Today was a Starbucks kinda day

I don't know about you, but when I get 5 or less hours of sleep I wake up extremely energized and SO ready to take on the day. Then, fast forward a couple hours later and I totally crash and bomb. This seems like something that has been reoccurring a lot lately. I mean, I already have to wake up every 4 hrs to pump (boo!). At least I am still feeding Chloe breastmilk and that is what is important. Hopefully I will be doing it for her full first year. However, that means one whole year of 4 hour sleep rotations.

Any moms have good tips and tricks to fall asleep fast so that I can get the most out of my 4 hour sleep blocks? Any tricks for re-energizing throughout the day? Unfortunately, naps are not an option since I work full time away from home.

Seriously, I don't know how you breast feeding moms do it? Kuddos to you. You amaze me.

♥ Michelle

Chloe Loves (Vol 3)

She loves her Bumbo. She is holding her head up so well and although she really prefers to stand all the time, when she is not standing she likes to sit and lookout. I am so glad Pastors Jeff & Kristi got us this!

♥ Michelle

Guilty Pleasures

So funny that Ashley over at The Peanut Gallery posted here about her guilty pleasures. I actually was writing in my journal about my secret addictions a couple days ago and when I watched her video, I knew I had to share mine.

First thing that comes to mind: Jersey Shore. They seriously crack me up. It is very hard to make me actually laugh out loud when I am watching or reading something, but this show makes me do it every freakin' episode. James constantly teases me about it. Especially because we don't have cable, so I have to watch it through MTV online and I sit and watch all extras, behind the scenes and interview stuff. It's pretty bad.

I also happen to own every cd by Taylor Swift. I know she is a teen sensation, I also know she doesn't have the most amazing voice. But she is just so darn sweet. Her songs are super catchy and they bring out the teenage girl in me. Even though I wouldn't have touched that music when I actually was a teenager. And yes, I would love to dress up in a prom dress every day, just like her.

Twilight: I know, I know. me too? yes. The movies, eh, whatevs. But I LOVE the books. I practically devoured them when I was reading them. In fact, James loves them too. He hates reading so he didn't actually read them, but he made me give him a play by play of everything. He would always ask me to recap every detail as soon as I put the book down to take a break. haha.

Food, particularly Mexico Food (yes, I call it Mexico food). I could eat this every single day. All I crave is taco shops. haha. I am sure it isn't the healthiest, but boy is it tasty! My favs are california burritos, choirzo burritos and cheese enchiladas. yum! I am wanting them right now even though I am stuffed from lunch. That's how bad it is.  I don't know what we are going to do when we move to Portland and there are not taco shops on every corner. :( 

I was hoping I could Vlog it for Vlogging Wednesdays, but I never got around to it... oh well. Maybe next week.

What are some of YOUR guilty pleasures?

♥ Michelle

One year ago....

One year ago today, was James' step mom's birthday. One year ago today, James and I found out we were pregnant. Since then our world has completely changed. And I absolutely love it. :)

Here is the video we sent to all our friends and family that very weekend.




♥ Michelle

Baby Sign Language

I seriously want to do bay sign language. If you have the option for your little one to communicate with you rather than cry in frustration, why wouldn't you do it? The only thing is, there are so many baby sign dvd's out there and the reviews all seem mixed as to whether they are good or not. I definitely want one that focuses on ASL. I already have a signing book of my own, but I just don't know where to begin to try and teach Chloe.

So my question to you/// Have any of you tried this? Was it successful? Any drawbacks (I.E. speech being delayed)? Which program did you use? Anything else needed to be noted or any suggestions would be super helpful!

Thanks a bunch!

♥ Michelle

Tuesday's Tunes

Here is some more music I want to share with you! This week, I picked music that we put on Chloe's ipod that we keep in her room. She also has almost all the Rockabye Baby cd's and Vitamin String Quartet. Enjoy!

♥ Michelle

My version of the taco bake (YUM!!!)

James and I have a very small palate. We do not venture out as far as food goes. Especially when we are on a super tight budget. So last night we decided to try something different with the ingredients we have lying around. We ended up with something like a "taco bake". I have never heard of it before, but when we started looking up recipes online this kept popping up. So we made our own variation of it.
It came out DELISH! We seriously ate the entire thing, even though it could feed a family of 4, it was just that good. Normally I don't share food recipes because all I cook is hamburger helper. However, this was too yummy and so easy that I just had to share. Hope you enjoy! :)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 packet of McCormick taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
Monterrey jack cheese
cream cheese
2 large flour tortillas
crushed chili cheese fritos

Prep:
1.Make the seasoned taco meat. Brown the ground beef, add taco seasoning according to directions.
2. In small casserole dish, layer ingredients as follows:
     Tortilla
     1/2 of the seasoned meat
     Beans
     Jack cheese
     Tortilla
     Cream cheese - spread on tortilla in a thick layer

     Other 1/2 of season meat add rest of meat
     Jack Cheese
Bake: 
Oven tempurature at 350. Bake for 15 minutes.

