december twentieth

Listen up here, kids.

2011-05-16T10:31:00.001-06:00

I've got exciting news.

My NEW BLOG is finally finished! I went through about 5926781 designs before finally settling on the one that just "fit". Then it took Tyler just a few hours to code it and it was live last night! Ta da!

I've switched to wordpress, but not entirely due to the technical glitches Blogger had last week. Tyler has been trying to get me to make the switch for months now. I was amazed at how easy and quickly it moved all of my posts and comments over.

If you'd like to keep following along, simply bookmark our new address (blog.doublejones.com) or you can still "follow" me through blogger (just add me using my url- blog.doublejones.com, and if you're still confused there's a super-short tutorial right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHyU4ETEb-I). For those of you using a reader (i.e., google reader) don't forget to resubscribe your RSS feed with the new URL.

I'll be making some changes to the new blog.

First, I've made things easier for you to find. I've noticed the google search in blogger doesn't work efficiently, so Tyler added a new and improved search engine to my new blog that should help.

Secondly, I've also added links at the top for popular topics, if you'd like to browse certain posts.

Finally, hopefully in the few weeks or so I'll start doing a few regularly scheduled posts. Ideally, I'd like to do a recipe post, design post and family post, each once a week.

Let me know what you think of the new changes! I'd love to hear feedback (good and bad!) and I'd love for you all to keep following along. :)

blog.doublejones.com

friday the thirteenth

2011-05-13T22:58:00.000-06:00

Please excuse my absence from the blog. I've been quite busy lately, and blogger has been down for a few days. You know what? We'll just go ahead and blame it on blogger.

Here's what you missed:

1 | Jack has had terrible acid reflux. The wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night (or his nap) screaming in pain type of reflux. Poor guy! But instead of resorting him to the doctor-prescribed $185 medication ($185 a month!! youch!!) I decided to do some trial runs myself. What ended up working was cutting out everything except formula, green beans, and peas.

[I'm not sure where I go from here, though. Do I just feed him green vegetables for a few months? The best part of summer is the vibrant fruits in season, and I feel bad depriving him of that entirely. I think I'm going to tinker with vegetables for a while longer and slowly add in fruits again.]

2 | I'm almost finished with my new (really simple) website. Tyler just needs to code it for me and it'll be live hopefully next week! Cross your fingers, kids. I also think I'm going to revamp the blog a little, and organize it more. Changes will be made for the better I hope. :)

3 | I made a really good, creamy chicken & dumplings soup the other night for dinner. Thank you, Rachael Ray. (I don't usually like her recipe combinations but this one was yummy comfort food!) I also made chocolate chip and mascarpone cupcakes, which would have been even more delicious had I not burnt the bottoms. Sad, right? (I'm blaming our prehistoric oven on this one...I've been suspecting a temperature glitch for months now.)

and last but not least (and most importantly),

4 | Tonight I babysat five kiddos five-and-under all by myself, including two 6-month old babies. (Yikes! To think I wanted twins once upon a time? How did my mother do it?!) Needless to say, everyone was very well-behaved and we had a blast.

See you Monday! Have a fantastic weekend!

Weekend Recap

2011-05-09T11:55:00.000-06:00

How was your Mother's Day? Mine was fantastic.

I got breakfast in bed, a happy, well-behaved baby, a leather kindle cover, and chicken saltimbocca (see below) with roasted asparagus and potatoes for dinner. Then Tyler watched a non-action movie with me (Mona Lisa Smile) while we snuggled. It was perfect.

I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am to be a mother, participating in the most essential work to be done on earth. I feel so incredibly blessed, and want to cry all over the keyboard when I think about it. Thank you to my own beautiful mother who taught me firsthand that "no other success can compensate for failure in the home" (David O. McKay).

Happy Friday!

2011-05-06T09:22:00.000-06:00

Here's A Field Guide to Typestaches to celebrate the weekend! You know how I love typography. (Scroll below for a funny story about that.) I think my favorite is Mr. Wide Latin in the upper right corner. I can picture him with large, aviator sunglasses and a plaid shirt.

Buy an 18x24 poster here. I'm trying to persuade Tyler into letting me have one. (As a birthday present, perhaps?) We wanted a mustache mirror from Skymall a while back, and never ended up getting one. Glad we waited because this is even better!

My little semi-relevant story: You know how I hate comic sans? Jack has outgrown his 6-9 month jammies and I had to find him last-minute 12-month jammies. So I picked up a pair while I was at Walmart that wasn't too terrible (meaning it had no licensed characters on it), and when I opened them up, the pants looked like this:

It was my worst nightmare! Tyler just laughed and laughed. Needless to say, they're being returned. (I promise I'm not a snob - I'll just be the first to admit I'm persnickety about that typeface and where it is allowed to appear.)

Cinco de Mayo Meal

2011-05-05T11:48:00.000-06:00

image via foodnetwork

If you're still looking for a good "Mexican" dish to serve for Cinco de Mayo tonight, I'd highly recommend Rachael Ray's Mexican Lasagna. I made it last night for Tyler and we both loved it!

It's a bit healthier than your traditional lasagna because it uses ground chicken instead of beef. I was hesitant at first, but I didn't even miss the beef, or hardly notice the difference! I also used what I had on hand - instead of hot sauce, I used medium salsa, and instead of spinach tortillas (which I am definitely using next time) I used flour. It was super easy and we'll definitely make it again. (Also, her recipe says that it serves 4, but it really serves a heaping 6 portions. Probably more like 8 if you have a side dish.)

Happy Cinco de Mayo! (I think many of our neighbors behind our complex ditched school today to celebrate. How fun!)

Xylophone in the Forest

2011-05-05T09:59:00.000-06:00

I snatched this from DesignMom today. I couldn't resist sharing how cool it was!

The music starts a little after the 30-second mark.

Recipe: Two-Minute Chocolate Cake

2011-05-04T21:45:00.000-06:00

image via gildedlady.com

I don't know about you, but I love me some warm, gooey chocolate cake. And tonight I happened to stumble upon this recipe from Food Network that promised me delicious cake in just two minutes! How could I resist?

Instant Chocolate Cake

Whisk 1/4 cup flour, 5 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons milk, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and a dash of vanilla extract and salt in a large mug* until smooth. Microwave until puffed, about 2 minutes.

*Just use a regular mug. I also microwaved mine for 1:48 instead of 2 minutes, resulting in a warm, gooey bottom of the cake. Mmmm.

What a perfect night. It was delicious and perhaps the easiest dessert I have ever made. I whipped up one for me and one for the husband and we sat down for a cozy snuggle on the couch to watch Modern Family. (Anyone else love Modern Family? Tyler says I am exactly like Claire...)

{update}

2011-05-04T09:56:00.000-06:00

My dear friend Alicia let me know that all those wonderful photos of our engagement/honeymoon that I had never known about were indeed lost once again. But this time in cyberspace. {I blame Picasa for this.}

If you'd like to see them, I fixed the post and they're all right here.

Baby Gear

2011-05-03T09:08:00.000-06:00

In honor of Jack's six-month birthday (it's like a half-birthday...people celebrate those, right?) I've compiled a list of baby gear that (I feel) was worth every penny. This list only contains things I deem really awesome.

The Boon Spoon

One on my list is the fabulous Squirt (the boon spoon). G-E-N-I-U-S. I had a giftcard and took a chance on this one, and now I love it so much it's now my go-to baby shower gift. I tell everyone I know about it on a daily basis. Husband is sick and tired of me raving about it but I just love it!! From Boon's website:

Genius. (There. We said it.) Squirt isn't just a spoon; it's a revelation. It takes baby food, removes the jar and the mess, packs it into a single utensil and with one squeeze—boom! You get easy, one-handed feeding. Pop on the cap to seal food on-the-go. Caution: May cause gobbling and an uncontrollable appreciation for anything delicious.

It's easy to clean (even days later) and your baby won't be tempted to stick his hand in the jar (been there, done that). The BoonSpoon even has a cover for the spoon so you can take it on-the-go. Comes in orange, blue, and pink. (Note: we have the orange and it's the same color as the picture, so I'd expect the colors to be accurate.) Buy it here for around $6. Image from Bed, Bath, & Beyond.com.

The SuperBib

Two on my list is also a feeding product: the Bumkins SuperBib. I originally looked for those plastic pelican bibs, but had a hard time finding them. My sister also said hers cracked, so this also prompted me to look elsewhere for a bib. I ran into this SuperBib and fell in love with the Dr. Seuss print (I have the set of 3.) The reviews on Amazon were outstanding, and though I didn't want to spend $20 on a set of bibs, I'm glad I did.

They are large, and cover Jack's entire chest plus more. They will easily fit him until he's about two, if he needs it that long. They are made of a waterproof and stain-resistant material that easily wipes off. After he's done eating, I just rinse the entire bib off in the sink and set it out to dry (which takes about an hour), or wipe it down with a baby wipe. They are also machine washable. I love that they are very thin and flexible, and could easily fit into a diaper bag, where as a pelican bib could not. The pouch at the bottom is excellent at catching any spills. I love this bib! Buy it here. Image from the Bumkins website.

A Play Gym
Three on my list is our playgym. We love the one we received as a gift and would highly recommend it to anyone. The kid never runs out of activities and could play under there for hours if I let him. And we use it every.single.day and the batteries are still going strong. Baby happily playing = Momma getting stuff done (today it was the dreaded dishes.) 'Nough said. Buy it here. Image from Amazon.

phil&teds Dash Stroller

Four. Okay, I didn't spend my pennies on this one - we received it as a gift. And it's the best gift we've ever received in our entire lives.

This baby rolls like a dream. It's the rolls-royce of strollers. We use it (without the doubles kit on the back) for jogging as well as walks and it's fantastic. Graduation weekend I had to push my sister's other double stroller (not a p&t) and it sucked. That's when I was told pushing the crappy stroller was to make me evermore grateful for my p&t stroller. And guys, it worked. I'm hooked.

It's kind of funny because graduation weekend we also saw a lot of these babies on campus. I was kind of confused at first (I'd never seen so many in one place in my life!) and then Tyler made the comment, "It's because we're all business students and we know what a good investment is." Bingo. My sisters are going on five years with theirs, and they still could pass for less than a year old on wear & tear. This stroller will last you through all of your kids, not just one or two. Find more about it here and purchase one here (or the best deal is at Costco right now). Image from Amazon.

The Lamp
Five is a touch lamp. We love this lamp. We got is for $5 at the local thrift store and I painted it orange. It's kind of tacky, but it's the most useful thing in his nursery!

Before Jack was born, we wanted to make sure we didn't turn on the ceiling light in his room in the middle of the night, which would further wake him up. So we found this touch lamp with three light settings that works like a charm. Now every lamp we have in our baby rooms will be a touch lamp - no fumbling for switches or anything. The lowest light setting is perfect for changing a quick diaper with just enough light for you to see but not wake up baby too much. I wish I could point you in a direction to "buy one for yourself here" but I can't. But just trust the Joneses and their handy touch lamp. Image from me.

The Kindle
Six isn't exactly classified as "baby gear" but it really has come in handy. I don't know about breastfeeding (I would think you would need one hand to hold the baby but I'm not really sure here) but with bottle feeding it is nearly impossible to read a book while doing so. Hence, the one-handed Kindle. I usually try not to watch tv when I'm feeding him, so I read a book instead. It's also very babyproof. They show a dog licking the back of one in the commercial! Buy one here. Image from the Kindle customer photos gallery.

The Car Mirror
Seven. We bought a plain grey car mirror similar to this one (I'm not big on frilly baby stuff, okay?) and Jack loves car trips because of it. He just laughs and smiles at "the little boy in the mirror". We couldn't have survived our holiday trip from Utah to California without it! Buy one similar to what we have here. Image from Amazon.

