[Recipe] Zucchini Lasagna and Double Chocolate Muffins

This weekend Sunday wasn't Funday. Well, it's not so much that it wasn't a fun day, but it wasn't a play only day. Mason woke up too early (for my liking... he actually did sleep in) at 6:30am. Seth went in and got him, changed his diaper, and brought him downstairs. They were trying to be quiet and let me sleep a little but there is no volume control on a toddler. I woke up shortly after at 6:45am. We all had breakfast and played while watching the Disney channel.

I love that he stands on his tip toes to reach things on his toy.

(He looks naked but he was wearing his pj shirt, just no pants.)

Then Mason took a nap around 9am. Seth and I took that time to get ready for the day, like usual, and then I fully expected Mason to wake up at 10am like he usually does.

10:15am...still sleeping.

10:30am...still sleeping.

10:45am...still sleeping.

Like mother, like son.

I seriously sleep with my arm under my pillow and my leg bent like that!

I kid you not.

We must have really worn him out yesterday for him to sleep so long today! We had plans of running errands (we like to do as much as we can together as a family on the weekends since we get such little time during the week) but since Mason was sleeping I decided to go to HomeGoods on my own. I have been dying to get a chalkboard to hang on the wall (more on that later...after I buy some chalk) for FOREVER and I decided to look at HomeGoods. Today... I FOUND ONE!!!!! I was so excited. And for a good price too. Win - win! I snatched it up and headed home. Mason had woken up and eaten lunch so Seth and I ate real fast, meal planned, watched the end of the Steelers game (poor Steelers...poor Seth) and headed to the grocery store.

I've been really into trying new recipes and this week was no different. We got our stuff and came home and started a little prep. Seth put some pork in the slow cooker for some pork taquitos for later in the week and I made some muffins. Healthier Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins to be exact. The recipe is from the Iowa Girl Eats Blog and she described the muffins as healthier versions of the chocolate chip muffins from Costco. SIGN ME UP.

Here is what hers look like :

And here are mine :

Outside : You can see some zucchini bits

Inside

Seriously, they are SO delicious. I highly recommend them. They taste like you are eating a Costco chocolate chip muffin but without all the guilt :)

For dinner we tried a zucchini lasagna (apparently there was a theme to today) from a blogger I follow on Instagram. It is from the skinnytaste.com blog. It is basically like regular lasagna but without the pasta. I know, I know...how can it be real lasagna without pasta? Seriously. Try it. Even Seth said it was delicious!

Her lasagna :

Our lasagna :

Definitely did not look the same (when does yours ever look like the picture anyway?) but tasted GREAT! We had our lasagna with corn on the cob.

Seriously. You should all try both recipes! SO GOOD!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Mickey's House

I've been dying to go for forever. We've talked about going for weekends and weekends now. So... we finally went! We got Disneyland passes back in April and I think we've maybe used them twice. Mayyyyybe twice. I'm embarrassed to even admit that. We had good intentions of going all the time, but then life happened and it had other plans for us on the weekends.

Mason let us sleep in until 6:40am (!!!) and as soon as he woke us up, we got ready. Seth fed Mason breakfast while I got ready and then I watched Mason while I prepared for us to leave. I made Mason food for lunch and a snack since I didn't know how long we would be there and I refuse to pay $8 for 3 chicken nuggets that I could make at home and bring for probably $.40.

We were finally ready and we were off! I had this grand plan of sitting in the back seat to distract Mason from falling asleep in the car so he could nap while we walked from the parking lot to Disneyland but Mason had other plans. No car nap, no stroller nap. Mason - 1, Mommy - 0. Oh well. He was fine and more than excited to be at Disneyland. We decided to spend the morning in California Adventure instead of heading straight to Disneyland. I had read on a couple blogs about some rides they went on while at Disney and to be honest, I'd never heard of them or been on them! So we decided to check them out.

