Tot food and side dish highlight

I came across Totally Tots for the first time today, and thought their Tot Food feature sounded like fun. Since it's Tuesday again and I don't have my "To Do" list all neat and orderly *sigh* I thought I'd take pictures of our dinner instead! ;) The "chicken soup" risotto we made yesterday was so yummy I wanted to share about it anyway.

Here is a picture of Sweetpea just getting ready to dig into her dinner. She's eating crock pot chicken, "chicken soup" risotto, black beans and mandarin oranges, along with whole milk.
I love how in both photos she is holding her spoon in her right and and totally shoveling food in with her left hand - nice!

And since we have a tot on the way, I thought I'd go ahead and share mom's plate from last night as well:

The crock pot chicken turned out wonderfully! After patting the mostly skinned chicken dry, I rubbed it with just a little oil and salt and pepper. Put the chicken breast side down in the slow cooker, and after 8 hours cooking on low it was falling off the bone, tender and flavorful.

I made risotto using some of the stock from boiling the chicken carcass along with carrots and celery and some colby jack cheese. The basic risotto method if you're not familiar is to lightly "toast" the arborro rice in a little olive oil, then add just enough liquid to cover the rice. Stir and let the rice absorb the liquid, repeat until rice is tender (ratio of rice to liquid ends up roughly 1:3) Finish by adding shredded cheese and stirring until melted.

I call this "chicken soup" risotto because (except for the cheese) all the ingredients for chicken soup are there. I added the carrots just after toasting the rice and the celery about mid way through. Instead of "soup" it's a fabulously creamy risotto instead. Sweetpea had seconds - we will definitely be making this again.

Spicing up my sidedishes

I spent a lot of time looking for some exciting but simple side dishes last week, and came across several! I'll be highlighting them as we try them out, with my plan being one or two highlights a week through the month of April.

As usual, my go to online recipe resource, Allrecipes was one source of inspiration. In addition, I hauled out several of my favorite cookbooks. Surprisingly, Betty Crocker isn't that big on side dishes. Luckily I thought to pull out one of my favorite, if not most oft-used cookbooks, Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking. It was my Dad's cookbook, one I'd purchased him for one holiday or another. Just like the raggedy bag of Creole spice from this same book that I treasure in my spice cabinet, it reminds me of how much Dad loved to cook and how he loved spicy food.

It seemed like Emeril was speaking right to me when he said in the intro to the side dish section, "Why go to the trouble of preparing a wonderful dinner if all you're going to do is throw some white rice, a plain baked potato, or some soggy vegetables on the plate next to the main attraction? The side dish is as important as the main dish if your goal is to create an exciting, satisfying meal." There are several side dishes from this cookbook that I've marked to try, starting with southern style black eyed peas.

Here's our menu for this week:

Monday: Crockpot rotisserie style chicken, "chicken soup" risotto
Tuesday: Spaghetti casserole, roasted asparagus, garlic bread
Wednesday: Chicken pockets, southern style black eyed peas
Thursday: leftover free for all
Friday: Breakfast hash with toast and juice

For more menu planning inspiration, visit OrgJunkie.

Aah, the March weather

We've had just enough warm weather to lure us into a comfortable pattern of being outside most evenings, and just like that the weather turned nasty overnight. Isn't March supposed to start and end in opposite ways? I don't recall the "in like a lion, out like a lion" saying. *sigh*

Luckily on this cold, windy, rainy Sunday we had several fun distractions to whip out each time we heard, "I wanna go outside? Outside and play?" I'm working on a list of things to set aside for the next cold and rainy day - hopefully by then they will feel like new again.

Before this post starts to sound too gloomy, let's get to the gratitude!

*weekend naps, short but oh so refreshing*

*trying a recipe and having it turn out wonderfully*

*family kickball games in the morning dew*

*an hour spent playing and exploring in the children's section of a book store*

*getting a pass on dish duty two days in a row*

What are you grateful for this week?