I think that just about wraps up my baby gear list! I'm sure the list will grow and grow (babies have a lot of stuff!) so I'll try to keep adding if I find anything else really awesome.

Today I am One Hundred and Eighty One

2011-05-02T16:25:00.002-06:00

...days old, that is.

Yep. I'm now the proud Momma of a six-month old.

What can I say? This mothering thing is turning out to be easy-peasy (bahaha.) He poops, he sleeps, he eats, he plays. Ninety-nine percent of the time I know exactly what this little guy wants.

How can you not be thankful for every.single.day God gives you when you have this little giggly boy around? The kid is genuinely excited about life and I love that it rubs off on our family. { Yeah, and guess who he gets his laugh from. Just guess.}

I'm even more proud to say this little boy loves to eat his veggies. So far he loves carrots, squash, green beans, and sweet potato. He also thinks bananas, pears, and apples are quite tasty too. (I'll admit some of the time it goes like this: Jack gets a bite, Mommy gets a (tiny) taste! Jack gets another bite. Why don't my veggies taste this good?)

He is great in his highchair, and still loves to take naps. This boy averages anywhere from 3-5 naps a day, and then goes on to sleep from 8pm to 6:30am! What a champ!

He can almost sit up by himself. We're working on it, grandma&grandpa. He can make it about ten seconds before his little sausage fingers reach for a toy, and then bam! the kid's down. He's had quite a few face-forward tumbles, but so far he's still alive.

Happy six-months, Jack! ~~You~~ We made it!

Come back tomorrow for a post of my favorite (priceless) baby gear.

Best night ever.

2011-04-30T23:10:00.004-06:00

Well, almost.

Okay, maybe not even close. But you must admit it's pretty darn cool when you plug in your husband's camera and find a treasure of goodies. Like pictures from the night he proposed, our honeymoon, and our first apartment that I didn't even remember we took.

A couple of things:

1) Um, also because of these pictures I decided the short-hair look just isn't for me. Sorry, husband, I'm growing it out.

2) And Mom - you never thought you'd hear this from me but you're absolutely right. Now that I've got straight hair, I actually miss my curly hair. Is there a way to get it back that doesn't involve pregnancy? (Pregnancy made my hair stick straight - no joke - but I'm not ready for that phase again, just to see if it would go back curly. I'm not a crazy person!) Help me.

K, mates. Now that we've got that settled, anyone want to meet pre-baby, pre-wedding/newlywed Alie & Tyler? {In my own words, "Aww. Look how cute I am!" Can we just rewind two years and give me back my youth? I know I'm not old by any means (I'm twenty-two) but just look at us!! And my hair. Just look at my hair. Gah.}

That's a fat marshmallow in my mouth. Date night roasting marshmallows on the BYU belltower lights. Kind of successful and very buggy.

I remember knowing something was up that night because Tyler insisted on taking a picture at Cold Stone. Hmm...

And then he proposed to me an hour later. :)

One of many BYU football games.

Cold Stone. Again. (Can you tell Tyler spent a lot of time outside that summer?)

Ugh, would ya look at that red hair. One of the many mishaps before our wedding where I tried to (professionally, might I add) get the red out of my hair, unsuccessfully.

Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband concert, still with red hair.

Fast forward to our honeymoon! I think we're sitting in a jazz lounge on the cruise ship?

"Formal Night" on the cruise ship.

We picked snorkeling for our excursion. We had a blast! (I still remember we tried to fix Tyler's crooked sunglasses several times this trip...)

I think this was in Ensenada but I'm not sure.

I wasn't going near that thing.

But Tyler got pretty cozy with it.

It was pretty chilly our entire cruise, hence the jacket. (It was December, after all.) We decided this rastafarian singer was the best part of the entire cruise. We made sure to tell him that. :)

I think this was before a show.

And I have no freaking idea why we would have taken a picture with this crazy lady. Maybe because it was ridiculous that she was part of the kid show?!

Tyler always picked the best restaurants on our trip.

Nothing really to comment about this one except that apparently neither of us looks good in sunglasses.

We loved the molten lava cake so much that our waiter snuck us the (secret) recipe. Go Icky!

This was our first apartment's kitchen. No countertops and only one usable cupboard. I'll never complain about a kitchen again!

... which kind-of-sort-of-doesn't-really-but-we'll-go-with-it brings us to where we are today:

We look really different. I don't even really recognize me!

But we are so happy. :)

Hi, I'm Jack.

2011-04-29T09:15:00.000-06:00

I'm kind of a big deal around here. And I'm a little punk.

I like to splash my parents during bathtime.

I think I'm too cool for school with my Derek Zoolander haircut.

I'm also too cool for that silly bib they insist I wear when I eat.

See? I can eat neatly if I really try.

But I don't try. 'Cuz remember? I'm a little punk.

I'm almost 6 months old now and can almost sit up all by myself. I'll keep practicing with Momma and promise to show you when I do!

Map of the World

2011-04-28T12:31:00.001-06:00

I've decided I'd like to (tastefully) decorate Jack's room with maps. You know, to be all educational n'stuff.

While searching Etsy, I stumbled across this map and fell in love!! Does anyone else adore this as much as I do?!

Buy it here. For a steal at just $30, friends. I might just get one and save it?? (And Mom - wouldn't this be neat in your loft?)

Easter Chicks

2011-04-28T12:15:00.000-06:00

I received this as an email and tried to forward this onto my family, but for some reason the photos wouldn't forward. So here it ends up, on the blog.

Adorable, no? Quoted from the email:

"The family lives on a ranch in Durango, Colorado, and they have 900 baby chicks. Every year for Easter, they inject the eggs with food coloring, and when the chicks hatch, they are brilliant with color. She uses pink, purple, orange, green, pink, red, turquoise, etc. The chicks aren't hurt by the process, and as they grow, they return to their normal colors."

Next time my parents get chickens I'm doing this!! (My sister called and said they look like those little pompoms you buy in a bag, haha!)

...and p.s. I found this irresistible. Tyler sent it to me from his friend Spencer.

Graduation Day

2011-04-25T11:31:00.001-06:00

WE DID IT!

Between the two of us we have spent nine years in college (four for Alie, five for Tyler), received two bachelors degrees, one masters degree and have given birth to a kiddo in the middle of it all. Not to mention we (and our gracious parents) have collectively spent over $70,000 just on tuition and books. Tyler guesstimates including housing, we'll have spent nearly $100,000 in the past five years.

Yet, against all odds, we are officially Brigham Young University graduates.

Both of our families, right after commencement

We ate at Chef's Table, which is supposedly a really good restaurant. It was won several awards in the past few years, but Tyler and I were disappointed. We've eaten at better places for the price.

Dad, Mom, Jack & Alie, Tyler, and Todd (Tyler's Dad)

Todd, Jack & Alie, Tyler

(The Jones family:) Ben, Todd, Jack & Alie, Tyler, Kendall

The Naked Indian Statue. He's not really naked (he's got a loin-cloth on) but everyone calls it the Naked Indian anyway. In the winter months when it snows, people put scarves on him to keep him warm.

You really thought they wouldn't have a statue of a young family on BYU campus? C'mon now.

The family, at the family statue. Uh, yeah.

In front of the library.

In front of the ASB.

Believe it or not, there was actually quite a hefty line to wait in to snap a photo in front of the cougar statue at the stadium. And I look like i'm holding a toddler, not a not-quite-6-month old baby.

Part of Tyler's cap&gown was a hood (because he was a masters student). He tried to put it on like Lord Voldemort but it was windy. :(

Tyler, riding the cougar.

Alie: "I'm graduated!"

Tyler: "Yo. I'm graduated."

BYU's motto: "Enter to Learn; Go Forth to Serve"

In front of the Brigham Young statue. We made it!

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner...

2011-04-20T23:40:00.000-06:00

Remember how Jack likes to stretch out his gowns? We found his like this one night, with his arm all the way out! He never ceases to make us smile. :)

"'Nobody puts Baby in the corner' ... well, I have nothing wrong with putting baby in the corner." -Tyler, quoting Dirty Dancing while putting Jack down to sleep. (Jack can only roll to his left, so Tyler was putting Jack in the corner of his crib so he wouldn't have anywhere to roll so we wouldn't have to rescue him fifteen seconds later.)

Jack has been a rolling nightmare lately. And I truly mean nightmare. I had no idea he wakes up to play in the middle of the night until this past week when I have had to rescue him several times at 4am. And then 4:10am. And then again at 5:30am.

What happened to my perfect little baby? He used to sleep from 10pm to 8am uninterrupted. Now I'm lucky if he makes it to 5:15am without squealing. Now that he's learned to roll over from his back to his tummy he thinks it's cool to show Momma his new trick. Unfortunately, he has no problem showing me in the wee hours of the night.

I'm grouchy. I thought the rolling over ordeal was cute the first three times, but now I'm kind of fed up. Am I allowed to admit that? Am I allowed to admit that I'm absolutely exhausted for the first time in my short 6-months of this parenting game? Jack has always been an excellent baby but these past two weeks have been terrible. I'm excited for him, I really am. I'm excited and thrilled that my little baby is healthy and developing well. But is it too much to ask him to figure out how to roll back the other way? I feel like a lifeguard here, having to rescue him all the time. Can't you just learn to stay out of the deep end if you can't swim?

I'll show you what I mean. Sometimes it's laughable and downright funny:

How do his feet get stuck like that?!

Here's where he can't quite figure out how to pull his leg back in...

I wish I would have snatched a photo of the time he was completely flipped around, facing the wall, with his bum pushed up against the crib bars with his entire legs dangling out. This kid is a mischief maker, but at least he can't get out of the crib yet, right?

Jack is almost 6 months old. He's really grown a lot developmentally in the past two weeks. Here are some fun facts about him:

he can roll over from his back to his tummy, but only to the right (and he can't figure out how to roll back).
he loves applesauce, and is okay with carrots and sometimes sweet potatoes. he loves baby oatmeal much more than rice cereal. but most of all he prefers a bottle.
he loves graham canyon ice cream, just like his momma.
he can almost sit up on his own. he just isn't doing it consistently enough to call it sitting up yet.
he had his first haircut last friday.
he outgrew his 6-9 month pajamas weeks ago but I can't seem to find any other pajamas for him. pretty soon he might just start sleeping in onesies.
his little hippo toy in his crib (see above) is named henry and he loves to snuggle and play with it before falling asleep.
he giggles at almost everything.
he loves to be tossed in the air and bounced high on your knees.
he can touch everything on his jungle play gym now, even the butterflies way up top. when he was just a wee little guy i wondered why they put so many toys on it, and how kids were ever supposed to reach them. now i know the answer. kiddos grow - fast.
jack babbles in baby talk all the time, and if you talk back to him in baby talk (not english, it has to be gibberish), he'll start a real conversation with you. he can go on for quite a long time this way.
he can scoot forward, but hasn't really figured out crawling yet.

DIY Garden Markers

2011-04-19T11:43:00.000-06:00

Why did I not think of this? My next herb garden will most definitely have these.

Find easy instructions here, via whit&whistle.

{p.s. my plants have all sprouted and are doing fantastic! I can't wait for my little seedlings to grow up!}

Jack's First Haircut

2011-04-16T16:59:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we hit a BIG milestone - Jack got his first haircut! I have to admit, part of me is still silently crying inside, but it had to be done. I even saved a lock of his hair for his baby journal, and I used to think only weird Mommas did that. (Tyler now classifies me as a weird momma.)

Our dear friend Amanda did the honors. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he sat still! (Let's get real, here: I envisioned his hands flying straight up and his wee little fingers getting chopped off! Very unlikely, but it's a Momma's job to worry about these things, right?) For an almost 6-month old that doesn't know how to take directions, I'd say he did very well. He laughed and he cried as his precious locks of hair fell gracefully to the floor.

