Charleston Cheese Dip

This weekend we were attending a get together and I decided for our finger food I wanted to try something new.  I normally have a few go-to dips that I always make, but have been wanting to venture out.  I try to catch Trisha Yearwood's cooking show on the weekends if we are home in the morning time.. She always makes the best looking southern food! Sadly, I have not tried any of her recipes (except a pineapple tea I blogged about HERE) until this. Oh my goodness, it was so amazing that I had to share.  This recipe is super easy and taste great.. win, win! I followed the recipe exactly, so I will just leave the link.  I used a pie dish as recommended, and served with Frito's.  Enjoy!!


Recipe:
Charleston Cheese Dip

Pre baking

Finished product

Tilly - 15 Months

I have definitely been slacking on blogging lately! I have a few different posts I would like to write, so hopefully I can get it back together and post a few things soon. Why not jump back in with some fun Tilly updates? I stopped doing the monthly updates at a year, but figured I would pop in every now and then so I would still have record of her as she continues to grow and learn new things.

 

 

Our tiny little princess is now 15 months old! Gosh, when did my "baby" become such a little KID!  We had her 15 month checkup bright and early this morning and Ms Priss now went from 3% to barely on the charts at 1%! She started at 10%, so it's not like she has made any drastic drops. Actually she has stayed pretty consistent on her curve, and the doctor just laughs at how petite she is.  I always ask to double check there's no concern with her size, and the doctor constantly reassures me she is A-OK.  She shockingly spiked up from around 10% in height to 50%.  She grew up a ton these last 3 months. Tall and skinny.. are we sure she is my child?! haha She is currently in size 12 month in all things Carter's, and mostly all brand tops.  She can wear 18 month bottoms in some other brands and size 3 shoes.

The funny thing about her being so small is that she eats like CRAZY. This girl packs in some food! She has balanced out some now and has a typical toddler schedule of eating a ton one day, and just picking at her food living off goldfish the next.  Some of her favorite foods still include cheese, pasta, and breads.  I plan on one of my upcoming posts being different toddler meals (and snacks!).  We have found a pretty good balance (for now) of mixing whole milk and almond milk together to keep things flowing (if you know what I mean).  She only gets that in the morning and then water the rest of the day.

Sleep wise she is officially down to one nap, which most days is after lunch around 11:30/12.  Some days if we had a busy morning she will go down early and have lunch after.  Her nap averages 2 hours, but can go up to 3 hours.  Since she only has one nap, her bedtime did bump back and she is done for the day around 6:30.  She might stay up a bit later some nights (6:45.. party animal!) but not much.  She sleeps until around 7ish most days.  When she wakes up she just talks and plays in her crib until I get her. Most mornings she stays in until around 7:45-8 so I can get my shower in and ready for the day.  Let's just say its a million times faster and easier to do those things with her contained in her crib! haha We have activities most mornings where we have to leave the house by 9, so once I am ready I get her out, dressed, and fed before we head out. Also she is OBESSED with her pink elephant (the one from her monthly pics) when it comes to sleeping.  We don't let it out of her crib, so she knows that thing means sleepy time.  She won't let you rock her unless she is holding it, and she sleeps snuggling it all night.. it's TOO CUTE.  I also know if we ever lose that thing we are in biiiiiig trouble!

We do her little kid's gym class twice a week, a playgroup once a week, and then the other 2 days are just a mixture of other play dates and running errands.  I try to get us out of the house each day to split up the day and keep us busy and entertained.  On the days we stay home, I can see her looking at me bored wondering why she has to just look at me all day! haha  We try to balance out the days at home by lots of playing with her 900 toys, going outside, reading, etc.  She is not a fan of any TV show (I thought Mickey's Playhouse was supposed to be addictive for all kids?! ha)  The only time she will look at the TV is if we have the music channels on.  She will sometimes act excited for a cartoon for about 3 minutes before she gets bored and moves on.  I can't say I am that disappointed here because I would rather her play with toys and books than watch TV. Though.. it would be nice to have something to distract my wild child every now and then.  Speaking of wild.. this girl has more energy than you could imagine inside that tiny body. She is GO GO GO from the second she wakes up until the second she goes to sleep.  She is a mover and a groover. I am assuming this is why she is so tiny, she burns off everything she eats.. and then some!

