Thank Goodness It's Friday!

Linking up with my favorite Idaho Gals today, Karli and Amy for Happy Friday Y'all!

[ONE]
Who else is excited that TGIT is back?!?  This girl is! ::insert thumbs up emoji now!::  I love me some Doctors, Lawyers, and Murder!

[TWO]
SuperBowl is obviously this weekend and I can't wait to try and make some fun football - themed desserts :)  I'm thinking about these?  What do you think?

[THREE]
Caleb is not liking - read hating - squash!  We have tried squash for a little over a week now and he just doesn't like it.  We have tried little bits here and there and we have decided to move on.  I plan on writing a post on this and more next week.  Stay tuned. :)

[FOUR]
It was a gorgeous 68 degrees here yesterday and I am longing for Spring, Summer and Fall right about now!  I want flip flops, evening strolls and popsicles NOW!  Oh January, how you make me lust for April - November.

[FIVE]

Next week, Wednesday to be exact, I will have a 5-month-old!  How is that even possible?  Where did my little snuggle muffin go?  He is getting to be such a big boy!

 

We Survived Our First Weekend Alone

This past weekend Ryan went out of town for a hunting trip.  He left on Thursday morning and came home Monday afternoon.

I'm happy that he got to go on this trip but man, was it harder than I thought.

BACK STORY:

I'm a baby.  

Not in the literal sense, but in the way that I am scared of everything & always, always have a back up plan for things that I believe can happen.  

I have never liked being alone - now don't get me wrong, I love a good Saturday to binge watch Netflix or clean out my DVR, but sleeping alone?  

That's for the bears!

Fast forward to life now, the real life, where Ryan was leaving for the first time since we've had Caleb and I am supposed to be the big, brave Mommy who takes care of the children (I include Hank in this count, of course)

Ryan left on Thursday, as I mentioned above, and off to work I went after dropping Caleb off at my moms.  I worked all day dreading going home to an empty house.  I know that Caleb and Hank were with me, but still, there is something about not having the hubs there.  I don't like it.  We went about our "normal" night time routine and we survived.  I didn't sleep 9 hours as normal due to my paranoia, but overall we didn't have a house fire, a burglar or a catastrophe so it was good.

Friday was the start of the weekend and after work we decided to stay the night at Mima's house.  Why drive all the way back home after picking up the baby just to drive back down Saturday to hang out?  I was being economical! :)  We had a nice night of peaceful, not stressed sleep - because my Mommy was there and she will protect us all :)

Saturday I needed to go grocery shopping and do at least Caleb's laundry - that boy is in the messiest stage right now and goes through at least 2 outfits a day!  So Caleb and I ventured North to our home and went grocery shopping.  This was the first - and most likely the last until he can sit in the cart - time I have taken Caleb grocery shopping by myself.  He was a fussbucket!  He wasn't happy being worn and carrying a 17 pound baby through the store while pushing a cart and trying to select items is more than difficult.  Something that normally takes me between 30-45 minutes, took me almost 1.5 hours!  Not okay!  I don't blame the baby, but my village was definitely lacking that day and I missed it! 

::read, come home now hubby!::

We, once again, survived and continued about our day.  We got one load of laundry done and all of the parishable items put away.  I managed to clean bottles and hold Caleb while he took a good nap for 1.5 hours (I had to hold him so he slept well...right?  Plus I got to clean up that DVR that I mentioned above)

Saturday night I went to dinner with my in-laws so that they could see Caleb and then, since we were already down and I was being super economical this weekend, we stayed the night, once again, at Mima's house.

Sunday we woke up, went to a little shindig at my Aunt's house for me and my Grandpa and then headed home.

We stayed the night at our own house, in our own beds Sunday night and survived.  I slept 8 hours and was happy as a clam, but maybe that was because my mom was with me.  Once a month she stays at our house on Sunday night so that I can go to work early and once a month I stay at her house so that I can do the same thing.  It works out great and it just so happened that this weekend was her weekend to come up with me.  How nice was that?!? :)

Ryan came home Monday afternoon and as happy as I was to see him home safe and sound - because, yes, that is another thing that I worry about with him being gone hunting and having fun - Caleb was so much more happy.  That little boy missed his Daddy and couldn't have been happier.  He ended up sleeping for 11.5 hours Monday night because he was so happy that his Daddy was home - I won't tell you about how unfair I feel that is. LOL.

