Elliot is TWO!

Gosh I'm so embarrassed to admit that this year's birthday party was so poorly planned! I did the invitations and never got them printed, I told Jack I would start buying party supplies way in advance and there I was last minute ha!

I was happy with the way it turned out regardless! Elliot loved it! We had originally planned to invite a lot of friends but since I never sent out invitations, I texted it to a few friends last minute. It ended up being family and a couple of friends only which was actually really nice. We had a really good time.

I can't believe my boy is a toddler and going into his twos in full force. He is one strong minded boy but he is so loving. He tells us "I lah you mama" "I lah you dada" and our hearts are in puddles instantly.

He can count from one to ten in English and Spanish and knows all of the ABC's. Books are definitely his thing over anything else. He loves for us to read to him and learns what the pages say and recites some of the words back. His favorite characters are Mickey and Goofy but he loves watching Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins too. ;)

He sings Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider and the Hot Dog song and it's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. He also talks in some sentences and says words I didn't know he knew! I spilled water on his sock a couple of days ago and he tells me "mama, sock wet". Or he tells me "mama, I don't want that", "mama, I wanna play". I love it.

He plays "chucky" with us and chases us around and bites us ha! Thanks to Jack for that one! I love that he plays with his cars and planes and makes the sounds and motions they make. He loves to play "gotchu" and wants us to chase him around while he hides behind the curtains then calls his own name for us to find him. It's so funny.

He still loves bananas and milk, bread and peanut butter, chicken and he can eat edamame like no one's business. He's become a bit of a picky eater but he still eats.

On his actual birthday we gave him a slice of cake and candle. That could have been his party and he would have been happy. He also got calls from family and a video from his cousins singing to him that he still goes back and watches several times a day and now he sings Happy Birthday to himself, including "Happy Birthday dear Elliot". ;)

Let the picture flood begin. Of course, Mickey Mouse was the theme! ;)

His cake was made by my sister in law just like his first birthday cake and it turned out exactly as planned! It tasted so good!

We had burgers and hot dogs of course because hot dog!

Girlfriend needed a manicure but there was no time for that! I got some Mickey Mouse tape at Hobby Lobby and wrapped little flags around the straws.

I made these super simple number twos with a chocolate mold and some free printables I got from Pinterest. I had originally planned on having mickey mouse cookies but that didn't work out so this was plan B!

He was exhausted and fell asleep super early. He had a great time. 

The most important thing for me was that Elliot had fun and he did. He loved having all of his cousins and his friend from daycare there. I'm excited for this year and what's to come!

The Ugly Side of Parenting

I thought I'd give the good ol' blog a dust and share a story with you.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Jack was out of town for an entire week last week. It was Sunday morning when he left and I thought to myself "I got this" and started the day with a good breakfast for Elliot and I, we played and read and watched cartoons, you know, the normal activities of a weekend.

That night I gave him a bath and he went to sleep only to wake up a million times at night crying. Okay, we've dealt with this a few times now and I blamed night terrors. Monday morning I woke up, set up the monitor and went upstairs to shower. I was done, went back downstairs to finish getting ready then Elliot woke up. He was okay, his normal self on weekday mornings. A sippy full of milk and Mickey Mouse on the TV. When it came time to get him dressed he gave me the hardest time which isn't entirely unusual but we got it done then out the door we went. It wasn't so bad.

Fast forward to a couple of days later, the morning didn't go as usual. I got him dressed after a million attempts and when we went out the door, it took me a good ten minutes to get him in his car seat. He's never been like that before and I couldn't figure out why! "Elliot please sit down we have to go" "No! I want to walk!" "No Elliot, mama needs to go to work, you need to go to daycare" "No! No Luisa!" (Luisa is the girl that greets him in the morning, whom I drop him off with). "Elliot please? Look at the sky, wow it's so pretty!" "Mama look!" "Yes Elliot look! So pretty!" "Can we get in the car seat now?" "No! No! No!" Okay, so again after a good ten minutes I finally was able to strap him in his car seat while he kicked and screamed and cried the entire way there.

We made it and he greeted Luisa, "Hi Luisa!" You win kid. How in the hell was he okay just like that after the shit fest we had a minute earlier? I thought okay cool he's okay and went to work. After work I went to pick him up and to my big surprise he didn't want to come home with me. Awesome! It took me another five minutes to get him out the door, into the car and another five to get him in his seat again. What's happening! Another cry fest ensued. What a great way to be greeted by your two year old when you were stuck in traffic for an hour after an accident on the highway, race to daycare to get him late and he doesn't want to see you!

