The ND Looks

The Look Christmas Card

2011-12-22T10:12:00.001-06:00

Modern Christmas Christmas

Shop Shutterfly for beautiful photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

17 October - 23 October

2010-11-07T12:00:00.000-06:00

17 October

Today we went to Nelson's Pumpkin Patch. I will do another post just for this visit. This is our 3rd year and we always have fun!

23 October

Jason's cousin and his wife had a Halloween party this night and we went as a priest and a pregnant nun. Here's a pic of us before we left the house.

10 October - 16 October

2010-11-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

10 October

Today we got to meet our new niece Preslee. She was such a sweet little baby.

11 October

12 October

16 October

Today Canden was actually able to move while on this little car. He can only go backwards, but it's a start!

3 October - 9 October

2010-11-03T21:26:00.003-05:00

4 October

Every once in a while Maddie actually gets a good picture!

6 October

Another picture courtesy of Maddie!

7 October

8 October

9 October

A beautiful day for the UND Homecoming parade!

Kitchen Monki

2010-11-03T12:00:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to find an online site (that was free) where I could store all of my recipes. Right now I keep them in a million different places and I find new ones that I want to try and never do because the recipe gets lost. Well, I found Kitchen Monki and think it might just fit the bill. It seems like a pretty small community so far, so if you are looking for a place with lots of discussion and millions of recipes to search through this won't be the place for you. Since I am mostly looking for a place to store my own recipes and add new ones that I would like to try, this will work great for me!

Features of Kitchen Monki
I have yet to try out most of their features since I am still working on getting all of my recipes input in the system. Needless to say, I can't tell if they are as great as they sound. Here is a list of what you can do on the Kitchen Monki site:

Enter your own recipes
View and bookmark recipes submitted by other members
Tag and search by tags for recipes. There are a few required tags that every recipe needs including how long it takes to cook, type of cuisine (American, Mexican, etc.), type of meal (breakfast, lunch, entree, side, dish, etc.)
Create menu plans (printable)
Create shopping lists based on the menu plans

I am really excited to try out the menu plan and shopping list features. Each week after I make my menu I sit down and find the recipe to make sure that I have everything I need to make each meal. Even after doing this I still miss things and have to run to the store later. Hopefully this will make the planning process a little quicker.

We had Meatless Mexican Lasagna last night and this is one of the recipes I have already added. Click here to see it at Kitchen Monki, or click here to see it embedded in a post. It gives you the script on each recipe so that you can embed it right into your post and not have to direct your reader away from your site! It didn't format quite right, so I am going to do a little investigative work to see how wide my posting area needs to be to make it fit. If I can't make it work, this feature might not be as nice as I would have hoped.

If you are here from Welcome Wednesday...WELCOME!!! This is a personal blog where I post about a little bit of everything. I like to post new (and some old) recipes that I enjoy, talk about some of the eco-friendly choices my family and I have made or a new frugal rule that I can live by and not work to hard at it! Please feel free to follow me if you would like and I will follow you back!

If your are not hear from Welcome Wednesday, head over to Take It From Me to see the list of all blogs participating!

Meatless Mexican Lasagna Recipe

2010-11-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

Monday night we had Meatless Mexican Lasagna for dinner. This is one that I could eat all the time, but for some reason we don't make it very often. It is very filling for being a vegetarian dish and the flavors are great. Even Maddie really liked this one (even though I had to pull out the beans for her, normally she will eat them, but was having an off day I guess).

(I know that this doesn't look all that great - I have to figure out how to make it all fit nice and pretty in my posting area!)

26 September - 2 October

2010-11-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

26 September

27 September

1 October

19 September - 25 September

2010-10-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

19 September

Canden has found the magic lid drawer! No point in organizing this drawer any time soon ;)

25 September

Maddie helping me squeeze tomatoes for salsa. She helped with the first batch of salsa this year and was very excited to help with the second. She asked for days after if we could squeeze more tomatoes!

12 September - 18 September

2010-10-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

12 September

13 September

Menu Plan Monday (on Wednesday!)

2010-10-27T11:54:00.001-05:00

So, I'm running a few days late on the menu planning - well posting anyway. We did our planning and shopping on Monday, I just didn't get around to posting it right away :) Here we go!

Monday

Hamburger Helper

Tuesday

White Chicken Chili (recipe to come)

Wednesday

Porkchops (crockpot)
Rice

Thursday

Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes (recipe to come)

Friday

Pizza Night

Saturday

Quick Ramen Stir-fry (recipe to come)

Sunday

Meatless Mexican Lasagna (recipe to come)

Head on over to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com to see what other people are eating this week and to enter a great giveaway!

Dear Running,

2010-10-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

While we still are not best friends, I do like you more than I did last week. We'll keep seeing each other for now and hopefully I will grow to love you :)

Laura

This morning I ~~ran~~ jogged 20 minutes straight...no breaks! I have never been a walker/jogger/runner or any combination of the above in the past. But, I am on a mission to become healthier (and skinnier!), so I have been slowly working my way through the Couch to 5K program. And, by slowly, I mean that it has taken me 14 weeks to complete 5 weeks of the program.

Holiday Freezer Cooking and a Recipe

2010-10-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

Some of you know that I have done a little freezer cooking recently and think it is absolutely great! I have used some of my own recipes and found some on other sites and it really couldn't be easier. We received a ton of broccoli from our CSA a few weeks ago and knew that there was no way we could eat it all before it went bad, so I made two huge pots of soup and froze them. I now have 3 bags of soup and 4 single serve cups of soup ready to go at any time. How awesome is it to know that you have something in the freezer ready for you if needed? Here is one of the recipes I used!

Canadian Bacon, Broccoli and Corn Chowder

Recipe from Weight Watchers

Servings: 4

Points: 6

1 tsp canola oil

12 medium scallions, sliced

3 oz Canadian-style bacon, diced

4 cups broccoli, chopped

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1/8 tsp black pepper

Heat the oil in a nonstick Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the scallions are softened and the bacon is cooked, about 7 minutes. Add the broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is slightly softened, 3–5 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is lightly browned, 1–2 minutes. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the corn and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat. Add the cheese and pepper and stir until the cheese melts. Yields 1 1/3 cups per serving.

Ok, so back to the original topic... I am a huge fan of Once A Month Mom (OAMM) and her monthly freezer cooking plans. She is awesome and puts together an entire months worth of freezer meals for not just dinner but breakfast and lunch too. She gives you a grocery list, labels, and instructions of what order to do things and how to do it with two people. Anywho, she just released her Holiday Cookbook for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is only 9.99, but now until November 1 you can use the code OAMM40 and get it for just 5.99! What a steal. Head over to check it out.

If you are here from Welcome Wednesday, Welcome! If not, head over to Take It From Me to find a ton more blogs that you just might want to follow!

*disclaimer - by purchasing this cookbook through this link, I will receive a small commission on your purchase.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-10-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

It's official. I think the odds are against Tuna Hotdish at our house. Today will end this craziness of moving Tuna Hotdish just one more week ahead! We also ended up eating at my parents house on Sunday last week, so we moved meals around and will also move Salmon to this week.

Monday

Tuna Hotdish

Tuesday

Chicken Stir-fry with Onions and Peppers
(I have a ton of bell peppers and onions to use up from our CSA the past couple weeks)

Wednesday

Tacos

Thursday

Fettuccine Alfredo and Grilled Chicken Breast

Friday

Pizza Night

Saturday

Salmon
Rice Pilaf

Sunday

Since we have been changing plans and missing at least one meal a week, I will leave Sunday unplanned and we will eat whatever hasn't been made from the week.

This post is linked up at Org Junkie today. Head over there to see what everyone else is eating this week!

5 September - 11 September

2010-10-17T10:33:00.000-05:00

5 September

Maddie and her new baby from Great Grandma.

6 September

11 September

29 August - 4 September

2010-10-15T10:33:00.002-05:00

4 September

Just one picture again - wow, have I been bad at using the camera lately. We went to see my Grandparents for the night and had such a nice time. We had a great supper with them and two of my grandma's sisters. The kids had fun playing, we had fun visiting and we always have fun walking around their small town.

22 August - 28 August

2010-10-14T10:33:00.001-05:00

28 August

The one and only picture of the week!

Busy Night Meal Tips

2010-10-14T10:18:00.000-05:00

There is an Ultimate Recipe Swap going on over at Life As Mom today. She has invited us all to share our easy meals or tips for those busy nights when you didn't have time to plan out the perfect meal. What is your go-to meal?

Well, I don't really have a go-to meal for these nights, but most of the time they will involve ground beef. I have been really bad at doing this lately, but in the past when I need ground beef (or it goes on sale), I will stock up and I usually end up frying up at least half of it before freezing. This makes it super simple to put together many meals in minutes. I know it doesn't take long to fry up a pound of hamburger, but if you have to thaw it first it gets to be more time than I'd like to spend some nights.

There are certain things we always have in our pantry. Most times I can make these quick dinners without having to get anything from the store (except maybe buns for the Sloppy Joes).

