I grew a child in there!

Going through some pictures today (and taking some GREAT ones, which I'll share later!) I came across these.

29 weeks -- June 29th

 How cute I was back in June. Just a small little bump, but definite baby-figure!

36 weeks -- Aug 22nd

 Then August came, and towards the end I was so huge and none of my clothes fit. I didn't think I could keep growing....but I did. And then I kept growing. And grew some more.


I'm not ashamed to admit I gained 35 lbs during my pregnancy. I believe at least 20 lbs was pure water, as I lost close to that within a week of giving birth. Then there is Jackson who came out weighing over 9 1/2 lbs, which leaves about 6-7 lbs left of fat/extra "stuff". Sounds about right to me.


I've been doing what I can to get back to pre-pregnancy weight and have done a pretty good job I think. I'm back, but now with stretch marks. *Sigh*. But I don't get beat up over having stretch marks because I didn't just get fat, I grew a child inside my body. So these stretch marks I'm proud of. While I will never have a tummy that is as clean and young looking as I did before, I'm a mom and I have something to show for it. And as long as I'm healthy and doing the right things, eating right and exercising, I will feel good about myself and that is all I need. 


A little motivation for others out there who may struggle with this and/or have thought about this, and for myself. It never hurts to remind yourself of your goals and your purpose for doing things.

Next up, some way too cute pictures of Jackson I snapped today while he was being cute and we were getting ready to go. I've been wanting to do some cute set up photos for his 6 month, but these may have to do it. They turned out pretty good, especially for just going with it and snapping away.


Poor little bean is teething and broke through two teeth this weekend. Did a fabulous job by the way, but has been extra cranky. Poor guy!

Bean tries out the highchair

I think 'Bean' is sticking as a nickname, by me at least!


This week we busted out the highchair (from Aunt Linda & Uncle Ed, Thank you!) and gave it a try. We've been using his bumbo seat for feeding this far and it has worked great. Though, a bit tough when I get down on the floor but still a good time. 

Good job putting it together mama

Then, we got to eat at the big table in our high chair!

Sweet Potato & Cereal...YUM!

Thanks mama, I like this chair!

Holy cow, my little guy is getting so grown up!

Blowout sale...yes please!

So after reading a post from {From Mrs. to Mama} about this jacket sale, it reminded me to go check out my daily deal email from Totsy. This site is great! Not only do they send daily emails with deals on kids clothes, toys, accessories but they also have deals for moms & dads too! Score!

Every day new deals and shops are advertised with great prices, let me say. I'm not one to shop all the time, but I am a deal searcher and now more than ever being a mom. 

Look at those deals!

Check it out and find a deal for you! Or your kids, of course. This was a good reminder to check out those deals every day or miss out on some good ones!

Come get your Official Dewey-Tribe button!

That's right, we have a button. You can now add a button with our pretty faces on it to your page and bring us along with you. How cool is that? Ok, it might not be that cool, but I did it all by myself. That's pretty cool, right? ::crickets::

Anyway, here it is if you so desire to grab it or link to us. It's also on the right hand side down a bit on the blog. 

<center><a href="http://thedeweymess.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Dewey Tribe" src="http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z449/chardewey/deweytribe/9EA668C2-1-1.jpg"/></a></center>

Happy Friday to everyone!

Here's a boy that loves his mama ♥

{Cell phone pic!}

Recipe Recap

Wow, it has been a while since I've posted any recipes or cooking adventures. That's what happens when life, work, family, a baby and life get in the way. No need to worry, we have still been eating!


I want to re-visit some of my recipes and re-post them to new people and those that haven't tried them yet. I also need to come up with some new ones and post some of the ones I haven't posted. Some people have approached me saying they love what I've cooked and it has been an inspiration to them to start trying out new things. Makes me so happy :)


Here are a few recipes from posts that have made their debut on the blog, just for fun!


Taco Salad Simple!
The Ah-may-zing Chicken Broccoli Bake
Twisted Chicken Salad Lunch anyone?


I want to try to come up with some easy recipes for people to make, especially for people only cooking for one or two. Left overs, while good and great for lunch the next day or even dinner the next day so you don't have to cook again, aren't for everyone. Sometimes having the same thing two nights in a row is boring and yucky. Yep, yucky. So I'd like to focus on cooking lighter, healthier, and more portion size anyway. There are always options to double a batch.


