Our Favorite Banana Muffins

We've been making these muffins for over a year and they are even more delicious each time we make them.  I have adapted the recipe from here and we cannot get enough of them. 

My favorite part is that you can make these muffins with just ONE banana or double/triple the recipe for more bananas!  I also love that this is something that Ellie can help me make.

We probably make these muffins at least 3 times a month and as long as I make a couple before adding in the chocolate chips (for Ellie) then we can all enjoy them!  I usually make a double recipe so that we can have a dozen muffins and then that way we can enjoy them for a few days!

Single Recipe (makes 6 muffins)

Ingredients: 

1 ripe banana

1 egg

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1-2 drops Young Living Nutmeg Vitality

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350º

In a medium bowl smash up banana with egg and brown sugar until combined, it will be lumpy.

Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg vitality and stir until just combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Lightly grease muffin tin and evenly divide up batter.  I like to use a cookie scoop.  Bake for about 18 minutes.

I usually like to double this recipe because the muffins are just so good.

Doubled Recipe (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3-4 drops Young Living Nutmeg Vitality

3/4 cup chocolate chips

 Enjoy!!

♥ Ashley

The Séamus Weekly - week 9

You guys!! I seriously had to check myself and then realized that not only is Séamus 2 months old but he is also NINE weeks old!! I have no idea how that happened but here we are!!  He is cooing and smiling, gets the hiccups and drools like crazy.  I am head over heels for his sweet little noises and his blue eyes are so mesmerizing.

 (official stats: weight 10lbs height 22 3/4")

Eats: Séamus is still quite the boob man.  We are still breastfeeding and it is going strong and I love it so very much.  He nurses about 8 times or more a day and probably 2 times at night.  We have finished all of his post procedure exercises and his latch is so much better and breastfeeding is so much more comfortable and enjoyable.  

Sleeps: I think we've hit a little bit of a blurp with his sleeping, but we've also been pretty busy which is requiring him to have to sleep on the go.  Séamus still has some solid naps and is pretty done with the day around 7-7:30pm.  He gets up twice in the night still for feedings, I've stopped checking the clock so I have no idea what times.

Goes: Little man has been such a good boy with keeping up with our busy schedule.  We've taken Ellie to school, worked, gone to Ellie's cheerleading, been to the mall play area, and to the State Fair! Granted Séamus slept basically the entire time at the fair in the Ergo (minus the 10 minutes he woke up for a nursing sesh).  I just love that he is becoming a part of our family and our busy on the go way of life!

Wears: He is growing and I think this might be the last week that he's going to be fitting into his newborn clothes comfortably.  I've been slowly putting the items that are too small into a bin in his room and will have to make some decisions as to what I "need" to keep and what I can part with.

Does: Séa has been doing awesome at tummy time, he even rolls over from his front to back on both sides.  He loves his paci, gets his hands sometimes and makes the cutest little sucking noises.  He can track with his eyes a bit and smiles a lot!!

Mama: I am pretty sure that the postpartum hair loss has officially started...the amount of hair that comes out every time I brush or run my fingers through my hair is just plum crazy! I am still head over heels for my little man, breastfeeding has been awesome and I am so grateful that Séamus latch has improved.  I am about 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight already and I am hoping to stay within that range or less for the next few months.  More than that though I really want to fit into my pre-pregnancy pants because I am in a weird spot with my clothes and don't want to buy a new pair of pants in the size that fits me now because idk how long they'll fit for....but I might just break down and get a pair of jeans, we shall see.  I am so loving this stage of life and am really enjoying my new business and so happy for the opportunity to help some more with providing for our family.

Sisters: Finnley is my child with all the emotions: she loves hard, she cries hard, she laughs hard, and she gets mad hard.  When she is sweet she is the sweetest.  Lately I have been just enjoying her for all that she is and in all honesty she isn't too much of a complainer.  We walked pretty far from the Fair to our car and she insisted on walking instead of riding in the stroller, as we were walking I told her I would carry her if she got tired and she just looked at me and said "okay, up please" in the sweetest and most calm voice.  My heart just melted with how sweet she is and how great she is doing with her sling and collarbone recovery.