Hamburger Hotdish
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Tacos
Sloppy Joes
Chili

15 August - 21 Augsust

2010-10-13T10:33:00.001-05:00

15 August

This is what happens when you leave a 3 year old alone with a sheet of stickers!

16 August

Maddie and mama playing The Ladybug Game. Some day we'll make it all the way through a game :)

17 August

Maddie eating her corn right off the cob for the first time. We usually cut it off for her so it's easier to eat.

18 August

Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. A Flowbee. Don't know what this is, check it out here.

19 August

Everyone out snapping beans so I can freeze them. Boy, I sure do have the best family!

21 August

Canden in the big pool! The little pool is for babies...

8 August - 14 August

2010-10-12T10:32:00.001-05:00

8 August

Maddie and I were having fun with the Mr. Potato Heads this night. I just love this goofy smile of hers!

11 August

Canden just loved swimming in the pool this summer. He got to the point where this one just wasn't big enough for him though and he had to be in the big pool with Maddie.

14 August

Happy 3rd Birthday, Maddie!!!

1 August - 7 August

2010-10-11T10:32:00.000-05:00

Well, this is a super boring week for pictures. The first is a picture of our CSA delivery for the week and the second is a picture of some of my hard work freezing vegetables. I think these are shredded zucchini and rutabaga!

5 August

6 August

Chicken Spaghetti

2010-10-11T10:18:00.001-05:00

Running a little behind on recipes - so here you go!

Chicken Spaghetti
Source: e-mealz.com
Servings: 6
Points: 6

1 lb chicken breast, cooked & diced
4 oz Velveeta cheese
4 oz can chopped green chilies
10 oz can FF cream of mushroom soup
3 cups cooked thin spaghetti pasta
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Cook chicken breasts until done, then dice.
In saucepan, mix Velveeta, chilies & soup; heat on low for 5 minutes. Add chicken & remainin ingredients; mix well.
Pour into a sprayed 9x13 baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes @ 350.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-10-11T09:52:00.002-05:00

Well, we stuck to our menu all but one night last week. Jason got out of having tuna hotdish yet again ;) My parents invited us out to Culvers before church on Wednesday...and who could turn that down? So, we will move it one more time to this week.

Monday
Spaghetti and garlic brad (we have left over noodles from last week's chicken spaghetti in the fridge to use up)

Tuesday
Tuna hotdish

Wednesday
BBQ chicken (in crock pot) and pasta

Thursday
Waffles

Friday
Pizza night

Saturday
Salmon, Rice and steamed veggies

Sunday
Chili and cornbread

25 July - 31 July

2010-10-10T10:32:00.001-05:00

25 July
This evening was super warm and Maddie wanted to go swimming. Well, it was too late to put up the pool, so we did the next best thing, turned on the sprinkler!

26 July
This is the face that Maddie makes when she is thinking hard about something - usually trying to make a decision about something. What to do, what to wear or what to eat.

27 July

This summer we were lucky enough to be able to go to the lake for a few days. The cabin belongs to a good family friend and he was gracious enough to let us enjoy his little lake oasis. We arrived late this night, so we explored a bit and then got the kids ready for bed.

28 July
Maddie swam in the lake for the first time 2 years ago in this same place. Now it was Canden's turn. He did pretty good to start with - much better than Maddie did (she was not too pleased with the cold water as I remember).

29 July
Every time we went into town we drove past Paul Bunyan's Animal Land. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was actually pretty neat. They have a large fenced area where you can go and walk amongst the deer. They let you buy food so you can feed all of the animals. I never would have thought that deer would be a good animal to walk around with, but what do I know?!?

30 July
Of course we had to go to town and see Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox!

31 July
What a nutritious after nap snack, huh? Ah, the joys of being on vacation. We went to the County fair the night before, so we had some cotton candy left over!

18 July - 24 July

2010-10-09T15:22:00.000-05:00

I am finally getting around to getting caught up on posting pictures. Enjoy!

18 July
Maddie is such a good helper with Canden. She is always wanting to feed him, or get him toys, or cover him up with a blanket. She loves him so much!

19 July
Maddie and Canden eating fresh beans from the garden.

21 July
Playing around with my new lens attachment!

24 July
Today I worked on freezing some vegetables from our garden. I had a bunch of beans, a few peas and a few zucchini. My freezer is on it's way to being full of fresh produce!

Crock Pot Meatloaf

2010-10-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

This is a super easy meatloaf recipe that we tried for the first time last month. We really enjoyed it, so here it is on our menu again!

Crock Pot Meatloaf
Source: e-mealz.com
Servings: 4
WW Points: 6

2 c diced potato
2 c thinly sliced carots
salt
pepper
3 Tbsp egg substitute
1/3 c quick cooking oats
1/4 c chili sauce (divided)
1/8 tsp marjoram
1/4 c finely diced onion
1 lb lean ground beef

Place potatoes and carrots in crock pot, season with salt and pepper.
Combine egg substitute, oats, 1/8 c chili sauce, onions, marjoram and pepper. Add beef and mix well. Shape into a loaf and place on top of vegetables, not touching sides of crockpot.
Cook on high 1 hour, then low for 4 hours
Top with remaining chili sauce last hour.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-10-04T15:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my first Menu Plan Monday Post! I have been menu planning for a while now, but haven't been sharing it with the rest of the world. Menu Plan Monday is hosted by orgjunkie.com and each Monday you can go to her site and see all of the other bloggers that participate in MPM. This is a great source of inspiration and a wonderful resource to find new recipe ideas. There are many people that follow certain diets or freezer cook or have dietary restrictions. There is something for everyone. Enough chatter...on to the menu!

Monday

Pulled Pork Sandwiches (leftovers from the freezer)
Coleslaw

Tuesday

Crockpot Meatloaf (recipe to come)

Wednesday

Tuna Hotdish

Thursday

Chicken Spaghetti (recipe to come)

Friday

Pizza Night

Saturday

Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Chicken Strips

Sunday

Grill Out (hamburgers/brats)
Grilled Potatoes

Cloth Diapers: Part 2

2010-10-04T11:28:00.000-05:00

So, in the last cloth diaper post I talked about the why's to cloth diapering. What the benefits are for you, the baby and the environment. This post is going to talk about the different options you have to cloth diapering. I have only used one type myself, but there are many options to fit any budget and lifestyle. I am going to introduce you to some of the most simple diapers (prefolds), some hybrid diapers (prefolds with covers, g-diapers, etc.) and all in ones (Bum Genius, Kushies, Happy Heines, etc.) We are a strictly Bum Genius household right now, but have used Kushies with our newborns. Many people have a very diverse selection of type, brand, style of diaper and you can pick whatever works best for you! So, lets get started!!!

Flats and Prefolds
Flats and Prefolds are the most simple of diapers and are what most people think of when they hear the term cloth diaper. These are your basic square/rectangle cloths that are held on by pins or today's substitution, the Snappi or a cover such as the Bummis Whisper Wrap. There is a great article over at DiaperPin.com that explains all the different prefold options available including the different sizes and materials (such as organic or hemp). There are also some new options such as the Bum Genius Econobum that combine the well liked Bum Genius cover with a prefold. These diapers range from $1-10 each and the covers range from $10-15 each.

Contours
Contours are somewhere between a Prefold and a Fitted diaper. They are similar to prefolds in that you need something such as a pin or Snappi to keep them closed and they need a separate cover, but they are shaped to fit the baby so you don't have to know how to do the special folds. Contours cost $5-10 each.

Hybrid Diapers
The first diapers I think of when I hear the term hybrid diapers are G-diapers, Flip and GroBaby. These are all diapers that have a waterproof cover that you have a disposable insert for. This produces less waste than your traditional disposable diapers and is usually more earth friendly. For example, the G-diaper inserts are flushable and 100% biodegradable. I think that hybrid diapers are the perfect solution if you want to work slowly into cloth diapering. They would also be great for traveling. From what I have read, you can make it through a day with only 2-3 covers since they can be reused. 2-3 covers a day is a lot less than 5-8 diapers per day (depending on the age of the child) and since it is just the cover, you could wash them in the sink or bathtub at a hotel and not need a full washer. The covers for hybrid diapers cost $15-25 each and then you have to factor in the inserts. The disposable inserts cost from $.25-.45 each and then can be replaced by cloth inserts later for $5-10 each.

All-in-Ones
All-in-One (AIO) diapers are exactly as they sound - they have everything from the liner to the cover all together in one diaper. I feel that these are the easiest option to cloth diapering, but I know that other will disagree. We like them because the liner is attached to the cover and we don't need to worry about things shifting or coming apart on us if we don't do it just right. Come to think of it, maybe these are just the easiest option for the lazy people like me! Some AIOs are what are called pocket diapers where you have a liner that is "stuffed" into the cover. Bum Genius is an example of these. Some are all sewn together and there is no need to stuff. Bum Genius Organic is an example of these. There are many popular brands of AIOs but some of the biggest names are Bum Genius, FuzziBunz, Kissaluvs, and Happy Heiny's.

