A little late but...Our Wisconsin Trip Recap!

Happy New Year!

I seriously cannot believe that Christmas has come and gone and it's now 2014!

We spent our Christmas in Wisconsin this year with my family.  This was the first time my Dad had met baby Marshall and my Mom hadn't seen him since he was born back in July.  Oh how fun it was to show him off to all my family and friends!  Marshall is a lucky little guy to have so many people that love him.  We seriously had a blast but are definitely happy to be home in our house with all of our things.  I think Marshall is glad to be home too.  I think he missed his toys.  ;)

First off...Marshall did so great on his first flight!  It was just he and I on our way out to WI...Doug didn't fly in until a few days after us.  I felt like an awesome Mom once the travel day was over!  ;)

I had an awful Mom moment about my 3rd day there.  I was headed back to my parent's house after spending the day with a dear friend and I decided to stop off to grab some carry out.  Well, it was 5pm and a snow storm had started.  Somehow I ended up locking the keys in my Mom's car, along with Marshall.  I don't think I had ever been that scared in my life!  I literally went hysterically running into some vision shop next to Panera since it was closer.  In my mind I thought "Do I call 911?!"  But then remembered that my parents had the extra key, so I then called my Dad.  Yeah well, with the snow storm and rush hour, it took my Dad a good 30 minutes to get to me.  I was terrified.  Marshall was in the car, it was dark, cold and snowing.  I get worked up just thinking about it again.  I still cannot figure out how the heck it happened!  As I buckled him in the back, I must've set the keys down and the lock button must've been hit?  That's the only thing I can think of.  It was horrible, just horrible!  He was ok and all I could do was snuggle him all night long.  

We had so much fun the rest of the trip.  We got together with lots of friends and were able to see all my family!  Marshall saw Santa, we visited the Pabst where we got married, and Doug and I were even able to enjoy a date night!   

And of course we were able to bring some cheese home with us.  Not nearly enough though.  It's already time to place an online order!

Marshall's first time with Santa - he didn't even freak out!  It was so cute.

Just a few other pics from our trip!

Hope everyone had the best Christmas ever!  I'm already SO excited about Christmas next year!  

Since we were gone for the second half of December, we didn't even get a tree or put up any decorations.  Next year, I'm going crazy!  

Wednesday Weekly

Happy Happy Wednesday!  

Marshall is 17 weeks today.

He sleeps through the night, which is SO AWESOME!  He loves his sleep and he will definitely let us know when he's tired by having a ridiculous meltdown.  There were a couple nights this week where he fell asleep around 6:30ish and didn't get up until 7am!

What are you thankful for this week?

This week I'm thankful for my son.  He has changed me for the better.  I look at life very different these days.  He adores me and loves me and that is just the best feeling in the world.  I want to be the best Mom I can be for him.  He deserves the world!

I made my very first potato skins over the weekend and they turned out pretty good.  I literally had no clue how to make potato skins but I found out quick that they are super easy.  I'm a huge fan of the Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond).  She is a sweetie, makes great food and has a beautiful family.  Delish!

The Pioneer Woman Potato Skins

GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!

Thanksgiving is just over a week away.  

Who's excited for all the food?!  Who's excited for football?!

What's on your menu for Thanksgiving?

We haven't sat down and gone over everything just yet but here's what we have so far:

Not entirely sure on the appetizers.  Still working on that.

Turkey

Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Souffle

Rolls

I also plan to make a pie or two AND Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cakes.  I posted this recipe awhile back as well.  It's a Paula Deen recipe, so you know, it's low fat.  ;) 

I have made these for years and they are to die for.   For those of you that aren't into the traditional pumpkin pie, these are for you!  They are incredible.  My mouth is watering just talking about them.

I found some cute stuff for Thanksgiving at Hobby Lobby.  They have 40% off most of their Thanksgiving items right now.  AND they also have their mason jars 1/2 off!   I found these cute dessert plates and napkins with a chevron pattern.  They were calling my name since I'm obsessed with chevron.  Of course cute straws for some drinks.

I am working on two projects right now.  I'm still trying to get all the materials to make a cute burlap wreath AND I'm re-doing my chalkboard.  I never liked the black frame on my chalkboard, so I'm finally getting around to changing it!  

We will see.

Enjoy the rest of your week.  The weekend is almost here!

My Friday Five

It's Friday, It's Friday...la la la.

This week has gone by so fast!  It's time for family, football, food and wine!