We got home and it got even better. I made him dinner and he refused to eat. I took his dinner away and he wanted to eat. I gave him his dinner and he didn't want to eat. Rinse and repeat a thousand times after that. After the morning we had, work, traffic, and not being missed, frustration started building up inside of me. I kept texting Jack telling him I was ready to throw his food away. He told me I needed to take a deep breath. You see, Jack and I have had this conversation a few times before, "we can't yell at Elliot (spanking is out of the question for us), it's only our frustration and we need to take a deep breath then deal with it" well that only works sometimes right? Proof of that right here.

I started yelling at him. Ugly. "What do you want then!" at the top of my lungs. "Tell me! Do you want to eat? Do you not want to eat?!" Ugh. I then got down on my knees and before I knew it I was ugly crying in front of my son. He stopped and stared at me. I let it out then realized what I was doing. I took a deep long breath, gathered myself and after a couple of minutes knelt down again. I hugged him and told him he needed to eat his dinner and he sat down like nothing ever happened and ate and chit chatted with me. What happened?!

It was me. He felt my tension as soon as I picked him up. He felt it in the morning when I was rushing to try to get us out of the door because Jack wasn't home to help me. He felt all of that. It was my frustration to deal with, not his. He also missed his daddy, a lot, and probably couldn't understand why he wasn't there after I explained he had left on a plane. The week went a bit better and he slept better too. I also realized that's not the kind of parent I want to be. I know we all have those moments, but I want to try my hardest to be the best parent I can be and to deal with what I am feeling before I deal with my son. I felt horrible for yelling at him like that. He's going through a phase too. I won't let him get away with bad behavior either but I will be firm, not ugly.

After Jack was back (and all was right in the world again) that Saturday morning we were getting ready to run errands. Elliot was playing in our closet while I was getting ready. He had Goofy and Mickey with him and I heard him yelling at them saying "You're going to time out!" then he sat them both down and yelled at them again "You're in time out!" Wow. He got that from us. From me. That's not the kind of ideas I want to him to have! I get it, he's a kid, but his brain is like a little sponge and everything he learns is coming from his environment, from his parents. Jack and I had the conversation again and just last night I confessed what had happened while he was gone. I hadn't told him about my ugly crying or the ugly yelling. I didn't want him to think I couldn't deal with it while he was gone, but I know that we are parents and we are learning everyday and I know he will never judge me. We needed to talk about it. We want to be the best parents we can be, just like everyone else, and we will make mistakes, just like everyone else. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders and we even slept much better, including Elliot! :)

Moral of the story: Parenting is hard. Really hard. And this is only the beginning for us; the tip of the iceberg if you will. We are barely scraping off the top of the cap of parenthood. We learn every single day as his little life is taking place right before our eyes and it's beautiful, and frustrating, and scary and amazing. All at the same time, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Sexting │ Just Kidding!

When I met Jack I remember he hated texting. One of the reasons why we even talked on the phone was because he texted me asking if he could call instead ha!

Now when we are both at work that's pretty much what we do all day! When time permits of course but it is fun! He finds the funniest ways to tell me things and I thought it would be fun to show them to you guys! I've been saving them for a long time now so here are some of them. I hope you find them as funny as we do (or did when we sent them) ha! We have a very simple sense of humor as you'll see. :)

When we forgot that we were having a Crockpot dinner and I cuss in Spanish.

Chick-Fil-A if you hadn't figured it out yet. ;)

Then there are the sappy ones. This one was when we switched daycares for Elliot and I was a complete mess. Right along with him.

How Jack told me he's ready for another baby. And how badly he wants a dog and how badly I don't. :)

I wonder if he came out of the bathroom dancing?

He understands my love for Jennifer Lopez.

Cheesy sweetness.

I think we could talk in Emoji all day if there were emojis for everything, they need to get on that asap.

Then there are the times when we are a little bored at work.

Auto correct really does sock. ;)

And our talk about boobs and food. 

He seriously always makes my day with stuff like this. I hope you at least chuckled? Or smiled? Have a great day!

Holiday Survival Kit

The holidays can be stressful sometimes, or always. Ranging from what gifts do we get to what do we cook, you know what I'm talking about. Then the fact that Thanksgiving is over and here we are with Christmas and New Year's right around the corner doesn't help! Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays but I definitely think we need a little help to keep us going during these times.

So why not put together a Holiday Survival Kit? I included a his and hers with the help of Jack! We brainstormed and came up with a few things that we think are necessary to get through the holidays!

Hers-

First of all, a good sangria is a must, or any beverage of your preference for that matter. It doesn't hurt to sip on it while cooking, baking or having a house full of guests. ;)

Cute shoes to do any last minute errands and to dress up for the day. These booties are perfect with a pair of skinnies and your favorite sweater!

After running around in those shoes, cozy socks are a must. I have at least three pairs and wear them around the house 24/7 during the Winter since Jack and I (and Elliot) never wear shoes inside the house.