I hope that this helps you understand some of the options available to you for cloth diapering. I know that I have probably missed some information, but since I have only personally used one type I am just going by what I read about while doing the research before I started. There are many places you can purchase cloth diapers, both online and in brick and mortar stores. I have only bought online, because nowhere in my town sells them. Some of the stores I have purchased from include:
Cotton Babies
Jillian's Drawers
Thanks Mama

You can also go to online sites such as ebay and find that many SAHMs sew their own diapers and sell them. Which ever way you go, I hope that you enjoy using cloth as much as we have.

There will be one more installation in the "Cloth Diaper Series" that will talk about washing and care of cloth diapers.

I know, I know...

2010-09-10T17:00:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know that I have been missing for quite a while and need to do some major updating over here. Somehow, the last month of summer has disappeared on me and I am left looking at the calendar wondering how we got to the middle of September already! I am going to work my hardest over the next couple of weeks to get this site updated, including weekly pictures and pictures of a few major events from the summer.

School is back in session and we are as busy as ever. I started a new job as a project manager at the UND Graduate School a few weeks ago, so I am still figuring out my new job and I am back in classes for web design. Jason started school about the same time, so he is getting used to being back at work and figuring out a new class of students. Maddie is very excited to start church school next week. We had a welcome service last week and then a small information session and she got to see some of the other kids and make a project, have a snack and read a book. Canden is still growing like a weed and will turn 1 in a couple short months. I continue asking myself where time goes.

I have been super busy preserving all of the wonderful vegetables from both our garden and our CSA. I can't wait to get some of my recipes posted and show you all that I have done. At this rate, we may have to invest in a larger freezer! Our small deep freeze is full of vegetables and I just made some soup to freeze last night too. I have already made one batch of salsa, but it is way to hot for me, so once I have enough tomatoes for the next batch I will cut back on the peppers so I can enjoy some too. Jason says that the flavor is really good though, so I guess I'll just have to wait until there is some that I can enjoy ;)

Sometime between work, school, family, everyday everything, I am going to start working on a new website. I have purchased a domain so that I can move the blog over there and have a place to play with all the new things I am learning in school. I am still trying to decide how I would like it organized, but I need to get going. This semester I don't have any classes dealing with actual web design (I am doing photoshop and flash), so I need to get this going so I don't forget everything I learned last semester!

Ok, I feel better having something posted now. I will work on pictures this weekend and get some new posts scheduled. I have a half dozen posts all half written waiting for me to finish. I'll get working on those too...

CSA: What is it?

2010-07-23T08:00:00.003-05:00

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA is a community of people supporting a farm/farmers. Each person buys a share of the farm and in return receives fresh produce and in some cases eggs, milk and/or meat as well each week. This allows the farmers to share the risks of farming with the community.

History

The idea of CSA's started in Germany, Switzerland and Japan in the 1960's in response to concerns about about food safety and the effects of urbanization on agricultural land and to strengthen ties between the farmer and the consumer. It is still a success overseas and is gaining more popularity in the United States.

How it Works

CSA's work in a variety of ways. Some are very straight forward. The consumers buy shares at the beginning of the season and then the produce is delivered or picked up once a week. The consumer does nothing more. The members can volunteer some time at the farm, but nothing is required of them. Other CSA's involve some community work. The consumer still pays for their shares at the beginning of the season, but then they also are required to put in so many hours of service at the farm either weeding, or watering or picking or anything else that may need to be done.

What is included?

Well, this will also depend on the season, where you are located and many other factors. Most shares are for either a full or half bushel and will include anything from your basic vegetables and herbs to fruit or food products such as jams or breads.

How do I find a local CSA?

I found my site through an ad they had posted in the local Newspaper's Community section. I also did a basic Google search and found some others in my area. You can go to the following sites and see if they have anything listed in your area too.

Local Harvest
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

The Eating Well Guide
http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home

Rodale Institute
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/farm_locator

11 July - 17 July

2010-07-21T11:11:00.000-05:00

11 July

Well, Canden is officially pulling himself up on everything. He can't stand enough (well, until night time when his poor little legs start getting tired). Here he is up against one of the laundry baskets.

14 July

My garden is growing like crazy these days. I have beans and peas growing like crazy, tomatoes are starting, I have a few pumpkins even! Here is Maddie standing next to the corn stalks. They are growing inches every day!

15 July

Maddie is such a good helper with Canden. She is a little mommy to him. Jason had finished feeding Canden and was cleaning up the kitchen and he turned around to see this. Maddie had decided that she should feed Canden a little bit more. Such a little helper!

17 July

We had a milestone day today! We broke down and cut Canden's hair. It still amazes me that we had to cut his hair at just under 8 months (he is 8 months next week). I probably would have held out a little longer, but it was starting to get in his eyes and I just felt bad. It started off really good. He was just happy as could be (well he tolerated it) for the first half. After that he had decided that he had enough of this hair cutting business and he just cried - and I mean cried. It broke my heart to hear him cry this hard, but there was no turning back now. Here is a little collage of his first hair cut.

4 July - 10 July

2010-07-17T15:48:00.001-05:00

Watch out folks, I only missed one day this week!

4 July

Happy 4th of July! Today turned out to be a gorgeous day. We had Angie and her family over this afternoon. Angie and I were best friends through middle school and high school and now she lives in Texas. Maddie and her little girl Cambry had such a good time playing together. Then tonight we went to the fireworks downtown with my parents and Jason's family.

Here are Maddie and Canden in their 4th of July outfits.

5 July

We had a wonderful day today. The weather started off a little cloudy, but cleared up just in time for everyone to come over for our little get together. We had our parents, Jason's sister and her family as well as her inlaws and friends of ours and their little boy. What a house full! This is the first time we have had this many people over at the new house out back and boy was it fun. There was plenty of room on the deck and in the yard for everyone to relax and we had 3 pools set up for the kids with room to spare! We absolutely love our backyard. Here is a picture of Maddie and Jayden playing in the pool/water park!

6 July

Ugh, the first day back to work after a holiday weekend. These days are always much longer than they should be. Here is a picture of Maddie and one of her many funny faces she gives when you are just trying to get a good picture of her smiling.

7 July

We had Jason's family over for pizza tonight - we had decided that we had all cooked enough and it was time for someone else to do the cooking! Mostly we had everyone over so we could have a fire in the backyard and even more importantly make s'mores! On a side note - if you ever see extra large marshmallows that are labeled "great for campfires", do not get them! They are too big and the middle doesn't get ooey gooey like it is supposed to and they don't quite taste the same either. Anywho, here are all the grandkids that were here together.

8 July

Another very exciting picture for you all today. Here is what was in our box from the CSA this week.

10 July

Today was another gorgeous day, so we took the kids and went to family swim at Riverside Pool. Wow, this is the first time we have been there since they re-did it a few years back and it is gorgeous! It is really big and has a nice layout for getting everything in there. Maddie had a blast and I see us going swimming again in the near future!

New Toys (for mama)!

2010-07-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

Guess what I got in the mail yesterday? (well, ok it was the FedEx man who brought it) My new dehydrator that I won from Keeper of the Home! I am so excited to try it out. I was looking at recipes last night and I can't wait to try the obvious dried veggies and fruits, but also fruit leather, yogurt, yogurt bites, meat jerky...the possibilities are endless!

It is much bigger than I anticipated, which is good because the last cheepo one I had was quite small and seemed almost worthless to take the time to do apple chips and have them gone in a couple of days. I am excited to use it a few days a month, get lots of stuff done and dried and then store it out of sight for the rest of the month. I will be posting my dehydrating recipes as I do them (assuming they work out that is!)

Some of you may be here from Take It From Me's Welcome Wednesday Post. If you are...WELCOME! If you aren't, stop over to check out some of the other great blogs featured and listed today.

Cloth Diapers: Part 1

2010-07-13T17:00:00.000-05:00

So, I know I was supposed to tell you all about my new homemade product this week, but I haven't had the chance to make anything! My sister-in-law and her family were up from New Mexico last week, we had people over on both the 4th and the 5th so I feel like all I've done the past week is clean, cook and host. Don't get me wrong, we had a great week, but I'm ready for a nice, slow, uneventful week. I'm afraid I probably won't have one any time soon, but I can hope!

Anywho, I'm going to tell you a little bit about cloth diapers and why we use them. I honestly can't tell you why I first started looking into cloth diapers. I was pregnant with M&M and the only person I knew of who cloth diapered was my cousin up in Alaska (and I had never even seen them - the diapers that is - in person). I started doing some research online and realized that it wasn't the cloth diapering I was familiar with. You know what I'm talking about. The square cloths with pins. The ones our mother's all love to tell us about and how they used them when we were little. The ones that are still being used as dust rags 20+ years later. They are actually quite impressive now and there are so many different ways to cloth diaper that no matter who you are, you should be able to find something that works with your family and lifestyle.

Here are some of the facts that convinced me to at least give cloth diapers a try. I'm sure that there are a lot more facts out there, but this is what I know.

