Mother's Day

For the first time ever, Vaughn and I hosted a fancy family dinner held in honor of my mother.

It took over two hours to prepare but, it was oh so worth the delicious-ness.

Those rolls are heaven. Got the recipe off Pinterest. Highly recommend them!

The strawberries are "stuffed with love", aka stuffed strawberry cheesecake. Very simple, tasty and low cal.

My sweetheart surprised me with a poster board of reasons why he and Ava love me, Mrs. Cavanaugh's caramel corn (my favorite ever), two roses and Ava picked out the balloon. She loves balloons, so precious!

I'm so grateful to be Ava's mommy and to have such an awesome husband.

And I can't forget the two amazing mothers in my life:

My amazing mom, she is always there for me and is the first to help in time of need.

My amazing mother in law who is so sweet and raised my amazing husband.

thank you thank you!

I just had to share this sweet commercial..
I sure hope Ava feels this way about me. I still don't know what I'm doing and I'm still trying to get used to the fact that I'm a mommy now. Sometimes I have rough days and don't think I'm cut out for this but, I just need to remember that my precious Ava does believe that "I'm doing okay" and that's all that matters :)

 (scroll down to the very end and pause the playlist)

kinda obsessed

I reeeeally love cooking. It gives me a sort of thrill that I can't seem to put my finger on. 

Pretty sure it might have to with my adoration for culinary photography.
If I could photograph only one thing, it would have to be food.

Thanks to Pinterest, Vaughn has become quite the lucky man in the grub department.

 Made this delightful dessert tonight:

Lemon Yogurt Cake

p.s.  isn't that just the prettiest cake stand? Thrift store purchase for 3 bucks!

i LOVE me a good lemon cake and this one didn't disappoint. I love the lemon zest in this recipe and think it's what made the top crust pastry-like, flakey and perfect.

note- I omitted the glaze. Too lazy plus it's less calories.
I decided that fresh raspberries atop were the perfect compliment. Kinda like raspberry lemonade :)

and ...

This healthified dish from Fitness magazine is a keeper:

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

It's made with fresh spinach, fat free ricotta and a can of diced tomatoes 

(no sodium filled jar of pasta sauce in this here recipe)

Note-  I omitted the chorizo, salt and egg.  Again, less calories and they're just not my cup of tea .

I also doubled the recipe, it's not enough. Plus leftovers are awesome  :)

Another fave of mine is this palate pleasing salad:

 avocado, tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella 

(photo borrowed from justaspoonfulof.com)

note- i omitted the olive oil.
Too oily for my taste and I found it was much better (and healthier) without it :)

This salad is so simple yet so delish!
The fresh basil compliments the other ingredients perfectly and elevates it to a whole new level.

and ...

Don't even get me started on these other two glorious recipes:

chicken enchilada pasta

holy cow, 5 stars and then some!

oriental salad 

I could eat an entire sink full of this stuff. 

Not really but, this NEEDS to be on your to-make recipes!

hot date

We had a memorable and eventful weekend, just good old-fashioned quality time together.  A great date on Friday, spending all day together on Saturday and Sunday, Ava and I getting locked out of our house for nearly 3 hours (that story coming soon), listening to general conference, Heidi, Scott and the kids hosted a clever April Fools dinner after conference, featuring: sponge "brownies", meatloaf cake frosted with mashed potatoes, and "moldy" rolls.

Vaughn got off work at 3:30 on Friday (a rare event these days) and we headed down to Salt Lake on the train.

 First stop, City Creek

(i seriously wish Vaughn would consider the bow tie outfit above, it would be so dashing on him)

City Creek was extremely crowded but, we thought it was cool and very posh.

I'd rate it 1.5 stars above the Gateway.

he models while we wait :)

 gracious, he's handsome.

We needed a caramel apple from Rocky Mountain and gasped when we saw the prices.

FYI ...You can totally get the same exact caramel apple at the Gateway for $2 less!

So off to the Gateway we went. Much less crowded and much better prices.

 We had dinna at Star of India.

 Chicken Tikka Masala is hands down our favorite Indian dish and we compare every Indian restaurant to our local Sitara India's Chicken Tikka Masala. We both rate Star of India's Tikka Masala a 6 out of 10.

Oh and just in case you're wondering, no one has Sitara beat yet, it's outta-this-world delicious. 

Thank goodness we live only 10 minutes away!

 Spring is here!

By 8:00 pm it was time to head home to pick up our little baby from auntie's.

We laughed hysterically on the ride home while I snapped photo after photo of Vaughn doing this:

last night...

