Frozen Yogurt Dots

I've seen these little guys floating around Pinterest the past few weeks and decided it was time to give them a try! Also, it's one of the easier ideas on Pinterest and I don't have much free time these days! Sorry for the lack of pics. Just use your imagination!!

I decided to use Greek yogurt because I really love Greek yogurt. It's better for you, has less sugar, it's thicker, it's yummier, etc., etc.... Plus the little A&E cups are 99 cents this week at Hy-Vee. I got a few different flavors but today I tried Almond Creme. I'm thinking a fruity flavor would be better for these after trying them. But almond was still tasty!

Super easy--- I spooned the cup of Greek yogurt into a small ziplock baggie. Cut a little hole in the corner and squeezed little dots of yogurt onto wax paper. BTW, it's like this yogurt was meant to be squeezed out of a baggie. It was so fast and easy and fun!

Anyway, I froze them for a bit and out came  pop-able yogurt-y treats! I think these will be great for summertime. Hoping Lucy loves them too! Carey told me they are too girly for him.....but I might be able to get him to convert. He'll probably sneak them. :)

This idea gets 2 thumbs up from me!

This and That

Hi. My computer has been having issues this week. I finally got it to work today. In honor that, I am writing a little post about what's been going on around here.

Tuesday was my birthday! I'm 26. It's kinda crazy how fast life goes by these days. I'm in my late twenties. I'm going to blink and be 30 and my babies will be all grown up and I might just cry. Ok, anyway.

The weather has been absolutely glorious this week! Record temps almost everyday. I am in heaven! I even had to turn on the a/c. Trust me, it went against everything I believe in about saving money. But, since Annie must be wrapped up like a baby burrito to sleep and she was getting sweaty and I was afraid of her dying from over-heating, we turned on the air. Speaking of my baby burrito....I just bought her a new light-weight swaddle blanket. SO CUTE!

So back to my birthday. It was 80 degrees. The flowers were out on the trees and I wore shorts and flip-flops. It was perfect! My mom came over in the morning and we went out to grab an Orange Julius. Carey took the afternoon off work and we had a picnic at the park. Then we walked to Starbucks. We ended the day with dinner at Red Robin. The girls were extra sweet that day too. When Lucy woke up I told her it was my birthday and she got all excited and said, "OH! Happy Birthday!!" She even sang to me when we had cake. She's at a really fun stage. :)

I look a little tired in that pic.....We've been fighting colds AGAIN this week. We've had really bad coughs and runny noses. I even got it this time! Poor little Annie has been congested most of her life. Maybe this warm weather means the end of colds! I hope so!

Here's a sweet picture of sister love. Lucy was reading princess books to Annie. This was the Ariel book and Lucy was saying, "See Annie! See Ursula?" Haha! Love my little princesses. :)

Not to self: Never leave children unattended. It may result in this--

Thankfully, no babies were harmed during this incident.

Tomorrow we're having a little family day. We're celebrating Carey's 1 year anniversary at Rockhurst! Woo hoo!! This job has been the most wonderful blessing. So we're planning on eating out and maybe spending a little birthday money. Should be fun!

By the way, I LOVE daylight savings. Extra hours of daylight make me happy. Totally enjoying our early spring!!

The view from our place. But not for long! We found the townhome we'll be moving into next month! I am SO EXCITED! Lots more space and a playroom for the girls!

A Birthday and the Zoo

Tuesday was Carey's birthday. Rockhurst gives you a paid day off for your birthday. Isn't that nice of them? We think so. :) My birthday happens to be a week after Carey's. The best part about this? FREE birthday meals. And we can use them at the same time. Bonus. So we went to IHOP for breakfast--basically for free. We did get Lucy a kid's meal and we had a couple of coffees. It's great paying less than $10 to go out to breakfast!! This week we plan to do the same thing at First Watch (yum!) and Red Robin.

We had planned on taking the girls to the zoo since Carey had the day off. We almost didn't go because the weather decided not to cooperate. It was almost 70 degrees.....but 40 mph winds. We decided to brave the elements and go anyway. It was very windy. But still fun!

Lucy is at a great age for the zoo. She had tons of fun. I was so proud of her for walking almost the entire zoo! The Kansas City Zoo is a big place. She probably walked 2 miles. Annie liked being carried around the zoo--only happy in her stroller sometimes. Probably because she couldn't see any animals from in there. :)

Lucy really wanted to see the giraffes and zebras. Both were not out!! Are you kidding me? Maybe the giraffes are too tall for wind advisories? Would they blow over? Doesn't it get windy in the Savannah sometimes? Come on. Oh well, the polar bear never disappoints.

