letting loose on a saturday night

there was a time when letting loose on a saturday night meant going out to the clubs with some girlfriends until 2am, then after getting married it was going out to dinner AND a movie (getting home around midnight), and now it's keeping brennan out past 9pm AND stopping by arctic circle for some sweet potato fries and a large lime ricky...i'm happy to say that the most rewarding of all of these activities is the latter. while watching brennan sleep on the car ride home, sipping on my lime ricky and chewing on some salty sweet potato fries (with mr. sean at the driver's seat listening to the post game byu radio show--go cougs!) i noted what a blissfully happy moment i was having. all you need is love.

happy birthday dad!

we went to dinner with sean's family at red lobster for sean's birthday last weekend. we let brennan taste some of sean's birthday drink. as you can see, brennan grabbed the whole cup and tried to engulf his entire face in the yumminess:-)

30 meals in 1 DAY!!! okay, only 26

it's true, i made 26 meals in one day! this is the third time i have conquered this culinary endeavour, but this was the first time since having brennan. it was much more difficult with the little man to take care of, but SO worth it and completely "do-able" with a little help from wonderful mr. sean. SO SO SO worth it. when i lived in rexburg one of my teacher friends told me about this book called Dinner Is Ready ($12.95 Desert Book: see link). it taught me how to organize a shopping list, shop more effectively, and cook 30 meals in one day. i thaw out the meals the day before or the day of and throw it in the oven. i usually make a fresh veggie to go with each meal. you can go to places like My Girlfriend's Kitchen as well. they offer everything for you to make 12 meals in 2 hours, so you don't have to do the prep work. i have never tried their company, but have had friends that enjoyed it.

i LOVE spending the entire day cooking in my home. i love doing it myself b/c i get to decide how fattening or "low fattening", salted or unsalted, spicy or mild, etc. i want my meals to be. the best part about spending 10 hours cooking for the entire month is finishing something healthy and rewarding for my family. if you are always trying to figure out how to get dinner ready with everything else you do all day try it out! i am happy to help anyone get started and tell you all of the tricks i use to make the day go easily. my picture above doesn't show all of my meals. thanks to my cousin i stored about six meals in her garage freezer, but the first time i did it all in my own freezer. you pick 15 recipes from the book and make 2 of everything=30 meals. it's totally possible, good luck!

moment of the mess

i went to lunch with my mom and cousin, shannon at Zupas. it's a soup, salad, and sandwich place that sean's mom introduced me to. now that brennan eats solid foods he wants everything that sean and i are eating...and everyone else for that matter. i bring a mesh food holder in my bag everywhere i go so i can stuff a fruit or veggie i am eating into it for him to suck on. he LOVES it. i will show a pic of the wonderful mesh food holder later. anyway, i put some strawberries and blackberries into the holder, handed it to brennan, and payed attention to my food for awhile. when i looked over again i saw brennan's face, hands, highchair, mouth, and shirt completely covered in red juices. it was ADORABLE. i loved the mess and could not believe i hadn't brought my camera. i am vowing now to never leave the house without it again. isn't fun to make a mess!? i'm so glad that he made a mess on his own, because if i had been paying more attention to him at the time i might have stopped him to clean him up. it was so much better to enjoy the moment of the mess, laugh histaricly, take pictures, and wipe it all off later. this is a pic of the shirt right before our nap. i love the face he has on. "just let me take a nap mom!"

i hate spiders

have i mentioned how much i hate spiders? we live in a basement apartment, so unfortunately spiders are just a part of life. last year i sprayed the apartment and window wells with a product called "Home Defense." it's a bug/insect killer that is safe for your home, but this year i was weary to use it b.c of brennan. i wondered if the bugs and SPIDERS would really be that bad. well, they really are THAT bad!!! this week i have killed 3 BLACK WIDOWS! yes, i am a lover of halloween, cute spider decorations and all, but i am NOT a fan of the real deal. boo boo boo!!! so after taking this picture of the 2nd black widow i put brennan down for a nap and went on an outside bug spraying spree. on my field trip i killed ANOTHER black widow spider. if black spiders don't scare you, then the HUGE RED DOT on the black widow spiders should! it's there for a reason...to tell you to SQUISH AND RUN! so, now that the spray is sprayed i am dealing with spiders running for their lives into the house. this will pass in a few days, but i am not enjoying the scare of finding them by the bed, by brennan, on the wall, etc. etc. yay for bug spray!

Meet "Hurley Monkey"

Hurley Monkey is Brennan's comfort item and our saving grace for nighttime sleep! Brennan loves to cuddle with this little guy. i love seeing him reach for his monkey to pop the paci in. i've mentioned this before, but people have been asking where i found the heaven sent pacifer cuddle monkey we all know as "hurley monkey." i got the pacifer holder from http://www.paciplushies.com/. it was the best $17 i've ever spent!!!

7 Months Already!?

i can't believe it, but brennan is 7 months old. amazing jackie came by for a visit while she was in town and brought her talents with her. what an amazing photographer she is...such a treat for us! dad and sandie, thanks for the outfit little B in is. i am in love with this little boy. my little b makes me laugh one minute and cry the next. today he whined more than he made any other noises. we've started sign language, as of two days ago, and the ones he responds to with most emotion are "milk" and "eat." when i do the "milk" sign he pumps his arms and legs and starts breathing heavily. so adorable. i think the most frustrating part about the whining (other than the actual noise of the whining) is knowing that he is trying to tell me something, but not knowing what that something is. most of the time i'm realizing that he just needs a new toy, a trip outside (or a walk around target), or play time with mom. he doesn't have the strength to crawl yet, so when he wants something out of reach he rolls onto his stomach, laying there to cry when he gets frustrated. did i teach him this trait?? haha. i LOVE that he is not mobile. let me repeat myself. i LOVE that he is not mobile. however, i am excited for him to learn a new way to discover the world. it is so fun to watch him get excited about a new toy or person. i cherish my free time during his naps, but find myself excited for him to wake up as well. sleep my little angel. sean and i get so excited before we got to bed and march into his room in a tip-toe fashion to see the little dear fast alseep, arms out, and hurley monkey (pics up soon for all of you to meet him) cuddled up in our deary's arms. i can't help but want more! being a mom is my favorite thing i've ever done. i LOVE my life!