Moral of the story - we survived.  I survived.  I didn't like it, but you do what you got to do, and in the end, me and the boys were fed and taken care of each and every night. 

Now hubs, if you are reading this, don't let this happen again, for a while - got it??? :)

Pinterest Recipe Challenge - Week 3

So I know that we just had one yesterday, but since I was a week behind this is the regularly scheduled time for last week's recipe challenge to go up.  I hope you like it.

Week 3: Chicken Fajitas

Sounds super easy and like a go-to recipe that should have been in my repertoire right?  Well it wasn't, but it is super easy and is now part of our line-up.

I had never made fajitas until I was on Maternity Leave and my mom convinced me to try it.  I made steak and they turned out great.

I pinned this recipe on my Yummy Goodness Pinterest Board in hopes that it was different and more "homemade" and was going to add it for the challenge.

Once I printed it out and read it, I realized that it was no different than the Steak Fajitas I had made a couple months back.

But I went through with it and they turned out fabulous!

I added onion to the crockpot but no peppers - they give the hubs heartburn.  He loved it and I loved it, and all together we were happy.

This was a successful week in the Pinterest Recipe Challenge of 2015.

I am looking forward to this week's recipe already :)

Pinterest Recipe Challenge - Week 2

So seeing as how we are now in the fourth week of the year, I slacked on my new challenge.  I did it, but forgot to blog about it.

So I bring you Pinterest Recipe Challenge Week 2: Pork Chops

I love pork chops, the hubs - not so much!

I like pork chops baked, breaded or smothered in yummy cream of chicken, so when I pulled it out for dinner I knew that I wanted to try something new for the hubs.

I went to my handy dandy Pinterest Challenge board and found one.

"The Best Pork Chops You Will Ever Taste."

Big title, I had hopes it would live up to it.

They turned out good.  The hubs liked them.  For me, they were too soggy.  I am a total texture person when it comes to my food and this was just not doing it for me.

The breading came out soggy and not crispy enough for me.  I found myself scrapping off the breading and just eating the chop - but don't get me wrong, I fully enjoyed that bare chop.

If I were to try this recipe again I would probably try to do it on the stove top instead of the oven so that I could get them to look nice and golden brown like the picture above.

January, Date My Husband [+ G I V E A W A Y]

One of my goals for 2015 is to date my husband more.  This may seem silly but since we have gotten married, gone through deployment, got a dog, got pregnant, bought a house and had a baby, our dates have slowly taken a back burner.  I'm sure this is a normal transition of things, but I'm not ready for it.

Ryan and I never really "dated" before we became a couple.  He was deployed and once he got home we were an item and things went on as if we had been together for years.  I have made it a goal every year for us to go out and do fun things more often together and sadly, they usually don't end up happening.

Well, this year, I am determined, especially since having our little, that we will go out on dates, for my sanity and the health of our marriage.

This past Sunday was our first date.  We have a new movie theater in town and it is amazing.  Talk about a genius idea, this place is it!  Dinner, drinks and a movie all at the same time.  Studio Movie Grill in Rocklin is on it.  You buy your tickets for assigned seats, order your meal and beverages from your seat and enjoy them during the movie.

I bought us tickets to see American Sniper and arranged for us to leave our little with his Mima for the night.  Yes, you read that correctly, we left Caleb for the first time overnight on Sunday also.  When I plan a date night, I am going all out. :)

Our movie started at 3:55 and they recommend that you get there 30 minutes before it starts so that you can get seated and order before the previews start.  We did and although they didn't let us into the theater until 15 minutes before the movie started, we still had plenty of time.  They had a 2 for $25 deal that we were all over that included an appetizer and 2 entrees.  Ryan had the BBQ Bacon Burger, I had the Blackened Chicken Salad and we started with the half order of cheese fries.  The food was okay.  Not the greatest we have ever eaten, but there are plenty more items on the menu that we can try next time.

Probably the biggest selling point for Ryan and I is the fact that you can have an adult beverage while you watch your movie.  Before we had our little, when we would go to the movies, we would make sure to eat dinner at the restaurant closest so that we could get a little buzz going before we walked into our movie.  At SMG you don't even have to plan that much.  You can order an drink you want and they bring it right to you.  Why did my husband and I not open this place?!?

