Smoothie Recipe

My friend Lesley commented on my Sweet Tooth post and shared a smoothie recipe with me. I tried it out and it is so tasty. It is too good not to share.

1 banana
1 T cocoa powder
1 1/2 T peanut butter
1 T honey
1/3 cup milk
1 cup ice

When I first tried it I thought...hmmm, not bad. But as I continued drinking it got better and better, and by the end I was wanting more. This is a yummy sweet dessert that is much healthier than a bowl of ice cream :) Thanks Lesley for the recipe. Enjoy!

By the way - the picture is from making the recipe x 1.5.

Bath Time Escapee

She is naked and on the loose!

Hmm...what kind of trouble can I get into?

Captured!

Sweet Tooth

I have a major sweet tooth.

Major.

I eat sweets every day. Multiple times a day. I pretty much need something sweet after lunch and dinner always.

Other than my sweet obsession, I feel like I eat pretty healthy. I rarely drink sodas, rarely eat fast food, and try to cook healthy dinners. For dinner I often try to do meat (chicken/beef/turkey/fish/etc), a green veggie, and then something like brown rice, sweet potato, quinoa, or black beans, etc. Of course not all of our dinners are quite that healthy but for the most part I try to do keep them that way. I really want to teach Cambry to eat healthfully and enjoy nutritious food. I don't want her to eat tons of sugar like me. But I can't expect her to not eat a bunch of sugar but still do it myself. I need to change some habits.

It is going to take a long time. I need to take baby steps. Greg and I have taken the first baby step. We have said no desserts after dinner during the week (mon-thur). We can still have a snack after dinner (like cereal...i know that is still sweet and milk has lots of sugar too), but no ice cream (my usual) or other dessert. I still eat sweets during the day, and can eat them on the weekends. To some this goal may seem laughable, but to me even this tiny step is hard!

As soon as I finish dinner I am dying for something sweet. We have been doing this for several weeks and it is still so hard. I have started drinking coffee in the evenings to satisfy my sweet tooth. I add a little bit of milk and some Truvia. I really don't know if Truvia is bad or good - I thought it was a good choice as opposed to Sweet-n-low or Splenda but then I read mixed reviews online. Making healthy choices is hard and can be confusing because there seems to be so much debate and contradicting information.

Anyway, I am not sure if this baby step is helping or if it just causes me to eat more sweets during the day :) I think it may be helping a bit though. And I need to find some healthy dessert recipes for my daytime sweet tooth.

By the way, speaking of dessert, these are so bad for you but SO GOOD. I made these a few weeks ago - YUM. I know...not good for my sugar reduction plan...

Source: thedomesticrebel.com via Jana on Pinterest

Fall

Fall is my favorite season. I love the weather and the decorations and all things pumpkin! I am looking forward to going on more walks and enjoying the cooler (relatively speaking) air. And yesterday was the best day because I went to Kroger and they had honeycrisp apples! One more reason to love fall.

I am not much of a seasonal decorator. I really don't change out my decor at all because I don't want to have to find storage places for my out-of-season decor. I always admire other people's fall decorations but just don't really do much myself. Plus I feel we don't have a lot of places to decorate (no fireplace/mantle, no dining room, etc).

But this year I kind of want to decorate a bit (inexpensively). And since I have been wanting a craft project to do I think this will help.

So far I bought a few baby pumpkins/goards to put on my kitchen table. I also bought some scrap burlap for 60 cents at Hobbly Lobby today that I want to put around a glass hurricane like this.

Source: atthepicketfence.com via Jana on Pinterest

I also think these pumpkins are cute so I am going to try to make one.

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Source: talesofadesignlife.com via Jana on Pinterest

What did we do before Pinterest?

Monthly Photos: Month 9

Our sweet baby is 9 months today! Wow, I can't believe she is so close to a year but at the same time it feels like it has been a long and wonderful 9 months. We love this little girl so much and her personality that comes out more each day.

By the way, it is getting very hard to get a picture of her on her back! She immediately rolls over and is all over the place.