Just some goals and things to look forward to in the not to far futre :)


Here are some cute pictures to get you through the rest of the post.

Aloha Festive, Tempe Town Lake, March 11th

Morning play time

Sleepy guy has to sleep on his side

Refreshing Me

Let's start by grabbing a nice big glass of water, or a water bottle. Got it? Good. Read on. 

Image via here

 

Not a new me per se, but a new outlook or better yet, a refresher on my outlook. Healthy & Fitness.

I've always been a pretty active and healthy person, heck I don't drink soda and if you knew how much water I drink on a daily basis you would wonder why I'm not sitting on the toilet all day long. Too much info? Ok, enough with that I promise.

Image via here

Anyway, I've made some better choices about my eating habits especially now after having a baby that should continue on. Like I said, I ate healthy before but just re-evaluating what I do. My cooking habits will have to reflect this as well. 

Image via here

 

I'm a HUGE lover of pasta, carbs, bread, pasta, bread, you get the idea. So for the last 2 weeks I've left out ALL pasta, carbs and bread. I've been sticking to protein, fruits and veggies. Pretty drastic? Not really. Looking at a daily consumption of food, I normally have carbs or bread in every meal. It's not really necessary. I'm doing fine without it. Now, I'm not being super strick and not allowing myself to have these, just making large cut backs. If I completely ignored my want for pasta (because let's face it, it is a MUST for me!) then I would likely binge eat and that wouldn't be good. 


So here's to making healthy, better choices! It's good for you and it tastes great! Who doesn't love apples, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, pineapple, green beans, asparagus, celery, lettuce, spinach, chicken, turkey, beef? And yes, pasta too :)


And, remember to drink plenty of water. It is good for you, keeps you refreshed, curbs appetite (a little) and helps get rid of toxins and flush out your system.

Image via here

 If you're thirsty, then you are already dehydrated. There is research (and searching the interwebs) that says you should drink half your body weight in water, in ounces of course. So, for example if you weigh 150lbs, you should drink 75 oz of water a day MINIMUM. Yes, this can be hard if you don't like the taste of water. Start off by drinking things that are mostly water but flavored. Crystal light, water with lemon or lime, heck water down some coffee or juice or soda to start off and gradually get the quality back up. The point is, hydrate yourself!






Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionalist or a dietitian, I'm just someone who has drank water for a long time, drank a lot of it, played many sports/activities, been coached for a long time through the years, and have experience drinking plenty of water & being completely dehydrated (and hospitalized). You don't have to trust me at all, these are just suggestions and advice.

Little Bean is 6 months old!

Hard to believe my little guy is 6 months old. It seems like time has just flown by. On the other hand, if I sit and think hard about those first few weeks and how long it seemed, it seems like he should be older than 6 months.

Birth Day

2 weeks old with my Uncle Jimmy Bear :)

What he's learned in these 6 months amazes me. What I've learned also amazes me. Learning how to eat, sleep, burp, roll over, hold your head up, sit up, laugh, smile, grab toys, scratch my face, chew on your fingers, splash in the bathtub, giggle, eat with a spoon, pick things up...and for me to learn how to do all these things and more while juggling a child is an accomplishment for sure. Life with a little one changes in so many ways, of course all good, but definite change.


Some nick names we & people have come up with: Little Bean, jack-jack, JJ, Jax

1st Halloween

Nevermind the lack of sleep here for me!

2 months old & loving it!

I don't have weight and height stats since his appointment is next week, but here are some other fun facts:

He holds on to his toes/feet all the time

He likes Sweet Potatoes and Avocado

He sleeps 8-10 hours pretty consistently, this has

been the pattern since about 3 months

He can sit up 95% of the way, still teeters a bit

He rolls from his back to his tummy and tries to go back to his back

He wiggles and turns but no crawling yet

He talks and says "da-da" and "daaaa-dooooh"

He's teething, I can see the whites of the bottom two teeth

He grabs and holds on to toys and teething rings

He can put his Soothie in his mouth all by himself (I can't call it binky)

He squeals and laughs a lot!

He tries to stand, or at least uses his legs

He's wearing 6 month clothes, odd to be right on schedule?!