Going to the temple with Vaughn is simply the best!

My absolute fave and there is nowhere I'd rather be.

Just wanted to share that  :)

anyway,

Last night was perfect.

We don't get much time together since Vaughn's schedule is insane.

7 am - 9 pm is just how he rolls these days.

I feel like a single mom during those hours but, I am so grateful that usually by bedtime,

I'm really in fact not a single parent after all.




Sunday is our only day where it's just us and family.

 No work, no homework, no school, no internet.

Do I even have to say that Sunday's are my favorite day of the week?



Back to where I began,

We put our sweet baby to bed at 8:00.

We always joke around that we wanna talk and giggle and tell secrets

when we want to simply hang out and talk.

 These are my favorite evenings.

When we snuggle together on the couch and just talk and get to know each other better.



 I love Vaughn with all my heart.

We are completely perfect for each other in every way possible.

 I will leave it at that but,

 I love being married and last night was perfect  :)

thought's on mommahood

Being first time parents has been a huge responsibility 

and completely life changing for us.

And honestly, trying to get used to this whole mommy thing 

has been somewhat of a challenge for me.

This weekend Vaughn and I learned for the first time 

what REAL parenthood consists of.

Vomit, diarrhea, 50 loads of laundry, vomit, countless baths, 

outfit and diaper changes, diarrhea...and did I mention vomit?

 All within the span of 48 hours.

I experienced my first

 run-with-baby-to-the-bathroom-while-baby-is-barfing episode.

Not fun.

It started on Friday evening, when we checked on Ava 

just before we climbed into bed and 

discovered that she had thrown up all over herself. 

We felt like horrible parents and we couldn't believe it.

She had crusty throw up dried to her face, 

clothes and all over in the crib.

 Not once did she cry or make a peep 

to let us know what had happened!

poor sweet little angel.

So after our eventful weekend,

we decided that major props must be given to our parents 

and all parents around the world for that matter. 

Because dealing with barf, blowouts and a 

sick baby at 3:00 am deserves a medal.

Our lives dramatically changed in October 2010, 

going from just the two of us, to a family of three. 

We welcomed our greatest gift, our precious baby, Ava Pearl. 

With her arrival priorities shifted (still do), love was plentiful (still is) 

and life changed forever. I think about the person I was before

 I became pregnant with Ava and how different she is now.

 Not that my character changed, I just didn't know that my priorities 

were headed toward a whole direction.

 Since becoming a momma, lots of things have been 

new and completely foreign to me. 

I've had quite a few times where I think that 

I'm just not cut out for this whole parent thing.

 I've had certain thoughts and feelings 

and have wondered if other women think and feel similar things. 

Then I found this humorous blog and realized, yes, they do! 

I'm not alone after all.

I've been really trying to put this wonderful quote 

into practice and just go with the flow.

It's true, everything cannot be perfect all of the time.
Our home is rarely spotless these days,
there is a steady stream of laundry to be done,
dishes in the sink and I'm not always 100% put together
and quite often, I'm lucky to even get a shower.

Some days I don't even feel like a human being.
I feel like I'm Ava's personal assistant put on robot-mode.

I am a mess cleaner, a full-time-24-hours-a-day employee,
 a chef, a diaper changer, a bottle maker, a binky finder, a mess cleaner,
a teacher, a console(r), a lullaby singer, a snot wiper, a book reader,
a mess cleaner, a fashion consultant, a nurse,
an "ouchy, bonk-bonk and boo-boo" kisser, an entertainer
and a mess cleaner. 

I am a momma.

This was just one of the many messes Ava made today :)
Q-tip anyone?

Another thing that no one warned me about is 

how much your body changes after having a baby. 

Crap, it's hard! 

I used to be confident, could wear a swimsuit no problem 

and was pretty happy with the body I had but, 

now I desperately wish I had my old body back more than anything.

 No one told me how hard it is to get back to your pre-pregnancy size.

 I didn't get any stretch marks 

and I'm so grateful for that but, I still have about 4-5 pounds 

to go to meet that goal weight 

and it's really hard for me to just accept my body for how it is now. 

My sweet, attentive husband has had to console me 

countless times on this body image matter. 

He always tells me that I'm even more beautiful now 

than before and that is just so sweet but 

then I look in the mirror and have a hard time seeing that. 

Day by day, very slowly, trying to get my confidence back. 

Vaughn truly does help immensely, I'm so blessed to have him.

  . 

Having a baby has definitely made us stay home more,
spend more time together
and really let this whole family of three business sink in.
 Most often we couldn't be more happier
about spending our nights home together.

