"Sweet Little One" Birthday Party

We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating our sweet little girl's first birthday with family & friends!

I don't have words for the wonderful challenge that this year has been, without a doubt this has been the best year of my life & surrounded by the people we love on her birthday, watching her giggle & play, I couldn't have felt more blessed.

One of the crafts I made for her birthday were these super cute (& easy!) cake stands, so I thought I'd share the details.

I bought glass plates, cups & bowls from Goodwill. I chose patterned glasses & this ended up showing off the paint beautifully.

I bought copper & silver Krylon spray paint from Michaels, as well as the glue shown below.  (This glue is worth buying. I've already used it on so many random projects around the house.)

I traced the bottom rim of the cup with glue, then spun that on the bottom of the plate, so I had the correct outline, then added more glue to both & I let them dry overnight.

Buying spray paint is an exercise in self control for me since I start painting everything in sight. I still have leftover paint so I'll call that a win. 

See, super easy. 

The days are long, but the weeks go by quick, enjoy every second!

~H & D 

current favorite baby books

Reading to our daughter every night before bed just might be my favorite thing to do with her right now.  I love our bedtime routine, being home for it is just non-negotiable for me.

For the last five months she can turn the pages on her own & I just love how engaged she is in reading these books.  Even if it isn't reading time with me, she loves her books.  I'd call it a win if she liked to sit there & chew on them (since she doesn't talk yet) so when I see her sit with a book, turn the pages & babble - it makes me so happy. 

Playing with Mommy's Favorite Book

Side note: my mother-in-law encouraged me to read the names of the authors & illustrators each time we read the book, since they all worked so hard on them, & I think that is a worthwhile habit.

Below are a few of my favorites to read to her right now.

Hello Ninja
Adorable, rhyming read that is perfect for naptime.  If she gets to pick the book, she always picks this one. 

Go to Sleep, Little Farm

Sweet, simple & has the perfect cadence 

Dream Animals: A Bedtime Journey 

A beautiful, creative & inspiring perspective on dreams

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You
A Dr. Seuss classic & just so much fun to read, can't pass up the opportunity to go MOO MOO

Little Owl's Night  & Little Owl's Day
Captivating because of their sweetness & simplicity - the author paints a lovely picture with her words.   

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 

Our daughter loves turning the partial pages in this book & poking at the holes, I love how the author sneaks in learning the days of the week & counting too, clever! 

Rosie Revere Engineer
I have a lot of thoughts on this book.  I love it, I really do.  I love the message. I love the illustrations.  I love the historical appendix that the authors include. But I hate it because I can't read this book to her without tearing up.  Each time I read the words that are intended to encourage her, they are at that moment undoubtedly the very words that I myself, as an ever learning & experimenting engineer, need to hear.  It is challenging to read a story of fearlessness & resilience, lay her down to bed & and set out to be exactly those things.  So this book gets to me, D has to read it to her because I literally can't even.

I am so thankful for each night that I get to come home with our baby girl, sit with her & enjoy reading about the exciting world around us. 
D&H

good news for bad moms.

In Luke 2 Mary and her family accidentally leave 12 year old Jesus behind on the way home from the feast of the passover in Jerusalem.  Her and Joseph return to Jerusalem to find Jesus three days later hanging out in the middle of the doctors in the church, talking with them and "astonishing them" with his understanding.  Mary, like any mom, scolds him for scaring her half to death, and he responds by asking her if she knows that he is there on his Father's business.  Jesus' response to her goes right over her head. 

So what happened there? And why is this story in the Bible?  I mean, poor Mary leaves her kid behind ONE TIME and people read about it for two thousand years.  Not the proud moment any mom would want to have, let alone to have generation after generation reading about it.  Also, why does Mary not understand what Jesus was talking about when she finds him? 

I think this story is in the Bible because Mary is just like any of us.  She heard the word of God spoken about her family by an angel, shepherds and prophets.  But she, like us, was caught up in the daily challenges and routines of everyday life.  Two separate times in Luke 2 it says "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart".  Mary knew God had a plan for her family, she had heard the words spoken over her family's life, but she was also human and her focus could be distracted from what God had promised.  

I love this because we are reminded to keep what God has said to us in our heart, to ponder it and reflect on His words, and I love that God doesn't hide Mary's imperfections from us.  He doesn't make her out to be a saint by any means, she is basically a frazzled mom who lost her freakin kid on the way home from Christmas Eve service!

Ladies, this is phenomenal Bible reading for us.  It really is.  We get to have our dingbat moments and God still includes us in his plan. I mean, that is legit savior business happening here!   

I read this and am reminded that God's promise for our families is valid whether or not we are perfect at every single moment.  I am reminded that even though we know God has a purpose for us, we don't always understand it in the moment, and for this very reason we need to keep His word in our heart, we need to meditate on His promises, we need to think on the faithfulness of His words and ponder them until we understand that God's plan is perfect so we don't have to be.  Here's what is even better: He openly, lovingly and intentionally weaves our imperfections into his perfect plan.  

