Banana Papaya & Banana Mango Mashup

Each week I am constantly thinking of new fruits to introduce to Jax or ways to mix them with his old favorites like banana. As of the past month I have been doing both a  combo of chunky purees and baby led weaning in order to allow Jax to have more independence in feeding himself. 

I will blog more on Baby Led Weaning at another date!

anyways... I LOVE exotic fruit.. and now so does Jax! 

Papaya and Mango were definitely a win for us 

** as with each food test it separately to make sure there are no allergies before combining.

Shopping List

2 small yellow mangoes chunked

1 banana

blend or mash into the puree consistency you like

1 papaya and 1 banana chunked

blend or mash into the puree consistency that you prefer!!!

Happy Eating!!!

A Few Favorite Things....

Beautiful weather over here in San Antonio! I have been loving every bit of it ( except the allergies that have been attacking my husband and baby!) lots of time spent outside and in the stroller thats for sure!!! These are some of my absolute FAVORITE things right now!!

 Our #PROJECTHANDPRINT for April happened a little earlier just because it was a slow and easy day and we needed something fun.. and crafty to do! I LOVE how these are turning out :):)

We had family pictures the other day and I am in love with how sweet they all were! I love my little family so so so much. Definitely a favorite

A mommy and her baby boy

Like I said, beautiful weather has been lingering here in San Antonio and we are loving it!!! On this beautiful day we went to the club with daddy to watch him hit balls. 

Aunt Joanne came and stayed the weekend with us! She had her wine and I gave her a tour of our new property and homesite

Visit from Aunt Joanne

Definitley a favorite : ACAI bowls. Has anyone else tried them?? Our yummy juice spot #URTHJUICE sells these amazing healthy bowls and I could eat them ALL DAY!

I started a fun project literally LAST NIGHT. I got a wild hair around 4 PM and ran to Target and Home goods and then POOF. Project began. I am Kind of crazy like that but lucky for me my husband rolls with it...and also plugs all of my holes I make in the wall :)

Looking SO SO cute

Ta - Da!!! 

I made Jaxie his own little playroom upstairs. Since we are most likely going to be able to STAY in our current home while our new home is being built ( SOOO EXCITED ABOUT THIS)  I wanted to make him a space where his toys could go and we could play together

I got the print from Home Goods and I made the letters myself

SO CUTE! Perfect Space

Found these cute little Car themed Tubs to match the picture at Home goods 

Notice my millions of holes :)!!! haha!! Above the couch I play on hanging all of his artwork

I also plan on making a big book shelf once we get rid of the entertainment center that is blocking the wall on the other side 

I know I have posted about Kate Somerville’s products on here before, but her mega-c serum is literally life changing!! I started wearing it literally 1 week ago and my face is radiant! The collagen is plumper and my face holds more of a glow to it. I am in love! You can shop this exact product HERE or all of her products  HERE

These are a few of my favorites right now!!!

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Mash

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Mash

Sweet potatoes were one of the very first foods I introduced to Jax. He was a BIG fan...since he loves them so much I usually try to incorporate ( AKA SNEAK) other veggies in with them so that he will just gobble them right up! A lot of times when I do a combo meal I will add some protein like chicken or turkey to a veggie to disguise it and it seems to work really well:) 

I love that you can make cauliflower the consistency of potato so these two really mix well together!!!

Shopping List:

1 head of cauliflower cut into florets

2 sweet potatoes peeled and chunked

Procedure:

Steam ( or BOIL) both sets of veggies until soft and tender

add about 2 tablespoons of butter, a little S&P and blend in the baby bullet 

If you baby likes cheese or you have introduced dairy go ahead and add some organic skim mozzarella cheese

ENJOY! :)

Jax’s Favorite Applesauce

Every Baby loves applesauce..and whether it is store bought or made from scratch it will for sure make your little baby smile! I also love to freeze my applesauce in ice cube trays to make for a fun teething snack! 

Here is our recipe 

Jax’s Applesauce

2 Gala Apples ** Yellow bakes well too if you want to try another kind**

1 freshly squeezed lemon

a pinch of lemon zest

1/4 cup water

cinnamon

Procedure

Peel your apples and chunk them into small chunks

place them in a baking safe dish 

pour the water and lemon juice over the apples 

toss with cinnamon and the lemon zest

coat well

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes

let them cool for 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle and blend them in either a food processor or baby bullet.

freeze them for fun applesauce bites or save and serve cold!!!

