The Birthday Girl

Today Little M is 1 years old and we can hardly believe it! Poor little thing doesn't feel to well either :( She has a little cold, but nothing too bad. Today is all about her! We started the day at the gym where she loves to play with her little friends, then we had a play date at Peter Piper Pizza. We are going to keep it low key today and celebrate as a family because her party isn't until next weekend. Then we will go BIG :)

Speaking of her birthday....I am in full on party planning mode now and I love it! I have been hitting up all my favorite stores for their after Christmas sales trying to scoop up any snowflake or bling I can find on sale. Best part is I can use all of this stuff next year to decorate my house with, so its a win win! And I don't feel bad about spending so much money just on her party. Because lets face it, she is only 1. But I have some big plans for this little girl because she deserves to be celebrated in style no matter what the age!!

Here is her invite...SO beautiful! It was hard to get a good picture of it though...

It's going to be a winter ONEderland that's for sure!! I cant wait!!

Happy Birthday Miss M!!

Favorite Things: Suuuuuushhheeeee!

Okay so I don't know if you guys know this but I LOVE SUSHI! Like love. I went to a new place today called Tokyo Lobby and I have never in my life had better or fresher sushi than this place today. It is my absolute new fav!!

The Yellow tail..hands down best.ever.I've ever had. 

"The Boston" a California roll topped with spicy tuna? (I think) and row with a yummy sauce. This one was our least favorite...it was good, but had a very different taste...couldn't put my hands on what it was.  

"The Eel Tempura" Eel, crab, cream cheese, deep fried with yummy sweet eel sauce. M's fav roll!

"The Momma Mia". California roll topped with Salmon and tuna with  a very unique different very delicious sauce that I have never had before. It was SOOO good.

And last by certainly not least..."The Orgasm" and rightfully so! This was This is BY FAR the best roll I have ever had and was my personal favorite. It was a shrimp tempura but instead of being wrapped in seaweed and white rice, it was wrapped in very thinly sliced salmon. MY GOD it was amazing!!

So if your in the Phoenix area and love sushi you must go here. It isn't too big, or blingy,  but the food speaks for itself in a big way!

Meal Planning Monday

• Teriyaki-Beer Skirt Steak with baked potatoes.
• Chicken and Noodle Casserole with a side salad.
• Crockpot Pasta Fagioli Soup. If you follow me on Twitter, then you know the last time I tried to make this is was a HUGE fail. But I see where I went wrong...First of all don't add the pasta until the last 15-20 min. before serving, otherwise the noodles get WAY over cooked and turn to mush. Also, It didn't seem like much pasta, so I added more (I used the short macaroni shaped pasta like these). Big mistake. The whole thing turned into a big mushy mess. But I've given this recipe to others, who followed these new steps and they love it. So I'm gonna give it another try.
• Asian Turkey Meatballs with brown rice.
• Broiled Salmon with Rosemary. We all love Salmon in this house, so I make a million different ways! Served with a mixed baby green salad and sauteed red, yellow, and green bell peppers.

Merry Christmas

 Remember how I told you that I would share our Christmas cards...well here it is! They were glossy folded cards. 

The Front:  

The Inside (top and bottom):

and you already saw the very back here.

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas filled with the ones you love.

Santa Baby

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas this year!!

Just In Case You Forgot..

How massively HUGE I was this time last year...here is a frightening picture to remind you.

Yeah...This photo was taken on Christmas Eve last year and exactly one week later Miss M was born. I honestly don't think I could have gotten any bigger. Seriously....That ain't right. I mean look how small my boobs looks??! That right there tells you how big my stomach was. Okay, well maybe they dont look that small...but still!

See this is why we take belly shots...so you can look back one day and say OMG, I was HUGE! 

Oh How You've Grown...

With Miss M's 1 first Birthday just over a week away, I thought we'd take a trip down memory lane.

At birth...

And Kay looks so small : (

And the 2 months...taken with my iPhone because my camera broke, remember?

Stay tuned for the 12 month!