Chemicals. Cloth Diapers are chemical free! Do you know what chemicals can be found in your baby's disposable diaper? Let's take a look!

Dioxin - a toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. The EPA lists this carcinogenic chemical as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. Most countries ban it, the U.S. does not.
Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals
Sodium Polyacrylate - this is the substance that gels when it becomes wet. A similar substance was used in tampons until the early 80s when it was linked to toxic shock syndrom (TSS)

Environment. Cloth Diapers can help protect your environment. It is estimated that some 18 billion disposable diapers are used each year. This is in the U.S. only! Lets start with the production of the diaper. It will take 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp (a quarter of a million trees) to produce all of these diapers. Then let's look at the disposal of the diaper. Every single one of these is put into the landfills and each one will sit there for up to 500 years! That's right 500 years is the estimated time it will take for a diaper (or any raw, untreated sewage) to decompose in the landfill.
Health. There are a few different things to consider when it comes to your baby's health and the disposable diaper. The first one was already mentioned above, the chemicals. Second, is diaper rash. Diaper rash is a very common side effect of disposable diapers and is something that most parents just figure 'comes with the territory' of having an infant. I can probably count on one hand how many bouts of diaper rash we have experienced between two children! Third, the urine trapped in your baby's diaper breaks down into ammonia and becomes a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Fourth, increased scrotal temperature can lead to male infertility. The prolonged use of disposable diapers can blunt or completely destroy the testicular cooling mechanism.
Cost. This is a big deciding factor for a lot of people. If you average 8 diaper changes per day over 2 years you will go through 5,840 diapers. Lets round that up to 6000 for calculations on cost. With an estimate of $0.20 per diaper you will spend $1200 on disposable diapers on one child. Now, here is where the estimating gets tricky. Depending on the type of diaper you choose, your costs will vary. The basic set of prefold diapers and covers will cost you about $300. Using a one-size all in one diaper will cost about $450 with a basic set up of 18 diapers. If you choose an all in one that has different sizes you can multiply this number by 3 to 5 to get anywhere from $1350 - $2250. You may ask why anyone would do that? It then costs you more to cloth diaper than use disposables. Well first, if you are planning on having more than one child you can use the same diapers so you just saved another $1200 on disposables per child. Two, cloth diapers have a very high resell rate. Since so many people are trying to save a little bit here and there you will easily be able to sell your used cloth diapers and recoup up to 70% or more of your costs if they are in great condition.

My next post about cloth diapers will show you some of the options you have when cloth diapering. There are so many possibilities that no one has an excuse not to do it anymore. I can't wait to share them all with you!

Here are some of the sources I used when putting this post together:

http://www.diapernet.org/whycloth.htm

http://www.diaperjungle.com/why-use-cloth-diapers.html

http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

27 June - 3 July

2010-07-12T08:00:00.002-05:00

27 June

Canden pulled himself up on the furniture for the first time today. He has been very close for the past week, but he made it all the way today! Go, Canden!!!

1 July

This is what happens when little boys try to eat green crayons!

3 July

The forecast for today was super hot, so we decided to put up the pool for Maddie. Well, our pool from last year had a hole it it, so Papa went shopping and came home with not one, but two pools! One for Maddie and one for Canden. Canden didn't end up getting in today, but Maddie had a blast!

20 June - 26 June

2010-07-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

23 June

Today we headed down to University Park for Summerthing. This is something that the park board puts on every year for the kids and it really is a lot of fun. They have lots of craft stations set up, live music, blow up things (you know the big bouncy houses and slides and such), the fire department sets up a play house and the firefighters help the kids use the hose and 'put out' fires. It is two nights each summer and Maddie really likes it. Here are our pictures from last year.

24 June

I picked up my first punch of produce from our CSA today! Look for a post in the near future talking about our local CSA and it's benefits.

*Maddie had already eaten a large chunk of the strawberries before I took this picture. That is why they are already in tupperware!

25 June

Canden is quite the little eater these days. Here he is with sweet potatoes all over his face. He just loves dinner time though. Now he sits in his highchair and eats puffs and cheerios while we eat and then I feed him his cereal and veggies after we are done.

26 June

Tonight we went to the fair (for the second time) and ate supper and then walked around and let Maddie have fun on some rides. This was the first year that she was big enough to ride any of the rides and she just loved it. The minute she got of a ride "Another ride" she would say. No resting for her. This was also Canden's first fair and he loved all the fresh air and people watching. Here is a picture of the family and I'll put together a post with pictures of Maddie's rides.

13 June - 19 June

2010-07-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

14 June

My mom bought Maddie a little T-ball set so we put it together out in the yard and Maddie started practicing. She had a lot of fun with it. Papa helped her the first couple of times so she knew what to do and then she was doing it all by herself. I think she need to be just a little bit taller and then it will be easier.

17 June

Last night I had stamp club at my house and Carter, one of the little boys that Maddie has daycare with came with. They had a blast playing together, but boy two kids this age can really get themselves into trouble fast. They stayed downstairs with us and were playing in the toy room and said something a few times about the babies being cold. Well, this morning when I went to get a soda out of the fridge for work, this is what I found. Turns out the babies really were cold! A couple days later Jason found the Ninja Turtles in the deep freezer! I'm not sure what I'm in for when Canden is big enough to help Maddie get into trouble, but I think I'm a little scared!

Me: 2, Chemicals: 0

2010-07-02T08:56:00.000-05:00

So I told you about my love for Norwex face cloths last week. This week I'm going to tell you something that a lot of people find weird.

I don't use hair products.

I haven't used them in over a month!

I know, crazy right? Well I have been using baking soda and water to wash my hair and vinegar and water to "condition" or rinse my hair. Why not use shampoo you say? Well, shampoo is a detergent and it strips your scalp and hair of all of your natural oils. These oils help to make your hair strong and shiny and without them you need to use additional products to help achieve this result. Shampoo wasn't even introduced until the early 20th century. Before shampoo everyone just used soap. That's right, regular old bar soap. Then we started adding minerals to our water and the alkaline didn't agree with the soap.

As I am writing this post I am learning more and more about shampoo and what it contains. Did you know that most shampoos contain mineral oil? Mineral oil is a byproduct created when crude oil is distilled into gasoline. Well, I know that mineral oil is used for many things, but it just sits on your skin and hair. It is not absorbed into the body like other oils, so it coats your scalp preventing the natural oils from being released and causing you to need more shampoo to get the dirt out of your hair. It is a never ending cycle!

This process is super easy. I have a small bowl I use and each morning I put a tablespoon of baking soda in it before hopping in the shower. I add water to it in the shower and pour it over my scalp while scrubbing. It doesn't lather at all so it is a little different to get used to. I rinse all of this out before conditioning. Once I'm done with the wash, I put a little vinegar in the bowl and then add water. This I just pour straight over my hair and then rinse it off. I am still in what I believe is a transition phase, but it is getting better. The transition phase can last a couple of weeks to a couple of months depending on your natural oils and hair type. My hair has never looked greasy or dirty while doing this, but it does end up in a pony tail every day since it just isn't quite normal yet. If I blow dry my hair it gets greasy, so I let it air dry each day.

I have noticed that my scalp has gotten a little dry and itchy at times from the baking soda, but my scalp hasn't neutralized enough yet for me to not wash it for a day so I think I am going to try to make my own shampoo out of soap, olive oil, baking soda and water. I think that they olive oil might help with the dry scalp issue.

I forgot to put in my EWG Rating for my old facewash last week. I used to use Noxzema face cream, which has a rating of 5. Not too bad, but it wasn't a 0!

Now for my hair I was using Tresemme. The EWG rating for the shampoo is 6 and the conditioner is 5. Again I was still in the moderate hazard level, but why take the chance right?

Next week I think I'm going to take the plunge into home made deodorant! I am a sweater so I am a little worried about this, but we'll see how it goes. Wish me (and anyone close to me) good luck! Here's to smelling good!

6 June - 12 June

2010-07-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

Holy moly! Did you realize that it is July already? Where has the summer gone. I'm going to work on getting caught up on pictures over the next few days and then hopefully I will start posting more regularly. I am working on setting up a blogging schedule so that each week I blog about a certain topic each day. When I get it all figured out I'll let you know! Well, here we are back at the beginning of June.

6 June

Canden tried peas for the first time today and seemed to really like them. This was the first vegetable that he has tried and it went really well. I think this one will eat everything in site when he gets older :)

7 June

Canden is growing so fast. He is already sitting up by himself and playing with "older" baby toys. He really like this one and Maddie really likes to play with him. She is such a great big sister to him.

8 June

Maddie and Canden were home with papa today and Maddie, being the little helper that she is, wanted to help feed Canden. Papa put him in his chair and she helped hold the bottle for him. Such a good big sister she is.

June 10

Canden already loves getting into everything that he shouldn't. He especially loves the baby wipes. This was one of the better times (interpreted: I caught him before he could pull them all out of the box!).

June 11

Here is Maddie being a goofball after her bath. This child has something against combs and brushes. We have to fight every time to brush her hair, so I have decided to just give up the fight most nights. It dries and by morning she looks just fine.