ENJOY!

Springtime/Summer Fun ideas for Babies!!

Today is a typical Friday at our house..we have already done our early morning workout with Fit4mom ..gone to the grocery store, ate lunch, and now Jax is down for his nap. Here in Texas is has already reached a whopping 85 and 90 degrees during the days.. it is HOT and its only March. That is scary! I have been deciding how we are going to beat the heat this summer.. and with a baby in tow it can prove to be challenging. Today after Jax wakes up from his nap I have a fun little water play activity that he HOPEFULLY will like.. 

Below I have listed a few fun activities to do during the warmer months with your baby!!!

1. FROZEN APPLESAUCE BITES

These are not only a fun little snack for a hot day but GREAT for teething babes too! Simply make your applesauce ( my exact recipe ) and you can either freeze them in ice cube trays or find a fun little pop out cut out to make fun shapes with! 

2. TURTLE SANDBOX

Now my baby is to little for a sandbox ( I am not a fan of sand anyways) but I bought this at Wal-mart the other day and plan to use it for water play! I like that it has a cover ( so pollen and dirt can’t find its way inside and make it dusty) I filled it with a little bit of water and threw some bath toys in there. I blew bubbles and it was a MAJOR hit! I also like that I can put it where I want to ( like my shady porch) This can also be filled with a sensory object to mix it up a bit.

3. FUBBLES

My baby LOVES bubbles.. this is a NO SPILL can of bubbles. They come in a variety of different shapes, sizes, colors, some are battery operated and some you can blow yourself. This is just a simple activity that will entertain Jax. 

4. THIS sunblock is great. 

There are no tears involved while slathering it on, it is gentle on baby skin, and it rubs in really well. I have found that my child has VERY sensitive skin so I am careful what I try on him.. this stuff is great for outdoor play.

5. Home made Popsicles

Hot outside AND a teething baby.. this would be great. Sort of like the Applesauce bites except these come in neat little trays and you can  use a ton of different fruit combos. These would be fun! I ordered mine off Amazon HERE

Thats all.. just a few ideas.. there are tons out there but these are what I have tried thus far!!!

Life Lately!

Just a little bit of life lately over here.. we have had non stop bathroom renovations going which is a pain in the A&%!!!!! However it is completely necessary in order to sell our house so I am sucking it up ( along with all of the dust ) and dealing with it for another couple of days. We have been spending A TON of time out at the property .. it is so peaceful out there and most days Jax and I will find ourselves getting an extra workout in by running up and down the hills and enjoying the pretty scenery. 

Lots of Stroller Strides, outdoor play, long walks, snuggles, annoying bathroom renos, potting some plants for spring, and spending time with my family. Sounds pretty simple but as of 8 months ago I have found that sometimes the most simplistic of days are the most beautiful:)

Here is some of our life lately!

Sweet baby boy all clean in his NEW PJs from @Cecil&Lou Ya’ll..this website has THE cutest stuff!!! I am not so much into the seersucker monogram stuff for the boys ..but I have found some super cute swimsuits, Pajamas, and a few little rompers that Jax will be wearing this summer! Holy cuteness.. and if you have a girl :)! WHOO! ( don’t tell your husbands :))

UGH SO CUTE!

I am super into Gap’s new spring line right now.. lots of comfy distressed capris, cute layering T-shirts.. stuff that you can get down on the floor with your kids but also look cute and put together if you have to run somewhere. I live for Gap! 

Me before a Birthday Party!! We went to celebrate one of my sweet friend’s beautiful daughter’s fourth birthday and it was so much fun!

This was Sunday before Church in the cute Janie and Jack romper my mom got him. 

Truth: This was a Sunday that I was NOT feeling church.. I was tired and grumpy from Brandon being out of town all wknd at a tournament, I felt sleep deprived, frustrated, my house was a HUGE mess ( which I hate) and I overall just didn’t want to go. But I did...and I am SO glad I did because the message was exactly what I needed to hear and it refreshed my ENTIRE week and mindset. God knows exactly what you need to hear and when you need to hear it. I also felt pretty proud of myself that I solo mommed it to church with my little baby boy. 