Linking up again with sweet Darci over at The Good Life Blog.  So much fun!  I love reading blogs on Fridays AND finding new blogs to follow.

Here are the top 5 things from the week that I am love, love, loving!


~ ONE ~

My new mug!  I seriously would love to go back to Target and buy them all, but it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to do that.  ;)
I LOVE all different mugs in the cabinet.  I'm working on building our collection.  We have a set of mugs that I find pretty boring, nor do we really use them.  It's so fun to collect cute mugs.  I love to look at some of our mugs and know that they have a story behind them.
I also think coffee tastes so much better when I'm drinking it out of a cute mug!

~ TWO ~

One of my Facebook friends shared this article on Facebook this week and it made my day! Do whatever the *BEEP* you want!  Check it out!

http://yoganonymous.com/12-habits-of-healthy-happy-people-who-dont-give-a-sht-about-your-inner-peace/


~ THREE ~

Gotta love Target.  I grabbed a pack of these cute holiday diapers the other day.  I couldn't help myself, they are just too cute!

~ FOUR ~

I've been feeling a little crafty and creative lately! I've been researching tutorials on how to make burlap wreaths, like this one!  I love it and want to make one!  The chevron is just too adorable - I am obsessed.  Let's see if I actually do it.

~ FIVE ~

I've been thinking about Wisconsin all week and Doug and I have been talking about how excited we are to go home for the holidays.  We are so excited for time with our Wisconsin family, seeing friends and visiting our favorite restaurants.  Not to mention, this will be Marshall's first time meeting his Grandpa Marshall!  I'm counting down the days.  Feeling so grateful that we get to spend Christmas in Wisconsin this year!

Hope you all have a great Friday and an even better weekend!

Wednesday Weekly

Happy Hump Day!

Well, my little peanut is 4 months!  Time sure flies.  I am LOVING this age.  Marshall is so happy and so into smiling, cooing and even laughing.  He looks at me all day long like I'm the best thing on the planet.  I have to say, that feels pretty darn good.  BUT, once 6:30pm(ish) rolls around, he becomes the sleepy mister crabs and by 8pm he's out cold like clock work.   

As if anyone didn't know, I'm so crazy in love with my little man it's ridiculous.

The weather was gorgeous today, so we ventured out for a walk.  I just can't get enough of this face!  :)

What are you thankful for this week?

Many of my friends have been posting on facebook what they are thankful for daily for the month of November.  I really love reading what everyone has to say.  I totally thought about doing it myself but...well, I forgot.  I thought I'd start now and say what I'm thankful for this week!

  Well, here goes mine.  

I am thankful for girlfriends! When I first moved to Boise on Super Bowl Sunday 2011, it was not easy.  I was finally with my man, but I was missing an extremely important part of my life, my friends.  I knew it would take time to meet new people but I was so impatient.  I missed girls' nights and shopping and chatting on the couch for hours about boys and laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. 

And now, I'm happy to say that I've met some pretty incredible people out here in Boise as well.  I am lucky to have so many great women in my life.  I'm thankful for each and every one of you. 

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, so I'm getting really excited to get our menu together!  I can't wait for lots of amazing food and cooking in the kitchen with my hubby!  It'll definitely be a bit different this year with Marshall.  This time of year is incredibly sentimental for me.  We found out that I was pregnant last year the day before Thanksgiving.  I remember calling my parents and telling them, and then telling Doug's parents on Thanksgiving.  It was such a wonderful day!

I'm even more excited for Christmas!

Target for the win with these adorable holiday print diapers.  :)  I couldn't resist.

Happy Wednesday!

XOXO

Jamie

What's new?

HAPPY TUESDAY!

It's been awhile since I've blogged.   It's so crazy how time flies when you have a child.  The days are not long enough!

Well let's see...Marshall is three months already!  Can you believe it?!  I like to say, three months YOUNG!  He has become such a happy little guy.  Of course we have our meltdown's, but all the smiles these days make up for all the fussy times. ;)  As much as I like to get a little sad face when I see him growing so fast, I am loving this age.  He is so responsive and smiley.

Everyone still says he looks just like Doug.  BUT, I have been hearing more and more that he has my eyes!  Woot woot.  Let's just hope they stay blue!

Marshall's current favorite is...

Bright Stars Safari Gym

He absolutely loves this thing!  It's so cute to see him smiling at the lights and learning how to use his hands to hit the hanging toys.  I think his favorite accessory is the mirror.  He sure loves to look in that mirror and smile. :)

Not too sure what's been goin on with little ole Marshall's hair these days but it's sure giving us a laugh.  Doug said he looks like Frank Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond.  I think he's right.  Poor Marshall.

