Recipe of the Week!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Sunday, after a busy weekend the hubby and I decided to eat at Panera Bread for a quick dinner.  Love it there because you can eat on your own time and it is convenient with a toddler.  I ordered broccoli cheddar soup and the Sierra Turkey sandwich.  I can never eat all of it so I brought the soup home.  As I sat eating it for lunch the next day, I thought "This can't be to hard to make".  Can honestly admit that I never made soup from scratch before! (I know kind of sad, but like I had mentioned before my cooking knowledge is not that great).  So I turned to my AllRecipes.com app on my Iphone (LOVE IT) for a great recipe and set out on my first homemade soup adventure! This is my version of the AllRecipes.com recipe, but here is a link to their version if you'd prefer to try the original Best Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients:

1 head fresh broccoli, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 package of Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix 

3 1/2 cups water 

3/4 cups whole milk

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions: 

1. In medium sized stock pot, over medium heat, combine soup mix and water stirring constantly until well mixed. 

2. Add broccoli florets and carrots, partially cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes stirring often.  

3. Once vegetables are tender, place soup in a food processor or blender and puree.  Once blended return soup mixture to stock pot. 

4. Add milk and stir. 

5. Add cheese to soup mixture keeping 1/2 cup set aside.  Stir soup until cheese is melted and then sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup on top of individual dishes.  

Tips: I added some extra cheese to it.  Also add water or milk as needed to desired consistency.  Also needed to add a little salt to taste.  

Tonight we had this soup with a yummy filet! Strange combination, but both were delicious! Baby girl even enjoyed them! 

You can learn a lot in 1 day!

Woke up this morning in some sort of "funk".  Felt like I hadn't slept a wink last night and didn't really have any specific plans for the day which always leads to lack of motivation for me! Made it through a somewhat trying day (with some help from Starbucks) and looking back am realizing everything I learned in what seemed like an uneventful day.  We'll start from the beginning.

1. Burg Restorations are just as fabulous as I said they were in a previous post! They came to paint the basement after tearing out the wall to fix our pipes.  Because they weren't sure they could color match the paint close enough, they painted our WHOLE basement for us! And it looks AMAZING!

2. Your children hear and will repeat EVERYTHING you say.  As the "paintman" arrives our dogs of course bark their heads off (as they do at everything that moves outside). And baby girl of course starts yelling "Knock it off" in the same exact tone I do when I yell at the dogs.  And although it was pretty darn funny, I have learned to be careful with what I say around the little sponge!

3. When you wake up in a "funk", blueberries and Clifford Crunch cereal seems like an amazing breakfast!

4. Spic and Span cleaner is not the best cleaning product for hardwood floors! I am now left with shiny, but sticky floors!

5. Google + is another social networking site that I really didn't need in my life, but somehow got sucked into!!!

6. A Tennis store is a great place to entertain a toddler for an hour! Baby girl had a blast running around and seeing all the "pretty dresses" aka tennis skirts.  And the entertainment even included seeing family and friends for a quick visit! (Fromuth- Reading, PA)

7. To go along with lesson #6 I also learned (well not really cause I sort of already knew this, but just wasn't listening to the instinct today) that taking a tired toddler to a tennis store during nap time is not the best idea.  She acted tired around 11:30, tried to get her to nap for about an hour without any luck. Decided to feed her lunch and jump in the car to meet up with my Mom for a little.  Of course she fell asleep within the first 5 minutes of the 20 minute drive.  And of course when we got to the tennis store the family wanted to see her so I woke her up.  I know most of you are thinking what is wrong with you, and I was thinking the same thing, but hoped she would maybe just fall asleep again on the way home.  HAHA, wishful thinking. She stayed awake of course, so I decided it was still early enough to try and get her down for a nap when we got home.  (Moms you probably know how this one goes) Now she was beyond tired and so cranky and would not fall asleep again.  As it was almost dinner time by this point I decided to keep her up and get started on dinner.  But she was of course miserable the rest of the evening!

