More Cuteness

I know I am biased when it comes to judging the cuteness of my daughter, but seriously...how can you not think this is cute?!

Me Time

I came across this draft while writing some other blog posts.  This is from January, 2013 so it's kind of old, but worth posting anyway, in case anyone else has felt or feels like this.

I think one of the biggest challenges that I am facing in my current state as a stay-at-home mom of a 16 month old is taking and using "me time".  It's not like there is no opportunity for me to take a breather and do something for myself.  I know that Trip loves taking Kaila on Saturdays for some quality Daddy-Daughter time.  I know that Grandy and Gramps, or Granny and Grandpa Sanders would be more than happy to spend some time watching and playing with their Bean.  I can even take advantage of her ridiculously early bedtime and spend an evening out or at home doing whatever I want to do.  The problem isn't so much that I have a child or need more help or support.  The problem is me.

Even when I know I am in need of a break, I have such a long list of things to do that I have a hard time not working on them.  And then, when I decide to take some time off I sometimes feel guilty or lazy for doing so.  Like I am not living up to my expectations.  I know this is ridiculous and self-imposed, but part of the problem stems from my inherent laziness.  In my past life (childless and unmarried) I was able to procrastinate, justify, and excuse my way out of anything like a pro.  Eventually, I learned to recognize this weakness (thanks to an outstanding Positive Psychology class, and a husband who helps me to improve myself).  I have worked hard to overcome it, but the problem is finding a good balance.  I am so paranoid about falling back into old habits and ways that I don't feel like I can cut myself any slack.  But not taking time out for myself is also detrimental.  I have got to learn where to draw the line.  I have to start taking time out, just for myself, and not feel bad about it.  I have to figure this out so that my life can be better and even more fulfilling.  So that I can be an even better person.
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It's been 3 months since I first wrote all of that.  I am happy to say that I have found a much better balance since that time.  I also have stopped demanding so much of myself.  Some days are super productive, and some aren't.  It's just the way it goes.  Sometimes I still feel overwhelmed by the never ending "to-do" list, but I just take it an item at a time and I manage to stay afloat.  It does help that Kaila's naps have become predictable and stable again.  And that her bedtime and wake up times are also much more normal and stable now too :)

Easter 2013

I got crafty for my nieces and nephews :)

This Easter came and went so quickly it seems!  I am having a hard time catching up since the March Madness (St. Patrick's dinner party, Easter, etc) that we experienced.  Easter was a lot of fun this year.  We Skyped with Aunt Bean, Uncle Chris, Uncle Tim, Belle and Sophia Saturday morning, then spent the afternoon at the Sanders house.  We swam, ate, and hunted for Easter eggs (Bean chose to swim through that part).  

On Sunday, the Easter Bunny brought some goodies for Makaila!  We went up the canyon to see Grandy and Gramps speak in church, then came home, napped, and opened up our Easter baskets.  That evening, we went to dinner at Great-Grammy and Grandpa's house, then managed a quick call with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop before bedtime.  It was a busy, busy day!  

Here are the pics we took:

Having fun at the Sanders.  This is her new smile for the camera

Giving kisses to her book in her Easter dress

Checking out the basket before church

New favorite book

Vacuuming

Makaila is hit and miss when it comes to vacuuming.  She loves our Roomba, but is less enthusiastic about the regular vacuum.  The other day I pulled it out to use, and she kept telling me "no" every time I got close to it.  She kept grabbing my hand and taking me over to her toys to keep me "busy" so I couldn't use the vacuum.  Haha!  Such a smart and funny little girl!

Keeping Mom busy :)

Playing with Daddy

Bean loves her dad.  She especially loves playing with her Daddy.  Here is a cute video we got over President's Day weekend.  I love how she stops to try to love Tigger, then goes right back to it.  Good times :)

Bean's words and signs

Little Mom

Everyone told me that having a girl first was the best.  I was told that girls are much more helpful with siblings than boys.  Since Bean doesn't have any siblings yet, I can't verify these statements, but I suspect they are going to be true.  My little girl has some very cute, interesting, and funny inclinations that make her seem like a little mom.