Still in size 2 diapers

Hair is still light brown with some red tint

Eyes are brownish

We've had our first fever, cough, stuffy nose, runny nose

I'm going to be doing some better "professional-like" pictures for his 6 month but will have to do it on my day off :)

Newest toy: A saucer. He loves it! He can bounce and stand and run all by him self. He also loves his bumbo seat, though his legs are starting to get a bit too chubby to fit in it.

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. Our outing to the Aloha Festival in Tempe and then our first Spring Training baseball game, Rockies vs. Dodgers on St. Patrick's Day.

Have I mentioned how much I love this little guy!? He has such a personality and facial expressions oh my gosh. Hard to tell who he looks more like...Josh or me? I see a lot of my brother in him. 

Overnight Bliss

You want to wake up to the house smelling of cinnamon and gooeyness and goodness?? Well this should do the trick. Found this recipe and finally decided to make these. The reason I made these was for a work breakfast get together, but I had to do a trial run first so of course we benefited from that :) 


Super easy, though some prep work the night before..actually most of the work is the night before. But when you wake up you pop it in the oven and BAM, you have Cinnamon Rolls :)


Recipe from Our Best Bites site. It even has pictures to go along with so you can SEE how to do it!

Dough
1 T active dry yeast
1/2 C warm water (105 degr F/ 40 deg C)
4 1/2 C all-purpose flour (22 1/2 oz 700g)
4 large eggs
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp

Filling
1/2 C (1 stick) real butter at room temp
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 T cinnamon

Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 T butter, melted
2 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth.  Whisk in 1/2 C of the flour.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.  

Add the eggs, sugar, butter, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture.  Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth 10-12 minutes. Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed.

Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.  

While dough is rising, prepare filling.  Take 2 T of the stick of butter and set aside.  Beat  remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish.  Transfer the dough to a floured work surface.  Roll  out into a rectangle about 15x10 in.  Spread filling onto dough and roll up length-wise.  **I made the mistake of putting too much filling near the center, so it oozed out when I cut the slices. Try to spread some closer to the ends


Use string or dental floss (Yes, I used floss, SO easy!) to score and cut the dough into rolls.  You can make 12 small rolls, 10 medium ones, or 8 large.   Place cut side up in baking dish.  Melt the reserved 2 T butter and brush on top of rolls.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. 


The next morning remove from refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour.  While rising mix glaze ingredients until combined.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.  Spread the glaze over warm rolls and serve.

Fresh out of the oven with glaze on! YUM!

It sounds like a lot of work, but it is TOTALLY worth it!! The way I made it I got 14 rolls. The first 3 were huge, so I started cutting them a little smaller, about 1- 1 1/2 inch thick. 


Linking up with Hanna over at Bouffe e Bambini for something Handmade/Homemade.

A tribute a year later...

This is what I did on Valentines day. A day to remember and a day I'll never forget. 

Last year, this world lost a great man. Everyone paid their respects by standing next to a photo of him and sharing a shot, Irish Whiskey I believe it was. It was a very sad day. I didn't get to pay my respects by taking a shot with him because I was growing a baby. I was growing his grandson whom he'll never have the pleasure to meet or watch grow up. I lost my Dad on Valentines Day last year and it still feels like yesterday.

I was able to share the good news of a baby 2 weeks before that and he was so excited. And sad because he knew he would not be here to see the baby. It saddened me as well to know that. But I also know that he is up there looking down on me and Jackson every day. 

My brother and I lost our dad. But I beg to differ that we didn't 'lose' him, he just left us for a while. We'll meet again someday and it will be great. He is still in our hearts and minds and I know he is looking down upon us and smiling at how proud he is of who we've grown to be as adults. 

So this year, while I'm in Arizona and my brother in Colorado, we shared a tribute shot over the phone. Him toasting to my Dad and me finally getting to share a shot I missed out on last year. Not to say the grieving is over, because it surely is not, but now I've been able to complete the tribute that everyone else got to do last year.

I'll make sure Jackson grows up to know who his grandfather was. His music tastes, his cooking, gardening, and his stubbornness because as a little boy I'm sure he'll have that too.

So here's to you Dad. A year after you've gone and not a single day has gone by that I haven't thought of you or wished you were here. Yes I cry a lot, maybe its all the emotions, hormones or the fact I'm a girl, but it is ok to cry and I will. 

I love you.