Day Off

I had an audition at the conference center downtown the other morning, so Clay took work off and we made a day of it.

First, we went to a little French cafe my sister told us about. We shared an omelet and drooled over the pastries. Then, we headed to the new shopping center downtown. Even on a Wednesday morning, it was busy, but not too bad. The shopping was pretty amazing.

 My favorite find for Ellie: Her new yellow high-tops, which she loves and her blue floral dress.

I really like my new grey blazer and a striped maxi dress I found for a steal. Thank you, tax return!

After shopping (and despite my protests that Clay and I should switch places), I cashed in on a Groupon I had for a massage, and Clay took Ellie to a play center she loves. As you can see, she had the time of her life.                                                

There was something so exciting about having Clay with us all day on a week day and getting away together -- even just 40 minutes away!                                      

p.s. sorry for the messed up alignment on this post ... Ellie had at the computer and I'm not sure what happened!                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Spring Festivities

My sister invited us to a 5K her stake was doing. It was a lot of fun (despite Ellie's pouty face).

Little did we know, there was an Easter egg hunt after the race for the nursery kids, so we gave Ellie our camera case and got her all hyped up for her first Easter egg hunt.  

 I had to give her some serious coaching. I mean look at those kids and parents inching their way forward!

Score!



When Ellie opened her eggs and saw her jelly beans, she looked at me, confused, and asked, "These are only for going potty?" When I said she got to eat all of them right then, she couldn't believe her luck.

That night, we went to a party for our friends' daughter, Savannah.

When we asked Ellie who's birthday it was, she said, "Banana's!"

Crystal had the cutest spring theme going on, and Ellie and the birthday girl even had on matching shirts

(wish I got a pic of both of them, but Ellie's tolerance for pictures ended after this one).

I had fun making this little spring headband for Sav (which looks adorable on her, I might add)

and this little cardigan:

It's a knock off of this Banana Republic cardigan -- tutorial here.

I've made a few of them for friends and love how little work you have to do to get such a cute result.

Speaking of Banana Republic -- we have an appointment downtown this week and figured we'd stop by the new City Creek Center. I've heard it's a pretty cool place. I'll let you know!

Recipe Sharing

On Sunday, I had baking fever and made a few recipes I had been wanting to try. They are all favorites now, so I thought I'd share.

#1: Whole wheat English muffins.
Even if you're not crazy about English muffins, you will LOVE these. They are easy and delicious!
Recipe here.

{Homemade strawberry jam optional, but highly recommended.}

#2: No-bake energy bites.
I would share a picture, but we gave some to my good friend who just had a baby girl and we (mostly I) ate the rest. Believe me, they are worth trying. And only 5 minutes of prep! We keep kept them in the freezer. The toasted coconut is a must, in my opinion. That yummy crunch is what makes them so addicting.
Recipe here.

#3: Cinnamon-oat pancakes.
These have actually been a staple in our home for a year or so, but I made them recently for a lunch + freezer meal exchange with my friends, then made more that weekend for sunday dinner. They are hearty, healthy and yummy. They freeze well too.

Recipe here.

My alterations: I use half whole wheat flour, half all-purpose. I usually use almond milk instead of cow's. I add a pinch more cinnamon than called for, add vanilla, and sometimes add a mashed ripe banana if I'm feelin' it. I also add a little water sometimes so they aren't so thick.

St. Patty's

As most of my friends and family know, Clay and I like to make a big deal out of every holiday.  

This year, a few of my plans backfired a little — 

Like when I put some drops of green food coloring in the toilet and told Ellie the leprechauns had been here. Her expression turned to one of major concern and she said, "Don't make it green!" I had to flush it away before she would use the toilet again. 

During breakfast, I excitedly asked her if she wanted some green chocolate milk and she said, 

"No, I want it dark." 

I had also bought some Lucky Charms for her, thinking they would be a definite hit. Turns out she despises the marshmallows and only wants to eat the grain cereal parts — which I grew up thinking were gross parts of the cereal you put up with to get those marshmallow rainbows and pots of gold. 

But a part of our plans that did go well was the 5K we signed up for. 

The weather was perfect, we made good time and Ellie did great in the stroller. 