Good thing I take play-by-play pictures of nearly everything, right? Now you get to feel like you were actually there, whether you wanted to be or not:

{BEFORE}

Amanda & Jack (who was terrified of the cape, so we took it off.)

Smiling through tears

{AFTER}

If Jack could talk, I bet he'd be saying what I was saying when I got my haircut:

(preceded by the pouty lip) "My neck is cold."

DIY Watercolor Set

2011-04-15T13:20:00.000-06:00

Genius! Here is a DIY watercolor set from onegoldenapple.

{I kind of wish I had kiddos that were old enough to appreciate this.}

The best part is, it's mess free and doesn't require jars of water.

Find instructions here.

Weekly Meal Plan

2011-04-13T09:17:00.001-06:00

I love cooking.

The only part of cooking that doesn't get along with me is the dishes. I hate the dishes. With no dishwasher - not even a husband because he is so busy with school right now - cooking is infinitely less fun. But this post isn't about dishes, so I'll move on.

I'm trying really hard to stick to a meal plan and make dinner five out of seven nights a week. Below hopefully you can find some dinner ideas, and learn how I've conquered the beast:

Step One | Casually peruse the weekly ads, circling anything that sounds yummy with a thick, red sharpie. Add stars for things that sound extra delicious. My favorite place to shop is Sunflower Market, our local farmer's market/grocery store. I circle all the wonderful fruits and veggies on the front of their ad, then check out their bulk section. This week I'm picking up brown rice for 79-cents/lb, and I usually also stock up on some couscous and walnuts when they're on sale.

Step Two | Flip through your recipe book, looking for recipes that coincide with the weekly sales. My recipe book is filled with cards and printouts, divided by section. I also have a dinner inspiration section where I simple made a huge list of possible dinner ideas. It makes it easier just browse that list and pick a few. I also discovered Sunflower Market has a large collection of healthy recipes using mostly fresh, raw ingredients.

Step Three | Using your grocery list printout, write down the ingredients you'll need for that week, recipe by recipe, day by day. Here's what mine looks like this week (forgive me for the awful picture):

Step Four | Grab your reusable bags and head out the door. If I have time, I hit up Walmart and price match from the ads. Last night I price matched Sunflower Market's fresh produce and got 4 large apples, 4 oranges, a head of romaine, a large head of broccoli, celery, cantaloupe, bananas, and a cucumber for $9. Not bad, but I will admit that Sunflower Market's produce is much better quality. (I ended up having to go to Sunflower Market anyway because Walmart didn't have strawberries.)

Step Five | When you're home and everything is unloaded, tape your list to the fridge and follow your menu!

This week we're starting with tomorrow, on Wednesday. I usually write this plan out on Friday and shop on Saturday, but because of graduation next week and family coming into town, we won't need to plan for Thursday and Friday.

This week's recipes are:
Tuesday | Beef Enchiladas (one change: we use red enchilada sauce instead of picante sauce)
Wednesday | Baked Potato Soup (I freeze the extras in the sour cream containers used for the soup, making individual servings. Then I just thaw two in the fridge!)
Thursday | Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry
Friday | Rib-eye steak with steamed broccoli and Caesar salad
Saturday | Twice-baked potatoes (we usually go out for lunch or dinner so I never plan much for Saturday)
Sunday | Breakfast: Souffle Omelet with Balsamic Strawberries, Dinner: Homemade Ravioli, roasted red potatoes, salad
Monday | Spaghetti, homemade french bread, salad
Tuesday | Chicken & Fish*, roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli (I don't eat fish, so I just substitute my serving of fish for chicken in for whatever recipe I am using)

For more dinner ideas, this month we have also made stir fry, French onion soup with a side of asparagus (between the two of us we eat nearly a pound of asparagus), garlic chicken pizza (excellent, fast pizza dough recipe found here), Chinese chicken salad, chicken parmesan, and bbq pulled pork. Good luck! I hope this encourages at least one of you to start cooking more regularly! :)

Black Angus poster (free!)

2011-04-11T14:32:00.000-06:00

We're definitely not vegetarians at our house. I'll admit that I do purposefully distance myself from thinking about the slaughter of animals so that we can live this way. In fact, I just read a book where the lady went to a slaughterhouse and I almost gave up meat. Almost. I feel really bad about killing animals, but as long as they are treated humanely I strongly believe they were put on this earth for a reason. Meat shouldn't be the main dish of every meal, but in moderation it is great.

Enough of my little soapbox. On OhDeeDoh a few days ago they shared this nursery in California. I immediately fell in love with this poster, and want one for our kitchen. It would be such a fantastic dinner party conversation piece. We'd be the talk of the town, right? I can just picture it now: Hannah, have you been over to the Jones' apartment and seen that huge cow on their wall? Weird, right?

And the best part is, I just followed this link and called up the company, and they'll send one to your house for free!! Really. Our giant cow poster is arriving in just a few weeks.

I am currently sitting at our computer desk while Jack is napping, trying hard to contain my excitement. I just don't know how I'm going to frame it. The non-framed look is in, right? Maybe if I get some cool tacks I could pull it off.

The Invisible Man

2011-04-11T12:38:00.000-06:00

Artist Liu Bolin spends up to ten hours (!!) painting himself to blend in with his scenery. Then he takes a snapshot to share with us.

I had to look for about ten seconds to find him in this first one. Isn't he amazing?

Check out more photos here and here.

Celebrations!

2011-04-11T12:29:00.000-06:00

Sorry for that last post. And I'm mostly apologizing to the four or five people who actually came up to me and told me they fell for it. Sorry to disappoint you, friends.

I may not be posting a ton this week because poor Jack is sick with his first real cold. He is sniffly in all sorts of places and keeps snarfing. (Our favorite Tina Fey says snarfing is sneezing and farting at the same time.) We've got his room all humidified with vick's and he's drinking apple juice to stay hydrated. Lucky for me even when he's sick he still sleeps from 10pm to 7am!

We had an entire weekend filled with celebrations!

Me, Jack (5 months), Kamie, and Ari (7.5 months)

First, our dear friends the Zamoras were sealed as a family in the temple on Saturday. We celebrated with dinner at Johnny Carinos.

Second, the Zamoras blessed sweet baby Ari yesterday in church. Baby blessings always make me emotional.

Third, Jack learned how to hold his own bottle! Just the little four ounce bottles, and I don't trust him with milk yet. But he loves watered-down apple juice! (He is sick with a very bad cold and cough, and we're trying to keep him hydrated as best we can! Poor guy!)

Last but not least, the kid rolled over last night! I put him to bed, and minutes later there was a loud scream. Not his usual shrieks of boredom or silliness, but a Momma knows when something is up. So I ran into his room, and found him face down in the crib (on his belly) with one of his legs stuck in-between the bars. I wish I would have gotten a picture but instead I yelled for Tyler and we both stood there laughing at him and his precarious situation. Oh, Jack ... how we love you. He also rolled over twice this morning, letting out the same cry of "help!" when he was stuck. Silly boy.

(drumroll, please)

2011-04-08T09:04:00.000-06:00

We are excited to finally announce ...

we're having a baby!

Just kidding. Really, guys ... you thought I could handle pregnancy again so soon? Shame on you. (But kudos to anyone who does have kids so close. You are part of the elite rockstar momma group.)

The real news is that we won't have to wait until September to move out of Provo. Bahaha. Did I trick anyone? (Eh, probably not, but I got a good chuckle out of myself with that one.) Tyler's official KPMG start date is in the beginning of July so we'll be heading out of p-town in less than three months!! (If only you could hear the excitement in my voice, but double exclamation points will have to do for now.)

(p.s. Tyler took the above photo on his internship last summer and sent it to me because I was pregnant. It's from the San Diego Jack-in-the-Box corporate office. Their hallways were lined with all sorts of funny Jack photos.)

(And I know you were thinking it. At least one of you was thinking we might have named our baby after the aforementioned fast food restaurant. No matter how tasty their 2-for-99-cents tacos are, I could never live with myself knowing our son was named after a burger joint, a pirate, a serial killer, or a beer.

Let's get real here. He was named after Jack Black, duh.)

(um, just kidding. again. He really wasn't named after anyone at all.)

Winter Hat

2011-04-07T09:47:00.003-06:00

My dear friend Alicia made Jack a knit baby hat but he's hardly had a chance to wear it all winter! (Should I be thankful for the mild winter weather or sad because Jack rarely had a chance to wear his cute winter outfits?)

Luckily he got the perfect opportunity to sport his new hat at Tyler's soccer practice Monday night. It fits his little head perfectly and he was toasty warm. As for me, I froze my butt off ... uh, thanks for asking.

(p.s. here is a photo of Jack trying to roll over on the boppy. don't let him fool you - he'll roll over soon!)

Oregano

2011-04-07T09:47:00.002-06:00

Good news: my plants have sprouted!

[I'm still waiting on the sweet basil though. I may give up soon and buy a fully-bloomed one at the Home Depot.]

The furthest one along is the oregano, pictured above. They are so tiny and fragile, reaching up to grasp as much sunlight as they can. Go, go, go!

community

2011-04-06T09:13:00.005-06:00

I think most newlyweds (are we still newlyweds? even if we have a child?) go through a long phase where they watch seasons of tv shows. Well, we've been stuck in that phase for 2+ years now. And because of it we've discovered Community on NBC.

It's seriously hilarious, friends.

When it first came out we watched about an episode and a half and absolutely hated it. I thought it was dumb and must have been up on my high horse thinking that attending a university was so much better than community college. I'll admit I thought the only audience for the show was actual community college attendees, and I didn't fall into that category so it was dumb.

While I might still argue the superiority of a university to a community college, at least the community college makes for a great tv sitcom. :) We've breezed through almost the entire first season and I can't wait for more!

Chinese Chicken Salad

2011-04-05T09:05:00.001-06:00

One of our family's favorite meals is Chinese Chicken Salad. My favorite part is that everything is entirely homemade, from the dressing to the wontons.

Tip: You can find uncooked wontons in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store, by the pre-packaged lettuce, berries, pesto, etc. I searched for 45 minutes trying to find them once! They are about $2.50-3.00 a package, and will last a long time. Just freeze what you don't use, or make cream cheese wontons for dessert!

Also, you can find plum sauce in the Asian section of your grocery store.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Makes enough for 6-8 people

several heads of romaine lettuce

un-cooked wonton strips

orange, sliced and cut into chunks (or canned mandarin oranges)

sliced almonds

1/2 lb. chicken, cooked and cubed

cooking oil (for deep-frying)

Dressing:

3 T. vinegar (I mix red and white)

2 T. sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 T. plum sauce

1/2 t. salt

1 t. pepper

1 T. sesame oil

Mix all dressing ingredients together and set aside.

Wash romaine and tear into bite-sized pieces. Toss almonds, oranges, and cooked chicken with romaine.

Toss salad with dressing (less is more!) and sprinkle wonton strips on top. Serve immediately.

To fry the wonton strips:

1 Heat a cast-iron skillet on medium and fill with cooking oil, about 1/2" - 1" deep.

2 With a knife, cut wonton wrappers into strips (they come in squares, so I cut each in fourths to make four strips.)

3 When oil is hot and bubbling, drop wonton strips in. Immediately turn over with tongs until lightly golden and crispy. Drain in a paper-towel lined bowl.

Tips for frying: I make sure the oil is really hot. Get your fingers wet with water and (carefully!) splash some on the oil. If it bubbles and pops, your oil is hot enough. Also, the hotter your oil is, the less time your wontons will need to be fried. I know my oil is the right temperature when I'm can only fry four strips at a time. Any more than that and they burn on me because I'm not quick enough!

