Friday, March 7, 2014

Hustle and Bustle

Working full time outside the house leaves (very) little time for food prep during the week. By the time I pick Maddy up, get her home and both of us situated, it's time to start with dinner. Cue Maddy grabbing onto my leg, looking up at me, whining "Ma-mmmma , Ma-MMMMMAAA," increasing in volume each time, as if I didn't notice her and her little nails digging into my thighs.

So, whenever I can cut corners with dinner, I do it. It gives me more time to spend with Maddy before her bedtime, which equals a much happier household for all. We buy a lot of our dinner food from Trader Joes; a lot of it is very quick and easy to throw in the oven or on the stovetop.




Mac 'n Cheese - probably my favorite next to homemade that I have found so far. We use it as a side dish or toss it with chicken or veggies.

We've had great luck with their Grilled Chicken Strips. A lot of the pre-made strips we have found to be too chewy, but not these (Important to note: We heat these up on the stove top. If you microwave them, there is the chance they get chewy).

Fettuccine Alfredo - throw it right on in the skillet and it's done in a few minutes. We usually toss it with the chicken strips and throw together a salad. So quick and easy!




Vodka Sauce - a good alternative to my mom's homemade sauce.



Apple Crushers - Maddy inhales these. They usually keep her occupied while I'm making dinner.




Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies - We just discovered these. SO good!





Pecan Pralines - we keep these on the counter and I just pop a few in my mouth while cooking. They hold me over until dinner and I barely miss a beat!





Pumpernickel Pretzel Sticks and Coco Almond Spread - I love dipping the pretzel sticks into the spread! It's a great snack.

So, that's a short round-up. And as you can see, these aren't just dinner foods and I have an incredible sweet tooth :)
Any other Trader Joe's staples your family can't live without?


Shannon

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Fingerpainting Fail

Fingerpainting ... it's a scary word. Add the words " ... with a toddler" and it becomes even scarier.

I had vowed to steer clear of fingerpaint for as long as possible ... my kids wouldn't know what paint was until they went to school! However, I have been feeling guilty that I barely have any finger/hand/footprints of Maddy from her first year of life. So for Christmas, I went Pinterest-crazy looking for a cute print for her to give her grandparents and aunts. Shockingly, I didn't have to search for too long, as there are 1,000,000 different Christmas related paint crafts you can make with your kids. We ended up with "fingerprint Christmas lights," which actually wasn't too bad for my first time with her and paint.


So for Valentine's Day, I thought it would be nice to make her Valentine's to give to her grandparents and aunts. I searched Pinterest again, found cute thumbprint heart bookmarks, and got to work ...




Unfortunately, they didn't come out as planned (Dave thought they were butterflies). So it was back to the drawing board. I found this post over at Bower Power and decided to try something similar. With Dave's help ("Okay, you press her hand, I'll move the paper .. watch it's on your hand! No Maddy fingers straight - straight out! Okay wait, more paint... "), they came out much better than the bookmarks.





Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

xo Shannon

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Souper Bowl

I might be a little late with this post, but better late than never! ;)

Every year on Super Bowl Sunday, the Youth at our Church participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring. It's an organization to help raise money and food for those in need. It's always done on Super Bowl Sunday, and whomever is participating can decide which organization/cause they want to donate to. Our Youth always choose our Food Pantry (which serves over 150 families in our community). On Souper Bowl Sunday, our Youth collects money and food for our food pantry in soup pots, and they usually collect A LOT of food for the pantry. It's a great way for them to help give to their community after the holiday season, when so many families are struggling.


On another Super Bowl note ...

I think the term "role model" is used too often, especially in sports and the music industry. If you look at the "popular" musicians and athletes that kids look up to, it's difficult to find one that isn't out partying, doing racey photo shoots, or throwing curse words around too often. It's hard for kids to find a "good" role model in the entertainment world. Until maybe this guy ...




We aren't Seahawks fans (my husband is a die-hard Philadelphia fan), and I had never even heard of him until recently. Coleman keeps a low profile, but he also helps advocate for deaf children and their parents. THE DAY before the Super Bowl , he was at Yankee Stadium handing out free hearing aids to kids and he also helped raise enough money to buy a young fan a special football helmet that would accommodate his cochlear implants. It is so helpful and encouraging for others (especially kids) who have special needs to see an athlete doing well in the spotlight and acheiving his dreams.

Hope you're all enjoying your Sunday!

xo Shannon

Monday, February 3, 2014

Cold hands, warm hearts

It has been COLD here the past few weeks!! I try to stay "in the moment" as much as possible, but boy am I looking forward to the spring weather! We made an attempt to go on a quick family walk after work one day this past week. After taking about 15 minutes to get ready (getting the three of us bundled up, plus the dogs) I think we lasted about five minutes in the chilly 18 degree weather!

(Looking thrilled! She actually did enjoy it much more than I did!)