Whenever we go to California Adventure, I've never gone in to the Bug's Life Land. I always just thought it was the Bug's Life 3D movie and that's all, but boy was I wrong! Disney. I swear. They put SO MUCH thought and creativity into everything, it is amazing. A Bug's Life Land is so cool! And will be even more cool when Mason is older. They have popsicle stick benches, cricket and bee noises in the bathroom, bug lights, and so much more. It's like you are living in the movie. We did two things while we were there : Flik's Flyer and Heimlick's Chew Chew Train.

And then there is Cars Land. My FAVORITE of the lands by far. It looks EXACTLY like the movie Cars. To the tee. It's crazy. Again, magic of Disney. We've been going on so many kid rides that I had hoped to ride an adult ride...specifically Radiator Springs Racers. We've been on it once and it was so much fun so we decided to do single rider so one person could stay with Mason. I went first and then Seth went. While I was gone... Mason meltdown. He was better when I got back but then after Seth left, major meltdown. It was way, way, way past his nap time so I knew exactly what was wrong, but it was hard to get him to lay back and sleep. Eventually I did it though and evened the score to Mason - 1, Mommy - 1.

After Seth got off the ride, we walked over to the carousel and waited for Mason to wake up. The last time we were at Disney Mason LOVED the carousel. LOVE. The feeling was exactly the same this time.

We went on the Little Mermaid ride and watched the Disney Junior Live on Stage show and then Mason was ready for another nap. He fell asleep as we walked over to Disneyland and I was finally able to get the corn dog that I've been wanting for forever. The line is always so long so I always pass but I've heard they are DELICIOUS so we decided to wait. They did not disappoint.

After lunch we did a little shopping, Mason woke up from his nap, and then we headed home. All in all, a successful and fun day at Disneyland! The best part was... it wasn't even that crowded! Score :)

Birthday Weekend Recap

We were so excited to have a WHOLE weekend together again! We enjoyed e.v.e.r.y. s.i.n.g.l.e. m.i.n.u.t.e. of it.

Friday started off with work in the morning and my friend birthday dinner at night. We went to Lucille's and had some delicious food.

Saturday Seth's mom had bought the girls (and Mason) tickets to Disney Junior Live. Unfortunately she double booked herself and wasn't able to go so my niece Emma took her friend from school. To be honest, I thought it was good but not Disney good, if that makes sense. Everything Disney is AMAZING. Like beyond your wildest imagination AMAZING and this show was good. I had expected it to be all Disney Junior shows (Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Princess Sophia) but it was only Jake and Sophia. The kids liked it which is really all the matters and Mason actually sat through the whole 1 1/2 and didn't go stir crazy which was a win in my book. I was just happy to have some mommy/Mason time and get this amazing picture with my boy.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this boy.

When we got back to the house, the kids were playing outside. Emma was pushing Mason in this little car. Look at his little tongue sticking out. So cute!

Sunday was family day and we ran errands. Nothing exciting but we were together. We went to Target again and I got an iced tea and we played and got ready to watch football and Mason had a snack...

AND... I claim no responsibility for his Starbucks addiction in a few years!

He totally sipped the tea and LOVED it.

Don't worry, I only gave him a very small amount.

Go Steelers! Maybe next week will be better :)

A call for celebration!

I write you this post one year older! Well... in reality, seven days older, but according to the calendar, one year! Last Thursday was my 29th birthday! Well the first anniversary of my 29th birthday as I like to say. I say I am ok with turning 30 next year right now but ask me again when it comes September 1st and I think I will have a different answer. My mom said she was 39 for probably at least 10 years so I think I can go with 29 for a while.

The day started off really exciting... with me going to work! Oh the life of an adult. It actually turned out not to be a bad day because whenever a customer had a complaint I would pull the "but it's my birthday...." card and someone else would go :) Hey, you gotta take what you can get. But then the day got better...

Amanda calls me on the phone : "Hey can you come up front? I have a question."
Me : "Sure. What's it about?"
Amanda : "Just come up here please"

So up front I go... Henry asks me some questions about scantrons and then Eli calls on the phone and says he needs to see me in the warehouse. I say ok, I'll be right there and then ask Amanda what she needed me for. She says she called for Henry. I think nothing of it and start to walk to the warehouse when Eli catches me. He says he has a problem and I need to help and I said I was just coming to meet him. We walk through the door to the break room when....

