Monday, June 13, 2016

What a Weekend - Supper Club and the Zoo

Our weekend was full and busy and wonderful!

Friday was full of two girls sleeping and I mean how cute is little Finn with her hands by her head?!!! I just can't take it and if you know me then you know I love to watch my girls sleep...they are so calm and peaceful.


The rest of Friday is actually a blur.  Dinner was a recipe from the June BHG magazine and it was so simple and easy, it was Chicken with Basil Sauce and a Cucumber Radish Salad.  I couldn't find any sprouts at the store so I just used lettuce and it was still delish.  Definitely something that will be going on rotation. (Spoiler Alert: it was so good we had it on Sunday for dinner too!)

Saturday Morning I woke up bright and early and continued binge watching Reign on Netflix, I am almost done with season 1 and I seriously cannot stop thinking about it.  Netflix is terrible that way...that you can watch an entire season/series in a matter of days...but oh it is so wonderful for the same reason.  After an episode I went to check in on my loves (Ellie fell out of her bed in the middle of the night so Thomas went in to keep her safe) and I just couldn't help myself!!


I was actually able to cover someone's shift at work (PTL) in the morning so I headed out and since I was near town I stopped by the Farmers Market on my way home and picked up these beauties...nothing beats fresh flowers.


When I got home Thomas was so kind to help clean up the house since I was hosting Supper Club that night.  He helped watch the girls while I got stuff ready (including myself - and how about that hair)


After the girls got up from their naps Thomas helped with a few more things and I got my lovin's on my girls and then they headed out to his parents house for dinner.

Supper Club is so fun - not everyone can make it but I love the opportunity to entertain and fellowship with other ladies - that is one thing that a lot of SAHM's are missing out on since we are basically spending our days with toddlers!

Here is what I served:  

All of the recipes can be found in this book and most of them have been delicious.  I have made this dinner before and loved it so much, I was so happy to have it again.

I set the table with my favorite china - it's an old vintage set my mom got shortly after she and my dad got married.  It has a special place in my heart and I have so many fond memories eating dinners off of these plates that to get to use them again...words cannot express my gratitude.


I mean how gorgeous are they?  I love the gold trim, the green leaves and the set comes with so many pieces.  I used my wedding glassware (similar), wedding silverware, and these adorable napkins along with one of my mom's lace tablecloths.


And some beautiful farmers market flowers 

The cheese plate was one of my favorites.  I remember when my mom used to host dinners she would put grape leaves under the cheeses and that was so pretty.  On my cheese plate I had three different cheeses, some pretzel crackers and a salami along with some fresh cherries in a bowl.


Try though I might my caprese towers kept falling over...oh well



We had a great time and I drank too much wine (1 1/2 glasses...) and awoke with a migraine.  But look at this cutie!!  She loves to hang out in her lounger and we just gave her this toy we had for Ellie (similar, similar) and she is obsessed with it!  She likes to suck on it and has been a pretty good soother for her, we don't want her using her fingers or thumb for that.


Then after some coffee, feeding the animals and watering the vegetable garden we got ready to head out to the zoo.  We are members and try to take advantage of our membership by going often.   We finally remember to bring Ellie's "nockers" or binoculars with us and she insisted on using them backwards.


It only took us 4 trips but we finally were able to see the elusive Cougar.  He (or she) is usually hiding behind a tree in the back of her area but on Sunday she was out in one of her "caves" and that was so cool! After the cougar we saw the Bobcat, Ellie's favorite, and he was hunting a bird and climbed up one of the trees a bit trying to catch the bird!! It was super cool.


After checking out all the cats it was time for our Tram ride and it seemed like all the animals were out this time.  Our tour guide was the best yet and so full of interesting facts and information.  The tram ride is about an hour and Ellie was fantastic for 55 minutes of it ;) and Finnley was a rock star in the Ergo.