June 12

Maddie loves washing the window in the living room. She will normally grab a butt wipe and just go for it (which by the way butt wipes were in no way meant for cleaning windows, mirrors or any other glass surfaces. They leave horrible streaks.) This day she decided that she would ask me if she could clean the window. Of course I said yes, but I first made sure to get her two Norwex cloths. One wet to wash and then a window cloth to dry. This makes for a much cleaner window.

*did you notice that I had pictures for 6 out of 7 days this week? WOW, I bet this won't happen for a while again.

Me: 1, Chemicals: 0

2010-06-24T17:00:00.000-05:00

I have decided that step by step I am going to eliminate as many chemicals from my every day use as possible. The first thing I did was to start using Norwex products. I'll have a few posts about their products in order to spotlight them in all their glory, but lets first look at their personal care products.

I suppose I should tell you a little bit about Norwex as a company and their products. Their website starts by saying:

All Norwex products support our company mission to improve the quality of life by radically reducing the use of chemicals in personal care and cleaning. With a commitment to effective cleaning, responsible care for the earth, and the power of information, together we can become a generation to leave behind a legacy of improved quality of life.

Their cleaning cloths are made of an antibacterial microfiber which allows you to clean yourself and your home with nothing but water! Their products use silver particles integrated into the microfiber to trap bacteria and prevent it from growing. Tests have proven that these cloths reduce bacteria by 99.99% in 24 hours! This means that you not only can clean almost your entire home with one cloth (yes one little cloth for your dusting, kitchen, bathroom, walls, and anything else you can think of) and water, this also means that you won't have to buy a different cleaner (or 3) for each room of your home!

Ok, back to the matter at hand. Norwex and personal care. The only personal care item from Norwex I have tried so far is their body cloth, but they also have a line of Certified Organic bath and body products including lotions, creams, shampoo and conditioner, and shower gels. I fully plan on purchasing some of these products in the future (especially the lotion since this is one area I have not made the switch yet).

The cloths I have I use every morning in the shower for my face and upper arms. I have not used face wash in quite a few months now and while my face was very dry at the beginning, I have no problems now. The cloth removes all of my makeup and cleans my pores with no chemicals. I have had very clear skin since I made the switch and am super happy with them. I also use them to exfoliate my upper arms. I have those lovely little red bumps on my upper arms and they have been slowly disappearing with the use of these cloths.

Where can I get me some Norwex you might ask. Well, Norwex is sold by independent demonstrators and I just happen to have a consultant that I would be happy to send you to if you would like to order. Shoot me an email and I will forward you her information. You can host a home party with Norwex to help you earn free product - this is a great way to build up your supply if you are new to Norwex (this is what I did anyway).

Me vs. Chemicals

2010-06-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have decided to remove as many chemicals from my everyday life as possible. This includes cleaning solutions for my home and health and beauty products to start with. The cleaning part of this challenge was pretty easy (I don't deep clean that often, so cleaning products tended to last quite a while at our house). I have swapped over to using Norwex exclusively for home cleaning products and I will tell you more about what I use and how in futures posts. For those of you who have not had the pleasure to clean with Norwex yet - well, you are missing out and once you start you will wonder where it has been all your life!

As for chemicals in health and beauty products. Well, it's not a pretty thing. The cosmetics and personal care products industry is fairly unregulated. According to the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, "...a cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient and market the product without an approval from FDA" (FDA 1995). This is pretty scary stuff! Did you know that there can be lead in your mascara? or hidden chemicals in your perfume? These are just two examples. If you have not been to the EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database you should head over there and take a look at the products you use daily. This database rates your cosmetics and personal care products 0-10 based on the chemicals they contain. 0 is the best where 10 means you should probably reconsider using that product.

I know that I will never be able to eliminate all of the chemicals in my daily life, but I am sure going to try. So far I have gotten rid of facewash and shampoo/conditioner. I will post about one thing I am doing to beat the fight against chemicals each week. What are some of the things you are doing in the fight against chemicals?

Swagbucks

2010-06-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I have decided that earning free stuff for doing what I am already doing is the smart thing to do. (Wow, that sentence was a train wreck!) Anyway, I have signed up for Swagbucks and am super pumped about it. Swagbucks is a search engine that rewards you points for searching. I don't know the exact science behind how they reward the points, but it works.

You sign up at Swagbucks.com and just start searching! You will earn random points for your searches, so you won't get points every time, but I have only been signed up for a few days now and already have 183 points! I use Firefox for my browser, so I downloaded the plugin which allows me to search through swagbucks from the search box in the top right section of my browser (you earn points for downloading this plug in and/or the toolbar too!). I now do all of my normal searches through Swagbucks first and if I don't find what I'm looking for, then I switch over to Google and search again. So far I've only had to do this a couple of times though.

How else can you earn Swagbucks? There a lot of ways to earn SBs. Right now they are having specials where every 7th search will win extra SBs (I earned 37 points for one search yesterday). You can take surveys through their site to earn extra SBs. There are some items in their store where if you buy them you earn SBs. They will also send random messages to your SB inbox with codes that you can redeem for extra points. These are only for a small time frame though, so I have yet to be able to use one before the code expires.

What do you get for these points? Well, I am saving up point to earn giftcards to places like Target or Amazon. This is not going to be a fast process since it is 450 SB to get a $5 giftcard to Amazon, but searching is something I do already, so why not use a service where I can earn free stuff? You can also spend your SBs on merchandise ranging from trading cards (5 SBs) to a 32-inch Samsung HD TV (89,799 SBs).

*Disclaimer - if you click on any of the links to Swagbucks on my blog you will be routed using my referral link. This means that I will earn extra SBs for you signing up. If you would rather sign up on your own, just type the address into your browser.

Product Review: Lightscoop

2010-06-11T17:00:00.001-05:00

I came across the Professor Kobre's Lightscoop on a blog I follow and was quite intrigued. I searched around their site and then read reviews posted on Amazon and a few random review posts I found through my search and decided to go ahead and try it out. I really like my Canon T1i, but am still learning new things about it every time I use it and the flash is one thing I just couldn't figure out. I would like to some day buy an external flash, but would rather buy a new lens first, so this was a good compromise.

The Lightscoop comes in two types. The Standard and the Warming. This is what they look like (pictures of the two taken from their blog.)I took a picture of Canden playing the other day and decided that I would play with my new Lightscoops. WOW! What a difference this little thing can make! I am in love. really. in love.

So, here are my sample pictures. The first set is a comparison between no flash and a bare flash. Wow, look at that bright flash! The second set is a comparison using the standard Lightscoop and the warming Lightscoop. Talk about a big difference, huh? I am definitely making sure that I have these with me at all times. Our house isn't the best for natural light, so even though it is light outside (as you can see through the doors in the back of the picture), it just isn't enough light to take ~~good~~ decent pictures.

*Disclaimer: I purchased this product with my own money and was not contacted by Lightscoop at all about this review. I simply liked the product and wanted to share it with you!

30 May - 5 June

2010-06-10T17:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, so this week was not any better with the camera! I guess 2 days is better than none though!

30 May

Canden is really starting to play with his toys a lot more lately. He will actually sit and keep himself happy for 15 minutes or more which is really nice for us so we can get a few more things done in the day without multiple kid breaks.

4 June

Tonight we had my parents and Elaine over for dinner and then we ended up having a fire out back and making smores! YUM!!! What a great way to end the night. The weather was beautiful, there were virtually no mosquitoes and the kids absolutely loved sitting outside all evening. Here is Jason and Canden hanging out when we first got out there.

23 May - 29 May

2010-06-08T17:00:00.001-05:00

Wow, we were not good with the camera this week. I don't understand why we don't take more pictures though. The camera sits out right on the tv stand everyday. It is always ready to go, so hopefully next week will be better!

23 May

Well, today was Canden's 6-month birthday! I can't believe how fast time goes. Since Canden got his own post below (and will be getting another one for his first time eating cereal) I decided that Maddie should get the picture of the day. Here she is swinging on her brand new swing set. We are trying to teach her to pump her legs so she can swing on her own, but it only seems to work if you stand there and say "out, in, out, in". Once you stop talking, she stops pumping :)

25 May

I can just hear Maddie 15 years down the road looking back at all of these pictures of her and her goofy faces. When you tell Maddie to smile for a picture, this is most likely what you will get (or at least some version of this). I think it is a very cute face, but it is definitely not the sweet smile she gives when not smiling on command.

Giveaway at The Elwell's Weekly

2010-06-04T10:18:00.003-05:00

So a good friend of mine has had a blog for a little while, but just started getting into reviewing items for different companies. She has her first ever giveaway going on right now and I think you should go sign up to win!!! She is reviewing EcoMom and their Natural Baby Food and you have a chance to win $20 worth of Plum and/or Revolution foods! Head over to The Elwells' Weekly now!

