10 months old

It’s so hard for me to believe that our little man is 10 months old.  Where does the time go?  Hard to believe that 10 months ago, I was probably just arriving to the recovery room and holding my new little man.  I can remember that day as if it were yesterday…

My baby is growing up so fast!  I swear everyday he’s doing something new.  I wish I could freeze time so I could soak up some more time with him at this innocent age, but the reality is, he’s growing, learning & changing by the minute.

picture post

If a picture really does say a 1000 words, then this post is filled with thousands of words 🙂

xoxo

Bake At Home Mama

Welcome 2016

It’s 2016.  2016.  Where does the time go?  I feel old.  I am old.  However, despite the fact that I feel old, it’s not going to stop me from having one heck of an AMAZING year!  I swear, each year truly gets better & better.  My kids are so much fun and I enjoy every second with them.  I have a feeling that this year will not disappoint.  Hendrix’s personality is really starting to shine through and is turning into a real, little person 😉  He’ll be running around by summer time […this makes me a tiny bit sad] and we’ll be able to do a ton of fun things as a family this summer!

2016 goals

In stereotypical fashion, I along with every other human am making some goals for myself in 2016.  I do this every year and typically only last a month.  But, I’m feeling extra determined this year.

This year, I plan to make simple, attainable & realistic goals for myself.  I think too often, we tend to make goals that sound great or look good on paper, but when it comes down to it they aren’t very realistic or attainable, which in turn allows us to become frustrated and in my case, simply give up.

Without further adieu, here are my 2016 goals [in absolutely no particular order]:

1. Pictures!  Yes, I am that Mom that takes 151631 pictures of her kids.  I can’t help it – I don’t want to miss out or forget anything!  However, the iPhone that I use to take said pictures doesn’t always cut it, so I want to be more mindful about using [& maybe even purchasing] a better camera.  It might sound like a ridiculous goal, but it’s something that I continually find myself wanting…and I know it’s realistic and attainable!  I just need to DO it.  Side Note: Does anyone have any recommendations on cameras?  Something nice, but not to expensive.  And I’d love to find something with wi-fi capability.
2. Get healthy!  Alright, I know what you’re thinking…another person vowing to diet and lose tons of weight…but no, that’s not my plan.  I know that it’s not realistic for me to say I will work out everyday, eat only fruits & veggies & cut out all sweets, it simply won’t happen.  However, I know that I need to incorporate more workouts, fruits, veggies & healthy proteins into my daily routine as well as cut out some of those sweets.  Realistic?  Yes.  A challenge?  HELL YES.  Am I ready?  Absolutely.  It’s been a while since I’ve felt comfortable in my skin and that needs to change.  I want to feel good, look good & most importantly, BE HEALTHY.  Not just for me, but for my kids & family…I want to be around as long as I can to bug the crap out of them 🙂  I’ve been pondering getting the 21-Day Fix…anyone have any thoughts?  I’ve heard SO many awesome things about it & it just might be the kick-in-the-pants I need to get started off on the right foot.
3. Blog more.  I know, I know – I say this EVERY year, but it’s true, I really want to get back to being a more routine blogger.  It’s something I LOVE to do and need to MAKE time to do so.  Don’t get me wrong, you won’t see a post from me every day or every other day, but a weekly post is most definitely do-able.
4. Meal Planning.  Alright, so I try to be on top of my meal planning, but definitely have times [such as this week] where I totally drop the ball.  I want to make sure I stay on top of this as it’s a HUGE time -saver and I think it will help with eating healthier.  I find that when I don’t plan my meals out, we tend to throw in a pizza or grab take-out.  It’s fine to have a pizza/take out occasionally, but I really want to be on the meal-planning ball this year.
5. Quite possibly the biggest, most challenging & MOST important goal…PATIENCE.  I’d say [& think most of my family & friends would agree with me] that I’m a fairly patient person.  However, I’ve noticed since having Had Hendrix, I’m much less patient with Dafney & the Hubby than I’d like to be [or need to be].  I always feel so bad & guilty when I snap at Dafney for not listening or snap at my Hubby when I have to repeat myself [for the 3rd time].  It’s something that I KNOW I need to work on and want to get better at.

So, how do I plan to stay on track?  Well, I hope to update on these things throughout the year with where I’m at with each.  Accountability is such a wonderful thing.  But, I also want to make myself a vision board.  For those of you unfamiliar with what a vision board is, let me [attempt to] explain.