Friday funnies, "big sister" style

So I was looking for a "big sister" shirt to buy for Sweetpea...am I the only one that totally cracks up at this picture?!? {{giggles}}

Happy Friday! :)

Organizing Tip Thursday - keeping it together

I had the chance to try out several products as a part of my organizing series. Many of them were unique and helpful. A few had me saying, "where was this when Sweetpea was born?! The cellkeeper is one of those products. Not to say this product isn't for everyone, but oh I could have used this during those "if I only had 2 more hands" new mom moments!

The cellkeeper is a combination personal electronics holder and wallet that can be clipped onto a strap to wear cross shoulder or around your waist. It can also be clipped onto a diaper bag or purse, gym bag or briefcase, keeping your favorite electronic device and necessary personal information and documents in a compact and specific location. Worn cross shoulder or at your waist it will keep your valuables safe while you work out, sightsee or enjoy time with your family at the park.


I hated carrying a purse and a diaper bag, but I struggled to move necessary items around from bag to bag - the only thing worse than feeling like a pack mule was showing up at the store and not having a credit card! I'm so glad that I have this handy little carrier to move from bag to bag with me now, and when our new little one comes along it is going to become even more valuable!


Because it helps me stay organized and a little more sane, I thought it would be good product to highlight for organizing tip Thursday. Cellkeepers retail for $29.99 and right now you can get free shipping. For more information on the specific designs available or to purchase a cellkeeper, visit their website! Please join us and share your organizing tips!

Birthdays and baby bumps

Here is a peak at Sweetpea's second birthday party. I'm waiting to get my MIL's photos and hoping there are some good ones in there. We did a much better job of documenting with the camcorder this year than the camera, and that is a lesson I need to remember so we don't repeat it!

There were a few cute pictures, including this new favorite of mine:
Can you tell where Sweetpea got her amazing eye color? Right...not from me!

She was super excited about the presents this year, which was fun to see, and really good at opening presents.
Testing...
The stroller was a favorite, there have been lots of trips around the house and the front yard for various dolls in the past two weeks.

A few sweet readers have asked how I'm doing and for a progress report on the pregnancy. I had my 18 week appointment yesterday and it went very well! The heartbeat is strong and the baby is measuring right on target. I've gained 3 pounds, but my sweet doctor said that wasn't unexpected since I was so sick the first trimester. Sadly I'm sure I'll make that up in the coming weeks... Here's a glimpse of the 18 week belly bump:

My new definition of frugal lunches

I've mentioned a few times (hopefully not too many!) over the past few months that it's been a struggle for me to meal plan during this pregnancy. First it was because I had a lot more nausea with this pregnancy than with my first. Now it's because this sweet baby craves food way more than Sweetpea did!

With my first pregnancy, the only real craving I had was for root beer floats. That is definitely back, but I'm also craving a lot of other things, and it can vary by the day. I am loving fresh fruit, cereal, raw vegetables, avocados and chips and salsa. I'm much hungrier at lunch than in the mornings or evenings.

The first week or two after I stopped feeling sick, I noticed I wasn't wanting what I had packed in my lunch most days. It didn't seem to matter as much what we were having at night, and as long as we have oatmeal with fruit in the morning I'm happy with that.

I've always been of the belief that there is a difference between being frugal and being cheap, and that being frugal can mean different things to different people. I don't like the idea of "wasting" money, enjoy finding a good deal, and for the most part save on some things so I can enjoy the things that really matter to us. In essence, for us being frugal is about being mindful.

Following that line of thinking, I've stopped packing my lunch. I still pack snacks for the morning and afternoon, and I'm still meal planning our dinners. I still stockpile and bargain hunt, but at least for the next few weeks, it makes sense for me to purchase what I really want each day, rather than to end up with several meals left over at the end of the week that I'm not interested in. I'm keeping track of what I eat, looking for trends and figuring that I will be able to find a strategy for packing my lunch.

Are there certain times in your life that cause you to change your frugal strategies? I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

On mochas and menus

Before I get started talking about menus, did you realize that Mondays in March are Mocha Mondays at McDonald's? If you like mochas and your McDonalds has a McCafe, stop in today and next Monday for a free sample size hot or iced Mocha! No purchase necessary.

