Pictures of my angel!

I lied.  I said I would update everyone on our lives today, but I have spent the past couple of hours making a tree topper and fighting decorating the tree with mesh.  Such a pain!  I have never done mesh before, but I love how it looks so I thought I would give it a go.  So far so good, with the help of YouTube!  I want to at least upload some cute pictures of Ellie.  

She loves hiding from people and playing shy....I'm glad she doesn't realize most of the time it is a one-sided game!

We went out to eat with my sister, Allison, and Ellie indulged on some french fries.

She started feeding herself the little baby food pouches...it is so cute!

Applauding herself for feeding herself...

She was quite proud!  

I let her have a cheeto, and I think she approves.

 I tried to get a good one of my loves on Thanksgiving, but alas, you gotta work with what you got!  Neither one is smiling, but they are still so darn cute!

The last picture I will leave you with is one that pretty much sums up the past week...teething is killing us.  She has been a mess...super clingy and fussy.  I hope these new teeth hurry up and come in so we can get back to normal.  Thank God for tylenol and wine!

I hope y'all are having a good week so far!

Craziness!

So sorry I have been MIA for OVER a week!  We have been so busy, and then Mike's car has been out of service for the past week which means I have the honor of shuttling him to and from work.  With Ellie.  Lord, help me!  Last Monday he was moving his seat forward and the motor died.  The seat motor.  Isn't that odd??  Our car guy takes the week of Thanksgiving off so we weren't able to have him look at it until today. 

Anyway it has been crazy, and I feel I haven't recovered from the holiday and we are starting to prepare for the next holiday.  I will blog about our week, and what's coming up, tomorrow.  I will also have a massive photo dump of my favorite subject: Ellie!

See y'all tomorrow!

Christmastime is here...

According to all of our local retail shops...so why not here, too?  We are going to decorate a little bit early this year, probably this upcoming weekend.  I am so excited to decorate our new house!  Today I am linking up with Leslie to post some fun Christmas ideas I love!  I plan on doing a Christmas home tour so I guess you will all be able to see if I was able to talk Mike into doing any of them...

I love this for the stair case...

Source: marthastewart.com via Christie on Pinterest

I also love the wreath on the inside!

The next idea I love is this beautiful sign above the fireplace.  We currently have our TV above the fireplace, so this won't really work, but I still might find a place to incorporate this sign (or one similar).  I also love the bench in front of the fireplace.  

Source: hollymathisinteriors.com via Christie on Pinterest

                                                                      For the dining room...

LOVE!

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Christie on Pinterest

I just love the wreaths on the back of the chairs!  What a cute idea!  I love the block letters on the table, too.  So fun!

The outside of the house is one of my biggest struggles with decorating.  We have never purchased more than lights, because everything else seems so permanent, and I haven't fallen in love with anything yet.  I love, love, love how this looks though!

I love the ornaments hanging from the archway!  So beautiful!  This is gorgeous!

Source: smallgardenlove.com via Christie on Pinterest 

Do you have any ideas you would like to share?  Go link up with Leslie!

Wonderful Wednesday!

*Ellie took 6 steps! 

*I found a new boutique in Pearland to shop called Oh This Is So Me!  

*I bought a super cute oversized black cardi at said shop!

*I stirred up a wee bit of controversy on facebook, after which vowing to never be political on facebook again, and redacting any aforementioned statements regarding my desire for more politics in social media!  I kid.  Sort of.  

*Ellie wore a super cute outfit she received for her birthday! 

*I read a blog post that made me fall in love with Compassion International all over again!  Check it out here!  If you are looking for a way to give this season, please consider Compassion!  Remember these faces from a prior post?

 These are two sweet and precious faces!  Sponsoring them only costs us $76/month for BOTH of them, but that money goes so far!!  They get medical care, food, clothing, school, and most importantly they get the love of God demonstrated to them through the Compassion workers out in the field.  I love, love, love Compassion.

P.S. Angie Smith's blog post I linked to about Compassion also reminds me of the AWESOME and scary responsibility I have to teach Ellie about Jesus, and Jesus' love for others.  I have a powerful responsibility to be on my knees praying for the Lord to save Ellie at a young age....oh how I want this!

Breastfeeding!

It seems like half of the gals I know right now are either pregnant with their first, or just had their first baby.  Since Ellie just turned one, I have been reminiscing about her newborn days.  Because I have been thinking about those days, I am remembering how I felt about all the different newborn things...sleeping, feeding, diapering, etc.  I think I may look back on them with less fondness than I should, I think some people think those days are a dream and they remember just all of the sweetness of having a newborn.  Don't get me wrong, Ellie was a sweet, sweet, baby.  So precious!  Just look: 

So precious!

She was not at all a difficult baby, but I was having such a hard time coming off of bed rest, recovering from a c-section, and trying to get my 3 week early baby to learn to eat.  It was traumatizing watching her drop weight each week, and not knowing at all what I could do about it.

