Seriously {Thursday}?!

It's time for another edition of Seriously?! Thursday brought to you by the lovely From Mrs. to Mama!
Head on over and link up!

• Seriously?!  Could my child get any cuter?  We have a train that runs by our house pretty often and now whenever we're outside and Jamie hears it, he gets all excited and starts saying "Beeep, Beeeep!"  I'm working on "Choo-Choo" but it's still seriously adorable.  I love that kid.

• Seriously?!  Last year I decided at the last minute I had to have a Thanksgiving shirt for Jamie so I paid an arm and a leg to get one from Etsy.  I swore next year I'd be better prepared.  This year I went back and forth if he was too old for the cutsey personalized stuff.  I've finally decided I have to have one.  So here I am again, the week before Thanksgiving, scouring for anyone who can still make one in time.

• Seriously?!  Thanksgiving is a week away??  Where has November gone??

• Seriously?!  My neighbor has had their Christmas lights on for a week already.  Drives me bonkers.  Respect the Turkey people!

• Seriously?!  We had not one, not two, but THREE leaking pipes in our basement.  Two of which were leaking and causing wet, mold spots in our ceiling.  Special.  $481 later I now have 3 fixed pipes and 2 new holes in my ceiling.  We'll just add that to our ever growing list of walls/ceilings that need to be patched.  If one more thing goes wrong in the house I may burn it down scream.

• Seriously?!  I've had my new iPhone for less than a week and I'm already obsessed.  I now understand why everyone loves them.  My case came yesterday, it's Tiffany Blue and looks ah-mazing with the white.  I think I'm in love.  Oh and Siri?  We're BFF's.  If only she could clean.  And fix plumbing.

• Seriously?!  How did I live 30 years without Words with Friends? (User name MrsEyeCanSee if you wanna play!)

• Seriously?!  While flipping through an FAO Schwartz catalog I saw a ride on elephant for $650?!?  Really?  What child needs a ride on elephant...for 650 dollars?!  What's even more ridiculous is the ride on zebra which was $750 because it was BIGGER than the Elephant.  Right.  Cause in the real world zebras ARE bigger than elephants.  Seriously.  WTF.

What are you saying Seriously?! too this week?

One Hour Photo

I've seen this on a few other blogs and thought it would be a cute way to share with you a little bit of my day to day grind!  So last Thursday I toted my camera around with me to capture my day in photos by the hour!

6:15am:
My alarm goes off.  As a chronic snooze button hitter you'll notice it's almost a full 30 minutes later before I drag my lazy butt out of bed.

7:00am: 
Out of the shower.  Time to wake up Jamie.  Oh but wait, he woke up at 3:00am and slept in our bed for the 2nd night in a row.  Joy.  Have I mentioned how much I hate teething?  And sharing a Queen sized bed with 1 husband, 1 dog and 1 crazy toddler...doesn't exactly equal a goods night sleep.

7:30am:

Mama heads off to work!

You'll note my son is more concerned with his ball then actually saying goodbye.

7:30am continued:
My drive to work.  Notice how we're stopped on the on ramp before even attempting to merge on to the parking lot that is I-35 everyday?  It's awesome.  You're jealous.  I know it.

8:15am: 
Arrive at the ole J-O-B

Here's my home away from home

9:00am:
Morning snack.  Usually I eat a yogurt or banana, but my co-worker brought in these delicious cinnamon Mexican cookies.  And gummy bears.  I couldn't resist didn't want to be rude and turn her down.

10:00am: 
Catching up on some xray developing since it was broke last week.

11:00am:
Trying to sneak in a little blog reading.  Notice that big blank box where a picture should be?  Yeah work blocks them.  So not only can I not comment on blogs at work, I can't even see pictures.  Kind of takes the fun out of blog reading.  Especially on days like "Wordless Wednesday."  Stupid work trying to make me actually be productive.

12:30pm: Lunch time!  Slightly more nutritious than my breakfast.  My co-worker thinks it's werid I eat apples with cheese.  I've done it as long as I can remember....am I alone on this one? 