Last week we grilled out on Tuesday, so we munched for the most part on steaks, hamburgers and grilled chicken salads all week - mmm! :) This week chicken was on sale (both whole chickens for $0.69/lb and boneless skinless breasts for $1.88/lb) so we will be eating a lot of chicken. I also bought several packages for the freezer. I'll be talking a little bit more about lunches tomorrow, but for now here is what we're planning for dinners:

Monday: chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes
Tuesday: grilled chicken salads
Wednesday: creamy chicken soup and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
Thursday: meatball sandwiches and oven fries
Friday: leftover buffet

Amy at Momadvice said something the other day that struck a chord with me - she mentioned she was a champ at main dishes but felt she often overlooked side dishes. Reading this I realized I often do the same thing. I'm going to be taking this week to review my cookbooks and online recipe links for ideas, and next week I hope to have some side dishes at are as interesting as our main course!

For more menu planning inspiration, visit OrgJunkie.

Sweet signs of spring

My daycare provider took Tuesday off to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, so I took the day off to watch Sweetpea. EmDee had a regularly scheduled day off, but was getting ready to start third shift the next day, so he slept in until about 10. A family day off in the middle of the week, how fun! What made it even better was the sunshine and 75 degree temperatures, something we haven't seen for a long time in this area.

We all spent an hour at the park and then went home and played in the front yard. We got our seeds planted for the garden while we were outside as well. Sweetpea loved using her shovel and rake in my front flower bed while we were planting seeds...I'm not sure if any flowers will survive this season or not! ;) While Sweetpea and I were playing, EmDee grilled out, it was the perfect taste of the sweet summer days we have to come!


Here are a few more things on my gratitude list:

*one cup of peppermint mocha tea each morning - just a little bit of caffeine for this tired mama and oh so delicious*

*the anticipation of those first little sproutlets that will eventually turn into our summer bounty*

*getting back into some of what I really enjoy at work*

*the first day of spring*

*planning a visit to a sweet friend's house in two weeks*

What are you grateful for this week?
*

Organizing Tip Thursday - Join the fun!

I mentioned last week that I hoped you would join me this Thursday and share your organizing tips. I have a few tricks I've picked up along the way but much to learn, I hope we can help each other be efficient and organized. If you're interested in posting an organizing tip on your blog, please link up below! Whether or not you link up I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

This week EmDee is working nights and things just get hectic when he's not on a normal shift. One thing that helps me keep things working reasonably smoothly is my morning and evening list. These lists include the minimum things that I need to do each morning and evening to ensure we're ready to go and/or to make the next day run smoothly. I first read about this on Flylady.

My morning list looks like this:
-Shower & get dressed
-Eat breakfast, sit Sweetpea's breakfast out
-Take diaper bag and lunch to car
-Feed and water the dog
-Get Sweetpea up and dressed

My evening list looks like this:
-Clean up after dinner
-Put Sweetpea to bed
-Make lunch for next day
-Sit out tomorrow's clothes for me and Sweetpea
-Relax before bed

When I'm running late or feeling stressed I go to my lists - I'm definitely a list person! What works for you when you're feeling overwhelmed or trying to single parent? I'd love to hear your tips!

Healthier Birthday Cake Recipe

Thanks to Brooke for requesting this recipe - it is a delicious and reasonably healthy cake recipe that I hadn't thought to share. This recipe was adapted from allrecipes, my go to site when I'm just randomly looking something up.



Sweet Potato Pound Cake

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour your cake pans. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add mashed sweet potatoes and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time (the batter will look curdled). Add flour mixture to potato mixture. Beat on low until combined. Pour batter into cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then invert onto serving plate.

I made the little bear cake pictured above and an 8 inch round cake from the batter. For the round cake I made a powdered sugar, milk, and cinnamon glaze that I poured over top.

A day late, but not short of things to be grateful for!

I don't know about you, but I can't figure out how it got to be mid March already? Granted, I am totally ready for spring, but yikes, I'm still trying to remember to write '09 on my checks.

We had such a nice, relaxing weekend, party included! Sweetpea had so much fun - this year she was aware of her presents ahead of time and tickled pink when everyone sang happy birthday to her. Good company + good food + happy little girl = complete success!