Overall, our date night was amazing.  As much as we missed our little boy, he was safe and happy with his Mima which meant that we could enjoy our time together.

We didn't have too much fun without you baby boy though, we still went to bed at 8:30!  yes, we are old, we know.

****************************

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Oatmeal, Purees and My Little Piglet

Last Wednesday we went to the doctor's office for Caleb's 4 month check-up.  I had already planned on taking the morning off, sleeping in with him, going to the appointment and then my mom would take him and I would go to work.  Well, Tuesday night, Caleb had different ideas.

Caleb has been teething for about 3 weeks now and it is awful.  I hate that he is in pain and I don't know what he needs to help him feel better.  We are having a lot of snuggle sessions and lots of feedings.  Tuesday night I told him that we were going to sleep in tomorrow morning and go to see his doctor.  Well, midnight came around and Caleb was awake.  This isn't like him - Caleb has slept through the night since he was 6 weeks old and now he is waking up in the night and not happy.  I changed and fed him and got him back down in 35 minutes.  I went back to sleep and next thing I know Caleb was awake again, this time 4:12.  I got up, changed and fed him again and this time he was acting like he was up for the day - great.  We snuggled in bed for about an hour and a half and he eventually fell back to sleep.

We went to the doctors and got excellent news.  Caleb is now 16 pounds, 10 ounces and 26 inches long.  My little piglet has gained 8 pounds, 12 ounces in 4 months and grown almost 5 whole inches!  I can't believe it.  We are going to have a big boy on our hands, and I cannot wait!  We discussed the "normal" new-mom-i-don't-know-what-i'm-doing questions and got the go ahead to start him on cereals and purees.  Our pediatrician said that she would like to wait on giving him purees for as long as possible until closer to 6 months, but when I told her that 8 ounce bottles were barely getting him to 3 hours between feedings, she said it is fine to start those slowly also.

We are thrilled.  As much as I want my baby to stay a baby, I want him to keep growing and developing.  I honestly, can't afford for him to eat 8 ounces every 2 hours. LOL.  My little is a little piglet and I love him so.  We are going to start with Oatmeal and eventually introduce vegetables first, then fruits.  I am interested in making my own food for him* and can't wait to try that out.

I am also interested in Baby Led Weaning and need to do more research on the topic, but I think once he hits 5.5-6 months we will be focusing more on this.

I can't wait to see how he keeps growing.

* I want to make him his food but I work for a great food distribution company that had cases of baby food - for whatever reason - and we got some for an amazing price - FREE!  I have 7 cases of baby food in his closet that we will definitely use along with the items that I make for him.

January Confessions

Today I am linking up with Heather for a Mid-Month Confession Session.

 

Here goes nothing...

• Pregnancy Reveal YouTube Videos - oh man how I love watching them!  Is that weird?  I go through a phase of watching videos that have to do with what is going on in my life.  When Ryan was coming home from deployment - you guessed it, welcome home videos.  When we were planning our wedding, first dance videos.  Pregnant, reveal videos.  Gender, reveal videos.  And now?  I'm still stuck on pregnancy and gender reveal videos.  I'm not pregnant and don't plan to be in the next few months, but man oh man, I can't get enough.  Here is one of my favorites. 
• Silent Cries in the Closet - I just have moments where I want to/need to cry and don't want anyone to know about it.  Best place?  Closet!  Only Hank joins me and he is so good to cry on because he doesn't talk back and won't tattle on me either.  I'm not saying this because I am depressed or unhappy with my life - just sometimes you need a moment and for me, I go to the closet.
• Trash TV - I can't help myself.  I LOVE trash tv.  Give me a great MTV or Lifetime show and I am all over it - like a kid in a candy store.  My all time fav would probably be Teen Mom, but currently it is The Challenge - Battle of the Exes II 
• Candy Soda Crush - Man.  I blame my friend Heather for this one.  She told me to try it out and just like the original, I am a little obsessed.  I find myself constantly playing it in my free-time [ha!  So this means at night when the baby is already asleep when I should be working out or sleeping]
• Baby Hughes - This little boy means the world to me, but how, how on earth can one little life bring so much poo??  This boy has been a pooing machine since he was born and I was so hopeful that once we stopped breastfeeding it would get better....but no luck there.  He goes at least 2 times a day and if he skips a day, watch out!  The next day will be poos every diaper almost.