1:00pm: 
Back to work!  And in case you were wondering, I actually did see patients today, but I figured taking pictures of kids and putting them on the internet was a bad idea.  So you only get to see the less glamourous, behind the scenes part of my job.  Sorry.

2:30pm: 
Woot woot! I get to leave early today to take little man to his 15 month check up!

3:00pm:
Stop for gas on my way to daycare. 
There are way more exciting ways to spend $60.  I despise spending it on gas.

3:30pm:

Waiting for the doctor and enjoying our afternoon snack.  They made homemade ginger bread men at daycare.  How cute is that??  Even better is when they sent me with a to-go baggie since this mama forgot to grab the diaper bag on her way out this morning.  Oops.

4:30pm:

Home at last!  Letting out Kasey and playing in the backyard.  Can anyone tell me what those weird green brain looking balls are that fall from our trees??  Jamie's is obsessed with them.  Almost as much as the swing.

5:00pm:

Jamie eats yogurt, chicken and veggies for dinner while I cook some chili for us later!  I wish we could eat together as a family, but he's ready to eat the minute we walk through the door and I can't get a meal together that fast.  Plus the hubs isn't usually home until after 6 and there's no way of convincing a hungry toddler to wait.  So for now, we eat after Jamie goes to bed.  It's not ideal, but it works.

6:30pm:

Daddy's home!  The hubs and Jamie play and do bathtime while I throw in some laundry, finish dinner and clean up the disaster zone that is our family room. 

7:30pm:

Jamie's in bed.  We finally get to eat that chili I've been smelling for 2 hours!  I tackle a pile of clean diapers while we catch up on some TV.

8:30pm:

I passed out on the couch.  Don't judge.  I was apparently exhausted.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with my 3am wake up call.

Or that 2nd glass of wine......

There you have it!
A day in my life!

Mixing it up in the monthly play by play

Last week Jamie turned 15 months!  15!  Has it really been THREE months since he turned one?

Crazy.  What's even more crazy is all the new things he's done since then.

 I've kind of been steering away from the long monthly letter posts, but I didn't want to give them up completely.  While 99% of you may not care what size clothes Jamie's wearing or what his favorite foods are....you don't know how many times I've looked back at my monthly posts to see what happened when.  Mom brain is bad.  Real bad.  I barely remember what I ate for breakfast let alone what Jamie was doing at 6 months.  So when I saw Laura at My Thoughts - Uninterrupted do this adorable monthly montage and then The Workaholic Momma followed suit, I knew I'd be stealing a page from their playbooks!

So here you have it, the new monthly updates!

Happy Monday friends!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Chicken Enchilada Soup

Welp.  I never thought I'd be saying this, but I joined Pinterest.  While I still don't really get it, I will say it's a pretty great place to find recipes.  My 'Must Try' folder is growing bigger by the day!  First up was this fabulous soup from Real Mom Kitchen. It was awesome.  And it cooked all day in the crock pot.  You all know how much I love coming home to an already cooked meal!  The hubs and I both gave this two thumbs up!!

Chicken Enchilada Soup
what you need:
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used the kind with garlic and onion in it)
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper (I used red)
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce (I used mild)
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 1%)
1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese (4 ounces)
2 chicken breasts

make it:
In a 3 1/2 to 5 quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker.Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup. Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. Can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips. Note: if the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it’s all cooked.
Bon Appetite!

My little family of three

So I know I promised you all weeks ago I'd share more of our family pics, but I had the hardest time narrowing down just the few to post on here!  Imagine how hard it's going to be to pick one for the Christmas cards!  Thanks again to my friend DAR for doing such an amazing job!!

Happy Monday Friends!

These are a few of my favorite things: Mom Edition, Volume 3

Now that we've entered the wonderful world of toddlerhood,

I thought it was time to share a few of our new found favorite things!

And just in case you were wondering, no one paid me to review any of these,

just a few things we've found that help us survive life with a toddler!