The weather this weekend was warmer, in the 50s and 60s, perfect for being outside with a sweatshirt or light jacket. We spent a lot of time playing in the front yard and took a long walk on Sunday afternoon. Big T was visiting, and he and Sweetpea are so good to each other - she think he is just the best thing ever, and he is so tolerant and loving toward her. I spent a lot of time just sitting back and enjoying watching the two of them interact.

Here are a few lines from my gratitude journal, while I'm on the subject of what has been making me happy this weekend:

*sweet, slobbery kisses on mommy's boo boos*

*a lazy day with nothing specific on the agenda, just enjoying each other's company*

*my sweet, generous family*

*running into a special friend that I don't get to see too often*

*more warm weather, birds chirping, the sun warming our heads*

*the grocer who always has stickers at the ready when we check out, waiting for Sweetpea's little, "sticker, please!"*

*daddy requesting his girl's goodbye kisses each morning, even when he's working the night shift*

What are you grateful for this week?

Friday Flashback, birthday party style

With Sweetpea's birthday party this weekend, I thought it would be fun (for me at least) do flash back to last year's party. Has it really been a year? Yikes!In the trenches...it's a tough job, but someone had to tackle these gifts.

Approaching the birthday cake - this ear looks like a good starting point!

I love this profile shot about half way through the cake destruction, the look of determination, the adorably chubby arms...

Happy Friday, everyone!

Organizing Tip Thursday - Great advice from a fellow working mom!

Welcome to Organizing Tip Thursday! Next week I'd love for you to join me in a little Mr. Linky fun - with the hopes that there is enough interest to keep it going weekly. I have a lot still to share from my organizing research and product reviews, and so much to learn from all of you! (The fact that my month long organizing series is now stretching into March should be proof of that, but who is counting, right?!)

So this week I am excited to share with you some great tips from a fellow "work outside the home mom" I met while soliciting information on organizing. Laura has a husband, two little boys and four pets under her roof, so she has a lot going on. She's totally speaking my language when she says: I hate it when people ask "how I do it", because the answer is pretty much "just the best I can"!

Here are Laura's favorite organizing tools and services:

1. Gallon size zip lock bags. These are great for organizing and storing food, sure, but they also work for crayon storage, packing for trips to keep outfits together, toiletries for trips, lining for my pocketbook since I carry juice pouches around on the weekends, and as a hat for when it rains and the umbrella is by my office door instead of in my car.

2. A "passport" hard drive. I have two, and I back up my personal photos on one at home, bring it to work for safekeeping, take the one from work home, and go back and forth. That way I have photos in both places if I need them, and because I do marketing and take a lot of photos at work for my job, I have work photos at home (handy when working from home). I also back up my music and all of my kids school documents on them. Which leads me to -

3. A scanner. Forget having lots of little pieces of paper with every PTA event on a different piece. I scan all of that stuff and calendar it on my Outlook calendar, so all of my PTA, Room Mom, and Dentist appointments are on my work calendar. I also scan the class directories and the school annual calendars. It is so much easier to find it in my documents than it is to find it in a huge pile of clutter.

4. Dream Dinners, Super Suppers, A Girlfriend's Kitchen, etc. I love the whole meal preparation industry. I bought a freezer just so I can keep it stocked. I find that fewer foods are thrown away because I actually thaw and cook the food, versus the "good intentions" of going to the grocery store, buying ingredients, and then getting too busy to make the dish. That used to happen a lot to me, and so the "crisper" in my fridge is now called "the rotter."

5. The Charger Station. We use one of these for our cameras, phones, camera/phone combo thingy, ipods, bluetooth, and anything else that has to charge. We also put our keys on it. I used to spend lots of time looking for the keys or the charger, and having and using one of those stations has been a time saver.

6. Flylady I use the routines I learned on this website to get rid of big clutter in the spots where it collects (like my dining room table).

7. Clear plastic storage bins with airtight lids: Like the Ziploc bags, I use them for everything. A makeshift cooler. The "goodwill" basket. Christmas decoration storage. The place to pile sweaters in the bottom of my closet.

Aren't some of these suggestions genius in their simplicity? One extra note, we talked a bit about Flylady, because most people love her methods or hate them...Laura suggests getting the digest version of the newsletter so you don't get inundated with emails.