{Before the race} 

{I break out my super-attractive leprechaun-cheetah socks but once a year.}

{One minute before the race began. Ellie was plugging her ears because we warned her a canon would go off soon. This one's not a fan of loud noises.}

{Minutes after we finished the race, it got really windy and chilly. 

Oh, and that Mickey Mouse sucker is the reason Ellie did fine in the stroller. 

That and me giving in to her requests to hold her hand during parts of the race.}

{My good friend Keri ran too and pushed her double stroller the whole way — rock star woman, I tell you.}

We continued the festivities by painting our nails a matching green, 

then some good friends treated us to an Irish dinner — corned beef and all. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Donuts + Rollerblading

Over the weekend, Clay had a free Krispy Kreme donut coupon, so we got Ellie psyched about a trip to the "donut shop," (we sang the song and everything) and we let Ellie choose her own donut. She had a hard time narrowing it down, but in the end, she chose a glazed donut with dark chocolate icing in her hand and was all smiles.

Earlier that day, I had been telling Clay I had been craving rollerblading. He concluded it wasn't worth the risk during pregnancy (I have a pretty nasty fall on my record), but when we were tinkering around in the garage later that day and I saw my dusty blades, I couldn't help but strap them on. When I had them on, Ellie looked at them and said, "Cute, babe!" 

I took her for a very conservative spin and she loved giving me high fives as I wheeled past her. 

After our little rollerblading moment was over, she said, "That was a nice skate!" This girl cracks me up.

And we are definitely taking her to Classic soon.

pregnancy halfway mark + deep thoughts :)

{20 Weeks}

In an effort to document this pregnancy, here are some thoughts about being 22 weeks pregnant with our second child.

• We are so excited to be having a boy. I had several dreams of him before we got the gender confirmation and he was a cute little guy with lots of dark hair. We'll see if he follows in Ellie's footsteps with her crazy, fun hair! Need a reminder? Check this out: 

{Ellie's 1-month-old mullet mohawk}

• Overall, I feel calmer this pregnancy. Not so obsessed with the dos and don'ts of pregnancy and the bazillion things that could go wrong. Not as scared about childbirth, and not as daunted by having a newborn. I don't feel the need to read any and every article or book about all things pregnancy and baby. But don't get me wrong. I still get major butterflies about everything. Just to a slightly lesser degree. And I'm really thankful for that.
• I am, however, a little reluctant to give up the time I have right now with just Ellie and I. I recently wrote this little letter that expresses my feelings about that better:  

Dear Ellie,

Right now, your cute little two-and-almost-a-half year-old self is taking a nap in your crib. My heart is so full of emotion for you right now that I have to get some of it down on paper. You can understand and sense a lot at your young age, but I hope you can comprehend the deep level of love I have for you, my sweet baby. You and I have such a strong bond. It is so special to me and I hope and pray we always have it. I miss you even when I am away from you for an hour. I always look forward to seeing you every morning when you wake up. You are so sweet to me. When I am sick, you get very compassionate and want to help me feel better by asking if I need medicine, a snack, tucking me in, singing me a song, and just being sweet and well-behaved while I take a little break.

You get so excited about things, and I love the enthusiastic “Yeah!” you let out when I suggest something fun to do or say I have something to show you. When I lay you in your crib at night, you ask what we are going to do the next day. You have so much energy and love for life. You always want to be doing something, discovering something and being a part of whatever I am up to.

You have a sensitive spirit, like my mom always told me I have. You sense the emotions people close to you are feeling and are very aware of what is going on around you. If someone is unkind to you, it affects you a lot. If when I am feeling emotional or on edge, you tend to take on the same mood and things can turn teary around here pretty quickly. I always feel so bad if I talk to you in a short or annoyed tone and I am trying to learn more patience so I don’t have to do that. I wish I could be a perfect mom for you because you deserve that. But I am trying every day to make you happy and help you grow and develop as much as possible. I want you to have a happy childhood and fulfilling life. You are the most important thing in the world to me.

I am so grateful for you in my life and I would never trade any experience, possession or anything for you and the richness you bring to my life. I love our days together. These days, we wake up and read books and snuggle together then play with your toys and pretend all sorts of things. You “do your makeup” on your stool in the bathroom next to me while I do mine. We eat breakfast together then go out and do whatever that day has in store for us — usually your tumbling tots class, story time at the library or visiting dad and running errands.  Most of the time, though, you would be content to stay at home all day and play (as long as I play with you!) I will always cherish the days we are having together just you and me, girl.