I cant believe how fast it went and how that little teeny weeny baby turned into a walking, talking, baby with 8 teeth in just 12 months that seemed like just a blink of an eye. Here we are on the verge of toddler hood and I look at my two little girls playing and laughing together and I cant believe how far we've come. On this blog, in my life, and as a mother. I just feel so blessed. So blessed to have them. I love having 2 girls! And the bond they already share is such a beautiful thing...Kay told me she loves her sister more than vanilla bean ice cream AND cupcakes. That bond is strong ; )

I'll be posting all about her party details soon, which is on January 8th!  We are doing a snowflake/winter ONEderland theme. I cant wait!! But I must admit it's been a little hard to focus on with Christmas and the holidays. I guess we'll have to get used to that.

All I Want For Christmas

Is a nice, new grill pan like this one from Williams-Sonoma....

Because the cheaper ones (like I have now) the grooves are too squared off and too close together, making it really hard to clean. And because of that I never want to use it. I really want a nice one because I love cooking, and indoor grilling :)

A heart rate monitor like this one.

So I can accurately track my calories burned and my heart rate during my workouts. Everyone in my boot camp class has them, and seriously one girl will burn 375 calories and one will burn 795 calories!! Both of them are comparable sizes, its amazing. Those machines are not even CLOSE to accurate, it is all variable based on your heart rate and endurance level. Plus, once my boot camp is over (this week is the last week for me) I plan on spinning again, and you simply cant spin without a heart rate monitor- because its all about what zone you are in!

And because my L necklace is no longer, I've been shopping around for replacements. I really really really love this Key from Tiffany's...

but with a 1,000 dollar price tag a girl can dream.....they make one in a sterling sliver here, but I like the diamonds ; )  My DH said he was looking for another necklace for me for Christmas, but not another L. He still thinks we will find it one day. He knows whatever it is, it has to be SMALL and understated and be my personality. And the Key it is...but it is mucho denario. But honestly, its really going to be hard to even try to replace the "L".

I also found this Karma necklace that I love...it is very small and dainty with a much smaller price tag. I emailed the link to my hubs :) It is a circle that represents Karma...what goes around comes around. I live by that, so it's perfect!

So we'll see what Santa brings this year : ) Anything your dieing for???



Mommy and Me

Aprons : )

Alright...who am I foolin?? We didnt bake anything in those aprons silly!

You guys should know better than that! But we did make dinner ;)

Then yesterday I went and helped out in Kay's class while they made Gingerbread Houses!

Fun Holiday times!

Body After Baby (# 2)

After Kay was born I was extremely lucky to pretty much bounce back to my normal size/shape within 5 months of her being born. I only got two teeny teeny tiny stretchmarks near my belly button...I mean so tiny that they weren't noticeable AT ALL. Very small. No saggy skin, no floppy boobs (thanks to implants), and no post partum pooch. I was lucky! But I was also young...21 to be exact. The whole time I was TTC and pregnant with Miss M I often wondered what my body (specifically my stomach) would look like after baby #2. Would it look the same? Would I bounce right back again? Would it be worse because the skin had now been stretched out twice? Would I need a tummy tuck? Would I get more stretch marks, or get luck like the first time? So.many.questions. that no one could answer!

I would often ask other mother's of two or more kids what kind of damage # 2 left behind, or if it was the same as after #1. Many people thought I would still be okay since I got so lucky the first time. A few would say that's it was # 2 that did them in. What would I be like? Only time would tell....

Well here I am almost 12 months post partum with baby # 2 and  I can safely say now I know. It did take a much bigger toll on my physically this time around. I was golden after # 1....perfect.....no saggy skin, no pooch, now not so much. Now I have the typical mommy problems that I managed to escape with Kay. I have much more of a pooch, my stomach skin is saggy and stretched, and I did get more stretch marks on my lower abdomen making the lower part of my stomach a wrinkly mess. I always say that my belly button needs a "lift" because it hovers, and I don't have that cute little innie belly button I once had (although that went away a little after baby # 1, just got worse this time around and I've had 2 previous belly button piercing so I don't think that helps the situation either). I hate it!! Body after baby number 2 is not the same! Number 2 really can wreck havoc on the body. It all been stretched out before, so it doesn't quite bounce back the same like after the first one. It's been harder and slower to loose the weight and your older, which doesn't help.  

So in efforts to keep it real and because I would have loved to see what another woman's stomach looked like after baby # 2, I am going to let my guard down and show what my stomach looks like now. After baby # 2. Here it is....No spray tan, still 10 pounds above my goal weight with my saggy belly button, and standing in a very flattering position....