Five Months

2011-04-04T13:54:00.001-06:00

Jack turned five (months old) on Saturday. He is growing up so fast!

Jack hasn't mastered (or even tried, really) rolling over on a daily basis. But he does other cool things, like eating baby oatmeal and sleeping a lot.

Jack has been extra snuggly these past few days. We love it!

Jack loves to eat baby oatmeal. He ate some sweet potatoes yesterday and wasn't a big fan. He hates carrots. Hopefully that will change.
He is the best sleeper. He has only woken up once in the middle of the night since he was 8 or 9 weeks old, and after a couple minutes of snuggling went right back to bed. What a champ! He sleeps from 7pm to 10:30pm (when we wake him up to feed him for the last time) and then til 7:30 or 8am in the morning. Momma especially loves this!
His thighs are so chubby! (Why can I not get away with chubby thighs?)
Since his 4-month at-home-photo-session-with-momma he has learned to fully pick up Leonard (the lion) and snuggle with him. Last month he was only grabbing the tail.
He loves to bang on the desk. He also loves to crinkle post-it notes.
His new favorite thing is to be thrown in the air. He giggles and laughs hysterically!
He's got Justin Bieber hair, but this momma is too nervous to cut it. I just fix it by giving him a cheesy comb-over. Problem solved, right?
He hasn't mastered "the lean" (leaning towards a person if they look cooler than whoever is holding him) but he sure has mastered looking for Momma. If I'm around and Daddy's holding him, he'll still look at me almost exclusively. I think we need to change this.
The kiddo can find a tv in any room. He is mesmerized by it. I think we need to change this too.
His new favorite thing to do is stretch out his sleeping gowns. See below.

He loves to read books. He tries to turn the pages, but usually this results in paper cuts, poor guy!

We love you, baby Jack!

See Jack's 4 month pictures here.

April Fools?

2011-04-01T13:47:00.002-06:00

April Fools joke? I can't tell.

But I think Tyler should enter our baby in their Bacon Baby Contest. We could win a lifetime supply of bacon-flavored formula! Shazam!!!

From their website: "We are also launching a Bacon Baby Contest – just email us at BaconBaby@jdfoods.net with a few paragraphs about why your baby deserves to be one of the very first recipients of Bacon Baby Infant Formula. We’ll pick 20 of the best and send out a free lifetime supply of the product once it’s ready."

What do you guys think? Riduculous....ly awesome!!

Our Story

2011-03-31T09:51:00.004-06:00

Update: Here's the digital version so ya'll can read it. I had to separate it into two because it was vertically gifted (ahaha, instead of vertically challenged? yeah? no.) Click on each image to view it larger.

I love Taylor Swift's lyrics to Our Song. I think it would be so sweet to have your own love story put into a song for the entire world to hear.

But alas, neither Tyler or I were given the gift of song. I played percussion in high school, but that was mostly playing the music given to me. I can't sing or dance, but fortunately I discovered I can draw and create.

About a year and a half ago I created a poster for Tyler with "our song" on it for our first-year wedding anniversary. I didn't want any of the details of our engagement to be forgotten. (It's kind of funny because my older siblings argue sometimes about how things "really" took place when they met, but it was 5+ years ago for all of them and none of them can remember! I wanted a way to always keep our story straight.)

Hence, this was created:

And I finally framed it. It took me well over a year and a half to print and frame it, but it finally got done! I was so excited to show Tyler yesterday! :)

DIY Lined Envelopes

2011-03-30T11:51:00.000-06:00

To spruce up our graduation announcements, I thought it would be nice to line our envelopes with some decorative craft paper. And boy, did I find the best craft paper! It's BYU-blue, velvety and baroque-like.

Materials needed:
decorative paper

envelopes

pen or pencil

gluestick

scissors

bonefolder (optional, but makes things much easier!)

Directions:

1 Make a template out of cardstock. You can either make your own by tracing your envelope or find a template online. Martha Stewart also shows you how to make one right here.

2 Trace the template onto the back side of your decorative paper, and cut them all out. (I used A7 envelopes and 12"x12" craft paper, and was able to cut out two liners per sheet of craft paper.)

3 Gently slide your liner into the envelope and adjust it where you want it.

4 Carefully fold over the flap of your envelope and use your bonefolder to make a nice, sharp crease. If you don't have access to a bonefolder, try using a ruler to flatten the creases.

5 Unfold the flap and glue just the top triangle of your paper to the envelope flap.

That's it! Didn't they turn out fantastic? I have heard of people making these for weddings. It does get faster and easier after you've made a few, but I can't imagine making hundreds! Yikes!

My Herb Garden

2011-03-29T09:58:00.000-06:00

I finally decided to grow an herb garden! I've always loved growing basil in the summertime, but this year I decided to branch out. We are also growing oregano, chives (!!), and cilantro. YUM.

I, being overzealous of course, wanted to grow about twenty varieties of fresh herbs, but our budget and the fact that we're moving in a few months won't allow for that. So we're sticking with four. (Although I wish we could have found seeds for mint. I've always wanted to cook with fresh mint.)

We picked up ceramic pots, seeds, and special seed-rooting soil at Home Depot (love that place) and I painted them when we got home. They were going to look much cooler but I got lazy. :)

As for their plant tags, I cut hearts out of the front of the seed packet. Then I glued them onto cardstock and cut out rectangles. I wrote the seed name on the front and their germination time on the back. Then I laminated them using packing tape and stuck them in the soil using toothpicks. (This entire project made me feel like a true homemaker.)

Most of them should be sprouting within one - two weeks, with the latest being 21 days. Waiting for them to sprout is exhilarating. I feel like a little kid all over again!

Buffalo or Bison?

2011-03-28T14:24:00.001-06:00

Buffalo or bison...we're not really sure, but who cares?

My wonderful graphic designer friend Lindsay made this beautiful, flashy print. Isn't it fun and refreshing? The moment Tyler saw it he fell in love, and luckily Lindsay had a few extras so we could have one!

Sadly, I still don't have a place for it on our wall (not in this apartment, anyway) but I'm thinking of putting it in the kitchen when we move to California. And this is its pseudo-frame until we get another one. Right now it's just leaning against our utility room door, but at least we get to look at it everyday. :) Isn't Lindsay talented?

Confessions

2011-03-28T09:49:00.000-06:00

I've got a confession to make.

[Sometimes when Jack is fast asleep, I like to stick a binky in his mouth and pretend that he is a baby.]

Shhh. Don't tell my husband. He loves "grown-up Jack".

Is that terrible or what? Jack never liked a pacifier. I feel like I've missed out on that stage of a baby's life because - wait - it never happened!

One of my favorite baby things to shop for was a binky. I actually get jealous of other people's babies when they are happily sucking away at pacifiers. Sad, huh? It's not that Jack cries a lot and I need to shut him up in public. It's quite the opposite, actually. He is well-behaved most of the time. It's simply that I think binkies are a right of passage.

And they're so darn cute.

Hmmmph.

Our Best Bites: Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

2011-03-26T09:18:00.001-06:00

This completely killed any chance at my diet. (Self, be aware that I'm going to exercise triple time to make up for this.)

But friends, it was soo worth it. Buttery pie crust + warm, melted chocolate chip cookie = a slice of heaven here on earth. (Get it? A slice? Bahaha.)

Tyler's boss had a game night at their house last night and I brought this. My only concern was that the middle never quite set up completely, making it ooey, gooey, warm chocolate chip cookie dough, almost like a pazookie. We decided it might be the altitude (California, you just scored shiny, gold stars in my book for being at sea-level) so to rectify this, just add some more flour to the recipe below. Maybe a 1/4 cup?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Recipe from Nestle

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought.

2 large eggs

1/2 C flour

1/2 C white granulated sugar

1/2 C packed brown sugar

3/4 C real butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)

1 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark works best, you might find milk too sweet)

1 C chopped pecans (you are welcome to make it without nuts)

Vanilla ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving (a must! I prefer ice cream)

optional: chocolate sauce (honestly, doesn’t really need chocolate sauce, but it looks pretty!)

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack or serve slightly warmed. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

*From Our Best Bites: There have been several comments about pies turning out runny. First and foremost, follow the instructions, completely (no margarine or anything from a tub!) I’ve made a million of these and never had that happen so I have no idea. The recipe is correct as written, it comes straight from Nestle!

*My advice: 1/4 cup more of flour for those of us stuck up here in the mountains. Also, I didn't serve it with ice cream or anything. It was definitely rich enough on its own.

Recipe from Our Best Bites. I am in love with their new website design!

Kicking (and screaming)

2011-03-24T15:13:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday, everyone! I cleaned the house and I'm making shepherd's pie (with some tweaks here and there to make it lower-fat) for dinner tonight. It should be delicious! {Update: It was delicious! We loved it so much I'm ashamed to admit we ate half the pan. Good thing it is chock-full of vegetables!)

Does Jack really need a haircut? My mom says I'll be one of those mommas who can't bring herself to cut her kiddo's precious hair. So Jack is going to go to kindergarten with his wavy, curly hair down by his bum, but those locks sure will be beautiful.

Just kidding. Tyler would never let me grow Jack's hair out that long. Good thing we have a voice of reason in our family, right?

--------------------

Every morning for the past month or so Tyler and I would wake up to a "clunk, clunk, clunk" sound. Took me a while to figure out that he was scooting around in his crib sideways so he could stick his feet out! The front side of the crib drops down (on hinges - it doesn't slide down) and he's realized if he kicks it, it will go back and forth and makes a great play toy. What a boy.

Unfortunately we had to raise the side back up again so he doesn't get his foot stuck.

Poor guy. It'll be like this all his life. Once he finally finds something cool it'll just get taken away.

Graduation Announcement

2011-03-22T12:28:00.000-06:00

Remember when I made graduation announcements for us? I'm finally getting around to printing and mailing them (send me your address if you'd like one! alie.jonesy {at} gmail {dot} com). Here's our photo to go with it:

(and here is the announcement in case you missed it. or in case you were so excited for us you wanted to send us on a trip to Greece or somethin'...)

I know it's not exactly "formal" or anything, but if you know anything about us, we're not exactly formal type of people. Here was Tyler's original graduation announcement idea, but being the sensible (and boring?) wife I am I vetoed it. I love my husband.

Our friend Jeff graduated (2 years ago?) and his facebook profile looked like this:

Tyler loved the idea, but me...eh, not so much. Maybe if our announcement was just for Tyler. :)

Hooray for graduation in 3 weeks!

Milk Drunk

2011-03-22T09:49:00.000-06:00

Can you say bad hair day? Jack looks at me funny when my hair is every which way in the mornings, but the other day I was the one looking at him funny.

This kiddo's got some crazy hair. And he looks like he's got a milk hangover.

Tummy Time

2011-03-21T15:34:00.000-06:00

It's amazing how quickly tummy time can go from this:

to this and this:

But check out that cute plaid shirt.

Dear Blank Please Blank

2011-03-18T09:13:00.004-06:00

These are the most creative note cards I've seen in a long time.
I think I want a set to hang on our walls. Maybe in front of me while I'm doing the dishes, or in the bathroom.
(Why the bathroom? Because we used to have a Chuck Norris poster hanging right in front of the toilet in our old apartment. Classy, right? Bet you can't say that about your porcelain throne.)

Kudos to the designers.

get them right here.

and then don't forget to view an entire website dedicated to these shorties.

Chicken Fajitas

2011-03-17T17:47:00.001-06:00

Tonight I made Chicken Fajitas for dinner. First I asked Tyler what Mexicans put in their fajitas (he served an LDS Mission in Leon, Mexico for two years before we met, so he knows his stuff.) He told me they don't really make chicken fajitas and we've super-Americanized the term fajita.
Sad. No luck there.

