Mint Julep Cupcakes & Chocolate Chip Muffins

Today we celebrated the Kentucky Derby with our C'ville friends!! I made these delicious (well everyone said they were) Mint Julep Cupcakes. I got the recipe on the Hostess with the Mostess blog. They are just so pretty!! :) Last night after making Almond-Crusted Chicken (healthier version), I made these yummy chocolate chip muffins. Mmmmmm.... I should really stop!

Mmmmm.... Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

A few weekends ago, we had a baby shower for our friends here in C'ville. I made some cupcakes and found this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website. It was very yummy!!! I love posting the recipes I like on here that way I can find it easily when I want to make it again. And of course so I can share it with you too!!

Easter

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Easter! We sure did! The Easter Bunny hopped through the little house on the farm and left Weston an Easter basket full of toys! He even got a camera just like his Mommy!


In the morning, Weston hung out at his Mumsy's house. While Weston napped, we dyed the chicken eggs from the farm (loved the way the colors turned out on the brown eggs), made some yummy parsley potatoes to go with the rest of the delicious food for lunch, and took a nice stroll around the farm. Weston loved looking at the chickens and cows!!


Later in the afternoon, we headed for my parents house. The day was just beautiful. We had a cookout and then Weston had his first Easter Egg Hunt!!! We had lots of fun! We even managed to get a picture of my parents and the boys. And everyone is looking and happy! Yay!

Yummy Meatloaf

Yesterday was such an icky day. After our baptism class in the morning, we came right home and changed into comfy clothes so we could just be LAZY! Before I knew it, it was already dinner time. I had a ½ pound of ground beef in the fridge that needed to be used. So I quickly made this yummy meatloaf recipe and meatloaf sauce to go with it! Mmmmmm….. it was delish! I used an ice cream scooper and scooped out little balls of meatloaf. It baked a lot faster in the oven too!

Mac 'n' Cheese Peas!!

Last night, I was going to make this Broccoli Mac 'n' Cheese recipe from recipe.com. Well, my broccoli did not look too fresh. Instead I added peas! It was delicious! AND the best thing is that it is a healthier version of macaroni and cheese. :)

Weekend

Bath Time Smiles!


Getting ready for our walk.

Chad, Weston, and I had a great weekend together! Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the downtown mall as I worked on my next photo challenge for this week. We also had lunch at Bodos while Weston slept. Weston had a HUGE blowout this morning. So he went right into the bath tub. Today’s weather was gorgeous! We bundled up Weston and took the pups for a walk. Weston has grown so much. Now he actually fits in his winter suit! Tonight I made delicious potato soup. Mmmm… it was so good! Here is the link to the recipe.

Weston hanging out in his bouncy this morning.

Daddy teaching Weston to walk. ;)

Marinated Pork Chops & Buttermilk Corn Bread

Tonight I made another delicious dinner- Marinated Pork Chops & Buttermilk Corn Bread. Click on the link to check out the recipe.

So far, so good!?

Pepper and Norma babysitting Weston as I worked on dinner.

Lately, Weston has been not wanting to sleep unless I am holding him. Sometimes I just want to pull out my hair!! Last night, Chad walked in the door as I was preparing dinner and holding Weston at the same time. Pretty talented. My arms are definitely getting stronger. Finally when Weston is asleep, I put him down and then he wakes up and starts crying. It is a constant cycle.
This morning he slept in the swing, but kept spitting out his pacifier. Ugh. I hate pacifiers. But, I also love them!! After his 2nd feeding in the morning, I put him in the bouncy. So far he has been sleeping so nicely. AND with no pacifier too!! Wahoo. We will see how long this lasts!

While he was asleep (trying to sleep) in the swing this morning, I made this Tater tot Casserole. I froze it because I forgot Chad will not be home for dinner tonight. Actually, we will not be eating it until Tuesday night. It looks pretty gross, but maybe it will be good???

Last night, I made Almond-Crusted Chicken and mashed potatoes. Mmmmmm.... it was DELICIOUS! I have never enjoyed cooking. Now that I am home with the baby, I feel like I need to be making some homemade dinners and not just heating up a Bertollis! It is pretty fun cooking. I used my chopper twice this week!! Wow. I cannot remember the last time I used that.

Click on the picture or title to see recipe!

HAPPY 1 MONTH BIRTHDAY WESTON!!!

Stay at Home Mama- 1st Day!

Today was my first day by myself with Weston! I was a little nervous… not that I was afraid to be with Weston by myself, but was afraid that I was going to be super bored! Ha. What was I thinking? Weston keeps me on my toes all day long! This is what our day looked like today:

6am- Mommy showered, ate breakfast, fed the pups

7am- Fed Weston

8am-10am- Weston played and played. 9am- fed Weston. I tried getting him to take a nap on his own without me holding him. That did not happen.

10am- Weston fell asleep on me. I took a quick nap too! While Weston was sleeping in his bouncy chair, I prepared dinner for tonight- Baked Ziti with Tomato, Mozzarella, & Sausage. Mmmm… cannot wait to eat this!

12:30pm- Weston and I both ate lunch. Then, we had our first outing together! Weston was an angel. He slept the whole time!

2:30pm- Vacuumed and organized a bit while Weston slept.

3:30pm- Fed Weston. He is fast asleep now!

Now it is 5pm and Weston is still sleeping. Chad should be walking in the door in a few minutes! I think my first day as a Stay at Home Mama went well! It is funny how it is so hard to get anything accomplished with a baby! It is so worth it though. (I am just really used to being productive, so I am going to have to get used to the change.)

*I started this Sleep Patterns Chart to keep track of when Weston sleeps. Maybe this will help us create some sort of a schedule? Well, at least it will show me how many hours of sleep he is getting each day. It is so funny. I have no clue what I am doing!

Oh and this article is great! So true. Helpful tips too. (Stressed out: Life with a newborn)

Delicious Shortbread Cookies

Check out this recipe on the blog Clover Lane. It is a pretty easy and scrumptious shortbread cookie recipe! I made them yesterday for our friends holiday party. Chad and I LOVE them! They will probably be gone by lunch time today!

Every year, I make festive chocolate covered pretzels for our family. I have the Chinese take out boxes all decorated and ready for the pretzles for when they are finished. I plan to make them a few days before we go home for Christmas. I think I may make these cookies as lil' gifts too. I just made a gift tag to tie to the cookie bags!