Tommee Tippee Sippy Cup

We tried a lot of sippy's.  Like practically every brand out there.  This one takes the cake.  I like that it doesn't have handles, but is easy to hold.  Keeps drinks cold and has an attached cap for the spout to ensure no spills when in the diaper bag.  Passes the throw test with flying colors, even on our ceramic tiled floors!  No leaks, no spills!  It doesn't have a built in valve like some of them, so there is one extra piece to deal with, but it's still honestly the easiest one we have to clean.  And the best part?  The spout is hard so it doesn't collapse with every drink as opposed to the ones with a soft, bottle like nipple.  Now I just need to find a good straw cup and I'll be one happy mama!

Radio Flyer Wagon

We got this as a gift from some dear friends for Jamie's Birthday.  It's honestly not anything I would have even considered buying.  We have a stroller so it never seemed like a necessity.  Wrong!  We LOVE this thing!  It's perfect for walks to the park, the pool, or just around the neighborhood.  Jamie loves to sit in it and watch the world go buy.  I can't imagine life without it now!

Tiny Diner Place mat

Not gonna lie, I used to make fun of parents with all those goofy restaurant gadgets....and then I had a kid.  A kid who is apparently a messy eater.  This suction cups right to the table and has what we lovingly call "the trough" to catch all the food that doesn't make it into Jamie's mouth.  AKA, 50% of it.  Between that and the pocket on his bib, we feel pretty confident we aren't "those people."  You know, the ones who leave the restaurant a total mess, food scattered all over the floor.  Plus it rolls right up and fits great in the diaper bag.  Win-win!

Evenflo Symphony 65

When it came time to pick a convertible car seat, I researched it to death.  With a child who was already topping the charts in height I wanted to make sure we got something that would last.  I also wanted something that would allow rear facing for as long as possible since we're hoping to make it to age 2 based on the new AAP recommendations.  Enter the Evenflo.  It's SUPER easy to install with the Surelatch clips.  The shoulder height is automatically adjustable.  No frustrating belts to rethread every time little man grows an inch or two!  It can remain rear facing until 40 pounds and forward facing up to 65.  After that it will convert to a booster and last till Jamie's in highschool 100 pounds so it's literally the ONLY seat we will have to buy for him.  Plus it didn't break the bank like some of the other big name brands out there.  It was car seat love at first sight!

CJ's BUTTer and Wool Wash

With cloth diapers you can't just use any old diaper cream or it will cause the diapers to no longer absorb.  Pretty big problem to have with a diaper, so we always make sure to have some CD friendly creams on hand.  Luckily Jamie has NEVER had a rash (knock on wood) but I use the BUTTer at night just to keep his heiney nice and baby soft.  It comes in a tub, a tube or a stick.  I've tried all three along with a variety of their many scents.  Our faves are Monkey Farts and Blueberry Crumble.  Seriously this stuff smells good enough to eat.  It's also great on eczema and dry skin and because of the Vitamin E in it we've been using it on Jamie's scar.  After the Mederma was causing it to blister, my doctor recommended something milder like Vitamin E oil.  On a whim I checked the CJ's ingredients and sure enough, there it was!  Vitamin E.  I also saw a review on their website that said after trying many other scar ointments they also tried the BUTTer and it was the only thing that worked!  That was enough proof for me!

After having such great success with their BUTTer I thought I'd try their wool wash.  For those not familiar with using wool with cloth diapers, it's basically a naturally absorbent material that can hold something crazy like 5 times it's weight.  Anyways, we use it at night as a cover over his diapers for a bullet-proof, leaf free solution.  One of the ways to keep your wool fresh and absorbent is a little thing called lanolin.  I love CJs wash because it already has the lanolin in it, making it a super easy, one step process.  And just like their cream it smells amazing!

So there you have it.  Just a few of our favorites.
What are some of yours??

May the Force be with you

So THREE months ago the hubs sends me a text.

He's found Jamie's Halloween costume.

An Ewok.  You know, from Star Wars.

Seriously?  An Ewok?  Of ALL the Star Wars characters out there that's the one he picks.

Don't get me wrong.  A long time ago in a far away place I totally played My Little Ponies in my brother's Ewok Village.  They're cute.  They're cuddly.  But as a Halloween costume?  I wasn't sold.

Well three months later he finally wore me down.

An Ewok it is.

And I have to admit, he looked pretty darn cute.

Happy {Belated} Halloween friends!