 

Ellie has started cheerleading and she loves it. As a former college cheerleader myself, I love that she is in cheer and it is so fun to watch her do it!  She is doing so great at school and I even had the chance to sneak a peek at her while at recess earlier this week and I just loved it so much.  She has been eating her lunch, which is probably a concern for most new to Kinder moms, and can relay what she did in school each day.  Ellie had so much fun at the Fair and basically going to do things like that is her love language.

 

Both girls are completely obsessed with their little bro, he is smothered in hugs and kisses pretty much all day long.

Previous Posts

Séamus week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5, week 6, week 7, week 8

Finnley week 9

Ellie week 9

 ♥ Ashley

Weekending in late September

Well, Ellie finished up her first FULL week of Kindergarten and is still loving it!! I am so glad that she is having such a great time - it makes this transition so much easier on me.  Finnley is nearing the end of her sling wearing days (x-Ray on Friday) and we are all so excited for her to hopefully get it off!!  Séamus is almost 2 months old, is spending more time awake and we're getting some smiles out of him!!

FRIDAY

Ellie was off to school so Finnley, Séamus and I stopped by the store to pick up a few items for my Oils Gathering and then to home we went.  I spent the day playing with Finnley, feeding Séamus, and picking up the house.  I finally finished the ditch and switch in our kitchen and I am loving all things Thieves.

I've been doing so much research lately on what is actually in our products and am so disturbed with the amount of chemicals and toxins that our in our every day products.  Many of these chemicals and toxins have been linked to all sorts of health issues: breast cancer, reproductive issues, and thyroid dysfunction to name a few.  Thankfully there are alternative options and Thieves is my favorite.  The whole line is plant based and free of toxins and chemicals while being infused with Young Living essential oils to fight germs and give immune boosting support! So a cleaning product that not only cleans but supports my family's immune systems? SIGN ME UP!!

Additionally, I finally finished up Ellie's birth stats artwork.  I got both hers and Finnley's hung up in their room and now their walls aren't so bare.  I love how it turned out and having that quick reference to see how much they have grown over the years is so fun.  Not to mention it's pretty charming and nice to look at.  I love how they aren't exactly the same but similar enough that they look good together.

SATURDAY

We started our morning off right with some snuggles on the couch.  Finnley adores her brother so incredibly much which is great but she doesn't know her size and strength so it's equally terrifying.  I know as Séamus gets older it will get better, so I love encouraging their relationship!

I made a diffuser blend that seriously smells like Apple Cider Doughnuts.  The best part is both of these essential oils come in your Premium Starter Kit!! How cool is that?!!

Then we were off to breakfast, a stop at the Sprint store for Thomas to upgrade his phone (which we quite the challenge...) that took forever so I took the kiddos to the play area at the mall - which was just what they needed.  Finally after about 2 hours Thomas was done with his phone and we loaded up the kiddos to head to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner.  We came back home and while Finnley was napping we had Séamus working on his tummy time and I cannot get over how great he is doing and how happy he is about it!  He even rolled over a couple of times, which is always exciting.

We had Pot Roast for dinner and I always use this recipe since it never disappoints!   Little man was tuckered out from all of his working out!  We finished out the night with a calming blend in the diffuser, our nighttime routine and the kids were all in bed around 8pm!!

SUNDAY

It started off with a very happy little boy!!

Then we got ready to head to the State Fair, little man was Tiggerific! and Ellie had fun hanging out in the crib.  We did all the best Fair things: we got a Map, checked out the animals, did the new children's exhibit, rode on the tractors, got a bunch of tickets to go on rides (the big slide, the fire truck, and Ellie's request of the Haunted Mansion), and got our scones.  Séamus and I had a nursing session and then he basically slept in the Ergo the whole time.  Ellie still isn't quite tall enough to go on most of the rides, so we are all crossing our fingers that by next year she can enjoy them all!!  I made sure to bring our Thieves spray and hand purifier with us because #germs

On the way home we dropped off Thomas at the Sprint store again since his phone was still not activating. When the kids and I got home our little Tigger played with some more tummy time and he was pretty proud of himself!  

Then Thomas got home and I headed out to Sprint to go get my phone updated.  Mine only took just over an hour to get everything figured out and activated.

Once I got back home, the rest of our afternoon consisted of us just hanging out and having left over Pot Roast for dinner. 

It was a pretty laid back weekend and we all loved it so much.

What did you do?

♥ Ashley