6 Months already?

2010-05-26T23:12:00.005-05:00

Canden is six months old! The time has flown by these past 6 months and it is impossible to imagine our family without him in it. He has been such a great addition to the Looks. He loves to watch Maddie do whatever she is doing, I can already tell they are going to be great friends. He will put anything he can get his little fingers on into his mouth and always do it with a smile. He rolls like there is no tomorrow and he scoots forward really well. It won't be long before he is crawling and really be mobile. He loves to watch Zeus (and get kisses from Zeus). His toes are the most fun to play with and must taste good too.

This picture is from his 6-month birthday on Sunday. Look at the mop on this kid's head! We have pictures on Friday and then I think we are going to have to break down and at least get it trimmed up a little bit. His hair is getting so long in the back we are going to be able to put it in a pony pretty soon!

We went to the doctor today for his 6-month well baby check up and here are his stats. Turns out his chunky legs don't mean much and he has a really big head!

Head Circumference: 17 1/2" - 75th percentile
Height: 26 1/4" - 50th percentile
Weight: 16lbs. 8oz. - somewhere between the 25th and 50th percentiles

Canden had oatmeal cereal for the first time Sunday night, so I will post some pictures of his first food experience later this week.

16 May - 22 May

2010-05-26T16:12:00.001-05:00

16 May

Our last night in a hotel before we get home! Today we made it to Eau Claire, WI. We would have liked to make it all the way to the cities, but we were in stand still traffic for about and hour and a half. (YUCK by the way) Well after our very long day in the car, Canden was none too happy. Here is grandpa trying to keep Canden happy for a while.

19 May

Tonight I hosted my monthly stamp club and Pam brought little Liam over. This is the first time that Canden and Liam have played together since they were a couple months. Right away Canden rolled right over to Liam and gave him a big kiss.

22 May

Maddie and Canden spent some time this morning at Grandma's house while Jason and I worked out in the yard and ran to Lowe's to buy a composter! We had a very busy day since I wanted to get all of my seeds planted in the garden - both flowers and veggies, and we had two graduation parties to go to. We made it through everything, but I know wish there were 3 days in the weekend! Here is Maddie with her freshly painted nails at Grandma's house.

9 May - 15 May

2010-05-24T17:00:00.001-05:00

9 May
While this is definitely not a great pictures of either of these sweet little faces, but these two tiny human beings are what make me a mother by definition. Today is Mother's Day and I am so thankful for my wonderful, fun, happy (most the time), loving children.

12 May
Today we started our trip to Illinois for Elaine's Law School Graduation. We left in the afternoon and made it to the cities. We stayed with Tim and Connie and I'm pretty sure Maddie would have stayed there if we'd let her. She was having an absolute blast with Uncle Tim. She was carting him all over the house, chasing him and tickling him. Here is Maddie with all her travel gear ready for the long ride!
13 May
We made it!!! We left at about 10:00 am and made it to Champaign around 8:00. We quick checked into the hotel, ran to see Elaine real quick and then grabbed some McDonald's for a very late dinner on our way back to the hotel. Poor Canden wanted absolutely nothing to do with his carseat by the end of the day. He was so happy when he wasn't in it though. No pictures for today since the whole day was spent in the car.

14 May
Here is my mom with the kids. Today we just hung out with Elaine. We did a little shopping at Target, relaxed, went to the Law School for a BBQ/social for everyone and their families and went swimming. All my swimming pictures are on Elaine's camera though, so I will get those when she is in town at the end of the month. Both Maddie and Canden loved the pool.
15May
Today was Elaine's graduation! (this means she actually a grown up now and has to get a job) It was a very nice ceremony (quick and to the point is what I really mean). Afterward we went to an amazing barbeque restaurant called the Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in Urbana. It was a small pub style restaurant with the absolute best pulled pork sandwich I have ever eaten in my entire life. I'm going to have to go visit Elaine again just to eat here again (not really Elaine, but kinda ;) ) All of the pictures from Graduation are on my Dad's camera, so you get a picture of me and the kids. I'll put together a nice post of our little trip once I have pictures from everyone's cameras.

Every girl needs. . .

2010-05-10T12:05:00.000-05:00

A pretty dress.

Maddie was digging around in her closet and found this dress. It is still too big for her, which is why it was hidden in the back, but she found it so I let her wear it and play for a bit. This dress was a flower girl dress from our wedding. We had them specially made by a lady here in town who does sewing on the side. I think they really were just adorable. I think that it should fit Maddie just perfect next yer - maybe an Easter dress?

2 May - 8 May

2010-05-09T16:17:00.001-05:00

2 May
A little girl and her dog. Maddie just loves Zeus. She will walk up to him and give him a hug 'I love you Zeus' she'll say. If she wants to give him a hug and he is trying to play she will tell him to 'stay'. This doesn't usually work, so Jason or I will tell him to stay so she can give him some love. She really is just a sweetheart.
3 May
Maddie really is a goofball. She has started 'hiding' from us. She is not the best at hiding though. She will usually just get down on the floor, face down with her head touching either the wall or some piece of furniture. This was one of her better hiding attempts. She was behind the rocker half hidden in the window coverings.
4 May
Happy Birthday, Dad!
Today was my Dad's birthday. We went out to dinner at Happy Joe's, a regional pizza place. They have the best taco pizza ever. . .but I couldn't eat any because Canden and taco milk to not agree. I shared some very good meat pizza with my dad though. It had about 40 different types of meat on it, ok, only like 6 but it seemed like more! After dinner we headed back to our house for ice cream cake and American Idol! Please bear with my not so great picture here. First I was having lighting troubles because the sun decided to shine for about 2 minutes this week while I was trying to take a picture. Then you know how hard it is to get two kids to ~~smile~~ ~~look at the camera~~ look decent for a photo.
5 May
So today must have been goofy face day at our house. I took tons of pictures of the kids today, and both of them were full of funny faces. This is one of the very few "good" pictures I got today. I am working on another post(s) just to showcase our day of goof.

6 May

Be a Rock
This is what Maddie says most nights after she gets out of the bath. One time quite a while ago, so covered herself up with her towel in the middle of the living room floor, so in playing along with her, we pretended that she was a rock while looking for her. Now she always has to be a rock while we get her jammies ready.

7 May

I thought this was such a cute outfit, so I had to make sure to get a picture of him in it ;)

8 May
Canden just started really rolling over this week. He had rolled over a few times before, but he is now rolling over quick and a lot. I am trying to get a few good pictures to make a scrapbook page for him like I did for Maddie and while I was trying to get him rolling over Maddie came up in front of the camera and wanted me to take her picture instead.

25 April - 1 May

2010-05-06T17:00:00.001-05:00

25 April
Sunday morning TV. Maddie is usually pretty cuddly in the mornings, so she will cuddle with whomever has an available lap. Today it happened to be papa. I made her share papas lap though so I could take this picture!

30 April
Canden has really started enjoying playing on his play mat. He will play and keep himself happy for quite a while most days. Zeus is quite fond of Canden too. He loves giving kisses and Canden loves getting them - they are a perfect pair. There must be something with babies and puppy kisses. Maddie always liked Zeus kisses when she was a baby too (well she still does).
Canden is still a lazy-butt when it comes to rolling over though. He has rolled over a couple of times both front to back and back to front, but I think he has decided that he really doesn't need to do it, so he won't. When we put him on his stomach, most times he will still just fuss when he wants to roll over, so we will nudge him until he rolls, but he hasn't done it much on his own. I have decided this is a good thing though - I won't have to baby proof the house quite yet!

1 May
I came home from my Weight Watchers meeting this morning to find quite the mess in my kitchen. Maddie and papa were playing with our alphabet magnets. The set came with all the magnets plus cards with pictures so you could match them up together. Maddie was doing very good at matching them up. Every once in a while papa would have to point her in the general area where the letter was, but overall she did very good.

I Love my Camera

2010-04-29T17:00:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I am always learning new things about my camera. I am still not very good at taking pictures and this is something I hope to be able to work on a bit this summer. That being said, I figured out the continuous picture feature and it worked perfect when Maddie was doing somersaults. The biggest thing I am trying to figure out with my camera is the lighting - both having enough light and then getting the white balance set. One thing about this camera and all the florescent light bulbs we have in the house is that the white balance if completely off so it has to be set manually.

Making Pizza

2010-04-27T17:00:00.003-05:00

A while back, we made English Muffin Pizzas and Maddie made all of them for us. She has really gotten excited about helping in the kitchen when we prepare meals. I try to find things for her to do to help out, even if it is just pouring the ingredients together or putting water in the pot for pasta. Anywho, here are the pictures from our lunch.

18 April - 24 April

2010-04-25T22:35:00.002-05:00

20 April
We made our first trip to our "new" park tonight. I say new since we are in the new house and have to drive to get to University Park. We are now in walking distance of Bringewatt Park though, so we at least have one nearby. Maddie loves going to the park and Zeus just loves going somewhere! Here's a pick of Maddie on the slide and you can see Jason in the background with Canden and Zeus.
22 April
Maddie was helping Grandma hold Canden while she put some things away. I thought that this was such a cute picture of the two of them.
23 April
Canden looked like such a big boy in his outfit today. We rarely put him in anything other than sleepers (they are easy to put on and off and they look so darn comfy). As you can see by his socks lying next to him - he loves to take off his socks and ~~eat~~ play with his toes.
24 April
This picture says it all. Canden absolutely loves his sister. He will watch her and just smile. . .most of us do. He is usually happy as can be if she plays with him or if he can just follow her around the room.

