Dinner Entertainment!

Our little Ryla has become quite the little entertainer at dinner time. About a month ago she started refusing to let us feed her, so we have now resorted to stripping her down and letting her dig in. It is pretty cute. It does, however, lead to a bath almost every night but that's okay. Last night she wasn't feeling very well and she kept trying to give Luther her food.

Tomato Presto Pizza

So lately I have been really into trying out new recipes. I especially have found that I loooooove the Pioneer Woman cookbooks. After I read her autobiography I became a little addicted to her........or realllly addicted to her. I bought both of her cookbooks and have been loving them to pieces. I thought I would share some of my favorite of her recipes. The one I made this evening was a tomato presto pizza. I would say to only make it if you really like presto and that it probably isn't the best to serve to little kiddos, although my Ryla really enjoyed it. Next time I think I will make half a regular cheese for them. It is definitely a healthier option for a pizza though.....

Place homemade or store bought pizza dough on lightly greased pan.

A second set of hands is always helpful!

Presto!!!

Layer with fresh mozzarella.

Cover with sliced tomatoes.

Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese and bake for 8-10 minutes at 500 degrees.

Walla!

Serve to hungry humans!!!

Or hungry mini-humans!

Snow Days!!

Woke up this morning to a fresh coat of snow on the ground and my three year old asking, what seemed like a hundred times, when he could go outside to play in the snow. Cliff bundled him up leaving Ryla crying with jealousy at the living room window. I decided that even though we only had a 2T boy's snow suit that it shouldn't keep my little girl from enjoying the snowy spring day. They had a lot of fun.....The only bad things is that I definitely don't think they will be wearing their Easter outfits I bought them. Oh well!

Aidan the Chef!!!

I haven't had much time to spend with my Aidan as I had before our little bundle of joy arrived, but the few times I do have with him are usually spent in the kitchen. Aidan loves to bake and cook with me and I have to say he is getting really good at it. This morning I told him we were going to make a meatloaf and he went to the pantry to grab the potatoes because he knows that we always make mashed potatoes with our meatloaf. It was too cute. I told him that he was a smart little guys but the potatoes were going to be put on hold until tonight and that right now we were just going to make the meatloaf. I always make two meatloafs at once so that I can freeze one for later. So this meant that Aidan got to start off our recipe by cracking 4 eggs. I grabbed the camera so I could capture the moment.

Turning 30!

I turned 30 last Saturday. I have a lot of friends who were realllly dreading this age but I actually could not wait. When I look at my life I feel like I should be in my thirties. Don't get me wrong.....I enjoyed my twenties but I am just very excited about what my thirties will have to hold. For my birthday Cliff found a babysitter for Aidan and Ryla for the entire day and he stayed home with Noah so that I could have the day off from responsibility. I had some friends come over and we pigged out on junk food, watched TV and did a 1000 piece puzzle. ( I know I'm a nerd) It was the perfect day. Later in the evening Cliff had a larger group of friends join us and we enjoyed an fun kid free get together at the house.

If I could choose two words to describe what my life was like when I turned thirty it would be UTTER EXHAUSTION. I have never been so tired in my entire life. However, I will say that I if I am going to be this exhausted, I wouldn't want it to be for any other reason than taking care of my family. I am sure that just in about 6 months or so it will be totally different, but for right now utter exhaustion is what I will remember. I say a prayer every morning after Cliff leaves that I will make it through the day while being patient and an encouragement to my children. I try very hard to not look at nap time as the highlight of my day. My kiddos need me for everything right now so I make it through by telling myself that when I turn 40....they will most likely be beginning the life stage of not wanting me around so I need to take advantage of every opportunity.

When I was younger I never thought about what I wanted my life to look at by the age of 30 but I do feel like that there is not a whole lot I would change. I found a husband who treats me way better than I deserve. He makes me want to be a better Christian woman, wife and mother with every passing day. I know it is a cliche saying but I really don't know what i would do without him. I have 3 amazing healthy children who each make me laugh in their own unique ways. (On a side note I also like that I had them before I turned 30). I am thankful for my education. I enjoy my part part time job and love that I have a career that I feel is pleasing to our Lord. I am thankful that I am able to stay at home and not have to pay someone to raise my children as so many moms are forced to do. I am thankful to be a homeowner and to live in such a beautiful place like Washington.

This turned into a very cheesy post but as my blog is also my personal journal, I wanted to remember what I was feeling when I turned 30.

Here is a pic of how I feel on a day to day basis right now. I don't remember when this was taken but it had to have been a descent day as I see I am dressed. No makeup however. Finding time to put on make up has now become a luxury.

One Month Old!

My Noah turned one month old a couple of days ago. At first I thought.....wow that was fast. But then I also can look back at the last month and feel like we have been a family of five for much more than that. Noah is doing amazing. He continues to be such an easy baby and so fun to have around. He is such a big little guy. He looks much more like a 3 month old. He has been holding his head up since he was born. He continues to nurse well which is one of the reasons I contribute his size to. This has also helped tremendously with my weight loss which has been nice. He is wearing a size 1 diaper but also can still squeeze into his NB ones. He has a couple outfits that he still wears that are NB size but he is also wearing size 0-3 month and even some 3 month outfits. I don't know his exact stats but I am guessing he is around 10 pounds or so. His next appointment is at 2 months. He is just starting to get out of his NB sleep patterns so we get to see him awake a lot more now which has been fun. Right now he is taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoon with the other two which is such a blessing. Cliff and I get some one on one time with him in the evenings as he has been going to bed around ten. He hasn't smiled for us yet but I think that is coming soon. Aidan and Ryla, I would say, have fully adjusted to him being around. I think Ryla for sure understands now that he is here to stay. 10 months ago I could not picture life with him and now we can't picture life without him!!!!!





5 days old

one month
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