Reducing the marker mess - tie dyed diaper wipes

One of Sweetpea's favorite things to do lately is color with markers. With her washable crayons, we sit at the dining room table, and if she runs a crayon off the paper it wipes up easily. If she tries to write on herself with a crayon it usually just leaves a slight mark if any at all... With the markers it's a whole different story. We've set up the following strategy - markers are only available in the highchair, with a smock on.

Once the coloring fest is over, we take a diaper wipe or two and clean up the collateral damage - usually this includes the highchair tray, sometimes the chair back, and almost always Sweetpea's arms. She loves seeing the colors transfer onto the baby wipe, and we end up with a tie dyed looking wipe when we're done, like the one pictured above. We then let them dry and use them as blankets for some of her smaller dolls. Easy cleanup and future fun!
Do you have any tricks for reducing art related mess? I'd love to hear them!

Random Monday - yummy cupcakes, menus and the Winner!

Today's post is probably a good representation of how scatterbrained I've been feeling lately. {{blushing}} If you're interested to hear who won the fabulous Medela Swing pump and bottle set giveaway, be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this slightly rambling post!

First, a big thanks to Megan from Whatever for sharing her frosting recipes a week or so ago - one of them was just a slight varitaion of the recipe I use for frosting cookies, and I never considered using it for cupcakes - yum!! Sweetpea was taking cupcakes to daycare today to celebrate her birthday, so I used the bottom recipe from this post and it was delish. As an added bonus, frosting with a ziploc was totally easy = one happy mama!

Besides cupcakes, here is what we're planning for dinners this week:

Monday: pork chops with blue cheese gravy and roasted potatoes

Tuesday: chicken empanadas

Wednesday: pulled pork with mashed potatoes and green beans

Thursday: pork and pasta with vegetables

Friday: sweet potato burritos

I used a pork loin from the freezer that I'd purchased when it was on sale for most of this week's meals. I sliced the package in half, and put half directly in the crockpot to make my fabulously easy and delicious slow cooker pulled pork. The other half was sliced into "chops" and fried in the skillet. Half of those were saved for Monday's dinner, the other half were sliced for the pasta dish we'll be having later this week.

I'm not supposed to have soft, unpasturized cheeses since I'm pregnant, but they are such a weakness of mine that I've been finding ways to add them to cooked dishes. The blue cheese gravy is so yummy and simple. I made a quick pan gravy after frying up the "chops" by adding some beef broth to get up the pan drippings, a few pats of butter, and about a teaspoon of flour. I added more broth (about a half cup) and let it simmer until it was bubbly and getting thick, then I dumped in about a half cup or so of blue cheese and stirred until it was mixed. Then I tasted it to make sure the proportions were right... {{swoon}} For more menu ideas, be sure to visit OrgJunkie's menu plan monday!

Finally, the Medela pump and bottle set winner - I have I mentioned lately that I wish I'd been eligible to enter this giveaway? ;) To make things easier for my addled brain, I deleted any non-entry comments and/or duplicate or previously "deleted by author" comments - that left me with 80 eligible entries. Then I pulled up random.org and learned our winner was entry #51 - Congratulations Lisa P from Is it Monday Already!

Happy Birthday, Sweetpea!

Yesterday my Sweetpea turned 2 years old {{gasp}}! It was a beautiful 70 degree day here in the chilly midwest, so we got to spend a lot of time outside, much to everyone's delight. We also had a fun lunch with Mamaw at a a famous old ice cream shop - wonderful! All in all it was a very enjoyable day, and a perfect way to celebrate our little girl!

Every day she seems to be learning something new, and it is so much fun to watch. She has an easy smile, an infectious laugh, a caring heart, and the desire to help whenever she can. We are starting to see those temper tantrums, but so far mostly when she is tired or hungry and they don't last too long. Dancing, coloring, building blocks and playing outside are a few of her very favorite things.

Happy Birthday, Sweetpea, I can't wait to see what this next year will bring!

