Some mornings he has to leave by 4 am and others are still pretty early.

Eric and I tried to find Cowboy a home ourselves, but we don't know ANYONE around Houston that doesn't already have pets and/or a baby. I've judged people in the past so harshly for 'getting rid' of a dog. I won't ever again. I believe taking a pet is a huge commitment and I wouldn't get rid of a dog for any reason other than aggression. I've always been an advocate for pit bulls and said 'if those owners would do the right thing with their dogs, pits wouldn't have such a bad reputation. If you see aggression in your dog do something about it!' Well, I'm eating my words! I love Cowboy so much and said to Eric several times, I wish I could have talked to him and he would've understood. “Stop acting like this Cowboy so we can keep you!” Bottom line is, we can't risk it with Brady. We will eventually have more kids and I cannot and will not have a dog around that I can't trust. A friend of mine that went through something similar, said a long time ago to me, that if you have a dog that 'well you just can't get in his face' or 'well he just doesn't like that so don't do it', you let the dog take over and everyone else tiptoes around the dog. I never forgot it. We can't be selfish and keep Cowboy when it's not good for us or for him. And you can't have an unpredictable dog as a family pet. Period.

I hate to think that Cowboy will be remembered as aggressive. It bothers me SO much. There are some wonderful things about him. He is such a cuddler, makes the funniest faces and sounds, will do anything for a cookie, and is as cute as a button. I've cried 4 times while writing this. It's going to take a long time to get used to not having him. We had Cowboy for 2 ½ years. Sugar moped for the first few days, but is getting better. She's able to relax and eat and sleep in peace. The first 2 mornings Brady looked for Cowboy. Talk about heart breaking. Brady got the biggest smile every time he saw Cowboy. He saw Sugar come in and looked behind her for Cowboy's goofy face. Eric is taking it the hardest since they were so close. He got a notice in the mail from the vet that he was do for a visit and it hit him pretty hard. I'm doing alright. It's very up and down. Basically, this is the stuff about being the adult and parent that sucks. One of the first tough decisions we've had to make. We check the website regularly to see if he's been adopted yet. I hope and pray he will find the perfect home where he is the center of attention and will be spoiled rotten.

Gone Country

Eric and I have really been trying to tackle the house lately, getting things organized and situated how we need them. We moved in a little over a month before Brady was born, so we didn't have a lot of time to get the house functional let alone cute. Little by little and room by room, we are getting there! We had a garage sale over the weekend to get rid of some things that don't work in this house or that we just don't need anymore and make a little cash at the same time. I was nervous because it's been forever since I've been to or held a garage sale, but leave it to my husband to get SO into it :) We were out in the garage until 11:30 the night before (he didn't get off work until 9) I had gotten everything we wanted to sell out in the garage for 2 days before, then we spend some time pricing, etc. We ended up having a lot of fun with it and made $400! :) And I'll just say... It's always an interesting crowd at a yard sale :) We bought a jogging stroller (Wooo! Only 3 more lbs to prepregnancy) and a desk to set up our computers and printer. Laptops on the kitchen table with cords hanging isn't exactly safe for Brady.

Which leads to the baby proofing! We gotta get this house in shape! I can hardly believe we've been allowed this much time, but it's been long enough. We are tackling the baby proofing this weekend. It's a daunting task but so necessary and I'm looking forward to having it done.

Next Monday will be Brady's first time in the pool :) I am so excited I can hardly wait! He's got an adorable cloth swim diaper and super cute trunks so pics will be a must. Mommy actually found a swim suit too! Shocking! I didn't think I would find anything I wanted or liked for quite a while. We were at Katy Mills, and I decided to peek in the swim shop and was very surprised I even wanted to try one on! It fit great and I didn't feel like a whale :) SOLD!

We went to the Houston Rodeo on Sunday with our friends The Fletchers :) They have a beautiful baby girl Aaliyah. The Dads had fun drinking beer, playing games, The Mommas had their Starbucks and fried oreos! And the babies had fun looking at each other and all the animals. This Rodeo is no joke. The football stadium, the old football stadium, and everything in between was full of food, drinks, shops, games, rides. It was fun! Hot but fun :) We had a fried oatmeal cream pie which was to die for! We left and immediately got my jogger ;)

The last weekend of March we are headed to Longview to visit with my Grandparents, Mom, and Aunt Kelly. Eric is able to come too! Such a blessing. Shortly after that, Brady and I are headed to St Louis, so we have a lot of great things coming up.

I have been thinking a lot about Brady's birthday lately. It's a little over 3 months away, but we all know that will go quickly. I know a lot of babies turning one soon, so I hear a lot of plans from those Mommas. I really think we will do something small here in Texas the weekend of Brady's birthday, then head to St Louis and do another small party there. As long as Eric can get the time off. I could get carried away with big themes and plans, but I want to be able to enjoy the day and just be with my big boy. We are having pictures done on his birthday so I will get him a spectacular cake to destroy :) And do pictures of him in a little bit of a cowboy theme. Classy, cute, cowboy :) Lol no spurs or goofy stuff. Eric took us to Cavendar's Boot City on Saturday and I loved it! He got boots a few weeks ago, and this got a belt and belt buckle this time. They have very nice cowboy boots for kids and all the accessories. I guess Texas is getting to us after all :0)

8 months!

