Meal Planning Monday

Hap Hap Happy Monday! 

I hope your weekend was grand!
We spent all day Saturday at the beach with tans/burns for all, 

and all day Sunday doing some much needed house cleaning. Keith actually took it upon himself to detail my kitchen...and by detail, I mean he literally emptied every cabinet, cleaned, and reorganized them all. 

Liam is offically in fully crawly mode, so we needed to do some kitchen baby-proofing, including moving all our chemicals/cleaners to a high cabinet.

Anywho...With a super shiny, newly organized kitchen, I'm looking forward to cooking this week!
Here's what we're having:

Spaghetti:

I don't really do anything super special with my spaghetti. I use lean-ground beef and cook it with onions & green bell peppers. Usually throw in some salt, pepper, & lots of garlic.

Add our favorite pasta sauce (usually I get the Ragu that has a full serving of veggies) and serve with whole-grain spaghetti.

CrockPot Chicken Ranch Tacos

I've made just regular Chicken Tacos in the CrockPot and they're delicious, so I thought I'd give this recipe a whirl. 

CrockPot BBQ Ribs

My husband loves Ribs. LOVES. They can be kind of intimidating to make, but I feel like they're really hard to mess up in the CrockPot. They always come out super tender, and there isn't much work required at all! I've done them before, but this exact recipe is new to me.

Monte Cristo

If you're never had a Monte Cristo...You NEED to try one. I've only had them at restaurants, but I haven't had one in awhile. I found this recipe and can't keep myself from trying it. It's definitely not the healthiest meal...maybe we'll just have extra broccoli on the side...

Honey Mustard Chicken

This is from the Weight Watchers site (to make up for Monte Cristo night :) but you can't tell at all! I've made this chicken before & it's AWESOME. One of my top 3 baked chicken recipes.

Friday Fashion Diaries

Happy Aloha Friday folks!
We've taken a few weeks off from Friday Fashion Diaries, but we're back!

I wish I'd gotten a cuter picture of last Friday's outfit.

Hat: Bought from @milesshop on IG

Onesie: Target (Similar)

In honor of Mother's Day, his 'Mom' Romper from Gap.

Babylegs: Made by me

Hat: Old Navy

Onesie: Gap (Similar)

Roll-up Khakis: Children's Place (Similar)

Onesie: Carter's (found at a yard sale) (Similar)

Shorts: Children's Place (Similar)

Shoes: TJ Maxx (Similar)

Hat: Children's Place (Similar)

Bandana Scarf: Made by me, available for sale @thedappermister on Instagram

Shirt: Gap (Similar)

Roll-up Chambray Pants: Old Navy (Similar)

Shoes: TJ Maxx (Similar)

7 months old!

Every month that passes is more fun than the last and this one was no exception!

Weight: Around 18 pounds

Height: 26 inches 

Clothing size: 6-9 & 9

Shoe Size: 2, sometimes 3

Diaper size: 3 

Feeding: Liam has so far liked every single food he's tasted, even just plain peas, spinach, carrots. EVERYthing. So I try to keep it pretty diverse. Food has gotten so fun! I've been experimenting with making my own and have been pureeing my heart out! (Baby-food-making post coming soon!)

So this is what the day looks like in terms of food:

Liam wakes up for a really early morning feed a little before 6, and I just pull him into bed and nurse him. He's up for the day a little after 8, and I nurse him again. Then usually 9:30/10ish we do oatmeal mixed with a fruit puree. I use the gerber whole wheat cereal and either a fruit puree I've made myself, mash some bananas, or I'll squeeze in a little bit from a pouch. Typically, I'd say he'll eat at least 4 oz of cereal/fruit mixture.

After his morning nap, he'll nurse again, and then about an hour later, I've just started putting him in his highchair and just giving him a few puffs/torn up turkey/pieces of bread. Just a few small finger foods.

After his afternoon nap, he nurses again (4:30-5ish). Dinner is around 6:30 and normally consists of a mixture of whatever food I have made for him. Zucchini, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Squash, Broccoli, and even pureed Chicken are some of our regulars. The boy can down about 6 oz of pureed food at dinner time. I've just started giving him a few small fingerfoods at dinnertime as well--most goes on the floor or in his chair, but I have seen him actually get a few pieces into his mouth! It's fun watching him learn to feed himself. 

Here is a video of him eating finger foods!!

Sleep: The past month was half-half. The first half was great! Every night he slept straight through, 8:30-5:30, woke to nurse, then back down until about 8.
Then he got a fever from teething and had a rough week :( He was up every few hours wanting to nurse and just wanted mama. Poor guy.
Those few really rough nights, I just put him in the pack & play in our room.

But thankfully I think that's over and we're back to normal. 