SURPRISE!!!!!

And boy was I surprised! I don't know why, I just had no idea! I actually got a little scared since I didn't expect it and was pretty impressed that they actually surprised me. A very good surprise though!

So, I finished work and then headed home where I found this waiting for me :

I don't know how he does it, but he ALWAYS surprises me! I love that man. I opened my gifts and had the CUTEST card from Mason.

I also came home to this surprise on my door step...

I must say though, I was a little disappointed to find out that sharing with Seth and Mason didn't just mean sharing the card... but since I love them so much, it wasn't hard to share :)

Once Seth and Mason got home, we got ready and headed out to dinner at Wood Ranch. September 19th also happens to be my brother-in-law, Scott's, birthday as well. (Technically he is my brother-in-law, Shawn's, brother but we all consider ourselves family.) We have been celebrating together for the past few years. Overall, a great day!

"Ant Liz"

Cutest card ever from my niece Emma.

Thank you to everyone who called, texted, and facebook wished me a happy birthday!

Firsts.

Firsts. Something you think of when your baby is first born. Everything they do is new. EVERYTHING.

First smile.
First laugh.
First time they roll over.
First solids.
First holidays.
First everything.

BUT! Even when your baby is older, there can still be firsts! (Ok, maybe it's just me because I celebrate everything!) In the past few days, Mason has had some exciting firsts (or at least to his mommy and daddy).

First bath without a bath seat!
First time eating his dinner on his own!

To me, taking a bath without his bath seat was a big deal. He used his Puj tub in the sink for the longest time. We never used it in the bathroom sink, only in the kitchen sink, because the way our bathroom sink was situated, I thought it was too small for a bath. Seriously I think the first time Mason took a big boy bath was when we went to visit my friends in New Mexico. Mason was eight months old. Then the next time he did was when we moved into our new condo...Mason was ten months old! Mainly we were hesitant because of the way our showers were and how it was hard to reach over. He's been using the big boy bath seat for a while now but I figured he can definitely sit well enough now that even when he splashes or I wash his hair, he won't fall over. So I tried it the other night, and he went CRAZY!

He was splashing and splashing and splashing until forever! (Or until I decided I was wet enough and it was time to get out lol). He can reach the water so much better now that he is sitting directly in it and not in his seat. HE LOVED IT. He was investigating everything in the bath tub also... the whale water spout, the soap, daddy down the hall in his room, everything! And look at that smile! Tell me he wasn't loving it?

His other first came tonight. We have been giving him real food for a while now (I say real... he's always eaten real food but it's more adult-like food, not just pureed food from pouches anymore). We put cheetos down, chicken nuggets, avocado, pancakes, and some other stuff on his tray for him to eat himself but never full meals like pasta or anything super messy. It's 50/50 if he picks it up himself or if he is lazy and makes us feed him but we try. Tonight as Seth was making our dinner, I tried it. It was a mess. A MESS. But he was having fun and actually tried to pick it up himself! It started off with me feeding him but then he was leaning towards the bowl and putting his hand out and grabbing so I thought, hey, why not? So...

He is not overly coordinated yet, but he does well! He puts his whole hand down and grabs and then lifts his hand towards his mouth and at the same time usually opens his hand and the food drops out before it makes it to his mouth. It's so sad. He makes such a valiant effort! He doesn't get upset, he just tries again. It's the cutest. But when he does make it to his mouth, he is so happy! It's so cute, it's like he's shoving his food in his mouth but that's the only way he knows how to eat so far.

Overall, he did great! It was just a liiiiiiiiiittle messy also :) It's hard to see but the tray was covered in pasta, his face was covered in pasta, his hands were covered in pasta... and the floor was covered in pasta. 

All in all....success!

When we were done with dinner... we watched the Steelers game and cheered on daddy's team while wearing our team shirt! As I write this, I was informed that they lost... oh well. There's always next week!

Go Steelers!

Like father, like son

My sweet little sleeper.

Seriously. I don't know what it is but I could watch the kid sleep all day, everyday. Sounds kinda creepy, stalker-ish I know, but at least it's my own kid? Haha. 