My baby is 8 months! Plus 1 week :) WOW! Eric said he can't believe Brady is growing so fast. And I said, I know and it's only gonna get worse!! LOL I didn't really mean it like that, but seriously he's only gonna get bigger and older. So no use getting sad about it! I'm thankful to have such a healthy, strong, big boy. He's everything I've always prayed for so I'm happy as a Momma can be. He has been throwing some new challenges at me lately, and I guess it just shows these babies are always changing! Just when we've got our routine really down, he's older and bigger and it needs adjustment. Brady only takes three 6 oz bottles a day now. 3 big meals of baby food. And a snack here and there. He drinks water from a sippy cup (or water bottle, messy as all get out but he loves it!) Brady is getting better about what he eats. He's still picky, but he actually prefers my homemade baby food now! WOOHOO! I didn't have time over the weekend to make food, so I'm supplementing what I have left in the freezer with a few pre made baby foods and he doesn't like them! Even though that put me in a bind, I'm so happy! After months of only homemade I think going back to the premade taste really grossed him out. Thank the Lord!

My biggest issue lately is naps. At home, Brady naps PERFECTLY! He doesn't fight them and he takes 2 great long naps (sometimes even taking a third). Out of the house.. totally different story! I had a doctors appointment yesterday and it was the most frustrating 2 hours we've had. Part to do with the front desk getting my appointment all screwed up. After waiting for 30 minutes, I went to the window to ask if I need to fill out some paperwork since it's my first visit. The nurse called me a 'walk in' and said she'd go get my chart. WHAT?!! They got me in, but it still took forever. Brady should've taken a nap at 1 while I was at Target. He refused. And continued to be fussy and fight me for 2 hours at the doctor's office until finally giving in. I thought last night.. Well I can just never leave the house again! I would've just left the doctors and brought him home since I wasn't sick, but my eyes have been killing me and I have to get a referral. Brady used to sleep SO soundly while we were out. In the car, stroller, cart, WHEREVER! Huhh! Not anymore. Only in his crib. My perfect baby is turning into quite the stinker! :) I used to plan things during his nap time so I could do what I needed to do. Now I guess I will wait until Eric can come (yeah right), or someone can stay with him while I go. Or just never leave the house again! ;)

Brady is starting to wear 18 month clothes. What the??? Those things look HUGE to me at the store, but my baby is a big one. Well a long one :) Eric predicts that Brady will be 6'5. I don't know what I think. He is showing more interest in crawling and moving around in general. I think he might be one of those babies that scoots on their belly. That's what he's doing right now and it's hilarious. He just turns like that and wiggles around. He will stay on all fours if I put him there. He's just an easy going laid back baby when it comes to that stuff. Eric called him lazy. I laughed and then said, don't say that again. Every baby is different and I'm actually fine with Brady right where he is. There's no reason to judge these sweet little babies. I catch myself judging other moms and I quickly stop! Unless they are actually harming their child, leave them alone. We all are doing the best we can and need support! I could feel all the eyes and judgment on me in the doctor's office. I wanted to shout “I'M STUCK IN THIS STUPID CITY BECAUSE MY HUSBAND IS A MARINE AND I DON'T HAVE ANY FAMILY HERE!!!!!!” LOL. But then I would've been thrown out.. Do you think a Mom would put herself and her child through this for the hell of it???

Lately, I've been feeling and saying a lot that I just can't do it all. Somethings gotta give. I have to take exceptional care of Brady which comes first, be a loving wife, run this house, take better care of the dogs, we've been trying to care for the lawn and actually grow some grass, I'm still trying to eat right and exercise, make dinners for Eric and lunches for the next day, laundry, dishes, cloth diapers, make baby food, pay the bills. IT NEVER ENDS! Everyone knows that. I'm just trying to get my juggling act down a little better. Which ball do I drop when I'm having a rough day? What's on the back burner this week?? Rotate them through so they all get the attention they need.. sometimes!? Ughh! This just leads to frustration and guilt! And that's when I pray! :) I need the reminder that as long as Brady has everything he needs, Eric and I are good, the rest will fall into place. I can only do so much during nap time and once Brady's in bed for the night. I do my best and that's plenty. When I see Brady's smiling face and get a kiss from my hubby after we've both had long hard days, It's all good :) I love my boys and truly wouldn't change a thing. 

      I'm not a fan of the brick, but these are the flowers I planted. Brick is big in    
                Houston landscaping for some reason. Or is it just Katy??

                     I usually prefer my gardeners show a little crack, but he'll do ;)

 Such a good hubs and father. Planting my flowers WITH the monitor on his belt :)

                               Workin on the decor and gettin our family pics up!