Baby Sullivan | Week Thirty Two

I find it hard to believe that I am preparing for Marin's 4th birthday party this weekend. The gifts need to be wrapped, the food needs to be ordered. She's been growing up so quickly right before our very eyes and time needs to slow down a bit. As of this coming Sunday, we will have a four year old. Four years ago at this time, I was super pregnant, quickly passing by my due date, and anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little girl. Now she's in preschool, lives life as a little sponge soaking up so many things. She also has been a great big sister to little Sullivan. Their relationship is continuing to really grow into something awesome lately. She likes to be near him. She likes to help me with him. It's pretty adorable. 

Arm rolls for days....

Sully is quickly moving away from the jarred baby food it seems. Over the past week, I have been trying some new baby led weaning recipes. It is weird to me that people use the term "weaning" for what we are embarking upon though. He's not weaning himself from breastfeeding, quite the opposite. Baby led weaning is pretty much the process of letting your baby feed themselves with solid foods that are prepared in a way that is safe and easy for them to handle. Sully loves to eat to begin with and he has embraced this new form of food with vigor. 

So far with BLW, he has had avocados, bananas, oranges, broccoli, green beans, roasted sweet potato, and his mum mums. I have been watching him closely when he eats and also watching for any reactions to any of the food. It is recommended to slowly start introducing foods so you can monitor any reactions to the food. 

We still have some jarred food that I will try to get through but he's getting to the point of not wanting to be spoon fed and just wants to dive right him himself. I'm a lot more daring this time around with what I have been giving him. Marin didn't try most of these foods until a bit later but I want Sully to have an expansive palette when it comes to food and not be so picky like his adorable sister. I think we are on a good path. He will eventually just eat what we eat. Granted, Marin doesn't even really do that but that's something I really want to work on. I would LOVE to not have to cook 3 different meals during one meal time. I also really want to share dinner together AS A FAMILY soon. Our schedules are so all over the place but someway, somehow...I want to make it happen. I think it's super important. 

Funny broccoli face. Derp. 

I am also currently shopping for new carseats for Sullivan. He is pretty much at the weight limit for his carseat. He actually might be above the weight limit...Little dude isn't so little any more. Lugging him around in that car seat has not been kind to my back either. I do like the convenience of carrying him around in the car seat but those days are going to be gone very soon. The crappy part about buying new car seats is that the new ones will not click in to a base like his current one does. What that means...every car he rides in needs to have a carseat. So, we are looking at purchasing two car seats for us and the grandparents need to get one too for Sundays. Budget wise, that's not ideal, but you aren't supposed to take those car seats in and out constantly. That's not how they are built. I'm researching like crazy for something budget friendly but safe and reliable. The one's we bought Marin are great but they are a little out of our price range at the moment. 

Week Thirty Two. 

Here's Marin at Week Thirty Two. 

It's the Weekend | Number Eleven

The current chaos of the nursery and my mind. 

We've made it to another Saturday. I'm officially about 7 weeks away from meeting our new little dude. I'm getting more pregnant and tired by the day but I know that it will all be worth it in the end. But, I am pretty ready to no longer be pregnant. We are on the home stretch and I'm just trying to get everything in as much order as we possibly can. I've been planning my leave at work. There's a number of things around the house that need to be done or just forgotten about. We went to a birthing class last night with our doula and everything just keeps getting more real. 

This week, I've been reading a lot of things for mothers due to the fact that Mother's Day is tomorrow. I'm always looking for clever parenting hacks or ideas. I've been reading a lot about screen time and how it affects our children or how we need to get outside WAY more than we do now. 

Here's what I've read this week: 

Celebrity mom's talk about their mothers. 

One of the books I posted about last week is on sale on Kindle for $1.99! 

I'm always looking for clever DIYs for parenting. Here's some great ones. 

I think about our budget a lot, especially with a new baby on the way. Here are 5 ways to save 100 dollars this week. 