Size: Length - 28.75 in. (87%), Weight - 20 lb. 3 oz. (74%), Head - 17.76 in. (81%). She can wear some 6-12 and some 12-18 month clothes. Size 3 disposable diaper.

Likes: Army crawling everywhere, opening the lazy susan cabinet and pulling out all the tupperware, going on walks, story time at the library, still putting everything in her mouth, peekaboo, dogs and little kids.

 Dislikes: Bottles, and she sometimes cries when we drop her off at child care at church.

Working on: Crawling - she army crawls everywhere but doesn't stay up on her hands and knees. She pulls up and stands in her crib all the time now but hasn't pulled up anywhere else. Working on teaching her signs for "milk" and "all done". She does the milk sign with her hands all the time, not just when she is hungry. But when I do the sign and say milk she gets super excited so I think she understands that. She seems like she is starting to understand "all done" but hasn't tried to do it herself. I need to start consistently showing her the "more" sign as well.

Eating: She is doing great at eating. She has been having some potty problems lately so I have been sticking to only fruits and veggies for now. Ok and a little cheese. The girl loves cheese. She eats applesauce, pear, plum, carrots, zucchini, strawberry, mango, avocado, sweet potato, butternut squash, peaches, and bananas. I need to work on more green veggies. Maybe we will try green beans or broccoli soon. I don't exactly have a set feeding schedule. I had been just sort of offering her baby food in between nursing times, but lately I have been trying to do more of a breakfast/lunch/dinner offering of baby food and then snacks in between. She usually nurses 7 times a day still but the past 2 days she only nursed 6 times a day so I am wondering if that is the new normal.

Sleeping: Her bedtime is between 7pm and 7:30pm, and she wakes up between 6am and 6:30am. She has actually done pretty well recently sleeping through the night. When she does wake up we try to get her back to sleep without feeding her to get her out of that habit. She normally takes 2 naps a day. The first one is 45 min - 1 hour and it could start around 8:30am or as late as 10am. Her second nap is 1-2 hours and is sometimes around 1:30pm or 2pm. Again, these times are approximate. Give or take 3 hours :)

Other things to note:

She still has 4 teeth.

Last month I said she doesn't let us rock her anymore, but that is not true anymore. It depends on her mood. But sometimes when she is really tired she will let you rock her and she will fall asleep on your shoulder. It is so cute. She does it with Daddy at night after story and song fairly often.

Her separation anxiety hasn't been too bad. She sometimes cries or fusses when I drop her off at church, but other times she is just fine.

She is a very laid back, good-natured baby. She is sweet and fun and is generally in a good mood. She loves for you to play peekaboo or surprise her or "get" her. She smiles so big. She has the cutest laugh and I just can't hear enough of it. I thank God all the time for her.

Need a Project

I am feeling the urge for a project. Sometimes I think about redecorating our master bedroom but I think that is too big a project to take on now and I don't really want to spend a lot of money when I just bought the curtains and duvet a few years ago.

I also think about painting the wall in our living room with a stencil. Maybe something like this.

Source: goodgirlgoneglad.com via Gurleen on Pinterest

But could I really do it and make it look good? I am scared I would get tired of it and quit before I am finished. Greg may panic if I tell him I want to do this.

Or maybe I could work on a quiet time book for Cambry. I see so many cute ones online.

Also I am already looking for a Halloween costume for Cambry. Haven't decided on a costume for sure. I definitely can't make one but maybe I could make a hair accessory for it. In reality, that is probably all I will get around to doing as far as projects go!

Fun Wednesday

Today was a fun day. I am so thankful to get to stay at home with Cambry! Not every day goes perfectly smoothly, and there wasn't anything particularly special about today, but it was just good.

This morning I went to the gym. I didn't make it on time to do the circuit class (and I was a little intimidated to do it for the first time) so I just did my own workout. It always feels so good to exercise, and I think it is good for Cambry to be around other babies and be away from me for a bit. She is around me all day every day - she is probably sick of me by now, ha!

