Bring on the Baby...

Our Happy little family of three is about to be family of four!! So excited! I still cant believe tomorrow I will be holding our baby boy. Words cant fully describe the love I already have for him. He is truly our little fighter. Not only did he find the strength to hang on, he gave me the strength I needed to get through this pregnancy and I cant wait to hold in my arms. My heart is bursting with joy and excitement to see Jyselle meet her little brother and Patrick to finally meet his son!! Life is still crazy as ever in the middle of this huge move, but for now we can take a breather n welcome our new little one into our lives! I will be documenting every little moment and I cant wait to come and share it with you!Till then I am putting myself on maternity leave lol so I can soak up every second of these first precious moments! Thank you to everyone for sharing in this joy with us!! Aaron Patrick here we come!!

Spinach Turkey burgers with a lil twist

So we are in the middle of the biggest move in our lives, and  a baby coming in 7 days! Needless to say things are getting crazier by the day! I'm doing my best to document every bit of it and cant wait to share! But today I wanted to share a little something I made a week or so ago that made me very happy=) Spinach turkey burgers with my little twist, I saw the recipe on Pinterest via www.azestybite.com and decided to make it with my own special touch.This post is also linked to an awesome weekend potluck linky party!@life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com They are quick, healthy, and delicious! Give em a try, I hope they make you as happy as they made us! =)

Spinach Turkey Burgers
1lb Ground Turkey
1egg
1Tsp salt
1/4Tsp pepper
3/4cup crumbled feta cheese
a bunch of fresh baby spinach chopped finely
your favorite hummus( i used pesto hummus)
everything bagels

Get started....

Mix the turkey, egg, s&p, chopped spinach, and cheese together...

Shape em into 4pattys like this ...

Cook em on both sides about 7min till brown n cooked through...

Then toast the bagels a bit and then spread hummus on both sides.....

Add the burgers n wala!! enjoy burger goodness with my favorite side, watermelon =)

*BONUS: Jyselle enjoyed the kid friendly version with her hummus on the side n pita chips =)

Let them eat cupcakes!

My 11 year old niece Mya just got into town and joined our world of crazy. Jyselle is so excited to play with her and having an extra set of happy lil hands around is a huge help to me! Especially when the new bundle of joy comes Tuesday! Anywho I love her so much and have been waiting to make my favorite cupcake recipe with her! Red beet cupcakes from my favorite blog weelicious! Yes I said red BEET cupcakes! They are beautifully pink and 100% natural from the beets! Super healthy and I promise you super delicious! My sweet loving niece approved! They also are a ton of fun to make so I hope you give em a try! I added a link for the recipe, the only thing I changed was I used white whole wheat flour instead of regular for added nutrition. Happy cupcake to you! =)

sifting ingredients...

cracking eggs is serious business...

the beautiful pink batter thanx to our pureed beets...

I dont even know...

filling the cups =)...

=)....

cooling cupcakes....

making the frosting...

our cupcakes!!...

And This makes me happy =)

                                                   **linked for weekend potluck!!

Our move! Phase two...

So we are in the middle of phase two of our big move! This weekend the movers came to take most of our stuff to Georgia. It was completely stressful and of course nothing went as planned. But with the help of our Nellie and the greatest neighbors ever ( who are gonna miss sooo much!!!)  we made it through! Now we are all moved out of what we have called home and we are settled into my old room at my moms house waiting for the little one to make his day view. Which is fast approaching! Then it's on to phase three! Till then we are trying to relax n get ready for baby =) So much easier said than done =)

Moving Truck...

Our life being loaded onto the truck...

Jyselle and her friends having a dance party while we packed =)

My Nellie scrubbing the bathroom ( such a good friend!)

Loading up the car headed to Nana's...

Jyselle wondering why all the rooms are empty!!

PINNING!!

Pinterest. Have you heard of it? Do you pin? If you haven't you have to!! If you do then you know what I'm talking about =) When life is crazy and I'm feeling overwhelmed ( which is a lot these days!) one of my favorite things to do is grab a cup of juice (wine would be way better and I plan to do that soon..) and some type of chocolate and get in my comfy chair and Pin. There's something therapeutic in it. Browsing n playing make believe, planning rooms or your wardrobe or anything for the future with the highest expectations and its  absolutely okay because its your board and you can pin what you want to =) These are my favorite pins this week. Hope you enjoy them, hope they bring a smile to your Friday. Seriously take a moment this weekend and Pin. You will be happy =) Happy Friday!

I like to think nursing is a super power I have =)

Cutest maternity photo shoot from one of my favorite blogs prettylittlemustache

I mean are there even words?

yummy pops from weelicious I plan to make soon

someday this will be in my kitchen =) 

Loving this whole look

Nutella cupcakes from Bakers Royale

Wise words.