Then I was too lazy to find a recipe, so I just started making things up as I went along. (Yes, Mom. I know your jaw just dropped open in surprise, but I really did! And it turned out fantastic!)

It had a little bit of sweet from the raisins and a little bit of smoky flavor from the cumin to it. We'll definitely be making it again soon. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Fajitas

Serves 4

15 minutes or less (!!)

4 chicken tenders (1/2 lb, maybe?)

1 red bell pepper

1 small tomato

1 onion

1/2 can black beans

1/4 c. raisins

large palmful of ground cumin (2 T. maybe?)

small palmful of coriander (1/2 T.?)

s & p

Toppings:

Avocado

Sour Cream

Pepper Jack Cheese

Tortillas (8)

Chop onion, bell pepper and tomato. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Sautee onion, pepper, tomato, and chicken in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through and onions are translucent. Add beans and raisins and mix well. Add cumin and coriander, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and cook until warm throughout.

Serve with warm tortillas, avocado, sour cream and cheese.

Notes:

-The raisins sound weird. I know. But I tried a similar fajitas recipe several weeks ago with raisins and I couldn't get it off my mind! Every fajita needs raisins for that sweet punch.

-If I had roasted sweet bell peppers I would have used those instead of a fresh pepper.

-This should easily serve 4 people. If you want to add more chicken, it could serve 6.

-We used fresh, uncooked tortillas from Costco and cooked them ourselves. Once you've tried them, you'll never go back to store-bought, pre-cooked tortillas!

Blog Header Design

2011-03-17T15:20:00.002-06:00

My, my my. I've been so busy lately!

My sister Courtney is the author of Nurturing the Nest blog. She's got really good tips about living every day on a tight budget. She shares recipes, tips, and inspiration she finds for her family on all-natural living.

I just helped her revamp the look and feel of her blog. Here's her new blog header:

And here is her blog button that you can snatch up for yourself right over here:

You like?

ooshirts

2011-03-16T20:45:00.000-06:00

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my dad is starting a new bbq business and wanted shirts made. After spending quite a long time searching for the cheapest tshirt printing place, I came across ooShirts.

Fantastic. I can't stress enough how great they were to work with.

They have someone review your design (for free!) before you submit it. How great is that?

They also include shipping right into your order price, and guarantee that it will be on your doorstep in two weeks.

Their prices are very reasonable and I'd highly recommend them! The more tshirts you'll be printing, the price goes down.

Click here to take a peek!

family pictures

2011-03-15T12:39:00.001-06:00

We're kind of lame and haven't done any formal family pictures yet. In fact, Tyler and I haven't had formal pictures since our wedding 2 1/2 years ago.

Here's the best we can come up with (for now):

...and just for kicks here is Tyler, playing Cheezit Scrabble at work today:

photo via facebook / spencer bean

ampersand

2011-03-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

via EdiesLab

uh, tyler? can i have this for my birthday?

please? i'm too scared to attempt my own mock cereal box version.

Website Redesign

2011-03-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Guys! I'm FINALLY redoing my portfolio website!

Hooray! Hooray!

It's kind of funny with design. You get really proud after you complete something but then you look back six months later and realize it sucks.

So is the case with my personal website.

It's kind of sad.

I learned once how to code it myself...over a year and a half ago.

And my husband codes websites so we can have a roof over our heads.

I think I'll leave it up to him to code it this weekend for me.

Until then, here's a sneak preview:

I can't wait to show you!! (plus I'll have more updated graphic design work in there! woo!)

2011-03-10T09:44:00.001-07:00

This is how I organize my spices. It's very convenient and easy to find exactly what I need.

I'm big on tubs and jars and boxes to organize things. I even have a box in my freezer filled with bags of vegetables. I decided several years ago to do the same thing to my spices. Now I just reach up and pull the entire tub down, find what I need, and put it back. No more digging through cupboards, knocking things over. This way I can see every spice that's in there and reach it easily.

So basically this was one of my best ideas ever. Ever.

Recipe Renovation

2011-03-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

This, friends, is my little black book.

Okay, more like my giant black book. And it's filled with recipes instead of gentlemen's phone numbers.

I just revamped and reorganized it completely. It makes me so happy to flip through it now! I'll take you on a tour:

The 1st section starts off with my weekly menu planner. I make a copy of this each week, and write down my menu and all of the ingredients I need to buy. Then this goes on the fridge by our calendar.

Right after this I have some recipe inspiration lists. Two pages full of dinner ideas, so I can just spot something quickly that looks good.

After this I've got conversion charts and some cooking tips, and then a short (hopefully will become longer) baby food section. Recipes for homemade baby food.

The 2nd section is chock full of my favorite recipes. If I hadn't made it in the past year or if it didn't sound healthy or appetizing anymore, I tossed it. Here's how my sections broke down:

-appetizers (dips, beverages, things I'll probably rarely make)

-main dishes (taco soup, fried chicken, pasta, caesar salad...)

-side dishes (green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, roasted broccoli)

-snacks (mostly lunch ideas, like my couscous salad)

-cookies (snickerdoodles, levain's chocolate chip, rootbeer cookies)

-desserts (chocolate bliss cheesecake, cinnamon rolls, brownies)

-breads (artisan bread, french bread, all sorts of yummy breads)

-breakfast (sour cream coffee cake, whole wheat pancakes, quiche)

Basically I grin every time I get to open it now. With an organized "black book", menu planning is so much simpler!

Laughing Baby

2011-03-10T09:03:00.001-07:00

Have you all seen almost 10-million-views youtube video with the laughing baby? I've got something that rivals it.

My laughing baby is better. See for yourself:

You only need to really watch the first 20 seconds or so to get the picture that this little man was entertained to pieces by a yard of ribbon. (Sorry, I didn't have time to edit it shorter.)

I mean, seriously, the kiddo was choking on his spit he was laughing so hard.

How cute is he?? :)

Parenting Magazine: The Early Years

2011-03-09T14:48:00.002-07:00

Remember I told you how you can buy diapers über cheap using amazon codes from the Parenting magazine? If you don't have a subscription to the Parenting Magazine, here is a link to one. (Use coupon code 7232 at checkout.) For only $4.47 for two years, you'll save a bundle in diapers! Heck, it's worth its weight in gold with just one issue!

grinding your own wheaties

2011-03-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

(Just kidding. Man, I wish I could grind my own wheaties. We'd save a bundle on frosted mini wheats. Tyler eats a huge bag of generic frosted mini spooners in a week or two. Not kidding.)

This weekend I ground my own wheat. (Look, Ma! I'm so domestic!) Mom and Dad bought us a wheat grinder a couple of Christmases ago. I was terrified of it at first because it's so noisy, but it's the easiest thing ever to do. Plug it in and pour in the wheat kernels. Easy peasy. I like to grind it outside so it's not as loud on Jack's ears.

We bought our wheat at Costco. It comes in a giant tub. My neighbor Jess came over (no doubt wondering where all that loud noise was coming from) and said, "Ooooooooooohhhhhh! I didn't know what you were supposed to do with the kernels! I always wondered how they turned into flour." Yep, you grind them.

My grinder has settings from coarse to fine. I choose semi-fine. I have found when I grind my own whole wheat we 1) save money and 2) can use it in place of white flour. I just substitute the whole wheat flour in directly for the white all-purpose flour. I used buy whole wheat flour from the store because I was lazy and didn't have a wheat grinder, but the store-bought flour was dense and heavy. It made any recipe I tried taste terrible. With freshly-ground wheat flour I can replace the white flour with whole wheat and it's still light and fluffy. Problem solved!

Baby Oatmeal

2011-03-09T09:08:00.005-07:00

Jack was more interested in this new thing around his neck - the bib - rather than the actual oatmeal.

Anyone ever tried baby oatmeal? It definitely doesn't have the consistency of grown-up oatmeal (it actually looks a bit like glitter), and tastes like papier-mâché. I've got firsthand experience - I tried it on Sunday morning. YUCK. (No wonder Jack has a hard time eating it! "Give me some of that rich and creamy chocolate cheesecake instead, Momma.")

I don't know if we'll try oatmeal again anytime soon. He's been reaching and grabbing stuff (food too - I swear, he was eyeing that chocolate cheesecake!) but I don't know if I want to deal with solids yet. Can my baby stay a baby just a wee bit longer? But then again, I can't wait until he sits up so we can put him in his real high chair, which looks like this:

or it actually might look like this:

I can't remember which color it is. Nonetheless I am excited!

Here is Jack gobbling (okay, maybe not gobbling, more like lapping? smacking?) up the oatmeal:

He had his 4-month appointment today and is 50th in height and head circumference and 75th in weight.

First of all I think he is 1/2" taller than they measured him, and secondly there is no way this kiddo could be only 50th percentile in height! He grew out of his 3-6 month footed pajamas weeks ago and is snuggly in his 6-9 month footsies.

Huh. Are baby clothes (of all different brands, might I add) conspiring against the tall kiddos?

[And p.s. this kid's got some major man-boobs growing in! It's cute and disgusting at the same time. :)]

Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake

2011-03-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we had dinner with a few other couples and we were in charge of dessert. I made a Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake and it was raved about! I'd definitely make it again.

As usual, here is the recipe, along with my notes:

Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake recipe

18 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, finely crushed*
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened**
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 (1 ounce) squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted, cooled slightly***
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300 degrees F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan)****. Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 55 min. to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

*I used the Great Value oreo cookies and they tasted just fine. I mashed them in a tupperware with a (get this, haha) potato masher. But it worked perfectly! I feel like I always end up with holes in the plastic bag when I smash them in a gallon ziploc but the potato masher did the trick.

**I bought the Weight Watchers cream cheese because it was cheaper (we went to Walmart for our groceries that day). Even though it was "lite" the texture was just as velvety smooth.

***I bought the Baker's chocolate but just use chocolate chips instead. Baker's chocolate is more expensive and it's pretty much the same thing.

**** I wish I would have had this listed on the recipe I was using. When I pulled the cheesecake out of the oven (5 minutes early, too) I felt it was a tinch overdone. Next time I know - if using a nonstick springform pan, preheat to 300 degrees NOT 325. But really, the cake tasted just fine. :)

Sorry - cool plate, terrible picture.
But I've got a tip for you: I wanted to dust mine with powdered sugar, but didn't have any tools to do it with. So I pulled out the grater and tapped it with a spoon. Makes the perfect sugar duster!

Let me know how you all like it!

Incredible Real Life House from Pixar’s UP

2011-03-08T12:56:00.002-07:00

Ever wondered if Pixar's UP house could be possible in real life? Here's your answer:

~~Kinda~~ Ridiculously awesome and super cool, huh? The best part is there are people inside, flying with the house!

Go National Geographic.

And hey cool kids. There's even a VIDEO of it.

Via jeanniejeannie

Graduation Announcement

2011-03-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Has anyone priced graduation announcements lately? They're ugly, and around two bucks a pop. Add on three graduation applications (Tyler had to apply for both an undergrad and graduate degree), postage, envelopes, framing two diplomas, and two graduation gown sets. It all adds up pretty quickly, kind of like textbooks. (We're realizing graduation is anything but free.) Youch.

Good thing I majored in something useful, right? Here's what Tyler and I collectively came up with:

Green Onions

2011-03-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

How have your green onions been? Mine have been growing and growing. I've used them in three different recipes just this past week!

Some stalks look like they're on their last bit of life, but others are still growing strong.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

2011-03-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

One thing I've always struggled with is making hard-boiled eggs. No matter how well I seem to follow the directions, I always end up with a runny center! What the heck??

Then I discovered I could make hard-boiled eggs in my steamer! Yes way! They turn out perfectly every.single.time.