Too much confession?  I hope not.  Just a little happy vent sesh.  :)

Serious Healthy Time

We all say it, right?  That next week we will start a "healthy lifestyle".  That next week we will join the latest lose-weight-quick trend.  That next week you will give up all this stuff that you like in exchange for things you don't like so that you can get "skinny".

Well as often as we all say it, especially in January due to New Year's resolutions, how many of us actually go through with it?

I can tell you that for me, personally, time and time again I have tried to do things to get "skinny".  Ever since I was a teenager I never thought that I was thin enough or pretty enough to be friends with the other girls.  I don't know how, but I managed to score a pretty hot husband who loves me unconditionally and for that, I am forever grateful.

When we met I was probably the thinnest I have been - ever!  I was going to school full-time, working the server lifestyle and not having a good eat-sleep-repeat schedule going on.  But hey, isn't funny how being unhealthy makes you see the results you want?  Yet when you diet and exercise it takes longer to get those results?

I digress.

After graduating from college I got a desk job big-kid job and quit the nightlife lifestyle and the skinny-ness that went along with it.  I gained around 10 pounds probably after the first year working at my job and moving out with the hubs - i.e. pizza, take-out and really bad food that is really cheap.  Blah Blah Blah, time went on and I would "work out" every now and then.

Ryan went on deployment and things got serious in my brain with wanting to lose weight.  Me and a bestie joined a gym and we actually did it.  For 4 months straight we went to the gym 4 days a week and worked out for an hour.  I was so proud of myself, and her!  I ended up losing 13 pounds!

Then the hubs came home.  And as hard as we tried, sedentary snuggling took over and I gained some back.  We had the wedding and the honeymoon and starting trying for a little.  We were successful and keeping weight off just wasn't an option.

10 months later we popped - well not really, read his birth story here, here and here - out a little and now I was left with 33 pounds weight gained and 41 pounds away from my goal weight.

I went walking with the babes as often as possible after having him.  We would pack up the stroller and strap on our tennis shoes and off we went.  We did that everyday until he was 12 week old - when I went back to work.

When I came back to work I was 5 pounds away from not having any "baby weight" left and only 15 pounds away from my ultimate goal.  Work is crazy and hectic and after being away from my baby all day I didn't want to spend another 30-45 minutes without him while I worked out.  So I just didn't.

Well after this super long story up above, here is the short of it.  This is a new week and a new year.  I am now 12 pounds away from my ultimate goal and it will happen.  I want to lose the rest of this "baby weight" and a little extra in the next 4-5 months.  Seems extreme?  Well if you want something bad enough it is bound to happen, right?

I am now dedicating myself to healthier choices and changes in my life.  I started by walking again with my baby and making homemade granola.  I am going to work on packing healthy snacks to take with me at work and focus on portion control - because this girl can eat and likes to.

Wish me luck and if you want to, yell at me daily to make sure I do something!  I am a person who needs motivation in the form of someone else yelling at me to do it.  LOL.

Pinterest Recipe Challenge 2015 - Week 1

Happy Monday everyone!

I am here for the first installment of my Pinterest Recipe Challenge 2015!

Do you remember when I said that one of my New Year's Goals was to try one new recipe a week?  Well I have accomplished the first week and am super proud of myself.

So here is the link to the original recipe that I printed out.

Week 1:  Homemade Granola
I changed up the recipe a little bit to accommodate our tastes and what we had in our pantry.  I left out the sunflower nuts because Ryan won't eat those and substituted flaxseed meal for the wheat germ because that is what I had on hand.

This recipe was super easy but super messy, well for me anyways.  It turned out as granola clusters which is fantastic, but next time I will want to make bars - easier breakfast-on-the-go option for us.  Also, be warned, that it makes about 8 cups of loose granola!  Amazing amount for the little cost, but be hungry because since it isn't processed it will go bad a lot faster.

If you are looking for a super easy granola recipe, this is it! :)

 

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

We are linking up with Amy and Karli today.