She fell asleep on the way home and surprisingly she had a successful transfer to the crib. We were supposed to have a play date but it got rescheduled so when she woke up we went to story time at the library. We hadn't been in several months because their summer schedule was very different. It was fun to see Cambry interested this time and watching the teacher sing and read. What a difference a couple months has made! In the past she would just lay on her blanket oblivious to story time. One time she even fell asleep in my arms there. This time she sat up and watched the other kids and teacher. She was so cute.

This afternoon we just hung around the house. I attempted to take some pictures of her outside (pictures above). I love the little outfit she is in. I got in at this nice consignment store in the Heights called Thread. They have cute stuff there. My sister in law found the cutest Pea in the Pod maternity dress there for such a great price. There have a very small selection of maternity clothes, but Jill has this super power where she can find the best/cutest/cheapest thing anywhere. Like she can walk in to a Marshalls and find the one pair of adorable designer jeans in the right size for $20. It's crazy.

We walked to the dog park in the evening. The weather felt a bit cooler and I love it! Cambry got so excited to see the dogs and would kick her legs and squeal.

This evening the girls came over for small group. We are going through Forgotten God by Francis Chan. It is about the Holy Spirit and it is really good so far. It seems like you don't hear a lot of teaching on the Holy Spirit. As we go through this study I am surprised to see just how many times the Bible talks about the Spirit. It is neat to learn more about the Spirit's role - I have lots to learn!

Nailed It

If you are on Pinterest you have probably seen the "nailed it" pins that are pretty funny.

Source: memebase.com via Teresa on Pinterest

Well I have my own version. I pinned this on Pinterest.

Source: scissorsandspatulas.com via Jana on Pinterest

So adorable. Well it gave me the idea that the back of a chair makes a good place for storage. Here is my version.

Cambry's bibs are now stored on the back of her high chair. I had just bought new sheets for our bed and used the plastic pouch they came in. This does not look cute at all, but at least it is functional! Maybe one day I will attempt to make something like the Pinterest idea that looks cute. Although since I do not sew I am not sure how that will happen. For now, this will do.

Weekend Recap

We enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend. It was one of those great weekends where you don't have too much going on, but somehow it is just so nice to take things slow and enjoy family time.

Friday evening we went on a walk together around the neighborhood. We came back, bathed Cambry, and put her to bed. Then we just ate dinner and relaxed while watching tv. 

Saturday morning Greg got up with Cambry and let me sleep in some, which was wonderful. Then he took Cambry on some errands while I got to go shopping a bit on my own. I rarely get out on my own without Cambry, so this felt a little strange, but fun! I of course still lug around my big diaper bag, and didn't know what to do with my water bottle without my stroller to hold it. Also, I could easily navigate the Galleria and freely go up and down escalators (I still get a little nervous on the down escalators with the stroller).

That evening we went to a friend's house for a 30th birthday party. I still can't really believe we are in our 30's. I still feel like I am in my 20's. I permanently feel 26. When I hear people talk about people in their 20's, I lump myself in that category. Or if I see someone who looks a little older than me and I have to describe them I say - oh they are probably in their 30's. Then I realize, I am in my 30's....whoa.  I know 30's is not old, but when I was in my 20's it seemed old so now it feels a little weird to be here. Anyway, the party was fun and there were lots of other little babies there too.

This morning we went to church and then went to the outlet malls. Getting ready for church now days is so much different than in the past. Actually, Sunday mornings lately have not been stressful. The morning actually seems really long. Before we had Cambry, Greg and I would set our alarms and just get ready and go to church without a lot of extra time to spare. Now we have no need for alarms (Cambry wakes up in the 6's), and we have a much longer morning that involves family cuddle time in bed, play time, and sometimes taking pictures. If we bring a few toys into the bathroom Cambry does pretty good at playing on the floor while we get ready.

Cambry was in such a good mood this evening and we had fun chasing her all around the house and making her laugh. What a sweet little one. After bath, we read a story, sang, and then she fell asleep on Daddy's shoulder. What a nice weekend :)

Big Girl

Look who figured out how to stand in her crib!

It seems like every day she learns something new. She loves getting into everything. She makes all kinds of cute babbling noises. Diaper changes are now basically a 2 man job. She is so squirmy it is hilarious. I love to see her personality come out more and more each day. I love her so!