8. Speaking of dinner time, the 8th thing I learned was that Broccoli cheddar soup is super easy to make! (see recipe in later post)

9. And onto bedtime....Learned a lot at bedtime...Having Daddy try to put baby girl to sleep on a night that she is extremely exhausted is probably not the best idea and led to everyone being a little stressed out.

10. I was then reminded of how much I love rocking my baby girl to sleep and having her "snuggle Mommy's shoulder" that I was "secretly" happy that she wouldn't go to sleep for Daddy.  :)

It is amazing what life teaches you throughout the day and you don't realize how much you have learned, some silly things, but also some really important lessons.  Can't wait to see what "lessons" tomorrow holds!

Enjoy the Ride Rewards

I'm sure if you buy Huggies diapers or wipes you have seen the yellow stickers on the boxes or bags.  For the longest time I thought "I don't have time for collecting codes" and just threw the packages away.  I then decided to check out the website to see what things they had to offer and have now been collecting rewards points for about a year. It takes about 2 minutes to enter the codes and can usually get you free stuff or great coupons!

So far we have only been able to earn enough points for a new bead maze and a Huggies onesie.  But I have also spent points entering to win contests for vacations or room makeovers (which of course I didn't win).  But either way they have some nice items in their rewards catalog and I am sure if you have more than one child you could rack up points pretty quickly! There are times of the year that their catalog is pretty empty, but they usually have a few good items that you can redeem points for.  We also receive valuable coupons in the mail for diapers and wipes.

Just wanted to let you know those little yellow stickers can be pretty valuable! Here is a link to their website if you want to check it out! Enjoy the Ride Rewards

Bathroom Makeover!

This project has been in the works since March! And well, it's still not totally complete as I am still shopping for some accessories. But here are some before and after pictures of our new Master Bath. Once again my husband does an amazing job on a house project! :)

Before:

First paint color: My husband was working on this makeover while I was in Florida.  I helped picked the paint color, but was looking at the colors online.  He only did one coat and waited until I got home to finish.  It was a little to bright for us so we decided (and he lovingly agreed) to repaint with a different color.  So needless to say we have a few gallons of green paint if anyone is interested! 

The Second Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Hopsack

Pretty New Lights and new trim around the mirror

 My awesome hubby installed a new light in the shower since it was so dark in there before! It was not an easy task since there was barely any room in the attic for him to do all the wiring!

Some new accesories, but still in need of more! Taking suggestions!!

We didn't make to many obvious changes, most of them were small.  Here is a list of everything we updated/changed and some info on them!

New Paint: Sherwin Williams Hopsack
New lights: from Lowes
New trim around mirror
New fixtures (faucet, bathtub, towel racks, doors): changed from chrome to brushed nickel, from Lowes
Installed shower light: Lowes


Let me know if you have any suggestions! We hope to make some other changes as time goes on.  Our bathroom wasn't that old so we didn't think we needed to replace floors, shower, sinks yet.  We'll wait until they need to be replaced!

Week in Review

As this fabulous weekend comes to an end, I am looking back and realizing I have been so busy the past week that I haven't had time to blog! So now I am playing catch up! The Highlights (and low lights) of the week.... 

1. Broken pipe floods the basement! Thankfully we've had a great company, Berg Restoration, coming in to fix the carpet, wall, plumbing, and dry everything out. Still not completely back together, but we could have never done it on our own! 

2. Hubby and family built a new deck! We decided to add on to our existing deck and replace some of the wood. My husband, father in law, brother in law, and brother, worked their butts off to complete the deck in time for our 4th of July party. Ran into a couple snags with some of the railings and we had to order some brackets that haven't come in yet.  Although it isn't totally complete, it still looks amazing and I am so proud of their work! 

Before 

During

After 

(with the temporary baby gates covering some openings)

3. Driveway! In the midst of having people coming in and out everyday working on the basement, and deck building happening in the backyard, we also had our driveway sealed! (It was supposed to happen before the deck building began, but the weather didn't cooperate) Just added one more factor to the craziness! But another project well worth it, the driveway looks really nice, thanks to Superior Seal Coating! 

4. 4th of July Picnic! We had a great picnic with family and friends on Saturday! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate and hope you all had a great time! 