I know you will be such a good big sister and example to your little brother and that he will love and adore you like you will him. I am so glad you are in our family. No matter what happens in your life, always remember the deep love your mom and dad have for you and the even deeper love your Heavenly Father has for you. 

• Going back to my list, I am so grateful the baby inside me is healthy. Any mother who has given birth to a child knows that one of the truest miracles on earth is a whole, healthy baby. To know and witness that everything, inside and out, has come together perfectly, is no accident and it is a personal, powerful confirmation that there is a God.
• We had to get an extra precautionary ultrasound at the hospital the other day and the doctor could not stop commenting on how active baby boy was. He said something along the lines of, "you must have spunky babies." Oh I know, doc. I know.
• I can't believe spring is right around the corner, then summer will be here before we know it and we will be adding #2 to our family. So exciting and crazy. You parents of two, please don't hold back your helpful advice about the transition :) 

Birthday Celebrations

My birthday this year started out with my usual e-mail from FutureMe.org (I write an e-mail to myself on every birthday with goals, predictions, etc. and it is sent to me on my next birthday). A couple snippets from this year's e-mail: 

I bet you are having a baby soon! Hope so. I hope you are enjoying motherhood more as time goes by and that you remember how important it is to invest time in those little babies and how much joy it brings you.

I hope you remember how happy you were on this birthday and hope you are so happy again on this birthday ... and remember that happiness is a choice.

Give that husband of yours a kiss--he is amazing.

Happy Birthday! Live it up!

The aforementioned husband made me this delicious breakfast: 

 {Egg "mcmuffin," fresh squeezed OJ and our usual green smoothie} 

Then, Clay stayed home with Ellie so I could get in a good workout at the gym. After lunch at Kneaders (their salads are my new favorite!) we headed to a local French bakery. I got the mille-feiuelles (Napoleon) and Clay got an amazing chocolate mousse concoction. I prefer the Napoleons at Kneaders and Gloria's Little Italy a lot more than this one, but Clay's choice left nothing to be desired. 

That night, I celebrated with a few good friends (and sisters) by hosting a 

Favorite Things & Fondue party. 

 {The guests}

 {The favorite things. We drew numbers and chose our gifts — each one could be stolen once. I gave my favorite water bottle, an Intak by Camelbak and got some lotion and cute socks.}

 {Everyone wrote down their favorite things — recipe, book, restaurant, movie, song, perfume, store and blog — and I e-mailed the list to all of the guests after the party.}

{We ate dessert fondue, and everyone went home with a jar of caramel sauce or hot fudge — both from Our Best Bites. Too bad there was a lot left over, because I couldn't resist eating it by the spoonful the next day.}

The party left me thinking of all sorts of takes on favorite things parties — favorite things for kids, spouses, favorite homemade treat, DIY craft . . . I think I'll have to make it a yearly tradition. 

Around here

Just some random snapshots of what we've been up to lately . . . 

We were happy to get a snowstorm and even happier that it was springtime-sunny just a few days later. 

This girl LOVES her books. 

Ellie will dance to pretty much anything . . . even sound of the washer. I loved catching her in the middle of this little jig:

And some favorite quotes from Ellie:

• "Mom, you feelin' better? You need your medicine? Can I kiss it better?" Such phrases are said as she tilts her head to the side and furrows her eyebrows. This cuteness is the only perk to being sick.

• "Let's have a dance party!"

• A few days before we went to get our ultrasound, I had told Ellie the nurse was going to put "jelly" on my belly. The morning of our appointment, she said, "You gonna put peanut butter on your belly?" I laughed.

• Last night's prayer before dinner: "Thank you for mommy and daddy and ducks and tuna ... amen!" 
• When I get older, I'll go on a treadmill all myself! Will you take me to the treadmill at the gym?
• In the car the other day, "Heartbreaker" was on the radio and we heard Ellie softly singing, "break, break, break, break your heart" along with Chris Brown. Every time a song she likes comes on, she asks who is singing and the title of the song. 

Next up: Birthday celebrations!