A cute nail polish color. Red is timeless and perfect for Christmas and New Years. Elegant and festive! Plus having it on hand for last minute touch ups is a must. You know that washing all those dishes (and dealing with a toddler) tends to chip nails! Maybe paper plates this year? ;)

A few extra Target gift cards as last minute gifts. If you know me you know I love Target as pretty much everyone does and you just can't go wrong with a gift card.

Mistletoe because you cannot forget to kiss your hubs, or your kids and family every time you're under it. I see it as a little reminder of how much you love them, precious family time and I'll take any excuse to kiss my hubby. :)

His-

Onto Jack's list. I think he has the perfect little list for men. As I, drinks for him are necessary, and right now his favorite beer is Heineken so a six pack or two are perfect. Hey, a beer or two never hurt anyone. 

You need something to open them with right? This bullet bottle opener couldn't be more perfect for him. He's guy's guy and loves to go shooting, this is a cool little gadget to keep handy.

He also said Target gift cards as a last minute gift. He knows that anyone and everyone loves Target! Who doesn't?

A comfy pair of slippers. As I mentioned, we don't wear shoes in the house and although he wears socks, the floor can get cold. These are nice to walk around in.

A stress ball is a nice little stocking stuffer if you ask me. Or you could even have a bowl with a couple for everyone! Kidding, but using it if you're stressed out will help!

Last but not least, an extra set of lights. Jack is the type of guy who keeps all the extra light bulbs in case one goes out. We decorated like the Griswald's this year and having the lights go out is unacceptable. ;)

I will be honest though, I always have such a hard time finding things I know Jack will like. Not that he's picky (well kind of) but I'm always on the lookout for stuff I know he will love and wear or use. If this is you, then you need to head over to Man Crates. It is such a cool website where you can find really awesome gifts for your dad, brother, son, husband or friend! You can even personalize them! The coolest part is that they come in a crate that the guy has to open with a crowbar, it doesn't get any manlier than that. I would love to give this as a gift but it can also be a nice little survival kit for any occasion. And they have zombie survival crates! Go check it out!

Have a great weekend!

Crockpot Lasagna

I've said a few times before that Crockpot recipes are our thing right now. It is so easy for me to prepare everything the night before and throw it in the Crockpot to cook all day and dinner is ready when we get home. It's the best feeling when I don't have to cook after working all day. Plus one pot and a couple of dishes to clean isn't a big deal! We can then sit down and watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Such oldies that we are over here. I also get to spend more time with my little family and that's always a win.

I got this recipe off of my handy dandy phone app and wanted to try it! I still have the ingredients for a Crockpot Jambalaya that I plan to make on Friday. I'll let you know how that one goes! I will say that since the cooking time for this is 5 hours, I made this one on Sunday and not during the week. Any Crockpot recipe I make during the week has a cook time of 7-8 hours otherwise it will burn by the time we get home!

For the lasagna you'll need-

8 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 pack of ground turkey- I use 85/15 (if you like it meaty use the whole pack otherwise use half)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
A jar of pasta sauce sauce- I use Wild Oats organic marinara pasta sauce.
1/3 cup of water
Mushrooms- this recipe calls for canned mushrooms but I used fresh and sauteed them in a little Olive oil.
15oz fat free ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded skim milk mozzarella cheese- I didn't use the entire amount, probably 1 cup.

Brown the turkey meat and stir in the Italian seasoning, set aside. I sprayed the inside of the pot with olive oil and layered 4 noodles. You can break them to make them fit. Add the ground turkey, a layer of sauce, mushrooms, water and cheeses. Repeat. 

Set on low and cook for 5 hours. Voila! Dinner is ready. It's not the healthiest but it is warm, rich and comforting! I think anything having to do with pasta is comforting. ;)





Hope you enjoy it!

Thankful

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving!! I loved it this year. We decided to have it at my mom's since we had it at our house last year and she had the day off which is a rare occurrence! It was full of yummy food and some much needed family time. Of course Elliot loved every minute of it!

We had Turkey, yams, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, tabouleh with and without yogurt (my mom and sis made it and I think it was gone on the first serving, it was so damn good!), and I made a green bean casserole using this Pinterest recipe. It came out really good. I wanted to stick to traditional using a healthier version.

My sister makes the best turkey hands down. It was crispy on the outside and super juicy on the inside. Plus it tasted heavenly! She marinated it early that morning and threw it in the oven to let it bake for 5-6 hours.

For dessert I decided to be brave this year and actually bake something instead of buying. I was nervous I'm not going to lie! I've definitely never been a baker, I'm much better at cooking ha! I can honestly say I had so much fun baking these mini apple pies also from Pinterest and when I took them to my mom's, I had Jack try them first to give us a thumbs up or down. He gave them a thumbs up and we all dug in. They were really good and they looked so pretty! Crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. I modified the recipe a bit by not adding all the amount of flour and sugar it requested but I made it up by adding a little extra cinnamon. ;) There was also a sangria I really wanted to make but we were running late so I'll be making it for Christmas. Can't wait to try it!