Kid's should play outside more and here's how to do it. 

Meal planning has become a part of our home. I'm always looking for cheap, easy recipes. 

A new donut shop opened in our town and my pregnancy cravings might get the best of me. 

Postpartum depression is a big deal. This mom's post is a must read. 

Have a great weekend! 

Currently Clicking: Week #26

Each and every week (aside from the week I skipped last week....), I gather links of all of the places I have been perusing in the great, grand internet. There are plenty of people out there doing big things and small things. Some of these are practical, some are inspiring. This week I found some really cool new bibs for the kiddo. I clearly am thinking mostly with my stomach because most of the points below involve food or grocery shopping. I stumbled upon a couple of great home renovations and makeovers. I was reminded of how great it is when we print our photos and don't just keep everything digital all of the time....

1. As Marin grows older, her amount of drool increases because of the lovely process of teething. Here is an awesome monthly subscription, called Fresh BiB, that sends you adorable bandana bibs that are stylish, practical, and reversible! You have the option of a one time purchase or they can send you bibs monthly. I think this is awesome! It sure beats the normal bibs that she wears most of the time. These ones are adorable. 
2. Emily Henderson is a designer that I follow fairly regularly. Her family purchased a house and have been renovating it ever since. Here is a sneak peek of the house so far. I love her style. I love the colors. I love everything about this. 
3. I would like to make a point to cook more. That isn't always the easiest thing with a 7 month old in the house, but here are a few recipes that caught my eye this week. Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bowls. Baked Peaches with Cheesecake Filling. Homemade Pizza Bagels. Yum. 
4. I normally don't shop at Whole Foods, especially because my husbands works for King Soopers, but I am always interested in how people cook and prepare meals for the week and for what price. This is a great post on cooking for the week on $125.
5. Since I am clearly on a grocery and food kick, we purchased a Costco Membership from Living Social. Costco is coming to our town and I am stupidly excited about it for some reason. I have been researching ways to make Costco trips really work for us and our budget. Get the most bang for your buck at Costco. Shopping for real food at Costco. What to buy from Costco. I believe our store opens at the beginning of October. 
6.  A reminder for women everywhere. Let's stop torturing ourselves when it comes to food. Eating: A Manifesto. 
7. I love a good kitchen remodel/makeover. Here's one. Here's another. 
8. This is a great idea. I need to print more of our photos in general. It's a great way to capture all of the little moments that we capture with our cellphones, which nowadays, the cameras on our phones are pretty unreal .

Chicken Taco Chili

I'm a big fan of crock-pots. A big, big fan. I've made this chili so many times in the past few weeks, I could probably make it in my sleep. I usually toss all of the ingredients in a crock-pot on Sunday when I'm running all over cleaning the house. Once my house is sparkling and clean, I scoop up a bowl of this goodness and relish in my clean house before anyone else comes home. 

I've been asked by a bunch of women I work with for this recipe, so here you go! Now when I smell up the work kitchen with this deliciousness, you'll know how to make it. It's so, so, so easy. Yet again, this is adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe. 5 points per serving, which is about a cup or so. 

Ingredients: 

1 can No Salt Added Black Beans

1 can No Salt Added Kidney Beans

1 can Rotel (tomatoes/green chilies) 

1 can tomato sauce (the smaller can) 

1 packet of taco seasoning (try to find one that isn't packed with sodium.) 

1 bag of frozen corn

A few frozen chicken breasts (I use the smaller tenderloins) 

A few dashes of chili powder

A few dashes of Cumin 

Place beans, corn, tomato sauce, and rotel in the crock-pot. Stir in the packet of taco seasoning. Add chili powder and cumin. Stir, stir, stir. 

Place as many frozen chicken breasts that can fit on the top of the chili. Don't stir it. Put the lid on and cook on high for about 6 hours or so. You want the chicken completely cooked. 

Once the chicken is completely cooked, remove the chicken pieces from the crock-pot. 