One thing to look forward to in the near future ... Valentine's Day! Celebrating holidays with a little one is so much more enjoyable (and hectic! ) . We don't usually do big gifts on Valentine's Day, but here are a few things for Madelynn that will help make the day festive (mostly courtesy of grandma and aunts!).


( "Be Mine" felt bag and heart plate from Target, Snowman cup from Munchkin,



We also try to make sure we continue giving back during this festive time of love! After the buzz of the holiday season, it's so easy to get back into our everyday routines, and to forget those who are in need. We don't have much, but we often try to give back to our community whenever we can- in material items, food items, and our precious time. Every few months we go through and donate clothes, we take blankets and newspapers to the local shelter (where we adopted our two dogs from), and we coordinate and participate in the youth service activities at our church. Just this past weekend, our church was collecting items for new mommies in need. Needing items for your baby when you cannot afford them must be a scary thought. We happen to still be using a lot of the things on the "need" list, but after going through Maddy's stuff, found a few things that we had an abundance of, and were able to donate.
 
 
 
Hope you all can give back during the remainder of this cold, snowy winter season!
 
xo Shannon
 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

"Light tomorrow with today"

When Madelynn turned one year old back in November, I (like every other parent) experienced many feelings. I was excited (she's a whole year old!) and sad (she's a whole year old already ... when did that happen??). I was also incredibly upset to realize that her "one year calendar" would be finished ... no more places to quickly write all the cute things she did and said. After flipping through the calendar to find ANY itty bitty space to write about the next time she laughed with Daddy or played with the dogs, I realized I would have to put the calendar away, as there were no more spaces left (cue tears).

I decided to find another calendar to write in all her milestones. After searching a bit, I didn't seem to find one that I loved (too bulky, not "cutesy" enough, etc.). We were in Target one day a few weeks ago, when I decided to just "look down the stationary aisle quick." A quick glance told me there wasn't anything I was looking for, until  a small blue notebook caught my eye.


Frustrated, I threw it in the cart thinking maybe I could get it to work for what I needed. Little did I know at the time, it was exactly what I was looking for. It happens to be the perfect way to document Madelynn's new words, the cute things she does, and when she (hopefully soon) begins to walk.

I never kept a pregnancy journal, so I started her notebook off with some pregnancy highlights, followed by delivery highlights, and then picked up where her calendar left off. I carry it in my work bag, so it is easily accessible at all times. My work bag usually stays in the kitchen so if I feel like jotting something quick in her notebook, it's right there. If she does something cute when I drop her off (like last month when she blew kisses to me through the gate), I can quickly write it down when I get to work before I get pulled into the craziness of the day.

I also happen to love the quote on the front of the notebook, "Light tomorrow with today" (Elizabeth Barrett Browning). I think it's so appropriate considering the nature of what I am writing in the notebook for Madelynn to look back on someday.

On a larger scale ... Many people envision things the way they "should be," but often times, it doesn't work out that way. Embrace the new path, because you never know where it might lead!



xo Shannon

Monday, December 23, 2013

Funky Giraffe

This post is not sponsored by Funky Giraffe, I just really love their bibs :)

"Wait ... what's it called?," I asked my cousin over in the UK. "Funky Giraffe," she repeated.

Huh ...

Once we hung up the phone, I immediately looked it up. Sure enough - there was the website with the really cute bibs! My cousin uses them mostly as teething bibs for her daughter, and once I saw them, I immediately wanted some for my daughter as well. I thought they were adorable and not often seen on this side of the pond.  ;)  After figuring out the conversion rate and the price of the bibs, I decided to order two. They are PERFECT for all that drool, without sacrificing cuteness! And they make cute, unique gifts!

Some of our favourites ;) ...
(all photos taken from Funky Giraffe website)

Happy Christmas Eve Eve to all those who celebrate!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Omniscient O's

HA bet you didn't expect a grammar lesson. :) When trying to think of a "catchy" title for this blog, I decided to google "adjectives that begin with the letter O" to go before or after our last name. I would love to say that we are "opulent," but unfortunately, unless we win the lottery, that would be lying. We are probably a little "odd" - but who isn't ?!

Anyway, Back to the title of this post. I work in the education field and consider myself a life-long learner. While I DO NOT know everything about everything, I certainly try my best to be as knowledgeable as I can. I am definitly not perfect and I don't try to be. But if there is something I am confused about (and being a new mom, there are MANY), I do my best to research and learn.

I contemplated starting a blog a few years ago. Actually, I did start it so technically, this isn't the first post. I started this blog in 2011 and my New Year's Resoultion was to start blogging ... that went well!! Thank you to those three people that actually read that first post!

I love to write, and I have a lot to say :) ... but I also think there are so many blogs out there, why would anyone want to read mine? What makes it special or different? To be honest, I am not sure. I am a wife, mom, friend, sister, daughter .... like so many of you are. So I hope that those of you out there reading this can find this blog insightful and inspiring. :)

P.S. Anyone else out there get their writing ideas while driving? It's legal to blog and drive at the same time, right ? ;)