Dinner Calendar

After the advice from a few people I finally put together a dinner Menu for us and am officially testing it out to see how it goes. I printed a calendar from Ical and made dinner plans for the month of July (and part of June). I left a few free days and only planned the weekday dinners. Once I made the menu I worked on the grocery list for the 1st week. I am hoping that this will help with our grocery bill and NOT wasting food. We dont go through food fast enough and we tend to just buy something because it sounds good at the time and then never end up eating it. Also food items such as salad fixings go to waste too fast. So plan is in action and I am hoping I can stick to it. I have the monthly calendar in the front of a binder that I made with Recipes also in sleeves in it. But for fun I hung this board up in our Kitchen with the weeks menu. I have made little cards with "Whats for Dinner". On the back of the card it has the recipe if needed or the page number where to find it...and what is "needed" for it. I will reuse the cards and this should make the grocery shopping list a lot faster. We also thought the board would give us a little flexibility if we wanted to swap cards on a day if something did not sound good. The other goal in all this....I want to be able to cook and have dinner ready by 6. Then our evenings can be spent having family time with Lily not trying to cook after Dan gets home and trying to decide what to eat. Thanks to everyone who has emailed or contacted me with fun recipes. I will post results! Also I will still take more if anyone has any? Trying to not eat the same thing every week is also a challenge :)

Here are a couple of pics of the board I hung in the kitchen (iphone pics...not the best quality)..







~Whitney

My New Mini...

Finally :) Here is the photos of my new mini! I am loving the new car so far and now just need to work on selling our old mini. I will be sad to see it go but at least the new one still has the same look and feel as the old mini. Plus of course the new one fits Lily...That of course is important! Dan and I like to fight over who gets to drive MY new car :) Okay....its "technically" Our car...but its MINE! LOL









Sorry for the iphone pics...but its what I had on hand :)

~Whitney

Lily's Baby Book...

I know many of you know that I own a photography studio as you are friends, clients and family that are reading this. But in case you didnt know I specialize in photographing babies and kids. And one of my most favorite things to do is design baby albums for a baby's first year. So of course having Lily means I finally get to design a baby album for me. My baby albums are a little different as they include a lot of text or "story" of the baby's first year. Including a letter from Mom and Dad to the baby. They are very sentimental and so special. For Lily I received this awesome Baby Calendar from a good friend, Connie as a gift. It has been so wonderful to have. I have been using the calendar to make sure I keep all of Lily's information documented. Once we hit a year I will be able to go back through the calendar and create Lily's Story. Its so much more difficult to go back and try and remember everything. Its even harder to try and write stuff down or remember to write it down. This calendar gives me space to write/fill in as well as stickers I can use to put on special dates. Here are a couple pics...and of course a HUGE THANK YOU to Connie for the perfect gift!

2 months old...

Lily is already two months! We have a doctor appointment this thursday and I will post her "stats." She is a big girl and we are guessing 12 lbs. But we will see. Lily is working on sleeping through the night and we had a record breaking 8 hour stretch between feedings (slept about 7 hrs). We are getting really close. Now if she can just push it a little longer AND keep it up. It seems like we will have one good night and the one not so good night...but I know she is working on it for us. Its amazing what sleep can do. It makes you feel like a whole new person. Looking forward to that first official sleep through the night! Fingers crossed its soon.

I have a few fun posts coming up...I still need to post new car pics and I have been working on a dinner calendar that I will post soon. I have appreciated the dinner recipes and feedback from the previous post about dinner. I am still open for more if anyone else wants to share? We are going to start the new dinner menu this week so I will share how it goes. Being a mom, working AND taking care of house stuff is a challenge but I am trying to find us a family routine. I am SO Thankful for Dan who is more help than any wife could ever ask for. Dont want his head to get too big...but seriously...he rocks :) Love you honey.

Here is a quick photo I took yesterday for her official 2 month pic!




More Soon...

~Whitney

Just because...

Thought I would post a pic from yesterday just for fun!



More Soon...

~Whitney

New Recipes...