I assumed breastfeeding came naturally.  I did not get to attend a class since I was on bed rest for preeclampsia, but I did read books and asked lots of questions.  I am pretty sure if I would sit down and look at a detailed statement from our hospital visit, I would see surcharges for the half dozen visits the lactation consultant made to our room.  I was so weak from being on bed rest, being in labor for 18 hours, and having the c-section I just didn't get off to a great start figuring out how to breastfeed.  And I stressed.  I was a mess.  I googled, I bothered friends, I asked my mom and sister, I consulted my OB...you name it, I did it.  I stressed so much I didn't enjoy her early days.  

When I finally made the decision to switch to formula it was such a relief.  I put up the pump and pulled out the bottles, and it was the best thing I did for the two of us.  That sounds contrary to everything you hear now, right?  Don't get me wrong...I am pro-breastfeeding!  I think it is great!  I plan on trying again with the next baby.  I won't feel guilty, though, if it doesn't work, and I won't wait so long to make the switch.  I felt so guilty with Ellie!  I thought we wouldn't bond, I thought she would be sickly, and I thought everyone would think I am a horrible mom.  Ellie is definitely a mommy's girl, she didn't even get a cold until she was 11 months, and I guess I will never know if people think I am a horrible mom or not, but I don't think I am.  

I want to remember this all when baby #2 comes, and I want any new moms who may read this to know that you have to decide what is best for your baby!  If you want to breastfeed, that is fantastic!  Do it, work hard at it, eat your oatmeal and drink your water.  If it doesn't work though, don't think it defines you as a mom!  Your baby will be just fine!  And so will you.

Look at this baby...clearly a healthy, happy, perfect bundle of joy!

A delectable Christmas tradition!

A long time tradition from my family is to have sausage cheese balls for breakfast on Christmas morning.  Before any presents are open we must have these amazing little sausage balls!  They are so delicious!  I am hosting Christmas for my family this year and I have no clue what I will be making for lunch, but I know for sure I will be making sausage cheese balls for breakfast!  Yum!  They are also super easy, and if you are starting to notice a trend in the recipes I post it is that they are easy!  I am not a patient cook, and I don't prefer to spend my time working in the kitchen.  

I am linking up with Leslie from Lamberts Lately today to share some favorite Christmas foods!

Sausage Cheese Balls!

1) 1 roll of sausage (normally about 16 oz, I believe)
2) 8 oz cheddar cheese
3) 8 oz bisquick

Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
*Mix together in a bowl...I have to use my hands to get a really good mixture.
*Roll into balls, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
*Cook for about 25 minutes, or until brown.
*EAT!!!!

Picture taken from Google Images...my food never looks this good.  Ever.

Please comment, or link up with Leslie, with your own Christmas food ideas!  Don't forget to follow the blog so I can have a great giveaway!

Weekend Wrap-up

Our little family had a super fun weekend, and once again I have the looking-at-Monday blues.  Mondays are just the hardest!  Ellie and I have so much fun getting ALL of Mike Saturday & Sunday, and it is such a drag sending him back.  

Friday night I went with my older sister, Diane, to the Nutcracker Market.  It was so much fun!  We went sans kids, and that was pure freedom.  Ha!  It was so nice to take our time strolling through the booths without little ones screaming impatiently, and drawing unwanted attention our way.  We didn't buy a thing, but I did get several ideas that I can replicate on my own thanks to my local Hobby Lobby.  Can you imagine taking kids to the chaos below?

Since I was having a night 'on the town' I thought I would style my hair with hot rollers following a hair tutorial you can find here.  If you hop on over and look at how perfectly Leslie rolled hair, you can imagine my high expectations for my hair!  I failed to meet them...

It didn't get much better so I won't bother posting the after.  That way no one will feel compelled to say something nice.... :)

We went to my nephew's 6th birthday party on Saturday, and Ellie got to see her Mimi and Grandad!  That was a lot fun, and I cannot believe he is 6!  He is so cute and so fun!  Ellie adores him!  He can do just about anything and she will crack up.  I love it!  I'm sad I didn't get a single picture.

Today I took some friends to Galveston to board their cruise ship so we did not go to church, and pretty much stayed home the whole day.  Mike set up the ball pit we got Ellie with some of her birthday money, and she is such a fan!  She crawled in and out, and placed the balls in and took them back out.  Rinse and repeat.  It was so cute to watch!

I took this picture tonight at dinner....where did this big kid come from??

Such a big girl eating her PB&J sandwich, peas, and cheese cubes.  Sigh!  It really does go by so fast!  I melt at her little feet crossed, too.  Little lady!

Don't forget to follow the blog so I can have a giveaway!

Embarrassingly Easy Corn Casserole

This recipe is so easy it is almost embarrassing.  It is so good!  We have this at every Thanksgiving, and sometimes I make it during the year because Mike LOVES it!  I made it tonight so I could get some pictures.  

Don't worry...the dish tastes way better than it looks!

Corn Casserole

3, yes 3, Ingredients: 

1) Frozen Corn (I use the steamable kind...way easier!)