Shred the chicken. Once that's done, dump the chicken back in the crock-pot. Stir the chicken thoroughly into the chili. Let it simmer for a while longer. 

Serve and enjoy! We usually put a little bit of cheese on top and dip corn chips in the chili. 

Have I mentioned how much I adore my little crock-pot? 

Wish List Wednesday: Cookbooks

I really like cooking. I wish I did it a lot more than I do. I also really love having a few cookbooks floating around my kitchen. It's good eye-candy and on the few and far between chances I actually cook something, I've got some great resources right in my kitchen. These are few that have caught my eye as of late.

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Home Made blew away readers with its stunning package, delicious recipes, beautiful photos, step-by-step instruction, and Yvette van Boven’s own hand-drawn artwork throughout the book. Van Boven’s passion for great food and good humor could be felt on every page in the book. Now, in the follow-up Home Made Winter, van Boven’s heartfelt work is presented again, this time with recipes intended for the winter season. Inspired by her childhood in Ireland and her frequent sojourns in France, she has created a collection of recipes that will warm your heart. Chapters include Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch; Pies and Sweet Things for Tea Time; Beverages; To Start; and Dessert. She focuses on simple recipes for classic dishes such as apple cider, BBQ pulled pork, ricotta cheesecake, and more. Step-by-step, she explains how to make butter, beef sausage, and baileys. She also features her favorite winter holiday recipes. This book is sure to become the next must-have for home cooks.

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Sara Forte is a food-loving, wellness-craving veggie enthusiast who relishes sharing a wholesome meal with friends and family. The Sprouted Kitchen features 100 of her most mouthwatering recipes. Richly illustrated by her photographer husband, Hugh Forte, this bright, vivid book celebrates the simple beauty of seasonal foods with original recipes—plus a few favorites from her popular Sprouted Kitchen food blog tossed in for good measure. The collection features tasty snacks on the go like Granola Protein Bars, gluten-free brunch options like Cornmeal Cakes with Cherry Compote, dinner party dishes like Seared Scallops on Black Quinoa with Pomegranate Gastrique, “meaty” vegetarian meals like Beer Bean– and Cotija-Stuffed Poblanos, and sweet treats like Cocoa Hazelnut Cupcakes. From breakfast to dinner, snack time to happy hour, The Sprouted Kitchen will help you sneak a bit of delicious indulgence in among the vegetables.

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After spending more than a decade as an art director working for some of the top design studios in Ireland, the United States, and Australia, Katie Quinn Davies refocused her creativity towards food and lifestyle photography and created a blog called What Katie Ate. An Internet phenomenon, What Katie Ate has received international attention and was even dubbed one of the best food blogs in the world by GOOP. Showcasing her extraordinary eye, this debut cookbook is a unique combination of food diary and how-to, with tips and tricks, photographs, recipes, and stories.

Sharing more than one hundred simple culinary recipes drawn from Katie’s travels, dinner party cooking and foodie haunts, What Katie Ate emphasizes seasonal ingredients and irresistible flavors. Featured dishes range from Wild Mushrooms on Toast with Parmesan and Herbs to Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apple, Prune & Pine Nut Stuffing and Cider Cream Gravy. What’s for dessert? Temptations include Coffee Hazelnut Frangelico Cake and Honey Baked Peaches with Vanilla Bean Créme Fraiche.Perfect for entertaining, this gorgeous cookbook minimizes the time spent in the kitchen and maximizes the time spent enjoying the meal with friends and family. Bringing together easy-to-cook recipes (using standard American measurements) with gorgeous world-class food photography, What Katie Ate will indulge all of your senses.

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I also love, love, love her blog. 

Joy the Baker Cookbook includes everything from “Man Bait” Apple Crisp to Single Lady Pancakes to Peanut Butter Birthday Cake. Joy's philosophy is that everyone loves dessert; most people are just looking for an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.

All of these cookbooks make me want to put an apron on and make a mess of my kitchen. 

I'm hungry.