Cooking Plus Whitney? Not really a good combo :) Dan is the cook in the family. But to be honest during the week it is so hard for him to cook. He gets home around 6 and by the time we eat it seems like its 8pm. It would be better if I already had dinner started so we could eat at a decent hour. I think Dan would fall on the floor if Dinner was on the table when he got home. LOL. I am not much of a "housewife". He wouldn't know what to do. So I was thinking if I had fun new recipes to try maybe I could get dinner at least started? The other tuff part for me is deciding on something FOR dinner. I am way too picky which means we seem to eat the same thing over and over again. I pretty much eat chicken or shrimp or pasta. No red meat. I am looking for some of you to share some fun new recipes? You can post a comment with a link to one? Or put it in a comment. Or email me? Anything! At one point I was having recipe parties where everyone brought a dish and the recipe. It was a blast. But the days are getting away from me now. Oh...and my only other request is its something easy? Or at least not too complicated? I even have a crock pot if anyone has something for that?

Any ideas would be great! If I use one Ill post a review :)

Thanks in advance to my wonderful blog stalkers!

~Whitney

Homemade Baby Food?

So I am curious. How many of you actually attempted and succeeded in making your own baby food? I keep seeing this green machine when Dan and I are out shopping and I am trying to decide IF I would really do it? I thought maybe after having to buy food I would decide it was worth it? I think its like $150.00 and I know the baby food that they need is only for a short time. So is it worth it? Is it a pain? What do you guys think? Here is a pic of the Green Machine we keep seeing :)



Part of me wonders if its like re-usable diapers. Its a happy thought but unfortunately not for me. I am proud of those who use or have used cloth diapers. It is a good thing.

Hmm....The decisions we have to make :)

~Whitney

Dan's 1st Fathers Day...

Still seems weird that Dan and I are parents. He asked yesterday when can we give her back? Or when do we get paid? Only kidding....But it is weird when you think about the fact that this little girl is ours....for good. Dan is such a good Dad and takes very good care of BOTH of his girls. We had a nice family day on Sunday running around the mall and spending some quality time together. Dan only wanted to have a good old fashioned BBQ and to get to CHOOSE the movie for the evening. Easy enough. Thank you to my wonderful husband for the man you are. Lily and I are VERY lucky to have you....and she says Love you Daddy :)

Here is a quick shot of our little peanut...




~Whitney

Diaper Lottery

I just want to say I am SO THANKFUl for the diaper lottery that my shower planners had for me! If you dont know what that is...The invite to the shower said for each pack of Huggies Diapers a guest brought their name went into a drawing for a prize. I think just about everyone that came brought diapers...plus we had a huge diaper tower that my friend Jessica made. Here we are two months in and we still have not had to buy a single pack of diapers...AND we still have plenty. I think we might make it to 3 months with the supply we have! Thank you to everyone who played the game. I know buying diapers is not the most glamourous gift but it is the most needed and we are very Thankful. And for those of you that have not had a baby shower...Be sure to pass this idea along to your shower planner! ITS AWESOME!

Here is a pic of the HUGE diaper pile we received...



~Whitney

Mini for Lily

Dan and I picked up our new Mini a couple days ago. For those of you who dont know I have to sell my poor little mini cooper since I can not fit Lily in the backseat. Its sad....However Mini released a brand new four door Mini Cooper/Countryman. Dan and I ordered it 3 months ago and have been patiently awaiting its arrival. While we were picking it up we saw a Mini for Lily! Of course HAD TO HAVE IT! I know it will be awhile before she gets to enjoy it but how CUTE! I will post pics of our new mini soon. But here is Lily's....





~Whitney

Death Grip

Lily's new thing is the fist that has a death grip on whatever it grabs. So usually my hair (OUCH) but also my clothes or my skin or whatever she can get her fist around. Its just awesome. I wasnt too worried about this new found motor skill other than the fact that she liked to inflict pain on me. But hey it goes with the territory right?

Until yesterday....

I had finished changing her diaper and was washing my hands when I heard Lily screaming at the top of her lungs. I went running to where she was and it took me a minute to figure out what was going on. Lily had reached her little hand up to that beautiful head of hair and was exercising her death grip on it. Thats right she was pulling her hair as hard as she could and screaming in pain! Its funny now...but it wasnt so funny as I was trying to get her to actually release that death grip. I finally pried her fingers away from her poor hair and worked on calming her down. Now tell me...One..How the heck do you explain to a two month old that she was in fact hurting herself? Ha ha ha. And two...Do I have to tie those hands down? Or keep a hat on her at all times? ha ha ha. Oh this is going to be fun isnt it?

~Whitney

Lily 2.0-Upgrade to 4.0?