Basically it’s a board where you can pin pictures, verbiage, sayings, etc. of your goals.  For example, my board might include: pictures of my kids, pictures of nice cameras, fun pictures of fruits/veggies or other healthy foods, a picture of Jillian Michaels, pictures of people working out, some favorite healthy recipes, sayings such as “the only workout you’ll regret is the one you don’t do”, “patience is a virtue”, etc.  Make sense?  I would then put my board somewhere in my house where I would see it everyday. It would help remind me of the goals I set and in theory, help to motivate me each & every day!

So, there you have it…my 2016 goals!

What are some of YOUR goals?

Wishing everyone a wonderful & SAFE New Year’s!

xoxo

Bake At Home Mama

Birthday Mania & Christmas 2015

I’m back!  I have been on a looong blogging hiatus.  This mama has been so busy, but I’m back & hopefully will find time to post on a more regular basis!

It’s hard to believe that the NEW YEAR is less than 2 days away.  I think back to how wonderful 2015 was and am filled with SO much JOY.  I’m not sure how it’s possible, but I swear, each year gets better & better.  Life is SO good!

We survived birthday mania and Christmas at our house.  December is a big birthday month in our family: my Dad, Dafney, Hubby & my Sister are among the many, many birthdays celebrated in the wonderful [though, not as wonderful as those MAY birthdays ;)] month of December!  So, to say we’ve been celebrating all month long, would be a HUGE understatement!

Santa Fe Tortilla Soup

Fall is one of my favorite seasons!  I love the crisp air, gorgeous leaves & pulling out all of my cozy sweaters.  With that, it also becomes soup season!  That’s right!  There’s nothing like a tasty bowl of piping hot delicious-ness.  And, let me tell you, this soup will not disappoint!  It’s so good, easy to make and you will have your house smelling AH-MAZING!  This soup screams Fall & I highly suggest you throw this into your meal plan!

Foodie Friday

Hey All!  I’ve sort of been MIA for a while…my apologies!  Quite honestly, I’m just trying to keep up with every day things lately and haven’t had much time to write, much less cook a decent meal for my family.  It’s been a lot of what’s in the freezer that will un-thaw quickly kind of meals.

Cringe.

We are almost done with our first week at the new daycare.  Honestly, it’s been going pretty good, it’s just a lot to get used to.  There are certain things that are going to take me a long time to really like [one being the drive home], but in the end, I know this will allow me 1 extra day with my kids!  Score!

Hendrix loves the new place.  Well, he loves it anywhere that people hold & feed him 🙂  Dafney has adjusted surprisingly well.  She took to her new teacher like a Champ and has even been teaching them some songs that she learned at her old daycare.  She must like it as the first thing they said to me on Monday when I picked the kids up was “your daughter’s a talker“!  She sure is!

A Long Week Ahead

This is going to be an emotional week.  I’m not prepared & have every intention of shedding some tears come Friday.  Why?  We are leaving our current daycare [which we LOVE] and heading to a new place.  I know, not many people leave a daycare that they love, but we have some reasons.  We thought long and hard about this decision and even included Dafney.  Though she knows she’s leaving her current place and going to the “orange school”, I don’t think she even remotely understands what that means.

Dafney on her FIRST day at daycare!

I worry for her.

I’m sad.  It will be so hard to leave the familiar faces we see each day.  We’ve gotten to know everyone so well and everyone has treated us so nicely over the past 3 years.  In a way, they’re kind of like family.  A part of me is so torn up inside because let’s face it, change is scary.  I wish things could stay the same [forever & ever], but that’s just not realistic.

Hendrix’s FIRST day at daycare!

Foodie Friday

Happy FRIDAY, friends!  I am surprised by how fast my first full week back to work went.  Even though it went by fast, I really missed spending time with my kiddos.  Stupid work.  Does anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?  It’s going to be a scorcher here, so I’m seeing a pool or splash pad in my future 🙂  Oh and will most likely be watching Frozen for the one-millionth time with this sweet girl and snuggling with my sweet boy!

Well, whatever you have planned, I hope it involves good company and good FOOD!

Spicy Sausage Mushroom Pasta

One of my major weaknesses is pasta.  And, oddly enough, one of my least favorite foods is mushrooms.  But, this Mushroom Sausage Pasta is amazing!  It’s one of my favorite meals to make and one of my families favorite meals to eat.  I like to call that a win-win!  It’s such an easy meal to prep and is ready in about 30 minutes; which is every Mother’s dream!  I’ve made this meal so many times and I think I actually like it a little more each time [if that’s even possible].