2) Cream Cheese

3) One can of chili peppers

Mix all 3 ingredients together, and heat for 30 minutes at 350 degrees!

Enjoy!  Yum!

Don't forget to follow this blog so I can have an awesome giveaway!  Magic number is 50 followers!

Hear ye, hear ye!

Once this blog reaches 50 followers, I will be having an amazing giveaway!!!  I am so excited about this giveaway, y'all!  Let's get to 50!  Just sign up under the follow button on the right of the screen.  I will be ever so grateful as I am dying to give someone this amazing item(s)!

Let's get political, political!

Well I am bummed.  Anyone with me?  What a disappointment!  There is so much to say about the election, and so much that makes my blood boil, but since it is so late in the day after the votes were counted, I feel anything I would say has already been said.  Besides no one reads my blog to hear my opinion on politics.  But what if they did?  Would I be willing to share?  I think so.  Would I be prepared for ugly comments?  I don't know.  Let's be honest, though, I only get about 2500 hits a month.  That is definitely not ground-breaking!  I was thinking last night, though, about how political parties reach people...how people get their messages out.  Something fell short this year, and it is probably a combination of many things.  Any conservative knows the liberal media is part of the problem, but what can be done to circumvent that problem?  I don't know.  I am sure some great minds will come up with something before 2014, which is definitely going to be heated.

I read probably 20 blogs, regularly, not to mention the ones I just hope to randomly, and not a single one mentioned the election.  I am not blaming them, or even saying there is anything wrong with this, but I am wondering why?  Is it a lack of knowledge?  Do people not feel they have enough info to blog about it?  Surely it cannot be controversial, now-a-days moms can hardly post a thing regarding their OWN child without someone saying something negative.  Ridiculousness.  I was just thinking these people whose blogs I read have so much influence!  Is there a way for that to be tapped into?  All just thoughts. 

What Ellie has been up to...

Our sweet one year old is so busy all of the time!  I did such a good job documenting milestones when she was itty bitty, but I have been horrible at writing them down since about 9 months.  Here is what she has been up to, and a few fun facts!

- She is about 31 inches tall, and weighs right under 25 pounds!  That is 87th percentile for weight, and 86th for height.  I would say that sounds pretty healthy to me!

- She has 9 teeth, I think.  She won't really let me get in there to look, and I prefer to not be a chew toy.

- She says mama, dada, more (mow), thank you, and ball.  She can sign finished or all done, which is very helpful at meal times! :)

- She is the world's fastest crawler, and I would put her in a competition to prove it if there was such a thing! ;)  This child is not yet walking, and y'all I am so ready to be done with crawling!  She just doesn't know how good things will be for both of us once she takes those steps.  She will walk holding on to everything and everyone, including my dress, t-shirts, back of shorts, but once she realizes she is standing on her own she is quick to drop to the floor.  Sigh.  I want no comments about how I should be glad I am not chasing after her, yada, yada, yada.  Hogwash.  I want a walker.  I was so happy when she started crawling, because I love that she is mobile and can entertain herself by exploring.  When she walks we can enjoy being outside more, and her little hands won't be all over gross floors when I do put her down places.  I'm ready.  Part of me thinks she knows how badly I want her to walk, and this is like the first signs of rebellion.  I wouldn't put it past her...

- She LOVES Bubble Guppies.  She dances to all the music, and that show can seriously hold her attention for almost the full 24 minutes.  It comes in handy when mama needs to wash dishes, fix lunch, etc.!

- She still loves to shop!  She will be super cranky at home, and then as soon we go out she is her normal happy self!  I love it!

- She loves to read! 

- She is a daddy's girl, but right now she is going through an extremely attached to mama stage, and mama is not complaining!

- She loves to play in and with her clothes...if I am desperate for a break and want her to entertain herself, I will simply place folded laundry on the floor and let her at it!  My next trick will be to teach her how to refold it! 

She continues to be so much fun, so happy, and the love of our lives!

Favorite Dessert Recipes!

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner to give a favorite dessert recipe!  I was going to do one tailor-made for the holiday season, but there are going to be so many of those I thought I would do an everyday favorite of mine!  This one is super easy, not unhealthy, and just a good treat to have when you are craving a dessert, but don't have the extra calories to give!  Ha!  This was my favorite dessert growing up...Frozen Yogurt Pie.  Y'all this is so easy!  It is almost embarrassingly simple and easy, but so delicious.

Frozen Yogurt Pie

* 2 yogurt containers of your favorite flavor (I normally use Yoplait strawberry)

* 1 container of cool whip (save even more calories by using low fat or no fat!)

* pie crust (I sometimes use the granola pie crust because it is 'better' for you)

Mix the yogurt and cool whip together in a bowl, dump it in the pie crust, and freeze for about 4-6 hours.  You may have to set it on the counter to thaw a bit before serving, depending on how long you freeze it.  

image taken from Google images...mine never look quite this good!  Ha!

This is so good!  I told you it was super easy!