 

Five things that are on my mind today

|ONE|
These Ponte Leggings!  I just got the black pair for my birthday and I am in love with them!  I am probably definitely late to the game on these, but I already went and got the same pair in gray and can't wait to find other colors.  I love them so much I might even dedicate an entire post to talking about them.  LOL.  Fashion blogger?  I think not.  But a comfy mommy blogger? YES indeed!

|TWO|
EOS Lip Balm.  I first got one in a baby shower gift from my cousin.  I had always heard of them but never used one.  I started using it in July, when I was very much pregnant and my lips needed some extra attention, and have been hooked ever since.  I got the Summer Fruit as a gift and then went and bought the Pomegrante Raspberry.  For Christmas my mom got me Strawberry Sorbet, Honeysuckle Honeydew and Lemon Drop.  I am so excited!

|THREE|
Lamaze Toys!  My little snuggle muffin has multiple Lamaze brand toys and he loves every single one.  They all jingle and jangle, make scrunchy noises and entertain him to the fullest.  I wish I was the inventor of these.  GENIUS!!!

|FOUR|
I have yet to complete my new recipe of the week, but I printed it out and have every intention of completing it tomorrow.  Better at the end of the week than never, right? :)  I can't wait to post all about it next week.

|FIVE|
My wonderful friend, Marie, is working on a new design for my little ol' space and I can't be more excited!  She worked wonders for me just over a year ago and now that we have a little and things have been changing I thought it would be nice for this little space of mine to get a little makeover as well.  Here is some inspiration we have for the new design.

 I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and weekend!  Come back next week for more updates on our life and hopefully a recap on how my pinterest recipe went! :)

C U R R E N T L Y - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

Can you believe we are already 8 days into 2015?  I can't believe it either!  I have now been 26 for 7 days - GAH!  My baby was no longer born "this year."  We have now been married almost 3 years.  Gah! Gah! Gah!

But onto more important things.. like my currently list:

Currently I am:

Loving: this song!  The hubs introduced it to me and it is just so catchy and funny.  We blast it and sing our little hearts out each and every time we hear it.  Can you picture it? LOL

Wishing: I had better time management skills when it comes to scheduling work outs.  I must admit that since I've come back to work, I haven't worked out once.  Not an after work walk or DVD in my living room after the babes goes down - NADA!

Reading:  nothing, but I want to change that.  I have so many books that I want to read, but at night after baby goes to sleep I go to sleep because we get up early for work.  This would be part of the above problem also though.

Wanting: to stick to my plan on cooking one new pinterest/blogging recipe a week for all of 2015.  So far, we haven't done one this week, but there are still 3 more dinners for this week so it will has to happen!

Happy almost Friday Y'all!

Hughes Family Photos

So remember last week when I recapped our year and I mentioned we took family photos back in October and that I would finally show them to you?

Well look no further, here they are!

We met up with the AH-MAZING LG of LG Grow With Me Photography on a beautiful Tuesday Fall evening up in Auburn, CA.

We showed up, as traditional unprepared parents.  We had a sleeping newborn, as Caleb was only 6 weeks old, that was still in his other outfit and a dirty diaper.  We had to change and feed him as soon as we started taking pictures.  Overall, he did great, but you know, a boy's got to eat!

LG is honestly a saint.  She loved Hank and he, of course, loves anybody who will give him attention.  Little did LG know that our "little puppy" almost weighs as much as us and doesn't know it.  She handled him so well while he was exploring and not listening to his parents.

This little snuggle muffin of mine did so well.  It was mid-October and for everyone else it was a gorgeous day, but not for my little.  He is definitely like his mama and gets cold instantly.  I wanted us all to match coordinate as much as possible so he ended up in a short sleeved onesie, which didn't end too well for us.  After an hour long photo session he was one cold little muffin and ready for another nap.

I can't thank LG enough for capturing our new family of 4 so beautifully.  These pictures are priceless and I will treasure them.  Our first pictures with our baby.  Our first pictures with our fur baby.  Our first pictures as a little family of 4.

If you are in the Sacramento area and need a lifestyle photographer, LG is your gal!  She is an amazing mama of two little princesses and you feel like family as soon as you work with her.  Thank you, once again, LG!  We will be seeing you again very soon I'm sure :)