foodie weekend

Posted on March 18, 2013 by tara

The only truly eventful part of our weekend was all the food we ate! We kicked it off with some homemade pulled pork using this recipe, and it honestly was the BEST pulled pork EVER. The recipe title doesn’t lie!Grandpa I. came up for a quick visit on Saturday and took us out to lunch- Greek food! (photo courtesy of him)I haven’t had a gyro since last summer. Still delicious!
“Pleeeeeease can I have some?”
Jeff may or may not have tried on his grandpa’s sunglasses when he was in the restroom… and quickly discovered that they were actually bifocals. Whoops. (Again… how am I related to these two??? Just kidding… love you guys!)Not pictured: ~~Hundreds~~ ~~thousands~~ millions of cookie bars that went in my belly.

nomalicious

Posted on March 9, 2013 by tara

nom (v.) – to eat.
nommy (adj.) – the state of being delicious.
nomalicious (adj.) – OMG that is so GOOD I could eat that FOREVER!!! (in simpler terms, “extremely delicious”).

I might have just made all those words up. You decide, but as far as my family’s concerned, they might as well be in Merriam-Webster.

So anyway, here are a couple of the dinners we ate this week. Let me introduce you to these nomalicious double-chocolate whole wheat waffles. (yes, we ate chocolate for dinner… and I totally plan to do it again in the near future…) These were melt-in-your mouth good. I added a cup of semisweet chocolate chips to make them “double” chocolate, and they were perfect. I tried to feed Michael three of them, but he couldn’t finish. I ate about 1.5 before I was ready to explode. A better alternative to stuffing your face would be to make these and freeze some for later!

I also made this Mexican mac and cheese. I’d categorize it as “nommy”, mostly because I feel like it could have used more spices. It was a great recipe for that particular night, when I wanted some easy Mexican-type food and didn’t have any rice or tortilla chips. Next time, I’ll spice it up a little (literally) or maybe try a different recipe. It did make enough leftovers for three dinners though, so I can’t complain about that!

insta-jam #7… finishing off 2012

Posted on February 25, 2013 by tara

Well, I guess I’m just a little late on this… but I wanted to put these photos up here anyway (plus, Kaya is super squishy and little in all these… so I don’t see why I shouldn’t share the cuteness)! Between getting a new phone and then just having a ton more phone pictures than ever (which might have something to do with having a super-photogenic baby!), I just didn’t get around to it. So here you go… late October through the end of 2012!

1 & 2: Sleeping (obviously). I love those smooshy cheeks!
3: She loves this little snail that hangs above her seat. Nowadays she’s strong enough to rip him right down.
4: Blowing bubbles while smiling! (Now THAT’S talent!)

1: First snow of 2012… just a small dusting.
2: More sleeping.
3: First bottle ever! This kid has always taken a bottle like a pro- she isn’t even picky about the temperature and has even had one ice cold!
4: Homemade cookies. Mmmmm.
1: Nap buddies. This is back when she would only nap if I snuggled her. I’m both happy and sad that those days are already gone.
2: Sleeping again… she did a lot of that!
3: Bundled up in her little bunny-ear suit!
4: Talking to daddy first thing in the morning.

1: Asleep in the carseat.
2: Asleep in her Halloween shirt (are you noticing a theme here?)

1, 2, 3, & 4: Sleeping, crazy, tired, and fun!1, 2, & 3: Morning snuggles and tiny little toes. photogrid2012_6

1: I went to a baby shower one Saturday morning, and when I came home, there was a Halo party going on.
2: My practice run of the fondant dog I was making for my aunt’s birthday cake.
3: Kroger actually has really good ice cream, and I was super excited to try this “cupcake party” flavor!
4: Giant Christmas tree at the mall!

1: Funny face.
2: Tired of shopping with mommy.
3: Asleep on the way to church.
4: The Thanksgiving onesie I made for her! (Remember how those plastic eyes are NOT a good idea…)

1 & 2: Thanksgiving lunch at Michael’s work!1: She really started to like reading books!
2: Cuddling with her little doll on the way to church for the last Sunday in 2012!