Lucy got to ride the carousel. She LOVES carousels. She was excited about riding the gorilla.

Lucy has a big personality (in case you didn't know). Here are a few pictures to give you a little glimpse. She's one crazy lady!

We had a fun day!

3 Months

Annie is 3 months old!

 I just can't imagine life without her. Yes, my nights have been sleepless and my house less than perfect. But this smile keeps me goin! :)

Annie is:

Growing-- Her cheeks are getting chubbier. And her thighs and arms are getting some extra rolls. I love baby chubbiness!!! Keep it coming. Not sure on her exact weight. She was 10.2 lbs. at 2 months. I'm guessing she's about 12 lbs. now.

Eating-- Every 3 hours. Day and night. Yep.

Sleeping-- Much better these days thanks to what I call "The Straitjacket." It's really just one of those swaddle blankets that you can Velcro shut so there's no possible way for tiny arms to escape. It's my LIFE SAVER. It only took me about 2 months to figure out that Annie will sleep blissfully as long as she is wrapped up tight like a little baby burrito. And not just any blanket will do. It must be the special swaddle blanket--with Velcro. She now naps wonderfully during the day which makes us all much happier people. She is still waking up every 3-4 hours at night. I am trying to be thankful for those times. She won't be this tiny long!

Playing-- Annie loves attention. Full attention. She loves to smile and talk and giggle! She is so expressive and CUTE as can be! Her favorite activities are watching her crib mobile, looking at colorful pictures, grabbing things and trying to fit her entire fist in her mouth.

I am so thankful for Annie! A friend sent me this article and it was much needed. Being a mommy isn't always glamorous but it is a wonderful blessing! Hope this encourages your day!

Healthy Options

I love sweets. Total weakness. Lucy loves them too. She wakes up telling me that she needs chocolate.

An old pic...but it gets my point across. :)

I made the mistake during the holidays of having bowls full of candy around the house. I didn't necessarily munch all of the time---but guess who did? Even if they were hidden way up high. Sneaky.

This week I bought cute little boxes of raisins and filled the previously chocolate filled bowl with them. Now when Lucy sees the bowl she asks for raisins. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

I also made some yummy cookies today. I have posted the recipe on Facebook before. They are really great and satisfy a sweet craving. The best part? They're pretty good for you! I don't mind my munchkin munching on these. She loves them. What a great way to get whole grains and oatmeal in her! Give them a try. You won't be disappointed.

*I didn't use rice flour--just added extra whole wheat flour. And I add a little vanilla for more flavor. Would also be great with dark chocolate chips!

The Rocky Cookie (by Sylvester Stallone in his book Sly Moves)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/8 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/8 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup Quaker old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon molasses

Preheat over to 375 degrees. In a medium-size bowl, combine wheat and rice flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, brown sugar, and oats. Make in indentation in the center and add egg, olive oil, water, and molasses. Mix vigorously until the dough is moistened. Roll into tablespoon-size balls and place two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until done. Remove cookies from oven and cool on wire rack. They should be soft and slightly chewy.

Sisters, Sisters

Lucy and Annie definitely look like sisters! There are slight differences between them--Annie has bigger eyes. Lucy was bald and is now blonde--which I still have a hard time believing I had a child with blonde hair. But anyway... Annie has dark hair that will likely stay in and remain dark. Annie has a little tip on her nose and Lucy doesn't. They have different fingers and toes. And completely opposite personalities. But despite their differences, there's no doubt these girlies are sisters!

See for yourself!

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

 

 

 

So in love with these girls!

Zumba Fitness

I want to write little things about health and fitness on here once and a while. Cause it's important to me. :) So here's the first installment!

Found these old pics. She loves "working out" too. This is why I go to the gym. I get nothing accomplished if I try to exercise at home! I have a little girl who wants to exercise with (or on) Mommy. :)

I really enjoy staying fit and being healthy. I don't especially LOVE working out. But I like the results---so I do it. Ha! I would love to go to the gym and hop on an elliptical for 30 min. and call it a day. BUT, there's this little secret about weight loss and being toned. Ready? *Whispers* Doing 30 min. of cardio a few times a week is not gonna do much for ya. *Gasp!* You have to do things that are hard and not so fun. Like lifting weights. And squats (sticks tongue out in disgust). This builds muscle which burns fat well after your workout is done. It gets results. Cardio is important....don't get me wrong. If you strength train the right way you'll keep your heart rate up. It's really hard for me to motivate myself when I'm doing a series of exercises that aren't fun for me. So I try to get in my cardio and build muscle in other ways. My favorite??