5. Ended the weekend with a great day with my little family! Relaxed, played outside, cleaned a little, and made a special trip for an ice cream cone (which doesn't happen very often).  Alissa LOVED it, of course! 

We have another busy week ahead, but thankfully it is filled with fun activities and not so many house projects! 

A fun afternoon of swimming!

Well I know I have blogged about French Creek State Park, but just had such an awesome afternoon at French Creek Pool, I had to come home and write some more about it! If you have kids that are learning to swim their pool is amazing!

I took my daughter to swim lessons for 6 weeks in May and June, right before we went on vacation, to hopefully get her used to the water and teach her a little bit about safety in and around the pool.  The lessons were great and she loved the first 3, but after we missed a week and went back, she was not into it anymore.  I think she mostly didn't like the cold water (I don't blame her, I hate it too).  She was always willing to go in the water, but would always want to get right out.  She did the same thing while we were on vacation.  She would put her feet in, but hated getting wet!

So, when I made the last minute decision to head over to the pool for the first time this season, I was pretty sure she would not be a fan of swimming, plus we were going during nap time! I also forgot her  swimmies and tubes to float in, so I didn't think it was going to be a great afternoon. Decided to get a season pass for both of us, and was just praying she would enjoy it so it would be worth it!

Their pool's shallow end starts at 6 inches and goes up to 2 feet, and it is huge! So we started by getting our feet wet in the freezing cold water (my opinion of course).  She wasn't to thrilled so we walked around for a few minutes and she started asking to put clothes on! We took a short break on the blanket, as they have awesome grass areas to set up shop, and had a snack.  She watched all the kids jumping and playing in the water and decided she wanted to go back in.  We walked in down the ramp this time and she surprisingly walked right in! We walked around the whole shallow end of the pool for a long time and she even got brave and tried jumping in and walking into the deeper water.  I was so surprised that she remembered to reach for the wall when she couldn't stand anymore!

Snack Time! 

Such a great pool for teaching your kids to swim! They have a great snack bar, boat rentals, picnic areas, and locker rooms if you wanted to spend the whole day there with the kids! Can't wait to go back! If you are interested in info. on the pool here is a link to their website: French Creek Pool

Weaver's Orchard Read and Pick Storytime

Looking for something to do with the kids in Berks County? Weaver's Orchard in Morgantown hosts Read and Pick Storytime every Wednesday @ 10 AM throughout the summer.  It is $5 per child and well worth it! We have been there the past 2 weeks and had a blast! Here is a little bit about what we did!

We usually arrive a few minutes early and spend some time saying "hi" to the animals. They have goats, chickens, turkeys, and rabbits for the kids to feed and watch! They are a ton of fun! They also have a great swing set for the kids to play on.

 The kids then gather on a small stage and sit on hay bales to listen to the story.  The story each week involves a lesson about the fruit being picked. There is usually a song or dance to go along with the story and the kids love it! So far I have found that the stories are geared to elementary aged kids as opposed to preschoolers, but they are still great!

 You then collect your basket and head up to the orchard to pick fruit. You can spend as much time or as little time as you'd like picking fruit! You can also get extra buckets to pick more if you'd like, but you will have to pay extra for any fruit that doesn't fit in your basket. I have found 1 small basket is enough for us though! We have had a great time picking the fruit and are hoping the temperature is a little cooler next week which will make the day so much more enjoyable! Oh and can't forget to stop into their great market for some Texas Caviar and other great fruits, vegetables, pies, and breads!

Check out Weaver's Orchard's website for more info on the events and activities they have throughout the summer!

Recipe of the Week- Smoothies

Not sure what to have for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner! We have smoothies several times a week, especially in the summer! I don't really have a set recipe for our smoothies as we change things up based on what is left in our fridge! Don't have exact measurements for the ingredients either, I usually just throw everything in the blender and add or change things to our liking!

Fruit Smoothies

Plain Kefir (approx 1/4 cup) or plain organic whole milk yogurt

Ice (approx 7 cubes) 

Handful (1/2 cup) fresh or frozen berries

1/2 of a banana 

1 scoop of Whey Protein Powder  

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor. Add water as needed for desired consistency.  

