8 Months Old

[Obligatory "I can't believe how fast time flies" speech here] I don't mean to be flippant, but it really is mind-boggling, to the point where it's almost laughable how quickly it goes.

We are in awe of her. Every.day.

Stats:

21.6 pounds (I know. I know.)
30"
2 teeth
crawling
stands with support
laughing, voicing her opinions, always on the go.

I have realized that these month-by-months shots are just going to be harder and harder to capture. Is there such thing as an 8-month-old that will hold still for a picture? I don't think so. So, bear with me, this is the best I could get. Le sigh. Curious little critter.

Hallelujah.

Our little girl got baptized this week! I also officially became a member of the church on the same day. It was such a good feeling and the support from our friends and family was indescribable. We are truly blessed.

Festivals are Cool.

I always used to love, as a kid, going with my family to random festivals, especially during the late summer/fall. Why? Because they're random, good, clean, wholesome fun, and everyone needs that every now and then. For example, one day my dad goes, "You guys wanna go to medieval fest? I mean, medieval fest? Sure, why not. I'm a white kid from a town of 800 but I'll eat a turkey leg, joust, and wear a princess cap all at the same time! Done and done.

So, a really good friend of ours is an artist extraordinaire. He, along with about 50 other local artists, were having a little exhibition in a legit alleyway of a local town. It was obviously a must-do for us, before we hit up the aforementioned Sam's Club. It was a beautiful day.

Random pretty church

She sits like a true lady.

Not amused.

Intimidation.

Sunny Saturday

So, school started. My class has 26 students and from what I can judge, they seem pretty decent. I mean, no criminal records, gang tattoos, drug paraphernalia, nothing. (They're 10, I'm obviously kidding) I have, however, had to confiscate the first toy of the year, have flipped my first student behavior stick to 'yellow' (gasp! the horror~!), and threaten the principal's office. The year as officially begun. {disclaimer: those are meany-teacher things; but I am widely known as the funny, super-nice teacher, so I need to get to crackin' down!}

Today is Saturday and I'm so happy because........*drumroll*.............Olive slept through the night. For the first time. Ever. She slept from 7:30p to 6:15a and I went to bed at 9pm (dork) and got a solid 9 hours. I mean, you mommies out there know what an amazing thing this is. Seriously, it's been over a year since I got that stretch. Fo real. Thank you, Jesus!

Speaking of Jesus, Olive gets baptized tomorrow. I'm also officially joining the church, so it's like double-awesome hallelujah-ness. We are going to Sam's Club today to spend $400 shop for all the food/snacks/drinks for tomorrow. I think there are about 20 people coming over, so that'll be fun. I am having the cleaning ladies (whoops, I hired them when I was too fat lazy pregnant to do anything and accidentally/on purpose never fired them) come clean when we are out today. This casa so needs it.

Will update you on tomorrow after tomorrow. Happy weekend!

Tasty Thursday: Shrimp Ceviche

This is one of my very favorites. Fresh, healthy, delicious.

Shrimp Ceviche

Ingredients

• 2 pounds large shrimp - peeled, deveined and chopped
• 3/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 5 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
• 16 saltine crackers

Directions

1. Place the shrimp and lime juice into a large bowl, and stir to coat. Let stand for about 5 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. The lime juice will cook them. Mix in the tomatoes, onion, and cilantro until coated with lime juice; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.{note: if using raw shrimp skeeves you out, cooked shrimp is just fine, too!}
2. Remove from the refrigerator, and mix in the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, salt and pepper. We have our own hot sauce recipe, but you can use whatever hot sauce you like, or leave it out and let people add their own when serving.
3. Serve in glass tumblers and top with avocado pieces. Set out extra Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, lime wedges and hot sauce for people to individualize their dish. Serve with saltine crackers.

Without Words Wednesday

Baby Food "Recipes"

I have received a few emails asking about the baby food making process. (One less word in that sentence would make it really interesting. You figure it out.)