Teeth wise she now has 7, with one about to explode any day.  She got her first 2 at 8 months with zero issues, and the other 5 decided to all come in at once.  I am sure you remember my previous post of how she was a monster (I use that term with love) and we were all miserable for around 2 weeks. Whew.  I think I might need to stock up on  my wine for molars since I heard those are REAL fun. When that last one pops out, she will have her front 8.  I'll let you know how the rest goes.. eek!

During the lovely 2 weeks

Things she is loving lately:

Being outside.. this girl LOVES it outside!
Swinging
Climbing
Running
Dancing and music
Eating
Bath time
Any toy that is a ball/drum/stuffed animal
Her pink rocking horse
Shoving her finger in her nose or gagging herself with her hand (so attractive)
Sucking on the phone charger cord (she even says no no as she does it now.. sigh)
Cell phones and remotes

Will she ever fit in the "infant" swing?

Not a fan of:

Bows or anything in her hair
Sharing
Being told no by her Daddy
Being in her car seat for too long (pretty much an hour is her limit)
Having her nails clipped

No bows, Mommy!!

She is so much fun at this age, and still sassy as can be.  She is definitely a feisty little girl and does not let her size get in the way. She will boss any kid around no matter what age or size! ha  And that's about it! Just enjoying our time with this sweet baby girl and soaking in each and every day with her! :) We love you monkey!!

Life Lately

So last time I posted we were here....

..and now THANK GOODNESS my old baby is back! This crazy, mad baby is gone about 95% of the time.  Her top two teeth finally popped through, and it made the world of difference.  It does feel like around 3 more are pushing through, so who knows how the next few weeks will go.  I swear those teeth changed her 100%.  It was rough.. for all of us.  And other happy news- We finally have a pretty good schedule back down for naps.  She is now napping most days after lunch (around 12ish) and sleeping around 2 hours, sometimes a bit longer.  Magically through all this crazy nap fighting and teething, she still does 12 up to 14  hours a night.  I say that and she probably won't sleep at all tonight ha. 

She is also still eating like a maniac.  This baby CHOWS DOWN.  It is so crazy the amount of food she eats. Where does it go?!  Her favorite thing right now is getting down on some popsicles, so serious.

Other than that we have just been enjoying our days of play dates with friends, lunch dates, her baby gym class, and spending some time outside on the not so crazy hot days.  Oh, and taking baths.. this girlfriend LOVES her bath!

In other news, we are slowly making our way through home projects. We finally got the living room/hall painted.  It was this horrible green/gold/beige color. Ick.  and black sockets.. black.  Hello 1979.  We also got all those changed to white and it looks a million times better.  That part of the house is the only part that used to be panel (I can only imagine how horrible that looked in it's full wooded glory) and while I love the extra character it gives the room with the texture, man oh man was it a pain to paint.

Lastly, we tried to find a baby gate to cover our massive dangerous fireplace, but they were all $200-300 and not even big enough to go across the front and wrap around each side! We would've had to buy two and rig them together.  Luckily Lance is Mr. Home Improvement, so for around $50 he is building one himself.  It's about to be painted and then will be ready to install.  I know a little girl who is going to be very mad she can't go play in the danger zone anymore!

And that's about it! Just enjoying time with this little bit and watching her grow and learn new things each day. She is such a little kid now instead of a baby.. so crazy!

Cold Tortellini Pasta Salad

This weekend we were invited to a cook out at our neighbors', and I needed to bring a side dish.  I have a few dips that I make for most events, but decided to venture out and try something new.  Of course I searched Pinterest for some ideas and ending up settling on a Tortellini Pasta Salad.  I did switch some of the ingredients up a bit, and luckily it turned out amazing! I was so pleased with this little creation, I had to share!  I got all of my ingredients at Trader Joe's, so you might have to sub the dressing or salami if you don't have one in your area.

Ingredients:

8-10oz Spinach Tortellini
6oz Artichoke Hearts chopped slightly
6oz Black Olive Slices
8oz Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
8oz Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium red onion diced (I used about 3/4ths since it seemed like a lot)
Your choice of creamy dressing (I used Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing) with the quantity of your choice
24 Cherry tomatoes halved
1/4 lb Salami diced/sliced

Instructions:

1. Cook tortellini according to directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with cooked pasta except tomatoes and salami.
3. Let salad marinate with the dressing in the fridge for about 4-6 hours, and  then add tomatoes and salami before serving.