Tips: 

*I will often add spinach to get some added nutrients.

*Our FAVORITE smoothie combo is blueberry, banana, vanilla protein powder 

*We use Whey Factors Protein Powder because it is made with Stevia, not artificial sweeteners and they sell it at our local health food store, but here is another great protein powder Maximized Living Perfect Protein
*If you would like a sweeter smoothie add more stevia to the mix! 
*We will also often freeze our smoothie mix into ice pops!

Anyone have any other smoothie recipes to share?? Email me or leave a comment below! 

Just in Case you Ever Wonder- Remembering my Daddy

Father's Day does not get any easier each year after losing your Father.  So as I struggle through my day today, I thought I would remember my Daddy by sharing this story and poem with you.  

I made the decision my senior year of high school to leave Pennsylvania and head down to Florida to attend the University of Tampa.  It was a huge decision for me, I was born and raised in a small, not very diverse PA town, and was somewhat of a homebody.  I was (and still am) very shy and quiet (most of the time). So for me to move 1000 miles away on my own was a big deal for me and my family. 

In August 2003, my Daddy and I set off on our long road trip down to Tampa in my VW Jetta (that was kind of falling apart) I remember stopping every once in awhile to fill the coolant since their was a leak in the radiator.  But somehow we made it down to Tampa.  My Dad helped me move everything into my 7th floor dorm which was not an easy task in the FL heat and took most of the day! After getting organized my Dad was leaving for the airport and left me with a wrapped present that appeared to be a book. I thanked him, said goodbye, and watched him cry(which was probably only the 2nd time I had seen him do that).  I spent time with my roomates that night and before bed remembered the gift he had left for me and decided to open it.  It was the children's book Just In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado.  (If you haven't read the book, it is a great one and I suggest that you do!) He had even hand written a little note to me in the front of the book, "Cadi, I'll be with you in heaven- just in case you ever wonder! I will always love you, Daddy". Being a Freshman in college, and "ready" to be away from my parents on my own, I kind of just chuckled when I opened it, thought "oh Daddy", and stuck it on my desk shelf.  

I ended up only staying in Tampa for one semester, changed my major, and moved back home to commute to a local college.  I spent much of 2004, working and going to school, but since I was back home I was able to spend so much more time with family and friends, which at the time I didn't realize how much of a blessing that would be.  

In October 2004 my Dad passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack.  I had just spoken with him a few hours before I got the call, and I thank God everyday for that last conversation.  He told me all about his new job at a golf pro shop, about his day, and he seemed so truly happy with life! I am so glad I was able to have those last few words with him.  

While planning my Daddy's funeral, I made the decision that I wanted to share something during the service. I had no idea what I was going to say, nor was public speaking my speciality, in fact I was pretty much completely terrified of it.  But I just felt in my heart that I needed to do it.  I immediately remembered the book my dad had given me back in college and although I had never actually read more than the first two pages I pulled it off my shelf and read the whole thing. (and of course shed a few hundred tears).  Along with the help of my brother-in-law we decided to write our own poem based on the book. It is a poem written as if my Dad was talking to me. Here is what we came up with and what I shared with a few hundred people at my Dad's funeral. 

Just in case you ever wondered- I Love you,

I thought about you every single day, 

While on vacation in the mountains or staring at the ocean, 

You were the star that led me on my way.  

Just in case you ever wondered- When I asked about your homework, 

It wasn't that I didn't trust it was done,

It was because of all the students I ever had, 

You were the most important one.  

Just in case you ever wondered- I'm proud of you.  

I thank God everyday that you chose to teach, 

You'll give care to future ages and create jobs for more than minimum wages

There are so many lives that you will reach.  

Just in case you ever wondered- I won

Even though my teams did not win every game, 

The parties I led and the joy I spread

Have put me in the Daddy and Grandpa hall of fame. 

Just in case you ever wondered- 

In heaven you are so close to God that He will hug you, just like I hug you.  

It's wonderful.  I will be there too. I promise.  