Now don't get me wrong...I know it could be MUCH WORSE. Thankfully, I don't need a tummy tuck (although I could use a mini one, however so not worth it). And I do exercise 4-6 days per week, but no amount of exercise to take away saggy skin and separated abdominal muscles. None. It really was baby # 2 that ruined me. But I'll take it. But only because she's so darn cute.....

It's all worth it and more!!

Meal Planning Monday

Here's what's cookin at my house this week:

• Peppered Pineapple Beef Skewers with organic jasmine rice and a veggie medley of savoy cabbage, edamame, sliced carrots, and broccoli.   
• Braised Paprika Chicken...sounds fancy but looks pretty easy and oh so tasty! Served with a mixed baby green salad.
• Salmon with a Korean Barbecue Glaze served with fresh sauteed garlic green beans.
• Chicken Taco's and black beans. I do them fajita style but instead of flour tortillas, we like cooked white corn tortillas.  
• Ciabatta Bread Club Sandwich's served with oven baked sweet potato fries- kids LOVE these...I omit the chipotle seasoning.

Weird Things My Kids Say and Do

• Miss M stuffs her blankie in her mouth while trying to go to sleep...literally STUFFS it in. Weirdo!
• Kay calls her girls parts her "Other Butt" or her "Front Butt".
• The other day on the way to school Kay said that letting the boys chase her at recess helps her work on her "social skills". She was serious.
• After M was born, Kay packed 2 suitcases (one with toys and one with cloths- smart girl!), wrote me a goodbye letter and told us that she was moving outside because it was "too hard to be a part of this family". She followed that with "But I'm still going to come in to eat and go to the bathroom...".
• Miss M grunts like an bull every time you put her in her highchair until you get food on her tray.
• Kay really thinks that there are things called "Booty Crickets". When she was 2 and went through the I- don't- want- you- to- wash- me phase, I told her that if you don't wash your butt you'll get booty crickets. Still works like a charm, so I'm stickin to it!
• Miss M hates holding hands. Refuses!
• I call Kay a little gypsy because every night she sleeps with: her pillow, her eye mask, her pillow pet, her stuffed sheep, and her cat "Saraphina". This girl has BAGGAGE.
• Miss M loves cat food....seriously, she goes back for seconds. When I said this kids eats anything, I meant ANYTHING. Gross!
• Kays thoughts on child birth:You either squeeze it out, or you cut it out. The other day she asked me "When you squeeze it out, where does it come out of" Oh dear god I thought...but then I told her, and her response: "Ewwww thats gross, I'm never having kids!".

And I'll end with that :) What are some "weirdo" things your kids do? I cant be alone here....Kids are WEIRD man!

Wordless Wednesday

Meal Planning Monday

Man, I'm little late posting this (I meant to post it this morning) but I was SO SO busy today with work, and my mommy duties. But here it is...my meal plan for the week!

• Tofu Fried Rice (could easily substitute tofu for chicken, beef, or pork)
• Sirloin Steaks with Mushroom Sauce and Chive Garlic Potatoes served with sauteed green beans.
• Pistachio and Goat Cheese Smothered Chicken (looks SO easy and I love goat cheese, I always have it on hand!), served with a simple orzo and roasted asparagus.
• Broiled Tilapia with Garlic served with sauteed zucchini, a small baked potato, and a salad.
• Crock Pot Lasagna-  sounds crazy, even to me but I'm gonna try it!

Decisions, Decisions

I'm still here....and still shopping! Christmas just gives me a really good excuse : ) Kay's big Christmas gift from Santa this year is the new Nintendo DSi XL! I know she's going to be so excited to have a upgrade from her "babyish" Leapster 2 handheld gaming system. I am glad I didn't get the dsi for her last year like I was planning on because I think now she will appreciate and take care of it more now that she's a little older. And up until recently she's been content with her Leapster 2. But now I have tough decisions to make, like which skin I should buy her! So help...if you were 6 and sassy like Kay, which one would you choose?

The Purple:

The Fashion:

The Zebra...ya know cause she is my daughter..

Or the Pink Flowers?

You know because these decisions are just so hard. Stay tuned for my wish list!