One thing Makaila does is she meticulously picks up after Jack.  Anytime she sees stuffing or pieces of fur on the floor from his toys, she either picks it up and throws it away, or has me come get it and throw it away.  These "fuzzes" drive her crazy, and she only watched me pick up after Jack once, so I'm not sure why she is so worried about it :)

Another nurturing habit that she has is caring for her stuffed animals.  After Bean's last doctor appointment, I learned that showing her what was going to happen on a stuffed animal made it seem less scary.  So when she didn't want her diaper changed one day, I thought I'd put a diaper on her stuffed bear so she would see that it wasn't so bad.  What a can of worms that turned out to be!  Since then she wants diapers on all of her bears, her elephant, and even her seahorse!  She will even help "wipe" them with wet wipes before putting the diaper on...haha!  This has also evolved to attempted baths for her "babies", though I have yet to find one that can be washed.

Wearing her bear's shirt

Kaila also loves to give her animals rides, and put them in her high chair and feed them cheerios.  She is super sweet with them and will often give them kisses and hugs for no apparent reason.  She gets worried when they fall over and helps them sit back up too.

Yes, I think this little Bean is going to be a great helper to Mommy in the future :)

Rides

One of Kaila's newest activities is to ask for rides ("rai") in the laundry basket or her stroller.  She also loves giving rides to her pets and her toys.  Here are a couple of pictures and videos that I have managed to get of her "rides".

Best Brownies...ever!

I did it.  I finally made brownies from scratch for the first time ever.  This might be surprising since I love to bake so much, but the boxed brownies are just so easy...and I had no idea what I was missing until I made these beauties.

  
These are super fudgy.  The frosting isn't really necessary, but it adds some extra creamy, fudgyness that I would highly recommend!  (Interesting side note: spell checker keeps wanting to replace fudgy with pudgy...go figure!)  I found the brownie recipe online and modified the frosting recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Baking Book.  

Brownies
Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 pan (I used metal).  Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up and overhang slightly on both ends.  Butter the parchment.  (This just helps prevent the brownies from sticking to the pan.  It isn't necessary, but I did think it was worth it)
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Remove from the heat and add the sugar; stir to combine.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined.
3. Mix in the cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Add flour and stir just until combined. (The batter will be a bit lumpy)
4. Pour into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool completely in pan on a cooling rack.

Frosting

Ingredients:

• 4 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup boiling water*
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
2. Add butter,  boiling water, and vanilla.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined.
3. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.  *At this point I found the frosting to be too stiff so I added some more hot water.  I added at least another 1/3 cup, but since I'm not sure exactly how much, just have extra on hand and add until frosting is smooth and spreadable.
4. Frost brownies and allow frosting to set. (Refrigeration isn't necessary to make it set, but it will speed up the process.)

The finished product

Mmm...makes me hungry just looking at them!

These don't take much more effort than boxed brownies and were seriously so much better!  Even Makaila helped me make them, that's how easy they are :)

Running around in her modified apron

Who doesn't need a boot when baking brownies?!

Cleaning up is very important

Loves helping Mommy in the kitchen

New Year

A new year and new financial situation.  After months (and years) of hard work, we have finally paid off all of our school loans and what little consumer debt that we had.  We are officially DEBT FREE!  We plan to keep it this way too.  Now on to building up our savings :)

A new year and new resolutions.  Thanks to Trip's bright idea, we are setting goals in quarters this year.  Hopefully, we will be able to stick to them all year this way :)  One of my goals was to workout at least 3 times a week for the next 3 months.  I am hoping to do more than that, but since I am renting DVD's from the library for this purpose I wasn't sure how available they would be.

This week was the first week that I started on my new goal, and man, what a workout!  I am so sore, and I thought that I was doing pretty good at staying in shape through running and Zumba.  I can tell that this is going to be fun and challenging :)

A new year and new work.  Trip is still working for Domo, but has gotten a new position within the company.  It is more inline with what he where he wants his career to go, so we are both happy about it.