I ran my first post-baby half marathon about a week ago.  It felt so flippin good!  

I tried running during pregnancy but I seriously felt like I was going to die, so that didn't last long.  The day the doctor cleared me to run again, I literally went out that same afternoon for a run.  It felt great but awful at the same time.  I knew it would take a bit to get back into shape but just after a few days of running, I sure was amazed at how my body was able to bounce back into running.  I was excited and eager to run more, so I decided I'd give the City of Tree's half marathon a whirl.  I went into it with an open mind and no time goal this time around.  I really only wanted to finish.  Well, I finished, felt awesome and was excited to see my supportive hubby and sweet little baby at the finish line. 

 It was a great day!

Today is our anniversary...Happy 2 Year Anniversary to us!

It feels like yesterday that Doug and I first started "dating!"  Or I should say, long distance dating, flying out to see each other every other weekend!  Those were the days!

A little over 2 months later we were engaged and 9 months after that, MARRIED!

What a journey it's been so far.  We traveled a bit, took some weekend road trips and really soaked up the time together.  I am so glad we did!  I have absolutely loved the last 3 years together!  Beyond excited to continue our adventure together.

Our first picture together...

Last year during this time was a very special time for us.  We were in the process of IVF.  I had just started my first round of medications and we were in Seattle celebrating our anniversary for the weekend.  Who knew that a year later we would have our perfect little miracle.  We are so blessed, beyond blessed. 

Us on our anniversary last year at the Crab Pot in Seattle.  Love that place!

Tonight we will be celebrating at home with our traditional seafood feast!  

Happy Anniversary to my best friend, the man who makes me smile each and every day!  Thank you for the last 3 years together and for making me a Mommy.  

I love you!

Cheers to a great day!

five on friday

It's finally Friday, wahoo!  

Even though my job is currently being a stay at home Momma, I still get excited for Friday.  Friday means that I get to spend more time with my husband, we get to spend more time as a family AND I get an extra hand with the little guy.  ;)  Friday is a good day!

Linkng up with Darci again today for Five on Friday!  Five things that I'm loving this week.

Ready....GO...

~one~

I've seen this flying around Instagram and Facebook this week and I just LOVE it.  October is by far my favorite month.  October means FALL and October also means it's the anniversary of the day I married my best friend!

~two~

I recently scooped up this hooter candle holder!  Is this not the cutest?!  Bath & Body works for the win once again!  Bath & Body works has been really coming out with some cute stuff this Fall.  I'm not gonna lie, I'm a Bath & Body soap and scents hoarder.

~three~

I am so excited about my new leggings!  CAMO!  I saw these at Express and had to have them.  These beauties were originally $34.90.  Crazy for one pair of leggings.  Well, since I'm an extreme coupon coder, I ended up getting them for $5.19.  That's right!  Doug was very pleased!  Not sure what to wear them with yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  I'm thinking Uggs and a long cardigan???

~four~

Running.  
As soon as I was cleared to exercise again at my 6 week check-up, I literally went out that same day for my first run.  I felt so rusty at first but then it just started to get easier and feel better.  Now, it feels awesome and I'm slowly starting to feel back to my old self.   This week I've felt absolutely amazing when out running - especially since the weather has cooled down!

~five~

THIS made me laugh out loud.

Happy Friday everyone and HAPPY WEEKEND!

XOXO

It's October 1st!

With it being the first day of October, I thought I'd share one of my all time favorite Fall recipes.  This is to die for!  For those of you that love pumpkin but aren't huge pumpkin pie fans, this recipe is for you!!!  
It's such a light and healthy dessert (insert sarcasm here). 

Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cakes

Ingredients

Cake Mix:
1 package of yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8oz) package of low-fat cream cheese (softened)
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 (16oz) box powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine cake mix, egg, butter and mix well with an electric mixer.  This mixture will be very thick.  I sometimes need to add a splash of water to be able to mix it up.  Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking pan.

To make the filling:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, butter and beat together.  Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well.  Spread the mixture over cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes.  Make sure not to over-bake as the center should be a little gooey.  Let it cool for a bit.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.  I just use a dollop of Cool Whip on each piece.  

I have always used unsalted butter and low fat cream cheese.  It makes me feel a little better when eating it.  ;)  

ENJOY!