11 April - 17 April

2010-04-25T16:26:00.006-05:00

April 11
Here's our cute little Canden sportin' papa's hat!
April 16
Maddie is just loving the warm weather and being able to get out and play on her swingset. Almost everyday when we get home she wants to go outside and play with Zeus while we get dinner ready. This is one great thing about our new house - we have the kitchen window, sliding glass doors and living room window that all face the backyard. This means that I can send her out back to play while I take care of Canden and dinner and I don't have to worry about her as much. Here she after coming down the slide.
April 17
Canden is getting big enough to play in the exersaucer now and he loves trying to get all the pieces in his mouth. Maddie is a great big sister and likes to play with him and help keep him happy too.

4 April - 10 April

2010-04-10T22:38:00.001-05:00

I have decided to change things up a bit. I am going to post my daily pictures once a week. I can't seem to post any more than this anyway, so I'm going to just lump them all together into one post and make it a little easier on myself. I'm hoping that with this goal I can at least keep up!

4 April
Happy Easter!
We had a rough morning today, so this was the best picture I got of the kids and their Easter Baskets. Jason has been sick with the flu all weekend and woke up feeling the worst this morning, Canden and I were up from 3-6:30 this morning because he was wide awake and I think a little sick. Maddie was the only one that actually made it to church this morning. Grandma Pat came and picked her up and brought her to church and out to breakfast afterward.
As you can see, I haven't quite finished Canden's basket. I just need to finish the handle with his name on it and do the eggs and bunny. I was so close to having it done on time.
5 April
I finally brought the exersaucer back upstairs for Canden today. He isn't used to it quite yet, but he's getting there. His toes are starting to touch, so he'll enjoy it more soon.
9April
Maddie is loving the warmer weather. Actually I'm pretty sure she thinks it is warmer than it is out there. She could play all night long and most days we have tears just to get her inside. She is having a blast swinging and sliding, running around with Zeus and just being the perfect little goofball she is.

10 April
We went to the Circus this morning. Maddie seemed to be having fun, but I think she was paying more attention to the ring setup than she was to the show! Maddie and I took a ride on the elephant at intermission and she had lots of fun. Here's a pic of me and the kids.

My First OAMC

2010-04-09T19:00:00.009-05:00

What is OAMC?
OAMC or Once a month cooking is the idea that you have one day of cooking and freezing and you have meals for the whole month ready to be cooked. You can prepare as many meals as you think you will need. I just did 12 meals knowing that we will go out some nights, I will want something other than what is in the freezer (mac and cheese - just saying) or something else comes up. These meals are about 1/2 of what we will need for the month which I think is a pretty good start. There are some people who will freeze breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3/4 of the month. I'm not ready to go there yet.

I never pay any attention to prices and what we spend each month in groceries - probably something I should start at least pretending to look at. I did figure the cost for these meals though and they averaged at just under $6 per meal. All of these meals will feed the three of us and give us left overs, so I thought that was pretty good.

Here is a picture of what I did do though.

I have:

The meals I chose to do were actually really easy to prepare so this only took me a few hours (other than the 8 hours of cooking time for the stew) and this morning I was able to put a meal in the crock pot without doing anything else! How cool is that? I'm excited to see how this month goes and start planning for next month. I know that I probably won't even need this many meals since we do so much grilling in the summer, but I know that I would like to keep doing at least a few meals each month.

What a rollercoaster morning

2010-04-09T11:25:00.000-05:00

This morning was quite interesting. It went up and down all the way until I made it to work. Here is a brief recap of my morning:

Down - Canden was up at 5:45 this morning (way too early for me, especially for a Friday)
Up - Canden was so smiley happy when I took him out of his crib. He was blowing raspberries and smiling and laughing at me while I changed his diaper. I couldn't help but smile back!
Up - I heard the most beautiful spring sound when Jason got the paper this morning - birds chirping. After a cold winter and not hearing this sound, it truly is wonderful.
Down - Maddie threw a complete fit this morning about going potty. She was up too late last night and was obviously tired this morning, but she screamed just to sit down - and still didn't go.
Up - we had a crazy wacked out bird in our yard this morning. I'll post more on him later, but for now I'll just say that he entertained me while I ate my cereal this morning.
Up - I put one of my OAMC (I have a post started about this - my new favorite time saver) meals in the crockpot this morning. I didn't have to do anything but take it out of the freezer and put it in the pot! Super easy and tonight I just have to make some rice to go with it!
Down - I started off to work and realized I had forgotten my breast pump, so around the block I went to pick it up.
Up - The sun is shining!
Down - I wasn't paying attention on my way to work and passed up the last road to get to work. I always take the second street to work and the last one is a one way (the wrong way), so I had to turn around in a parking lot and backtrack my way to the office.

How is that for a rollercoaster morning? I must say that in the end it really wasn't a bad morning - but way too much for a Friday. By the end of the week I'm ready to coast through to the weekend and not worry about a thing!

2 April

2010-04-02T22:25:00.001-05:00

We had a very exciting day in the Look family today! I think only a parent can understand how extremely exciting it is when a child pees on the potty for the first time. Maddie was showing interest in potty training before Canden was born, but as soon as we brought him home she regressed and wouldn't even sit on the potty chair. We kept trying, but she just wasn't interested. Today we went to the doctor because she had a little bit of a rash and were told to let her run around without her diaper to air things out a bit. Well, turns out this was the best thing because Maddie peed on the big girl potty for the first time today!!! We couldn't be more excited. And she is super excited because she gets to wear her big girl panties now!

What does a Maddie say?

2010-03-27T23:29:00.000-05:00

Maddie was playing with an app on the iTouch last night that was going through different animal sounds and she was telling me about them. I'm not which sure which app this was, but it had some different animals like different types of birds, a camel, mice, bunnies, and other not so typical animals when you think of animal sounds. I asked her what a Maddie said and her answer was "cuckoo". I don't think she could have given me a more perfect answer. She then proceeded to walk around yelling "cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo" until her oh so cute 2-year old brain found something more interesting.

27 March

2010-03-27T22:13:00.000-05:00

Today is Auntie Elaine's last day in town so we had Easter dinner a week early. We were really bad with the camera this week, so we had to make sure we got a picture of her with the kids. This was actually a pretty nice picture of all of them. Below are a few of the rejects (taking a picture with 2 kids isn't exactly easy!)

25 March

2010-03-25T22:07:00.001-05:00

Check out the drool on this kid! I think we are getting closer to teething, in addition to the constant raspberry blowing Canden has started drooling more and chewing on anything he can get in his mouth.

23 March

2010-03-23T23:26:00.001-05:00

Tonight we went to the Artwise show and Maddie had lots of fun at the make and take projects and eating Dip'n Dots at the end. She got to make a t-shirt and two buttons (one for her and one for Grandma) and painted on a mural. I will post more pictures from the night later this week. Here she is working on coloring her t-shirt.

22 March

2010-03-22T23:22:00.000-05:00

Do you see those puckered lips full of drool? Those are the famous raspberries he has been blowing all the time.

21 March

2010-03-21T23:16:00.000-05:00

I have decided that it is time for me to start learning how to make some of those meals that have always been 'if you want them eat at mom's house' meals. Things like meatballs and gravy, lasagna, Grandma Amble's buns, and homemade chicken noodle soup are at the top of the list. I made meatballs and gravy once a couple of months ago, and while I need to work on the gravy a bit, overall I was happy with my first attempt.

The next thing on the list is to learn homemade noodles. Today I learned that rolling out noodle dough is just about impossible. It is very elastic and shrinks after each roll. I got through the first half ok, but needed help to finish the second one. Being short takes it's toll on my poor arms! Maddie had to help roll the dough a little too. She is such a good helper!

20 March

2010-03-20T23:11:00.001-05:00

19 March

2010-03-19T23:04:00.000-05:00

18 March

2010-03-18T22:56:00.000-05:00

We always have certain shows on the DVR for Maddie. These include Imagination Movers, Mickey Mouse and Chuggington. Here Maddie is watching tv while we got dinner ready. I'm not sure how this could possibly be comfortable, but I guess that's one of the great things about being a kid - you can do just about anything. I debated even putting this picture up here since it shows such a mess, but decided that this is just how it is. We always have at least one basket of cloths waiting to be folded (and as in this picture, most of the time it is diapers), Maddie takes her socks off and throws them where ever the first chance she gets and the rest is just the normal everyday clutter that I am constantly trying to keep caught up with.

17 March

2010-03-17T22:50:00.000-05:00

I think that Canden is really close to having his first teeth come through. He has started blowing tons of raspberries, spitting all the time and chewing on toys. We haven't hit the full drooling stage yet, but I don't think it is far away.