But today I don't want to get out my entire steamer for two eggs, so I'm going to try this website's instructions. (And the graphics are cute to boot!) In three steps (How big is your egg? Is it straight from the fridge? How do you want it?) you can make the perfect hard-boiled egg.

Egg Watchers: the egg timer that entertains you

Jim Jimmery Jim Jimmery Jim Jim Jaroo

2011-03-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last night Tyler and I got the opportunity to sneak away from our sleeping baby and attend a BYU basketball game. [No worries, we aren't bad parents. We got a babysitter.] We had a blast, even though BYU had a terrible game. I'll admit I was mostly looking forward to seeing The Jimmer in action, and it disappointed me that it didn't really happen. Things were just off.

Nonetheless, we had GREAT seats! My friend Lindsay works as a graphic designer for BYU Athletics and got us seats on the marketing bench, which is super close! We were right behind the cheerleaders. Thanks, Lindsay!!

And Tyler would like to add that right as the top picture was taken, Jackson Emery slam dunked it. Or something like that.

4 Months

2011-03-02T11:38:00.004-07:00

I'm sorry, friends. It's like a super-Jack-attack this week with pictures of the little bean. (But isn't he cute? Doesn't the above photo make you squeal in delight?)

But alas, sooner or later I'll have to come to terms with the fact that not everyone thinks pictures of our baby is exciting. But I have a right to be biased and think the little man is the cutest baby on the planet, right? Let me indulge just a little bit longer, k?

He is FOUR MONTHS OLD! Remember when he came home from the hospital? Wow, times flies by so quickly! If only I could stop time and keep him little forever!

The Creative Place

2011-03-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Today I am a guest blogger (!!) over at The Creative Place. I'll be sharing my easy DIY Pinwheel Mobile that I made for baby Jack's nursery. He loves it more and more everyday, and is fascinated with the spinning colors. Go check it out!

Family Home Evening (Printable Chart)

2011-02-28T18:48:00.002-07:00

As Mormons we are instructed to hold what we call Family Home Evening once a week. This typically falls on Monday night. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything formal and structured, but we are encouraged to spend time together as a family during FHE.

As single college students, you are split into FHE groups and do fun activities together each week. But once you get married you're pretty much on your own, and sometimes it's hard to remember. I decided one of my goals this month (March) is to be diligent about FHE every Monday night. I made a chart for our family, and you can print one out if you'd like too.

Below is the chart. Print out the first picture on cardstock. You can laminate it, or I have framed it in an 8x10 picture frame. Print out the second set and fill in family member names. Laminate those names and rotate them around the board each week.

I Can't Wait to Grow Up (I'm not a Toys-R-Us kid.)

2011-02-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Kamie made an excellent point recently that Mommas are usually the ones taking the pictures, so they rarely get photos with their own children. I totally agree with this so my new goal is to take photos of Tyler and I with Jack more often.

Momma and Jack, ready to watch the BYU game

Let me just start off by saying Tyler Florence's Ultimate Chicken Parmigiana is ah-may-zing. Totally worth the two hours of effort. (And I'm sure it's even more spectacular when paired with his ultimate caesar salad and herbed garlic bread. Although I bet my caesar salad recipe is better...just sayin'.)

And do you see my new, cleaner blog header? Do you love it? I do. I've been a big fan of white, clear spaces lately. I think Tyler hates when I do this but I keep walking around, dejunking the house so I don't feel so claustrophobic all the time. Same goes for the blog. Blog, consider yourself dejunked. And how about my search bar? Don't know if it helps anyone else out but it sure makes life a heck of a lot easier for me. :)

..................

My mom just bought baby Jack a bumbo chair. You know, those silly little plastic chairs that babies sit in? I thought $35 was way too hefty of a price tag to spend on a piece of thick foam, but Jack's physical therapist recommended we get one. Thank you, Mom for splurging on us. :)

You see, Jack is opposite of Peter Pan. Peter never wanted to grow up, but that's all Jack has wanted to do since he popped out of the oven. He immediately started talking (throwing the nurses in a tizzy), he has never been fond of blankets, he has never taken a binky, and he has always hated to be cradled. He's pretty much afraid to be a baby. So in all of this "i hate being a baby" stage he hasn't curled up enough in a ball, allowing for "fluction(?)" as our PT puts it. Instead of arching his back all the time, Dr. Ben wants Jack to curl up more.

So make things short and sweet, Dr. Ben wants Jack to "curl up" and sit in this silly baby chair.

Good thing Jack loves it. :)

This is his, "Uh...I'm not so sure about this, Momma..." face.
Good thing he warmed up really quick to the idea that he could actually be somewhat independent in the Bumbo.

Look at him shaking that rattle!

Below are two different brands of 6-9 month pajamas, which fit our almost-4-month-old with little room to spare. Oh, golly. (See the footsie grippers on the bottom? Pretty sure that's made for kiddos who are ready to start crawling and standing. Jack can't even sit on his own yet alone crawl!)

This lion toy is by far his favorite. He loves to hug and cuddle it!

DIY Pearl Hair Pin

2011-02-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

One of the best accessories to complete an outfit without going over the top are pearls. I got my first set from my grandma when I turned sixteen and they've been a favorite of mine ever since. They're timeless and beautiful, and you can wear them with almost anything. I dress them up and dress them down. I wore a strand of pearls on my wedding day (see below) and today I'm wearing the same strand today with a black shirt. I've got four (yes, I know that seems a bit much) pearl necklaces, a pearl ring, a bracelet, earrings, and now a faux pearl clip I made this morning to go in my hair.

I'm a little obsessed with pearls, but when used sparingly they can really dress up just a plain outfit so easily. I don't wear them everyday, or even once a week. But you know those "blah" days where nothing you do seems to go right? Put on a strand of pearls and you'll feel just like Fancy Nancy. (Have you read that children's book? I read two of them with my niece this past weekend and they were great!)

To make my pearl clip, I used craft-store pearls that are sticky on the bottom. Using a tiny dab of hot glue, glue them one at a time to a clip (find hair clips at a beauty store, such as Sally Beauty). This would also be darling in a little girl's hair in place of the expected flower. Pair it with a red or pink dress and she can be Fancy Nancy for the day!

photo by Mariah Baddas based out of San Diego, California.
She was the most amazing wedding photographer EVER.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

2011-02-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

Just kidding. Jack can't roll yet. (He has rolled over about five times, but it's not consistent enough to call it anything but a mere coincidence and case of being very, very upset with tummy time.)

And sorry for the excessive posts about Jack. But this is just too exciting, and since neither set of grandparents live nearby (700+ miles away) it's necessary to include everyone in on the excitement.

Look at the little guy go!

2011-02-24T13:35:00.001-07:00

I've noticed one thing with Jack. I don't know if all babies are like this, but Jack is. I've noticed he just wakes up one day and has learned something new. Yesterday he couldn't care less about toys, and today I stuck one on his lap and he was trying to pick it up and play with it!

It's happened this way every.single.time he learns something new. One morning he just woke up smiling and didn't turn back from there. Soon I'll probably find him sitting all by himself in his crib! (Just kidding. He's far from that. But if things continue like this, where they all of a sudden happen, it would be a nice surprise!)

This little guy keeps getting more and more fun to play with. He is so grown up! He hates to be swaddled now, hates all blankets, and hates to be cradled in your arms. He acts like a big kid, not like a baby at all.

Cheerios + Strawberries

2011-02-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Looking for a snack?

Seriously guys. Cheerios and strawberries are a winning combination every time.

On Saturday we bought 3 lbs of strawberries and by Sunday morning 1 lb was already gone. Yum!

Jack's Baby Schedule

2011-02-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

My friend Stephanie is due next week (!!) and asked me a couple of questions that might be helpful to some of you. But remember: I'm not an expert on parenting...I'm just giving advice and tips that have worked really well for me.

When do you think is the earliest you could start letting a baby cry themselves to sleep without traumatizing them?

This is a funny question. I was so set on the "cry it out" method before Jack was born. I felt as if I had read enough about newborns before he was born, but the reality was that I had just skimmed information. Not until after he was born did I start to submerse myself deeply into all topics considering newborns, which was a little too late because that's the time you're establishing habits! I started to let him "cry it out" from the day we brought him home (day two) but it wasn't for that long. Tyler and I both quickly became suckers. It's amazing how quickly a newborn can get you wrapped right around their little fingers and toes!

It wasn't til around the one month mark that I decided enough was enough. Jack wasn't sleeping well and neither was I. Tyler and I were both spending HOURS each night trying to rock him to sleep as he cried. I finally just started setting him down in his crib when I saw a couple yawns come out of him. Young kids can't stifle their yawns and hide them - neither can adults, really - so a yawn is the perfect indication of a newborn's tiredness. Put them down quick, before they get too tired to sleep and start getting cranky. The first few days he'd cry a little bit in his crib before he fell asleep, but these cries became shorter and shorter. Now at almost 4 months he rarely cries when I set him down. Maybe I just got lucky and have an easy baby, but I think the biggest thing is the earlier you start establishing a routine, the better.

EDIT: I thought about this for a while, and decided as soon as you learn to recognize their different cries (ex: hunger, tiredness, bored, etc) you can let them cry it out. That way you can be positive they are genuinely tired, and not just hungry.

Would you be willing to post your feeding/nap schedule, starting from when Jack was a newborn, and progressing to as he got older?

As I mentioned before, I followed BabyWise. I made sure to feed Jack right as he woke up from a nap, then played with him for a while, and when I saw the telltale yawn, I'd whisk him off to bed.

Below is our tentative schedule, if you can even call it a schedule. Jack sort of fell into it on his own, but sometimes it was pushed a little by me. Sometimes he'd want to eat at 2 1/2 hours instead of every 3 hours, and I'd insist on letting him cry for about fifteen minutes, to make it 2 3/4 hours. Most of the time we'd meet in the middle like that, but if he seemed to be doing this several feedings in a row I knew he was going through a growth spurt and he needed to eat more often.

0-8 weeks: Jack would go to sleep around 10pm, wake up to feed at 2am, and wake up to feed at 6am. He naturally fell into this by his first few days of life. Throughout the day I'd follow his cues, but usually feed him every 3 hours during the day. He would wake from his nap, I'd change his diaper, feed him, and then play with him. Put down for a nap and repeat. He couldn't stay awake for more than an hour at a time, so it was 1 hour of feeding and playing and 2 hours of napping.

9 weeks - present: Around 7-9 weeks I started to group his feedings more at night to make him sleep longer. He won't eat an entire feeding at 10 or 11pm (he's too sleepy) but even getting a couple of ounces in him seems to get him through the night. He wakes up around 7 or 8am, eats every 3 hours, and goes to bed anywhere from 7-8 depending on my exercise schedule. Then I feed him again at 10 or 11 and he doesn't wake til 7 or 8am! He has gradually (around the 2 1/2 month mark) eased into a 1 1/2 hours awake, 1 1/2 hours asleep routine. And him sleeping through the night happened "all of a sudden". He was going about 5 or 6 hours through the night and one night he just didn't wake up til 7 in the morning. He was consistent from then on.

I have also been pretty flexible lately. My mom told my husband when we were home for Christmas that I needed to be less rigid with my baby schedule. Luckily I have been better about that lately and Jack has been too. Today our weekly play group was at 1pm, which is usually when Jack is asleep. But he was a good little boy and went down for a nap early, and thus got to be awake during the play group. He loved it!

I hope this helps! Any more questions?

Sleeping Like a Champ

2011-02-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

I can't remember if I have posted on this or not, but lots of my friends have asked me how I got Jack to sleep through the night so young. (Just for clarification, by "sleeping through the night", I mean 8 or more hours.) He was on his way to sleeping 9+ hours at night by 7 weeks, and then the holidays hit and we vacationed to California for Christmas. But by 9 weeks we got him back on schedule and the little champ was sleeping consistently through the night.