Side Notes:

The beans and artichoke hearts will most likely come in larger ounces than you need.  I did measure out and use what the recipe asked for, but I'm sure you could dump them all in there if you didn't want leftovers.  Also, with the dressing I just mixed in and added a little bit at a time to get to my liking.  I didn't want it coated, so I think the amount is a personal preference.  I also used fresh salami, but summer sausage or even smoked sausage would work the same if you like that better. I forgot to take a pic of the finished product until there was barely any left, but I did take a quick snap to show that it does just look like a big mess of random things mixed together, ha.  But trust me, it's VERY good!!  Enjoy!!!

Toddler Life - The Real Deal

So.. I can admit I have had a relatively "easy" child for the most part.  She always had her moments and was still a baby, but things weren't as bad as some stories I've heard.  Well, then my child turned 1.  I know that most lives through social media- Instagram, Facebook, Blogs, etc always show the good and glamour that we want people to see.  Time to keep it real and let other mama's know you aren't alone.  I am currently living in the middle of a complete mess. My "schedule" baby has no schedule, she screams when we put her down to sleep, and is overall very angry lately.  I have no idea if she is finally getting teeth, or is just mad about being 1- but I am tired.  I am stressed.  I might very well lose my mind.

I can say that at least once she is asleep, she still sleeps great at night. And once I can FINALLY squeeze that nap in, she will take a long one for around 2-3 hours.  She is trying to transition (I'm assuming) into one nap and can't really decide when she wants that to be.  That on top of her new thing of not wanting to be put down is loads of fun. 

An example- Yesterday by 11am she was exhausted so I rocked her to sleep and let her sleep on me 10 minutes to be completely out.  I then put her down and she immediately wakes up screaming.  The bad thing about naps now is the letting her cry method doesn't seem to work because it just wakes her up and makes her over tired.  She cried about 10 minutes and then sat in there and flopped and played until 1pm (yes, almost 2 hours after we started nap).  She finally fell asleep at 1 and slept until 3.  This was actually an "easy" day as to how things are going.  Thankfully at night she's still done at 7pm so once Lance lays her down, she only cries about 10 min and then passes out for the night.

I am just going to stick with the whole teething theory, as I have no clue what else could be wrong.  At her 1 year appointment the doctor said it looked like some would be coming through soon so maybe?!

I am so thankful for all my mommy friends that I can constantly complain to and vent- I don't know what I would do without that! So if you ever need to mommy vent.. feel free to send it my way! I will probably be doing the same thing or either googling "my child turned 1 and went nuts", sending Lance emails to get home ASAP, or reading other articles about stressed Mamas to make me feel better.  Hey, misery loves company! :)


In some other happier news....

Tilly is officially 100% a walker! It's actually so nice because now she just trots along beside me and follows me around the house.  She loves going fast and then super laughing when she can't slow down. We also took the bottle away right after her birthday, and though it was tough at first, wasn't the worst.  I started slowly taking down the ounces, but that seemed to make her more mad so I just stopped cold turkey.  She finally accepted it since she had no other choice! ha  We also settled with Almond milk instead of whole milk for digestive reasons.  She isn't a huge fan of milk, and mainly just wants water.  She does love yogurt and cheese, so she's getting some dairy that way.  She also now is an eating machine.  This baby can PACK in some food.  As in she eats more than me most meals! I'm assuming she'll love this when she is older and can eat to her heart's desire and not gain weight.  She definitely got that from her Daddy!

So basically that is where we are as we cruise past the 13 month mark.  Things are good.. and things are bad.  That's life though. The good still outweighs the bad and as stressed as some days are, I still wouldn't have it any other way.  Just give me my big ole glass of wine each night, and I'm good to go!  Kidding.. well, maybe! :)

Five on Friday

 

 

 

Happy Friday everyone! I haven't done a link up in FOREVER, so thought I would pop in today with 5 randoms on this Friday morning. :)

 

 

 

 

ONE:

 

Little bit is officially in her big girl car seat! (hating her headband, of course).  Oh, and walking up a storm! This girl is loving to walk/run and starts laughing hysterically the farther she goes.. too cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO:

 

I posted this mixture last week on IG (alicia_rowland) and I am still loving it.  This is my favorite coffee of the moment, for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

THREE:

 

The Last Ship on TNT.  We started this last summer, but only ended up until around episode 6 (hello newborn throwing off your schedule ha). It was pretty good, but I don't think I got too into it since we were so behind and watched it randomly in our state of sleep deprivation.  We decided to catch up the end of last season and start this one since a new season is back this summer, and man.. I am hooked!  I hate when I love so many summer shows, because you have to wait almost a whole year in between seasons!