14 March

2010-03-14T15:42:00.002-05:00

The face of a peanut butter lover. Enough said.

13 March

2010-03-13T15:40:00.001-06:00

Maddie has really started to be quite the helper in the kitchen. She really likes when we find things for her to do when we prepare meals. She is a very good mixer and likes to dump the ingredients together in the bowl. Most days she will carry her stool in and stand right up at the counter next to you. This is her wanting to help mama make breakfast.

12 March

2010-03-12T22:01:00.000-06:00

Jason and I have talked about homemade donuts a few times recently, so we decided it was time to make them. Jason doesn't think that he has ever had my mom's fresh, crunchy donuts before - so we fixed that! I'll post more pics later, Maddie had lots of fun making donuts and had even more fun eating them!

9 March

2010-03-09T15:37:00.001-06:00

Maddie is quite the goofball. She climbs into the exersaucer and just sits there. She usually giggles the whole way in and then struggles to get herself back out! One of these days she is going to get stuck for good and I'm going to have to pull out the video camera while we attempt to get her out. Hey, maybe it will win us $10,000 on AFV some day :)

8 March

2010-03-08T15:34:00.001-06:00

For my birthday, I got some beautiful bulb flowers from the ladies in one of the departments I work for. I brought them home since they were just starting to bloom on Friday and I didn't want to miss all the prettieness they were going be. Maddie really enjoyed touching them and smelling them. She was a little rough, so we had to tell her not to pull them apart, but she still enjoyed them.

6 March

2010-03-06T15:30:00.001-06:00

Today we put together a new bouncy toy for Canden. Turns out he is still too short for it, but I think he will really like it once he grows into it. We brought out the exersaucer instead (which he is still to short for that too, but his fit are closer to touching).

5 March

2010-03-05T19:23:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure if Maddie is putting in requests, or just wishing right now, but she balls up her blanket and carries it around telling everyone that it is her baby sister. It really is one of the sweetest things ever. She will give you the blanket and tell you to hold her baby sister or put it in the swing or chair when Canden isn't in them. I really do enjoy watching her imagination grow. She is so much fun to watch and listen to when she is playing.

Making Pizza

2010-03-05T17:00:00.000-06:00

Maddie helped papa make english muffin pizzas for lunch the other day. She was such a good helper - she put on the sauce first, then the pepperoni (papa helped or we may have never made it to the cooking part), then she put on the cheese and she watched them in the oven cooking.

She has become really interested in helping out in the kitchen and will usually pull her stool to the counter and watch us make dinner. She always picks out the vegetable that we eat with dinner and I am trying to find more things for her to do in preparing the meal. I think it makes her more excited to eat it if she helped make it.

4 March

2010-03-04T21:54:00.000-06:00

Grandma made some yummy chocolate chip cookies today. Here's grandpa and Maddie enjoying a few!

1 March

2010-03-01T22:48:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to me!

28 February

2010-02-28T21:46:00.002-06:00

Can you believe that it is the last day of February already? Time has been flying by. I have been back to work for a full month, Canden is 3 months old, and tomorrow I start my last year in my 20's! I'm not sure why I'm posting this picture since it really isn't the best one of me (I should learn to not have my picture taken when I don't have makeup on - but it's Sunday).

27 February

2010-02-27T21:42:00.000-06:00

Lately Maddie has been running around the house with blankets wrapped around her head. Some days she is a princess and some days she is a super hero. I understand the cape for a super hero, but I'm not sure I know where the princess came from. Either way, she has fun.

26 February

2010-02-26T21:40:00.000-06:00

Here are my two boys :) I know that this is by no means the best picture ever taken - as far as skill goes, not that they don't look good - but I'm working on it. As soon as I get this darn white balance figured out we should be good to go!

22 February

2010-02-22T22:03:00.002-06:00

Maddie loves playing with Canden. When we lay him on the floor she will bring all of his toys over to him and make sure that we play with each and every one of them.

21 February

2010-02-21T22:01:00.000-06:00

20 February

2010-02-20T21:52:00.000-06:00

Maddie asked me to put Canden next to her so she could hold him. Of course I call for Jason to grab the camera because this doesn't happen all the time and I like to get pictures of the two of them together as much as possible. Well, just as fast as I called for Jason, Maddie pulled away from Canden and didn't want to hold him anymore. Here is her pulling away and him falling towards her.

18 February

2010-02-18T21:46:00.000-06:00

My poor Maddie has had a rough couple of nights and this morning she really didn't want to wake up. Jason got her dressed and put her in the living room and she just konked right back out.

17 February

2010-02-17T21:40:00.001-06:00

As I've said before, I have a lot of learning to do with this new camera. I have been having troubles with the lighting in our house and the funky yellow hues it seems to create in most of my pictures. I haven't had the chance to research how to fix this yet, but if anyone reading this just happens to know more than me and has the answer, I'd love to hear it!

Maddie had her own little photo shoot today as I was playing and I actually got a really good smile out of her. This is one of the few caught on camera!

16 February

2010-02-16T21:37:00.001-06:00

Check out the hair on this kid! I tell you what, his hair just keeps getting longer and longer. I don't think we'll make it much past 6 months before he will need a haircut at this age.

15 February

2010-02-15T21:33:00.000-06:00

I was playing around with my new camera today and the kids were both at daycare, so this is what you get. These were the flowers Jason got me for Valentine's Day.

14 February

2010-02-14T21:46:00.002-06:00

Today I got a new camera!!! I got a Canon T1i and so far i love it! I definitely have a lot to learn, but I'm so excited to get started. Here is one of the pictures I took today playing around with different settings. I made Canden sit up in his bumbo while I played and I think he got pretty sick of me pretty darn fast :)

13 February

2010-02-13T21:56:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while, Maddie will ask to hold Canden, so of course while one gets Maddie in the chair and Canden in her lap, the other runs for the camera!

7 February

2010-02-07T21:59:00.000-06:00

Tonight we had our parents over for the "big game". I cooked up some beef sandwiches, we watched the commercials, er, the game and had a nice night overall. This is the only picture I got today, so that explains why it isn't the best picture I've ever posted.

6 February

2010-02-06T19:15:00.003-06:00

One Pon Time . . .

This is how Maddie says "Once upon a time". She has started bringing books out and wanting to read them to us. Mostly she just says 'one pon time' over and over again, but she really is too cute when she does it. Here is a picture of her reading to Canden. She has really been such a good big sister. When he sits in his chair she will turn it on and 'make his butt jiggle' and if he fusses she will rock him and say 'it's ok Canden'. She really helps take care of him and likes to 'pet' him.

Easy Single Serving Microwave Cake

2010-02-06T15:37:00.005-06:00

Mom, I know what you are thinking already, another microwave cake recipe? Well, I started weight watchers today - it's long overdue - and of course I have been looking for some new great recipes to get me started on my weight loss journey. Well, where do I start but the deserts! Here is a quick easy recipe for a single serving microwave cake. I just tested it out for an afternoon snack and it is actually really good.

This recipe will make 37 servings, so it is also very cheap, which is an added bonus!

Easy Microwave Cake (2 POINTS per serving)
1 box Angel Food Cake mix
1 box any flavor cake mix

Mix these together and store them in a bag or tupperware container (unless you plan on eating all 37 cakes today :) ).

To make:
Mix 1/3 cup cake mix and 3 Tbsp. of water. Microwave for 45-50 seconds.

*This filled my regular cereal bowls, so it is a pretty good size serving.

Sweet Dreams

2010-02-04T22:16:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful night last night. Canden slept all night for the first time! We laid him down at about 10:00 and he slept all the way until I woke him up at 7:00! I'm sure that most of you don't care about this as much as we do, but I use this blog to keep track of a lot of things and I look back at it often while scrapbooking. If I tell all of you about our big and little milestones, I can also keep track of when everything happens!

3 February

2010-02-03T22:01:00.001-06:00

This is the fourth night in a row that we have gone in to cover Maddie up at night to find that she has taken off her jammies and diaper. I'm not sure why she does this, but it's kind of a pain in the butt to have to redress her every night on our way to bed. I guess she could be doing worse things. We should consider ourselves blessed that she goes to bed without a fight, stays in bed even when she's not tired and she sleeps all night long.

30 January

2010-01-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Today was my mom's birthday, so we had my parents over for dinner and then played dominos. We took many breaks though and only got halfway through the game! Here is Grandma Molly with her grandbabies.

29 January

2010-01-29T21:54:00.001-06:00

Canden and I have been enjoying our last day home together. I start work on Monday and am not quite ready to go back.

28 January

2010-01-28T21:51:00.001-06:00

Here's Papa and Canden hanging out on the floor playing with all of his toys. Canden is really starting to follow his toys and smiles at them. He is growing up so fast!

27 January

2010-01-27T11:56:00.001-06:00

It's official - We have a thumb sucker. Canden has been trying for a couple of weeks to find his thumb and he has finally succeeded today.