Baby Food, Boupbwacks and More...

 The girls looked so cute before church on Sunday. These were their "Christmas Dresses" and I decided it's a great idea to get holiday clothes that don't just have to go for that day. I got these dresses at the gap kids outlet with my friend Crystal when I went to Denver to visit her and her sweet baby Mack. I got them for such a steal. I wish we had a gap outlet here! Oh and I love how Adelyn is putting on her "boupbwoks" here. What a cutie!

 Annabelle has been into eating baby food again. haha Ok not really or kinda. I saw the "on the go" fruit things on clearance and decided to try some for the girls and Annabelle just loves them and Adelyn doesn't like them at all! ha! Could've guessed.

 Today, the girls and I decided to make princess cookies. (They have shoes on them if you can't tell.)

 They were pretty yummy and it was fun!

 I caught the girls playing ring around the rosy and it was so so sweet. I love how much they love each other!

And I read this this morning and I was so convicted about how the girls probably don't think I am a very thankful person. What a way to reveal to me the area that God needs to work on my heart in! (Oh and this is from "Choosing Gratitude" if you couldn't have guessed. :) )

Sweet Baby Girls

 My sweet girl wanted a braid today in her hair before school. She has yet to request a hair "do" so I thought it was so sweet.

 After school, we headed to the mall to hang out and play.

 And tonight we tried to make muffins for our neighbors and it was hilarious. Adam was supposed to be home but he went out for visitation and so me and the girls made the muffins. Annabelle was saying that we were making them for Alice, the bear she got for her birthday.

 So, the point of them knowing we were doing them for others has not come across yet...haha but maybe it will when we deliver them. I hope so at least. :)

 I gave them each their own bowl to have fun with and they loved it..

 and then they wanted to eat their fruit snacks on the ground and so I said that was ok.

After  muffins, we painted in the bath tub, an idea I saw on Pintrest. The girls loved it and painted themselves and each other. It was so cute!! We will def be doing that again soon!!

And here is Adelyn enjoying one of the muffins we made. :) They really didn't turn out great which usually happens when I have little hands helping so I think I'm going to have to start over again tomorrow but Oh well it was fun in the process. :)

Christmas Play Group and Cookie Exchange

 Last night we made cookies for our cookie exchange this morning. We decided on Gingerbread Men.

 Adelyn cried and cried because she thought we weren't going to include her but we most definitely did!

We just used whatever was in our kitchen to decorate which happened to be chocolate chips and green sprinkles. To me they kinda looked like green monster gingerbread men.

 At the cookie exchange/play date we also made these adorable ornaments out of the kids hand print. Adelyn didn't want to get paint on her hand so just Annabelle made one. Aren't they just so cute!

 Afterward, we went to McDonalds to get some energy out. Ad just looked so cute and of course she has food all over her face

These two just always have a blast together!

 

What a good and fun day we had. Not to be a downer but the picture above is of 2 Timothy 3:16 says, ''All those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." The right side of the picture gives the greek definition of "persecution." Just such a great reminder to me that this is what we are called to and that God wants to be with us and teach us so much through it!! I love God's word; the true source of comfort!

Healthier Spagetti Bake

Ya'll I am soooo bad at recipes. As in, I NEVER follow what they say! I guess that is how I came up with some of our favorite dishes but still it makes it impossible to share recipes because usually every single time I cook a dish I cook it differently! ha! So, this is going to be my first attempt at recording a recipe. Also if you like exact directions and measurements you might want to kill me when this post is over. Please bear with me!

I am sure there will be MUCH explanation in this recipe. haha. Ok so I call almost all of my original recipes "healthy" or "healthier" because I have usually taken a recipe someone has given me and picked healthier options to make the recipe better for you or I have just guessed at how to make a recipe with healthier ingredients.

A little more explanation needed. I married a man who used to eat NO veggies, salad, anything green and who is OBSESSED with bacon and cheese! Soooooo, I make recipes that he can still live with but are also in my opinion healthy compared to the normal version. I'll just say it this way, I make all the substitutions I can while making the dish still yummy enough for him to eat!! I am also on a tight budget so I use A LOT of off brand etc.