One more insta-jam and I’ll be all caught up… stay tuned 🙂

friday favorites

Posted on February 22, 2013 by tara

This is a pretty random post… but it’s my excuse to share a bunch of baby photos, make you drool over all the food I already ate, and brag about my husband. So…

– I wasn’t feeling too well for a few days this week (I hesitate to admit I was “sick”, because that’s just not hardcore. And we all know how hardcore I am. Anyway…). Michael worked from home one morning this week so that he could help with Kaya while I rested to ~~get unsick~~ feel better. He even washed all my dirty dishes before work started so I didn’t have to. I am one lucky gal.

– I got to see one of my favorite ponies ever (and by “pony”, I really mean horse. Lelia and I call pretty much everything a pony). I haven’t seen Rae in about a year, but I got to go out and just groom and love on him on Tuesday night. He hasn’t changed a bit!

– I made the most perfect muffins EVER. I’ve been experimenting with substitutions- these ended up with oat flour and whole wheat flour subbed in for the regular old white stuff. They are so moist, crumbly, and DELICIOUS.

– We also tried making vegetarian tacos (along with whole wheat tortillas made from scratch). In the words of Michael: “You can’t even tell the difference [between real meat tacos and these]!” I have to admit, they were pretty delicious ~~and healthy and cheap~~.

– Lelia and I finished making a quilt for our friends’ (Mike and Amanda’s) baby boy! It’s the first time we did a quilt on our own (aka no help from people with more sewing experience than ourselves). I think we did alright!

– Of course, this little princess is always the highlight of my week. I love how much she suddenly loves her stuffed animals.

Naptime snuggles are the best, especially when she holds my hand.

Happy weekend!

week in review

Posted on February 6, 2013 by tara

Although I haven’t blogged much in the past week, we’ve still been up to a lot! I figured I’d just lump it all together in one post, so prepare yourself for a gazillion photos. Here are our highlights!

Michael traveled for work for the second time this year so far. He was only really gone for a night, but he made sure to get extra baby cuddles before he left! (Check out his ~~bedhead~~… I mean, handsome smile!)

Most wives would revel in the luxury of having the whole bed to themselves. I’m not really “most wives”, so here’s what Michael’s side looks like when he’s not here. I have to fill the space up or I don’t think I could sleep. (I know you’re jealous of my giant stuffed dogs. Admit it.)

We’ve also had some great brother and sister time!

And a whole lot of exersaucer fun.

And more…

…and more…
…and even more that’s not pictured, because really, how many pictures of a baby in an exersaucer do you need to see?

Michael and I had our first-ever XL pizza! I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one, let alone eaten it. We had a coupon to get it for free, and that just made it taste even better.

Uncle Karl came over and we had a Mario Kart party… which really meant him and I were playing against other random people in the world. And by “playing against”, I really mean losing pathetically. Yep.

Baby Bird is serious about her playtime. (This rattle is actually her favorite toy right now!)

We’ve been working on sitting up, too.

But mostly, she just falls over.There’s been a lot of toe-grabbing going on, and apparently it’s only cool to wear socks that are soaked in drool nowadays.

Kaya also had her first-ever playdate! Little Mia came over and we had a lot of fun. Kaya just couldn’t stop looking at her and smiling.

She also wanted to grab Mia’s face and clothes…Some other things that I don’t have photos for:
– This weekend, I did my first 6-mile run since Kaya was born. It went really well and I felt so good at the end of it! I just might incorporate longer runs into my weekly regimen again.
– We went to Dairy Queen. Yeah… how can that not make the list? I have a problem.
– We also went to The Children’s Place, and they had a pretty big rack of clearance items for $3. Kaya really needed some jammies in bigger sizes, so I was super excited to see that there were a bunch left! We also found a dress and a couple of shirts. Our receipt told us that we “saved” about $101 off of the original prices- whoa! I love deals on things we actually need.

a kooky cookie weekend

Posted on January 28, 2013 by tara

We had one of the most fun weekends we’ve had in a while! There wasn’t really one single super-amazing event that made it great, but we had a lot of quality time with friends and family, and that’s what always makes me the happiest! (I hardly took out my big camera at all this weekend, so most of these are phone/instagram photos. Enjoy!)

Friday started off with snow in the forecast. I dropped Michael off at work and went to the new institute class at church that’s geared toward moms with young kids (I think this class is really going to be a fun and uplifting experience)! Before it was over, there was already a good amount of snow on the ground. It was my first experience driving in it, but thankfully we made it home safely. I must not have driven too crazily, because Kaya fell asleep and kept on napping for a couple of hours after we were home.
While she slept, I ~~ate all the rest of the Nutella~~ discovered there was none left and sent a photo of my sad, deprived little self to Michael so he’d know just how hard my life is. (And no, of course that isn’t Nutella on my chin!)