We will be there together, forever.  Remember that...

just in case you ever wonder.  

Recipe of the Week!

Well, I never thought I would be sharing anything about my cooking on my blog! I will admit before getting married (and really before having my daughter) we ate dinner from a frozen bag or a can every night.  I never enjoyed cooking (still don't enjoy it all that much) and I never really "learned" how to cook.  However, after the birth of my daughter I knew our lifestyle and eating habits had to change or they would quickly get passed onto her.  We are still working on changing our habits as it is quite difficult to change 20 some years of unhealthy eating, but we try our best to teach our daughter about healthy food and even though she is only 21 months old I do try to teach her as much as I can about cooking too! I am still learning sooo much along with her.  

I hope to share a recipe each week that is easy, healthy, and toddler friendly! This recipe I have been making for my family for awhile and my husband (who is really into meat and potatoes) and my 20 month old will actually both eat it! I just recently cooked this for family and friends while on vacation at the beach and got many compliments on it and it was perfect to make for a large group! 

Week 1: TURKEY SKILLET 

Turkey Skillet

A dish with Mexican flair! Healthy, easy, and my toddler loves it!

1 lb. ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped

l large green pepper, chopped

½ large red pepper, chopped

1 tsp. sea salt

1 ½ tsps. chili powder

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ cups soaked kidney beans or black beans

½ cup drained reserve liquid (or use 8-oz. can kidney or black beans)

1 ½ cups corn (frozen)

¼ cup chopped parsley

Brown meat in large skillet. Break into small pieces.  Add onions, green peppers, and red peppers.  Cook until vegetables are tender-crisp.  Gently stir in sea salt, chili powder, basil, garlic, beans, and corn.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Stir in some or all of the reserved bean liquid if you want to increase moistness.  Gently stir in parsley.  Heat through and serve. 

Tip:  For a not as healthy, but yummy alternative, serve over tortilla chips or melt shredded cheese on top. 

From the book Recipes By God: Heavenly Taste, Healthy Benefits by Dr. Ben Lerner

Does anyone have any healthy/easy recipes to share??? Send me an email or leave a comment! 

Great purchase for Summer Traveling!

This Christmas we purchased the Sylvania 7" Dual Screen Mobile DVD system for our new car.  We had debated having the Entertainment system installed in our car for thousands of dollars and decided it wasn't worth it. Instead we began looking for a system that attached to the headrests.  As usual I checked Walmart.com ( I love Walmart.com) to see what deals they had and found the Sylvania system for $89!!! I am so happy I didn't spend thousands on another system.

We never installed the system (not sure why, haven't really needed it until now I guess), but decided it would be great to have for our 8 hour drive to the OBX. This DVD player is awesome (well for $89 its awesome).  My daughter is still rear facing in her carseat so we attached it to the rear headrest.  Fortunately we have an adapter plug in the rear of our car or the cord to plug it in wouldn't reach the front seat. It has a remote so we could control everything from the front seat.  Only two complaints I have are that it is a little difficult to change the DVD because the headrest attachments cover the opening for the DVDs and that it turns off everytime you turn the car off so we end up watching the beginning of the movie several times! Other than that we LOVE it! And the price was perfect! If you are in the market for a Mobile DVD player check out their website, last I checked they are still $89!

The Breastfeeding Experience

Today it became official that we are done with breastfeeding in our household.  I have nursed my daughter for almost 21 months and it has been a very emotional weaning process. Just wanted to share my story with any other Mom's that might be experiencing the same thing.  

Before giving birth to my daughter I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but had heard that it wasn't always smooth sailing for everyone.  I was very nervous about what to expect.  My birthing experience didn't go as planned which also made the beginning of breastfeeding different than I had expected.  After having a C-section and being in labor for a long time, the first time I began nursing my daughter I was completely exhausted and in pretty much pain.  But she was able to latch on and thus began our breastfeeding experience. My milk did not come in very quickly ( I have attributed it to the C-section) so the days we spent in the hospital were quite difficult.  I found the hardest part to be finding a comfortable position to sit in and hold her to nurse that wasn't painful.  She also wanted to nurse a lot because she wasn't getting much milk from me and I really didn't want to supplement with formula.  