Sunday night was rough. Rough for Mason and rough for mommy and daddy. I was out to dinner with some friends and Seth was home with a friend and Mason, watching football. I got home at like 8:30pm, about a half hour after Seth had put Mason to sleep. I guess I was talking too loud (go figure) or it was purely a coincidence, but about 9pm Mason started crying. I went in to check on him and he was crying his little eyes out. I picked him up and rocked him and he fell back asleep. I tried to put him back in his crib and he started crying again, but I was able to "shush" him a little and turn on his sleep sheep and get him to go back to sleep. I decided that I would go to bed too and Seth stayed up a little longer. I don't know how much longer (maybe 11pm?), Mason woke up again, screaming crying. I went in and shushed him again and turned the sheep back on and was able to get him to go back to sleep after not too long. I went back to sleep and then at 2am, it happened again. Poor boy! (And poor mommy and daddy...and poor neighbors?? Hopefully they can't hear him through the walls...) I picked him up again, rocked him, and he calmed down. It took him a little to fully calm down though as he was sniffling for a few minutes. I comforted him and he fell back asleep. I put him back in the crib and he started crying again. This isn't regular crying he's been doing. It's like "holy cow, I'm in pain, my leg is broken" screaming, crying. It's AWFUL. I feel helpless and awful. I tried to shush him and put the sheep on again but it wasn't working. He stood up in his crib and was crying his eyes out. I tried to tell him that Mason and mommy were going to take a nap and I layed on the floor to show him. He cried. And cried. I tried to shush and he cried. And cried. By now Seth had come in too and said he would take over. He picked Mason up and rocked him some more. Mason calmed down. I went back to sleep with one ear open fully thinking I would hear crying soon. No crying. I fell asleep and Seth put Mason down eventually and he went back to sleep. He woke up yesterday morning with a cold though and Seth stayed home with him.

Thankfully, so, so thankfully, last night was WAY better. Mason slept through the night. The picture above was taken this morning when I was just looking at him on the monitor, so thankful he was peaceful and sleeping with his cute little butt in the air. He was also snoring and I could hear it through the monitor. SO CUTE. Just like his daddy (though daddy is louder, sorry Seth). As much as I hate it when he has a cold, I love his cute little snoring.

This morning was a little rough because we had to suck his nose and he absolutely HATES it. HATE. Like screams and cries when we do it and is totally fine when we stop. But we do what we have to do because we know he needs it.

Anyway, I'm off to work! Happy Tuesday!

Rosh Hashanah

This is the weekend I have been waiting for for weeks! Weeks. A WHOLE weekend with my family! [read : two whole, consecutive days]. Ever since I started working Saturday's (what feels like forever ago but was really like four weeks ago), I've been missing my weekends with my husband and my baby terribly. I feel like when I work on the weekends or work late and don't get to put my baby to bed that he will somehow hate me or resent me in the morning. This obviously isn't true, especially since I walk in to his room to get him to a HUGE smile greeting me, but I still fear it. I don't often work late or on weekends but it's just so hard the few times I do since my baby is still so young. But oh well, you do what you have to and that makes the moments you do spend together so much better! :)

On to the weekend....

Saturday started off with an amazing challah french toast breakfast. I swear there is nothing better. I could eat this for breakfast everyday. Then Emma and Addison came over for a little while, Mason took a nap, and then we went to get Mason's hair cut. This is probably his fourth hair cut and he did really well! He didn't cry this time, he was just more interested in what she was doing than anything. He even watched Cristal (his hair dresser at Cool Cuts 4 Kids) over watching Mickey! True love right there! And she loves him too so it is really great. After a recommendation, we make reservations with her every time now.
After his hair cut we headed over to Target to get a few things. I got what I needed (and then some... I found some brew over ice Keurig that is AMAZING!!!!!!!) and then preceded to have a photo shoot with Mason while Seth looked for what he needed.

Our Target has a Starbucks in it and we got a couple drinks before we headed home for Mason to take a nap. I was holding my iced tea in my hand and pushing the cart when this happened....