It wasn’t long after my Nutella crisis that the university closed down because of the snowstorm, and Michael got to come home early! We always love extra time with our buddy/daddy! (Of course, the snow stopped shortly after he arrived, but I’m not complaining…)

We also ate about a thousand cookies this weekend. Is there anything that goes better with cold winter weather than warm cookies straight out of the oven? We actually tried to make them a little “healthier” by using oat flour, and I was really impressed with the result.

We also enjoyed some homemade baked chicken nuggets and mac ‘n cheese (I’m kind of putting this in here just to make my dad-in-law jealous… again…)

Somebody is starting to give us some really toothy grins! Michael showed this photo off to about a million people at church.

After Church, we had a potluck! We haven’t had one in a verrrrry long time, and although we were at the back of the line and worried there wouldn’t be any food left once we got up there, we still had some yummy things! (By the way, I have a handsome husband and cute baby, hmmm?)

Post-potluck, we went over to Jeff and Lelia’s to ~~gorge ourselves on more cookies~~ play some games. Our friend Raleigh came too- she was so excited to finally squeeze our baby! (You can tell it was past Kaya’s bedtime by the time we took this picture… just look at those sleepy eyes!)

the 5 c’s

Posted on January 12, 2013 by tara

I am the happiest girl on earth now that Lelia, Jeff, and Karl are in town and available for a little fun! Because the newlyweds have been busy cleaning and setting up their new apartment, I figured I’d have them over for dinner one night. I invited Karl too, since ~~he can’t cook~~ I love him so much.

I made my own version of vegetarian chili! (recipe to come soon)! It was a big hit with cheese, tortilla chips, and cornbread.After dinner, Baby Bird got a whole lot of cuddles.
Uncle Karl wanted to read Kaya a story (I think he just wanted an excuse to read the Pooh Bear book, because apparently you can’t open it if there’s not a baby on your lap)! Jeff and Lelia made some delicious chocolate-chip cookies!
We played cards (the name of the game is “BANG”! We’ve loved it for years and finally got our own cards for Christmas). And well… there was a whole lot of CRAZY. I love my family so much!

food favorites

Posted on November 12, 2012 by tara

Recently, I’ve become very motivated to find easy and nutritious dinner recipes (okay, and dessert too… who can resist? I’m always on the lookout for something to satisfy my sweet tooth). I’ve actually tried a number of new things, so I thought I’d share a few of our favorites!

1. Easy Chicken Fried Rice. If you have a hankering for Chinese food and don’t want to spend money to eat out (or don’t want to buy a new pair of jeans because you overindulge at the Chinese buffet), this recipe is perfect.

2. Mac and Cheese. My Dad-in-law and I are obsessed with the mac and cheese from Cracker Barrel (he and I are pretty much twins and always order the same entree when we go there… what can I say, I lucked out when it comes to having awesome in-laws). Anyway, I’ve tried about a zillion different recipes to try and duplicate that oh-so-creamy-deliciousness, but I’ve always ended up disappointed… until now! This recipe is so easy- I actually left out the breadcrumbs and bacon, and it definitely wasn’t lacking in the flavor department. You can’t forget to make buttermilk biscuits to go with it!

3. Super Bean Burritos. Can you say “imitation Chipotle”? (I am just now realizing that all these recipes are imitations of restaurant food…). This one took a bit more preparation in advance, but putting it all together in the end was simple. It probably made about 13 burritos total, so we got about three dinners out of it. In the future I might try to freeze some burritos to eat later.

4. S’more Cookie Bars… or as I like to call our version, a “s’mores mess”, since we didn’t have any patience to wait for them to cool before we dug into them. Oh well! The appearance doesn’t change the taste!

5. Fudge Brownie Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting. I made these for Michael and Jeff while they watched the new Spiderman movie. When they each took a bite, there was nearly a chorus of “mmmmms”.

Have fun trying some new recipes (hopefully I didn’t make your stomach growl too much)!

insta-jam for july!

Posted on August 2, 2012 by tara

Well, the insta-jam last month was HUGE, and this one is so small! Consistency is not my forte.

1: Homemade pulled pork sandwiches! It was my first time trying to make these, and they turned out sooo good. Mmmm.