I also feel a lot of pressure (mostly the bad kind I put on myself ha!) because I am a nutritionist to not lead people astray. So, for example, if I was to cook the recipe the below just how I wanted it I might try spaghetti squash instead of noodles and use all organic products BUT I have to be practical for our lifestyle so I just go with what I can do and don't stress about the rest. Our family truly strives to honor God with our food choices as in we know our body is a temple and we try to treat it that way and God only looks at the motives of our heart and so that is truly what is important. (Golly, a whole different blog post necessary here but no time right now...) Ok enough explanation for now...haha...

Healthier Spaghetti Bake


All the ingredients are shown above. Salt, pepper, italian seasoning, olive oil, whole grain noodles of choice, 96/4 extra lean ground beef, parm cheese, other cheese of your choice (even fat free works ok), & organic Bartolli spaghetti sauce.


Cook the 96/4 ground beef, drain fat, and add the whole container of sauce. There will be very minimal fat because it's extra lean ground beef. I use 96/4 because the "bad" stuff in meat is found in the fat so we cannot afford to buy all organic products but I know that in dairy and meat the less the fat, the less the hormones etc there are so I do this for our family. (We eat A LOT of chicken so I do buy only farm fed chicken.) The Bartolli sauce is just the best tasting sauce I have found and it is so reasonably priced for organic.


Cook whole wheat noodles as suggested and then put them in a strainer and add parm cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt as desired. (They won't need much if any salt because the sauce is sooo yummy.)


Place the noodles in the bottom of a 10 x 13 glass baking dish and top with meat and sauce mixture.


Next add cheese as desired. Then, add parm cheese and then Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper as desired. Sometimes I put a lot because that's what Adam likes best and sometimes we don't have a lot of cheese and so I don't put a lot and it is still good. If you use fat free cheese you need to be aware that it cooks much differently that regular cheese. It is a little rubbery when cooked but let me tell you, it still works if you want to try it!

You will then bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The meat is already cooked inside and so the reason you are baking is for the cheese to melt! Just watch it and you will know when it needs to come out!

I never got an after picture...haha! Maybe I'll do better next time! :)


I always serve mine minus the bread and plus the broccoli. (My husband has given in and will actually eat broccoli!!) You can steam it or cook it in a pan as shown. I buy frozen broccoli florets and then I cook it on the stove with a tbsp of olive oil until it is a little burnt and we love it like that. Adam adds.....cheese...you guessed it! :)

I have to give credit where credit is due. I got the original spaghetti bake recipe from one of my best friend Crystal's mom and I tweeked it a lot. Mrs. Cassandra gave me the recipe when we ate it at her house one night and said she used thought to fix spaghetti as a casserole because her family of 8!!! wouldn't eat as much of it if she put it in a casserole!! Crazy huh?

I was planning on posting Healthier Mac and Cheese twitterers also but I'm just going to save it for another day!! Sorry, I know that is the one you really wanted!! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Hair, Tea Parties, Pineapples, and Dance Camp

So tomorrow I am getting Annabelle's hair cut for the first time. I know, I know, it's probably not a big deal to you at all but to me it is. I have waited until now and have really enjoyed watching it grow and putting it in pigtails, ponytails, and half up but it is just time for a trim, not an all out cut, but a trim.


Annabelle still has another layer of baby bangs growing in and so I am for sure not getting bangs but the girl that cuts my hair said she could just trim it up and make it look cute so I decided it was a good idea. Annabelle's hair is always soo blond when we first wash it.


I took these pictures of her before bed on Saturday night because that is the one night a week that we wash and dry her hair. If it were up to me we would do it every day just because i love to dry and comb her hair and make faces with her in the mirror but Annabelle HATES to have her hair washed (and hates is an understatement, picture someone trying to throw themselves out of the bath tub etc...) So, we just stick to once a week.

Annabelle and her daddy


We got to spend all day on Saturday together as a family and we decided to go swimming in the am and Annabelle and Daddy had a tea party. What a good daddy! We stick to having tea parties outside for now because Annabelle spills the tea (or juice in this case) everywhere.




Also, yesterday I cut up my first pineapple. I am still trying to figure out why I think this is so cool. I was just so super excited about it! :)



I know the picture is fuzzy and you can't really tell but I got a ton of pineapple!



I know, I'm a dork!

I can't wait for tomorrow; my friend Kimberly is coming to visit and Annabelle starts dance camp! I hope she likes it! I am way too excited about it!!