ZUMBA! Love it.

It's a super fun hour of dance. I never thought I would EVER be into dancing. Me= a pretty bad dancer. :) But I was surprised at how easy and fun it is! Ok, yes. For the first few weeks you will look ridiculous.
Like this:

Found this on Pinterest. It made me smile.

I still might look like this some of the time. Haha!
An hour of Zumba will wear you out (burns up to 800 calories/hour!) and tone your muscles. The peer pressure keeps you going and the hour files by. You occasionally have to do squats (yuck). But they don't seem as bad when everyone else is doing them too. I highly recommend taking a class!

BUT....I can't always do Zumba. And I still have a few baby pounds left. So I am on a quest to find other exciting workouts. I'm going to try a spinning class next week. Yes, spinning. Like when you get on a super fast spin bike for an hour and do crazy things. I'm terrified. But anything is better than trying to motivate myself. SO, wish me luck! I will write a little segment on spinning (the good, the bad, the ugly) in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Lucy Lu at 2

26 months! What is Lucy up to?

*Loving her new role as BIG SISTER.
-She's teaching Annie the ropes around here. Lucy can't wait for Annie to be big enough to play! Lucy improvises though....coloring on her, giving her make-overs, etc. She tries to soothe Annie when she cries. Lucy gives her her binky and says, "It's ok Annie. You can stop crying." I am thankful for her sweetness! Not much jealousy. Sometimes Lucy gets sad that I can't spend as much time with her. But she LOVES Annie!

*Growing!
-Lucy weighs 28 lbs. and wears 2T-3T clothes. (Ahem, we're still working on potty training. She's not very interested in it. We're going to have a show down here in a week or two. Mommy will win!)

*Eating.
-Lucy is kind of a picky eater. She loves her milk and junk food. Ha! Chocolate, fruit snacks, cookies, chips, etc. She doesn't get these fun things as often as she might like. :) She does like mac n' cheese, lunch meat, cheese, eggs, green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, yogurt, applesauce, oranges, apples, grapes, blackberries, chicken nuggets--especially Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets! Basically "kid" food. Except she loves coffee. Totally her mama's girl! We are working on getting her to eat more like we do. It's a daily challenge!!


*Talking, talking, talking, talking, talking....
-...well beyond her years. Her vocabulary is basically unlimited. She says everything with great enthusiasm and much drama. Huge personality! She is always able to say what she wants and enjoys using big words. She speaks in full sentences. She is great at comparing things. She has a huge imagination! She loves to tell you how she is feeling. "Mommy, I'm just grumpy (or sad or happy)." She's great at making demands. Haha. :) "Mommy, I want apple juice. No, I don't want the blue cup. I want a red one." Etc.... =) It's fun to converse with Lucy! You never know what she'll say.

*Music.
-Lucy loves to sing and be sung to! She is a pro at most princess and Disney songs. She also loves her Sunday school songs and the classics---like "Ring Around the Rosy." She often breaks out in song. She was singing the B-I-B-L-E at the top of her lungs while we were grocery shopping last week. She would yell, "The Bible!" at the end. We were getting looks. :)


*Reading.
-Storytime is the best part of the day! Especially if it's with Daddy.

*Movies.
-I try to limit them....but she LOVES watching movies. Princess and Tinkerbell movies are her favorite.

*Playing.
-Lucy has lots of energy! She loves to play at the park and the gym. She is super social. Playtime is always better with friends!

*Learning.
-Lucy knows all of her colors and basic shapes. She can count to 12. She can recognize her name and spell it. She can sing the alphabet, but can only correctly identify a few letters. Like "A" and "B" and "O". We're working on them.

Lucy keeps me on my toes. Everyday is a new adventure. I am so thankful for my sweet 2 year old!
 

Finger Painting

I knew the day Lucy discovered finger painting would be the best (and quite possibly the messiest) day of her life. It's because of the messy part that I have put it off until now. Ha! Well, I wanted to do some Valentine's Day projects that required painting. We took a little trip to Target and got our supplies. Lucy was so excited! I'm sure she is now wondering why I have kept her from this fabulous activity her whole life. Yes, it was the best day ever.

She'll probably ask me to finger paint multiple times per day--like she does with Play-Doh. Another activity we discovered just recently because it's messy. Love my little artist!