Add crushed chili cheese fritos to top, layer more cheese and bake 5 more minutes.
Serve.

I am sure many of you can add olives, onions, tomatoes and such. James and I are just not veggie loving people. If you make it, let me know how it turns out or if you have any other suggestions to add to it. :)

♥ Michelle

SOS {3.20.11}

This weekend was nice and relaxing... oh and rainy. Saturday was uneventful for Chloe and I. We stayed in all day while James hung out with his friend Mark who moved back from out of town. I just hung out in my lounge clothes all day and played with Chloe, went through her clothes that are too small now (so sad, she is growing so fast!) and bought some clothes for her and I for the upcoming spring/summer online. I actually loved not having somewhere to go, since our weeknights are super busy. We just had a girls day in and it was great.
Sunday was rainy, but very pretty. I love when it rains, everything looks so much greener! We went to church early to drop James off at worship practice (sometimes having 1 car is a pain in the butt!) and then Chloe and I headed to our usual Denny's breakfast of $2 pancakes and bible study time. For some reason Sunday morning was just a bad morning. Chloe usually sleeps through breakfast until church time and instead was wide awake and crying. So we left without even getting halfway through breakfast. I then proceeded to warm up a bottle for her in the car and that's where things went terribly wrong. The bottle leaked all over the bottle cooler bag. The bag somehow had recently gotten a rip in the seam of the insulation and so the milk went through the entire bag onto the seat of the car. Then the thermos that we keep the hot water in spontaneously broke and would not open, so I had no hot water to heat the (now almost empty) bottle of milk up. Then, somehow, the milk ended up all over my lap. Fun stuff.
Luckily I had just enough time to run across the street to Target to buy a new bottle cooler, bottle and thermos. So, to make myself feel better about the disastrous morning, I bought a new adorable diaper bag too.
Once church started, the rest of the day went by easy breezy. We finished a lot of things on our to do list. Had some family time and even went to see our nephew Kennith get dedicated at the evening service of our old church. Seeing all of our old friends from Pathways really made me miss them. Then we topped off the night with late night grocery shopping. Seriously, we were the only customers in the store. It's so much better/easier that way.

p.s. I even made James get in on the S.O.S this week.

HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?

♥ Michelle

I heart green!

Happy belated St.Patty's day! We had a blast at work yesterday. We decorated the office and everyone dressed in green (I wore one of my fave green ruffle cardigan and green flats). Then our boss bought us Chicago style pizza (yum!) and green beer. All in all a very fun day! Then I went over to a friends house to make a diaper cake for James' sisters baby shower. I will post pics of it after the shower. I loved how it turned out! Maybe I will even do a tutorial on it. :)
I wish I had a picture for how Cute Chloe looked. My sister, Virginia, bought her a onsie that said "Born Lucky" and she was wearing a green bow with green and white polka-dotted baby leggies. I guess you can just use your imagination and picture a ridiculously cute 4 month old dressed head to toe in green.

Hope you all had fun yesterday!

WHAT DID YOU ALL DO YESTERDAY?


♥ Michelle

Chloe's Dedication

We decided to dedicate Chloe to the Lord on Sunday, March 13. It was extra special because she was the first baby at our church to be dedicated. keep in mind, the church is only 1 year old. Pastor Jeff prophesied over her and Pastor Kristi prayed over us. Every time Pastor Kristi prays, it brings me to tears. These are such amazing people and I am so glad that God has called them to be the pastors of our church. They are seriously such a blessing to our family and to San Diego.

We wanted to proclaim that we will do everything we can to bring Chloe up in a household who loves and serves the Lord. We will teach her good Christian values and try our best to be positive Godly influences on her life.

Here is what Pastor Jeff proclaimed:

"Chloe will live a blessed life as one who does not walk in step with the wicked. She will not stand in the path that sinners take or sit in the seat of mockers.

Chloe's delight will be in the law of the Lord. She will meditate on Him and His law, day and night.

 Chloe will be as a tree planted by streams of water, which yields much fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither. Whatever she does will prosper.

Chloe will be blessed because she will trust in God. Her confidence will be found in Him.

She will be like a tree planted by the water. She will send out her roots into the stream of God's life, His word and His church.

Chloe will not fear under the heat of trials. She will remain full of life, because her roots run deep in the stream of God and His goodness. 

Chloe will not worry in a year of drought, she will never fail to be fruitful. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow Chloe all the days of her life and She will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. "

Amen to that! I am so glad that Chloe will be brought up in a house that loves and serves the Lord.

♥ Michelle