Caribou

Baby Bison calf with her Mama

The beautiful Mountain Goat.  There are only two in the park and we actually got to see both of them.  The other one was out across the lake when we first took off (between the trees in the Caribou picture) but this one was right on the side of the road and it seriously made our trip! #goatfarmers


And then towards the end we caught a glimpse of this gorgeous Elk...all I wanted to do was get out and pet his nose!! He is so beautiful and I cannot believe how lucky we were to see him, get this close to him, and that I was able to snap this picture of him!! Thank you iPhone 6.

After the tram ride we got an Ice Cream cone to share - it was so good we couldn't stop for a picture - and then Ellie wanted to go to the playground.  She always wants to go to the sandbox but I told her she had to play in other areas first and since she was in her rain boots we let her go in the "river"  she loved splashing around in it!

After playing around at the park for a bit it was time to head home for lunch and naps.  After naps the babe wanted to chill on the couch like a big girl!!

Then we had dinner and that was about the extent of our weekend.  Full but great and this coming week has so much to look forward to!  Thomas birthday, Father's Day and my Dad is finally retiring and we're having a retirement party for him on Saturday.  Then in a couple weeks he will be heading our to Jordan to work as a Doctor in the missionary field - more on that later.

Happy Monday Friends! 

♥ Ashley

linking up here

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Ellie's 3rd Birthday

Ellie's 3rd Birthday landed on a Saturday this year and we decided to have her party on her actual birthday.  

To start off the morning Ellie and I went to the doughnut shop for some birthday doughnuts!  She was so excited!!



When we got home we had coffee and doughnuts and then got ready to head out and pick up stuff for her party.  Ellie got to choose her theme this year and as much as I tried to persuade her into a "Lets go Under the Sea because Ellie is Turning Three" party she decided on Frozen after perusing the party theme aisles at Party City a dozen times.  We had to pick up her cake (ice cream cake from BR) and the sandwiches (Jersey Mikes) and then back home.

When we got back home we had a quick lunch and put Ellie down for her nap.  During her nap we set up a few more decorations and finished getting the house ready.  When she woke up I got her into her party dress (which thankfully still fit, it was her flower girl dress from my best friends wedding back in August) and it was perfect for her party!! 

Our Little Princess




I love her gold crown that we got for her 1st birthday and love that she still can wear it!! But we got Anna and Elsa crowns and she opted to wear that for her party.

Anxiously waiting for her guests to arrive!!



We really simplified this year on her party and I have to say that I loved it.  It was the easiest and most laid back I have ever been for a party and Ellie had a blast with her cousins!

For the food we had all of Ellie's favorites:
Sandwiches from Jersey Mikes
Chips (chippies as Ellie likes to call them)
Popcorn
Strawberries and Grapes

We served water and soda for the drinks.

It may not be the prettiest table but everyone was full and satisfied (and we had sandwiches left over for lunch the next day!)

We had Frozen playing on the TV during the party and the girls had so much fun singing and dancing, but they also had fun playing with all of Ellie's toys.



After eating and watching some Frozen it was time for presents.  Luckily Finnley woke up just in time to join the party.


And Ellie being the best sister demanded to hold her as soon as she saw her!



Then it was time for presents and Ellie kept asking if they were all for her in the most amazed voice! Girlfriend really hit the jackpot this year with some super cool toys, like binoculars that will be perfect to take to the zoo (if only I can remember them!), a play doh kitchen set, a super cool trainset from my dad - he knows the way to her heart, and a ride-on Firetruck from Nanny and Papa - who also know the way to her heart.  Thomas and I gave Ellie a dollhouse from IKEA that I hacked and I love how it turned out...she was the most excited about Firetruck and could have cared less about the dollhouse!





Nanny and Papa got Ellie a Sophia the First birthday card that came with Sophia's amulet and Ellie insisted on putting it on!



How cute is that firetruck?!!


The dollhouse! I painted, wallpapered, added windows and shingles.  I am so pleased with how it turned out and it really doesn't look like it's from IKEA.


After presents we had cake and the girl at BR did an amazing job! She made a snow/ice scene and then we added Ellie's MagicClip dolls for decoration. Because Ellie doesn't like chocolate (I know!!) we got a strawberry cheesecake ice cream with white cake.  It was soo good!!