This is a view from our gorgeous property where our new house will be! I decided that I wanted to run ALLLL the way down the hill ( it doesn’t look that bad but you can’t really see how far down it goes in the picture) and then all the way back up as part of my exercise. I am trying to get my body and mind ready for baby number two in the near future and the extra exercise is helping me get my body ready ( I want to shed the last bit of baby weight!) 

While I was running ..well walking and running and huffing and puffing.. I just realized how much this mirrored my life ( well all of our lives) and it gave me such motivation to make it to the top! In our lives we often have to walk through the valley..we have to climb up hills and go through things we don’t want to! Everybody’s circumstances are different but EVERYONE at some point will drag their feet through a dark time...and when you do keep going..keep trusting..and keep praying. You WILL make it to the top!

Our future back porch...and view :) Breathtaking

Trip to Local Coffee with my Main man

My Fit4Mom Group that I love!

I found this at walmart the other day! I had this same turtle sand box as a kid and LOVED IT. Jax is to  little for sand so I plan on putting water in it with some toys for water play. Um can we say glass of wine on the porch while playing in this fun little contraption. YES!

Gymboree with Mommy!!!!!

Always my shadow :)

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook and I love it. It is so true for my life at the moment.. I don’t look at my life and think “ Damn! I am one lucky girl!” I think wow.. I prayed for two years for a baby and God has blessed me, I prayed for my husband to have a wonderful career so that I can stay home with my son and God blessed me, We prayed for a direction in where to move next and god has blessed us with an immense amount of land to build our dream home on...God blessed me. I would not have anything that I have today without God and his goodness. I remember praying and praying and praying all my life for these things and HOPING God would  answer me. He has and still will... I just love this because its so true.

That is our life lately!!!

One Pot Broccoli Chicken & Cheese Rice

Happy Sunday!!!!

This weekend has been so much fun..we went to a big fun birthday party, spent time with my parents, went to church, and I got a whole lot of exercise in.. but real life I am EXHAUSTED! Brandon has been gone all weekend to his annual Green Beer Open golf tournament and I opted to stay behind mostly because I didn’t feel like hauling my daycare down to Conroe :) I know you moms feel me on that. Sometimes when Brandon is away on a work trip or a golf/hunting trip I secretly enjoy just the special Mommy/Jaxie memories. I did a few things this weekend that were special and I really enjoyed the simplicity of the weekend. 

 I knew that after today, which was quite eventful I might add, I would need something easy to stick in the oven and just eat.. something that could be made into leftovers and possibly a lunch and dinner for the baby. Did I mention my dog ate an entire batch of chocolate chip cookies?? Yes friends, I spent my sunday evening inducing my dog to vomit the chocolate chip cookies that he inhaled while I took one second to pee. *sigh*

So now the dog is in his kennel, the baby is fast asleep, and I am showered ( FINALLY!) and in my PJs. I am too tired to even have a glass of wine.. yeah I’m THAT tired! 

Here is my fabulous dinner that I know some of you tired mamas need on your menu this week!

Shopping List:

4 bone in chicken thighs -skin on

one small onion - chopped and set aside

one head of broccoli chopped into florets

1 1/2 cup of rice ( I used organic brown rice)

Freshly grated yellow cheddar cheese ( or buy the bagged cheddar if you like)

3 1/2 cups chicken broth 

salt and pepper

olive oil

Procedure: Preheat Oven 375

Start by throwing your broccoli in a deep skillet ( preferably with a lid)  with about 1/2 cup of water. Turn to medium high heat and place a lid on top. Cook for five minutes until tender. 

Drain and set aside. 

Next salt and pepper your chicken to taste, then add some oil in the pan and sear the chicken on both sides until browned - about 6-7 minutes on each side. 

Remove the chicken and add your onions. Cook until translucent and then add your rice. Cook your rice with the onions for about one minute then add the chicken back in the pot and pour in the chicken stock. 

Place the lid on top and pop it in the oven and cook for 35 minutes. 

Remove the chicken once again and add the broccoli in with the rice along with the shredded cheddar. Place back in the oven for five minutes until the cheese is good and melted. 

Serve along side the chicken! SO SIMPLE!

Here is a picture of my sweet pea because he looks beyond cute in his new jammies:)