                                                    

These little moments...

Sitting on the couch holding hands with Patrick watching Jyselle play I snapped this pic and realized these are our last nights here. Just the three of us. Its about to get even crazier around here and I am so excited but right now I am thinking of these little moments that make me smile and I cant wait to make more with our new one in our new home...

Waking up and watching these two sleep =)

Snapping pics while she naps =)

Watching her color wondering what she's thinking and what her little brother will be like =)

Hello Gorgeous

Its here! Its finally here!! My dream diaper bag!! Ive been pinning this bag for months hoping it would magically appear in my lap. Well after months n months of dreaming that day finally came!! With gift cards from my shower and coupon hunting I totally scored this for just $17!!!  This bag is seriously going to change my life lol. Its just a bag you may think. Oh but its so much more than that to me! I totally lost my identity when my little girl was born which at the time was fine. I was solely focused on being her mom. As she grew I realized part of being a good mom means taking time for yourself too. So I have been really trying to have some sense of style "mommy" style i call it =) I was determined not to carry a typical diaper bag with whatever the character of the moment was. I wanted a bag that says yes I am a mom.. a mom with some style! This bag does just that! It has everything! Changing pad, bottle carrier, wet bag, a bunch of compartments, and a cute little clutch.Not to mention the gorgeous color and style! Thank you Timi&Leslie for an awesome bag! I am seriously one very happy mommy!

Cutest packaging ever! Its speaking to me!! Also love Jyselle being equally excited!

Yes, yes you are =)

A little chicki nugget recipe

 Chicken nuggets( or chicki chicki as Jyselle calls them) . There's something about them that kids just love and that makes mom love them! They are convenient and usually easily accepted by all. I must admit I was getting into the habit of when we were out n about driving through a certain place and getting nuggets, which is fine once in awhile, but being a mom that tries her best to control and know just what goes into my little ones body I did a little research and i couldn't even pronounce half of the ingredients! So then i hit the web n looked for a better alternative that's still just as convenient but way more healthy! Then my favorite food blog for kids n families  weelicous posted the best thing ever: easy chicken nuggets! yay!! these are cheaper to make, they freeze beautifully so you still get the convenience whenever u want em just pop em in the oven and a few minutes later you have a happy little one eating a healthier nugget that tastes so good! that makes a happy mommy =) Ive changed the recipe a bit to suit what i keep on hand and I've had huge success so I'm happy to share and hope you and your little ones enjoy as much as we do!

 Chicki Chicki Nuggets                                     
  1/4cup rolled oats
 1/4tsp dried oregano
 1/4tsp onion powder
 1/2tsp garlic powder
 1/2tsp salt
 1lb ground chicken 
 3/4 cup of crushed corn flakes

Our staring ingredients

Have your little one help with the mixing

After its all combined dump it into the chicken

mix it up

crush the corn flakes and set them aside (feel free to eat a few like she did)

with wet hands shape the chicken into nuggets and press them into the corn flakes (these r ready to freeze)

when ready to cook  place on rack on a baking sheet spray with cooking spray ( i only bake 2 or 3 at a time for Jyselle)

Lunch is served =)

 *Preheat oven to 375
1.mix the first 5 ingredients using a food processor or hand mixer and then mix it into the chicken
2.crush the corn flakes and set aside
3.with wet hands (it gets sticky) measure about 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture n shape into nuggets
4.then press the nugget into the corn flakes
5.place on a foil lined or rack topped baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes
** FREEZING: place all of the nuggets on a baking sheet with wax paper freeze for an hour then place into freezer bag for up to 3months. when ready to cook  spray with cooking spray n pop in oven for about 15-18 min till chicken is cooked through
                                                       **linked to weekend potluck!!

Not your average weekend...

Its not every weekend you decide at 9months pregnant to pack up all you own and get ready to live out of boxes for a week till movers come to take it and drive it cross country 3,000 miles away, and then move into your mothers house have a baby and then get on a plane and start a new life! Oh and do it all with a very active two year old! So yes not your average weekend but right now this is our life. As crazy as it all sounds I am loving every second (mostly every second) of it because I know its bringing us closer to our new little life in the country =)
Thankfully we had the help of our friends and my mom watching the little one while Patrick and I got it all packed up and ready to go! Georgia we are almost on our way...

so the packing began..

pooped out after a long day of fun while mommy n daddy packed

and packed...

packing day two: playing in boxes before going to Nana's

greatest lunch break ever

sleepy time with Nana

our life in boxes now..