I think Ellie liked it


And if you ever get a cake from BR with blue frosting...the dye is very potent!! ;)

After the party Ellie had so much fun with her train set and has been playing with the play doh every day!!  I am pretty sure that she had a fantastic time but the highlight for my little pyromaniac was when she got to blow out the candle!

Happy Birthday my Sweet Ellie Faith!! I love you so

♥ Ashley

Ellie's is ONE
Ellie's First Birthday
Ellie is TWO
Ellie's Second Birthday

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

The Wednesday Weekly - Week 8

I don't know how it's only been a week since the last weekly because it seems like last Wednesday was forever ago. I guess that means that we've been pretty busy and just soaking up all this newborn stage!

Week 8



Eats: Same as last week except we switched to level 2 nipples and haven't had the blockage problem. One thing that is different this time around is that I practice all sorts of different feeding holds rather than just having her on the Boppy and feeding the "traditional" position. It's been nice switching it up and having more freedom when feeding.


Sleeps: girlfriend is still a rockstar at sleeping.  We had a couple of days where she slept nearly 11 hours!!! meaning she didn't get up until around 8am.  We still have her wrapped in her swaddle and she is happy to sleep in her infant seat, car seat, bassinet, or in the boppy on the floor or couch.


Goes: the usual suspects of gymnastics and swimming lessons for Ellie, out to dinner and then over to Nanny and Papa's to celebrate Nanny's birthday! We also made a trip to our local zoo (we're members) and tried to beat the heat by going early in the morning.  Finnley also had her first baby sitting experience on Friday with Nanny and Papa (and Ellie too) because Thomas and I had an appointment for tattoos, Thomas added a Lotus flower to his arm, and I added another bird to my side tattoo and got the 5 birds colored in with the birthstone colors of my angel babes due dates. We also went to a mall nearby that has a Disney Store and they had a special event for Finding Dory, Ellie had a blast and Finnley slept the whole time. 

Loves: Smiling!! Girlfriend has finally mastered the smile and does it all the time now!! Thomas caught this sweetness and I couldn't love it more!!  I am also loving the matching dresses I picked up at Old Navy for Finnley, Ellie, and Me and they are on sale right now too!!  I also have been wearing my Ergo quite a bit and I remember how awesome it is!!








Does: holds her head up, enjoys sitting up (with assistance), cries during diaper changes, is starting to hate tummy time unless she can chill on the Boppy, and just likes to hang out.


Of Note: Finnley did very well during her first babysitting (of course she did) and is just a growing machine.  I really wouldn't be surprised if she has grown at least 1/4" from her last appointment.  We also got her Birth Certificate in the mail!! which was awesome but sucked because we got it 3 days after we sent in her Passport application...fingers crossed we get a Passport for her!

Mama: I remember praying and praying for an awesome baby like Ellie but a better sleeper and I just cannot tell you how great it is for that prayer to be answered.  I know we are only 8 weeks in and that 3 month regression could be looming but I am just hoping that Finnley babe decides to keep this up!  I also pray that we are raising our daughters right and for God's guidance through all of this.  I have been feeling really stressed lately about my employment situation and am really hoping that I can find a part time Nanny job that will be a good fit for my family.  I know that there are some super easy changes that I can make on my part that will help to alleviate the stress but I actually really enjoy working, but at the same time just being at home and on my own schedule is pretty awesome!  I feel so much more relaxed this time around (even though I felt pretty chill with Ellie) and am just trying to soak up all this goodness.  Though I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this little learning to sit up on her own, it's a major game changer ;)



Sister: I feel like a broken record when I say that Ellie is just the best sister.  She is constantly telling us how much she loves Finnley and is always wanting to give hugs.  She is the sweetest heart and I just hope and pray that I can raise both of these girls to appreciate each other and to be good friends.  Ellie also went bananas when we all had on matching outfits and now I think I will have to make more of an effort for us to coordinate with each other, because honestly it's what GirlMom's dream of!


These two have my heart!



♥ Ashley

Previous Weeks:

Ellie at 8 weeks