2: I made my first sheet cake- red velvet! It turned out delicious! We were also out of muffins for breakfast, so I made those on the same night. I was a baking-machine!

3: I’ve been stocking up on basic things by using coupons, and my how our food storage has grown! It makes me feel good to look in our pantry and know that we could survive for a little while if there was some natural disaster or something.

4: M&M cookies we made together using this recipe. They turned out so good and it made a whole lot of dough for just two people, so we ended up freezing some of it and having cookies another night!

1 & 2: Michael took me out to this Chinese buffet that he went to with some people from work. He kept raving about how good it was… and he was right! It was seriously the best Chinese buffet I’ve ever been to. Mmm.

3: Sometimes running can make a pregnant lady’s body sore… and a bubble bath can feel sooooo good. I was actually taking quite a few bubble baths the week before we found out we were expecting, just because I felt so sore after my runs, even then! (It was also January, in the mountains… and FREEZING! so a warm bath felt heavenly)!

4: I surprised Michael one day by visiting him for a “picnic” at work on his lunch break. He was so happy to see me, and it was fun to see his new workstation, since I haven’t been there since he went full-time.

insta-jam for june!

Posted on July 4, 2012 by tara

I took a LOT of pictures this month. That just means my life is super interesting, right?

1: We were having some beautiful June weather, so we went out for a walk one night. Of course, it started raining, and Michael didn’t have a jacket so we ended up waiting awhile under a tree!

2, 3 & 4: We stopped at the playground on our walk. I’m glad we’re both such big kids… but swinging while pregnant does not feel so good. Don’t try it.

1: Breakfast time for piggies! They are always so happy and alert when I greet them in the morning.

2, 3 & 4: Just plain cuteness! I love those Juni lips.

1: My first ever oven-roasted chicken. I even made gravy! It was so easy and delicious and definitely worth buying the whole chicken. We ate it for about a week I think!

2: Homemade stir-fry. This was a new recipe for me, too! I was so proud of myself for actually cooking some real meals this month (for some reason, I am just not easily motivated to cook during pregnancy. It’s so weird because I used to cook all the time before). I’m sure Michael appreciates anything that isn’t frozen pizza or hotdogs.

3: A wild bunny we saw when we were out walking! At the end of our walk, we saw a run-over bunny and I busted out sobbing because I thought it was the same one.

4. Panda came camping with us. I guess he was scared of the dark since he was hanging out by the lantern!

1: New sunglasses because my pink and purple ones broke.

2: Cheap clothes I got for munchkin. I’m super excited about those little overalls!

3: The free Target beauty bag I got in the mail. Yay!

4. Michael learned a hard lesson: never send a pregnant lady to the store alone, because she WILL come back with donut holes (not like he minds)!

1: As you already know, Kroger does not have rainbow Twizzlers, so I “settled” for this red pack of Starbursts instead. They were so good! Mmm.

2. The next morning, I woke up to this love note on the kitchen counter.

3. I fell and hurt my knee pretty badly. Michael came home early from work to take care of me, since I couldn’t even put any weight on it, let alone clean it and wrap it myself (we actually didn’t even have many first-aid supplies, so he had to go buy some. Lesson learned)! I’m so grateful for my buddy who is always looking out for me.

4. One morning I woke up to this surprise- a cute game on the tablet! It’s called Kinectimals and Michael knew I would love it, so he downloaded it before I got up and then woke me up to surprise me.

1: I surprised Michael with freezie pops! Who knew you could get a big box of them at the Dollar Tree? He was thrilled!

2: We went out for milkshakes, and ended up getting an extra one for free because they messed up my first one. YUM!

3: Poor Michael studied for HOURS for this network intrusion exam he took at work. He passed, of course!

4: We got a piano! Michael was and still is so excited about this and I can’t wait to hear him play more often.

1: Balloons my mom got for the double baby shower we had with cousin Nicole!

2: After years of hearing about this place that Michael’s grandma used to take them to for ice cream, we finally got to go! It was delicious and worth the 3.5 year wait! Haha.

3: Lelia and Jeff are kind of weird, but we let them have ice cream with us too.

4: We had two HUGE storms. One of them hit while we were out of town at my parents’ house, where it wasn’t nearly as bad. A lot of people lost power and a lot of trees have gone down. What a mess. I’m grateful that our power didn’t go out though, because my pigs would have been pretty hot without the air conditioning.

Michael and Tara

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