Monday, December 30, 2013

Henry's First Lost Tooth!

Henry has had a big couple of days. He turned the big FIVE on Friday and then lost his first tooth last night. His bottom two front teeth have been loose for a couple of months but I didn't realize that they were THAT loose. Last night, I said goodnight to the kids and had barely made it to the bottom of the stairs before Henry started yelling/crying "Something happened to my tooth!!" I ran up to find him in his bed with blood all over his shirt and hands. Umm..hadn't I JUST left the room. How did things get so messy so quickly?! I assured him that sometimes it bleeds when your tooth falls out and that he was fine. Then the excitement kicked in and he was psyched. Santa and your first visit from the Tooth Fairy in less than a week? That's the kind of stuff dreams are made of.

Something's missing!

Friday, December 27, 2013

Happy Fifth Birthday, Henry!

 

Today my sweet as can be boy turns five years old. He's going to spend his day bouncing away with his friends at his Jump Trax birthday party! Five - Can you believe it?!

Keeping with the tradition I started a few months ago for Isabelle's birthday, here are the keepsake questions for Henry:
Henry's 5th Birthday: December 27, 2013

Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Show: Ninja Turtles
Favorite Thing to do Inside: Play with GI Joe's, superheroes, my pirate shark, and my stuffed Wolverine
Favorite Thing to do Outside: Run around in the backyard
Favorite Snack: Fruit Snacks and Pirate's Booty
Favorite Meal: Pizza, Pancakes, and French Toast
Favorite Song: "Afro Circus/I Like To Move It" from Madagascar 3
Favorite Thing to do with Dadda: Play dinosaurs
Favorite Thing to do with Mamma: Go to the library
What I Want to be When I Grow Up: A Scientist
If I Had Lots of Money I Would Buy: Legos

Want to take a trip down Memory Lane? Check out Henry's Birth Story HERE and one of my favorite Henry posts HERE.

Friday, December 20, 2013

The Having It All Project



My blogger turned real life friend, Cheryl, hosts weekly guest posts on her Busy Since Birth site called The Having It All Project. What does it mean to have it all? Well her project has proved that it's different for everyone. According to Cheryl, the project is "a space where we can talk about how we actually make life happen: the tips and strategies, the things we hope to accomplish, the failures that sometimes happen along the way to finding whatever "all" means for each of us." 

Click HERE to read my post on how I'm Having It All. 

(Hint: It includes television and Facebook)

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

New Do!

Last night, I headed out for a long overdue hair cut. This morning, I am feeling light and curly. Watch out preschool drop off, soccer class, and Trader Joe's - me and my new hairdo are coming for you!


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Big Tree in a Little House

When we were a newlywed couple and looked at our house we thought it was perfect. Six years and three kids later we are busting at the seams. We have no plans to move and we remind ourselves that when the kids move out this will once again be the perfect size house for us. Until then we will keep it full of love (and dust bunnies). 

This year we are in charge of my husband's side of the family's Christmas party. We like to entertain and we love to see family so we are looking forward to it. However, it leads to the problem of not only where will we put the people but where will we put the Christmas tree? Our living room is tight just with couches never mind a tree. And even when we pick the smallest tree in the lot, it's still big in our house. So this year we went for something new - we moved our table and put our tree up in the dining room. We figure that will give more room for people to mingle in the living room and people generally don't hang out in the dining room anyway. 

Once I got over the fact that it's kind of ridiculous to have it there I actually kind of like it. The kids and I spend a lot of time in there since that's where we eat, color, do crafts, etc so it's nice to see it sparkling. Henry also said he's going to leave arrows from the fireplace to the dining room so Santa knows where to leave the presents. So we've got that covered.


Monday, December 9, 2013

Ninety Plus Cellars Wine

Until recently I had not heard of 90+ Cellars which is somewhat surprising since they combine two of my favorite things - wine and a good price! 90+ Cellars was created in the summer of 2009 with the goal of selling good wine at a fraction of the original cost. Each year the 90+ Cellars team tastes hundreds of wines from all over the world, selects the best for the 90+ Cellars label, and offers them at up to 50% less than the original label’s price. Pretty cool, huh? I recently took several bottles to our Thanksgiving celebration and they were a big hit with my family. White is always my favorite but they have red, white, rose, and sparkling wines so you're sure to find one that fits your likes. You can buy them at a store near you or also order online.

90+ Cellars has also recently started a Wine Club. With membership to the wine club, you receive four quality shipments of wine that represent their best each season. You can choose if you'd like red, white, or a combination of both. They also include tasting notes and additional wine information for each shipment to enhance your drinking experience. Plus, you also receive 15% off any orders at the online store outside of the wine club. Being part of the wine club might help to get you out of the rut of just grabbing the same bottle at the store each time. I like that you get to try wines that you may never have thought to purchase before. Plus, with the 90+ Cellars brand you can enjoy a really nice wine without breaking the bank. A win/win!

Stuck for a gift idea? Think about giving the gift of wine club. Have to grab a bottle of wine on the way to a party? Keep an eye out for the 90+ Cellars label!

*I received a complimentary box of wine to help facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own.*


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Easy, Natural, Homemade Power Bar Recipe

I often eat breakfast while doing a hundred other things in the morning so I don't have time to make a "real" meal and sit down to eat it. Therefore, I've grown to rely heavily on power bars (especially mornings that I exercise). I recently did a gluten free challenge and then a sugar free challenge which has opened my eyes to all the added ingredients in lots of products including my beloved bars.

I briefly looked into making my own bars but got scared off when I saw lists of ingredients that I had never heard of never mind had in my house. Then my boot camp instructor made some and shared them and  they were good. So I decided to bite the bullet and make some of my own this weekend by tweaking her recipe. I was able to find all the scary ingredients in the Natural/Organic section of my local grocery store without any trouble at all. So without further ado, I give you Diane's Nutty Power Bars which contain only natural ingredients and sugars.


Diane's Nutty Power Bars

Ingredients:

1 Cup Walnuts
1 Cup Almonds
1 Cup Sunflower Seeds
6 Pitted Dates (roughly chopped)
2 Tbsp Coconut Flour
2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal
1 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
1 Ounce Dark Chocolate (roughly chopped or you could use chips)
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grind Walnuts, Almonds, and Sunflower seeds in a food processor. Transfer nuts/seeds to a mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients to bowl and mix well. Spread into a 8x8 (or similar size) pan and bake for 20 minutes. When you remove from the oven, bars will not be fully hardened/formed but will set together as they cool. Allow bars to cool completely before cutting into squares.

There you have it - easy, peasy and yummy. Do you have a power bar recipe that you love? Feel free to share!
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