Here are some of the foods and food combinations I've made lately. You can pretty much assume that Olive scarfs it all down, unless it's green beans. She doesn't like to miss any food. Obviously.

apples
pears
peaches
cantaloupe
sweet potatoes
acorn squash
butternut squash
peas
green beans
mixed veggies
bananas
mango
papaya
plums
corn
spinach


apples & cinnamon
pears & cinnamon
really, any fruit with banana added is a hit
corn & peas
spinach & corn

Olive is starting to like the Gerber puffs, too. We're working on that finger-grabbing development, but it's coming quickly!

Baby Showers, Zoos, Oh My

This weekend, I attended my best friend's baby shower. It was so cute and fun to see new parents-to-be opening all the non-puked-on poop-free new baby gear. I remember that time, when I would look around at people who already had kids and wonder what they weren't telling me. Now I know. Ah, the pre-baby bliss!

Today, our little family took a trip to a local zoo to enjoy the beautiful day, and the last day before I go back to school tomorrow. It was cute to see her reactions to some of the animals....except that damn peacock that came right up to her, squawked at the top of its little lungs....and made her cry...oh well.

Tasty Thursday: Garlic Lime Chicken

{disclaimer: I really do have 'modern' dishware, but no matter how I try, I can't get away from my parents' hand-me-down dishes/silverware. The 70s ruled, what can I say?}

As aforementioned, I'm trying to eat a lot healthier. This doesn't mean giving up on flavor, though. I tried out this "recipe" (so easy, the word recipe is barely needed) tonight and holy crabcakes, it was delicious. And cheap. And easy. The usual requirements for me.

Garlic Lime Chicken (with salsa)

(serves 2)

2 chicken breasts
1 tsp. minced garlic
extra virgin olive oil
salt/pepper
1 lime
2 TBS salsa

1. Add enough oil to coat pan.
2. Warm and add garlic.
3. Cook chicken, season with salt & pepper.
4. Splash lime juice
5. Top with more lime if needed at the end and salsa.

(Those of you on WW, the points per serving should be 5pp)


Super delish. Hope you like.

Without Words Wednesday

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

The back to school sales are raging. I get no fewer than 268 Kohl's ads in my mailbox everyday. Walgreen's has highlighters for $.09 (I bought the maximum for like 5 days in a row). Lunchables and juices boxes are flying off grocery store shelves at an alarming rate. The 4th of July fireworks have finally stopped (I think.) All these hints and clues are telling me that it is indeed back-to-school time.

Le sigh. Going back to work. I have mixed feeling about it. It'll be nice to get back to school to see everyone (love x 100 my coworkers) and get into the whole shebang, but leaving Olive is going to suck. I miss her already. I know Kristen will take good care of her, along with her two little daughters, but....oh....my little one.

Now, off to enjoy the beautiful day! Gotta soak it up while it lasts! 6 days and counting...

Must Have Monday

Oooh, I'm a featured blog on The How to Mommy's Must Have Monday series! Check me (and her) out!


Oh yeah, and we are now #26 on Top Mommy Blogs~~wouldn't it be good, clean fun to get into the top 25? Clicky!

Let's Talk About Weight, Baby

I'm not going to lie. I totally thought I'd be one of those women who'd lose all the baby weight in the wink of an eye. It seems that I'm surrounded by waifs (no offense, Slim) who have lost all the weight and probably more...and gotten hotter, taller, whiter teeth, better hair, bigger boobs, and a Mercedes post-baby. Okay, maybe not, but you get what I'm saying, right? It.seemed.so.easy.

No one ever tells you how hard it's going to be. Well, maybe they do, but your little naive mind says, "That won't be me."

I was 115 pounds in high school. On a 5'9" frame, this looked ridiculous, I admit. Swim team was a great workout, what can I say? In college, I hovered around 140 (thanks, $.50 draft nights twice a week). Post-college, I slowly gained up to 160-165. This is where I got pregnant, 6 years later.

Needless to say, I wasn't where I wanted to be when I got knocked up. The weight gain during pregnancy never really bothered me, because it was already beating a dead horse. I jokingly made it a goal to tip the scales at 200. Succeeded. Laughed. Whatever. You can't do anything about it when you're carrying another little human!