I just received an email from BabyCenter - these are my favorite emails to receive about pregnancy and parenting. Oddly enough, it talks about sleeping habits. I'll share it below, highlighting in bold the things I followed:

One of the hardest challenges parents face is whether to let their baby "cry it out" or not at bedtime or after nighttime wake-ups. Doctors and experts disagree on this one. Some, like physician Richard Ferber, the expert behind the sleep method informally called "Ferberizing," contend that letting your child cry for a bit is okay when you're teaching her to fall asleep without your help.Ferber's method (also called "progressive waiting") involves waiting for longer and longer periods each night before going in to pat and comfort your baby. When you do go in, you check on her but don't pick her up or cuddle her, and eventually she learns to soothe herself to sleep. (This technique presumes that your baby is healthy and old enough to sleep through the night.)

Other experts say babies ought to be comforted to sleep. Pediatrician William Sears, for example, advocates that parents co-sleep with their baby in a family bed, holding and cuddling the baby until she's soothed into sleep. Still others, like "Baby Whisperer" Tracy Hogg, take a middle position, saying that parents shouldn't jump up and rush to a baby's crib every time she whimpers or cries in the night; sometimes the baby will drift back to sleep on her own after a few cries.

I followed the book BabyWise for the first two months. I still reference it a bit, but mostly follow a combination of my schedule and Jack's. BabyWise teaches you to get your baby into a 3-hour routine of sleep+eat+play (specifically in that order), and by following this your little one will sleep through the night by 9 weeks. We loosely followed this routine, and his sleeping habits formed on their own.

This isn't to say it was easy. There were a couple of nights that Jack woke up whimpering and crying, hungry for food. My mom's first babies were twins, and I tried her advice to repeatedly stick a binky in his mouth until he fell back asleep. Unfortunately Jack has never taken a pacifier so this didn't really work. He would suck on it for about three minutes and spit it out again. The little guy soon associated his pacifier with being tricked, and after trying that method he won't take it AT ALL. So I just let him cry it out a little bit longer each night (as long as I could stand) before going to his crib and feeding him.

Here's a reference list of tips:

At 4 weeks (should have been earlier though, looking back on it) we stopped rocking him to sleep. We set him in his crib to fall asleep on his own. This caught on very quickly.
Jack is bottle-fed. This helped my sanity when he was a newborn because on weekends Tyler could help by waking up with him in the night. I'm not advocating one way or the other, but bottle-fed babies sleep through the night quicker because their tummies are fuller.
Because he is still young, I "top him off" at night. I read somewhere to cluster their feedings in the evening. When Jack gets fed at 6 or 7pm, he falls asleep right afterward and is "out" for the night, but if I left him he'd get hungry around 4 or 5am (not so cool for Mommy). I wake him up and feed him (extremely groggy baby will only take half a feeding if I'm lucky) around 10 or 11 and put him right back to bed. This "topping off" helps him be full enough for the night.
At his "top him off" feeding I also change his diaper for the night. I sprinkle baby powder in his diaper so he doesn't get too wet and get a diaper rash, and so he doesn't feel the moisture and wake up wanting his diaper changed in the middle of the night.
I try not to lull him to sleep with a bottle, becoming dependent on the bottle for sleep. I do it occasionally (because it works!) when I'm in public or he is extremely grouchy and is too tired to sleep, but I don't make it a habit. Sleep+Eat+Play - Repeat.
Make sure baby gets plenty of rest during the daytime, or they won't sleep at night. You might think that your baby will sleep longer at night if you shorten his naps during the day, but this isn't true! It will just make them too tired to sleep well, if this makes sense. So make sure your baby gets all of his nap times in.
Sometimes Jack will wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning and talk to himself for a little while. I have learned to ignore him when he does this because he falls right back asleep. As a general rule, if they're not giving you the "hunger cry", they may have just woken up to play for a while by themselves.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions, or shoot me an email.

Tony Stark

2011-02-23T09:54:00.002-07:00

Before (assembling the Iron Man):

After (Iron Man is completed and ready to conquer the world!):

For those of you who didn't catch my post last week, Tyler built a new computer for our house. And it's wicked fast. (3x-5x faster than a MacMini would have been.)

No, seriously. It installed Windows7 in less than fifteen minutes.

We named him Tony Stark. We give names to lots of things in our family - cars, computers, babies, soccer teams - you know, the usual things anyone would name. Tyler has a name for every computer at our house, and I think I have a name for everything else. (When I was little I used to name the bugs in our house, and I've also given a name to my mom's pig statue.) We're pretty good at coming up with good names. (Tyler's soccer team is named Something Epic. He called me up to ask what he should name it and I told him, "I don't know...err...just come up with something epic." Obviously I was referring to giving the team an insanely awesome name, which, in turn, he did.)

Thus, our new, blazingly fast computer is named Tony Stark, from Iron Man.

Can I just tell you how much I love Robert Downey Jr.'s character in Iron Man? They casted the perfect person for the role of Tony Stark. His character is witty, clever, and conceited, yet you still absolutely adore him. Genius.

That's all for today, folks (just kidding...one more post to follow). I've got Adobe Illustrator CS5 (finally!!) installed and I need to "reorganize" things on here. I'm so lucky to have a husband who is a computer genius - even though my old laptop won't even start up, he was able to recover my entire hard drive. I love you, Tyler! (p.s. isn't he cute in the above picture? For him it was like Christmas morning at our house!)

Recipe: Baked Onion Rings

2011-02-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

My sister gave us some large onions this past weekend, and I decided to cut one up and test my mad cooking skills. (Apparently my cooking skills are awesome if you didn't know. Haha. But really, occasionally there is a diamond found in the rough here.)

I made oven-fried/baked onion rings and they turned out so so good! We scarfed down the entire plate in about ten seconds flat between the two of us and had a hard time waiting for the second batch to bake! They are much healthier than the fried variety, and I think they turned out just as crispy and delicious! I just kind of made up the recipe as I went along, so there aren't really exact measurements. (Just learn from my mistake though and don't add too much cayenne pepper! Even though it looks like paprika, it sure doesn't taste like paprika!)

Oven Baked Onion Rings

1 large onion

self-rising flour*

salt & pepper

cayenne pepper

garlic salt

1 egg

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cut off both ends of the onion, and peel off a few layers of skin. Slice up the onion in rings and set aside.

Beat egg in small bowl with a little bit of water. Mix about 1 cup flour, some garlic salt, cayenne pepper, and s&p in another bowl.

Dip individual onion slices in egg wash, and then dredge in flour mixture. Spread out evenly on your greased sheet pan (it's okay if they overlap). Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping/tossing onion rings in pan halfway through. Onion rings should be golden brown and crispy.

*The trick to anything breaded is to use self-rising flour. Tyler and I have finally perfected our Thanksgiving chicken wings by using self-rising flour. It rises as it cooks, making the breading lighter, fluffier, and crispier.

To make your own self-rising flour, mix 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt to 1 cup all-purpose flour.

the beach in our living room

2011-02-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

We bought this painting back in August at the local thrift store for $5. Yep, that's right folks, $5.

Unfortunately I have to admit we only bought it for the frame. The painting itself isn't really my style. It has never fit with our family room and has always driven me crazy hanging on the wall. I mean to repaint it back in August when we got it (ya know, before the baby came and my life changed drastically) but that never happened. But Friday night Tyler had to take a test (the smarty-pants got a 95% on it, by the way...) so I decided to paint. What have I always done when I'm lonely? Paint.

I first painted it yellow. Then I decided I wanted the beach and sunshine to inspire me.

Here's the finished product (above). It matches much better than before. When Jack is old enough, I'm going to let him paint it again with me. Abstract is just my thing.

Cast Iron Skillet Steak

2011-02-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

image from here

We're definitely on a tighter budget right now. We just had a baby, just bought a new car, and are currently paying for our last semester of graduate school. So we really can't go out to eat as often as we used to. But I just love food. I have a relationship with food that I can't even describe. I love to make it, eat it and look at it way too much for my own good.

Sometimes this tighter-budget-but-absolutely-adore-ingredients thing is hard. I've actually done well with it lately. With more practice, I've been able to decipher when I should (and can) spend a little bit more on quality ingredients. For example: before when I went to the spice section of the grocery store, I'd get the cheapest kind. Store brand, if they had it. But over Christmas break Tyler entered an Iron Chef competition (at my Dad's bbq competition) and bought Lawry's Garlic Salt. Had I gone shopping with him, I would have bought the cheap kind. But now I'm addicted to the Lawry's kind (green lid!) and I realize it makes a HUGE difference in my cooking. The same goes for mozzarella cheese. When it is a major component of my dish (ex: my fried eggplant pizza) I splurge a little and get the fresh kind that comes in a ball. No more pre-shredded mozzarella at this house.

On Valentine's Day we stayed home (to conserve our sanity and budget) and I made Tyler a killer-good meal. We had (cheaper but still good - see below) steak, crisp asparagus, and oven-fried yukon gold potatoes. The entire meal was well under $10 but was restaurant-quality. Tyler was so impressed with my cooking skills!

Steak went on sale again this week ($3.97 a pound!) so we picked up 3/4 of a pound for under $3. I added fresh green beans and our leftover yukon gold potatoes as side dishes. Tyler told me that was some of the best steak he's ever had in his life. (!!!) So now I'm on cloud nine. Ladies, when your husband has been to some of the best steakhouses in San Diego (and spoiled with $40-a-plate Roy's for his birthday dinner) and he tells you your steak is comparable, it's a big deal.

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Here's how to make really awesome steak, without a backyard grill:

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Steak

steak (we used boneless top sirloin)

butter

salt & pepper

olive oil

cast iron skillet

Place your cast-iron skillet in your oven and preheat the broiler. When blazing hot, remove and place on a hot burner. Drizzle olive oil in your pan. Liberally salt and pepper your steak and place in pan. Here's the most important part: don't move the steak once you put it in the pan. Let sear for about 1 1/2 minutes, and then flip and sear the other side. (You'll know when it's ready to flip when it comes off the pan easily. If it is still sticking, it's not ready.) Smear about a 1/2 tablespoon of butter on the top of the steak and let melt. After about a minute, stick your steak in the oven, right under the broiler. We like our steak medium-rare, so we remove it from the oven by the two minute mark. Remove steak from pan and place on a plate or cutting board. You have to let it rest for about five minutes before cutting into it.

These directions will vary depending on how thick your steak is. The thicker the steak, the longer you'll need to keep it under the broiler. Our steaks have been 1" or less thick. When your steak bounces back well, it is medium-rare. If it doesn't yield and bounce back as easily, your steak might be over-cooked.

Side dishes to go with your amazing steak:

For my asparagus, I boiled it in an inch or two of water for six minutes.

I did the same for our green beans, and then topped with grated romano cheese and salt and pepper.

To make the oven-fried potatoes, wash and slice yukon gold potatoes. Place them in a 9x13 pan and drizzle olive oil, salt & pepper, and garlic salt on them. Toss and bake in a 400-degree oven for 35-40 minutes, tossing every so often.

Thin Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches

2011-02-21T11:29:00.001-07:00

Last night we had a few friends over so I made dessert. It was easy and so yummy! Here's the (kind of sort of made up) recipe:

Thin Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches

Thin Mint ice cream

chocolate cake mix

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup water

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together chocolate cake mix, butter, vanilla, and eggs. Add 1/4 cup water if dough is too dry. Scoop cookie dough onto pan and bake for 10 minutes (no more than this!). As you take them out of the oven, flatten cookies by banging pan on the stovetop or counter (the same way you would get air out of a cake batter). Let cool on wire rack. When cooled, freeze for 1 hour.

