Springtime

Ruthie at the Easter Egg Hunt

Mae Mae liked them from a distance!

I think I see one!

Lazy Sunday

Naturally, Hannah steps right in front of Ruthie as I'm trying to take a picture of her!

This is about as far as she made it up the steps!

"What's in your mouth, Mae Mae?"

tummy time

smiley

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I thought it was about time for another recipe.  I have been unsuccessful with all of the recipes that I have tried on Pinterest, so I have gone back to the tried and true.  This recipe is courtesy of my Mother-in-Law, Suzan, and it is always a big hit with everyone!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and shredded
1 block cream cheese (I use fat free), softened
1 jar salsa (I use Tostitos Restaurant Style, but any kind will work)
1/2 cup Milk
16oz Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
10 regular size flour tortillas (not the big ones)

Bring a pot of water to boil, put in chicken and turn heat down to medium/medium-high.  Water should be bubbling, but not rapidly boiling.  Poach chicken for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove chicken from water and shred.  Mix chicken with cream cheese, half jar of salsa, and 8oz. cheese.  Spoon mixture into tortillas, wrap and place side by side, seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish.  Pour milk over tortillas.  Top with remaining salsa and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes.

Ruthie- two months

Ruthie turned two months last week! She is a sweet baby, who I think looks and acts just like Hannah. My mom thinks she looks like me :)

At two months Ruthie is 11 lbs 10 oz and 24 1/4 inches. She is 90th percentile in height and 75th in weight.

Comparison:
Hannah at two months: 10lbs 14oz an 22 1/2 inches
Mae Michael at two months: 12lbs 4oz and 24inches

Looks like Ruthie will fall right in line with her sisters!

A day in the life

Ever since the birth of my sweet #3 I have constantly been asked, "how do you manage?"

Here is my typical day:

12:03 AM feed baby
2:58 AM make sure Jason wakes up for work (yes, he has to go in ridiculously early!). Feed baby again.
5:46 AM feed baby, change sheets because of diaper leak, change her clothes
6:00 AM alarm goes off... Laugh because I've been awake! Fix bottles for the day and pack all three backpacks into the car.
6:35 AM Middle child is awake and playing in the bed. Let her play until I get everyone else ready to go! Wake up oldest child- this is a struggle... "I'm still tired/ I'm too cold/ is it Saturday yet?". Go through three outfits before we can agree on what she will wear, and send her to the den to watch Sprout for a few minutes.
6:48 AM get my happy-go-lucky middle child dressed. Take the time to speak every article of clothing in hopes that she will repeat. So far we only have sock and shoes mastered.
7:03 pull out of the driveway- we are actually on time!
7:30 AM workout
8:55 COFFEE, aah
9:45 get to work late
11:17 AM get a call from the daycare that middle child "threw up everywhere" go to get her
2:15 PM hubby comes home from work and I head back to work
5:03 PM realize it is after five and race to daycare to pick up girls. It is Wednesday, so there is no where to park.
5:48 PM unload dishwasher, load dishwasher, start a load of laundry, hand wash bottles, and cook dinner all while oldest and middle child hang on my legs.
5:55 PM ugh, one of the dogs had an accident. I'll have to deal with that later
6:30 DINNER'S READY!!! Feed baby
6:50 PM bath time for middle child, clean up kitchen, kiss middle goodnight
7:08 PM finally sit down to eat my (cold) dinner
7:18 PM help oldest child play a game
8:02 PM bath time for oldest
8:15 PM bed time for oldest- spend 5 minutes picking out pajamas, read two books
8:28 PM "no, you cannot get out of bed to give daddy another hug."
8:29 PM SHIT (literally and figuratively) I still have to clean up the dog's cage
8:58 PM move clothes from washer to dryer and get coffee pot set for tomorrow
9:06 PM catch up on Facebook, Pinterest and what's in my Hulu queue on the iPad while feeding baby
11:42 PM debate on whether I should bother going to sleep or just stay up until the next feeding
12:29 AM it all starts over

Survival mode. That is how we manage!

milestones

Today all three girls went for their wellness visits.

At 4 years, Hannah is 37 lbs. and I missed her height.  Sadly, they don't give you the paper at 4 years, so I'll have to write down her stats next time we are there.  In all of the commotion I forgot!  She has 20/20 vision, perfect hearing, and got four shots, and SCREAMED.  I seriously think she popped a blood vessel in her cheek because she was screaming so loud!

At 16 mos., Mae Michael is 27 lbs. and 34 in.  She got one shot and didn't even flinch.  We moved her to a big girl bed on Sunday.  So far, she has done great, although this morning she was standing at her door when I went in to wake her up.  I'm worried about how she is going to act when I try to put her in the bed tonight since she obviously now knows how to climb out.  Hopefully, she will lay right down like she has done every night for the past 15 months!