Even though I don't bake, I'm obsessed with cookie cutters, I don't know how many I have but I have them for every occasion! If I go to the store and see one I like, I buy it. If I'm brave enough, I'll use some I got for Christmas last year and this year to bake something festive!

Leaf tops seemed appropriate for these along with wavy edges.

It was a fun night, Jack and I had the day off but everyone else worked the next morning so we headed home a little early. I gave Elliot a bath and he was asleep about ten minutes after that. Jack and I had a few beers and watched a movie. Our plan had been to decorate outside after Elliot went to bed but that went out the window, we were exhausted too! It was a long day of cooking, baking, eating, drinking and family fun.

The next day was leftover day!! This has been a tradition since I was little and we have continued it every single year. I don't think there's been a year that we haven't done this. My mom packed us a good amount of turkey for the next day. We got up bright and early and made some turkey tortas. Seriously, if you're having turkey for Christmas, make these the next day! They are so good. 

I shred the turkey with two forks and sauteed thinly sliced onion on a pan, I then threw the turkey in and warmed it up with the onion. I took some bread rolls, split them in halves and toasted them on a pan for a bit with some olive oil. I spread a little mayo, mustard and a lot of avocado on each. Topped them with the turkey, tomato slices, spinach and baby kale (that's all we had but we usually use lettuce). They are to die for and what a better way to use your leftover turkey! 

We made some coffee and had them for breakfast. Elliot ate the bread with some shredded turkey on the side.

We stayed in the house the entire day on in our jammies and relaxed. We had more turkey for lunch and dinner with the other leftover sides we had on Thanksgiving, watched movies all day and played with Elliot. I am so thankful for having Jack and Elliot and my beautiful family. I don't know what I would do without them. I'm happy and healthy and I couldn't ask for anything more!

Now we are on Christmas mode! We decorated outside during the weekend and we put up our tree about three weeks ago. We already did most of our Christmas shopping and we are set to go! Onto more decorating and shopping now! And lots and lots of Christmas movies!

Have a great week!

Weekend Getaway

A couple of weeks ago (I can't believe it's already been that long!) we decided to take a mini trip to Albuquerque, NM to visit their zoo, botanic gardens and aquarium. It's four hours away from here and it just seemed like a quick little getaway for the weekend.

We really enjoyed the road trip, we packed snacks galore for Elliot, a couple of sandwiches for Jack and I and headed out. I also packed a couple of books and toys for Elliot to be entertained along the way and we decided to forward face his seat so that he could see us! I completely believe in the two-year rule but I knew he would be okay and that he was ready. I didn't like seeing his legs being squished in the rear facing position and so we made the conscious decision to switch him.

It was the very first time the day of the trip and he wasn't so sure at first. He kept telling us "no, no" when we put him in but once we were all packed in the car and started heading out, he saw that his view was different and so much better! He loved it. He was such a good sport and was really good on this trip. He had his moments where he wanted a different snack other than the hundred other ones I packed but other than that, we stopped a couple of times to walk with him for a while and to stretch our legs.

We sang the ABC's, said our numbers, sang and listened to music (we were joking about me being like the girl in The Heartbreak Kid), talked and it was so much fun! It was good to have some quiet time when Elliot napped to talk and play games with Jack. Nothing like a long stretch of road with nothing ahead to gather our thoughts and regain our strength. (Clueless fans!)



Note: I must say that we bought this car seat (I think it's Evenflo) to put in my car and Jack kept the Britax and it is so much more comfier than the Britax and we paid half the price! I love how easy it is to tighten or loosen the harness without doing back flips trying to figure it out. We love it!



I think we picked the perfect time to go since the weather was really nice and gosh we went right in the middle of the trees changing color. It was such a beautiful sight I wish I would've taken more pics!

Fiiiiiish! (And drool) :)

It was so dark in there but these creatures amaze me! I couldn't stop looking at them. They were so peaceful.

I think it's safe to say he loved the zebras. He did not want to leave! I think he could have stayed there all day if we let him.

Actually, feeding the ducks was his absolute favorite. I had to hold him back from jumping in the water with them!

We ordered room service every night at the hotel and the food was so freaking good. The hotel was hosting a group and conference from Amnesty International and it was so cool to see so many people coming together! We got in the pool, walked around, went to happy hour with Elliot (other parents had their kids there, don't judge! ha!) and of course he was walking around saying hi to everyone and even stopped to talk to two young guys who said "he was the bomb" ha!

It was such a nice little getaway that we are already planning our next one after the holidays! It's nice to be able to take off for a weekend when we have so many places that are close enough to take a toddler without regretting it halfway there. We were really impressed with Elliot! ;) 

Have a great rest of the week!