So, (seriously, this is how naive I was) I packed my normal, pre-pregnancy jeans for the return home from the hospital. This ended in me being shocked that your body didn't just bounce right back (immediately, no less). I was legitimately surprised to have to wear maternity jeans home, even though I was carrying a baby outside now. This surprise stayed during the 4 months post-partum that I wore those maternity pants. This body just wasn't the same.

I don't know why it took me 7 months to decide to exercise. I guess I didn't know how. I didn't want to join the gym again, pack up the baby, myself, the diaper bag, etc. and get there, unpack, repack, and travel home. It just wasn't going to happen, especially when I went back to work.

We ended up buying a treadmill (the other one broke, so I promptly ordered a pimp-my-treadmill-style one from Sears.com) and I actually joined *sigh* Weight Watchers. One month in, I'm down 6 more pounds and just a few shy of where I was PP (pre-pregnancy). Wish me luck...maybe there is some truth to what the nurse told me (and I smirked at, tsk tsk) "It took your body 9 months to get this way; allow it at least 9 months to get back."

Ah, naivety.

Diaper Cake by J&B Custom Boutique

I never win anything. Seriously, I have accepted that raffles are donations, lottery tickets are equal to lighting your $2 on fire, and all those "You've won a vacation!" phone calls are scams.

You can imagine my complete surprise when Kelli from The How to Mommy, one of my favorite blogs, contacted me to tell me that I'd WON a store credit to J&B Custom Boutique for anything of my choosing!

I started looking through their store, and how cute is the stuff they make? How was I going to choose? I finally decided that Olive has enough clothing and accessories, and my very best friend is expecting her first baby (a boy!) in October. I thought a diaper cake would be perfect for her.

After contacting Jilean and Brandy, it was decided that they would send me all the fixings to create a beautiful, custom diaper cake. They sent me diapers, lotion, a stuffed animal, baby shampoo, the base for the 'cake,' and very clear instructions on how to assemble. How awesome. I am thrilled. Here are some before and after photos, and don't forget to check out their shop. Love it! Thanks again!

The materials for the first tier.

A little bulgy; but I fixed it later.

Ta-da! Not too bad for me, the destroyer of all crafts.

Tasty Thursday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

This one comes from my own tasty version of a classic. Super healthy, cheap to make, and most importantly, delicious!

Noelle's Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cooked, cubed chicken breasts
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can drained corn kernels (frozen works, too)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 jar salsa
1 can chicken broth
1/2 onion, diced
juice of 2 small limes (or 1 large)
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
salt & pepper to taste

Optional add-ins:

black beans
shredded cheese (garnish)
tortilla chips (garnish)
sour cream (garnish)

Directions

1. Cook and dice chicken.
2. Saute onion and minced garlic in the bottom of a stock pot.
3. Add everything else but the garnish and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Taste test to make sure you likey.
5. Serve up with some garlic breadsticks or tortilla chips.

Without Words Wednesday

Friggin' hilarious.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Congratulations to the winner of the Baby Einstein Count and Compose Piano....KIMBERLY! Random.org chose #130 as the lucky one. I hope you enjoy your winnings and thanks to everyone who participated! :)

Family Fun: Reunion Roadtrip

This past weekend was Mike's family reunion in the quaint little town of Waupaca, Wisconsin. Olive was a gem during the 4.5 hour drive, which was prolonged on the way home with a necessary visit to the Mars Cheese Castle, duh. Seriously, you want to make a lot of money selling something? Sell it in a castle. They could call it the Mars Turd Castle and it'd still be hoppin' because the novelty is just that cool.

I'm slowly getting comfortable traveling with the baby. The thought of flying with her still terrifies me. (No escape! Those poor passengers!)

Anyway, it was super cool to visit with family we hadn't seen in a year or more and many of us now have kids of our own, which added a really sweet dynamic to it all. Here are a few photos of our trip!

Oh, and one last, teensy, little thing...clicky? Please?