Naptimes are still  kinda rough some days. The kid just doesn't like to nap! When I hear people talking about 2 hours naps, I'm like..WTF is that??! HA! I'm really lucky if I get an hour nap out of him, and he almost always cries for at least 10 minutes before he falls asleep. 

I typically just place him in the crib with his lovie and white noise and leave the room.
He always falls asleep eventually...it's just not always for very long :)

Once in awhile I'll have a fluke day where he'll take a looong nap and I FEEL LIKE I'VE WON THE LOTTO!!!!

Milestones: Learning to crawl has been the big milestone this month. He's been scooting a pulling himself along the floor like crazy. No more leaving him alone for too long! He'll get into the crawling position and crawl a few steps, and then he just goes down to his stomach and pulls himself along!

I didn't put many videos on YouTube this month, but I did on FB. 

You can see one of him trying to crawl Here.

He's also learned to sit himself up this month. He's been sitting alone since about 4 months, but just now has learned to pull himself up from laying down. 

Speaking of pulling up...He's pulled up to a standing position all by himself! Just the first time a  few days ago--we walked into his room and he was completely standing up in his crib! Time to lower that mattress.

Another HUGE milestone--Liam got two teeth! It's crazy how fast it happened....he didn't have any teething symptoms really.....Not at all fussy for the bottom ones. The Dr. pointed out that they were going to come through soon, and 3 days later, there they were!

The top teeth...haven't been so easy. It's crazy that they're already coming in so soon after the bottom teeth broke through. He got a low grade fever at the beginning of the week, was super cranky, would flinch when we touched his gums...poor guy :( We're just waiting for them to make an appearance!

Adventures: We had a super fun month of adventures! Some good friends of ours came to visit from Colorado and they had their son about a month after Liam was born so the boys got to meet for the first time! 

 

 Mommy and Daddy could not get through the month without: 

Teething supplies! Seriously. Teething tablets, orajel, and tylenol to bring his fever down.

Monthly Beauty Faves

I hope you're having a good May! 

I discovered some fun new products this month that made it to my 'favorites' list.

1. Up & Up Nail Polish Remover Pads

This is a type of product that I probably never would have bought myself, but Keith won them at a baby shower. Since he hasn't painted his nails in months, he gave them to me. They are awesome!! So much easier than getting out the bottle of nail polish remover & cotton balls. One pad takes off all of my nail polish. 

I'm not sure of the price on these since they're not sold on the website, but you can find them at any Target.

2. Eos Lip Balm

$3.00

Eos lip balms go on very smoothly, have an SPF 15 and are all-natural.

I've always loved them, and then I tried the mint flavor. It leaves your lips a little tingly, and works as a breath freshener too!

3. L'Oreal BB Cream

$6.00

A friend recommended this to me and I'm so glad I tried it!

It's a great alternative to using a heavier foundation. It goes on super light, but provides a good, medium coverage. It really evens out your skin tone, and moisturizes as well. No 'cakey' makeup feel at all, and the price is fantastic!

4. Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Collection

$7-20.00

This stuff smells. Seriously. Amazing. I bought the little roller ball and it's the perfume that I always carry in my purse because it's just the right size. 

Meal Planning Monday

Happy Monday!
I hope you had a great weekend and a great Mother's Day!

My weekend was very eventful for many reasons:
Saturday my phone was stolen (or lost...but most likely stolen).... It was my own fault...I accidentally left it on a picnic table at a very crowded event and obviously it wasn't there when I went back for it. It kinda put a huge damper on the beginning of the weekend, but I tried not to let it ruin everything. It's a material object and can easily be replaced!

Mother's Day was wonderful! My husband did great. He's not always the type to plan ahead for things, but this time he did and I was very impressed.
I woke up to a trail of photos from 'Liam' with messages on them leading to his crib.
Keith got me a ring that Liam 'picked out' with Liam's birthstone in the center, mine and Keith's on the outside. Very sweet and very thoughtful.

We had breakfast at one of our favorite places with some friends of ours.

And to end the day, we met up with another couple and had dinner on the beach at sunset.

It couldn't have been better!

Anyway, on to meals!

Most of my planned meals I save in my phone....thankfully I was able to remember what I had planned for this week partially because I'd already bought the groceries, and I just looked over my pinboard to help stir my memory.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

I have made this a few times and we love it. I normally omit the heavy cream and it's just as good.

I almost always have a veggie-heavy salad when I make pasta dishes.

Crockpot Mexican/Salsa Chicken

I've not tried this one, but it looks easy and delicious!

I'll probably serve it over brown rice.

Cheddar Jalapeno Turkey Burgers

I just made this recipe a few weeks ago, (it was AWESOME) but with ground chicken instead. I wanted to try it with turkey instead. 