Imperfect as it gets. 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!
~D&H
   

Lactation Cookies Gift Jar

I made this as a gift for a soon-to-be breastfeeding momma, with just a few simple additions (hopefully from a helpful hubby!) these cookies are a delicious treat that also support milk production!

Here is what I included in the jar: 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup sugar

1 TSP cinnamon 

Dash of nutmeg 

1/2 TSP baking soda 

1/4 TSP salt 

1 cup oats

2 TBSP brewer's yeast

2 TSBP ground flaxseed 

1/2 cup raisins 

Here is the directions on the note:

Add:

1 cup flour

1 egg

1 TSP vanilla 

1 stick of butter 

Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, bake @350 for ~10min 

Breastfeeding can be so challenging at the beginning so I hope that these cookies are just one more little (yummy) piece of encouragement to help her stick with it!

Some babies do not do well with chocolate so I would avoid including any chocolate, but for a change you can mix it up with toffee chunks or craisins!

~D&H

Deja Food

We've changed how we grocery shop & cook for the past month with three goals in mind: 1) eat healthier 2) don't waste food 3) reduce food prep time. I should really say a fourth goal too - lose enough weight to have an honest driver's license, but it's January so maybe that goes without saying.

With those goals in mind I had the idea to plan our weekly meals so that each main menu item was used twice - this ensured that we didn't waste food & cut down the prep time I had for the second meal. 

Below is my menu, shopping list & recipes from week #2. (Serves 2)

Menu:
Monday: Bacon wrapped BBQ grilled chicken with sweet potato fries

Tuesday: Chorizo meatballs with cauliflower faux-tatoes

Wednesday: Grilled chicken, rice and veggie stir fry (Deja Food: Grilled chicken)

Thursday: Stuffed bell peppers (Deja Food: Chorizo meatballs)

Friday: Southwest chicken bowls (Deja Food: Grilled Chicken)

Grocery List:

• 3-3.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken
• 1 package pork chorizo (9oz)
• 1- 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 package of bacon
• 1 head of cauliflower
• brussel sprouts
• stir fry vegetables - onion, carrots, celery (julienne any extra carrots & celery for snacks!)
• white rice
• 4 bell peppers
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 avocados
• 1 can of beans (we like black or chili)
• 1 can of corn
• salsa

Recipes:

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Grilled Chicken
Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken
• bacon
• 1 tbsp chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp pepper
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp sea salt

Directions:

• Roughly cut chicken into ~1.5 inch pieces
• Lay chicken in pan and sprinkle with spices, mix chicken to coat entirely
• Wrap chicken in bacon
• Grill

Simple Grilled Chicken (pre-cook for rice & stir fry night)
Ingredients:

• remaining chicken
• kick'n chicken seasoning
• dash of worcestershire sauce
• dash of soy sauce

Directions:

• Coat chicken with sauces and seasoning
• Grill

Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, chopped in half then chopped like well, french fries
• 3 tbsp (ish) olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder (mine has parsley in it too, this one
• pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Coat the fries in olive oil and the spices 
  
• Place foil on a cookie sheet or loaf pan, spray with non-stick spray
• I said spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
• Seriously, spray the foil. 
• Place the fries in a single layer on the sheet,
  
   bake until crispy, 30-40 minutes

 Chorizo Meatballs
Ingredients:

• 1-1.5 lb ground beef
• 4-5 oz chorizo 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix ground beef and chorizo
• Roll into 1.5 inch meatballs
• Place in 13x9 pan, bake 30-40 minutes or until meat is cooked through

Cauliflower Faux-tatoes
Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 4 tbsp butter
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Steam cauliflower until it feels soft when poked with fork
• Mix 1/2 of the cauliflower and butter in a food processor until smooth.  Dump into a bowl and repeat with the other 1/2 of ingredients
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Edible Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients:

• brussel sprouts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• sea salt
• pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Rinse brussel sprouts, remove stem and chop in half
• Sprinkle with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper
• Place on a baking sheet, bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned

Stir Fry
Ingredients:

• carrots
• celery
• onions
• 1 cup chicken broth
• olive oil
• sea salt
• pepper

Directions:

• Chop all the veggies
• Place the carrots in a pan with 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, cover and let cook on medium ~5-10 minutes or until they soften a bit
• Toss in the celery, add remaining chicken broth, cover and cook another ~5 minutes
• Add onions, turn heat up slightly and leave lid off
• When all of the broth is absorbed add olive oil and stir, allow veggies to brown
• Dash with salt and pepper

Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked rice
• chorizo meatball leftovers
• 4 bell peppers, cleaned & sliced in half
• 1/4 cup ketchup

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Smash up the meatballs & mix with the rice
• Add ketchup and stir
• Place in 13x9 glass pan, cook for 30-40 minutes

Southwest Chicken Bowls
Ingredients:

• 2 cups mexican rice, recipe here
• grilled chicken, chopped into small chunks
• 1 can of chili or black beans
• 1 can of corn
• 2 avocados, chopped
• salsa

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together, heat & enjoy!

I'm excited for this new approach to planning our dinners & the opportunity to be creative in the stewardship of our finances & more mindful of what we put into our bodies.

Happy new year!
D & H