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOUR:

 

How adorable are these baby sandals?!? AUGH! They should be arriving today in the mail, and I can't wait to try them on Tilly.  They were in another one of my super saving ON orders- 3 shirts and a pair of flip flops for me, then these for Tilly.. grand total: $2.68! Gotta love it!

 

FIVE:

 

Enough said.. TGIF!  Have a great weekend!!!

 

 

Tilly is ONE - A letter to my baby girl

 

 

 

 

My sweet Tilly,

    How has it already been a year you have been in our lives? In a way it feels like I was just huge and miserably pregnant, and on the other hand I can't even remember my life before you. At 10:01am on June 21, 2014 our lives forever changed. This year has been the most amazing experience, and also the most challenging.   I can honestly say you have been a very easy baby for the most part and I really lucked out with you baby girl.  You love to sleep just like your Mommy and do an average of 12-13 hours a night.  You started your full nights sleep around 7 1/2 weeks and never looked back.  You also take awesome naps on top of this. You did puke pretty much non stop the first 6 months of your life, so there was that.  Thank goodness it never seemed to bother you and you did grow out of it once you started solids.  You have always been a tiny thing staying in the 10 percentile. You are in mostly 12 month clothing, and in size 4 diapers. You are starting to grow into size 3 shoes, but can still fit into 2's.  We had a doctor's visit last week with your nasty virus and you weighed in at 16lbs 8oz.  You hadn't eaten any food in quite a few days though from your sore throat, so maybe by your checkup later this week you will have bumped up some.  Speaking of food, you are a little bit of a picky eater, but have gotten much better.  As of now your favorite foods are any kind of smoked sausage- mostly turkey kielbasa, yogurt, avocado, scrambled eggs with cheese, pancakes, green beans, strawberries, grilled cheese, string cheese, black beans, Plum baby fruit snacks, any type of pasta, and you love ice cream. You still only have 2 teeth (your bottom middle) and never had any teething symptoms. Not sure if the rest will all come in at once and be a nightmare, or what.. we shall see!  You have never been a big drinker and love to stress Mama out with your low liquid intake.   Unfortunately we did have your first sickness doctor's visit as I mentioned before that ended up being a virus.  Thankfully you only had 2 colds and this virus for the whole year, so luckily you have been very healthy! You are such a sassy little girl with a strong personality.  You know what you want and you definitely know what you don't want.  You do great with your schedule and luckily got on one pretty early on.  We have our daily routine down pat.  I couldn't imagine spending my days any other way than with my little buddy.  You constantly crack me up when we go shopping, as you are such a little ham.  You will even lean around me if I stand in your way of interacting with someone.  You love to stare people down until they look at you, and then turbo grin and make eyes at them. We have people constantly coming up to talk to you every time we go out.  You are such an amazing little baby and I am so honored to be your mom.  I can't wait to watch you to continue to grow and become more and more into your personality.  Sometimes it scares me to think of how sassy you'll be in just a few years (months?!)  You have lightened our lives tremendously.  Your daddy and I would not know what to do with ourselves if we didn't have you around.  Sometimes I just sit and stare at you in awe.  You are great at entertaining yourself and love to sit and play with your toys for hours.  You don't like to snuggle unless its time to put you to sleep.. which does make me sad! You can crawl 100mph and love to get into EVERYTHING.  You did take your first steps exactly one week before your birthday, but haven't taken anymore since.  You are completely stark white like your mommy and I am pretty sure are going to keep your light eyes like mine.  Your hair is a mix of light brown and red for the moment.  You love to constantly shake your head and tell us no (uh oh), play peek a boo, play with all your toys, laugh and smile nonstop, give kisses, and explore anything and everything. You are such a happy baby and love to laugh.  It's so funny to sit and watch you play, as you constantly are cracking yourself up. Thank you for such an amazing year and showing us what love really is. One of the best parts of my day is when I walk into your room each morning and you stand up with the biggest grin on your face saying, Mama Mama Mama.  And at the end of the day when your Daddy gets home and you get SOO excited as you turbo crawl to him yelling out, Dada Dada Dada.  You always are so excited and in the best mood when your Daddy gets home each night.  You also don't do as good with naps on the weekends because you want to stay up and hang out with him! To watch you two together just makes me melt.  I am trying to soak up as much of this as I can, as I know these precious baby days don't last forever.  You will always be my first baby and hold such a special place in my heart.  I love you with all my heart, and I always will.

I love you forever,

Mommy

 

 

A little look back on the first year..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 1st Birthday Tilly!