And he liked it!

Starting the addiction early :)

After Mason napped, it was time to head over to Nanny's house to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and see all the family! We had a great time seeing family and Mason had a great time trying new foods. He absolutely LOVED matzah balls! And he even liked gefilte fish. Definitely Seth's son!

It looks like vanilla ice cream but it was definitely a matzah ball.

Sunday we had breakfast, Mason took a nap and then Mason and I headed over to the mall to meet Papa and Auntie Erin, Emma, and Addison. We spent a couple hours there and had lunch and then Mason and I headed home for Mason to nap. Of course he fell asleep in the car for the 20 minutes that we were driving so he wasn't very tired when we got home.

We played a little and then I put him down for a real nap... only after an hour, I noticed that he still wasn't sleeping. So I went in and thought I would rock him a little and what do you know, it worked :) Now I am off to have dinner with friends and Seth and Mason are going to watch football.

PS I took that picture right before I managed to get up out of the glider, walk downstairs, unplug the laptop, come back upstairs, sit on my bed, and type this whole post...with one hand! #mommytalent
I just couldn't bare to put him down!
Added bonus... Mason slept through the whole thing!

Happy Sunday!

Teething, I hate you...

...you stink! I wish I could wash you away in the sink!

Well the evil teething bug has officially over taken my sweet boy. One minute he is a happy camper, playing with his toys, and the next, you would swear he fell off the couch on to his head, he is screaming his head off so loud. It's AWFUL.
A.W.F.U.L.
I don't know how we have been so lucky so far, but teething has been pretty good to us before now. But I can't blame Mason. He is getting all of his molars in at once [read: FOUR molars] and another tooth. I can only imagine how much his poor mouth hurts. I just hope the teeth break through quickly so my sweet, happy baby can come back. I had had high hopes for the weekend since I finally had TWO whole days off with Seth and Mason but sadly, it didn't turn out the way I had planned. Though I can't complain when I am snuggling and comforting my boy. Oh, and I taught him how to hug which is quite possibly the cutest thing EVER. EVER! He even squeezes sometimes too. I die!

So last I left you with Mr. Trouble climbing on the DVD boxes under the TV. Well, I moved those quickly as I saw that as an accident waiting to happen. BUT, did that stop Mr. Trouble?! Of course not! He now tries to climb on the shelf and pulls on the TV stand and leans back. Don't worry, the TV is hooked on but that doesn't stop me from worrying... However, one super cute thing does come from him standing and pulling on the TV... he likes to dance! The hot dog song will come on at the end of Mickey and he starts bending his legs and bopping up and down. It's the cutest thing! And even when we say "Mason : dance dance dance dance!" he will start to do it too. I swear this kid gets cuter every day.

I actually had the day off on Friday too since I had to work Saturday. My day started off by going to the DMV to renew my license (they made me go in this time and take a new picture and a vision test). Ordinarily, not fun. However, I was smart and made an appointment and my time at the DMV went like this :

7:45am : arrive at DMV

8:00am : appointment time

8:01am : check in, get my number and sit down

8:05am : get helped

8:15am : picture taken

8:17am : back in my car and headed home

AMAZING! Why doesn't everyone make an appointment??!

post DMV Starbucks

Already 87 degrees outside at 8:30am...

After the DMV, we had an appointment with our photographer, Jenny Mason, to see Mason's one year photos. AMAZING. Again, she did a wonderful job. Look at how old my big boy looks! When did he grow up so fast??? 

After pictures, Mason and Seth came home and Mason (and probably Seth lol) took a nap and Mommy went to get a pedicure :)

Saturday I had to work all day, but I got to come home and play with this boy.

Hugs! <3

Sunday Mason had his first swim lesson with his friend Logan (6 months). He did really good except for the random crying because his teeth hurt and the fact that I think he got scared when they tried floating. Despite the bottom left picture, he did have fun in the water!

Photo shoot with Auntie Vickie after dinner.

Love the sunglasses!

Monday morning laundry.

Helping Mommy do some work at home.

Happy Monday and Happy Labor Day!