Wordful Wednesday - Fun at the Children's Museum

One of the fun trips we took while I was on "vacation" a few weeks back was to Indianapolis to visit the wonderful children's museum there. EmDee was out of town, but Mamaw was nice enough to come with us for the fun! We drove up on Monday after lunch, and Sweetpea napped the entire way. We arrived at our hotel just before 4pm - we chose to stay in a hotel with a water park, which opened at 4pm - perfect timing! After checking in and getting settled, we headed down to the water park in our suits. I was worried that many of the attractions were going to be too big, but it was perfectly oriented for little people. We enjoyed a large water fort with small slides and dumping buckets, a lazy river and a zero entry pool area with small water spouts.

The next morning we got up and headed to the museum. We stayed until just before 2pm and headed home. It was a great little mini getaway, and we all had so much fun! Here are a few highlights from our trip.

Sweetpea and Mamaw just before we left for Indianapolis.
Checking out the fossils - that tooth is huge!
The carousel cost to ride or Sweetpea would have wanted to stay here all day!
Having tea with the four little bears...(is that how the story goes?)
Sweetpea LOVED the hall of mirrors - she had the best time trying to find her way in and around the various rooms.
Checking out the big sand table...so much bigger than the one we have at home.
Sweetpea loves trains, she was in heaven moving the cars around the tracks and over the bridges.
These tool boxes were bolted to the floor - she went around gathering all the wooden blocks to build a tower. Then she went around trying to lift each one up off the floor - mommy, why are they stuck?!
This airplane looked super exciting, but when she realized it didn't move or rock she was on to the next attraction.

Most of these pictures were in the section specially designed for 2-5yr olds. There were some displays of interest on other floors, but I love that this museum is going to grow with Sweetpea for many years to come!

Messy fun

This week's theme is "Messy" and with Sweetpea's second birthday fast approaching, I thought a cake picture would fit the bill. With the start of a new month I can't help but feel that spring is just around the corner...however it was just last year on Sweetpea's first birthday that we got a blizzard! That blizzard postponed her party a week, so she got to do a test run on the original birthday cake I'd made her - a little sweet potato pound cake in the shape of a birthday bear. She appears to have enjoyed it, don't you think?

To check out other entries or join the fun yourself, click here or on the button above!

Menu planning for a busy week

This is another one of those weeks where EmDee is working late and Sweetpea and I will be doing the solo thing. I did two big batch cooking sessions over the weekend to get most of the cooking out of the way. Thanks to everyone's suggestions last week, I think part of my problem was waiting and trying to cook right before dinner - if I wasn't already queasy, the smell of cooking would get me that way by the time I was done. Hopefully this advanced planning will also help!

I'm planning to make some overnight crockpot oatmeal by midweek...(read - didn't happen this weekend, sigh) I've been drooling over the sound of it for some time now, and finally have all the ingredients. Last week I was miserable at planning breakfast and snacks, this week I have several baggies of cut carrots and celery along with yogurt and fiber bars ready for those mid morning and mid afternoon munchies.

Here's what's on the menu for dinner this week -

Monday: spaghetti casserole and garlic bread
Tuesday: chicken with pasta and vegetables
Wednesday: three cheese tortellini with cheesy vegetables
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: family dinner out to celebrate Sweetpea's birthday

What's on your menu this week? To join in or find more menu planning inspiration, visit OrgJunkie

Grateful for the little things and little people

Last Friday night and Saturday I got another taste of the stomach flu. After a trip to the doctor for a shot, I took a long nap and felt a bit better. While I was so grateful to be feeling better, I was just too worn out to write a gratitude post last week. It took about a week for the nausea to completely go away, but I think I'm finally feeling pretty normal. Here is a bit from the past two weeks from my gratitude journal!

*getting a peak at sweet baby and listening to the heartbeat - turns out we are a month further along than previously estimated*

*my mom was willing and able to watch Sweetpea while I slept the shot off last Saturday, I don't know what I would have done without her*

*building blanket tents and playing in them with my favorite not quite two year old*

*a 2 day taste of spring this week before the cold air returned*

*curled up on the couch under a blanket with Sweetpea, listening to the sound of birds singing and watching the sun rise*

*crayon, marker, and sticker creations, made with enthusiasm*

*we are so blessed to have such a wonderful pediatrician*

What are you grateful for this week?