At 1 month Ruthie 10 lbs 3 oz and 22 3/4 in.  She is rolling over, saying "dada" and holding her bottles... right.  She is still sleeping and eating all the time, and unlike her two sisters, not really on a schedule.  She feeds on demand anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours apart during the day, and pretty much every two hours at night.

All three girls are 95th percentile in height and 75th in weight.

Mae Michael's big girl beds!

on our way to the parade

we got a great spot!

snacking while waiting for the parade to start

all of her loot!

Ruthie, one month

my first moonpie is yummy!

Almost homemade apple pie

Remember Sandra Lee?  You know, the obnoxious blonde who redecorated her kitchen/set for every episode based on the theme of her show?  Despite her inspiring story, I have always found her to be extremely annoying.  I have never had success with any of her recipes.  However, I have had success with her way of cooking, and have adopted her method of half store-bought/half homemade.  I am all for anything that makes my life in the kitchen easier and quicker.  As much as I would like to be the kind of person that grows her own vegetables, bakes her own bread, etc., I'm just not.  So, I half-ass cook/bake, and I'm not ashamed of it!

Last night I made an almost homemade apple pie.  It was seriously the best apple pie I've ever had, and I'm somewhat of a expert (it is my all time favorite dessert).

I used the above pie dough instead of making my own.  That was the store bought part.  For the apple filling I halved The Pioneer Woman's Flat Apple Pie recipe.  I know y'all are so sick of hearing me talk about her and seeing her recipes repeated, but I love her and everything I make of hers turns out to be better than I expected.

Here is my version:

taken with iPhone... I don't claim to be a food stylist!

Almost Homemade Apple Pie
1 Pillsbury Pie Crust at room temperature
2 large Granny Smith Apples (I actually used 4 small ones), cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
3 Tablespoons of butter cut into several pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out pie crust onto baking sheet sprayed with Pam.  In a large bowl mix together apples, brown sugar, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice.  Pour mixture onto center of crust.  Fold edges of crust over to hold in filling.  It won't be fancy or pretty, but it holds everything in and once it cooks it looks very rustic.  Top with slices of butter.  Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

get REAL

If you are anything like me, you often read blogs and think, "why do things come so easily for some people" or "how does she manage to do/cook/afford all of that"?

I'll be the first to tell you I didn't/don't/can't. We post things on this world wide web that we want to remember... little tidbits of life the way it should be every day. But it's simply not. I constantly have to remind myself that everyone has something. Everyone has problems (despite how sunny and perfect their lives seem according to their blog/facebook posts), hopefully not major, but most likely mine are trivial in comparison.

Lately, I've been finding myself looking around and thinking, "I love my life." I have good days and bad, and many imperfections, but I'm right where I've always wanted to be. I look at my girls and my husband and can't believe I'm this lucky. And you are probably thinking gag me... enough cheesiness. Most of my posts are to share this wonderfulness with you. So, I thought I would share some of the imperfections that make me real.

1. My house is a disaster. I've admitted to this before, but I'm reiterating. It is only clean when company is coming. Of course, it is clean in the sanitary kind of way, just not the organized way.
2. Sometimes our empty trash can stays on the street for DAYS after trash pickup. I know my neighbors hate me for this. It is like a battle of wills in our house. I think trash duty is Jason's job. He is the one that takes it out. Not to mention, nine times out of ten when I'm outside I'm wrangling three children.
3. My children watch entirely too much tv. I feel guilty about this, I really do, but sometimes it is just unavoidable.
4. I rarely cook. Jason fixes dinner most nights. And, by fixes I mean heats up a frozen pizza or scrambles eggs. Although, lately we have been eating real meals since I have been dieting. I can cook, I just don't always plan far enough in advance.
5. I'm a major procrastinator. I always have been. Unless it is something I'm really passionate about. And if it is something I really dread, well then good luck!
6. I have clothes in my closet that I hold onto in hopes of them someday fitting again. Everyone does this, right?
7. I wear clothes straight out of the laundry basket (or pile on my bedroom floor). Clean, of course. Why waste my time putting them in the drawers when I need them the next day?
8. I am a a terrible friend. I mean, not in the backstabbing, talk behind your back kind of way- I have grown up. I just mean that I am so wrapped up in my own world that I often forget to call or ask about your world. I honestly do not mean to hurt anyone in my thoughtlessness. I truly think that my friends (and most acquaintances), old and new, know that in a time of need I will be there. I really do have good intentions, just poor follow through. I often think, I should call her or maybe we should get our kids together. I just don't think about it at the right times, and then I get wrapped up in my day to day. So, if you think I don't call you because i don't want to, or I'm not friendly enough because I don't want to be friends, it is probably just the opposite!

Is that enough dirty laundry for you? Now that I've laid it all out there I hope that you (my two or three faithful followers) feel better about what makes you real/normal!

And, here are some pics of the beauties I'm so wrapped up in!