I always think about clever blog posts while I lay in bed praying Lily will just SLEEP! Keep in mind I also SHOULD BE SLEEPING. But I can hear little miss fussy pants in her crib and am trying to patiently wait for her to stop making noise.

So last night I decided I am ready for an upgrade. I am not asking for much...

Lily 4.0 will sleep through the night, keep the fussing to a minimum, smile and laugh with a touch of a button, auto diaper changing capabilities, come supplied with a Mute Button, auto freshener to keep those poopy diapers smelling like roses and of course will be supplied with better communication skills so her parents will not have to guess what she is wanting. Now..Thats not too much to ask right? I am thinking the upgrade sounds fabulous! And I can not wait for its arrival.

Ha ha!

~Whitney

Baby Announcement

I think it is safe to post these photos now. I wanted to make sure people had a chance to get them in the mail before I posted. But here is the front and back of Lily's announcements that I designed for her...




~Whitney

Lily Goodies...

Today I got a package from my sister Destiny with my mothers day gift and a few things for Lily. I took a photo of my mothers day gift but in case you cant tell what it is this is an iphone cover that she had made for me! Destiny has one that says Landon Jo on it and our mom "Grandma" has one that says Lily & Landon. So adorable...


Also in my little package was some products for Lily from The Body Shop where Dest works.



Little Lily has some sensitive skin and has a bit of a rash. Part of it is caused by a milk protein allergy which we have fixed and it is getting better but we also wanted to use some extra sensitive soap/shampoo in her bath just in case. Thanks Dest for thinking of us and sending the goodies! You are the best! HUGS and KISSES from us both!

~Whitney & Lily :)

Prego Brain VS New Mommy Brain

I still remember people using the excuse "Prego Brain" and also trying to ask me if I had it? Well I dont remember ever using that excuse myself and always thought it was silly when other people claimed that excuse. Sorry...Not being mean...It was just not something that really effected me so I never really understood it. Now however I wonder about New Mommy Brain? I might have to pull that excuse but its not on purpose. I look over the past 6 weeks and it seems to mush all together. Meaning Dan and I BOTH have a hard time remembering what happened during the "night shift" from the night before. I think its more falling into somewhat of a routine that throws you off. Its hard to remember what happened. I dont think I have been necessarily forgetful each day but Miss High Maintenance does take most of my time during the day so I do have to prioritize. Things get pushed aside until I have either help or have a chance to make it happen. So is this New Mommy Brain? Or just plain Busy? I am going to say Busy. At least that is the excuse I am choosing to use! ha ha If you have/had Prego or new mommy brain....I still love ya dont worry.

~ Whitney

Show And Tell

For those of you who dont know I volunteer my time at a good friend (Ali's) kindergarden class. It makes me so happy to be able to go to her class and help the little kids. 5 and 6 year old kids are awesome. This year I was pregnant so the kids got to watch my belly grow. When we were in the hospital Ali let her kids know and they prayed for both Lily and I. I thought this was so sweet of them. So this last friday was Show and Tell in her class and I thought it would be awesome to bring her in. The best part? It was also Pajama day which was just perfect for me. All the kids (and Ali!) had on PJ's and brought their favorite stuffed animal for show and tell. My stuffed animal was Lily :) The kids were all smiles when I arrived and I was so happy to share her with them. They asked lots of cute questions...of course one was did she sleep a lot (NO!...ha ha) And the winner was..."How come she has a Mohawk?" LOVE IT! Because I think my child must have a hair do that sticks straight up! She will probably hate me for it later in life but hey...might as well have fun with it for now.

~Whitney

Gifts...Gifts...and more gifts!

I am just amazed that little Lily is STILL getting gifts. This girl is going to be one spoiled girl. Wait..going to be? Who am I kidding...she already is. Surprise gifts keep arriving and are ADORABLE! I am still working on my thank yous from the shower...(I know sorry!) but Thank Yous are on their way to everyone who has sent gifts. We REALLY appreciate all the love. I have also been working on getting baby announcements out. Once I have given everyone the chance to get there's in the mail I will post a photo of them. I dont want to spoil the surprise. I had to order more cards that just arrived so if you havent got one yet dont panic. OR if you want to make sure I dont forget you leave a comment with a reminder :) ha ha. I have a few extras if I left anyone out. I will say they are pretty cute!

~Whitney