When were finally able to go home my experience completely changed.  My milk finally came in and I thankfully did not have a whole lot of nipple soreness or pain.  I loved the bonding time that I had with my daughter.  I did pump breastmilk and give her a bottle on rare occasions, but found that she would not take a bottle very well.  So for the past 21 months I have pretty much nursed her to sleep just about everynight.  I can only think of 2 occasions that I didn't nurse her to sleep.  And although there were times I wished my husband or family could help me out at bedtime, looking back I am so incredibly thankful for those nights with my babygirl.  And although we had a great breastfeeding experience, there were some trying times in there and it wasn't all smooth sailing.  

Last week my daughter caught some sort of stomach bug and could not keep anything down for about 2 days.  She had been sick like that before and the only thing she could keep down was breastmilk, so I thought nursing her before bedtime might help her feel better and get some sleep.  After she downed some milk I found out I was very wrong.  She could not keep the milk down either.  So for two days I didn't nurse her at all because she was so sick.  As many parents probably know, these lovely illnesses usually get passed around the family and of course I came down with the same thing the next day.  So my husband took over for me to help out.  Before I knew it we had gone about 4 days without nursing.  At that point I realized, she could very easily go to sleep without nursing and she no longer asked for milk at night before bed.  There was one or two occasions when she asked for milk when she was upset about something, but not knowing how her stomach was feeling I told her there wasn't any milk left right now.  After the 4 days I sat down with my husband and asked him if he thought this might be a good time to stop nursing.  Although I had planned on nursing much longer, it just seemed to happen kind of naturally (with a few exceptions).  We both decided to see how the next few days went and see if she asked for milk or not.  

By the end of a week without nursing things seemed to be going well and she had only asked for milk once. However, at that point it began to hit me that we were really stopping. I began questioning the decision and if I had done it the right way.  ( I tend to question everything way more than I should).  So tonight before bed I decided to ask her if she wanted milk.  She surprisingly only said "Rock you" so that I would rock her after storytime.  But I decided to show her my breast to see what she would do and see if she wanted it. She took it and began sucking for a brief second, but then began BITING! I thought maybe she was doing it because there wasn't anything coming out, so I had her try the other side.  She sucked for  maybe 5 seconds and then sat up and said "No, Rock you". It seemed as though she had already after only a week forgotten how to nurse!!! I then came to the conclusion that breastfeeding was over for us and sooo many emotions came with that. I continued to rock her and hold her close (and maybe shed a tear or two) until she asked to lay in her crib.  

As this just happened tonight, I am still working through those emotions happy and sad.  But I am glad that the end was peaceful for us, it wasn't stressful and I was able to share such important nutrients as well as such important bonding with her for 21 months.  I hope to continue sharing the bonding with her through skin to skin contact throughout the next few months as I feel it is so important and beneficial for her.  

French Creek State Park

I am all about finding free entertainment! Nothing beats a morning at French Creek.  Hopewell lake (pictured above) is gorgeous!  We enjoy sitting and watching the geese, looking at the boats, and taking a walk through the park.  Of course a toddlers favorite part is the playground. They have a great playground for a toddler! We will often take our lunch and picnic by the lake as well! We are also looking forward to spending time at the pool this summer.  Their pool is perfect for babies and toddlers an overlooks the lake. They have a shallow area for kids to sit and play and it also makes it easy for them to walk in the pool.  Last summer my daughter wasn't walking yet, but could sit in a float and motor around the shallow part of the pool.  We had such a great time. Looking forward to Memorial Day so we can start swimming again! If you haven't been to French Creek, I definitely recommend it! Here is a link to find more info! French Creek State Park

My first Blog!

Welcome to my blog! Please bear with me as I am still learning about blogging and all the fun features that are offered! I hope to use this blog to share stories, information, and questions about being a Mommy of a baby/toddler! I hope to share some information about activities, events, and a day in the life of a Mom in the Tri County Area.  If you have any information to share or questions as I begin the blogging process please feel free to contact me! Hope to have some "exciting" posts up soon!