Take 2 cookies and put a scoop of ice cream in the middle. Squish together and stick back in the freezer for about an hour. Serve frozen.

p.s. anyone else ecstatic for girl scout cookie time?? i'm practically counting down the days here...

Big Boy

2011-02-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our little baby is turning into a little boy! He just won't stop growing!

Jack is 26+ inches long (yikes!) and is relatively the same height as other 6-8 month olds we know.

He is a lot of fun to play with. He giggles, sings, and uses his hands a lot. He tries to grab things, but his accuracy isn't there yet. We went to the physical therapist yesterday and his head shape has improved dramatically! He is about even on both sides now (meaning the entire right side of his head isn't flat anymore. Way to go, dude!). He loves turning left and has improved so much!

Couscous with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

2011-02-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite lunchtime recipes is couscous with walnuts, feta, and sliced red grapes. When I didn't have feta or grapes on hand yesterday, I improvised and came up with something just as yummy!

Coucous with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries

1. Add 1/2 cup hot water to 1/2 cup couscous. Put a lid on it and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

2. Add a squirt of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper. Add a handful of craisins and a handful of chopped walnuts.

This would still be even more delicious with feta cheese, but it was tasty without too. :)

Giggles

2011-02-16T21:49:00.001-07:00

Here's some lovin, courtesy of Jack.

PG-13 Cookies

2011-02-16T21:47:00.001-07:00

Here are some hilarious, sexy cookies made for Tyler and I for Valentine's Day by our friend Linze. Get it?

A few tips

2011-02-15T22:30:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I feel like it's been forever and a day since I've blogged or been on the internet for longer than ten minutes. Kind of refreshing, kind of not. My precious Macbook Pro laptop broke (for good), and instead of getting a quick fix done on it I'm upgrading to a bigger and better computer. Faster, at least. Tyler has convinced me to get a PC (i know, i know!!) because being the computer saavy individual he is he can easily upgrade and fix it anytime he wants. Apple, on the other hand, would require taking my computer into the Apple store and paying upwards of $300 each time I needed it fixed. So when I have a husband who can fix it for next to nothing, I might as well take advantage of it, right? And by Tyler building me a PC, I get to upgrade to Adobe CS5. I've been behind, stuck on CS3, but a few new features on CS5 should make it all worth it.

I've got two easy tips for you today, and both are from my sister Courtney. The first one will help all you mommies out there who have experienced "blow outs". A blow out at our house usually means that Jack is in one of my favorite outfits, and he gets poop all up his back, soaking the onesie in a mustard yellow stain that will not come out in the laundry! I have tried presoaking it and scrubbing it in the sink with a toothbrush, but nothing worked. The stain was still there. So I remembered what Courtney told me and I laid it out in the sun for an hour or so to dry. The sun bleaches the stain out perfectly! See the above picture? There was a huge yellow stain there but the sun bleached it out. I love natural remedies!

My second tip is for the kitchen. You can keep green onions for months at a time. Just trim off what you need and stick the rest in a jar with water, and place it on the windowsill. The green onions will continue to grow and you can keep cutting them as you need to!

I'll try to post a little more this week (I've got a cute video of Jack giggling that everyone has been asking for) but as I don't have a computer during the day, I am limited. I only get to sneak a few minutes here and there when Tyler isn't doing homework. I'll be back though, I promise!

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

I must say that I for one am happy that I never have to celebrate Singles Recognition Day again. Only Valentine's Day for ever. And best of all, I get to celebrate with my best friend. I love you Alie!

FREE Printable Weekly Grocery List

2011-02-11T15:59:00.001-07:00

I subscribe to the Real Simple magazine. It's always full to great tips and tricks to make life easier and simpler. (If you don't subscribe I would highly recommend getting on their email list. It comes about once a week and has pretty much the same stuff the magazine does.)

My favorite feature from a couple of months ago was the grocery list they included. They have it free to print on their website, and I print off one for each week. I use it while shopping, and love it because I can easily see what I need from each area of the store. I then tape it to our fridge and then can see my menu for the week (along with the list of fresh ingredients I bought for each recipe so they don't get lost or forgotten in the fridge). I love the graphics on it, and being this organized makes me actually look forward to grocery shopping. Imagine that!

Click here to print your own from Real Simple.

**Sorry guys, at first the link didn't work but I fixed it!**

FREE Printable!

2011-02-10T16:26:00.012-07:00

Valentine's Day isn't my favorite holiday. It's too filled with cheesiness for me. Stuffed singing teddy bears, overpriced cliche roses, and chalk-tasting conversation hearts that make me want to throw up a little just aren't my thing.

But I love valentines. I am an avid letter writer, and the idea of getting to send dozens to the people you love just makes me all giddy inside. Plus I can't wait to design classy valentines for my kids one day. :)

Have you made a valentine's day card for that special someone yet? I spent all morning on mine and I'd like to share it with you. This card captures exactly how I feel about Tyler. You even get to print your own copy out if you'd like. (Don't worry. Hubby Tyler has already received this card so this shouldn't be a surprise for him.)

Just click on the images below and print away! The first is the front of the card. Print this out and feed it through your printer again to print the second image, which is the inside of the card.

What are you all doing for Valentine's Day? I think we're going to hit up a casual dinner on Friday or Saturday night. We typically don't do much, although last year Tyler surprised me with a fantastic romantic candlelit dinner. It was lovely!

Sunshine

2011-02-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I wish it were sunny and warm! The sun has been out lately but the weather has stayed chilly, keeping us indoors too much. I can't complain about the mild winter we're having, but I can't wait til spring comes and Jack and I can take a walk everyday in the stroller.

I dressed Jack in slightly summery clothes to remind me that the groundhog says winter is almost over!

Milk. It Does a Body Good.

2011-02-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

This, my friends, is what I like to call a Milk Beard. Jack gets one six times a day.

I think maybe he's going for the white-bearded old man look. Does he realize the young ladies don't dig a man with a cane?

Eggplant Tomato Pesto Pizza

2011-02-09T17:49:00.000-07:00


This unfortunately isn't my pizza. But mine looked pretty darn similar.	image via christine's cuisine.

Yep, you read that right. Last night for dinner group I made everyone pizza with fried eggplant, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and pesto. It was delish and I made up the entire concoction all by myself. :)

Tips for frying eggplant:

Eggplant is naturally bitter. (Or so I have heard. I wasn't going to taste it raw so I can't vouch for this but there's a reason it isn't many people's favorite vegetable...) Before you fry it you have to suck the bitter moisture out of it. Do this by placing it on a cookie cooling rack (with a cookie sheet underneath) and sprinkling salt liberally on both sides. Let them sit for 20 minutes to a half hour and then rinse them off in a colander. Dry them with a paper towel and you're ready to fry them!
I first dipped them in an egg wash and then regular bread crumbs with added Italian seasoning. Then I fried them in a little bit of canola oil til they were golden brown. They were delicious!

Also, I think using fresh mozzarella made a difference. I usually buy the cheap, pre-shredded bagged kind but this time I opted for the fresh stuff that comes in a big ball. Well worth the extra 2 bucks. :)

When Pigs Fly

2011-02-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

A few years back my dad started getting really into professional barbecuing. As in he travels to and attends competitions where they barbecue all weekend. Crazy, right?

Here are my parents a few years ago (2008).

Floydd is a pig statue that lives in my mom's living room. He used to come along for every competition and we'd securely strap him in to make sure nothing happened to him!

Fortunately my husband Tyler loves my dad's hobby. How many meat-loving husbands can claim that their father-in-law professionally barbecues? Tyler has started to pick up the art of barbecuing as well, although we don't do it on a big smoker. Last week Tyler made some absolutely to-die-for grilled chicken. I don't eat a lot of meat, but I was gobbling those wings up!

Here is my Dad's chicken a few years back:

Pulled pork:

Beef Brisket:

My dad is opening up a little "to-go"/catering restaurant in his Chevron station. I revamped and updated his logo and here is what it looks like:

What do you think? Is the pink bright enough? Do you love the font? (It's Museo Slab 500. I love that it came with a ligature glyph for the "fl"!)

It's also my dad's birthday today. Happy birthday, Dad!

My favorite thing about Dad is his "bathroom jokes". There are several joke books in our downstairs guest bathroom and the rule is when you come out you've got to share a joke with everybody! I think only Dad and I follow this tradition though. He always tells the best ones! (He's even called me up once or twice to share these jokes and I love it.) Love you, Dad!

Tiger Stripes

2011-02-09T15:09:00.002-07:00

Jack's fingernails are the fastest growing fingernails I've ever seen. Maybe it's all those nutrient-rich bottles I pump into him.

Today he woke up stripe-free but by early this afternoon he had tiger stripes all over his face! Luckily they go away within a day or two, but I just can't keep up with those darn fingernails!

On another note, he seems to tolerate/(sometimes) adore the new sling. Here he is giggling in it:

And I don't know what it is about this particular 0-3month outfit, but it FINALLY fits him! Almost. His pants are still two sizes too large but the sweater vest sure is cute!

Fun facts about Jack:

he has learned it is appropriate to giggle when I tickle his feet.
his favorite play time takes place on his changing table. go figure.
he is so much better at turning his head left! when he takes naps he even chooses to turn his head left. I always silently congratulate him.
he still spits out any food we put in his mouth.
he has learned to touch things with his arms. go, jack go!
his smile is absolutely contagious.
he giggles quite often and even is starting to full-on laugh.
he always pees in his bathtub. oh bother.
he slept 11 hours last night! (well, went 11 hours without food. 10 1/2 hours of sleeping.)
His favorite time of the week is when we lay him on our bed on Sunday mornings. He loves watching us get ready for church. He is the most playful and giggly on Sunday mornings!

Oskar.

2011-02-05T21:43:00.002-07:00

Everyone, meet Oskar, the newest member of the Jones family!

We decided to change the name of the car because Sonata just doesn't have that special ring to it. Nope, it doesn't do it for me. And how fun will it be for Jack when he gets bigger to call our car Oscar?

Oscar/Oskar is a replacement for our 1996 Ford Explorer and 1994 GMC Sonoma truck. Seriously. Think we were overdue for car replacements?! Oscar is sleek and shiny and new compared to our truck and explorer.

We posted our explorer on the classifieds today and within 5 minutes we got a phone call and within 3 hours it was sold. Just like that. I admit I am very disappointed though in the people we sold it to. Usually you are worried about the seller of the car, not the buyer, but these guys were ... well, interesting to say the least. Looking back on it we wish we would have given the car a better home.

But what's done is done. R.I.P., Explorer.

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Here's Oscar, up-close and personal:

We love our new sonata! Here's why:

It is so incredibly quiet. When you turn it on and let it idle, you can't even hear it. No more turning up the music to compensate for the engine!
We love the MP3 player/AUX input with the screen. We can control our ipod right from the built-in radio and charge it at the same time.
The heater AND the air work wonderfully! I bet Tyler will even let me keep the AC on while driving through the desert to California. Usually we have to turn it off to make sure the car doesn't overheat. And then my eyebrows sweat and Tyler makes fun of me for it.
The trunk is HUGE! It also comes with a rubber mat that is waterproof, so when we put a muddy stroller in the trunk we don't have to worry. We'll just rinse off the mat when we get home!
The tinted windows are really nice. Now we won't have to have one of those silly baby shades in our back window.
Low miles. 60k bumper-to-bumper warranty.
The salesman was wonderful! We couldn't have asked for a better experience. If anyone in the area is buying a car, we cannot recommend Murdock Hyundai enough! Lance was our salesman and we loved his quirky personality. He reminded us of ... well, us. :)
It handles really well. I drove in newly powdered snow this morning and it was fine. The ride is very quiet and smooth.
It heats up pretty quickly. No more bitter cold mornings.

We really love it and are so blessed to have it!