Sweet potato fries on the side?

Chicken With Veggies

Looks super super easy.

Spicy Honey Chicken

This I have made several times and it is my absolute favorite grilled chicken recipe. It's definitely one to serve if you have guests--they'll definitely ask for seconds!

I've always done it with chicken breasts instead of thighs because my husband hates grilling thighs.

Also...I can never seem to find 'chipotle chili powder' and it's just as awesome without.

When we grill, I like to throw a foil packet full of veggies on as a side. 

Here's my favorite mix/method for foil grilled veggies:

2-4 yellow squash

2-4 zucchini

2 onions

1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Garlic Powder to taste

Sea Salt/Pepper to taste

Chop the veggies into bite sized pieces and put in a large ziplock bag. Pour olive oil & lemon juice over the top & shake to coat.

Add garlic powder, salt & pepper to your liking. 

Wrap tightly in foil so none of the juice escapes & grill until done (about 10 min. per side)

Happy Monday, have a good week!

6 month baby faves

I meant to post this a few weeks ago when Liam actually turned 6 months old.

Then Life Happened.

1. Baby Food Containers

I try to make my own baby food as often as possible, and these things have come in very handy. Each one is 2 oz, perfect size to just grab out a few for dinner. The lids snap on nice & tight so they work great for freezing, and they come with a little tray for easier organization.

2. Safety First Bath Toy Bag

The husband actually came home with this one night and I couldn't get over how genius it was! We only have one tub in our house, and I just really can't. Stand. Clutter. AT ALL! So this is awesome. It suctions to the side of the shower wall and holds all of Liam's bath toys. They're easily accessible, but still out of the way.

3. Fisher Price Walker Toy

A friend actually gave us this as a hand-me-down right after we had Liam and at a little after 5 months we finally broke it out. He really took to it! It's got all sorts of buttons to push and he seems to have a lot of fun messing with it. I'm not sure how good of a 'walker' it will be though--it seems really lightweight and I think it'll tip over easily, but with supervision it'll work great.

4. Oranges...Apples...

I've learned that a lot of 'toys' Liam likes best aren't toys at all but just basic household items. (If you have a baby, I'm sure you'll agree! Keys...iPhone...Laptop...Cup of coffee...their favorite toys are things they can't have....) Anyway, I was getting Liam's dinner ready one night and he was NOT interested in waiting any amount of time to eat. The fruit bowl was right there so I grabbed an orange and put it on his highchair tray. He quieted down & it kept him entertained until I was ready to feed him. Now we almost always give him fruit to play with when we're at the table and he's not eating.

5. Shopping Cart Cover

This definitely isn't a 'must-have', just a 'nice to have'. If you're a germ-a-phobe than it's probably a must-have for you. I'm personally not too too much of a germ-a-phobe, but when it comes to shopping carts & especially high chairs, I just get a little grossed out. Ew, who knows what's been on there. And Liam, like every other baby, WILL be putting his mouth all over the shopping cart handle and the edge of a public highchair. One thing I really like about this particular cover is that it's got toys attached, and little loops to attach your own toys, plus a tether to attach a sippy cup.

Meal Planning Monday

I'm posting this a little late, but I'm posting it! That's all that matters, right? :) It's 5:53 Hawaii time, my husband is cooking dinner (and it's not even a special occasion...I'm not allowed to know what we're having yet, stay tuned...) and Liam is asleep. Normally I don't let him nap this late, but his two naps today were both less than an hour. So yeah. Sleep away little boy, cook away big boy, and I'm enjoying the peace & quiet!!

Here's what we're having for dinner this week!

(Aside from hunny's dinner tonight...if it's a hit I'll post it next week!)

Pad Thai

Yummy, easy recipe! I've done it before with chicken, but beef or shrimp would be good too!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

(Got the name wrong above)

This is delicious! Kinda takes a while to prepare, so do it on a night when you've got some time.

Shake & Bake Pork Chops

Easy & Quick! I just use boneless pork loin chops and one of those shake & bake packs from the store.

Beef Stir Fry

Sometimes I get ambitious and make my own special, yummy sauce, but this time I just bought a bottle of stir-fry sauce. I definitely always try to go with fresh veggies--carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, onion, etc. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I don't really use a recipe for this, but I looked up a recipe to help you if it's your first time making it. 

BBQ chicken pizza is my faaavorite pizza of all time! I get the Pilsbury refrigerated pizza crust (I've made my own before but...Ain't Nobody Got Time for DAT!) about 1/2 cup of bbq sauce, pre-cooked grilled chicken (found in the deli / lunchmeat section) throw on some red onion & green onion, mozzarella & voila!!