We do however, miss the spontaneity we had before having a baby.
To just come and go as we please.
 If we felt like going to get a treat a 10:00 pm, we did it, together.
Now if we want to do that, only one of us goes.
I don't care who ya are, it's just not as fun to go get treats alone.
I love being with my husband.
Every second we get together is priceless to me
(especially since we get practically
zero time together due to a totally hectic work and school schedule)
 so not being able to do things like that together are hard for me.

I'm in no way trying to complain or any such thing,
 just sharing my thoughts and experiences
and trying to adjust to this thing called motherhood.

 And honestly, I don’t want you to think I’m not enjoying motherhood…
because I am. It’s just A LOT different and
A LOT more challenging than I thought it would be!

I found this clever article:  
Nine Things You Should Never Say to a Stay-at-Home Mom

Despite all the hard work and long days,
it's worth it when it's said and done.

Because things that used to be important
and things I used to call beautiful (and sometimes still do) that
once consumed my thoughts?

They don't hold a candle to this beauty...

our Valentine's day

 Since we've been making it a point to eat healthy for almost 2 months now I decided to do a healthier version of the i love you display!

 

 our sweet little valentine

 

We went out to eat at a not-so-healthy restaurant but once in awhile is fine, right???

Look at that sweet adorable face!

Ava went to bed at 7:15 so we had the rest of the night all to ourselves :)

 Ava held those up all on her own, she cracks me up!

I sure love my two sweethearts.

New Year!

 Starting the new year off right. with a kiss of course :)

 Some people don't care for January 

(holidays are over and it's back to school and work) but, I love it. 

I suppose it partly has to do with it being my birthday month and all but, 

really I love it because it's all about new beginnings, starting fresh, 

and making goals to work toward.

I have a good feeling that 2012 is going to be a fantastic year and 

we can't wait to see what this new year will bring!

One of the exciting events that will happen this year:

Vaughn will graduate with his degree in supply-chain management!

I am super proud of my sweet honey for his 

dedication, hard work and patience. 

He has worked so hard for this. 

Working full time, going to school and taking care of Ava and I. 

What an amazing guy he is. I'm such a lucky girl :)

 We had a great 2011

Here's a look back at what we did

January 

Celebrated my birthday on a get away to the 

always amazing Homestead resort.

February

Fun road trip to Moab for my (and Ava's)  first time.

March

Road trip to St. George to visit family 

and felt like we were getting away with something with the 75 degree weather!

April

Our precious Ava baby turned 6 months old

May

My very first mother's day!

and..

I got my wisdom teeth out. Something I'd rather not remember..

June

Vaughn's first father's day!

and..

we made our 1st major furniture purchase

July

on the 15th, our favorite day of the year,

we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in Park City!

August

vacationed on the Oregon coast and also visited some of my family.

Met my biological father and my half brother.
Stayed with my sweet aunt Lisa and got to know her and her little family.
(I still need to blog about this disaster of a trip..
I think the nightmare of it all has finally started to subside)

September

Real Salt Lake game. so much fun.

October

Our sweet baby girl turned one year old!

November

We moved to our new home and we love it here so much!

December

Had a joyous Christmas season with the ones we love!
Remembering that Jesus is reason for the season.

Here are a few random photos from December:

Ava showing off her new sweater and matching  flapper headband

 My mom went to St. George last week
so we had my sister Abbie over on Tues, Wed and Thurs.

Ava LOVED every second!

 

Homemade sugar cookies that turned out amazing!

She's gorgeous. 

That adorable tiny button nose and everything about her melts my heart.

 it's official. she's got the cutest bum on the planet :)

Here's to a happy, joyous, goal-making new year!

christmas concert

We went to the Alex Boye concert on Monday night and it was so much fun! 

The band he played with was seriously amazing. 

love our date nights!

new house

part 2. 

our bedroom 

 

 Ava's nursery

shout out

Can I just brag about my sweet husband for a minute?!

When Ava was a newbie, we made a deal. Since I took care of baby during the day, sweet husband offered to get up with her during the night. That was his trade off proposal. Um.. yes, did I just hear you correctly?!

So starting at 2 months old (when I was no longer able to nurse), Vaughn has made every bottle & every emergency middle-of-the-night binky run. He even makes her 7:00 am bottle before he leaves for work and then comes in to kiss me and gently reminds me to keep resting!

Wow, just describing that makes him sound too good to be true. Well, he is. I know ladies, he truly is one in a million and he's all mine :) Completely amazing and gentle and sa-weet. How did I get so lucky?! Go Vaughn!
I just looooove him.